Ms. McBride Gets TECHnical

 Social Media and Teenagers Image Source: Goldentech.com Since I am middle school teacher, I chose to take a closer look at social media and how it has the grasp on our teenagers. For many of my students, their cell phone is their life. I always hear about them talking about Snapchat and Instagram. I also see them  watching YouTube on their Chromebook when they are given some free time.  It is interesting to think about how much the internet and social media has changed since I was a teenager. We didn't have all of these apps. We were just starting to get into the world of Facebook, but it wasn't available to everyone yet. For me, I am just happy that I did not have to navigate adolescence with all these social media platforms. I don't think this generation feels the same because all they have ever known is the internet and social media.  It was interesting to read the article "A Teenager's View on Social Media". So many of us has made our own opinions on w...

Looking Back, Looking Ahead Image Source: hcamag.com Before I began this class, I was very reserved with my personal technology use as an educator. In the classroom, I was open to using many pieces of technology to better support my students and to keep them engaged. I was hoping this course would provide me with additional tools to use in my classroom. This class did do that, but it also  pushed me out of my comfort zone when it came to my own technology use. I had never considered starting a blog or getting a Twitter. I didn't feel like I had important things to share with the rest of the world. From the activities in this class, I have learned that there is so much more that I can be doing with technology for my career outside of the classroom.  I am very happy that I had to get a Twitter because I am now able to engage with other educators around the world. Just scrolling my feed, I am able to find things that are relevant to my classroom and how I am feeling as a teacher....

Digital Tattoos Image Source: news.hamlethub.com I never thought of our internet presence as a tattoo, but it really is! What we do on the internet stays with us and reflects upon who we are as an individual. I have never been one to want to have a large digital footprint. This class has gotten me out of my digital comfort zone by blogging, creating a Twitter, and engaging with other educators on the internet. Before I watched this week's class videos, I was content and comfortable with the progress I have made. Now, I am overwhelmed with the amount of information you can find out about an individual. Yes, much of it is public knowledge, but it is still scary to know that people can find so much information on one individual.  Data Mining I was both eager and hesitant to complete a data mining on myself. I was not so sure what I was going to find and how far back the information would go. I chose to start with Google . There, I entered my full name without my middle initial. Right ...

Professional Learning Networks I hate to admit this but, I was hesitant at first to complete this assignment. I was nervous to have a Twitter and to create more of a digital presence for myself. However, this assignment was very beneficial! I was able to connect with educators from across the world to learn from them. Below are just some reasons why all teachers need to be apart of a Professional Learning Network. I would definitely recommend all educators check one out because they can provide some great resources.  Image Source: teacherthought.com Twitter Chat: I  was also able to engage with other educators in meaningful discussions through the use of Twitter chats. The chat that I participated in was #edchat. On the day I took part in the chat, the question focused around planning and preparation in the classroom. They wanted to hear our opinions on if we had enough time to plan for our students and how our administration supported us with plannin...

Accessibility for All As a special education teacher this is something that is important to me. Students who have disabilities should be provided with the opportunity to be just as successful as their non disabled peers. For many of these students, they benefit from, accomodations, modifications, and assistive technology to help them reach their full potential.  Going back to my college days, I took a class on assistive technology. The majority of this class focused on assistive technology that would help support students who had significant disabilities. I remember learning a lot about switches, picture communication boards, and augmented communication devices. These pieces are important for a percentage of students, but many students do not need that intensive level of assistive technology to gain accessibility to the classroom and their daily activities. Check out the image below that outlines some additional examples of assistive technology that can help improve ...

Tweens, Teens, Tech, and Mental Health As a middle school teacher, I see the wide range of emotions that many of my students go through on a daily basis. Students frequently use technology as an outlet to cope with how they are feeling. With the pandemic interfering with daily life activities, teens have resorted to using technology more often to connect with others. I took a closer look at Common Sense Media's report titled "Tweens, Teens, Tech, and Mental Health: Coming of Age in an Increasingly Digital, Uncertain, and Unequal World"  to learn more about how technology impacts our teenagers and their mental health. Key Findings The first key finding that stood out to me was that the article stated that adolescents should use the internet as a social safety net.  Image Source: Common Sense Media I was surprised by this because if not used properly, teenages can navigate themseves into unfavorable situations that can have negative impacts  o...

I hate to admit this but before doing the reading for this week, I had not heard of the term active learning. However, after taking a deeper look into it, I realized that I already do this in my classes I just don't refer to it as active learning. Image Source: Arizona State University Active learning has students engaging as participants in the learning process. They are not just sitting and listening to a teacher lecture, but they are getting involved and thinking critically about the material. In doing so, this helps to build their understanding of the topic and gets them to increase their confidence.  Cougar Code I had the opportunity to take a closer look at an elementary example of active learning. In this activity, the students from John C. Coonley school are working on visualizing what it means to be respectful, responsible, and safe in their building. After their class discussion, t he students worked in groups to create a storyboard.  At the end, students created a ...