That's Not How Any of This Works!!!!

Well.... I thought I had posted on the blog at the beginning of the class.  Guess that goes to show you how much I have learned.  Looking back through the posts, I can't find that sucker anywhere!!!  Now if that doesn't show improvement and proof that I have learned, I don't know what does.

Ok, at the beginning of this quick journey, I felt much like Beatrice, the lovely geriatric whom is synonymous with posting pics now.  Like Beatrice, I think I came into this class posting my vacation pictures on my living room wall, then I proceeded to use my dvd holder as a tea cup coaster.  Well, I think I can now proudly proclaim "That's not how any of this works!"  I have learned so much about myself, my limitations, my possibilities and most importantly, how I can use this newfound knowledge to assist my students in their quest for knowledge.

I will excitedly go forward, screw up along the way, most definitely learn as I go, and proceed with a little kick in my step, knowing that I have learned so many new things!

Now.... to open the wrappers on my peppermints, dust off my hammer and play a little game of Candy Crush!!!!

Podcasts...A Student's Voice is their Power!

I am so excited to have learned how to create and publish podcasts! Even though it was short and not necessarily full of passion and insight, my first experience with audacity and the podcast idea was so much fun! I felt like I was really hosting my own radio station and immediately the possibilities for how I could use this in not only my own classroom but throughout the school began to flood in. We do so many neat things at Knox Central that go unnoticed. Our classrooms, clubs, athletic teams, etc. are constantly doing creative things and reaching out into the community to make our world a better place, and how awesome would it be to feature these organizations on a weekly basis. And in my own classroom, how awesome would it be to feature a different student each week and let them talk about their passion in the science world! They could talk about the future career they are exploring, a cool lab we are doing and how they could extend the work we do in the classroom to further current research in science. They could talk about current research already being done in the area we are studying in class. They could even reach out to the community and talk about the many activities we do to better our world such as our recent Breast Cancer Awareness Day, or our class wide ALS challenge that will be happening in a couple months, or even our student-led Relay for Life team. The possibilities are endless! This would be an outlet, and some students I believe would love this and run with it. It's untelling what they will learn!

JING is the new thing!

I have found a new love for the classroom!! JING is my newest toy! I teach a class with a program called Project Lead the Way and we are constantly using new technologies or at least a variety of unfamiliar technologies and I sometimes feel more like a computer tech. teacher than a science teacher! JING is my new lifesaver! In the past, I have shown the class how to use a tool such as Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets to create charts and graphs for class projects, or how to use our class moodle to publish their work, etc. etc. etc. and if I show them once I have to show then a hundred times it seems like. I just about go nuts every time we get out the laptops. Most people wouldn't believe me when I say I can work circles around my students when it comes to any kind of technology bigger than an iPhone 6, but it's the truth! JING is going to be my "go-to" tool for streamlining this kind of thing. I will create a screencast, complete with a live tutorial and all the instructions and helps that a student would need to successfully use tool we use in the classroom. Right now I make copies of screenshots with typed out instructions for them and recopy these for every student every time we use a tool. And of course reading a big packet with a bunch of pictures that look almost identical is not their favorite thing to do. JING is going to be a much easier, quicker, and more interesting alternative for the students and I alike! I am making a list of ways that I am going to use it in my classroom right now in my head! Thank you Dr. Rubin for introducing me to such an awesome technology!

Flickr for me

I can't wait to get back to school so I can give the students a new assignment.  I am going to give them a choice of 3 pictures I have picked out on Flickr and use them as writing prompts.  I will be using this next week, as a matter of fact.  We will be using it for expository writing, as well as a persuasive piece.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to integrate this, as well as many other means of technology into the curriculum during the duration of the year and hopefully it will evolve and manifest into something that will be as challenging and informative for the students as it has been for me.

Favorite Assignment

 I had the most fun creating the podcast for this class but my favorite (and what I view to be the most useful assignment relative to my content area) was the screencast using Jing. I think it is very beneficial in my classes as well as for my athletes that I coach. The use of Jing will enable me to communicate more effectively with students on an individual level by providing instruction and feedback that's more in depth and personalized while utilizing an endless possibility of resources. This class has shown me several new and interesting ways to upgrade my classes and enhance my coaching ability. I have enjoyed it very much!

If you like screencast you might like...

A few months ago I spent an evening trying to figure out the "easiest" way for me to work some math problems at home and students be able to see me working the problem AND hear me talk them through it.  After many attempts with cameras, microphones, and several softwares and apps I found that the app Educreations on my ipad was the answer.

I downloaded the app (for free) and began to easily work problems and talk through the solutions.  It is very user friendly and easily created a link that I could put on my class web site for the students to access.  When they clicked on the link, they didn't need to download an app or any special software. They were able to view the "videos" with only an internet connection.  The only negative that I found was that they could not view them on their phones.  They needed at minimum some kind of tablet or a computer.

I really enjoyed making the podcast as an assignment for EDUC 573 and would like to experiment with a podcast that had a "visual" aspect to it and see if there are some interesting possibilities there as well.  I promised a more positive post this time and hopefully I have delivered.  If you have any questions about Educreations let me know and I will try and answer them!

Download Frustrations

For this course we have had to download several different softwares to use to complete our assignments.  The frustrating part about downloading items is that somehow, no matter how careful you are to check (or uncheck) only the items you want downloaded, something else seems to get "attached" to the download.  Twice now, I have had to change my search engine back to Google and manipulate what my Home page on Chrome looks like when I start to access the internet.  Both times I thought I had been careful to only download the software I needed.

An additional source to my frustration is that I changed from PC to MAC in the Fall and I am still not used to all the protocol of downloading to my MAC.  Also, the majority of the tutorials found on YouTube, etc.  seem to not have an option for PC or MAC, they are just predominantly PC.  Maybe now that I can screencast and podcast I could do something about that! :)

Sorry for the negative tone to the post, I promise my next one will be more positive.  I have enjoyed being exposed to Jing, Screencast, Audacity, Blogger, etc.  and I intend to do more with them!

Asking for suggestions

One thing that has really bothered me while working through this course is the fact that the things I've been learning to do are really not very applicable to the class that I teach.  I have a CDC class where the kids are severely cognitively challenged and mostly non-verbal.  My students work on learning basic life skills; in some cases as basic as toileting.  It would be difficult if not impossible for most of them to participate in any of the things that I've done here. As I'm sure you all are well aware, even in special ed we are given very little in the way of funds to purchase any specialized items to use for technology.  We do have the things that the rest of the school has available such as a SMARTboard, document camera, Ipads,etc. I also have one or two specialized items at my disposal such as Boardmaker software.  I would like to ask my classmates who read this post to please offer suggestions as to any potential websites, projects, etc. that could possibly be used effectively in my situation.  My students love using computers and Ipads and would enjoy incorporating any suggestions that are feasible.

No longer intimidated

I've been reading the posts from my classmates and I see that most of us have in common the fact that we have let ourselves be intimidated by technology.  As I stated in my an earlier post I think a lot of that comes from having new things thrust upon us with very little in the way of instruction.  Due to the nature of my class we don't do a lot with the types of things that have been covered in this course but I have been quite proud of myself for digging in and figuring things out.  I enjoy working puzzles of every kind and the assignments in this course have been that for me.

I suddenly feel so much more "techy" and better equipped for my job.  I never thought I would say that at the end of just a few weeks of this class.  Thank you Dr. Rubin, this has not only been educational but fun. The possibilities for my everyday work are limitless!

Computers and Technology Now Seem a Little More Friendly

Whew!  I think (hope) I have completed all of the assignments for this class!  I feel like celebrating!!  As I said in my first post, I found just the idea of this class to be very frustrating.  Plus, computers and technology do not tend to be my friend; more often they are my enemy.  However, I admit that as I got into each assignment, I truly surprised myself , not so much at what I knew, but at what I was able to figure out.  I have to say I'm feeling pretty proud of myself right now!  Honestly, I can't even say I hated it.  There were aspects of each assignment that I actually enjoyed and I can see the possibilities of using each in my own classroom.  I see Podcasts as having many different possibilities in my classroom, and it would probably be one of the easier/quicker tools to incorporate.  I love reading numerous blogs, mostly teacher's blogs; however, I don't think I have the self-confidence needed to put my life and my classroom life out there for the world to be a part of.  I can't help but think that no one would really be interested in what I have to say. (I guess besides technology, that's another area I need to work on!)  Although I found the Web Quest to be very time-consuming, I do see it having a place in the classroom.  Kids of all ages love using technology, so a Web Quest would be a great way to incorporate more technology into my lessons.  The biggest drawback to it for me, besides the amount of time required to create one, is that as a kindergarten teacher, I know that I would have to have at least one other adult in the classroom with me in order for it to be successful.  I do like the concept of it, though, and would like to give it a try.
Thank you, Dr. Rubin, for giving me the push to try something new, and allowing me to see that I'm capable of more than I thought when it comes to computers and technology.

Wrapping it up

I wanted to save this last post until I had finished all the assignments.  I am glad that I did.  I have read and smiled to myself to see that I was not the only one who thought I was "tech-savy."  I am very excited about the possibilities that are out there for me to use in my classroom.  I am even more excited to see what happens in the next fifteen years.  Screencast, Podcast and blogs are things that were out of my realm, until fifteen days ago.  I am incredibly proud of what some of us have accomplished in a just a very brief time. 

podcasting

I really had a difficult time with my podcast for some reason:/  I tried to do it on my mac at first, but for one reason I could never get it to read it as an MP3 file.  I finally downloaded the programs on my dell laptop and was successful.  Anyone else trying to do these assignments on a mac? I am practicing  trying to set up a blog now, and hopefully it won't be as difficult for me.  This class is a challenge for me for sure.

Transition

     When I began this class I was both resistant and intimidated by the idea of the technology.  I was the same way when I moved from my word processor to the personal computer years ago.  I was soooo very frustrated when I first began the transition to the new technology, but I knew I had to conform.  This class has been a study in frustration for me, but I see the need and necessary transition that needs to be made.  I would love to have a class blog.  I hope that I have the courage and knowledge to do so when I am finished with this class.

Flickr

I was so exited when I read this chapter of the book.  I do two units in my sixth grade class. One is on analyzing a photo from the early nineteen hundreds of a child laborer.  Students document the different work areas where children were utilized.  The other area we study is The Great Depression.  We also use photos to see the devastation that occurred.  Students seem to respond to the pictures in a way that words can't express.  I love this tool for these two units.  This will definitely be something that I see as a resource for the spring curriculum.