Welcome Letter & Video Reflection

Upon starting my second assignment for this class, I have to admit I was pretty skeptical. We were assigned to complete a welcome letter for our desired grade/school to send out to students and parents. We were also required to complete this assignment with a partner and by cooperating though a ZERO face-to-face correspondence. I initially thought it would be extremely difficult to complete an entire webpage letter without even being able to speak to my partner. Luckily for me, I have come to discover a whole new approach to working as a team.
By completing this letter through Google documents, I was able to work on my portion on my own time. Sometimes when doing group assignments, it can be really difficult to find the time to meet and discuss the project. I found it so much easier to just make my own adjustments and correspond through the document itself. I can definitely see how such a process can make a teacher's life so much easier. It's obvious that maintaining a class of 20+ students can be pretty challenging and leave little time for completing other work. I love how much easier this technology will make it for me to work with supporting teaching staff in the future.
I personally loved how nearly identical the setup of Google documents was to Microsoft Word. As a college student, I use Microsoft programs almost every day and the fact that it was so similar made it easy to navigate and use. I do wish there was a way to incorporate new fonts seeing has how there isn't a huge selection of them available. It would be really interesting to provide a Google documents session for older elementary students (perhaps 4th or 5th graders) and see the ways they are able to utilize the program.
I was completely unaware that a program that basically combines Microsoft Word and email existed until working on this project. It's great to be able to use this now and realize how much easier it is going to make it for me to communicate with other teachers and work on projects through Google documents rather than having to always find time to set up a meeting. I love the way Google is making it so much easier to be efficient through technology, especially in the classroom. All of the tools we have used so far are going to be great for me as an educator and also for my students.

Video Reflection #2-
This video speaks for so many people in the United States. It is always important to remember that we as citizens of America are presented with many opportunities that others are not. It is so great to see young people like Rene who realize that it is up to them to make the best out of a hard situation. Passion is what drives us as individuals, friends, family members, and as teachers. By pursuing our own passions, it is clear that we can easily set an example for others and invite them to have a dream.