Blog Post 6

I decided to look at the FSUS website because I have done service learning there before and was curious as to what the teacher’s websites looked like. I found a second grade teacher’s website since that is the grade I would want to teach if I were to become an educator. She included different tabs on her website such as a welcome tab, a tab that led to a paragraph about her and her educational background along with her experience. There were also tabs for her weekly newsletters, resource links, and other general information such as daily schedules and other important dates. I can view all of these things publically which I find interesting because anyone is able to see what she has planned with her class along with what she teaches them on a weekly basis.

https://www.fsus.school/Page/376

 

I do not plan on becoming a teacher, but even as a child life specialist, technology plays an important role in children’s lives. “Tech time” is something that child life incorporates so that children get the opportunity to use technological devices for educational purposes. For example, they use specific websites and online games in order to engage children and teach them. They also use ipads and other devices to teach children and provide therapeutic play to these kids so that a bit of normalcy is brought into their lives even though they don’t get to live like most children, due to illness. I feel that technology can also be important in keeping in contact with my patients and their families so that I can more effectively treat them and help them.

Regarding the tech sandbox, I found it interesting how many different types of technology they had to offer. The virtual reality that they had was extremely interesting and might be useful in the classroom because it can be engaging and a fun way to learn. It can also aid in learning and engagement of students who have disabilities or special needs. I also thought the apps on the ipad were a fun way for younger children to learn how to count money and practice other subjects. I was familiar with Smart Boards from my own experience in high school and continue to find those useful, however one downside of technology as mentioned during the tour is that it can occasionally act up and not work the way it is supposed to. Overall I find technology very fun and helpful for educational purposes.

Blog Post 5

My initial feelings towards using Diigo were pretty negative. I have no prior experience using Diigo and learning new types of technology and software can be overwhelming and I tend to get lost easily. I felt that it got much easier as I worked on the website evaluation and I learned how to use it, therefore it was not as intimidating as it originally was. I really enjoyed this group assignment and thought it was a good experience. I now realize why teachers might choose to use Diigo to connect to other teachers and collaborate with them.

So far, I really enjoy blogging. I feel like it is a way for me to express my feelings regarding the things we do and learn in this course and it also provides us with a way to reflect on what we have completed so far this semester. I like that we have a class blog and can connect with one another through blog posts and responses. I also enjoy that we are given the freedom to write as much as we want for each blog post. I have learned that blogs are a good source to put out information or connect to other individuals.

An interesting Web 2.0 tool that I recently have discovered is Storybird. It is an easy-to-use tool that allows students to be creative and make their own stories. It also allows comments to be made which encourages student collaboration. I feel that this tool might be helpful when studetns are learning to read at a young age and can even be used as they get older in order to keep them engaged and interested in reading which would make them excited to learn.

https://storybird.com/

Blog 4

I began using Twitter in high school as a form of social entertainment. As I got into college I realized it could be used for educational purposes through discussion with other classmates. I definitely feel like Twitter can be used for much more than just educational or entertainment purposes. For example, many people interact and connect through Twitter who live across the world from one another. Many high school athletes display their talent on Twitter in order to interact with universities, and there are many accounts that are dedicated to a specific subject that might give knowledge to people regarding news. Twitter has so many uses and usually it allows for individuals who have similarities to connect. I feel that this can be helpful in my future field of work as a child life specialist. It can allow me to access information regarding child life specialists and also I can share my experiences once I become one and my knowledge in order to help others or influence others to gain interest in this field of work.

Digital Divide is the gulf between individuals who have access to technology and those who do not. I feel that this can cause other students to fall behind if they are not receiving the same opportunities as their peers. They therefore are losing out on experiences. I feel that a major cause of this is lack of funding to schools. Also if educators are absent due to required courses they must take to learn how to use these new devices, it can take away from student learning.

Academic software is important in today's society where technology is being used on a daily basis because for one it helps students learn in new creative ways. It also helps them learn how to use these devices and adapt to technology. This is important because their future careers will most likely incorporate technology into their work. I feel that I will use Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel the most in my future career as a child life specialist because I need to remain organized while working with different children in a hospital and take notes because I will be providing therapy to them and their families and need to remember their issues and interests to help them. I also think that chrome and firefox are important because I need to access the internet to learn new things for this field of work.

VoiceThread: https://voicethread.com/share/12120703/

 Blog 3

I chose to look into the kindergarten standards for reading: foundational skills. I do not plan on becoming an educator, however I find it interesting to look at where children begin once they start participating in public education compared to where I personally am at now as a junior in college. I also plan to work with young children and find it important to understand the differences in intellectual development between infants all the way up to teenagers. These standards were made to suit different ages and if I were to become a teacher I would feel most comfortable teaching reading standards over writing or math standards. This is because I am better at reading than both writing and math and I find reading very important for communication skills to develop. I feel that helping students learn to read and implementing standards such as phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, and fluency would be fun to teach using engaging activities and images that will interest the children. Although kindergarten does not require teaching children to cite sources, I feel that one weak area of mine is citing my sources and understanding different formats for writing.

I found a lesson plan that incorporates a lesson into a game format. This is something I would use if I were to teach kindergarten because it is interactive and engaging for five year olds. This activity teaches students about English such as verbs and nouns. I feel that these types of lesson plans are helpful for teachers because they give them ideas to draw off of and alter in their own classroom and can be super effective.

Regarding the newsletter design assignment, I liked that it helped me understand Word more because I had to explore Word in order to understand how to complete certain skills within the assignment. However, it was extremely time consuming for me because I lacked any prior knowledge on how to use Word in order to create a newsletter. We hardly went over these things in class so I was confused as to how I was expected to know how to complete the assignment on my own. I also did not enjoy how the assignment was graded. I spent time on it and tried to complete every single skill required but still did not get full credit because of harsh grading. Even missing one skill caused my grade to go down to a 3.5 which doesn’t seem very fair. I don’t plan on being a teacher so I don’t know that I will need to use newsletters in my future career. 

Newsletter Assignment: