Thursday, August 16, 2012
End of Course Reflection
Even today at the end I feel as if I've been exposed to yet more. Just when I thought I was cresting the hill of new learning, I have started to back slide. Well, not really. I imagine this course as a steep uphill climb. Slowly I am ascending my learning curve. At times it has been easy to keep up. At others, it is all I can do to comprehend. I am an active learner. I need to practice. I've been practicing several with several tools and am beginning to feel like I am grasping them. These would be plateaus or a decrease in the incline on my uphill climb. Today, I felt as if I lost my footing and tumbled backwards. Of course I did not. The afternoon presentations were, again, new information and I had to slow the pace, take notes, really listen, and try to allow new content to enter. Just as a hiker feels euphoria when they reach the top and can stop to enjoy the view, I, too will be able to feel success. These successes will come slowly as I continue to practice embedding new tools into my instructional practices. Perhaps this course is better than a hike. If all goes well, I'll have many opportunities to breathe the clean, crisp air above the cloud of frustration and figuring things out, and enjoy repeated moments of pride for having made it to the top and becoming an expert able to share with my colleagues rather than only one trip to summit.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Could iPods Be a Cheap and Quick Alternative?
I've spent the day reading blogs, following links, and viewing video clips. There is so much out there to do and so many wonderful ideas. I wish that there was a clearinghouse of lesson ideas using technology. Perhaps there is. If anyone knows of a list, please forward it to me. Thanks.
I have been concerned about the limited numbers of computers available to students at any one time in my building. The lab seems to be signed out regularly. The three laptop carts are always being used and a fourth and fifth carts are reserved for the Special Education department. In order to guarantee access to technology I typically reserve computers 3 weeks to a month ahead of time. I feel very anxious when I begin to think about exploring ways to use these new Google tools on a regular basis in my class. I'm trying to be creative. Will this push me to design centers? Will I have to be excellent at matching learning styles with various instructional activities? How much time will be needed on my part to research and plan all of these activities? Heart pounding....
I colleague shared a link to a blog about iPods. Maybe this is my creative solution. I'm starting to dream about having 12 iPod touches in my classroom, or maybe 6. Comparatively, they are less expensive. They do not require an IT person to set them up (a good thing since there is no longer IT in my building - but that's yet another conversation!) and kids will already have a Google account. Oh, and then there is the fact that nearly every kid has an iPod touch!! Even kids without phones tend to have iPod Touches. No school money required. Well, I would have move a mountain to allow kids to bring them to class and use them. Seems that is strictly against the school rules. IPods in the classroom sounds like a simple solution, yet even they come with a challenges. All I want to do is engage kids in new ways. I want to start something in class and then have students want to continue it at home, or on the bus, or waiting for practice, or while they're watching TV for all I care! My own kids live on their iPods. Why not tap into this?!
I have been concerned about the limited numbers of computers available to students at any one time in my building. The lab seems to be signed out regularly. The three laptop carts are always being used and a fourth and fifth carts are reserved for the Special Education department. In order to guarantee access to technology I typically reserve computers 3 weeks to a month ahead of time. I feel very anxious when I begin to think about exploring ways to use these new Google tools on a regular basis in my class. I'm trying to be creative. Will this push me to design centers? Will I have to be excellent at matching learning styles with various instructional activities? How much time will be needed on my part to research and plan all of these activities? Heart pounding....
I colleague shared a link to a blog about iPods. Maybe this is my creative solution. I'm starting to dream about having 12 iPod touches in my classroom, or maybe 6. Comparatively, they are less expensive. They do not require an IT person to set them up (a good thing since there is no longer IT in my building - but that's yet another conversation!) and kids will already have a Google account. Oh, and then there is the fact that nearly every kid has an iPod touch!! Even kids without phones tend to have iPod Touches. No school money required. Well, I would have move a mountain to allow kids to bring them to class and use them. Seems that is strictly against the school rules. IPods in the classroom sounds like a simple solution, yet even they come with a challenges. All I want to do is engage kids in new ways. I want to start something in class and then have students want to continue it at home, or on the bus, or waiting for practice, or while they're watching TV for all I care! My own kids live on their iPods. Why not tap into this?!
Vacation is really hard on the brain. I've been away for the last week, which has been really good for soul, family, and health. I've run, body surfed, enjoyed my 10 nieces and nephews, eaten gobs of ice cream (hence the running), gardened for my in-laws, and ridden a few roller coasters which is increasingly more challenging to recover from.
Vacation is hard on the brain because I've been challenged in the last several days to recall how to navigate around Google. I was kicking myself for not completing all of the work prior to vacation, but in retrospect, am seeing that perhaps there are benefits to having waited. It has been useful to review my class notes while relearning by trial and error (lots of frustrating blank minded - aimless cursor moving and clicking). Just figuring out where my blog was turned out to be a 10 minute challenge. Once located, I spent another 5 minutes determining how to be able to pull up a text box to type in. I resisted the temptation of calling over my children for assistance. I hate being "dumb" in their eyes!
You should have seen me try to locate my portion of the class project! Again I resisted calling in reinforcements which is only a phone call away (mostly because I knew that phone call would last an hour). I have to be able to do these things myself in order to help my students use these same tools. I'm becoming more and more anxious about leading a three hour inservice workshop introducing Google Tools and the navigation of our new Google Domain to our staff.
While Google offers lots of really neat opportunities and tools, it is not necessarily easy to use. Some aspects seem more intuitive while others are simply frustrating and not at all obvious. I have resigned that it is OK to not know everything and to be that bumbling idiot. At least I'm trying. I've committed to using a Google Tool or app at least once a week, whether it is as an assignment, as an instructional tool, or an administrative tool. I need to push to use it or I will lose it. Vacation is an acceptable reason for forgetting, but I need to move my Google comfort beyond dabbling and digging. I need to become proficient enough that I can support 21st century instruction and prepare students for the skills that will be expected of them.
Vacation is hard on the brain because I've been challenged in the last several days to recall how to navigate around Google. I was kicking myself for not completing all of the work prior to vacation, but in retrospect, am seeing that perhaps there are benefits to having waited. It has been useful to review my class notes while relearning by trial and error (lots of frustrating blank minded - aimless cursor moving and clicking). Just figuring out where my blog was turned out to be a 10 minute challenge. Once located, I spent another 5 minutes determining how to be able to pull up a text box to type in. I resisted the temptation of calling over my children for assistance. I hate being "dumb" in their eyes!
You should have seen me try to locate my portion of the class project! Again I resisted calling in reinforcements which is only a phone call away (mostly because I knew that phone call would last an hour). I have to be able to do these things myself in order to help my students use these same tools. I'm becoming more and more anxious about leading a three hour inservice workshop introducing Google Tools and the navigation of our new Google Domain to our staff.
While Google offers lots of really neat opportunities and tools, it is not necessarily easy to use. Some aspects seem more intuitive while others are simply frustrating and not at all obvious. I have resigned that it is OK to not know everything and to be that bumbling idiot. At least I'm trying. I've committed to using a Google Tool or app at least once a week, whether it is as an assignment, as an instructional tool, or an administrative tool. I need to push to use it or I will lose it. Vacation is an acceptable reason for forgetting, but I need to move my Google comfort beyond dabbling and digging. I need to become proficient enough that I can support 21st century instruction and prepare students for the skills that will be expected of them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)