ILP #1

I decided to make a Prezi on the Three Branches of Government. Since I have never used Prezi before, it took me a little bit of time to understand it. Once I got the hang of it though it was pretty easy to use! I hope you all enjoy :)

https://prezi.com/p/uwkagaf9sgnq/

Blog Post 6

http://heatherdavis3rd.weebly.com/ 

When I did this assignment, I actually couldn't find any of my previous teachers' websites. So instead I typed in a last name with classroom attached and I actually found something! I found Ms. Davis' 3rd Grade Class from Inman Elementary School in South Carolina. The page was actually very impressive. The teacher keeps up with the website every week to update parents on what their children are learning in every class. I also liked that the teacher includes the kids schedule so if the parent needs to schedule a doctors appointment or something of that nature, then they know exactly what their child will be missing. Overall, the website was very impressive and definitely is comprehensive enough so that a parent doesn't even have to ask what their child did in school today; they can instead ask, how are you liking poetry?

I envision myself using technology mainly for communication purposes. One of the number one ways to be unprofessional is to not respond when people need something from you, whether it was through an email, text, call, etc. Using technology for communication purposes is very helpful because if you are out of the office for one reason or another, people still have a means to get in contact with you. Communication is one of the best ways for a team to be competent and efficient and that means being easily accessible. Technology allows for that, so actually using that technology is something I will need to do in a professional capacity.

To start, I would just say I loved the Technology Sandbox. The employees up there were absolutely amazing and they were so willing to help all of us. One of the best pieces up there to be used in a classroom would be either the smart board or the Osmo. The smart board is pretty obvious; it will keep students engaged while also using something that is hands on to demonstrate what I would be teaching. The Osmo is something else I think would be amazing to have in a classroom. The Osmo creates a more competitive environment and I think that students do enjoy a little friendly competition every once in a while. This allows them to have some fun and learn things at the same time. Whenever a student thinks it is a competition, they don't want to be embarrassed, so they study the material that much harder. That is why classroom Jeopardy was always so successful, and I think the Osmo would be a modern day version of that. 

Blog Post 5

I think something useful is the ways Web 2.0 allows people to connect with one another. Being able to share ideas in an open forum is, in my opinion, very helpful when in an educational environment. Take twitter, for example. I had a similar assignment to the one we have in this class in high school. We had to tweet twice a week for my AP Environmental Science class. Although it felt like a random class to have to tweet and post about, it actually turned out to be very helpful. I found out that I was not the only one that was struggling in the class and we ended up talking about concepts that we were confused about over twitter. Our teacher ended up seeing our tweets and the conversation and was able to address questions people had that were too uncomfortable to ask in a class setting. Once our teacher was aware that some students were unhappy or struggling, he was able to adjust and made the rest of the year much more comprehensive and pleasurable.

One of my absolute favorite things from high school was using Kahoot. I loved it because people got really into it since you could see exactly how everyone was doing so people really wanted to do well on it. It was a tool that actually forced me to know the material and know it well because you would get massive bragging rights for winning Kahoot. I think one of the best ways to inspire students to actually study is to make it fun and even add in a bit of a competitive nature.

https://kahoot.it 

In my opinion, one of the best advancements in technology from an educational setting would be smart boards. As I have stated, inspiring students to enjoy learning is absolutely crucial because if you enjoy something, you will continue to do it. Especially after being in the technology sandbox, they are advancing more and more to make it incredibly useful to students. We were able to look at all angles of a crab and all of its individual parts. As a 20 year old adult I was completely amazed and entertained, so for students and children they would be so excited to be able to take a astronaut and mess around with it. I think the smart boards are already so advanced and I think they will continue to get better and better with technology improving.

Web Evaluation

I am choosing high school history.

Website 1- http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/american-civil-war-history

The first website I choose was on the American Civil War. When I typed into google American Civil War, this was the first website to pop up. It was the history channel and I have used this source a few other times in high school and college in order to gain a general understanding of a topic before I dove in to more difficult sources. At first glance this website seems good. The information is relevant to the Civil War and all of the links to other pages were functional. There is no listed date, which is a problem; however, since it is on the topic of history, it does not necessarily matter when the information was posted. It is not like there is new information every other day about the Civil War, so I do not think it is a deal breaker if I cannot find the date it was posted. Since it is the history channel posting it, it is assumed that the information is coming from a reliable source. On the other hand, it does not explicitly say who is writing this article or if they actually have any credentials to talk about the subject matter at all. After looking through the facts they do seem very accurate and does not appear to put too much personal viewpoints into the topic. It seems to just lay the information out and allows the reader to take their own views on the subject rather than shoving the authors views down the readers throat. Overall, I would say it is a good source. It is a good place to gain a general understanding of the topic, without having to sort through a scholarly paper to find the same information, just with bigger words.

Website 2- https://www.civilwar.org/learn/articles/civil-war-facts

The second website I choose was also on the Civil War. The information was presented in a similar manner as the first one, but in my opinion, this one would be more enticing for students. There were graphs that are more aesthetically pleasing than just looking at pages upon pages of words. This article also did not have a date, but similar to the first, I do not believe it is crucial to list the date on something that does not need to be updated every few days. All of the links on the website were functioning and were relevant to the information on the page. There was also an about page on the website that walked through the goal of the website and the organization. It is all about preservation of the Civil War in both physical ways as well as keeping the story straight. An organization like this is more reliable than something like wikipedia where there are people who are just bored with their lives. These people's lives revolve around the civil war, which makes the site more trustworthy. The website seemed accurate and even listed numerous books at the end as sources. Books are usually a reliable source and having them as sources is very promising. The information seems to be presented in an unbiased manner and follow a professional format. Overall, a very good source and one that I would definitely encourage my students to look at.

Blog Post 4

I struggled in the beginning with remembering to use Twitter. I am not traditionally someone who likes to use social media, but I realize that it is something is most likely not going away any time soon so I need to adjust. After using it for this class, I have communicated with other classmates and have seen what others have had to say just by retweeting things and looking at others who retweeted the same things profile. Talking to other students has been very helpful in reminding me things we learned in class. In a career I think social media like twitter will be very helpful to keep in touch with others and to get opinions on ideas, without having to go through an official forum.

I think the digital divide is a very large contributor to a students success in school. When students are expected to utilize technology in the classroom but have never had an experience with it before, they will be behind those who have grow up with technology in their house. There are many factors that lead to the digital divide. The most obvious one would be income. If a family does not make enough money, they are unable to afford to buy a computer or pay for internet connection. Another factor would be their location. If the family lives in a rural area, they may not have access to internet in their area. I think as a teacher, it is crucial to keep in mind the digital divide. You cannot expect everyone to have access to technology at all times so offering two different options of homework where one uses technology and the other is completely possible without technology. You cannot limit children from an education just because they do not have access to internet.

I am the kind of person that looks at technology is a privilege, not something that is a given. With this being said, I would like to use software that is fun, as well as educational. I would utilize games like funbrain and coolmathgames because they are fun but they also are very helpful. I remember playing them while I was in school and I always would get so excited as well as try really hard because I wanted the teacher to continue to take us to the computer lab. I especially remember this in 2nd grade because we always used it for math, and we had another website that worked on typing and gaining muscle memory of where the keys were. Both were really helpful and very stimulating.

Blog Post 3

I would honestly feel comfortable teaching the RL. 7 "Multimedia:" Literature. Being a visual learner, the requirements are all tools that I have utilized my entire life. I have always broken things down to some sort of visual, especially when referring to literature. I think an area where I would definitely need improvement would be RST.7 "Multimedia:" Science/Technical Subjects. I am a political science major for a reason; I avoid science at all costs. I do not understand the terms, especially when put into a graph or table form. I think I would need to improve on being more open to learning about it, as well as actually making progress in the field.

I have to make weekly newsletters for my sorority and it is something I have not previously excelled at. After this assignment, I think I learned new ways to present the same information. One of the coolest things I think I've learned thus far was make a bulleted list by creating a graph! I never thought of that and it is something I will definitely utilize in the future. Something I still struggle with are columns. I don't understand how to have the column effect for just one section of a newsletter or any paper for that matter. I enjoyed being creative with the newsletter, especially with the border! I spent probably 15 minutes picking out a border because I wanted to go through every one to see which one looked best. I learned throughout this assignment that it is okay to take your time and make something you are proud of rather than just sending out a word document that has boring lists of all the information people need.