Blog Post #8

I have definitely acquired new skills during the web design assignment. Previously, I had never designed my own website and was not very familiar with any type of software that would allow me to do so. I liked the creativity that came with this assignment, as I really got to feel like a teacher. However, I did not love navigating and learning how to use Weebly. I felt like I didn't really get the hang of it until the very end once I had almost finished my assignment. I repeatedly got frustrated with it, and feel as though my assignment came out mediocre at best. If I were to start from scratch now, I would come out with a better product. Luckily, learning is all about growth so now I know I am capable of making an adequate website if I needed to! Link to my website: normanenglish.weebly.com 

Working with Diigo was an interesting experience. At first glance, everything appears to be very cluttered but then once you understand how it works it makes much more sense. This application definitely would have good use in a lot of settings. In the age of technology, it simply is not practical to print out pages and pages of long articles. That is wasteful for the environment and not seen as efficient anymore. I like the idea of being able to share articles with peers and coworkers online through Diigo. Not only can you share articles, but you can also annotate them and make comments and I think that is such a useful tool. This could be extremely beneficial in a high school classroom especially when writing papers that require references. As a teacher, you could have the students find resources for the paper and share them with the entire class through Diigo. 

Technology is changing at such a rapid pace, which is something that is heavily discussed in our society. However, something that is less discussed is the impact this has on teachers. Teachers not only need to stay up to date with what kind of technology their students are using outside the classroom to keep them safe, but they also need to stay up to date with educational technology for professional development purposes. A lot of the new educational technology is usually confusing to learn at first (similar to any type of technology really.) Teachers already have so much on their plate, so learning about new technology can be time consuming and frustrated, but it is so crucial for their students learning to stay up to date with these types of educational trends. This site appears to show different and unique ways teachers can use technology in the classroom! https://www.freetech4teachers.com 

Blog Post #7

 The idea of a teacher's website is meant for teachers and students to be able to be better connected online to teachers if needed. However, after browsing through the teacher webpages at Lion High School, it is pretty clear that not all teachers use their website. For example, there was one teacher that still had material up from the 2017-2018 school year. Meanwhile, another teacher had an ongoing syllabus up on her main page as well as a link to Canvas where all of their course material can be found. If I were a teacher, I would also want to include an active syllabus so parents could see as well. I think this is important in high school for a parent to have access to what their child will be learning on how days in schools. If I were a teacher, I would definitely try to include that in my teacher webpage.

As a teacher, I would envision using technology in an efficient and effective manner. Something I know I would want to utilize would be remind messages going to the student, and depending on the age of the students, the parents as well. I feel in such a digital age where everyone seems to be busy, getting a reminder text on your cell phone would be an extremely easy and fast mode of communication. Not everyone has time to constantly be checking their email, so a text message could be utilized for fast reminders. 

My first experience using Wiki (PB Works) was quite confusing. I am not sure if I would want to utilize that kind of website in the classroom, but I might use something like that for a more fun activity. Since each student can create their own website, I think it would be fun for younger age students to share "stories" on their webpage. For example, on a Monday morning for a writing activity I could have the students write on their webpage what they did this weekend, and then once that activity was over the other students could go on the class page and look for the peers answers and read about what they did. Other than that, I do not think I would use the platform for bigger assignments where different things need to be hyperlinked, commented on, etc. It seems to be too much of a hassle and not very clear. 

Blog Post #6

 My initial experience using Diigo was honestly not very positive. I really did not like how cluttered the home page seemed and how the different tabs were set up. Especially in the beginning, I found it extremely hard to navigate. However, once I got more comfortable with it, it began to make a little more sense. Some things I did like were how easy it was to post something to our class group. The act of actually making a post was fairly simple and I think that was my favorite part about using the website. 

In the beginning, I did not really like blogging. If I am being honest, I do not enjoy trying to navigate new technology so it took some getting used to. At first, it seemed like a large task to get the blog pulled up, figure out where to post, and then figure out how to upload to Canvas. Now that it is second nature, I really do not mind it and actually slightly enjoy making the blog posts each week. So far during the blogging process, I think I learned how to well condense my thoughts into a few short paragraphs. With a blog, there is a fine line between dragging on and on versus getting right to the point of the question that needs to be answered. In the beginning I think I gave too much extra information, but now I think I have gotten better at keeping the responses on task. 

A Web 2.0 tool I find interesting is Prezi. Prezi is a website that is similar to a PowerPoint but with different shapes and more ways to make it creative. I remember my middle school history teacher using Prezi and all the students loving it and thinking it was so interesting. Looking back on it now, I have no idea how something so simple could keep a class of 12 years old so intrigued while learning about the Cold War. So the idea behind it is fascinating to me, as it really is only adding more distractions to learning but is somehow managing to keep children well engaged. Prezi seems to do this with less predictable functions than PowerPoint, as well as more room for graphics and teacher creativity. https://prezi.com 

Blog Post #5

 My first experience using Twitter was when I was a freshman in high school. I remember downloading the app and using it mainly to communicate with friends from school. Specifically, the two girls I sat with on the bus and I would come up with funny tweets on the way home and upload photos of each when we would fall asleep on the way to school with funny captions or drawings on our faces. Now as a senior in college, Twitter has evolved and so have I, so my experience using it is very different. Now, I mainly use it to follow different groups on campus and to retweet and favorite other peoples' posts. I do not use Twitter a lot anymore, but I do interact with people there on occasion and it could be beneficial for my future career if I were to become a school counselor. It could be really fun to have a Twitter account that my students could follow so they could interact with me and get to know me better. Also, I could post mental health tips, important deadlines/reminders, and be a positive mentor and presence online. 

The digital divide is the reality of students having access to different levels of technology both in the classroom and at home. Some students may have access to smartphones and computers in order to assist them in doing homework while others may not even have access to a computer at home. This can heavily affect school performance. A child who does not have a computer is at a disadvantage when it comes to completing assignments with ease, understanding basic tech fundamentals, and cannot easily look up homework help like other students would be able to. The digital divide can occur due to family economic status as well as locational factors. As a teacher, the digital divide would greatly affect my teaching strategies. It is important to remain aware of what students have technology versus those who don't have technology at home. It would not be fair to assign videos to watch at home or essays that need to be submitted through any kind of online platform with students who can't access those resources.

Academic software is so good for students. Two things I would implement and encourage my students to use in the classroom would be Kahoot and Quizlet. Kahoot is so fun to play in the classroom and actually helps students to master concepts. In high school, we did Kahoot games all the time in science and whoever came in the top three got bonus points on the test. The Kahoots got so competitive, and it encouraged students to not wait until the night before to study for the exam because people would want to study before we played the Kahoot game a couple of days prior to the test. I would also encourage students to use Quizlet in order to study. Quizlet is more beneficial than flashcards because they can be accessed anywhere, and there are also interactive quiz games you can play with yourself in order to fully master the content. Both of these programs are free to use.