Studying Tech: Bit by Bit

Have you ever wanted your images and lesson plans to look professional and fun but found that page design and images were too complicated to make on your own? Meet Canva . A simplified graphic design tool that can help you personalize images and lesson plans in your classroom. I have yet to see anyone write about this tool in depth. Vicki Davis does write that "Canva is a powerful design tool. This year, my students made infographics and blog graphics with Canva. I like its predefined sizes -- whether we're using Twitter, Facebook, or designing an ad, the templates and sizes are already set." But, this brief description does not fully express how useful this tool is. I searched the archives of the blogs I'm following. Unsatisfied with my findings, I looked to Google to supply more information. After a quick search, I found that Canva wrote about themselves and how they can be useful in the classroom. https://www.canva.com/learn/10-ways-to-take-your-less...

I remember using Quizlet and other important self-study tools in high school. The flash-cards and self-check options really enabled me to prepare myself for exams. As a future teacher, I also recognize the benefits of this self-motivating and fun study system. However, I found myself thinking about how these tools can help second language learners. The reality of virtual studying is that it often is only applicable to students with a certain level of English ability. At the very least, the students using these tools all need to know how to decode. How do we help our younger learners using technology? In my perusings of various articles discussing the integration of technology into the classroom, I came across a fascinating tool called Pear Deck. This tool can be easily incorporated into elementary school classrooms. In addition to the functions that Quizlet serves, Pear Deck allows for students to draw what they hear. This really creates an environment where the non-decoders can pa...

I have met a fair share of teachers who are extremely wary of technology. You know the type. The one who shudders at the word “powerpoint”, who thinks that QR Code sounds like the name of one of those new-age sci-fi movies, who thinks that Tik-Tok is just the sound that a clock makes. The ones who start their sentences with “Back in my day…” or “When I was younger” and will probably end with them saying something like “we had AOL chat rooms, and they were very cool. Much cooler than your chatsnaps or whatever they’re called.” For this type of teacher, the use of a marker and a whiteboard is sufficient. And it works. Because it always has. And it always will, right? ...Right? Now, this teacher can cause some serious problems in our classroom. Even if we have an entire school that values advancement and technology integration, it is entirely possible that the class won’t advance. Why? Vicky Davis broke this problem’s effect down into a series of not very mathematical equations...

The world is developing at an unprecedented rate. Technology has become one of the basic necessities in everyday life. Some even compare the lack of basic technological knowledge to being illiterate. I am taking a course this year that is extremely crucial for all teachers and mentors - to learn, to connect, to adapt to a changing world. My main apprehension about the topic of discussion is the fear that most of the topics learned in this course will not necessarily be relevant in the coming years. Facebook is already dying out in the younger generation. Most students prefer Instagram over any other form of social media. New media platforms open up on a yearly basis. People blog less and vlog more. Worldwide, students' attention spans decrease due to a large amount of stimuli coming from their technological devices. Understanding the importance of using technology in the classroom also comes with understanding its disadvantages. Many studies have shown that technology h...