Hey Everybody!!

Today I will be talking about my Twitter experience so far for my education account.

Twitter is a place that prior to this class I was not aware could be used for educational purposes. After using Twitter for class, my thoughts on Twitter changed and I think that it can be used educationally, even if a teacher prints out a template so their students are not actually online. I have actually learned quite a bit from being on Twitter. Many educators that I follow share different lesson ideas which is interesting to be able to see because it gives me ideas to be able to potentially use in my future classroom.

I used Twitter on a personal account but had never participated in a twitter chat or even knew what one was. The Twitter chats are very fun to be a part of because you are able to learn a lot from many different individuals from all over the world. The chats I’ve been a part of have been judge free zones where I didn’t feel like people were telling me my opinions were wrong. People liked and responded to my thoughts, which made me want to participate more because I was learning a lot from other chatters. The chats I have been a part of have on one hand changed the way I think on some of the topics we have discussed. On the other hand, the chats reinstated some of my thoughts that I had about the topics. Another thing that is cool about Twitter chats is being able to interact with classmates on chats because they chose to participate in the same chat. In the beginning of the semester that is how I started following some of the people from class.

All in all, I haven’t had any bad experiences on Twitter as of yet. I’m sure at one point I may run into something but I’m hoping that I do not. I’m really enjoying being able to create my own PLN and be a part of it.

Make sure to follow my twitter page: @alison_miller18

Leave a comment about some of your experiences, I’d love to hear some feedback! Thank you for reading!!

Hey Everybody!

Today we will be talking about technology use in the classroom and some of the pros and cons associated with it. Technology is something that is changing everyday and is being implemented in classrooms daily. With that being said, there are many pros and cons of using technology in the classroom.

Some of the pros associated with using technology in the classroom would be:

• Having the ability to co-create with people who are not in the same area as you are.
  • For example students being able to work on an assignment while both are at home instead of in the classroom.
• There are so many resources that enhance learning and are able to make it more fun (Himmelsbach 2019)
  • An example would be Kahoot which is a game-based learning tool
• Students have access to information at any time they need it
• Using technology allows for instant feedback
• Due to the fact that we live in a digital world, being able to use technology is a life skill (Himmelsbash 2019)
• Technology allows for customized learning

Though with pros come some cons:

• Technology malfunctions
• Technology is expensive, not everyone can afford it
• Can be a distraction when not used properly
• Can allow for cheating

Check out these articles for some more pros and cons of technology use in the classroom:

•  https://tophat.com/blog/6-pros-cons-technology-classroom/
• https://www.teachhub.com/pros-cons-technology-classroom

In my opinion the pros outweigh the cons when speaking about use of technology in the classroom. Technology advancements are not something that are going to be stopping any time soon. Therefore it is important to be up to date on new and improved learning ideas that use technology in the classroom.

Thank you for reading!

Hello Everybody!

Today I will be talking about Google Apps used in the classroom. Google Apps allows students and teachers to use:

• Google Classroom
• Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, Google Forms
• Gmail
• And More

Google Classroom allows class to be paperless and convenient. It makes communication easy and allows for collaboration. Collaboration is not only limited to school as if work was being done on paper; with Google Apps, students can work together at home.

Many teachers are using Google Apps in the classroom. Take a look at this lesson plan for using Google Apps in the classroom: http://lessonplanspage.com/ciusinggoogledocstutorial712-htm/

Google Classroom is helpful worldwide as you can see in this video

Thank you for reading!