WEEK 8- FINAL REFLECTIONS

I had so many “Aha!” moments this semester that I know I will inadvertently leave some unmentioned. Technology skills are not my strong point but that is mainly because I never have made the time to learn some of the skills. This ETEC 524 course pulled me from my comfort zone and embarked me on learning how to use many Web 2.0 tools.

One “Aha!” moment was creating my first blog. The edit page is so similar to a MicroSoft Word document with some of the same tools, so that helped me feel a little inkling of familiarity with creating a post.

I also had an “Aha!” moment when I posted content on our class wiki. I especially was enlightened on linking items to the different pages. Linking has been an ongoing issue for me, but this experience helped me make some progress.

Another “Aha!” moment was using the Jing application. I had seen Dr. Wickersham use these in presenting lesson overviews, but now it was my turn. The thought of hearing my own voice petrified me! After about 20 redos, I finally got the Jing to sound and navigate to my satisfaction. It certainly made me conscientious of articulation and fluency. But the end product made me feel very good about myself and I gained another level of confidence using technology.

The philosophy statement was a strong “Aha!” moment. I did not realize how traditional and out-of-date some of my teaching ideas are. Once I began to grasp the Web 2.0 technologies and their value in the learning environment, I began to change the way I teach and the way I plan lessons.

I think my biggest “Aha!” moment was when I realized early in the course that “I CAN” become skilled in using technology. Technology is approachable and doable even for someone as tech unsavvy as me. My husband has been amazed at some of the technologies I have learned and that I am using with ease. I think the best way to get familiar with technology is to get your hands on it and play with it. I learn best through discovery.

This journey has been full of “Aha!s” but I am now more technologically skilled than when I began this course. That’s progress for me! Now it is time to use and share what I know with students, teachers, and anyone else who wants to learn more about technology.

Week 7 Technology Lesson Plan: Animoto

This week's assignment was to develop a lesson plan using some of the technologies from iGoogle and eLearning. I revisited the iGoogle and eLearning sites to review myself on the mutitude of available technologies. Then I made a list of the ones that interested me, and ones that I thought would interest high school level students. I finally made the decision to develop the learning objective on animating a selected Taysha book or a banned book. I chose the Taysha category because I recently read the book entitled Shift by Jennifer Bradbury which made the 2009 Taysha reading list, and I was impressed by this author's first published book. I chose the banned book category because I thought that would whet the appetite of reluctant readers - you know: like "forbidden fruit".

My rationale for using Animoto is that high school students are enthusiastic about movie trailers which draw them to go see the movie. Therefore, a book trailer should have the same affect - it should draw the student to read the book. I also know that teenagers love to Google so I saw using Google Books and Google Search to locate the appropriate book for the book trailer would be the perfect search tools. Teenagers also LOVE to text and chat online, so students would be excited about sharing books with each other if they paired up on the Voice & Video Chat application at Google. Then evaluating and posting the partner's book chat, as well as their own trailer and reflection onto their individual blogs would provide accountabiltity in a positive way and in sharing environment.

I have many expectations for learning outcomes. In my tech plan I will be using Jing to present part of the lesson. This is a new experience for me as I have only used the Jing tool once. I have also used Animoto only twice so I am certainly no expert with this technology either. As far as the students are concerned, I know that few if any of the students in my district have ever created a book trailer. They have seen one that the librarian recently published, but this lesson will provide the opportunity for the student to design the trailer. I also think that students are familiar with Google applications, but the only one they use on a regular basis are the search tools. The Voice & Video Chat will be a new and entertaining experience for them. In summary, this technology lesson will be a learning experience for the instructor and the student which I think is the most stimulating kind of lesson.

I am certainly viewing my instruction very differently now than from the start of this course. I had NO idea that there were so many Web 2.0 technologies out there. I basically associated Web 2.0 with wikis, blogs, and facebook. Truely I am excited to know that I CAN use more digital tools in my classroom to enhance teaching and learning simultaneously. I am also learning to get out of my "comfort zone" and get my hands on these digital devices (no fear), and just play with them - trial and error - until I teach myself to use them productively.