Blog Posting #9

It is amazing to me all of the resources that the internet provides. I’ve never heard of the NARA website until this chapter. I think that you can relate this web site to any curriculum, not just history. I would love for my students to go in and find information about scientific discoveries. I think that any research that provides actual archived information between historians, about historians, etc. are great for kids to use. My vision is to have students use this information, as well as any other information, as a resource. They will gain more meaning out of this content because they know that it is real, and they may have the opportunity to communicate with individuals that were involved in the event.

schubsa web page

Yet another web page....

http://schubsa.googlepages.com/

My First Digital Photostory

My Blog #5

I already use a program that is similar to movie maker, however I think it will be in the best interest of my district if I start to use movie maker. I currently post slide shows of my students community service work, participation in programs and projects in the classroom. I think that I would personally like to use movie maker to do my time line. I would like to empower my students by giving them the opportunity to create their own web pages for the clubs I sponsor and perhaps tell their personal journey through the service learning projects and project STEEM. Next year they will present their research to the university and it would be great if they used the software for that as well. Digital photostory would also be great to use for the same purposes stated above.

Worst Fears/ Best Hopes

Worst Fears

• Lack of resources
• lack of knowledge
• lack of support
• technological problems
• no teacher buy in
• students not doing what they are supposed to
• students fluent in technology and critical thinking but not able to pass taks test due to lack of paper work/test taking skills
• no communication between staff
• students using technology maliciously

Best hopes

• engaged students
• students that can think on higher levels
• students that are able to take skills to the working world and apply
• increased student creativity
• increased student learning
• parent involvement
• community involvement
• better communication between school staff, students, community, country and world.
• real life problems
• personalized learning
• reaching all student

I think for me the best way to get over a fear is to just do it. I need to continue to learn, empower and encourage my students, encourage and assist my coworkers, and provide my district with a successful program.

This class helped me realize that no matter how hard you try you will fail at some point, and that is ok. Technology is great, but it comes with a lot of complications. I can recall the beginning of this school year and being extrememly frustrated because people at my school were giving up on technology due to "technical"issues. In this class, there have been several times that I just wanted to give up because I could not get a program to act right or figure out how to operate some aspect of it. I persevered, but reflected on how frustrating it must have been for others that were seeking my aid with new technologies at the first of the year. This spring in this class, I have come to realize that I know very little compared to the vast array of technologies available to us. As someone who plans on being in some type of administrative position, I must be as patient with adults as I am with my students. I must also continue to learn new technologies every day to keep up with our evolving technological world.

I think we are all leary of giving students complete control because we have this desire to ensure our students are learning the guidelines the state has set forth for us (TEKS). However, it is extremely important to prepare our students for the "real world" not just the TAKS test. Therefore, we should take every step possible in our classrooms to cover both. I personally plan on continuously growing as a teacher and integrating technologies that support the TEKS. I hope that my web site will do just that and possibly be used as a resource by other teachers that are in pursuit of the same objective.

Ch 2 Blog 6&7

It is important for students to learn effective communication skills on the internet. I really like the idea of students communicating with other countries. I would like to see communication between my students and other countries in the near future.

Last week I was in Minnesota with two students for the NYLC National Service Learning Confrence. Desmond Tutu was a keynote speaker and greatly peaked their interest. I would love for them to speak with other students from South Africa so they can learn about the state their contries are in. Perhaps it will inspire their next service learning project.

Also my students had the opportunity to meet other kids from all over the country and began to establish important relationships. As their sponsor I can facilitate their communication with their new peers by using technology. We have internet classes in our library, so I plan on getting with my technology director to see if we can use it as means to keep in contact. They can also keep in touch by using email, or perhaps starting a blog that discusses some of the critical subjects they learned about at the conference.

I am sold on the idea of giving students the opportunity to improve on their critical thinking and communication skills. I personally would like to see a shift in the use of technology in our school. If students in my class begin to communicate with students in other countries, perhaps their learning will filter into other classes such as Geography or World History.

I liked the video and found it inspiring. However, I really enjoyed reading all of the comments on Youtube. It helped me to gain a larger perspective on the issue of integrating technology into the classroom. When I watched it, my thoughts revolved around making students think critically, analyze and apply data. The video obviously wants schools to integrate technology into the curriculum so that students are more engaged and are perhaps thinking at higher levels.