Final activity

My biggest a-ha moment was seeing the final project; all of the tools that were used actually coming together, and working!!! My student and myself were so proud of what we accomplished together. It was so awesome to have his parents support as well; we had an open line of communication which was nice. I also shared our project last Wednesday evening at our Title 1 parent night. It was basically to share what our lessons actually look like.

I do feel that public education doesn't have to be just books and lessons. There is room for digital tools that can be used to enhance instruction. It allowed my student to actually hear our he sounds when he reads, rather than me just asking, "how did that sound?" And, he got to see how he reads and how he monitors his reading. It also provided his parents with the lingo used in our classroom, so that they can use the same lingo at home when they read with him.

I shared this project with quite a few of my colleagues, including all of the reading teachers and coaches. They thought it was a great idea, however, I'm not sure if they are going to go the length I did... I was very pleased to see quite a few of my colleagues have branched out and took tech classes this summer. Many have implemented wikis and have used Glogster to spice them up. But, these teachers are also young. The older teachers, well, still need quite a bit of convincing that technology can and should be used in the classroom.

Overall, I was happy with my project and with the class!

Final thoughts

My biggest a-ha moment was when I became aware of the fact that there are numerous Web 2.0 tools available for free and many of these tools are geared towards K-12 education.
The biggest thing that I think needs to be changed about public education is the obsession with norm reference data from testing. Whether done with bubble sheets or on computers, way too much instructional time is lost due to testing. Too much planning and collaborative time is spent preparing to administer various tests and picking apart the data.
This course has helped me learn how to apply the tools we reviewed. Thanks to my principal allowing me to use a wiki for character education, all teachers at Alloway Creek at least know what a wiki is and have used one, even if very minimally.

FInal class thoughts

Nancy Cook

*What was your biggest a-ha moment from this course and your project implementation?
*What is the biggest thing that you feel needs to be changed about public education?
*How has work in this course helped you spread the word about technology in education? Who have you impacted professionally?

Biggest moment was learning how to put two Web 2.0 tools together and creating our project. I didn’t have the confidence when the class began (big surprise). My technology skills continue to improve and I want to utilize the workshops and skills that I pick up each year and put them all together into a working model for my class.

Public education needs to wake up and get parents involved in a positive fashion.

We need to be informed about public opinion and get it to have a positive spin. We are doing so many great things that we have to toot our horn and expand on what we are doing well and that we are willing to change and improve. Essential questions keep us focused and that is a necessary thing for all. Collaborating teams can accomplish so much if our public and our administrators understand that we are professional and want to improve our learning as well as our students’ achievements.

I have spread the word with my team about all I have learned and I have asked our technology people to help with further workshops and lessons. Let’s hope we can all get on the same page and go forward

Final Thoughts

The biggest a-ha moment for me came when I was working on the project with my students; I really saw them starting to care about math and take pride in their work. It is normally very hard for me to integrate a lot of projects and activities that have to do with technology into the normal curriculum. After watching the students work on these projects I just realized how important integrating technology is. This class has really helped me start to pull other teachers into the technology world of teaching. A lot of my department has talked to me about my project and other ideas that they have. I have always been the one that my department comes to with questions, and lately I have been able to really help them out and show them more tools to use.
I do not believe that all students should be held to the same standards. Why do we dictate the classes the students have to take. Leave it open for them to take what they are interested in, or more classes where they excel. There is no reason that a students would not be allowed to take AP Calculus, because they have not had an art class. If they excel at math let them excel, and let the artists excel in the art classes.

Final Comments

I thought the biggest a-ha moment is that we really can integrate technology in the classroom by still teaching the same content as the neighboring teacher. It was great to be able to use this new technology with my students because they now are ‘doing’ while they learn. It’s awesome to see their faces light up when they get home and show their parents what they helped create.

The biggest thing that I feel needs to be changed in public education is that technology can be integrated and needs to replace some of the boring content that can be just googled to get the information. It’s a shift that will take gradual time to integrate. We need to get students to the top of Bloom’s. It’s at this stage that students will remember the content learned and will find the activities very valuable.

My classroom has changed dramatically. My Wikispace has become a channel of communication between home and school and I’m so happy I made the shift this year. I’ve also used Vocaroo, Animoto, and Glogster to enhance my teaching practices. I’m trying my best to make it seamless and more my teaching style than something I’m just using in my classroom. Professionally, I hope my coworkers see me as someone that they can easily approach for information, examples, or help.

The End

I learned so much from implementing this project into my classroom. Collaborating with a colleague on this was very meaningful for me and allowed me to make many more connections and I felt that my partner helped me to realize a lot of things about myself. I learned that I need to teach myself how to do more rather than just waiting for someone to teach me. I also learned that the curriculum that we are teaching the students doesn't always need to be taught and then technology comes after. Technology can provide a means for learning and replace the traditional way of teaching a lesson.

I think public education needs a shift in thinking (just as I do and am working on). Not only are can students learn the curriculum they can take that knowledge and make meaningful connections by having experiences that are not limited to sitting in a desk and reading out of a book. The teacher doesn't always need to be in the front of the room spitting out information. How great is it that students can DISCOVER information and COLLABORATE with each other.

This course has affected me greatly. Over the summer we were exposed to MANY, MANY new tools that are literally at my fingertips through the internet. I am so grateful that I am aware that these tools are out there. A big part of my problem was awareness. I feel that I have impacted a fellow 2nd grade teacher. This teacher was my mentor during my first year at CTE. I started to share the things that I was learning at the beginning of this school year and I think that his interest has grown. He is taking baby steps and I can tell that he is more open-minded.

Final activity

My biggest ah-ha moment was that being a better teacher means NOT always telling the students exactly what to do and when. I felt like I was just assisting in the classroom instead of teaching which was a real moment for me.
I feel that public education needs to focus more on students learning something for life rather than for a test. I am so sick of the "teaching to the test" method. Those tests do not really mean much to our students and the public education system needs to realize this and change.
Work in this course has helped me spread the word about technology to my faculty. They have heard me talking about this project as well as the students. They want to try something like I did, but on a much smaller scale to start. It is hard to believe I could inspire anyone as I am just in my second year of teaching. I only hope that more will become interested and want to learn because it is only going to help our students.