Lauren Taylor's Portfolio

I wonder if I put a few words here?

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Set Up of Website

Creating this website was not a smooth process for me. I often struggle with technology when I am unfamiliar with the software. I did not make this process any easier as I stopped a couple of times throughout the creating process, which then led to confusion because I forgot where I stopped last. I could have made this task less stressful by completing it all in one sitting. During activities such as creating a website, I frequently feel like I am not doing it correctly; therefore, clarification was very helpful.

In my opinion, I could potentially use this type of software in my future classroom but I would need to become more familiar with it beforehand. I would use this software in older classrooms such as grade 6 and above.

There are many positive aspects technology brings to the classroom. Having class activities and lessons online prevent students from falling behind when they absent. This will be very helpful for me when I am absent for swim meets. Technology enhances student’s participation because they are not speaking or presenting in front of the class.  Softwares like this one will aid to get information from peers and save the information for future reference.

Although there are many pros to having technology in classrooms, it also comes with some cons. I believe the main con is the risk of plagiarism. If all students are writing on the same topic, this software would make it very easy for other students to copy and reword their peer’s work. Another con is assigning homework because not all students have access to the internet or a computer at home. The final con that I believe a teacher has to be aware of is cyber bullying which is more common in younger students.

Free Inquiry Blog #1

For the Free Inquiry project, I have decided to learn the basics of Spanish. I have chosen this topic because I enjoy traveling and I believe the more languages you know, the better. I also believe everyone should attempt to learn the basics of a certain country’s language before traveling because it shows respect. From past experiences, locals love when I attempt to speak their language even when it is far from perfect.

I speak two languages (English and French); therefore, I believe my french will help me with Spanish since some words are similar. My past experiences in french include attending a Francophone school from kindergarten to grade 4, attending a French immersion school from grade 5 to grade 12, and participating in a three-month exchange to France in grade 12. Since I have not learned a new language in a very long time and languages are harder to learn as adults, I believe learning a new language will bring some challenges.

To reach my goals of learning the basics in Spanish for this Inquiry project I will use many tools.  I will take advantage of Youtube by watching videos on the pronunciation of words. I will download a language app on my phone to work on spelling and reading. This app will also give me the opportunity to work on this project while on the go. To quiz myself and see my progress I will do quizzes online. Finally, I will speak to my brother in Spanish as he is a student at UOttawa and is minoring in Spanish.

The basics I would like to learn are but are not limited to, introducing myself (name, hobbies, etc), asking where to find certain places, manners, and counting.

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