Blog Journal #4

The grade level that I chose from the Standards and Technology Matrices for ELA was third grade. The standard that I selected is LAFS.3.W.2.6. This standard states that students should be able to use technology to create and publish written works with adult guidance. In addition, students should be able to interact with the works of other students. I feel like I am prepared to teach this standard because I am proficient at typing, using word processors, and using blogs so I can give my students tips that can help them master these skills. However, I might need to learn how to use more kid friendly websites that are suitable for my students to introduce them to these skills.

The grade level that I selected on the CPALMS website was third grade because that is the grade I am most interested in teaching. I selected the math subject area. I clicked on the MA.3.FR.1.2 standard. The standard says that students should be able to model and understand fractions including those greater than one through adding. The resources that I found under this standard were many including student tutorials, a virtual manipulative, and assessments. I think I could incorporate the resources in a variety of ways. For example, I can use the student tutorial by assigning it to my students that were absent or that just need extra support to understand the material. I could also use the virtual manipulative by displaying it on the board to show fractions in an interactive format. I could show my students how to use the manipulative and then allow for them to come up to the board and try it themselves. Lastly, I could assign the assessments to see what my students have learned and what I can teach better or should review one more time with my students.

I think it is important to be a proficient internet searcher as a teacher to be able to find resources that you can directly use in your classroom to enhance student learning such as worksheets. I also think that being a proficient internet searcher is important to find resources that help you become an overall better teacher such as academic articles about teacher pedagogy. Out of the Internet searching skills that we learned about this week, I think that I would use the search within the website, search for an exact match, and the advanced image search the most. Lastly, I do not know of any additional Internet searching skills that were not mentioned this week.

Blog Journal #3

    Copyright is when a work has legal protection and exclusive rights for its owner. Fair use is a way of deciding if a copyright protected work is being legally used. There are four factors used to determine fair use which are purpose of use, nature of work, amount used, and effect on market. When I become a teacher, I will deal with those two concepts when developing my own work because I might be referencing copyrighted works to make a derivative or I might be directly incorporating a work into my lesson. In those cases, I need to make sure that I am fairly using any resources. I might also deal with these two concepts when my students are creating their own work because they might also end up in a situation where they are referencing a copyrighted work. In that case, I need to teach my students that for some works you need to ask for permission to use if they do not meet the fair use requirements. 

The two technology implementation issues that I would like to discuss are academic dishonesty and lack of funding. Firstly, now more than ever academic dishonesty is more common because of the amount of fast and accessible information available on the internet. In my future classroom, I would take the following precautions during tests to prevent academic dishonesty in my classroom: students will take paper tests, turn in their phones, and put up paper folders. Secondly, technology can also be expensive so not all schools can afford to incorporate technology due to lack of funding. In my future teaching career, I would talk to the parents and other school staff to help me create fundraisers throughout the school year to raise money for technology. 

From the newsletter assignment, I learned a lot of cool features that help me make a page visually appealing. One of those features is the two column layout tool, word art tool, and the shape tool for creating a permission slip. I think I can improve my newsletters in the future by being more original and creative with the theme. I think that the skills that I learned from this assignment can be used in my future newsletters when I am actually a teacher. In fact, I can make this newsletter into a template to allow me to make newsletters more quickly in the future.

                                  

                                   

Images of my blog. Click on the image for better quality.

Blog Journal #2

My experience using Microsoft Word as a student is that I am familiar with its basic features right now. When I was in middle school, I took a technology class where we got our Microsoft Word certification. However, that was quite a few years ago so I do not think I would remember all the more advanced features. If I had to choose the word processing software of my preference, I would say it is Google Docs because it is quick and easy to access and use. It is also good for the type of work that I commonly use it for, which is school work, because it is simple, including the basic features that I need. It does not overwhelm me with a ton of features that I do not frequently use.

After viewing the ISTE Standards for Educators, I realized that standard 2.3 is the most meaningful to me. Overall, Standard 2.3 says that teachers encourage students to use technology responsibly and to make a positive impact. This standard has 4 sub-standards which are standards 2.3.a, 2.3.b, 2.3.c, and 2.3d. Sub-standard 2.3.a says that teachers create activities that involve students in respectfully engaging with one another to form a sense of togetherness online. Sub-standard 2.3.b says that teachers will help students develop community norms related to technology such as critically examining sources  rather than just always believing them. Sub-standard 2.3.c says that teachers coach students to follow online rules and practices such as those on plagiarism. Sub-standard 2.3.d says that teachers promote and demonstrate regulation of personal data and identity online. Overall, this standard is important for K-12 educators because it helps teachers equip students with important skills that they can apply in the real world, which for me is the primary goal of education. 

    I do not agree with the label of “digital native” for today’s youth because it is an overstatement or generalization. A “digital native” is someone who grew up with technology from a young age therefore this person is more knowledgeable in using technology than others who did not grow up around it. Although most youth today might be considered digital natives, not all of them are. Children grow up in various circumstances that can influence whether a child is a “digital native” besides the time they were born. For example, family income and family values can affect whether a child is exposed to technology from a really young age. I do not think I have noticed a notable difference between me and how most of my teachers use technology. The difference that I anticipate between me and my future students is that they will probably not need much guidance when I introduce them to assignments or activities that require technology, unlike me who might need some time to get familiar with it. I think it will be almost intuitive to them.