Blog Post Ten

My biggest concern as an educator is my student’s success. I want to be able to track their progress and see where they might be struggling. I think the perfect way of doing so is using surveys and reporting the results in Microsoft Excel. For instance, my dream subject to teach in English I Honors. One of the biggest parts of the English I curriculum is Shakespeare, mainly Romeo and Juliet. I think it’d be awesome to keep track of my students quiz grades by act, this way when there’s a test, I’d be able to see which act they may need to review and spend more time on. I also think providing my students with surveys about different units could be helpful in improving my lessons and teaching strategies. I’d love to send out surveys after every unit, allowing my students to tell me what was helpful, what wasn’t helpful, and what they think would have helped them do better. Putting this information into a spreadsheet would allow me to see all the responses and review this information at anytime during any school year; it could be helpful to look back on and see if my previous students felt the same way as my current students.

When reviewing my classmates blogs, I was most interested in what they learned and struggled with. I liked comparing their results with my own. When we completed the Newsletter Assignment, I went on to a few of my classmate blogs and read what they learned. I was surprised how many of them discovered features that I was unaware of. I found this to be incredibly helpful, being that it expanded my understanding on very useful softwares. 

          The next technology-related skill I’d like to explore next is IMovie. I’ve tried using iMovie for several projects in colleges and always struggle. I think it’s one of the coolest applications on my laptop and I’d love to be able to create my own educational videos. My sister, who teaches 4th grade math and science, incorporate IMovie into her science curriculum. When she teaches her students about weather patterns, she has them use IMovie to create a weather report. I think her idea is an excellent way to incorporate technology into the elementary curriculum. I’d also love to assign projects like this (which are fun and make students excited to learn), but first, I need to learn the software myself. 

Blog Post Nine

           I had never heard the term “ The Flipped Classroom” until I began researching this concept for my blog post, but I remember teachers at my high school adopting different concepts from the “Flipped Classroom” idea. Basically, “ The Flipped Classroom” involves teachers posting lessons and notes online, expecting students to review the material before coming to class. This allows teachers to spend more time with students who may be struggling; it also gives students who understand the material more time to independently work and be productive. My high school chemistry teacher operated this way. We were expected to copy notes the night before at home, then come to class the next day with questions. She enjoyed this method because it allowed her to spend more time doing activities and labs in class. I think the idea of “The Flipped Classroom” is genius. I plan on doing something similar for my students when I’m a teacher. 

Being that my family is full of educators, I’ve heard them talk about open educational resources (OER) often. Basically, they’re resources that can be edited by different educators, keeping the information relevant and up-to-date. Students are given access to these resources (for free), allowing them to use accurate information to complete assignments without having pay. This entire process not only gives students the resources to be successful, it also benefits the teachers by allowing everyone to continuously make edits that will make the information more accurate. One OEF that I discovered was OER Commons. This website offers 73,000 OER and provides teachers with the tools to create their own. OER Commons also provides trainings on how to use OER and how to create “commons,” which are groups created for the sole purpose of sharing resources. The website allows teachers to create resources, lessons, and modules. It even contained Common Core resources, which I was really impressed by. I’m sure I’ll be using ORE Commons once I become an educator. Here's the link: https://www.oercommons.org

          Using PowerPoint for these past few weeks has actually been enjoyable. I’ve been using PowerPoint since I was a child, which made be believe I knew everything there is to know. However, these past two assignments made me realize how little I actually knew. From Assignment Four, I learned how to create my own slide format and add hyperlinks: two things that sound very easy but I never understood. I like the idea of adding hyperlinks, but I didn’t really care for making my own slide format. I guess it’d be cool for creating something interactive, or maybe for a teacher who relies on graphs or maps, but I didn’t see a need for this function. Next time I create a PowerPoint to teach a lesson, I’d like to incorporate more interactive slides. I feel that this will make my students more engaged with the lesson and encourage them to participate in class. Assignment Five showed me how to create my own buttons, input sounds, and make it so that you can’t click through the slide show. This was awesome; by the end of this assignment, I felt like a PowerPoint expert. The only thing I didn’t think was necessary was the incorporation of images. By now, I think everyone knows how to add a picture to PowerPoint; I felt that to be redundant from Assignment Four, but I suppose it’s a good refresher. Next time, I want to add more a variety of transitions and make my buttons more visually appealing. For now, I just wanted to learn the basics. Also, check out pictures of my projects below! 

ILP "Participation" - Teacher Interview

For my second Independent Learning Project, I decided to interview one of my favorite teachers from high school. I complied a list of six questions and asked my former teacher via email. He responded promptly with concise and thorough answers. Overall, I enjoyed interviewing my teacher and learning from his experience. I definitely plan on adopting some of his ideas when I have a classroom of my own. Check out my project in the link below!
https://voicethread.com/myvoice/thread/13071418/80158235/74455744

Blog Post Eight

        I’ve really enjoyed working with Diigo these past few weeks. First off, I like the idea of being able to share these links with my classmates. It makes it much easier to share information openly that can benefit us all. From the perspective of a teacher, this is an awesome tool for students. Being able to annotate directly on the website makes life so much easier. Diigo really makes me use my website evaluation skills because I don’t want to share bad websites with the class. It also forced me to develop some organizational skills with using tags to make finding specific websites easier. I like Diigo and plan on implementing it into my future classroom. 

I’ve heard about Bloom’s Taxonomy in high school, but haven’t really analyzed it since. I do however know a decent amount about using PowerPoint, which I’ve been using since I was s child. To begin my lesson (let’s say it’s on verbs), I’d start by introducing the definition of a verb on slide one and having my students write it down. I’d ask them to repeat it a few times out loud, which would help them remember the definition. Then, on the next slide, I’d explain when verbs are used with examples and maybe an embedded video. I’d have my students locate some examples within a sentence to help them truly understand their purpose. Then, on my next slides, I’d direct my students to write a sentence using a verb. Afterwards, on the next slide, I’d show my students some examples of sentences using verbs incorrectly and have them analyze them. I’d make my students express what made the sentences incorrect and fix them on the PowerPoint. One the next slide, I would show a sentence without mentioning if it was using verbs correctly or incorrectly. I’d have my students argue whether the verb was being used correctly or incorrectly, and why they felt their answer was correct. They’d have to defend their answer to me and other students using prior knowledge and facts. Finally, the last slide would inform them of their final assignment. I’d ask my students to design a story (two paragraphs) using a minimum for 15 verbs. They’d need to assemble the story in chronological order and include one main character (for plot development). 
          I think it’s important that teachers learn about technology through professional development training. These trainings allow teachers to gain insight from professionals on what new, innovative technology can be utilized. Teachers are held responsible to not only teach their students about specific subject materials, but also a variety of life skills, including computer fluency. It’s important these educators are guided to teach the most relevant information that these students can benefit from. Besides going away to for trainings and seminars, there are multiple websites specifically centered around this subject. One website that can be used to stay in-touch with the newest technological trends is Envisioning. This website focuses on emerging technology in multiple industries, but won’t fully launch unto 2020. Once this website is fully developed, I believe teachers will benefit greatly from its content and research. I did scroll through some of the technology displayed on the website- which was awesome. I pictured using multiple devices pictured in the classroom, or even just talking about them and their relevance to society. I plan on checking back in 2020 to see the completed website. I seriously think Envision could benefit the professional development of teachers in technology, expanding their knowledge and making their classes more engaging. Browse the website! It has tons of cool information that I’m sure you’d enjoy reading! 

Link: https://www.envisioning.io

Blog Post Six

            It took me quite some time to find a school with teacher websites. In my county, that was unheard of; I only had one teacher who had a private website, and I loved it. I ended up on Leon County High School’s website; each teacher had their own, personal website. I randomly clicked on Patrick Pratt’s website, who just happened to teach English I Honors (the class I hope to one day teach)! English I Honors is normally taken by freshman and sophomores; I’m assuming his students are in either 9th or 10th grade. The home page of his website included a welcome message, which informed visitors of his goals as a teacher, along with a basic overview of his curriculum. Another tab, titled “Meet the Teacher,” included a summary of Mr. Pratt’s passions, along with his contact information. Other tabs his website included were “Student Resources,” “English I/English I Honors Remind Account” (which is awesome), “Assignments,” “Important Documents,” and “Class Calendar.” Those tabs came up blank; I’m assuming you need a login to access the information that contain (which I obviously don’t have). Overall, I thought it was awesome that each teacher was required to have a website. This makes it so simple for students to have access to resources that will allow them to be successful. I’d be curious to see what the website looks like to parents and students, but I was still impressed without having a login. 

            Technology makes our professional responsibilities much easier to complete. I plan on using technology in the future to help eliminate the amount of paper used in my classroom. This isn’t just for environmental purposes, but mainly because it’ll eliminate the chances of student assignments getting lost or plagiarized. When I’m officially an educator, I plan on creating a Google Classroom. This will make easy for my students to keep up with their assignments, communicate with me, interact with other students, and have access to necessary resources. Having access to this website will not only allow the students to work efficiently, it’ll also assist my classroom with running smoothly and effectively. 

            My visit to the Technology Sandbox was very interesting! It gave me a whole new outlook about using technology in the classroom. I was truly fascinated by using VR-headsets for educational purposes. They had multiple different interactive applications that would be played on the headsets, which I was intrigued by. They had the story of Anne Frank, which would allow viewers to explore her annex and see where her entire family stayed hidden. As a future English teacher, I thought that was amazing! I would love for my future students to be able to connect her story with an interactive visual. I also was impressed with the 3-D Printers, but I’m not positive how they could be utilized in a high school English classroom. I did find the newer SmartBoards by Microsoft to be impressive. I have a feeling that they’ll eventually become standard in all classrooms. These devices were nice because they’re basically big computer monitors, meaning I’d be able to project my computer to my students! 

Link to teacher’s website: https://www.leonschools.net/Page/22079

Screenshot:

Blog Post Five

Before I took this course, I’d never heard of Diigo. After installing it and testing it out, I felt it was a convenient and simple way to bookmark, share, and annotate sources. I like that the software allows students to share links with each other; it’s a great tool for classes and group projects. Another thing I really enjoyed was you can highlight text and add notes to the source you decide to bookmark. That makes it easier for students to pin-point the important information on that website,and if the link is shared, those people can see the highlighted portions as well. The only thing I didn’t like was that the software had to be downloaded. I almost wish those features were already built into browser, but other than that, no complaints!

Honestly, there’s nothing I dislike about blogging. I love writing and reflecting on my thoughts, making these the ideal assignment. I like that the posts don’t have to be extensive, they just need to answer the questions provided. I also appreciate how they’re tailored to what we discuss in class. It helps me decide on what I should write about and why!
When I searched around the internet for interesting Web 2.0 tools, I found one that seemed intriguing. The website was called Padlet; it’s designed specifically to be used to create different boards/document that people can add to. Rule number one: create an account. Once that’s done, start by selecting a template (or create your own)! Next, you can invite people to edit or comment on the board. Then, start posting stuff! Anything from websites, pictures, music or videos that are relevant to your board. Lastly, you share the board you’ve created with anyone you’d like! It’s almost like a prettier version of Google Docs. I can definitely see my future students using this website to create study boards or book reports! It’s easy to use, and of course, it’s free! Check out the link below!

https://padlet.com

ILP "Design" - Kahoot It

For my Independent Learning Project, I decided to create a Kahoot It quiz. I made a quiz on the basics of Romeo and Juliet for English 1 Honors students. It contains 13 simple questions with that students can answer using the Kahoot It app or link (www.Kahoot.It). Overall, I enjoyed using the program and exploring all it has to offer! I'm glad I decided to create a Kahoot It quiz; I'll definitely be using Kahoot in my own classroom one day! Feel free to check out my project in the link below!
https://voicethread.com/share/13095709/