Rollercoasters?

I love rollercoasters. Actually, it wasn't until my senior year of high school that I was brave enough (and subjected to enough peer pressure) to ride my first rollercoaster. I hated it. However, my second rollercoaster was amazing and now I am constantly thinking about the next time I can travel to Busch Gardens, VA to ride another rollercoaster. Basically, I love rollercoasters.

However, the past three weeks in this class has taken me on an interesting rollercoaster ride. I have always considered myself to be pretty tech-savvy, but this class has required me to complete assignments that were beyond my skill level. Of course I don't see this as a negative thing, but it was definitely a rollercaoster or stress and joy.

This week has been especially trying as I have worked with my partner on our webquest. The week started out great as we came up with the great idea to create a webquest all about weather. Our idea was to make the webquest part of center time so that students would work on it a little bit each day. My partner and I were both very excited about the idea.

Fast forward to the end of the week - we just finished and turned in our webquest. This is the most relief I've felt in a while. It has been stressful to pay attention to all the seemingly minor details (like links to every page on every page) of the webquest. The perfectionist in me especially had difficulty as we worked to make the site look great.

All in all, I'm glad I went through the stress because we ended up with a great product. And that is what I have seen happen every week during summer school - stress leading to a finished product. The greatest thing I will take from this class is perseverance. I have learned even more about technology and how to use it in my classroom because I was willing to fight through the stress and confusion to make it to the final product.

I can see myself creating a website for my classroom, using Microsoft Access to keep track of my students' information, and using Kidspiration software to help my students better understand a complex topic. I also have a better understanding of how to evaluate software and websites so that I may use appropriate technology in my classroom.

So while the past three weeks haven't been the thrilling, breath taking rollercoaster ride like Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens, they have have an interesting ride with a fantastic and practical conclusion.

Just Figure it Out!

I think the best way to learn technology is to dive right in. It's like when I used to work at The Children's Place - during my first week, the manager informed me that the best way for me to learn to use the register was for her to leave me there alone and let me sweat. Indeed, the best way to learn about a new technology is to try to make it do what you want it to do on your own. I feel like this allows an individual to experience random abilities of the software that would never be discovered through a generic tutorial. This week I learned a new software by using a tutorial, and I learned how to do something new on software that is very familiar to me.

This week I was asked to use Microsoft Access, a database software. I didn't even know that this existed, much less the fact that it was on my computer, but now that I have used it for simple purposes, I think I will be taking of it more often. My assignment for the week was to create a database of information on my "future students" and then use that information to create mailing labels. Following a tutorial, this was a ridiculously easy task to accomplish. After going to class and hearing more of an explanation of what can be done through Access, I believe I will be taking the time to dive in and learn more about the program and how it can be used in my classroom.

This week I was also asked to create a gradebook in Microsoft Excel and then create a lesson using Microsoft Excel. This was no problem for me - I work for a professor in the English department at Meredith, and great portion of my job involves setting up and recording grades in the Excel gradebook. However, for this assignment I was also asked to create a graph. Of course, I know how to create a graph in Excel - no problem - but I can get picky about things, and I wanted the names of each assignment to be labeled on the x-axis of my graph. This is difficult to do when the labels for the assignments are ten rows above the highlighted rows for the graph. I spent hours messing with Excel in order to try and figure out how to label the assignments on my graph. I learned even more about Excel than I thought I knew! So I was glad to be provided with the opportunity to use Excel, a very familiar program, in a way that was new to me. (By the way - I ended up calling my dad to ask him how to label the assignments - apparently he's an Excel genius).

Another familiar assignment to me this week was a software evaluation. In a previous class I was asked to use prefabricated software evaluations to write up an evaluation of a piece of software. Therefore, this assignment was familiar but different. It was interesting to create my own evaluation instrument - I had to look through different eyes as I considered exactly what attributes I would be looking for in a piece of quality software.

Whew, this is a lot of writing - and it's pretty dry writing at that. I think all of my creativity gets sucked into my computer assignments, but don't get me wrong - I love creating them! The three assignments I worked on this week can be of great use to me in my classroom. Access will help me to organize student information and call it up for various reasons (I know that is vague - I just feel like there are SO many uses for a database). I had never considered actually using Excel in a lesson before this week. I see that it could be an excellent way to provide students with an easy visual through a chart. I believe this can lead to great discussions and ideas in the classroom. Finally, software evaluations will continue to keep the quality of software in the front of my mind as I consider how the children will use the computer in my classroom. I feel as though I know have a greater understanding and idea of the variety of uses of different softwares in the classroom.

Introducing: The Bionic Teacher

This week I have worked with a number of different technologies in ways that would be useful for my class. One new thing that I learned this week was how to use Photo Story. I have used Windows Movie Maker before, but I thought that using Photo Story was a more simple way to create a slideshow that could be used in the classroom. I could see myself using Photo Story in my classroom to create a class story - it would be great to scan the children's artwork into the computer and have them narrate their story. After combining all the stories, this could be a "class book" that the children had the option of viewing on the computer. I think this would be a fun activity for the children and a different way to participate in an author's chair at the end of writing workshop.

This week I was also asked to create a resume and cover letter using a template from Microsoft Word. I have already created a resume without using a template on Microsoft Word, and I preferred my original resume to the one I created with a template. I thought the template created more difficulty in formatting as it only allowed room for a certain number of sections, and adding new sections proved to be slightly challenging.

Overall, I have spent a great amount of time this week working with different technologies that can be used in my classroom. I am already thinking of great ideas to use Kidspiration to help the children in my classroom organize a story before writing. They may then use Microsoft Word or Publisher to create their own flyers to promote the viewing of our class book made through Photo Story. The more I think about this idea, the more I like it. I look forward to learning and thinking about more ways to use technology in my classroom.

The Final Post (of the semester)

Alright, so I started out with a super creative blog post, but it wasn't working. It may be because my brain is nearly mush due to all these finals. Anyhow, I have definitely learned a lot from this class. I figure it's best to hit the highlights...

I understand phonics so much better. We learned about phonemic awareness in class, and I saw many examples of teaching through the use of phonics in my field placements. So I will definitely be encouraging children to sound out their words and use inventive spelling (well, as long as they're young enough to be in this stage) in my classroom.

Through this class, I've also realized that there is a lot more to language arts that I thought there was. My shock began with the SIX language arts and it went from there. Now I know many of the little pieces of information that fit together to make one gigantic language arts subject.

I learned that a classroom of college students can have an entire conversation using markers and a white board (I really liked that class).

I've rediscovered my joy of writing. Though, I think after writing my final book I should just get over my entire senior year - I feel like that thing was depressing. However, it was a good experience and I was happy to remember how much pleasure I used to receive from writing. Along with this, I've also learned more about the writing process and have already started thinking of some creative ways to include it in my classroom.

Finally, after taking this class I have become very interested in the entire subject of language arts. I combined the information from this class with a small segment from one of my child development classes about preschool literacy and I came to the conclusion that I wanted to write my senior thesis on early literacy. So, thanks to this class, I will be looking more into the classroom environment and it's impacts on children's development of literacy in the early elementary years. I am very excited about this topic.

Overall, this was a wonderful class and I learned a lot more than I stated here (but I've already written one book for this class; I don't think I should write another). I can't think of any super interesting or creative ways to end this post. That is sad. I'll just end with a smile. =)

Prepare to be surprised....

...I used to write poetry. Yeah, no surprise. I think this entire blog is filled with my memories of writing and how much I loved it. But, yes, poetry used to be my way of releasing energy and emotion. Therefore, I have two favorite poems - one that I have created, and one that I have read.

My favorite poem isn't a happy one, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. As dark as it may be, this poem may be a great way to teach and show students how a lot of poetry goes beyond the words into a deeper meaning.

It, of course, is also just a great example of poetry. I think I love this poem because I feel so calm when I read it. It's sad, I know, but there's something eerily peaceful about the whole situation. I picture a cool, dark evening in the crisp snow. A tired man, and a tired horse. I love winter.

Anyhow, this could be a way to open a new door to a different type of poetry for my students. No, I don't expect deep, dark, serene imagery. However, my students could dig deeper than "Today I had fries for lunch, they are fun to munch..." (Those were the basis of my poems when I was in elementary school).

Maybe I could share this poem as my favorite poem to my class. Then each student could go on a hunt for her favorite poem as well. We could have a large group discussion where we share our favorite poems and explain why we like them. This could lead into a more in depth discussion of the mechanics of poetry (What kind of poem is this? What devices did the author use to express his message?)

I love poetry.

And I'm going to take a risk...and post one of my poems (not my favorite, sorry) here at the end.

I figure I should leave on a happy and cheesy note...

lay under the stars

jump in the leaves

swim through the ocean

swing through the trees

smile at a stranger

laugh at yourself

go crazy with friends

hold your hand out to help

pick a bright flower

feel the grass on your toes

run through a sprinkler

take a sip from the hose

dance in the rain

sing to the sky

feel the wind in your hair

find your wings, you can fly

I think I've heard the word "talk" 731 times today

I love the movie, Freedom Writers, and I was so excited when you said we would be watching a clip in class. One day, I am determined to read the book.

I understand that this is a true story, so it is very likely that a conversation such as the one we saw in the movie actually happened. I love the clip and everything that happened, it is no doubt that talk and communication were needed in that classroom. In fact, talk and communication are needed in every classroom. I just have two questions: How would this look in an elementary school classroom? and Where do you draw the line?

I understand the second question depends on the classroom situation, so I think I may just leave that one out in the open until I become more familiar with my own class. However, I do wonder if conversations like the one from the clip in the movie are possible in an elementary classroom. Unfortunately, there is no doubt that students have plenty of deep troubles that they need to deal with in their own lives, but is it appropriate to discuss any of these things in the classroom? I feel like elementary school talks would be FABULOUS for discussing what we've been learning, but would it be possible to use impromptu conversations such as the one in the Freedom Writers to enhance the learning in my classroom?

I think children have interesting and different insights into the world, but would it be better to have these conversations in a notebook instead of during class time? Maybe that would be a good place to start...have the children start a response journal and then see what they have to say.

I know, I sort of veered away from the subject of instruction. But, as we saw in Freedom Writers, learning isn't always about academic knowledge. Also, there is always academic knowledge to be learned in every day conversation.

I think I've just answered my own questions; however, feel free to add more "talk" to this post. =)

I think I went off on a tangent...

The revising and editing process has been interesting for me. On one hand, I like to watch the reactions of my peers as they read my story. I even enjoy (yes, enjoy) listening to their comments afterward. It was very helpful for me to hear that my shifts from past to present were slightly confusing and needed to be fixed in some creative way. And, of course, it's always helpful to have my type-o's and grammatical errors pointed out to me. It was also a relief to hear that my story was well liked and had the effect I had hoped it would on the reader.

On the other hand, it is difficult to place my hard work into someone else's hands. It's hard for me to come to terms with the fact that this person who knows nothing about my life or the story that I am telling is going to tell me how to fix it. It makes me fairly nervous to be honest.

Yet, this is very common practice for me. I don't typically trust myself, and I really do like to hear other people comment on my work. I have a favorite "editor" who typically reads my stuff and is honest (like the time he asked me if I was asleep while writing my ENG 111 research paper).

I think this is absolutely essential in the classroom. Students are able to practice many different skills. Of course, there are the obvious language arts skills (reading, writing, grammar, etc), but students also practice social and emotional skills as they bravely hand their hard work over to another peer. For this reason, I think it would be best to either keep the same partner for at least half of the year, or to let the students chose their own partners when peer conferencing.

Who would think that language arts would be so emotional...maybe I made it too emotional.