March 22nd, 2020: Module 3: Unit 5: Introduction to learning theories; Unit 6: The role of learning theories in learning

This week we discussed learning theories and how the different learning theories play a role for educators. I really enjoyed being able to see my peer's responses and their personal thoughts on if educators would be ok without having an understanding of the different learning theories. Although I feel that educators are fine without having prior knowledge of learning theories I still feel that it is important to have some idea of learning theories as it makes it easier for them to bridge education and research and it helps the educators to make more educated decisions because of their knowledge. This week I was also able to create a Prezi on learning theories in which I discussed classical conditioning, operant conditioning, constructivism, and social cognitive theory in which I really enjoy learning about. This was a very interesting week.

April 12th, 2020: Module 6: Unit 11: Introduction to classroom diversity; Unit 12: Applying UDI to classroom diversity

This week we discussed classroom diversity which made me very excited because I am a very big advocate for diversity, I feel it is very important. I was not too excited about having to complete a Sway presentation as I am not that good at using it but I have to say I actually enjoyed the time preparing my Sway. Usually I have a very difficult time trying to get things to flow appropriately but I was able to get things to work out for me this time around. I enjoyed being able to use different images to help convey my thoughts about diversity in the classroom and hoe UDI can address diversity challenges. I thought it was great to be able to see how everyone’s Sway presentations came out and I was able to gain some insight on layouts for my next Sway presentation. This week I was also able to suggest different ways to address an ethical challenge that academic success is facing in the classroom today. This was a very interesting week with the readings as well.

April 5th, 2020: Module 5: Unit 9: Ethics and educational technology; Unit 10: Introduction to universal design of instruction (UDI)

This week has been challenging as the COVID-19 virus continues to spread and now the students are doing distance learning. I didn’t want to mention the virus on this blog but it actually relates to the discussion question this week as we had to discuss ethical challenges educational technologists may face and which challenge should be given the most priority. When I read the discussion question I thought about the students that now have to do distance learning due to the virus which really is every student around the world basically, since this is a pandemic, but it made me think about how internet access is not always available to all students regardless of the school was able to provide them with a Chromebook but how would they use it without internet? How will they complete assignments? This is a concern as they may only have a cell phone to be able to use for internet without a hotspot capability. Wen the students were in school they all had the opportunity to have access to the same resources where now everything is different and some students may suffer because of the lack of resource availability. Hopefully, students are able to complete assignments and different tasks as I have seen that different companies are offering free internet for families that do not have the internet and have a student in the home. I great activity that occurred for this week was having the opportunity to work in a group and develop a lesson plan. I had an amazing team to work with and our lesson plan involved using the Goose Hunt application to create a scavenger hunt to get families, friends, and loved ones together and keeping in touch while being able to still practice social distancing as this is a mobile scavenger hunt that allows for a person to create different missions and then have a group or an individual person complete the scavenger hunt and give an incentive for them to participate. Creating this scavenger hunt was so much fun and I really had a great time bouncing ideas off of one another to create a great lesson plan. I am looking forward to future group assignments.   

March 29th, 2020: Module 4: Unit 7: The ethics of emerging technologies; Unit 8: Introduction to morality in education

This week the discussion question had to be answered using Canva. This was something new for me a little challenging at first but then it became easy to use. I was able to create an info graphic and discussed morality and the principles and values. I was also able to discuss the ethical themes by Mason, Peace, and Hartzel which were very interesting because it involves property, freedom of speech, privacy, accessibility, and accountability for the students. I was also able to discuss the different challenges that come with the technology that is emerging into education. This was a very interesting week and I was able to learn so much about the ethical portion of technology.

March 17th, 2020: Module 2: Unit 3: Technology and productivity; Unit 4: Technology as a system of administration

This week was very interesting as the discussion question had to be answered using a new site that I had never used before called Emaze. This application was different than the others I have used, but it was definitely interesting. I was able to clearly convey my thoughts about technology as a system and as an administrative system. The templates available are very good as well and I was able to add and remove things as I went along after I got the hang of the site. I really enjoyed being able to see how everyone was creative with their post. This week I also able to discuss the intentions of technology use which I found to be very exciting.

March 8th, 2020: Module 1: Unit 1: Introduction to the sociology of technology; Unit 2: Understanding technology beyond machines

This week it was interesting to learn how politics are involved in education and how it affects different things such as internet availability. I am not into politics but I would have never known that the internet limitations had anything to do with politics. I didn’t realize how much politics played a role in so much and how not many things are separate from politics. I feel that I was able to learn a lot from the article by Winner and Joerges where it was discussed how the different technologies in the past were created to limit for example the access to transportation and the different ways to help businesses progress and have a better production of their goods while eliminating jobs. Overall this was a very exciting week as I found politics more interesting now while discovering their involvement in education.

March 5th, 2020: Beginning of my blog!

I am very excited about this class and learning so much from my peers. I am also excited about starting this blog but I seem to have to redo the blog every week so I have decided that I will be doing the blog old school manually on paper and then will transfer the information prior to posting. So I am looking forward to seeing how everyone’s blog comes out.