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Today I learned that most professional development tools for educators are the programs or conferences they can participate in. I learned how expansive Edutopia is and how much information they have available for teachers, because before I only knew Edutopia as a twitter account. Looking through my classmates' bookmarks I learned that there are places to sign up for these conferences online. I also learned from Ms. Ginny that teachers need a certain amount of professional development to continue teaching, which is why today's lesson is so important.

Last week I learned that adaptive technologies are technologies that aid students with disabilities so they can keep up with the rest of the class. Through my own efforts I learned that other people can learn from adaptive technologies, not just the students with disabilities, because the teachers also have to know how to use the technology and the other students learn how to behave when they have a classmate with a disability. The group presentations taught me that there are many different adaptive technologies for different disabilities (reading, writing, etc.). The group presentations also displayed that there are tools that can be used to help students with disabilities and students without disabilities alike, such as concept mapping tools. Through my classmates' diigo bookmarks I learned that there is a huge array of adaptive technologies which is something that is nice in today's world because it gives more people the same opportunities. I also learned that most adaptive ...

Adaptive technologies have helped teacher development and student development because they help students with disabilities learn the same lessons as students without disabilities. I haven't needed, nor have my classmates needed, the assistance of adaptive technologies such as a text-to-speech machine or a braille typewriter. These technologies are very helpful in allowing the student with the disability to keep up with the rest of the class who may not have a disability, however there are challenges to these new technologies. Most of these challenges come from determining the right technology to apply to a student with disabilities, then learning how to use that technology (both the teacher and the student). Technology has enabled more interesting learning opportunities for teachers because of the activities that bring teachers together online through social bookmarking, blogs, and Twitter. As a teacher, Powerpoint is a necessary tool to have in the classroom and to understand how...

Through my individual efforts I learned what Evernote is and how it can be helpful. Evernote is very similar to Diigo in that it is a social bookmarking site where you can put saved websites and the annotations to those websites in a safe place. You can also share these notes and websites with anyone you choose through Evernote online. Through looking at other people's bookmarks and annotations I learned that teacher productivity tools range far past social bookmarking sites. There are many ways teachers can keep in touch with parents (ClassDojo) without the students being involved. There are also plagiarism checkers and ways for teachers to make sure that students are doing the right thing. I learned about teacher productivity tools that I will likely use in my classroom one day.

Twitter so far has taught me that there are a lot more uses for it, rather than just scrolling through how your friends are feeling. There are many educational accounts and teachers on twitter sharing articles and facts about the education world. I have learned techniques and ways of the trade of teaching from these education accounts, such as Edutopia and Education Week, who tweet articles about how to become a better teacher. The benefits from twitter include the establishment of connections with other teachers and with good lesson plans for future educating. I have only just begun my website, but I have already learned that it is fairly easy to create a website and you can make it very personal. Having your own website as a teacher is useful to the parents to give them information about your class and to have a reference for them to make sure that their children are on track. I like how user friendly the weebly website is, but about the assignment itself, I don't like how op...

My first independent learning project is a prezi. I've never actually made a prezi before because in high school I always though MS Powerpoint was easier to use so that's what I used. This prezi is a short one about the urban school system and its problems and what we can do to fix them. I like prezi because of the zoom animation that helps the reader to focus on what I deem important in the presentation. I played around with the initial set up that I was provided from prezi by deleting some items and changing charts around and renaming the titles. I changed the colors around in some of the slides as well. I hope you enjoy my first prezi presentation and you can view it by clicking below. https://prezi.com/view/53dwCwqkTs5Prs1IS5Yn/

Jade Grassi, Brenna Carrigan, Gavin Clark Contrast: The contrast on Mrs. Savage's webpage is good. The main points of information are given in a black text on white background with the headers given in a white text with a garnet background. The titles are easy to differentiate from the actual information. Repetition: Visual elements are repeated throughout the webpage. The subjects are all given before the links to the information with the same fonts and same font size for titles and links, respectively. When Mrs. Savage presents the newsletters they are presented in a similar, chronological order which keeps it organized. Alignment: The articles that are similar are aligned to bring them together. The alignment on the webpage is good and organized because she separates it into two columns, one for the tabs for different information and one for the information itself. There is a consistent space between these two columns which makes the information easier to read. Proxim...

http://www.saintbridgetschool.info/my-sbs/teacher-pages/  This teacher class page is from Saint Bridget School in Massachusetts. The school ranges from pre-school to 8th grade. I checked out the two class pages for third grade and noticed almost identical set ups. Homework assignments, teacher info, spelling words, specials schedules, and hot links/resources are the main points available to whoever visits the class page. Both teachers have a link that takes the viewer to a paragraph or two about themselves as a person for the parent or student to see. One of the teachers includes a section for recommended books and the school calendar. Overall a very useful site for parents that isn't too revealing for the public's eyes. There are several different kinds of software that can be used in the classroom including productivity software and classroom management software which fall under a bigger category called administrative software. Productivity software assists teachers' ...

I have learned that Web2.0 covers a wide variety of websites and online tools and it would be hard not to integrate Web2.0 in the classroom. Podcasts enable students that are having a hard time learning a subject to listen to another teacher teach it in a different manner, perhaps, so that they can better understand that subject. Twitter, BlackBoard and now Canvas are all modes of social media that are prevalent in the classroom because they connect the student and teacher even when they aren't in the classroom. These sites expand students' knowledge of what school can be like outside of the classroom. Blogs have given students a new voice in writing. Blogs are less formal than essays and kids can have fun with them while still connecting to other students and writing about educational topics. Online classes have been shown to help students that have trouble focusing in the classroom and help involve students who like to work with technology, rather than sit in a desk and liste...

Web 2.0 tools are necessary for teachers to have in their classroom. I don't think there is one Web 2.0 tool that isn't useful in the classroom. Web 2.0 tools include, but aren't limited to Twitter, blogs, Youtube, and Diigo. A professional Twitter account for the students is a great way for them to connect to other students who are learning something similar in a different place. Blogs work similarly to Twitter and are more for the students to network and share ideas. Youtube helps teachers to find videos that help them teach a lesson or help to keep the students engaged so that the teacher isn't always the only one talking. Diigo can be used by teachers and students and is probably the best way for teachers and students to connect with each other to compare lesson plans, sources, and notes in order to make every classroom a better place. LinkedIn is an excellent Web 2.0 tool that is mostly used as a bookmark manager in the classroom. LinkedIn is a website for profess...

Just checked out a blog written by @JadeDGrassi about a lesson plan about penguins! Very interesting and I hope to instill it in my classroom someday https://t.co/Vpu6ra2A3B #FSUEdTech — Gavin Clark (@gavinclark30) October 3, 2017

Twitter is an awesome social media resource. In this course it has taught me that there are a lot more professionals using twitter than I originally anticipated. For example I have followed and retweeted several accounts and tweets, respectively, from professional sources including Eduporium and Politics K-12. These accounts are beneficial because they offer ways to enhance a classroom and make your students more informed. In the future I can reference accounts like these to make my classroom a fun environment with students who want to learn. The digital divide is the difference between those who have access to the computer or internet and those who don't have access. The digital divide affects students' success because those who don't have access to a computer or the internet are at an obvious disadvantage compared to those who have access. This is because those who have access can use the internet to find help with their homework or to turn in assignments online, whereas...