Blog Journal #3

 On student privacy when using online platforms:

    As educators, we ensure the confidentiality of our students’ information: academic performance, personal details, accommodations, etc. But, to what extent do we ensure our students’ data is being protected online? When introducing a new platform to the classroom, we must not only investigate its instructional value, but also its privacy guidelines and measures to protect our students when navigating the web. Additionally, it is imperative that both the teacher and student are aware on how to keep personal information private. A popular example is Quizlet: a study tool that allows you to create flashcard sets and publish them either privately or publicly on a profile. Many times, students use their full names as handles for these accounts, upload a profile picture, and link their profiles to their school’s page so that they can find their classmates’ flashcards sets. Although this is not available through a quick web search, anyone with a Quizlet account can find too much information about, most of the time, underage students. Therefore, teachers should ensure that students are using handles that do not include full names or using profile pictures that could identify them and encouraging them to ask their classmates for the link to the study sets instead of joining a school page for everyone to see.  

On copyright and fair use in the classroom:

    Copyright and Fair Use are not usually associated with education, yet there is an important part they play in defining the limits to which educators can protect their original work, make it profitable, or use others’ work. Before this class, I was aware materials such as textbooks, songs, or videos were copyrighted and that there were limits to which one could use and reproduce their content, but I was never taught the specific licenses and acts that formalize such matters and how to responsible use them. I would have greatly benefited from learning this earlier, so I will make sure that my future students know how to responsibly use media in their work. When it comes to developing my own teaching materials, I do not think I would publish them for others to access. When adding pictures, I will make sure that they are Public Domain so that I do not have to worry about whether they are copyrighted, and so will my students. When it is their turn to create original work, I will teach them this information beforehand because it is just as important to know in middle or high school, as it is to do so in a professional setting.  

On creating a class newsletter:

    I had never utilized so many different tools in Word before completing my Newsletter Design Assignment, but now I can confidently say I can format a document correctly and make it visually appealing! It may seem frivolous to say that this is an essential skill teachers should be proficient in, but many of the instructional materials we will create in the future will need columns, page breaks, and headers. Knowing how to use Word efficiently is essential in reducing the time spent lesson planning, creating handouts, or a class newsletter. Although I am quite pleased with mine, next time I would probably try different designs and layouts to familiarize myself more with Word and all it offers. Since my “class” is 12th grade English, I would like to tailor it to the needs of my students and add more content about college admissions such as college essay resources and workshops, SAT practice questions, and other information necessary for them to successfully apply to college. Additionally, I would add articles about recommended readings outside of the assigned ones.

Check it out down below!