Blog Journal 6

I could not find a school that had course pages written by teachers but I did find a school that provided summaries of each course. Middleton High School has a pdf on their website with all kinds of information on things such as how many credits students need to graduate and what classes they have the option to take. The school publicly provides information such as how many credits a course is and what the overall objective of the class is. Some subjects even include what materials might be needed.

As an educator, I will have to be organized and precise with my responsibilities such as grading and lesson notes. I will also have to be able to effectively communicate with my colleagues. Using technology can sometimes be better than documenting lessons on paper. If my lesson plans and grades are documented on paper, there will be more room for error. Technology makes planning less difficult and word processed plans are much easier to revise. Another way technology can be more useful is when I write reflections on what I can improve on and what worked well so I know what to avoid in the following years. I can also benefit from other teachers by seeing their lesson notes on sites such as Diigo and use them as an example. A more common thing I can use to effectively communicate is email. I remember always forgetting to show my parents letters my teachers would send home with me. Being able to email parents is a better way to make sure all the important information I need to give out is being received. Email allows for me to privately speak to parents about their child's progress as well. 

My favorite item from the Technology Sandbox was the Virtual Reality goggles. I always thought that they were just used for entertainment purposes but after the tour, I realized that the goggles could be used to take learning to a whole new level. One way it can be used is to take students on a virtual field trip. When learning about space, the students can be taken to the moon and will be able to learn facts as they are using their senses in the coolest and safest way. Or they could be taken to another country to see different landscapes or can be taken underwater to observe the beautiful sea life. Another technology that can be used in the classroom is Osmo. It is an app with educational games that uses shapes and letters to make animals or get the students to spell words such as the states. With educational games, it doesn't feel like learning, which makes the children feel more excited to learn and become engaged. 

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