Blog Journal 8

   This past week we were challenged with the task of designing a website in the style of a k-12 educator. This website was to explain about the teacher (myself), homework, classwork, etc. I have only designed a few websites in my time, similarly for assignments but the tool Weebly was easier than anyone I've used. They made designing easy, fun, and rewarding. Looking at my work I was proud of what I had created and the application made that possible. I learned tons of new skills within the process but more importantly, I got a feel for how a teacher should set up their website to ensure that students feel that materials are easily accessible while maintaining of the level of professionality and fun. In the future, I will make a website for my students so I saw this as a practice for that. It not only made me excited about teaching but genuinely made me feel grateful that I had taken this class. I am so excited to be an educator and this course gives me an opportunity to dip my toes in the water. 

Link to website: Charlies' Classroom Fun

    Diigo gives students, teachers, peers, co-workers all the opportunity to connect and share different resources to increase productivity. In different environments, Diigo can function in different ways. For example in the classroom it can give a group assignment another layer by connecting the groups through a platform that allows them to share information, thus making the project overall easier. With my own team members, I see Diigo as a way to see what they are sharing and use it for my own work or assignments, and for myself, it serves as a tool to gain information.

    Teachers and technology have become unlikely partners that serve the community more than most know. As technology adapts everyone's life changes but thinking about the implications of how it affects the classroom is quite amazing. A school in the last 20 years went from having little tech to computer carts in every class. Teachers have needed to stay aware and on top of the changing technology in an effort to make sure that students not only have access to materials but also the right and most efficient ones. Below is a link to the innovative educator that works to keep teachers and educators alike knowing about the changes in a blog-like yet formal style. 

Link to website: The Innovative Educator