My Initial Blog!

There is a first time for everything, including BLOGGING! This has taken me out of my comfort zone, but I am enjoying learning new technology to incorporate into my classroom. It has taken me forever to figure out how to post my initial blog on here, so I hope I have finally figured it out. I have found that every new school year, brings a new group of students, who more times than none, know more about me when it comes to technology. I find that students these days are so technology driven that they seem to loose interest when you have a lesson without technology. I am constantly looking for new innovative ways to increase the levels in which my students learn. I cannot wait to incorporate the new things that we are learning in this class into my classroom this year!!

Initial Post-Blogging for this Beginner

I would be lying if I said that my first blogging experience has been a joyous one.  This is the first time I have ever joined a blog or even commented on a blog.  The closest thing I've come to this is Facebook or email.  I am clueless as to what I'm doing.  To be honest, this is the second time I'm posting this because I somehow posted it to the wrong place.  My frustration doesn't come from the assignment but from the fact that I should know how to do these things.  If I don't know how to do things like blogs or wikis, I can't possibly share those ideas with students.  This is a wonderful way for students to communicate with each other, with their teachers, and with students from around the world.  I also see this as a good means of communication for those students that aren't very comfortable speaking out in a face-to-face class.  It is a great way for students and adults to have a voice with speaking a word out loud.  I am looking forward to learning more about this process and applying it in my classroom.   

Initial post!!!😀

After reading through the class assignments and the syllabus, I'm delighted to have the opportunity to add to my technological skill set. I'm excited to take the ideas back to my classroom. I already have tons of ideas, but I'm sure by the time class is over, I'll have a lot more. I want to get my masters in special education, but after taking this class, I may change my mind to technology! Hope everyone is enjoying the work as much as I am.

First Time Blogging!

Holy cow! Look mom, I’m blogging! This would make the first time I have blogged solo. My grade level has a blog, but my team members were always the ones to upload the information I needed. Blogging does make me nervous, because I don’t fully understand everything about it. I believe it’s a great tool to use to keep students learning even at home. I use smartboards, computer programs, CPS clickers, and laptops in the classroom every year.

My favorite technology I use in the classroom is my CPS clickers. Clickers allow students to individually click in their answers on the smartboard to either a teacher led assessment or student led assessment. Students enjoy using them, because it’s more fun to click in an answer then to write it down. As a teacher, I believe they are extremely effective, because they give the students automatic feedback from the question that was just asked.

These days technology is taking over. Technology is a brilliant tool to incorporate when teaching students. Smart boards and computers aid the students’ capabilities of understanding various subject areas. Connectivism is replacing older styles of learning by allowing students to make connections between information while building knowledge. I love the idea of allowing students to use technology to guide their learning. I am hoping to learn more about blogs so that I can use them to their full potential in my classroom.

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

The use of technology in the classroom is intimidating, especially to a new teacher who should know how to use these types of programs but don't. My district encourages me to build a blackboard website of my own so that I am able to communicate with my students about snow days and communicate with parents about what sort of activities my students are doing. On this blackboard website there is an option for a blog and I have been very intimidated to use the option because of my lack of knowledge, but I'm hoping that with this class I will become more comfortable.

I'm also really interested in showing my students how to utilize connectivism in class. The class that I'm most interested in utilizing this in is my Project Lead the Way class. This is more of a research based/hands on class that utilizes technology in a way that none of my other classes do. I will be interested in seeing how the students build support groups with neighboring schools to help them with the content. I will also be interested in how I can use the techniques with technology in the PLTW classes to benefit my other biology classes.

EDUC 573--Technology Just Got Personal!!

The world of technology is ever changing and at a rapid pace. Sometimes, I think the more that I know about it, the less I actually seem to know.  For instance, and please don't laugh to hard, I have literally been days trying to figure out how to post a blog for my EDUC 573 class. This is my first time ever with a Blog and using this type of technology.  To say that I am overwhelmed would probably be an understatement at this point.
     How many times though, have we as educators felt that same way when trying to incorporate the use of technology into our lessons? Often times in our classrooms, our students are "light years" ahead of us.  They have been immersed in technology pretty much since they were born.  That's why it is so extremely important for us to learn as much as we possibly can. The key my friends is not to give up!! Connectivism has taken on so much more of a personal meaning for me now.  I realize that I need to "expand the walls of my classroom" so that I am better able to actively engage my students in the learning process.  I understand even better now that classes need to be interactive and collaborative so that we all can learn from one another! However, there's more.  As my text stated, "Giving students a chance to share their work with a global audience is an important first step, but there is much more to it.  It's the conversations, the links, and the networks that grow from them afterward that really show us the profound implications for lifelong learning."  
     Technology is indeed amazing and I for one am truly looking forward to successfully navigating my way through this class.  I know that I have a really long way to go, but I know that in the end, I will have invaluable resources to take back to my students as well as a true sense of pride and accomplishment in knowing that "I finally got it right!"

I see that many in the 2015 summer 2 session have joined the blog as an author - please try making a new post to the blog and commenting on another person's post.
Dr. Rubin