Blog post 2

-Since I can remember using computers in a school setting I’ve had the advantage of Microsoft Office, more specifically Microsoft Word, to aid me as a student. Microsoft Word empowers education by serving as a way for students to express themselves creatively, in an organized fashion, anytime, anywhere and it allows students to save their work, thoughts, and ideas in a safe place where it will not be deleted. I cannot imagine my schooling experience without the use and help of Microsoft word to complete assignments both in and out of the classroom. The tools offered through this application are advanced, yet easy to maneuver, which is why it is so popular both in and out of classrooms. Through the years I’ve witnessed my teachers use Microsoft word as a means to better communicate, collaborate ideas and achieve more within the classroom. Word tools enhance documents appearances, which make them look more polished and professional compared to hand written materials. Word also makes the sharing of documents extremely easy which is great for educators because they can exchange lesson plans, worksheets, and much more. Another way Word is effective for teachers is that it saves them ample time that they can actually spend educating their students, rather then constantly creating new material to share with their class. Word allows them to quickly modify documents to their liking so that they are able to focus more on the classroom and teaching.

-Throughout my schooling experience copyrighted materials such as songs, videos, books and much more were used without permission as fair use because they served a bigger purpose for learning. Many of my teachers used fair use within our classrooms in order to more clearly demonstrate a specific topic. I specifically remember certain teachers not being able to show certain videos that would aid our learning due to copyright infringements. These infringements affect the creative choices both teachers and the media can make. As an educator, I would use fair use to my advantage by collaborating with the Center for Media and Social Impact (CSMI) to clarify what content is considered usable and non-usable within the classroom to avoid any problems that could arise by using a copyrighted item. I would inform my students on the repercussions of copyright infringement and advise them to avoid this at all costs. I would also educate my students on how to use materials without violating copyright for educational purposes.

-Since learning about and becoming a more avid user of twitter and personal learning networks alike, I’ve become a more tech savvy student. Not only have I developed a deeper understanding on how to network and manage my personal accounts, I’ve also been able to interact with other more efficiently. Personal learning networks could help me to be a more connected educator and learner by collaborating online and using a range of social media tools in order to build my own network.