Reflective Post

In every bit of honesty, I thought this was going to be one of those classes I could just fly through with no problem in the simple hopes of satisfying a prerequisite course with a passing grade, but little did I know how much I was going to learn and all the vast knowledge I was going to receive. The textbook was a great addition to the course and the way Professor Coleman went about having us dissect the textbook was extremely helpful. She did not tell us to read the book and then give us a quiz where we could Google the answers; instead she provided us with an opportunity to use our skills online to create lovely presentations covering segments of the book we found important. Before the Blog Posts, I did not know how many pretty tools were out there to enhance learning and spice up the assignment. My personal favorite was Storybird. Storybird is one of those sites that allows every ounce of your creativity to surface and create beautiful little stories using written passages and interesting images.

 

The textbook is slammed full of valuable information that would have been super hard to absorb if it wasn't for the blog post assignments.

For the discussions, I enjoyed those as well. I like being able to read posts from my fellow classmates because they are very intelligent. It sounded like, most of the time, they paid close attention to whatever content we were supposed to be going over. I even learned some things from my peers that I did not read in the book or find online. They were are very supportive and kind; always providing constructive criticism. In the weeks we did not have a blog post, the discussions filled the gap that would have been there otherwise. While the pretty graphics of the blog posts was fun, its also beneficial to know how to speak to peers in a respectful, educational way and that is definitely one thing that I think all of us benefited from.

As for the other activities, I enjoyed working in the groups. It was a little difficult communicating due to opposing schedules, but eventually we wrapped everything up pretty nicely. I think it is important to learn how to work with your peers on such things, because even when we all reach the teaching field, we are going to need to learn how to work with other teachers that may be teaching the same subject, so that way we are all on the same page. My favorite assignment HAD to be the ePortfolio, which was done using Weebly!

It was so much fun being able to create a whole website from scratch and it was so incredible how she had us include our own assignments we have done! It was easily the most interesting and, in my opinion, the most informative assignment we've had. I totally think that should remain an assignment for this course because it is a wonderful way to reach out to your future students and parents; if not, it will always be an incredible reference point.

Reading back over the syllabus, I think Professor Coleman spelled out pretty clearly what she expected and how she expected it; she listed each assignment we were expected to do and the criteria that was requested we'd meet. It was almost impossible to fail this course because of how helpful the professor was. Questions were always answered by here, very promptly might I add, or if for whatever reason she was unavailable, the syllabus laid everything out as clear as day. The part of the syllabus I am referencing is the "Assessment Details." Literally every assignment is spelled out for us to ensure success. The information provided in the modules was also amazingly helpful. I honestly had no clue how to hyperlink a word instead of the actual link itself, and might I add...my assignments looked significantly better once I figured it out.

In this course, I also learned how to cite APA style. Amazingly, this was my first class that called for APA citation; every other professor I've had requires MLA, so it was nice to stray from the norm.

I say this with the utmost confidence, I will be using most of the information I have gathered in this course, for my future students. It is so hard, I think, to educate, as well as entertain, students because of their daily stimulus intake and that is EXACTLY what this course helps with: Helping future teachers learn to adapt to the changes in technology. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this course!

Thanks for everything, Professor Coleman! 

Resources:

1. Boldly (Director). (2014, May 06). Why You Should Thank A Teacher Today [Video file]. Retrieved April 28, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2LNK2MW_xQ 
2.  Miss B's ESL. (2016, January 21). Storybird-Artful Story Telling. Retrieved April 28, 2017, from https://missbesl.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/storybird-artful-storytelling/  
3. Rodneymmgame. (2013, April 26). Wordpress (publisher). Weebly 4 All: an awesome website builder. Retrieved April 28, 2017, from https://weebly4all.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/build-your-own-website-for-free/

Digital Blog Post #G

Chapter ten was a very informative chapter. It covered things that I haven't even thought about, but of course, should know. The sections of this chapter I chose to cover in this post are Technology for teaching diverse students, adaptions for classroom learning with technology, and writing transformations with technology.
This chapter is very packed with important knowledge on all the topics so it was difficult to choose only three, but to start us off the first section I dissected was Technology for teaching diverse students. Diversity spans from all backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Multicultural education was a main point covered in this section. It is a term used to describe how teachers affirm the diversity of their students interests. All students, despite their differences, should have an equal chance to learn.
 To play off the previous paragraph, there are many adaptations to bring into classrooms to help ALL students despite their learning hindrances. There are three types of accommodations for students with difficulties:

• low tech- changes that are made easily, inexpensively, and without digital application
• mid tech- "substantive" shifts of organization and delivery that may include digital tools
• high tech- changes associated with integration of computers and other information technologies

A word cloud was given as an example in this section and I liked that because I think word clouds are kind of cute! I actually have a word cloud as my background on my laptop!
And finally writing transformations with technology. I had to include this section because I looove writing. I would rather hand write a 1000 word paper than type one. I'm not sure why! Writing has been interchanged with extra classes and time to devote to skills in reading and math. The book states children don't like writing because:

• the pressure they feel to do well, especially for younger children
• lack of confidence, we have our brains to thank for those blank-slates we draw
• lack of joy because they have no satisfaction is writing
• misdirected self evaluation, meaning they judge the appearance of how they write
• Lack of patience, because it seriously takes so long!
• Ideas about being smart, the book states, because the student equates writing to intelligence. 

But with all of that, the book also gives viable approaches to writing:

• brainstorming
• drafting
• revising
• editing
• publishing

All of the above are sure-fire ways to improve writing.
The role technology plays in writing is it allows teachers to connect with their students to practically convince them that they have the skills to complete the assignment at hand. With technology it is easier to convince the student that what they have in their head is worth putting on paper.

I loved this chapter but more specifically the last section I covered. I'm an old soul so I will never tire of handwritten assignments, despite how convenient online assignments are. But I will be sure to incorporate technology to written assignments in the future to ensure the success of ALL my students.

Digital Blog Post #E

For chapter 7, I decided to cover Computer Games and Learning Resources, Digital Games for Learning, and Problem Solving and Inquiry Learning with Technology.
Nothing speaks to a teenager, or any student really, on an educational level better than interactive learning and games! I remember being in school always anticipating the days we had the tech cart because of all the games that my teachers allowed us to play. There are literally a countless number of computer games available that range from action, to adventure, to knowledge games, and literally everything in between! The book mentions how everyone's first thought when hearing "computer games" is video games which isn't always the case. But where some people have reactions like me where they like the application of gaming in the classroom, others believe they hinder children's learning possibilities; while in some situations that's true, but certainly not all.
Digital games for learning (serious games)- are specifically designed to have an educational background to help the student learn whatever topic is being covered. I know I said this in a previous post, but children now are pumped with so much visual stimulus on a daily basis, that it is almost impossible to compete without using the same form of stimulus: technology. There are two categories, Internet (browser based games) and Desktop based games. Internet based games are usually free while desktop based games are "commercial products" that have to be purchased in order to be used. There is also simulation games which have been increasing in popularity recently. They are games where the player gets to make the decisions in the game and the environment changes based on those decisions.
Problem based learning- activities around real life problems that interest and motivate students. Students are able to "investigate" problems, issues, and questions where there is no correct answer. The books gives some steps to problem solving:

• understanding the problem
• using problem solving strategies
• checking results. 

There is a segment in the books strictly dedicated to teaching problem solving with computers. It goes further on saying that real world problems are complex and quite complicated to solve, but those are the best learning experiences.
Overall I thought this chapter was interesting, especially the sections diving into the gaming. I will most likely use games to reach out to my future students, mostly because that is almost a sure-fire way to reach out to them.

2016-17 - Unlocking Learning: Creativity

Creativity!

So this video was specifically on teachers bringing creativity into the classrooms and honestly it was one of the most interesting videos I have ever watched in my life! Many examples that were given were music based classes from all around the world; I loved how they incorporated so many different cultures into the video and expressed different methods of creativity for each. The first video was very musically inclined. I was incredibly impressed by the amount of musical content provided in the video. I know one of the examples was an advanced music program in Laos and they sounded incredible for as young as they were; also they put together a choral piece for visitors in three days...I have a small background in music and speaking from experience that is quite complex! Samuel Wright, who is a music teacher, spoke in the second video about coding and honestly the way he incorporates creativity in his music class is so interesting! Not only does he use technology but he has them use their bodies as well such as dancing and clapping which is mimicked from other cultures. In order to have an attentive class, now-in-days, creativity is so important. Students have such a high stimulus intake that it is difficult to keep up with their demands, but it is not totally impossible. EME2040 has moved from something that is good to know, to something that is necessary to know in order to keep your class from sleeping. As technology progresses, teachers must be able to follow along with it in order to provide a suitable learning experience for their pupils.

Digital Blog Post #L

For this last Blog Post, I had to return to my favorite method...Storybird 

Even though towards the end, we skipped around here and there, I think this chapter was the best one to end on. I included this is my Storybird, but I usually look for things that could benefit my future teaching styles. I look for things I know I would need to work on. I'm not very fluid with technology but this is one of those classes where you get out as much as you put in.
In this Blog Post, I covered Using Tech You Have Successfully, Becoming A Tech Leading Teacher, and Tech Integration and Educational Change.
There were so many good segments and topics discussed in this chapter but these were the ones that struck me as the most interesting and the most informative.
The first two sections I feel I covered pretty decently, but the third I covered some key words and that's it so I though a short little video would be a good way to tie everything up.







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.

Manwell, S (2017, April 23.) Adventures in Education. Created with Storybird www.storybird.com

Edutopia (Director). (2012, December 12). An Introduction to Technology Integration [Video file]. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d59eG1_Tt-Q

https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/7929a219-9fae-412d-8b7e-fc21313bc867

For this blog post, I chose Kahoot to convey my findings in the chapter, mostly because I have used Kahoot before in classes I have taken and I love it! The segments of chapter four that I chose were Lesson Development with Technology, Approaches to Lesson Planning, and Assessing and Evaluating students.

For the first topic, I chose Lesson Development with Technology which is represented in my Kahoot presentation in numbers one through five. I try to lean towards anything with the name technology in it, to be honest, because not only is it the main focus of the class, but also because I know it is an area where I could use the most information available. I was surprised to see how many technology aids for each topic there were in this segment. What I noticed is, if there is a way to do it on paper, there is a more creative way to do the same thing with technology!

Approaches to Lesson Planning was the second topic covered; I chose this one because I feel like in the future lesson planning might not be my strong suit so I'm trying to learn as much as I can about it now. This segment is represented in my Kahoot in numbers six through nine. This was a relatively short segment but well versed none-the-less! 

The third topic covered was Assessing and Evaluating Students. I'm normally interested any time the word "students" is in the title because, of course, that is the main focus of the teacher. I'm aiming to be the best teacher I can, so therefore whatever I can do to assist my future students the best, the better; this segment is represented in my Kahoot in numbers ten through fifteen. This segment of the chapter was a little bit longer but the information provided in it was interesting and very helpful to aspiring teachers.

A big reason I enjoy this class is because I really want to teach upper level schooling. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but someone has to do it, right? High school students are very hands on and their lives revolve heavily on technology so I learn a great deal about how to incorporate technology they are familiar with into an educational environment; all while eventually making my job a little simpler in the process. 

 

Works Cited: 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

https://storybird.com/books/blog-post-c/?token=du8m9572x6