AEE 526 Post 1

Currently, I am working on my Masters of Animal Science and in one of my classes, AEE 526, we were asked to take several weeks to post on our blog about how technology can be integrated into our current professional lives as well as using it to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom. Since I am not exactly a teacher, I wanted to find a good way to integrate technology we are learning about in class with my youth livestock kids. Currently, Cooperative Extension already does a lot of technology integration as far as Facebook pages, a YouTube Channel, and the NC Horse Blog. However, we can always find better and different ways to integrate technology!

One specific example that we have discussed in class is about presentations - Prezi or using a Zen-style approach. This gave me a lot of ideas pertaining to youth livestock practice (my main "teaching" time). To be more specific, Prezis are very visual - lots of colors, movement of slides, designs, themes, and are very visually appealing. This is a great way to really capture the attention of a young audience. On the flip side, a Zen-style presentation is a great way to steer your audience to actually listen to you, the speaker, and not concentrate so much on your slides with lots of bullet points. 

I am excited to begin using some of these types of technology, not only in my professional life, but also in my personal life. Many of the technologies that have been discussed, like Google Calendar, Google Forms, and better file management are all helpful ways to be more organized and be able to better connect with clients as well as students.