Class reflection

I just want to say that I enjoyed this class. I am not in this program but I took this course, and several other EDIT courses, to learn more about technology and how to use it in the classroom. This course, like the others, has shown me so much about the integration of technology.

I liked learning about the different levels of technology integration. I was able to actually see that even though I use certain technologies every day that my true level of integration is quite low. I will now be working toward my new goal of increasing my level of technology integration in the classroom.

Some of the assignments in this class were a little extensive, in my opinion. I really enjoyed learning about online social bookmarking, like using Diigo. But I don't we needed to come up with over 50 sites to learn how to use it. I also thought the requirement for the tech conference was a bit much. I couldn't take off work to go and I couldn't really afford it. Because of this I had to search through last year's conference's archives to find a session worth listening to and writing about. I'm sorry if that sounds too negative, but I just wanted to let everyone know how I felt about it.

I did however like the individual project. As you know I used an assignment that I use regularly and built off of it - career presentations. It has been really great to see how interested they have been in learning about creating resumes and participating in interviews. They also enjoyed learning about and creating budgets in Excel - you know kids like money.

I would like to apologize to you, my blog buddies, for being so slack with my weekly postings this semester. A combination of being very busy at my school and the overlying thought of graduating this semester has either left me with very little time or just made me lazy. There's no excuse either way to let my assignments or my responsibilities to my blog buddies slide like this. And for that, again, I am sorry.

Good luck to everyone!

Digital Citizenship Projects

I truly enjoyed everyone's presentations on digital citizenship. I thought the topics chosen were very pertinent to today's society. Everyone is online in some form or another - email, surfing the web, blogging, social networking, etc. Parents and students, and everyone else for that matter, need to realize the dangers that are out there in the online world.

Netiquette and Cybersafety are very closely related and equally important. Everyone should required to attend some sort of training on these issues if they are to use the Internet to communicate, research, and other things. Copyright laws, as I found out, are very technical. Certain amounts of songs or words can be used, and so forth. Students should also have training on this because they are so quick to use someone else's work and claim it as their own. They need to realize how serious copyright violations really are.

Again, all of the topics were very important to the world we live in today. I've seen information and presentations on some of these topics before but it was great to get a refresher because I think it is easy to forget how these issues affect us and those around us every day. We, as teachers, need to talk to students about these issues and show them the correct ways to communicate online and use the Internet.

Week 12 - Progress??

I don't have much to report on the progress of my project. It is in the works but have not taken place yet. I am continuing to work out all of the kinks. I realize that I have used a few of the components of my project before, but never all together. I just want to make sure I have everything moving in the right direction before I start my project.

As for the conference I don't have anything to report there either. I was unable to attend the conference in person and I haven't had any time to visit the virtual sessions. I will soon, though.

On a side note, I am working on my written comps for graduation which has unfortunately taken up most of my time over the last week. I can't wait to be done!

I hope all of your projects are going well!

Week 10 - Critical Thinking

I know that I do not focus on critical thinking skills enough in my classroom, and sometimes not at all. As I have stated before I teach at the middle school level. Many of my students are so low in so many areas that it makes even thinking about using CT skills impossible. I have to go so slow with everything, like giving instructions for the students to follow, that half of my class gets off task because they are waiting on the other half to catch up. I know that I need to improve some things that I do in my class before I can truly focus on teaching CT skills. I know it can be done at my school because many teachers at my school probably teach CT skills in their classrooms so I can't blame it on the ability of my students, I just need to use my CT skills to figure out how to do it in mine.

Yes, I think that CT skills are very important. If students can master the use of CT skills they will be able to use them for the rest of their lives in so many different areas. Again, I just need to figure out how to teach them in my classroom. Hopefully one day, and sooner than later, I will be able to accomplish this goal!

Week 8 - Improving my project??

I've been trying to think about ways to improve my project. The one thing I want to do is find a way to use more technology. I've gotten some ideas from my blog buddies about having students create videos on interview skills and using Excel to possibly show how to create a budget based on a given salary.

I really like the video idea but I think they might get more out of planning a budget. I'm still not sure what I will do to add more technology to my project but as always I am open to more suggestions and advice.

Another reason why I am leaning towards using Excel to create a budget is because I have done similar activities in the past. For example, I have used a website, Reality Check, to let my students see how much money they will need to make a week in order to afford some of the things that they need/want in their lives. It's not a very detailed activity but it's a great starter when beginning a career unit. The kids usually enjoy it, too. I also do an Excel project in our classroom book that deals with creating a budget. I think a combination of these two activities along with a real world connection will be a great addition to the project.

Let me know what you think.

Week 7 - Assessing Student Learning

Assessing student learning is a very important part of instruction. If teachers assess what the students are learning then they can use that information to determine the effectiveness of the instruction. Many teachers use rubrics to assess their students' learning, which I think is an excellent way to do this. I have just recently started using rubrics in my classroom. A rubric lets the students know exactly what they need to do on an assignment. When creating a rubric you need to be very clear on what you expect to be done because this is what the students are going to use to complete the task. Without clear and detailed instructions you may not be able to accurately assess or judge your students' work. Without accurate assessment you may not be able to determine what the students are learning or how effective your instruction is.

In my project I plan on using several different rubrics. I will have to be very clear about what I expect the students to do on each assignment so I can accurately assess what they have learned.

Nothing to report on my project idea at this time. I like several of the ideas that my blog buddies have given me lately, like incorporating video and Excel into my project. I am still working on what else I can add. Thanks for all of your ideas and advice.

Week 6 - Project update

I just wanted to post an update on my project idea. I am going to focus on a career project for my 8th grade students. I currently have my students work on career PowerPoint presentations and present them to the class. In the past I have had students learn about and work on creating resumes and occasionally I have discussed the importance of interview skills. I want to combine these activities, and possibly a few more, to create one large career project.

We will spend time in class learning about researching careers, creating resumes, and interview skills. Students will then be given a career (or they may be allowed to choose their own) and they research and find answers to questions about that career to create a PowerPoint presentation to show to the class. The students will use the skills they learned about resumes to design a resume for a job in that given career field. They will then use the information they learned about interview skills and participate in a mock interview for that job. All parts of the project will be evaluated by rubrics, none of which have been created yet.

I'm not really sure about all of the details, but hopefully they will be worked out soon. Let me know if you have any suggestions to help make this a more educational, entertaining, and technological project for my students.

LoTi Levels

This past week in class we had a more indepth discussion on the LoTi levels. Prior to class we had to take a survey in the LoTi Lounge to help determine our levels of technology use. My current LoTi level was a 3 for Infusion - I hope after this class I will be able to improve my level of technology implementation. My Personal Computer Use intensity level was a 6. I was not surprised by this as I teach in a computer lab and use computers every day. My Current Instructional Practices intensity level was a 3. I'm not sure if I completely understand this particular area, but if I am thinking in the right direction I should working on improving my CIP level.

As I worked on the web page examples assignment I found it hard to find lessons using technology that were related to my area without just using programs like Microsoft Office, for example. I found myself using lessons that focused on other subject areas, such as history and science, that used different types of technology to complete the assignment. I think it would actually be a good way to do cross-curricular work in my business education computer lab.

I have at least one idea for a cool tool demo. Every year I use a career website with my 8th grade students that allows them to take a personality test and then it matches their personalities with careers. The students are then able to view and research different careers. Then it lets the students create a car and drive down a highway with career questions and other information. It's called "Drive of Your Life" and the website is www.driveofyourlife.org.

At this point I am not sure about project ideas. I really don't have any idea which way to even go with this yet. I am continuing to think about this issue and hope to have something soon. Wish me luck!

My first blog

I'm just trying this out to make sure it works. I hope you enjoyed reading these two sentences.