A Song of Faith and Devotion

  Generally when it comes to online courses, I prefer not to use my webcam. This isn't out of any sort of prejudice to the class, but rather the class environment itself. If everyone else has their webcam on, then I have absolutely no problem with it. However, if that level of trust is not afforded to me, then why should I give it to anyone else? I don't believe that I should.  To extend on this idea, I believe the same mentality is kept by the other students. Resultantly, I can respect their choice to hide their faces if they feel the need. This is especially true if they are caught in an embarrassing situation, where one way or another, it would benefit the entire class for them NOT to turn their webcams on. We are likely all better off for it. I would say I respect the teacher's choice in this matter as well, but this can contextually depend. For one, if a teacher is going to turn their webcam on, it usually brings a sense of welcoming. If that confidence is not presen...

  The video I chose to watch was the 'PowerPoint Essential Training Video'. This taught me quite a few in-depth skills within Microsoft PowerPoint, including seldom used aspects of the programs, such as uniformity in image size. This is pertinent because of my current job as a paralegal, and will allow me to make motions with my presentation scope that I was unable to before. Furthermore, I will be able to impress those around me in the legal hemisphere with my knowledge of the program.

     I'm thankful for the people that life offers. The friends that I've made that would go to hell and back for me on a whim. The rivals I've learned from and use to drive myself to rise above. The little family I have that I love unconditionally. And those that are older and wiser that have taught me many lessons that I needed to hear. It is because of these people that life is worth living.       I'm thankful for the adventure life offers. The thrill of a fight. The adrenaline from skateboarding. The fascination in collecting. The introspection of chess. The joy of playing my guitar. My hobbies are varied, but I am thankful for each and every single one of them.     I'm thankful for the redemption life offers. The chances you have to learn from your mistakes. To get back up from rock bottom and move only upward. The feelings it provides when you know you have overcome your fears and trauma. This truly lifts your soul to new places and prep...

 For a distinguished teacher such as myself, a day in my life is incredibly interesting I assure you. Here are all of the incredibly fascinating things that I do: Wake Up (5:30 AM) Walk the Dog (5:45 AM) Shower (6:00 AM) Get Dressed (6:15 AM) Go to Work (6:30 AM) Teach (7:30 AM - 3:00 PM) Do Paperwork (3:00 PM - 5:00 PM) Go Home and Watch the Sopranos (5:30 PM - 8:00 PM) Crash (9:00 PM). You can see what I mean by eclectic and exciting I'm sure. I bet you wish you had my life. It's okay. You too can work a lower-middle class factory job if you just put in the time!

  Teacher Photo Process: Before:  It helps to know someone in photography and graphic who can do most of the difficult work for you. This way, you have less to worry about when it comes to the actual photo itself since most of it can be edited in during post-production. Make sure the facial expression is warm, but firm nonetheless, and gives a position of both kindness and authority. During:  If I could have changed anything, it probably would have been the position of my eyes. Focusing in on the camera can be difficult, and while I did a decent job, it most certainly was not perfect. After:  Following the steps above pretty much ensures you'll enjoy the results like I did. 

  The selection of fonts that I chose was primarily based off of professionality. Playfair Display is a vibrant font, typically used to give a bold introduction. It is complemented well by Exo 2, which signifies the importance of the sub-header alongside the header itself. Finally, Arimo is a bit more delicate and easy on the eyes, making it the perfect body font. 

  Assignment #5 was practical in the sense that I now know how to create PowerPoints that aren't as easily navigable. Resultantly, if I were to give a Quiz or Test using PowerPoint, I would have assurances that one could only move forward rather than back. Furthermore, it also allowed me use of the various sound effects and transitions that come alongside the action buttons. These were both pertinent and amusing to use.  Data collection tools vary in method from class to class due to their inherent variability. Though I don't intend to be a teacher myself, let's assume that I really was an elementary school science teacher like in the PowerPoint. Though more difficult to use than say, a high school audience, it still would be possible to make basic surveys available to 4th graders. As for the subject matter, it would likely be a question of what the students enjoy in their downtime, as to make questions centered around these interests and use educational games / tools to en...

 https://plus.google.com/ Google Plus is a viable tool to use for a PLN for a few different reasons: For one, it comes off as a far more professional PLN than another social media resource like Twitter or Facebook, and is gradually gaining steam with the educational community. Students wouldn't have to worry about ties to their social life as much as they would with using social media resources. Work and play aren't necessarily separated by using this medium.

  My experience with EME2040 was almost entirely online outside of some interaction with my partners for the group projects. There were a variety of both upsides and downsides. On the one hand, getting my work done on my time was absolutely the best part of the course. I could work simultaneously on other projects and plan my week more effectively as a result. However, that is not to say there were not any negatives. The course work itself is just simply not that engaging. I wish this weren't the case, but the majority of the assignments just felt a bit like a chore when looking at what work I needed to get done for the week.  OER, or Open Education Resources, are a fantastic tool to take advantage of in the academic sphere. They allow for quick learning at no cost to the teacher. Being in the public domain has advantages, such as comparisons with other classes who can easily harness the same resources. If I were a teacher, I would absolutely use them in my classroom to t...

 The web design assignment taught me quite a few skills that can be used both educationally and otherwise. For one, I now understand the google calendar user interface and how to post it and make it available to view. I messed this up at first and fixed it later, which thankfully brought my grade back up, so out of all the things I did, this one is probably the one I am the most likely to remember. Another skill I learned was how to entice younger viewers to education related fun. The idea behind the site was to make learning fun for the students by incorporating very little educational syntax on the individual game pages. I believe this would be effective in an educational setting.   https://www.extrafuntopics.com/ In honesty, Diigo isn't the most complicated program in the world, and there are numerous educational websites out there like Diigo that I have used in the past. To say I learned much from using it would be a bit gratuitous. Rather, I refined my communica...

  As a resource, I did not find myself having any particularly strong feelings about Diigo as a platform. It seemed like just another academic sharing site that could be useful for in class communication. This being said, it was pretty barebones. As a teacher, it is unlikely I would ever find myself using this resource. If given the opportunity, I would probably opt in for something much more creative, for both the well-being of the class and myself.  In regards to the question surrounding the blogging itself, I don't mind blogging, but I don't really feel like that's what this is. These blogs are directed by questions and even have minimum and maximum requirements. To treat this as anything other than an assignment would be a bit silly, and I do not think it represents the spirit of true blogging. I cannot share my feelings on topics I wish to discuss, and even if I did, I would likely relate it back to the questions being asked in the first place like I do now. As a discu...

  Admittedly, I have not been using Twitter as long as some others in this class. As a platform, I only started using it at the beginning of my senior year of high school, so approximately the past two and a half years. However, I have not used the platform for much educationally, and I have only really used it to absorb entertainment related information. Mainly articles and memes. I have friends who use the platform that I am connected with. This being said, I doubt Twitter will have much future impact educationally or otherwise.  The digital divide is frankly, a scary concept. To think that the unequal access to technology can and will cause disparity in the workforce; I shudder at the thought. But I believe a distinction needs to be made between national and international digital divide. After all, a student in a poorer area of the United States will likely still have much more technological opportunity than that of students in war-torn Sudan. Funding for education based te...

  In my newsletter, I posed myself as a fourth grade social studies teacher, and I will continue with that line of reasoning here. One of the most interesting standards that I noticed surrounded identification of simulation ideas, such as imaginary and / or computer generated environments. As a social studies teacher, this is incredibly important: if not for simulated ideas, teaching history would be an impossible feat. As such, I believe these benchmarks absolutely would and should be implemented.  The resources provided on CPALMs for a social studies teacher primarily focus around lesson plans, and any one of these relating to the topic in class would absolutely help. It could serve as a guideline for me (the teacher) and help to centralize the subjects of the class for the students. As a resource, it could prove invaluable in saving time. Resultantly, I cannot now imagine a lesson plan in which I would not use it.  Being able to search the web efficiently allows you to...

  Copyright and Fair Use is a section of the law devoted to ensuring a lack of plagiarism and / or illicit financial gain by claiming another person's work as one's own. It is an incredibly diverse subject, so much so that there are law firms dedicated specifically to copyright law. The application as to how this could be important for teaching becomes obvious when one considers the modern technological sphere we live in. Even the misuse of images on a presentation or the use of copyrighted music in a class video can result in copyright strikes. Therefore, it is important to inform one's students about copyright and why it is incredibly important to understand.  Just like copyright, technology can detect quite a few other activities that we in the academic sphere hope to prevent against. Academic dishonesty is similar to copyright in this regard, as it can be easily detected using modern technology. Most education user interfaces are built to detect plagiarism, and other ...

  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 s...

  Hi. I'm Brock. Obviously you already put that together, but I figured I would throw it out there. About me - I'm a senior at FSU, Criminology major, bass guitarist, chess player, videogame collector, audiophile, and hopefully an upcoming attorney. I'm also part of a band back home, which is super cool, and I enjoy journal writing, doodling, debating, and generally just having a good time. I aspire to move on to law school from here, and this class is just another stepping stone in the process to do so.  In terms of my experience with educational technology, I have a thorough resume. I have as much experience with Docs and Slides as anyone who has been in school as long as I have. I am also Microsoft certified, and I have access to their DevKit resultantly. As to be expected, this allows me to work with creator tools that most students cannot. I believe myself to be very fortunate for this. I also have a history of giving presentations and teaching others how to give them,...