Blog Assignment #5

     Twitter is still a bit of a foreign tool to me. So far, I have interacted with a live chat for educators and I have actively liked and responded to tweets on my feed. While it remains slightly unfamiliar, I know twitter is a valuable tool that will allow me to connect with other educators and share tips for the classroom. Twitter is also a great way to stay up to date on different educational policies being passed or implemented by the government.

    Understanding the digital divide is essential to bridging the technology gap between teachers and students. Students exposed to technology from birth are more adaptable to it than their older educators who might need more time to learn a new piece of equipment. Such exposure from a young age can definitely attribute to the differences between how older and younger generations handle technology. As a future educator, I know the technology will be updated from what it is now, and my students will witness me struggling with something that came so easy to them.

    Academic software is extremely valuable for students and teachers, especially during the era of E-learning. Of course, I would want to make online education more engaging; I would invest in Reflex Math and Rosetta Stone, two phenomenal academic software programs that are fun and affordable. Reflex Math is basically a series of online carnival style games that students must "win" through correctly solving math problems. Rosetta Stone is a software that teaches other languages, and helps students communicate with a diverse world. Both programs would enhance my students' enjoyment and learning because of the simplistic structure and creativity of the software.

Blog Assignment #4

     For 1st grade under Florida's ELA Technology and Standards Matrix, a key standard is LAFS.1.RI.2.5. While the name of the standard looks like a keyboard smash, it calls for first graders to recognize and employ different text features--sub-headings, index, table of contents, etc--to determine important information in the text. With my current skill set, I would be able to effectively teach this standard, as I am very familiar with navigating user-friendly, child-appropriate websites from work. If were to have access to PC or a computer lab for my students, I would be able to teach even more effectively.

    Under CPALM's toolkits for Kindergarten, I found a simplistic activity I could conduct with my students for English Language Arts. Called "Plant Write", the students would illustrate and write a sentence that connects with their illustration. This activity could be adapted for books read in class or even skits the students could present. "Plant Write" is a great tool that would help students with their comprehension skills.

    Especially as an aspiring educator, it is essential that I am well versed with Internet searching. I need to know how to locate resources, find the correct file types, and determine if I am able to use the resource at no cost or with permission. I am a very visual person, and will most likely incorporate many images into my work; I will be depending heavily on the google images site. As for new searching skills, I did not know I could subtract words from the context of what I am looking for using a "-" and inserting said word. I thought that was very interesting!

Blog Assignment #3

     Copyright and fair use are both licenses that are used to protect original work. With copyright, the creator of a certain work is the sole distributor of that work and may charge individuals if they are interested sharing the creator's protected content. Fair use grants individuals who wish to use or share someone else's copyright work for a set time before asking the original creator's permission. As a teacher, it will be my civic duty and responsibility to demonstrate academic honesty and to credit my sources. If necessary, I will pay for copyright materials. 

    Cyberbullying is a relatively new form of harassment that students can be exposed to when using technology. I would place restrictive blocks on social media platforms on school sanctioned devices to combat unwarranted attacks from strangers and malicious students. To prevent academic dishonesty, I would ask students to print and highlight their sources in correspondence to where the source is located in their work. My AP Literature teacher employed this method not only to prevent plagiarism, but to show us the ratio of personal commentary to source material in our essays.

    Creating my newsletter for my hypothetical kindergarten class proved to be a creative challenge just as much as a technical one. I learned how to move graphics around my screen! In the way that I want! I also discovered the "Icons" option under "Insert" in MS Word and was able to add appropriate graphics to my newsletter design. Next time, I will try working with borders, as I feel that would frame my information more aesthetically. I plan on saving this design and implementing it in my classroom for future use.

Blog Assignment #2

    MS Word is a valuable learning resource that I have used throughout most of learning experience. Initially, it was not my favorite word processing software because I simply did not know how to use it--I preferred Google Docs. For what I needed to do--especially in high school--Google Docs and Google Drive was how I shared my work with my peers and teachers; it was also very user friendly. Through EME2040, I have gained an appreciation for MS Word, and actually had a relatively easy and fun time doing my first assignment: a newsletter.

    While the ISTE proposes several standards for educators, the standard that resonates with me the most is the "Designer" attribute. Creativity and innovation are two incredibly significant driving forces behind successful and influential teachers. According to the ISTE standards, designers create "authentic learning activities" that are personalized for each student, depending on their educational needs. In addition to creating diverse learning experiences, educators must also "explore and apply" design "principles" that keep students engaged and focused through technology (iste.org).

    I believe Mark Prensky has reasonable justification for calling individuals born into the era of the Internet "digital natives." Digital natives are people who have always been submersed in technology--an advantage over older generations who Prensky calls "digital immigrants." I have personally witnessed older teachers struggle with online tasks and computer programs because of how foreign technology is to them. Most of the time, however, empathetic students assist their teachers and keep the class rolling forward in the lesson for the day. From what I have experienced, the bridge between digital natives and digital immigrants is not as distracting to learning as it could be.

Blog Assignment #1

     My name is Mel, and I am a freshman at a Florida university. I am majoring in elementary education, and I want to work with kindergartners. I love meeting friends for random food dates and talking with them about the latest news. I also love dogs, and I have three that mean the world to me.

    Whenever I have used technology for educational purposes, it is usually to check for grades and assignments. As I have gotten older, I used my laptop to type up research papers and perused several scholarly online databases to support a topic of interest. I have had to present my findings in the form of a PowerPoint, in addition to being filmed while sharing my knowledge to the class. In the past, I have also used Prezi and Weebly as platforms to present a project.

    My personal learning network (PLN) consists of guidance counselors, teachers, and social media platforms dedicated to sharing tips on teaching. There are other components as well--Gmail, EBSCO, educational websites--but the most essential attribute of my PLN is communication. Teaching is a social job, particularly for elementary educators. I rely heavily on my PLN to acquire the best professional and personal advice in order to perform at my best as a student and as a future teacher.