Blog Journal #9

At this point in my life, I am just kind of past being into online and distance learning. It has now consumed three different years of schooling for me and I'm ready for a change. This semester was supposed to be different and back to normal but all of my in-person classes slowly became online as the numbers continued to spread and teachers worried about their safety. I think that teachers cancelling their classes because they don't want covid is valid, but I am still upset that I haven't gotten a "traditional" college experience in the classroom due to Covid. I like that it is easier and makes the school feel less commital but that is trumped by a need for human interaction which you can get in the classroom. When I am a teacher I will look to create a more interactive environment that students can feel engaged in. I know that sounds broad but who knows? Maybe when I am an educator there will be VR options that bring the classroom home.

OER or open educational resources are free and accessible materials for students whether that be media, text, digital assets, etc. Open educational resources are more of a project than anything else. Its goal is to give to those who don't have easy access when in reality the resources should be free. They are providing a service that should already be in place. Below I have provided a link to a blog that is in and of itself an OER. The blog looks to provide those with information in a way that is safe and allows for the free sharing of materials.

https://oerhub.net/blog-2/

Using PowerPoint is always exciting for me cause I see it as a way to creatively express information in a way that is unique and grabs the attention of the audience if you use it right.  I haven't used PowerPoint in quite some time as I find docs to be easier but in the time that I had taken off PowerPoint has certainly stepped up its game, making the app more user friendly and more fun to use.  One specific example would be the tool that created a chronological timeline for me after I had listed dates and events. This displayed the information in a way that is easier to digest and removes the eyesore of too many words. One thing that I dislike is that PowerPoint makes recording more difficult than it needs to be. Not the process of recording itself but taking that audio and doing what you would like with it is not easy, or at least it wasn't for me.