My Beliefs

I believe that technology is an important aspect in the classroom. Since students today are born into a technological world they seem to catch onto programs and concepts easier. So while it may seem like it is more efficient to have students complete assignments on a computer, I don't want my students to rely on this totally. People still have to know how to write legibly and only practicing with a pencil/pan can do that. I have seen many students and past peers who had bad handwriting and if they don't improve then they will have trouble in society and will completely rely on a computer. I know that I want to help my students feel like handwriting is a valuable skill to have.

While in the field I was able to see technology used in the classroom. I really liked how the teacher balanced the two. She had students write in their journals their ideas, quick writes and rough drafts of stories and/or projects. And then for their final she had them use the computer to type it up and print. I felt like that was a good approach. The other part of technology that she used was a Smart Board. She had created flip charts that would help teach a concept and allow the children to participate when she made it interactive. The Smart Board would be a nice addition to any classroom and I would love to learn how to use that program.

So I know that technology in the classroom has its positive and negative points, and I know that technological advances are happening all the time and as a teacher I can do my best to prepare and be able to show my students that while technology is important that we can't forget the other methods of learning that is important. For example, while the internet is a good place for research that books and encyclopedias are a good place to search. So it will be interesting to see what the future brings.

Lessons Learned

I found the articles very interesting to read. Like in one article it talked about how the society and the entire world is going mobile and how we can use this technology in the classroom as to help students learn and not feel like they are bored while in school.

In the study of "Teens See Disconnect" it went over the statistics of what students think about editing writing projects that they did and whether it made a difference in whether they used a computer or not. Like 73 percent said that a having electronic communications made no difference in their writing. So it seems like even though teens may have access to electronics that their writing and schoolwork doesn't change all that much.

While reading in "The New WWW" article it mentioned that, "It is important as teachers that we help students engage in learning and testing themselves against authentic challenges." Children today and to come are the upcoming generations and will make a big impact in the future. As teachers and/or as parents we can help them do their best to make a better world around us. I just hope that I can do my best now so as to help....it seems like technology is changing so fast and upgrading all around us that is impossible to keep up with everything, but I can try my best.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths -- After looking over the NETS the one strength that stood out to be was to be able to identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability. I took a class last spring semester where I was able to learn more about this skill and get lots of practice. I would feel confident in helping my students in looking up resources. In the UNI section one of my strengths was in number 11 in the Apprentice section where I know how to use email and and check it on a regular basis and organize them into folders. This is important skill to have and is pretty much required in today's working society.

Weaknesses -- As for a weakness in the NETS standards I noticed that I need to work on: using technology resources to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings to improve instructional practice and maximize student learning. In the UNI survey one of my weaknesses is number 18. I have trouble completing spreadsheets and figuring out what information goes where. I know it is important, but also seems very tedious.

Since I was unable to access the videos and podcasts online I was not able to view these. But I feel like they probably were important and I would like to go back and look over these for ideas in the future. I know that as a teacher that I need to be able to complete and show my knowledge in technology matters. It will be fun to see what the future brings.

Service Learning Project

Demographics of School - There is approximately 40 teachers and the student to teacher ratio is 14.5. The number of students enrolled is 572. The breakdown into race/ethnicity is as follows: American Indian/Alaskan = 11, Asian/Pacific Islander = 13, Black = 0, Hispanic = 208, White = 336.
Number of Students in Class - 21
Cooperating Teacher - Mrs. Tera Jeffs

• How is your relationship with your cooperating teacher? Explain. This has been a good experience for me. The teacher did express how good Morgan and I were for the students and a help to her when it came to teaching mini-lessons and helping her grade papers. She loved having us come into class and she would give us teaching tips on the methods she has found that works and some management techniques to help the students pay more attention.

• How does she feel about the technology piece we created? She really like the pictures and video clips that we had found. She felt like the music that we choose went well with the feel of our digital story. She thought it was something that the students could really get into. When we showed her our rough draft of it she gave us some tips on some kinds of music we could add since we needed another one to finish up the project. I felt this was great, because another opinion is a nice thing to have.

• How does she feel about the lesson you completed? She gave Morgan and I several tips on how to improve in management techniques, but she was really impressed in our lesson plans and thought they were well explained. She did think the class we were teaching was really talkative, but they got better as our lessons progressed and they knew more about us.

• How did the training session go? Explain. We didn't have enough time to go over everything in detail, but Morgan and I were able to answer her questions she had about it. We told her about several websites like Creative Commons and Zamzar to help her find images and sound clips to help her as resources. We were able to show here how to edit video clips and change the transition times for the pictures.

• How do you feel about this service-learning? I think it is good to be sharing our knowledge with others because teachers help each other because our goals are often the same, to help students learn. By sharing and having these resources available then as teachers we can share the info and expand knowledge.

• What did your cooperating teacher gain from this experience? I think she really enjoyed having Morgan and I participate in her class. She liked that we were willing to teach other lessons besides Social Studies and helping her out with reading groups. she said that she liked how we interacted with the students and could relate to thing they were sharing. It was also great being able to talk about our school experience and was interested in hearing what we were doing in our classes, like technology.
  

• What did I gain from the experience? This was a fun learning experience for me. I just felt like I grew more from a personal perspective as well as a professional one. Just being in the classroom for that time was an opportunity to really get to know the kids and see their personalities and how they contribute to the class. It was great being able to help a few of them one-on-one understand a topic/subject better, like math. I have also noticed a change in myself. Often times when I get too excited or nervous about things I begin to stutter or talk really fast. As the time progressed I became more aware of it and was able to pace myself more. The next step would be to work on explaining my directions/instructions more clearly. So I know for the Field Experience in the Spring some of the things I can do to improve, so by this time next year, I should be a lot better off.

• Was it worth it? Why or why not? I believe this experience was totally worth it. Technology plays a major role in schools and rely on it for many projects. It is cool to see they have computers available in the classroom for the students to use. Back when I was in Elementary School we had computer time once a week for 30-45 minutes....things have really changed in so many ways. As a new graduate of college it looks good on job applications if one was able to know computers and technology and hopefully will give them a leg up in the interview.
  

Field Experiece -- Week 3

This past week we were able to teach the students about propoganda in WWI and what it does. A lot of the kids didn't know what it was until we started telling them places today that have modern types of propoganda like magazines, newspapers, tv, billboards, internet etc. So after that we showed the students a video entitled "The Amazing Brick." The kids were laughing all the way through it. Then we were able to also show the students a slide show we created using imovie to show the students of example of WWI propoganda. After that the students were able to create their own modern version of propoganda about their favorite tv show, book, or candy bar/food. Some of them were quite creative.

We were also able to show our cooperating teacher Mrs. Jeffs how to create her own digital story, and she seemed really interested. I will have to include this interaction in more detail in my service learning paper.

I will be very sad when this semester is finished with Field Experience. I have learned so much and have become attached to the students. Doing this has definitely strenghtened my motivation to become a great Elementary Teacher.

Field Experiece -- Week 2

It would seem when there are a lot of projects going on and homework assignments due that blogs would be easier to remember but for some reason it seemed to slip my mind this time. I know this won't be terribly late, but I still feel bad I forgot. It seems like I can remember lesson plans and the kids names, but this is more difficult for some reason, hopefully next week will improve.

This past week Morgan and I taught our first lesson. It was on the 4 main causes of WWI. As a part of the introduction we were able to show the students our digital story. It turned out easier then I thought and the feedbacak we got from the teacher and the students was great. When we showed our teacher (Mrs. Jeffs) how to create her own, she seemed excited to try it out.

Also this past week while observing in the class we were able to watch the students work on writing projects and take some tests on the labtops that were in the room. This makes it easier for the teacher to grade and it makes sure it is legible. Plus in this day and age it is good to integrate it in because the stuents know how to use a computer and it is good for them to practice typing.

This whole experience has been great and I am excited to teach the rest of the lessons this week. Hopefully all goes well.

Field Experience -- Week 1

On Monday, we were just able to work on our digital stories. My partner and I made great progress and we are to the stage where we are adding final touches. I have to admit I really like how it is turning out. We were even able to show a rough copy to our cooperating teacher and she really liked what we had so far. So I'm hoping when we use it as part of our Social Studies lesson this upcoming week that all will go well.

It was pretty exciting to start field this past week. I was a bit nervous going in there, but lucky for Morgan and I there were a few kids who really warmed up to us quickly. Shortly after being in the classroom I looked to see what kind of technology they were using. They had at least 4 desktop computers many more labtops for the children to use. It was impressed that they basically had enought computers for each child. They also had a Smart Board in the classroom. I have used those before and they are really nice. The teacher used it for several of her lessons and made it interactive and the children were able too complete anything for themselves. Then the last technology piece that the class had was a microphone that hung around the teachers neck. I had seen this before, but they were all getting used to it. It was fun to watch the children's expression when they could borrow the microphone to speak.

The teacher seems to be knowledable about technology and the kids are able to use the computers quite a bit to type up some writing assignments as final drafts. I am sure in the next 2 1/2 weeks that I will see it more and get to try out some of them myself. It is a great teaching tool and keeps teaching fun and interesting.

Digital Story -- Week 3

I was glad to have this day to just work on the digital story assignment and not have to worry about getting more information to add onto it. But I felt like my partner and I made great progress finding information to use.

Both of us explored using creative commons more and used the different search engines to look for pictures and video clips for our topic of WWI. One the challnges we had was finding enough pictures, because a lot of them that popped up were for WWII, and so we had to make sure it was from the right war. We found some pretty good ones and also came up with ideas for lesson plans that we could use.

When Morgan and I talked to our teacher, she wasn't quite sure what a digital story was, so we gave her a quick background and she loved the idea of having us do one. I'm excited to finish this project and have it to use as part of one of our lessons.

Morgan and I also decided not to use Photostory becauce she thought that it would be easier to use a program on her Mac, so hopefully it does turn out to be easier. This project is a bit time consuming, but I think it will turn out good. We pretty much have all the pictures, we just need to work on adding music and words.

Digital Story -- Week 2

This week in class we continued learning about digital stories. We were able to explore a program called Creative Commons.

There is so much to learn about creative stories that I think if we did it all at once that my head may explode or I would forget something....so it is good we are doing it over several weeks so that we are able to learn. So we went over creative commons and learned how to search for pictures and the different types of copyrights that were available to us when each group finished their stories.

After talking to my cooperating story she gave my partner and I the topic of WWI....so I'm going to have to brush up on that information and do a search for the pictures in order to make it an effective teaching tool to be used for the 6th graders Morgan and I will be teaching in a couple of weeks.

I believe that this will definitely be a learning experience and will be an really useful and effective tool if I can understand and make a good video. I could add this experience to my future resume and use it in future classes for various units. This would help me be a better teacher and allow me to use technology to help my students learn, since I will be teaching in such a technology filled world.

Digital Story -- Week 1

I felt like learning about all the possibilities and ideas of what to do with a digital story made my head spin. I kept thinking, "oh that would be cool" or It would be fun to try that out". The assignment over the next few weeks is to contact our cooperating teacehr and get a topic on what the digital story should be about and then create a story board. As the weeks progress then more will be added to the story and it will begin to come together.


If I became proficient in this technology then it would be a very useful tool and could benefit not only me and my students but other teachers and children in the school. It is something that can be shared and can have a great impact. We are learning how to create these digital stories and other projects because technology is very important in schools today and the school that is hiring you expects you to know how to use technology efficiently and effectively.


To have this technology available and to create a digital story with a few words and/or focus on pictures with music, is amazing. It is true what is said about how a picture can be worth a thousand words. Just like that, it makes the possibilties endless. To be able to use a digital story as an intro to a unit or topic could be very cool. It would allow students to get a feel and use that emotion/thoughts they get from it to go through the unit. This would help me be a better teacher because this is a great teaching tool and I am hoping that by creating these that I can have the children express themselves openly about what it made them feel and hopefully that will be helpful in helping them learn.

Vidcasts

This week in class we were learning about what vidcasts are and what they are used for. This week our assignment was to gather info about the project we are creating for our digital stories. We have several tool options available for the class to use: 1-Flipcams 2-Powerpoint 3-Photostory 4-Jing.


This can be used as a teaching method that a teacher can use to introduce a certain topic, show the students how to do something, a tutorial or a public service announcement. We are doing this so we can learn about the different technology aspects that are available to make learning more fun and creative for students to learn instead of just lecturing day after day. By using vidcasts it can mean to your fellow colleagues that they can also use the same vidcasts to teach as well and share ideas instead of having each teacher make up their own each time.

Technology is a big aspect in learning today. So as teachers we need to embrace it and make it a part of the classroom because today's children grasp onto technology and relate to it better then older generations. Children can do a similar project that we are learning how to do in class and they can use it as an assessment to show what they have learned and to help other students learn. This can be a group assignment where students must collaborate and each participate equally and can teach them team work and compromising. So it can really benefit both teachers and students to become familiar with this aspect of technology because there are so many topics that can be done that you may find that your students will want to make more and more.

Podcast

This week we learned how to do a podcast. We made a script for a public service announcement and recorded it and learned how to upload it to our google site.

This is useful because it can be used for students to practice their speaking skills and learn how their voice can affect the mood. As a teacher you can have them do weekly announcements and rotate through the students so they each have the opportunity to learn. As a teacher it can be a fun way to give announcements to the students or parents. It can spice up the announcements instead of just having them typed up each week. This can be a very useful tool and can be used in a variety of ways. It would be fun to practice this feature more and learn more before I have a class or my own. Technology is becoming very important in the classroom. Children are getting more proficient in technology because they grow up around it.

Learning all this opens up many options and definitely adds to my schema. Being with my partner on Monday and making up our own commerical was really fun and it was easy to add to our websites. I hope to be able to incorporate this kind of technology in my classroom as a learning tool and show my students the many options available to them. It will be interesting to see what I learn about Vidcasts in class Monday. As being a useful tool between me and my colleagues it would be a useful tool if we as a group had an announcement and wanted to make it creative for the students. I am sure that as I continue to learn more about it more ideas about how to use it better and more effectively will come to me.

Google Technology

This week just seemed like a whirlwind of information and assignments. All the stuff that we explored, even if it was brief, seemed like very useful tools for the future classroom and they are things that when I have time I would like to go back and explore more in depth. This last class we went over different aspects of google docs and google sites and how to use them effectively.

By becoming familar with these assignments and using them we can keep parents updated more easily on the web where they can look up at their convenience instead of the teacher sending home a newletter and hoping that the child remembers to show it to their parents.

I can use the google calendar to keep me updated on the upcoming events and details about them more easily and accessible wherever there is internet access instead of carrying a planner around all day. Google docs is also a handy tool for sharing documents with others or creating a presentation and getting input on it with a lot less hassle. Technology is always growing and changing. There are new applications and websites being added everyday. It is a good resource for teachers to remain organized and staying in contact with parents and fellow colleagues.

With this new technology I can help guide students with links and resources to continue their learning outside of the classroom. The parents can look up and see the homework and check to see if their child has completed that. This has changed my schema by seeing how google docs, presentations, calendar and sites are people friendly and is a big help for teachers. I used to just think I could type something into the search engine and get a site, but with all these applications they have it opens lots of possibilities. Well with the older grades you could assign them a research project and have them do it on google docs or a survey created through google sites. This information can change a department because teachers can collaborate more easily and add their own opinions to the topic while being at home and not in the classroom after school gets out.

Educational Heroes

My Educational Heroes are a few teachers in my education that have made a difference in my life. I have let each of them know how much they taught me and how much I admire them.

Mrs. Gibson--She was my 2nd grade teacher. It was in this grade that I fell in love with the idea of teaching. I believed I got some of that from watching her. She was such an inspiration to me. I remember how enthusiastic she was about teaching and making sure we learned the curriculum.
Mr. Burge--He was my 6th grade teacher. It was his first year teaching when I had him. He used a lot of arts and songs to incorporate the material he was teaching. I still remember a lot of those lessons today and hope to use them in my future classroom.
Mrs. Peppinger--She was my Foods and Nutrition teacher in middle school. She had a lot of zest for life and teaching. She wanted to make sure her students felt like they were special and she treated us as individuals.
Mr. Crump--He was my World History and A.P. Political Science teacher in High School. He has such a unique teaching style. He has been teaching for over 30 years, and still has a lot of passion in his field. He interacts with the students and has us role play to help us learn. He made learning so much fun
Mrs. Fairbanks--Was my Child Development I, II and Child Care (Pre-school advisor). She taught me a lot about children and how they grow and learn. I was able to teach in the school pre-school and while I taught those young children, I still learned a lot from her. If I hadn't chosen to go into Elementary Education, I would want to do secondary in FACS.