7. Technology Operations and Concepts
c. Demonstrate and understanding of and the ability to create an online learning experience, and demonstrate continued growth in knowledge of technology operations, resource evaluations for quality, objectivity, and reliability and concepts including strategies for teaching and learning in an online environment;
Technology is a concept that children today instinctually understand because they were born into it. This generation of students is very smart when it comes to technological programs, games, or methods because they use them so frequently. My generation has had to learn how to adapt and develop ourselves to fit into this understanding. As a result of this, I found it very fun, interesting, and sometimes difficult to create an online, interactive website for my first graders and their families to explore pertaining to our writing workshop theme of all-about books.
It was a completely new experience for me having to build a website that would inform and help the students and their parents/guardians about a classroom topic. It is entirely understandable why these classroom-related websites are being created and utilized, and I believe it is excellent practice for younger students. For me, I really appreciated the help that Information Technology provided us because there are still a lot of technological ideas that I do not understand.
Within the website, I tried to create a welcoming, user-friendly atmosphere that made the students excited and interested about exploring the site. I also tried to make it follow the in-class lessons about writing workshop, as well as provide more details, information, or understanding from what we had discussed previously in class. The most important detail for me was to create a website that was made for first-graders. Of course there were sections that required the permission, help from, or supervision of an adult, but I wanted to word it in a way that first graders would enjoy and comprehend the materials given. On the whole, it was very fun, educational, and useful to create a classroom-related website.
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