Post #5

 I learned a lot about myself and the project while doing this genius hour project. First, I learned that I hate the sound of my voice in a recording. Actually, that’s not news to me, I always feel that when I hear my own voice in a recording. In terms of technology, I learned how to embed a video and how to upload a video onto YouTube. Also, I learned how to use Blogger and now it’s a tool that I can add to my pedagogical portfolio. I learned that I still get nervous when “public speaking” but am also gradually conquering that fear.

I enjoyed finding evidence of my teaching that would be a good fit on my blog. It was handy that I already had a lot of screenshots from my lessons and also recorded classes that I could draw from. I also enjoyed trying the different themes on Blogger and deciding which one best suited my needs and preferences.

My challenges were trying to make sure I had a variety of content, from text to pictures to video, and that none of the content was repetitive. I wanted to provide background information on Zoom, but I also didn’t want to make it sound like my project was just about researching Zoom. I also worried about what content I had to site, including pictures, and I didn’t want to commit plagiarism or violate copyright. Also, initially I tried making a narrated PowerPoint for my TedTalk but it didn’t turn out well so I changed my mind to make a Zoom video instead.

I would probably change the format of some of my blogs, such as the first blog, where the pictures are different sizes and can throw off the layout of the page. I would also incorporate more evidence of my teaching, especially for English content, as I mainly had math content since I felt that showcased Zoom’s features better.

Now that I’ve done this project, I feel more confident in my blogging abilities and I might consider making an education blog to enrich my professional portfolio and leave a positive digital footprint.