Blog #2

 As far as Microsoft Word is concerned, I've been using the program for as long as I can remember. This applies to the entirety of Office as well. Before Google Drive and the related programs were released to the widespread public, every school provided access to Office on a fairly regular basis, and resultantly, I became very proficient with it at a young age. Furthermore, by the time I had reached High School, I became Microsoft certified in Word, as well as PowerPoint and Excel. Though it hasn't received as much attention from me in college due to the prominence of Docs, I do find myself using it occasionally. I assume this will be the case more so for this class.

Out of all the ISTE standards for education, the one that means the most to me was most certainly the 'Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning'. The logic behind this is simple: how can a teacher teach something that they themselves do not understand. Education technology is imperative to the future learning of new generations. To ensure their success, the teachers themselves must be successful first.

I could honestly agree with the term 'digital native' for my generation, and even more so with upcoming ones. They have access to technology that was not widely available for millions of years in such a short period of time, and yet they are more proficient with it than most adults. This is in part thanks to the efforts of our education and also because kids are being provided with more and more technology thanks to their parents. Subsequently, they run circles around most adults in their respective fields. To call the upcoming generations 'digital natives' isn't just applicable - it may be an understatement. 

As of the time of writing this blog, the newsletter is already complete, so it would be a bit ridiculous to talk about future plans. However, I chose a fourth grade social studies class, with the latter half of the year having a focus in art. I included a field trip to the Norton Museum, a Museum I was fond of growing up in downtown West Palm Beach. I also included curriculum fills. I do not have any tips, as it is my first time doing it, but it appeared relatively straightforward.