Such an interesting point; this whole article seems like a reminder of why a course like the one we're taking is important...the information we're learning in class is breaking this cycle! We, as future educators, are being equipped with the knowledge needed to ask these questions, and encourage our students to ask them as well.

Again, this reminds me of current events...like banning CRT in schools while simultaneously arguing that racism isn't a problem anymore...

This is so painfully relevant right now, in so many different contexts. Lately it seems like state government has forgotten who it is meant to be protecting ...

I feel like "culturally sustaining" is so often neglected...I'm glad it is included here and that we are challenged to think about it.

such an important point to understand as an educator

SUCH an important point, and also important to remember that this is not necessarily the fault of the teacher; many classroom materials and pre-made curriculums that schools use have this "one size fits all" mentality baked right in. Therefore, teachers must give deliberate thought to how they can differentiate the materials they are provided; while this is difficult work, it is so important.

THIS! I feel like this is so often neglected / not communicated to students. It is so hard for students to stay motivated if the information they are learning feels separate from their own lives. It is the responsibility of the teacher to explain why the information is relevant and important, and to make sure lessons are as socially and culturally responsive as possible.

I think this section highlights something super important: while a behaviorism approach to teaching works in some contexts, it does not work in ALL contexts. Too often, this approach is the default, which prevents students from contributing their own ideas and interpretations out of fear of being "wrong". I'm glad that this article highlights different approaches and emphasizes that a good teacher uses a variety of approaches to fit different lessons / different needs of students.

I was curious about this...it must be difficult for states to pass legislature on privacy laws if they all have differing opinions about what information is/is not sensitive. If common website companies disagree with, for example, billing companies, how can states come to an agreement about what information will be protected? More importantly, what is done to protect people in states that do not prioritize privacy? It is wild to me that what one state declares as "private data" might still be up for grabs / unprotected in other states. What is done to close this gap, and make sure that everyone, regardless of where they live, is equally protected? is anything done at all?

So interesting to see this being mentioned...I feel like when I was in middle / high school and we started using technology, I was never taught how to protect my data, or even that there was a risk of it being compromised. I know that it was definitely a "different time" virtually, but still...imagine how many sketchy websites that probably "allowed all cookies" their way into my personal information. Young students and young children, in my opinion, are so vulnerable to the scary side of the internet. Unless we teach them how to be, they are unable to critically analyze the sites they find themselves on. It is difficult for them to see the full picture and the underlying risks of being online. It makes me so anxious when I see really young children on social media...it is just so dangerous, and sometimes, kids don't know any better! All of this is to say that I truly hope as technology continues to take center stage in society and becomes part of the lives of children from a young age, we continue to educate our students about how to protect themselves and their personal information.

I think Snapchat is a great example of an app that a lot of us use daily that collects a LOT of information. It knows where you are, who you're with, where you go to school, and who you communicate with the most. Not only that, but it stores images of you...I can't fully wrap my head around what that even means / what that would look like, or how you could really guarantee a picture you took was deleted if you wanted it to be. It's one of the reasons why my parents didn't allow me to have social media until high school, and why I really hate to see young children on social media. There just seem to be so many risks!

I explored and analyzed Wakelet for my UX report, and I never once even thought about what kind of privacy settings the tool has. For some reason, that didn't cross my mind as something related to user experience at all, but it's definitely connected. How safe are users while using the tool? How safe is their personal information? These are things I never even thought to consider, but are so important and probably should've been explored when I was initially analyzing Wakelet.

Imagine how beautiful the world of technology would be if more companies did this! Not only could accessibility concerns be addressed right away, but it would also allow users to have more of a say about the sites, tools, and apps that they frequent. I can't count how many times I've been forced to use a website for school (ex: Spire) without any say, and then just having to deal with the extremely outdated and challenging user interface. It would be so amazing if more tools, apps, and sites allowed us to provide feedback about what it's really like to use their product.

I honestly never would've thought of errors as something usability testing should cover, but it makes sense. In one of the TEDTalks we watched for class about UX testing, the speaker gave the example of accidentally transferring $1,000 into the wrong account. An error like this would obviously have huge repercussions, larger than some other mistakes that could be made by users. Something as simple as adding an "are you sure?" screen before any major moves can be made by users could drastically decrease the number of errors, and make the user experience a lot stronger.

I love that the rubric is designed to cater to teachers' needs, and that specific criteria can be excluded without rendering the entire process unusable. This makes it possible for all different teachers of different grades, disciplines, and abilities to make sure that their evaluation actually reflects the needs of their students. If the rubric could not be adjusted this way, it would honestly become meaningless, as it would not actually reflect what will work for specific students.

I love that they made a point to say this! Ultimately, a teacher will know best when it comes to what tools and apps for the classroom; nobody knows the unique needs and abilities of students as learners better than their teacher does!

It is so wild to think that we are STILL having to wait for companies to create accessible options, or even consider accessibility, when a huge percentage of the population is being continuously excluded from technology used in everyday life. Companies are so quick to brag about their new accessibility measures, but fail to realize how LONG it has taken them to get with the times. What I wonder is WHY accessibility has continuously been put on the back burner. It clearly would make technology more accessible to a huge amount of people...why do companies continue to neglect it, or fail to make it a priority? What message are those companies sending to people with disabilities? It is heartbreaking to think about.

I love the idea of incorporating student choice into differentiated curriculum. This is such an awesome way to keep students engaged in their learning; if they are able to have a say in what they do in class, of course they will be more engaged! In terms of differentiated learning in general, I love the idea of using technology to help with that. In the second grade classroom I worked in last semester, the student body had a lot of different needs. I was always wondering how the teacher managed to differentiate the curriculum for so many different needs; turns out, she used technology! Especially for subjects like math, she explained that she used a tool that would track students' progress and give them math problems that built upon what they could already do. After taking a diagnostic test at the beginning of the year, the tool would literally build a math curriculum around the student's current knowledge...how cool is that? I remember noticing that the students were all in drastically different places, but they were right where THEY needed to be. The teacher was also able to track their progress on an overarching server, which I think is super helpful. When it came time for students to be assessed, they were given an assessment that matched what they were learning as part of their individual curriculum (assessing where they are instead of where they "should be").

I feel like up until this point, I've really been focusing on how comfortable I feel using different tools / how comfortable educators feel integrating technology into their classrooms. Even for our project, we focused on helping educators feel more comfortable using EdTech tools and apps in their classroom, especially when they feel shaky using technology in general. I guess I always assume that students have more experience with technology because they are growing up with it, but of course, that doesn't mean that they will automatically know how to use everything. I think it's important that educators feel comfortable using technology first, but then you must also think about whether or not it's accessible for your students. This, of course, could mean literal accessibility (ex: can your students actually access the tool based on the devices / wifi they have at school or at home?), or more figurative accessibility (ex: will it make sense to them? is it too advanced?) These are questions I haven't even thought about, but I'm so glad that we're focusing on them now. I'm glad that there are concrete ways that we as educators can analyze EdTech tools and apps with our students in mind.

I never thought of blogging this way, but it definitely makes sense! The idea that blogging your everyday process can help you better understand your own tasks and processes is really interesting, and it's definitely something I'd be willing to try.

This is honestly so comforting. As pre-service teachers, we are always told about the diverse student body we will be confronted with, and we're told it's our job to scaffold our lessons and differentiate our curriculum to accommodate the needs of different students. This can be an extremely overwhelming thought. The idea that other teachers might be facing similar classes, and might be able to share ideas for how to differentiate the curriculum, is truly so reassuring. This, for me, is one of the biggest reasons why I really want to develop a strong PLN.

This is really cool, I've never heard of this

What an amazing resource for teachers. We're always told teaching is so collaborative, but it can be difficult to actually make those connections based on where you work. Having a virtual community to turn to would be so helpful, especially when searching for actual teacher reviews of digital tools and apps for learning.

In all the time I've been in school, I was never actually taught an effective way to search for reliable information on the internet. I cringe thinking about how many random promotional websites I probably relied on for research papers in middle school. I am glad that we know more about what to look out for on websites, and I will definitely use this method in my own practice.

This is such an important thing to consider, and it made me think of those resources that were in the news for being inherently racist or homophobic. It is so important that we learn how to properly vet PLNs before using them in a classroom setting, in order to avoid the perpetuation of societal stereotypes, biases, or prejudices. I hope to learn how to do so in this class.

This immediately makes me think of differentiated learning and accessibility; if PLNs are individualized, this means that they will actually cater to a user's unique needs. What an invaluable tool for educators who are trying to differentiate the curriculum.