Final

As a writer, I have learned that I am not a blogger. Having set deadlines, and specific topics to write about doesn’t spark my interest to write. Granted, we were given multiple opportunities to write about anything we wanted, but still, the times that we had specific topics to discuss/ write about weren’t for me. I feel too much commitment with blogging; commitment that I don’t have the time for. Learning about digital writing was intriguing though. Having the opportunity to learn different teaching styles and platforms that my peers have used or are currently learning about is great, especially since I haven’t heard of most of the digital writing tools we discussed in the class. The biggest challenge with blogging as a class or with a class is the commitment. Every student has to be committed to participating and posting; replying is a big responsibility too, and not everyone will reply every week or provide effective feedback in their replies. Far too often in my internship I would see student replies consisting of “I like what you had to say”, which is too bland of a response to be considered an actual reply. The positives about blogging include learning new tips and features when it comes to writing, learning about yourself as a writer, and partaking in a community.

Book Reflection

I chose to read Teaching Arguments by Jennifer Fletcher. It was a difficult decision to figure out which book I would read for the class, but I chose Teaching Arguments because of the cover to be honest. I like the colors. That sounds really petty, but the text turned out to be very informative. Fletcher was really able to grab my attention with this text by providing the readers with many examples, real life situations, and activities to include in the classroom. Chapter 6 “Analyzing and Integrating Ethos, Pathos, and Logos” was my favorite chapter in the text because it closely related to what I was teaching, grading, and providing assistance for with some of my students in internship 1 on FLVS. Reading this chapter allowed me to provide my students with better examples, better assistance for them to comprehend the differences between the three.

Something Created

Hello,

For this weeks tech project I created an online Jeopardy game. The website is cool and free, or you can update for a paid Pro version. You can choose up to five categories and have up to 5 questions for each. Here is the one I created: jeopardy.rocks/techmech

Rising Star

To celebrate a friend's birthday a few of us went to Universal's City Walk to consume some adult beverages and have a good time. While there, we decided to see what Rising Star was all about. If you don't know, Rising Star is a karaoke joint that has a full band playing a slew of songs for the attendants to attempt to sing. We all thought it would be a great idea to write down the two songs we would like to sing - there was a list of 100+ songs to choose from. One of the songs we thought about choosing was by the Backstreet Boys, but only two people were allowed on stage at a time. That was a bummer. Anyways, we all wrote down the two songs we would want to sing. Luckily, my name was never drawn because I simply cannot sing well. Birthday boy's name was drawn though. He got up and sang some country song; I don't even know the name because country music just isn't my thing. It was pretty bad; at the same time it was hilarious. Needless to say, if you and some friends want to have a fun time I recommend Rising Star. It's cheap and will provide for an evening of laughter, I'm sure.

Tech Exploration

1. I consider myself a digital resident. It wasn’t until sophomore year of high school I joined a social media site, and to this day I don’t participate too much with social media. I do find myself to be well versed in the digital world because I have been literate with computers and tech since middle school. There is still so much that I can learn in terms of the digital world, which is why I don’t consider myself a native.

2. VoiceThread is a device I once used in another class. It didn’t tickle my fancy, but I do think it is a good device. Personally, I prefer other technological threads to use.

3. I have used GoodReads for a while now and I think it is great. Usually I don’t get sucked into websites like this, but GoodReads is a website that I have continued using after creating an account for it a few semesters ago in another class. Prezi is a cool presentation device. I don’t have a great deal of experience with it, as I have only used it a total of 2 or  3 times, but I have seen some outstanding Prezi creations.

4. I’m not completely surprised by the top tools for teachers, since most of what is being used in my internship includes half of the top 10. Google is fairly large at my school. Everything is done in a Google Doc or Google Slides etc.. and rather than Edmodo, which some teachers still us, most of the school uses the Google Classroom.

5. Technology is always advancing. At times, it feels like I grasp how to use one device and all-of-a-sudden there is an updated version of it, or some new device that is even better than the original. It can be difficult to keep up with as a teacher and student. The main idea to understand is if it takes me a while to understand how to use a device, it may take students even longer. This means student comprehension of how the device works is important.

6. I have used YouTube, Google Docs and Slides in my teaching so far. There are still so many devices that I can incorporate in my class and lessons that it is hard to choose just one. I like that schools are becoming digital for a few reasons, but one is, I feel, it makes life more organized and simplified. I know there are so many things that can go wrong with technology, but those negatives aside, I like it.

AP PLC

Today, I went with Mr. Kellen to the Orange County district AP Lit plc at the Orlando Science Center. This was an interesting experience as I have never been in an AP class, except for the two classes I am able to observe Mr. Kellen teach. The meeting gave me more insight into what being an AP teacher entails. The meeting lasted from 8-3, and was filled with a great deal of information to take into the classroom.
First, we - meaning they - took a look at last years AP Lit scores and their comparison to the national results. It was interesting to hear what the teachers had to say about the scores and how the scores reflect on the teacher. A major topic was the fact that there will be students, and are students as I have witnessed it during internship, that do not want to put forth any effort. The group of teachers in the meeting stated that these students usually score a 1 or a 2 on the AP exam. They can usually be spotted in the first few weeks; same with students who have the potential to score a 5 on the exam.
We then took a look at some examples of actual student essays from last years exam. As a student who has never taken an AP class, I enjoyed having the opportunity to see students' work. I was able to see a few different examples of the same essay to show the differing levels of students' ability. There was clear distinction between the essays, and I got to see why each were scored accordingly.
We finished the day looking at different ways to present AP topics to students to better prepare them for the exams. There were a number of first year or first year AP teachers in the group too, so I was able to learn from them and the struggles they have been experiencing thus far with such a class. I was able to give my two-cents also.
All in all, it was a fun and educational experience. I originally thought it was going to be a snooze fest, but it turned out to quite fun and enlightening.

Mayonnaise

I'm not quite sure what to write about, but I had Chick-Fil-A for lunch yesterday and was yet again disappointed. Why? Let me tell you...

Chick-Fil-A has the best chicken sandwich around, not to mention great fries to compliment it, but Chick-Fil-A recently made a major change - at least for me - that creates a less enjoyable experience for lunch. What is the major change? Their mayonnaise. If you recall, the mayonnaise packets Chick-Fil-A used to carry were white with a red logo. Now, the mayonnaise packets are blue and taste different; not good different. A Chick-Fil-A sandwich is best with their original mayonnaise; the only way to eat their fries is to also smother them in original Chick-Fil-A mayonnaise. 

Every time I visit I hope to see the old packs of mayo back, but I am tragically disappointed each time. However, this must only be a Central Florida deal because when I visited my fiancé the other week in Ohio, we visited a Chick-Fil-A outside of Dayton and low-and-behold they had the original mayonnaise. When I have asked local Chick-Fil-A employees about the change they all look at me as if I'm from a different planet, which is disheartening. I can't be the only one who notices this change in taste, right? I do not have an old pack to compare with the new, but I believe the change in taste has to do with the new mayo having soy bean oil as an ingredient. 

Chick-Fil-A will never be the same.

Anyway, my post was indeed about mayonnaise and my disappointment about Chick-Fil-A changing it.