Blog 9!!

     Hello! So far this semester distance learning has been much more manageable than my previous semesters at FSU. I have actually been participating in distance learning since the summer going into my freshman year of high school. I always took an FLVS course or two during the summer months so that I can have more room in my high school schedule for band classes/electives. I really like how most of the time you can learn at your own pace while distance learning. I also like the convenience of it. I don't like that it is pretty difficult for me to learn while distance learning. I can understand the material in the moment or for a little quiz on the concept, but I can't reiterate anything that I have learned in those classes really. I know a lot of others who have participated in distance learning have a hard time budgeting their time so that they are able to get their work done on time. So, as a teacher, I could help my students set goals, make checklists of what needs to get done and help them schedule specific times to get their work done. This will help make their experience better because they will not be rushing through assignments to get them done before the deadline, but instead, have a healthy relationship between time and what needs to get done. This way they are ultimately less stressed about the overall process of distance learning.

    Open Educational Resources (OER) are resources that are very accessible and are typically shared through an online platform. These resources are accessible because they are openly licensed. These resources can include textbooks, modules, course materials, videos, etc. The article I found is from Pennsylvania State and it goes over the benefits of using OERs in the classroom based on the research they have collected. There are a lot of videos within this article as well that outlined generally the same thing. Some of the benefits include continually improved resources, expanded access to learning, and scalability.

    From the first PowerPoint assignment, I learned that it is pretty difficult to simplify your wording so that your students can understand what is being taught as well as that it is difficult to cut down the number of words on the slides. From the second PowerPoint assignment, I learned how to put my own sound into the program for transitions (it is .WAV instead of .mp3)and how to hyperlink images/things to the same document. I liked both of the activities because I was able to be creative when choosing the topic and making the slides. Plus I thought my jeopardy game was fun and I played it with a few of my friends to test their 7th Grade Earth Science knowledge and to test if they have been listening to me when I talk about things going on in my Geology major. I disliked how long it took for me to learn how to do certain requirements because some didn't work the first few times or didn't work at all so I had to look up different ways to do it and try those out. 

Blog 8!!

    Hello! I think I definitely acquired technology skills when creating my website. Skills such as embedding different items and adding a slide show of pictures. I also learned what looks good and what doesn’t and how to format the website so that it is pleasant to look at. I liked that I was able to be creative while doing an assignment. I also liked the website that we used. I think it was pretty user-friendly. I don’t particularly enjoy how the requirements on the assignment are written out. I wish it was set up as a checklist or something to make it easier to read. This is because it says “everything for a pass and then some”, but I wish everything was laid out instead of saying that. Making things visually appealing will be very important in my future career so I am glad that I am getting that practice in. Website link: Click Here!

    I think Diigo is a very useful tool. I have learned how to bookmark and annotate websites through Diigo. This application would be useful in the classroom when the kids are working on a document as a group or want to share what they find with their classmates. Diigo offers that ability fairly easily. With team members it would be very useful when sharing resources amongst each other. In my individual professional efforts, I think it would be useful because it adds an easier space for me to read and annotate documents and have those annotations saved. This will be very helpful when reading scientific research papers in my career.

    I found Education Technology Insights super helpful in terms of staying aware of technological trends and changes going on within education. There are many articles on this website that are used to keep anyone who is interested updated and in tune with what is going on. All of the authors that I looked at seemed knowledgeable and qualified to be writing articles about the topics that they are writing about. This website is also updated regularly which is very important when trying to stay up to date in the classroom. I would definitely use this website if/whenever I become a teacher so that I can remain in the loop.