Technology
Technology has been a vital in communication and education since the pandemic started in 2020. This is one of the reasons that I decided to join the IDT masters program. Being a secondary educator forced to teach virtually, I needed all the help I could get with designing instructional material with technology. Being in the program I have acquired some technology skills in web design, organizing instructional material, and interpreting data. These skills have been extremely valuable as I navigate the IDT program.
Web Design
This program has allowed me to advance my technology skills to gain a better understanding of web design. The web host that I used to design my e-portfolio is Wix.com, which includes pre-made site templates. The IDT program has granted me the experience of designing and organizing a website where I can not only showcase my knowledge of the IDT history and field but apply it to my career. I have applied my skills to my career as an educator to provide . I have been able to design a website that helps my students navigate the content taught in class and to also provide them with additional support.
Technology Programs/Software
Through out the IDT program I have been introduced to different programs that have enhanced my technology skills when organizing instructional material and analyzing data. A tool that I have used to stay organized is Lucidchart. This technology tool has allowed me to create flow charts for my instructional material so that my students can have a visual roadmap to follow. This technology tool is user friendly and overall effective. I have also gained technology skills in analyzing data using the software PSPP, a free program used to analyze sample data by creating tables and graphs. I used this program in my research courses to determine the mean, median, mode, standard deviation, create an ANOVA table, and histograms to gather and interpret information.
NearPod
Nearpod in an interactive application used to promote student learning. Nearpod is a tool that can be used to deliver instructional material while increasing student engagement and participation. Nearpod has a variety of interactive settings such as collaboration boards, polls, mix and match, fill in the blanks, videos, drawling tool, and even interactive simulations. Nearpod has been an essential tool for me and my students while working through distance learning. Nearpod is a very efficient way to assess student understanding, give students a way to demonstrate what they know, and to give students a way to collaborate. Nearpod is user friendly and comes with two different modes, a teacher paced mode and student paced mode.
Screencastify
Screencastify has been a very helpful tool to use especially during distance learning. Screencastify is a tool that records your screen to create and edit instructional videos. I used this tool to create videos that my students can learn from. These videos are easy to share with my students by giving them the links. The videos included tutorials on how to use/sign into certain applications and websites that we used as a class. It gives the students a better visual with step-by-step instructions. This was very helpful to my students because our students had to quickly transition to online learning without much prior knowledge on using technology. Using Screencastify I was able to also create videos where I pulled up math problems and made tutorial videos on how to solve with step-by-step guidance.
Classkick
Classkick has been an essential tool for me and my students since distance learning because it allowed them to show their work and get live feedback. Classkick is an interactive application that is for educators to deliver instructional material to students while increasing participation, engagement, and assessment of student learning. Classkick has interactive tools that allow the students to use to demonstrate their understanding of the content. Some tools include a drawling tool, camera to capture or insert pictures, a voice recorder, insert manipulatives, fill in the blanks, and drag and drop. Classkick is very user friendly and has great benefits for the teachers. It allows teachers to easlily monitor all student work live and allows the teacher to give immediate feedback for each student. Classkick offers all this for free and even has a pro account where students can save their work in portfolios. Classkick is beneficial to learners because it gives them the space to showcase their work and interact and collaborate with peers. Leaners are able to receive immediate feedback from the teacher via comments in the chat and/or writing on the learners screen.
Reflection
The implementation of technology in education has been increasingly evolving over time. Technology has recently changed the face of how we learn and teach. It is important to be a continuous learner and enhance our technology skills. I have learned and acquired new technology skills in the IDT program that I can use in my career as an educator to better support my students. I look forward to learning more technology skills from my professors and colleagues in the IDT program.
Resources:
Botula, A. L. (2021, September 29). Screencastify review for teachers. Common Sense Education. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/screencastify.
Intelligent diagramming. Lucidchart. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/.
Introduction to PSPP. Introduction to PSPP - CHASS IT - NC State. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://it.chass.ncsu.edu/tutorials/pspp/section1.php.
nwilsonsclass, A., Published by nwilsonsclass View all posts by nwilsonsclass, nwilsonsclass, P. by, Nwilsonsclass, & nwilsonsclass, V. all posts by. (2020, April 30). NearPod: A powerful, progressive online program to structure content and Curriculum. The Literacy and Media Lab. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://theliteracyandmediacenter.wordpress.com/2020/04/30/nearpod-a-powerful-progressive-online-program-to-structure-content-and-curriculum/.
Research process: 8 steps in research process. iEduNote. (2021, February 2). Retrieved December 4, 2021, from https://www.iedunote.com/research-process.