McKenna's Exploration into Education Technology

I find my distance learning experience less than desirable. I’ve hated online classes since I’ve had to take practice math and reading courses over the summer in first grade, so going completely online this semester is terrible for me. The one thing that I have trouble with the most is staying on top of my assignments and the personal connection factor to my teachers/professors. I have trouble not being reminded of upcoming assignments; we are expected to just know what's coming up with this online learning. I am also a very social person who seeks out extra help when needed, but this online learning has made it difficult to do so. When I am a teacher, to improve the experience of distance learners, I will make sure that I am more lenient when students turn in assignments late and make sure that I clearly explain upcoming assignments so there is no miscommunication.  Open educational resources (OERs) are sources that are open for teachers to use in educational settings. It allo...

  I really enjoyed creating a teacher website using Weebly. I thought it allowed for so many different design and personalization options that made it truly a website that I made myself. Compared to the other ways we have created a webpage, I thought Weebly was very user friendly and allowed creativity to flow. I can’t remember a single complaint I had about it, since every problem that I did have with creating the webpage had a video explaining how to use different features. The one downfall of having a wide variety of options is that it can feel a little overwhelming as a beginner web page creator. However, once I was comfortable with Weebly, I had no difficulty with it at all. This assignment has made me want to create a webpage for my classroom in the future because of how useful of a source it is for students. If interested, this is the link to my webpage .      Now that I am used to Diigo’s platform, I find that I truly enjoy scrolling through different peopl...

 Teacher pages on school websites are able to give people insight into the teacher’s classroom. Visiting Winter Park High School’s website , I was able to see the programs available to students, as well as general school information. On their page, the school had an IB page where various IB teachers and the IB coordinators detailed what the IB program is and the requirements you must pass in order to receive the IB diploma. This page also linked to a website that explained these requirements in further detail. This general overview of the course allows inquiring students and parents to learn more about the program and decide if the student would be willing to enter it. I plan to use technology to improve the way I learn about various professional duties. For example, the Covid pandemic has forced a lot of technological developments in a short amount of time, and I believe that we will come to use technology more frequently in various professions. For teaching, this means that there...

 At first, I did not like Diigo. I thought that it was difficult to navigate and post, and it took me a while to even get the motivation to figure it out. Thankfully, there was a youtube video posted on how to use Diigo on Canvas, so I was finally able to understand it. I mean, why is the post button for our shared website under ‘My Library’? It makes no sense! However, now that I have finally gotten the hang of it after a week of usage, I actually thoroughly enjoy it. It’s a brilliant tool for sharing articles, and I love the additional feature that allows you to highlight websites and add comments to share your thoughts about it. It’s an amazing way for teachers to share different resources and stay up-to-date on news. With blogging, I had the same unsure first impression, but once I got used to it, I enjoyed it. I think that blogging is super fun and I enjoy sharing my experiences, but I do not think that I will stay with it after this class. Blogging is super limited as to who ...

 My early experiences with Twitter include scrolling through the education hashtag and commenting on posts. I haven’t used Twitter since the start of this class, so I’m not all that confident with the interface, but the more I use it the better I am! I have been communicating with new and past teachers and looking through some of their suggestions for different learning strategies. Communicating and connecting on Twitter is much easier than by the usual way, which is just by chance through the people that you know. I’ll be using Twitter in my career to connect with other teachers and create a supportive network where teachers can share information and news with each other. The digital divide discusses the technology disparity between richer and poorer areas and the effects on students. With a lack of technology from a young age, students have less access to supportive networks that are able to aid in student learning, like YouTube or educational platforms like Khan Academy. A lack ...

The ELA Technology Standards, standing for English Language Arts, is a federal Common Core Standard for teachers that outlines how to use technology to enhance reading, writing, speaking, and language abilities for students. I feel like I could handle many of the standards for lower class grades with my current knowledge, but the further you rise in grade level the more trouble I would have. The 11-12 grade standards are mainly about utilizing different forms of media to write papers, and I have a lot of experience with that. The one I would have the most issues with is the first standard that describes how teachers would clarify trouble words to students. Although I think that I have a good knowledge of stem words, I don’t have that big of a vocabulary! So I would have a difficult time explaining words to my students without looking it up. On CPALMS Educator Toolkit, there are many resources for educators to use, including lesson plans, educational videos and tutorials. It’s funny, be...