One of the major projects this semester for my Technology in Education class with the MAT program at the University of Alaska Southeast, was to create a piece of digital media. This project was very time consuming and exciting as it got me thinking about a number of different ideas and how to incorporate them into a story. In the end, I used an event that occurred in my life, put a script to add narration, included some music in the background, and waa-laa! My very own iMovie.
I began with creating a story map which you can view here. I also created a rubric intended to be used to potentially grade student work if I was to ever attempt to have students try a digital media project in my own classroom. Click here to view my rubric.
I found this assignment perplexing, as I made an iMovie during the previous semester. However, as I was developing my idea, and messed with the technology, I began to realize how fun an activity like this could be for my students. Electronics play a large role in teenagers lives, and it could be a learning experience for all involved. I could for see some major obstacles in attempting this with a large class size. It would take an enormous amount of time and energy. But with the right numbers and some motivated students, I could see this being an exciting project.
Click here to view my iMovie!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Professional Online Community
For my Technology in Education course with the MAT program, I was asked to take part in an online social networking community. I chose to join the Edutopia: Improving Public Schools online forum. This was a great way for me to plug into the many blogs and public forums available to individuals who create their own accounts. Once you have your account set up, you are able to take part in many different threads of communication with multiple different topics being discussed. I joined the Brave New World for Middle School teachers thread.
I found this networking to be full of wonderful ideas, unfortunately, many answers or comments came much later than I had hoped. This is a great way to interact with other teachers nationwide, however, I would suggest using it only for advise and not to rely on the responses of others to guide lesson planning unless you are planning weeks in advance. I learned this the hard way, when hoping for some advice, only to receive responses weeks later. It was a good place to share ideas, vent about frustrating situations, and to seek advise about just about anything educational. I posted a thread asking for advice about coral reefs, and several responses later, I had found a wonderful idea for building artificial reefs in Alaskan waters.
This was a good opportunity see a professional social networking community first hand. I was a recipient of several good ideas, and also learned to be patient when waiting for responses.
I found this networking to be full of wonderful ideas, unfortunately, many answers or comments came much later than I had hoped. This is a great way to interact with other teachers nationwide, however, I would suggest using it only for advise and not to rely on the responses of others to guide lesson planning unless you are planning weeks in advance. I learned this the hard way, when hoping for some advice, only to receive responses weeks later. It was a good place to share ideas, vent about frustrating situations, and to seek advise about just about anything educational. I posted a thread asking for advice about coral reefs, and several responses later, I had found a wonderful idea for building artificial reefs in Alaskan waters.
This was a good opportunity see a professional social networking community first hand. I was a recipient of several good ideas, and also learned to be patient when waiting for responses.
IEP
Individualized Education Plan: POWERPOINT
For my Technology in Education class with the UAS MAT program, I was charged with constructing an IEP in an area of technology that could be used in my own professional practice. This assignment meant choosing an area of technology that I don't know much about, learning the ins and outs of the program through practicing using it, and developing lesson plans that use the technology and could be used in my own classroom. For my IEP I chose to learn more about the Microsoft Powerpoint program.
I had used powerpoint in the past, but had limited experience as far as being able to teach students how to navigate the program and put together a presentation for a group to assess. Thus, during the third quarter of this school year, I put together a unit on human biology and decided to incorporate a technological aspect into the initial project. I wanted students to begin to learn about the human body systems, and was looking for a unique way to introduce the material to the students. I decided to develop a project that would allow the students to work in groups, learn everything there is to know about a specific body system, create a Powerpoint presentation according to the rubric standards I developed, and present the information as a group to the class in order to "teach" their classmates.
This assignment proved to be a challenge for me, as actually teaching 12-14 year olds how to use a technology program that is not a computer game and keeping their attention is more challenging than I anticipated. However, after explaining to the students why we were doing this assignment, and that this was a good opportunity to learn while using technology, this turned out to be a successful lesson.
Click here to see the lesson plans.
Click here to see the student worksheet and rubric.
Click here to see an example of student work.
For my Technology in Education class with the UAS MAT program, I was charged with constructing an IEP in an area of technology that could be used in my own professional practice. This assignment meant choosing an area of technology that I don't know much about, learning the ins and outs of the program through practicing using it, and developing lesson plans that use the technology and could be used in my own classroom. For my IEP I chose to learn more about the Microsoft Powerpoint program.
I had used powerpoint in the past, but had limited experience as far as being able to teach students how to navigate the program and put together a presentation for a group to assess. Thus, during the third quarter of this school year, I put together a unit on human biology and decided to incorporate a technological aspect into the initial project. I wanted students to begin to learn about the human body systems, and was looking for a unique way to introduce the material to the students. I decided to develop a project that would allow the students to work in groups, learn everything there is to know about a specific body system, create a Powerpoint presentation according to the rubric standards I developed, and present the information as a group to the class in order to "teach" their classmates.
This assignment proved to be a challenge for me, as actually teaching 12-14 year olds how to use a technology program that is not a computer game and keeping their attention is more challenging than I anticipated. However, after explaining to the students why we were doing this assignment, and that this was a good opportunity to learn while using technology, this turned out to be a successful lesson.
Click here to see the lesson plans.
Click here to see the student worksheet and rubric.
Click here to see an example of student work.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Article Assessment II
“Teens and Technology – a Good Match?” The Herald-Palladium – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Teens and technology, two terms that seem to go hand in hand in today's society. This is a subject that is coming to the forefront in our classrooms in schools today as more and more students gain access to electronic media that is readily available to just about everyone. This article begins to address these issues on the surface level, including offering some sound suggestions on how adults and more specifically, parents, can become more involved in providing guidance and rules for future generations' technology usage.
Click here to read my response to this article.
Teens and technology, two terms that seem to go hand in hand in today's society. This is a subject that is coming to the forefront in our classrooms in schools today as more and more students gain access to electronic media that is readily available to just about everyone. This article begins to address these issues on the surface level, including offering some sound suggestions on how adults and more specifically, parents, can become more involved in providing guidance and rules for future generations' technology usage.
Click here to read my response to this article.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Article Assessment I
Article Assessment of "Digital Storytelling in the Classroom" By: Jason Ohler
Author Jason Ohler breaks down how storytelling can be used in the classroom. Storytelling is an age-old art form that continues to intrigue people even today, and with the advent of technology, the use of digital storytelling is increasing. Chapters 5 and 6 of this book help by providing guidelines for creating the narrative within a digital story.
Read the rest of my assessment here.
Author Jason Ohler breaks down how storytelling can be used in the classroom. Storytelling is an age-old art form that continues to intrigue people even today, and with the advent of technology, the use of digital storytelling is increasing. Chapters 5 and 6 of this book help by providing guidelines for creating the narrative within a digital story.
Read the rest of my assessment here.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Internet Resources
As part of my educational technology course with the University of Alaska Southeast, I have been asked to provide some links to websites that I find helpful throughout a typical week. I have provided links to five websites I monitor on a daily basis, providing anything from lesson plan ideas, current event knowledge, to helpful hints to working here in Alaska and with Alaskan youth.
Monday, December 14, 2009
My Educational Philosophy
My reflection:
I was a little intimidated at the prospect of putting together an iMovie for this assignment, however, after finally settling in and crunching it out, I feel I have succeeded in producing my final product. More than anything else, this assignment has forced me to really examine my philosophy of education, and how I would like to be a leader in the classroom. Technology within our schools is something we should be encouraging, and that begins with us, the up-and-coming new wave of teachers, who are soon to bust on to the teaching scene with new, and fresh ideas to help stir the pot and lead our youth into the future! Enjoy!
Ed Philosophy Video
I was a little intimidated at the prospect of putting together an iMovie for this assignment, however, after finally settling in and crunching it out, I feel I have succeeded in producing my final product. More than anything else, this assignment has forced me to really examine my philosophy of education, and how I would like to be a leader in the classroom. Technology within our schools is something we should be encouraging, and that begins with us, the up-and-coming new wave of teachers, who are soon to bust on to the teaching scene with new, and fresh ideas to help stir the pot and lead our youth into the future! Enjoy!
Ed Philosophy Video
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