Final Course Reflection

What I have Learned:

I have learned many useful skills about technology from taking this course. For example, I now know how to make a concept mad using Software like Inspiration. I would have never known how to do such a thing if it had not been for this class. Also, this class has made me challenge myself to go beyond what I would normally do. I have enjoyed growing in my knowledge and passion for technology. 

My Strong and Weak Points:

My strong points in technology are that I pick up new software and programs very quickly. I am also very passionate about making movies with music, pictures, and videos. If I could I would do it all the time, unfortunately I am rather busy all the time so that has left barley any room to make any movies lately. So when we were doing our Photo Story that was just an excuse for me to make another movie, which I quite liked and if I had enough time then it would have been way too long.

My weak points in technology are that I go way over board sometimes when I am given a task. I over analyze everything and that can take up a lot of my time, if I let it. Also, when I am learning new things at first I am hesitant to use it because I am so used to other technologies that can be used for the same thing. Even though the point is to learn about new technology sometimes my stubbornness can get in the way of having an open mind about things.

Why I think they are my weak and strong points:

My strong points are my strong points because they have helped me be successful of overcoming my weal points in technology. For example, when I am hesitant to learn a new program, but I can learn it very quickly I am able to get over my close mindedness. Most of my strong points balance out my weak points. This is a good thing too because if not I would either be way to into computers and technology or I would not even care about it. My weak point that I have help ground me too because I am able to see that I am not perfect in technology, but I work very hard when ever I am given a task. 

Future Learning Goals to show improvements in weak areas:

I plan to improve my weak points in technology by learning to be more open minded and to try not to always over due or over analyze everything. I am capable of doing a lot with technology; so if I try my best with what I know then no matter what I'll be satisfied with any outcome. When I am teaching my students about anything to do with technology that will also help me to be open minded and more relaxed because I will know what I am talking about.

How I plan to use Technology in the classroom:

I plan to make it a priority for my students to how technology is important in our world. To do that I am prepared to try many things with my students until I find the most effective teaching strategy. I have thought about giving my students the opportunity to show me or tell me one new thing each week about technology that they never knew and the student at the end of the semester with the most knowledge will get a prize that involves some kind of technology. Another way is that I could have the kids learn about technology and then have a Quiz Bowl sort of thing to see which one knows the most and the winner would receive a prize that involves technology for example, an iPod or an iTunes gift card. I will try to use positive reinforcement in my classes to help the students learn more about technology.

NETS-S Standard 5

Standard:

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:

Performance Indicators for Teachers:

a.	Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
b.	Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others.
c.	Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.
d.	Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community.

Reflection:

 The artifacts that helped me master standard 5 were Concept Mapping and the Work Sheet that we had to find. The reason why these two helped me was not because of the information on them, but the way I went about finding them and putting together the information. The Concept Mapping gave me the opportunity to learn how to use the Inspiration software and learn how to make a Concept Map. I have never done either so it was very interesting to see how the project developed as I completed it. The Work Sheet that I found was nothing special but I did not realize there were so many resources on the Web that teachers could use to help their lesson plans. By using the website that we are given we were told to find a work sheet that we could use in our classroom, but I was dumbfounded at how many sites that teachers have right at their fingertips. Plus finding that work sheet was the easiest to do out of that whole project we had to do.

I know that with the work I put into those two projects that they helped me understand standard 5. The reason for this being is that each one taught me about new technology and different ways to be more aware of what is out there. I enjoyed doing these projects because they truly taught me about staying connected with other teachers, being open to new ideas, and to never give up when things get confusing.

 These artifacts demonstrate my achievement by showing you that I can do something that I have never done before and that when you continue to work hard it pays off in the end. I made perfect scores on both of those artifacts and I could not believe it even when I saw it. I thought that my Concept Map was totally wrong, but I did my best to follow directions in every way possible and it paid off.

Artifacts/Evidence

•   Concept Mapping
• Work Sheet

Future Learning Goals:

The future learning goals that I plan to use in my classroom from mastering standard 5 are very simple. I will always keep an open door policy for ideas and activities the kids hear about. I want them to be able to teach each other and me as much as I teach them. Also I want to make it a mandatory thing for all my students to try to at least show me one new skill they have learned from using technology. I won’t penalize them if they do not; however, for the kids who do; they will get a reward that has something involving technology. I have not quite figured out how I would do it, but I figure because technology is such an important part in learning now days then they might as well get rewarded for knowing about it.

Doing these positive reinforcements in my classes would strengthen their knowledge and mine. Kids will find out how technology is imperative in our everyday lives a little at a time; rather than all at once in a computer class that might be kind of scary to them. I hope to be a teacher that can show kids just how useful and helpful technology is in our lives.

NETS-S Standard 4

Standard:

 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:

Performance Indicators for Teachers:

a.	Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.
b.	Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
c.	Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.
d.	Develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.

Reflection:

 The artifacts that helped me understand standards 4 were the plagiarism papers we had to do, and the power point project because both of them taught me ways to use the information given to me and to make things easier and more accessible to others. I enjoyed doing both of the projects though because I was able to learn things about assistive technology that I did not already know. Plus I was able to be creative with my projects and I learn the importance of copyrights. I had used the website turnitin.com before but to actually turn in a paper that was 99% plagiarized well it just felt weird. I did however have only 5% of plagiarism when I summed up what the information was about. I am very sure that I learned the basics of summarizing and not just taking ideas from others.

 The reason I think I met standard 4 is because I made no mistakes on any of my projects and I learned a lot from doing the assigned projects. They really taught me more about myself than anything because I was not sure if I was cut out to do these assignments, but clearly I was able to do so with no problems. I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet this standard and understand it better.

These artifacts are just the beginning to my success in school. Now that I know I can do so much more of my teaching by using technology it will completely revolutionize my world. From doing these artifacts I have mastered how to summarize works and learned what it really means to use the most of what you are given. I never would have guessed that a computer could help children with disabilities learn or that they would even be able to access a computer. Now that I know these awesome tricks about computers I will be telling everyone.

Artifacts/Evidence

• Power Point
• Not Plagiarized
• Plagiarized

Future Learning Goals:

My future learning goals after learning this standard is to plan projects about how to use technology and what new things you can do with them. I know they might learn it in their computer classes, but I think it might be more helpful for some kids who know nothing about computers to learn some cool tricks about them. Also the kids who do know a lot about them then this would be a wonderful opportunity for them to learn about leadership skills and to help others learn.

I think it is important for kids to know how they can use one of the most amazing resources of our time. Especially children with disabilities because it might help them connect to people in a different way. I plane to strength my knowledge with this standard by helping kids become more technology savvy.  

NETS-S Standard 3

Standard:

 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning

Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:

Performance Indicators for Teachers:

a.	Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
b.	Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
c.	Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
d.	Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.

Reflection:

The artifacts that helped me the most to grasp the concept of standard 3 are the following projects: the teacher website, BlogSpot page, and the power point presentation. Each of these projects taught me different ways to use my computer skills and showed me new ways to inform others by using digital tools and websites. When I first began this class I have to say I was pretty confident in that I already knew how to do all of these things that we were leaning to do. However, now that it is the end of the semester I can see now that this class really was very helpful because it showed me how and why thing happen on a computer. I know I met this standard because we used many different digital tools over the semester and most of the projects helped with that. Only three of them stand out to me when I think about it, but I know that I met the standard because I was able to complete each task and project with ease and success. These new skills will definitely help me be a better teacher because I will know many ways to reach out to my students and parents. I am now able to create a teacher website for my future classes and before this class I was not aware of how to even begin something like that. I never even thought it was a possibility for me to have a website let alone create one. 
With my creative passion in me I know that when the time comes for me to truly need to create a website I will without of doubt create one that is easy to read and fun to look at. The power point presentations that we did helped me become more aware of the accessibility features on a computer. I had never even thought about those kinds of things until we did that project. Now, when I need to take a quick picture of my screen I know that I can easily just press Ctrl+PrtScn and it will automatically capture a picture for me. By creating this BlogSpot page it not only has showed me how to stay in contact with others, but I have created one for my personal use as well and I now am a regular blogger. I just wish I had done this while I was studying in France last semester that would have been so much more helpful for me to keep up with what I saw and how I was feeling.

Artifacts/Evidence 

• BlogSpot 
•  Website
• Power Point

Future Learning Goals:

            From these projects I learned how to new digital tools such as the accessibility tools and I also learned how to create and update a website or blog. In the future I will use all of these technologies to enhance my students learning abilities and to make things more accessible for them. When I begin teaching I will most likely have a website for the students and parents to look at so they can get any information they need about grades or upcoming assignments. If I am able to have a classroom with a projector then I would be able to show the students using the projector what their assignments are for the day, what the lesson is about, and explain how to do their can do their homework for that day.

 To strengthen my knowledge about this standard I will continue to develop and master the tools of the computer and use any technology resource that I can in the classroom. I want the students to be aware of the many ways they can complete their assignments through technology. As a child in the classroom there was never any type of technology in the classroom accept for the overhead projectors. I don’t want that to be the case in my classroom, therefore I will do my best to make sure that my students use some sort of technology to learn every day.

NETS-S Standard 2

Standard:

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:

Performance Indicators for Teachers:

a.	design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
b.	develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
c.	customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
d.	provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

Reflection:

           Standard two has helped me use data to inform others, create lessons to teach, and manage my time by setting educational goals to achieve. The artifacts that helped me learn and understand this standard better are listed below with an explanation of how they helped me succeed in this standard. The plagiarism project taught me how to find and summarize information on the internet; so I could inform others about the gender gap in computer science. The concept map project that was done in the Inspiration program taught me how to create a lesson with a general concept. Using Inspiration made my project a more interesting and colorful lesson; than if I were to just tell the students about it. Lastly, the PhotoStory project helped me with managing my time because it was such a time consuming project. If I had not made a schedule or list of when to do all of my homework, that was due around the same time, then my PhotoStory project probably would be not have been turned in on time. I was already stressing out about all of the stuff that I needed to get done, but because of this project I became a more organized student. Even though there were a lot of projects to complete this semester; there was always a positive outcome when I finished them. This standard became one that ended up changing me the most because of what it entitled me to do. Looking back, I am very glad that I was pushed and challenged in this class because it taught me a valuable life lesson on time management.

Artifacts/Evidence

• Plagiarism Project Not Plagiarized
• Plagiarism Project Plagiarized
• Concept Map
• PhotoStory Project

Future Learning Goals:

          I learned the skill of time management by doing these projects; which helped me understand this standard. I will be able to use my skills of time management by having my lesson plans planned out at least a week or two before they are due to the school's office and by having a set routine in the classroom. Other ways I can strengthen my knowledge about this standard  is by incorporating digital tools in the classroom to promote student learning and creativity.

NETS-S Standard 1

Standard:

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity   

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:

Performance Indicators for Teachers: 

a.	promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
b.	engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
c.	promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
d.	model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.

Reflection:

When I read this standard it makes me feel proud because I have always loved working with computers and figuring out new things to do on them. It fascinates me when I learn or hear about something totally new that a computer can do now. Just about, 14 years ago we had gotten our first computer and let me tell you it was not the coolest looking computer at all. That is what makes me so in love with how technology works because there is always something new to learn about. The artifacts that helped me really grasp the concept of this standard are listed below with an explanation of how they helped me. The Google.com website that we had to create helped me learn how to be more creative by learning how to engage my future students in computers or technology. The PhotoStory project was not a difficult task for me because I have made several movies on Windows Movie Maker. It did however; show me that it is a lot easier to make a movie with pictures and audio using the PhotoStory software. Using these programs I think helped me meet the standard because I was not very motivated, before this class, to reach out and help others learn how to do things on a computer. Now, that I am more self confident in my knowledge about computers and most software programs; I find joy out of helping others learn about computers as well. This is the standard that I will value the most because it gives me motivation to inspire others about technology.

 Artifacts/Evidence

• Website
• PhotoStory

Future Learning Goals:

In this standard I learned the importance of reaching out to others when teaching/learning about computers. Everyone needs someone to push them or to lean on when trying something new. I will be able to use what I have learned from this standard in the future by continuing to reach out and help others with technology in any way I can. I know that I personally will not be teaching a computer class, but with my knowledge and skills on the computer I will be able to teach my students in Math more than one way. For example, if my classroom had a Promethean Board I could get them to answer the question using their "clicker" or by letting someone show the class how to solve it on the Promethean Board. There are many things that I am not capable of doing with technology and because of this standard I will be more motivated to strengthening the areas that I lack in about technology. Some ways I can do that is by challenging myself daily with something new, not give up after the first couple of tries, and by staying informed about new software and programs.

List of Artifacts/Projects

Puzzle Solution

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_hLJqwLJOc6MGUyN2FiNmMtNjhmMy00MzBkLTg0OTQtMzJhNzVkYzJmM2E1&hl=en&authkey=CInH0sII

Puzzle

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_hLJqwLJOc6M2I3NGVkZDAtMWNjYy00MjI1LTgxNjYtMTdiMjdiYmRkMmU4&hl=en&authkey=CNiFhbUD

Concept Mapping

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_hLJqwLJOc6NTAxMjcyNDAtOTU2Zi00ZWI3LTk0Y2ItNDc3MDM4NGQ0ZTY5&hl=en&authkey=CO_GooEJ

Rubric

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_hLJqwLJOc6Yjc0MjFiYzYtYTFiNy00MWE0LTgxOTctMGU5MjIyM2E5NzQy&hl=en&authkey=CKfw5tUB

Worksheet

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_hLJqwLJOc6ODNhOWMzYjQtZDdjZS00OGUyLWE0OTAtNDI2MjlkMGRiMjYx&hl=en&authkey=CMCwqssE

Ass.Tech and #10

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_hLJqwLJOc6ZTRlOGEwM2EtMGRkMS00NGRiLTlhZDAtNjQ3ZjI5ZTRjYmVi&hl=en&authkey=CJOF99sD

#10

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_hLJqwLJOc6ZGRjODA4NDQtOGJmMy00MTU1LTllZDYtNTZkMTYxNmYxZTM3&hl=en&authkey=CPW0sf4O

Turn it in

Not plagiarized

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_hLJqwLJOc6ZWY4MzBhODEtZTY3Yy00MDUwLWIyY2MtYjlhYjQ3ZWRhNGM3&hl=en&authkey=COreiBI

Plagiarized

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_hLJqwLJOc6YjNlZTZhMjQtNzQxNi00ZmM4LThkMzUtZmEzOGJkYjhlNmVh&hl=en&authkey=CJq92LwH

Blog (URL)

http://it365kadibishop.blogspot.com/

Website (URL)

https://sites.google.com/site/mrskadibishopsclass/

Photo Story (URL)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4XcFcj32Zc

Online Quiz (URL) –username: kadibug pw: rhonda8

http://classmarker.com/teacher/edit_test.php?test_id=135104