Blogpost #3

I feel that there are more ELA technology standards that I need to learn and become proficient with, than there are that I am comfortable teaching. Surprisingly, I feel as if I could properly teach standard W/WHST.8, which integrates using multiple sources. In W/WHST.8, the student should be proficient in note taking off of a print and digital source and should have the ability to sift through credible and non-credible sources. Standard W/WHST.8 is something that I have been doing for a very long time and a standard I feel prepared to teach. One standard I am not sure I could teach comfortably is standard W/WHST.2, which entails writing to explain and inform. I know I can write to explain and inform but the subjects within the standard are what make me feel uneasy in my teaching ability at the moment. I do not feel one hundred percent confident in creating charts and table and utilizing figures to teach my students. I hope by the end of EME 2040 I will feel very confident in my ability to teach students about ELA technology standards.

The technology I would like to use with my students is the same technology we use in EME 2040: the blog. I believe that blogs allow for students to best connect with one another and their teacher very simply and efficiently. The textbook reminded me of Glogster and after reading it I actually remembered creating a Glogster when I was in elementary school. The blog allowed for kids to be personal in school, where it is sometimes a challenge to break out of the "private" bubble. I do not remember the specific class I created it for but I do know my classmates and I found it very interesting to be in control of our own website. Glogster leads me into my next point about the digital citizenship concepts. Digital citizenship is one of the most important online "rules;" a set of guidelines that people of all ages should follow. I will be sure my students at around the ages of seven or eight are fully aware of the digital citizenship guidelines because if they are not taught about being respectful online at a young age it will lead to issues when they are older.

The one skill that my newsletter taught me was two-column design. When we first began to practice two-column design I could not seem to grasp the concept of it, but now I feel very proficient in using two-column design. I also increased my abilities in utilizing Word Art and knowing where and when to use it. The most challenging part about the newsletter was creating the paragraphs to write inside the shapes. I believe that if I had students and an actual class the information would have come more natural to me and been a breeze to write. The newsletter was a major part of my elementary school career and I recall receiving a newsletter every week from my school. The next time I create a newsletter, I will make it more organized and with every newsletter after. my creativity will reach new heights.