ILP 2: Lynda.com course

     For my second independent learning project, I decided to register for Lynda.com and take a course. I found a course called "Educational Technology for Student Success" led by Renaldo Lawrence. Lawrence's goal for the course is to show and help teachers use different ways to create and use interactive content to help engage students. He talks about how students can get engaged by learning how to learn with all the tools available to us in our modern technological society. The course explains how using these tools will help train students to be independent learners in the future.
     Some topics covered in this course include:

• identifying your goal and making a plan
• keeping your content organized
• capturing and sharing learning events using digital tools
• sharing your links with parents and students
• having students take digital videos in class
• creating and using QR codes in the classroom
• incorporating google earth in lessons

      I particularly liked this course because it was easy to follow and learn. I had never been on Lynda.com before this course, but I really think it is a great tool for teachers and people with any profession to learn a skill. Their library of courses is huge, and can ultimately benefit anyone because their content is so diverse. I liked how the site was treated like an online class. It made it feel more familiar to me. The script of the video scrolled next to the video which I really liked because sometimes I miss a word or two. Overall I think that course and Lynda.com in general can be very helpful tools. 

http://www.lynda.com/Higher-Education-tutorials/Next-steps/415357/444872-4.html

10. Class Games

     I thought this week's assignment was a lot of fun. Before this week. I had never used PowerPoint in this way before. It was not as difficult as I assumed it would be, because of the fun templates we downloaded. Actually, I had no idea that you could download templates in the first place. I think it is really a great thing that teachers are interacting online in this way, and sharing their works for other teachers' benefit. I thought this assignment was fairly easy, except for the sound. I have trouble figuring out the sound, and my laptop does not support such tools. Other than the sound, I thought the assignment taught me a great deal of new ways to use PowerPoint in my classroom. 

     I think data collective tools can always be useful in any classroom, because of how diversely they can be used. In my future first grade classroom, I can use tools like the surveys to ask my children their thoughts and opinions. Since they are young, we can complete the surveys as a class in order to get the most effective results.
     I love reading my classmates' blogs. I think they are a great way to see what other students in our class think about each topic. I enjoy comparing my thoughts about certain assignments with others, and sharing my thoughts about technology with them. The blogs really helped me see what others' thoughts were about great teaching tools that I can utilize in my future classroom.
     Someone earlier brought up in their blog Microsoft Publisher. I also think this would be a great tool to learn and use effectively. I used it a couple times in elementary school when I was on the school news cast, but that was version 2003, and I only ever did simple tasks with it. I think the program has potential to be a great organizational teaching tool, and I believe it would be beneficial to learn it next.
     I plan to teach my kids early on, the use of technology and how they can use it to their benefit. Not only will we use these tools we learned about in a fun way for games and learning. but we will use them as a medium of learning and research. I will teach my first graders the importance of internet safety and how to navigate the internet. My students would leave my class with an extensive knowledge of how to use technology to complete daily tasks, and learn to their benefit. I will teach them how to collaborate and help each other learn better, by the means of technology.

survey: pizza

https://fsu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_838yTG54QyCxynP

ILP: Personal Learning Networks webinar

     For my first independent learning project, I watched a webinar on personal learning networks by Will Richardson. In it, Richardson explains how PLN's are the future of education, and how we can use them to improve not only our learning, but incorporate these tactics as teachers, implementing them in the minds of the next generation. The webinar focuses on the idea that internet connections and interactions can be a big part in learning, and motivating others to reach their goals. He tells a story of a cinematographer named Mark that achieved his fame today from online sites like Vimeo and Linkedin where one can interact with others and get feedback on their work. Richardson is a strong advocate of children learning with tools online. He talks about how we are currently just trying to implement technology on top of school curriculum, rather than changing the traditional classroom to have students learn using that technology. Richardson describes the difference in scarcity and abundance. He says how children today will soon be adult learners in this world of abundance, while teachers and older generations are still teaching in a world of scarcity. The abundance he is referring to is the unlimited access of web and information that today's generations have.
     His main point is how Personal Learning Networks are for people with the same passion to go online and learn from other other. He gave an example about how his 12 year old son wanted to learn how to use the video game Minecraft, so he went to an online site that lets people interact and ask and answer questions about Minecraft. Richardson talks about how sites like this are helpful because they are full of people with the same interests, so they are willing to teach, learn, and interact in a positive way. When using PLN's, Richardson explains how we are "capable of learning at any given moment". He also talks about how while using PLN's, one must be willing to be found on the internet by strangers. It is vital to the process. Personal Learning Networks can be simple, like the "how to's" on Youtube that we use everyday but do not notice. The purpose of PLN's is to learn and contribute while maintaining proper ethics. I found this webinar very eye opening, and I hope more teachers and older generation people view this and see the importance of Personal Learning Networks.

http://www.centerforlearning.org/t-free-resources.aspx

8. Future Tech

     The technological advancement from chapter 12 that I find to have the most promise in future classrooms is the electronic paper. I am just amazed by the general concept, especially that they are made marketable very soon. Electronic paper is a lightweight, flexible plastic that can be used as an alternative learning material. The use of iPads in classrooms are becoming more available, although these can raise issues that electronic paper would solve. iPads are breakable, and heavy for younger classes. Young kids can easily ruin iPads and other tablets. Meanwhile, the electronic paper is virtually indestructible because it is so flexible. This new kind of "paper" is actually plastic, and can be used to replace normal more expensive and fragile mediums of e-readers and tablets.
     I think a great technological advancement for the everyday classroom would be the virtual device we used in the tech sandbox. The name of the device keeps escaping me, but I really feel it would be beneficial and fun. The goggles can take students on virtual field trips, saving time and money for the schools. I think they would be best served in the media center first before in all classrooms, so teachers could test if they are effective for learning or not. Students could get "free time" after they complete their virtual field trips to ride the virtual rollercoasters we experienced in the tech sandbox.
     The podcast describes the digital divide as the difference between people who have access to technology, compared to those who do not. I am definitely on the side of the digital divide where I am exposed to the technology. I grew up with access to it, so my learning styles may differ from those who did not. In a classroom setting, I am going to have to keep that in mind. Some students will be on the other side of the divide, and may not adapt well to technological teaching. But I also believe that most students by the time I have my own class will mostly be on the side of the divide that has had access. I feel most kids today are digital natives, and that will only grow with time. Even so, I would still adhere to some traditional styles of teaching that do not involve technology to help the kids who may struggle with the tools.

7. Powerpoint Thoughts

     I hadn't heard of Bloom's Taxonomy was before this blog post. Bloom's taxonomy helps distinguish fundamental questions in the education system. There are different levels such as; create, evaluate, analyze, apply, understand, and remember. It would be beneficial to use each level to better teach a lesson. A powerpoint could help bring up topics of discussion for evaluation, produce concepts for synthesis of ideas, analyze and break down concepts from the textbook, students can apply their new ideas through powerpoint, they can better understand the lessons through pictures on the slides, and the powerpoints can be posted online for students to be able to remember the content later. 
     Adaptive Learning Technologies are used to help students with learning disabilities and also 
physical and mental disabilities. These technologies can be simple tools, like spell checker for the 

learning impaired, and also much more involved, like the joy stick for visually impaired. Students 

who are blind could use brail printers and speech application programs instead of typing. An issue 

could arise when teaching younger students, because the kids who do not need these adaptive 

technologies may want to use them, and not understand why they dont get to use them. 

     My web page assignment was really hard for me at first. I am not great with new programs, nor do 

I typically adapt well to them. But Weebly became almost second nature by the end. I think the end 

effect is visually appealing, and a great way as a teacher to get in touch with parents, send out 

information, and give students the resources they need for assignments. I did not like the aspect of the 

program at first, but once I realized how to navigate and use the design, it became almost simple. I 

am unable to post a screenshot of my page because my laptop does not have a print screen button. 

But here is a link. Enjoy!!!     http://burrough.weebly.com/ 


P.S., I do not know why the spacing is funky in this post. I apologize! 

Fighting PowerPoint Death

This slideshow is really helpful in finding ways to effectively use powerpoint. It talks about how to use it to get your point across in an interesting way that wont put your viewers to sleep. One thing that I really liked about the information on the slides was how they broke the information down into structure. They talk about keeping it simple, to keep your audience focused.

Death by PowerPoint from Alexei Kapterev

6. Websites and Efficiency

       The website I chose is the overall school edline page from Longleaf Elementary School in Melbourne, Fl. I chose this site because not only did I attend Longleaf, but my mom is also a current 1st grade teacher there. I specifically like Longleaf's edline page because it is very easy to navigate. I chose the whole school's page and not one single class, because with how edline works, only teacher, parents, and students with edline accounts can have access to the class sites. I like this aspect of the site because it shows that it is a safe and secure place for students to go to get their class information. I have used edline for years because it is the grade source for all schools in Brevard county. Edline has quick and easy links that are easy to follow and always take you back to the home page. Grades, assignments, and class announcements are easily located on each class page, as well as in the tabs on the top tool bar.


      I envision myself using technology in my classroom as much as possible, as well as efficiently as possible. Chapter 7 talks about using tools such as word processor and electronic spreadsheets, and many more. These tools especially stick out to me as efficient technologies for the classroom. There are endless ways to use word, as we learned in the newsletter assignment. Electronic spreadsheets are something I'd love to explore more and get a better sense of how to incorporate the spreadsheets in my classroom. I think spreadsheets are great for behind the scenes, organizational work for teachers. They keep everything precise and in tact for not only grading, but other purposes too. I liked how the podcast reviewed twitter, in saying it is a less intrusive way to contact parents, rather than email or phone calls.
       The web evaluation assignment confused me at first, mostly because I over complicated it. I did not realize that it was basically just what I naturally do every time I find a new source. Once my group made the checklist and I saw the criteria, I realized that is the thought process I usually have when researching. I always check for credibility, ads, and easy navigation. I did, however, like how we were in groups and made a wiki together. I had never made one before, and it made it easier to understand the process of making one with other people involved. I think next time, I should look more closely at resources attached to websites to ensure credibility.

5. Web tools

      The podcast gave some great insight to programs that are available on the web and can be utilized in the classroom. These "Web 2.0" sites and tools are more advanced than web 1.0 tools used in the past. I personally think that all the tools mentioned in the podcast can be very helpful, all to their own extent. One tool that I find very useful is YouTube. YouTube is a site that has all sorts of videos on all sorts of topics. I believe it can be a great source for videos that pertain to standards and lessons. However, this site can quickly turn unsafe for students. There are great educational videos out there for teacher and student use, but they must be found in a safe way. I also like the use of twitter in a classroom sense. Twitter has grown to be a very popular app and has proved to be useful in many aspects. The podcast talked about how students could follow professors or other educational handles and view content that way. I had never thought about using it that way. Teachers must be aware of which sites are compatible with which operating systems to be able to effectively use them. Chapter 5 explains how they must also be aware of their system's processing speed and access memory.   

     The podcast introduced a site to me I had never heard of called Diigo. This site has many helpful tools and aspects that I believe can be very helpful as a teacher, or to have students use. Users are able to collect, annotate, organize, and share all on the website. With collect, one can save and tag sources to come back and visit them later. With the annotate tool, one can annotate web pages and pdf's directly as you browse online. You can organize your links, references, and personal input in a structured research base. And then you can share any work with your friends, classmates, or associates. There are many tools on this website that are very helpful and could be very beneficial in a learning environment. 

     I really like Diigo because of easy to use tool, and the set up of the site, itself. The site is very aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate. The site has graphics that are cute, colorful, and all around inviting. The site has clear buttons to navigate the site, and easy tool bars to help. It is easy to sign up, and the tools are very supportive of any research that needs to be done. One aspect that I love is the sticky note tool. You are able to put sticky notes on anything you are reading and keep them there. You can go back later and use the sticky notes as notes to write on the organization outline. 

     Concept mapping was very new to me before last week. I am not sure why, but from my educational background, I have never had a teacher or professor that used the maps as a learning tool. So this was new for me, but I found them to be a great way to show difficult information to an audience and transform it into something pleasing to read and study. I liked the webspiration classroom because it was very easy to use and create the perfect concept map. I think next time I should work to make my concept map more complicated, and improve my map by thinking more outside the box. I thought the whole assignment was a great introduction into the many ways concept maps can be used at any grade level. You can easily add more information for a secondary class, or keep it simple for a K-12 lesson. I enjoyed learning the benefits of the map. 

4. Using the Internet to my Benefit

• The standard SS.8.G.1 is a social studies standard that has students "understand how to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technology to report information." This is an eighth grade geography standard that will help students tremendously later in their studies. 
• I would have my students visit http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/ and explore the geography games to better understand where historic events occurred. 
• This tool is a site for educational games. 
• On this website, there are games that have students memorize chosen countries, states, or continents. I can pick which game correlates to my history lesson and have them play the games until they get a 100% on each area of the map. For example, if I wanted them to understand where in Europe the Russian Revolution happened, I would have them play the Europe region games that have them learn the geography around Russia. 

      I believe the Internet is a great way for students to explore other mediums for research. Younger kids should learn early how to navigate the web and learn how to value research. They can use sites like pebble go, and National Geographic for kids to find information for their lesson. Websites and databases are a great way to give students a break from the use of textbooks. Even for just looking up the definition of a word, the Internet is a great tool that can easily solve problems. Sometimes, however, the Internet can be not useful when gathering information. On some sites, like wikipedia, information may be skewed. On that specific site, information is provided by the public. Whoever may contribute. This may not serve as a useful source for children to use. The Internet can have tons of invalid information. This is why .edu and database sites are more useful and safe. 

      I learned a lot from the podcast. I do some of the techniques talked about when searching the web, like; looking for correct spelling, grammar, and ads. I know that if a source is somewhat credible, it will not be swamped with ads. One thing I never thought about was looking at if the content is biased. I never thought about if the content if biased, it may be less credible. A lot of new sources online are biased, but I never thought that would necessarily make them less credible. I also always try and stay on .edu, .gov, and .org sites when I am searching the Internet for actual resources, rather than leisure. 

     I thought the web hunt was a really great way to teach us how to find media for our future students. At first, I thought the assignment was kind of hard. I didn't realize that once you use the correct way to google search, you can find things very easily. Also, I learned a lot of tips and tricks that will help me in the future to find credible and primary sources, and things I have the right to. I was surprised especially about all the sites for teachers out there that can help me later in my career. For example, the site where it helped teachers set up their own website for their students is a great and helpful source. 

1. You are teaching an astronomy lesson and would like your students to play games related to space but still educational. Find a site. 
2. You want your students to research polar bears on a kid friendly site. Find a facts for kids page on polar bears. 

3. The web

      I have chosen to do my visual critique of a website on the behavior tool, Class Dojo. Last week we learned a little bit about this tool, and how it can be affective in the classroom. I think this is a great tool to keep behavior problems to a minimum in younger grades, or schools with behavior problems. On the site, each student is assigned an avatar, and they see that avatar either go up or down in "behavior points". The teacher has the power to give the students awards for paying attention, staying on task, and so on. This is a great tool to show parents how their child is doing in class. https://www.classdojo.com/
      With my first graders, I would have them use the internet as a tool for learning. They would use search engines to help them finish assingments and answer questions. I would teach them to search on reliable sources such as .edu or .gov sources for research. I would teach my students how to be respectful on the web, in regards to digital citizenship. They would learn how to responsibly contribute to the digital community in a way that also benefits them.
      Surprisingly, I learned a great deal from the newsletter assignment. Mostly just basic tools on Word, I had no idea how to use before that assignemt. One tool I relaly liked that we covered was the Mailing list wizard. It made it so easy to create the same newsketter for everyone involved in my class address list. Another thing I learned that I think will be very helpful is how to allign the clip art so you are able to move it wherever neccessary on the page. Most elements I learned were just little shortcuts that I had never taken the time to figure out before. Overall, I think this assignement was a great introduction into newsletter making for my elementary future!
   

2 Blog: Word

      I have been using Microsoft Word for what feels like, my whole schooling career. It was introduced to me sometime in elementary school by the media specialist. At first, I used Word as a class tool, and maybe used it for small assignments. As I got older, the assignments got tougher and I found myself using Word more and more. With all the research papers, I ended up learning a lot about Word and how to navigate the program and help myself in the process. When I took my first college course, I was to already know MLA format. I was the only one in the class who did not know it, so I taught myself. I found Word to be very helpful in assisting the format. I have seen teachers use Word for rubrics, assignments, and on many more occasions. The program is used daily in classrooms of all sizes and subjects.
      As a student, I have experienced copyright and fair use of materials many times. In research papers, quotes are to be followed by a source to show that it is not my words. Pictures gathered for projects have the same rule, otherwise all this work would be plagiarism. Copyright is when someone has specific ownership of something, and must be credited in some form when using their words, picture, or what have you. As a teacher, I would face these copyright and fair use materials daily. I would assume all resources I find have the capability to be a copyright, in order to be safe. Textbooks, videos, and software are copyrighted and so are many other sources I may find on the Internet to teach my class. Copyright laws are there to govern what can and cannot be used, especially in a classroom setting. This may arise when photocopying a picture for a slide show, or a trying to use a software to teach a lesson. I could teach my students the importance of copyright and fair use and how to site their source to give due credit, in order to complete a project or assignment.
      In the world today, twitter is a great and abundant resource. It used to just be a fun way for younger people to get their thoughts out there about who knows what. But it has since thrived and evolved into various purposes. Today, twitter can be used for mindless tweets, political thoughts, promotions, and even for school. I learned that twitter can be a great way to reach out to classmates, or teachers. Using a class hashtag is an easy way to see tweet updates from your classmates and  teacher about upcoming assignments, or even just fun links to reinforce a lesson. In my future career, I plan to use twitter as a class resource for reminders about upcoming school events or assignments. This could be a useful tool for a parent to go online and see that open house is tonight, or that their son or daughter's award show is coming up soon. I think it is an overall very helpful tool of the modern day and age and will continue to advance and become something even more helpful.

Blog 1, Digital Natives and Classrrom Tech

       Computers are the key component to having a technologically sound classroom and overall learning experience. Just about her classroom today has at least one computer in it, usually for the teacher's use only. But it is becoming more and more important to allow students to also take advantage of this resource. The importance of computers in the classroom is increasing daily. It is not only getting to understand the computers and their many programs for the use of the classroom, but these skills will carry over into the real world. Almost every job today uses a computer in some way. Having this resource in the classroom allows for the students to familiarize themselves with it early, and increase their technology literacy. Some concerns may arise with the educators, such as not being able to allot time to integrate technology into the classroom, and having their schools budget finances for technology. These issues are very real in that, every teacher today must deal with these modern conflicts. Some schools are technologically behind because they cannot allot the time and money to gain the resources needed for their students to learn these tools.
      I think technology is very important in classrooms, and can be especially helpful when doing class projects. In my classroom, I will integrate technology in a way that lets students learn how to use the computers and the programs they have to offer. For example, I could have them learn about PowerPoint by making a fun slide show of their favorite animal. I could also use Microsoft Word as a tool to teach note taking, or spreadsheets could be used to introduce the concept of a graph. I hope in this class I learn how to not only understand these tools myself, but be able to incorporate them into a lesson in my future classroom.
      A "digital native" usually refers to the youth who have grown up with technology around them. I agree with this label, and think it is important to realize digital natives know no other way than the present day technology. I have been in classes before where teachers were not accustomed to using technology in their everyday lives, therefore their classrooms lacked it as well. Classes like these were lecture hall classes where the teacher would put nothing on the board, and drone on for the allotted class time. This shows how "digital immigrants" can sometimes, not always, miss the purpose of technology in the classroom. I have also, however, been in a class where the teacher was a "digital immigrant", but used technology to teach daily. That class was a BYOT class, or bring your own technology, where we would conduct our research for class on our phones or iPads. I feel it is better to integrate technology for learning, since us "digital natives" are already using it anyway for pleasure. I think there will always be differences in the generation gap of teacher and student, but I doubt any from now on would be as harsh as the one today, seeing as some older teachers today have grown up watching technology flourish, but not knowing how to use it.

Blog 0, My Technology Past

              I have used a lot of technology in the past, but would not quite call myself "tech-savvy". I am familiar with most programs and how they are used, such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. In elementary school, I remember being taught all these programs and thinking clip art was the coolest thing ever. Most of my technology knowledge stems from back then, actually. I used a lot of technology and online programs in high school while I was apart of the yearbook staff. We created the yearbook online, which forced me to become familiar with most programs and techniques. 

             

             In this class, I hope to learn how to not only master these technological concepts, but to be able to transfer what I have learned to my future classroom. Hopefully this helps me have the skills needed to preform was an elementary school teacher in the most efficient fashion. I hope this class becomes a fun way to get familiar with the technology I will need to further my teaching career. 

              My learning style was not a surprise to me. I have always been a visual learner and enjoyed help from others in order to brainstorm ideas. I was also aware that I am not usually able to grasp information given to me by book or other text. I remember what I see, and that usually helps me with most aspects of my life. I did, however, learn today that I am not as creative or imaginative as I had thought. The results showed how I am really just a reasonable and sensible person who does not do well with analyzing theories and ideas.