EME2040: Caitlyn Seavers

      Distance learning this semester has definitely been a unique introduction to college. I have really enjoyed my synchronous courses because I am able to interact with other students and my instructors. For my asynchronous courses, I feel as if I am not learning as much because I am just completing assignments on my own time. I enjoy that distance learning has given me more flexibility in my schedule throughout the day. I am not sitting in a chair in front of a screen for an 8 hour period. I have the freedom to go out and get lunch, take a walk around Landis Green for a brain-break, and sleep in most days. My biggest issue with distance learning is feeling disconnected from most of my instructors. As a student, I strive to build relationships with my instructors so that I feel comfortable asking for help when needed. For most classes, especially my asynchronous ones, I am afraid to ask for help because I haven't had the outlets to build connections with my instructors...

      I enjoyed completing the Web Design Assignment. I have created websites in the past for clubs, so this was another exciting creative project for me. I liked how easy it was to navigate Weebly. There are multiple tabs to click on, in which you can add factors to improve your website. Every section of my website was organized in a specific way, so that parents and students would easily able to find the information they needed. The only thing that I had trouble with were my images. I made the images the hyperlinks to the specific sites. Some of the pictures did not save properly, so I had to redo the steps a couple times to get it right. A new skill that I acquired was embedding a Google Drive calendar. Whenever I made websites for clubs in high school, my teachers would always do that part for me since it was their personal calendars. I had to watch a tutorial in order to figure out what to do. I think it was fascinating how you could click through the months and see ...

      Finding a teacher website to analyze was difficult to find, as many school districts are switching to Canvas for learning needs. A website I did find was Mr. Kirsch's Elementary school Physical Education blog. He has sections for every week in the side bar. In each week's agenda there is a video of him speaking to the students, the state standards covered, the purpose of the lesson, and an activity board to make the assignment more engaging. If there were one of more assignments for the week, there were multiple videos and/or activity boards. Each week had a different standard or exercise that was being used. On the home page, Mr. Kirsch introduced himself to the students and families. There were different topics to choose from for different sports and abilities. There was even a section for tutorials in one of the tabs. Here is the link to the website:  https://mrkirsch.edublogs.org     I envision myself using technology in multiple ways in my future...

      Diigo has been an extremely resourceful tool that we have utilized in EME2040. I really enjoyed how organized it kept resources. I was able to search my name and see everything I had posted. I was also great for collaboration, as I was able to see the other resources my classmates found. The only thing I did not like about Diigo was the annotations we had to do. I had to download Chrome and the extension tool in order to annotate my source. It was not too much of a hassle, but it was extra work that I had to figure out how to do. I definitely would like to keep using Diigo in the future. I can use it as a tool for keeping track of different websites I want to use in future lesson. It is a lot better than having a ton of bookmarks. I am so thankful that we have been introduced to Diigo because it has already helped keep track of articles that I need to use for assignments.      I enjoy using Blogger. I have been able to evaluate and analyze my thoughts...

      My early experiences with Twitter begin before I started taking EME2040. It was my source of news and information about current events. I would follow different news sources and different celebrities/politicians to get information.  Twitter debates and trending tweets were definitely a fun topic of discussion for my friends and I. As for EME2040, I have followed some academic accounts: U.S. Department of Education, NEA, BBC Education, Education Week. This way, I am up-to-date on certain Education movements and successful teaching methods/tools. I have not posted much on Twitter for EME2040. During class time, I will participate in the tweet topic of the day. I have also participated in an assignment in which I go on a live twitter chat and answer questions. The chat I decided to partake in was the #edchat. It was not the best experience, as I had some different ideals that other participants. However, it was beneficial to see everyone's viewpoint on the topic. ...

      The standard I chose to analyze was LAFS.K.W.2.6. This standard states that with aid from the teacher, kindergarten students will be proficient in writing on digital devices, either for personal or group assignments. The technology mentioned includes SmartBoards, StoryJumper, and Paint. The students will strive to use these materials to complete and submit assignments. I believe I am prepared to implement one of three tools into my teaching as of right now. In high school, I would utilize the SmartBoard to present in my AP classes and teach lessons in my PIT Crew class. I have not used StoryJumper or Paint in my education, so I do not feel as if I am prepared to teach using those online softwares. As for other softwares not mentioned, like Word or Canvas, I feel like I would be able to utilize those in my classroom proficiently. Based on my current skill set, foundational technology would be extremely easy to teach and implement in my classroom. However, the two sof...