Self+Reflection

It’s funny that I have to write a reflection page write after we have had a teacher in-service over reflection and questioning strategy. I think in our education system we have learned how to test and collect data. However, have we learned how to reflect what our students have learned from their own mouths? Reflecting a lesson or project may be just as important as teaching the idea.In the Article “Where is the reflection in the learning process?” states that the only way that educators can teach and promote reflective practice by their students is to understand the processthemselves. (Gerstein, 2011) As educators we have to carve out sometime to reflect the learning process instead of just teaching for a test. Over the past few weeks I have really enjoyed this class because it gave me some insight over a subject I actually teach. Digital Graphics and DIMM both use most of the information that we have been shown in this class. I have found many new websites and sources to help me create better lessons through this class. When we started using Pivot, a free web 2.0 tool, I had students coming to my class to work on their Anatomy project. They were using videos, and music to their projects. I showed the students pivot and they used a variety of animation to show their points. “By integration of multimedia into instruction we can help to reduce barriers for everyone .” I feel that sometimes that CATE classes and Technology classes are cut off from the rest of the “Core” classes. By breaking down barriers and allowing students to learn with technology we are creating a better learning environment. Sometimes in the teaching professions we create walls away from our colleges because we might be on a larger campus or don’t have time to visit with other teachers during the day. This class has forced me to spend time learning from others by giving and sharing ideas. My school is a richer school that may have software and computers that a smaller school does not. Over this course I have been working with a teacher at a small one A school with little resources and even less time to create lessons. Together we have carved out time for this class and to help each other out with lessons and information. We both have shared various Web 2.0 tools that we can help each of our classes. One of my worst quality as a student is time management. To make sure that I can afford to take these courses I have taken on side jobs to pay for my tuition. (I refuse to go into debt for school) I also have many responsibilities at school from student council to the new school broadcast class. Due to this I have to work at weird hours and places to get my work done. I have been seen working on projects at basketball games, meetings, and the parking lot of my weekend job. However, as our guest speaker spoke about for black history month sometimes you have to do things you don’t like to get where you want to be. I want to be a vast resource for my teachers and students at my school. I want to be a teacher who loves to teach new things and ideas to her students. In my group we had two members that were techno savvy and two members who were just learning. We had a lot of emails going back in forth giving out ideas and information about our project and lessons. What was neat about our group was that we helped each other out. We all had weakness and all had strengths. Learning how to work together we were able to create a better project, then if we just worked at it alone. We did have a glitch at the last second. Our group misunderstood the project and created a “Theme” about the upcoming “STAAR” Test. Most of our information and framework for the website was created for that theme. Starting Sunday night after being online we had to recreate our website and create another one by Wednesday. It was interesting, to say the least. We tried to use the C.R.A.P principals in our pages. One of our downfalls is in my opinion we made it to simple and not enough contrast. However, we “used the quality of alignment to make a hallmark of a good web design”. (Rundle, 2006). Although, we did not make a 100 we came very close. Through my years of technology my question is what is next? How can we educate our students and show them new ways of learning. 10 years ago taking a class online was unheard of. Students want to learn more at a faster rate; however, we are having a raising drop out rate across the country. How can we keep their interest to learn what they need to know with so many crunches we are facing in the education system? How can we serve so many students at one time without sacrificing our standards? I feel like technology needs to be linked with every class to entice to the learner to “learn” while “having fun”.
 * __ Self –Assessment __**
 * Describe how you would implement the use of web sites into a PK-12 classroom **

As a district we are required to have a teacher website for each teacher. We have to have a syllabus, class schedule, tutorials times, facts about us, and helpful websites. That is the norm for a classroom teacher. We have a school calendar, library resources, career pathways, counselor corner, organization pages, and sports pages for each of our sport. I was actually a member of the group that started the web pages for each of the schools was at one time the webmaster for our high school.

Also, I have been apart of Cisco Networking learning environment. Everything was done online, grades, tests, lessons, and movies for subject. This was eight years ago, way before it became the norm for many of the schools. One of the things I enjoyed and hated about the program was there was always new information. It was always changing in format and with new curriculum. It was keeping up with the world pace not the education pace.

Last year we started academies at our school, although I did not teach in the academy, I was one of the few that was allowed to use moodle (Netschool) in the classroom. This tool with my website allows me to put in my grades, lesson, tests, and movies over my classes. I have gone from a very heavy, printing class to almost paperless. The students like and hate moodle. First, they can keep up with their projects and information. They hate it because it tells the exact time they did or did not turn something in.

Gerstein, J. (2011, August 16). //Where is reflection in the learning process?//. Retrieved from http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/where-is-reflection-in-the-learning-process/

Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal Design for Learning.Alexandria,VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

Rundle, M. (2006, April 10). //31 how c.r.a.p is your site design?//. Retrieved from http://thinkvitamin.com/design/how-crap-is-your-site-design/