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.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Blog Post #5

Happy Thursday!! What a beautiful day to reflect on my learning experiences thus far in our educational technology class. So far, we've been tweeting nonstop, writing website evaluations with PB Works, and working on our ILPs too! Today, I'd like to speak about my experiences with Diigo, blogging, and Web 2.0 tools. Scroll down to check it out:)

Diigo has been an interesting tool we've been using. It only works through Google Chrome, which is unfortunate as I try my best to stay away from Chrome. What Diigo does is allows the viewer to add highlights and annotations to any website, blog, journal article prior to posting it to the group Diigo through the website. In my opinion, this is a tool that I would not use in my own classroom. I feel that the layout and user interface is not organized nor user friendly. I will stick to bookmarking and commenting in other ways.

Blogging has been super fun! I've enjoyed reading all of the comments and communicating with my classmates in that way. I also think that my blog design itself is super appealing to the eye. It has been helpful reflecting on our class and all of the discussions we've had thus far. I think that in my prospective future classroom, blogging could be something that I could introduce to my class, depending on the grade level. Of course, with proper supervision because I think it could get out of hand very easily, similarly to twitter.

A Web 2.0 resource that we have not used thus far in our class is YouTube. As we all are probably familiar with YouTube, I will give a brief overview of what exactly it is. It is a website in which individuals create an account with their username and password and have the ability to search for videos (can be informative, funny, or just plain stupid). From there, the person can share, comment, or like the video. People can upload their own videos and even collaborate with others in the process. I think that this would be a great tool to use in my classroom, depending on the age, as I could upload my own educational video or provide an overview of content previously learned. This can be done at home and sent to the students via email or online portal. One of my teachers in high school would do this with math problems not covered in class. It was super beneficial as I had the ability to pause the video whenever I wanted and return to it whenever.




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Blog Post #4

It's a beautiful day in the 'Burg. Thanks for joining us today at "The 727." Today we will be discussing the my experience thus far with educational technology within our class. In doing so, please see my VoiceThread link below and let me know if you have any comments or questions!

Michaela's Blog Journal #4 Walkthrough

See you next week at the beach:)



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Blog Post #3

Welcome back to "The 727." I hope you brought your sunscreen... just kidding. It's 62 degrees and rainy there today. Anyway, today we will be discussing ELA technology standards, the CPALMS Educator Toolkit, and the newly acquired tools I have learned from our Newsletter Design Project.

The ELA technology standards provide a matrix per grade level and subject to provide appropriate use of technology within the classroom. I chose to view the 2nd grade level standards. I feel confident  in my abilities to use print and digital text in explaining a concept or storyline and to use tools in a word document to differentiate main points in a text. I feel that I would need a tad bit more knowledge before mastering the standard of making my own audio recording. This is a skill that I think could be easily attainable for me, with proper instruction.

The CPALMS Educator Toolkit was founded at Florida State University with the collaboration of the United States Department of Education. It provides online resources for teachers by grade level. I chose the 2nd grade Tornado Chaser Lesson. In the lesson, students are to view a few brief videos regarding the weather, tornados specifically. Then the students are to answer follow up questions and complete a brief assignment about the effects of tornados and how they're studied. These questions are provided on the online resource in the CPALMS Toolkit. I've never heard of this before, but after reviewing the website and some of the resources available, I could see this being implemented in my own classroom. It seems like it would be a great way for students to learn outside of a textbook.

For our most recent project, we were asked to create a newsletter for a class of our choice. As a prospective teacher and avid photographer, I chose to create my newsletter tailored for an introduction to photography class for high school students. As I consider myself to be quite creative, I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment. I cannot think of anything I would want to change in my newsletter. I like my font choice, coloring, and graphics used. I think it's aesthetically pleasing and I hope my viewers like it! The skills I used to create this newsletter can be attributed to my future teaching in a classroom or whatever my career may be. These are skills that will last a lifetime yet be accommodated to fit the advancements in technology and constraints of subject/audience. My newsletter is displayed below for your viewing pleasure.

Catch ya next time in "The 727"

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Blog Post #2

Today at "The 727" we will be discussing Microsoft Word, copyright, and some issues regarding technology in the classroom. Stay tuned!

In my experience, I am very familiar with Microsoft Word and other Microsoft programs (PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook) for classroom use. We often used Word in High School and Middle School for essays and group projects. We used iPads often so Microsoft Word was great for submitting online assignments. Almost everything that I do now in college is through Microsoft Word: notes, assignments, study guides, etc. Without Word, I wouldn't know how to be organized in school. Looking back to my High School years, teachers used Microsoft Word and other programs for  Bell Work and presentations throughout class. They also used Word to create exams and instructional worksheets. 

As a photographer, I am quite familiar with how copyrights work. All of my photos, videos, and documents are already copyrighted prior to my client receiving the product. In a classroom setting, I know that teachers are not allowed to fully use other's copyrighted material for their benefit without giving proper credit or permission when appropriate. As a prospective teacher, I would encourage all students to complete their own genuine work. I think that teaching about plagiarism at a young age is crucial to prevent plagiarism in their future. This includes providing citations and references throughout assignments when not using your own thoughts or words to complete.  I would use my own material or give credit where needed to prevent plagiarism as a teacher. 

Technology can be beneficial for classroom education, yet comes with many issues that can be negative to the learning process. Academic Honesty and plagiarism are aspects very crucial for all levels of education. As a child, I had to sign a prompt prior to taking a test or completing an assignment that was our "Academic Honesty Policy." This policy included that we are not allowed to distribute any information regarding the topic nor receive information. This was a reminder to be honest and to prevent plagiarism. This is a solution that I would be willing to implement in my own classroom as I feel it worked well in my own education. Another issue is Cyberbullying, very common in all scenarios. To combat cyberbullying, I would do a presentation on the effects of cyberbullying and then implement a zero tolerance policy for cyberbullying. Furthermore, the issue of digital divide is common in classrooms as people come from different backgrounds and SES. To combat this issue, I would be sure that my students have access to technology both in and after school to complete assignments. Although they may not have a computer/iPad at home, the school library or classroom can make completion easier. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Blog Post #1

As a college student, I have been exposed to all types of technology over the years. Whether it be through television and Gameboys to Smartboards and MacBooks, it has been an influential aspect of my personal development. I grew up with minimal technology in my life until I reached a certain age when the internet was needed to complete assignments online (approx. Middle School). Since then, everyday I use technological tools to complete my everyday tasks.

Teachers in today's society must keep up-to-date with the new advancements being introduced within their schools. Teachers and students use technology in their classrooms for various reasons. The important reasons that come to mind is that times are changing, collaborative assignments are popular, and general engagement of the student. First, as times are changing, schools are adapting to the norm. This norm is iPads and tablets that are considered aids to classroom learning. Second, these iPads and tablets allow students to communicate online and work on assignments together. At a younger age, this assignment can be viewed as a spelling game and at an older age (middle/high school level) this could be a joint science fair project, etc. Lastly, the teacher cannot successfully teach unless his/her students are actively participating and engaging in the lesson. These tools simply add as a resource within the classroom. As times are changing, these advancements are the norm and influence the overall use in classrooms.

The ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) produces a set of standards that foster the use of technology within classrooms to further enhance education. The standards differ for educators versus students. As a prospective educator, the standard explained as "learner" is what is most meaningful to me at the moment as technology is every changing and we will need to continue pushing ourselves. I love a good challenge and a great way to stay focused is on building networks with colleagues. I think that this would further enhance accountability in a work setting. I am concerned about the "designer" standard as it requires an educator to use their own innovative strategies to enhance learning via technology. Although I know I am capable of this, I fear not being creative enough for individualized designs.

As a product of the iPad generation, I agree with the label "digital natives" for today's youth. When I am out to dinner with my family, my younger cousin unfortunately never lifts his head from his Nintendo or iPad. When I was his age, I had a Nintendo D.S. yet I was NEVER allowed to use it unless all of my homework was completed and my chores are done. It has become so normal in our everyday life, similar to adult's cell phones glued to our hands. As a digital native, my teachers had no idea how to use Smartboards or projectors in the classrooms. I recall students laughing and refusing to help as it postponed learning in class. For the future, I think that we will continue to have a technological gap for the future generations. It is just important to do our best to keep up-to-date as it is our only option. As teachers, we must learn their language.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Blog Post #0

Hey friends! My name is Michaela Goldstein and welcome to "The 727." I'm a Junior studying Family & Child Sciences with minors in Education and Psychology. I'm from the 727, aka the sunny St. Petersburg, FL. I have five dogs: three Standard Poodles and two Goldendoodles. I'm very passionate about photography, so some of my photos may be featured on "The 727" for your viewing pleasure. Lastly, I am a member of the Catholic Student Union (CSU) at FSU, where I currently hold various leadership positions. It's a great place to meet new friends and hang out. Come spring break, i'll be traveling to Jamaica with my team:)

I consider myself fairly tech savvy, working with various programs for editing and media purposes on the daily. I am currently the I.T. Chair at CSU where I work with our websites and visual displays weekly. In an educational setting, I am familiar with using Smartboards, projectors, and all Microsoft programs in school settings as I have done so for volunteer work in elementary schools. In addition, I taught Adobe editing to various classmates throughout high school and worked as a representative for a yearbook company.

In this class, I am eager to learn more about how my knowledge on technology can influence my own future classroom, if that is what I find myself doing in the near future. Since I was younger, new technological advancements have been made, such as VR and 3-Dimensional Printing that can change the path of education in the classroom and can help students and teachers with ease. Something that interests me is how tools can be used to simplify learning for those with learning, physical or cognitive disabilities.



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.