Reflection

Ok, so I know that class is over and final projects are done, etc. However, I was just reflecting on all the information that I learned during this class and how I will utilize it in the 2011-2012 school year.  I'm really grateful that I decided to take this class because honestly, it was worth the time and every dime! I wonder how long we have access to the ISTE website and all those articles because I would love to keep perusing it and see what new web 2.0 tools are being discussed.  Well, off I go.....now that I'm done with this class, I can focus on the countdown until the birth of my 2nd child...19 days and counting! (Hoping for earlier). 

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES! COME ON!

The title of this blog is that classic song from the '70s. It's 1am in the morning (deja Vu; like the last big project we had) and I'm done with the Masterpiece project!  It's very much a relief to have completed it, but more importantly, I'm excited that I've learned so much over the course of this class.  I definitely have a lot of tools to utilize in the classroom as technology continues to advance.  It's nice to not be stuck to just the regular "paper and pen" routine, but to be able to reach further and do more! How lovely!  On that note, I'm off to sleep.....To all my fellow classmates on the web, CONGRATS on finishing Educ 675 and doing it with a bang.  I saw and commented on some projects and they seem amazing! Have a wonderful summer (whenever the school year ends for you!). 

COUNTDOWN...IN MANY WAYS!!

Wow,
One never knows what the future will bring huh?  I am sitting with a thousand things on my mind.  The school year is completed (thank the Lord) and grades are done and out.  However, I still have a countdown going on constantly in my mind.  1. This final project.  I came up with what I thought would be a great "masterpiece" and basically, I call it that because it would be a tool used to fill a need.  I just keep feeling like maybe I should be doing more...incorporating a timeline of web 2.0 tools like others or something...2.  I am in my 9th month of pregnancy and am constantly dealing with, "is that braxton hicks contractions (false labor)" or the real deal?  3.  My current position at my school is no longer; they won't have a Spanish teaching position anymore (sigh...I'll REALLY miss my students; they are SOOO wonderful; didn't have the heart to tell them I won't see them in the next school year), so yep, it's been an interesting last few weeks.  But I'm pressing on, because the future will definitely bring about wonderful new changes....1. a project that will blow the socks off of everyone 2. a new baby that will be a GREAT addition to my family and the world :-) and 3. A new position that would grant me the ability to share my skills as an educator.  So, here's to the countdown to great things and new beginnings!

Project 4&5 Mashup

Alright,
So it seems that we will be combining Project 4&5 as a final project.  (I wish you could see me dancing!- I'm doing the "running man" dance and the "cabbage patch.") I'm absolutely EXCITED!! I looked over the requirements for this last project and I want to get STARTED! I was thinking of the various things that I could possibly do to show what I've learned in this class, but I'd love to bounce around some ideas with other classmates so that I can hone in on something genius or like Prof. H says, " a masterpiece."  So, don't be shy people...let's start discussing!

This is one small step for man...one giant step for mankind

I did it! I did it! I'm sorry that I always rejoice whenever I complete a project, but this is SUCH a big deal to me!! It's 2am and yet the excitement of having completed this assignment and doing it well has me WIRED!! (That and the kicking baby in my belly....you say "potayto" I say "potahto"...In any case, I really like my presentation.  I wrote about like 7 different web 2.0 tools and I had speaker notes and the information is presented in a comical way so that my colleagues won't fall asleep on me. 
In any case, this is one small step for me, but one giant step for them because now I can share what I have learned thus far and perhaps they will begin to integrate some of these technology tools into their teaching...it can only help...you know?  In any case, off to bed....there is school tomorrow!

GET YOUR STUDENTS MOVING!!!

We are in an age where it is too easy to leave a sedentary life.  Instead of walking, we can catch the bus and travel a short distance.  Instead of exercising, we can watch tv shows of other people doing it and just share in their journey instead of our own.  It's funny because this week, I've seen a lot of news about the importance of moving and exercising, etc.  It's ironic because in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy, I would like to do anything but that. lol. 
But, when I saw a video of the first lady Michelle Obama dancing along with D.C. middle school students to the song, "Move Your Body," a remake of Beyonce's song "Get Me Bodied," I knew that I too needed to move a little.  (I'll post the video of Beyonce's song at the bottom- it's really cute!)
I read an article on ISTE on Getting the students to move.  The writer is a Physical Education Department Chairperson who tried to find ways to connect PE success in the classroom with technology.  She modified games to include concepts that the students learned in class.  She used a flip camera to film the students doing various activities, and then shared this video with parents and the community.  They created a podcast where parents and students alike were recorded sharing healthy messages.  Finally, in a unit on Winter Olympics, the students made flags of different countries, discussed various cultures and participated in modified winter olympic games.  They even made a Skype call to Vancouver during the winter olympics to ask questions and interact in an authentic situation.   I will always remember something that the writer wrote.  She said, " Every discipline needs to teach digital age skills, creativity, problem solving and global awareness."  I totally agree....so LET'S GET MOVING!

ARTICLE:  GET YOUR STUDENTS MOVING
BEYONCE'S MOVE YOUR BODY VIDEO

Wallwisher.....yet another web 2.0 tool

It seems as though every nanosecond, another useful web 2.0 tool is created for the world to utilize.  In the days of WORDLE, TAGUL, Oodles of Noodles (lol. Just joking about that last one...I couldn't resist), there seems to be another similar tool that students and teachers alike can use in the classroom.  It's called Wallwishers.  As defined in the article, "Wallwishers is an online bulletin board where students place virtual post-its with textual information, photos, video and audio."  The ISTE article on this web 2.0 tool basically highlighted some things that people could use it for; it ranged from students collaborating on an assignment by posting facts and photos of a certain theme, to creating a wall on tips to become a good writer, to the teacher posting assignments and allowing the students to access it in a one fun location.  Read the article below.  I'm sure you'd love it!


SITE
WALLWISHERS: A GEEKY TEACHER'S DREAM TOOL ARTICLE

Mission Acccomplished

Yayy!! I made a website! I'm so excited.  Our second project was to have a web presence.  I created a website for my students and their parents.  It is basically tools for the students/parents to have so as to keep up with my Spanish 1&2 class.  I don't want to spoil the excitement of this blog, so it will just be best for you to check it out.  As I always say, "judge me on progression and not perfection."  Every day, I learn a new web 2.0 tool and try to put it to good use.  So it may not be the best of a web designer, but it's my best.  Look at the website below.  Enjoy!!
My website!

To weebly or not to weebly...that's the question

So far, a few classmates have complained about several aspects of the Weebly website and how it's difficult to do certain things, like add a voki, adding videos without having to upgrade and pay $40 a year, etc.  In any case, so far I haven't had any issues and I give weebly 2 thumbs up....so I guess my answer to "to weebly or not to weebly" would be "to weebly.....definitely!"  I'm excited by my website.  It has wonderful graphics, great information for students and parents alike, and I was able to add links to my other sites (such as Engrade- where I post students' grades) and Pearson's Realidades (the book that we are using for my Spanish 1&2 class).  Oh, what else? I also have a blog on there too for students/parents....Weebly's alright with me...I'm hoping that I don't encounter problems in the future because if so, it would be quite a lot to have to redo everything in another site like Google or something.  Ok, well hope everyone is enjoying this rainy Monday :-) Smooches, Akoi

What I've Always Wanted to Know.....What is the secret of SUCCESS?!

What a day! As I pondered my life today and thought about the direction that I wanted to go in life (whether in my career, marriage, continued education, etc.), I wondered what would make me say, "I'm successful in all these various areas."  Then I saw the assignment for the TED video and decided to browse the many topics until one caught my eye. 

It was Richard St. John's 8 Secrets of Success.  I was intrigued, so I clicked on the link and proceeded to watch the video.  He initially informed us that this was normally a 4 hour session, but that he had simplified it to a 3.5 minute video (whew!).  That encouraged me to continue watching :-)

He spoke about how he'd done 7 years of research and over 500 interviews and he'd repeatedly heard these 8 factors from wealthy, entrepreneurs.  So, now he'd share it.  Here are the 8 factors that can aid to success.


1. Passion-  You have to do what you love because you love it and not because of the money.  (He
                     added that usually, money would follow anyway).
2.  Work-  It's all hard work, and won't come easily, but because you love it (as it says in #1), it'll be
                 fun.
3.  Good-  In order to master a craft, you must practice, practice, practice! That way, you'll become
                   good at it.
4.  Focus-  You must focus on one thing at a time! Don't let your attention-span be easily diverted.
5.  PUSH-  Push yourself to accomplish a task....and if you're not reliable, have someone in your
                   corner who can (such as mom:-)
6.  Serve-  You must be able to serve others something of value that they want.  (Here's my opinion on
                  that:  Facebook is an EXCEPTIONAL example of this!  People always want to reconnect
                  with loved ones and friends that span years and distance.  It's a valuable service)
7.  Idea:  It all begins with one idea.  So listen, observe, be curious, ask questions, problem solve and
                make connections.
8.  PERSIST:  You must persevere through failure and CRAP- Criticism, Resistance, (bad word I
                         can't repeat- see the video if you must know...begins with an A) and Pressure.

All in all, really great advice and a wonderful presentation.

Feel free to watch the video.  I've added the hot link below....ENJOY!!!
Richard St. John's 8 Secrets of Success

Should Schools Go Paperless?

Ok,
It's very interesting that I saw this topic because as I was listening to the radio today, the news reporter spoke of how the Social Security Administration is looking into being completely paperless by the end of the year.  So, naturally, when I saw this article on the ISTE site, I was immediately drawn to it.

This article showed 2 point of views on schools going paperless.  I've attached the link below (for those of you who are itching to read the entire article), but I will also write a summary based on what each person said.

First, we begin with the guy who says "Absolutely! Yes!"  His name is Vernon Smith and he had several good points that I will document below.

• He's coming from a "green" point of view.  Paperless meeting/classroom instruction, etc are made simple with email, projectors, interactive whiteboards, etc.
• Less paper would reduce the need for custodians to haul away littered paper in hallways, classrooms, trash cans, etc.
• Paperless options SAVE MONEY! Reduce the cost of ink, toner, paper, electricity, maintenance of machines.  Schools can put these funds into classroom technologies.
• Kids won't have to haul around huge book bags that are heavy-laden with paper.
• Digitized textbooks are easily distributed, more portable and require less management.

The other point of view was from the fairer sex, a woman named Elayne Evans.  She adamantly said, "No!" to schools going paperless.  Some of her points were:

• Handwriting is important.  Learning to write the alphabet by hand and practicing with pen and paper are VITAL components of foundational literacy.
• If students read/write exclusively on computers, they will rely heavily on spell check and this will affect student literacy.
• Cloud computing and mobile devices have caused increased power consumption, so going paperless isn't necessarily the greenest option.
• If schools have tight budgets, it may not be wise to invest in purchasing personal computers.  This is because new models frequently come out and this renders thousands of dollars of property useless.

Both Mr. Smith and Ms. Evans conceded that there needed to be a healthy balance because although they had opposing views of schools going paperless, both did agree that certain parts of having paper was useful.  For example, Vernon Smith said that color paper and construction paper would constantly be useful.

I encourage you to read the article below.  It was quite good.  Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. 
http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201102?pg=8&pm=2&fs=1#pg8

I'm getting the hang of this now....

My very first blog! Yayy!! Thus far, I've been responding to Professor Heigle's blogs and following a few classmates, but I didn't quite know how to put on my own blog.  After pressing some keys for a while, I decided to look at the tutorial video that Prof.Heigle told us about 2 weeks ago.....and what do you know? It was quite helpful.  So, I was able to change my template, background design, font, etc and finally here I am doing a post.  Whoo hoo!  Ok, well just returned from Spring break and I'm trying to use these next 2 days to catch up with work and class assignments.  Wish me luck!