I teach, You teach, We learn

          A teacher's main purpose, regardless of the subject taught, is to build up the students' confidence so that they will become successful. This statement remain true when teaching programs and technology. Brookhouser (2016) expresses, "Our responsibility it to light within our students a steady flame of interest and confidence in technology and the skills it teaches. With the flame lit, we can step out of the way and let our students lead" (p.68). Technology is growing, everyday, it is vital that we equip our students with the skills needed to succeed in the new technological world.      Sparking a middle school student's interest can be a challenge. There are several reasons that can validate that statement with the most common reason being students are afraid of failing. As Brookhouser explains, "Kids find out early which subjects they're 'good at' and ' bad at' when it comes to test time" (p.62). In the past, teaching was...

Educators are responsible for meeting students where they are and guiding them through obstacles to grasp the designated yearly objectives. To best teach their students, they have to be willing to grow and add tools and new strategies to keep up with the changing world. Over the past few years technology has become a driving force within the classrooms. Social media has taken on a life of itself. Hicks (2013) explains, “Social Networks are becoming the way most people experience life online” (p.137).   Many teachers are finding themselves in a whole new world. In the beginning, some may find this new world to be challenging and uncomfortable. Giebelhausen (2015) agrees by stating, “For the current digital beginner, the world of social media may appear large and overwhelming”.   Hicks (2013) stated, ‘ While it is difficult for those of us who are still catching up with the latest social media craze to think of all the possibilities for using it in our classrooms indicates t...

      There is a lot of things that go into making video texts. Teaching students to use MAPS heuristic is a great way to guide them through the creation process. MAPS stands for  Mode, Media, Audience, Purpose, and Situation. Hicks states, "Maps helps us see the broader context of a writing assignment and also helps the writer determine when, how, and why he or she may choose to use a particular element of author's craft" ( 2013, p.21). The acronym is a great tool to help students stay focused on the task at hand.      A video presentation should hold the audience attention as well as tell a story. Hicks explains, " At least two other factors are at work: 'stickiness' (the ability of your presentation's message to make a lasting impression) and storytelling" (2013, p.62). Sometimes videos and presentation can lose their effectiveness by having a confusing storyline or including to much written text within the presentation. Hicks shared a gr...

As a English Language Arts teachers one of the yearly objectives is writing arguments. When I first started teaching the students would be taught about persuasion and validating their argument then they would write their argument on a piece of paper. Technology has slowly come into the classroom and changed teaching methods. Teachers must willing to grow and transform our teaching methods. As Turner reminds us, "In short, students don't go to the library with a stack of 3x5 cards anymore, and we need to change our teaching practices accordingly" (2018). There are several technology programs available to enhance your student's creativity as they master objectives throughout the school year. Chapter 4 of Crafting Digital Writing includes a list of different presentations available to use in the classroom. From the list, I visited the website VoiceThread . I plan on using this resource for my students to summarize, create short stories, and persuade through arguments. ...

       As technology becomes more relevant in classrooms, teachers must be able to teach objectives effectively while incorporating new technology.  Writing arguments that have validations is a skill that students tend to have some struggles. Students can write out their feelings but  some struggle with explaining the reasoning to their feelings. Hyperlinks   are a great way for students to validate their arguments. Students can write their argument then include hyperlinks that will lead the reader to more information that will support the writer's argument.      Hyperlinks can be a great tool but must be used wisely. If the link takes the reader to a site that is too broad or off topic, the reader may get distracted or lose interest all together.  So it is important  to teach students how to include hyperlinks that will keep the reader's interest and give supporting evidence for the argument.