3 - Essentially me gushing over how Edmodo and other things are cool, and how I intend to use them later.

From a personal standpoint I uphold Edmodo's smooth and efficient interface, so it only feels natural that I chose to critique it. Talking about the aesthetics of the website sounds like a shallow reason to uphold the site, but I honestly believe its friendly appearance carries a level of importance. Edmodo's resemblance to the Facebook website triggers a level of familiarity among students who use it, which can eliminate the learning curve require to submit work documents on the site. It is also important to note that Edmodo is far safer alternative to most educational websites given how the site does not allow the general internet to access data within groups made in Edmodo. Additionally, personal information is not required from students, which will help secure their safety and wash away any anxieties parents may have about their child submitting work on line.

Edmodo also places a sufficient amount of control in the instructors hands. Should a student post inappropriate content, the teacher can easily delete said post. I captured a screenshot of just how simple this is

Edmodo also provides a friendly interface for students to interact with one another, remind each other of assignments, and collaborate on work. This also gives shyer students (who typically would not speak much in a classroom setting) an opportunity to participate in discussions. I have witnessed this with my younger brother, who would actively participate in group chats on Edmodo despite how he was far more quiet in person.

In regards to technology software I'd like to use with my student's, there's definitely the small group chat function on Edmodo I'd like to incorporate into their learning assignments for reasons listed above. Another factor from Edmodo that I would like to incorporate are the site's various Math and ELA based game apps that can help reinforce what they have learned in the classroom. I might consider making use of web portals such as Education World for web hunts, but due to the surplus of ads I would have to extensively preview the portals before exposing them to my students. When encouraging students to compare data, I may also make use of mashups. Upon studying information on geological phenomena, I feel that this would be unavoidable. Chapter nine provided a really good example of this when presenting the scenario of students comparing Google Earth maps to earthquake information from the U.S. Geologic Survey. As a final example of some of the things I want to incorporate into my classroom, I believe making use of podcasts and video are of high importance. Podcasts will provide a level of reinforcement for auditory-learner students who were not able to entirely absorb earlier content presented in text-form. The use of video (which I intend to present through the use of brain-pop) can provide the much-needed visual stimulation for visual learners, who cannot take in content from text-based readings or lectures. I have found that many forms of visually-stimulating reinforcement require some level of interaction from the student (i.e., the quizzes at the end of Brain pop, the manual movement of google earth, the game apps on Edmodo), which can also benefit students that are hands-on learners. Through the use of these modes of reinforcement, I would feel more comfortable knowing that I have provided some form of aid to the varying types of learners in my classroom. Given how I intend on teaching a second-grade classroom, I intend on providing my students with as much interactive material as physically possible while still staying on track with the curriculum. Therefore I foresee myself making great use of brain-pop, game applications on Edmodo, and Google Earth where applicable.

Creating the newsletter forced me (in a way that was much needed) to become more acclimated to the graphical elements that Word has to offer. For a while I was thrown off by the level of complexity that was provided by word, but the creation of the newsletter backed me into a corner where, in a sense, I had no choice but to dive in a bit and figure things out. For instance, I have become more comfortable inserting photos, using word art, creating columns, borders, and so on. What I didn't like was the frustration that came with learning how to do those things, but that was a necessary evil.