Educational Technology Adventures

I have created a video highlighting my educational technology (see previous post). To create my video I used a 7-day free trial from LightWorks What I think about using LightWorks:  Because I have never done anything like this before, I was pretty nervous about making this video. There were many times that I was extremely frustrated because the program was not doing what I wanted and I did not know how to do it. But I eventually got the hang of it and once I figured many, many, many things out, I improved and it became easier. With LightWorks, if you do not know how to do something, then it is hard to figure out how to do it, but once you know how to do it, it is easy. My recommendation: Use the tutorial videos, and remember it takes time to learn how to do something well So do not get frustrated - just keep learning and doing your best I watched this basic tutorial video many times to help: QuickStart ⮞ ⮞ ⮞ While it did help, it went through key thi...

Below you will find "My Educational Philosophy." This briefly explains what I believe about education and being a teacher. Enjoy! My Educational Philosophy I believe learning is not just knowing the answers to test questions, but it is... Understanding new concepts, Practicing them, and Being able to apply them in life.  My role as a teacher is to facilitate learning and provide an appropriate learning environment for my students. Teaching involves expanding students’ minds and imparting deeper knowledge to students, thereby causing them to grow .   As a teacher, in this time when so many children and teens have lost their identities, I am called to speak God’s identity and love into my students and prepare them for His destiny for their lives.  My goals in education are... For students to understand God’s amazing creation and world around them, and  For students to live differently as God’s lights in that world. In order to shine in t...

Hey everyone! It's time ⏰ for some Q&A on Technology and Classroom Management . (Anyone else think I sound like a game show 🎤 host?)  But instead of you asking and me answering , I am going to ask AND answer. Feel free to post questions at the bottom and I will answer those too! 😀 Q1 : What day-to-day processes and procedures has technology made easier for you? What else might you use to help make routine tasks even easier? A1: Technology has definitely made lesson planning easier, because... I use the internet to find fun and interesting ideas I use Microsoft Word to type them out I also use Dropbox to store them online so I don’t lose them ⮞I think I could also use technology for routine tasks like grading and doing assessments in the future. I like the idea of tracking students’ data with technology and making charts comparing test scores or other things so students can be motivated to improve next time. 📊 Q2 : How do you see technology supp...

  Yes 👍 ,  they both have boxes. Yes👍 , they both look confusing at first. But no👎 , they are not the same thing. So what am I talking about? I am talking about Rubrics NOT Rubik’s Cubes .  Rubrics’ boxes are not for moving around and adjusting like on a Rubik’s cube . But they are used to give students a score for certain assignments. Like the colors on a Rubik’s cube , the boxes on a rubric show students what the teacher’s expectations are and how they did. Rubrics have 3 main elements : Criteria – the main topics that are being examined in the project Descriptors – describe what each criteria should/could meet Performance scale – numbers that rate how students did in certain criteria Like how a Rubik’s cube can have 3x3 squares per side or 4x4 or 5x5, etc., so also a rubric can range from simple to complex. It really just depends on what the teacher prefers and needs for an assignment.✏  Here are some rubrics that I fo...

Communication is vital to life. And it is especially vital as a teacher working with students and their parents. 👪 Parents want to know how their students are doing, and communicating with parents benefits you as well as your students and parents. Involving parents in the learning process helps: Students be more motivated  Parents be more engaged Students achieve more Increase student accountability Form stronger relationships with the teacher Technology nowadays, provides teachers with shortcuts that help bridge  the communication gap between teachers and parents/students. 🍎 🌉 👪 Technology such as excel and google forms provide many benefits. Such as, Organized lists of parents, contact info, and when you contacted them  Reminders of who you need to contact Easy ways to send updates to parents And easy ways for parents to contact you  One way teachers can use technology to communicate is to create a parent conta...

Even if you are not a technology genius (I'm in that club 🙋). You can still use a QR code. Now, if you are new to the technology game, you may be asking yourself as I did several weeks ago: "What is a QR code?" A QR code, similar to a bar code, contains an imbedded link or imbedded words. So when you scan the QR code, the words, web address, video, or file magically🎩 appear. QR stands for Quick Response and that's exactly what it is.  This QR code I made will take you to Populi 😉 These codes are super fun for students to use for many reasons: It gives students responsibility It saves time Students do not have to carefully type out a web address that the teacher dictates It gives younger students an opportunity to learn more individually as well You may be wondering, as I was, "How are QR codes created? Could I possibly do that?" The answer is "YES, YOU CAN!" Just follow these steps: First you find your website o...