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.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
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
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
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
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.
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.
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