Class Journal #3

      There are a lot of ELA standards I do not feel prepared for at all. For example, the smartboard/promethean board, which is on every grade level, is something I do not know how to use. I have never used MS paint for anything really. Those were only the standards for Kindergarten and then it only gets more complex from there. I, of course, have some experience with technology though. I can record audio with a smartphone and make excel spreadsheets, and am comfortable with online dictionaries and thesauruses, which were some of the standards for fifth grade. So, that is a good start. 
        One tool from the Toolkit that I thought was particularly interesting was the San Diego Zoo for Kids. I would love to use this in a classroom for a virtual field trip. One day when we might have had a very busy or stressful week as a class, we could take some time to look at this website where we can watch live webcams of the animal enclosures, or watch a zoo expedition, or play a game as a class. If we are working on an independent assignment and some people may be finishing up, i could put on a webcam for the people to watch if they are already done. I would only do this if I had a high school class, because younger children might be distracted by this and not be able to finish their work. My us history teacher did something similar where she would put on a webcam of her dog and it was very soothing and enjoyable.

         In my newsletter, I enjoyed making it look polished and organized. I like using different color schemes and making it work together. Black and white graphics with colors in shapes and borders look nice. Something that could be improved is that we didn't learn how to put a hyperlink in words instead of an address until after the newsletter was due, so I think that would be a good edit. Also, my borders may be a bit distracting. I learned a lot of new skills for MS word through this assignment including how to use gridlines, shapes, borders, columns, and formatting. I had never used those features previously. Also, I think that volunteering in an elementary school classroom really helped with this assignment because I already have an idea of what goes on in a real life classroom, making it easier to come up with the articles. The practice from the newsletter will definitely come in handy when I have a classroom of my own.