Scenario

After completing my undergraduate degree, I believe I will be highly equipped with the knowledge and resources that would enable me to enter into a classroom prepared, but still ready to continue my education and professional development at the same time. While I know I only have a short time left in college, I am committed to being a lifelong learner and plan to seek opportunities to sharpen my own knowledge and skill set whenever possible. This is very important especially today because of the fast-paced, quickly changing society in which we live.

As a future educator, I believe I have a very strong sense of myself and my abilities making it easier for me to focus on the task at hand, which is enhancing the learning experience for all students and setting them up for success. While I am very confident in my abilities, I realize that teaching day to day is not always as easy as it might seem. With such great emphasis placed on standardized testing, mainly in reading and math, I think one of my greatest challenges will come in planning lessons which cover the core content areas while still making the lessons new, creative, and interesting for the students. In order to do so, I would be diligent in planning coherent lessons which are aligned with the standards, while focusing as much as possible on integrating technology into the daily curriculum.

Although there was not much technology integration happening in my elementary school, there are several benefits to using technology in today's classrooms. First, technology helps to engage learners because it allows them to create and view much more interesting presentations, play fun educational games related to the curriculum, and it can help teachers alter lessons to fit students' individual interests. It can be very visually striking, which is especially beneficial to visual learners (although they are not the only students who benefit from its use). Technology is a great way to link the classroom and home, allowing parents to become more involved in their child's education and at the same time providing students with a great tool for organization for their classwork. In addition, technology is very effective approach to providing accommodations and modifications for students with special needs, as we saw earlier this semester when learning about the Universal Design for Learning. (A recent example of an accommodation is the Text to Speech tool that we used for our final reflections.) Last but not least, familiarizing students with technology in the classroom is a great way to teach about internet safety and equip them with relevant skills they will need upon entering many different career fields. 

As you can see, there are many benefits for using technology in the classroom. However, with budget cuts and decreasing finances, it is sometimes hard to convince educators to jump on board. The good news is that there are several places for educators to go where people are willing to help out with funding for technology. One of which is the Grant Wrangler that can be found on our Kan-Ed desktop.

My Wow Moment

Throughout the course of the semester, we learned about several online tools and resources which could enhance the learning experience for students and educators of all ages. We moved at a very fast pace, and each week there was a lot of work to be done in order to keep updated with the course. Therefore, I am not sure I really had one wow moment, but instead I had several wow moments. One of the biggest things I will take away from this class is the creation and building of my blog and website. I believe these will be great tools for me to have when I begin applying for jobs and establishing myself as an educator. Also, I am very excited to be familiar with the process of publishing and updating these tools because I would really like to use them to keep parents of my students informed and connected with what is going on in their child's education.

Podcast Favorites

When it came time for weekly reflections, I tried to sample a variety of different podcasts since I was just getting my feet wet and did not quite know which I preferred. After doing twelve weeks of reflections, there are a couple of podcasts from the list Cyndi gave us for which I developed a preference and found very entertaining. For example, I really liked the Tech Chick Tips. Their frequent podcast episodes are rich with resources for educators to explore which could help them incorporate technology into the classroom in various ways. What I really liked about their podcast was how they included the list of resources and the working links they discussed within each episode, making it very easy to navigate to those pages, check out the resources while they were being discussed, and then bookmark them in your delicious account if you thought it was useful. Doesn't get much easier than that. Their podcast can be found on their website, iTunes, and also through their Facebook page.

The second podcast that I really liked was Learning In Hand by Tony Vincent.  Because I have not had much experience with using iPads, iPods, and other handheld devices in the classroom, this is definitely a resource I will refer back to numerous times when I am in the classroom and need new tips for using these tools. To find out more about Tony and his quest to incorporate handhelds into classrooms, visit his website follow him on Twitter to receive frequent updates about cool new tools and resources.

Semester Favorites

During this semester, I learned how to use a great number of tools and resources which could easily be used during my future in education. However, there are a couple in particular that I really liked and found myself referring back to or using for different things time and time again. The first tool I really love is Delicious. This bookmarking tool made it so easy to save any webpages or resources I thought I might use later, and organize those bookmarks using tags, or descriptions about the specific page I was using.

After signing up at the beginning of the semester, I have already bookmarked over 150 pages on my personal Delicious site, and I'm sure this number will continue to grow throughout my educational journey.

The second website I found especially interesting was Animoto. This website allows you to upload any set of pictures you might want and create a short video slideshow of your pictures set to music. As we explored in class, this is a great way to not only get creative and organize your personal pictures, but also make creative lesson introductions which will capture your students' attention for the upcoming lesson you are going to teach. Here is an example of a video I created as an about me for DED 318 class.


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

While there are many other tools we learned about this semester, these two stood out to me the most and I really love using them inside and outside of the classroom.

Twitter Reflection

Twitter is a social networking site where individuals can sign up for free and the select individuals they would like to follow based on their personal interests. After following someone, their updates and posts will automatically pop up on your homepage, allowing you to stay updated with everything they tweet on their own twitter page. Basically, it is sort of like a website dedicated to Facebook status updates. Because you choose whose tweets you want to follow, it is a great way to find educators who post tons of great resources daily. Also, whenever you post a tweet, individuals who choose to follow you will get to view your posts on their homepage along with everyone else they follow. While I am not quite sure how Twitter could be used within the classroom itself, it is a great place to find resources and tips that you could use for your classroom as well as professional development.

Podcast Reflection #12: 0082 TCT- YouTube Plus

In the 82nd episode of Tech Chick Tips, Anna and Helen share a long list of resources that can enhance an individual's use of YouTube. The first tool they discussed was Minus, which is just a very easy way to share online by adding the shortcut to your browser toolbar. Next is EmbedPlus, a tool which allows you to take a YouTube video and edit it, add placemarkings, your own comments and information, and embed the new version of the video onto your website or wherever you want it. This allows you to modify the videos to fit your needs, as well as increase the safety of your students by embedding the video instead of having them view it directly through YouTube. Another really cool resource is Smories, which is a big collection of stories created by children and read online by the child creators themselves. These videos are accessible through iPhones and iPads, and offer a cool way for students to show off their talents and share their stories with other students. If you are interested in a few other tools to support your use of YouTube, be sure to check out this podcast.

Podcast Reflection #11: Musical Expression throughout the Curriculum

Teachers TV is a website that provides a number of videos about new ideas or events taking place in schools. On this website, I came across a series called Sharing Your Great Practice which chronicles a different school in England each week and gives you a look into exciting things that are happening at that particular school. In Musical Expression throughout the Curriculum, viewers get a look into Bayards Hill Primary School where students are getting the opportunity to receive special weekly music lessons which are linked with the curriculum students are learning in their particular classroom. Therefore, students are getting the opportunity to learn an instrument and express themselves creatively while still focusing on the core subject areas at the same time. After beginning this program, Bayards Hill has improved attendance records as well as overall student achievement, including those with special needs. This cross-curricular approach seems very beneficial because of the connection researchers have found between music and student achievement. Moreover, learning the core curriculum becomes a bit more fun and exciting for students when different methods are used for teaching the material.

Podcast Reflection #10: Large schools claim it's 'not their fault'

On this episode of Learning Matters, Amanda Thieroff explores the issue of large school underperformance. While many large schools are being closed because they are not performing high enough, the result is not always positive. As large schools are closed, smaller schools are being overcrowded because they do not have the ability to reject "over the counter" students who are coming from closed schools. Moreover, this overcrowding is leading to schools with one-third of the school population having special needs, causing great amounts of burn-out among educators and the school community. Therefore, it leads one to question if the decision to simply close large underperforming schools is the most effective option. Finally, after seeing these not so positive results,  one would think school officials would explore more options to support the large schools and help them find ways to meet the yearly expectations. Although I do not have the answer to this dilemma, I certainly look forward to seeing what happens and hope for the best.

Comics In My Classroom

When beginning to think about lesson planning, it is always stressed that unless students are engaged and attentive to the material being taught, not much will be accomplished. Therefore, comics are becoming very popular in classrooms today as they are very effective at engaging students and helping them comprehend stories. Aside from grasping student attention, comics are very effective tools for struggling readers because they are not extremely text-heavy and they have illustrations which correspond to the little text there is. Also, comics are useful in teaching retelling, which is a concept students continually struggle with especially when it comes time for assessments. Finally, comics really encourage creativity among students which sometimes gets left behind in classrooms with the heavy emphasis on assessments. As the use of comics in the classroom gains attention, more and more resources are becoming available to teach educators about the use of these texts as well as to help teachers incorporate these texts into their core curriculum. To learn more, Comics in the Classroom: 101 Tips, Tools, and Resources for Teachers would be a great place to start. Also, there is a great list of tools for creating comics on the Technology Keys Wiki.

Podcast, Website & Blog Mid-term Critiques

After completing the mid-term critiques, I am part relieved, part panicked that the semester is already half over. Even though we have only completed the first half, I have already learned a ton of cool tools and resources that I can use in my classroom. One of them which applies to the mid-term critiques is the form creator in Google Docs. I had never used this tool before, and after learning a few tricks to make the form creation easier I really found it to be a huge help in evaluating websites and blogs of my peers. I specifically liked that you could create questions in different formats, making it easier for me to organize the critique and make sure I included everything in the critique that needed to be included. The only thing I have left to figure out is how to view the submitted responses in a different format than a lengthy spreadsheet.

Podcast Reflection #9: Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education.

In this episode of TED Talks, Salman Khan discusses the creation of his educational website Khan Academy. Salman Khan began posting videos to YouTube as a way to assist his young family members grasp mathematical concepts they were learning in school. However, because he received such a great response about the videos from both his family and other people who used the videos, he began the Khan Academy. On this website, educators and learners can find thousands of videos in various subjects to learn important curricular concepts. After pondering the response he received, Mr. Khan has suggested the possibility of teachers reversing the typical instructional approach and replacing traditional lectures with these online videos. In this method, students would be assigned certain videos to view prior to the class period freeing up valuable instructional time for practice and critical thinking activities that lead to deeper understanding. As a result, the student becomes familiar with the important content before class and then has time to practice and demonstrate understanding with the teacher who can assist with any questions and provide extra instruction if needed. While I had never considered this method before, I would like to see it in practice because I believe it could be an effective way to make students more comfortable with learning, especially when it comes to more challenging material.

Podcast Reflection #8: "Learning In Hand #22: Educational Apps"

I am slowly becoming hooked to the Learning In Hand podcast, partially because I am dying to get an iPad and partially because I am trying to stay up-to-date with tools I will likely face in the classroom. In episode 22, Tony highlights specific apps he has found beneficial to education, which is very helpful considering the vast amount of apps in existence. First, IEar.org is a place where educators can find reviews for educational apps done by other educators themselves. On Recess Duty, there is a list created by a teacher of the 99 iPod touch apps this individual used in their own classroom. iDevBooks is a great place to find educational apps specifically for mathematics. Next, StoryKit is an app students can use to create their own storybooks with sound and share them with others. In science, iCell is a great app for students to get a visualization of different types of cells. In addition, Tony recommended following him on Twitter for updates on app sales, as well as Twapper Keeper which logs every #edapp tweet so educators can find even more app recommendations.

Podcast Reflection #7: "Learning In Hand #24: Project Based Learning"

The 24th episode of Tony Vincent's Learning In Hand discusses project based learning. According to Tony, project based learning focuses on driving questions, and requires students to deeply explore a topic and share their thoughts with classmates. In creating these projects, it is important to set parameters and rubrics which are created by both the students and the teacher. Tony clearly believes in the benefit of using handhelds, such as iPods and iPads, in the classroom because they are readily available to his students and they allow students to plan, research, and presentation. In the planning stage, he highlights the Popplet and Ideasketch apps. For research, Tony recommended Atomic web browser and Side by Side app. Finally, he discusses the ways these popular handhelds can be used to present projects related to the curriculum. He specifically highlights an app called SonicPics which enables students to create videos on their handhelds. In these videos, the app allows students to sync narration with any selected images and share the finished product through email and YouTube. From what I saw during the demo video Tony created, the process looked very similar to creating a video on GarageBand. While SonicPics costs money to download, there is a free alternative called Storyrobe which serves a similar purpose. To edit and modify elements in the videos, he recommends apps such as Adobe Photoshop Express, Comic Touch, Easy Chart and Quick Chart. After viewing this episode, I am very convinced that handhelds can be very helpful in fostering creativity and promoting student learning.

Classroom 2.0

Classroom 2.0 is a social networking site for teachers at all levels of experience. As such, after registering teachers gain access to their own page on the site as well as the opportunity to introduce themselves to everyone else on the site using the introductory page. In the forum, teachers can create new posts or respond to other posts made by their peers regarding different topics in education. From what I discovered, the forum is a great place to seek advice regarding lesson plans or resources as well as gain advice from people offering cool new tools they have found or may be using in their own classroom. Moreover, you can subscribe to the RSS feed of the forum and receive updates whenever members of Classroom 2.0 post to that space. Another very useful resource on Classroom 2.0 which can be found under the "Media" tab is the Classroom 2.0 LIVE podcast series. This series just happens to be on Professor Kuhn's list of best teacher podcasts. Finally, it is very easy to find what you are looking for by using the tags on the left side of the page, making Classroom 2.0 an even better resource for all educators.

EduTeacher

EduTeacher is a great website for finding hundreds of online resources for educators in a very efficient manner. On the left side of the "links" page, you can narrow your search by the subject area you are looking for, as well as professional development and teacher tools. What makes the search even more helpful is the option to narrow results by the grade levels you are interested in. In the search, all relevant resources are listed by their website title and is followed by a short description of the tool itself. The first resource I found which I could definitely use in the classroom is Book Wink. This website has been recognized by the Association of Library Service to Children, and was designed to inspire elementary school children to read. First, students can search book recommendations with a short synopsis of each according to their grade level. In addition, the website provides a new video each month about a different topic which students can find similar titles to. They also have a podcast which sends updates to subscribers about the latest book recommendations and posted videos. The next site I am really excited to use is eFieldTrips. This resource allows teachers to register their class for a virtual field trip to one of many destinations, ask questions to an expert following the virtual trip, and also participate in a live chat following their experience. Third, elgg is a website which allows teachers to create social networking sites which their students can participate in. The major benefit of this site as opposed to other options is that it is closed to uninvited users, making it a safe environment for students to network about their educational experiences. Finally, while I'm not convinced this site is all that practical for classroom use, blurb is a very cool site which allows you to upload photos or whatever you choose and create your own book.

Kan-Ed

Kan-Ed is a great place to find several tools and resources for educators in the state of Kansas.Unfortunately, there is not public access to many of the tools on the website making the subscription very valuable to us as pre-service teachers. As we all know, school funding is very limited and many times teachers have the responsibility of stocking their classroom with everything they will need to teach effective lessons. I am very excited to explore the Grant Wrangler tool on the homepage because I think this might be a great way to get extra financial assistance when setting up classrooms and providing students with great tools to assist their daily learning. Next, as we dive into the task of lesson planning, the Kansas Education Resource Center is a great place to become familiar with. The best thing about this tool is that it provides educators with lesson plans sorted by grade level which also happen to be pre-aligned with the standards for that grade level. There are also certain plans and resources which link to Thinkfinity, which was created by Verizon to provide even more resources for educators and students alike. On this website, the resources are organized with the user in mind. For instance, resources for teachers can be found under the tab "In the Classroom" or "Professional Development" depending on what you are looking for. Also, there are specific resources for students as well as parents or other family members under the tab "At Home & AfterSchool." Aside from these great examples, Kan-Ed has many other exceptional resources and tools available on its homepage which are worth exploring more.

Podcast Reflection #6 "Practice, Practice, Practice: The Value of Repeated Reading"

In this episode of Teacher Created Materials, Dr. Rasinski discusses the importance of repetition and practice in teaching students to read. According to Dr. Rasinski, there are over forty scientific studies showing a positive relationship between repeated readings and the level of comprehension and success. He points out that not only is it important for students to be reading the information silently, it is also important for students to give a voice to the material by repeating it out loud. In doing so, the student will gain a deeper understanding for both the information and the character behind the story. An example Dr. Rasinski brings to mind is Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" Speech. When students read this text once, they probably will not understand it's meaning as fully as they would if they were to recite the speech out loud and attempt to put themselves into that time and place. While the idea of "practice makes perfect" might seem rather obvious, it is important to keep in mind when planning reading lessons and teaching students in your future classroom.

Animoto In My Classroom

After registering for the free membership to Animoto and playing around with the tool, I believe it could be used as a very fun tool for students and teachers in the classroom. My first idea was that it would be a really cool way for a teacher to introduce herself/himself to the students and give them insight regarding who their teacher is as a person. This idea could be continued into the school year as part of a star student activity in which one student would be selected each week to create a video about themselves and share with their classmates. Animoto can also be linked to the curriculum in various ways. First, teachers could use the tool to create short videos which would serve as lesson introductions and capture students attention. It could also be used in digital storytelling, serve as a replacement for boring old PowerPoint presentations, and a variety of other ways. In fact, Andrew Marcinek had some very cool ideas for using Animoto in different subject areas in his post Hello Animoto in the Classroom 2.0 forum. All in all, I really love using this tool and I believe it could serve a variety of purposes in an educational setting.

Podcast Reflection #5 Lessons From Haiti--Read, Read, Read

This podcast produced by Amanda Thieroff was very eye-opening about the lack of literacy worldwide. In Haiti specifically, forty-four percent of the population is illiterate, and the problem is only bound to grow with the lack of education taking place after the earthquake. She points out that while many of us participated in story time or had adults read to us during our childhood, many children are not provided these same opportunities. Therefore, programs like Li, Li, Li, a non-profit organization which has sent volunteers out into the community to read to groups of youth, are very important. While the children might not be learning to read themselves, they are made aware of the importance of reading and have something fun to get their mind off their daily worries at the same time. To learn more about Amanda's series "Haiti Education After The Earthquake," click here.

Podcast Reflection #4 0080 TCT - Happy New Year!

Helen and Anna, The Tech Chicks, offer a variety of online resources and tools through their frequent podcast updates. In this particular recording, there were several websites I am definitely interested in exploring more.
 First, makeuseof.com-offers a long list of printable calendars in various themes and types which can be very handy for organization and planning. After our "Fun with Text" assignments last week I really enjoyed their discussion of Tagxedo, during which I learned more tips and tricks for using the site. Next, Knoword is a fun vocabulary game which would be great for students to play when they finish an assignment early and something to do until the next lesson. Finally, with such high emphasis placed on standardized tests, many educators and parents alike worry about decreased creativity in today's youth. At 11 Free Resources About Creativity, there are great ideas for fostering creativity in your students which I am excited to read more about.

0080 TCT - Happy New Year!

Fun With Text

 Wordle is a website that enables you to create free word clouds using whatever text you choose, and then customize the design to your liking. The more frequently a word appears in the text you enter, the bigger the word will appear on your cloud. In the classroom, teachers have used this tool to help their students learn spelling and vocabulary words. It could also be used in reading to help the students identify main topics or themes in stories which they are assigned. Tagxedo is a very similar website to Wordle, but after using them both I developed a preference for Tagxedo. This is because instead of simply scrambling the selected text into a cloud, Tagxedo allows you to arrange your words into one of the many shapes they have available, making the end product more interesting. Furthermore, all of the variants of the design you create are saved in a history, so you can compare each of them and select the one you like best. Finally, Tagxedo also provides a Google document on their homepage titled 101 Ways to Use Tagxedo, which includes several creative ways to use the website in education.

Podcast Reflection #3: Facebook Talk

Kevin Honeycutt has a podcast series called Driving Questions 2010 which can be found through his personal website as well iTunes. The specific podcast I chose to listen to was Facebook Talk, which I found especially interesting as the use of social media continues to rise. In this chat, Kevin and his colleagues discuss the ramifications of bullying through social media, which happens all too frequently today. In order to combat the effects of this activity, they discussed the importance for children to take the high road and form advocacy groups in order to counteract the bullying. While this is a great suggestion, it concerns me in the fact that it draws more attention to the negative behavior and can lead to further consequences socially for the child experiencing problems. After considering how often cyber-bullying occurs, Kevin and his colleagues began to consider whether it is appropriate for young children to be able to participate in social networks. While I do not know the answer to this question, I believe it is something that needs to be deeply considered as the age of children joining networks decreases. Yes, social networks are a great way for kids to connect with each other. However, at such a young age I do not believe children fully understand the ramifications of making their lives so public. Therefore, it is important students are educated about appropriate use of social media before they are given full privileges to use these tools. Also, it is equally important for responsible adults to be involved in monitoring the child's online activity every step of the way.

Reflection 2: CDK's Education Technology Place

There are many helpful links posted on CDK's Education Technology Place. This site is a quick way to gain access to different resources required for this course as well as the University itself. I also found the videos on the homepage very inspirational when thinking about my future as an educator. Moreover, it is a great source for additional blogs about integrating technology into education. The first blog among the list on the right to catch my eye was Free Technology for Teachers. In the most recent post, I learned about creating a Fake Facebook Wall which seemed a bit questionable at first. After reading further, I discovered a creative way to get students involved in learning about historical figures, characters in books they read, etc., and would love to use this idea in my future classroom. I also noticed that this blogger compiled a list of the most popular posts from the previous week, which helped me find the best posts without having to scroll through several pages of information. After discovering great ideas and information on this particular blog, I am anxious to browse the others included in the list on the right column of CDK's homepage.

Reflection 1: Technology Bits, Bytes, and Nibbles

After sitting down to peruse the blog, I quickly became overwhelmed at the wealth of information and resources available. The first post I came upon, Live, Interactive, and Free Webinars for teachers, introduced me to a learning community called "LearnCentral" where you can participate in free weekly webinars aimed specifically toward educators. The webinars come in a variety of topics related to the profession, and seem like they would be great resources for professional development. The only thing that couold make this better is if the university would approve these webinars to count toward our required professional development hours!! Next, Sites for Brain Fitness with games & Puzzles lists a few different websites for improving different brain functions. This would be a great resource for teachers to use in their own classrooms. For example, if a student were to finish their assignment early, the instructor could simply direct them to Smart-Kit to play games until the rest of the students finished up. After all, keeping students busy greatly reduces the number of classroom disturbances, creating a positive learning environment for all.