Youtube Adventure

Vanity Search

When I conducted my vanity search, I was surprised by the results because all of my social media sites are set to private. In the Google Image Search, a picture of me was the first one to appear. As silly as this sounds the first thing that came to my head was hopefully that pictures haven't been made into a meme. After playing What Do You Meme last week I became very curious about those people who have made the cut to be a photo in that game. When scrolling through the website links that appeared when searching for myself, the first link was to my McKinney ISD Teacher Website. I was glad that none of my social media websites were linked. Guess completing vanity search needs to make it onto my to-do list.

Current Issues and New Directions

Starting my second year in Kindergarten, I am very excited to integrate more technology into my classroom. Last year, I struggled to implement technology into my classroom because Kindergarten is totally different world than second grade.For TTESS, one of my goals is to integrate a new technology tool monthly. After reading our final chapters, I have starting to make my list of technology tools. Google classroom and Google sites are template like resources that all access to curriculum and assignments. The McKinney ISD student login for Google is very long. This year I am hoping to start using Google Suites and Classroom. Google Suites allow voice to text capabilities, which will be great for publishing writing for my students. Prodigy math is a free engaging math world, that allows students to practice critical math skills. I plan to use this during math stations from early on. For the creation part of the Project Based Learning Model, Engage to Learn, I plan to use the green screen and iMovie. I used iMovie last year for the first time. I was amazed how user-friendly it was.

I have struggled to write and learn from the perspective of a Media Resource Specialist because the role is unfamiliar territory. As a Media Resource Specialist, you are the campus' leader in all things technology. As my course work continues, I hope to be more aware of how to address campus needs rather than personal.

Kindergarten is unlike any other grade, the skill level is very diverse. Skills levels vary from being able to read to not being able to name the letters in the alphabet. With these high demands, differentiation is required for both student success and teacher sanity. Using technology to differentiate engages students, unlike traditional resources. As student's access to technology increases, digital citizenship programs are in high demand. With resources such as Google, YouTube, and Social Media students have access to both educational and inappropriate things. Both parents and educators teach the importance of responsibility from a young age. The idea of responsibility when using technology is forgotten by a majority of students. To solve these problem school districts need Digital Citizenship Programs that educate staff members, students, and parents.

Technology Play 4

Describe and discuss the various tools you explored: what you liked or disliked about each one. Consider whether you liked or disliked it for your own personal use or for your students’ use. Select one tool from those you explored to continue to reflect on

Analyze how the creativity tool that you selected might support learning, using the TPACK model. Specifically, describe the content goals/objectives, pedagogical approach(es), and technological affordances of some student work that you might design using the creativity tool you selected.

Identify other ways that students could use the creativity tool you selected.

Explain why it might be important to know about and use creativity tools? What do they offer that other tools (i.e., drill and practice, tutorials, instructional games, etc.) do not offer? Reflect on any tools that you did not like for your own personal use. Can you find any value in using, learning to use, or allowing your students to use tools that you don’t care for personally?

It is important to incorporate and be knowledgeable about creativity tools because they increase student performance and engagement. These tools allow students to create from blank canvases or templates. The tools also require teachers to think creatively because the tools are open ended. I am looking forward to familiarizing myself with Procreate, I have found some useful tips to use it to sketchnote. I am glad this tool is so different than anything I have used because it forces me outside of my comfort zone. Teachers push students outside of their comfort zone daily, so it is important we do the same.

Trends and Issues in IDT

This week's readings were particularly interesting because they challenged me to think outside of my educational background. I found the chapter about Military Education the most interesting because my younger brother served three years in the Army. He has been out of the service for about eight months. Watching his transition from soldier to civilian has been wonderful. The opportunities he has been presented with are unbelievable. Going to the Military was a lifelong goal for him but consequently, he was not a fan of school. Traditional learning was not his strength, he is successful when working with his hands. Therefore, reading that Educational Design is particularly difficult in this sector because a majority of the clients are not familiar with educational principles because their knowledge is based on their personal experience as a student, was a lightbulb moment. My brother was a real life example of that fact. The United States Military's impact is unbelievable and is something that affects everyone's life. Designing training and education for soldiers that could be used in a time of war creates a high-risk environment. Also, there are so many different learning environments designers must prepare for.
Military Education and Health Education have many similarities because they directly affect the greater good for all citizens. Health Education has the potential to train the doctor or researcher that will cure cancer or alzheimers. Thinking about the potential magnitude of change both Military and Health Education have it is imperative that both Military and Healthy Designers are efficient and innovative.
In the private sectors, Businesses use instructional design to perfect their business practices. Unlike Military and Health Education businesses want to work better, faster, and cheaper. Businesses want to address a performance gap, not necessarily think long term.

To prepare our youth for unprecedented challenges we must teach them to be problem solvers. Typing my solution out seems like the obvious answer but it is more complex than it seems. Teaching our youth to think creatively or out of the box is very challenging because it goes against the traditional learning their parents received. I have taught for four years. My first year to teach, McKinney ISD adopted the new Math TEKS early. As a first year teacher, I wasn't prepared for the negative backlash parents would have because the new TEKS required students to solve math problems using various strategies. Many of the complaints from parents included, "Well I didn't learn math this way and I turned out fine." I am not a parent but to expect your children to learn in the same way you did when cell phones were as heavy as a brick and Blockbuster was where you rented movies is naive. Our children are digital natives, they use iPads or Netflix from a young age. They don't read directions, they figure it stuff out by pushing buttons or watching a YouTube Video. Teachers will never be more entertaining than YouTube. So a teacher or administrator you must realize your competition for children's attention. Educators also need to incorporate open-ended activities allow for creativity. MakerSpace and Genius Hour are to programs that allow students embrace their creativity and allow them to learn based on their interests. The first time I took my Kindergarteners to our Makerspace, I was amazed at the creative ways they were able to turn pipe cleaners into police badges. Our schools need to embrace the future to prepare our youth. Our educational system allows for so much diversity, which is a double-edged sword. Some schools have everything including motivated teachers and other schools lack resources but have the motivated teachers. The United States has made efforts to require schools to create engaging lessons through No Child Left Behind. As a teacher, I didn't realize No Child Left Behind addressed anything other than standardized testing. I find it fascinating that Korea had included government policy supporting instructional design.

Technology Play 2

E-Portfolios allow developing professionals to curate their learning over time. Electronic Portfolios are a perfect fit for lifelong learning because they are more permanent than paper. They also allow many different types of media to represent student learning and allow for more student mastery of learning goals. Traditional assessments can fit into an E-Portfolio but they are not the entire Portfolio. As part of my undergate program at Texas Tech I created an E-Portfolio using Taskstream. I found the work very boring because the limitations didn’t allow for creativity. I prefer to create an E-Portfolio because it allows me to show potential employers my work using a technology platform. In the creation process I am allowed to explore different technology which results in meaningful learning. This week I attended a Google Syndicate Professional Development and it exposed me to Google Sites. During our exploration time I used Google Sites and was amazed at how easy it was to use. I use Google Suites almost daily so I decided Google Sites would be a great fit for me because I have Google Schema. I would not select a different tool for my students to use because it is very user friendly, and my students have a basic understanding of Google Suites. Google Sites uses a drag and drop method and is very user friendly. The hardest part is creating subpages for a page of the website. Google Sites also allows you to add multiple editors to a page, which allows grade level teams to collaborate when curating or creating. Morgan Montano’s E- Portfolio