In chapter 31 the electronics training jackets really interested me. We currently can not access anything about our students unless we are at school on the school drive. Therefore, all 300 IEP's, progress reports, and charting has to be completed at school. The time consuming work really puts a strain on my after school activities when I have to spend many extra hours at school instead of at home or any other place that I would be able to access the information needed to complete my tasks. Even using a smartcard would be beneficial to many of us. Either way I am very excited to hear more about the electronics training jackets.
I thought the most interesting piece of technology that we worked with this semester would be screencasting with Camtasia. I always wondered how some training programs were able to record the screen of what they were working on. Now I know, and now that I have had some time to play around with it I think it is great. It is so easy to navigate and you can make so many different screencasts. It is such an interesting way to show students how to complete tasks on the Internet or to have guided exploration of a new technology tool. All in all I can't wait to create lessons with it and show it to my administration for training uses.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Chapter 30 and Tech Review
After reading chapter 30 I have come to the understanding that visual and audio instruction has proven to be more successful in retaining knowledge than written text. Without reading this chapter I already strongly believe in this concept; however, it made me look at it from a more animated side. Being a special education teacher I use pictures and short commands to relate to everything in my instruction. Now I am wondering how I can create video and audio applications for my students to watch and recreate. Such as an exercise program that they can interact with online while they take the time to do the exercises. I would have to make them short and to the point, but it could be put on Cd's so students can take it home to work out on the weekends or after school. They could choose from different levels of workouts or even skills from different sports they are interested in could be broken down for them to watch and recreate. As in the chapter, I would still have to create the motivation to use the exercises or skills. In this maybe it would be a two person simulation were they have to watch and then perform offense and defensive skills in basketball. When they are finished they could play online against each other and earn points for correct moves choosen. It would be great to have this at the tip of your fingertips and maybe with more knowledge from this masters program I will be able to accomplish this application in the future.
I reviewed Google Documents and Phixr. Google Documents is a great free online applications. It provides everything Microsoft Office provides (at least that I can find), but with the option to publish directly to the Internet. The site is easy to navigate and resembles the look of Microsoft so if you are comfortable using this application than you should be able to easily transfer to Google Documents. It also has and quick and easy share button for you to instantly share your work with anyone you need to. You can go from one application to another with a click of a button because the Google application is organized and all connected in one. You can go from making a spreadsheet to a presentation without leaving a site. I personally like the fact that you can publish and share directly from the application. Otherwise, I find it very similar to Microsoft.
Phixr is a photo editing application that I reviewed. I found it to be a good site, but I would prefer Adobe Photo shop instead. You can change coloring, red eye, rotate, do effects, and add text. However, it does provide cutting out of your pictures or adding more to you pics. You can also upload your photos to your photo sharing account right from the application. Don't get me wrong its a good site for basic editing, but I like to get nitty gritty and do all sorts of things with my pics and this doesn't allow it.
I reviewed Google Documents and Phixr. Google Documents is a great free online applications. It provides everything Microsoft Office provides (at least that I can find), but with the option to publish directly to the Internet. The site is easy to navigate and resembles the look of Microsoft so if you are comfortable using this application than you should be able to easily transfer to Google Documents. It also has and quick and easy share button for you to instantly share your work with anyone you need to. You can go from one application to another with a click of a button because the Google application is organized and all connected in one. You can go from making a spreadsheet to a presentation without leaving a site. I personally like the fact that you can publish and share directly from the application. Otherwise, I find it very similar to Microsoft.
Phixr is a photo editing application that I reviewed. I found it to be a good site, but I would prefer Adobe Photo shop instead. You can change coloring, red eye, rotate, do effects, and add text. However, it does provide cutting out of your pictures or adding more to you pics. You can also upload your photos to your photo sharing account right from the application. Don't get me wrong its a good site for basic editing, but I like to get nitty gritty and do all sorts of things with my pics and this doesn't allow it.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Chapter 27 and Website
The three competencies I would like to strengthen are: identifying and describing the target population characteristics, select & use variety of techniques to define and sequence the instructional content and strategies, and promote collaboration and partnership among the key participants in a design project.
I would like to strengthen how I identify and describe target population characteristics throughout my school. I work with every student in my school and I am new to the area where I work. I feel if I could get a better knowledge of the characteristics of my students in this area I could relate more of my lessons to their understanding.
I would like to broaden my techniques of teaching and the content that goes in my lessons. I am a new teacher and still trying to settle down, but I feel if I keep on adding different content and find new ways to administer the knowledge that I want my students to learn then they will stay motivated to learn and it will also help my stay fresh and not get stuck in the same old routine as I here some teachers complain about.
I would also like to find the time to work with my physical therapists to combine our work so we are collaboratively working on similar objectives. Also sharing ideas that I know they have a different knowledge of. This will be my hardest competency to strengthen because there isn't enough time in the day to have to add another meeting to the unending list of meetings we already have. I think if I just plan it and do it we can finally get going instead of procrastinating. Sometimes I think procrastinating is one of my greatest strengths, not saying that it gets me anywhere though!!
These are just a few competencies that I would love to grow on, but I feel that being a teacher you will never stop growing and learning new things.
Some of my strengths in the competencies are conducting a needs assesment, design a curriculum, and communicating in visual, oral, and written forms. I developed an assessment that I use at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to test what levels each student is at. With that assesment I design the lesson plans to follow what the class is in need of. With this I have started redesigning the curriculum we have for our school. It is in the beginning process, but I feel it has become one of my greatest strengths. For each lesson I creat picture strips, visual signs, and oral commands for the main directions throughout my lessons. This is geared toward my visually and hearing impaired students and students that need structure and visual reminders to keep them on track. I have started a great collection that will hopefully continue to grow with each new developing idea.
My website is a resourse website. It is located on the lower right side of my blog. My website is titled the Bovenschen Special Olympics. It is a site that I will keep updated for staff, students, and parents to use for information about our schools Special Olympics Program.
I would like to strengthen how I identify and describe target population characteristics throughout my school. I work with every student in my school and I am new to the area where I work. I feel if I could get a better knowledge of the characteristics of my students in this area I could relate more of my lessons to their understanding.
I would like to broaden my techniques of teaching and the content that goes in my lessons. I am a new teacher and still trying to settle down, but I feel if I keep on adding different content and find new ways to administer the knowledge that I want my students to learn then they will stay motivated to learn and it will also help my stay fresh and not get stuck in the same old routine as I here some teachers complain about.
I would also like to find the time to work with my physical therapists to combine our work so we are collaboratively working on similar objectives. Also sharing ideas that I know they have a different knowledge of. This will be my hardest competency to strengthen because there isn't enough time in the day to have to add another meeting to the unending list of meetings we already have. I think if I just plan it and do it we can finally get going instead of procrastinating. Sometimes I think procrastinating is one of my greatest strengths, not saying that it gets me anywhere though!!
These are just a few competencies that I would love to grow on, but I feel that being a teacher you will never stop growing and learning new things.
Some of my strengths in the competencies are conducting a needs assesment, design a curriculum, and communicating in visual, oral, and written forms. I developed an assessment that I use at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to test what levels each student is at. With that assesment I design the lesson plans to follow what the class is in need of. With this I have started redesigning the curriculum we have for our school. It is in the beginning process, but I feel it has become one of my greatest strengths. For each lesson I creat picture strips, visual signs, and oral commands for the main directions throughout my lessons. This is geared toward my visually and hearing impaired students and students that need structure and visual reminders to keep them on track. I have started a great collection that will hopefully continue to grow with each new developing idea.
My website is a resourse website. It is located on the lower right side of my blog. My website is titled the Bovenschen Special Olympics. It is a site that I will keep updated for staff, students, and parents to use for information about our schools Special Olympics Program.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Screencasting and Ch. 18, 21, & 22
I can see myself using Camtasia to introduce my students to our class Wiki. It would be a beginning piece in our class that would kick off by describing what Camtasia is and what a Wiki is. Then it would go into a recorded tutorial that will show them how to access the wiki, set up pages, edit, and communicate throughout the semester. It will then discuss what is to be expected of students while working on a Wiki. Future lessons that will be recorded by Camtasia will be related to health and fitness items that students will have to explore and then complete their assignments from. Then their finished assignments will be posted into the Wiki. Also group project examples can be shown through Camtasia. I love Camtasia, I have always wondered how they implemented the screen you are looking at into their programs. Now the long lost question has been answered. From viewing the tutorials, navigating the program doesn’t seem to be that difficult and the editing features remind me of working with Windows Movie Maker and how they do their editing. All in all it seems to be a great program, and I can’t wait to get the time to fully explore making a program.
In reading the last three chapters in Trends and Issues I have realized that business, P-12, or higher education can continue to exist without the use of technology. Each group has slowly but surely come around to see that technology is a must. Some, like the business category, did it faster than education, but education is now making leaps and bounds. Another item I noticed throughout the chapters is how each has handled issues especially with change. Some have the distinct systems like the GSTE and others started right in on training through technology. For example the Camtasia, is a great training tool that education and business is using. I think some changes take longer, especially in education, due to the money that is involved to create the change. Businesses can move faster with implementing new changes because they have more control over their money. Being educators we have to wait for the trickle down effect. One thing I think my professional environment could take from this is that technology and continuing training are a necessity. I feel that some of the “seasoned” teachers that I work with have dropped of the side of the earth just because they are tenured and a few years from retirement. I feel if our staff could find good training programs that can keep them updated and introduce them or further enhance their knowledge in technology then we would all be better off. Jack Dempsey said “Full professors are the journeymen and journeywomen of academia.” (p.231) I believe anyone involved in education are the journeymen or women. When we short ourselves we are hurting our students not ourselves, and some of the staff I work with need to fully understand this.
In reading the last three chapters in Trends and Issues I have realized that business, P-12, or higher education can continue to exist without the use of technology. Each group has slowly but surely come around to see that technology is a must. Some, like the business category, did it faster than education, but education is now making leaps and bounds. Another item I noticed throughout the chapters is how each has handled issues especially with change. Some have the distinct systems like the GSTE and others started right in on training through technology. For example the Camtasia, is a great training tool that education and business is using. I think some changes take longer, especially in education, due to the money that is involved to create the change. Businesses can move faster with implementing new changes because they have more control over their money. Being educators we have to wait for the trickle down effect. One thing I think my professional environment could take from this is that technology and continuing training are a necessity. I feel that some of the “seasoned” teachers that I work with have dropped of the side of the earth just because they are tenured and a few years from retirement. I feel if our staff could find good training programs that can keep them updated and introduce them or further enhance their knowledge in technology then we would all be better off. Jack Dempsey said “Full professors are the journeymen and journeywomen of academia.” (p.231) I believe anyone involved in education are the journeymen or women. When we short ourselves we are hurting our students not ourselves, and some of the staff I work with need to fully understand this.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Week 10 - Ch. 21
One thing I like in chapter 21 is the breakdown of committees. Right now I feel that every other day we have a new committee forming and for the most there is a handful of some of the same teachers volunteering for each one. Our school is in the middle of a lot of change, but I feel that we are trying to do it all at once and way to fast. Another problem is that some of our superiors delegate to the committees and then change or do not use the information that the committee has worked hard on. So wasted time. I feel if we had a better breakdown like Step Up To Excellence (SUTE) has and everyone agrees on what they are supposed to do and it is their responsibility to cover the changes, than our time will be spent more efficiently.
I also enjoyed reading about the Guided System for Transforming Education (GSTE). I have not been educated a lot on how the district is actually run and hurdles they would have to cross. The GSTE gives great events to go by for the change and/improvements for districts to follow. I am interested to see what our district uses or if it is this process, how has it worked in the past. I am guess a masters in administration would come in handy for this info.
The ecological systemic change definition kind of had my head spinning in words. However, after I read it a few times it really made sense to how some changes that are made in and environment can have a huge domino effect on the rest of the environment. The best way to make sure this doesn't happen is to prepare for the changes that could happen in other systems of the environment. We send out a lot of surveys for opinions on change, and it does get a little out of hand. But if we look at all the input we received back from everyone it helped us pin point areas that would be greatly affected in good and/or bad ways and can be resolved before the main changes are implemented. Saving us plenty of grief if we wouldn't have done it in the beginning. Over all I think Chapter 21 was one of the better chapters for me.
I also enjoyed reading about the Guided System for Transforming Education (GSTE). I have not been educated a lot on how the district is actually run and hurdles they would have to cross. The GSTE gives great events to go by for the change and/improvements for districts to follow. I am interested to see what our district uses or if it is this process, how has it worked in the past. I am guess a masters in administration would come in handy for this info.
The ecological systemic change definition kind of had my head spinning in words. However, after I read it a few times it really made sense to how some changes that are made in and environment can have a huge domino effect on the rest of the environment. The best way to make sure this doesn't happen is to prepare for the changes that could happen in other systems of the environment. We send out a lot of surveys for opinions on change, and it does get a little out of hand. But if we look at all the input we received back from everyone it helped us pin point areas that would be greatly affected in good and/or bad ways and can be resolved before the main changes are implemented. Saving us plenty of grief if we wouldn't have done it in the beginning. Over all I think Chapter 21 was one of the better chapters for me.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Google Map Lesson
How sweet is new knowledge. I absolutely love learning new tools each week. This is not only great for education, but for planning my trips too. :) It is so simple to change the map around yet I never new until today. Anyways.....
My map is the beginning of a map that I would like my students to complete in my lesson. I am a PE teacher so of course I will try to keep it full of exercise and health. They need to edit a map to show where they go or would like to go for fun recreation. In the description area they need to add what they would do at the fun recreation area. In my map I have also included some of my favorite places to eat that offer healthy choices on the menu. Depending on what they are learning in other subjects we could use this lesson as an integrated lesson. For example with a geography class that is studing Europe, I would assign each person a part of Europe or they all could use all of Europe in their research that they would have to display on their map. However, I just picked some places around my city to use on my map. Whatever area you chose, you can get everyone to save their maps on del.icio.us or in their Google Maps for future reference.
Google Map - Exercise and Healthy Eating
Located on the right lower side of blog.
My map is the beginning of a map that I would like my students to complete in my lesson. I am a PE teacher so of course I will try to keep it full of exercise and health. They need to edit a map to show where they go or would like to go for fun recreation. In the description area they need to add what they would do at the fun recreation area. In my map I have also included some of my favorite places to eat that offer healthy choices on the menu. Depending on what they are learning in other subjects we could use this lesson as an integrated lesson. For example with a geography class that is studing Europe, I would assign each person a part of Europe or they all could use all of Europe in their research that they would have to display on their map. However, I just picked some places around my city to use on my map. Whatever area you chose, you can get everyone to save their maps on del.icio.us or in their Google Maps for future reference.
Google Map - Exercise and Healthy Eating
Located on the right lower side of blog.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Week 8: Ch 18 and Reflection
I think if we could use localization and internationalization in our teaching, it would make our teachers jobs so much easier. Imagine if we had Specialists to convert and/or incorporate our lessons to fit different cultures, races, languages, religions, and any other barriers that we need to adjust to. Or just make our lessons culturally free. We could concentrate on the main idea and let them go to work. What a dream! I thought the idea of having a specialist that makes products culture free or adapts the product to fit local cultures all over the world is awesome. I never realized how much a color on a product would make a difference to some cultures or the cursor on a computer. Not saying anything is wrong with that, but just little differences you don’t always think about and sometimes don’t even/ever realize you are doing it. It made me rethink about some of the things I do in my teachings. It is also a topic that I would love to do more research on now that I have read about how much of an effect it can have.
I think technology based training has taken business and industry to another level and I feel it would be a great time saver for education. I have to recertify in CPR, First Aide, AED, etc. every year. I know they still need to do hands on observation for some of the certification; however, I feel the rest of the information could be put into simulations or online training and go from there. It would free up time on instructors (since they are short instructors anyway) and it would allow for more easily accessible classes, save money on transportation, and less time for all staff to take the full certifications. I know there are more scenarios that can go with this information, but it is just a little of what I thought is a great idea for educators.
So far I have loved discovering all the new technology tools that you have assigned us. They have pretty easy to navigate, and if I did have trouble I usually kicked myself afterwards with a “duh” expression because I just missed something. When I did have questions I would try to contact someone that is online which didn’t always work but I love that option or I would email the instructor. Either way I quickly received help for anything that ailed me. I am excited to use the information. Some info (like the del.icio.us) I would have loved to have years ago. Working on so many different computers it becomes annoying emailing and compiling all your favorite sites. Social book marking is awesome. As for the course, I think it is a great opener to the program. It gives you a little of everything to get warmed up, but isn’t to difficult to were you get scared away. I am excited to incorporate some of the new technology into our school website and my department website.
I think technology based training has taken business and industry to another level and I feel it would be a great time saver for education. I have to recertify in CPR, First Aide, AED, etc. every year. I know they still need to do hands on observation for some of the certification; however, I feel the rest of the information could be put into simulations or online training and go from there. It would free up time on instructors (since they are short instructors anyway) and it would allow for more easily accessible classes, save money on transportation, and less time for all staff to take the full certifications. I know there are more scenarios that can go with this information, but it is just a little of what I thought is a great idea for educators.
So far I have loved discovering all the new technology tools that you have assigned us. They have pretty easy to navigate, and if I did have trouble I usually kicked myself afterwards with a “duh” expression because I just missed something. When I did have questions I would try to contact someone that is online which didn’t always work but I love that option or I would email the instructor. Either way I quickly received help for anything that ailed me. I am excited to use the information. Some info (like the del.icio.us) I would have loved to have years ago. Working on so many different computers it becomes annoying emailing and compiling all your favorite sites. Social book marking is awesome. As for the course, I think it is a great opener to the program. It gives you a little of everything to get warmed up, but isn’t to difficult to were you get scared away. I am excited to incorporate some of the new technology into our school website and my department website.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
