Taylor's Blog

  YouTube Intro: YouTube is a video platform filled with educational content like read-alouds, science demos, music, and virtual field trips. It helps bring lessons to life with visuals and sound. Ease of Use: Students just watch the video, and teachers can easily search, save playlists, and choose age-appropriate clips. Captions and playback controls make it even more accessible. Versatility: YouTube can introduce new concepts, build background knowledge, reteach skills, support multilingual learners, or provide brain breaks. It works for any subject and any grade. Likelihood of Usage: I will regularly use YouTube because students stay engaged and learn better when they can see examples instead of only hearing explanations. Connection to the Seven-Framework Teaching Strategies: YouTube aligns with #1: Gaining Attention because videos capture interest instantly. It also supports #3: Stimulating Recall by reviewing prior knowledge, and #4: Presenting the Content since vid...

  Excel Intro: Excel is a spreadsheet tool that helps organize information, create charts, and analyze data. It turns numbers into visuals, which helps students understand patterns and results clearly. Ease of Use: Students can easily type into cells, sort information, and make simple charts. Teachers can use templates or build quick tables without needing advanced formulas. Versatility: Excel works for math, science data charts, classroom behavior tracking, reading logs, surveys, and more. It supports both teacher planning and hands-on student activities. Likelihood of Usage: I will definitely use Excel because it helps students visualize information in ways that make learning clearer and more engaging. Connection to the Seven-Framework Teaching Strategies: Excel supports #1: Gaining Attention through colorful charts that immediately draw interest. It also connects strongly to #4: Presenting the Content because teachers can model data entry and graphing step-by-step. Fi...

  Google Classroom Intro: Google Classroom is like a digital classroom hub. Teachers can post assignments, share materials, collect work, and send announcements all in one place. Students can complete and submit work digitally with one click. Ease of Use: The layout is simple, predictable, and very organized. Assignments save automatically in Drive, and students can easily find what they need in the Classwork tab. Versatility: Teachers can post videos, links, assignments, and quizzes. Students can collaborate on Docs or Slides, submit pictures, or respond to questions. It works for almost any subject and grade level. Likelihood of Usage: I expect to use Google Classroom no matter where I teach. It keeps everything structured and makes communication with students and families much easier. Connection to the Seven-Framework Teaching Strategies: Google Classroom aligns with #2: Informing Learners of the Objective because teachers can clearly state the purpose, directions, an...

  Canva Intro: Think of Canva as your all-in-one digital design studio. It lets you create posters, worksheets, presentations, and newsletters with simple drag-and-drop tools. Everything looks professional without needing any design experience. Ease of Use: Canva’s templates make it extremely easy to use. You can choose from posters, slides, worksheets, labels, planners, anything, and customize it in seconds. It also auto-saves and works across devices. Versatility: Teachers can create anchor charts, newsletters, and visual supports. Students can design posters, project covers, storyboards, or presentations. Canva offers endless possibilities for creativity. Likelihood of Usage: I will absolutely use Canva in my classroom. It’s perfect for creating visuals that help students follow along and stay engaged. Students also love how creative they can be with it. Connection to the Seven-Framework Teaching Strategies: Canva connects strongly to #1: Gaining Attention because bri...