End of Semester Reflection

Wow! Is it over already? It seems like just yesterday I was looking at the assignment sheet with a pit in my stomach wondering how I was going to learn all this new technology and accomplish the tasks ahead. Now I know with a little training and practice, most teachers can learn to use technology effectively to increase student learning. My attitude toward technology in education has definitely changed since my fear of something new held me back in the past. I used to think that I could be just as effective with an overhead and a chalkboard, but now I see that although those materials can be used to teach, there is a world of possibilities I can open up for my students if I am willing to change. I love getting new ideas to implement in the classroom and this class stretched me way beyond my comfort zone. BUT, I did it! Thank you to Professor Sorenson and to all my classmates who guided and encouraged me through this class. I have so many new tools added to my toolbox, and I can't wait to use them.

Comments on other blogs

Anna C

Tammy L

Loree F

Hillary O

Christina Lindner (in an email)

Reflection #10 - my experience student teaching

I just completed my final teaching assessment today and it went well! For those who have that to look forward to in the future, don't let it scare you. Just be yourself. The professor observing only wants to help you, not cut you down.
Today's lesson was on punctuation, and I was able to use the interactive whiteboard for much of the lesson. The students were very patient with me since they knew that this was something new for me and they even gave me pointers when I made mistakes. :) Their board was a little different from the one at Northwest because you have to use a pointer rather than your finger to move things around. That pointer is also the only pen, so you have to make sure it is on the pen symbol before writing. Otherwise, you may move things around without meaning to. (yes, this happened several times) I got used to it though, and now I really hope I have one in my future classroom.

Entry #14 - My classroom in the future

It's exciting to think that I will have a classroom in not just five years, maybe even next year! I don't think my teaching style will change drastically, but I do know I will be incorporating technology a whole lot more. Depending on the school district I teach in, I would love to have several computers in my classroom, an interactive board, document camera, and more. I would love to keep a class blog, create visual presentations (both me and the students), use gradebook software, do online research, use online resources in lessons, create our own class video projects, and the list could go on and on. So much has changed in the past 10 years since I have been teaching. I would actually suggest to my principal to have technology training every year to familiarize teachers with what resources are available. Technology scares me, but with what I have learned in this class, it does not seem so impossible to learn. I think my role as a teacher will be less of an informational output, and more of a facilitator of learning. I want to expose students to tools that will help them be lifelong learners for their own enjoyment and not for any classroom test or teacher.

Assignment #4 - technology project

Whew! I never thought I would be able to accomplish so much and with relative ease as well. I created a wiki for my "class" that detailed instructions for creating a video book report. I also created and attached a sample book report that I did with my son. Both wikis and video making were new for me and a stretch to accomplish, but the demonstrations in class and the directions online were enough to guide me. At times my son wished I would quit bugging him to get it done, but he loved being able to participate in what I am learning in school. Though not a professional video by any means, I was so proud of the work that he did on this video and he was just as proud of me for the finished product. Maybe someday, he will want to create one of his own for a school project! (At least now I'll know how to help)
Here is a link to my wiki. The video is on the page labeled "sample video."

To create the wiki I used wikispaces for teachers. Their intro gives a great tutorial for how to set up the page, add items, and edit as you go. I was very appreciative of this since I had never done anything like that and now that I have my "feet wet" I will probably be more willing to try more new technology ideas. I created 4 pages on my wiki: one for the instructions, one for camera sign up, one for the sample video, and one for the students to upload their finished videos. I added a word document imbedded in the text, clip art to my home page, changed fonts and colors of text, and uploaded a video.
To create the video I used the flip camera and the flipshare software to edit the length of the clips and then uploaded the video to my computer. I then transferred footage to windows movie maker where I added transitions and background music. I did get a little frustrated with not knowing how to push the music more into the background, so hopefully you can hear the talking over the music.
This project was loaded with NETS for students:
1. Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. In making the video, students are using the camera to capture ideas in creative ways.
2b. Students communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats. Since the video would be published on our wiki, there would be other classrooms viewing their finished project. I would only allow invited classes to have access to the wiki.
4b. Students plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project. The students had to use the book report form and create a story board to plan each clip in the video.
6. Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Once the video was taken, the students would be using editing software and then uploading the video to the wiki. This would be evidence of a sound understanding of each of those aspects of technology.
Nets for teachers:
1. Teachers will facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity. Creating the wiki and giving the students opportunities to express creativity in the video would inspire student learning and creativity.
2. Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments. The wiki was the design and development and the students' videos would be the assessments. I would make it relevent by allowing them to choose a favorite age-appropriate book.
3. Model digital-age work and learning. I created my own sample video to show them an idea of what could be done.

Entry #13 - Word, Excel, and powerpoint

I use word just about every day to write papers. I change fonts and sizes, edit spacing and margins, add bullets, spell check, import text from other papers and images from online sources, etc. I feel very competent in Word and can use it to make my life easier. I use Excel to keep track of my husband's business expenses and income. We keep all of his monthly records in excel and then print a large spread sheet at the end of the year to bring to our tax preparer. I know how to create basic formulas and reformat cells, but my knowledge is very basic. I have done some powerpoint presentations that are also very basic. I know how to import images, format slides, include transitions and set the time for them. I am sure there are many more techniques to the program that I am unaware of and have never used.

As far as what can be done with students, I could show students basic features of Word before they compose a document and then set specific formatting requirements to see if they understand how to use the program. For excel, the students can use it in math to gather data and create graphs and charts to display their research. Power point can be used in many different ways to present knowledge in any academic subject. The students could present group projects on events or famous people in history, describe scientific processes, give book reports, or even teach a mini-review lesson in math class.

Entry #12 - k12 online conference

Wow! I approached this assignment like many others as one more thing on my "to do" list. Just a few minutes into it and I was scribbling down notes and trying to soak up all the information possible. I watched 2 different presentations from the conference. The first one was titled "if all my classes did this." Click here for the link. This presenter gave several tools that can be used in the classroom. One was called Toon Doo. This is a way for students to publish cartoons that they create in any academic subject. The teacher gave an example of her students creating cartoons about a unit they had just finished in government and they were to show one of the main points in their cartoon. Another tool was Gliffy. This is similar to inspiration in that it helps students create flow charts, but it went a step beyond and allows for creation of floor plans and design of anything with geometric shapes. Zoho was another technology discussed and the presenter demonstrated how to use this in the classroom to create presentations and link it to blogs and wikis. Gcast was the last technology that she demonstrated for us. This one was fascinating because you could create a podcast from your phone and share it on a blog or wiki as well. So many ideas - I want to use them all for my technology project!
The other presentation I viewed was called "Design Matters." I am constantly reminded that my paradigms need to shift and this was another one of those moments. I am not creative at all, but this man inspired me to push my students to explore their creativity. He gave great pointers when assigning a video project or powerpoint presentation to students and discussing the importance of design and planning in these projects. I will need to revise my wiki for my tech project because I need to incorporate some of these planning ideas. I highly recommend these presentations to anyone who will be teaching in middle of high school level classrooms!

Reflection 9 - my classroom

I have been assigned to a classroom temporarily until graduation so I can be assessed twice. When I found this out, I was a little stressed since it added to a heavy workload for me, but after meeting the teacher and students, I am completely at ease and excited about working there for the remainder of the school year. My school is Discovery Elementary in the Issaquah school district. I will be working in the fifth grade with some wonderful students and with their teacher Mrs. Buhler. I was happy to learn that every classroom has an interactive whiteboard, computer, projector and document camera that are all interconnected. I am excited to try out all the new possibilities with these technologies. They are on spring break this week and have WASL next week, but after that, I will be taking on some of the teaching responsibilities. I am very thankful to Mrs. Buhler and her understanding of my situation. She has been more than helpful!

Reflection 8 - blogging to connect to world

I was recently listening to an interview on the radio with a man who was promoting the Emerald City Comic Con April 4-5. He made an interesting point that I have been pondering in its relation to the world of education. When he was growing up (basically the same time I was) he had interests that put him in the "geek" category and was often criticized for his love of technology, particularly the gaming industry (arcade games). He tended to be a loner through school because there weren't too many people like him. Now, he keeps a well-known blog and is able to connect with "geeks" all over the world. He said people used to criticize blogging by saying how impersonal it was and that it could not be truly relational. He has found just the opposite to be true in that now he has friends all over the world that he never would have connected to without blogging. He also found it to be funny that the "geeks" are the ones that have made technology the way it is today and now they tend to be popular for being a "geek." In education, by having our students blog, they may be able to find people like them with similar interests and not feel so alone in their world. I can show them the world beyond the walls of the classroom that they can connect to.

Entry #11 - gradebook software/kidspiration

I enjoyed looking at the grading software and realizing how easy it is to use. I played around with chalksite gradebook. With just a few minutes of playing with it I was able to see all the features available and learn how to use them. I liked how you could keep all student information organized and accessible on one page. The one crtique I had of chalksite was that you could not assign different weight for assignment categories like you could on the grade source software. I like to put more weight on papers and projects than I would on homework or in-class assignments. Otherwise, anything that is user-friendly is wonderful for me!

Kidspiration is a creative way for students to organize their thoughts. I loved how colorful and appealing the templates were. I have a hard time thinking in scattered webs like that, so I liked how you could change it to a written format and save it that way. I tend to think orderly and the webs distracted me.

Reflection 7 - forum with NU graduates

I really appreciate the discussion last week with recent NU graduates who are out in the teaching field putting to practice what we are learning in class. Sometimes because of my age, I feel at a disadvantage to the younger students who are very familiar with all kinds of technology, and it was encouraging to hear that what these teachers use on a daily basis, I would be comfortable using too (thanks to this class!) I also really liked all of their personalities and feel they were very emotionally balanced in their approach to their students. Teaching is a daily step by step progress, and sometimes we may not feel like we are reaching any of our students, but it is happening however slowly, and we will be able to look back and see how far they have come. Thank you, Professor Sorenson, for arranging that meeting!

Reflection 6 - Chilean students

Last week I attended a round table discussion with a group of Chilean students that were visiting Northwest. The education students that were there were able to meet with these students in small groups to discuss the Chilean education system. I was very surprised at how rigorous their education seemed as compared to U.S. education. They have to basically pick their lifetime career path before their junior year and that path will dictate which math, science, and electives they need to take. They also have a massive exam at the end of their senior year that will allow them to pass high school and enter a university. Many of these students had lofty career goals: engineering, medicine, environmental scientist, etc. They seemed to take their studies seriously, unlike many U.S. high schoolers. I'm sure you could find the slackers in the Chilean schools, but I think their culture tends to put a much higher emphasis on academic success. All in all, it was a fascinating meeting and I am thankful for the opportunity to interact with another culture.

Entry #10 - educational blogs

I spent some time reading through these blogs and enjoyed just about all of them. Some of them lost me with techie lingo, but others got to the heart of teaching. I especially liked an article on differentiated learning.
http://www.edutopia.org/differentiated-instruction-student-success

So many times we forget about the quiet non-disruptive students and don't give them the attention they need and deserve; just because they are not causing any problems for us doesn't mean they are learning. There are many different ways to meet students needs, and we should remember that we certainly should not treat every student the same when it comes to their learning. That's where differentiated instruction comes in. While it may be time-consuming and difficult, we are there to teach every student in our class and meet them where they are. I liked the idea of "do-overs" mainly because I am still working on allowing students a chance to redeem themselves, relearn an idea or concept, and change their results. Some teachers tend to give extra credit to students who are doing poorly in their class, but that does not always meet the learning objectives. Allowing students to do several drafts of a paper, test or quiz corrections, or allowing them to redo math problems once we reteach a concept will achieve the learning objectives that we set out to accomplish in the first place.

Assignment #4 - tech project plan

For the end of the year project, I plan to create a plan for student video book reports. I will give detailed instructions on a wiki, along with a sign up to check out the 3 classroom flip cameras. For the main part of the project, I will provide an example (or 2) of how a student video book report should look. Students will be given a graphic organizer to complete before recording their video so they will have some idea of what is important content to include. I will also provide them many ideas and options to encourage them to think creatively about their book. For the actual example video I will be using my third-grade son as an example; he is very excited to help mom on her college assignment!
I chose this assignment because I think there's a movie-maker in all of us, and because I want to experiment more with making movies. This type of report uses many more senses than a typical written report. Students who are dying to show off their creativity can be as creative as they want in this type of an assignment. I don't know what age group I will be teaching in the future, but I think I could use this assignment with any age group above 1st grade.

April 14th - I have created the wiki with several pages waiting for items to be inserted. I have not completed the plan for the video or the video itself. I plan to do that this weekend when I get the camera. I was surprised how easy it was to create the wiki and how helpful the tutorial videos were.

Entry #9 - Caught on Video - article

This article helped me to think outside the box when it comes to traditional classrooms and assessments. I have always thought videos have a place in the classroom. I used a video camera when I taught 7th grade for my students to communicate with their pen pals in my mother's 7th grade class. They had already been writing letters and exchanged emails or IM addresses; this was just another way to let one class know what the other was learning. These new flip cameras would make that process even simpler by foregoing the taping, rewinding, etc and instead editing the material on the computer and sending by email or posting the videos to a blog. That would have made my class project so much easier and faster, not to mention better quality. Of course, I can think of one draw back and that is the economic one. The cost associated with providing students cameras and computers would be great, not to mention the availability of computers to the parents who would want to view these videos at home. I continue to question my own traditional view of grading and assessment. I like how this author put it: not "how are you doing", but "what are you doing." That is what our assessments of students should be focused on.

Entry #8 - Smartboard presentation

After using the smart board in an educational setting, I can see both its uses and distractions. If it is not lined up correctly or gets a gliche in any way, a teacher can waste valuable time fixing the problem. I think if I had one in my classroom, I would have to do a lot of practicing on it to avoid any of those mishaps. I do see, however, how it can help draw the students into the lessons and encourage them to actively participate.

Assignment 3 - Smart board presentation

in my presentation, I will be showing some review exercises from a site called gamequarium. These can be used following grammar lessons to review skills learned. The NETS standards for teachers covered are:
1. Design or adapt relevent learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
2. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.

The NETS standards covered for students are:
1. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
2. Understand and use technology systems.

This website could be used on individual computers, but the likelihood of every student having a computer or staying on task is slim. Since it is done on a Smart board as a unified class, this activity in particular can improve student learning, because it gives them a "hands-on" approach to English which can typically be boring for most students. Since it allows them to actively participate in reviewing concepts, it is more likely those concepts will stick. Other activities done on Smartboards can have the same effects of solidifying material into students' memory banks.

reflection 5 - great lesson plans

check this out!
In my teaching exprience in middle school, I found that my students responded to learning when they were active. Middle school students do not get recess, but still have lots of energy to let loose. If they have to sit in chairs and listen to a teacher for an hour, they will either go to sleep or use their energy chatting with their friends. I tried as much as I could to integrate movement into my lessons, but often times was at a loss for what to do with grammar. This website (if you scroll down a bit) offers many different suggestions for grammar, literature, and writing activities that have the students moving around the classroom. I am so thankful for someone taking the time to write their ideas down for the rest of us who lack the mental creativity. :)

Reflection 4 - cool art site for kids

At my son's school, they have art docents for each classroom, and this year the art docent for third grade had a great idea to post their work online. They sent home a permission form for the parents to sign and information for how to register for the site. Now whenever he completes an art project, the docent takes a pic of it, uploads it to the site, and we get an email letting us know there is new art posted. When we go onto Caleb's site we can make comments for each piece of art, and he can read those comments any time he logs on. It's a great idea to help them see importance in their creativity and to feel successful at it (especially for him since his parents are extremely unartistic). The website is called Artsonia.com.
Here is the link for his personal account:
Caleb's artsonia

comments on other sites

Loree's site

Tammy's site

Anna's site

Liliya's site

Annie's site

Reflection 3 (my kids and technology)

Tonight while eating ice cream after my middle son's music program, my oldest heard us talking about computer viruses. We explained to him how a computer gets "sick" and that some viruses are so bad, your computer won't work any more. He really seemed to understand and will now be on the look out for suspicious emails. This conversation is not the first we have had with him. He is very interested in technology and has picked up on the lingo quickly. My husband and I laugh at times when we are talking to our children about iphones and apps to put on them, Nintendo DS (which he desperately wants), or any other type of technology in our house. It's a whole new generation!

Resources for Teachers - Assignment 2

http://www.funbrain.com/
This site is full of games and activities for grades K-8. You can pick activities based on both grade and subject you are looking for.

http://www.sldirectory.com/teachf/languageteach.html
This site has lesson plans for teachers and activity ideas for writing, reading, language arts, grammar - anything you would need to teach middle school language arts.

http://www.pptpalooza.net/
You can find powerpoint presentations on just about any history topic you might cover, whether it's in world history or US history. There are even presentations that have been posted by students. If you have a student who has prepared an excellent powerpoint presentation you could post it on this site as well.

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/lang_mid.htm
This site has everything - grammar, literature, poetry, activities and lesson plans. It provides links to multiple online resources that you may need in preparing for middle school language arts.

Click for the link to my delicious site.

These are all found on my delicious site. I could use delicious with teachers in my school as well as across the country. Being able to share and borrow from fellow teachers eliminates the time and energy needed to do the "footwork" to create a lesson, activity, or game. In my classroom I could create a delicious site just for my class, that each student can add their favorite sites to. I could add my own favorites as well. This would give parents assurance that these sites are safe and educational along with providing the students an outlet for sharing their online experiences with their classmates.

Generation IM (entry 7)

This article was a great reminder for teachers who want to keep their classrooms relevent to the students they teach. Most of our students will come to us with a wide variety of technological experience and if they don't use that experience in school, they may come to see school as useless. The article points out some reasons why today's teachers are struggling to incorporate technology into their lessons, and I can fully relate to these reasons. Teachers are strapped for time as it is trying to match their lessons to state standards, accomodate students needs, attend meetings, keep up with paperwork, etc. Trying to learn something new to the point of becoming comfortable enough with it to use it in the classroom can just be too time consuming. Many schools lack the appropriate training and follow-up needed to help teachers expand their tech-knowledge. I really think the younger generation of teachers is at a far greater advantage in this area as they have grown up with these media and are familiar enough with them to seamlessly incorporate use of technology into their classrooms. I appreciated the list of ways teachers can bring technology into their classrooms, but again, teachers need to be adequately trained how to set up wikis, social networks, blogs, bookmarking sites, and others in order to effectively use them with their students. I have a lot to learn if I want to catch up to my colleagues, my students, and even my own children! :)

great teachers (reflection 2)

I feel extremely blessed to be studying at Northwest University this year. Every single class I have taken (or am currently taking) has been taught by wonderfully qualified professionals. Each teacher is consistently prepared for class and actively engages his/her students in thoughtful discussions about relevent issues. I have been challenged to think more critically and more deeply than I have in past classes at past schools. I know these teachers want the best for their students and I hope I can convey that same message to my future students.

SMARTboards (entry6)

After playing with the SMARTboard tonight, I wished I had one at home to really get to know it well. It's going to take some time to figure out exactly all the "tricks" that can be done in the classroom using one of these boards. I especially liked the lessons done in the updated software as they tended to have many more interactive features and conveniences. These boards are extremely valuable in the classrooms, and I can definitely see how students can be drawn into participation just by mere fascination with these SMARTboards.

SMARTboard thoughts (reflection 1)

This new technology is amazing, but it will take some effort on my part to understand its capabilities fully. In working with it tonight, there were some "bugs" that we could not work around to make it work the way we wanted. If I have one of these in my future classroom or even one available to the staff as a whole, I would make time to learn the intricacies so I can make lessons more exciting and effective. The interactions that the students can have with this board will draw them into whatever topic we are studying. The more students "do" the deeper their understanding of ideas will be.

What about Technology? (beginning of semester reflection)

Sometimes I have no idea how much I depend on technology until it is not working. When the internet won't come up, or my cellphone battery needs to be charged I get irritated and wish things would move along faster. We live in a fast paced world with answers to most questions right at our fingertips. As a teacher I should be well aware of the wealth of information available to me and how to implement that in my classroom. I also need to be aware of what the students are using and know how to speak their "language." I think if we ignore these issues, we are turning the kids off to much of what we will teach. Integrating technology into the classroom will have more of a positive effect and draw students into their learning, giving them a larger internal database of information. I should be using the computer for simple tasks of making print handouts look sharper, keeping grades organized, creating and updating a class website, and exploring new sources of information so I can pass those on to my students.

Assignment #1 - Literacy

Ten remarkable middle school language arts teachers
Mary Mercer Krogness. English Journal. (High school edition). Urbana: Jan 1998. Vol. 87, Iss. 1; pg. 98, 4 pgs

This article outlined ways in which these ten middle school teachers excelled in their field. I related these ideas to how this translates to the field of technology. Some main ideas I came away with are:
1. Start at the students' confidence level and not at their frustration level. Bring in literature that they feel confident in reading and understanding and build them up from there. This includes using technology that the students are comfortable with and are used to using regularly.
2. Immerse the students in literature-based programs - poetry, plays, music composing and performing, dramatic productions, etc. These can be found online and the performances the students make up can be videotaped and even posted to a class blog.
3. Help them tap into their own creativity and connect to real-world experiences.
4. Connect yourself to other professionals in your field through dialogue and reading about current issues and theories. Many schools have a technology consultant on staff, so regular meetings to learn new skills and keep up with technology would keep you connected.
5. Be willing to make a paradigm shift from outdated modes, constantly evaluating your style and self-reflecting on its relevence. This especially applies to me as so much has changed in the past 10 years in the area of technology that is used on a regular basis. I need to be willing to try new things and get rid of old modes if they are not effective any more.
6. Be an "expert kid-watcher." Meet them where they are. Get to know the students. Know what kind of technology they use; find out the songs on their ipod, who they IM with, what they look up on the computer, and be ready to engage them in conversation about these things.

I came away from this article with ideas swarming in my head on how to implement these ideas in my future classroom!

Since I want to teach in middle school, I have been observing students at that level and the technology they use on a regular basis.
- cell phones and ipods
- computers (popular websites, gaming, social networking sites, blogs, research)
- game systems (portable and stationary)
Kids these days are plugged in to the world around them. They are familiar with "buttons" and gadgets of all kinds and would adjust easily to using them in the classroom. My challenge as a teacher is to connect those experiences to learning in the classroom. A computer would be the easiest as it is an instant source of information. I could guide them in effective research, show them sites for educational games, help them connect to classmates through blogs and social networking sites. We could start a class blog to discuss topics we read about in literature. I still have to do some brainstorming for how to use the cell phones and ipods in the classroom, but I'm sure with enough research I can come up with something.
The NETS standards for teachers are extemely important as a compass for directing our classroom experiences and setting goals for integrating technology into our lessons. We should seek to adapt our plans to include multiple levels of technology and model the appropriate way to use them. The standards for students set them on a real-world path of creating, connecting, researching, and problem solving. All of these ideas will be found in future careers they choose, so starting in school will prepare them adequately for their jobs. Our world is focused on improving what we have and developing new ideas on the foundations of old ideas. Engaging our students in updated technology will help them be responsible citizens in the future.

article - Improving Instruction with Interactive Whiteboards by D. Schaffhauser (entry 5)

This article excited me! I hope school districts across the U.S. are moving in this direction. This author emphasized the importance of this interactive technology in drawing the students in to actively participate in their learning and broaden the horizon of available information. The results this particular school district saw were substantial and the amount of participation of students grew to 100%. That should be enough to convince most school districts to make this kind of technology a priority. The author also gave suggestions for how to "cut corners" by purchasing only the necessary components and doing without the upgrades until funds were increased. The only idea mentioned that took me back was the suggestion to do away with textbooks. I dont know if I would make that drastic a suggestion unless every student had equal access to the same information. A teacher would also need some kind of curriculum guide to save time and effort on the preparation side of learning. I still need to think this one over to decide if I would make such a statement.

HTML (entry 4)

Working with html can be very confusing. I had trouble remembering each little marking that needed to be inserted in order for the text to read right. One mark off, and the whole thing could show up wrong. It makes me glad that there are resources out there for creating websites without having to know the html code. I can see how it can be very useful to be able to create a page exactly how you want, but also time consuming, making it inefficient for those who are already strapped for time (i.e. teachers) :)

Silver Firs Elementary website (entry 3)

I searched my sons' elementary school website in the Everett school district. One of the best parts of this site is that it is always updated and the students participate in these updates. The school tour was completely done by students. One of the negative issues I found was that only 6 teachers made and maintain websites for their classes. Out of those 6 teachers, 4 were in 1st or 2nd grade and none were in the 5th grade (students who are using computers regularly on their own). This could be a useful tool for class calendars, assignments, and news, especially for parents who are online regularly. I do understand that not everyone in our district would have a computer handy or even be computer savvy, but given the demographics of this school, I would guess a very high percentage do use computers daily. A website would create a sense of connection between the home and school. Students could see some of their work posted and keep up with class assignments. A great deal of paper would be conserved as well, since you wouldnt need to hand out paper reminders to students if the website was kept up to date.
Other than that, I found it attractive and easy to use, containing many useful links to other educational websites.

Turning on the Lights - Article (entry 2)

I found this article to be extremely necessary for educators who want to make a difference in their classrooms. It was filled with great ideas for using technology in meaningful ways. As some one who is a generation beyond even the typical college student, I constantly need to be reminded how connected to the world today's students are. In evaluating past teaching experiences, while I always desired to "keep current" I didnt have the knowledge necessary to keep up with the technological changes in the world. Taking this class, reading articles like this one, and familiarizing myself with the available technology will put me worlds ahead of where I was. We as educators need to come to grips with the fact that our age-old modes of education will be boring and mundane to today's students. The information itself does not have to change, just the methods we use to aquire and convey this information. It's time for me to think outside the box and constantly find ways to teach students that will meet them where they are. This definitely includes the use of many different types of technology that students are already familiar with.

Why do I want to teach? (entry 1)

I first knew I wanted to teach when I was in the 4th grade. My teacher allowed me to help other classmates as long as I did not give out information. She noticed that I had skill in guiding and explaining concepts and mentioned that I would be a good teacher. From that time on I watched each teacher I had and catalogued the good practices and those I would not use in a classroom. In college, while working on my first elementary education degree I worked in a school as a teacher's aide and was able to put to use what I was learning as well as see "behind the scenes" in teaching. I graduated in 1996 with my Bachelors Degree and South Carolina teaching certificate and went right to teaching 4th grade. Two years later I moved up to 6th grade literature and language arts and after another 2 years, I moved to 7th grade. I have learned from those experiences that my heart is in middle school. When I moved to Washington in 2003, I found that my first degree would not be accepted in this state since it was from a non-accredited school. Since I had 2 kids already and wanted another, I put my teaching on the backburner to raise my children. In 2007, my husband and I revisited the idea of me teaching in WA and started doing some research on schools in the area that might accept my credits. We found Northwest University and met with Dr. Newbill, the Dean of Education. Thankfully, Northwest transferred 94 credits and after one year (33 credits) at Northwest, I will have a second bachelor's degree that will be recognized by Washington state and be certified to teach here once my 3rd son enters kindergarten.