Blog #3 - ELA Technology Standards and Technology Software

I feel the most prepared to teach RL.7, RHST.7, RI.5, W/WHST.8, SL.3, L.5, W/WHST.6, and SL.5. I feel confident that I can teach RL.7, RHST.7, SL.3, and SL.5 standards in entirety to the speicific grade that it entitles but also to all other grades. The standards: RI.5, W/WHST.8, L.5, and W/WHST.6, I don't feel as confident with all the grades. I could teach RI.5 for the 3rd grade, W/WHST.8 for the grades 3, 4-5, 6, and 7-8, L.5 for the grades 2-3, 4-6, 7-8, and 9-10, and W/WHST.6 for the K-2, 3-6, 7, and 8th grades. I would need to work on being able to teach standards RI.7, RST.7, SL.2, and W/WHST.2 for any and all grades. As a special education major, other than the internet, projector and computers, I don't know how much computer based technology we will be using in the classroom. I hope to use lots of technology to help my students succeed in life despite their disabilities. I plan on using email, as well as a phone, to keep in touch with the parents. We will be using different websites in class to help the children learn different things. In the class, I hope to use different graphics, charts, and tables to help my children learn. I'll be using audio files and videos in my classes to help children who learn by auditory and visually. And that's what I'm planning on using in about 5 years from now. Who knows? There may be several new technologies that I will be able to use in my classrooms. Working on the Newsletter, I learned how to add two borders to a single section. I made the top and bottom one color and the two sides another color. I also learned how to make one section of my paper two columns and another, one section. I thought it was fun to makeup my own newsletter for my classroom. It gave me an idea of how to do one in the future when I have to make one for my actual classroom. Next time I make a newsletter, I will make it more colorful instead of using mainly different shades of green (green is the color of mental health awareness). I will be able to use a similar format for future newsletters.

Post 2- MS Word

     I have used MS Word for a variety of different projects and assignments. My teachers have used MS Word to explain the assignment, show different tools that students can use in assignments. I learned in my Business Skills class that there are many different ways to use Word and make it look unique and interesting. I have learned different things from my instructors about Word such as how to apply unique themes, change certain things about a theme, Word Art, and etc.
     I have always been told that not copyrighting is a bad thing. I have found out that it is not good to copyright a picture, graph, chart, etc because it's illegal. It's similar to plagiarizing because it's copying information without giving the source. According to the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, fair use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances. It also says, "Copyright law has several features that permit quotations from copyrighted works without permission or payment, under certain conditions."
     I would make sure that the students know what copyright is and what fair use means in a daily sense. In developing my instructional materials, I will make sure that I give credit to all sources and check with the Fair Use guidelines to make sure that I am being ethical in my work.

Technology Nowadays

Why are computers important in today's educational experience? How do students and teachers use computers in the classroom? Technology, and computers specifically, is important in education today because most of life is becoming digital. Think about how far computers have come. The first computer was introduced to the world on February 15, 1946, that's 70 YEARS!!! All the apps that have come out are insane! I know that on the newer iPhones, there is a wallet app that you can keep all your online accounts, including to but not limited to, Target coupons, Starbucks cards, and boarding passes for flights. Many college classes use Blackboard to help the students and teachers be  more organized. If I am not by my computer, I can pull up our class website through Blackboard's mobile app. Computers give students and teachers access to the worls from their location, wheter it be their bed, desk, class, car, etc. Web 2.0 has provided many applications including chats, forums, and video conferencing to give students access to their peers outside of class for things such as tutoring and group projects. Teachers and students need to be more adept at how to use the multimedia capabilities that are available to them at the click of a button. All of this new technology is not going to be integrated overnight. There are many things that have to happen first! Technology costs money, a lot of it! Many schools cannot afford technology. If they can, some schools limit the number of computers they have as well as limit the internet access speed. Many teachers aren't getting the proper training that they need for all the new technology. The integration of technology also takes lots of time away from the teachers. I definitely agree with integrating technology into classrooms. It allows for the students and the educators to become more involved in the classwork. I think that it is hard to integrate technology, but it is necessary because students will be growing up in the 21st century and most things, if not everything, will be digital.

The International Society for Technology in Education is a "professional organization dedicated to promoting appropriate uses of information technology to support and improve teaching and learning." I thought that the ISTE Standards were interesting because it gives generic things that each subgroup (teachers, administrators, students, etc.) should be doing, but there is nowhere that I saw that said, we should all be doing blah, blah, blah. Looking at the ISTE Standards for Students 2016, seeing as I am still a student, I love the Creative Communicator Standard because I am a creative person and I love using technology to express my creativity. On the other hand, I look forward to expanding my knowledge about the Global Collaborator Standard. This will help me with my people skills and hopefully help me meet new people.

I agree with the label "digital native" for today's youth. The kids nowadays are definitely more involved in technology than previous generations. So technically you can definitely call the youth digital natives. Digital natives are people who have grown up using technology and usually refers to children, teens, and young adults. Digital natives usually can't remember a time without technology, however that doesn't make them a better technology user than the technology immigrants. Digital natives are just used to the presence of technology in their lives than immigrants. Due to the fact that I don't use as much technology as others in my generation, I don't really see much difference because up until now, I haven't had to use much technology in the classroom, more at home. I also don't use the same technology as my teachers, and if we do, I don't see much difference between how they use it and how I do. In the future, I expect that there will be many different kinds of technology than there are now. I am sure that I will have to learn about new software, programs, apps, etc. so that I can capture the student's attention and help them learn.