Tech Course: Reflection on my blog

1. Explain project. How is this important (or not) in your professional development as an educator and as a 21st century teacher? I think if you look on my side bar of this blog you can see how and why this blog is important to me not only as an educator, a teacher, and professional, but also personally.

2. Link to any pertinent examples of what you created and/or what you used to help you in your project. You are looking at what I created! I created my blog! I organized it.. although I still have a long ways to go with this page to really make it my own. I intend to have fun with it this summer. I used a few different gadgets provided by Blogger and my own images. I also used Teresa Ilgunas webpage that provided many links to help me along the way.

3. Did your idea change from the beginning of the project to the end?
YES IT DID, most definitely. I originally thought I would do a 2nd project with my students. However, I decided I would use this opportunity to organize my life on the web :D lol.

A bittersweet moment: The end of an other school year

Closing out a school year is always bitter sweet. It is hard to believe that I have been teaching for four years now. The end of the school year means I have an other year under my belt. An other year of experience. An other year that I was able to get through full of many days of laughter, exhaustion, even some tears, new ideas, growth, but most importantly full of the growth of my wonderful students. There are no words to describe or explain what each one of my students mean to me and how important they are to me. I am very lucky to be their teacher. I am privileged to be their teacher and to help them reach the next phase/level in their lives. I thank God that I was given this amazing opportunity to teach.... and to teach not just anyone, but to teach the student's that are placed under my care in my classroom. Kudos to an other year.. and looking forward to the next one.

Moving forward. Taking the past with me as lessons. Never forgetting the experiences. Watching a couple of students who are dear to my heart move forward (YAY). About to welcome some new minds into my classroom.

But ready for a summer to rest, relax, reflect, think, sleep, dream, prepare..... and rejuvenate to do it all over again :D but always with a different twist.

Ph.D Summer Social

Event: Social event for incoming Ph.D students to meet students in other cohorts, recent graduates, and professors.

When: Yesterday :D

How did it go? Great!

It was a really positive experience for me and I was able to interact with many people. I met some of the amazing women who will endure this new experience with me. They seem really nice and I look forward to starting this new adventure with them.

The professors and professionals I will be working with are all wonderful people.

CHAPMAN is an extremely supportive and welcoming environment. I will get through the next few years not only because of my family and loved one, but also because of the caring faculty members at Chapman University that will truly help me get through this difficult task of attaining a doctorate degree.

We received many words of encouragement, advice, and warnings of things to do and not to do!

How do I feel? A mix of emotions. I can't believe this time is almost here. I can't believe I made it this far. I am at the tip of an iceberg, and I honestly do not know what happens next. I have already gone farther in my educational career than I could ever dream for myself. I'm scared. I know it is going to be difficult, but I'm ready for the challenge. Counting down until my 1st day of class, Tuesday August 31st.

Tech Ed Class Unit: TECHNOLOGY LESSON WITH MY STUDENTS

How did you have to adjust what you planned? I had originally planned on doing a quick power point presentation to the students regarding our trip to the zoo. However, with the help of our tech specialists we were able to make my lesson more interactive and use a computer program to allow the students to complete an assignment that went hand in hand with the presentation I showed them. We were able to use the computer lab so that each student was able to have their own computer. I was also able to show the students what to do in their activity step by step using a big screen. I had not planned on the lesson to be so interactive, and it was great to be able to improve upon my original ideas and get the students more involved in the lesson.

Did students meet your understanding goal? ABSOLUTELY. Students understand that we were going to go to the zoo and understood the content we covered. I truly believe our field trip was more successful due to this lesson. I have never had a more successful field trip and was pleasantly surprised when the students where motivated to interact in the lesson and participate in the activity afterward. (Students got to draw their zoo animals that they would see using Hyperstudio) None of my students had ever used this program nor really used a computer mouse to draw a picture. They learned about different formatting options when drawing and were able to draw very nice pictures of zoo animals with some adult assistance and verbal prompting. It was an absolute joy to watch the children have fun with the activity and to truly grasp the concept I was trying to convey to them.

Did the technology help students achieve this goal? Yes, I feel it was the technology that helped the students truly understand that we were going to the zoo, the rules for the zoo, and what the trip entailed. If it was not for technology I probably would have just printed out simple pictures or used a book and verbally explain our field trip. As my students are usually strongest with their visual learning skills and learn more using visuals, the technology appealed to their learning modality. They enjoyed the visuals that I presented to them and kept them engaged in the activity.

Did they use higher order skills? Absolutely! I often asked the students questions so that they can try to come up with the answers on their own. I also would ask the students to come to the screen and point out different parts of the presentation. Students were also required to use the computer in a way there were not familiar with. They had never used a computer for actual "work" and had always only used it to play their favorite games. Students had to learn that a computer has more than one function, which can be difficult for some of my students to understand.

Did their tech/skills improve? I believe so, they learned about Hyperstudio, they learned how to use a mouse to draw pictures, and since the activity I have seen them use other applications to draw some of their own pictures. One student even asked to use Hyperstudio again to create a dinosaur book. I think the activity helped them realize that a computer has a lot more functions besides to play games, and they learned about different keys and how to change colors and paintbrushes, etc.

What did you like about the project? I liked that we were able to use computer lab to do the lesson. This made the lesson sooooo much better than all of us huddling around my laptop and trying to do an activity over one computer. Each one of the students was able to complete their own activity on their own computer. I allowed them to be independent and instructed all the adults to only verbally prompt and not to take the mouse or type anything in for the students. It was important to me that each one of the students did the assignment on their own and to encourage them, and use positive verbal reinforcent to tell them how great they were doing and how great thier pictures looked.
What did your students like? My students enjoyed all of the visuals. They liked seeing all the pictures of animals. They also liked the sounds I added to the pictures and how some of the pictures moved in and out of the screen. They enjoyed drawing their own animals and getting an opportunity to use the computer themselves. They where very pleased when they saw their creations being printed on paper and were excited to take them home.

What could have gone smoother? I have to be honest, I think the entire 2 day lesson went completely as planned and turned out better than expected. I was surprised by the level of interest the students showed and how excited they were about going back to the computer lab the 2nd day. They wanted to see the presentation again and wanted to draw their animals and finish their zoo book. I don't think there is anything I could have changed to make the lesson smoother, however I think there are things I could have done to improve my powerpoint. I could have added more details to my presentation, made it even more interactive, and added more visuals/sounds.


Image link: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1243943