Blog Post #7

     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 classroom. Since I plan to teach Special Education, there will be use of assistive technology in my future classroom. The students are going to need special accommodations, so if assistive technology is granted, it will be utilized in my classroom. Hopefully the school I work at uses Canvas. I believe this is a very good tool to keep things organized for me and my students. It will provide a way for students to submit their assignments, contact me, and receive reminds. I would like to Remind101 and a private Facebook Group for both parents and students. This will be a good way for parents to know what the homework assignments are, and a quick way for parents to ask questions. This is a good communication tool. I believe it is important to keep an open line of communication with the parents of my students to ensure that no child is falling behind. I would also like to use Google Drive to create a shared drive for my students. This will aid collaborative work and make it easy for me to track student progress. I would also like to use ClassDojo. This is a tool to create a point system for my classes. This will be used as a positive reinforcement tool to give students points if they are following directions and exemplifying good behavior. The students will lose points if they are not following directions or using proper behavior. I believe using these tools will help me to accomplish my professional responsibilities efficiently and effectively because it builds a line of communication and respect, set expectations, and ensures that all students and parents are up-to-date and organized. Having these outlets and resources will help my students and I succeed throughout the school year. 

    The Wiki Platform was something new to me. I did not necessarily enjoy it, but the collaborative aspect of Wiki was unique. Everyone was able to work on their own pages, but if someone was working on a particular page the others could not. You could pause the other person if you wanted to add something. It made it easy to collaborate. It took me a while to figure out the platform, and that is what I did not enjoy. Since I have used other website-creating platforms, I was not used to the formatting of Wiki. Once you were on a page, it was simple to edit and save. I could use Wiki for my K-12 students in creating a website for the class. Parents and Students would have access to assignments and announcements. Another way Wiki can be used is to do collaborative work. If I assign a group project, the students can use Wiki to create individual and collaborative work. Since I am planning to teach individuals with intellectual disabilities, collaborative assignments on Wiki may be more difficult to complete. A website for the parents to check assignments and announcements may be more beneficial to my classroom.