Emily Danielle

As part of my Independent Learning Project I designed a prezi that would go along with a 1st grade writing workshop on building stories! A prezi is a presentation software that shows the peoject as a whole to create an image ( a book for this project) as you go through the presentation you zoom into to different topics and subtopics. I really enjoyed getting to logically place the activities in order so kids would best understand the elements needed to create an interesting story. My presentation begins by getting kids to think of their favorite story and what it has that makes it their favorite this section ends with a video explaining the different parts of a story such as characters, setting, plot and how to separate beginning middle and end. The next topic enforces the topics explained in the video by giving definitions and picture examples, followed by a short minon movie where students are prompted to pull out the elements of the story. Lastly, the presentation gives instruction ...

CONTRAST =  The background is red while text boxes are cream so they stand out and are easy to read. Titles of the articles were black and in all caps so they would stand out. Text was bright and and contrasted well against cream to make it more visible.  REPETITION= The teacher should have stuck to using the same color text within a text box to make the webpage more uniform. Many different text colors within the same section make it confusing since there is so much to look at. However, by using the same font throughout titles and text it is visually appealing.  ALIGNMENT= The text is aligned left which makes it easy to read. There is also equal space between each section of text within the boxes. The welcome image isn't aligned center so it looks out of place.  PROXIMITY= Boxes about what they are learning and what their assignments are are all grouped together. Information geared towards parents such as contact information and announcements is located near the...

Through researching teacher productivity tools on my own, I got to really see all the different ways that teachers use tools like Microsoft Word, Excel, Canvas, email, etc. Beyond just teaching teachers uses these tool for lessons planning and documentation so they can easily be updated for years to come, record keeping, behavior management, attendance, storing contact/volunteer information, and communication with parents.  Through social learning and bookmarking I got to see multiple different apps, websites and other resources that I have never seen before so teachers can get all of their business/professional tasks done. Some of these tools include FreshGrade which allows teachers to update grades and communicate with parents while students can upload assignments within the same app. Another tool is wunderlist that is where teachers can easily view and check off everything they need to do.

I looked at my own elementary school's website ( McKitrick Elementary Schoolhttp://mckitrick.mysdhc.org ) to see what information is shown to parents and students without needing to login. When you first see the school's homepage, you see sections with news, the calendar, rolling pictures of current events at the school and their twitter is embedded on the bottom right. From the homepage you can chose tabs to a staff directory, resources, lunch menus, school info, etc. When you go to specific grade level you see more teacher specific school supply list, important dates to remember, announcements, photo galleries, and spelling lists. This allows for parents to stay up to date on what is going on in the classroom without teachers having to send home handouts that could get lost before seen by parents. A link to Mckitrick's website as well as pictures of the school and 1st grade/class specific websites can be found at the bottom of this post. Although it may see simple, ...

This week while learning about Web 2.0, my eyes have been opened to just how widespread technology is. By using Diigo, a social bookmarking website, you can share great articles, resources and other types of media with different groups of people. This tool is great for the communication and sharing of resources that can really aid in the classroom. Users can also annotate different texts so people looking at their Diigo for information can grab key points and narrow their search of content. Tools like Diigo and other Web 2.0 sites truly "transform how teachers present information and engage students", through Diigo and other sources educators have so many resources they can collect information, lesson plans, activities and resources from that the whole classroom dynamic of today has changed into one of a technology-centered and engaged environment. Tools like Diigo can also be effective for students to share findings when researching a similar topic or subject area.

With all the new ways there are to learn in today's classroom, I think that all the Web 2.0 technologies mentioned in the "Web 2.0 in the classroom" podcast would have a positive impact on both learning and teacher professional development. I believe that twitter can be very useful in the K-12 classrooms. Twitter allows for all ages to improve their digital citizenship skills, and can communicate directly with professionals, authors and even other students all around the world. Twitter is also a great way to to get students to summarize concepts by only being allowed 140 characters. For teachers, twitter is a great way to connect with other teachers and professionals while growing their personal learning network. Blogs, like the one I am using today is a great way to encourage students to participate in creative writing, as well as making writing easy and enjoyable for readers. Blogs also allow for easily accessible feedback, as shown in the resource critique activity ...

@allyballybee16 found an activity that forces students to read more in depth & engages all students by incorporating technology! #FSUEdtech — Emily Whidden (@emdanielle5) October 4, 2017