2-MS Word and Twitter in my future classroom

              As a student, I have used Microsoft Word for writing papers. These papers have included short stories, research essays, persuasive essays, and even poems. This program has allowed me to include graphics for title pages and data charts for research statistics. My teachers have used Microsoft Word to write up instructions for an assignment or an outline for a paper. Another way I have seen my teachers use Microsoft Word is to create a rubric for an assignment. This program makes it easy to create a sheet of paper full of information for students to refer to when working on a homework assignment. Also, my teachers have used Microsoft Word to create tests and quizzes.

              While in school, I have learned a handful of things about copyright and fair use. The most emphasized topic has been about plagiarism and how to correctly cite information from various sources. In grade school, I did not have much experience with fair use. My teachers didn’t really share much information about it with the students. However, in college this topic has become more prevalent. For example, many of my professors have warned the class not to take pictures of their PowerPoint slides because they are copyrighted. As a teacher I will ask myself the question: “Is my use of copyrighted materials a fair use?” Furthermore, I will evaluate whether or not I added material to make it something different. Also, I will have to be responsible for using the right amount of the material and not overstepping my boundaries. I will teach my students how to properly use copyrighted materials in their own work. This includes showing them the transformativeness standard and ensuring that they fully understand what it entails. These skills will prepare them in creating their own works and using other sources.

              Before last week’s class about Twitter and personal learning networks I did not know much about how it can benefit my future career. Now I fully understand the benefits of hashtags and how they can be used to find tweets related to a certain topic. This can help me in the future if I want more information about speech therapy techniques and how other therapists across the globe are dealing with certain issues. Another thing I learned was how simple and educational Twitter can be (This kind of shocked me!). Within approximately ten minutes I connected with various educational and technology-related Twitter accounts. After following these accounts, Twitter suggested other pages for me to follow based on who I was already following. This is so helpful! I am really excited to use Twitter and other personal learning networks in my future career!

1-TechInClassrooms

Computers are an essential asset to the educational experience because of the world that students will be working in. Even now most jobs require some kind of technological literacy. Not knowing how to properly use a computer could hold an individual back from being employed. Most of the students earning an education are digital natives, therefore not knowing how to operate a computer can significantly impair one from competing in the work force. Almost all teachers have a computer in their classroom to use for many tasks. These tasks include recording attendance and grades, preparing lessons and presentations, and sending e-mails to parents or administrators. Critical concerns for teachers using technology includes funding for technological devices and having enough time to use these resources. I agree that funding for the materials needed can be difficult for some schools. However, I believe that the effects technology in classrooms can have on one’s education is beyond worth the financial investment. Time can be an issue in the beginning but once the teacher and students are adjusted to it, there will actually be more time available in the school day. Bringing technology into a school that does not necessarily accept its use can also be an issue. I agree that this issue can be a huge one at first. However, once other employees learn the positive effects of technology it will make the entire school process run smoother.

Almost all of the ISTE standards “gladdened my heart”, but the main one was “Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making”. I think that research is an important part of education, especially in preparing students for college. Critical thinking is when actual learning takes place. Rather than memorizing definitions or answers for a test, challenging a student to think critically about a topic helps them understand and remember the content. The ISTE standard that seems outside my current skill set is “Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments.” Because I am not comfortable using many programs, I would have a difficult time implementing these tools in a classroom.

I really like the terms “digital native” and “digital immigrant”. I agree that almost all of today’s youth have a clear understanding of how to use technology. For example, my parents are constantly asking me how to check certain alerts on their phones or on the Internet. Whereas, my 7 year old dance students know how to operate smartphones and laptops almost as good as they know how to walk and talk. One semester I had a professor who had a lot of challenges with technology. It seemed as though every day she would not be able to play the video she had planned to show us for the lesson. As a digital native, this was a little frustrating because it was such a simple task for me. It was hard to understand why she had so many problems with technology. I think the main impact it has had on my learning experience is the amount of time wasted on a teacher’s challenges with using technology. I anticipate a slight difference between me and my future students and our use of technology. Although I do not anticipate as big a difference as I had with my teachers. But technology is ever changing so I will be required to adapt to all of these changes if I want to be the most effective teacher.

0-EMELearningStyles

 I have taken a computer fluency course, so I feel fairly comfortable with using technology. However, there are plenty of areas of technology that I am clueless about. For example, I have worked in Excel a little bit but I have a lot of room for improvement. Also, I have no experience designing web pages.

In this class, I hope to expand my knowledge of technology and become more comfortable using various programs (as mentioned above). I am excited to learn how I can incorporate what I learn, not only in my future career as a teacher, but also in my present life as a college student. The skills I learn will hopefully prepare me for the many papers, projects, and presentations that I will be assigned during my time at Florida State University.

I was not surprised with my result  as an active learner. I have always preferred hands-on activities and working with others on projects. Being a sensitive learner explains why I have always enjoyed math and science courses. These subjects contain facts and make me feel safe and confident with my answers. I am pretty balanced between visual and verbal learning styles, either teaching style is good with me, although I like having text attached to a picture or a graph to help me understand what it means or how it relates to the topic. I thought that my results would show a higher number towards the sequential learning style. I get overwhelmed if things are not going in order or if clear steps are not given. Before taking this test, I would have guessed to have greater than a 7 towards the sequential learning style.