Week 16: Final Reflection

Wow! We made it guys! Haha!

This class has definately pushed me to become a better student, better teacher, and more confident using technology in my everyday routine. I really liked that we had the opportunity to directly apply all that we learned within a classroom and using lessons and activities that we had made ourselves. I learned so much information and gained numerous skills in the field of educational technology.

I think that having our "blog buddies" along the way was useful. At first I didn't see the potential of the blogging each week. Once the semester was underway and the assignments were building and the pressure starting to build with all that we had to do, it was nice to vent/discuss/share/etc. with each other. Thanks for all the great ideas and words of encouragement from my group! It seemed like a long road, but we made it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday break! :)

Week 14

No blog this week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! :)

Week 13: Other Digital Citizenship Projects

The Digital Citizenship Projects from this week were wonderful! I learned a lot of new and interesting information. I'll give a few examples of my favorite highlights. Lance & Sarah's presentation about netiquette was something I feel so strongly about. I think that everyone, especially people who take online classes, should have to watch a presentation like the one you gave about netiquette. It blows my mind how inappropriate some adults can be when using the internet in any way, shape, or form. It's almost as if they just lose their minds! TYPING IN ALL CAPS, or using unprofessional fonts/language/etc, or friending their coworkers/students/bosses/etc. are all examples of how seldom people actually stop and think about what they are doing. (I'm on my soapbox now, I think!) You two did a great job presenting such valuable information in an entertaining way. Way to go!

Also, Richard and Clayton's presentation about social networking was something that, until very recently, has not been given enough attention in the public eye. I think that it is important to show the effects of what can happen when social networking goes too far with the wrong people. I also think that by showing how social networking can be a great professional tool when used correctly was a good point. It's just important to keep personal networking and business networking as far apart as you can, because in some cases it can cost you a friend or a job.

The other presentation about copyright information was something that I didn't realize how little I knew about. I think as teachers it easy to forget that something we pull off the web to use in class could be something that has laws protecting it. I didn't know how far back copyright laws went, how strict they had become, etc. I learned a lot from Chrissi and Marianne's presentation. Even something like sharing music with your students can involve copyright laws! Wow!

Everyone did such a great job!

Week 12: Progress

My progress is about to be underway. I have arranged for the activity with the PowerPoint and the videos to take place at the end of this week. The day that the students are going to be presenting their videos to each other will be November 16. I am pretty excited! On Tuesday of this week, I got the chance to actually sub for the class that will be carrying out this project. I was able to see how much they have learned so far and gauge whether or not this project will be difficult for them to complete. They seemed to be doing a pretty good job! I hope that this project will be something that will help them review and at the same time give them the opportunity to showcase their creative side. I'm kind of excited (and relieved) that this will be taking place soon!

Week 11

No class = no blog? :)

Week 10: Critical Thinking

I believe that critical thinking skills are very important to teach students, especially in early elementary grades. There are many skills that can be beneficial for students to begin practicing early on so that they become habitual, and therefore they have the potential to become great students. So far, I model critical thinking in the classes that I substitute for, since I don't yet have my own classroom. When there is an assignment, I often use subnotes in the teacher's textbook that allow for deeper thinking/critical thinking of a subject so that students can make connections as they learn. If students make these connections, they have a better chance of recalling the information and retaining the information later. If I did have my own class, I would need to learn the content from every angle, so that I could find teachable moments to have my students think about the content from every angle. In doing so, I believe that the students will better understand what they are learning. For the time being, as a substitute, finding teachable moments and/or incorporating critical thinkg involving the learning is more stimulating for me as well, since the day of a sub can become monotonous quickly. :)

Week 9: Resources

I have found a lot of great resources to add to my resource collection. Some of them I plan on using very often. One of my favorites is www.teach-nology.com. I think this will be the one I most frequently use because of all of the resources found there. At this site you can find lessons and worksheets, but you can also make your own rubrics. There are a number of rubrics already made for so many different subjects. You can also use the website to create your own rubric based on the standards, objectives and expectations of your assignment/project. Since I plan on being an elementary teacher and use different types of projects in my classroom, I see myself using this link often and creating my own rubrics that meet the different needs of my students.