Blog Post #1

As an aspiring teacher taking EME2040, I hope to learn to use technology effectively to provide high quality instruction to my future students. I have seen throughout my high school years how important technology is in education; every single day we use devices such as laptops or smartboards, and software like Microsoft or Google Classroom. Overall, it is completely integrated into the classroom, so learning how to use it effectively is essential to carry out the job well. Lastly, I would like to learn how to ensure that technology enables and aids learning, and not hinder it. It is important to keep in mind that technology can be a distraction for both students and teachers, so learning certain strategies to keep students engaged is essential.

I attended a certified "Apple School" before coming to college, so technology was omnipresent in my educational environment. All of our assignments were completed on our personal iPads, and teachers were encouraged to keep their classrooms "paperless". Alongside our personal devices, teachers had their own Apple products too: MacBooks, iPads; total access to the Google services; and other applications such as Showbie for assignment submission. In my part-time job at a tutoring center, students did all of their work on their personal iPads, and we, the instructors, used different softwares to grade their work, comment on their performance, etc.

Right now, I am most interested in the degree I am pursuing: English Education. For me, teaching is not just the career I would like to pursue, but also my biggest hobby. I spend time learning about the current landscape of education, what research is being done around the world, how to make students successful and teachers' instruction effective, and overall advocating for the importance that this profession has in society. For that, my PLN (Personal Learning Network) is composed of different online and offline spaces in which I find all of this great information. Online, I have found that "edutwitter" (now X) houses prolific educators whom I learn a lot from. Some of them study Cognitive Science and its close relationship with education, and how that research can be made accessible for teachers to later apply in their classroom and support student learning. I am not a professional yet, but I will definitely have an advantage by learning all of this at an early age, in addition to the classes I am taking in college. Offline, books are a great source of knowledge. Some of them I have discovered on X, and some others from current teachers who are a part of my PLN and serve as another source of knowledge.