Blog Journal #4

 

ELA Technology Standards 

For this reflection I chose grades 11-12 and standard LAFS.1112.RH.3.7 deals with integrating and evaluating varying sources of information depicted in different media or formats (Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) to address concerns and solve problems. I chose this standard specifically because it is one I am familiar with. If you were to ask me on a scale of 1-10 how comfortable I would be implementing this I’d settle for about a 6. I’m not certain that I could effectively implement this standard because my current skill-set is pretty limited... I mean I just recently learned how to use Microsoft Word if that says anything. Aside from that, I have limited experience with Excel or Google Sheets. I feel that I need to develop my own understanding before I could efficiently transfer that into a classroom setting.  

CPALMS Educator Toolkit 

 

I could totally see myself using CPALMS religiously, more specifically, the lesson plans they provide/suggest. For the subject area, I chose English Language Arts (9-12). I’ve mentioned before that I plan on becoming a high school educator; however, I don’t think I’ve mentioned my dislike for creating lesson plans. I took a few education courses in high school so I have quite a bit of experience coming up with lesson plans and actually realizing them by teaching them to the pre-school children. The teaching part was enjoyable, but everything else was not. Believe me when I say it was extremely difficult to come up with a lesson that a 4-year-old child would be able to comprehend. Granted, I anticipate high school being extremely different and possibly even easier as you sort of have more freedoms in the classroom to explore knowledge without limitation. However, I think my negative experiences with typing up lesson plans has ruined me.

 

Internet Searching  

 

As a teacher, it is extremely important to be familiar with the internet. As years go by, technology is becoming more and more prominent in the classrooms. That being said, it is imperative that teachers know how to operate, function, and navigate the internet for many reasons. If you suspect a student of plagiarism, you need to know how to find the original composers' work. If you are asked a question that you don’t feel confident enough in answering, instead of deflecting, you should search for the answer. There have been many times when I’ve sat and listened to a teacher pretend to know something rather admitting their lack of knowledge and using Google. Of the skills we covered this week, I see myself using Advanced Search a lot while moving forward. Prior to this week, I had no previous knowledge of all the benefits that Google’s Advance Search had to offer. I oftentimes find myself scrolling through loads of meaningless articles and posts—subjectively speaking—that offered aid in answering my question.