3 Hyperlink CrAzY

I know this graphic is small (I tried to resize it but I just can't figure out why it isn't working.). Click here for a version you can zoom in and out on. I found this infographic very helpful for my newsletter assignment this week. It's clean and sensible. I agreed with the pairings of fonts as well as the ones you were told not to use ever. I feel, however, that the creator should have had some kind of key telling the names of the fonts shown in order to maximize effectiveness.

Base on chapter 9, I will begin by teaching my second graders about digital citizenship using videos such as the BrainPop video we watched and some of the NetSmartzKids.org games via our Edmodo group. I believe it is utterly important for children to understand that it is almost impossible to get anything off the internet, and that they should really monitor what goes out. That was one of the main focuses of the BrainPop Video. Then I plan on using several other websites for other learning experiences.

Working on the newsletter assignment I mentioned above has been a struggle but a really fun struggle. I've enjoyed all the formatting skills I've learned. I am really easily amused and was grateful to have learned how to include a hyperlink in a Microsoft Word Document. I think this assignment definitely got me more excited to become a teacher. I can't wait to be able to write newsletters without having to pull the stories up out of make-believe thin air!

2 You can borrow this blog as long as you're not getting paid...

If you went to school at all in the 2000s, there’s almost no doubt in my mind that you’re familiar with Microsoft Word. If you’re anything like me, you’ve sworn by it for the past decade. Microsoft Word is one of the easiest tools to use in regards to writing papers, making brochures, creating resumes, sending formal letters, creating invitations and so much more. I still use Microsoft Word on an almost daily basis to make organized checklists for my scatterbrained self. I’m looking forward to using Microsoft Word to keep mundane information interesting by way of different templates and tricks I hope to learn in this class.

I personally wasn’t very familiar with the real definition of copyright and had never even heard of “fair use” until this class. In school, I was taught that if you didn’t cite your sources, you could be sued for copyright infringement. That was something I was glad to hear isn’t necessarily required by law. I think once I’m a teacher if there’s anything I can do to save other teachers time and effort, I will because teaching is tedious work and we should all be in it together. In order to help out other teachers, I’d license my work with Creative Commons, allowing others to use it and cut out some of their planning time.

I’ve been on Twitter almost as long as it’s been around so I honestly haven’t learned too much from using it in class. I’m hoping that by the time I begin teaching, there’ll be an educational social media site sort of like Twitter to which only licensed teachers can grant access. That would be a great way to allow protected and monitored communication between students for group projects, study guides (because who really does those alone?) and so much more. Maybe that’s my next million-dollar-idea. 

1 A few words from a digital native...

Of course as an American in 2015, I believe computers are very important to education and such. I feel like I have relied on technology for my entire career as a student, to the point where I’m almost lost without access to a computer, calculator or other form of technology during school. Throughout chapters 1 & 2, I saw a couple consistent points concerning the idea that students and teachers alike should become more skilled in computer/technology literacy in order to be successful in their careers. I definitely agree with the textbook in that sense because with technology becoming so commonly used on multiple platforms, not learning new ways to use new technology would actually set students and teachers back a significant amount from others who are more technologically inclined.

I plan to use computers in my classroom in the future quite a bit. I loved being able to use the computer at school and work at my own pace, soaking up every bit of information I came across and I hope my students will enjoy using computers as much as I did. I plan to teach my students the basics of Microsoft and allow them to use Powerpoint and Publisher to make presentations and brochures as part of our class activities. I also plan to use internet sources like Kahoot (courtesy of Ms. Cates), iKnowThat and others in order to allow my students to play educational games and such. I’m hoping this class gives me other ideas about how to use computers in my classroom effectively.

Digital natives are people who have grown up only knowing a world with technology. I agree with the classifications of “digital natives” and “digital immigrants.” Some of the main differences I’ve seen between the way I, a digital native, and my teachers, digital immigrants, include our manner of troubleshooting. As a digital native, before I even know what the problem with my computer, tablet, or phone is, I’ve already begun to try and solve it. Watching teachers with a problem is always nerve-wracking because sometimes the start clicking random buttons and other times they call in reinforcements.. even when it turns out to be nothing serious. There’s a visible difference when a new piece of technology enters my life as compared to new tech entering digital immigrants’ lives. I’m likely to pick it up and just start applying what I already know in order to figure it out while my immigrant counterparts are more likely to pick up an instruction manual or have a tech-savvy person nearby for questions. It’s difficult for me to picture what it’ll be like to be the uninformed person when new technology trumps what we have now and my students are more informed than I am. I feel like the differences won’t be as noticeable in the future because I at least have a background in technology unlike some of my teachers now.

0 a little something about me

In this day and age, it's almost impossible to find someone with little or no experience using technology. It all starts before kids can talk; we use technology to entertain them. Students, teachers, parents and other job-holding citizens often use technology in order to stay connected with friends, family and coworkers, as well as to do their actual jobs.

I wouldn't necessarily call myself incredibly tech-savvy. However, I have been the entertained toddler, the homework-completing student, the colleague who used Facebook to keep in touch and the employee using different computer systems to place clothing orders for a boutique or to send an order in to the kitchen, as well as the fifth grader building robots with Legos and sending them on "missions" and the ninth grader showing my teachers how to use their new projectors and iPads. 

I believe it is safe to say that today's technology is becoming more and more relevant to our lives and I use technology more per day than even I realize. 

I have high hopes that this semester in EME 2040 will sharpen old tech skills as well as opening my eyes to easier ways to do the things I've always done-even down to learning more keystrokes than I already knew and other small things that'll make working with technology so much easier.

From the learning style questionnaire I took this morning, I see that I'm a visual and intuitive learner. I still enjoy a good lecture sometimes.. if I've had my coffee.. and it isn't warm in the room.. and the lights are bright.. and the lecturer is reasonably excited about the topic.. actually, let's just say I'd prefer graphs and pictures to a lecture.