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!