Blog Journal 8

I can't say that Diigo has taught me any new skills because I already knew how to highlight and comment on readings in an academic setting. I do appreciate its universal utility on Chrome, though, since that is my preferred browser anyway. Now when I do my research online, I will be sure to use Diigo. I will also be sure to encourage students to use it because it might help them develop close reading skills, as well as note-taking abilities.

PowerPoint could help students remember information because it can be creatively designed and include clever graphics to aid students in remembering key concepts. It can also help students understand information better if it is organized in a way that allows the information to flow in a cohesive manner. Information shared via PowerPoint can then be applied to a student's understanding of the world through the student's analysis. PowerPoints can be used by a teacher to evaluate students' knowledge if they are designed like a test or quiz. Teachers can request students then use their existing knowledge of PowerPoints to create their own slideshows or quizzes.

Bureau of Education & Research's webpage on teacher professional development workshops

As technology advances rapidly in our world, so should teachers' abilities to utilize those technologies in classrooms. Students in the contemporary world have varying levels of technology-savvy but are typically much more comfortable with technology than older generations. Thus it is the responsibility of educators to make sure that we keep up with our students' ever-evolving knowledge by working on our professional development. The tools and software available in classrooms now are incredible and it would be irresponsible to not take advantage of these opportunities. Professional development for teachers should then ensure that teachers are capable and comfortable with new classroom technologies so that our students have every advantage we can offer them.

Blog Journal 7

I can't honestly say I've learned anything from using Twitter for this class. I already have a private account and have spent more than 5 years on the platform so I'm pretty familiar with its capabilities. I haven't used any new tools or learned any tricks in this new context. All that being said, I can certainly understand the benefits of using Twitter as an educator, such as being able to connect with other educators from around the world. I just don't think I'm at the point in my career yet where keeping a Twitter account is going to teach me much since I don't have any experience of my own.

Assistive and adaptive technologies are so important in our fight to establish equitable access to education across the country. Students with disabilities should not be excluded from technological learning opportunities that their peers have access to, and we have to make sure that every child has every advantage possible. Implementing alternative technologies in the classroom is a very hard task due to a host of factors but we have to start somewhere. The advantages of 21st-century technology mean we can finally start giving disabled students educational experiences that are tailored to their specific needs, such as using a speech-to-text typer for those who are unable to type on their own.

Click on the screenshot to be taken to the real life website.

I enjoyed creating the website because I liked the freedom to design a website in the way I think is most efficient. I also had fun messing around with the aesthetics as I would try out different background images and color schemes. Overall the actual design was easy enough (thanks in no small part to Weebly's very user-friendly structure), and I thought the templates were a great way to start. I had fun tweaking the site and adding in my own touches, like the "quote of the day" page and the "current events" page. Certainly I will be building a website for my own future classes because I can totally see the benefit of compiling course help materials and original content that can be accessed by a student at any time. If I was building a real site, I would spend way more time adjusting everything until it was just right, like adding in a bunch more content-focused pages.

ILP Participation -- Lynda.com tutorial

For my ILP #1, I chose to complete a Lynda.com tutorial on a PhotoShop technique. I have previous experience with PhotoShop, but I haven't been able to learn any new skills recently and I thought I should keep my interests up. I chose a video in the series "Design the Web: Video and Animation" on animating a graphic used in a video. The tutorial was excellent because the editor was very thorough and took his time to explain as he was performing the task. I thought it was interesting that Lynda.com offered a follow-along-at-home style exercise section that a student could potentially complete while listening to/watching the video. If I had access to PhotoShop from home, I would certainly be interested in trying out more PhotoShop tutorials.

Included below are screenshots of various points in time in the video. I have also attached pictures of the notes I took while watching the video. (There was a cool option to take notes on the site as the video was going along, which could also be uploaded to Google Drive, but I prefer to handwrite my notes in any event.)

Blog Journal 6

On the website for the Roy J. Wasson Academic Campus, there is a link called "Teacher Website," which redirects to a "Meet the Teacher" page for "Mrs. K" (full name not found). On this page, Mrs. K provides a couple reasons as to why media studies are so important in the digital age, as well as a brief history of her educational background. The page also includes what appears to be Mrs. K's direct extension (her phone number provided is different than the front office number) and a link to her email, ostensibly for parents to contact her. Mrs. K is a "Library Technology Educator," meaning she serves the whole student population at RJWAC. RJWAC, in turn, seems like a very unique academic setting that is "open 14 hours a day... and offers alternative education schools, an early college high school, career pathways, online education, credit acceleration, night school, adult and family education, and additional community supports."
https://www.d11.org/domain/3909

As a future history teacher, I would like to use technology to organize my classroom in exciting and innovative ways that provoke students' independent thinking. I think this could be accomplished by introducing technologies which promote group work because discussion of viewpoints is one of the most important tools for analyzing history. Another advantage of technology I would like to capitalize on would be like virtual tours of museums or sites my class wouldn't normally have access to from their desks. I believe this could be enormously aided by development in VR technology that would enrich the whole experience for students (and me!).
I thought the Tech Sandbox exceeded my expectations far and away. I was more impressed with the staff's thorough knowledge of all the tech, but especially by their awareness as to how everything could be implemented in a real-life classroom. As mentioned above, I think VR tech would be extraordinarily helpful in expanding the access students have to say, ancient sites. VR would allow students to "explore" Machu Picchu or the Louvre without leaving the class or disturbing the sites. I can also imagine the benefits of using 3D printed materials to "build" artifacts or models of historic places to allow students to truly comprehend their marvels.
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Blog Journal 5

My initial experience with Diigo has been neutral. I have literally only used the extension to bookmark one page, so I don't really have that much experience yet. It is easy to use and figure out, it seems. I like the option of sharing bookmarks with groups, or just creating folders for yourself. I think this would be a great research tool that would help students who were conducting research because it allows one to take notes very easily. I can also see the benefits of a teacher using this in their class because it clearly allows one to collect research or pages in one convenient location.

As for my experience blogging, it honestly has been tedious. I have maintained a personal blog for the past six years, and the way I run my personal blog is quite different. Of course, that is something I do entirely on my time and is centered around my interests, so there is a world of difference there. Blogger is a really easy website to use, which I certainly appreciate as someone who has spent time on various other blogging platforms. I enjoy writing, and I enjoy writing for academic purposes, but I have not enjoyed writing in this context because I don't feel like it asks much more of me than simply checking boxes. I am perfectly willing to perform my academic duties but feel no enthusiasm for this activity.

Since I want to be a high school history teacher, I think learning how to understand, talk, and write about history will be very important to my future classroom. With this in mind, I would like to implement an app into my classroom that would encourage discussion among students. The iOS app, "US History Timeline" would function as a great starting point for discussions. The app provides a little background information on important American history events in a timeline format. I don't think relying on the app for all the information would be ideal, so I would treat it more as a way to get students interested in history.

Blog Journal 4

So far I have mainly used my Twitter account to follow education news more than to interact with my peers. I can understand how using Twitter to reach out to other educators could be helpful because it allows one to share quick tips or stories about what worked and what didn't in their classroom. The ease of communication these days is an important resource for teachers because it provides a forum for easily organizing and discussing topics. As a future history teacher, I would certainly try to implement some form of Twitter use or maybe just understanding about how important social media is. It would make for a cool history lesson to examine people's real-time reactions to events, most notably the Arab Spring of 2011.

The digital divide is another example of the wealth gap in American society, as well as a symptom of the poor excuse for public resources in the education system. In today's world, so much of our lives are centered around using computers for one purpose or another that fair access to the Internet should be a right. We have the public funds to increase access to technology and the Internet for socioeconomically disadvantaged people – children, especially. Depriving students of access to one of the greatest tools of learning in human history is inexcusable and only serves to widen the achievement and wealth gaps. As a teacher, I would try to make sure all my students had access to the type of technology I might consider standard (personal computer, printer, personal phone, to say the least) before requiring a graded assignment based solely on that. I would also do my best to make sure any disadvantaged students were comfortable performing the tasks I asked of them.

I think electronic note-taking on a tablet with a note/drawing program would be one excellent way to implement academic software into the classroom. Developing students' note-taking ability and their study habits is an important way to encourage critical thinking, which is one of the core principles in history classes. I actually believe that PowerPoints are also helpful in teaching but only if used properly. The effectiveness decreases if students feel they have to copy every word down. Rather, I would hope to use them in such a way that encourages students to develop their auditory/visual learning skills and their note-taking skills.