Blog Post #6

Do you like the beach? Same. I'd love to be suntanning right now rather than cramming for midterms.

Today, let's chat about school websites, the future of technology in my prospective career, and my experience at the College of Education's Technology Sandbox.

I found a 2nd grade class website online titled "Mrs. Noelker's 2nd Grade Class." The link brings you to a very bright, colorful, and cheerful looking website. On the homepage, it appears that Mrs. Noelker posts public announcements to her parents on reminders, etc. On the side bar, there are the menus listed such as math, language arts, spelling, and information. When clicked on, each is opened within the same tab to the desired outcome. On each page, it has information relevant to that page. For instance on the math page, it talks about the success within the classroom and even lists the upcoming lesson plans so that the parents may stay up to date on their student's academic experience. In addition, the website holds important contact information such as phone, email, and address of the school. There is also a student login for testing, etc. Overall, the class website seems to be very well created and fulfills the teacher's goal of open communication and announcement to the parents and students.

Looking to my future, I can imagine myself using technology on a daily basis in whatever my prospective career field may be. If I were to work in a classroom setting, I would try my best to include technology in the majority of my lesson plans as our society is becoming continuously advanced in this sense. Whether it be through smart boards, or a similar product, having an increasing knowledge of this would make life so much easier! Outside of a classroom setting, I could see myself using various Microsoft softwares for organizational and creative reasons to showcase work and create documents and spreadsheets. I know that I would use a tablet and laptop to use Creative Cloud Applications to further my capabilities for my independent photography business which has flourished recently. With whatever route I choose for my career, the main key is to remain competent in the resources and continue learning no matter the circumstances.

After visiting the Technology Sandbox on Tuesday, I have gained such a greater appreciation for technology in classrooms. We were able to experience Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, 3 Dimensional Printers, and Smartboards. Together, it was quite informative as these are things that can be easily attainable and can help in many circumstances. Specifically, I like how there are different tools specified to make learning easier for students with disabilities, both physically and intellectually. I really liked how the larger tablets and boards were able to move around the classroom for shorter individuals and those in wheelchairs. I thought this was a creative aspect which is super important. An issue that some students brought up were that some of these pieces of technology may be expensive for a teacher. It was interesting to hear about the tour guide's experience with this and how not everything needs to be the most expensive product on the line. For instance, the desktop (which seemed to be a mix between Apple and Microsoft) with the ability for students to draw and interact runs approximately $1200 but for an off brand version, with the same abilities, is only approximately $600 according to the guide. This was encouraging to hear! The same goes for other products as not everything needs to be the new Apple products.

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