My Beliefs

When I took my first technology course I was honestly terrified. I believed that I knew the basic skills of technology, and I didn't know why it was important for me to learn anything more. I knew how to type a paper, research on google, and email- honestly what more could I learn. After my class I was honestly so impressed with what I had taken away with me. I honestly had no idea how important it was for me, as a teacher, to integrate technology into my classroom. I now know that technology integration is not just knowing the basic computer skills or software. It is so much more than that.

I cannot even begin to tell you how important it is to learn technology integration for my classroom. I think it is so important to become knowledgeable on technology, because everything is going technology based. That is just the way it is. As a teacher we have to remember that technology integration is not just about knowing the basic computer skills just like the article stated. If I am not knowledgeable on this subject then I am cheating my students out from so much. Children these days are in school for the majority of their time during the days. If they are not exposed to technology or technology integration at all then how will they ever be? It is as important for students to become technology literate as it is for me to become this way. I believe that there are things that I need to learn or do before I become a teacher, so that way I can better myself as a teacher.

I believe one hundred percent that every teacher should be using technology integration in their classroom, and if they are not using it to some extent then they are cheating their students out of knowledge that they need to be obtaining. One of the most important things that I think the student should be learning is the collaboration part of technology. It is such a great tool for the students to be using and learning. However, I think that if students are not exposed to this they will never get the opportunity to learn it. I had no idea about Google Docs or anything like that until I took the media classes here. It is so important that I keep furthering my knowledge with technology and improve the skills that I am not as strong on. I learned from almost every video, article and standard that as a teacher it is so important for me to be a lifelong learner on technology. As a teacher I will use technology integration in my classroom, because I believe it is so important for students.

Lessons Learned

I think one of my biggest concerns after reading and watching all of these articles and videos is that truly everything is going technology based, and I am worried that students are not being educated enough on technology. From my field experiences in the past I have learned that not very many teachers, especially the ones who have been there for a long time, integrate technology into their classrooms. I think that this is such a fault, especially the way things are going these days with technology EVERYTHING. One thing that I was glad I learned was the NET standards of educational technology. It was a great plus to see what my strengths and weaknesses are considering these standards. I think it is so important for me to become experts on all these standards so I can promote them in my classroom.

I also learned that when we use technology, as a teacher, it is our responsibility to know that integrating technology is more than just teaching the basic computer skills. I believe that too many teachers out there feel that if they have their students attend a keyboarding class that this is enough technology integration, and this is FALSE! Technology integration should support these components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction, and connection to real-world experts. I think it was so important for me to realize that technology integration is so much more than just the basic skills, and in order for me to adequately integrate technology I must be sure to support these four components of learning. This way I am deepening and enhancing the learning of all my students.

I think that this assignment was extremely important to make me aware of my strengths, this way I do not spend so much time in these areas that I am good at. Also, it made me aware of my weaknesses so that way I can spend time in these areas and better prepare myself for these. I think the most important thing that I have learned through this experience is that technology is never going to stop improving and changing. It is so important for me, as a teacher, to continue to become a lifelong student of technology. I need to continue to learn the latest and greatest to make sure I know it well enough to educate my students on it. The video "Did You Know" really opened my eyes, and made me realize that it is my responsibility to continue to grow and enhance my learning on technology or else I will be completely drowned with all the technology, which is not fair to the education of my students. I must continue to learn to the best of my ability so I can integrate technology and teach my future students all about technology.

Strengths & Weaknesses

I feel that my strengths according to the UNI survey are the Basic Technology Equipment Operations and Concepts. The one concern I had on part one was the "demonstrate awareness of resources for adaptive assistive devices for students with special needs"- I answered that I was an apprentice at this meaning that I have observed assistive devices in use; however, I feel that this is one of my weaknesses because I do not feel like a practitioner or expert on them yet. The second part of the survey I felt that I had a little less knowledge on. There was only one whole section that I felt I could be an expert on it was "tools to access information." There were some in particular that I felt like I need to work on. The are using video conferencing to communicate with others, using databases, using spreadsheets. I marked novice on all of these selections, and I feel that I should be come better introduced to these topics.

I feel that according to the NET standards I have both weaknesses and strengths. Some of my strengths would be demonstrating continual growth in technology knowledge and skills, apply technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity, designing developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies, use technology resources to engage an ongoing professional development, apply technology to increase productivity, use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers. I need to work on a couple categories in order to become a more knowledgeable teacher. I think that I need to better learn how to use technology in assessment and evaluation, I need to learn more about the social, ethical, legal, and human issues (that way I am down pact and can teach my future students correctly). These are the two that I feel the least educated on.

Some goals that I would like to make according to the results I have learned from this research would be become more knowledgable on the social, ethical, legal and human issues with technology use, learning spreadsheets and tools like this better, and also learn how to better use technology in assessments and evaluations of the students. On UEN I found a couple of workshops that would help me better my knowledge on some of these goals. The first workshop is Excel 2007 for teachers held March 2 and 3. I think that this workshop would be me because it could help me better my knowledge my skills on spreadsheets to calculate and display information properly. I would really like to better my knowledge on this tool so that way I could share this knowledge with my future students and classes. Also, I think it would help me with certain tasks as a teacher to calcuate information and display data. The second workshop I found will help me continue my knowledge on the social, ethical, legal, and human issues standard. The workshop is Internet Safety for Educators held on Janurary 31. I think that this workshop would help me because one the the main objectives of this standard is promoting safe and healthy use of technology. I would love to learn safe ways to use technology so that way I can share this with my students. This way everytime we were using technology we could do it in a safe and healthy manner.

Edel 3250 Service Learning Project

Crissa Whiting & Ashley McDonald

EDEL 3250:004

Our school is located in Springville which is in Nebo School District. This school is a Title 1 school. There is a total of 611 students and 306 of them get free lunch. In our 6th grade classroom there was 27 students. Out of the 27 students there were 10 Hispanics and the rest were Caucasian. Our cooperating teacher was Mrs. Peck.
We feel that our relationship with our cooperating teacher was really great. She trusted us enough to allow us to take over many of the tasks during the day while we were there. We were able to gain a great experience from field, and we feel like we have learned so much more by going to the elementary school and applying what we have learned this semester in class.
Our cooperating teacher felt that our digital story went very well, and that the children really enjoyed the technology piece. She felt that it gave them a new experience. Mrs. Peck thought it was really great that we used the digital story because it gave the students a great visual aid which helps them learn and comprehend so much more. She also felt that the students participated so much more because it was something that they enjoyed learning and watching.
Our cooperating teacher was very thrilled with the way the lesson ended up. She told us that because it was a new experience for the children that she felt that they would be able to remember what they learned a lot better. Mrs. Peck also felt that the student participation increased in this lesson because the students were intrigued. We feel that from this lesson our teacher really gained the appreciation for technology, and how much it can really add to a lesson. She strongly believes in visual aids for her lessons so she was glad to see how many visual aids we actually used for the students.
We feel that the training session went very well. Mrs. Peck said that she was so glad to be able to learn something new about technology. We feel that is was so nice to be able to teach our cooperating teacher about PhotoStory 3 because now she will have more technology tools to choose from in the future. Our cooperating teacher was very intrigued throughout the whole training session, and she was taking notes the whole time. This helped us realize that she really was interested in learning about new technology skills. This is in turn made us feel very happy that we could broaden her technology skills/tools.
We felt that this was a great opportunity to share our knowledge of technology with our cooperating teacher, Mrs. Peck. Mrs. Peck and the school for that matter did not use or have a lot of technology in the classrooms. When we used technology in our lesson we felt like our students responded really well to the technology being used. We were happy to share our knowledge of digital stories with Mrs. Peck because it is a great and easy tool to know how to use. We also hope by teaching our teacher about digital stories that she will use them in her classroom more to have a change in teaching more often.
Mrs. Peck gained knowledge of how to create a digital story. She learned about PhotoStory 3 which is an awesome FREE tool for anyone to use. She also learned a new way of technology and how to integrate it into her future lessons.
We now have a better knowledge of how to create a digital story and how to use PhotoStory 3. We learned better by teaching some one else and we were more then happy to share our knowledge that we gained. It was also nice to share our knowledge because it showed Mrs. Peck how much effort we put into the digital story and how much we enjoy using technology to teach.
We feel like this service learning opportunity was worth it because we gained a stronger knowledge of digital stories and how to create one. It was also worth it because Mrs. Peck now has a new way to teach her class and future classes. Where our future students are becoming more and more involved with technology it helps to show our students that we are in tune with technology and enjoy it’s benefits as well.

Reflection #13

WHAT?: This week in field was our last two days! We taught last week so this week again we just mainly observed and helped out where our cooperating teacher asked us to. My partner and I did not see much technology used this week, basically just the use of the projector. We also taught our cooperating teacher how to create a digital story by using PhotoStory 3.

SO WHAT?: I wish that we would have seen more technology used this week, because with some of the teacher's activities I feel like technology would have been a great use. The class did a hunger simulation about countries around the world for Thanksgiving. I feel like a digital story would have been a great way to enhance the hunger simulation. There could have been some awesome photos used, and I feel like it could have told a story.
I feel like overall our training with our cooperating teacher went really well. She took notes the whole time which was nice, because I feel like she will actually use this type of technology in the future. The cooperating teacher really loved our digital story, and she was super impressed with how well the students loved it. I know that from these results that the teacher will try to create her own digital story sometime. I am glad to know that I helped her learn more technology skills so hopefully she can implement them more in her classroom.

NOW WHAT?: This next week we go back to regular classes. It is kind of bittersweet. I know we will miss the children. I feel really glad that we were able to teach our cooperating teacher about PhotoStory 3. I was glad our cooperating teacher could truly see how easy PhotoStory is to use, and that maybe she will use it her in classroom. I know that the children loved the change of lecturing, and the digital story was a great hit with the students. I feel like technology is so important for teachers to use in their classroom, not only use but to get their students involved with technology as well. Our world these days is based all around technology, and I feel that the future adults of our society should be exposed to this. In school is a great place for the children to see it, use it, and enjoy it. I know that from this experience I will integrate more technology than we see used by our cooperating teacher. However, I feel like it was a big plus being able to train her on PhotoStory because now she can integrate more technology into her classroom by using this great tool.

Reflection #12: Field Experience #3

WHAT?: This week during field my partner and I were able to teach our lessons. We were able to use quite a bit of technology integration in our lesson plans including: digital story, Power Points with pictures, projector to show maps and pictures, etc. Our lessons went overall really well, which we were happy about! We taught the students Greek art, architecture, and mythology.

SO WHAT?: For our lessons my partner and I wanted to make sure we used as much technology as possible because we felt that the children did not get to experience many technology integrated lessons. The only really technology they use is Power Points with just words and then they watched multiple videos for science. We really wanted to have the students experience something new with our lessons to see if it helped their comprehension or their participation. The students absolutely loved our "Tour of Greece" digital story. They thought it was a great way to learn about different architectures in Greece. The students also loved being shown pictures of the artworks, temples, maps, etc. I believe that it really helped the children's comprehension levels, because the next day we would ask them about what we learned the previous day, and they would remember almost all of it. We made sure that the children got to see pictures of what they were learning and also summarized slides because it helped them see the main facts/points and not try to write down everything while not paying attention. It is so important to summarize for the children and tell them the important things.

NOW WHAT?: I think it is very important to integrate technology into the classroom, and I believed that using technology a lot in our lesson plans really showed us that. The students cannot always learn with just a pen and paper and taking notes. It really helps the children to see and visualize what they are being taught. I think this helps the children remember what they are being taught, and it also helps them with their creativity. I know that as a teacher I will use a lot of technology for my students while teaching them or even use it as their assignments. I think that getting them to use technology for homework and assignments is critical because then they learn how to use technology and become so much more comfortable in using it. Without this class I would have never been able to use technology near as much in my classroom. We have learned so many awesome skills that will be great to use in my future classroom as a teacher and colleague.

Reflection #11: Field Experience 2

WHAT?: This week in class we got to help out a lot more with the children; however, we have not yet taught our lesson plans. This will be next week. This week we started going to the classroom in the afternoon. I seen a little bit more of technology integrated lesson plans, but I still think there should be a little bit more. The teacher used a PowerPoint to show the children some science things that they were learning about Isaac Newton, and they also got to watch Bill Nye.

SO WHAT?: I think that the PowerPoint was very nice for the children to actually see what their teacher was talking about instead of just lecturing. The PowerPoint consisted of pictures and text so it was a little bit of a mix for the children. I think that the PowerPoint may have consisted of a little bit too much text because you could hear when the teacher would switch slides the children would groan and moan about all the things they had to write. I think personally it would have been better to summarize the slides so that the children knew exactly what they needed out of them instead of trying to write the whole slide and missing so much information because the slide was changed before they could write it all. I think that as a teacher and even as a student when I make a PowerPoint I need to really make sure to summarize the slides just because too much text is hard for the audience to read or take notes on. Plus you find the children get really bored with a lot text. You could tell the children really did enjoy the PowerPoint, however. Which was a really good thing! The next technology integrated thing was the students got to watch a Bill Nye science video on Motion/Gravity. The students have to fill out a paper according to the video. I really like this assignment, and I feel like the children did to because it was something different for them.

NOW WHAT?: I think that as a teacher I still want to use more technology integrated assignments for my students. I think that realizing what needs to be changed in a classroom or even what should be kept the same will help me become a better teacher, because then I can incorporate these things into my classroom and make the changes necessary for my students. I think that the children really enjoy when they get to use technology or even see technology be used for that matter. I am excited to do our lesson plans next week. We incorporated quite a lot of technology for the children. My partner and I felt that this was important for the students in the classroom so that way they got to experience a new style of learning. I am really excited to show the digital story in our architecture lesson plan. I think that the children are really going to have a blast. Another thing I can't wait for is showing our cooperating teacher how to create a digital story. I feel that in a way she might not use technology in her class because she doesn't feel comfortable with it. I think that when we show her how to create a digital story it might open some doors for her! :) Especially if from our lesson she sees that the children really enjoy it. Next week we will let you know how our lesson plans turned out, and if there is anything we should change!

Reflection #10: Field Experience 1

WHAT?: This week in field all we really got to do is observe and help the children out a little bit here and there. Our teacher wanted us to watch her teaching and get a feel for the children before we actually started teaching them so we won't teach until the last week.

SO WHAT?: This week was really good so far. You can sure tell the children's personalities even within a couple days of watching them. The teacher really only did one thing that was technology integrated. It was a book report that the children were to put together either by a movie or vidcast almost. The children must have gotten this assignment before we came to observe because we just got to watch a couple of student's book reports that had not been viewed yet. I really enjoyed these assignment because I feel it is something new for the children to do instead of the same old boring book reports that can be very repetitive. I think that it is very important as a teacher to give the students fun, creative assignments so that way they are excited to try something new! It was fun to see something similar to what I had learned in our technology class being used! I loved seeing the individual student's ideas because they were so different but both so great!

NOW WHAT?: I think that as a teacher I would love using this idea in my classroom. I hope that as we observe more we see our observing teacher integrate technology more into the classroom, because I do not feel like we saw enough technology integrated. I think that as me and my partner teach in field we are going to do as much as we can with technology because I feel that it is something that the children would enjoy if they had the opportunity to see it or even participate in. As a teacher, I would definitely use the book report idea in my classroom and share it with my colleagues so they could use it in their classroom. I definitely feel that taking this technology class has helped me come up with some great ideas to use in my classroom. Without the experience we are getting in this class I do not believe that I would feel comfortable integrating any technology into my class! I cannot wait to observe more, and I really hope we see much more technology integrated ideas!

Reflection #9: Digital Story 3

WHAT?: This week in class we were able to work on our digital stories with our partners. In class my partner and I went through and found more pictures because based on the copyright laws we learned we wanted to make sure we had pictures to use that were out there for reuse.

SO WHAT?: I think that days like these are very appreciated in class and can be used to our advantage. They give us time to put together our projects and give us more time to find new pictures and ideas. I think that digital stories will have a great advantage to me learning as a student, teacher, and colleague because as a student I can use these projects for other classes. As a teacher, I can use them in my class as an introduction to teaching new subjects or even to teach the whole lesson. As a colleague, not only could I use them in presentation but I could help the faculty around me to become experts at them as well. Applying the copyright laws to finding our pictures was a very important thing for my partner and I. We did not want to use pictures that were not labeled for reuse, especially after all the laws we learned last week. I am so glad that as a student and teacher I learned these laws that way I am always using information found properly, and that way I can inform my future class on what can be reused and how to reuse it.

NOW WHAT?: I think that having a full day in class to work on our projects to improve our ideas and story was great to have. We got so much done, and it was nice because we did not have to meet outside of class. Sometimes, it is hard to find times in our schedules. I think that as a teacher I need to allow for my students to have some days like this so that way they can have time to finish homework/projects in class. I think that it was a great day to really apply all of the rules/laws we have learned in class-- to make sure we fully understand. I know that as a teacher it is very important to let the students try and apply the knowledge that they have learned. It does not do any good to learn something and not apply it to anything or else it is easily forgotten. I know that I need to share this technology/copyright knowledge with my future colleagues and students so that way they can use the knowledge to their benefit. Digital stories are a great thing to incorporate into my classroom because not only are they learning how to properly use copyright laws but also learning how to use this technology to create awesome projects.

Reflection #8: Digital Story 2

WHAT?: This week in class we were learning about copyright. We learned about many tools in order to copyright our on work, many ways to find proper pictures to use for our digital story (without breaking copyright laws), and we learned about many things that have happened in copyright history.

SO WHAT?: I think that this lesson was so important because in all the projects that I have done in the past I have never realized that there are certain pictures or information that you can use and some that people copyright so you cannot use. A lot of this information is still getting used and many people are breaking these copyright laws. There are many projects in the future that I will be doing as a student, teacher, or colleague where I will need to know these laws and how to go about them without breaking them. As a teacher I will need to know how to teach them to my students so they know how to properly use information/pictures that they find on the Internet. Also, it helps me protect and copyright all my work.

NOW WHAT?: I think that this is one lesson that will be so important for me to be able to share with my students and teach them. I never realized that I was really breaking some of the copyright laws (oops) because honestly I had no idea that there was some information on the Internet that is allowed to be used and some that is not really suppose to be. I am glad that I can share my knowledge with them. I think in order for the students to be able to use their knowledge about these copyright laws in would be important for them to put together a project like a digital story. I think that lessons like these make me become a more knowledgeable teacher/colleague because this is a subject that I think so many people know about so it will be nice to be able to share it. Also, I loved learning the creative commons tool so I can help my students protect their work and copyright it (along with my own work.) Also, the digital citizenship was really awesome to learn more about to be able to have lesson plans on how to teach my students on this topic in fun, creative ways.

Reflection #7: Digital Story 1

WHAT?: Today in class we began learning about our digital stories that as a group we will be presenting. In two weeks we are require to have our story board and script written out for our digital story! I cannot wait for this assignment, it seems so fun!

SO WHAT?: I think that as a teacher(someday), student, and colleague(someday) it is so important for us to stay up with technology. Especially, how we were talking in class today about how schools are now able to require more technology wise from their future teachers. I think that as a colleague it is great for me to be learning technology based things (like digital stories) to someday help out the people I work with and share my ideas with them so they can make use of these teaching ideas in their classroom also. I think that digital stories can be used in my other classrooms especially for presentations that we need to present to the classroom. Also, for field I think that they will be so neat to show to the students and to the teacher. I think that there are so many different ideas that can be used for digital stories, so it will be really neat to see every one's projects.

NOW WHAT?: I think it is so important to learn different ways to present material to my students. That way it is not the same thing every time, because I know that as a student right now lecturing and PowerPoint's really get tiring EVERYDAY! I think that digital stories are so cool, because really they build off of vidcasts and almost take it just a little step farther. It is so neat that we are able to use the information we already know to help us put these digital stories together. I never realized until today in class that younger students will be able to put these projects together. I think that as a student (K-6) it would be so fun and awesome to learn how to and be able to put together a digital story to show to the rest of the class. Children are becoming so technology savvy at a young age, so it is important for me as a teacher to stay on top of the new things coming out. I believe that this class has helped me out so much and made me so much more comfortable with different technology products. I know that I need to become so familiar with technology if I want to get a job in today's world. Everything is turning to technology so it is so important for me to learn it now, so that way I can hopefully teach the colleague's and staff at my future school how to integrate technology more into the classroom, especially digital stories. It is such an awesome way to teach students!

Vidcast Reflection

The Vidcast that my partner and I put together was labeled “Expressing Emotions.” This vidcast covered the sixth grade Health Education Standard 1, Objective 1. Standard 1 states: the students will learn ways to improve mental health and manage stress, and objective 1 states: develop strategies for appropriately and safely expressing emotions. As a group, we focused more on an introduction to instruction for objective 1 because a whole standard is hard to cover.
I believe that learning how to express emotions appropriately and safely is very important for the students to learn especially in sixth grade because this is when children start becoming really in tune with their emotions. If students do not know how to appropriately express the way they are feeling, they are going to run into problems as they get older. In our vidcast we discussed the proper ways to express the six main emotions: happiness, anger, contempt, fear, surprised, and disgust. We displayed pictures that gave hints to the children on how to express these emotions through their face and even on how they can read these emotions on other people. As a person it is very important to be able to read other people’s emotions in order to react properly and respectfully to how they are feeling.
I think that vidcasts really connet to NETS standards because as a teacher we are suppose to use technology in order to facilitate student learning, creativity, and innovation. I believe that vidcasts help us, as teachers, complete this specific standard. By showing the students a vidcast about expressing emotions not only are they learning through a virtual environment, but they may even be having their creative ideas churning. They could be thinking of how to express these emotions just like we are discussing or they could even be thinking of how to put together a vidcast for their own use. Either way they are expanding their knowledge, creativeness, and innovations. Another standard that I am clearly completing with this project is continuously improving my professional practice by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools. In this vidcast I am using many digital tools with Photo Story.
There are many INTASC standards that are being demonstrated through this assignment. I believe by showing the children how to appropriately express their feelings I am making an environment that is managing the student’s behaviors and creating an environment that is engaging all students to learn. If emotions are not being controlled and used properly the classroom will be hectic for everyone! I believe by creating a vidcast according to a Utah Core Curriculum standard that I am demonstrating my knowledge of the content. As a teacher it is very important that we research and make sure all of our material is accurate. I believe by presenting this vidcast and narrating it, that the children will understand the instruction as clearly as possible. I think that students, as well as teachers, really enjoy presenting information like this because it is interesting for the children and a great way to introduce your instruction.
Vidcasts can be a great way of instruction; however, I believe that if they are not presented properly that they could be very boring for the students. I think that if I am going to use vidcasts in my classroom frequently I will have to use different formats, so it wasn’t the same thing for my students every time that I present one in class. As a teacher, the only thing I would be cautious about in using vidcasts is making sure they were creative enough not to bore my students.
I believe that as a teacher I will use vidcasts, because I believe that they really are a great way to introduce different things to the classroom. I believe that they are very creative and require a lot of personalization, which I enjoy. As a teacher, I think that it will be great to switch things up in my classroom so it is always not the same old lecturing and Powerpoints. This is no fun for the students, and as a teacher I want to make my classroom as interesting and fun for the students as I possibly can!

Reflection #5: Vidcasts

WHAT?: This week we learned about vidcasts in class. Our assignment is to create a vidcast using one of the following formats: how to, tutorial, public service announcement, or intro to instruction. We learned different tools in where we could create these vidcasts. Once we create them we are to put them on our classroom site and YouTube (for practice if we want.)

SO WHAT?: This technology is very important to me, because as a teacher I think vidcasts would be a great way to teach/announce certain things to students. Even as a colleague or student now they can become very helpful. As a colleague you are then again allowed to announce things between co-workers, or if you post your Vidcast on Youtube you could also share it between colleagues/students. I think that the coolest tool we used for creating Vidcasts was the "PhotoStory 3." I seriously was so impressed by this, because I had never seen anything like it besides PowerPoint. I love on PhotoStory how self-explanatory it is. There was nothing complicated about it, and sometimes I feel like PowerPoint can be confusing at times.

NOW WHAT?: I think as a teacher these are great tools to learn about, because not only are they going to be helpful for me to create certain things, but they could also be helpful for my students to create different assignments. I think that this assignment is really fun/informational that we are creating right now. This would be a great assignment to do for my students, even if we completed it as a class. They could also complete it like we are in class, with partners/groups this way they could collaborate and come up with creative ideas. Also like we all know, everything is going technology-based in our classrooms, I think that Vidcasts are going to be a great tool to integrate into my classroom. It is better for the children to experience more than just POWERPOINT. With PhotoStory, it is similar to PowerPoint, but you can shake certain things up for the students. I honestly was so impressed with this week in class. I love learning about new tools, because it gets me so excited to go out there and teach! All these great tools they have out there today are going to be so helpful to me, as a teacher, to create new and improved things for my students!

Reflection #4: Podcasts

WHAT?: This week in class we learned about podcasts. Our assginment was to record a "public service annoucement" that has to do with our school or community. Once we recorded the PSA we were to upload it onto our site under "file cabinet" and then also post a link to it under "resources/tools."

SO WHAT?: I think that learning how to make a Podcast is a very good tool, because it is very accessible to everyone, especially now that I know how to post it on my classroom website. Most everyone now days has an iPod or a computer that they can access/download a Podcast. Anyone that knows my website is able to go onto there and listen to any podcast/announcement that has been made using a podcast. I think that podcasts can be very handy to me as a colleague as well, because if there is anything going on at the school, my colleagues or I, can just announce it through a podcast, and like I said above it is very accessible to anyone whether it be just the employees at the school or even the parents and students of the school.

NOW WHAT?: I think that I will use these podcasts quite a bit in my classroom, especially for announcements on up coming events or tasks. I love that I was able to learn how to post them on my website, because now I do not have to send them to my parents, students, or colleagues any other way. I can just tell them to go to the classroom website and listen to the recent podcast- this will keep me so much more organized! I love that it is a new way in sending letters home. It will save paper by just announcing current events through a podcast, rather then sending a sheet of paper home with the student that most likely will get lost or forgotten about. If I was a parent I would rather go listen to a podcast then have to read a million papers that get sent home with my child. I think this is such a great idea to me as a teacher, student, and colleague. I can't wait to use it more!

Reflect #3: Google Pt. 2

WHAT?: Today in class we worked on our Google sites! We learned different tools and layouts about each page that we can use. I liked how we went over all the layouts so we knew what each layout did and how it looked. I loved doing projects like this one, because I know it will be one I use for my classroom!

SO WHAT?: This Google site is very important to me because like I said above I know that I will use one for my classroom. It will be so handy for my students and their parents because they can get on here and see everything that is going on in class. I love the announcements page and the calendar because this is where parents and students can stay up to date on the class and what we are doing. I think as a colleague these skills will become very important because for those people who do not know how to use Google sites I will be able to help them. Also all the colleagues/school could put together one site so that way everyone can stay up to date on things and events happening throughout the school. I know that my website will be so helpful for my students and parents especially.

NOW WHAT?: I love how organized these sites are going to keep me as a teacher/colleague/student. I was so nervous to learn how to use these sites when I first seen the assignment, because I figured they would be so hard but it turns out they are SO EASY and user-friendly. Not only is helpful for me as a teacher, but it will be so helpful for the students especially if they have to miss class for whatever reason because there is a homework tab and calendar. Everything is turning into online technology, so I think it is very important to learn these new tools so I can start implying them in my classroom in a couple of years. Also, the students can get on there and see the upcoming events and let each other know if one person looks at it and the other doesn't. I think it will definitely help the children/parents stay caught up on what is going on. Especially, when the children are telling their parents they don't have homework. It makes it really convienent for the parent to get on my site and look! I love my site so far! I cannot wait to learn and add more!

Reflection #2: Google Pt. 1

WHAT: This week in class we learned more about many things. We learned more about Google Docs, Google Calendars, iGoogle, Google Sites, etc. The assignment we have due next week is to work with our partners to find information about a Standard (4Th-6Th grade) dealing with either Social Studies or Arts. This information we will collaborate with each other using Google Docs, and in a couple of weeks we will use this to start working on our digital story.

SO WHAT: In my last semester class I learned the basics of most of these tools, but they are always adding more details to them. I think it is very important as myself, teacher, and colleague to stay up to date with all the technology coming out. I love that we are able to collaborate with people on Google Docs. I can share all my Documents with people and either have them be able to edit it or just view it. I think that as a teach/colleague this will become very important by sharing ideas and working with one another.

Also, I love having Google Calendars. It has helped me stay so much more organized, which is very important while being a college student and a future teacher. I love that we can add Doc Waters' class calendar onto our own. This is very handy! I am so glad that I am getting the opportunity to learn about all these great technologies because when I become a teacher and colleague I will be able to share all my knowledge with them, and hopefully learn more from them as well!

NOW WHAT: As a teacher, especially with older grades, I know that I will teach them about Google Docs especially. As a student I think it is very important to learn about ways you can collaborate with your fellow students especially on group projects. Sometimes it is very hard to get everyone together at one time, so it is very handy to have tools like this that they can use in and out of school! I know that some of the assignments I could offer to my students they would be able to use Google Docs with writing papers, group projects, power points, etc.

I think that it is very important for me to keep on top of all the technology that keeps advancing like I said above, because as a teacher I will be able to use this knowledge in order to help me become a better and more advanced colleague and teacher. I know that when I become a teacher I will put togther a Google Site for my classroom that my students and their parents will be able to access from the school and at home. I think that as a parent this would be very handy especially in staying caught up with your children's schooling and assignments. All these tools are very helpful now as a student, and I know they will when I become a teacher as well!

Reflection #1: Why I am becoming a school teacher

Often I get people that say to me:
"You honestly are going to be a school teacher?"
"Why would you want to do that to yourself?"
"You know teachers do not make that much money!?"
"You are going to be in school the rest of your life, why would you want to do that?!"
I figured I would post a blog entry about why I want to become a teacher. So here you go for everyone that thinks I am crazy haha ;)! Sometimes I think I am to... but then I really think about why I want to become one, and I remember how great of an experience it really is going to be!

Ever since I was a little girl I have grown up acting like a teacher. My parents bought me little chalk boards/white boards, I had books galore, pens, pencils, etc. I would always have my little brothers, cousins, friends, and whoever else I could get my hands on come be my students. I would read to them, "pretend" teach them, write up fake tests for them, and so on so forth. When people would ask me what I want to become when I get older I would always state "a teacher of course." Little did I know that I would actual be sitting here in the future pursuing an education career. I know that teachers do not make that much money, but everyone has to remember teachers are really only working 9 months out of the year, minus the days they have to go in the summer for workshops or to work on their classrooms. I will always have the same schedule as my children. I will always be in a heated/air conditioned building. I will have full benefits. I will recieve full retirement. I will always have nights/weekends/holidays OFF. Most importantly, I will be helping children EVERY single day that class is in session.
I look back on my elementary years where I had some good teachers, not so good teachers, and then my GREAT teachers. The two teachers that stand out to me the most are my third and fifth grade teachers. They were awesome and I felt that I learned soo much! I want to be that kind of teacher! I want students to come into my classroom love every second of everyday (which is impossible, but hey I can dream), and then when that bell rings to go home I want them to WANT to come back the next day! I had so many teachers throughout my education thus far that have inspired me, and everyday I strive and will try my hardest to be that for my future students.
My math 2010 teacher once stated, "You guys will be the building blocks to children's futures." -- I agree 100% with this statement. I believe that as a teacher I have the power to make or break someone, and I will do anything in my power to teach, inspire, love, care, etc. for my future students. I cannot wait until the day that I get to have my own classroom! I hope that my students will be able to tell that I LOVE my job, and I am not there just because I did not know what else to choose for my major. I believe that if students really tell that I WANT/LOVE to be there to teach them, that it will make them WANT/LOVE to learn that much more! I have done so many observation hours and prep for the education program, and I know each time I prepare that this is what I am suppose to be doing!
Now, YOU tell me: Why SHOULDN'T I become a teacher!?
I know that teaching, like any other job, will have its ups and downs.. but you always prepare for all the "ups" you can right?! Teaching, inspiring, making children feel good about themselves EVERYDAY..now that is MY KIND OF JOB! :)