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G’day Mate!
As a student, I remember cutting out pictures from different magazines, for instance National Geographic or Ranger Rick. My… how the times have changed! Nowadays, students and teachers have the opportunity to search the Flickr archive through entering keywords, and in a snap pictures will appear. It appears that long gone are the days when teachers and students had to dig through magazines trying to find that perfect picture.
 
 When I registered for Flickr I was thinking back to a lesson in my second grade placement on Australia. In the lesson, I taught students about the seven territories of Australia, and I know now that I could have made that lesson better with images of a world map, map of Australia, and a thermal map showing the climate. It would have made the lesson more authentic. The gallery that I created on Flickr would be used in a unit about Australia. Students would view the pictures to learn about where Australia is located, the Outback, climate, and animals. I think it would be fun to use the photographs for a class Australia collage or as writing prompts for creative writing in Australian slang. Students are always learning about different parts of the world, and I think this gallery would give students the opportunity to actually see and make a connection to their learning. Using this gallery, or other galleries, I could send students on a virtual field trip through Australia. In this gallery, I included several different pictures of Australia, however if I were going to teach a unit on Australia I would create multiple galleries for different virtual fieldtrips.
 
When I first began to create my Flickr place I had difficulty with weeding through the pictures, but after narrowing down my search words my search was more successful. Flickr is definitely a program that I will continue to use after this class. I want to begin to upload all my pictures so that I can share them with people around the world! Also, I begin my student teaching internship in the fall and I’m going to brainstorm ways to improve my lessons with Flickr,

This is my second online class with McDaniel College, but this class is unique in that everything is using technology and introducing me to a new digital world that I never knew. When I started this module I wanted to learn about blogging and the different reasons that people blog. After reading a few blogs I have learned that there is a blog for anything, and that teachers use blogs for so many reasons, including to reflect on their teaching and strengthen their instruction. During this module I have found the technologies to be fairly easy to navigate. The only one that I struggled with was WordPress because there were so many different drop-down menus and pages to navigate through.
When I first entered the WordPress site to create my blog I felt that the process of starting-up was fairly explainable. Once I was done with setting up the account I began to explore how to create my settings, themes, categories, and so on. This was the time when I began to feel frustrated and occasionally had to walk away from the computer. I use to think I was tech-savy but I learned very quickly that this was not the case. After a few hours of messing with the blog dashboard I learned how to make new categories, widgets, posts, and other fun bog stuff. I think it was frustrating to begin because I am use to understanding technology right away and this was not the case.
After I finished creating and designing my blog I was excited that I accomplished something new that was challenging. The journey of trying to figure out the blog was an adventure, but now that I feel comfortable with the layout of the page my future postings should be easier. After looking at other education blogs I have learned that blogs are great for sharing student work, homework assignments, communication, and personal reflections about education. Also, I have learned that I can communicate with other education professionals through blogging and can continue to grow professionally. Furthermore, I could use a blog to communicate with parents where I could post homework, field trips, and even student work. I think it would be fun to create a classroom blog where students can publish work and it could be viewed by the community. I have come a long way in blogging in only a week but I am excited to keep learning!

There used to be a time when teachers just had to teach and model for students how to be a responsible citizen in their community. Nowadays being a responsible citizen goes beyond ones local community to the entire world due to the presence of technology in the classroom and at home. Before I started this module I never considered myself to be a digital citizen, however after investigating my online reputation I realized how much is available for the world to see at the click of a mouse. You can learn everything about a person from their address, college education, professional organizations, and much, much more. When learning how to be a responsible citizen, children are taught about rules and norms, however when students venture out into the digital world the rules aren’t spelled out for them, and through this module I have learned that students need to see their teachers model how to be a responsible digital citizen.

 In the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for teachers standard four states that teachers should “Promote and Model Digital Citizenship Responsibility.” Furthermore, standard 4.a. states that teacher should “advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.” After reading the NETS for teachers and class articles I recognize the importance of modeling for students how to be digital citizens. Since I am going to be in an elementary classroom I believe it is important for students to encounter new technology in the classroom early so that they can learn the safe and legal ways to use. Students need to understand that the digital environment has great benefits, but it can also provide false information and be abused. At an early age it is important for students to learn about the digital world and teachers need to direct students to sites that are appropriate for student learning needs. Teachers also need to model how to communicate effectively through the digital environment, whether it is a teacher website, blog, or email.

This concept of teachers modeling how to be a responsible digital citizen stuck out to me in this module because it was new to me, and I never considered elementary aged students to be part of it. However, after completing my journey through this module I have learned that students are encountering this digital environment at a young age and it is important that teachers are there to model appropriate use. When children access this digital world they are exposed to a world of information, and they need to be taught how to give credit where it is deserved. Overall, teachers need to understand that our roles as citizens are changing and that students should begin at an early age to respect the digital world. This concept has changed my view of the digital environment and the way that I am going to participate. Going forward in my career as an educator I will make sure that I model responsible use of the digital world and share with students how to give credit where it is deserved.

Source: National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Teachers

            Technology in the classroom is a frequently discussed topic amongst teachers. Being a pre-service teacher I have heard numerous success and horror stories when it comes to the use of technology. I have been placed in classrooms where teachers utilize technology in their lessons, and then I have observed the complete absence of technology. I’m beginning to wonder if this is a lack of understanding of different technologies or perhaps a complete dislike of integrating technology in fear of problems. I have heard numerous teachers state in my classes that “technology is great when it works,” and we have all experienced that technology problem at some point in our lives. When I began this module I was a little hesitant to the idea of new technology, but I have found that as long as I read and understand instructions I have limited problems. After working through part of this module journey I have been thinking that maybe the problem with the absence of technology in some classrooms is that teachers are not aware or comfortable with all of the technologies available and how they could benefit student learning.

            Before I started this course I had briefly heard about the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) for Teachers, and why I should integrate technology in my classroom. However, I didn’t fully recognize how teacher knowledge about technology really has a huge impact on student learning. Furthermore, I hadn’t thought about how students would learn how to use technology through observing me, and I began to question if I use technology appropriately. After reading the NETS and reflecting on my personal technology abilities, I began to wonder how I would meet the standards and implement them in a classroom. It is important that teachers have a basic understanding of digital technology and when to use them appropriately. I think one of the most important NETS for teachers is number 5. “Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.” I think that teachers that are not comfortable or aware of new technology are hesitant to try it because of the potential for problems. Technology is a great classroom tool that can assist teachers in everything from lesson development to implementation, record keeping, and communication with parents, staff, and other educators.

As a future teacher, going forward in my career I plan on pursing professional development opportunities on technology because I know it will have a direct impact on my students’ learning. Also, I feel that when I participate in these professional development opportunities it will keep my teaching up to date. I think my ‘big concept’ for learning about the NETS for teachers is that I need to continue to enhance my abilities in technology in order to have an impact on my students learning, both in academic content and technology use. Through this module so far I have introduced myself to many new technologies such as SKYPE, Creative Commons, and blogging in WordPress. I have already learned that I can step outside of my technology box and venture into the digital world to further develop my knowledge of technology. I have learned that I can continue to grow professionally, and this knowledge will influence my practice as a future educator going forward. I want to be a teacher that incorporates technology in the classroom and I want to be comfortable using technology with my students.

Source: National Educational Technology Standards.