Final Reflections

I have learned so much in my CEP 811 class!  I feel so much more comfortable using technology to help enhance my lessons and improve student achievement.  By evaluating lessons that others have made and my own using the UDL principals (Universal Design for Learning) I now understand how to incorporate technology in a beneficial way.  I learned that when using technology it is very important to check to make sure everything is up to date and working properly.  You do not want to start a lesson and find out midway that there are broken links.  It is better to check before and make changes instead of having to rethink the lesson when you are in the middle of it.

I have learned some new technologies that I had never even heard of through taking this class.  I really like the STAIR (Stand Alone Instructional Resource) designs we were able to create.  This is a great way to engage students using technology!  They can be used as another form of teaching a particular topic to introduce it or to help enforce it.  I definitely want to explore these more and use them in my classroom when I have one of my own.  I also enjoyed learning more about webpages.  This is something I was already familiar with, but I was not completely comfortable creating one on my own.  WebQuests are another tool I would like to use when I teach.  These are a great way to have students explore and do research on the Internet in a secure environment.  

I had many goals at the beginning of this course and I feel that I have met them.  I wanted to learn new technologies and how to use them to help enhance my lessons to increase student achievement.  It is very important to integrate technology into lessons for the purpose to help with student achievement and engage students.  Technology should not just be used as a filler with no educational benefits.  My new goals are to keep exploring these new technologies I learned and become even more comfortable with them.  I also want to explore more technologies and how they can be used in my teaching.  Lastly, I want to share what I have learned with other teachers that I work with and help them to start using them in their classrooms.  I am going to reach these goals by continuing on taking classes toward my Master's Degree and by meeting with the technology group at my school to share my ideas.

Online Teaching Experiences

WebQuests are a great way to teach all different types of content.  They require students to complete research on a certain topic by following links on the Internet.  You can use them to teach all of the basic subjects in school, such as mathematics, science, reading, writing, and social studies.  They can also integrate multiple subjects in one WebQuest.  They are easy for students to use and help them get used to researching information on the Internet.  The main thing you have to keep in mind when using a WebQuest is to make sure all of the links work.  Since websites are continually changing, it is very important to keep your WebQuest up to date with resources that still exist.

With my students I would want to use a few different pedagogical strategies when teaching with WebQuests.  First of all, students would be active learners by exploring the websites. I would also want to include collaboration.  I think it is very beneficial for students to be able to discuss and work with other students.

In the elementary school some of the online learning technologies would be difficult to use. For instance, students in the lower grades (kindergarten and first) would not be able to create a blog or Wiki site because they do not have the skills yet to makes posts and comment.  In these grades I think it would be great to use online simulations which are more engaging and do not require them to write or read in some cases.

There are so many great ways to teach online.  I am looking forward to being able to incorporate them into my classroom when I have one of my own!

Michigan Merit Curriculum Online Experience Guideline Companion Document

Wikis Lab

As I searched through the Wikipedia site I discovered that the school I work at does not have a wiki page.  I work at Maple Elementary School in Walled Lake Schools and since the district had a page already I decided to create a page for my school.  I wrote that it is an elementary school in Walled Lake Schools and that it is located in West Bloomfield, MI.  I also included a link to Maple's school website.  Here is a screen shot of the page:

I have worked with Wikispaces in a few of the classes I have taken, so I was familiar with how to create a new page.  In CEP 810 my group used a wiki page for our group project.  In my new wiki page that I created for CEP 811 I included a link to this page.  Here is a link:  https://kaintechnologypage.wikispaces.com/ 

UDL Guidelines

What is UDL?  It is a set of guidelines for curriculum that gives all students equal opportunities to learn.  It provides a guideline to create goals, lessons, materials, and assessments that work for everyone.  It can be adjusted for individual needs in a classroom.  This information came from the UDL Center.  


Here is a link to a website I created and then evaluated using the UDL framework: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=595664&newcontribution=1

Here are screen shots of my UDL checklist:

Evaluation of Learning Material in MERLOT

I found a great powerpoint on cyberbullying on the MERLOT website.  http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=574595  The content is high in quality.  It has valid, useful information to teach about cyberbullying.  This material can be used to explain what cyberbullying is and allows the learner to apply what they learn  in scenarios involving cyberbullying.  The learning objective of this powerpoint is to teach what cyberbullying is, how to prevent it, and what to do if it is happening.  The targeted learner is someone in school, has access and is able to use many different forms of technology.  This interactive powerpoint improves the teacher and students' ability to teach and learn the material.  This can be easily used in a classroom to teach students the dangers of cyberbullying, how to prevent it from happening, and what to do if it happens.  The software can be used in the classroom after an incident has happened or to inform students and hopefully prevent it from happening.  It is very easy to see what the teaching-learning goals are in this lesson and it would be very easy to use to create learning assignments from.

I found the software to be very easy to use.  The powerpoint has great links to more information and videos that are very easy to navigate back and forth from.  It is interactive and provides immediate feedback from questions asked in the presentation.  Students can easily use this, all they need to be able to do is click the mouse to move on to the next slide or answer a question.  It presents information in the form of a list when explaining about cyberbullying, which is very familiar to students and much more interesting and attractive then seeing pages and pages of text.  The whole presentation is presented using a dog as the speaker which adds another element of attraction.

I found this powerpoint presentation on cyberbullying very interesting and useful.  It is something I would not hesitate to use in my own classroom to teach about this concept, especially with how much technology our students have available to them.

Learning Styles

I have always been a hands-on learner.  If I am actually doing something it sticks with me longer.  I am able to learn things by listening, but I have learned that this is not as affective in the long run.  To sit through a lecture on a concept usually bores me, but if there is discussion involved I will become engaged and learn.  


I think teachers should focus on incorporating as many teaching strategies as possible in a lesson to engage all types of learners.  For instance, in a math lesson a teacher might start by teaching a concept using visuals.  Then, give a set of problems and manipulatives to students and have them work in pairs to figure them out on their own.  Then, as a class have a group discussion on what they found.  It is very important to engage as many types of learners as possible and to reinforce what you teach in many different ways. 

Personal Learning Reflection

I have learned so much through taking my CEP 810 class.  I have learned how to safely use technology in my teaching and in general.  There are so many technologies on the Internet that I can and will use in my teaching.  I think classrooms can benefit greatly from using Google Docs.  Students are able to work on group projects very easily and this site will allow them all to contribute.  I also think teachers can use it to share lessons and help each other make improvements to those plans and other things.  This is something I will continue to use after the course is through.  I also am very excited to explore the Creative Commons site more.  I think this is a great place to find and share creative works to use in the classroom.


I feel like I definitely reached my goal of learning new technologies to incorporate into my teaching.  I want to continue to explore these technologies and share what I have learned with others.  Since technology is always changing, I want to be able to take what I learn in this course, use it now, and be able to adjust it as new technologies develop. I have enjoyed exploring all the new technologies in this course and hope to one day soon be able to use them in a classroom of my own!

Creative Commons

I never realized how careful you had to be with copyrights.  I always knew they were important, but I did not realize just how careful you had to be with them. 

After learning about Creative Commons I will definitely be more cautious about what I use in the classroom.  This is a great site to legally use pictures, videos, and much more for free.  It is also a place you can share your work and chose who you allow to use it and for what purpose.  When I have a classroom of my own, I will use this site all the time to find things I could use to help with my teaching and also share things I have created with others.


Here is a photo that I found to help show what a terrestrial ecosystem looks like:

Photo Attribution:

Original Image: Morro Strand State Beach scene taken from the Back Dunes

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/6225169798/

By: Mike Baird

Released under attribution

Here is a photo of Cancun, Mexico that I  allowed for reuse using Creative Commons:

Photo Attribution:

Original Image: Cancun, Mexico

https://picasaweb.google.com/100933277749494576268/CancunMexico#5664959069057507538

Internet Security

The tutorials I watched were Explaining Cookies, Email Attachment Tips, and Explaining What Firewalls do and don't do.  In Explaining Cookies I learned there is a type of cookie called a tracking cookie that tracks where you go on the Internet and reports this information to advertisers.  The advertisers then use this information to place advertisements on webpages.  I found it surprising that they can use these cookies to find detailed information about users lifestyles, spending habits, and more.  In Email Attachment Tips I learned that bad grammar is the first sign that something is a scam or virus.  Bottom line is to trust your instincts, if it seems suspicious it probably is.  In Explaining What Firewalls do and don't do I learned that you need both hardware and software firewalls.  Hardware firewalls do no block viruses from the Internet.  Software firewalls are the second line of defense against these.  They can do many things like warn you against dangerous Internet activity.  These are all things that I will share with others so that they are better informed about Internet security.

RSS Reader

For my google reader I decided to add the blog Educational Resources blog.  This has a lot of helpful problem solving ideas for teachers to use.  I chose to comment on an entry titled "Pencil Dilemma" which talked about the issue of losing and breaking pencils in class.  This has been an issue for me in the past and I have tried to find a solution for it.  Like the entry, I have tried many things, but nothing worked.  In one of the comments someone suggested putting velcro on the pencil and the desk for students to put when not in use.  I will definitely try this!  

I also added Creating Lifelong Learners, which focuses on integrating technology into education.  This will provide ideas and articles on how to integrate technology into my teaching.  The Science Fix site I added has many great science ideas to engage students.  The Math Hub Blog has many great ideas on how to use technology to improve math achievement.  Since I teach elementary school, I teach all subjects so I wanted to find a variety of sites to help with all subjects and integrating technology into them.  

As I check my feed, I am seeing that most of them are not updated but every few weeks at the most.  Even though this is the case, I am able to go back through the older posts and find some great information.  There is plenty of information for me to use and as I find more sites I will add them to my feed.

I have found new ideas on problem solving in the classroom and also how to keep students engaged.  I hope to keep learning more and more as I follow my feeds.  Right now I am a building substitute teacher, so I cannot apply everything I learn just yet.  I look forward to using these feeds to help me when I have a classroom of my own!

Getting Things Done!

I have always been a very organized person and like to get things done early, but ever since college I have become somewhat of a procrastinator.  Waiting until the last minute to do things is becoming an issue as of lately with all the things I need to do.  The book "Getting Things Done" talks about five steps to help from becoming overwhelmed.


The first step is to collect.  This is where you take everything you need to do and put it in one spot.  The second step is to process.  This is where you ask yourself some questions:  What is it?  Can you do it? If not put aside for a later time.  How long will it take?  A couple minutes?  If yes then do it, if not then defer or delegate it.  The third step is to organize.  This is where you decide what is high priority and needs to be done right away as opposed to things that are low priority and can wait until a later time.  The fourth step is to review.  This is where you check your list and make sure things are up to date, see if anything is late, and see if anything is close to being due.  The fifth and final step is to do.  This is just as it sounds, it is time to do the things on your list.  Deciding what to do is based on a few questions.  What can you do?  How much time do you have?  Is it enough to complete the task?  How much energy do you have?  What is most important to you?

I am hoping that using these five steps I will be able to manage my time better and get things done!

Social Networks

I find social networks to be very useful both professionally and personally.  I have been using social networks personally for many years and have found them to be very helpful with keeping up with friends and family that have moved away or just who I do not see on a regular basis.  I am just now learning how they can help me professionally.  As a teacher, I will use them to help me connect with colleagues, students, and parents. It will help me keep my students and parents informed and allow me to share ideas and learn from other teachers.  I think that students can use social networks to connect with students in their classes.  They can use them to ask about homework assignments or other things going on in class.  As I learn more about social networks, I am sure I will find many more ways to use them both professionally and even personally.

Web Pages vs. Blogs

Traditional web pages and blogs are two very different things.  Blogs are like an online journal where there is a series of entries.  This is where people can write about their views and thoughts and other people can comment on those thoughts.  Tradtional web pages focus more on specific information, not opinions, and cannot be commented on.  So the main difference between traditional web pages and blogs is that blogs are written by a single person as a series of entries and can be commented on and web pages are not.