Reflective Post

In this course, I learned a lot of useful things that I can use as a future educator. The textbook was one of the main things that helped me learn. I like how it has many visuals and things that help you learn more. I like that it also has a lot of statistics for each section where they are needed to show how big or how small a certain concept can be. I didn't like doing discussions as much I like doing blog posts. I really like the idea that each student has their own individual blog. It is something different than doing a discussion where everyone can can see what you post. For your blog, there are many different people that can see it but I like that it is more "private" than a discussion post. My favorite activity that we did was the teacher e-portfolio. I liked that we got to create it ourselves and we were crafting it as if we were already teachers. My least favorite activities were the group projects. It makes it so much more challenging to do a group project while doing an online class. Every student is normally taking more than one class so we all have to work at our own pace while still completing it in a timely manner. I would much rather do a group project in an actual classroom rather than an online class. I found this article to be funny but also prove valid points on the people that you will have to work with either at work or throughout your academic career in group projects. I like that even though the work load per week was not a lot, it was still somewhat challenging and made you actually look at the material you were supposed to rather than being able to Google everything! I put together a Wordle for the entire semester, shown at the end of this post. Wordle is something I actually learned from this class! I like it because it is a word cloud and is pretty creative. Like this class was!

Resources:

Pinder, S (2016, May 2). Wordle. Created with Wordle www.wordle.net/create

The 5 Students You Meet in Group Projects. (n.d.). Retrieved May 02, 2016, from http://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/the-5-students-you-meet-in-group-projects

Blog Post #F

     The first thing I found interesting from chapter six was cloud computing. Cloud computing is defined as using the Internet, rather than a personal computer or local network, to store and retrieve files. It is better known as the "cloud." This is a tool that can be accessed anywhere and at any time, from any internet capable device. Two effective examples of this are LiveBinders and URList. One that I found on my own is called Drop Box. Websites like these allow teachers and students to access any of these websites at any given time. You can save anything to any of these websites, close it on one computer, then go to another computer and type in whichever website you choose, then retrieve all of your saved files. This is especially helpful for college students like myself who do not always take my laptop with me everywhere. If there is something I saved at home but need to access at school, it is no problem because I can log into any of these websites and get any file that I need! These are not the only websites that do this though, these are just a few that I found to be the easiest to navigate.

     The next thing I found interesting from chapter six was the e-newsletters. Though I already knew about this, the reading in the book gave me more insight to how helpful things like this can really be. When I think of e-newsletters the first thing that comes to mind is 'annoying'! Sometimes, they can be overbearing and companies can send you multiple newsletters per day, which makes you want to unsubscribe from them. What I learned though, is that they can be very helpful when it comes to your education. If you subscribe to an educational e-newsletter, it saves you time from having to look up the website you were trying to find that you really liked, or any website you found interesting really. Another good thing about newsletters is that you can choose how often you get them and for how long. I made my own e-newsletter with Canva, shown below.

     Finally, the last thing I found interesting was from chapter twelve. It is a program called BYOD or BYOT; bring your own device or bring your own technology. This is a program that allows students to bring any technology to school for learning uses. In some schools, they have a laptop for every student to check out. In schools that can not afford a laptop for every student, these types of programs can be extremely helpful because they allow students to bring their own Internet- accessible tools to help them learn. Programs like this also help overcome digital inequalities. The video below shows the Lewisville School District who has one of these programs.

Both of these chapters helped further my knowledge on more integrative technologies such as educational newsletters and new things like BYOT and BYOD programs in schools across the country. All of these new and some updated technologies will be beneficial to every student that has access to them to help further their learning.


Resources:


Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Pinder, S (2016, April 18). E-Newsletter. Created with Canva https://www.canva.com

L. (2012). Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm0ewV3RPfw 

Digital Blog Post #E

The first thing I found interesting was from chapter nine. It is called media synergy. Media synergy is video, digital, and print materials combined with face-to-face instruction to build powerful learning environments for students. Multimedia is a vital part to media synergy, but they are not the same thing. With multimedia, it is presenting a lecture with words and pictures. Some examples of media synergy are YouTube videos, power points, and other related things. This caught my attention because I had never heard this term before. I think media synergy is definitely something I will use as a future teacher to help further my students knowledge on whatever topic I am teaching, even though I plan to teach kindergarten! There are still a plethora of websites and tools and media synergy to be used even when teaching younger students! I made a ToonDoo of something I would love to do with my kindergartners when I become a teacher. (As long as there is a supervisor in the classroom of course!)

The second thing I found interesting from chapter nine is called next-generation web 2.0 presentation tools. These tools use multimedia to expand the ways that information is shared in classrooms. some examples of these tools are Prezi, Animoto, and Glogster. I have heard of Prezi before, but I have never heard of Animoto or Glogster. Animoto enables teachers to use video clips, pictures, sound, and text to broaden how students can learn. Glogster allows teachers and students to create digital posters called glogs that use photos, sound, and text with graphics. They can be shared on a website, blog, or can be shared through email. I think these tools will especially be useful in middle school and high school because students these days are so accustomed to having technology at their fingertips that these tools would be perfect for them. I think that students will be able to share more information and learn with each other without even being in the classroom. This article has an informational video along with an article on why Prezi is helpful and very useful for learning and in general.

The last thing I found interesting was in chapter eleven. It is called a digital teaching portfolio. This caught my attention because I know that we get to make one for this class! What it is is a collection of educational and professional materials stored in an electronic format. It is the same as an artists portfolio, engineer, etc. Only you are collecting things that have to do with your educational materials. I personally think this is really awesome because after so many years of teaching it will be fun to look back and see how far you have come as a teacher and you can add new things to it so you can show how your teaching style has or has not changed. Here is a link to a video on how student teachers can construct their own digital portfolio.


Resources:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Pinder, S (2016, March 30). Teaching with Technology. Created with ToonDoo http://toondoo.com/createToon.do

Top 5 reasons to Prezi. (2012). Retrieved March 30, 2016, from https://blogs.library.ucsf.edu/betterpresenter/2012/12/14/top-5-reasons-to-prezi/

 

T. (2013). Teaching Portfolio Video Tutorial (for student teachers at USU - TEAL). Retrieved March 30, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbbEMtGKabE

 

Digital Blog Post #D

I found a lot of things from chapters eight and ten very interesting. The first thing from chapter eight that caught my eye was Wiki's! Before we were assigned the group Wiki, I had no idea what it was. I really enjoyed doing the group project, and loved learning about them a little more. A Wiki is a website tool for students and teachers. It allows them to communicate through a blog-like style. The teacher/students can edit or revise each others ideas, which is a great way to share information! A fun thing I learned from this is that "wiki" is actually Hawaiian and it means quickly or rapidly. This article is another take on Wiki's and how else they can be used to help students learn other cool, different things like entrepreneurship.

Another thing I found interesting from chapter eight was synchronous and asynchronous communications. These are two different types of communication for teachers and students. Synchronous is a type of communication where you do not have to wait for a response. An example of synchronous communication would be a phone call, text message, or a face to face conversation. Asynchronous communication is one where you have to wait for a response. Examples of these would be an email, blog, or an online discussion. To me, synchronous communication would be more helpful as a future teacher and as a student because you get the response you need right away!

The last thing I found interesting was from chapter ten. It was on interactive electronic storybooks. An easier and more well-known term for this is called a CD-ROM. I thought this was interesting because these are something I'm sure we have all heard or before, but never really put much thought into it. As a college student, sometimes you have the option to buy your textbook on campus or you can buy it as an e-book, which is the exact same thing, and it's so much cheaper! I personally like using these types of tools because it saves money and it can also save time. It also prevents you from losing your textbook, which I am sure we can all relate to! As for elementary and middle schools, there are interactive apps that you can get on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. They are called storybook apps. They allow students to be read to or read on their smart phones, tablets, or computers. Below is an example from YouTube of an app that does these cool things!

Overall, both of these chapters were very interesting and very helpful. I learned some fun facts, and a lot more educational technologies that can be used to enhance learning in all types of classrooms. My favorite thing that I learned was the storybook apps. When I was in elementary school, we had to check out books from the library and take them home, and usually there was no "digital copy"! It is so cool to see how far technology has come, and I can't wait to see what they come up with when I become a teacher!

Resources: 

McCrea, B. (2010, October 20). THE News Update. Retrieved February 29, 2016, from https://thejournal.com/articles/2010/10/20/wikis-pulling-it-all-together-online.aspx

Pinder, S (2016, February 29). Infograph. Created with Piktochart http://magic.piktochart.com

Who stole the moon? Storybook App | Top Best Apps For Kids. (2014, December 24). Retrieved February 29, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI9CJQSJiBg

Blog Post #C

         The first thing I found interesting from chapter five was the electronic note taking. This is something I have never heard of before, so it really caught my attention. How cool that you can take notes online wherever you are and study from wherever you are? The ones from the book that I thought was the most interesting were Evernote and Note-Star. With Evernote you can take notes on any type of device. You can use a computer, your smart phone, your tablet, and anything else you can think of. The second one I found most interesting was Note-Star. With Note-Star you can not only take notes, but you can also create sub-topics for research papers, and create printable notes and bibliographies. One that I found while searching Google is Study Blue. This tool allows students to create online flash cards, study guides, and quizzes. They can even share them on social media with fellow classmates when finished!

         The second thing I found the most interesting was Google Goggles. This is a tool by Google that allows students (or anyone) to take a picture of an object or a landmark using the app by Google and whatever you search will pop up. How cool that technology allows us to do these things these days. This will especially be useful for students because if they are not sure of what something is called or what a certain landmark is, then they can use the Google Goggles for help! It is for your mobile device.
         The last thing I found interesting in this chapter was AUP's. AUP stands for Acceptable Use Policies. These policies state the rules that students have to follow when using the internet in schools. They basically state what the students can and can not access. If students still try to and/or succeed in accessing these websites or other things that they are blocked from they face punishments. Some punishments include getting their cell phones taken away, in-school detention, and sometimes even suspension from school in general. AUP's are trying to teach students digital citizenship, which is necessary to teach if technology is being integrated into schoools.

Here is my Wordle that I created for this chapter!

Resources:



Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Pinder, S (2016, February 15) Wordle Post. Created with Wordle www.wordle.net/create

Google. (2016, February 15) Google Goggles. (Video file.) Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhgfz0zPmH4