week 11 course reflection

a. Coming into this course, what was your level of tech skill? Did you find it easy to adapt to the ways we used technology in this class? What was difficult for you? What was easy?

Coming into this class on a scale from 1-10 on a tech-saavy-ness I would have rated myself about a 7. I found it very easy to adapt to the technology in this class, and if I didn't understand it, by listening and following along I would quickly learn. The only thing really difficult for me was using a PC when I am used to using a Mac at home and work. Everything else was pretty easy to follow along and learn.

b. What have been your favorite activity/assignment in class so far and why?

I liked using pinterest as an assignment, I already knew how to use pinterest but I had no clue there was an education section of pinterest to explore. I also liked all the group work, even though it wasn't traditional group work, but all through the computer. I liked how we had open documents between partners.

c. Do you think you can easily incorporate your tech knowledge and skills into your role as a teacher? Out of all the tools we’ve  learned about so far this semester, which ones do you see using the most frequently as a teacher?

I definitely think I can use my tech knowledge in my future classroom! I plan to use Creative commons, and course tools.com for sure. BUT the biggest thing I learned about that I fell in love with is the google account. Having a drive, gmail, a blog, and a search engine all in one was amazing, and I plan to continue using it after class is over.

d. As we approach the final four weeks of the course, what do you want to know MORE about in Ed Tech? What are you still curious about?

What else can I do with google? Why google chrome?

 

e. Do you think your level of tech skill/knowledge has increased so far this semester? If so, how?

                            I think I learned a lot about how to use other resources to create lesson plans and ideas. that is the thing that changed the most for me.

creative commons

Are you a future educator/musician/artist/or just flat out love the arts? If you said yes to any of these then creative commons is the thing for you! Check out http://creativecommons.org/

Creative commons is an organization that takes copyrighting, and twists it to fit what you need! Say, for example, you are a local musician, and you create a new song. Instead of having a plain old copyright for your song where no one can touch it, you can have a creative commons copyright, that allows others to build off of your music for remixes/videos/etc. All you have to do is answer a few questions about how much or little you want other people to be able to do with your creations, and creative commons will give you that type of copyright for your work.

Educators can use this to do many things. They can use pictures taken by photographers in their slideshows, they can use content from other teachers around the world teaching the same thing they teach, and build on that. Imagine being a teacher, and collaborating with thousands of other teachers to create lesson plans that are interactive, fun, and educational for your students. I think that creative commons is a brilliant organization and I definitely plan to take advantage of it as a future educator!

Pinterest assignment

My pinterest name is kclou92

1.What did you learn from the PINTEREST activity?  How does it relate to what you learned about UDL, lesson planning, and differentiation?

I found a lot of great ideas for my future classroom. I found a lot of word activities to do with first graders that are both educational AND fun. It relates to what I learned about UDL because I can use the things I found to help reach hands on learners, not just kids who can listen and learn. I will definitely use some of the things I pinned as lesson plans in the future, and maybe build off of them to make them my own.

2.How do you believe you will utilize PINTEREST as a teacher? 

I will definitely use pinterest to find new and exciting things to do with my kids, and also fun decorations for my classroom.  

3.What are the strengths of PINTEREST?

Pinterest has something for EVERYTHING, whether it is reading, writing, math, science, or even discipline.

4.What are some of the challenges of PINTEREST?

I am still not very confident in how to take something off the internet and pin it to pinterest.

5.What comments, questions, thoughts, opinions, and/or feedback do you have about PINTEREST?

Overall I think that pinterest is a great tool, I already use it for ideas for my latchkey program. It is easy to use, and also easy to spend hours on!

Cinquain Poetry Assessment

Click here for larger version

Here is my assessment for the end of learning about Cinquain Poetry. The object is for the second graders to drag and drop the puzzle pieces into the right spot to make the 1-2-3-2-1 layout of a cinquain poem. They will have to know the order you write in, and what type of words you have to use for each line.

Here is a screen shot of a game I made with my partner using classtools.net

This game can be used to teach the seasons of the year to first and second graders!

Ohio DL Schools

For an Ohio learner looking into an online education for K-12th grade there are five major choices:

Connections Academy
ECOT
k12
VCS
Virtual School House

I took the time to research into all of these possibilities as if I am a parent of a child looking into online education, and I would like to post my results here!

First I will discuss the choice I liked the least, ECOT. ECOT stands for the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow. ECOT has more than ten years of experience as an E-School, making it one of ohio's oldest  E-schools. Students are expected to complete at least 25 hours of school work, just like a public school-- so there are no "lower standards" there. Students are also expected to pass the OGT to attain a high school diploma. ECOT is tuition free, and gives students free computers and broadband in the safety of their own home. Students can log on and complete their work 24 hours a day. Although all of this sounds great, ECOT's website does not talk about how students can still get in the community interactions with other children they need. Also, are there any extra-curricular activities my kids can get involved in so they can excel in things besides JUST academics?

Secondly I will discuss the choice I liked the most, Ohio Connections Academy. This school has just as strong an academic curriculum as ECOT or any of the other schools-- but it goes beyond that. OCA is the only Ohio E-School rated excellent! Growing up in Hilliard City Schools- who rated excellent my entire academic career, I wouldn't expect anything less for my kids! OCA also takes a huge interest in community and interactions with the students. Students will live-chat with students and teachers during class. Students get phone sessions with teachers. They offer many clubs and sports. And a strong PTA schedules fun educational field trips and events for students to partake in. 

Here is a QR code for my blog, thanks to http://goqr.me/ !!!