Blog Journal #2

I actually didn't use MS word as a student until last semester for my ENC2135 class. Throughout high school I always used Google Docs, I didn't even know we were given Microsoft for free until my roommate told me about it. But, beginning this past fall, my experience with MS Word has been pretty blasé. I definitely prefer Google Docs for essays, because MS Word is kind of confusing for me. As for my teachers, I'm not sure of their usage with Word, I'm fairly certain they did use it, I just genuinely can't think of any time when I've seen it.

I've definitely, as a student, seen and heard my teachers talk about fair use materials within the classroom, especially when it comes to watching movies or using a specific template for an assignment. I once had a teacher plan to have us play a game that was designed to assist in our understanding of medieval feudal systems, and then have to cancel the lesson surrounding the activity because she couldn't get access to it for wide scale use. There are a lot of great resources online for teachers now though, especially ones that are made for teachers by other teachers, that supply access to different activities, ideas, lesson plans, etc. When I become a teacher I plan to take full advantage of these types of resources, and also educate my students on this type of thing because I didn't fully understand it until this class.

To make sure that in my classroom the rules of Internet etiquette were maintained, and no cyber bullying was taking place, I would make sure that any work done online, especially collaborative work, was done during the classroom hours when I could make sure that students weren't taking advantage of each other, I would also make sure they filled out partnership reviews, so that if there were a situation and they felt uncomfortable saying anything during class I would be able to find out. This also applies to working with the Digital Divide. As a student who never had access to at home internet/ computer, I was always very frustrated when teachers would give last minute online homework or projects, because I wasn't guaranteed a ride to the local library, or if it were Monday, the library wasn't even open at all. I think it's important in the beginning of the school year to have students fill out accessibility cards, I've had a few teachers do that in the past, and then I would know if the class was fully capable of online work or if I needed to do alternate assignments. As for academic dishonesty, I think TurnItIn is a great resource and I would fully utilize it in my classroom.

Blog Journal #1

I think the main influencers of students and teachers in classroom technology are the general public. I think how people interact with technology outside of the classroom is a big indicator of how people will interact with inside of the classroom. The more immersive technology becomes in our every day livelihoods, the more common it will become in the average classroom.                                                                                                                                                                I really like the ISTE standards, especially the first one for students. I have never heard of this organization before and I loved the information about it! The first standard for students was to become an "empowered learner". I think it is super important for students to learn to take control of their own education and that using technology is a great instrument to do this with! One of the standards that I myself could use some work on is being a "computational thinker". Growing up without computers and cell phones, I'm currently in the process of learning what I can, as quickly as I can. :)                                                                                                            

I disagree with the term "digital native" for our (my) generation, solely because it is way to broad a term to use. Many, if not most, of my peers weren't as subjected to technology as today's children are, however I do see where the point is that they're trying to make when they say "digital native". I know from my later years in high school that many older teachers, and quite a few younger ones, had trouble with the technology in our classrooms, but a lot of it had to do with no formal training in it. Our schools IT and computer resource officers were nearly always much older, so I think it's different for everyone.  I can only assume that in the future I'll be begging my students to show me how to turn on whatever recent update we have for projectors though, and of course they'll grumble about my incompetence. 

* edited because of formatting errors

ISTE Empowered Learner Resource

College Board is a website that's designed to help high school students take control of planning their academic future. It has all kinds of resources attached to it, such as Khan academy videos, and descriptions of nearly every University in the United States. College Board would be a good resource for students looking to work on the first ISTE standard for students, because it has students pick out a "map" for their academic success which is a good way to keep them on track. College Board also will supply students with opportunities to reach out to people who can advise them in educational settings. I used this resource a lot as a high school student.
To go the website, please click here!

Blog Journal 0 "Blog Setup / Intro"

Hi! I'm Penny, and I'm a freshman at Florida State University. I'm originally from a small town smack-dab in the middle of Florida called Mascotte, however I've lived in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and West Virginia, and currently I reside near Tampa, Fl. My intended major is Social Science Education, and hopefully a minor in Museum Studies. I'm very excited to be here as I'm the first person in my family to not only go to college, but also graduate high school. I love all things history related, but my favorite periods are the Industrial Revolution, and the 1800s in general.

My prior experiences using technology in an educational setting include using computers/ laptops throughout high school and middle school, and a computer literacy class in middle school. I went to school in a poorer area early on so I didn't really experience the type of technology we have in schools now, until high school. During high school, our technology usage was often for research for projects, or for review games such as Kahoot. During the previous semester I learned about the research tools and technologies available to us students through the university and library system. 

In the upcoming semester I hope to learn how to competently use the technologies commonly found in classrooms. I also want to learn more about incorporating technology into learning in general, because I think it's really interesting. Coming from my background, I want to learn how/if they will be utilized in under-served communities, or kept for mainly private schools. I hope this class will prepare me for my future as an educator.