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.

ILP "Design" - Infographic

For my Independent Learning Project, I created an Infographic using a tool called Piktochart. My educational content expresses how to solve a physics problem step by step.

Link to my VoiceThread: https://voicethread.com/share/13049538/
Link to my Infographic: https://create.piktochart.com/output/41214809-physics-infographic

Blog Post #3

There are a couple of ELA technology standards that I feel most prepared to teach with my existing knowledge. The first is LAFS.68.WHST.3.8 which pertains to teaching how to cite and use search engines. I would be comfortable with teaching this because I am familiar with Easy Bib and Safe Search from Google. Another standard I would feel prepared to teach is LAFS.7.L.3.4 which is related to finding the meanings and understanding the context of a word. I have used Dictionary and Word Hippo many times so could show students what resources are best for these scenarios. The standards that would require more learning on my part is LAFS.1112.RH.3.7 in terms of mixing multiple sources of diverse formats in math and LAFS.1112.SL.2.5 in terms of digital media presentations.

One of the resources in the CPALMS Educator Toolkit that I enjoyed was the Florida Students Resource. It had specific math learning topics for all grades. I decided to click on of the links and I saw a Khan Academy video tutorial for solving quadratic equations using the quadratic formula. This would be an extremely useful tool to use in my classroom. I would use these videos so that students can learn both visually and auditory. This would help with the math topics that I teach in the classroom.

While working on the Newsletter Design assignment, I was able to use my previous knowledge of word along with the skills I learned in this class. I was given the opportunity to practice the new word skills that I learned with this assignment. I grasped how to create color coordination with my designs, and I understood the importance of simplistic beauty. I learned not to overwhelm my audience with too much color or information but to have a balance with my design. I really enjoyed creating an official and professional newsletter. Next time, I would like to include more pictures and visual graphics. The skills and design strategies that I learned, the simplistic beauty and balanced designs, will be useful as a future Mathematics professor. These skills could be used for creating syllabi and other document I may create for my students.

Students in a Classroom. https://www.hersides.com/2012/11/traditional-vs-montessori-method-of.html.

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Blog Journal 2

Microsoft Word has been apart of my academic life since middle school. I have used Microsoft word mainly for writing essays. Most of my teachers just used word for the syllabus and handouts. I have not seen them use it in class unless it was a technology class. Microsoft Word has also helped me in terms of the resources it provides. This includes spelling check for my grammar, word count for certain essay requirements, and formatting for paper designs.



I have experienced the concepts of copyright and fair use of materials in educational settings. This experience started in middle school with the concept of plagiarism. I learned how to cite my sources and give credit to the authors, websites, and articles that I referenced in my work. This has been a major copyright issue for high school. For instance, I wrote a paper in an Art class and I was the only student to cite my references. My teacher gave everyone else an F because of plagiarism. As a teacher, I would be strict when it comes to copyright and fair use because individuals should get credit and protection for what they create.  I would tell my students that plagiarism will result in a bad grade and all sources need to be cited. In terms of developing my own materials, I would have my name at the bottom and citations of resources. When students create their own works, they will be required to put their names of the paper or assignment.


Academic honesty is a strict policy that would be in the syllabus and discussed in class. A way to solve this issue is through plain and direct consequences to those who are dishonest and through providing enough resources where students do not feel the urge to cheat. For example, students who are academically dishonest can have the consequence of an F and teachers should make sure students understand material through pretests and homework.  A solution to cyberbullying can be showing students the effects of bullying such as the rates of suicides regarding bullying and the dramatic pains that students experienced when getting bullied. Showing videos of the effects can show the sentimental sides of this issue. Copyright issues can be solved with constant reminders of how to cite and what to cite in the classroom. Students should learn that every resource needs to be cited even if it is a minor reference.


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Teachers and students are influenced to use technology in the classroom in the modern era. This is due to the immense technological advancements in society. Technology provides a great learning resource and medium to teach and learn subjects of all kinds. Students are motivated to use technology because they can learn many different ways. Also teachers can use videos, PowerPoints, and other technology to help their students understand material.

The International Society for Technology in Education provides great standards that are related to digital learning for both students and educators. These standards help create goals and ambitions for students and teachers to reach in terms of educational resources. As a student, one of the standards that is most purposeful to me is the empowered learner. I like it because it shows that students can do more than just memorize information, but they can also build networks and create learning environments for the ultimate success. One standard that seems outside of my current skill set is the Digital Citizen because it seems it may be complex to socially interact online and pay attention to the digital world while focusing on classes as a student.

I agree with the label “digital native” for today’s youth simply because youth born during technological advancements tend to be more comfortable with technology.  I would define “digital native” as people that are familiar and congenial with technology.  I have not seen major differences between how my teachers, and I use technology. I disagree with the term digital immigrants and I do not see myself as being a digital immigrant when I teach my future students. There are a multitude of adults familiar with technology and I suppose that I will be one of them as a future professor.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.