Blog #10 

PowerPoint Interaction Assignment

My Bitmoji, I named "Teacher Lisa", represents me reacting to chaos happening all around me and me maintaining a cool head. As long as I have my sweet tea, I'm good. However, my cool head was tested during this assignment. 

The assignment was a little challenging. I have utilized PowerPoint for many years. However, making it come alive and interactive in the form of a game was new for me. Learning how to use the navigation buttons and the linear navigation buttons made the whole presentation so much more fun than just the same old slide presentation. What was tricky was the order in which to use the proper buttons. I wanted the Jeopardy game to look just like it does on television. I made up the questions very easily. My husband and I tune in every weeknight to test our knowledge. He usually wins in categories that I have no idea how he knows such information. 

Classmate Blogs

Reviewing my classmates' blogs, I saw several themes. Most of the students are very familiar with most of the technologies that are used in the classroom today. PowerPoint seems to be the one that most students enjoy using the most. Several students really poured their hearts out in their blogs about their journeys up towards college. The blogs seem to be therapeutic for some students who are managing their new realities away from home. They seem to have very positive attitudes and seem to be enjoying and learning lots of new skills in EME 2040. 

What I'd like to learn next

I would like to learn more about ways that Oculus can be utilized in the classroom. I enjoyed the demonstration that our class had last week in the tech sandbox. It is an amazing invention and appears to have endless potential for many different applications. I can see the future classrooms in which the entire lesson is taught with all the students and teacher(s) wearing this headset. It would be amazing to study the Civil War and be inside the war live and on the battleground for the North or the South in real-time. Just a short time ago, all we had were books to read from and our imaginations to envision the history. Today, we can be a part of the history with this type of technology. I hope I have this at my fingertips at my new teaching school.

 Blog # 9

My Experiences in EME 2040
I enjoy being in the classroom. I enjoy the interaction with my fellow classmates. I take advantage of the opportunity to hear from their recent experiences from high school and college. It has been a challenge learning the new technology. I have embraced it and it is still a work in progress for me. In order to be a lifelong learner, it is essential that teachers stay up to date. To improve the classroom experience, I will have an orderly, clean, decorated classroom to show off my teaching style and personality. 

Open Educational Resources (OER)

As technology is rapidly changing, traditional textbooks can sometimes become outdated before they are even printed. The cost associated with textbooks has skyrocketed. The solution to this problem is a new concept called Open Educational Resources. This is a win-win for everyone as costs are eliminated, everyone has access if they have a computer at a minimum and teachers do not have to spend time on developing new lessons. They simply look for ideas and can retain, redistribute, reuse, revise and remix. They can spend more time on teaching instead of creating the lesson. 'Open' meaning the intellectual property rights of the creator. Resources that are open to anyone to use for teaching or research purposes. The owners grant permission to use them free of charge. We utilize www.oercommons.org or https://commons.m.wikimedia.org. 

On-Line Article

Top 5 Trends in Education 

 1. Artificial Intelligence will reshape world including our educational system. Virtual Assistants can  provide personalized learning along with tutoring for students and help them manage their time. 

2. Remote on-line, hybrid learning can help remote and isolated students obtain educational instruction. It is estimated that 270 million children could benefit from this type of learning. 

3. Employers are not looking for just college graduates anymore. They are looking for vocational and technical trained individuals. These trainings provide a more diverse skill set that employers are looking for. Subject-base training may be the new drivers of economic growth that is currently in need.

4. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are the new ways to step back in time or see close and inside the heart functions. It is an actual experience in which the user is immersed in the subject matter. It involves superimposing computer-generated images onto what the user is actually seeing. The advantage is that it provides real-time information to the user. For example, if the user is conducting a scientific experiment, it can alert the user to when they approach a critical point in the experiment that could cause bodily harm. Essentially, it provides the alarm before an accident occurs. 

5. Soft Skills are communication skills, teamworking skills, relationship management and conflict resolution. These are highly sought after skills that employers are wanting from their recruits. They are harder to assess than technical skills. These are human skills that cannot be replicated with by a machine.                                                                         

https://rb.gy/k1sg

www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/02/17/the-top-5-education-trends-in-2023/?sh=709a1784d399

Analysis of Assignment #4 PowerPoint for Information Dissemination

 

I had no difficulty in creating the PowerPoint presentation. However, I learned that it is difficult to start talking and adding your own words. It is sometimes intimidating. Hearing your own voice you may feel that you sound silly or ridiculous. You have to practice your speaking and I did this with the use of index cards for each slide. Once I got the hang of it after practicing a few times, it was rather fun. 

I tend to spend too much time on the aesthetics and how the presentation looks. The looks are important but not as important as the content. That is what we are here for. We are to teach not to just look pretty. I love to be creative, but it can take over my time and I end up with lots of fun graphics and not enough content. I need to start with the content and then incorporate the fun creative layout second. 

I have a history teacher that I mimicked her tone and pace that I thought was a great idea. It worked out great and I did not have the anxiety that I thought I would end up with. I actually enjoyed watching it after I was finished. 

Blog #8 

Website Construction

I will be honest, I had a difficult time with designing a website and thus, the assignment was submitted late. I did my best to utilize the CRAP principles. Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. I made sure that my background and my writing had contrast on the home page. I made sure that I utilized the same size font on each page. I made sure that the page was overdone and flowed easily from one page to the next. I made sure that pictures that were inserted were the same size as the others. 

My problem is that I need to study the terminology more so that I can fully comprehend what I am doing. If I do not know what a 'header' is, then it's difficult to complete the assignment. This requires more time and effort on my part. I enjoyed the creative aspect of the assignment. It was a lot of fun choosing colors, backgrounds, links, themes. I need to practice more and become more familiar with this and not shy away from it. The templates make it easier than if I had to do it from scratch. 

my website is: https://beausmama.weebly.com

Diigo

This is a great way to bookmark resources. I had no idea how I was going to keep all my electronic resources sorted and organized. It's a quick way to share important information. You eliminate having to make copies of articles, webpages etc. I enjoy it also because you can see who viewed the links. Sharing on-line resources is definitely a great way to learn, teach and share with others. It is very economical way of teaching. All the student needs are a computer which is becoming more and more accessible in our schools today. 

Technology and Teacher Development

It is critical that teachers whether they are fresh out of college or if they have been teaching for ten years, be on top of the ever-evolving technology. You simply cannot sit back and rest on your laurels. What you knew yesterday and years ago is already outdated. If you want to stay relevant and be the most effective teacher, learning never ends. Continuing education courses, teacher seminars, district-wide teacher training is vital. Our students deserve the most educated teachers in order to be successful citizens when they graduate from high school and college. 

One site I can utilize to stay informed and up-to-date on requirements is the Florida state regulatory body for educators:

Florida’s Coordinated System of Professional Development (fldoe.org)

The state's recognition of the importance of a systemic process for enabling professional learning is evident. To support this key component of quality school improvement, Florida has several linked elements:

• State standards for high-quality professional learning
• District professional learning systems
• District professional learning catalogs
• Professional learning review protocol materials and site visits for evaluation of district professional learning systems

I will become more familiar with their website and links to professional learning systems and professional development.