NETS Standards

     NETS stands for the National Educational Technology Standards and are the, "standards for learning, teaching, and leading in the digital age".  These standards are commonly used worldwide and are taken very seriously in the context of technology and education.  NETS outlines different aspects for teachers and for students. For more specific information on what NETS is and does, click on the link below:
http://www.iste.org/standards

     For students, NETS are the standards that lay out what students need to be successful in our increasingly digital world, specifically when it is related to technology and education.  These standards not only extend to learning but also involve living productively in our current and future society.  To learn more about NETS and how it relates to students, click on the link below:
http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students

     For teachers, NETS are, "the standards for evaluating the skills and knowledge educators need to teach, work, and learn in an increasingly connected global and digital society".  This means that NETS sets up guidelines for determining the skills and education that teachers need to be successful and up to date on their technology in working with students and schools overall.  Technology is always developing new ideas and products and teachers need to be able to use these new technologies effectively.  NETS helps set up standards for what teachers need to know at certain points in their career. To learn more about NETS and how it relates to teachers, click on the link below:
http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

     In response to the question, "How are you going to make sure that you and your students possess the skills to be successful?" that was asked by my Educational Technology instructor, I would have to say that I would do my best to stay up to date on current technologies and be able to use them effectively in both personal and school aspects in order to serve as a resource for both my students, and their parents.  In addition to this, I also plan on taking the time to teach students how to use different up-to-date technologies so that all students can be on the same playing field when in comes to the ever expanding and influential technology in our society. 

     Thank you,

     Olivia

Ipad as Doc Cam/Smartboard

     In my Educational Technology class, my teacher brought in her Ipad one day to demonstrate how to use an Ipad as both a Doc Cam (Document Camera) and as a Smartboard.  This was intriguing because she showed use multiple apps that perform the same functions that a Doc Cam and Smartboard can perform.  The apps she used were often free with a few minor exceptions, making it possible to, if in possession of an Ipad, to be able to use a Doc Cam and Smartboard for no additional price. 
     This is significant because schools often spend thousands of dollars on Doc Cams and Smartboard technology, including North Dakota State University and Valley City State University.  If schools continue to switch over to using Ipads, the need to spend that money will diminish, saving the school time, space, and money.  My teacher mentioned that with this Ipad technology and with technology being constantly updated, Smartboards may be beginning the end of their journey in education, even though they are extremely new technology. 
     I currently own an Ipad and am eager to play around with the programs that my teacher showed us to find out whether I prefer the Smartboard and Doc Cam themselves or the tablet technology that is currently being developed and implemented in schools.

     Thank you,

     Olivia

Apple in Education

     Apple is making great strides in contributing to the educational and technological world that we live and function in today.  Our students are using more and more updated technology each year and teachers often are forced to keep up with the same technology.  However, with Apple, keeping up with technology is not as hard as it always may seem. 
     Apple has a program called Itunes U, which is short for Itunes University.  It is a place where you can look at notes, lectures, coursework, etc. and learn much of the material you would learn in a regular classroom if you take the time to explore the subject.  This is a wonderful resource for personal learning but Itunes U also provides many functions for teachers.  Teachers can create classes with Itunes U and use their material to teach their classes, along with providing materials to students at the touch of a button.  In addition to this, Itunes U also works closely with iBooks to help supplement materials that are taught in class.  This is a wonderful resource for teachers and students.  I hopefully will be able to use this technology in a classroom in the future.

      Apple also has many other educational products that you can learn more about by clicking on the link below:

http://www.apple.com/education/resources/#pages-epub

Thank you,

Olivia

Ipads in the Classroom

     Ipads are becoming more and more popular in classrooms as a tool for students.  Some classrooms have a single Ipad for the classroom and some schools have received grants that allow them to supply an Ipad for each student.  The thought of the second one baffles me because when I was in elementary school, the glue stick was an exciting item we got to use.  Now, each student having access to an Ipad opens up doors for more opportunities that I could think of.  The websites that are hyperlinked below allow for further research and reviews on different apps that have been successful in classrooms.
     One of the resources below is called Socrative.  It is, "a smart student response system that empowers teachers to engage their classrooms through a series of educational exercises and games via smartphones, laptops, and tablets" according to the third website below.  This resource allows for an easy to use system of assessments that are normally taken with pencil and paper, such as multiple choice, true/false, and short answer exams.  It also allows for games, such as Space Race, to be played and for easy to understand reports to be assembled for each student.  This software is definitely a software I would like to see demonstrated in a classroom and possibly use in my own classroom someday.
     Another one of the resources below is called Wet-Dry-Try and is a way for students to practice their handwriting skills, especially with capitals and numbers.  It also allows for easier teaching of  correct formation and orientation habits with students.  My educational technology teacher expressed in class that she really likes this particular app and I am intrigued to see how it works in an actual classroom setting.

Resources for using Ipads in the classroom:

http://learninginhand.com/do

http://www.schrockguide.net/ipads-in-the-classroom.html

http://www.socrative.com/

http://www.freelyeducate.com/2012/04/free-online-learning-games-for-kindergarten-and-elementary-.html

http://snapguide.com/guides/search-for-copyright-free-images-on-your-ipad/

http://wetdrytry.com/

http://www.sparklefishapp.com/

Thank you,

Olivia

Teacher Versus Student Role

     Being in an elementary education classroom is a different experience depending on whether you are in a teacher or student role.  Being a student, you often do not know what is going on the next week, month, or year.  You often live in the day, and potentially the week if you were like me as a child.  However, once you become a teacher you are forced to think in planning terms 24-7.  You have to plan your daily lessons, have back up plans for those lessons if something goes wrong or something comes up, plan weekly or monthly units, and a whole school year of standards and strategies.  The list is endless and you always have to stay on top of your work, otherwise the learners that depend on you, the school that depends on you, and the parents that depend on you will not be successful. 
     When you are a student you only have to worry about your own school work, and maybe a couple others' if you are completing a group project.  This is completely different as a teacher. You have the people mentioned above, and many others, depending on you to be on top of everything and be successful at it.  It is quite a load of stress to carry as a teacher. 
     Stress level and the amount of tasks that have to get done each and every moment of every day is exhausting and it becomes hard to enjoy the lessons and projects that you complete because the deadline is always looming overhead.  You never have enough time to complete a project at a normal and enjoyable pace.  I am not a fan of this.  I am also not a fan of how little sleep being in a teacher and student role causes.  As both a pre-professional teacher and a student, I rarely get more than four hours of sleep a night this semester and it is extremely taxing. 
     On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are many things I enjoy about being a pre-professional teacher and getting a chance to act in the role of a teacher.  I really enjoy when you can see on a student's face that they understand the material or understand a concept that was a challenge for them beforehand.  I enjoy decorating classrooms and designing/putting up new Bulletin Boards in and around the classroom.  I also enjoy the little quirks that make each student unique. 
     Overall, it is a constant balance of what you enjoy and what you do not enjoy, and hopefully, a majority of the time you like aspects more than you dislike them and you are able to get a decent nights' sleep. 

     Thank you ,

     Olivia

Paperless Educator

     Having a classroom "go paperless" is a very popular notion in today's schools.  Many teachers are trying to either go paperless for a day, a week, a year, or even have their entire classroom be paperless.  For example, Dave Glenn, a 6th grade teacher from North Carolina, who, with other teachers in his school, pledged to go paperless for Earth Day this past year.  It was very successful for him and the other teachers within his school.  However, this was just a day. 
     While, I think that reducing the strain on the environment by using less paper may be a good idea, I do not believe that a classroom or educator can go completely paperless for the following reasons:

• The school, the school district, and other companies that schools work with will often be using many paper forms to gather information from teachers and other faculty
• Many parents may not have access to the same kind of technology that teachers want to use in the classroom to Go Paperless
• Some students get headaches from looking at electronic screens or have some other accommodation that needs to be made for them involving paper. 

Paperless Links:

• http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2010/04/paperless-earth-day-what-teachers-did.html
• http://thepaperlessclassroom.wordpress.com/the-paperless-classroom-i/
• http://prezi.com/zmckfolwulxg/the-paperless-classroom/
• http://www.aacsb.edu/publications/archives/janfeb08/36-41_paperless_bized.pdf
• http://www.quickonlinetips.com/archives/2010/06/paperless-classroom-web-apps/

     I particularly like the third link, a Prezi, because it goes through some reasons to try and go paperless, such as potential improved learning environment and organization, potential for less impact on the environment, and high opportunity to be more efficient. 
     Which links do you like? Any you dislike?  Feel free to comment below.

Thank you,

Olivia

Blurring Faces with Photoshop

     In the future, you may find yourself needed to blur a face in a photo for confidentiality purposes as a teacher.  This is really simple to do using the Gaussian Blur function in Photoshop.  As you can see below, the first photo is a photo of Ryan Gosling on the front page of the GQ magazine.  The second photo is the same thing, except for Ryan Gosling's face has been blurred so you cannot tell just by looking at his face who it is. 

 

 

Thank you,

 

Olivia 

Flickr

 

     There has been a significant number of people using and joining Flickr over the past couple years.  Flickr is an online storage place for your photos where you can create galleries, sets of photos, etc.  It is commonly referenced when used with Facebook.  In my Educational Technology class, we had to create a Flickr account to store our photos. 
     I personally am extremely dissatisfied with the Flickr product as it is open hard to use, the tutorials on the website have inaccurate instructions and the layout of the website is disorganized, and busy to eye, making it hard to follow.  I would never recommend this site to anyone.

Thank you,

Olivia

Link to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/
Link to my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brownsonolivia/
    

Updated Teacher Forms

     During my 40 Hour Field Experience in a 4th grade classroom and in tandem with my Educational Technology class, I was asked to update a few forms for my Field Experience teacher.  We were to take the recommendations from the teacher and use programs such as Power Point and Photoshop to recreate and update these forms.  The forms that I updated are below. 

Thank you,

Olivia 

Instagram Images

     In my Educational Technology class, we worked with Photoshop to create some Instagram image strips that you can use for many different classroom applications.   One way that you can use these images if by printing them on photo paper, cutting the images out, and mod podging them onto small tiles.  Once they are dry, you can attach a small magnet to the back and have some personalized magnets.  This is useful for the classroom because you can have a photo of each student on a magnetic board along with images of "Hot Lunch", "Bag Lunch", "Milk", and "Orange Juice".  Then, you can teach your students to put their specific magnet next to which option they want for lunch and snack, allowing you to record them during extra time and not take away time on task with the students.

Thank you,

Olivia

Exploding Box

Hello,

     In class this past week, we created a special project called an Exploding Box.  This box functions as a regular box but also as a way to creatively display different photos, etc. within the different layers of the box.  When you take the top off the box, the box opens up into what seems like three different boxes (images below).

Some ways to use this box:

• Holiday presents
• Storage
• Classroom project so students can create different projects within the curriculum, such as a twist on a timeline or a fun book report project
• Etc. 
• If you have any ideas of how to use this box, comment below :)

     This project is really easy to make - 3 large pieces of cardstock, scissors, and double-sided tape. I also have access to the cut-out templates, so if you are interested in completing this project for school, holiday presents, etc. comment below :)

     Thank you,

     Olivia