Week 1

    As we become more and more technologically advanced as a society, the rise of technology being used in classrooms becomes more and more common. One of my goals as I navigate through this class is to find and understand the sweet spot with technology. How can it benefit students, while also posing as a negative, and potentially becoming a distraction? I would also love to learn the best tools for assisting students with learning disabilities. I feel as though there are so many tools out there that provide many different supports for different subjects or learning disabilities. I would love to be able to, by the end of this class, have a select few that I retain in my memory, and can pull out if I am faced with a student who needs it. Finally, a more general and personal goal is to just stay on top of assignments. As I am now balancing three classes, it's filled with more important dates I have to remember. I've found that using a planner has truly helped me succeed with achieving this goal, and I can easily get work done before the established due date.

    Since I recently graduated from a diploma program studying graphic design and marketing, as well as combining the skills I learned throughout grade school, I have lots of experience related to working with technology. I feel as though I have an advantage, as I am from a generation that grew up with technology, so it definitely comes easily to me. I can navigate through many different programs, and even learned a bit of coding in my previous college program, so you could say I even know the ins and outs of technology. On behalf of digital technologies that can be used in a classroom setting, I'd like to say I have experience from when I was in grade school. Although I have no previous experience in education, I have a few ideas of programs I used when I was little that worked for me, and I recall enjoying learning with them. I remember a few specifically were literacy-focused, and I always looked forward to using them in class. They were really motivating for me, and I almost felt more like playing a game than learning the traditional way. If they still exist, I would love to reuse them! 

I'm so excited to start this class and learn more, as I believe it is so important for us as educators to be knowledgeable about different types of technology, especially since it's becoming more and more common to be utilized just throughout day-to-day tasks. If it's a tool that can be used to our advantage, we should use it as much as we can!