Readings Day 11

I just learn How to save to a PDF and use Adobe Acrobat. I will keep these readings close as I learn more and use the program more. Organizers area good idea. Rubrics are also something to aide in the design, and final evaluation of an e-folio

Reading Day 12

The readings seemed to resound the theme of the last two weeks. in planning the portfolio we should keep it simple sweetie... KISS it. In the presentation of the folio it is clear the same essence is being resonated. be clear, be quick be gone! see ya!
I so want to state the i,importance of the intended audience. you must always remember once your is on the web it is always there. this is a great argument to not attach a picture or content you are not willing to live with for a very long time.

Day 10 Readings

In the first reading I appreciated the examples and the thought to work backwards. In reflecting on the last three nights readings I see the importance to have the end in mind. Having the students know the expected outcome, individualized outcomes and having a student centered assessment all contribute to student success. This purposeful tool in a wonderful way to collaborate student to student, student to teacher, teacher to parent and so on. I also liked in the web folios Mrs. Silverman has of her students this gives examples for all participating members know what is expected.

Readings Day 9

I get the importance of e-folios I had just a basic example of how I use my district webpage when int3erviewing this last school year. After reading the last two nights readings I have less questions then I started with and although I know it will be time consuming, my goal will be to start with one content area and build on it. I do think the biggest error is starting too big. The biggest question I have at this point is will anyone more then me appreciate the time, work and effort that goes into any type of portfolio.

Reading Day 8

Our first reading tonight must have been a student is Dr. Christie’s boot camp. The pressure of making a portfolio perfect is a major concern of many of us. Not only to please ourselves but as we post our work to the web we must keep in mind the world audience we are creating for. As we design and work we want to show our best work as any portfolio should. As I build my portfolio and refine my techniques I will be proud to display my work as a beginning. However, as this is the only showcase I have for my work to be displayed I do want to do a good job.

I found the “Five Stages and Five Levels of a Portfolio Building” to be a very helpful piece of reading. I have bookmarked the readings for further reflection as time goes on. I find doing a student portfolio a troublesome task because I am usually the one that has to organize and maintain the work. However reading the passages gave me a refreshed desire to give it another try. This time, not in folders on paper, but in folders electronically. Having the students, maintain the work as part of their grade. I do not know how this will work or even look with my 4th graders but I think it is worth a try.

Day 7 Readings

I find the readings to be very useful content. I cannot tell you how many endless professional developments i have been to that are such a waste of time. often the presenter often they did not make the presentation someone at the district office did. Oh great, someone that sits at a desk, outside of a classroom is telling me what I need to do in the classroom. furthermore the presenter has no ownership of the presentation. I will be on a team this school year with others to present professional development and i hope i can remember to use these readings as a pre and post reflective piece.

Day 6 Readings

Tonights reading were very interesting from an ASU students point of view. During both my Masters and Bachelors degree I was taught to write much better objectives then were written in the examples. In fact if I were trying to "sell" technology to my administrator I would write an objective that identified student learning and how technology was being used.

The use of a scanner is not something I have much experience with. Mostly because I spend more time at school then at home. I do see the usefulness of a scanner in the classroom , and I hope to be able to integrate into my classroom.

Reading Day 5

After fifteen days I am finally getting the importance of planning, and consistency. In today’s reading the author made the most valid point for multimedia in the classroom, keep it simple and easy to read. I have learned this the hard way, during my summer classes. I did find the font size a little odd for the classroom a larger font is needed but I find in most of my presentations 24pt. is too large.
I have also found getting someone else to review my projects. Although I admit there comes a point when you do not want anyone else to tell you what you did wrong. I have also appreciated the eyes of a younger person. Will has been an asset with advice from a very objective point of view.
I also see the need for Photoshop to crop and edit my pictures. I had never done this before and the experience has taught me a lot about myself as an objective viewer of my works… I just hope I can survive this class and the further work ahead.

Day 4 Readings

The readings today were particularly useful not because I didn’t already know the fair use policies but because the readings actually gave helpful letters and responses to deal with fair use issues. I like many teachers I know from time to time come across copies in the copy room we like and snag to use. What these readings did for me was give me a chance to reflect on the validity or usage of these papers.

I also liked the format these readings were put together. They are user friendly and student/user friendly. I can see me spending time with my students this school year going a little more in depth in terms of copyright and fair use.

Readings Day 3

The article “The Eight-Frame Storyboard for a 30-Second Movie” really motivated me to start thinking about what I could make my index page for this class as well as ideas for my movie. I think the thing that moved me the most was keeping it simple and changing my mind is OK. Wow you mean I can actually plan, and then re-plan? This concept goes deeper then words on a page. I have been observing the way I approach a computer and the way my two boys do. In my observation I noticed two glaring things.
First my boys are not afraid to make mistakes. Why should they be? In their experience with technology they have been able to undo, cut, copy, move and paste. Their experiences have never involved having to stay up all night because using a typewriter was the most unforgiving piece of technology I had to endure as a teen/young adult. If I didn’t plan every sentence, period and indentation before I stated typing I had to start all over again. Furthermore, my spelling and grammar had to be flawless. Which even to this day it is not! Having to do typing over, and over again inherently has made me cautious, I am afraid to make mistakes. My boys do not have this fear.
Secondly for some reason my boys have a different perception of time then I do. The boys do not think anything of spending a couple of hours reading blogs, news groups, or chatting on line with a total stranger about a problem they have encountered. Sharing of helping someone else out isn’t a problem for them either. They do not see the countless hours they may spend gathering information as a waste of time. As a teacher I am much less patient. With all the grading, conferences, planning etc. I find it very frustrating to have to sort through everything I approach on a computer that is new. I just want to click on a button and have the computer do it for me. What I have gathered through the reading tonight is it is OK to plan, execute and redo as a evolving process. With the exception of this class which expects results in just two short weeks. So what is my plan? To get my feet wet. Learn the basics and redo evolve from there.

Readings for 6/16/2008

I have always strive to be a constructivist in the classroom. I work to provide a community of learners within my four walls. I have always strive to Facilitate and allow my students to make the learning meaningful to their lives. The reading tonight “Constructivism and Technology” gave me an insightful picture of what my classroom should look like with the use of computer as a tool in my classroom. I especially enjoyed the table comparison of the reading. Its presentation not only gave me a comparison of how the constructivist teacher benefits a classroom environment it also showed the relationship of both and how they work hand in hand.

What really hit home for me as a teacher with the readings on design is this: as a teacher I often forget what it means to be a learner. The process of planning poises it unique set of problems for me. I want to produce fabulous products and to often forget to plan, plan, plan… I just jump into a project and forget that like my students in learning a new concept I need to slow down and take baby steps. I learned this in EDT 545 and the unneeded stress the lack of planning took on my understanding.

In writing for the web as teachers we also must remember our audience. The audience as a whole expects “teachers” to be flawless. That is to say, even though we consider ourselves life long learners and allow for ourselves mistakes as room to grow, our critics do not. Making judgments on our abilities to teach based on the errors we make.

EDT 546 Test

This is a post to check my ability to start a new BLOG! How did I do?