Introduction Blog Post

 My views on technology in education have changed in subtle ways working on my technology certificate at Dominican University . EDU 776 is my third course out of four thus far. Although I still feel like I need help, I am less intimidated by learning and incorporating technology in my classroom. My initial gif was my favorite fictional character, Princess Leia from  "Star Wars: A New Hope"  asking for assistance from Obi One Kenobi. Image Source Often times technology can seem like more of a burden than a blessing, but I have 'hope' that I'll be able to take what I learn in this course and directly apply it to my everyday practice. I really liked discovering Participate as a way to house resources and links that I find and that colleagues share. I have already shared the platform with my department. I'm also looking forward to sharing my professional web presence portfolio as a way to share information with parents and students.  Image Source If I had to choo...

 As a high school teacher of psychology since 2007, teen mental health has been an important topic in my course. The relationship between social media and an increase in anxiety and depression has been something I have been following in the news. The Wall Street Journal's article Facebook Knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Document Shows    does a thorough analysis of recent published documents and research from both within and outside the organization.  Some important findings include that teens spend 50% more time on Instagram compared to Facebook, but social comparison is worse on Instagram compared to other social media platforms. In a study conducted on U.S. and U.K. teens, 40% reported feeling 'unattractive' and that the feeling started while using the app, and about 25% reported feeling 'not good enough' and said that started on the app. Many reported wanting to stop using the app, but lacked the self discipline to do so. It was not just young g...

I have always agreed that the term digital tattoo was more apt of a description of the permanence of the internet compared to digital footprint . Since almost all of my students now have smart phones and are connected to social media platforms and the internet almost non stop all day, I share regularly that they need to be mindful of what they post online.   Image Source: Personal Photo from my classroom I was lucky enough to complete a digital mine on myself in the spring, so there were not that many differences between then and now. When searching for myself on Google, I got the most hits when searching for my first and last name in quotations as opposed to my username. There were 6 pages worth of information and articles. Much of the information pertained to my role as a teacher and a  Chicago Teachers Union  delegate. There were several articles about my opposition to a charter high school that was being built directly across the street from the high school that ...

Traditionally for most classroom teachers, reading Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and being aware of accommodations and modifications for students usually centered on paper or hard copy needs -- like reducing the amount of questions on a test, reducing the choices from 4 to 3 on a multiple choice test, highlighting key words, providing specific seating, or frequent check ins for students. We often forget that there are a variety of technology tools to assist students learn as well and increase accessibility in and out of the classroom.   Image Source I took some time to explore the "Ease of Access" resources on my PC and created a Screencastify video explaining some basic functions on a PC that can assist students. You can watch the presentation below and it's also linked.  I focused on four features that you or your students can manipulate on the PC to allow them to access what they see differently. It is rather easy actually to: increase the size of what's on the...

 To be honest I was looking forward to diving deeper into Twitter and learning a new way to use it to gain resources, tips, and connect with other educators. I mostly used Twitter to follow my local politicians, a few celebrities, some social justice authors, and the Chicago Teachers Union.  With the rise in popularity of TikTok and Snapchat among my students, I thought Twitter was dying out , but although the number of users has declined over time, the quantity and quality of tweets has increased.  As I was scanning the lists of available Twitter chats that I might be interested in I found a few that I planned on participating in. Unfortunately, the biweekly #psychat is no longer taking place. I was so looking forward to it, because the psychology Facebook groups I belong to are so active and helpful. I ended up participating in the #sschat which is designed for teachers in the Social Sciences. I admit that I didn't realize that ALL my responses in the #sschat would be p...