Dear Future ED 307 Students,

Now that I have completed this course I have several advice points that I would like to share with you. The first is don’t be afraid to ask for help. I didn’t always ask for help and it came back like a bear and bit me. Nobody is going to judge you or think less of you if you aske Questions so don’t hesitate. If you don’t feel like sharing them out loud in front of everyone, write them down and bring them to your professor after class. My second piece of advice is to not procrastinate. Do.not.do.it. The assignment can be very time consuming even if they don’t seem it at first. Try to get your work done as soon as possible and then not worry about it later. My final piece of advice is as soon as you know about the portfolio, start putting your completed assignments on their. Don’t wait because there is so little time at the end of the semester and it can be very hard to get done. Aside those tips, just make sure you can be in class as often as you can because when you miss class it can be very overwhelming trying to play catch up. I hope that your class experience can be better than mine but that is up for you to decide what you make of it and nobody else.

Thank you for listening and good luck,

Michelle Smith

This is my comic about my favorite Technology Tool I created using Pixton.

This is my comic I made about Technology in the Classroom using Pixton.

Since I was a child, I have had an intense love for cats. I have always been drawn to them from there cute little noses to their furry little toe beans. From cute viral videos to Sunday morning snuggles there is nothing more stress reliving that cats. Last winter, I lost my kitty that I had since 2003. My Spitfire (aka Spitty) was one of my best friends and always was able to sense my mood and accommodate hers to that. She was the first cat I have memories of and that is what makes her so special. In 2010 we added another cat to our family. Her name is Gem. Spitting was a bit taken aback by this display, but as you can see below, she got over it.

(Left to right: Spitfire, Gem)

After Spitty died,it felt like there was a hole in our family. We decided to get a kitten, not to replace Spitty (not possible anyway she was a very special kitty) but to help us heal. It took a few weeks to find the one we felt right about but I’m so glad we waited. Soon we had our new little fuzzy ball of affection and cuteness. It took us about a week to name her but when my grandfather said Sweetie Pie, it really just made sense because that’s what and who she is. About a week later my grandfather passed away and that only made our love for the newest little fluff grow, because naming her was one of the last things he did. In conclusion, I really love cats and now you know some reasons why.

(Sweetie Pie)

This Current Event is one that is very important to educators. This article talk about the Trump Administration and their plan to strengthen America’s STEM education programs. They are trying to join previous areas that were not involved with STEM like certain apprenticeships, internships, or work-based learning programs.

The National Science Foundation has commuted $10 million in funds to help support the legislation. Director of that organization, France Córdova believes that Americans will be stronger as a nation after we are provided access to these skills. If interested in the article I have attached a link for that as well as the Report by the Committee On STEM Education of the National Science & Technology Council.

This is important for educators to know because these changes can also impact the classroom and the curriculum that the students could be taught. If successful, this could lead to a heavier science and math based curriculum as well as more programs involving STEM in schools.

*No Specific Order*

• Nike

• Adidas

• Under Armour

• Champion 

• Puma

• Gymshark

• New Balance

• Reebok

• Gap

• Asics 

For my whole life I’ve struggled with eczema and randomly breaking out in hives. I have very sensitive skin and have to be very careful with the products I use. I went through prescription after prescription of eczema creams. I even tried lotions like Cetaphil and Gold Bond. None of them worked. That was when my aunt recommended I tried this lotion Hydrolatum. I was skeptical at first but when I got it, it instantly soothed without hurting my sensitive skin because it is hypoallergenic, alcohol free, fragrance free, gluten free, steroid free, and peanut free. Getting started is really easy. You can find 16oz’s for only $22.99 (plus shipping) here. I bought my 16 oz two years ago now and I still have over half a jar. Relief is found with just a little bit of this product for anyone with eczema or other dry skin issues.

http://www.learningismessy.com

This blog focus on at risk students and shows off the creator, Brian Crosby’s personal style. He focuses on the fact that education can be a messy process at times and proves that sometimes it really is okay to be messy and there is a way to learn that way. I would recommend this blog because I feel like some educators can be afraid of straying from the oath and letting things get a little messy and everyone can use a little bit of a reminder from time to time. This link is one that I find particularly helpful and really stay close to the point of the blog. http://www.learningismessy.com/change/never-assume-your-students-know-how-to-work-together-on-a-project/

https://teentrials.weebly.com

The second blog I recommend actually belongs to a girl I went to high school and did cheerleading with. She started and blog a while ago and isn’t always active but I really liked her style. Her blog focuses on her and her life, and she uses it as an outlet which I think everybody needs at least one of. The blog is super organized and is very easy to read and follow. I personally enjoy reading small burst of emotion, because it remind us we are all humans and have real feelings that others can relate to. Her most recent post is my personal favorite of hers. https://teentrials.weebly.com/blogs–such.html

https://poemshape.wordpress.com

As I mentioned earlier I love burst of emotion and what better way to express that than POETRY! If you like poetry, I promise you would love this blog. He also has short stories and fables on this blog as well which I also appreciate. The blog is well put together and organized. These are longer poems, but are definitely worth the read if that’s where your interests lie. This is one of my favorite pieces from his blog.https://poemshape.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/the-seven-tales-of-the-india-traders-the-third-day/

I chose to first read the article How to Stop the Bullies. The article had three main sections. The first was about a Facebook page anonymously created by a person in Woodrow Wilson Middle School. This person created a Facebook page using a fake email so it would be very difficult to trace their steps. The page was used to bully, harass, gossip, and pin students against one another. The article discussed why this page was able to fly under facebooks radar when it came to reporting the page. The people who reviewed the reports accidentally chose the wrong option which made it so that no matter how many reports the page got it didn’t matter, but as soon as this mistake was found Facebook took down the page.

The second part of the article focused on MIT computer scientist Henry Lieberman with a background in artificial intelligence. His goal was to find a way to keep common media’s and use technologies power to give resources to those in need using a platform called Bully-Space. This app will help educate students on what is happening in this specific situation and how to get help. Lieberman was bullied as a child and felt that he should develop this tool because with the vast complexities of the internet means that the “tell and adult” approach no longer is acceptable.

The third part of the article deals with another case of students harassing each other, this time using Twitter, and how the hacker group Anonymous tried to step in and provide help for the victim. Though associated with many anarchic acts, each of the members operate on their own accord and have many different kinds of protests. Two participants of the Anonymous group, Katherine and Ash, in the wake of the Amanda Todd suicide, were able to find a cry from help from a 12 year old girl who was being harassed by three different boys in a different state. Though because of the separation the girl was in no physical danger, she was horrified at some of the things the boys were saying to her, she was so hurt and didn’t understand how someone could wish death on another person. Katherine and Ash worked together to find the true identity of the boys, and then reported them to their school. Though they could not be punished, it was obvious that they realized how much their words online could affect someone else.

The thing I found most interesting about this article was the vast different platforms that people use, just to put others down and hurt them, and that more serious legislation hasn’t been put in place to prevent these harmful events from occurring without consequence. I think this was a well informed author, who really took the time to look into different aspects and situations to give a broader overview of the issue of cyber bullying.

The second article I read was Meet Facebook’s Mr. Nice. This article talks about employee of Facebook, Arturo Bejar. His job is to teach teenagers using the website how to be respectful of one another. He believes the reason that people are able to be mean online is because we cannot see or sense how the other person is feeling using facial expressions and tone; if people could understand that they are truly being hurtful to one another much of this bullying could come to an end. Teaching others empathy is key to the success of his work. Tools like the reporting of post have been updated to be more specific and in turn, the person who made the hurtful post in the first place will often feel embarrassed and understand better why that may be hurtful to someone else.

The thing I found most interesting about this article is that even though 65 percent of people aged 18-29 in the U.S. have been harassed online. I think that the article was presented in a bit of an unprofessional manner, but the points made were valid.

The Mike Phillips video was a heart wrenching story that is a harsh reality for to many people. The biggest takeaway from the video was his perseverance to do as much as possible in his situation and he used and was thankful for all the tools that have helped him in his journey. In my personal experience, the biggest accessibility was the headphones and cassette player that read a book to the people wearing the headphones and they followed along in a paper copy of the book. I  constantly use talk to text to write my papers because it is easier to write down my thoughts flow that way. That is actually how I’m writing this post right now. It gives me the ability to not worry about losing my space when I’m writing and I can just focus on the materials that I’m trying to put into what I’m writing. For my UDL tool, I chose graphic organizers. They are great for organizing ideas and mind mapping and are a professional way to unscramble information that you have, but can organize enough on your own. The benefits are improving brain storming skills and they use a gradual release of responsibility and they can help a student have more independence, especially in the writing process. Limitations that are involved with graphic organizers is that they themselves don’t provide ideas, they just help organize them; so if a student is having trouble coming up with ideas in general, the organizers wouldn’t be of much use. I am embedding a link below to a list of a seven more UDL tools that were on the website where I found information about graphic organizers.

https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies-basics/8-examples-of-assistive-technology-and-adaptive-tools

Teaching: Five Ways to Boost Meta Cognition in the Classroom: By John Spencer. I found this podcast by searching best podcasts for teachers. I used the apple podcast app after downloading and trying to use google music app with which I had no success. I learned several new things while listening to my podcast. It talked about meta cognition and how to incorporate it in the classroom. I learned a deeper meaning to the word meta cognition itself and different strategies that will help kids learn it themselves. There were a few parts that I started to drift away on but overall it was a well spoken podcast that kept the mind engaged. The audio was crystal clear and he sounded very professional. I did not have any ads during this podcast which made it even more enjoyable. I would recommend this to any future educator or anyone who is struggling to self manage better because the strategies laid out in this podcast were fantastic.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/five-ways-to-boost-metacognition-in-the-classroom/id1141442116?i=1000418113353&mt=2

For Kids: Frog and the High Jump: A Pond Story For Kids: By Rhea Pechter. I found this podcast by searching podcast for kids; I wanted something for lower grade levels so I just looked in the description to see what fit. I again used the apple podcast app. I cleaned while I listened to this podcast but it was not distracting. I learned how important enunciation is while telling a story, because it can really make or break you being able to paint a picture in your head. This podcast kept my attention throughout. The audio was again very professional and clear, and the way she spoke made a great visualization in the mind. There were also no ads in this podcast. I would recommend these podcast for teachers to put on while students have nap or rest time in kindergarten and first grade or to parents to listen to with their kids.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/frog-and-the-high-jump-a-pond-story-for-kids/id1039511252?i=1000419411570&mt=2

Personal Interest: Un-BEE-lievable Bees! Wow In The World. I found this podcast because I love listening to npr and I love stories so found something that has both. I again used the apple podcast app. I continued to clean while I listened to this podcast and it was not distracting but it didn’t help my focus any extra. I learned quite a few new things about bees including their flying and nesting habits. It held my attention very well and I even stopped cleaning a few times to listen more intently than I already was. The audio was very clear and their was some sort of advertisement but it was after the main part of the podcast was done so it didn’t interrupt anything which was nice. I would recommend this to teachers in the classroom and parents at home to listen to with their children.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wow-in-the-world/id1233834541?mt=2&i=1000415470402