ILP "Participation" 2

For this independent learning project, I wanted to focus on the trip we made to the FSU Service Center. This trip was particularly important to me because of the content I have been learning from another course I am currently taking. The class has a high focus on persons with disabilities, so it was really cool to take part and see hands on just how inclusive and accessible FSU really is. The accommodations that are made to help students learn, such as creating 3D textbooks for students who are visually impaired, or computers that read the text off screen. It was not my first time being involved and learning about the technologies that were offered from that trip. This semester I made a trip over to the Florida Division of Blind Services and learned all about the organization and what they offer there. I saw many similarities between the DBS, especially among the pieces of assertive technology, and also among the services and lengths they go for for their clients and students. I learned that many accommodations are in reality much cheaper than people think, and the services that are usually needed are simple and inclusive, such as renting a book from their 3D library for reading, or going to the center to use their library filled with assitive technologies to do homework. The relationships that are made between the employees and their clients is essential are strong as trust is vital in these relationships, and its interesting to see how the technology that is used makes their interaction seamless. Understanding persons with disabilities and asking the individual what accommodations or assistance they require helps all party members, and it provides insight on different perspectives that are brought into the classroom and those perspectives can be related to future students to face similar situations.
I included pictures from both site visits I did.

Blog Post #10

From what I have gathered from working in an office job, data collection is absolutely vital for organizations and staying organized. Data is valuable, it tells us about people, trends, habits, the weather, etc. Organizations use that data to promote growth within the company. I know if I was a teacher I would be collecting data about students, so I can know them better and craft the lesson plan based off the information. Completing surveys is also a good way to get information about some opinions your peers or students may hold. After learning how to may them with Qualtics, I really am looking forward to taking more of them for the research pool. (which I have to complete for two classes). Excel is a tool I am familiar with, and it was fun seeing it again in my life, as she is a cruel mistress, coming and going, never on my watch but on chance. At any rate, excel is awesome for creating a schedule, or organizing a seating chart. It is a tool that helps support teaching, but would not directly be taught to my students. I would use it as a teachers aid, and I would use it a lot due to its versatile nature.

I enjoyed reading my classmates blogs this semester. My favorite part about it is that each blog posts gives us a little insight to who that person is and what they like and do not like. Some students enjoyed parts of the class I personally did not like, and they provided an explanation as to why, which helped open up my eyes from time to time. I like when students had to post screenshots of their own work, it was really fun to compare works, and you could see what each student was interested in based off the creative route they chose to take.

If i had to pick a technology I would like to work more with... I would have to say VR. It is extremely cool and its applications are boundless. I would like to look more into what it has to offer and see where my professional career would be using such technology. We only got to have a taste of VR, but after visiting the sandbox several times I really want to go back and learn more about it. As far as skills goes when using it I am not sure. I would want to work with the computer program itself to gain an understanding of the ins and outs on VR.

wow, is this really the last blog post? What a semester you guys. almost done with it, keep up the good work

Blog Post #9

The "flipped classroom" refers to the teaching method of students watching prerecorded lectures done by their teachers while they are at home, so they are prepared on the material before coming to class. This allows students to focus their time on other things such as class work or projects rather than be bogged down with lecture and complete homework later on in the evening. More and more classrooms are adopting this style of teaching because the technology available to us in these days makes this method easier to use. Students get to spend their class time actively engaged in the topic rather than be educated on it, which is being done before class. I like this style of teaching, it is more involved and teachers are more able to help their students when they have questions about their work. Providing class time for students to engage with each other and help teach each other these topics while being aided by their teacher looks to be a solid method of classroom management in my opinion. Here's a link to how it can benefit certain students, as it is a more flexible scheduling than the conventional classroom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojiebVw8O0g

"Open" software basically means that any user has the power to go in to the lines of programming and make changes how they see fit. They can take that modified code and release it to other users who can enjoy their benefits. This has become more and more common as the community of devs continues to grow. Using something open source means taking away potential profits from the original company that created the program, as new and potentially better ideas are added without the consent or knowledge of the parent company. I believe that open source programs lead to creative uses that benefit the public more than the parent company intended, and overall has more positive results on a social level.

After going through each of these power point assignments, I have concluded that I had more fun the the information dissemination project rather than the interactive game PP. I ended up going over board about a topic I was really interested in and lectured for over 10 minutes. However, I did learn a lot more from the PP game assignment, such as how to make an entire interactive game on PP. I cannot imagine myself using those features too much, but I have the know how to be able to do that now if necessary.

Side note: I would post a screenshot but I cannot for the life of me find Paint or anything like that on this computer. I will see if I can add them later

Blog Post #8

That Lab trip 2 weeks ago was so cool! I knew FSU offered services like that but seeing what they do first hand was really fascinating. This semester I have been working with PWDs in my other classes and I am glad that it is being taught in our curriculum because it is a topic that needs discussion to break stigmas. The assistive technology was really familiar to me, like the text to speech and zooming programs, and the computer that zoomed in to books. The braile textbooks were probably the coolest part of the trip for me. This technology is specificically helpful to PWDs and since they are the worlds largest minority group it is nice to see the tech in action. Now I know what I would bring to the table with this sort of technology, and who i would be helping, and more importantly, how I would help them. All in all, good time, will probs go back for the ilsp.

Powerpoint is a powerful tool when it comes to presentations. It is really my only tool these days. I easily made a powerpoint based on the solar system merely a few moments ago. If i were to use it to teach Bloom's Taxonomy, I would use it step by step, discussing in detail each aspect of it. This stretches across grade levels, but as the grade goes up, discuss in further detail with more facts and less colorful images. Lower level grades would see more images to explain the concept, while older grade levels may have questions posed to them to promote critical thinking. I may have misread this second paragraph font, but I won't delete anyways. each grade level would face a higher level in the taxonomy, such as younger students only having to accomplish smaller tasks for reward while older students need to achieve the whole ladder.

Honestly, just keep up with NYtimes to stay posted on teacher news. Here I get all the info I need related to teachers and policy impacts that occur. Any breaking news is on here first, and any changes being made are never missed. All in all, this is my go to site for not only news but topic specific news! Thats it for me today yall have a good one

Blog Post #7

Every student requires a certain strategy for the most efficient way of learning, and as technology progresses and advances we find more and more its usefulness in the classroom. My experience this semester has involved a lot of information regarding persons with disabilities, adaptive, assistive and accessible technologies so I have been quite familiar with the concept now that its time our class started learning it. While I personally do not know anyone who requires such technology, I have been in contact with it all semester. I learned all about special keyboards and mouses, and computer programs that make work and learning more accessible for persons with disabilities such as Jaws or Screenreader. This technology is not only useful, but vital to individuals who require them. The biggest issue in the classroom with this technology is that it slows down the pace of the class which can hinder those who are eager to get ahead in the lesson. A strategy needs to be developed to fit the needs of both students with disabilities and students without them.

Oh god, this web page assignment. I really did not enjoy this one, it was monotonous and really difficult to come up with fictional information to put on there, adding links and images was just repetitive and I cannot imagine ever using weebly or wix for myself in any setting whatsoever. I had to make a list, for what? I will never know. Add fictional events? Sure, i guess, overall I felt like i was forcing an assignment out and took no enjoyment in it. I did not learn anything, I have used wix in the past for school projects and this was essentially the same assignment except less strict on the guidelines and purpose. I do not have any recommendations to fix this assignment either, I say just scratch it from the lesson plan. At any rate, here's my website in all its hideous glory.

http://thisassigmentugh.weebly.com/

As far as Diigo goes? Not sure. Not my style of site, I am sure it would be great for a group research project but I haven't found any practical uses really. But even then, usually my group members and I use google docs or slides for communication and tend to independently research our own material rather than go through the trouble of sending it to a project member for them to review before deciding on its validity. anyways thats all, Have a good Spring Break y'all!

ILP "Participation" #1

Our trip to the FSU College of education Tech Sandbox was not my first.It is really the coolest place on campus. The tour we had was cool, but I especially enjoyed my hands on experience with the Virtual Reality. I believe VR is the next step in learning and education, and seeing the advancements made from the last time boggled my mind. My first experience with it had no hand controls, but just a pre-made, non-interactive video of me BLASTING into space. It was seriously the coolest thing, and this last time with the hand controls really made me realize how cool this new technology will be. It was a bit ungainly at first but once I was coordinated I was having the best time. My experience had me interacting with a little robot friend, and 3D printing objects that I could pick up and use, such as generating butterflies that would land on my finger, or a laser gun to blast those butterflies away. The applications for this can go way beyond the simple demo I did. Students can get a first person experience into any subject and get "virtual" world experience. For example, they can dive into the depths of the ocean, or soar in the sky all while sitting in their home chair. Students are more likely to retain the information they learn through a hands on first person experience as opposed to straight lectures, and therefore can have a higher achievement in their academics. While it is not reality, it is in my opinion the next best thing, possibly even better because it is safer than actually blasting into space, and a lot more feasible as well. I did not get any pictures of my using VR but I do have pictures from my time there! I plan on going back to see more of what VR has to offer.

Blog Post #6

For this post I decided to check out my old high schools website to see what info I could find. It reminded me of the good ol' days, however I was on a mission. I did not find anything out of the ordinary, just the usual clubs and activities pages, a show of their athletics and a page for all their academics. Student life is a central point as this website is geared to help students navigate and resolve issues they have with ease online. There is a page for alumni, but mainly for donation purposes, a page for the history of the school and an about us link that takes us to their mission. I cannot find anything unique or surprising other than the fact it is a private catholic school that has links that lead to religious statements. This does bring me back though.

http://www.cardinalnewman.com/

I use technology for basically everything in regards to being productive. I cannot imagine a classroom where I am not being aided by some form of tech, like Microsoft word or powerpoint. It is simply more efficient than having to hand write information on the board, I can deliver the information to students quickly while being able to discuss what each slide means, along with visuals and graphs to help students better understand the subject material. Time is being used effectively and students who are struggling can utilize technology to find better ways to learn, and as a teacher it would be my job to help them find the best strategies for learning.

My favorite part of the Tech sandbox tour was the VR. It was seriously to cool for school. The applications this can have for classrooms goes beyond anything I could have ever expected as a child. It is like the Magic School Bus TV show, where the only limits are imagination. Students can get first person experience on what its like beneath the ocean, or what space looks like, and the interactive features made the hands on experience quite literally hands on. This can get students very interested in learning as they are getting a real virtual experience that they will remember far longer than just hearing lecture and reading slides. I think VR is the future of learning and gaming and will be a useful tool for generations to come.

Blog Post #5

Web 2.0 tools, I believe, is the future of technology as although it is more sophisticated, it is more immersive and overall more efficient for future generations to become accustomed to to use effectively. After listening to the podcast and searching for other examples of Web 2.0 tools and technology, I believe a good platform for a classroom setting is YouTube, as I have seen it used to explain in a quick but detailed manor certain lessons while providing visual examples that manage to help all types of learners; whether it be visual or auditory. Another technology I think is useful is Twitter due to its quick nature. Students and teachers can be on the same page with twitter and share useful information for class and other forms of entertainment.

One of my personal favorite Web 2.0 technology would be google slides and google docs. Those tools have been intensely helpful with collaborating with group projects as it provides a platform we can all edit without having to be in the same room. I wish I had these tools in high school as it would have made group projects so much easier. Being able to edit and see other peoples edits on a presentation or document in real time is leagues better than having to make edits one by one, making the whole process that much more efficient and less frustrating. It also allows us to chat in a text box while we are working on it so we stay in communication. As a teacher, this tool could help students who do not have access to certain transportation but still allows them to be productive and collaborative with teammates.

I believe that 3D printing is the end all be all for our future. Right now it is in a very young stage, but the benefits we have seen from it have already opened doors for many people. From gaining a limb back that was lost, to printing cost saving technologies. Once 3D printing really gets steam beneath it, I believe our future will never be the same. Products that were costly are now cheap, perhaps houses will be able to be printed cutting out all labor costs and dangers. It will be a world where anything can be downloaded and printed at any time. It reminds me of when the first car was introduced, many claimed it had no real place over horses and that it was too much of a hassle to effectively use, now a hundred years later everyone and their kid owns a car. This will be the same with 3D printing, and so 20 years from now we will be living in a different world almost. This I am excited to see unfold in my lifetime. As for utilization in the classroom? Subjects that are being studied can be printed out in detail for students to examine, I can imagine this application being used for a biology class where hands on learning is necessary, but its applications can be spread across all classes and subjects.

Blog Post #4

I will come right out and say it, Twitter has never been a friend. It's layout is confusing and not intuitive and I have never been sure exactly what is happening. I find myself not wanting to go on Twitter at all fore anything, I do not feel it could positively help in my networking, if I wanted to do that I would log onto Linkedin. Hashtags and groups seem like too much effort, it is not streamlined and is bloated with features I really could care less about. I have attempted to use Twitter in the past but ran into the same problems. I honestly wish we did not have to use it for the course, I find it more troublesome then actually doing homework, and i keep forgetting to log on and send out tweets. I feel like I am missing a key aspect to the site, but it has not clicked for me in the slightest.

The digital divide is becoming more crucial to student success. More and more we as a society are logging on to some form of technology to communicate with each other and to do work, and those who readily have access go without wanting, but those of lower socioeconomic level have more struggles to go through just to gain access. Technology has become so prevalent that it is expected for everyone to have some form of it, and when it comes to the classroom, I find that over the years I have been utilizing technology more and more to the point where i have become extremely reliant on its benefits that I could not go back. There are still students out there who suffer poor academics simply because of the lack of access to things like a computer or the internet. The digital divide needs to be reduced on all levels for equal opportunity.

As a teacher I expect to be using Microsoft office more than anything. I need PowerPoint for presentations, I need word to create assignments and tests/quizzes, and I need excel to stay organized with all my students. Microsoft Office has always been my main software for work purposes and I do not see that changing. I have grown accustomed to it and would find it hard to change. The grade level I would be aiming for with this software is universal. Any class or grade level I go into, I would need Office to be able to get anything done. As far as software I would use the least? Hard to say. There is plenty of software I already do not utilize. I will have to think harder on it

Blog Post #3

After going through the ELA Technology Standards, one section in particular stood out to me, RST.7. I would feel most comfortable teaching this because I have always held an affinity for sciences, and using any resource possible to convey that information. I am familiar with the usage of graphs, models, and diagrams and so forth when it comes to presentations. Visual aids have always been helpful when I was learning about any science, and I have been able to navigate the resources at my disposal to accurately find what i am looking for that would aid me in teaching a class. The rest of the standards i could use some work on, honestly, but in particular I would need assistance with RL.5, using digital media to teach a classroom has never been my ideal method, and I am unsure of how I would even begin to do so.

Teaching a higher level Science course (for high schools) would require me to use all of my resources for creating a presentation for the students. I would use Wikis for the students so that they could be shown all relevant material and beyond for their own curiosities and have them make an online blog of their experiences in the classroom. Blogs are a good method of having students think critically about what they are learning, even if it is for themselves, it will create a better understanding of the subject material. A digital citizenship guideline I would like to reinforce among the age bracket I would be teaching is to not steal other peoples work. This is a crucially important life lesson, as the consequences of plagiarism are very serious and should not be taken lightly by students who are regularly assigned homework and papers.

The newsletter assignment was... interesting. I am not sure if I learned anything too valuable or was shown things I did not already know. I can say I did learn how to make columns, specifically how not to ruin the format and layout of a paper by editing columns which i hope will be useful. Much of the assignment was trial and error for me, figuring out what would work and what does not given my knowledge of Word, and eventually I was able to create a creative newsletter design. I understand the necessity of the assignment and I appreciate what it is trying to do, but for me it was an overall bleh thing to do, and sadly I do not even have a copy of my newsletter I created. I created it on a school computer and submitted it there as well, so I am not sure how I would gain access to the same file on my home computer.

Blog Post #2

As a student, MS Word has been a constant presence in my life. I will not go 2 days without having to use the program for some reason, unless I am away on vacation. I always have at least one file from MS word on my computer, which is usually a syllabus for some class. Ever since I was a child I have been using word, and have watched the program grow along with me, from MS 2007, to 2010 and so on and so forth, and each time I have learned to navigate and use it fluidly because it is required of me to know the ins and outs for doing coursework. All MS Office programs have been frequent in my life, and will I may not excel at all of them, the outlook I gained from previous experience in office work have given me invaluable knowledge, and knowledge is power. Point me to the newest update of MS word and I will be able to relearn and adjust to whatever layout they settle on, flawed and complicated as it may be. Let's face it, MS Word peaked in 2007 and they have been trying to catch lightning in a bottle since.

Legality and the internet has been a complicated relationship in my experience. Due to its nature and its relative young age, the internet has brought up countless issues that governments have been having trouble locking down illegal activities. I, myself have participated in less than legal activities on the internet regarding intellectual property and copyright, but have never used those for self profit, only entertainment. As "wrong" as it may be, to me it is a morally gray area that has not been around long enough for a social stigma to be added on. As a professional in the workplace, I would never use an illegally downloaded software for my purposes, as that impacts other people and I would not be able to manage the consequences which could turn ugly, and would expect any student to follow suit.

The issues brought up in chapter 11 reflect legal issues, such as copyright infringement, social issues like cyberbullying, and ethical issues like academic dishonesty. Copyright infringement is a complicated issue, and it is hard to prevent students from partaking on their own time, but I feel it is best to educate students on the matter and the ramifications. Informed and knowledgeable students should be aware of which choice is the right choice. Cyberbullying is a different beast altogether, it is a social issue that has pervaded society ever since the dawn of the internet. The best way to address this is to have support groups that students can turn to that will take action, or have an anonymous reporting system to crack down on those who are cyberbullying others. It is important to teach students to remember the human on the other side, and that words can hurt even through the internet, but some, or most cyberbullys already know this so it is best to crack down on those who are being hurtful. Academic dishonesty is an issue that is unique to every student, and how they perceive what is right and wrong. Some may view it as a "get done quick" scheme but fail to realize the ethical issues about what they are doing. Informing students is the best approach, and reprimand those who take others work for themselves as harshly as necessary.

Blog Post #1

There are many reasons fueling the use of technology for teachers in the classroom, and its uses can only expand as technology improves and makes lives easier. Uses such as providing assistance with organization skills and curriculum planning have been implemented in many areas. Teachers also use new technologies for communication purposes with students and other faculty members, email, internet and cellphones are everyday things that most people have access to, and are being utilized by teachers and students alike for ease of living. A teacher can use technology to adapt to students unique learning styles as well, providing for a more wholesome and complete learning experience for students. A student may also use technology so that they can adapt material and subjects to their preferred learning style, whether it be visual or audio. Using technology to your advantage is its purpose, to make lives easier and more incorporated with daily activities and challenges faced by teachers and students alike.

ISTE standards are, in my opinion, not only appropriate but necessary for students to meet. Technology only gets more complicated, and I admire ISTE for providing a standard in learning and application of those technologies. With knowledge and understanding comes new opportunities for growth and learning, along with new horizons for creative outlets that students can take advantage of. It also provides for career development as technological implications have created a vast network of professionals who are both seeking work and providing opportunities for it. My gripe with ISTE is my personal grudge against standardized tests and how they assume people from all over the nation have equal access to these technologies, which is not the case. Some may find themselves being metaphorically held back because of unequal access to what is necessary but equal grading across the nation. Individual areas require assessment, but I do understand the plight of a standard across the board that ensures technological prowess.

While i am not a fan of labeling subgroups of people, i can agree to the "native youth" term. I say this because There is a whole new generation of people who have grown up knowing nothing without technology. Since they had these critical formative years surrounded by technology they have managed to adapt and incorporate it into their lifestyle, while older generations find the use of social networking and other things as trivial. The stark differences between how quickly a youth can learn a new technology when compared to someone much older is clear, and can be seen in many places. Students can pick up on new techs faster than their teachers, and a game of catch up has to be played on the digital immigrants part. As far as this effects learning, i am not sure. Digital immigrants have to teach the natives while learning new things as well, perhaps the direction this is all heading will weigh on the beneficial side but I cannot say for sure. As these digital natives grow up, they will still have the mental flexibility that was formed during their youth and can retain the speed of learning new technologies, but as the next generation of kids come along we may and will face new learning obstacles that we are not familiar with, and adaptation will be necessary once again.

Blog Post #0

I always felt that my generation has grown up through one of the stranger times in history. We entered at the dawn of technology, computers were finally becoming available in everyday homes and televisions were already a common household item, so my interaction with technology has been frequent through my life, and I believe in the lives of my peers. We are so technology based as a society and it has become so ingrained with how we get schoolwork or work done, and how we go about with social interaction, we are more connected than ever before. There are some who find this frightening, while others believe it is the necessary course of human evolution, my beliefs lie somewhere in the middle. I have always been around some sort of technology and have managed to familiarize myself with many programs over the course of my life and have used them to my advantage. I am familiar with Windows and its operation, as with Apple computers. I know office programs, but find myself unfamiliar with coding. I like to think i am a quick learner when it comes to adapting to new technology, seeing as i have always been trying to play catch up with these new techs and I look forward to what this class can offer me.

As far as what I hope to learn in this class, I cannot say for sure. Perhaps a deeper understanding behind the mechanisms used within technology and the building blocks that were necessary for creation. I would also be interested in the history of some of these technologies we may be introduced to in class. I would also be interested in seeing the application of technology in an educational environment that could cover a variety of grades to see the effects of technology and learning. I know for a fact that there are new "toys" in classrooms that I never got to experience because I have done classroom visitations recently, I would like to see the new dynamic in classrooms that exist because of these new techs.

I find that my test results tend to lie towards the middle, I am not surprised by this. I find that trying to determine somebody's entire being in 30 questions or less not effective. Some of the questions I was very unsure how to answer because in past experiences I have gone through many methods of learning and i am always adapting to new ways, and not unfamiliar with bringing back older methods, given that they work for me. I am a person who relies on my emotional state and gut instinct when given a decision, and that decision making process has led me down many paths of getting outside my comfort zone or remaining within it, it matters little to me at the end of the day. I will most likely continue to go down the path I already follow despite these test results because it is adaptive towards my learning style.