HeatherLynch@EDIT4300

      In this module we first explored using games in education. We explored resources such as Kahoot, Quizlet, PuzzleMaker, Quizziz, and Duolingo. I am most familiar with Kahoot. I have played it many times during professional development sessions at work, and I have played it in class with my first graders as a review activity for math. One game that wasn't mentioned on the list that I really love is Blooket. I love the interactivity of the game play with other students in the class and that you can choose from a wide variety of game modes. My students particularly love the Gold Quest and Crypto Hack modes. It has similar features to Kahoot, such as the live leaderboard, and it is very user-friendly to both create and play games. I used the PuzzleMaker site to create a crossword puzzle activity to go with my lesson plan topic. I am a huge fan of any word game (crosswords, word searches, word scrambles etc.) I might try a fun end of year crossword or word search for my c...

       Several of the topics we explored in this module have been things that have intimidated me for some time. First, I explored the storytelling and video resources. I haven't made many videos personally for either work or home use and honestly it has been something that has intimidated me. However, when using Adobe Express to make my short video, I found it to be really user-friendly, and anything I needed to figure out was quickly found online. I appreciated all of the available templates, and I was able to find one that included a lot of pictures so I could make a video to showcase pictures from my family's trip to several national parks in 2023. One video project that I've wanted to do for my first-grade families is a video series that explains how we teach phonics so that they can use those same strategies at home. I feel better prepared to tackle that. I'm also going to use Adobe Express to make my video to show families at our end of first grade celebration...

    The first topic we explored in this module is new directions in education regarding advances in technology. One resource I enjoyed learning about and exploring was the Google Arts and Culture site. I did not know about this site previously and I am amazed at how much there is to discover. I spent some time looking through the Arts page, and then looked through the Games page as well. I am excited by the possibilities of enrichment and knowledge building this could bring to my first grade classroom. I would also love to have my class take virtual field trips with Google Expeditions and the cardboard VR attachment for the phone. This class has helped me understand what kinds of technology students in other places are already using, and has me thinking about how I can bring some of it to my own school.      The audio podcasting, Youtube, and assistive technology resources were really helpful to me. I have struggled to create audio and videos easily in the past,...

    I truly can't believe we are half-way through the course already. Each week I have enjoyed researching new topics related to instructional technology in the classroom. The two topics that stand out to me as being crucial to integrate into my own teaching are computational thinking and the ISTE standards. Learning about the significance of computational thinking has helped me reflect on how I am already integrating these thinking skills in my classroom. I can start naming these skills for my students, so they know what they are, their importance, and how to continue using them in the future. One example I'm thinking of is when we solve multi-step story problems. I can name that we need to use the "decomposition" thinking skill, by breaking down the problem step-by-step, and that this is an important way of thinking that mathematicians use to solve complex problems. Reading all about the ISTE Standards was also a key learning for me in this course. I was truly inspi...

     In this module, I first had the opportunity to explore the topic of social media and social sites in education. I have not done much research about the possible benefits of this topic because I teach such a young grade (first grade) and I just couldn't see how using social media would benefit my students. After reviewing all of the articles and resources I still need to do some more thinking on how I could use it with my students, but I see the benefit of using it for connecting with my students' families. My school (and region) already uses the ParentSquare app for all school and regional communication, but it gets really hard to wade through all the general regional and school posts to find just posts from my class because they all go on one main feed. I can see how having an X account just for my class, could help have more efficient communication all in one place. Also, social sites have made it so easy for me to connect with my classmates in this master's progra...

    In module 4, I first spent some time going through all of the ISTE standards for students. The standards for students were designed to help prepare them to "thrive in an evolving technological landscape" and to "empower student voice and ensure the learning is a student-driven process." As I went through each standard and watched the videos I was impressed and excited to see how other educators are using technology in their classrooms and how the students are driving the learning process. It really challenged me to think how I can help my students to think critically, problem solve, and use technology in a way that helps prepare them for this technological world that they are growing up in. I'm limited in the type of technology my students have access to, but one thing I've learned from this class is that there are ways I could be using it that I had not previously thought of. I think the standards on Digital Citizenship are especially important to start...