ILP participation - Tech Sandbox tour

I loved the field trip to the tech sandbox. I got to learn about so many interesting technologies. I think my favorite things were the Promethean board, the 3D printer, and the ball that you control with an Ipad. The Promethean board is great classroom tool because you can display videos, write on it, and have the students use it for an activity. I think the ball was cool but I do not think it has any practical classroom use. The 3D printer has some interesting uses if the teacher is willing to be creative. The 3D printer could be used to create interactive models for students. Overall I enjoyed the experience and I will be going to the Tech sandbox when I have some free time. I am a terrible picture taker so I only have a few good photos.

#6

I decided to go to the website for Astoria Park elementary school. I went to the link on the website for "teacher websites". Most teachers had a page for the school calendar, student resources, announcements, and a meet the teacher page. Some teacher had unique pages but they all seemed very similar. I assume these pages are mostly for the parents because most elementary school kids wouldn't go to their school website.
http://www.leonschools.net/site/Default.aspx?PageType=1&SiteID=996&ChannelID=3028&DirectoryType=6

 I see my self using all sorts of technology in the classroom. I see my self using Microsoft Word a lot as a teacher. I will use it to create newsletters for parents, create tests for my students, and write my lesson plans. I also want to use programs like Classdojo that can help with classroom management. I think something like a class website with links to homework, newsletters, and a school calendar would help me interact with the parents to ensure their child's success.

I thought the Promethean board was probably the most useful classroom tool in the sandbox. The Promethean board allows for an interactive classroom environment  and can be useful for all types of learners. I think it is the most practical thing a teacher can have the classroom. A 3D printer would be cool but it does not have as many benefits as the Promethean board.

5

I think with current standards the use use of Web 2.0 tools should be encouraged in classrooms. I think the best Web 2.0 tool is Google Docs. I have had some bad experiences with all of my work deleting because I forgot to save and I know I am not the only one. With Google Docs you are able to write without having to worry about the work disappearing. Another reason I love Google Docs is that people can comment on your post which would allow students to peer review each other.

The Web 2.0 I find most interesting is Wikipedia. Most people are very opposed to using Wikipedia as a research tool but I am very much for it. I understand that pages can be edited and false information can be put on the site. The Wikipedia staff can find pages that have been recently edited and if the information is false, can restore the old page. I think Wikipedia has a great tool in that it comes with sources for the page. For research projects I tend to go to these sources and use them for my project.

I think the technology advancement that has the greatest potential is cloud storage. With cloud storage you have immense amounts of knowledge in front of you. The even better part of cloud storage is that it is easy to share. Some people, including myself, argue that the internet should be a universal human right. Cloud storage makes it so that any human with a computer can access all of human knowledge. In a class room the use is unlimited. Students could learn anything they wanted to. I think the best use of cloud storage in classrooms is for collaborative projects. Using something like Google Drive would be great for creating a power point because every student will be able to make changes, do it at home ( if they have the technology), and not need to worry about leaving a flash drive at home.

https://www.wikipedia.org/

Post #4

In twitter I have been interacting with the class. I have found it to somewhat beneficial because I am able to communicate with my classmates. This can be both a good and bad thing. In our twitter page it has become mostly a place to share gifs and memes.  I do not see twitter being useful for my future career.

The digital divide can defiantly have a large impact on students in schools. Students with more access to technology will be able to use it to supplement their education. Students without technology are going to be at a massive disadvantage. The digital divide is normally caused by wealth inequality. Some students will be from a more well off family than others. As a teacher I will most likely deal with students who do not have a computer or access to the internet. As a teaching strategy I will assign students to use the schools computers to complete work.

The software I would use the for my 3rd grade class would be educational games. I believe educational games are great because they can teach a wide variety of content and keep the children engaged. I think that educational games will encourage students to want to do better. When a child wants to earn a high score in a game they will defiantly try harder.   The software I think will be the least beneficial would be the academic database software. I do not think my students will need to use an academic database for any reason.

#3

I think the Standard I am most comfortable with is the Sl.5 "Use Digital Media". I have proficient abilities with creating audio recordings,adding graphics, and using digital media effectively. I learned most of these skills in a class called digital media back in high school.
I think the ELA technology standard I am least comfortable with is the SL.2 "Integrate and Evaluate."
This standard has certain skills I have not tested or have not  learned. I think I would have a hard time explaining the the motives and purpose behind a presentation. I think that I would be able to notice any discrepancies among data so I think I have some of the skill for this standard.

I think the skill I wan to teach my students would be how to use a search engine effectively. I think the internet is a great thing because at the touch of a button almost all of human knowledge can be available. I think I would want to teach 3rd grade( 9 to 10 years old) so I feel like a search engine would start to become very useful for them. I would ensure my students are good digital citizens by educating them on the reliability of the internet. While there are many great resources on the internet there are some that spread false information. I would also teach them about fair use and copyright laws so that they can avoid plagiarism and piracy.

I will be completely honest in saying that a hated my newsletter. I feel as if it was a hot piece of garbage. I had a test the next day and I wanted to study so I was rushed into completing my newsletter. I think the most challenging thing for me was adding content to my newsletter. It was really hard for me to add things. I finally figured out to add columns properly so I guess I learned something. I want to get better at making newsletters so I can use them in the future. I want to be able to send out newsletters to the parents of my students. I hope next time I have to make a newsletter I don't have to study for a test.

Post 2

As a student I have always used a program such as Microsoft Word. Teachers wanted papers to be typed instead of handwritten or wanted the paper to be emailed to them. My first time using Microsoft Word was in the 7th grade. My teacher wanted us to write about anything but make it interesting. I remember writing a story about a brave knight going to save a princess, with his only being a well balanced breakfast. The experience of using Microsoft Word was interesting. I didn't have much experience typing and as a result it took a long time to write. I think Microsoft Word makes everything easier for teachers.For example, instead of trying to read chicken scratch handwriting a teacher  is able to clearly read a typed paper. Another way microsoft Word is helpful to a teacher is that a student is able to submit it even if they not in class via email.

I have interesting amount of experience with fair use that I encountered in high school. In high school I was in a film class and had to create things not just for personal projects but for the school. I created a video to be shared at my high school's freshman orientation. My biggest task was finding music that worked well for the video that was in the public domain. I searched for about 2 hours until I found something that fit into the video. The most frustrating part is that I knew some songs that would have worked but was unable to put them in for copyright reasons. The way my teacher always told us to avoid any kind copyright issues was to create something ourselves or use something in the public domain. You always had the option to contact an artist for permission but it would most likely have been a waste of time. As a teacher I would encourage my students to create something or use something in the public domain.

The three most important things that my implementation would focus on are: misuse of technology,dealing with copyright issues, and making sure students follow a strict honor policy.

Lets face it, we all have streamed a show from a questionable website and may have illegally downloaded that album illegally. I would encourage students to try to buy music from an artist or to find a reliable way to stream something online. Most importantly I would stress that they should never do these things on a school computer. I remember my friend had a really bad virus and it took me almost an hour to fix it for them and I don't want to ever do that again. Misusing technology is very easy to do. My main focus would be cyberbullying. I am normally a very nonchalant person and I don't take many thing seriously. Bullying is not something that you can be nonchalant about. People have died as a result of it. As a teacher it is your job to ensure that your students feel safe in their environment. If that would require monitoring social media more closely than I would. A big problem with allowing students to work digitally is that they use it as a tool to cheat. A possible solution to this would be to use a plagiarism checker such to monitor the work of students.  

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