Blog Journal 10

As a teacher, surveys and data collecting is very important because they are tools students should know how to use. There are several ways in which surveys or tools like excel will be implements. For example, excel can be used by both the student and the teacher to collect data, calculate basic statistics, and most importantly to stay organized. For the teacher it is most likely to be used for the grade book while for students it  will most likely be used for homework assignments. The most relevant geography topic would be population densities of certain areas.

From reviewing my classmates blogs, the most interesting thing I found was how everyone reinforces the importance of technology. With a constantly advancing educational tech world, everyone similarly finds Twitter and Diigo to be very useful. One topic that I found to be very interesting had to do with age and when technology should and shouldn't be implemented. Is there such thing as too young for technology?

The technology related skill I would like to learn next is anything related to videography! I think it    would be really helpful to know how to really edit videos and self-recorded videos that can be implemented into powerpoint or presentations. I also think video blogging would be a really cool new skill to learn about. I will achieve this goal by doing more research online and slowly taking notes on what will be helpful in my future classroom.Creating a more personal experience through video can be very helpful for cultural geography topics to help my students connect with international teachers and influences as well.

ILP Participation - Teacher interview

Checkout my second ILP talking about technology in the classroom. As a first grade-gifted teacher, I went ahead and took the opportunity to interview my mom and ask her how technology helps and hurts her classroom. Very educational experience overall!


https://voicethread.com/share/13419768/

Blog Journal 8

Diigo has actually been very beneficial in learning how to annotate different works. I can see myself using Diigo in my future classroom to have students do research and collaboratively annotate, comment, and discuss articles online. I like that Diigo is something I can even use on my own. As a future geography teacher, it can be great to focus on specifying what I want to teach my students. It is really useful for navigating many sources.

Powerpoint can be very beneficial when going through and incorporating Bloom's taxonomy. For example. Lets say my class is learning about Europe and its specific countries.

• Remember: List the countries and major cities for what needs to be memorized. A blank map can be provided on the next slide so that students can verbally practice. 
• Understand: Mention the history of the region. Creating a timeline through powerpoint can be very beneficial. 
• Apply: Implement an interactive Globe where students can participate. At FSUS the teacher I observed used one in her slides. Kids can actually touch the screen and zoom in.
• Analyze: Use tables to compare/contrast regions and come to conclusions.
• Evaluate: support the information by using visuals and animated food specific to the region
• Create: Have the students create their own powerpoint that mimics yours with a different continent. 

I am actually a mentor for a professional development organization on campus, and Linkedin is one of the main sources that we encourage students to use. Polishing business cards, resumes, and cover letters can actually be done through templates online and can be corrected and edited at the careers center. Not only that, but public speaking and the way you negotiate with people is extremely important. I think it would be cool to have VR where you can practice public speaking like in the tech sandbox.

https://www.teachhub.com/staying-current-technology-classroom

This article mentions the best way to keep up with technological trends in the classroom. It is important to communicate and ask your students, be active on social media, and to surround yourself with techies. The section about pursuing professional development courses is important to stay updated with trends. 

Blog Journal 7

My experience using twitter so far has been decent and I can definitely say that I have been exposed to many different ideas from geography teachers. Overall, I am not regularly active on twitter and with everything going on in school I find it difficult to keep up with tweeting every week. Although it is tedious, I like interacting with other students and teachers. I think that in the future it would be easier to be graded on a weekly basis for twitter assignments so that it makes it easier to keep up.

The website was very beneficial in learning how to structure the content for my future classroom. I like that Weebly makes it easy to design the webpage as a whole. The aesthetic is very pleasing for parents and students alike. I actually like that although I made my website very simple, it got me thinking about what I would like to implement in my geography class.
http://andreasclassroom96.weebly.com/

Assistive/adaptive technologies are very beneficial when helping support learners, especially communication. For example, I observed a speech pathologist working with an autistic child who had trouble speaking. By using the software on a tablet the student was able to compose words and communicate very effectively. By using them in my classroom I can incorporate a safe space that is equal for everyone. The only challenges I foresee is that it may have a learning curve for both myself and the student.

Blog Journal 6

The website I decided to look at was for Florida State University Schools. FSUS website content and organization is great because it is easy for parents to navigate in order to stay updated with current school news. On their website, you can actually pick elementary, middle, or high school along with specific grade level or subject. This will navigate you to direct teacher pages. For example, I found a geography teacher's website for 6th grade listed in the middle school section. The website allows me to see all of the content and can even navigate me to google classroom if I chose to do so. This is a great tool because it saves paper and parents always have a direct guide to view necessary information. (https://www.fsus.school/Page/1070#calendar4226/20191017/month)

Technology is critical in order to enhance the learning experience of a student. FSUS has TruTouch (or touchscreens) in all of their classrooms along with individual student laptops. Having access to these technologies allows teachers to implement software that will benefit student learning in specific subject areas. I envision using similar tech to fulfill my professional responsibilities as a geo teacher. Having a virtual globe to zoom in and play with is significantly more effective than a model in this case.

Which brings me to my next point, about how my sandbox experience really made me reflect on real life. There was one tech cube that could be ordered or printed and created that pairs with an app to created virtual 3D models. This would be amazing to use in earth studies and in my own classroom. The second piece of tech that caught my eye was a VR headset that could use a teacher training program. You can lecture virtually and practice in front of a fake classroom to get a feel for what will be effective. My experience in the sandbox made me think about where schools will be 10 years from now.

Blog Journal 5

Based on my experience using Diigo, I feel that I still have a lot left to learn. I think it is a very useful tool because of its interactive features and capabilities. I like that the whole class can participate in the same space. It does have a learning curve like any other tool, but I hope to get a grasp of it with more practice.

So far I have actually really enjoyed blogging. I think it is a great way to participate in discussions that people can follow beyond the typical discussion boards I consistently use in my other classes. I think that this can be a very useful tool for me to use with my students in the future. So far, especially when posting my newsletter, I discovered different ways to download materials through blogger. Sometimes you have to play around with what you are trying to post so that it uploads properly. This learning curve will benefit me when using similar websites in the future.

Since I have no time to post blog 5 tomorrow, we have yet to discuss Web 2.0 and its functions in the class. However, based on what I can see so far Web 2.0 can be used for things like Blogs, MOOC's, Podcasts, social apps, and social media. Although there are many concerns with using Web 2.0 with students, it is a great way to collaborate and create an educational space online. Web 2.0 tools include, but are not limited to, things like Blogs, wikis, Twitter, Diigo, and youtube. As a future geography teacher I actually found a super cool collection of videos called GEOgraphy focus: The world as we know it. It helps students learn about different parts of the world through detailed and fun videos. This channel is very useful and friendly for kids of all ages. Maybe I can create my own collection of videos for the future.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HYERScBt-e0kV0fpe0asg

ILP Design - Google Classroom

Check out my voice thread that talks about Google Classroom and how teachers can use it to their benefit! During my service learning hours at FSUS for another class, the world history teacher uses this tool regularly. It was great to finally learn how to create my own classroom and how to manage the different features. As a future geography teacher, this will be very beneficial when posting study material and assignments.

https://voicethread.com/share/13108778/

Blog Journal 4

From what I can remember, Twitter became more popular when I entered Highschool. I never actually used it until this class where it became necessary. However, I always did find that my closest friends used it to communicate and primarily used it for humor. So far, I have actually found twitter to be very beneficial because I am connecting with other geography teachers. I can see what ideas they have to structure their classrooms and plan their curriculum. It is extremely important for students to learn about world cultures in the most efficient way possible. I think it will continue to be helpful in my future career because it is a great networking platform for social science teachers in general.

The digital divide is a term that refers to those students that do not have the same access to educational technology as we do. It causes students to fall behind because it can be more difficult for them to get their hands-on technology. The digital divide affects the success and educational outcomes of students because it creates disparity among them. The digital divide can be caused by socioeconomic factors as well as place and location. It is a social issue as well as one of privilege. As a future teacher, I may encounter that my students have unequal access to technology in general. It is my job to provide them with whatever resources possible, whether that be at my school's library or other community resources.

Academic software can be very beneficial for strengthening the tech skills of students. One software that I would be very interested in incorporating is something similar to Blogger. It can be a great way for students to get familiar with the advantages of the internet. When doing a little research I actually found a very interesting software called Montessorium: Intro to Geo. This can be very beneficial to geography teachers because it can provide students with a virtual map experience. This is a great database with information about different world countries. I would love to use something like this in the future beyond google earth and google maps.

Blog Journal 3

Since the use of language, in general, is multifaceted and multidisciplinary there are many areas of ELA standards that I feel I could implement in my classroom. However, stating this also goes to show that the fluidity of English also makes me limited to what standard I "truly" know how to use in my classroom. On the ELA Standards and Technology Matrix for Grades 6-12, I believe I would do a decent job at using technologies like Google maps and Google books. Creating maps, using Time magazines online, and TeacherTube I believe I could master as well, but technology always has a bit of a learning curve. I think I could use all of these technologies to strengthen English and grammar in my students, but I would have to practice.

In the CPALMS educator tool kit, I found many tools that would be extremely useful for 6th-grade geography. There are many boxes that include lesson plans related to STEM technologies. One that I would really enjoy is "3D printing pizza in Space!" when discussing earth science. Students would learn about protein and nutrition by examining NASA scientists and the explorations of 3D printing food. I think this is something that would make learning really fun for kids because the ideas would keep them engaged.

When reflecting on the newsletter design, I really liked it because I actually created a useful template for my future class. I actually learned how to used MS shapes and how to alter them in order to make my own banner which I thought was really neat. It is an easy method I can recurrently use in the future. Something I would change is to offer a couple different ways, maybe videos in canvas, to use certain tools. Although I can research how to do it on my own, there are always better ways to be efficient. Maybe not for the newsletter, but later in the semester I think it would be useful to have specific videos to reference.

Blog Journal 2

As a student, MS Word is a software that I use religiously in college. It is necessary in order to write papers, discussion boards, and different kinds of writing assignments. When I was younger I saw my teachers use it in order to write certain messages around the classroom when smartboards and other tech weren't as popular.  Other than that, my experience with word has been mostly personal. It is not an interactive software like what you can do with Google and share it with multiple people.

As far as copyright goes it has become clear to me that as you get older this becomes stricter. The punishment for copyright can be severe and it is not something to be messed with. I have learned from my own experiences that citing and crediting people where credit is due is important. I think a good place to start when teaching my own students about copyright is to be sympathetic. "How would you feel if you worked very ahrdly on something and then someone stole it form you?"  I would create a platform for making them understand its importance and how they can properly credit people. A video like the one we watched in class would be super helpful.

The first issue I would like to address is cyberbullying. In order to prevent this, it is important to create a safe space in your classroom and let kids know that they can talk to you if they are ever being insulted or threatened. As a teacher, there is only so much you can do, but knowing about the situation can let you manage it. A lesson about kindness, morals, and the harsh side effects of bullying is a good place to start. The second issue is decreased productivity. When this issue arises it is important to communicate with your students and find out if the problem has to do with disinterest or because they just do not understand. With technology for example, maybe a student does not know how to maneuver it. In this case, it is critical to set time aside to instruct your students properly so that they do not fall behind. Asking about topics that interest them also helps.

Blog Journal 1

What influences students and teachers to use technology in the classroom has to do with the objective perspective of learning. Technology is important for both parties to learn more content at a faster pace because of the factors that encompass education in the present day. By collaborating with students and implementing new technologies in the classroom, this allows for a better classroom experience as a whole. The ISTE standards we reviewed in class are important to follow and learn from because it will deepen student practices and allow them to become more empowered learners.

When reflecting on the ISTE standards for educators it is clear that there are many skills a teacher can use to his/her advantage when working with technology. One standard that specifically stood out to me is the category of the learner, specifically 1a. Based on what I read it is critical for the teacher to stay updated with new technological changes and software updates. To be a great teacher you must remain a great student. To "learn about, test and add into regular practice a variety of proving, promising and emerging learning strategies with technologies" will allow for a stronger and more advanced classroom environment. I agree with this statement because it is important not to fall behind. One standard that I felt was more out of my skill set was that of the designer, 5a. It talks about designing new technological methods for students to learn. I feel that this is a weakness of mine only because its not something I usually do, but I hope to get stronger in this area by the end of the semester.

The term "digital native" refers to those who have grown up in this present generation of technology. Now and days it is common to see children with tablets whereas when I was a child it was not as advanced yet. I would consider myself someone who is a digital native because I was still exposed to advancing technology from a young age. I agree that the term digital native is appropriate for today's youth because of this. There is definitely a big difference between digital immigrants and digital natives because it can alter the learning experience of a classroom. Even here at fsu, it is obvious to see when an older teacher is struggling with the website and how to operate it.  It slows down the flow of the lesson and makes everything harder for everyone. Since I am a person coming straight out of college I do not think there will be too many technological issues in my classroom from the start, but it is natural that they will occur as I go. It is important for me to continuously learn so that I can keep up with my students.

Citations: https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators

GICA 1: Blog Setup

Hi everyone! My name is Andrea and I am a senior graduating at the end of this semester. I am a geography major who has a passion for working with children which is why I have decided teaching is an excellent career path. I decided this very recently, but I figured it was better late than never to get involved in education courses. I want to get a masters degree in the future and I am very open minded abut what specific path I want to take. I am hoping that this semester and the education minor courses I am taking will allow me to solidify my decisions.

I do not have a large amount of experience using educational technology in a classroom setting, however, I am familiar with some software. As we discussed in class, I have some familiarity with smartboards as well as tablets and their respective software's because this is implemented in public schools in south Florida. As a geography major, I also have experience using programs like ArcGIS and ArcCAD because it is required for cartography and the art of map making. It is very interesting and that class definitely taught me how to manage computers better. with the hopes of being a teacher in the future, I hope to gain different skills from this class that I can take with me.

I hope to learn specific techniques that I can take with me into a classroom because I want to be knowledgeable. I want to be able to manage technology more smoothly and build basic hard and soft skills so that I can also teach more easily. This will allow a social science classroom to learn more as a whole. As a person, I have always struggled with technology because it is one of my weaknesses. Although sometimes I can be intimidated by technology, I hope that by the end of this semester those worries will fade away. I am very excited for what's to come!