What have you learned in this class?
ITD 645 has helped me realize how many online learning tools are available for teachers and students, especially free ones. I am grateful that I have always caught on to technology quickly so all of the projects in the class were fairly easy for me. I am happy to now have an arsenal of resources to start with when I begin flipping my own classroom, as I intend to do over the next several years. Not only do I now know more resources, but I have been overwhelmed with ideas of how to reach different types of students. In my first three years of teaching, I have come to realize that students truly do learn in so many different ways. By flipping my classroom with the help of the tools I have used in this course, I will be able to offer all of my students something different to help them learn the same information. They will be able to choose what suits their learning styles best. I think this will help them learn how they learn also, which in turn, helps them in other courses.
 
Project 1: Lesson Plan
I will definitely use lesson plans in my classroom in the future. They are helpful guides to keep the class on track and understand what the objectives should be for each day. I have not used true lesson planning to my full advantage in the past as they are not required by the university that I teach at. We make a simple syllabus with a tentative schedule for the semester but do not put details on there. We use Moodle (similar to Canvas) and that is where I do most of my lesson planning. I do think putting it on paper would be easier for me to access in class, though. In the past, I have just made myself notes throughout my lectures that I review when prepping for class. I believe having a true lesson plan would be much more advantageous for both myself and my students.
 
Project 2: Survey
I had never used Google Survey before. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to set up. I don’t know exactly how helpful it would be in my courses or if I will use it. I believe if I do use it, it will be as a survey of the course. This way I can know what my students liked or didn’t like about the set-up of the course. I also think it would be a great way to have them give me suggestions of what to change or keep in a course.
 
Project 3: Google Docs, Google Slides
I have been using Google Docs throughout graduate school to collaborate with group members in various classes. I had never used Google Slides before this class but was happy to know it was exactly like Microsoft PowerPoint, which I am accustomed to using. I could see how using Google’s tools could be useful as I tend to edit my PowerPoint slides and Word documents each semester. When I do that, I have to reupload them. By utilizing the Google cloud, the updated file would automatically be changed for all of my students and myself. I would also be able to easily view past copies quickly rather than having to go through multiple saved files from each different year. It would clear up a ton of space on my hard drive, too! I believe It will be a good idea for me to use Google Docs and Slides in my classes in the future, for these reasons.
 
Project 4: Podcast
I personally did not enjoy making a podcast, but I can find some positives for using it in a classroom. As a visual and kinesthetic learning, podcasts do not do much for me. I find myself getting easily distracted. I do have to remember that not all of my students will learn in the same ways that I do. Podcasts will be great for students who want to listen to lectures later. I believe if I do podcasts, I will make them by using the audio files from lectures or videos. I found that it is easy to convert the audio files from those places into a podcast. This past year, I had almost half of my students who wanted to record the audio from my lectures during class, so I may be utilizing podcasts more in the future to make them available to the students throughout the semester.
 
Project 5: Video
Like many of the other projects so far, I had no experience with making videos but was happy to find how easy it was. This past semester, I did several video lectures at the request of my students. We have a program call Kaltura that captures lectures and video of everything you do on your screen or Smart Board. This program made making videos very easy. I believe that making videos with iMovie (as I did in this course) could be more helpful and quicker than trying to capture my lectures during class, where we get off track because of student questions and other distractions. With iMovie, I would be able to make videos as I prepare my lecture. It was extremely easy to record over just one slide and choose the amount of time I wanted to talk for each slide. Because I plan on using a flipped classroom method for a few of my classes, making videos will be a big part of my plan.
 
Project 6: Interactive Video
I had never heard of EdPuzzle before I took this course, but I was so impressed with it that I already have other instructors at my university signed up to use it next year! I loved that there are videos that are available already for me to jump in and manipulate in order to fit my class. I also liked that I can make my own videos and give assignments and quizzes through this. I will be using this for the lab courses I teach. I plan to make videos of the procedure for the students to watch ahead of time so they are ready to go when they get to lab. This will save us a ton of time and we will be able to focus on the psychomotor skills specifically rather than spending so much time learning how to do a procedure.
 
Project 7: Website
I enjoyed learning how to make a website. It was fun being able to show my personality through that page. I like comparing mine to my classmates to see how differently everyone thinks. As much as I liked using it, I don’t believe I have a need for this in my classroom just yet. Because Moodle is so easy to use for class materials and assignments, I want to keep my virtual classroom there, rather than making my students access my course in several different places.
 
Project 8: Padlet
Padlet was one of my least favorite tools that we used in this course. I understand how it could be useful, though. For the course I created here, I asked my students to post references that they used to help them study. I believe it will be best utilized by students to help each other learn the material better. My students are always so creative in the ways they find to help them remember things. They could post those ideas here to help their classmates learn tricks for difficult to remember material. I also think it would be useful in group work or for my classroom as an ideas board for students to post ideas to each other or ideas of how I can improve my class.
 
Project 9: Rubric/Interactive Quiz
The rubric maker was wonderful! I have always struggled in making rubrics for assignments in my course. Not only does it provide me with ways to grade specific types of assignments, it is also full of ideas of what kind of assignments to give my students. I browsed the types of rubrics available and found many ways to make projects interesting, such as puppet shows or having them make videos. I will be using this in every course I teach.
Quizzizz was also a great tool. I have been using Kahoot for three years now, but after this course, I will be switching to Quizzizz. I sometimes struggle to come up with basic questions when I’m not feeling particularly creative. Quizzizz allowed me to see other quiz questions in the same category that I could use and even manipulate as needed for my own quiz. This will now be my go-to review game site!
 
Project 10: Thinglink/Scoop.it
Thinglink was probably my least favorite project. I did not find it interesting at all. It felt very dry to me. I think it would be good for lower level courses, but for 3000 and 4000 level, it seemed too dull. I also did not enjoy making it, and I have learned that when I don’t enjoy putting an assignment together, my students do not reap the benefits that they could out of it. I believe my excitement for something spurs them on, and I do not have any excitement for this tool.
Scoop.it was very easy and a great concept. Because I am in the medical field, we are constantly having to keep up with upcoming technology, medical practices, and why new things are more or less useful. I can see Scoop.it as a great way to link stories and references of a particular subject to spark my students interest and also help them understand the importance of what they’re studying. This could also be useful for faculty to post articles for each other to read so that we are all up-to-date on new methodologies of the subjects we all teach.

Illustrate your strong and weak points.
I believe my strongest point is that I am fairly tech savvy and am capable of catching on to new technology and new programs quickly and easily. I truly enjoy learning new things, and though I do not feel as though I am a very creative person, using new technologies will open the door for my creativity.
My weakest point is that I sometimes forget that not all of my students will learn the same way I do. I know that I will have times I am excited about something but it may not be helpful for my students. I tend to get stubborn and try to force my excitement or way of doing things on them. I have to be better at realizing their individualism and work on catering to them.

Will you integrate these technologies into your classroom? Why or why not?
I believe I will be using many of the technologies we learned in this course in my own classroom. Some of my favorites were Quizzizz, the rubric creator, and EdPuzzle interactive videos. Quizzizz and EdPuzzle make learning and reviewing the material fun, and will also be great ways to quiz my students and ensure they are studying like they should. These tools are simple to use, both for me and the student. The rubric creator was great for me because I have honestly avoided creating projects for the sole reason of not wanting to create a rubric for it. The website we used to create the rubrics was also inspiring as to different, fun types of projects that students could do to help them learn the material. The only project that I do not see myself utilizing is Thinglink. I did not find it engaging or helpful, but rather muddled and busy.

What are your future learning goals?
In the future, I hope to continue to push myself to keep up with technology in a way that will benefit my students. I seems to get harder to keep up as I get older, but my students are my top priority. If it helps them, then I should be willing to do it. I plan to take courses on my own time and attend workshops that my work provides in order to be up-to-date and broaden my technology portfolio for my classroom. I hope to use these tools to challenge and engage my students to do their best, as well. I also plan to attend conferences in the future, such as CLEC (Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference) that will further my knowledge of both technology and best practices for teaching and how students learn.

This week we practiced putting together online resources for students to help gear individualized learning. Our first project was to create a Padlet website. This site can be used as an online forum or idea-sharing source. For my class, I wanted to use it as a place my students could drop resources they found helpful for studying. In my experience, students have come to me with some of the best resources to share with the class. Padlet would allow them to share both with me as well as their classmates. They can also upvote or downvote, like, or give 1-5 stars on each post. This helps me see which sources the class as a whole found helpful or unhelpful. It would help guide me and introduce me to useful resources in the future! It can also help me understand where they are getting information. With the web being so broad, some information students find is not correct. I could correct them or steer them elsewhere when seeing their sources.

Our next project required us to make a rubric and an online quiz. I had never used rubristar before but will certainly be using it in the future. It made writing a rubric so much quicker and easier than trying to come up with one myself. It also gave ideas for projects I could have the students do when presenting things to help keep their presentations interesting.
We also had to create a quiz using Quizzizz. In the past, I have used Kahoot for my online quiz games. I did not going into the project expecting to change my mind, but I believe that I have now been converted to a Quizzizz user! I really liked that after making my initial questions I could then search for and use questions from other quizzes to add to mine. It made it easy to manipulate the quiz and customize it with exactly the topics I wanted. It’s also helpful to see other people’s questions as I tend to not be very creative. You can take their questions and use them or edit them. I loved that feature.

Project 10 taught us out to use Thinglink and Scoop.it. Thinglink was very easy to use. I think the hardest thing for me was finding a picture to use to add my links on to. I have to say, I still found it a bit dry, but I can see how it could be used better in other classes. It was not my favorite project but I will keep it in mind if I am ever searching for a way to present a lot of extra sources to my students and guide them to specific topics from a picture. The idea is great, but I was feeling creatively blocked when using it.
Scoop.it was better than I expected it to be. As a scientist, we have to read articles constantly to keep up with ever-changing technology. I would love to use this magazine style site in my class to show my students new articles on up and coming technology or even just the laboratory in general. I already have ideas for how to use it in my Introduction to Medical Laboratory course to show students the how necessary lab work is.

Ch11 Q1:
What are the legal considerations of which a teacher must be aware when implementing technologies in the classroom? Explain each consideration and the step(s) you would take in your own classroom to ensure that you do not violate the law.
 
Legal considerations include: acceptable use, ADA compliance, student privacy, copyright law, and software piracy.
Acceptable use policies (AUP) are created by school districts to explain the appropriate uses of school technology by students. These policies help ensure the safety of students by protecting them from inappropriate content and situations. It is the teachers responsibility to know their districts AUP so they can watch students usage and know how or when to intervene. The first way teachers can protect students and enforce the AUP is by presenting students with a computer code of ethics. This will inform students and their parents of the general rules of use in the classroom. Students and parents should sign a statement to show they have reviewed and understand the code of ethics. I already utilize this as part of the syllabus in my classroom now. Instructors may also use filtering software to keep students from going to inappropriate websites. This is more difficult to enforce as students often use their own computers in the classroom but can be enforced when students use computers that belong to the school. Most filters use the Children’s Internet Protection Act as a guideline for protecting students from certain websites. When these options are not available, teachers can set up parental control options on school computers that help block certain websites or searches, set time limits on usage, or require passwords before using.
 
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in order to protect disabled peoples from discrimination. Even the usage of technology must comply to ADA laws. It is necessary for all electronic information to be available to all people regardless of their abilities. Teachers must keep in mind how to ensure that the technologies in their classrooms as well as assignments performed using technology outside of the classroom can be utilized by all students. Teachers should report when they have students who have special needs so that they and the school district can to work together to provide the student with necessary means of gaining the information in ways that help them learn.
 
Student privacy is of great concern now that social media has become so prevalent. Teachers must remember than any information (including pictures) of students cannot be shared without explicit consent by students and parents. This helps protect teachers from purposefully or inadvertently sharing student information that could put them in danger. At university level teaching, I rarely have to teach minors. In the incidence that I have a minor in my class, I am careful with any pictures I take or information I gather from them by first ensuring they understand as well as their parents. For my students who are considered adults (all but 2 that I have taught so far), I ask permission before gathering any information or pictures. We also have them sign to state they understand that we may use their pictures for promotional and recruiting events. If a student does not sign, we do not use their pictures. Other issues of student privacy occurs with the handling of student records. We must ensure that anything online is protected so that student records are safe and not able to be accessed by anyone other than the instructors and students themselves. Many schools now streamline this through websites like Canvas, Blackboard, or Moodle.
 
Copyright laws protect the creators of information that is available both online and offline including pictures, books, articles, music, and software. Before using anything created by someone else, you should receive explicit permission from them or know how to cite the creator. Instructors need to understand fair use that allows them to use copyrighted materials within the parameters of the law with clear intentions of using for education purposes. These laws and guidelines are extremely complex so instructors must remain vigilant on ensuring they remain within the law. I try to utilize pictures and information directly from my textbooks as they often provide plenty of options for creating my classes. When necessary, I use YouTube videos that are available to the public, pictures, and written information from elsewhere and make sure that I cite all of the information correctly to give the credit back to the creator.
 
Lastly, software piracy must be addressed. Software piracy is the illegal usage or copying of software. Teachers should ensure that any software they download onto their classroom computers is not a copy and cannot be copied and redistributed elsewhere. It is important to keep all documentation of software you buy yourself and upload to your computer to show that it was paid for appropriately. In my classroom, I only utilize software that is free and safe on the internet or previously installed by the IT department at my school. They are able to see all of our downloads and keep track of that, as well.

Ch12 Q2:
Technology continues to evolve, becoming more personally responsive, more collaborative, and more individualized in addressing the needs of the learner. This approach of teaching and learning – whether using personal learning environments, MOOCs, or digital badges – will change how teachers use technology to ensure instruction that addresses the unique needs of the learner. How do you think the personalized learning will alter the way you implement technology-centered personalized learning in your classroom? Give at least three examples.
 
Without realizing it, I believe I have already presented my class with personalized learning. I understand that each student learns differently and so I have worked to provide my students with many different ways of learning the same materials including: worksheets, videos, puzzles, PowerPoints, and quiz games. Throughout this class, I have learned ways to utilize those same types of things without paper.
 
I have used “gamification” with great feedback from my students. In the past I have used Kahoot for review style games. I now have experience with Quizzizz and may consider utilizing it in the future because of the many features it allows. I have found that the students enjoy the productive competition when reviewing. It also helps them realize areas that they need to work on more. The games are great because they can remain anonymous to their classmates so there is no fear of embarrassment when missing a question. The games can also be utilized by students outside of the classroom so they can continue to use them for practice and study.
 
I would also love to utilize 3D printing for my classroom. I teach science courses with medical focus. Many of the concepts we review occur on a cellular (or smaller) level. Being able to create 3D models of what I want my students to be able to visualize would be an enormous help because my hand-drawing art skills are seriously lacking. Because my curriculum is science-based, many of my students tend to be kinesthetic learners. This would give them a true hands-on approach for things that they would not normally be hands-on with… almost like turning my classroom into a real-life Magic School Bus episode!
 
Using a flipped-classroom model also helps students personalize their own learning. This model of teaching allows students to prepare themselves with the basic information they need to know. They are able to study the information as they see fit and learn it in whatever way works best for them, rather than just listening to a teacher lecture. Teachers can gather the same information to present in several different ways so the students are able to choose what works best for them. They can even use several methods if they like. This takes the teacher from the center of the classroom and allows students to become responsible for learning the material themselves.

This week we started building a course website and utilized the projects that we had performed over the last several weeks. The website we were to build was much larger and had many more components than the blog that we have been working on. I enjoyed putting it together though (mostly because I enjoy the process of organizing things and that is a large part of building a website).
 
I do not know if I will utilize a course website like this in the future, though. The school I work for uses Moodle (a website that is a lot like Canvas and Blackboard) for their courses. I often hear people complaining about using this site for courses, but I do think that they are easy for the students to use. I believe it is good for schools to utilize programs like Canvas, Blackboard, and Moodle to help streamline how students are exposed to their online information. I believe it would be too much for students to have to keep up with different websites for each course like we have set up this week. However, I am happy to know how to use this format of creating a website if I ever needed to. I do not think learning this was a waste of time. I believe for me, it would be most useful to use a site like this to help build a portfolio of courses that I have taught. Building courses in this way keeps them open to the public and not only to those enrolled in the course. This is a great way to expose more people to information as well as helping other instructors and easily exchanging ideas and information.
 
Here is a link to my course page:

Ch9 Q3:
The tools and resources on the web must be applied to help students become productive digital citizens of their 21st century global digital society. What do you see as your role in preparing your students for their place in the world? What specifically will you do in your classroom to ensure that preparation?
 
The internet has helped form a global society allowing us to be in contact with people and have access to things from all over the world. Children today are often unaware of the full scope of the internet because they have never experienced life without it. Even the majority of college students I teach do not understand how life could have functioned before the internet. Often times they have been allowed access with little to no training on how to conduct themselves online. As an instructor in a professional program, we focus on professional behavior as well as learning the ins and outs of laboratory medicine. I believe that students must first have a grasp of respect and professionalism in the “real world” before they can truly understand the extent of what their online dealings can have on their lives and the lives of others. Table 9-2 in the book talks about guidelines for digital citizenship. Many of these guidelines can be applied to some degree in life in general, and not just online. As a teacher, I encourage them to learn how to respect the internet and others on it just as they would respect someone to their faces. They also must learn to protect themselves. In my class we have discussed the careful use of the internet as nothing ever really goes away anymore. I make sure my students understand that there can be consequences to anything they say or post online. We also use a rubric for online discussions and projects to ensure that our students know those guidelines and we hope that they are taking those things to heart after they graduate. The program I teach in has also established affective evaluations of our students that grades them on their professionalism and behavior. There are guidelines for internet behavior in the affective evaluations.

Ch10 Q1:
There has been much discussion about whether distance education can provide students instruction that is equal in quality to traditional education. Do you think an equivalent experience is possible via distance delivery? Why or why not?
 
I think it is very possible for students to receive online distance education that has just as high of quality as they would find in a classroom. The major factors that play into this come directly from the teacher and the student. I do not think all teachers are necessarily proficient at online delivery. It takes a lot of work and creativity to develop online courses that provide quality education. Teachers must be highly motivated and well trained to put in the work that it takes to develop these courses. The responsibility also falls on the student. Distance learning is often times (though does not necessarily have to be) more flexible. The student likely takes on a greater burden of responsibility to accomplish the tasks set forth in the class, especially when the class is “attended” on the student’s own time. They must have the drive and the will to perform well. For both the student and teacher, strong communication skills are also necessary for distance learning. In the end, the quality of the education is the responsibility of both student and teacher and their willingness to put in the work and time necessary in the education processes.

After completing the podcast and video projects, reflect your working experiences of creating multimedia materials, the challenges you encountered during your creation. You also want to focus on how you will use these technologies into your own classroom? How can authoring software help you teach and your students learn? Make sure to use Chapter 7-8 as your reference. You need to upload your movie to youtube and embed youtube video to the end of your blog. You can embed vocaroo audio to your blog as well but the link will be expired soon. So I want you to download your audio as MP3 file and upload it to your blog. You will also post the interactive Edupuzzle video class and access code to the end of your blog so that your readers will be able to access it.

This week we practiced authoring our own media for use in our classrooms. This has been the most enjoyable week of work for me so far! I began experimenting with online lectures last semester during a week that I was going to miss work. I was able to prepare my lectures ahead of time so my students would be able to stay on track. I had excellent feedback from them. They enjoyed being able to watch the video at their leisure, more than once, pause and rewind, and slow it down to take notes when necessary. Ever since then, I have been eager to learn more about how to improve my own multimedia use to engage my students.
 
At my school we have access to Kaltura screen recorders. They allowed me to record and voice over a PowerPoint. I was also able to draw on the PowerPoint from my own computer, just as I would have used my Smart Board if we had been in class. One of my favorite things about lecturing this way was that I was able to get through all of the necessary material without interruptions from questions that can be distracting to students. By flipping the classroom and having the lectures before class, students can focus on the information better. They are able to think about and formulate questions for discussions in class the next day. This way, each student gets a full picture of the material before hearing other students questions. I believe this is a great way to teach because some students are able to grasp concepts quicker than others and their questions may cause the students who are still working through concepts only to become more confused without the full picture of the material.
 
Last week we reviewed chapter 7 and learned about many of the most commonly available software that teachers can use in their classroom. The chapter also covered some of the most basic ways to use the software. Upon reviewing chapter 8 this week, we learned how that software can be useful to engage students in active learning. Active learning helps put the students in charge of learning the basic material for themselves. When students feel responsible for their own learning, they are more likely to become more engaged. They are able to learn the foundational material outside of the classroom and then engage with the instructor and their classmates in the classroom to gain a deeper understanding through activities and discussions. This is the basic set-up and purpose of the flipped classroom.
 
Even with the plethora of learning tools and software available to instructors today, there may not always be a perfect fit for what we want to present to our students. When this happens, we can become authors of multimedia and create tools that are tailored to our students and classroom. Even better is that we can reuse this material and even share it with others. This week, we had three projects that helped us learn new ways to author our own media for our classrooms.

Podcasts. Project 4 consisted of learning how to make our own audio files such as an mp3 or podcast. This was probably my least favorite media tool of the three, but it is possible that is only because I am not an auditory learner, and I also hate listening to my own voice! But I fully understand that some of my students may be auditory learners and this could be a great tool for them. I used GarageBand on my MacBook to make my podcast. It was much easier than I had anticipated. I was able to figure things out intuitively for the most part. What I did not like about it was that I could not figure out how to tell how long my recording was as I was making it. I used a script for my podcast which I felt came across very dry. It was hard for me to talk to my students without seeing them to feel I am engaging them. What I did like about it was that GarageBand was easy to use and edits were very easy to make as I stumbled through speaking. I found that if there was something I had forgotten to say, the soundbite was easy to splice and add a new piece to with the material I wanted to add. Though I left my voice unaltered for the purpose of this project, I did play with the voice sounds some and found that to be very fun. I can see how that could be a way to add in some interesting tid-bits throughout. I also had the option of adding music and sounds throughout if I had wanted, but did not feel that was necessarily appropriate for this particular project. Overall, I am glad to know how to use the software. I found that it works easily with iMovie if I wanted to add some visuals to my recordings. This could potentially give my students the options of watching and/or listening to the lecture. I could very easily see myself listening to the lecture a few times in my car to help myself review! Click here to listen to my podcast!

Videos. Project 5 had us learn how to make videos. I was most intimidated by this project and definitely spent the most time on it. I was really hoping to just make a PowerPoint I could voiceover. I found that was not possible with iMovie (or at least I could not figure out how to do it) so I finally just sat down to learn the application. I found that it was much easier than I had anticipated and instantly regretted all the time I had taken to try to just make a simple PowerPoint. I actually ended up enjoying using this program and can very easily see myself using it for demonstration videos to prepare my students for their weekly labs. This could help them easily view the procedure over and over again, giving them the knowledge they need to be able to go straight to lab and work immediately. This would free up a ton of time because I typically have to break students into groups to demonstrate to small groups every week. By cutting that time, students have more time to work on their skills! I enjoyed the fact that I could easily add pictures and move them around as needed. I was able to break my “lecture” up and do short voiceover clips that I could align specifically with each picture. Click here to watch my video! (It’s a little long because I made it with the intention of actually using it for a class!)

Interactive video. Project 6 was learning how to make an interactive video using EdPuzzle. This was my favorite project so far! I loved how you can utilize other videos from so many different sites and find ways to manipulate them and make them perfect for your own class. I will be using this site often with my classes in the future. It was much less time consuming than making my own video and yet accomplished the same thing and so much more. It would be easy to make my own video to use, as well. I loved that videos are easy to edit and trim so that we can pull only the most important points for the students. I also loved that we could use a video and voiceover it ourselves if we have specific points we want to make clear. I did not voiceover the entire video I chose, but rather, I inserted voice notes on important points. This is a great way to ensure the student is paying attention while they watch because they would have to stop and press play for the voice note. I also love the internal quiz feature! What a great way to make sure they are paying attention to the details of the videos. Being able to add students to your classroom is nice because you can review each student’s progress. You can also choose an option that keeps students from skipping around in a video. I wish there was a way to only make them watch without skipping the first time, and then they could rewatch and skip around to what they want to see later. That way they could focus on important points without being forced to watch the entire video each time. For that reason, I did not set up my video (and probably will not in the future) to be un-skippable. I will still be able to see what each student watched and how they did on the quiz. I have already got my coworkers learning how to use EdPuzzle now! We are pumped about this one! Click here for the link to my EdPuzzle video and learn how to perform an ABO typing! The class code is: waobhuz

Teacher task software is abundant for instructors to perform all types of teaching and learning responsibilities. After completing the Google Docs projects, reflect on your working experiences when collaborating with your group members by using Google Docs. You may want to focus on how you use these technologies in your own classroom and how Google Docs promote active learning and collaboration among students. Make sure to use Chapter 7 as your reference. Link your projects at the end of your reflection and make the links open in a new window.

Chapter 7 does an excellent job of giving an overview of productivity software. It gives information about the most basic and common functions in word processing programs such as Docs or Word, electronic spreadsheets such as Excel or Sheets, and presentation software such as PowerPoint or Slides. Other programs mentioned are management software programs that help teachers and school districts maintain records and manage classrooms and schedules. Some of the biggest challenges we will face as instructors is keeping up with ever-changing technology, but if we commit ourselves to this task and carefully implement what we are given, we can increase productivity and engagement in our classrooms.

This week we learned how to utilize Google Drive. This cloud system Google has put together is extremely intuitive, especially for anyone familiar with Microsoft Office products like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. I especially like that the documents are saved automatically with every change you make. I often forget to save my documents throughout creation and have suffered consequences because of my forgetfulness with Microsoft Word before. Google Docs also allows you to see past versions of the document in case you need to restore something that you changed and would like back. Properties like “word wrap” were very simple to use because the option automatically popped up under the picture when it was placed in the document. The collaboration in the programs is also fantastic. We were able to see group members working on the same document at the same time. Google highlights each change that each person makes so that you know what has been added or taken out making all changes extremely easy to track. You can also utilize a “notes” function if you want to leave your group members a note before making a change. This is a great way to have mini discussions or leave suggestions if you want group members opinions before changing anything. This would be a great way to have my students work on group projects. I would be able to go into the document and ensure that everyone is helping.

Our second project consisted of making a technology survey with Google Forms. I had never used this function before, but it was very easy to add new questions and move things around into different orders if I wanted to. I especially like Googles intuition of the type of question I was writing. It was able to tell when I wanted a multiple choice or to allow for several choices. Other options it had included paragraph, short answers, and scales. I tried to use several different question types to help myself learn the program better. I believe it also helps keep the survey interesting. This is definitely something I want to find ways to utilize in my classroom in the future. I would be able to allow my students to answer anonymously or use their email addresses so I could identify them.

Google Slides worked just the same as Microsoft PowerPoint. It was easy to use. Adding pictures or changing the theme is simple. I was able to easily edit pictures that were added to the slides, as well. This is also great for students doing group projects with required presentations. Again, I would be able to track which slides each student made. I also have ideas for making presentations for my class through these and then giving them the options to update or change things as needed for themselves. Instructors could leave areas blank and the students would have to work to find the answers and fill in the missing information. I think that could be a very fun and engaging project.

Chapter 4, Q2:
Students with special needs include both those who have disabilities and those who are gifted. Technology can provide solutions to help meet the unique needs of both groups. However, schools typically have limited budgets for technology. Considering that the needs of all students should be met, what do you think the best allocation of limited technology dollars should be to meet these students’ needs? Give examples to support your views.
 
This is not a topic I have had much experience with because I have not taught in K-12 schools. My initial thought is that more of the money should be allocated towards technology for children with disabilities. Computers and programs should be available for gifted children, but much of the programming available to help challenge them can be found for free, such as the NASA Education Program. Children with disabilities have a much wider range of needs. For children with disabilities, add-on programs such as word prediction software, audio books, scan and read systems, or text-to-speech software is available, but less likely to be free. For other students, they may require actual devices to be purchased to help them with technology such as alternative mouse devices or alternative keyboards. Table 4.3 on pg. 75 of our textbook has a summary of assistive computer devices that may need to be purchased for different students’ needs to be met. This summarized list contains 17 different devices to help students with disabilities succeed.

Chapter 5, Q3:
What is the most significant opportunity presented by technology integration? What role does training play in effectively integrating computers in the classroom?
 
The use of technology gives so many opportunities for teaching and learning. Technology helps engage students in lessons. It has broken down barriers between the classroom and the outside world. Students and teachers can both use technology to explore and learn more than they ever could from a textbook. New information is available to them at all times. Technology opens the door for communication. Students can be tutored by-way of technology, giving students the appropriate time they need for learning. The greatest opportunity technology gives us as teachers is the ability to “enhance and customize instruction” to ensure that all of our students learn in the best way and at the right speed for them (p. 112).
 
In order to use technology, we must be familiar with what we are able to do with it and how to use it. The teacher must first be competent with using technology. If the teacher is unable to use it, the integrations into lessons will fall flat and the students will gain nothing from it. We tend to assume that students are naturally capable of using computers, but it is our duty as instructors to ensure that students are also competent in technology usage. We must remember that not all of them have the same opportunities or exposures to technology. It is important for teachers to learn how to use technology not only for presentation purposes, but also to help students. Teachers must make every effort to stay up-to-date with technology as well. It is an ongoing process. Technology training might be available through in-services and seminars.

Chapter 6, Q1:
After considering the various types of digital technologies presented in this chapter, what three pieces of equipment do you think you would most want for your future or current classroom? Explain why you selected these three and how you would use them for teaching and learning.
 
I believe the three technologies I will use the most in the future are scanners, electronic whiteboards, and clickers. I am currently redesigning some of my courses into a flipped-classroom model and I believe these three technologies will help me do that more easily.

I plan to use scanners to scan information to distribute to my students, both for online use and in class. Teaching in the medical field, I try to use real patient results to help my students understand concepts. I will use scanners to scan real-world patient results into my computer for use in lectures, posted online for review, and as handouts for class activities. Scanning documents is a great way to quickly obtain information. You can then manipulate the document as needed to either add information or get rid of information (for me, this would be private patient information).

I will also be using electronic whiteboards. These are great for classroom lectures and displaying things such as images and PowerPoints. They also give me the ability to draw on the images or PowerPoint slides freely. Another great usage of the electronic whiteboards I have at my work is that they can also capture video and audio. This allows me to record lectures and post them online so students can review this. This would be very helpful for a flipped classroom as students will review most of the lecture material on their own time. They will have the ability to pause, rewind, skip ahead, and watch multiple times when learning concepts or reviewing material.

I plan on integrating clickers into my classroom in the future as well. With a flipped classroom model, the students will spend most of their time in class doing learning activities. Clickers can be integrated into activities such as active discussions or quiz style games. I will be able to obtain an immediate response from the students. This will help me know if there is particular information I need to review with them immediately. With clickers, the students are able to remain anonymous when answering questions among peers, but each clicker has an ID. If clickers are assigned to specific students, I can review how each student answered a question I asked. This gives me the ability to know if I need to contact a student to spend more time on a subject area with them if they are not answering in-class questions as well as they should be.

Chapter 1, Q3:
The number of technology tools available to teachers is already daunting, and more are emerging every day. Given the value of these tools to enliven and support 21st century learning, what will you do to keep yourself informed about the options available to you? How will you manage your discoveries and work toward integrating them into your classroom?

Because of the large amount of technology that can be used in the classroom today, it can be hard to keep up with it and decide what suits your class while maintaining time management. The focus of the class cannot be on the technology itself. As educators, we cannot get weighed down with trying to keep up with the technology 100% of the time or we will lose the purpose of our job, and we will lose the interest of our students. We need to remember to that teaching our students should be our main focus. Too much technology can be a bad thing. Technology should be a way to bring our lessons to life.

I am fortunate enough to work for a university that has recently been implementing new technologies in our classrooms. Nothing is forced on us to use, but we are heavily encouraged. In order to keep up-to-date on new technology, I will be attending the free seminars and training provided by my university. Also, when attending yearly conferences, there are always sessions on technology; I will be making it a priority to attend those and make connections with other professionals who can help direct me toward useful tech for my classroom.
I also want to encourage my students to let me know what they do and don’t like. They are my ultimate concern, and if something is not helpful to them, then I will find something that is. I have found that my students can be the best source of information for new technology integration! 

Chapter 2, Q2:
Different students have different learning styles and their learning styles influence their learning. As a teacher, you should understand your students learning styles when preparing for the classes. Discuss your understanding on different learning styles and its influence on learning.

Each fall, I get a class of all new students. The first week of school I assign them an  online quiz from VARK to determine their learning styles. This activity not only helps me get to know them a little better, but also helps me understand how they learn. I can see how the majority of the class learns and the vast differences between them.

This quiz breaks their learning styles down into the four major categories: visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic. Because I teach medical laboratory science courses, my students overwhelmingly lean toward visual and kinesthetic learning, but I make note of those who are aural or read/write learners so that I can help there, or maybe even mold their assignments a bit differently to encourage their learning.

According to the textbook, there are three major styles of learning: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Auditory learners typically learn best by hearing the information presented to them. They may enjoy lecture and PowerPoint style classes. Technologically, they may like videos with explanations of what they are learning. Visual learners want to see what they are learning. In science, this can be done easily in labs. Technologically, videos and pictures may help these students best. Kinesthetic learners are going to learn best by doing something to help the information stick. Again, most of my students are kinesthetic learners so we often do laboratory exercises to help engrain the knowledge. We are not always capable of performing some things that the students must learn. Technology comes in handy for these instances because there are so many online laboratories built. Even though the student is not technically “hands-on,” they can understand what they would be doing if they were dealing with it directly.

Chapter 3, Q1:
Instructional planning is a skill every educator at every grade level must master. To integrate technology into instruction, a logical, sequential approach is needed to help teachers to clarify which technologies are most useful and at what points they should be included in the process. Discuss Design-Plan-Act (DPA) system – what it is, how do the three distinct planning components of DPA differ, and why it is helpful to use a system approach to integrate technology?

The DPA system is an organizational system to help teachers prepare their lessons. One of the great things about this system is it helps clarify the goals and objectives of lessons. It also helps teachers easily identify places they can integrate technology into their lessons. Step one is Design the overall content and sequence in the instructional unit. Step two is Plan by making specific daily lesson plans that will help complete the unit. Step three is Act by developing an instructional action plan for each day. This will help guide the teacher through the exact steps she will take during their lesson.

The Design phase gives an overall view of the unit. Here, you will decide how the individual components of the unit will fit together and start forming ideas of how the unit will be taught. The Plan phase is used to break the unit down into daily lesson plans. This phase is very detailed. Teachers will decide and state exactly what they will be teaching each day, state how objectives for the unit will be met, examine which teaching styles they will use to achieve their goal, and finally how to measure the success of their plan. The Act phase gives specific details of each daily lesson to ensure the instructor is able to teach without interruption or confusion. This is often viewed as a checklist for the lessons.

Using the DPA system ensure that you have a clear-cut execution plan for your lesson. Technology is a great addition to many lessons, but should not be the center of lesson planning. All lessons should be planned before-hand and then evaluated to find useful technology that can be integrated to enhance the lesson. Technology should be thought of as a way to improve a lesson and should not be used for the sake of using it. Having a plan already in place can help an instructor determine the best technology to use for enhancement of an already great lesson!

Hi everyone. My name is Margaret. I am a graduate student at USM. I am getting my Masters in Medical Laboratory Science. I am in my final semester of the program with plans to graduate at the end of the summer! I am very excited. My past work experiences are fairly vast. I have worked as a generalist in many medical laboratories. I am the person who tests all the blood and body fluids behind the scenes so that doctors can give our patients a diagnosis. Over 70% of diagnoses are made through the testing of medical laboratory scientists. I have worked in several hospitals, as well as doctors’ offices, and  reference laboratories. My main focus throughout my clinical career was immunohematology, more often known as blood banking. I help ensure that every unit transfused is compatible and safe for my patients. More recently, I have spent the last three years as an adjunct instructor for the Medical Laboratory Science program at the University of Louisiana Monroe. I am obtaining my Master’s degree in hopes of teaching full time at the university level.
 
IT645 will be one of my two final courses in my degree. I have already completed 30 hours, all online. I am familiar with Microsoft programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They are how I prepare the majority of my lecture, lab, and online material for the classes I have been teaching. I have worked minimally with Adobe at work to edit PDFs. I am most comfortable with Word and PowerPoint and have been on a mission to really learn Excel.
 
I have become much more familiar with communicating online since working at a University. Most of my communications at work happen through email. Grad school has familiarized me with discussion boards and made me eager to use them in my own classes. I have used chats since the days of chat rooms. I enjoy them due to the immediate response capabilities while not being tied up on a telephone. Chat is great for allowing me to be engaged in a conversation while still able to complete other tasks.
 
I am very familiar with online tools such as blogs and podcasts. I enjoy blogs and even had a few in my childhood before the days of Facebook. These were older such as Xanga and Live Journal. I feel I was much more proficient with them in my childhood than I am now, oddly enough. I likely had much more time to explore and play with them in order to build them well. I am familiar with podcasts, as well, though I must admit, I have never enjoyed them as much as many other people seem to. Video clips and websites such as YouTube are a daily part of my life as I like to learn by seeing something done. I use video clips very often in my class when lecturing or as study tools for my students. I have never used Wikis, but I have used programs such as Dropbox and Office365 which allow collaborations with others when working on projects. I very much enjoy programs like that. I have used them often when doing projects throughout grad school and even in the classroom to keep my files up-to-date if I correct something in the middle of class.
 
My teaching philosophy stems from the fact that everything we know had to have been taught to us at some time. In order for us to remember what we were taught, an impact have to have been made. I strive to make impacts on my students through my teaching. I am intentional about being honest with them about what they’re learning and how it will affect them in “the real world.” I also strive to make my classroom as engaging as possible. It has become harder and hard to keep the attention of young people, so whatever I can do that both grabs their attention and helps the information “stick” I will do! Like most other college instructors, I utilize PowerPoints, but the students really only prefer those to help them study outside of the classroom. I am working on finding ways around using them inside of class. I have found that my students typically like competition. We often play games in class, especially when reviewing. Kahoot it! has become a favorite website of mine and my students.