Signing Off

So after a year and a half of learning a lot and working really hard, my time in the MTT program is coming to an end. I am really thankful for all that I have learned. It has been a lot of hard work, and I have been overwhelmed many times, but I am very thankful for the progress that I have made in technology.

Even if I only learned how to blog, I learned a lot because I think blogging has become one of my favorite things and I have discovered a love for writing and sharing as well. However, that is definitely not all that I have learned. I find myself using my technology skills nearly every day both at work and in my personal life.

I can only imagine how technology will continue to change over the next few years and I plan to really try to keep up with changes and advancements as they pertain to education. Technology is our future, and educating children using technology will only prepare them for brighter futures as well.

Current Research Summary

One research article that I looked at completed an experiment that blended a variety of multi-media components into learning. The program was divided and graded on components of self-check assessments, online activities, weekly quizzes, team projects, and a final exam. To test the effectiveness, they did interviews with the student. The overall results showed that the students not only really enjoyed the activities, but also learned a lot as well.

http://www.rcetj.org/index.php/rcetj/article/view/66/136

The second research study that I looked at studied "technology-based content through virtual and physical modeling." The idea behind this study was that visualizations and abstractions can help people to better learn concepts and remember facts related to them. The research further supported this idea, and also showed that those that participated enhanced their technology skills and knowledge as well as the content that was studied.

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v20n2/ernst.html

The third study that I looked at considered criticisms of technology in education. With the constant changes in technology, there have been some negative opinions of using technology for educational purposes because it is constantly changing. The article concluded that there should be more current research done that is randomized and takes all aspects into account without bias.

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v20n1/daugherty.pdf

Identifying Sources of Ideas for Education and Training Programs

6.1
I have recently planned a training program for the teachers at my school about how to integrate the technology that we have available to us at our school into our curriculum. My sources for ideas came from a few different sources. The first was during the brainstorming session in our Assessment class this summer. I listened to what other teachers were planning based on their experience, and I tried to transfer it to my own experience. Then, once school started, and I got to know my colleagues, I asked them about what sort of technology training they would each find most valuable. Through a combination of those ideas, I was able to come up with what topics I should focus on.

6.2
In my current role as a teacher at a charter school, I feel that there is a need for more training and professional development. I think that it would be beneficial to provide a wide variety of options for training programs. Several types could be: large seminars, after school meetings, online courses, or book studies. The two main types that seem to be most effective in this setting are online courses and book studies. It seems that with everyone being so busy and overwhelmed, they do not also want to volunteer any of their time after school hours that involve being on campus. Therefore, I think that these two are the best options for our particular school because it is the best way to get teachers to want to actively participate.

MTT Showcase

To celebrate our completion of the MTT program, we are putting together a showcase of the work that we have completed in the program. Each student created a poster to showcase background information about themselves, as well as show the work that they have completed throughout the four classes of the program.

The idea is to allow students that are entering (or considering) the MTT program to be able to come to the session and see what topics and projects will be covered throughout the courses. They will be allowed to ask questions of each individual and see the examples that they provide.

I am a little nervous because I do not have a lot of experience presenting to people that I do not know, and I do not particularly like to talk about myself and my accomplishments outside of an interview setting. However, I think it is a great idea for the program and will give us all some great experience if we ever choose to participate in poster sessions at professional development seminars in the future.

Website that work... at least for my students

Since my students spend only about 30 minutes in the computer lab, 3 times a week. Therefore, most of their time is spent working on educational websites. I hope that in the future, they work more on projects, but these websites seem to be helping them with their basic reading and math skills.

manythings.org
This site has a lot of language and vocabulary practice.

elfnet.com
This is a great vocabulary site, especially for English Language Learners.

spellingcity.com
This site allows you to put in your students' spelling lists and it generates teaching, practice, and testing for them from that list.

hoodamath.com
Some of these are more fun than mathematical, but there are several good games that focus on beginning math skills.

softschools.com
This site covers a variety of topics, but I use it for the 1st grade math skills. You can also produce practice worksheets for homework or extra practice.


There are a ton of educational websites out there, and it is hard to say which ones really are the best, but it has really been through trial and error that I have found what works best for my students.

Creating a Professional Portfolio

I have to admit that at first I was not very excited about this project. Making a resume has never been one of my favorite things. However, once I got started, I had a lot of fun! I never realized that putting together samples of my work could be done in such a fun way.

There are a lot of ways to put together a digital portfolio, but I chose a website format. I thought that it would be a good idea because I could actually give the link to potential employers so that they could easily file through some of the work I have done and learn things about me that my resume does not show.

If I were going to give it to a future employer, it would definitely need some editing and tweeking first, but I am glad that I feel pretty comfortable designing a simple website because I think that will prove to be a valuable tool for me in the future.

Here is the link to my portfolio: http://web.me.com/yvette.grenz/Professional_Portfolio/About_Me.html

My Professional Development Plan

When I first started out, I was not really sure what I should develop a professional development program on. So, I started talking to other teachers, and the principal, to see what things they felt that they needed help with. Since I am at a small school (only 10 teachers) it was easy to make this a personalized experience.

Most teachers said that they were pretty familiar with Microsoft Office, or at least as it pertained to anything that they might use it for at this time. However, the one thing that all of them struggled with was how to use the technology that we have available, other than just having their students work on our mandated (and suggested websites).

So, after speaking with all of them and seeing who would actually be interested in a training session, I began to develop a session that would give them some ideas and resources. It includes some basics of PowerPoint, as well as other software that we have on our computers. From there, I went to websites and other tools that they could access for free to use in their teaching in the classroom.

I have not performed my session yet, but I hope that it will be beneficial and that even if they do not immediately implement the things that they learn, that they will feel comfortable coming to me with technology related questions in the future.

My Action-Research Project

After writing a lot of research papers over the course of graduate school, I thought that it might be interesting to take a different approach, and perform my own mini-action-research project with my students. We have recently purchased a new program for our district that is called Skills Tutor. I did not know anything about it before this semester, and my students had never used it either.

It is a really useful program because it is divided into sections for language arts, math, and other subjects. The teacher goes in and enrolls each student by giving them a username and password, and then is able to select topic areas for each individual to work on. When the student logs in they are prompted with a variety of practice tests and then guided accordingly. It also gives a score for each time they attempt a task and you can set your own passing percentage.

I have found it to be really beneficial to my students, at all levels. It is very basic, and I am not sure how well it would work for upper grade levels, but it does a great job of working with beginning letter sounds, grammar, and basic math skills.

The website is http://www.myskillstutor.com

Understanding the importance of professional development and personal growth

Before I got my first job I knew that teachers were required to attend professional devlopment seminars in order to renew their certifications, but I did not know much else about it. After attending my first district-wide staff development sessions this summer, I began to see some of the benefits. I felt like I really got to know other teachers, got a good idea of how to use the curriculum, and built relationships with some of the leaders in the district.

Now, after teaching for a semester, and having created and attended more professional development sessions, I have definitely developed an understanding about why professional development is so important. Even just working with a few older teachers who aren't as up-to-date on new teaching pedagogy has made me see how it would be easy to get set in your ways and not want to learn about new ideas.

I hope that even if I teach for 40 years, that I am still open to new ideas and continue to develop my teaching skills and keep myself informed on new trends and theories in the education field.

My future as a leader in technology

Technology is susch an exciting field to be in because it is constantly changing. Even in the year and a half that I have been in graduate school there have been a lot of new advancements in educational technology. I think that being in technology and education, my future possibilities are virtually endless.

Since I still have to wait to have taught another two years after this one before I can receive my MTT certificate, I can only imagine what changes will take place between now and then! However, once I do have my certificate, I hope that I will be able to become a technology specialist of some sort, or at least be at a school that has a very technology-rich environment.

I think that technology basics are often taught, but many simple technologies are not utilized in education to their full potential. It is my goal as an educator that no matter what type of situation I am in, I strive to teach other educators about the importance of implementing technology whenever possible and keeping yourself informed and up-to-date on recent developments.

What MTT means to me

When I began my journey in the masters program at SMU, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I attended SMU for my undergraduate degree, and was very familiar with the education program, but was not so sure what getting my Masters in Education would entail. When I sat down with my advisor to plan out my courses, I knew that I was very interested in gifted and talented education, but was at a loss for what other content area I would really want to focus in. She suggested technology because the demand for technology-proficient educators is growing so rapidly, so I agreed and jumped right in.

I had always considered myself to be fairly proficient in technolgy, but I have learned a lot throughout the program. Not only have I increased my own knowledge about ways to use softwares that I already knew about, but I have also learned that there is a lot of technology for education out there that I never knew existed.

My favorite class was the multimedia class. Despite some computer problems that prevented my from being able to do everything the best way possible, I really enjoyed learning about the various forms of multimedia and how I can use them in my classroom.

Overall, I have found the MTT program to be very beneficial. I have learned a lot already, and yet I know that I still have a lot to learn in the future. Technology is a very important part of today's education and I am happy to have vhosen to be a part of the progress.

Continuing Education

This class has made me think a lot about my own personal growth as well as my own professional development. As I come to the end of my masters program, I begin to wonder what the future will hold. I had always hoped to go to graduate school, but I feel like it really flew by quickly. However, it has been an extremely rewarding experience. It has put me back in line with a profession that I love and I have learned so much already.

I do not know what the next few years of my career will hold, but I am fairly certain that I want to begin classes towards my EdD in the near future. It will be spread out over more time than my masters has been, but I know that if I do not go back within the next few years, I may never do so. It is amazing to me how educating myself just makes me continue to realize the importance of education and its future in our country.

Since I am fairly young for an educator, I am sure that there will be a lot of changes to the education systems that i see over my career. I am not really sure what path I will eventually end up taking throughout my future, but I know that I want to continue to try to make a difference in as many childrens' lives as possible. Now I see that the best way to do that is by continuing to educate myself as well.

Inferiority Complex

As I was planning my professional development, I also developed a bit of a nervousness about whether other, more experienced, teachers would some how see it as my way of showing off. I know that seems silly or immature, but it became a real worry of mine as a first year, first semester teacher trying to teach other teachers something.

However, as I began to feel out interest though, I was surprised at the number of people that were willing and eager to participate. I think especially in our particular situation with limited technology in a computer lab setting, teachers who are not comfortable with technology feel as though they are at a loss for things to do. The upper grades are also supposed to use certain websites and software for an alloted amount of time, which doe not leave much time to develop new technology skills.

I would definitely be nervous before performing a professional development session in front of a larger group of educators, however I definitely feel that this experience taught me a lot and helped to develop my confidence. Professional development is important to educators, and I hope that some day I can create a larger development session, or maybe even travel to other schools in our district as well.

Becoming a Mentor

I have had many mentors throughout my life, and I am sure that I have been a mentor many times before, but have never labeled myself as one. It is somewhat of an overwhelming task at times to be someone's mentor. Being a mentor carries a lot of weight because you have influence over a person, and it implies that you know more about a certain subject than someone else.

Growing up in a household with both my parents being engineers, they were always big advocates of my technology skills, even from a young age. I always took learning about technology for granted, but considered myself to be fairly technology-savvy. It has been a rewarding experience to mentor someone else because the questions she has are things that seem simple to me, but that I find hard to explain step-by-step to someone else.

Being a mentor is a lot like being a first grade teacher because it involves breaking everything down in to simple and straight-forward terms. I hope that in the future, after I have been teaching for a few more years, that I will be able to mentor first-year teachers and help them with a lot of their questions and concerns.

Teaching Blog

As I began my journey in my first classroom, I knew that I would be facing a lot of challenges, as well as a lot of rewards. Most of my family is in California, and therefore I do not see or talk to some of them often. I also knew that being in my first semester of teaching full-time, in addition to completing my last semester of graduate school, would be a daunting task and would not allow me a lot of free time to call and update friends and family on how it was going.

For this reason, I created a blog to document my experiences. As you can see, I began by writing almost every day, and now it has turned into several weeks in between posts. It has been a little overwhelming to say the least, but I am looking forward to looking back on it someday and relieving these once in a lifetime experiences.

Here is the link:
http://teachingmakesyoucrazy.blogspot.com/

Digital Photography

I have always really enjoyed photography, but I have found that my students really enjoy it when I take pictures of them and put them up around the room or in the hall. It is a great way to document activities that we do in class, and also something I have found useful for my own professional portfolio. Each week I send home a weekly newsletter, and I try to include a picture of the student of the week, and also a class photo if we have done something exciting or especially memorable that week.

It is my intention to make them a memory DVD. I am not sure if I will do it for the holidays, or at the end of the year, but I want to make sure that I have plenty of photographs to include. Our school also does a video yearbook at the end of the school year, so I want to make sure that my class is well represented in that as well.

Here are a few pictures that I have taken so far:

My Class and Me on Pajama Day


My Class at the Zoo

I am really glad that I learned about creating movies in the multimedia class so that I will hopefully be able to use those skills to put together the photos into multimedia that my students can save for memories.

Media Room

Though our school is very small, the are continuously trying to make improvements, whenever the funding is possible. We have two computer labs (one for the lower grades and one for the upper grades) with 20 computers each. However, that is about the extent of the technology that we have accessible to us. Each teacher also has a computer on their desk, but it is not ideal to use for presentations or anything within the classroom.

The newest technology that we have gotten at our school is a brand new media lab. It is designed like a small movie theater with about 22 chairs that all face a wall. There is a projector that is connected to a DVD player, as well as a computer. I'm sure that most teachers will use it, mostly, to show DVD's to their students as a reward, but there are so many ways that it can be used to enhance education. I hope that I can create my own videos, or have my students create videos that we can share in the lab. I also hope to provide the other teachers with resources for ways that they can access useful videos.

I am really excited to be working in a place that is moving forward with technology. While smart boards are still just a pipe dream, if we can continue to make these advances it can only benefit our students. It will also help to encourage all of the teachers to keep themselves educated on the most current changes in technology as well.

Easier Said Than Done

So far in my experience, I have found that integrating technology into the curriculum is much easier said than done. It was really easy for me to come up with hypothetical ideas when I was not in the classroom, but actually carrying them out has proven to be a really difficult task. I was never sure what type of technology I would have available to me in the classroom, but my current classroom has even more limited resources than I anticipated.

It is also really difficult when my class is as behind as they are in reading and other major subjects to then have time to also teach them about technology and its importance. Since the other subjects are of high importance in the curriculum, the limited amount of time that we are able to spend in the lab does not allow me a lot of time to teach about new technologies, but instead I end up falling back on things that they already know how to use so that they can spend more time working in those programs, or on those websites.

Although most students to do not have computer access at home, it is essential for them to gather basic computer skills now so that they can use them later in life. I am impressed with how fast my students are able to learn to use technology, and if I could find a more seamless way to integrate technology, I think that they would only continue to benefit.

My Mentors

My teaching career is really just getting started, but I have had many mentors already that have helped me so much along my journey. All of my Education professors in undergrad were very influential, but my mentoring teacher during student teaching really had a large impact on me. She had been teaching first grade for more than 20 years, and yet was still very open to new ideas and constantly trying new things to make sure that her students were learning to the best of their abilities.

Since I did not go into the teaching field after student teaching, my next set of mentors have been both my colleagues in the SMU masters program, as well as my professors. I feel like i have really learned a lot from other teachers' experiences, and all of my professors have been great resources during my job search and my first year of teaching.

At my current job, we are assigned mentors and the other first grade teacher is mine. She has been teaching off and on for 10 years, 9 of them in first grade. While technology is not her strong point, she has provided me with a lot of lessons, resources, and ideas. She has also really helped me to stay organized and plan ahead, which has reduced a lot of stress during what could be a very overwhelming time.

Professional Development Programs and Participation

Over the past two years, the primary training and education that I have participated in had been the Masters of Education program at SMU. I have been a student since the fall of 2008 and will graduate this December, 2009. Through this program I have participated in a variety of classes that focus on everything from professional writing and diverse learners to differentiated instruction and research design. In addition to those core courses, I have also been receiving training in both specialty areas of gifted and talented education and technology.

The primary purpose of my participation in the Masters program, is to further my own education and development as an effective educator. The program has really helped me by teaching me more strategies, as well as enhancing the tools and resources at my fingertips as a teacher in order to make me a better teacher in the classroom.

Also, just in the last two months I began a new job, teaching first grade at a charter school in the Dallas area. This summer, and in the weeks leading up to school, I had to attend several staff development seminars. The first one was a boot camp to go over what a day should look like in our classroom at the beginning of the year and then comparatively, what a day should look like about 100 days in to school. The second training went over classroom management, best practices, and how to implement the chosen curriculum for each grade level. Finally, during in-service week at school we discussed the important dynamics, schedules, and guidelines that help our school to run smoothly.

Overall, I have had a very positive experience in the education and professional development that I have received over the past few years. I have not yet planned any of these sessions, but have participated. I feel like both the masters program and my staff development have really prepared me to be a better teacher. If anything, I feel like I have been overwhelmed by too many good ideas. However, I would rather have that be the case than feel lost or like I did not have resources or know where to turn. I can only hope that I can successfully implement everything that I have learned, and survive my last semester in graduate school while teaching in order to graduate in December. I am also eager to teach for a few years and then pursue more educational opportunities, and also to become a master teacher that can mentor teachers and design professional development sessions of my own.

wrapping up the semester

This semester I really feel like I have learned so much about educational technology. Coming in to the semester, I had a good grasp of the basics of technology, but did not realize how much multimedia could impact curriculum and enhance it. It has been slightly overwhelming to learn so much at once, but I am glad that I have added so many skills to my list of tools. I now feel confident with creating podcasts, audio files, video files, websites, animation, and integrating all of these skills together. I can only hope to be able to use these skill effectively and efficiently, both in my own life, and my classroom in the near future!

moviemaker vs. imovie

I have been fortunate enough this semester to work with both Mac and PC software. Though a lot of software is now compatible for both operating systems, there are some differences as well. I have been surprised to find that working with the latest version of moviemaker is much more user friendly than iMovie. Both are great examples of video editing software, but iMovie comes with the assumption that you know something about video editing and are able to figure out how to add in sound, narration, or titles. Moviemaker, on the other hand, has a very simple task pane menu that allows you to add exactly what you want, and offers easy step-by-step tutorials on how to use each one. I think that iMovie is great software and I hope to learn more about using it, and I have already become familiar with it's layout, but for a beginner in video editing (or a classroom with young children), I would definitely recommend using moviemaker.

In a perfect world

Since I am not currently in a classroom, I feel like sometimes I am getting all of these wonderful ideas for educational technology that I may, or may not, be able to use in my own classroom, depending on the school and district that I teach in and the accessibility of technology. However, it has definitely got me thinking a lot about what my ideal classroom would be like if I could have all of the things that I think would allow me to be the most effective teacher possible. Here are the the things I have come up with:

1. At least 5 computers in my classroom

2. The following software on each computer: word processing, video editing, audio editing, iTunes, an internet connection with search engine, Kidspiration, powerpoint, and access to other software packages, as needed

3. The following hardware: at least 1 color printer and one laser printer, a promethian/smartboard, activevotes for the smart board, projector and screen, digital cameras, video cameras, microphones, headphones

Of course, this would be in a dream world, but I continue to add to my list of things as I learn about new technologies and I hope to be able to find ways to implement as many of them as possible in my classroom, even if it means fundraising or spending money out of my own pocket!

Social networking... the addiction of the future.

As I sit here, checking my Facebook mini-feed for the 10th time today, I began thinking about social networking. It is amazing to me what a phenomenon it has become. Children are joining Facebook, Myspace, and other social networking sites as young as middle school. While I think that it can be a great way to reconnect with family and friends, I think that it also gives children access to a lot of potential threats and inappropriate information. It is so important to teach children proper use of these types of sites and that you create privacy settings to protect your students and children. 

When I was in school we had group chats on AOL, but I remember getting constant requests from people that I did not know. My parents were probably unaware of many of the dangers because they did not know much about how AOL and chat rooms worked. Now, with all of the ways that you can search and connect to people, it is very possible for people find information and impersonate children, which makes it especially important for them not to put any personal information on their information sections of their social profiles.

With how much social networking has grown over the past few years, I can only predict that it will continue to grow over the next few years even more. It is not only important that children use this technology safely, but also that the amount of time that they spend on it is limited, and that their education remains the priority.

Softchalk

I am really impressed with the Softchalk software. I think it is so important for teachers to have access to simple technology that allows them to incorporate technology effectively into their every day lessons without bending over backwards. One big problem with some technology is feasibility. With Softchalk, feasibility is no longer an issue. It is not all that time consuming, and especially if you have a document that you can import, it really does the work for you. You just add creative labels, break things apart, and create an engaging lesson for students of any age. You can add images, video, and various forms of multimedia easily. I think all teachers should get their schools to purchase a version of this software for their school.

Tempermental Technology

This semester has developed a really love-hate relationship for me with technology. Between trying to convert video files to a format that my computer can use, and then my entire hard drive crashing, my faith in technology and compatibility has really been put to the test. I can say, however, that I have learned about the importance of being flexible and backing EVERYTHING up. Technology is not always predictable and I think that is an important lesson for children to learn as well. It may not always work the way you want it to or anticipate it to, but it is important to remember that there are always alternatives. 

Cyber Ethics

With growing technology there are many problems that children face in school when it comes to cyber ethics. I think that some of the biggest problems arise from pop-ups or sites with misleading or inappropriate names. Just the other day when I was substitute teaching, children were on google and ask.com and other appropriate research sites and were getting pop-ups saying that they were the winner of a contest, which would lead them to other unrelated sites. While most of these sites were blocked by the schools server, if they had been doing the same search at home they would have easily been led to these sites. While pop-up blockers are helpful, there are still banner ads and other ways for students to be easily misled. 

It is important for schools to have strict filters and monitor computer use. It is equally important for parents to create the same filters at home and address appropriate internet use. 

Animating the classroom

I have been working with PowerPoint for a long time and I am familiar with how to animate slides, but I had never really considered all of the educational purposes. I liked learning in more detail about how to animate various parts of slides and consider the uses of animation in the classroom.

Working with Inspiration was a new experience for me. I have always heard about it, and wanted to learn more about it, so I was excited to learn how to use it. I have also come across some lesson plans that suggest using Kidspiration, so I am looking forward to learning more about that software, and hopefully being able to use it in my classroom in the future.

Overall, I think using animation is a lot easier than I had originally anticipated, and I can see how it would have very practical uses in the classroom, and in professional development.

I think I might start a GarageBand...

Working with audio files is a lot easier than I had anticipated. Since I have just recently become a Mac user, I thought I would take advantage of learning to use GarageBand. I really liked that you could record your own songs or podcasts.

I started practicing recording a podcast, just to test my microphone and learn more about sound editing. Similar to MovieMaker, you can simply record yourself speaking, and bring in songs and then drag and drop them to rearrange them. You can also easily add pictures, or PowerPoint slides to show up as visual aid for your podcast. Recording is a lot easier than I thought and you can crop your sound bites, lock them together, separate them, and even have them play in overlay.

Now if only I could come up with a good topic for my audio file that I am going to create...

Welcome to my Blog!

For those of you that don't know me, my name is Yvette, and I am a graduate student at SMU. I am currently working on my Masters in Education. As part of that plan, I am taking a series of technology courses to help me utilize modern technology in my classroom. As I learn about new technologies I will be talking about them here.