I am really thankful for the opportunity to participate in this class, especially as a late enrollee. While there were some tools with which I was already familiar and using, it was an awesome opportunity to sharpen my skills with the tools I was already using and broaden my horizons on what else is out there that I could be using to enhance my instruction. It really helped me focus on my goals and be thoughtful about how each and every tool could be used to hit those standards and deliver the content.
Tools I liked using Prezi, because while I had encouraged my students to use it all last year and had even set up an account that they all could access, I never found the time to sit down myself and create one. The Study Tools activity was awesome and I found myself using them beyond this class with the 9th grader I tutored all summer. The screen recording feature is probably the one that I am kicking myself for not using in previous years. It is so simple to use.
Looking back, in comparison to all of the other tools I learned, I found the digital storytelling tools the least helpful tool and not likely something I will use right away. I didn't like the limited creativity in Story Bird or the overall look of ZooBurst. Mostly, I just couldn't think of that many ways that I would use this with my 5th graders or how it would really be worth their time. Maybe this will change as I think more about it?
Learning Process I wished that I would have been able to meet with my other Island Lake friends at our weekly meetings throughout the summer so that I could learn along with them, but it just wasn't plausible this summer as a mommy of a 2-year-old. So, I played with and experimented on my own, activity by activity. I appreciate that the class was broken into activities and there was a "suggested" timeline. It was great to be able to learn the various tools on my own time. I tried to really make each activity purposeful and use concepts that I actually teach so that the products I created were truly something I can and will use with my students. Most of all though, it REALLY helped to have the tutorial videos already posted for us. This prevented us campers from having to spend precious summer time finding tutorials and instead let us get right down to business exploring and manipulating.
Implications I think what I am most likely to really build on this year is organizing my YouTube channel and using that as my storage locker for flipped classroom math videos instead of simple posting on the website or putting in Moodle. I know that I will spend a lot of time tweaking my Flipped Classroom strategies this second year around by incorporating other ways (beyond videos) for students to learn at home and in the classroom. For example, I see myself using the new Google Forms with pictures to create a weekly problem solving activity and the Quizlet flashcards to focus more on the vocabulary in each unit.
I think the biggest challenge I still face as the school year begins is student accessibility to technology. I do have a class set of iPads (10) that students can use and there is a cart of 18 laptops that is housed in my classroom but available to the entire school. Having this is great but I have to share! I discovered last year, when I really started incorporating technology into my classroom through the use of Moodle, implementing Flipped Classroom, etc, that not all students have access at home which means many of them relied heavily of school devices. Despite the district that we teach in, there are students who either have no technology at home (even no cell phone) or whose only piece of technology at home is their iPod - which really limits what they can do beyond watching videos and accessing Moodle. This issue will require a well-planned, face-to-face discussion with parents at the start of the year to emphasize the important role technology plays in learning today without being pushy or demanding. Knowing what I know from last year's class's accessibility at home, I will need to be much more thoughtful in what I can have students do at home to prepare for or complete part of assignments so that they are ready to go at school when the technology is available.
This was a fun way to "take a class" - being able to connect and interact with other MV teachers through the blog "following" and the commenting features. I tried to look at blogs of teachers in middle and high schools from all around the district and saw SO many great things going on. We have some very dedicated and forward-thinking staff working in this district and I feel lucky to be a part of it.
Wow. Thoughtful and well organized reflection! I also appreciated the "suggested" timeline. This summer there were many days when I was in an area without internet access. Other times I had many days in a row to get work done. It is good that you reflected on the fact that many of our students also have issues with access to technology at home, and we sometimes need to share technology at school with other teachers. This will get to be more of an issue as more teachers use more technology.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your comments and insights, Amanda. I too wished that I could meet with my MVHS colleagues or with high school math colleagues during the lab times of this class. My experience with independent classes like this is that one challenge is to maintain the discipline of regularly doing the work and staying more or less current. It's way too easy to find that a week or two have passed by (for sometimes legitimate reasons) since I've done any work for the class. This happened several times this summer, which made it challenging to get back into the swing of things when I finally got back to the lab or to the online access aspects of the class.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I am amazed by you! I agree with all your insights, and I think I will go back and view some blogs of those who teach middle and high school. It is good to know where things are headed as we lay the groundwork. We missed you during our group work, but in slogging through it on your own, you probably learned more then the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was so awesome to go to MS/HS blogs (especially as a parent with a child at MVHS). I think the beauty of "having" to comment on at least 3 other blogs for each assignment connected us and opened our eyes and minds, even if we weren't all together physically. (We'd have preferred that you'd been with us every time -- but in a sense, you already were because of this platform.) I was commenting on Mike's blog that it would be so awesome if we were given the time as a PLC (Wed morning rotation or partial I-Day) to continue to reflect and demonstrate what we're doing and possibly even ignite a fire under people who didn't take the class. We can't be old-school and just shut the doors and do our thang -- but people are scared of what they don't know and don't want to feel incompetent. I for one will be MUCH more willing to ask questions, seek help, etc. and not feel shame or fear. We are ALL learners on various continuums. YEAH -- we did it!!!
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteGreat reflection on this class! Like I said earlier, you have some dedicated followers who will be looking to you this school year to see how you incorporate all of these tools. I have enjoyed reading your blog and well! Good luck this school year and I will be sending you the survey soon!