Final Blog

While I was creating my IGNITE presentation on my teaching philosophy, I learned a lot about me as a teacher. As I was going through what I believed in, I found myself being really passionate in some areas. When presenting, I could have talked a lot longer on some of my views because they have grown very strong. Also, through this project, I was envisioning my future classroom. I also heard a lot of amazing philosophies. One thing I would add to mine would be integration between subjects. Although I put integration of technology, I believe it is equally important to incorporate integration between subjects, especially for subjects like Social Studies that may not have as much time during the day. Another thing I would add to my personal philosophy is making the content relevant to students' lives. I did mention this when I talked about meaningful work, but making the content authentic is significant to students engagement and learning. 

Overall, I learned a lot through CI 302. The most important thing I learned was how to efficiently integrate technology into a lesson. I have learned about it through other classes, but this class really made the connection for me and I feel confident about writing technology lessons. This is important because when I use technology in my future classroom, I want it to be beneficial and not just thrown in. Another thing I learned was how to write and find grants. This is so important to my future because I want to be able to fund activities and technologies for my classroom. Now that I have an introduction to grant writing, I believe I could write a grant and potentially get technology for my classroom. This class has prepared me well for my future not only in the classroom but if I want to extend my career to another area in the technology field. I really enjoyed this class and I feel more confident with technology in the future. 

Week 12

After watching these interviews, I personally think the tech integrationist job is the most appealing to me. I found their job description really fun and the aspects of that job are something I could see myself doing one day. I really enjoy working with a variety of new technologies and integrating technology in classrooms, so this job sounds exciting to me. I think it would be fun to show teachers available technology and help them use it efficiently in their classrooms!

One common trend I noticed throughout the videos was integration. It seems as though all of these positions have one focus and that is helping teacher integrate technology into their classrooms in the most efficient way. This spoke a lot to me because if there are people who specifically focus on integrating technology, it reinforces how strong of an impact technology has on education. Another common trend these people discussed was Google for Education. Before taking this class, I only used Google applications when I was assigned to. Now, I use Google applications for everything. Since all of these people talked about it, it is something I need to continue to use and learn more about.

Overall, I learned a lot from these four presenters. I was unaware of the many different job opportunities in the education field and now that I have learned more about them, I am more aware of the opportunities for me. Although I plan on starting in the classroom, and being there for a while, technology integrationist may be a career I consider in the future. It was fun and beneficial to hear all these people talk about their jobs.

Iowa 1:1 Conference

I was lucky enough to help at the Iowa 1:1 Conference and also attend some sessions. When I got there in the morning, I worked on helping set up the speakers and projectors in every room to ensure the presenters had all the equipment they needed. Also, I stayed after and helped put some of the stuff away. This volunteering experience helped me understand everything that goes into making these events such a success.

The first sessions I attended was my favorite one of the day. I learned about how to incorporate technology into the Daily 5 reading rounds. The presenter gave great detail and examples of how she used certain tools in her classroom. She also brought in examples of Osmos, Google Cardboard, and iPad apps to look at. This is the first time I have ever seen Google Cardboard and it is awesome! Another presentation that stood out to me was titled, "Maps for Critical Thinking." The presenter in this was from Heartland AEA. She did an awesome job presenting and I learned so much about interactive maps. Before this presentation, I was skeptical of how she could talk about maps for an hour, but I learned so much and got some great resources for my future classroom. All the presenters were great!

This experience will impact my growth as a future educator because I got to learn about new tools and ideas to bring to my classroom. Also, I learned how to efficiently use these tools to integrate them into my teaching and the students' learning. This was also a great networking experience for me. I was able to talk to some of the presenters and make some connections. A few teachers even followed me back on Twitter! Overall, this was an amazing learning experience.

The Teacher ISTE Standard I fulfilled by going to this conference was number 5, Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership. This conference helped me become a better educator. Between the tools and resources I learned about, and the connections I made, I expanded my knowledge as a future educator!

**I forgot to take a picture at the event, but Jamie saw me there :)

Technology Presentation

When I was preparing for this presentation, I had to make sure everything I included was easy to understand for people who haven't heard of the tool. It would have been easy to just talk about what I know about it, but since there were people who haven't heard or used it because it was essential to show pictures, examples, and talk about the details. This really got me thinking about my future classroom. When I am preparing and teaching a lesson to my students, I need to take into account that many of them have never heard the content before. Since this is the case, I need to ensure I provide examples and details that fit all learners.

After reviewing what my peers said about my presentation, the first thing I learned was I didn't explain some of the details like I should have. I left the audience confused on some parts, so this is something I would work on for next time. Another thing I noticed in my comments was about my presentation having too much text on some slides. I learned I need to focus more on my presentation and less on writing everything down. For my next presentation, I will work on talking more about my content and not worry about writing it all down.

I can see myself using IGNITE style presentations in cases of review. If the students already know the content and have been already taught it, a quick presentation can be used for review. This would also work before starting a unit. For example, if I was doing a unit on dividing fractions, I would use a quick presentation to review what they have already learned about fractions. Another way I could use this type of presentation would be if I were speaking in a professional development meeting. If I was introducing a tool to teachers, I could use an IGNITE presentation to give them an overview. Overall, this was a great experience and I learned a lot about presenting new content in a quick and efficient way.

Twitter!

This week I followed a Twitter chat with the hashtag #flipclass. This chat was all about how teachers are using the idea of a flipped classroom in their schools. The main focus of the chat this week was how to keep classroom management under control when doing a flipped class, and also how teachers are implementing this in the classroom. One of the biggest take aways for me during this chat was that teachers were commenting about how much more class time they can use for discussions and they are really able to dive deep into the content. Most of the questions were based around resources teachers use. I believe this questions were brought up a lot because when teachers are implementing a flipped class, there needs to be clear organization and it can be intimidating to start. Having successful teachers share their resources is a great way to encourage other teachers to try a flipped classroom.

I really enjoyed this Twitter chat and I will be watching them, and eventually participating in them, in the future. I think they are a great way to get connected with other educators. When I was deciding which one to watch this week, I had a hard time picking because a lot of them sounded interesting. As a future educator, I will be watching these chats more frequently because it can help me connect with other educators and also provide me with great resources.

Here are the 10 people I decided to follow:

Dr. Justin Tarte @justintarte I decided to follow him because when I read his bio, I noticed that he was a positive family man. When scrolling through his timeline, I saw a lot of positive quotes and questions in his tweets.

Sir Ken Robinson @SirKenRobinson Although he does not have much information on his bio, I did notice that he had a picture of a book he wrote called, "Creative Schools". When I saw this, I wanted to learn more about him and what he stands for.

Rick Wormeli @rickwormeli2 I chose to follow him because I was seeing some retweets from other education people from his account. On his account, I noticed he adds a lot of graphics to his tweets which makes for a fun, educational, read.

Heartland AEA @HeartlandAEA I chose to follow Heartland because I did a technology practicum with one of the tech consultants there and learned so much. Their Twitter is ran by a lot of technology people so there are a lot of good resources and tips.

Amy Mascott @teachmama  The first thing I noticed about her was that she has a lot of followers and she follows a lot of people. This made me want to follow her because I can tell she is actively collecting ideas from other people as well. She followed me back! 

Be Kind People Project @BeKindPpl This one is a different kind of educational Twitter. This is all about how to promote kindness and community in and out of the classroom. My aunt runs this Twitter and I love all the inspirational Tweets she puts. This is a good one for all educators!

WeAreTeachers @WeAreTeachers I followed this one because I have heard a lot about it. This is a very popular educational Twitter that has a lot of contributors. I have gotten a lot of tips and resources from this account.

Bevin Reinen @TeachTrainLove I found this teacher through her blog. She posts a lot of fun videos with some great ideas.

Kathy Schrock @kathyschrock I chose to follow her because she is an educational technologist. She tweets about great technology resources.

Mark Brumly @markbrumley I chose to follow him because in his bio he states he is committed to 21st century learners and teachers. This really caught my attention and I wanted to see what useful stuff he has to post.

One tip I would give to teachers entering the Twitter world is to follow people who you agree with, but also follow a few people who may have different views than you. I believe this can be very beneficial to be exposed to other viewpoints. Along this line, another tip I would have is to follow people who have tips and resources to offer. Twitter is a great place to connect to other educators and share ideas. One last tip I would say is to have your own voice in your tweets. Don't be afraid to share your own personal ideas. Everyone has something to offer!

Overall, this week I learned a lot about Twitter. Before this, I was aware of what Twitter chats are, but I was not using them. Now that I have watched one, I understand these chats are places for teachers to communicate and connect. These chats are a great way to share resources and just connect to each other. I also learn about new people to follow this week. I evaluated my own Twitter and followed more educational people. My plan is to be more involved in Twitter chats and keep expanding my pool of educators to follow.

Just TACKK It!

What is Tackk?

Tackk is a website that allows people to create and share pages on the internet. People can be as creative as the want and they can include pictures, charts, graphs, text, etc. Along with creating, people can collaborate and communicate with other users. This is an awesome way for students to share research they have done or learned about. They can also collaborate and give feedback to one another and the teacher can give feedback as well. Tackk is a web based tool and is also an app for Android and Apple devices.

Website   Apple Store   Android

How to use Tackk!

Tackk is a fairly simple tool to use. The first step in using Tackk is creating an account. The nice thing about this process is you can connect it to your Google account, Twitter, or Facebook. This makes signup easy and painless! Now it is time to start creating. The first step in the creation process is choosing the type of Tackk you want to make. Some choices are, school project, blank canvas, blog, etc. There are also templates for certain uses that you can choose as a starting point and edit. Once this is selected, the fun begins. At this point, you are able to add text, pictures, and charts. This is where the students are able to be as creative as they want. On the side, there is a bar where they can change font and color. Also, there is a bar below the Tackk that has different buttons to add video, pictures, audio, and other options. Depending on what the assignment is, this is where students will put their information to share. When the Tackk is completed, there is a big green button that says "Publish Tackk" this is where students will make their Tackk public. 

When students have published their Tackk, they can explore other people's Tackks, or their own classmates Tackks. Also, when they are exploring other people's creations, they can add their input on the comments section. The comments sections serves are a conversation stream because all of the comments are posted in the same place. This is where students can create awesome discussions! 

Classroom Ideas

One idea for the classroom is for a 4th grade lesson about writing informational pieces. Students could do their own research and present it using a Tackk. With this, students could add photos about their information. For example, if they were researching an event that happened, they could include a picture of the event and maybe a chart with some data about the event. This would be very engaging and a way for students to showcase their learning in a creative way. Another way to use this is a classroom would be in a 6th grade math class about solving real-world mathematical problems. Students could create their own problem on their Tackk and include information about how they would solve this. Students could add pictures of the problem, or even a video of them solving it. By using Tackk for this lesson, students would be able to use real world events in their math. 

SAMR

This tool fits multiple parts of the SAMR model. First, this tool fits augmentation. A way I can see this fitting is by the teacher using it to convey information. The teacher could create a newsletter for parents and send it out to them. Although this could be done without the tool, Tackk makes this more efficient because parents can comment on it and give feedback or ask questions in a continuous feed. It makes communication more efficient. By creating and publishing a project, students are able to use video, photo and text all in one place to show their learning. Since this is all in one place, the is modification. The task is being significantly modified because the students are creating their project online and contributing many aspects that the tool offers. Tackk can also fit redefinition. One way I see this fitting is by having students give feedback to their peers. On each of the students projects, students can leave questions, comments, and also answer each other. This can all be on one place for everyone to see. Also, along with this collaboration, students can look at other published Tackks and learn from other creators. Without this tool, students would not be able to give this efficient and real time feedback. 

Connected Educator

One of the biggest things I learned this week was how essential it is to become connected as an educator. Along with the blog pages, I read an interesting article on Edutopia called Ten Tips for Becoming a Connected Educator. This article was a great read and I got a lot of takeaways from it. The first tip on the page really stuck out to me and it was "Embrace Making Mistakes" I know personally, this is something I struggle with sometimes and I am sure other people can relate. When it comes to being connected, or anything dealing with technology, we can sometimes feel out of our element and that can be scary. Making mistakes is a great way to learn and grow! I have a personal Twitter and I think Twitter is a great way to connect with other educators. One of the tips was to follow people who think the same as you and also people who don't. I really want to evaluate the people I follow on Twitter and follow more pages that can benefit me as an educator. I really like this tip because although following people who may have different view points as you seems strange, it can really help you grow as a person and maybe reevaluate your thinking or why you believe a certain way. It is important for us to see different view points and also expose our students to this.

Social media is an awesome connection tool if used correctly. I think it is really important to use social media tools like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc, because it is a way for educators to collaborate and share ideas. For students, a school social media could be beneficial in connecting with other students or seeing what other classes are working on. Overall, social media is a great way to collaborate and communicate with a wide variety of people.

Personally, I am connected, but maybe not in the way I should be. I do have Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and a class blog, but I am not following the right people. In the near future I want to reevaluate who I am following and follow people in the education world. For me, this will be the first step of connecting with other educators.