Technology has changed since I was young and I’m not even that old. Technology has defiantly changed the way we live our lives. I have seen both the positive and negative sides of technology. In the classroom and for communicating which are the positives in our lives, but from the video we watched this week it is apparent to have some pretty negative effects on people’s lives. It is so sad to think people take their own lives because the harm that happens through technology. I personally think these problems will get worse in the future. As educators we need to teach our students about the consequences that can come from being on the internet and the fact that people may be lying on the internet. It is important that we don’t scare them about using technology, but make them aware of the possibilities so they know. I remember lots of different kinds of technology being used throughout the years when I was in school. I remember overhead projectors and televisions strapped down to metal carts in my beginning year of school to interactive boards, I pads, and laptops in my later years of school. When I was in grade 6, I got my first phone at the end of the year. I got my phone because I was babysitting at a house that didn’t have a landline phone, and my parents felt uncomfortable having no way to communicate with me.
I had many rules when I got my first phone... 1.My dad owned it so could look at it or take it whenever he wanted 2.I wasn’t allowed to take it to school 3.I could only talk to people that I knew 4.I was not able to brag about having a phone 5.I had to use it in a respectful way or it was gone. My cousins are 9 and 10 and they have their own personal devices. One of them has a laptop and one of them has a phone. They have no rules with their devices. They play Fortnight, Roblox, and they have TikTok and snapchat accounts. I think they are too young, but lots of other kids their age and younger have devices too. This has really been an eye opener for me to compare how old children are when they get devices now compared to when I did. I believe children today are missing out on imagination and playing in nature. It is scary to think how quickly young children can go down the wrong path when using technology. I was personally very cautious when I started using platform such as KIK, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Messenger because I knew not to talk to people I didn’t know. I know that some people really feel important and accepted when they talk to people on the internet, but people need to realize that’s not really life. Everyone should always remember to take time to appreciate the world around them and the people to love them.
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This week I explored Seesaw, because I had heard about it, but was curious about the features and benefits it had! I thought It would be a great resource in my future classroom if I liked the way it was designed. I explored it and loved it! It is very easy to use for teachers, and also would be manageable for all ages of children. This platform could be used in many ways in the classroom for things such as assessment, portfolios, or daily lessons! I also love the fact a student work can all be document in one location, which makes it easy to see progress and evaluate. I am so glad I explored it now, so I know what can be done with this platform! I know for sure it will be useful in my future! I used it to document my Learning project this week! I can see myself using Seesaw for many educational purposes in my future classroom. I think this is a fantastic platform that all teachers should check out!
Then I was really amazed! A bunch of activities came up that looked very child friendly and engaging. I started clicking on them to see what would happen. Once I clicked on one it gave me an option to “like it” to save and assign to students later or to “assign” right away. There are subject categories and grade categories that make it easier to search for activities. I clicked on art to see if there was anything I could use to document my learning project! I found a couple that could have worked and assigned the to the “Sample Student” to how they worked! They then went into the folder and I could click on them as the student to complete! I was going to paint something that went alone with each caption, but I made something better!
This platform could be a modification or augmentation of the SAMR model depending on how teachers use this platform in their classrooms. You could make anything for any subject area on Seesaw! I can see myself using Seesaw for many educational purposes in my future classroom. I think this is a fantastic platform that all teachers should check out!
BONUS POST
So, first of all my mind is blown after a class with Katia Hildebrandt! But on the other hand, I don’t know much about technology and the amazing benefits! I learned so many things in just an hour and a half! She told us about many chrome extinctions that can make a person’s life so much easier! In my future career, many of these extinctions will be useful. One of them is Read Aloud, which is an extension that will read anything that is on your screen! I think this would be great for in the classroom when there is a child that needs help reading instructions or an article. The second one she showed us was Distraction Free For YouTube, which blocks YouTube from showing all the suggested videos that may distract the viewer. I think this will be fantastic to use in the classroom so all the students aren’t yelling what they see on the screen because we all know that happens! Another extension Katia introduced us to was One Tab, which I thought was amazing because I always have a million tabs open. This extension makes it so all your tabs are in one place and easy to access, but not open killing your battery. I also learned about Screencastify, which is an easy way to make videos of your screen or yourself. I think this would be fantastic in the classroom to make short instructional videos or to help students working from home when they are away. She also showed us Grammerly, but I have used that one for many years because I am awful with grammar and spelling. Katia introduced us to uBlock Origin a couple weeks ago, and I downloaded it right away because I had no idea this type of thing existed and it is life changing! UBlock Origin is an extension that blocks all adds when using the chrome browser. Everyone hates adds popping up all over the place, so this is beneficial to everyone! As soon as class was over I downloaded most of the extensions that Katia suggested. What I have discovered is the is basically an extension for everything if you just look for them! You should check some of these out if you have never heard of them because they may make your life easier! I have recently joined the Twitter world! I am still getting the hang of this social media platform, which might take some time. From what I have discovered so far, I think it will be a great platform for sharing and gaining new resources from other teachers. I enjoy looking better than tweeting, but that might change over time. I also realize that you have to share with others and not just look, so others can enjoy my resources too.
When joining the SaskEdChat I thought it would be more like a talking chat, but I was wrong! I think the chat was an interesting concept, but was personally not my favorite experience! I found it very overwhelming to read and keep up with even half of the things that were happening. That would probably change once I became more familiar with the platform, but it still has a lot happening. By the time I thought about my answer and typed it out, it was time for the next question! I seen a few peoples posts as they flew by, but not very many. I didn’t look at my notifications the whole time because I didn’t have time. Everything happened so fast! I am an auditory learner and I am a very slow reader, so I think this is why I was not a fan. I enjoy listening to people’s discussion better than reading a discussion! Twitter is mostly typed posts with a few images, and I find things more intriguing when there are images. Pinterest on the other hand is very easy for me to enjoy because I can see a picture first and then read to find out more about the image or topic! For example, a menu at a restaurant, I will always look at the pictures first before reading the written options. This is just the person I am! For this reason, I think I will find it hard to LOVE twitter, but I will give it my best shot! I chose to join the RSS Feeder Feedly! I started by searching “education” to see what I could find. One of the top feed was “Free Technology for Teachers” which I thought would be a good place to start. I put this one under a category titled “Edtech” so I know where to go to possibly find resources for this educational technology class. I think this feed will be very helpful in my future classroom for using technology with students. From what I can see there are many resources related to many Google platforms and Word Documents. I use both of these platforms often, but I am not an expert user of either. I think I could personally learn some of the tips and information from this feed. Then next word I searched up was “elementary” because I am currently pursuing my bachelor of elementary education. I didn’t find any websites that popped out to me when I searched this. I then proceeded to search “grade 2” because I hope to teach around the kindergarten to grade 3 levels in the future, and grade 2 is a good middle starting point! Found a few websites that looked very intriguing, one being “Elementary Shenanigans” which I think will be basic for many different elementary levels. I also found “Primary Planet!” and “Lucky Little Learners” which I will have to look more into these ones to find more out about them. I put these feeds under the category "Grade 2" but I might change that to "elementary" If I end up finding some feeds from different grade levels. I think Feedly will be a great place for me to find resources and information for my classroom. I hope these feeds I have chosen are a good starting point. If there are any I have found that I do not enjoy I will have to do some more searching. I am excited to keep exploring!
Welcome to my EDTC blog page!
I am in my second year of elementary education degree! I have always aspired to be a teacher, and I am fulfilling my dream at this moment in time! I use technology everyday! I have many social media platforms that I use to communicate with family and friends! I am not a regular blogger, but I really enjoyed making my personal page over the last few years! I think it is awesome that I have created a home base for useable resources to help me in the future. I have been doing all of my University classes from home this year, and have absolutely loved it! I wish classes could stay online in the future. In high school I also really enjoyed my online classes I enrolled in! I am not the best with technology, but I have defiantly improved over the last year. I have been introduced to many new programs and been given tips on how to use them! I have been at the school this past year as an educational assistant. There are so many programs that are manageable for young students to use that I would consider using in the future. The first few times something new is used it would take students a bit of time to figure it out, but eventually they would understand. I think the best way to incorporate technology into the classroom is to use it often so students are familiar and know how to operate the program. During this current pandemic, I think many educators had to learn and use technology to get lessons to their students. I think the technology in the classroom will be permanently adjusted because of all the beneficial recourses available. Technology is going to be the way of the future in all aspects, so it is beneficial for young people to learn from a young age the way to use technology correctly. I believe technology is important but also too much technology can have its own consequences that may not be beneficial side of technology. Overall technology is always changing and advancing, and it is important to stay up to date with technology as it changes because it is how people connect and all over in our society! |