Blog Post #3

ELA Standards

I decided to take a look at the ELA technology standards for grades 6-8. The standard that I am most familiar with and could easily teach without prior studying is: "Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation." Through this standard, they suggest to use Easybib, which is an online platform used for making and formatting citations, and I'm familiar with it. I have used it, as a student, for many years from middle school to college. I could show students exactly what information is needed to plug in to the program technology and to make sure they are using the correct format. In regards to the standard that would require more learning on my part, I chose: "Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic." The technologies that are suggested to use on this standard are Popplet, Phet Simulations, and Teachertube -- I have heard of none of them. It would definitely take some learning on my part so that I could effectively teach my students. 

CPALMS Educator Toolkit

For the CPALMS Educator Toolkit, I decided to look at the Theater resources for Grades 9 - 12. The resource that I chose to explore is one of the lesson plans, called "Unlocking the Playwright Within: Statues." The lesson plan includes many different aspects including "Prior Knowledge", "Guided Questions", "Independent Practice", "Assessment", "Feedback", and so many more. With all of the information that the lesson plan provides, I would be able to go in depth or summarize all of the knowledge for the students. I would definitely use it in my classroom, 1) because I think it's important to teach students about all the other aspects of theater, not just performing and 2) the person who created the lesson plan provided so much to pull from.

Newsletter Assignment

After completing the Newsletter Assignment for class, I definitely acquired some new skills on Microsoft Word. If I'm being honest, I was skeptical that I would already know how to do everything for the assignment, but I ended up learning some things along the way. I didn't know that you could change the font on Word Art, I always thought you had to use the font that it was provided in. I also learned how to put a border in. As simple as it is, I've never had to put a border in my Word documents, but now I know how many different options there are. I didn't like that we couldn't use a template, and that we had to use Microsoft Word. I am a graphic designer, so I prefer to use programs that allow more creative freedom than Word when I am designing newsletters. To improve it next time, I would like to include more images, maybe examples and moments from class that the parents could enjoy seeing their child in. For the future, if I am ever required to make a newsletter and manipulate Word, I now know how to do so. Take a look at my newsletter below!