Blog 7

If I were to teach Bloom’s taxonomy using a PowerPoint presentation I would go over the three domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor. I’d spend a little more time going over the cognitive domain because it’s the most used. Then I’d give the Affective domain some attention by stressing the importance of values. I feel it’s important for students to receive and analyze the values of others. With values comes better understanding of each other’s differences. The Psychomotor will get the least bit of attention. That domain wasn’t even completed by Bloom.

Adaptive technologies can help students with exceptionalities. They can also help students who are gifted. Technology helps students with special needs by helping them overcome their disabilities. For example, screen magnification software and screen readers assist students who are blind or visually impaired. Talented and Gifted Students, commonly referred to as TAGs, can be challenged with social media and internet projects that can connect them with kids similar to them. Adaptive technology also benefits culturally and linguistically diverse students through visuals, cooperative tasks, and hands-on activity. Some challenges I see with using adaptive technologies are making sure that the students who need them use them while those who don’t still learn something and finding ways to interpret them in the curriculum without spending too much time focusing on them.

From the web page assignment I learned how to professionally blog as a teacher. Weebly is much easier and better looking than the pbworks wiki page we had to use for last week’s assignment. The one problem I had with Weebly is the formatting errors. There were times where we would type something out and when it was published the words were overlapping or in a different color. That seems to be a problem with a lot of free blogging sites because I have the same issue with Blogger. Overall the assignment was one of the most fun and least stress inducing that we’ve done so far. 

Blog #6 Website evaluation

I visited the website of my high school, Coral Springs Charter. The website class list includes classes and teachers and it also has years and semesters to choose from. There is a teacher contact form for people to send an email to teachers. Homework and submission links are also available. CSCS is a middle and high school, so the grades of these classes aren’t properly specified. The current class list mostly caters to middle school. 

               

            I would most likely use apps as a teacher. It’s the 21^st century and there’s an app for everything. The kids are on their phones anyway so I might as well put them to good use. According to textbook, apps are great for assisting students and providing teachers with grade feedback. When I was in high school my AP Stats teacher made us download an app that had us answer questions based on the material covered that day and a survey of how well we understood the lesson. It was very similar to iClicker.

            

           From the web evaluation assignment I learned how in depth teachers look for the legitimacy of the sources their students use. I learned how to make an evaluation sheet and rubric through this assignment. I also learned how to collaboratively post something on wiki. I never used wiki for anything more than research before this. Now I know how to make a wiki page, edit and add to it. If there were anything I would change about the assignment I would make sure that my group members and I were all on the same page as far as what to do and how the work is divided.  

EME 2040 Blog #5

      An interesting Web 2.0 tool I would like to use in my classroom is Scribd. It's been called the Netflix and Spotify for readers. Members are charged a monthly fee of $9 a month. The membership grants access to an expansive library of literature. Even court documents are available. It also sells eBooks for a very cheap price. 

      I think Scribd would be useful in a classroom because in this digital age, physical hardcovers are becoming outdated. Scribd subscriptions for a class can cut costs on ordering textbooks. It can also make it easier on the students who will no longer have to carry heavy textbooks in their backpacks. Scribd is a great and resourceful tool. All genres are thoroughly organized and it's also available for download on Apple and Android.
Scribd

      Inspiration is a fun tool for concept mapping. I like how it's really easy to use and the interface is basic. Through the assignment I learned how to connect concepts in a succinct manner. The only thing I would change about Inspiration is the symbols box being all over the place. It constantly got in the way from time to time. If it could stay put somewhere, that'd be great. 

EME 2040 Blog 4

         Using the internet to support student research is more useful than it is not. The internet helps students find useful, reliable and current sources. It’s also a big help when citations are involved. Website like EasyBib and Purdue Owl make MLA, APA and Chicago 7 citation styles easy to understand and follow. The internet supports student research by providing a place that makes learning more approachable. A google search is less daunting than going through a weighty encyclopedia. I would say that the only time using the internet isn’t useful is when it’s used for plagiarism and cheating.

         I’ve used the internet mainly to find reliable sources for research papers. Sometimes I’ll use it to find videos that better explain things that were explained in class. So far it’s worked out well for me. I’ve never encountered a problem, if I did, it was nothing that printed materials could fix. My method is I google everything, or I use YouTube for extra-help with things like math tutorials. A method a friend told me about which I haven’t thought of is using the cited works on Wikipedia pages, because those are reliable nine times out of ten.  

The Web Hunt assignment was amusing. I was surprised to be able to access a Ukrainian newspaper with the help of advanced search. The ELA standards were something new. The coolest thing was seeing the virtual tour of Cape Town. I thought virtual tours were only viewable with technology from the Sandbox. The web hunt assignment has taught me that teachers can access anything if they use the right keywords.