Post #7: Assisting Technologies and Webpage Design

When working with students from a variety of different backgrounds and levels of abilities, assisting technologies may be needed to help them learn at the same level as other students. Speech-to-Text technologies can be helpful for students who have trouble writing or spelling. Spell-check and word predicting dictionaries also be helpful for students who have trouble with spelling. Audio books can be helpful for those who have trouble reading. I have friends who used audio books growing up to follow along with texts, so that they could improve their reading. In the classroom, I could imagine that students would feel like they are outcasts because they have to use special technology. I could also picture students who didn't need the technology wanting to use it.

Personally, I enjoy creating websites. I recently made a website for an interview and I have made websites in the past for class. However, I have never used Weebly. I have always used Wix. I will admit that Weebly is much easier to navigate than Wix. Weebly is user friendly and easier for me to understand it's apps. Weebly also runs smoother than Wix. I didn't really have much trouble. The only thing I really struggled with was putting two textboxes or photos directly next to each other. I eventually figured it out, but it did prove to be a little difficult. In the future, I can use other resources like Google to help me navigate and understand Weebly more. As a teacher, I plan to have a class website and this assignment allowed me to explore what I like and don't like for my future classes.

Visit my Weebly: http://hew15b.weebly.com/

While using Diigo, I've learned how to adequately annotate information. This can be very helpful when working with students because I can provide an article or reading for them and  highlight the most important parts. When working with a team of teachers, I can send them interesting or helpful articles/websites that I find, which could help us create more effective lesson plans. When working in my own professional efforts, Diigo will be helpful when writing papers. I can easily compile all of the resources that I use into one place, which will be helpful in the long run.

ILP- Design- Prezi

For my first Independent Learning Project, I created a Prezi. I have always used Powerpoint as way to present ideas and projects, so I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and use an application that I had not used before. My topic for this project is an Orientation Leader conference that I attended in March 2016. This workshop helped me identify and strengthen my leadership skills, which I want to help others do through teaching. This project contains information on what SROW is, the schedule of events and how what to look forward for in the future. Hope you enjoy!
To see my presentation, visit:
https://prezi.com/bi-41eb7xmu1/southern-regional-orientation-conference/

#6: Teacher Websites

On the Riley Elementary school teacher website, there is six different options in the sidebar to choose from. These options include Welcome, Meet the Teacher, Announcements, Assignments, Important Documents and Class Calendar. The page I visited is for Mr. Anthony Hall, a first grade teacher at Riley Elementary located in Tallahassee, Florida. All of the information was available publicly, but there was also no information on some of the tabs. I think that these websites can be helpful to get to  know teachers, but I also think that they can be kind of tedious to upkeep.

I can definitely see myself using Prezi for presentations in my classrooms. I like Prezi because it allows for more movement and I believe it keeps students more involved and engaged. I also think that I will use Edmoto and apps like  Blackboard that make it easy for me to input and share my students grades with them.

 · Last week, we visited the Technology Sandbox. Write a paragraph about how one or more technology that you experienced could be used in the classroom. Be specific and thorough.
Visiting the Technology Sandbox was so cool! I really like the SmartBoards and I think that this kind of interactive technology would be great in the classroom, specifically for student group projects or wanting to write on a website with information on it. I also really liked the virtual reality could be used to help learn about different environments or habitats. These technologies can also be used to allow students to see different perspectives.

#5: Web 2.0

     Personally, I believe that Web 2.0 tools are extremely helpful to the classroom. Sites like Twitter and Youtube can enhance a students learning experience by giving them access to learn with something that they are familiar with, the internet. These tools are also very interactive and help students share their thoughts and ideas withHowever, I think that these tools can sometimes be harmful to students attention. It is very easy for a student to get lost in the black hole that is Youtube or the never-ending conversations on Twitter.

     Quizlet is an innovative way to help students study for exams. This site allows students to create flashcards that can be accessed through an app that they can get on their phones, so they don't have to carry around a huge stack of note cards to study. I used this app in high school to help me study and find it extremely helpful. I believe in using this app to create study guides for students. I will most likely be using this app when I teach. https://quizlet.com/ 

     Truthfully, I think that gamification is going to be extremely important to education very soon. In class we played a game that had us spell words with our bodies and that was a great way to spike our energy. I think that students are using games much more often than before outside of class and adding them to class will make it easier for them to learn, making them more successful. It also keeps students engaged and entertained. I think that this technology can be used to create games that allow students to level up each time the answer a series of questions correctly, which will help them memorize information in the long run.

#4: The Digital Divide

     During the first half of this course, using Twitter has been beneficial. I think that it's interesting to see teachers interact in this sense. I've mostly been interacting with my peers and the EME twitter page. Using my peers as a resource and a reminder to tweet weekly has been helpful to making sure I complete my assignments. In the future, I think Twitter will be a great way for me to connect with other professionals and bounce ideas off of them, as well as share information that can be useful in my future classrooms.
   The digital divide, which discusses a persons access to technology, can seriously students. In the podcast, two students were compared. One student from a middle class family, whose father worked in IT and another student, who came from a working class family without a computer in their home. It was explained that when these students go into college or the job field, they would have different levels of knowledge, leading to the student without a computer to be at a disadvantage. A student who is actively using a computer and computer software, will be able to navigate Productivity software, such as Microsoft, making it easier from them to complete many assignments at the college level. Very often, PowerPoint or presentation software, as well as graphics are used for presentations. Being able to adequately navigate these programs is essential to making a visually pleasing assignments. Tutorials, Educational Games and Simulations help students practice and test themselves to make sure they understand information clearly. Without these, they may not be able to focus on a traditional study method, which can hinder their learning.
     There are many important points that should be considered when evaluating websites. Using the acronym ABCDT, is helpful to help remember these points. A stands for author, which focuses on the credibility of the person who created the website. B stands for bias. This point emphasizes the need to use websites and sources that do not have biased opinions. C is for content, which focuses on whether or not the information in the article is accurate, including grammar and spelling. D stands for design, focusing on how appealing the site and whether or not it is visually appropriate for students. T stands for Technology. This point emphasizes how accessible the site is and whether or not it will be easy for students to use. Other than these, I don't really use anything else to evaluate websites. Sometimes I check whether a website is a .com, .org or .edu to weigh its credibility. These points are important because they help make sure that information being used by students is appropriate and accurate.