Digital Citizens

I chose to critique my high school's website, which I haven't ever really looked at in depth.  When you open the page, it looks very clean and concise.  The name is large and captures attention, the school's contact information is readily accessible, and the tabs are clear as to where they will take you.  The site also shows news pertinent to students and parents of the high school.  It is not difficult to find what you are looking for or to navigate the site.  It utilizes graphics, images, a table for the calendar, and columns that make it more aesthetically pleasing.

If I were to teach a class, it would probably consist of younger children between nine and eleven.  Teaching or incorporating technology into the class would be very important, especially in this day and age.  I would use age appropriate programs and software such as Microsoft Word to create assignments, PowerPoints to give presentations and instruction, and email (most likely to parents) to keep the students updated on work and upcoming assignments.  Digital citizenship concepts that I would address are the idea of "netiquette" in web interactions and a complete understanding of copyright laws.  It is very important for young students to start learning these concepts soon so they are able to effectively use computers throughout the rest of their schooling.

From working on the newsletter assignment, I realized just how much work and effort goes into creating the newsletters that are sent home with students regularly.  I put into practice the skills necessary to make more than one set of columns and how to manage them.  Something I did not know how to do before class and this assignment was how to use page- and section-breaks.  I did not realize just how useful they are and I plan to use them with my future Word documents and work.  This assignment, while possibly time consuming (depending on the amount of work put into it and the desired outcome), was actually pretty fun to complete.  It is really easy to get super creative with a newsletter; it can go in any direction you're wanting to take it.

Tweeting Teachers

As a student, I use Microsoft Word so often I could probably put a paper in MLA format with my eyes closed.  I have some kind of writing assignment due for every single class that I have right now, so Microsoft Word is my best friend.  I used Word often in middle school but my usage increased drastically once I entered ninth grade.  For what felt like every week for four years, I was writing paper after paper on Word.  After a while, I was very sick of seeing a blue stripe on the bottom of my computer screen, but I learned to love it.  Other than for writing essays, I use Word to create resumes, take notes, and complete other various tasks or assignments.  My teachers almost always have Word incorporated into their discussions or lectures.  Whether it's used for a syllabus or for creating instructions for an assignment, Word is heavily relied upon in the classroom.

The concepts of fair use and copyright are not foreign to me as I have applied them to much of the work and projects I completed for digital design classes.  When using Photoshop and other picture editing programs in class, we would practice on pictures that were not our own.  We would have to look into whether the photos or clip art files were deemed ready for fair use or if the photos were copyrighted.  My experience with fair use and copyrighting go beyond pictures and into my writing.  Research papers and other essays where I have to cite the source make up a large chunk of my experience.  Under fair use, I am allowed to use certain excerpts from different passages for critiques and research so long as credit is given to the author.  As a teacher, I would establish a rule against plagiarism.  I would require that my students use only what they are allowed to within the parameters of what is available for usage in papers and assignments.  Using other sources in their works would be okay as long as they cite from whom and where they received the information, usually quoting verbatim.

This week we learned about Twitter; what it is and how to use it, specifically in an educational setting.  Before this lesson, I didn't know that there were so many opportunities to use Twitter or other social media in a classroom setting.  Being engaged and involved in what your students are using can be very important to the success of the class as a whole.  When teaching a class full of digital natives, it is crucial to understand how and through what technological mediums they learn best.  If I were to become a teacher, I would use Twitter in my classroom regularly.  I would tweet reminders and helpful tips for the class and upcoming assignments.  In any career I choose to pursue, being able to utilize a social media outlet like Twitter is a great skill to have in order to involve a wider audience than I would have been able to without it.

New Twitter!

Follow me at @abby_creel