Blog Post 6

The school that i decided to find a teachers website at was my old elementary school. Lewis elementary in Solon Ohio. They have a school website and each teacher has the option to obtain a personal class page. Each teacher has a standard design with tabs on the side with: contact info, calendars, class news, resources and helpful documents. When you first pull up the site it gives a little personal note from the teacher welcoming you to their class. The class I looked at was a kindergarten class page. https://www.solonschools.org/Page/1206

I plan to use technology within the classroom in my instruction and in communication with the parents. Today there are so many ways to utilize technology in schools during instructional time I plan to use it to enforce ideas and concepts being learned in the classroom. I would want to use interactive devices in order to get kids more involved. Along with using email and class blog/website to relay information to the parents. 

The first device is the Sphero. This is a small ball device that connects through Bluetooth connection to, phones, tablets, computers etcetera. The device is used for gaming along with being a reality component to your smart device. I would love to see how teacher are incorporating these into their classrooms as an educational aid. The next piece of technology that I would love to know more about is the SMART kapp. This is a device produced by the same people who make the SMART board. The SMART Kapp is a dry erase board that can be accessed virtually through the app or by a shared link. I am intrigued by this device because I think that it could really revolutionize how kids stay in track if they have to miss a day of school. I think that if more schools got this device they could track and see if it truly does make a difference when kids are gone. Also, it is like a living notebook, so you can go back and compare notes that you have used in the past. The last piece of technology that I am interested in learning more about is 3d doodle pen. This is a device that rapidly heats and cools plastic allowing users to make 3d designs without having to wait hours for them to develop. I think this could be cool to use in a classroom to teach kids about shapes, designs, ad to foster their overall creativity.

Blog Post 5

       In the classroom I think that it is becoming more and more relevant that we using web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Personally I think using videos off of Youtube to explain concepts is a fantastic tool I also think that if you are learning a foreign language utilizing Skype could be a fantastic tool as well for it would provide direct use of the language with a native speaker. However not all Web 2.0 tools are creating equally and the biggest one that is not that I can think of is Wikipedia. This is a tool that to many people can use an alter the information making it an unreliable source.
      An interesting Web 2.0 tool that I found that could be useful in an elementary age class room is StoryBird. This is an interactive site where kids can make, edit or finish stories by adding graphics, pictures, and live videos and audio. This would be good for all elementary ages for it can allow older kids to create and younger kids to simply but the story back together.  http://storybird.com/
      I believe the biggest technology advancement that hold the most promise in the future is virtual interactive classrooms.  By being able to access classroom material while not being physically in the classroom will help students be able to do more efficent work while outside of school. When a child is sick this will help them stay on track. This will also help to lighten the load of kids book bag which will help reduce back problems later on in life. Overall an electronic classroom will have benefits in an outside of the classroom.

Web Evaluation

 http://www.abcya.com/kindergarten_computers.htm
     This website is perfect for elementary language arts. This website helps kids learn how to read, site words, and help children learn the alphabet. This website is very up to date for it was last updated in 2018. ABCYA is super easy for kids to navigate and easy to get to the appropriate tab. This is a great website for centers in a classroom or just to assign for extra help. ABCYA is certified by COPPA KID SAFE to ensure that kids will not run into any ads that may not be appropriate and that all the content is safe and kid friendly. Since this is website designed to help kids read and learn the alphabet it is reliable since it gives the standard 26 letter American alphabet and is certified by teachers. The purpose of the site is to provide a fun and engaging outlet for kids to work on basic language art skills.
https://www.factmonster.com/dk/encyclopedia/science/smell
     Fact Monster is a kid friendly search browser for elementary aged children. This site is current with the last copyright in 2017 but a footnote saying that they update their information constantly. The content is very easy to access as you can pick the grade subject and topic all in a simple layout. It is extremely kid friendly and very easy to read. Fact Monster is extremely credible citing all of their sources on the about page. This website is also certified by COPPA KID SAFE to ensure that kids will not run into any ads that may not be appropriate and that all the content is safe and kid friendly. Which in a school environment is vital. As a kids database this is all factual information but is easy to comprehend and is a good start for kids to learn how to find credible sources.
      Both of the websites I found  address all the elements of C.R.A.A.P. and are ones that /i could see myself using in the future.

Blog Post 4

So far my experience with twitter for thus class has been fairly good. I haven't really interacted with anyone in particular more so just using the class hashtag (hoping that I don't forget it.). I have found it useful to get information about technology uses that the university uses or is trying to implement throughout the university. In the future I think twitter could be useful in the teacher side of things to relay information but I don't see myself using it in an elementary classroom setting.
     Digital divide is something that I think is affecting kids more today then when I was in school simply because of the variety of technology. I think that it can be hard to make sure all the kids have the same knowledge and skills because kids may have all different types of technology access. It can also be hard for students who's parents strictly limit their screen time or the websites they can be on. I feel like if teachers require technology uses then teachers need to provide the materials needed to complete the task. Along with teacher all students hot to use the technology.
     Personally I want to teach in an elementary school so for my classroom I would anticipate only using technology in the classroom for centers or small group activities. I think that using online resources at this age can be hard for them so to have a program like Alexia or Type to Learn would be the most effective in the classroom. I would expect that in primary education that i would be the one who uses most of the software when creating activities for the class and give the kids more pen and paper type of activities. However the software that I would expect to use the least is administration software since I am "old fashion" I like to use excel for grades and just good old pen and paper.