Personal Learning Reflection

When technology is integrated into teaching, different learning styles can be accommodated. There are many different tools that can be used to effectively connect with each student’s learning style. Some students may be visual learners, where creating a presentation on PowerPoint or Prezi is the best way for them to organize their thoughts. Other students may be more hands-on and want to work with a SMART Board. It is amazing how integrating technology into education has made such a huge impact!

Social media is another form of technology that is often integrated into teaching. Twitter and Facebook have given educators opportunities to share their experiences and exchange material. Learning how another teacher approaches a problem or hearing someone’s opinion on a topic allows you to grow your PLN and enrich your teaching strategies.

With a simple search and click of a button, the Internet provides an endless world of resources. Without the Internet we would not be able to stay up-to-date on all the technology tools that are available. Not only does the Internet give you access to the product, but it provides you with full descriptions about the features and functionality of the tool, pictures and customer reviews. Integrating the Internet allows you to read what other educators have experienced when they have used certain technologies in their classroom. Their feedback will help you evaluate if this tool is a good fit for your teaching style.

The assignment that most exemplifies good teaching, and the area that I have grown most in would be the SIG project on SMART Boards.  There is material for everyone in this presentation. We included audio, visual and text for our audience’s different learning styles. This assignment also taught me about the other technology tools we used when creating this presentation, such as PowerPoint and DropBox. This assignment shows good technology because it can be easily updated as new features are released. Another part of good teaching is about working together, valuing each other’s opinions and respecting each other’s work and time. This was a true team effort.

My first goal for my personal growth plan was to explore and learn different technologies that can be incorporated into lower elementary grades. I definitely feel I have started to reach my first goal. There are certain technology tools that I have been introduced to and know I will integrate into my future, lower elementary classroom. Exploring Facebook as a classroom page, using Voicethread and possibly having a class RSS Google Reader are some of the ideas that I would like to incorporate as part of my technology teaching. I know that I will definitely be using Google Docs with the other teachers in my grade level team, as well as Twitter to keep my discussions with other educators open. My technology file is just beginning to get filled. I can’t wait to see where technology will take me next!

My second goal was to increase my knowledge in some of the basic technology applications. I had the opportunity to explore Microsoft Outlook during the assignment on PC Maintenance and apply the lesson at work. Google Docs was something that was difficult for me at first. I wasn’t sure if I was sharing the document correctly or who was able to edit it rather than view it. This was important to me to learn, as I feel more districts will be adopting cloud-computing solutions for their schools.

An obstacle that limited my learning and growth during this course was lack of physical interaction. Technology really is an amazing tool, but, nothing will replace the physical interactions and connections among people.  An area that I would have liked to learn more about is creating videos. With having a full time job and taking classes, it is hard to just play around with different programs.  If it was part of a lesson, I think students would enjoy exploring it.

One of my new goals is to continue being active in my PLN.  I feel that this is one of the strongest parts of the class that I am walking away with.  Being able to talk with other educators and share experiences about teaching is extremely beneficial.  I want to continue to learn about technology and its advances in the classroom.  I look forward to taking other classes through MSU in order to continue my education as a teacher and a learner.

Learning Styles

According to the learning styles online quiz, I am a social learner.  This style fits me perfectly, as I enjoy collaborating with others and working together towards a common goal.  When learning new material, I like to be physically in the classroom with the teacher and other students.  I am always taking notes while the teacher is speaking, so when there is a test or a project I like to work with someone to make sure I understand the information correctly.  Working with a partner or in a group allows you to ask questions and help each other, as well as share feedback about the information you are working on.  It was interesting to read that people with this learning style commonly find themselves in pursuits of teaching!   

The most effective ways for me to learn are by incorporating visual and auditory strategies.  In addition, different types of groupings support social learners like me.  Some examples are working with a partner, collaborating in small groups or working in a large group setting.  One example is having students work in partners, such as reading buddies.  Students can sit with a partner, read together and share their favorite part of the story or a text-to-self connection.  If there is a word that is difficult for one of the students, then their reading buddy can help them figure out what word would make sense.  Another way to promote social learning is having students work in small groups, such as centers.  The students can work with each other to problem solve putting a puzzle together or use team work to build a volcano.  Working in a large group is another beneficial teaching strategy to support social learners.  Having whole group discussions and the opportunity to ask questions freely allows social learners to grow in their learning and feel comfortable in this atmosphere.         

The teaching style that does not fit my learning style would be verbal teaching.  If an educator is simply standing in front of the class and lecturing, it is hard for me to pull out the important information, write it down at the same time and continue to actively listen for more essential information that is being presented.  I like to have the information that is pertinent already given to me, so when the instructor is presenting, I can make additional notes to help me understand and remember the information. 

In addition, it is difficult for me to learn the tasks where you have to basically just memorize the answer.  I made a prediction before I took the learning style test of what my lowest score would be in…I was right!  I can confidently say I definitely am not a logical learner.  I am not the most mathematically inclined person.  It brings me back to elementary school when I had timed multiplication tests.  I remember my heart beating fast, only thinking about the clock ticking, seeing other people finish their test when I was only in the middle- AHHH!  At that age, those skills were strictly rote memorization.  The test not only made me feel nervous, but sadly made me lose confidence in my math skills early on.

A teacher’s classroom is filled with students that have different backgrounds, abilities, ages and learning styles.  It is impossible to teach each lesson focusing on every learning style that is the classroom.  I feel that teachers have to aim for a balance of instructional methods.  During a particular lesson a teacher can represent a few of the learning styles while keeping the lesson on track.  For example, if the classroom is learning about insects, they can have non-fiction books about these insects to read about and/or actual insects in the classroom to observe (even hold if they want).  This balance will allow the students to be taught either in the method that is best for them or one that will teach them to approach thinking and solving problems in a different manner.  It is important for an educator to know how each student learns best.  If you have certain children in your class that may need to take a test verbally versus written, this is something that you need to be aware of.  It may not be that they do not understand the information, but just need to use a different way to express it.  With all the resources that I have learned about in this class and have seen through my research, technology is certainly a way to reach out to students with various learning styles as well.    

Creative Commons

Photo Attribution:

Original image: "Vietnamese Stick Insects, Baculum estradentatum"

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6137/5970286747_eaf1e27a91_m.jpg 

By:  Ryan Somma
 

Released under an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike License:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

I feel it is very important to incorporate images into my curriculum.  Some students are visual learners who need to see the character we are talking about or the actual numbers that are being added.  They are most productive when images are shown.  Other children may learn in different ways, but possibly have not been exposed to the specific material that is being discussed.  For example, we engage in a unit on insects for Science.  Some of these insects do not live in America; therefore, my students have not had any exposure to them.  Using images the students will be able to learn about and explore these diverse creatures and imagine what it would be like to have them as part of the outdoors (maybe even indoors)! 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68124415@N03/6268181820/in/photostream

PC Maintenance and Security

This week’s lab focused on PC Maintenance and Security.  Using Atomic Learning, I viewed different tutorials that furthered my knowledge in technology.  I have shared that information with you below.
 

Clean Up and Speed Up Your PC: 

Using Windows CleanUp! and Using MSConfig to Speed Up Your PC’s Startup

The first tutorial was perfect for me, as I happen to be somewhat of a pack rat when it comes to my computer.  One application that I definitely wanted to share is called “Windows Cleanup!”  It is an easy to use application that empties your Recycle Bin, frees up disk space, deletes cookies and removes temporary files.  I was really surprised by how fast the application works and how easy it looks!  I am definitely going to give Windows Cleanup! a visit soon.  Another way to clean up and speed up your PC is by using MSConfig.  What was surprising to find out is that every time you start your computer, hidden programs load in the background.  MSConfig will help to turn these unnecessary programs off, which will help to make your computer faster and more reliable.  I also learned about a website called, “Startup Programs and Executables Listing.” You should use this site when you are not sure if a certain startup item should be turned off during the boot of your computer.  You just put the name of the item in the program, and when you use MSConfig it will let you know if it is required to be on or not.  This website is a great resource that will help speed up the use of your computer.  I was not familiar with either of these tools.  My work computer is so slow....I will be busy tomorrow morning using these different applications.

Tips for Safer WebBrowsing:  Explaining Cookies

When my computer is running slow people in my office will often tell me to delete my cookies.  I would go ahead and delete them, but never really understood what they were.  I wanted to share the information below for people that are in the beginners stage of learning different part of technology like me.  The tutorial “Tips for Safer Web Browsing:  Explaining Cookies” helped me to learn that a cookie is a small information file placed on your hard drive.  It tracks user's browsing activities, which tends to be a privacy concern.  There are three types of cookies:  persistent, session and tracking.  A persistent cookie enables a website to remember you on subsequent visits, speeding up or enhancing your experience of services or functions offered.  Session cookies are only available for as long as you are on the site and then they are erased.  Tracking cookies was what really surprised me.  They track where people go on the web, report this information to advertisers and then they place their ads on those websites.  Cookies make features, such as making recommendations for certain products for you, possible.  After viewing this tutorial, I now have a better understanding of how a website like Amazon.com works.

Making Email Safer:  Using the Junk Email Filter in Microsoft Outlook

The next tutorial that I watched was in a section called “Making Email Safer.”  This particular video focused on the topic of using the junk email filter in Microsoft Outlook.  This tutorial caught my eye because it connects back to one of my personal growth goals, which is to increase my knowledge in basic technology applications.  I use Microsoft Outlook at work and definitely want to learn as much as I can about the different tools that it has to offer.  I also wanted to share this with other Microsoft Outlook users as they might be losing some of their important email…and here is why! This tutorial showed me how I have different levels of junk email protection.  It is important to be careful if you put the setting on high, as it may catch legitimate messages sometimes.  It was surprising to learn about the Safe Senders option.  This allows you to generate a list of senders that you consider safe to receive e-mail messages from.  You can add names manually, import them from a file or export them to a file.  This feature will definitely be a tool I will check out at work.  It would be helpful to just export a list of who is on my safe sender list.  Then I will know who I need to add from there!      

Getting Things Done

For the “Getting Things Done” lab I organized my workflow process by using post-its and a pencil.  I am constantly making “To Do Lists” and like that I can keep the list in my purse or pocket to easily add or cross off a task.  September and October are very busy months for me…a lot of traveling back and forth for family birthdays and holidays, plus my regular work and school schedule here in Chicago.  To top it off everyday errands like going to the grocery store and cleaners keep getting pushed back and continue to fill up my list.  Sometimes I wish there were more hours in the day!  I have always been an organized person but since I started taking school full time, I feel my organization could use a little fine tuning.  It is important that I write things down what I need to do immediately.  Things can escape my mind as I feel like am doing fifty things at the same time.  For example at work, I may be writing an email to a customer, while answering the phone and having to switch my attention to the database.  This will then trigger me to remember to call a certain customer about an issue they are experiencing.  Having note paper next to me as I work is essential.  It allows me to quickly write a message to myself about something I need to complete that particular day or week.   

I had mixed emotions as I was going through this process.  The collecting of information was difficult because I had a lot of sticky notes with tasks on them all stuffed into my purse.  I wasn’t alone, as I recall Joe Fiorini from his podcast, “Mind like Water:  How to Get Things Done” was having the same experience.  It wasn’t until the organizing stage that I started to feel more on top of things.  Organizing the information and classifying it into the four groups of Projects, Calendar, Next Actions and Waiting For helped to highlight the items that had specific deadlines like projects for my MSU classes and appointments for work.  If there were a number of items that I needed to purchase from Walgreens, it was helpful to have those items organized together in my list.  My feelings of tranquility started to change once I started to create my “Next Actions” and “Waiting For” lists.  I began to feel overwhelmed when I saw how many tasks I had to complete and places I had to go.  Yikes!  I have a lot on my plate!

Going through this process was definitely helpful, as it allowed me see what tasks were the most important and needed to be completed first.  Even though my list of things I have to get done will always be long, I am learning to take a deep breath and realizing that not everything has to be completed at the same time.  I have to remind myself that it is okay to space things out and take a break.  J      

I will continue to use the process of pencil and paper to organize my workflow at this time.  I feel a sense of accomplishment when I can physically cross out the different tasks that I have completed on my “To-Do” list.  Since this engagement I have found it easier to use one piece of paper that collects all my tasks instead of random post-it notes.  As I add to my list, I try to organize it into groups suggested by David Allen; however, having a master list of everything I need to do is what works the best for me.  I am guessing that within time I will probably move to an application on my phone, but for now I am very happy with my current process!   

Social Networks

One social networking site that really fits in my workflow is Linkedin.  I work for a company that produces Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) productivity tools for growing professional service firms.  People want to know who they are doing business with, so LinkedIn is a professional site that allows you to take a deeper look into the company and the people that make it up.  With business communication happening mainly over the phone and Internet, you do not know who you are speaking with, so LinkedIn also provides a spot where you can add your picture.  This helps to put a face to a name.  LinkedIn impacts my peers in the same way.  In addition, my co-workers and peers use LinkedIn to build different groups that focus on various discussion topics.  Some subjects might be QuickBooks Advisors, hosted services or technology.  During these sessions, they learn what people would like to see in a SaaS product and use this time to show the participants how our product can help their business.

Facebook is a social networking tool that I use on a personal level and check on a daily basis.  This is a place where I share pictures and important messages with my family and friends.  My family lives in Michigan, and I live in Chicago, so Facebook is a way to stay connected and keep you up-to-date on everyday happenings!  I also am familiar with Skype.  I have used it a few times with my sister and
brother-in-law.  It is a perfect tool to use when you are apart from your family and friends, as it lets you actually see the people you are talking to!  I am looking forward to learning more about different
social networking tools that I can add to my professional learning network and apply to my current job and future classroom!

RSS Lab

As part of this week’s lab, we were asked to create our own RSS Reader page.  We needed to subscribe to four given feeds and then add some from our favorite educational resources.  I have included a screen shot below of my RSS feeds on my Google Reader. 

  

RSS feeds on my Google Reader

Included within my feed are websites that have great ideas and lesson plans, blogs that have become some of my favorite resources, an online journal, a radio show and a professional organization blog.

I was initially drawn to the blog Teaching Mallohitz because of the comic strip picture that the blogger, Erin, attached. I could tell she had a good sense of humor and approached her teaching in a fun manner. There are so many benchmarks and standards that need to be covered that it is often forgotten to enjoy your students and have fun with them. This blog discussed whether it was necessary to have homework in elementary classrooms. I responded to her post below.

Comment on Blog

I also have included another comment on the blog I am following. 

This class was learning how understanding genres helps them to make predictions.

 

Comment on a blog (#2)

Checking my Google Reader became a daily activity as my in-box was filling up every morning with different resources, articles, lesson plans, songs and more!  Since I have been reading what is sent to me so often, I have become very familiar with what type of information each site sends out.  Some of the feeds I am following focus on one topic, while others send out a multitude of information throughout the day and week.  For example, Reading Rockets sends me information solely on literacy, whereas How Stuff Works will send me information on different topics, such as the solar system one day and Steve Jobs the next.

When I was a teacher I taught first grade. Being in the lower elementary hallway of our school did not expose me to the curriculum in higher grades, especially middle school and high school. This assignment was the perfect opportunity for me to see teaching from a different perspective and learn about these grade levels. Free Technology For Teachers was a great resource.  In a recent posting they discussed an interactive periodic table, where instead of students having to carry around a huge Science book, they would be able to access this tool from the classroom and obtain information about each element. What a great resource for middle/high school students and teachers!  This site alone could keep me busy all day (they send a lot of information)! One of the other blogs I follow is called The Whiteboard Blog. It shared information about a 3D Interactive Body website called BioDigital Human.  This tool simplifies the understanding of anatomy, disease and treatments.  Another great tool that is available for that grade level.

I have enjoyed reading the new feeds that I have selected. I have been out of the classroom for a few years now, so I chose sites that incorporated general topics that were going to be helpful in welcoming me back to the teaching world.  For example, classroom management can be a difficult task. One technique may work for one student, while it may not work for another. Therefore, I chose to follow NEA for Classroom Management (http://www.nea.org). It is a feed to keep me updated on different classroom management styles and ideas. Reading the comments of what different teachers have posted and looking at the different activities excites me to get back into the classroom.

I have also learned that I really enjoy reading people’s blogs.  I like to see what a day or activity is like in another educator’s classroom.  Sharing experiences, pictures and ideas with other teachers are so important, as we can learn so much from each other.  One blog that I am a huge fan of is Teaching Mahollitz.  The blogger, Erin, is a lower elementary school teacher who definitely makes learning fun.  She integrates science and math and plays games with the students to help them better understand the concept she is teaching.  She also has other sites and blogs listed that she follows.  I checked them out to see if I would be interested and now I am following some of those as well.  In addition, I am following her on twitter!

I have also learned that RSS feeds are a great time saver! At first it takes time to find quality sites that you want to follow, but once you have some in place it very convenient to have the information sent to you. When I am on the Internet I often get distracted and find myself going on Facebook or checking my mail. I like the idea of having a group of feeds just for educational purposes. This will help to keep me focused on my personal goals of learning about different technologies that I can use in the classroom and just general information to keep me updated in the world of education.

These sites are great for professional development as they keep you updated on current news, whether it be world news or more specifically educational news.  If you are looking to grow in a certain area of your teaching, you can search for certain websites, articles and blogs that will provide you will additional information.  Even better, you will have the opportunity with a lot of these sites to interact with other professionals who want to learn just like you!  Sharing experiences and talking with other educators really allows you to grow and be the best teacher you can be!

I currently work for a computer software company that is focusing on moving customers from On-Premise software to the Hosted solution. I think that the content of my RSS pages that discuss technology are great resources for my setting. I did not start this position with any background in technology, so I am trying to learn as much as I can. Reading different articles and discussions all help me to learn more about this exciting field.

I think that RSS feeds have a lot of potential in my future classroom.  They are a great way to let parents know what is going on in the classroom and school community.  Making suggestions of articles or lessons that I think are important would be beneficial for both the parent and child's education.  Depending on what grade I teach would determine if students would be able to create their own RSS aggregators. Because my experience is in lower elementary grades, I think a classroom feed would be the most appropriate.  Exploring different websites and blogs that reflect information about our Science unit on insects or trips around the world where Flat Stanley has visited would be an awesome project!  Children are so amazed by technology and computers, so I think an activity using an RSS feed would really grab their attention and serve as a good introduction for what is to come in future grades!

Here is a current list of my RSS Feed:

810 Blogging Lab

Traditional Web Pages vs. Blogs

A blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent ‘post’ (or entry) at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom.  The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs.   There are blogs on nearly any topic you can think of.  A web page is one screen full of information (from a web site) that is a sequence of formatted characters, texts and images. These special texts and images are called Hyperlinks. Using these hyperlinks we can pass through from one web page to another.  A website is composed of a group of web pages linked together.   Web pages are static and hardly ever change.  They are professional and formal.  Blogs, on the other hand, grow organically and are updated regularly.  They are more informal and are more personal.