OETS

I have learned so much this semester about technology and it's uses in the classroom. I feel like I have good ground to build from now. Before I took the educ tech course I almost nothing about the tools that are there. Now, I find I am excited to try things out and see what I can accomplish with my own students. I know I will be using podcasts in my classroom. They are so easy and I can hand out ipods and let the kids work in small groups or individually. I also know that I will be creating a classroom website and helping my students create their own websites as well. I have been dragging my feet when it comes to technology, mostly because I was afraid of it. Now I feel confident and excited about what I can bring to the classroom. I want to be the one that the other teachers come to when they have a tech question.

Being technologically literate, also means being able to meet and implement specific standards in our school district. One standard that we need to meet is the use of technology to aid in research projects. We need to teach our students how to use this new technology to find information they need and then know how to implement it into their work and home life. Another standard is teaching kids to find their inner creativity with the use of technology. I love the idea of using ipods and digital cameras to make presentations. It takes the same old animal report and turns it into something exciting and visual.
The challenges of this is that technology is advancing so quickly that what I teach this year to my students may not be valid next year. It is my duty as a teacher to keep up with the changes and be able to present any new information I find. I am worried that I will have a hard time staying current as I am a creature of routine.

I chose Movie Maker as my tech project. It is super easy to use. I can see this coming in very handy in the classroom. For one it is almost self explanatory and would require very little supervision on my part. I could let the kids go and have fun with it and see what they come up with. I also like that I can use different types of media to make a movie. You can also add music and audio to your projects. I also see this useful for my personal website. I am a visual person and I would use this tool as way to communicate with my students and colleagues.

Capture your screen in seconds

The data below shows test scores for the second half of the term.

The chart shows the students average test scores. Most students made steady progress over the course of the testing. However you can see that Katherine is the only one who did not improve, but actually did worse.

Skype...so easy so fun

I have been using skype for a while now. I use it to keep in contact with my family in Kansas, and now with a baby on the way they can see him as he grows just as if he is right there with them. I have tried other web cam programs and I find skype to be the best so far. Others I have used are not as interactive and seem to freeze up constantly. As an educator I see this as a very useful tool. It would come in handy when trying to explain assignments or if the students need extra help outside of the classroom.

I love this web tool! It is simple to use and manipulate. What I especially like is that I can edit the content of some videos and make them work for my classroom. So often I come across a video that I would love to use in a classroom but some of the content may be inappropriate. With this tool I can edit out those parts and make it work the way I need it to.

Web tools 2.0

My understanding of web 2.0 is that I can access any and all of my information from any computer not just my home computer. Anywhere I go I am covered.

As an educator this will change my classroom in ways that I have yet to even comprehend. I find it very exciting and extremely useful. I like the idea that if I forget to print my lesson plans for the day it's no big deal. I can simply use a computer at school or in my classroom and presto! All my information is at my fingertips. I think that this will help my students as well. They could save their assignments to something like drop box and I can access their information from my computer at school and print their assignments. I think it will help get rid of excuses like "I forgot my homework."

I can see myself using a tool like tok box in my classroom. I like that it is easy to use and understand. It would be excellent for group assignments and projects like an animal reports. I love that you can record video and audio using your web cam and micro phone on your computer. The assignments could be completed in class or before and after school. I like that you could post it on a classroom blog and all the students could see what each other has done.

I also really like dabbleboard. I think it is a really cool way of sharing ideas and talking about them. I like that you can draw out pictures or use pictures from a list of options. I can see this making history lessons much easier to understand. I can also see my students using this to communicate their ideas to one another. I feel this tool would help my students be successful academically. It takes a bit of the pressure off and makes learning more fun.

Yodio - Oten conference Yodio by milesnono79

I really enjoyed the OTEN conference...surprisingly. It was nice to hear from current teachers how they are implementing technology in their classrooms. I feel more confident with the use of podcasts now,which is amazing. There are so many tools out there...I wish I had been more proactive in finding and using them in the past. But, as they say it's better late then never.

Bio

I was born and raised in Salem, Oregon. I moved to Portland after I received my BA in Theater. I lived in Portland for about five years before returning to Salem. I never thought I would move back here, but I fell in love, got married, and planted my roots here. I am now expecting my first child in about three weeks. I didn't always know I wanted to teach. It's something I kind of fell into, and now I can't imagine doing anything else. I am thrilled to be a student here at Willamette and cannot wait to see what's in store for me.