Blog Prompt 2

Microsoft Word has played a huge part in my life as a student throughout school. In fact, out of all of my thirteen years in schooling, I have probably used Microsoft Word the most out of every other application on a computer. It has been a platform on which I have written everything from the most important essays of my life, like college essays, to countless assignments for classes. It has also been a place for me to sketch out ideas for papers. I have always had a Mac and have used Microsoft Word to write out documents. In addition, my teachers have used it as well. For example, they would write their syllabus on a word document. In addition, I have also seen teachers use it to write down notes. All together Word has been very useful to me throughout school.

In the educational environment and all throughout high school and college, administrators have always pushed that plagiarizing is wrong. Plagiarizing is when an individual literally copies word for word what another document says. You can get kicked out of school if you are caught for doing it. I have always been very good about citing my sources because I was taught how to do so in high school. As a teacher, I will make sure I inform my students very well about copyright and fair use policies. I think it is extremely important for students to be aware of it before they get themselves into trouble.

After starting the Twitter and personal learning assignment, I have discovered many new skills with Twitter and the social media. I never really knew how much Twitter could benefit me career wise. I have always seen Twitter as a social way to connect with friends and post about random things. Now, after class on Tuesday, I have realized it could help very much with my career in education. I can connect with other teachers who are dealing with the same problems with me. In addition, I can also get to know and become more familiar with important people who were with education, particularly Special Ed. I cannot wait to get started on this project and see how much Twitter could benefit me in my career. 

Blog 1

There are many advantages to using computers in education. For teachers, technology can assist with their curriculum and lesson plans. For example, in order to explain a concept, a teacher might use their computer to create a PowerPoint. On the other hand, teachers may also utilize YouTube to show students a certain lesson. In addition, computers can be a huge support for teachers in the classroom. They can help with lesson plans and instructional design. In other words, technology can enhance the planning by utilizing tools on the computer. According to the textbook, computers can be used to help report attendance, entering grades, preparing a worksheet, or simply just researching a topic on the Internet. Whatever it is, computers are an important part of the educational experience. On the other hand, they can also cause critical concerns involving teachers and students. There are two variables, environmental and psychological. Environmental means sometimes while technology is being used in the classroom, for example, dim lightning and excessive movement. Psychological factors include the internal conditions that affect communication. I 100% agree with these issues that were touched on throughout the two chapters. In my personal experience where computers have been used, there have been issues with the quality of the technology or the way it has been presented.

One ISTE standard that gladdens my heart is the first one, facilitate and inspire students learning and creativity. To me, this is what teaching is all about, sharing your knowledge of the subject matter to others. On the other hand, one ISTE standard that seems outside my current skill set would be number two, design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments. This one seems like it would be a challenge. This is where being creative in technology plays a part.

A “digital native” is considered a person who was born into the era of technology. For example, I would consider my eleven-year-old sister to be a “digital native” because for her entire eleven years of her life, technology has been a huge aspect in our culture. On the other hand, a “digital immigrant” would be considered someone who grew up with no technology and has had to become used to it, as they have gotten older. I do agree with the term, “digital native” for today’s youth because these people have basically lived in a society that technically relies on technology. In my personal experience, I have definitely seen differences in these two terms. For example, in high school, most of our classes revolved around doing work on our iPads. I have been using Apple technology ever since I was around 8 so I am very familiar with the Apple products. On the other hand, my 60-year-old teacher has not been using technology for that long and is a little “slower” or not familiar with how to use an iPad. This problem of the teacher not knowing how to do certain things on the iPad caused some issues in the classroom. She would always waste time asking the students how to set things up, or the students would have to wait on her to figure out what to do. This became annoying because we started to waste time that we could be using to learn instead of her learning to use the iPad. As a “digital native” I anticipate myself as a teacher to be familiar with whatever technology I am using, unlike my older teachers who are still becoming familiar with them. 

0- Day one of Ed Tech

I have been using technology now for a very long time. Because of my age, technology has been around for my entire life. I first experienced technology when I was around seven. I would play on the computer on children's sites like Disney.com. As I grew older, so did the evolution of technology. I purchased the first ever iPod when I was 10. Ever since then, I have been using Apple products, from my phone, to my laptop. Many people my age, always have the newest and latest form of technology and because of this I have been surrounded by it for my entire life.

I hope to learn many things from this class. After taking this course, I want to have a better understanding of how technology plays a part in our society. In addition, I want to know how to utilize technology in classes while teaching. As of right now, I would not say I am the most "tech-savy" person, but as I continue in this course, I want to become better and grow more knowledge of how to use everything on the computer. In addition, I want to become familiar with how to not only utilize technology in a classroom but also how to teach my students how to properly use technology in the classroom. I am a very visual learner and have always enjoyed when teachers use pictures, or graphs. Because of this, I would like to do the same for my students.

After today's first class, I have discovered many things about myself. In class we were told to take a test that would determine what kind of learning style we follow. According to my results, I am more of an active learned as opposed to a reflective learner. I always tend to remember information when I am physically doing it or some kind of action. I scored a 1 on the sensing vs. intuitive test. which is pretty equal between the two. According to the visual vs. verbal test, I am much more of a visual learner. This does not surprise me at all. I do not like to listen to teachers ramble on and on because I usually lose them halfway through a lecture. Because of this, I learn and retain information so much better through pictures and graphs. Lastly, I scored a 1 on sequential vs. global. Again, this does not surprise me that much because I have always tried to look at a problem in the big picture. However, I do not follow at all when teachers jump from topic to topic. I would much rather have the teacher go step by step on how to do a problem. Again, I was not too surprised by my results because I am very aware of what type of learner I am.