Last week I integrated Google Docs into my classes. It worked very well and I feel it promoted a much more collaborative approach to group work. Part of me always felt that when assigning students assignments to do on Word or Power Point that I would get students working separately and not simply combining their work. With Google Docs I felt more conversation and engagement were present and it led to more student learning. I also plan to integrate blogging into my classes to allow students to connect and apply what they learn to their lives. In my World Cultures class I will be using blogging in the unit I am currently teaching. We are studying South Asia and they will be asked to connect concepts that we have studied to their current and future lives. In my US History class we are studying the Cold War and students will be asked to explain how what happened in the Cold War impacts their lives. I am very excited about using it in the classroom.
Using Dropbox has been an interesting experience. I like being able to have the continuous access to my files without transferring my flash drive. I have also had computer crashes in the past so the long term security of my files is now something I hopefully can feel a little better about when I transfer them over. I have never used Skype before so that was definitely an interesting experience. As of right now I do not have any classroom application capabilities due to the major limitations I have for technology at my school but it is a tool to keep in mind for the future. I am hopeful that social bookmarking will make it easer for me to access and share the many links that I come across (many of which I lose or forget).
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Entry #1- February 20, 2011: "The Start of My Master's Journey
First...
Before getting into my post I would be remissed to not acknowledge the events the have occured here in Wisconsin over the last week. Being in Madison yesterday was a special and moving experience. I am a Social Studies teacher and firmly believe in democracy and citizens being able to make a difference. No matter the result of the protesting and whatever happens with the Budget Repair Bill, I hope that this leads to a renewed excitement for education and participation in government that seems to have gotten lost in our fast moving society. And I would also like to wish good luck to my fellow cohorts (and myself of course :-) ) as we move through this program together. Anyway, on to the post.
Learning in the Program and Connecting it to what I do:
For me it is very hard to believe that I am in my fourth year of teaching. Each year truly does fly by. I have taken a lot of time to try and decide what program that I wanted to do for my master's degree. It needed to be a program that I had passion to complete, could help me as an educator, and could potentially create career options for me if I needed them. After a lot of careful thought I decided that the Cardinal Stritich Instructional Technology program would fit my needs.
I have high hopes for what I hope to learn in my program. Technology has transformed the world and is transforming education. It is my hope to be on the cutting edge of avancement in instructional technology. I already spend a great deal of time seeking out and using technology and online resources to enhance my teaching. My goal for this program is to become very proficient in using instructional technology and more importantly, be able to help inform and educate other educators on how to use these tools as well. And I do not want to close the door to potentially working in the field of instructional technology or in some sort of a consulting position.
Connecting my learning to what I do in the classroom and when collaborating with other educators is a going to be an ongoing process. The district I teach in (Elkhorn Area School District) has made integrating technology on of its major goals. Currently there are major challenges with the amount and overall reliability of technology in the district. It is my hope that the knowlege I gain in this program can help me play a key role in helping the district overcome its technology challenges and reach its instructional technology goals. In the classroom I plan to use what I learn to enhance lessons, increase student engagement, be able to differentiate for struggling students, and extend content for high level students.
Before getting into my post I would be remissed to not acknowledge the events the have occured here in Wisconsin over the last week. Being in Madison yesterday was a special and moving experience. I am a Social Studies teacher and firmly believe in democracy and citizens being able to make a difference. No matter the result of the protesting and whatever happens with the Budget Repair Bill, I hope that this leads to a renewed excitement for education and participation in government that seems to have gotten lost in our fast moving society. And I would also like to wish good luck to my fellow cohorts (and myself of course :-) ) as we move through this program together. Anyway, on to the post.
Learning in the Program and Connecting it to what I do:
For me it is very hard to believe that I am in my fourth year of teaching. Each year truly does fly by. I have taken a lot of time to try and decide what program that I wanted to do for my master's degree. It needed to be a program that I had passion to complete, could help me as an educator, and could potentially create career options for me if I needed them. After a lot of careful thought I decided that the Cardinal Stritich Instructional Technology program would fit my needs.
I have high hopes for what I hope to learn in my program. Technology has transformed the world and is transforming education. It is my hope to be on the cutting edge of avancement in instructional technology. I already spend a great deal of time seeking out and using technology and online resources to enhance my teaching. My goal for this program is to become very proficient in using instructional technology and more importantly, be able to help inform and educate other educators on how to use these tools as well. And I do not want to close the door to potentially working in the field of instructional technology or in some sort of a consulting position.
Connecting my learning to what I do in the classroom and when collaborating with other educators is a going to be an ongoing process. The district I teach in (Elkhorn Area School District) has made integrating technology on of its major goals. Currently there are major challenges with the amount and overall reliability of technology in the district. It is my hope that the knowlege I gain in this program can help me play a key role in helping the district overcome its technology challenges and reach its instructional technology goals. In the classroom I plan to use what I learn to enhance lessons, increase student engagement, be able to differentiate for struggling students, and extend content for high level students.
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