Final Project

The final project and portfolio ... hmmm ... so far, I have honestly struggled a little. My middle name ought to be "procrastinator" since that is what I find I do best. When an assignment is due, far out schedule wise, I have a hard time working on it a little at a time. Instead, I find myself scrambling at the last minute the night or two before it's due trying to complete it all. So, because of that I haven't been as diligent at keeping up the way I should. I will say that what I have done I've enjoyed working on. It's relevant to what I want to do, I love the topic I've chosen (ants), and it's something that will help me in the future!

The portfolio is slightly a different story. I honestly am struggling to figure it all out. Relating what I've done in this class, project wise, to the standards, is difficult. Trying to figure out where they best fit and how applicable they'll be is challenging. Also, the definition of the standards, is that from the book or what we feel they represent? I guess I feel I'll need a little more guidance on the portfolio, but because I'm struggling to work on the project, I haven't looked at it enough to form proper questions.

Having fairly extensive homework in this class on top of these projects to work on makes things a little more tricky. I understand why we continue to have assignments but it's the balance between all of that and my four other classes. Talk about learning some management skills! :) However, I'm an A student so I have faith that I will get everything done, maybe it will just end up being in a stressful way. Perhaps I just need the added pressure to do my best work?!

Reluctant Learner

Reluctant learners are a reality of the world. They are found in the work place as well as in schools. Dealing with them can be problematic, but finding their strengths are half the battle. We know that this student excels in mathematics. While she can not be excused from the project, she may be able to focus on different things than the rest of the class is focusing on. If we can engage this student in nontraditional ways she can still contribute to the group. Giving her the task of creating a timeline and incorporating numbers into the times that the actions occurred within the book may be enough to draw her in. She can also be the one to organize and input the information from the other students within her group. Putting her in control of something that is related to the structure and organization of math is something that plays to her strengths.

Also, perhaps taking her aside and explaining why her assets are needed for her group may get her on board. She really needs to do the assignments that are required of the rest of the students, however, being understanding and maybe giving her a different rubric to go by of what is expected of her could take some of the pressure off from her. She is a student who obviously doesn't feel valued, doesn't trust many, and feels inferior in some of her subjects. With a teacher who is understanding of all that, and recognizes those issues, she may just learn that she can excel at things other than math, such as reading and writing.

Online Games

I feel that online games are more helpful to education then they are harmful. As long as they are monitored, appropriate for student use, and related to what is being taught within the classroom, they can be great support tools. Students don't all learn the same way, nor do they all keep attention the same. Due to this, online games can be another method to use within the classroom that can support the learning styles and attention spans of certain students. It can also be an alternative when a student isn't grasping the information being taught. Whether it's another way to look at something, or just a tool that's being used to drive the information home to students.

The article I found online that supports my argument is called, "ALTEC Learning Games: Successful Integration of Learning and Gaming". It can be found at, http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED507103.

This article is actually written by a gaming company. They talk about the specifics of some of their games as well as why they can be beneficial in the classroom. "ALTEC Learning Games utilizes the excitement of video games to engage students and provide teachers authentic online resources that reinforce skills in math and language arts" (http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED507103).

The article touches on how video games and online games help students process information faster. They give another method of teaching difficult information, and they promote community learning. All of these reasons are specifically reasons why I would suggest the use of online games within a classroom. Students can also gain retention skills when it comes to learning new and complex skills through utilizing online games.

Even though this website may be a little biased in regards to the fact that it was written by a gaming company, the points that they made within the article are all points that I agree with. They support my view on how a game can be helpful within a classroom instead of harmful. I think some teachers may struggle with this idea at first, but I don't see anything wrong in trying to utilize a vast amount of methods and resources to support our students.

Free Write

So far, in this class, I feel I am doing well. I have thoroughly enjoyed working on most of the projects and it's great to learn about the various programs. I'm hoping to be able to take them back to my own classroom and make use of them with my students once I'm out of school! The only thing that I feel I've struggled with or will struggle with, is my final project. It seems like such a daunting task and I have yet to work on it enough to make the connections that would provide some answers to my questions and make it seem a little easier.

There really isn't anything that we haven't touched on that I would like to learn or better understand. The only possibility that I can think of is the use of Excel or another graphing program. I've always been confused on how to use programs such as that, however, I took a class that did focus for a short time on Excel and I still didn't retain enough of the information. So it very well may be a lost cause. :)

So far this class has taught me a huge amount of information regarding the use of technology within schools, the individual programs and their many uses, and the benefits of integrating technology within programs. This is honestly one class that I feel is greatly valuable to take. If I hadn't taken this class I would have walked away from school without half the knowledge that this course will provide for me! Instead I can take this information and apply it to my classroom and my teaching strategies so that my students are able to benefit from it as well.

I honestly don't think that there is anything that you can do to better support my learning as a student. You are always approachable, reachable and you are prompt in your responses through email. That is definitely valued! I really enjoy having a website that I can reference at any time for homework or needed information and the links that you have provided have definitely helped to support our learning! For all of those things, thank you! :)

Project Learning Video

This video was pretty crazy! My overall impression of this model of learning was very mixed. Part of me loved it. The creativity the students were allowed to express was so interesting! However, another part of me was confused about how they do all of that AND fit in the typical school day of meeting requirements. We're raised and taught to view education in one way, the way that the typical public school classroom is run today. It's hard sometimes, especially the older people are, to view school as anything different. I wonder if they could or do run any classrooms like this for older students? Could high school students do a variation of this and if they can't, is it shocking for the kindergarten students to go from a learning environment such as that one to the typical structured day of another school?

The technology that was used was crazy! Smartboards are amazing to me and I loved how they implemented them! Being able to pull things up right then and there on the board is a valuable resource for students! When the teachers were able to interact with the technology and show the students how useful and exciting it could be to use, it only helped to further the minds of students and what a valuable resource all of it could be. That school has an amazing understanding of how technology can really support learning!

Video Response

Wow! What a great video!! I completely agree with Sir Robinson! Creativity is such an important part of an individual and without it, most wouldn't be as apt as they are today! So what if you are a brainiac when it comes to mathematics?! If you lack any sort of creativity to put the knowledge and information that you know into an "out of the box" use, then what good is the knowledge?

I do believe that creativity should be as important as literacy in today's schools. No two students learn the same and no two students have the same strengths and weaknesses. Due to that, you have to nurture students in different ways. His example of the woman who did all the choreography for the play "Cat's" is a prime example. It wasn't that she couldn't learn the information, she just needed an outlet. All students need an outlet! Some are lucky and can use sports as an outlet and that is enough. Some however, need more. Why can't that "more" be incorporated within the classroom?! Maybe it doesn't need to take on the appearance of dance or art. Maybe it just needs to start with students being allowed freedom. Freedom to imagine and envision. Freedom of choice and suggestions. That could be the very beginning!

My experience with creativity in a school setting has been increasingly less and less the older I've become. In Pre-K and Kindergarten you are allowed to role play and use dress-up items and kitchen items to enact creativity. In middle school you have music and art classes. In high school, you either aren't allowed time within your schedule, it isn't the "cool thing to do", or it just plain isn't offered. Those choices are rough. I was lucky however, my mother always fostered creativity. Looking back, I'm not sure she knew that was what she was doing, but she herself was always creative; engraving, air brushing, etc. When I grew up she encouraged us when we showed her drawings and paintings. My sister and I were famous at putting on shows for her, whether it was singing, dancing or acting. And she always sat through it, congratulated us and clapped. That was SO important!

Now, I express myself in a variety of ways. I still love to draw, although I consider it more doodling now. I love to dance and sing, neither of which I claim to be any good at, and I've always loved to write! I couldn't imagine life without the use and freedom of acquiring a foundation of creativity! I really hope that I can bring some of that back within my own classroom and that my students always feel comfortable expressing themselves creatively!

My own experiences with technology

When I was a student (which seems so long ago), we didn't have half the technologies that are available to students now. In our classroom we had one lone computer for all 20 or so of us to share. That was the case from elementary school even up through high school. In elementary school our computer was an old Apple that I swear was a black and green screen. I remember playing Oregon Trail on it frequently! In high school we did have access to a computer lab and we had a few more computers available for use in the library but that was the extent of it. The rest of the technologies that were utilized were old school projectors and typical computer programs.

Technology-related skills weren't considered important for us to learn when I was in school. The only time I remember learning something that was specifically computer based or technology related was a typing class that was mandatory so that we would know how to type, where the keys were located, and to be able to type a certain amount of words per minute with limited errors. It was done at our own pace, we had cardboard over our keyboards so that we couldn't see the keys, and it was all time based (the longer it took us to complete a lesson the more horrible we were at it).

I'm very thankful and lucky that I've had the college experience that I've had and taken the classes that I've taken because I would be incredibly ill prepared to work with today's students if I hadn't. Through my class load, my placements within the classroom, and the general knowledge I've been exposed to within school as a whole I've learned quite a bit about technological programs that can be used to benefit my students. Programs such as, Portaportal, Excel, Keynote and Power Point, Noteshare, internet blogging, and Pages are all programs I had not previously been exposed to. I'm hoping to integrate them in my classroom, along with many others that I will have the privilege of learning before my schooling is done.