The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools

The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools

The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught
in Schools. (2013, July 15). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/07/16/the-impact-of-digital-tools-on-student-writing-and-how-writing-is-taught-in-schools/?utm_expid=53098246-2.Lly4CFSVQG2lphsg-KopIg.0&utm_referrer=http://www.pewinternet.org/topics/teens-and-technology/pages%

In this article, you will find the pro's and con's of the use of technology as a writing tool in education. There are some concerns with such issues with plagiarism and fair use that would have a negative impact. Overall, teachers view the internet in a positive aspect, that gives students an audience, personal expression and more creativity. With the use of technology, students and teachers have a boarder interactive tools that enhance the ability to teaching/learning all properties of writing. Due to the various apps that require that you use your writing skills, most teens of this era will have done more writing in their lifetime than that of someone in their 40's. Teachers understand that due to these many apps there seems to be a few more various forms of writing. However, being able to collaborate works students and teachers are able to revise and improve writing assignments. Creativity also seems to have become a major factor that many teachers look for in student work. So many outlets to encourage and develop writing skills, such as blogs, comic strips, webpages.
All in all, technology is having a great impact in our academics. Technology is a fantastic tool for writing in our schools, and teacher should utilize it to its fullest capabilities.

Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015

Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015

Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015. (2015, April 8). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/?utm_expid=53098246-2.Lly4CFSVQG2lphsg-KopIg.0&utm_referrer=http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/introduction-teens-tech/

This article really breaks down the amount of time a typical teenager spends online. With the multitude of devices out there that are at arms reach for teens of today, it's no mystery why. Studies show that a large majority of teens today are able to access the internet. This study also seems to break down internet  use by gender, type of device, and even type of apps that are mostly used  by teens today. These numbers seem to amaze me. I know I probably shouldn't be surprised, however just seeing those percentages and the amount of technology that is being used by teens today is mind-boggling. With technology advancing at an extremely fast rate, I can only foresee that these numbers are only going to continue to climb the more technology evolves.   

'How do they even do that?': How Today’s Technology is Shaping Tomorrow’s Students

'How do they even do that?': How Today’s Technology is Shaping Tomorrow’s Students



I must say this article makes me wonder what life would be like for my children once they hit their college years. I have four boys right now who are 13, 12, 10, and 6 months old, and after reading the data and facts about how dramatic and quickly technology is changing shocks me. I know technology has recently gone through a sort of "growth spurt", but once you see it on paper or should I say on the screen, it will ultimately wow you.  It is crazy seeing how technology was 20 years ago. I can't imagine my life without WIFI, my laptop, and most importantly my smartphone. I began thinking about the many devices I currently have running this household. If I began to break it down, you would probably think I was a Best Buy. I am not one of those teachers that is opposed to technology in the classroom. I think it has it's place and will always need to be directed by a trained educator. It's our job to make sure that the students of the future utilize technology to it's fullest capabilities in the correct manner. I am not sure what students will be like in the future, I imagine some Back to the Future kind of stuff. What I do know is that we(educators) will always have a place here, right next to yours truly, TECHNOLOGY!

Reflections

Here is where I will be giving my final reflections on what I have learned and what I will take with me to share with other fellow educators. First, let me begin by saying that this class has got to be one of my top five classes of all my educational experiences. I don't think I have ever enjoyed creating so many things through technology. I started this class with the first assignment saying, "We have to do what?", to saying, "Oh, that was so cool!" Now, I share the link to my blog to as many teachers on my campus just so that may have an idea of the many exciting and easy to use apps and websites that technology has to offer. I am very proud of what I have created here and know that I can some how help others in a way.

Not all apps were easy and fun to work with. For instance, I was never able to explore ToonDoon.com for some reason or another. Blogs weren't all easy to work with either, such as Newsblur and Diggreader. Just wasn't feeling it for me.

None the less, there were many things that rather enjoyed of much. I loved Animoto, Screencast-o-Matic, QR codes, and Pixton.com for comics. But......I ABSOLUTELY loved Jing, Evernote, and Twitter the most for some reason. Love that with Jing it is always there to take a Screenshot. Evernote is AWESOME program that lets you edit anything! LOVE IT! Twitter just has so much to offer. Great ideas and information for all sorts of educators.

On The Corner of Instagram and Vine

So, it's come to my attention that these two apps have made some wonderful progress in the field of education. Meaning that, even though these are typically used for personal use, educators have found ways to utilize these apps to their own advantage. Gimme a minute of your time so that I may show you how. Lets start with Vine, this application lets you create a six second video that loops over and over again. How does this help an educator? Great question, you can make videos about inference, recreate scenes from books, create unit previews of upcoming class lessons, are special announcements for students and parents. For instance, I created one for my choir parents, so that they may see their child in action in a recording studio for this holiday season.







Instagram has its advantages as well. Really great way to give updates of events that we know we could share with students and parents. Instagram is how I have shared moments that no parent would want to miss! Here are some examples of how I have been able to share pictures to parents.

AGL DRUMLINE in the house @ the homecoming parade! So proud!

A photo posted by Leti Pedraza (@lrodz123) on Nov 20, 2015 at 5:40pm PST

AGL CHOIR ready to spread some Christmas spirit!

A photo posted by Leti Pedraza (@lrodz123) on Nov 20, 2015 at 5:38pm PST

Both apps are easy to use if you take the time to explore your options on how to utilize it the best of your advantage. I personally enjoy using both and will continue for as long as I can.

Screencasts

Screencasts can be a great tool for teachers, especially if you are attempting to do a flipped classroom type of instruction. Your students still get the full lesson through you. Almost feels like your standing right in front of them or at least in the same room.

So here are some great websites that can be used to help you create your own screencast videos. First, let me start with Screenr. It seemed like I was going to have fun creating my screencast with this one, however it did not seem to work since I do not have the current java application to run the program. That was fine because I was in fact able to use Screencast-O-Matic, which was super easy to use. Had no problem creating this video here for you, that shows you how to use another helpful site called Recite.com.

I found this website to be amazingly easy to use. Create a free account as soon as you can and utilize this website.

Now, I know that this blog should be about screencasts, however I am going to talk about another site that is free to use, just have to download. This site is called Jing. Jing is kinda like Evernote, but you are able to take a screenshot but that's already cropped.  After you have taken your picture you are able to edit onto it, just like Evernote. I personally like Evernote more, but that does not mean that I will not utilize this resource as well. Here is a picture I saved from Jing while I was messing around with it.

Now, if you like to do most of your technology projects off of an iPad, I got something for you there as well. Explain a Website is an awesome app that can do a screencast and with this app your able to upload directly to Evernote. With this app you are also able to record your screen and also make markings and highlights to you liking at the same time. I fell in love with just about every single one of these resourceful tools. Wish I would have had the opportunity to explore Screenr for you all and be able to give you a better critique on the site. Hopefully they fix it to where it is easier to run. I hope my opinion helps you complete whatever tech project you got going on. Have fun exploring!

Cartoons and Comics for Lessons

Well I know that being a teacher now a days is tough, with having so much of our world run through technology.
So, I say to all my fellow teachers/educators, get with the program and roll with the punches. It has become an era where grasping a young learner is a challenge in it's self. Here are some helpful websites with tips and advice on which is far better than the others.

So let's start with ToonDoon.com, checking out the website for the first time was rather exciting. I thought, this looks so cartoonish my students will love it! However, I was able to create an account but making an actual cartoon, well, let's just say I'm still waiting for my character to load.

Next, there is Makebeliefscomix.com, where you can make comics, save as a picture, and print to activity sheets. Great idea for the website, on the other hand editing was a bit frustrating with having to click back and fourth from sizing the object to moving it, or flipping it. Just to much clicking here and there. Got so tired of it and possibly irritated by it all. If you have the patients for it, it can give you a beautiful outcome. Here is mine before I gave up on it.

Lastly, is Pixton.com, which I found overall the best as far as creating comic book strips goes. I found this site so easy to use and create. It was so easy I started looking for my "Staples" button that says, "That was easy!". This site gives you the ability to change the pose of the characters however you want them. Just all and all a wonderful site, that you can also embed your comic to website or a blog, like this.