Anna Rosak

    A makerspace is a dedicated area where students can use hands-on activities and tools to create something new, solve problems, and develop life-long skills (Arts Integration, 2023). It does not always have to be a physical space if there is no such space available, but can also be a mentality of setting aside time to create, explore, and learn (Anderson, 2023). While a makerspace can include STEM activities, it does not necessarily have to be STEM activities. The two go hand-in-hand, but can be kept separate from each other (Anderson, 2023). Makerspaces can include materials as simple as paper towel rolls, tissues, and tape, to as complex as 3D printers and iPads. Successful makerspaces have three elements in common. The first is that they "promote learning through play and experimentation," the second is that they are "cross-disciplinary, with elements of art, science, and craftsmanship," and the third is that they "offer tools and materials that encourage...

      Assistive technology is an important tool that enables students with disabilities to participate more fully in the education setting and increases their opportunities in learning, social interaction, and communication in the classroom (Parent Center Hub, 2022). Many of the technologies that we use in our classrooms already have accessibility features that make them assistive and beneficial for our students with disabilities. It is important that teachers learn about those accessibility features so they can implement them in their classroom when they see fit depending on their student population and what will work best for their students' disabilities.       As there can be many features and many technologies that a teacher uses, it is best to start with the technologies that a teacher already uses in their classroom and that their school provides for them, that way they are not overwhelmed with information right away. Then it is good to...

     The use of video conferencing for education was made most popular during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were shut down and the only option for teaching and learning was through the use of technology and video conferencing. Just like with all technology, there are both advantages and disadvantages to using video conferencing for education and there needs to be careful consideration when deciding whether or not to use it in your classroom or teaching.      One advantage of video conferencing is the ability to meet with people all around the world. In the music classroom you can video conference with musicians, composers, and experts from anywhere in the world to speak to your class and they can learn straight from the source. Getting people like that to come directly to your school could be almost impossible because of travel, expenses, and time, but with video conferencing it is cheap and easy to meet. This is also helpful for students to devel...

     Google Maps and Google Earth are two Google tools that are available for teachers to utilize in their classrooms and have many features that make them desirable for classroom use. Google Maps is a web service that that provides road maps and information about geographical regions and sites worldwide (Zola, 2022). The most used feature of Google Maps is for navigating and finding the shortest and most convenient routes to a desired destination (Lande, 2019). Within Google Maps you can measure distances, download offline maps, drop pins in certain locations, save locations to lists and label them, and access a timeline of all places and routes the user has been to. Google Earth is a geomapping and tagging program that creates an interactive map of the Earth (Davis, 2019). Within Google Earth you can explore any place in the world including cities and landscapes, which you can then save into categories.           Google Maps is, at first gl...