Blog Journal 10

   In my future career as a teacher, I plan on utilizing excel because it will help with keeping track of grades. It has all the data points listed and organized with its own column and row. I think it is a vital tool for teachers to track their students progress because it also allows for formula calculations, that can give a teacher a better understanding of their students level of understanding. I would primarily use excel for grade books and for calculating averages. Depending on the subject matter i will be teaching, I could also use excel to create surveys and use them as examples in the classroom to teach my students how to use excel. Thinking about it, I believe I will teach my students how to use excel regardless of what subject I teach. Of course if they are in elementary school I will not expose them to it then but still use excel for grades.

   After viewing my classmates blogs I was happy to see how everyone thinks and what is important to them. I saw some great ideas like way from the beginning where someone suggested using podcasts as a way to teach. I thought that was pretty cool because I listen to podcasts for entertainment purposes, and it never occurred to me to use it in that way. Another thing I found interesting was that one of our classmates created an interactive PowerPoint on figurative language. It was cool to see everyone's creative ideas for their subject areas. It was something I never thought of before, especially with an interactive PowerPoint, because it usually is a dry topic, but very cool.

   Although this class was very instrumental in providing me with new knowledge of a variety of educational technologies. There are so many other ones I would like to learn about. I would like to be better skilled in my writing, and I mean this in regards to not only essays, but professional emails, letters or announcements. Being a teacher there will be many instances where you are addressing the parents, faculty or staff and it is important to understand how to structure those messages with the appropriate language. This class taught me how to use the tools, but now I want to know how to develop the proper content for these tools based on the audience. I think the next step would be to take a professional development class or even use lynda.com as a way for me to take a professional development class online. I want to know more about how to speak effectively through these mediums.

ILP #2 Participation- Lynda.com

For my ILP #2 I took a course on Lynda.com, it was about the basic skills everyone should know about in the work field. I enjoyed it because it was very useful and provided me with some great tips for my future career.

Lynda.com-Job Skills: Learning the Basics

Qualtrics Survey

Harley's Survey

Blog Journal 9

    A flipped classroom is when the students have to take initiative to learn the instructional material on their own and then come to the class with any questions and to practice. It is different in a sense that the students become the teachers fro themselves and it is more guided by the teacher. I think this method can be beneficial in a sense because the student can learn in a style that is more catered to their learning style or needs. It can allow them to learn the material in an environment that helps them concentrate as well. But the down side would be that this method relies heavily on the student being responsible enough to take action and learn the material. It also allows room for more error, the students may be teaching themselves the wrong way and completely miss the goals intended.
   In my opinion, flipped classrooms are not the best idea, I think if teachers can teach and then provide time for students to practice in class then it will allow for a more efficient way to teach.

  An open educational resource (OER) is any resource easily accessible that is open for public use. OERs allow for the user to use the resource or tool however they please, as long as they give respects to the original work. An example of this would be Pearson online text and resources. Pearson is an online data source that provides online access to textbooks and many practice tools for students to use. It can be used as just practice or for the teacher to take as a grade. It can be used in anyway the user wants but with respects to still being on the Pearson website. There are many more OERs out there that allow for users to utilize the resource in the way that benefits them best.

   From working with PowerPoint I have learned so many things and these are things I will actually apply in the future to other assignments or tasks. I thought I truly was using PowerPoint the right way but after this class I realized I wasn't even close. For assignment 4 I enjoyed creating a powerpoint show, I never knew the difference between the two. I like how the show just opens up and gets right to it, as well as having the voice over.

However, for assignment 5 I do not really like the button navigation. I feel like it causes more steps than needed. It can be annoying to set up especially when the buttons do not go to the correct slide. I can see how it can be beneficial for other programs and activities that teachers may wanna do but I do not like making one. A cool source but not for me. Next time I would probably make something more fun or use powerpoint in a more creative way and since I have the knowledge to do so I think it will be more well thought out. Also because I was not comfortable using PowerPoint it made it more annoying to go through the steps trying to fulfill the assignment requirements. 

Blog Journal 8

Working with Diigo has been very interesting, I am not particularly fond of it because I really feel like there has to be another source that is more effective in doing what Diigo does, but it is also very useful. I was able to learn how to annotate on a webpage and I think that can be very useful, especially as an educator when your colleagues may suggest other resources and they can have their annotations on them so you can have a general over view of what it is about. The annotation and sticky note features as well as the tags, allow for information to be found more efficiently. I think it is a great time saver in that department.


Powerpoint has proven to be a very useful tool. I have used it in many instances for presentations or in class for note taking as a professor is lecturing. Today I was able to see how it could be used in a more fun manner and I never knew those types of programs were made from powerpoint so that was interesting. Powerpoint touches on each area of Bloom's Taxonomy because it allows for your imagination to run wild and truly create anything you want.

At the remember level of Bloom's Taxonomy, powerpoint aids in providing information for students to study and review. It can be used to receive information and even be used, as seen today in class, to play a game of Jeopardy to help remmber further.
Powerpoint also can be used at the understanding level. Powerpoints can hold information that can provide further explanations for new ideas or can provide great examples. You can even Hyperlink other sources available for students to use if they need extra help. Providing more information can also help at the apply level of Bloom's Taxonomy because it is about using information in a new light. Power points can present examples of the multitude of ways an idea can be applied, or it can be in the form of a game.
At the analyze level, powerpoint can be used to present two contrasting ideas or present so claims and debunk them. There are many ways to go about it. At the analyze stage, students are now spotting the differences and similarities of information and with the help of powerpoint, we as educators, can provide a visual aid to guide them in finding those comparisons.
For evaluating, students are now trying to make sense of information to formulate their own opinions or perspectives. Powerpoint can be a great way for students to present their ideas and opinions in an effective, professional manner. It is easy to use which allows students to effectively communicate their ideas while being true themselves and incorporating their own style. This leads in to the create stage, where the students are able to create a digital work that is completely their own. This is very benficial especially in classes as our own, where there are instances where we have to teach our peers. It is usually easily understood coming from a peer who speaks in the same manner or slang as you do and can break it down to your level.

Technology is constantly shifting and growing, it is important as educators that we remain on top of what is going on because the school or institution we end up working for may incorporate it into our classrooms. One website I found that seems to be very useful is EdSurge. Edsurge an online database that works as a media outlet, it has all the latest articles in the advancements in educational technology. It also has research and events to attend to learn more about these advancements. It is a great tool and there are some apps you can get on your phone to read or listen as you go.

Blog Journal 7

Twitter has been an interesting experience because I have always had a twitter but I have never been consistent about using it. This class has forced me to use it and I am getting more comfortable with it. I have learned how to effectively use hashtags, this is something I never use on my own twitter. I've never seen the purpose of them till this class where they are used to keep related topics under the same category. I would like to learn how to have a discuss chat on twitter, its a feature I've never known about. But overall I appreciate twitter and it is very easy to use, I have not run into any problems thus far.

For the web design project it was both fun and irritating. I liked getting to make my own page and using the different tools. It makes me appreciate some cool, elaborate websites. But at the same time I did not like the limits on the formatting of specific themes. Also there was not much of a variety of themes available to use. I felt very limited and maybe I was unsure of how to use it but I settled for how my website came out. I will definitely use weebly in my future career, I feel like every teacher should have a page that is designated to their class and offers information for the parents to easily be kept up to date with everything. My website came out pretty nice in my opinion, I wish there was more freedom with the layout but I am happy with it.

Class Dojo is an online digital classroom, that allows teachers to communicate with students and their families online. It has interactive tools that can be used during the class and can make things easier for an educator. Through exploring on Class Dojo, you can see how easy it is to keep not only the students and parents up to date with all the activities going on in your classroom, but also with other teachers. This tool allows for everyone, whether they are in the physical classroom or not, to be a part of what is going on in the classroom right online. 

 Assistive and adaptive technology includes technology that we would never even think of as being assistive  or adaptive. I have used text to speech before and I never realized how beneficial these tools can be for someone with an exceptionality. I would love to incorporate these technologies into the classroom because each student learns at their own pace and these technologies help to keep everyone on the same playing field. One struggle would be having the technology accessible to all students. Everyone's financial situation and levels of access is different and it will be hard to make accommodations with these technologies if they cannot access these technologies.

Blog Journal 6

   I stumbled upon Parkway County Schools website and explored the 5th grade classes at Bellerive Elementary School. Each page had relatively the same information, homework, newsletters. What I found interesting was that teachers in a specific grade level, 5th grade in this case, would share a page with the overall view of the things happening in 5th grade and then linked their individual classrooms to the same page. These pages were each individualized to each teacher and provided more in depth explanations of the daily activities taking place in that specific classroom. The website was easy to navigate and extremely informative, especially since no login was required.

   Class Dojo is a tool I will definitely be working into my future classroom. Thanks to my Independent Learning Project, I was able to really move around it and assess every tool. It has many resources for outside of the class interaction, such as messages or inviting the parents to see what their students are working on. I think it is imperative to include one of these sources into our classrooms because in this day and age everything is fast pacing, and it can be easy to fall behind. Its best to stay out ahead of the game and adopt some of these free tools designed to make your life easier as a teacher. I would use Class Dojo to update our class story and show parents what we are doing daily without having to send home a newsletter that may or may not reach the parents. Class Dojo would also allow me to talk directly to parents or students without needing to set a formal meeting or wait till class the next day. This kind of fast communication allows for efficiency because it saves time and eliminates the need for so many questions, that could be answered through the classroom website. :)

   When we visited the Tech Sandbox it was really cool to me how some of these different types of technology can be used for educational purposes. For instance, the virtual reality tech, personally I would only think to use that video games or some sort of alter reality world, but when Esra and Juliet began to discuss the many ways it can be used in the classroom, it definitely made me think twice. I feel like virtual reality can be used and should be used to really bring students into the realm of the lesson. So if you're a history teacher, you can put your students into a clip from the Civil War and allow them to step into the past, or vice versa and allow them to walk into the future.
   I think the Tech Sandbox was really cool and its even more amazing that all of this is free to Florida State students. I will definitely be up there again practicing on those cool gadgets because to be honest they maybe in the classrooms a lot sooner than we think.

ILP "Design"- Class Dojo

Voice Thread, Class Dojo



I apologize for my extremely cringy voice, hope you enjoy :)

Blog Journal 5

   Diigo is a great resource that I wish I could have utilized earlier in my educational career. My initial thought about it was that it was very unnecessary, because I thought it was just a app that added to the things we could already do. For example, if I find an article I can print it or screenshot it and just annotate or highlight things on it myself, by hand. But the extra element that Diigo adds, is the ability to share those annotations or comments with others. I think this is extremely beneficial because if you're on a time constraint and you need a reliable resource that you may not have the time to read about, then Diigo can offer some that your peers in the same area or field have annotated and given tips about. Diigo minimizes the amount of time spent on an article because we can now get the main ideas and examples from those who previously read them.

   When it comes to blogging, I really did not care to do it because I am not someone who resorts to writing or always reflecting on things that going on throughout my day, so it was a slight adjustment. It is growing on me because it does serve as a way for you to evaluate things in your own time and on a deeper level that you wouldn't have time for in a classroom. It is helpful in learning because now we are forced to not only pay attention in class but to apply it to the blog and give your opinion, which fosters more thinking. I like that the blog is very open, everyone is sharing their ideas and because I am not a very extroverted person it offers a middle ground for talking or interacting with people I would not normally interact with.
   Through blogging I have learned, for one, how to use and set up a blog, as I've said I have never done this before and it is very new to me. I've learned how to respect other people's want to remain anonymous online, in our class some blogs do not have names and so we really do not know whose blog is it. At first I was confused as to why it mattered but I've grown to respect their privacy and it is kind of fun not knowing who everyone is online.

   In my future classroom I plan on incorporating a lot of resources that allow students to get at home help, especially if they came to class and did not understand the material. I would specifically incorporate the use of Instagram live. Instagram is a social networking app where users can post photos and videos about their lives, family, or anything they desire. There is this great feature called Instagram Live, where one can stream a live video for their followers to view in real time, the viewers can comment and interact with the subject. There is then an option for the feed to be saved and played back later. I would incorporate this during the day to record my lectures or lessons and to allow my students who may be at home or traveling to easily access the information. Since this is an app that can be downloaded on virtually every device from cellphones, to tablets and computers, accessibility should not be too big of a deal. I feel like Instagram is so widely used that it will be easy to navigate and access.

Blog Journal 4

   Prior to this class I was already familiar with twitter and used it in my free time. I have always viewed it as a social media tool, in the sense that it could only be used to communicate about social events or to share memes. It wasn't until this class that I was exposed to the world where twitter could be used as an informal professional tool to connect with other people within your field or specialty. I have been interacting with the other students in our class on twitter and some students in other sections. It has been interesting to see how similar and different our point or views are on the same topic.
   Although I have never viewed twitter in this particular outlet, I will use it in my future career because it is an easy way to exchange ideas with other professionals in the educational field. It is a great way to talk with those who may not be in our immediate area or are hard to get into contact with. I would also like to use it for my students to collaborate and discuss classroom related topics, much like we do in our class. I like that twitter is a very informal platform that opens the door for many people to be involved in a conversation and with use of hashtags or the @ symbol, the conversation can open up to even more people and the people they know. Twitter and maybe other social media platforms may be more useful than this generation can see.

   With the incorporation of technology into the classroom comes the over arching issue of the digital divide. It is important to acknowledge that many students may not have access to the technologies you want to use. Those who have access to these technologies and programs that can aid them in the classroom will have more of an advantage, not only in the classroom but in life as well. Our world is constantly changing and adapting with the use of technology, it is important to know how to use because it is more than likely that it will be utilized. Students who have technology readily available to them will be more familiar and comfortable with using it in their future careers.
   Sometimes the digital divide is not because of financial problems but because of lack of access. This could mean lack of access to a library, computer lab at school or even lack of a good internet connection. These factors will more than likely be present in my classroom and in order to stray away from the implications of it, I would try to bring the technology needed into the classroom for all the students to use while there. I would also make sure that if there are some circumstances out of my control then maybe that particular type of technology should not be incorporated in the classroom.

   There are many great, useful educational softwares out there for teachers and students to use. One that we use very often is MicroSoft office, it incorporates MS Word, MS Excell, MS PowerPoint and many more. It is extremely helpful in not only providing students with the proper tools to complete their assignments to the best of their abilities, but to also ensure proper and uniform formatting when their work is submitted. Students will also be able to use and become familiar with the same software that is used by many jobs and companies in the work environment.
   Besides MS Office, there is also a great too that I used all throughout high school called Khan Academy. It is a site that basically offers extra help in the core subjects with videos and practice problems. I would definitely use this with my future students because they will be growing up in a fast paced society and with that means an even faster paced education system to help them keep up with society's demand. Students will fall behind and unfortunately their isn't always time to help them catch up or to provide them with the extra help they need. Khan Academy offers extra help at home and allows students to work at their own pace.

Blog Journal 3

   Based on the ELA standards for technology in a seventh grade class, I feel most comfortable with teaching my students how to use an online dictionary or thesaurus for their writing. I use this already and so passing on some tips and tricks would be easy to do and I have a lot of confidence in using these tools. However, I do not feel comfortable with the standard to create online posters or graphics. I have never needed to create a poster or photo online, and I would not even know where to begin. But this is something I want to learn so I can teach my students to be better than I am at it. Especially in our day and age where everything is now digital or done on a computer, it is an extremely important skill to have, it also minimizes the amount of work needed to create a nice looking poster. I am sure there are many programs and systems that can be used to make these graphics or posters.

   The CPALMS website is an amazing tool that has endless resources and tools to aid a teacher in the classroom. I would like to be either a science or math teacher for seventh graders and looking through this website I was able to see somethings that I may use in my future career. I love the many tools they have for math because I feel like math is the one subject in school that no one loves and it is always students worst class or subject. No one comes into a math class excited to do math problems besides the teacher.
   CPALMS offers a great tool called 7th grade Math Element Cards, where they have it listed out on how an instructor can support students as they are teaching a lesson and even after when they are practicing. The Math Element Cards also offer some practice or activities for the students and walks the teacher through it to scaffold the students. This source can be beneficial for me because there are some concepts in math that I understand very well but cannot put it into words for others to understand. I think these element cards account for the teacher and allows them to teach the students in a way that is more effective than just practice problems.

   Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the newsletter assignment at all. It was very broad and there were too many ways to go about it, which I guess is good, but for me felt a little upsetting because I spent more time trying to figure out what I wanted the topic to be than actually putting it together. I did however enjoy using some of the skills learned in class about word, I've never worked on a project like so before and it was interesting that, although it was not the best newsletter, I think it came out pretty good for a beginner. Next time, I would like to use a template just to give me more of a guided thought process in deciding what to do.
   I did not see myself using this in my future career as a teacher, but I can see now that a nice fun newsletter for the parents would be nice. It can be helpful to keep the parents in the know and to have them be active participants in their child's education. Newsletters are also a great way to get your point across in an appealing and short way. Often times long paragraphs will turn the readers away and they will not want to read whatever it is you want them to read.
Here is my newsletter :)

Blog Journal 2

Throughout my educational career I have been exposed to Microsoft Word as a much needed tool to effectively get writing assignments done. I have only ever used MS word to do written assignments such as essays, blog post on canvas, creating a brochure, or for peer editing others work. My teachers on the other hand have used it for that and much more. They have created official documents, quizzes and test, flyers and many more things. I have never had to use word for anything else besides these things and I am interested to learn, if any other, all the ways it can be used. MS word is something I grew up using throughout my educational career and it is shocking to me that I still do not know all of the little tricks and strategies associated with it.

When asked to do an assignment, such as creating visual aids for a class presentation, I never thought of where I was getting my photos or art from. It was always something I would just copy and paste directly into a slide or an essay, and then never think to cite it. I've been in some classes where my teacher has stated they cannot make copies of a particular workbook because of its copyright and we would then proceed to take out a sheet of paper and work on it from the over head screen projector. Fair use is not a concept I was familiar with until today's class and I never realized how much I see it in our everyday lives. For example, sometimes while I am viewing a you tube video where someone uses a famous song, there is always tweaks to the music, whether it be in pitch, speed or change or an addition of a sound. This is copyright and fair use at work, we are not able to take the information or art verbatim, unless otherwise stated.

As an instructor, I would ensure that all the work handed to my students, if not my own, will have some sort of tagline or foot note of where it originates from and who is responsible for it. It is important to give credit where credit is due, so I would encourage this same behavior from my students. A great source was introduced in class today, Creative Commons, which is a way to have your photos or work copyrighted or have the rules listed for its fair use and this is a source I would encourage my students to use as they create their own work. As well as I will use when creating my own test, quiz, or any helpful learning aids in the classroom.

It is no surprise, that in our day and age technology will be incorporated into the classroom and educational instruction. Although technology is a very helpful, and useful tool, it does come with some problems. For example, academic honesty, which is a student being honest about the work they are submitting being completely their own and if any parts of it are not, then a citation or link gives credit to the appropriate source. With the use of electronic articles, newspapers and other sources, it can become easy to copy and paste that information because it is already out there for use. Something that I have always done as a writer and something I think my students should do, is to completely write or finish the project on their own first and then look online to find sources that support their claims. 9 times out of 10 there is someone out there who is making the same argument or has a source for you to use.

Another issue we face with the incorporation of technology into the classroom, is the digital divide. The digital divide is the division in society between those who have access to technology and these electronic tools, and those who do not. This is why it is important as a teacher to always offer ways for students to get to the technology you may be using in class. For instance, if you assign an online video for the students to watch before next class, always ensure that, one, this source can be viewed on any platform of technology they may have. This ranges from smartphones to desktops. Next, make sure that if there are students in your classroom who do not have access to technology then you offer the use of the school library, or give them and opportunity to complete the assignment in class when they have free time.

Technology not only offers an educational benefit but a social one as well. The use of social media apps has made it possible for people to communicate their lives like never before. People have access to anything, and everything we post online, this includes our students. As a teacher it is important to have all our social media privacy settings on and be very careful to not befriend our current students. Privacy is for both the teacher and the student, when the students leave the school what they do with their friends and families should not be your business, and vice versa. The issue with privacy is that now everything is posted for the world to see and the younger generation does not seem to care how they are portrayed online. I think, as a teacher, we should not go snooping or lurking into our students lives. We should only know what they want us to know, and vice versa. I would encourage all my students and their family to use the privacy settings these social media outlets offer, and explain to them the importance of privacy, by discussing the ramifications of one bad photo or post being leaked tot he wrong person.

Blog Journal 1

Teachers and students are influenced to use technology in the classroom because they use it in their everyday lives already. In our growing age with technological advances, it is hard to stay completely away from using them. Technology also makes somethings easier to do, such as, communicating with students when they are outside of the classroom, or working as an extra resource to explain a subject. There are also many programs that aid students in their learning, especially in our fast paced society where everything is updating within the hour. Learning in our society has become almost a race and with the use of technology its one that can be won. I think teachers and students are influenced by technology in the classroom because it in some way or form is beneficial to just about everyone, if used properly.

The International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) supports the use of technology in the classroom. Under the standards for students the one most meaningful to me was Global Collaborator, which states, students use technology to broaden their world view and their learning by collaborating others. As someone from South Florida, there are many diverse cultures and peoples every where you look, and so it is important to incorporate all those differences in the classroom. It can be expensive for teachers to do so but technology offers a cheaper way because much of the information is just a click away. I think it is really important to incorporate and develop a world view because each student throughout the world learns in a different way and some methods specific to that culture or society any not be the best one for them, so it is important to collaborate with other groups to find the teaching strategies that work best for your students.

Another skill set listed on the ISTE website was Innovative Designer, which basically states students using technology as a way to be more creative and to think outside of the box. I feel this is outside my current skill set just because I am not yet familiar with all the different educational technologies. Since I do not know how to use the programs it makes it kind of hard to utilize them for creative purposes. I also lack creativity, it is very hard for me to think outside the box and this is one skill I really hope to gain throughout my college years.

The term "digital natives" is very interesting to me because when I hear the word natives, my mind instantly thinks of indigenous people belonging to a land. So when I heard it paired with digital, it made me look at technology in a different way. I never realized how involved its been in my life and how impactful as well. I would consider myself and today's youth "digital natives" because it is our generation that was born into the internet and smart phones, the world is become a technology based place and we were born into it being this way. We don't even blink at the idea of new software or iphones that seem to be released everyday. It has become second nature to us to the point that we cannot even leave our homes with out our cell phones or laptops and smart watches.

Being a digital native, means someone who literally cannot imagine a time before cellphones were invented or the internet. We use the internet for just about anything, opposed to the digital immigrants, such as our parents, who use the internet for what I like to consider, what it was made for, research, information and directions. Digital natives on the other hand go the extra mile and use the internet and technology as sources for companionship and communication or for a good laugh. This has made us use the internet as something that builds walls rather than break them, because although we are communicating online, it diminishes face to face communication and human interaction. Future students will use technology to do everything, and by this I mean to work their homes, schedule their lives, self piloting cars, transporting to new locations, the possibilities are endless. I truly believe future students will use technology to help them be lazier rather than for social purposes as we do.

ISTE: Global Collaborator Resource

The link below serves as a news outlet for world news. It informs on all things going on around the world ad offers some incite to conditions in places extremely far from us here in the United States as well as some problems we face here at home. I view this resource as a great way to view and maybe pick a problem that is happening to learn more about, and to try to contribute to it in a positive way. This is what makes a student a global collaborator because they will be actively aware of all the things happening all around us and can choose one to elaborate on and share with their peers.
Reuters

Day 1: Intro (J:0)

My name is Harley, I am a second year student majoring in Family and Child Sciences with a minor in Education. My goal at the moment is to be a teacher, not sure which grade just yet, but I know for sure not kindergarten. I am from Palm Beach County Florida and I am Haitian-American, I take pride in where I am from and I am proud to be Haitian. Fun fact, my favorite food is lasagna.

My only experience with educational technology are the ones used within the classroom during y K-12 years. Which are powerpoint, microsoft word, excel and I've seen photoshop but have never used it. I have given formal presentations and sent out emails so I am familiar with those bases as well. If canvas counts then that is another one I have mastered (I think). I have not had too much experience with educational technology, but I hope this class can change that.

I hope to learn how to effectively incorporate technology in the classroom when I become a teacher, because I feel as though it was never truly explained to me. I want to make things easier and more available for my students, especially the ones who may be struggling. Technology can be very helpful if it is taught right and used in the proper manner. I hope this class can make me confident in using technology throughout my teaching career.