The End? Or just the Begining!

I have just finished a class at Walden University where I was pushed to produce products that I never dreamed that I could or would do. I have loved being asked to step out of the box and think differently. My technology skills have improved, I have used the teaching and learning process for myself as well as my classroom, and I have looked at my classroom differently to increase my student's knowledge base.

This course has helped me develop my own technology skills by teaching me that I can have a blog, I can create a pod cast, a video cast and put both of those of the Internet for the world to see. I have the confidence to stand in front of my third graders and ask them to do them same. I understand the vocabulary surrounding the Internet and blogging. I have had the confidence to ask my students to create and be creative with pod casting and blogging. My students have then in turn produce more authentic material to represent their learning.

I have been teaching a "new" way, thinking about the student and what they need to know and understand and how I can teach that in a different way then the teachers around me. I believe that my students are more engaged and more accepting to new learning because of the added technology in the classroom. I believe the parents have been very impressed with what their students have been bringing home as a result of the technology in the classroom.
My classroom is learner-centered. It was learner-centered before the technology but now I can show them how the technology works and why we are going to be using it. Students are excited. Students now don't come to me when they are done with something; they work on other projects that they want to work on. Students beg me to work now. Before they had their head in their hands and didn't want to work. I only teach whole group now when they need to understand how to run a program or when a demonstration is needed. I love being available for the kids to use as a resource. I love that the students are learning what they are interested in and what they want to learn.

I am excited to continue my learning. I will continue to use the things that I have learned in this class as I continue my journey. One of my goals will be to learn some new classroom management techniques. Classroom management when students are let free is sometimes rather difficult for me so I hope to continue to work on that. I also have many pondering questions as my adventure continues: How do you incorporate technology and skill continue what you understand is best practices in your classroom? What does that look like? How can I meet all my students needs when there are limitations on the technology? My classroom has transformed during this class and will continue to transform as I continue. I want to answer my questions and then act upon the answer that I discover. Not only do I want my classroom to transform but my teammates classrooms as well. I want to be a change agent in my building. I believe that I am well on my way!!

Partnership for 21st Century

I enjoyed reviewing the Skills for 21st century website. I was surprised by several things: that Colorado was not a state on the web site. Colorado is coming forward with many different initiatives dealing with technology. I would have thought that they would be on there. I was surprised how much information that you can find on the website and the other websites that you are redirected to through the website. I did find it interesting the framework that they have put together. Here in my district we have put together a reading framework and they are very similar. I felt comfortable reading and understanding the framework. Route 21 was a great way to see how the frameworks might be used in the classroom with different tools. I spent a lot of time looking through this part of the website. The only part about the website that I was not sure about is that it was easy to get lost. I would want to go back to a page and it was challenging at time to get there.

How I plan to use blogs in my classroom

I would like to set up blogs for my classroom and have each student tell us about their life. This will get the students ready for the real work when we use blogs in other content areas.

We are a third grade class so many of these concepts are very new to them. Teaching them about blogs with enhance this lesson by showing them how we use a blog. It will enhance other lessons by letting each student respond to a book talk without one person telling everything and others sitting in the back doing nothing.
Blogs remind me of a great quote I try to remember about my class "Those who are talking are doing the learning." If that is the teacher all the time, she is learning. If that is one student, that one is learning. If all are talking, all are learning.

Students will tell about their lives and then they can "talk" or respond to others blogs.

Everyone Here is a Teacher and a Learner!

I am a teacher and a learner! Here I am learning a lot!!