Blog #8

While working with Diigo, I have practiced annotation. This is a great skill because it allows individuals to take complex and long pieces of material and turn it into useful and important points. This is extremely important to have in a classroom so that students can retain information. I would incorporate this in my classroom if I were teaching a literature or reading based class. Although I may not be able to teach this in a mathematics environment, I could use it when constructing research on mathematics concepts and techniques.

Blooms taxonomy and PowerPoint can work hand in hand to teach trigonometry. For the far-most bottom level of the taxonomy, pictures and triangle diagrams on PowerPoint can help students remember when to use certain trigonometry functions such as sin and cosine. Teaching along with slides can help students understand how to use angles to find all the sides of a triangle. In PowerPoint, I could show a incline in the real world and demonstrate how to find the length of the incline so students can apply what they learned. I could ask my students how the algebra they learned relates to trigonometry so that they can analyze the information. I would include a slide with a problem so they can evaluate the information learned. Finally, I would give them the opportunity to create a problem themselves and share their problems with their classmates to learn among each other.

Teachers who are immersed in professional development usually have a great reliance on technology. Technology helps teachers find success and professional tools and resources that can help them. Also, technology is useful for teachers so that they can assist all students in learning to their fullest potential. A site that assists teachers of staying informed of technology trends is Technavio. This site has articles from bloggers regarding technology and innovation. On this site, I found articles on educational technology, educational advancements in technology, and even 3D printing. This is a great for all educators!

ILP "Participation" - Twitter Conference

For my Independent Learning Project, I participated in a twitter conference which showed the innovations, concepts and ways technology can be used to help meet the students physical, emotional, and mental needs.

My Voice Thread

Blog #7

My experience with twitter has been fantastic. I am learning that twitter has a large professional and educational presence. Before, I thought of twitter as a social media place mainly used for entertainment. Twitter has been beneficial in showing me the new concepts on technology and education. It has helped me see some of the progress in education occurring in the world today. I have not experienced issues with twitter. 

I acquired great skills while working on the Web Design Assignment! I learned how to present information in a clear and organized manner. I also learned how to use the right amount of colors and the best fonts to bring light to the ideas that I want my audience to pay attention to. I liked the creativity that I was able to incorporate in my design project. Next time, I could include a page with my email and information for the students. This assignment can be helpful for my future career if I decide to create a class page or become an educator.

Assistive and adaptive technology can be used help many students learn and understand information in spite of physical barriers. These systems use technology to help students learn even though they may have a disability or injury. The main challenge I perceive that may occur in the classroom in regards to adaptive and assistive technology is the cost of the technology assistance. Some schools may not have the funds to pay for the resources that certain students may need.

Blog #6

The school website that I visited was Waterloo Midle School. I specifically looked at the 6th grade class pages and explored each in depth. I noticed different tabs for sets of information. One teacher, Ms. Flarida, had a section with information about herself including information about her family and her educational experience. She also had a welcoming home tab and a tab in which she post reminders about the homework. All of the teachers had a Welcome/Home Tab and a tab for assignments.

I envision myself using technology as a professor and with my future tutoring company. I would use technical tools such as PowerPoints or smart boards to teach math in the classroom. I may also use educational tools such as canvas to allow students to collaborate and access their academic material. Technology can be used in my tutoring company as a way to tutor students in great interactive ways. Students can learn through videos or smart board appliances in connection to the class material.

I learned about many technology tools that can be used in the classroom. Other than the tools stated in the previous paragraph, I was interested in the 3D pens and the 3D printing. I can see the 3D printing being used for mathematical models. For instance, I could ask students to find the surface area of a cube and use a 3D printed cube for them to have a physical experience with the math. The 3D pens could be used to elevate the graphs (parabola, line, etc.) that they may sketch. Afterwards, they can compare theirs to the right graph.

Blog #5

My initial experience using Diigo was interesting. It seemed very similar to the tools on my technology devices that allow me to comment and draw on screenshots. I like that I can share my screenshots with groups and other individuals. I also like the tools that I can use to highlight and elaborate on points that I like. I do not like that sometimes I need to save certain files on my computer to write on it.

Blogging has been a nice experience. During the blogging process, I have realized that to be there needs to be a few standards to follow when it comes to what I write. Having random, unrelated, or unorganized posts can cause a lost in the attention of my readers. I also learned that when blogging, it is important to be aware of the audience so that no one is offended. I like being able to express myself through my blog posts.

An interesting Web 2.0 tool that I might use when teaching is called KidBlog. This tool provides an open space for kids to do blogs and discussions in the classroom. This tool is a great way for students to express themselves and collaborate with their peers. I also like that the students can receive feedback from their parents, teachers and their peers. The link is here: https://kidblog.org.

Blog #4

The first tweet that I have ever made was done in this class. It has been an interesting experience because it provides much information and so many accounts to follow. I have interacted with classmates through twitter and my teacher. I have found twitter beneficial through the multiple sources provided for personal and professional interests. Twitter could help by showing me companies and opportunities available in my career field. 

Digital divide can hinder student success for students who do not have access to technology at home. This can also hinder success for students who are not familiar with technology. Some causes for digital divide can be low income households who are not financially able to incorporate technology in their children's home life. If I experience students who are not familiar with technology as a teacher, I would make technology an extensive tool to help students rather than requiring them to use technology for their grade. For instance, I would use technology to show videos related to class material and to teach instead of making students use technology for homework.

Academic software for students can help students become more familiar with technology. Two software tools that I would like to use in my future classroom are Canvas and Survey Monkey. Canvas is an academic software that provides a space for discussions and access to classroom files. This would be very beneficial for providing information, announcements, and collaboration. I would use Survey Monkey to create surveys for my students to see some of their academic preferences and see what most of my students would like in class.