Blog Post #3

     If an image is copyrighted, that means that the author has prohibited anyone from redistributing or changing their work in order to protect their original, intellectual property. Fair use is the only situation where someone can use a copyrighted work, and they must follow specific guidelines, such as how much or how the work is used. As a teacher, you have to keep these rules in mind when developing your own instructional material or having students create their own works. You cannot break these rules in any instance. For example, you cannot give your students a free pdf of a copyrighted book without permission, because it could affect the market value of the copyrighted work. 

    One issue teachers often face when using technology in the classroom is decreased productivity. There are many ways to mitigate this problem to ensure that your classroom is efficient. For example, if students are working on school-issued laptops/chromebooks, programs like GoGuardian exist for teachers to monitor online activity. They have access to a live view of all of the students' screens, so they can make sure all of the students are on task for the online assignment. If technology is not school-issued, teachers can monitor progress by walking around the classroom and checking on students as they work. Educators should make sure that technology is only present in the classroom when being used for the class. Phones, laptops, etc. should be put away while the teacher is lecturing or doing a lesson that does not require technology. Combined, these methods ensure that classroom productivity is maintained in the presence of technology.

    I acquired many skills working on the teacher newsletter this week. I had never used MS Word before, so I learned a lot about the program, such as text organization, image insertion, and decoration. In the future, I think I could improve my newsletter by making it more visually appealing and fun to read. These skills are very useful for my future career, because I intend to be a teacher. The newsletter I made was realistic to something I could email out to parents once I begin my career as an educator. I really enjoyed this project, so I can definitely see myself trying again and making a cute letter for students or parents in the future.