Scenario

My strongest attributes as an educator is that I care for the future of our youth. It is essential to push these students to their best of their ability and to have high expectations because they WILL succeed. I am willing to do whatever it takes to see that my students succeed and I think the passion I have for our youth is what makes me a strong candidate. I will have challenges throughout my entire career because there is never one day like another; that's the great thing about being a teacher! I think something that I will struggle with the most is discipline. As a pre-service teacher I am not sure what is the best way to discipline and what consequences are the best. I think this will come with time. I will be able to try different things and see what works best.
In three-five years I see myself teaching the fifth grade at a school of high diversity. I see myself teaching but also being enrolled in my Masters program and taking classes during this time. I plan to get there by finishing out my education at Kansas State University by graduating in the fall of 2012. During the spring semester I will be enrolled into either the Master's program or ESL classes to be certified in ESL. I will also job search during the spring semester and market myself out to the schools so they can see that I will be a perfect fit for the job. I am willing to take mostly any age to teach so if was not teaching the fifth grade it would be no surprise to me. I will also have taken the test to get certified for middle school as well.
As a person of this generation I am pretty good at exploring new technologies and understanding them. However, there is no guarantee that I will understand every program out there. I will be sure to look for tutorials on the internet, take classes if they are available, and read the instructions that come with it. It is important to explore the options out there and usually there will be classes or workshops that will teach you how to use the program.
In my opinion, technology can help out with learning in many ways! I am a tactile and visual learner so using a computer is GREAT to help me learn the best. I will keep this in mind for my students. There are so many resources out there on the internet to aid in learning. It can be used as a teaching tool, a practice tool, or even a testing tool. It is amazing the different type of resources out there! For example, I found a website that will help students learn more about photosynthesis, the food chain, producers, consumers, and decomposers. It allows students to play games, to study, and numerous other things. It is called The Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers Game. Having resources on the internet is also great for students with special needs , its not just for those students in the general classroom.
Technology has had a HUGE impact on my education. A majority of my grades, quizzes, and notices about class are on the internet so it is vital to know how to work technology and the internet. I have also discovered many resources that have helped with my homework, taught me different ways of studying, and helped me learn more about a certain subject. We use technology in all of our classes whether it is using iclickers, a computer, ipads, or even cellphones to study.
I think one thing that alarms adminstrators and teachers is that using technology may give students the chance to cheat but what they do not know is how it can actually make their lives easier! To convince the administration and my coworkers I will show them a number of websites that can be used in the classroom and show them on a number of different tools or technology. I will make sure to show them that students will love it and it is so engaging. It can help they in learning as well.
There are so many resources that I am not sure that I could list them all!  I will try different technologies and resources and see which ones work best for my students on an individual level. I am excited to use Animoto, Prezi, VoiceThread and a number of other resources that I think my students will love and respond well to.

My Wow Moment

My wow moment....well I'd say I had three this semester. First being I had no idea there were that many resources out there! I was speechless when we had class the first week and we discussed what all we were going to do during the semester. It is important as educators to have resources to use and to continue to find new resources and this class helped me do this. I have so many resources that I will most definitely be using in my classroom. Second, I had NO idea that there were technology standards that had to be met! It is a good thing we had this class because it has never been mentioned in any of my other education classes that there are technology standards that have to be met. Lastly, my third wow moment was how much work we did for just one credit. I am glad we did all the projects and discovered all the resources that we did but I think this class is worth WAY more than one credit. I have taken three credit hour classes and did not do one-tenth of the work that I did in this class. However, I will say that I learned much more so it really does not matter the credit.

Podcast Favorites

When I heard we had to listen to podcast I was not too excited about it. I felt like it was pointless but boy was I wrong. I have learned so much from these podcast and I am glad I was proven wrong. I really enjoyed all the resources they talked about. I was really intrigued at how much there is for teachers out there! I LOVED listening to the Tech Chiks. I thought they were really enjoyable to listen to, they were funny, and they had lost of resources that I have tagged in my Delicious. They discussed a lot of resources and what their features were which is nice to get a small description of what they are. They also discussed how teachers have used them or how they could be used in the classroom. I did listen/watch one that talked about a charter school that was my favorite one that I did. I liked to have a visual so because it was video was nice. I learned so much about a charter school that I never knew and I didn't realize what they really were exactly until after the podcast. It was an Agricultural based charter school which interests me because I live on a farm and am from a rural area. They did so many things in the school that was really neat and could be done in a regular public school as well. I will continue to listen to the Tech Chiks but I doubt I listen to the others much.

Semester Favorites

I have enjoyed most of the things we have done this semester but there are two things that I enjoyed the most. The first being Animoto because it is so easy, free, and you can be so creative with it. I have made Animoto videos for fun when I have free time even if I am not using them for anything. It is also useful because it can be used for a number of things, one being in the classroom. With the current budget cuts within the education program it is always nice to have a resource that is free. The students can use these as well as myself being able to use them to teach content. I really like Animoto and I know I will be using it in the future!

The second thing we used that I would say is in my top five of favorite resources on the internet is Delicious. This resource can be used for anyone and their job career or schooling. I have used this for many of my projects this semester. I have tagged so many resources so if I am working on a lesson plan or a project of some kind I bet I could find everything I need within my Delicious account. It is also very useful that it is available as long as there is internet connection. It can also be shared with other educators or people which is nice for everyone.
Animoto and Delicious are two resources that I will continue to use in education and in my life in general. I have already shared these resources with many family members, friends, and other educators that do not have them!

Using Comic Strips In The Classroom

I thought it was really fun to do this comic strip but it was a lot harder than I thought. The actual site and design was easy but coming up with a funny joke or limerick of some kind was much harder than I had originally thought. I used the ToonDoo site to make my comic strip. My emphasis is in English so I did my comic on a pun, which in itself is already funny (ha). I think the kids will love this and it doesn't always have to be funny. As an English teacher, or teacher in general, you could use this to make a story, practice sequencing, and for fun! I think it would be something the students would love and the students could be really creative with it. I think this could be a creative writing project that would be really popular with the students and there are so many different sites to use to make a comic strip!

Podcast Reflection #12 K-12 Online: Primary Online Portfolios

Kathy Cassidy introduced us to a way that students can share their work and incorporate technology in the classroom. As a first grade teacher from Canada, she and her students each set up a blog page that allowed them to post their work and share with others like their parents. This is a great way for students to share what they have been learning with their families. Ms. Cassidy had 4 students discuss their portfolios. Two of the students were present students and two of them were former students. Carson, Sabrina, Braeden, and Dalton each told us things they like about their blog. Carson explained to us that it is nice to use a Blog or digital portfolio because it shows your improvement, especially in writing. He also pointed out that you can use videos, pictures, writing, and many more things on your portfolio. His favorite project was his clay project that he made and he likes that it can be accessible at anytime. Dalton and Carson told us about three different resources they used in the classroom for their digital portfolios:

• StoryBird
• Sketchcast
• Vocaroo

Each of these websites do something different but they used these on their blogs by recording their voices, writing and designing a story, and by videotaping themselves doing an art project or just drawing. I think it is great to use all the resources possible in the classroom especially if they are FREE! They students seemed really excited about using the digital portfolios and the other resources listed above. Sabrina and Braeden said they liked using the digital portfolio to post their four patters project. They could show their parents what they had designed and learned. The students explained that you have to stay safe online so there are two things to make sure NOT to do: 1) Do not use your last name 2) Do not use a personal photo of yourself. When you become an adult it is then your own choice whether to change those or not. Sabrina and Braeden also told us how to know if people have viewed your portfolio or not. They said every time someone views it it will tell you that ______ reads and it will have comments as well if someone left a comment. Sabrina said she has 128 reads! The students were allowed to choose what they put on the portfolio and all four students said it was better using the portfolios than using paper. They all agreed that more people could see your work and progress if it was online.

I thought this was a great video to watch and it is something that I think any classroom teacher could use as long as the technology was available. I think it is amazing that FIRST GRADERS were doing this. It just shows how well students learn and how technologically advanced this generation is. Students would love to do this and I think the parents would enjoy it and support it so they could monitor their child's progress.
Ms. Cassidy has shared her Wiki on primary portfolios:
http://primaryportfolios.wikispaces.com/

Podcast Reflection #11: 0079.5 TCT CyberMonday!

This podcast was a short heads up about a couple things the TechChiks are now offering to its viewers. The first thing that they informed us about was they now have a Facebook page! All you have to do is get on Facebook and search for The Tech Chiks. If you LIKE them you will be able to view the profile and get updates about when they will have the new podcast posted! The next thing that the TechChiks talked about were the CyberMonday Deals. Mark, from gamez4touch.com is offering codes for a few games to the listeners of The Tech Chiks. There are five games that he will offer these codes for and the offer is only out for a week (which has already expired). The best thing about it is after you have used the code then you have the app just like you would have any other you paid for, forever! Its updates are done the same way as well. After you have entered the code for the app it will automatically download it to your computer, iPhone, iPad, or iTouch. The five games if offers are TouchPhysics, TouchPhysics2, TouchPhysicsHD, Play With Your Peas, and Musical Lights. The TouchPhysics series is great for students and teachers which allows you to play games and study the subject of Physics. The TouchPhysicsHD is designed specifically for the iPad and it is really neat. Play with Your Peas is strictly a game that is not quite as educational. It does encourage critical thinking and improves the critical thinking skills. The Musical Lights game is geared toward Christmas and it allows you to upload a photo and then add a Christmas light border. It has many features and can even have blinking lights!

This podcast was really interesting and it is nice to have a place where you can get the latest apps for your iPad or iTunes so that educators can download educational games. Everyone knows that students love to play games and use technology and what a better way to combine them both to be educational. Many of the classrooms around the United States are improving their technology so it is important to exercise our options for the benefit of our students. Even little games like Play with Your Peas may seem like only fun and no educational value on the outside but it is important to have games like this that exercise our critical thinking, even if it isn't about Physics or History.

Podcast Reflection #10 Salman Khan: Let's Use Video to Reinvent Education

WOW! This video was so innovative and interesting. I think it is great that they are doing something like this and especially for Math. Math is a complex subject that some students just do not understand and it is important as teachers to make sure that the students that do not get it, get the extra help they need. Math builds off of simple concepts into complex ideas that are not possible to grasp without the basic math skills. As educators, it is hard to move on when a student or students are behind as well as other students who understand the concepts very easily. The use of these videos in the classroom is a great idea because it allows the teacher to work more closely with students and the best thing about it is students can work at their own pace that way you are not moving to quickly/slowly for your class. They mentioned having the students watch the lectures for homework and the homework or math problems they would normally do at home will be done in the classroom with the help of peers and the teacher. In educational psychology it is said that the student that teachers or describes the concept or idea understands it best. This is a great way to get the peers working together and able to teach the concepts to each other. It is also a great way that parents can get involved in their students school work. The students can show the parents what they are learning, you can recommend certain videos to have the parents monitor them as they watch them, you can even allow the parents to see the students progress throughout the year. As Salman discussed its benefits one thing that really caught my eye was the idea of teachers being able to monitor student progress even from the years before. For example, if Tommy is struggling in you Algebra class especially with fractions. You know that is something they should have covered the year before, so you can pull up his results and progress and see from the year before whether he understood it, where he struggled, when he began to struggle, or even if he struggled or not and may just need some refreshing lectures to bring it all back. I am extremely impressed with this use of video in education and I think it is great for all ages and learners. It is great for this generation as well because most students spend a great deal of time on the computer daily anyways.

One inspirational thing that I would like to end with was when Salman was discussing the words he received from an Autistic boy's mother. She said that he has struggled with math for years and have tried basically everything and up until trying this nothing worked. She said now he understands math and is right where he needs to be, no more falling behind. I think this is great to know that it could benefit students that are gifted, autistic, have learning disabilities, etc. I am so impressed and would like to see this in action to see how the teachers and students respond!

Podcast Reflection #9: 0071 TCT Sparking Their Creativity

This podcast was a great pick because it was full of internet resources and things you can do in the classroom to spark the creativity of your students. They started off by talking about how a young student was encouraged to spark his creativity by using different words, rather than the ordinary words. For example, instead of using the word old he used ancient. His teacher was proud of him for doing this so he asked him to read his story over the intercom at school to the principal. The student ended by thanking him (his teacher) and all other teachers who help students "find their spark, make their mark, and encourage them to dream big." This was the main inspiration behind the podcast and they discussed how this is something that should inspire teachers everywhere and that the mission of teachers should be to help students Find Spark, Make a Mark, and Dream Big! I think this is the best mission I have heard and it gives me great inspiration as a future educator to know that doing those three things can change a students life forever.

The TechChiks shared quite a few resources that I think will be great for the classroom. The first one is called Media College and it can be used for numerous projects but especially for film production. It has a number of tutorials to assist you in editing and making a video. The best part about this website is its FREE! The next website the ladies told about was Aviary which is a PhotoShop website that is also FREE! It allows you to edit photos, do touch-ups, add graphics and images, etc. It is something that could be used in the classroom for all students because it is easy and they will not have to pay at all! Next, the TechChiks talked about WebNote that allows you to take notes on your computer and add as a bookmark, that way if you want to share it you can. There is a drawback to this and that is there is no sign in name which means it is not secure. Our Courts could be one of my favorite resources I have discovered this year! It is a Civics website that was designed and created by Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner. It allows individuals, groups, or classes to play games and take test on Civics. Below I have listed four other resources that were talked about during the podcast. I think they are all worth looking at as I have explored all of them and they will be something I keep in mind when using technology in the classroom.

Quizlet

Story Ideas from CogDogRoo

Story Jumper

Zoodles

The TechChiks also discussed their two favorite iPhone apps of the week. One was called Flashcard Touch that allows you to search Quizlet and download the flashcards made there right to your phone! The other app was called GorillaCam which gives you a number of tools for your built in camera on your iPhone.