Digital Presentation

Future Teacher

I have several fears that plague me as a future teacher. I'm scared I will end up with burn out after a few years. I'm scared that I will make a wrong choice when it comes to a child dancing the line of needing to be held back a year. I know I won't be able to deliver every lesson with the expertise needed to reach every student, at least at first. It scares me to think of the repercussions of that. It scares me to think of a classroom driven entirely by technology rather than relationships with each of my students. Having students that don't enjoy learning scares me. I think my biggest, or maybe just the most realistic and not anxiety driven, fear is learning to handle parents. My previous work in a daycare setting showed me just how difficult the parent - teacher relationship can be. It is overwhelming to me to imagine having twenty or so parents to deal with.

There are several things that excite me about becoming a teacher as well. As most other teachers-to-be, I am excited to have my own classroom to organize and decorate and fill with supplies. I'm also excited to have a career that will allow me to be home with  my son and future children during the summer and on holidays. Most of all, I am looking forward to spending my days teaching children and enjoying all the happiness and hope that they bring to the world.

Daily Technology

My daily use of technology varies depending on what day of the week it is. Saturday-Wednesday I am a stay at home mom, and I generally only use my phone and my laptop. On my phone I use a wide variety of apps - the camera to take photos of my baby, Facebook to stay in touch with my family and friends, and mail to check my email, just to name a few. I use my laptop to complete my homework, so I use the Internet and Microsoft Word.

On Thursdays and Fridays I work as a financial aid specialist at a local college. On these days I use much more advanced programs on a desktop computer.

On average I would say I spend atleast 1-2 hours per day using technology. Technology certainly benefits my education as it allows me to complete the majority of my schoolwork from home, on my time. I would not otherwise be able to attend college.

Class Website Project

I have really enjoyed creating a website. This has been my favorite project so far, because it allows for creativity. The only struggles I came across while creating my website were finding resources for my links, and embedding my calendar. I could not get the calendar to display even after copy and pasting the html code several times.
I enjoyed getting to design the website the way I wanted it. I was able to choose a template, though the website builder I used was limited on choices. This may have actually been a good thing, though, because if there were many choices I likely would have wasted too much time trying to find the cutest one. I also enjoyed creating each page of the website, though it was sometimes a struggle to come up with fake information.
Overall I really liked this project. I feel like it will be really useful when I get to the classroom. Class websites are an excellent tool for maintaining communication with parents.

Dangers of Online Posting

The dangers that come with posting online are a real and constant threat. This threat is multiplied when children are involved. Once something is posted online, it is forever on the internet. Predators are everywhere and the internet is no exception. I believe there are several precautions that we can take to protect our children from these dangers.
First, I believe it is paramount to teach our children about online safety. Things such as never posting their whereabouts, being mindful of the photos they post to social media, and keeping personal information private can go a long way. In this case, I believe prevention is key.
Another precaution to take is to maintain tabs on what our children are doing. Technology has given us the advantage of parental controls, but these are not fail proof. We need to know what our children are doing online in order to protect them.
In addition, utilizing the parental controls that are available can help promote online safety. By keeping children from visiting websites that they shouldn't be, we are helping to keep them safe online.

YouTube Video

For my YouTube video project, I plan to explore why future students should choose Pulaski Tech. I chose this subject because it was the only one that made sense for me; I am not close enough to campus to do a tour, and because I am only in my first semester I do not know enough about the Education department or the ECD department to adequately explore their good qualities. I have been planning my video to be more fun than formal. The planning portion of the project is what will come easy for me. The difficulty in the project will be in the execution of my ideas and editing the video to be exactly how I want it to be. I am looking forward to the finished product.

What Makes Ten?

While perusing YouTube I found several educational videos that would be suitable for the classroom. While I usually only watch funniest home videos on YouTube, I had not put much thought into the fact that it can be educational and a real asset in the classroom until I read the chapter. Once I started browsing on YouTube I came across several videos, channels, and playlists that are full of awesome content that could help making learning fun and easier for visual learners. The video above is only one example of what I found.