Ashley Zito

Professional Portfolio

Professional Practice: Members apply professional knowledge and experience to

promote student learning. They use appropriate pedagogy, assessment and evaluation,
resources and technology in planning for and responding to the needs of individual
students and learning communities. Members refine their professional practice through
ongoing inquiry, dialogue and reflection.
Artifact Description: The artifact that I am submitting reflecting my growth on the
standard above is the website/blog that I have created for EDU 431Methods of
Teaching Mathematics and Science in the Primary/Junior Grades. The artifact
MathandScience101 blog can be accessed directly on a home computer and/or electronic
device that provide accessibility to the Internet. The MathandScience101 blog was
created to demonstrate a variety of information used to review article readings, field
placement experiences, and teaching lessons that result as an outcome of students
learning. In addition, the MathandScience101 blog offers various links that can rapidly
be accessed at the convenience of different visitors. Each link is clearly labeled with its
exact material and content. Within the multiple posts I have uploaded, you are able to see
the improvement in my writing skills, language and grammar. By having the opportunity
of blogging, as a student I am able to take ownership of my work and become a better
learner with my knowledge and background surrounding the students of our tomorrow.
Along with the visuals and interactive experience the blog offers, it is important to send a
positive message out to viewers surrounding children. The MathandScience101 blog is
an essential resource, which provides a learning atmosphere for others to be engaged and
gain new knowledge, opinions and thoughts in a non-structured environment.
Artifact Rationale: The MathandScience101 blog offers an opportunity for exploring
and discovery in a fun, engaging way for all to enjoy. Technology integration should be
not being a one-time thing in the classroom. It should be looked at as a tool, which
promotes students learning on an everyday basis. Evidently, students are drawn to
technology. Therefore, the MathandScience101 blog offers an opportunity for teachers to
move past the traditional book and handout approach, but constructively transform it to a
technological experience. A blog in general, meets the needs of diverse learners in the
classroom. As an educator, it is your job to meet the needs of those. If you are able to do
that, then you have achieved something truly great. Creating a blog can be a bridge for
students between the digital world and what is being asked of them in academic essays,
projects and other university-based assignments (Morris, 2006). Designing a blog
emphasizes students learning in the classroom and put in a more engaging element that
offers the opportunity for sustaining the same information presented verbally, but
delivered in an interactive way. Instructors who use blogs in their classrooms
communicate announcements, assignments and information in a format that student may
perceive to be more friendly (Morris, 2006). Educational blogs and websites play an
essential part in students academic lives, therefore the use of technology prepares
students for the future. Students will learn the critical thinking and workplace skills
they will need to be successful in their futures (Huneycutt, 2013). Rather than have
teaching be afraid of integrating technology in the classroom, embrace the benefits it

Ashley Zito

hasrather than focus on the negatives. The best way to guard against any negative
effects of technology and implementation is to make sure teachers and students are
trained on the proper use and etiquette of the resources (Huneycutt, 2013).
Reflection: My work on this artifact has helped me to understand the benefits websites
and blogs have on students learning. The integration of technology in the classrooms is
beginning to take over and become more prominent. The transformation of technology
has changed over the years, resulting in Google classrooms, which are being replaced,
from traditional classroom lectures. This offers a great opportunity for students to work
at their own individual pace. Students will be able to retain the information that is
needed whether it is for project-based assignments, homework and/or a group discussion.
Working on my MathandScience101 blog, it is important for teachers to be kept up to
date with the various topics of education that are becoming so mainstream in the
community. Accessing it by a blog offers teachers to share it with other colleague, which
promotes collaboration that is so essential in the teaching industry. Having a focus
strictly on math and science concepts offers insight to these curriculum areas that seen
difficult to connect with when designing lessons. Creating an educational blog begins the
journey of my future teaching career and to have my own voice be heard, loud and clear.
I have always been a very technology savvy person, how with the creation of my
education blog has reinforced the love and importance for it.
References:
Morris, G. (2006). Using blogs in the classroom. Social Education, 70(3), 130-136.
Retrieved from
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/UMICH/sweetland/Home/Instructors/Teaching%20Re
ources/UsingBlogsintheClassroom.pdf
Huneycutt, T. (2013). Technology in the classroom: The benefits of blended learning
[Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://www.nms.org/Blog/TabId/58/PostId/188/technology-in-the-classroom-the
benefits-of-b