Blog Journal 9

 I had an okay experience with distance learning in K-12. I was able to learn but the process was definitely not free of issues. My only experience with distance learning was during the pandemic. In the beginning (end of 8th grade, spring of 2020), there was little face-to-face engagement with my teachers over video-calling applications. Instructions and materials were provided and the courses ran asynchronously. In the next year, there was more preparation. I did classes on Microsoft Teams and a program called Big Blue Button. I think Microsoft Teams worked better but the school paid for BBB and I think that program gave teachers more control over the students. Neither were perfect for teaching a class but they worked out alright. I don't know of many other applications. I know Zoom is bad because random people were able to join meetings. Canvas was used by my school and that's how materials, lessons, and assignments were distributed.

Open Educational resources are materials that are free to use and widely available. They can be used by anyone and provide further education on a variety of topics. These resources help promote global education and provide access to further education for learners who are otherwise educationally limited. The following website provides a collection of OERs on the topic of cultural heritage. It provides resources from a lot of different cultures that a free to anyone who is interested. https://www.loc.gov/collections/world-digital-library/about-this-collection/

I learned a lot of new skills while doing Assignment #4. One thing I learned was how to record my narration of the slides; I think this will definitely be useful in the future, both in college and in my career. Also, I learned how to add layouts to the Slide Master. I'm sure I'll use this skill again in the future. It'd be particularly helpful when creating posters or other graphics in PowerPoint rather than just making a slideshow. Before this assignment, I didn't realize you could edit the printed handout version of the slideshow, which could be helpful as well. I really liked this assignment because it helped me become more comfortable using PowerPoint. It took me a while to find all of the information for it but that's not a big deal. I think if I did it again I would spend as much time adding the content of the slides because my recording was much longer than necessary.