#3- ELA and Newsletter Design

After reading the Tech Standards Handout, I have concluded that a good portion of the standards I could be prepared to teach but there are a lot that I would need more knowledge on.  I know a good bit about technology and have some experience with its usage but integrating it into a classroom setting will be a new experience and one that I don't think I am fully prepared for yet.  I feel confident about "multimedia literature," "informational text," "history/social studies," and "science/technical subjects" included in my lessons.  More challenging will be to teach my students how to use these types of technology.  I need more preparation in this area.

According to Teaching and Learning with Technology, Digital citizenship "requires productive and responsible participation."  My students must learn to use technology in a productive, effective, and positive manner.  Discussion groups, and chats will be used.  They will be taught how to use the World Wide Web responsibly and learn how to effectively navigate it.  Learning management systems will used to help with this.

I learned how to use columns, wrap text around pics, and many other things.  I haven't figured out how to change the two columns back to one column for the permission slip yet.  My rough draft one does not include the permission slip for this reason.  Through trial and error I figured out how to do a lot on Word.  It is an amazing program with so many possibilities.  I'm impressed with all of its capabilities and am eager to learn even more about it than I already have. It is great for making Newsletters.  I plan on utilizing Word a lot in the future.

#2- Word, Copy Right, PLNs

I used MS Word as a student quite frequently.  It was the primary place I wrote essays, reports, and took notes.  I was never really taught how to use Word to its full capability. Rather, I played around with it and figured out some of its cool and helpful features.  I was taught the basic fundamentals but not in depth about it.  I also sought advice from peers to learn more about Word and all that it has to offer.  My teachers utilized MS Word as well for similar reasons.  They also used it as a template for directions on an assignment and even assignments themselves.

I wasn't told much about Copyright except that it was illegal to copy direct information from text, video, media and graphics.  In school we were taught how to properly cite information and graphics taken from sources for educational purposes.  The Fair Use criteria was never fully explained to me. After reading chapter 11 and listening to the podcast I have a more complete understanding of why we are required to cite information.  The factors involved in determining Fair Use are the nature of the work, purpose, amount used, and how it affects the profit or market.  As a teacher, it will be important that the students understand not only how to cite their info but also why they are required to do so. Older students should be informed how to protect their own creative information.  As a teacher it will also be important to understand Fair Use, software piracy, and the Copyright law in order to legally share educational information to the students.

I had previously acquired knowledge on how to utilize Twitter by playing around with it but I did learn a few more things recently like hashtags and what they do.  PLNs are a great way to communicate efficiently and collaborate with others on a subject matter.  As a teacher, it is a great way to get connected and share information with both students and other colleagues.

#1 Chapter 1 and 2

Technology is an important part of the educational experience.  In a lot of ways, technology has helped and even improved the class room setting.  There is lesson planning software, lesson planning resources, and standards alignment software that assist in lesson preparation.  Grading software assists in teacher tasks.  Presentation software, multimedia hardware and software assist teachers in lecture and class presentations.  Also, social media, teleconferencing, email, and other online discussions have improved collaboration and communication.  There is a growing need to integrate technology into education to prepare students for contemporary life.  There are also critical concerns about how technology is used.  There are environmental factors, psychological factors, and personal filters that affect and can interfere with the communication process in education.  Students also have different cognitive and learning styles that influence how they learn.  It is important that the technology used compliments these needs and learning styles rather than complicate or interfere with them.  In my opinion, technology has been used effectively.  There are many standards and organizations like Common Core, ISTE, P21, TEAC, CAEP, and NCATE that help integrate technology into teaching and learning.  Controversy arises over finances and "allotting time for integrating technology" into the classrooms.  I am fairly optimistic about all the changes and improvements that have been made so far and hope that more are to come about the challenges that are still lingering.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a federally funded initiative to make standards for technology for students and teachers.  One of their projects is the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS.)  NETS "identifies definitive competencies for technology skills" that current and future educators should have for the educational experience of their students.  The NET-T are standards of knowledge and skills of teachers, which is outside my current skill set.  The NET-S "articulates basic technology competencies for students" and their application.  This gladdens my heart because of the benefits of the infusion of learning already created and is very exciting for future goals of supporting student learning.

Digital natives are people that have grown up knowing technology.  Digital immigrants learned about technology throughout their life and are less familiar with it.  I am considered a digital native but I still would not consider myself to be tech savvy.  I would agree that I am more familiar with technology than my elders, like my grandparents.  But I also believe that it has a lot to do with the individual's experience and interest.  My dad is much more tech savvy than I am because he uses technology frequently for work and must adapt as it changes.  I have had less of a need for such knowledge and adaptation.  My knowledge is somewhat limited to social media because that is what I use most frequently and am interested in.  My teaches taught me most of what I know about computers and technology.  They taught me how to use PowerPoint, Excel, and Word for assignments and projects.  I imagine I have a lot to learn so that I can be as beneficial to my students someday as mine were for me in regards to technology.