See ya later...

Goodbye my fellow classmates and friends! I am so glad I had the chance to enjoy this semester with each and every one of you! The really great part about this is that we are all connected through blogger and if you miss me too much or if I miss you we're all just a comment away! Good luck in your future! I know you will all be very successful!

To Sum It Up...

Think about the many things we covered in class: blogs, wikis, presentations, Google Docs,Google spreadsheets, Picasa, podcasts, videocasts, YouTube, posts you read, PLNs, Twitter, other teachers and students outside of our region, comments4kids, iTunes, iTunesU, accessibility issues and the use of html tag modifiers to address some of those issues, who you are as a professional, Google forms, data bases, Google Earth, Delicious, ACCESS, ALEX, Foliotek, technological literacy, the future of schools, your "intellectual trail". Did I miss anything? Take each of these and consider what you learned and how or if it may or will be useful to you as a
teacher. and as an individual in this "modern age." List what you learned and comment about it if appropriate. List as many things as you can think of. If you did not learn anything from this class, say so. I hope, however, that was not the case.

I am pretty sure that you covered every single topic. I almost get confused just reading the list and trying to remember every single thing. I learned so much from this class. I think that it is hard to put into words but I know that when I need to I can go back and access so many different resources. One thing that is really convenient for me as a student is Google docs. It is extremely easy to work with a group on a project without having to waste so much time with scheduling conflicts. I really like it because every person can edit it and add to it and send it right back to everybody else with a click of a mouse. One other thing that I took special interest in is ALEX. I know for a fact I will access this website when I become a teacher. It provides so many different resources very accessibly to teachers. Lesson plans are only a click away. It's great!

Are there things you would like to have learned in this class but did not?

No there is not. I learned way past what I was expecting.

Are there things you learned in this class but wish you had not (and you will try and forget them or not use them as soon as possible)?

There were things I was less interested in, but there is not anything I wish I had not learned.

Did this class excite you in any way? I mean excite, as opposed to "was useful" or "was interesting" or "I did it"? If No, say that. If Yes, tell me what excited you, why, and how.

This class did not excite me. I do feel that I learned some very useful things in this class, but excitement was not an emotion I ever recall feeling.

Did you find anything in this class to be particularly "intellectually challenging"? If so, what? Why do you think it was "intellectually challenging"?

I did not fully understand the PLN. Twitter confuses me beyond belief. I just do not understand it all. I follow my mom on Twitter and can't even find her. So yes I would have to say Twitter is intellectually challenging for me.

Were you bored by this class at any time? If so, what bored you and how might that be
corrected?

In class time was very boring. I feel like we had so much to do and we just wasted class time. I think that if we actually spent an entire class working on the professional blogs together, or spent class time commenting on the same classes blogs that it would be more beneficial.

Would you change this course in any way (add things/delete things or anything else)? If so,give me your suggestions. Since I am always changing this course I could use your input!

I would make things a little more clearer. Like having one list that says what is due and when, with the instructions immediately after. I feel like to figure something out you have to click on a million different links. It seems a little unorganized and extremely confusing.

Are you Technologically Literate at the moment? To what extent? Low Some Medium Good
Great?

I would say that I am medium when it comes to being technologically literate. I feel like I have learned a lot in this class and it puts me above many people that have not had this experience.

How will you maintain or improve your technological literacy between now and the time you graduate? … the time you start teaching?

I will continue to use programs such as Google docs, Skype, Twitter, Podcasts, and many of the search options shown to us in class. There are many resources available to students online. As a teacher I hope to use many resources like Smartboards, and ALEX. I will stay up to date with new technological discoveries as well. It always helps to keep your eyes open

Project 11

For Project 11 my group and I created a video about Geocaching and how it can be useful in a student's educational experience. We used Windows Movie Maker to make the video. Windows Movie Maker has many possibilities! For our video, we were able to combine an interview, a voice over, and several still slides.

To watch our video CLICK HERE

PLN

My Personal Learning Network is nowhere near what I would dream of it being. Of course I use Facebook on a daily basis, but that is just to keep up with my friends and is for social reasons only. I have only just now become aware of the intellectual trail I am leaving behind, and the fact that it can be Googled! However, mostly through assignments in Dr. Strange's class I have started to expand my PLN. I can safely say that my PLN consists of Dr. Strange, Miss Lavakula and Room 10@Pt England School, LaNadia Patrick, Susan Morgan, Dillion Rogers, Emily Carlson and Samantha Sunderman.

Through assignments in Dr. Strange's class I have been able to contact teachers all the way on the other side of the world. They have left me comments and advice and have given me encouraging words on becoming a teacher. I think that it is great to get this kind of support from people that know nothing about me. As a teacher I would love to grow my PLN so that I can have a huge support system for when my lesson does not go as planned

ACCESS

ACCESS really means Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide. This is a program whose goal is to provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve student achievement through distance learning. What this means is that no matter your economic standing, social status, school district or any other meaningless event, all students in the state of Alabama can have access to a better education. With this program any and all students in the state of Alabama can log on and do actual work on this site. They also have the option to use video conference. Programs such as access really raise the bar in achievement levels.

I think that this is a really great idea. I think it is very important that teachers do whatever they can to raise the bar. This program shows how much teachers care about their students and what great links they will go to so that their students can succeed.

For more information CLICK HERE

ALEX

ALEX is the Alabama Learning Exchange created by the Alabama Department of Education. It is an online website containing useful information to current and future teachers at all grade levels, as well as students. It provides teacher and student resources in all areas including: lesson plans, tips for helping specific types of students, handouts, worksheets, personal workspace, professional learning and many other helpful resources. For students it provides an alternative academic search engine. It also gives students extra practice and alternative learning methods in subject areas they are having difficulty in. All of this is just a click away, accessible to absolutely anyone who is interested in the content matter, and it is completely free.

I think ALEX is one of the best things out there. I know as a future teacher I have so many questions and will still have questions all throughout my teaching career. Websites such as ALEX will help me to become a much better educator. I have used this website as a student, and I am certain I will use it as a teacher. One other great thing about ALEX is that I will also make sure my future students take advantage of this great system as well.

For more information CLICK HERE

Dear Kaia

A father was having a little father/daughter time, when he changed her life. It started out as a relationship builder and turned into a life altering event; not only for his daughter, but for the world. Dr. Chamberlain's class came along a story published by a father for his daughter and the next thing that was happening was that the father was skyping the class. It happened so fast, and so easily all thanks to the World Wide Web.

Then, the next thing I know is that it is affecting not only my life, but everyone in Dr. Strange's class because we comment to Dr. Chamberlain's class. The only thought I can manage to get out straight is that "it's a small world after all". Even though with technology it all happens so fast and so easy, it is important not to forget the bigger picture. As a senior in college I can communicate with a three year old across the world. Even though it may be a lot more interesting for the three year old I am still fascinated. Of course there are privacy issues that come into play, but at the same time think of the window of opportunities that father is opening for his daughter. If all teachers could do this very same thing for all of their students, the educational experience would reach it's greatest limit

For more information CLICK HERE