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I used to be an avid user of Twitter for purely social purposes. I would tweet funny thoughts and use it to keep in contact with my friends. In the past couple years I haven't used Twitter at all. Using Twitter for educational purposes and networking never really occurred to me, but there is a wide array of people and organizations that contribute to education. Twitter offers a convenient place to connect with other educators while being exposed to different methods of teaching and sources to gather materials from. The popularity of Twitter adds to the amount of people who are sharing useful information. At times this site can get overwhelming due to the ease at which people can share their opinions which can get in the way of pertinent information. Designing a web page has mostly helped to iron out how exactly I would layout my website. Weebly provides many different tools that make designing the website much easier than designing from scratch. Because everything is provided for...

Lynda.com offers quality information that can be accessed from the comfort of home and with the ease of access the internet provides. It was a pleasant experience with valuable information on such a crucial aspect of life. The Lynda.com tutorial I watched was extremely informative, and it added layers to the groundwork of productivity I already have. Throughout the tutorial there were plenty of opportunities to practice the skills that were being taught. This aspect of the training makes for a very effective way to learn the valuable skills covered in the video. Time management is something that doesn't come naturally to most people, so it is important to develop the skill and continue using the methods of time management that work best. Dave Crenshaw has an extensive background in helping people maintain the most effective strategies for using time efficiently. It would be nice to have a private lesson from Crenshaw, but this Lynda tutorial is the next best thing and it's l...

The class pages I found have general information and guidelines for the classroom. The content does change depending on what grade level the class page is for, but it is centered around expectations in the classroom and necessary items kids will use. All of the class pages I looked at have important dates that tell what will happen on the specific day. There is also information geared towards parents such as how to get their child prepared and outlining what will be required of the student. Extra resources for learning and some of the regular handouts are provided on the page. The page linked below is for Yorktown Christian Academy 4th grade classes. http://yca-cc.org/NOM/Class-Pages/Grade-4-A It is essential to use technology in the classroom to prepare students for the technologically advanced world that is growing larger every day. Technology offers more efficient avenues to organize information and to find the information in the first place. There are so many options to cho...

Diigo was an interesting tool to use. It makes the gathering of resources a collaborative effort which is more engaging and informative. Being able to install an extension was very convenient and added to the ease of using the tool. The option to tag a bookmark to better find them again when referencing back to a certain resource is a great way to organize the information collected. Having the ability to highlight or leave a note on the bookmarked web page was my favorite aspect of the tool, because it allows for a closer reading within the source. There weren't many things I found issue with while using Diigo. I was only exposed to it for a brief amount of time and maybe there were some areas it was lacking, but it seemed like a much more efficient way to bookmark web pages. Blogging in this setting has been a bit laborious. I like the idea of sharing thoughts and information in general, but having to tailor the blog to certain requirements takes some of the creative liberties a...

The ELA standards outlining the expectations for reading comprehension, vocabulary identification, gathering information from multiple sources, and finding what mediums are most useful for certain  topics for 8th grade students are standards I am most well equipped to teach at the moment. I still have room for improvement in these areas, but English studies are most comfortable for me. The technological side of the ELA standards are something I need more instruction on. While I am capable of teaching the technological side it wouldn't hurt to have a better structure for them. Understanding something is very different than being able to teach it. The pre-made lesson plans offered in CPALMS are something I would use in my classroom. Knowing that these lesson plans have been vetted by experienced teachers and have been used already are some reasons I would utilize them. The standards that are covered in the lessons are outlined which makes it easier for me to make sure I cover all o...

MS word is a vital tool in any students career. It is the word processor almost every teacher has preferred in the classes I've taken. There are a lot of different ways to use MS word, but the main reason I've used it is for typing papers. I rarely use Word for more creative purposes. In my experience teachers often use Word for typing up assignments. During my time in college the use of Word has dwindled a little, because the assignments are usually given through an online medium. I have also seen teachers use Word for jotting down quick notes, organizing students into groups, and for announcements to the class. I am not too well versed in using copyrighted material in an educational setting, although I am sure I've been exposed to materials that were reproduced under fair use law. In any class where there has been multiple copies of a text given in a photocopied form the teacher must have abided by the appropriate fair use law. Education does not receive proper funding ...

Technology has an enormous impact on the way teachers educate and students learn. In the technological climate of today it is near impossible to be anywhere you aren't exposed to some kind of technology. Every job available will use technology, and the main goal of teachers is to prepare students for the workforce. This is a chief influence, among many others, in the utilization of technology by both students and teachers. The use of technology also allows for a more efficient, available transference of knowledge. The ISTE standards seem to be an effective guideline for the overall approach to teaching. It is important to foster a positive learning environment, and these standards set a pace to achieve that. Being a knowledge constructor is a standard that is especially important to me. The specific aspect of this standard I take the most heed to is being able to identify whether or not the information being provided on the internet is from a credible source. There is a constan...