Sofia Genta

 I actually have not used Twitter before taking this course. I never needed to use it for anything in my past, and I found it a little difficult to navigate. After using it for this class, I actually really enjoyed being involved in a Twitter chat, which is something I did not even know existed. I loved how I was talking to people of all ages at the same time, while each of us were from different places and have had completely different experiences. I think using Twitter in a professional way can be very beneficial in my future, since it opens communication with people from all over. Twitter also has a lot of professional accounts, which I was unaware of before taking this class. I think you can really learn a lot from all of the different people on Twitter and it is a quick way to reach those people as well.  I think that the digital divide is a very prevalent issue in all schools, even though it is not discussed frequently. I think the digital divide affects students' succes...

 For the ELA technology standards, I selected the Kindergarten grade level since this is the grade I would like to teach in the future. The standard listed for this grade level states that the students should be able to use or be familiar with various technological tools with the help of adults with a focus on writing and collaboration. This standard ensures that kindergarten students will become familiar with digital tools early on and will begin their journey with using technology in an educational setting, while including the importance of collaboration with their peers. Based on my current skill set, I feel prepared to implement this standard because I have the skillset to use the tools listed in the standard, simply from using them in my educational past. I believe that I would definitely feel more comfortable implementing this standard in my classroom if I was able to review these tools before.  Using the CPALMS Educator toolkit, I was able to find an entire lesson plan ...

 I believe that copyright is something put in place so that people have protection for their own work. Copyright makes it so that people must ask to use others' work, instead of simply being able to steal it. Fair use is the right to use others' work, but only in certain instances and by using the work in a specific and fair way. It allows others to use or rework someone's work, but they must follow the rules/guidelines of fair use. However it is always a good idea to credit others' work. As a future teacher, I plan to keep these two concepts in mind frequently and be sure to credit others' work that I might be using for instructional purposes. When I am creating my own instructional materials, I will be sure to have my name mentioned on it so that others know that it is my work, and I would hope for others to ask for permission to use it. When students create their own works, I will teach them to always put their name on everything so that they can receive the cred...

 I have used Microsoft Word for most of my years in school. I remember having computer classes starting in elementary school that taught us how to use the tools in Microsoft Word as well as basic skills within the program. After that, assignments were expected to be completed by using Microsoft Word, so I had frequent practice with it. Since beginning college, I have used Google Docs because of how easy it is to edit, access, and share. I prefer Google Docs now because the program is more useful to me at this stage of my education due to its layout and accessibility.  Out of all of the ISTE Standards for Educators, I think that the Collaborator standard stood out the most to me. This standard ensures that teachers are using collaboration with not only with other adults, but with the students as well. I think that sharing ideas and reflecting is a critical part of being a teacher and being able to do that with the students and other adults provides means for a very meaningful c...

 Hello everyone! My name is Sofia Genta and I am a student at Florida State University. I am a sophomore majoring in Criminology with a minor in Education. Last year, I rescued a dog from the local shelter who now lives with me off campus and his name is Nalu. I like to do lot of activities with my dog and my roommates, whether it is indoor or outdoor.  I have had some experience with technology in an educational setting when I was in high school. I took a video production class for four years at my high school where I learned to use programs like Premier Pro and Photoshop. I know how to use Microsoft applications to an extent, but was never taught how to use them in an educational setting. I used programs everyday in my past education, but I only knew how to use them for basic tasks such as essays and homework.  Some personal learning networks I use to support my learning needs and goals include my family, my planner, my room, my phone and my laptop.  Each of these ...