Blog Post #1

 Blog Post #1

    In this class, I hope to learn about how technology can create a positive and productive learning environment for both students and teachers. As technology becomes more prevalent in the world, it follows that technology needs to be just as prevalent in the classroom. While it serves the purpose of creating ease of learning and great tools for teachers to utilize, it also allows the most current information available on a topic to be available at a moment's notice. In this class, I hope to see which tools would be useful should I choose to pursue a career in education, but also hope to find tools that I may utilize in other careers or even in my personal life. I also hope it broadens my perspectives of what I think technology in the classroom looks like and what its potential limitations may be. I particularly hope to discuss the increase in AI usage globally and whether it should have place in education and, if so, what that place should be.

    

    I do have prior use using technology in an educational setting. As a student, I have used a great number of tools over the years. In high school I used a program called "Noodletools" that helped me organize, structure, research, and write an 80 page paper on private vs. public schooling. During my time as an English Education major I had the oppourtunity to take a class in which I designed and operated my own class on Canvas. Fellow classmates had to pose as my students and I had the opportunity to design modules, post different kinds of content including text and videos, grade assignments, and other things of that nature. It was fascinating to see Canvas from the other side. The metrics about how much time students spend on the page, and which percentage of students have clicked on certain links or readings was really interesting. It allowed me to keep students accountable but also to see which kinds of assignments were more engaging and gave me the opportunity to tailor later assignments to what my students seemed to enjoy the most.

    My existing personal learning network is quite small at the moment. I moved away from Tallahassee and back to my hometown, and am finishing up just a couple remaining classes. Being away from FSU changes the way I operate as a student and presents challenges with finding community in classmates and building personal and educational relationships. I lean heavily on technology to connect me with other students, utilizing tools such as Group Me and Zoom to communicate and collaborate with other students. I also engage with education related content often on social media, though less than in the past now that I have leaned away from a future in education. Following teachers who post content about their daily lives and their classroom styles gave me great insight into the current state of education, the potential challenges of different age groups, and ideas to help keep students engaged and excited to learn. As a literature major, I spend a lot of time within the Booktok community on Tik Tok, sharing thoughts, ideas, and opinions on many genres of books. This discussion of literature is one of my favorite aspects of reading, and it always furthers my understanding of the text.