Summary of attendance

This session was over the new iOS operating system on the iPad; we learned about the new features that have come with the update. The Apple Rep went over a lot of the new features and allowed time fore questions to be ask.

I will use these new features as a student since I utilize my iPad a lot for school work. 

We went over the new iPad OS 13 update. I really think I will enjoy this update because I feel like it will make research and assignments easier to do without clutter filling up our space. It also makes it more accessible by adding the connection to a Bluetooth mouse, and the ability to keep multiple apps open on split screen and even keep multiples of the same app open. As a student I will be able to be more organized by creating to do lists and being able to keep them on the screen even if I close the app and keep multiple apps open at the same time during research papers so I don’t have to switch tabs constantly to look at the research and type the paper. As a teacher I can use this to give my students better accessibility. The function where Siri can read text to you will give better accessibility to struggling readers and even blind students if I have any. I can also use it for any deaf or hard of hearing students where I can get air pods for them and they can be used as hearing aids. The new update added and modified functions for accessbility that I can use in my future special education classroom. 

This webinar touched on many things that I have discussed in my classes this semester. It focuses on how teachers need to decentralize their perspectives as well as acknowledge their own privilege and biases. It touches on 3 different motivations allies have: self-interest, altruism, and social justice. These motivations have not been discussed in my classes, but they are important for educators to be aware of and to self-reflect on what their current motivation is as well as where they want to be. It seems like many teachers have well-intentions for their students, but many like to celebrate working with students different from them and don’t self-reflect on their practices. As a future educator, my hope is to be an ally for social justice and I know that all the discussions I have had in my classes will help me towards this. The webinar did give strategies in order to be an ally for social justice. What stood out to me was the building relationships and examining your role (as a teacher) as a gatekeeper. Many teachers see themself as the one who holds all knowledge and the students have to learn from them. However, by building relationships with the students, educators can create a classroom environment in which their is a distributive power or a collaborative environment. The teacher knows their students and when to allow the students to have the power in the classroom. This creates an environment where all students feel comfortable and feel like their perspectives should be involved in the conversation. 

Overall, this webinar discussed ways that teachers can decentralize themselves in terms of their own identities and privileges in order for them to be effective allies for social justice in education systems. The breakdown of three different types of allyship: self-interest, altruism, and social justice was probably the most salient part for me. This is especially true as Jarah discussed the distinction between being an ally for altruism’s sake and being an ally for social justice’s sake. I had thought I was closer to being an ally for social justice’s sake, however, I realized that I tend for focus on helping the immediate group of students in front of me (thinking of my recent urban observation experiences here), than on broader systems of inequity. This has prompted me to undertake more self-reflection on how I can reorient myself to target systems of systemic oppression as teacher. This includes taking a look at my own privileges and how this may color my future classroom/teaching style. This webinar also stressed that teachers need to acknowledge and allow space for the intersectionalities of individual identities. This was a powerful reminder that students’ identities are not one-dimensional, but are complexly multifaceted. I think this reminder encourages me to really focus on my listening skills with my students to try to unpack as much of these nuances as possible so that I can allow appropriate space for them in my future classroom.

The webinar was an introduction to Google Forms and how we can use this resource to create quizzes for our students. It is simple way to get feedback from your students' knowledge over a topic or can even work as an icebreaker to get to know your students. It was simple enough to work which makes it easy for teachers to maneuver and it receives constant updates that allow teachers to manipulate it more and more. 

I learned how to create a google form like a test or just some questions to ask students which can be use in my future classroom. I also learned how to connect the Google form to the Google classroom and send assignments there or show students assignments. We learn how to use the data from Google forms to create a spreadsheet that is accessible and easy to read. 

We learned about google forms. I think this is a really useful tool. It can be used in many different ways that would be effective as a teacher. You can create a quiz that would inform the teacher on what information they know. Or just as a tool to check in with students. Also you can use this for professional development too to check in after. 

We learned about the basics of using forms as a test in the classroom. We started with color schemes, font, and adding pictures. We also learned how to add point scales, feedback options, and ways to grade the responses. I have actually used it before in high school as a way to survey students in my JROTC program for certain events, etc. I liked learning about the chromebook lock function, since this can be used as an in-class test format. I also now know how to add this form to a google classroom. I plan on definitely using it to survey at-home situations with wifi, computer access, etc. 

We learned how to create a google form. This is a great resource for classrooms because students can take tests or quizzes. This can also be used to collect surveys from students or parents.

We watched videos from training.smarttech.com about how to use a smartboard. This is useful because we will likely encounter these in our classrooms.

I attended the OSTA ScienceEdCamp that was held in Bethany. There were three different time sessions held for workshops that we were permitted to bounce between. I chose to attend the incorporating literacy into science, flipped classrooms, and flexible seating. I was hoping that there would be SpEd teachers in attendance, but there weren’t any. I was appreciative that there was a small group of elementary education teachers from Duncan that I was able to glean some information from. I mainly just got to hear/see what real life teachers are doing in their classrooms; from there, I was able to take what they were saying and come up with ideas on how I could accommodate all learners. Honestly, we discussed similar topics to what I’m studying here at OU, which tend to be a bit repetitive. I know we mentioned pillars a lot...especiallly in the nature of science and for flipped classrooms, so I want to do a bit more research on those. Unfortunately, we didn’t go much into detail on most topics; however, I was able to become aware of some critical issues that elementary educators are facing. They were able to provide me with some enlightening advice.

We covered a number of features and extensions for google slides. These included features for translation, accessibility, and aesthetics. We also talked about the ease of access, use, and collaboration in google slides.