Blog Journal #8

     I really enjoyed getting to work on this website design assignment for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it gave me a chance to be creative, envisioning myself as a teacher preparing a website for her class. Secondly, I gained experience working with Weebly, an entirely new platform for me to use. I also got the chance to practice applying the CRAP principles as I designed my class website. In particular I really spent time ensuring that I had repetition of colors and fonts throughout. I really used a light, almost sea-foam blue, light green, and darker greens and blues in the pictures that I included of places around the world in nature. And I made sure that all of the title and body fonts were consistent on each page. I can use this as a future teacher to create a bridge between my students' parents or guardians and myself. It will allow me to share important information, announcements, and links to other resources more easily and on a 24/7 available basis. Here is my website url, if you want to check it out! My Website

    Since being introduced to Diigo, I have experienced annotating online articles in a new way. In the past, I just had to take notes on a Google Doc or piece of paper, and stores urls to sources on a separate doc. Now, I can directly annotate the source, and keep track of it on one platform, and organize it more easily too. It can certainly be useful for the future as a teacher, as it saves time by increasing the efficiency of research and taking notes. Additionally, it helps connect you and your sources to other teachers and administrators, opening up opportunities to share new information and be on the same page.

    As a teacher, you bear the responsibility to push for digital fluency in the classroom, and with your students. It is critical then, to stay up to date on all of the tools, softwares, and programs that are available to you and that can enhance an educational setting. Furthermore, many of these tools actually serve to connect teachers with other teachers, and make the role of managing a classroom and getting things done more organized and more efficient. Ultimately, a teacher is meant to continue to grow throughout their career. The best teachers are the best learners, the most curious, and the most willing to discover new things and work to build on their experiences. Part of that learning process, is to dive into new apps and platforms. It is simply unavoidable as a teacher. Below, is a link to an article providing some tips and tricks to stay up to date with education technology over your summer break. So whether you are already a teacher, or are in school to become one, there is something that you can takeaway and apply to the profession of teaching!

Hey Teach