Final Evaluation

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

My favorite discovery exercises all involved experimenting with new online tools.  I especially like Animoto, Voki, and Go Animate.  The interactivity makes these ideal tools for my first graders.  I also enjoyed learning more about collaborative tools like Wikis and Mikogo.  With a team of teachers as large as ours (we are 14 strong!!) I know that collaboration can be a challenge, and using these tools would make it easier.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

First and foremost, this program has made me aware of my learning goals, and required me to commit to some in writing.  I think I'll be more likely to work toward them because I made a commitment in writing.  This program has also helped me to actively pursue knowledge and new skills.  The knowledge and skills gained not only amplify my teaching, but also the act of learning helps me to relate better to my students.  I hope to continue on thsi journey for the rest of my life! 

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I was surprised by my aptitude for learning new skills.  I sometimes feel that it is too late for me to learn new things and that I don't have the mental capacity for it anymore.  This program showed me that, when challenged, I have the capacity to learn and grow.  You've heard the old saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks", but the truth is that we can always learn new "tricks" if we continue to challenge ourselves. 

4. What could I do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

Include more examples in the explorations and practical uses for the exercises.  I know that each new skill can be applied in my daily life, but it would be nice to see how others are doing so.

Thing #16

Here's my PhotoPeach slide show:

African Safari

It was easy and fun to make!

Thing #15

Skype is an awesome tool.  I have been using it almost daily for the past 4 years to talk with parents who live in Chicago.  It was a god-send when we first discovered it, because we all missed each other so much!

I was very interested in the article about using Skype to video chat with an author of a book the students were studying.  Last year, we had an author visit our school.  He did a presentation in front of the whole school, read to the students, and talked about the process of writing his book.  It was great.....except no one could hear or see him clearly.  There were over 200 children in the gym!  I felt the message in his book was lost, and so was the value of having the author actually visit.  Perhaps if we could set up a video conference with the author and have a few classes tune in at a time.  This way, they would be able to interact a lot better.

Mikogo is a collaborative tool for sharing your screen with people who all log into the same cyber meeting place.  It would be great to lead a professional development using this tool!  For me, it would reduce my anxiety of having to speak in front of an audience, and the attendees can log in from home.....in their PJ's if they want!

Thing #14

One of our classmates, Rob Wiser, blogged about listening to a Geometry podcast.  I followed the path he gave: Mathematics > How Children Think About Math
I found a podcast called "Using visuals in Mathematics instruction".  It not only told the importance of using visuals when teaching primary/elementary math, but also the types of visuals that work best.  For example, the podcast says that suing real photographs, instead of cartoon type pictures, helps create a more authentic feel for math lessons, which in turn emphasizes the practical uses of the skills being taught.

I found a lot of different resources and look forward to sharing these with my colleagues at work!

Thing #13

Here's a video clip of my kiddos doing a spelling lesson.  Enjoy!

Thing #12

I use YouTube a lot at school to find short video clips to enhance my lessons.  YouTube offers a lot of educational videos that are short and entertaining.  Does anyone remember SchoolHouse Rock?  I used to watch it on Saturday mornings!  Now, I show it in my classroom over relavent topics.

Here's a couple of classics that I've used recently:

Thing #11

I enjoyed working with Go Animatefor a recent presentation in class.  It was so easy to use and I enjoyed representing information through the medium of conversation.  I think this would be a great tool for presenting information to my students, as it is very engaging!  I plan to use this with my ESL students, as they become more and more comfortable with conversational English.

Here's a link to an animated video I created for a lesson on honesty:

Lincoln and Washington discuss honesty

Thing #10

I first encountered Google Docs in my first grad class with Dr. Wilson, about a year ago.  Since then I have used it extensively in a variety of ways.  I use Google Docs at work when I collaborate in lesson planning with my teammates, and also as a medium of communication between myself and parents.  At school, I've used it to collaborate with classmates on a project or presentation when we do not have time to meet in person.  I even use it in my personal life!  My friends and I use a Google Doc as a place to swap recipes.

I found Zoho to be equaly interesting and easy to use.  It might even be a little better, because creating a word document in Google Docs can sometimes be tedious, since the typing takes a long time to load up and refresh.  I look forward to using Zoho!

Thing #9

I loved contributing to this wiki, and I loved reading all of the other ideas too.  I think this is a great way to share resources.  It helps to read how other teachers are integrating technology into their lessons, and, after reading their entries, I got some great ideas to try out myself!

Of course, a wiki page like this one would be great to use professionally.  In my personal life, I could use this as a recipe sharing space with some of my married friends!  Many of the newly married couples I know are just starting out cooking in their own kitchens.  It would be fun and useful to swap recipes and kitchen horror stories.....I know I have many of the latter!

Thing #8

Looking at all of the wikis gave me a lot of great ideas for collaboration.  I think creating a wiki page at our school would be a great plave for teachers to post ideas, thoughts, resources and even fails and triumphs from the classroom! By reading what others have done, I would be inspired to try on my own.  I think it would be a great way for experienced teachers to share their knowledge, and for "rookie" teachers to get ideas on how to get started. 

I may be introducing this idea to our team leader as a technology alternative for our team to collaborate.

Thing #7

I loved exploring these tools!  I found Voki, Animoto, and Wordle to be particularly interesting.  There are just so many ways I could use these tools in my first grade classroom!

Wordle is an excellent tool for displaying new vocabulary.  Whenever we begin a new unit, I always start by introducing the vocabulary of the unit.  Then I remind the students of those vocabulary words throughout the lesson so that students can begin to make connections.  Wordle would make a beautiful display for the vocabulary!

Each year, I do an animal research project with my students.  We go through all the stages of the writing process to get a complete paragraph in which students are required to present information about their animal.  After playing around with Voki, I thought it might be cool for them to create a talking "avatar" to present the information! 

I will definitely use Animoto to create video clips and TEASEs.  I made a video at the end of last year featuring video clips and pictures of my students.  I took a video clip of each of them showing their favorite thing to do in First Grade.  I added pictures I had taken throughout the year.  I tried to use Windows Movie Maker to put them together and set them to music, but ran into some technical difficulties. :)  This year, I may try again and use Animoto....hopefully I'll have better luck!

Thing #6

Creating the bloglines account was easy to do.  However, it took me a while to go through all of the functions of the site.  I had a good time searching the different RSS feeds and looking for topics of interest to me.
Here's a list of the RSS feeds I signed up for:
MediaWeek News
Tech Crucnh
Concierge
Wired
MTV News
Fox News
USA Today
Epicurious\
Project Foodie
Unshelved

I tried to "share" my account like Dr. Wilson explained, but was unable to.  Here's a link to my private page, hopefully you can still view it!

Thing #5

My favorite of the 3rd party tools was Flickr Color Pickr.  I think this site might come in handy when I'm looking to decorate my house!  You can search for pictures that have a specific color theme. 

Some of my favorites are:
Red Flash
Eyes
Green Pleats

You have to sign up to view some of the images, and also to upload and share any of your own.  Also, you can download images that you like from the website for free!

Thing #4

When I was younger, my parents and I would make a trip to Southern India almost every year to visit the rest of our family.  As a teenager, I dreaded these trips, because it meant time away from my friends, however, as an adult, I realized that India is a place where beauty is found in some of the most unexpected places. 

My husband and I are planning a trip in December to visit the last of our family that are still living in their rural hometown.  We'll also be going to see some holy places and other sights.

This is a picture I found of Flickr of the Khajuraho Temple, which we are hoping to see during our trip.  Hopefully I'll be adding my own beautiful pictures to Flickr when I return.

Thing #3



This picture is from our recent trip to South Padre Island.  My husband and I enjoyed a romantic horseback ride on the beach!  We were told that our horses were also in love... :)



This is from the same trip.  If you know me, you probably wouldn't describe me as a thrill seeker....but here we are parasailing!  Love makes you do crazy things!

Here is my baby!  Bentley is a 4 year old beagle and the apple of my eye.  We brought him home to us when he was 8 weeks old and weighed 4 oz.  Now he's a fully grown 22 lbs and just about the sweetest dog you'll ever meet!



Thing #2

Wow!  This is kind of exciting!  I have to admit, I've always heard of other people blogging, but never really knew what it was.  I assumed it was some complicated thing that "techy" people did in their spare time. :) 

Setting up this blog was just as simple as setting up an email account....maybe even easier!  Now I can use it to communicate my ideas and thoughts as I venture through this particular stage of my life.  I have looked at many of my classmates' blogs and love seeing their personalities and creativities reflected there.  I'm excited to read their insights on the assignments we'll be doing this semester, and I'm also excited to share mine!

Thing #1

I have always found Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to be very intriguing.  I had the opportunity to attend a training on this "way of thinking" last year, and it has been on my mind ever since.  I have really tried to apply these habits to my teaching career and I feel I have had some amount of success! 

The easiest habit for me is accepting responsibility for my own learning.  I love attending trainings, learning new skills, or refreshing old ones.  I'm always the first to go and observe a co-worker to get more tips and strategies to enhance my instruction.  I actively seek out help from others in their areas of expertise.  In these ways, I take responsibility for my life-long learning.

The habit that is hardest for me is having confidence in myself as a competent and effective learner.  Often, I feel overwhelmed by all the things there are yet to learn!  I have a tendency to call myself a "rookie" and sometimes even to put myself down.  In the 7 1/2 Habits tutorial I watched online, they said to be careful what you say and think about yourself, because it will eventually become true.  This really resonated with me, and I need to be more careful of how I think and speak about my own competence and efficacy.

Here's a link to my Learning Contract:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z8djD1VBIXQQ2VvkMl0XrWkIaHAkZD2uiOBy7sh1qWE/edit?hl=en_US#