EME 2040 BLOG

Before this assignment, I definitely did not know how to use Excel. About a week before this assignment, I was trying to make a measurement chart and it took me at least an hour and a half to get my chart the way I wanted it, and even then it was still not right. Now that I know how to use a variety of tools through Excel, I can see myself using it in my classroom. I think it would be really helpful to keep track of grades, like an online gradebook. It could also be a great way to keep track of class attendance. I always resorted to using different methods to keep track of these things since I was not comfortable using Excel, but now that I understand it a little bit better, I think I will definitely utilize it in the future.  From reviewing my classmates' blogs throughout the semester, it was interesting to see how much my view of education has widened. I have always had blinders on for elementary education, specifically kindergarten and first grades, since those are the grades...

The "Flipped Classroom" design of instruction is a new way of thinking how we utilize class time. With this method, teachers create instructional material and lessons and post them online, where students can review them and learn the coursework ahead of in-person class time. Then in class, the teacher and students can utilize that time to work through problems, analyze and discuss themes in the material, answer questions, and give feedback. This can be very beneficial because since the students have already learned the material, the traditional classroom time can be dedicated to more individualized attention. Learn more HERE. Open education, open content, and open source are the main terms discussed in the podcast. Open education gives everyone, regardless of enrollment in a traditional school, the chance to get an education. Usually these courses are available online through a school's website, and is completely free. Open content is information, pictures, videos, an...

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Adaptive technologies are extremely helpful to learners who have disabilities. Things like screen readers, braille printing in 3D printers, and online sign interpretations can be an essential part of educating those with either visual or auditory loss. These technologies help the student to feel more independent and less excluded from their non-disabled peers. Personally, my good friend is partially deaf, so I have seen him use both magnified volume in headphones to help him hear instructions as well as sign language interpretations in bigger lecture settings. These are both an integral part of his education, without which he would not be able to comprehend all of the instructions and perform up to his potential. While adaptive technologies are an incredibly helpful tool for learners with disabilities, they come with many challenges. In young ages, it is important not to make the child feel isolated from his or her peers, or make the other children feel like they are neglected becaus...

One of my good friends, Brittany Sinitch, who teaches at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, introduced me to one of my favorite lesson planning websites. It's called Teachers Pay Teachers, and it is a way for teachers to upload and share their original lesson plans with a community of educators. Other teachers can then pay you for the rights to use your lesson in their classroom. For example, Ms. Sinitch just uploaded a lesson about writing picture books. The lesson is on sale for five dollars and includes instructions, rubrics, example templates, and blank templates. I think this is an incredibly useful tool because it gives teachers an opportunity to find new and creative lessons and also get some extra money for it. Find it here:  Teachers Pay Teachers Another simple personal learning network is YouTube. YouTube allows you to create video content that reaches audiences worldwide. You can create a channel for your classroom, providing videos of lesson plans in action or answ...

So far I have really enjoyed using Twitter. It is a space in which I feel like I can be casual and talk about the topics that I feel passionately about. It is also really interesting to see what my colleagues and the people I look up to find fascinating. I feel like using Twitter allows me to connect with my peers as well as the other role models I look up to in the world of education. It provides a network for me to find people I connect with. So far I have not had any issues with it, but I do not really use it on mobile, so I would have to see how I feel about the mobile accessibility. I LOVED creating my web design site. I love projects like these where I have a lot of autonomy over the content I get to create. It makes me feel like I truly have control as a future teacher. I used Weebly and it was completely a breeze to navigate and edit my page. I can see myself using this in the future to create a page for my classroom, especially because you can create a custom domain that has...