Blog Post 3

 Copyright is a person's legal right to make copies of something, whether it be art, a movie, or a paper. For example, when we get pictures taken, we have to get the copyright for it in order to remove the watermark and print more photos. Fair use is the idea that certain things may be copied directly with permission from the creator. This is what allows us to cite words from other authors in our research papers and presentations in college. As a teacher, I believe it will be very important to discuss these topics with my students. I would define the words for my students and explain to them that copyright infringement is a serious legal issue. When creating instructional materials, I will hopefully get help from my coworkers to create new assignments or purchase worksheets from a reliable source. 

There are many problems with using technology in schools and I believe the two biggest ones are academic dishonesty and cyberbullying. I hope to combat academic dishonesty by ensuring my students are able to learn and understand the material that I am teaching; this should pull them away from the need to cheat on tests in class. I also plan to have many open-book or open-note tests in my classes to allow my students to use the resources available. In my experience, I have retained more knowledge from open-book tests than from tests where I was required to memorize just about everything in the chapter. As far as cyberbullying, I hope to create a safe space for my students. I would like them to know that they can come to me with any issues they may be having. This way cyberbullying between my own students can be handled in the classroom before it goes too far.

Working on the Newsletter Design assignment was a really fun task for me. I've used Canva before but it was years ago and now the site is so much easier to navigate. I was able to use my graphic design skills and play with all of the different options that Canva gives you. After completing the assignment, I actually went on to create a personalized planner for myself since many planners don't have everything one person may need. I could improve my newsletter by adding more color and better fonts. I believe my newsletter was to the point but not very visually appealing. I noticed on Canva they have templates for just about anything, including lesson plans. Hopefully, I can use this to my advantage and use Canva to develop the most effective lesson planning method for myself.

Blog 2

 My personal experience with Microsoft Word probably started in around 4th grade and I have been using it ever since. I have mainly used Microsoft Word for writing essays, making tables and graphs, and taking notes. In college, I mainly use it to write papers for classes. I do prefer Google Docs over Word due to the accessibility of Docs. With Docs, I am able to access the same document on any device and all of my devices support it. MS Word does not work very well on an iPad which is my primary tool for my classes.

The ISTE Standards for Educators are important guidelines to help teachers become better for their students. The most meaningful standard to me is the Analyst standard. This includes going over the results of your students to determine how well they are learning and which materials they struggle with. I see this as important because as educators, we need to be able to analyze and change our methods. Many teachers I have had in the past kept using the same teaching methods that didn’t work and students were suffering from it. I think it is extremely necessary to check our own practices and change what isn’t working for our students.

I do agree with the label of “digital native” for the youth. These kids were born into a world with the latest technology and are more likely to understand how to work it. As a child, I had access to a computer and a phone and because I grew up around technology, I believe I am more well-versed in using and understanding it. There are many differences between how I use technology and how my parents use it. I have a smart phone that can do pretty much anything I need it to and I see it as a necessity whereas my parents have phones that only text and call and they don’t feel the need to bring it everywhere they go. In the future, I believe there will be new technology that my students will have better understandings of. While I may understand my iPhone and computer now, who’s to say I’ll understand the current technology twenty years from now. I think I will struggle with new technology one day just as my parents and teachers have.

     Hi! My name is Delanie and I am a sophomore majoring in elementary education. I’m from a small town in Florida by the beach and have lived there my whole life. Growing up, I always had a fascination for cops and doctors and anyone who helped others. At a young age, I decided I wanted to help people when I grew up. As I got older, I realized I wanted to find a career working with children. At first, I wanted to be a pediatric nurse until I finally figured out education was the right path for me. Now, I’m slowly learning how to be the best educator I can and hoping to help kids learn and have the best schooling experience they can.    

    My prior experience with technology mainly includes using Microsoft programs for school projects. I am comfortable with using word and powerpoint mostly. I am not the best with Excel, but with help I can usually figure out how to work it. Besides Microsoft programs, I am also capable of using Adobe Photoshop to create designs and edit photos. 

    My learning networks are currently very limited. As far as offline resources go, I look to my roommates and friends in similar classes to navigate college classes. We work together to find resources and methods to study and learn the best we can. Online I mainly find help in class group chats. The group chats are a great way for a whole class of students to determine what they’re supposed to be doing when it’s difficult to understand parts of the course.