Ebooks

Today's tech savvy learners are often equipped with a variety of technological tools used as easy as pencil and paper - eBooks

      I see the use and integration of eBooks impacting the writing process in a great way. I was encouraged by how excited the children became when they started to write their eBook in their special ed course in the video The World is the Audience. I think the integration of these eBooks was so crucial for these students. Before starting and writing the eBooks the students did not feel as if they had an audience but with this book it gave them a massive audience. 

     I also think that it will impact the writing process by encouraging other students to write with the possibility of publishing a book. This makes them more goal originated because they know that they will have an audience that will view their book. Also, collaboration with other student in their classroom will encourage the students to come up with good quality ideas. This gives the students a sense of satisfaction. I think that eBooks can have a positive impact on all students writing abilities if the teacher encourages it the right way.

      I think that using student created books in the classroom is such a good idea. Using their own books allows the students to use constructive criticism to improve their writing. Before and after the book is published you can ask the students to change and implement new ideas into the stories that can improve the story. I also think using books that were published by other classrooms or schools can also have a positive effect on students. The students reading the book can see what the other classrooms or students their age are learning compared to what they are learning.
    
      I see eBooks fitting into my future classroom in a big way. I also want to teach special education so I think that eBooks will be such a positive thing for my students to do. Even if the student publishes a book all by themselves I think that they can learn a lot from them. The considerations that I will have to make is that I will have to make sure that their learning isn't only about eBooks.

     The thing that stood out most to be in Jon's presentation is how honest he was with his students. In this day and age we always say "do to others what you want done to yourself." But i think that people take that statement a little too far because they won't be honest about something that needs to be said. But Jon was very honest with his students when he said that their writing sucked.  I think that this creates a classroom of honesty and trust because the student learn to trust in their teacher, whether it is good or bad. 

Cool tool week 8

Video Star

This week I used Video Star. I used this app to make a funny video so I hope you enjoy it! :) This app was fun and useful if you are willing to make videos to share with others. This app makes videos that you are able to put to a song, but you also have the option of not adding a song. I could use this tool to share information in a fun and useful way with my students and other teachers. It is quick and almost anyone can use this app. It is very self explanatory and you are able to upload videos to pretty much an source. In the classroom you could use this tool to do daily reminders or maybe a recap of the week because it is used in such a fun way and students will truly enjoy it.

Students could use this app for their own use and for digital artifacts. This could be used as a study tool or to share information with others or your teachers. The only downfall is that some students are too shy to use this type of media. 

Video Star

Week 7

"Our world is exploding with digital opportunities"

Copyright

       As a teacher and professional we have a job and responsibility to protect the rights of the people who have published things for us to use. We have a responsibility to protect those right for the owners because they have taken the time to put their knowledge together in a useful way.  To teach the students these things teachers must be aware of the copyright laws. If we make the students aware of these standards they will not make copyright infringement mistakes. We also have to teach students that they have legal rights and responsibility themselves while they are using and sharing others information in the classroom setting. We also need to teach students that their work is automatically protected by copyright as stated in the video Understand Copyright " When something is created it is automatically protected by copyright."

      When selecting images, technology and other forms of media we have the responsibility of making sure that information is for public use. If an image is not labeled for public use it will come back on us as a copyright infringement because we did not take the time to check or review the image. Copyright infringement can cost thousands of dollars and that is not something you want to happen. After checking to make sure the image is available for public use we must also make sure we give fair and appropriate credit to the original source. Whether it be a business, cooperation or individual, we need to give credit where credit is due. 

      The ethical issues surrounding downloading movies and music are not something people typically take into account. When you download and movie or music for free the owner of that piece does not receive credit or money for that download. Ethically we should not download music or movies if we are not paying for it, but that is not what happens. Free movies and music are available at our fingertips and people take advantage of that. 

      Everyone, including our students, need to know that this is a major issue in the world of music and movies. Artists are losing thousands of dollars to people that are downloading their music for free. We as teachers need to make our students aware of this. It is also a huge lawsuit if they catch you downloading something illegally. 

     There are many reasons why we need to educate our students on copyright laws and policies. If we learn to protect ourselves we can teach our students to do the same!

Week 7 Cool Tool

(I apologize for taking a picture of it, it would not save to my computer)

      The tool I have chosen is Popplet. This tool enables you to make and create word maps for various things. I chose this tool because word maps are something that can be used at every grade level throughout the education process. I could use this tool to do the exact thing I did with it or use it for actual education purposes. I used this tool to describe myself because I think that will be a great icebreaker for the kids on the first day. This will be an icebreaker for introducing themselves and the use of technology.

     I would use this tool in my classroom to promote the use of visual aides in the classroom. I think visual aides are a crucial tool to use in the classroom because it helps the kids to apply what they know, visually. The students could absolutely use this tool for their own use. They could use this as a tool for the classroom or a study tool. I think that showing students tools like this and other varios types of visual aides is very important. As the technology age progresses I think aide like this will be very helpful! 

Popplet

Weekly Update; Major Project

     This week I met with a teacher and researched thoroughly about painting on canvas. After meeting with the teacher I learned that I will make many mistakes and have to erase almost everything. But she made sure that I knew that I have to be patient when learning this new technique. I told her that I have painted very ordinary things, but nothing with depth.
   While talking to her, I learned that I should start by trying to duplicate a piece of art that I research and do it step by step until I am comfortable doing my own. After talking to her I am so excited to start this project. I have purchased 4 canvas' to make sure if I make a mistake I am able to have another canvas as a backup.
      After meeting with her I began to look up videos on you tube. After looking at close to a dozen videos I fell in love with the Sunset and Cattails video because I love warm summer nights at the lake.  Sunsets and Cattails
     I am going to start with this video and hopefully learn from their technique and make it my own. I also love sharks so I may have to complete two projects for this! Sharks!
I am so beyond excited to see the end result and I hope people can learn from what I have learned!

I have purchased my supplies and I am going to start painting this week!

Collage created using BeFunky! 

"Once I create a different environment in the classroom you will be amazed at how much they pay attention" - Garth Holman 

      Digital citizenship means a lot to me for my personal and professional life. By definition digital citizenship "prepares you to navigate the superhighway confidently and safely" -  Digital Citizenship 

If you know how to navigate the internet safely you will not have to worry about the possible reprocutions that come if you do not navigate it safely. Both my personal and professional life through digital citzenship run together. I am a teacher in a small school so all of the teachers, coworkers and parents are all friends on social media. Most of the parents that I see daily add me on social media so I must watch everything I say and do. 

     I work at a Christian school so things like drinking, haunted houses and going out is not something I will post to social media. At times it can be frustrating becuase I am a young college student and I must also be aware of what I post and what others post of me. But it is also very wise to watch what happens on my social media. It will be there forever and if I do not watch, it can come back to haunt me later in life.

"Few young people actually engage in ethical thinking online" - Digital Citizenship

    In high school I was labeled as one of the "mean girls" because I thought I was hot stuff. I never posted anything online about anyone, but I was always running my mouth. As I look back I am both embarrassed and thankful for my behavior. I am embarrassed because of the way I acted in high school. I was no better than the person sitting next to me and I had no right to say anything to them. But on the other hand I am thankful because I never posted anything on social media. Although i was a mean girl, I was very aware of others feelings. 

    Although I never posted anything about anyone, people sure did post about me. There was one girl that hated my guts and she constantly tried to turn everyone against me. Posting about my boyfriend, friends and family was something that she did on a weekly basis. In high school, it hurt, and it hurt bad. But looking back at it now, it doesnt matter what her or anyone else thought of me. Those things she said will stay there forever. But my digital footprint will remain clean. 

    As the internet expands and threats continue, parents have every reason to be concerned. I recently watched a movie where the kids of the movie convinced a girl to commit suicide. This is a very deadly, but popular thing on social media. As someone that wants to have children in the future i fear for my future kids. I couldn't imagine watcing this happen to someone, or finding out in the end that this happened. But I think if we educate our children we will be able to make sure they do not fall into the trap of social media. 

BeFunky

       The Cool Tool I have chosen is BeFunky and I absolutely love it! You can do so many cool and different things with this app. At first I was editing a picture but I realized that wouldn't have anything to do with a future classroom. Then I saw the option to make an invitation and I got an idea. You can do tons of things with this app in different sections. You are able to edit pictures, you can apply makeup to a picture, and also add backgrounds or stickers. You can also make invitations or save the dates.
      I can use this in my classroom as a reward or goal to works towards. A lot of times if a student has something to look forward to, it motivates them to do better or to work harder. I made this invitation as an example of something I can do for my students. If they know at the end of the year they will get cake and ice cream they may want to try harder to succeed.
      Students could also use this app. This app could get their creative juices flowing. I could give them an assignment to make a visually appealing poster and they could make it with this app. I think students will love this app because it is challenging to get the words, pictures and symbols to fit just right.
      The website can be accessed here https://www.befunky.com/create/designer/. I highly recommend it :)

TPack

"When teachers integrate technology in the classroom, their approaches seem to be more student-centered. Students tend to work together more while using technology to write stories, search the web, and create multimedia presentations." 

The Benefits of Integrating Technology

         I think there are huge benefits to integrating technology in the classroom. It opens up an entire world of discovery and knowledge for both educators and learners. When implementing technology in the classroom there are many questions you must consider. With one being, is this technology relevant to the content area? For example if I am teaching about the geography of Ohio I would introduce Google Maps to the students as a resource tool. "You must know the content and pedagogical knowledge which will make you a good teacher." - Dr. Gary Holliday in TPACK. 

If the teacher does not know the content area they can not expect the student to learn from the information. Teachers must also know how to use the technology. As stated by Dr. Holliday, teachers can know the content area back and forth but they must be able to teach it in an effective way. TPACK. This is a very true statement and I have encountered it multiple times. A professor can be incredibly knowledgeable in an area, but if they do not have teaching ability you do not learn any of the bottled up knowledge they have.  

       There are both negative and positive things that come with integrating technology. "Students are more motivated and have a greater sense of control over what they can access and read; their comprehension and ability to create text are improved." Benefits This statement couldn't be more true! I remember when teachers first started using any kind of technology in the classroom I was so excited for that day because I was always interested in that particular information that was presented in a different way.  It helps the student to remain focused on the information being presented. Students also being to start thinking on a higher level because of the depth of information being presented to them. 

       Although there are tons of benefits of integrating technology, there are also many disadvantages. "Teachers most often lack the training they need to incorporate technology in the classroom. Taking one technology workshop or even a class here and there is definitely not enough for them to really learn how to incorporate technology and appreciate its use and value" Challenges The older the teacher the more they are stuck in their ways with teaching. It is hard to get an older teacher to integrate technology in their classroom because blackboards have worked for so long. But if we are able to show these teachers how effective technology is, they may change their ways to benefit the students. 

       I will choose technologies that pertains directly to the information I am teaching. I am currently teaching a technology class at the school I work at. Every week the students want to type or do something on the laptops but I do not always use the same technology. I think that it is important for students to understand and appreciate how far technology has come, so we are currently learning how to use a typewriter. I think that this is so beneficial to the students because they are able to appreciate the technologies that they have now. The students have learned a ton by just integrating both new and old ways of teaching. 

      This is my first time being introduced to TPACK so rightfully one will have questions. I think that the best way to get these questions answered is to talk to other professionals about their experience. They will be able to tell you the things they love and also the things they hate. This can save a lot of time and effort during your first couple years of teaching. 

Week 5, Tools

  

A.The tool I chose is Creaza. I picked this tool because I thought it was interesting because of the many things it does. With this tool you can create visual aides and pictures to help with lessons. I chose to do this because I was recently discussing the types of edible eggs with a friend. I think visual aides like this show the many different types of  things that stem from the main topic. 

B. I can use this tool in many different ways. I could use it to have students make presentations to present to the class. I can also use it to make things for my own personal classroom. You can also use this tool for entertainment as it has many funny aspects to it.

C. I would use this tool in my classroom to help the students to understand the topic more in depth. If I was to actually use in this in my classroom I would explain the eggs in detail.Many people learn through visual representations so I think that the more interesting way you present the topic, the better the student will understand.

D. Students could absolutely use this in their own way. It was by far one of the easiest presentations to make. The directions were simple and self explanatory.

E. http://www.creazaeducation.com/editor/54429294?exerciseId=54434748