Ms. Raser's Blog

Social Media and Mental Health In this day and age it is nearly impossible not to have some type of social media presence. Social connections are an important part of our lives' and social media makes it easy to stay in touch when you are too busy or live far away. But how much does social media effect our mental health? This week I looked into articles about how we can prioritize our mental health when it comes to digital and social media. Image Source          Social media doesn't, by itself, make teens unhappy or anxious This  article  reflected on a study of the effect social media has on teenagers. Research has sho wn that using social media and the amount 'screen time' has a negative effect on mental health. However, a new study shows that this alone does not harm mental health. Other factors (like bullying) combined with the use of social media can cause anxiety and unhappiness. The study asked questions to students in 9th grade and then se...

 Looking Back When I think back to 8 weeks ago at the start of the class, I remember being nervous, and a bit overwhelmed, with all the new technology and tools we were going to be using. In the classroom I used technology by having students log onto their Chromebooks and use one of the many apps our school has (Lexia, IXL, Epic, etc.). Personally, I am on social media to keep in touch with friends and family through Facebook and Instagram. There are accounts that I follow to get ideas for my own classroom and projects to use with my students. However, I acted as an observer rather than a participant. Image Source   Looking Ahead These past 8 weeks I have learned about, and used, many resources that I were unfamiliar to me. I also had the opportunity to dive deeper into resources (Nearpod) and tools (accessibility features on Chromebooks) that I knew about but did not use frequently. Twitter is one form of social media that I never used in the past- I just didn't see the appea...

Digital Tattoos Image Source If you have a tattoo I am sure you have had at least one person say to you, "You know that's permanent, right?" I personally heard it from my grandma after I got my first tattoo (and each one since). Growing up during the rise of the Internet I also heard, "Whatever you put on the Internet is there forever." Like tattoos, digital tattoos, or digital footprints, hold some type of permanence. Throughout the week I did a deep dive into my own digital tattoo.  Data Mining  I began my search by going straight to Google . When I first started I used "Abby Raser" and had 5,020 results in 0.37 seconds. On the first page, eight out of nine results were actually me. The top results were my profiles at Dance Gallery Chicago (the studio I teach at), Facebook , and a Twitter account my friend made for me. Other results included my sister's wedding registry, my Pinterest account, and an announcement from my college dance company.  ...

What is a PLN? Image Source Personal Learning Networks (PLN) are online spaces where people can chat and share resources. I recently created a Twitter account ( @a_raser1 ) solely for the purpose of connecting with other educators. Over the past few weeks I have followed different educational accounts. Some of my favorites are @Teacher2Teacher , @MindShift , @edutopia , and @Impact . Since starting my professional Twitter journey I have enjoyed reading different resources to use with my students and participating in Twitter chats in order to share ideas with fellow educators and gain new insights.   Educational Chats When searching for a Twitter chat to participate in I started by looking at Education Chats . This provides a list of all educational chats by date and time. I chose to participate in the chat #nt2t (new teacher to Twitter). I chose this chat because, while I do have a personal Twitter, I am not a regular user. This chat takes place weekly on Saturday at 8 am. The topi...

What is Universal Design for Learning? Universal Design for Learning ( UDL ) is a method that is used to offer differentiation for ALL students in the classroom. No matter how students learn, it is important that everyone receives equal opportunities to learn.  When creating lessons, the UDL method has teachers focus on the Why (engagement), the What (representations), and the How (action & expression) of learning.    Image Source As a teacher of Diverse Learners (DLs) I am constantly making accommodations to meet the needs of students on my caseload. However, I notice myself using these same accommodations for all students in the classroom. While they may not have IEPs (Individualized Educational Plans), this shows it is beneficial to offer multiple ways to access the lesson.  Assistive Technology Assistive technology is one way teachers can use UDL in their own classrooms. Many of the technology devices that are used in schools include built-in accessibility fe...