Blog Post #8

 I enjoyed this assignment because I have made weebly websites before and it was fun to be creative and imagine I was a real teacher. This only part that was tricky was trying to format some pages on the website. This website assignment was very beneficial because I learned tools that I can use in my future career. Using a website to communicate with parents can be very helpful because weebly websites are very user friendly. 

https://3rdgraderocks2040.weebly.com

Prior to this course, I had never heard of or used Diigo. It was fairly easy to figure out and it was easy to figure out how to post. The only issue I had was I had a hard time figuring out how to annotate the article. I liked how you can add tags to the posts in order to find similar content. Diigo is a great tool to use in a classroom for group work so everyone can share their ideas and access resources whenever they want. 

Technology is extremely important for teachers to understand how to navigate and use because it is so popular in today's society. Technology is a useful tool for teachers to enhance teacher professional development. Especially with the recent year of COVID-19, teachers were forced to learn how to use applications such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams in order to teach. But, you can get the most out of technology when teachers are trained on it during TPD. 

https://elearningindustry.com/top-educational-technology-trends-2020-2021

eLearning Industry is a website based on technology in America. This article was found under the category of articles discussing technology trends. 

Here is my Teacher Bitmoji

Blog Post #7

I chose to examine John G. Riley Elementary School in Leon County, Tallahassee, Florida. The teacher website I chose was 2nd grade teacher Natasha Cooper. Her home page is super informative about how to use different technology used in the classroom such as remind, classlink, and Microsoft teams. You can access a meet the teacher page with a picture and brief background about Ms. Cooper's teaching career. Under student resources, she includes a link to student websites. Under announcements, she listed all distance learning guides for parents and students to download. Finally, she includes a class calendar. 

I think technology is extremely beneficial for teachers to conduct class more efficiently by getting more done in the time allotted. One teacher productivity tool I will use is ClassDojo. ClassDojo is a classroom management program designed to reward students behaving properly according to the teacher's expectations. I will use it as an incentive to get students to behave appropriately. In my student teaching internship, the teacher used ClassDojo and it worked effectively with her students. 

Working on PBworks was relatively straightforward and easy to navigate. Although I believe the design of the website is outdated, the programming is modern. I like how collaborative the website was but that was only beneficial because I trusted my group members to not change my page without my permission. I could use PBworks in a similar format as this group project. Especially, when students may not meet face to face, PBworks is an excellent platform to collaborate. 

https://www.leonschools.net/Page/40953

Blog Post #6

 I have never used Diigo before in any of my classes. What I liked about Diigo was the user-friendliness of uploading bookmarks, PDFs, and images. What I did not like about Diigo was how the posts are organized. The information appears jumbled and messy. I think the information could be organized better with more subtitles or sections on the main feed home page. 

Prior to this class, I have blogged a couple times for personal and scholarly reasons. Blogger is extremely easy to use and lets me enjoy blogging. I like expressing my ideas about education and how it is changing. The only thing I do not enjoy is sometimes, the questions are easy to answer in one sentence and it is difficult to try and meet the 4 sentence requirement. So far, I have learned that blogging is a great source for students to share ideas and comment on others. I can see myself using a blog in my future classroom. 

When I teach, I might use a Web 2.0 software called SMART. SMART makes interactive boards. Using this technology would help eliminate the need for whiteboards and dry erase markers in the classroom. I have used SMART before and it is extremely user-friendly. It introduces so many new interactive ways to collaborate in the classroom. 

https://www.smarttech.com/

Blog #5

 I downloaded Twitter and made an account at the beginning of my freshman year. I interact with influencers, my friends, and local politicians. I have found it beneficial when I want to find an answer to a question or find an announcement. Twitter might be useful in my future career to reach out and interact with parents. 

The digital divide is the gap between people that are familiar with and have access to technology and those that do not. Digital divide can affect success in schools because students that do not have access to technology at home could not be able to complete certain assignments. Some causes of digital divide include resources in the classroom, money, and time. This will affect my teaching strategies as some students may be familiar and confident with technology while some may not even though they are both capable. As a teacher, I will remain sensitive to the digital divide and acknowledge that not everyone has the same resources. 

Academic software includes programs like Microsoft and Google. I would like to implement Microsoft powerpoint and Google forms in my classroom. I would like to use powerpoint because it is extremely beneficial for a student's entire academic career and provides a creative way to present information. Google forms is a good way to get student feedback or even assign quizzes through the software. 

Badges are visual representations of achievement. I think badges are a great way to display what you know so others can ask you about certain topics. I have never earned a badge before. When I do earn one I will share it on my blog.