Final Blog

Reflecting on my IGNITE presentation, I have learned a lot about myself. I have learned that my number on priority when I am a teacher will be my students. I want to be the positive role model and mentor in their life that makes a difference. I want them leaving my classroom feeling prepared and confident for their future. 

Listening to my classmate's IGNITE presentations, I learned that they are very similar to me. Many of them had their students as their main focus and will do anything to help them succeed. I found many things in other presentations that I could easily add to my IGNITE project as well. Many of my classmates and I have similar goals and beliefs in the professional field. 

I learned many things in CI 302 that will help me succeed in my future. It was helpful to watch demonstrations of the 3D printer and other devises in the CTLT. It was also interesting to hear professionals in the learning technologies field talk about their everyday life and careers through Google Hangout. Learning about the new uprising digital tools is fun and innovative. I will try to incorporate as many useful digital tools in my future classroom, so seeing a variety of tools was helpful to know what would and wouldn't work in my classroom. 

CI 302 was helpful in many ways for me, because the digital technology in schools will double by the time I am a teacher. I will be expected to know how to use each tool, and I will be expected to utilize them. My goal is to try and use each tool efficiently and to incorporate digital tools into my lessons.

Google Hangout Interviews

Google Hangout is a great way to conversate with multiple people from across the world. I have never used Google Hangout before this class, and I am thoroughly impressed. Through this app, I was able to witness three great professionals tell their stories. 

The role I found most interesting was Lance Lennon's. He works as an event coordinator for ITEC as well as a technology position in the Eagle Grove School District. I could see myself in his position for many reasons. I love event management and planning events. I think it would be a ton of fun to plan a technology event for educators. I am also intrigued with his school location, because that is something I eventually see myself doing someday. I have always said that I want to start out as a teacher and someday become an administrator of some sort. His job sounds very upbeat, and interactive. I noticed that he gets to make some big decisions for the school and is very passionate about what he does.

I saw many repeated themes through these professional interviews. I noticed that most professionals in technology in education started off as teachers. Most of them started off in a classroom, strayed away, and ended up wanting to be back in the school. I noticed most professionals are heavily involved in social media and helping out students. 

Watching these videos taught me a lot. I realized that there are so many different professions and opportunities out there. I realized that it is okay to not be satisfied with a job and move around until you find your true passion. Most of all, I realized that there are so many people who care and are willing to help around me. 

Week 12 Blog

There are many benefits of being involved with social media. Making connections with those outside your circle can be very beneficial to you in many ways. From personal experience, I have made many positive connections with educators and professionals through Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. 

Creating a professional Twitter can be confusing and challenging, but that takes time. It takes patience to build a network of professionals. I created a professional Twitter over a year ago and have participated in numerous Twitter chats about ways in improving education.

The benefits of being socially involved through the media and technology sources are endless. Getting connected with the right crowd can help you with a potential interview, with bettering your job duties, reference letters, and confidence in your work. There is no negative reason to get yourself out in the social media world and get involved. 

Educational Twitter

The Twitter world has many different sides. It has the social media side where all age ranges tweet comments, life changes, connections, and photographs. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Twitter is used for professional development as well. Businesses use Twitter to promote, advertise, and inform. Professionals use Twitter to communicate, recognize, and inform. Schools use twitter to communicate, educate, and reward.

Creating a professional Twitter has many advantages. By creating a professional Twitter for myself, I am now able to follow multiple Twitter chats, professional tweeters, and I am able to access an abundance of educational tools and materials.

The educators and accounts I have decided to follow will be very helpful for my future classroom. Through a few days of scrolling through tweets, accounts, and live chats, I have learned so much. I have taken notes on things that I need to bring to my future classroom as well as notes to give my cooperating teachers to better their classroom.

I plan to use my professional Twitter account to connect with other educators world wide. I plan to collaborate with them about classroom plans and lessons. I also plan to use Twitter to connect my students with students across the world.

Week 10- Blog

In class this week, I learned about some tech tools that I have never heard of before. I was so intrigued to have my eyes opened to all of the tools out there that can assist myself as a future teacher. Osmo caught my eye because it involves the iPad. Before even playing with the tool, I knew kids would love it for that reason. Osmo has a mirror that allows you to write, draw, use shapes, and so many other features to assist in learning. Students can easily learn to write letters, numbers, and words by tracing what they need to write. This tool is great for students learning how to read and write. I think that this tool is definitely worth investing in for each classroom.

As a class we took a 'field trip' to the CTLT to view some more tools that could be used in the classroom. The tool that I was most interested in was the 3D printer. I have heard a lot about 3D printers, but have never really seen one in action. I watched a chain link being made out of plastic fibers, and it only took around 20 minutes and it was so interesting. It was fun to watch the machine add a layer each time until the product was finished. This tool would be great in the classroom! Students can use the 3D printer to make visual representations for projects, create specific tools, etc. 

I learned so many things about tools that I never knew existed. It is good to know that there is most likely a tool that can cover any lesson that needs to be taught to aid students. I love learning about new tools and what they can do to better education.

Week 9 Blog - Tech Review Presentations

The first 'trial run' tech review for the 302 class was a very dry run. I presented my information for the first time, and did not know how it would flow. Overall, it went well and I got some great feedback. I changed the order of my slides to better my presentation and gave it all over again to the 302 and 456 class. This time there were double the people listening to what I had to say. Right as I started, I felt confident because I was very aware with my tool I was presenting. I am also very passionate about Socrative and strongly think it would benefit every person in that room's classroom someday. It started to feel like an informational sales pitch, which wasn't a bad thing.  

I got great feedback from the 456 class, and by the looks of it they all commented that they would love to use Socrative in their classrooms- success! If I was allotted more time to present, I would include examples of the teacher's side as well as the student's side. I would demonstrate how to add in a question with all of the different features and have it pushed out to the students. If I had all the time in the world, I would have all of the audience go to www.socrative.com to answer a question of mine, and they could watch the results come in on my screen.

   I can see IGNITE presentations playing a huge role in my future profession career because so many people have so much information, but there is never enough time for everyone to share. By having a time and slide limit, the audience is getting a fair look at what everyone brings to the table and the presenters get a fair chance to display their information as well. This plays a huge role in schools with new devices, curriculum, ideas, and opportunities that IGNITE presentations would work very well.

Tech Tool Number Three: Smore

Smore is a great tool that can be accessed through a website or an app. By clicking on this link, smore.com it will take you to the homepage of the website. Smores is compatible with phones, iPads, tablets, and computers. The app will need to be downloaded, but after that it should be up and running. Smore requires you to create an account when you log in. The level of account will depend on the cost of the program.

The purpose of the tool Smore is to create newsletters and flyers. These newsletters are created online with many different creation options. They can be modern, simple, colorful, black and white, unique, and for any event. This app is fool proof to use. All you need to do is simply click 'get started'. You will then be asked if you want to create a flyer for a business, an event, a sale, a class, or a bulletin. Once you have selected the event, you choose where you want to share this flyer whether its by email, Facebook, Eventbrite, or any other method you may choose. The website then gives you a template and walks you through even step you need to fill out. It has spots for the agenda, pictures, a title, information, directions, and many more things. 

Smore could be used in the classroom for many different grades and subjects. Third graders could create a newsletter about them and what they are doing in school to send home to their parents and grandparents. 4th graders could create a newsletter about an endangered species project they are working on. 6th graders could use Smore to create a flyer of an event that they are going to pretend to put on start to finish.

Smore is very versatile and can be used for many activities, subjects, and age ranges. It is a great way to research a topic and put it in organized print.

Socrative

You can access Socrative through a website called http://www.socrative.com. This tool is a website that does not need to be downloaded and is open to teachers and students across the world free of charge.

The purpose of Socrative is to make assessment more fun for students, and easier for teachers. It provides an easy way for students to complete quizzes, questioners, and activities anonymously to the class and online. By having students complete these activities through socrative, teachers are forming a quick and accurate form of formal assessment. Teachers get instant results stating who gets the concept and who needs more help. Teachers will also be able to tell the next teaching points for the lesson, or if they need to move on to the next lesson.

Socrative has many different tools to utilize. Teachers can start a quiz to open up to students online. The quiz can me multiple choice, true/false, or fill in the blank. These quizzes can be anonymous or have names on them. The teacher gets immediate feedback as the students submit the quiz. Socrative also has a quick question option allowing teachers to throw in a quick question in the middle of a lesson. Similar to quick question, exit ticket is another option in Socrative. Exit tickets can be used for a ticket out the door for students. They may have to get the correct answer before they leave or perform a certain task. This is a way to assess what students have learned that day. The last activity available for students is called a space race. This activity is a fun competitive game between the class that is a race form.

Socrative can be used in many ways in the classroom. In the high school level, I would use Socrative everyday during lectures for an exit ticket. I would have students answer one questions coming from the lecture to see if they were paying attention, if they were confused at all, or if all students got the point and the class needed to move on. I could also use Socrative in the fourth grade classroom on the iPads. I could create a five question quiz and have students take it during class. This will help me with assessments and understanding interpretation.

Digital Classrooms

The most important things to consider when designing a digital classroom is access to everyone. I feel as if it is important for each student to have equal opportunities when accessing technology. Students should all get opportunities with iPads, laptops, interactive whiteboards, etc. I think it is important to have technology organized and easily accessible to students. It is important that all of the technology tools are on the same setting, that they are all logged in, and that the students know how to work each tool.

The main things that I have considered in designing a digital classroom is organization and accessibility. It is important that the teacher understands the tools just as well as the students. A teacher should not have any tool out that they are not 100% certain they know how to run. Students generally know their way around technology and it can quickly be turned into an inappropriate tool.

I decided that excessive digital tools weren't necessary, for example tools that are only usable for one or two activities. It is much more benefitting if the students are familiar with two or three technology tools that are very versatile rather than six or seven that they do not know how to use. 

I hope to have enough resources in my future classroom to effect the students in a positive way. I do not want the technology tools to be a distraction to the students, I want them to know how to operate them to assist their learning. Digital learning changes daily so the tools that I will have in my classroom are most likely not popular today.

Blogging- Week 4

The internet is a huge place full of so many resources. Some teachers are great at discovering new technology and others find themselves drowning in every new app and update. There are so many great websites to discover new technology and learn how to use it. Youtube is a great resourse to search new tools, designs and learn how to use it with an instructional video. A lot of times teachers will hear through word of mouth a great new tool, but they will have

no idea how to apply it to their classroom and how to work it themselves.


I feel that the most beneficial resource to discovering what is best in the technology world is blogs. It is so beneficial to follow as many blogs as you can keep up with. Teachers from around the word are blogging about what they they do and don't like in their classroom. They blog about new things that they try and how they use them in their classroom. It is such an easy way to bounce ideas off with other teachers in the same boat as you.

The creators of the technology, apps, devices, and programs have blogs as well. They blog about specifics in how to use the tools, what to use them for, and the reviews of whether or not it was successful. I follow and read blogs now and I will until the day I die. Blogs are such a great way to get informed in a relatable fun manor. 

Technology Tool #1 Lexia Core 5

Lexia Core 5 is a technology tool that can be accessed through a website, or an iPad app. It can be downloaded though the App Store and is simple to get started. Students will need a k-12 email or log-in to be able to discover the app.

The purpose of Lexia Core 5 is to easily build a solid foundation in reading. Students will be able to work through each standard at their own pace. The app is student centered but the teacher has options to become more involved as well. The teacher can see each of his/her students from the admin account and will be able to easily assess his/her students. It is very interactive and fun for students. The app takes many different approaches to learning so it tends for students of all needs. It is nice for learning at different paces because excelling students can move on to more challenging lessons while struggling students can remain at a certain lesson until they get it as well as trying new methods to maintain a concept.

Lexia Core 5 is very simple to navigate. Students get an individual iPad from a classroom set, open up the Lexia Core 5 app and sign in. They should have a short username and password set up. They will be brought to a screen that shows grade levels and standards. They can choose where they want to start, or the teacher can pre determine where he/she wants the students to start. After they have decided on where to start, the students will be taken through the entire program slowly. One activity leads to another.  When they get past a level, Lexia Core 5 will take them to a new ‘country’. Students love this aspect of Lexia Core5. It makes them feel accomplished and they get to explore some things about a new country. They are always so excited to say “Look!! I am in Spain now!”

Lexia Core 5 is great for kindergarten-6^th grade. There are activities for a wide age range with the ability to go up or down if there is a learning disability. Lexia Core 5 can be used to teach reading, writing, grammar and literacy in the classroom as a lesson in place of the teacher lecturing. Lexia Core 5 can also be used as a tool to be used in free time. If students finish a project early, they can grab an iPad and work on some reading strategies. Lexia Core5 could be used as an incentive program that provides rewards. If the teacher sees a student spending a lot of time using Lexia Core 5, or if they see a student excelling on levels, or just trying their best, the teacher could recognize that student and give him/her a small prize.

Teaching above the Line

Teaching above the line is always a goal to shoot for when teaching. Using SAMR (substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition) makes it easier to reach that goal. SAMR is a great way to get teacher's brains thinking about the next steps that can be taken to make their lesson better. Using any of the four levels of SAMR will help teachers redesign lessons to make them more fitting into the growing future. Technology is moving so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up with but SAMR will hopefully give you the push to keep moving. 

SAMR is best used during the creation of the lesson plan and thinking process. It is used to better a lesson and rebuild it to the best it can be. After the lesson is completed using SAMR, that is when students can view it and work on it as assigned. 

The tool I decided to focus on is an app called Lexia Core5. Lexia is an interactive reading program filled with standards based activities for pre-kindergarden through fifth grade. It is a tool where teachers can assess and track where students are as they move through levels. Teachers can easily see if students are struggling or excelling. 

The difference between SAMR and Lexia core5 is that Lexia is a high level of technology. Using SAMR, teachers could break Lexia down to a smaller less powerful tool, or they could think of ways to redefine it. There are many ways teachers could use SAMR with Lexia to change the way of the app.

   

Both SAMR and Lexia Core 5 will benefit me as a teacher in different ways. I believe that Lexia will help to benefit my students as they learn reading. It is an interactive fun way that makes students want to learn. SAMR will help me turn paper/pencil assignments into creations similar to Lexia.

SAMR relates to TPACK because it is important to be aware of all technology. Teachers need to have a general understanding of technology and how it works to help them to be a better teacher for their students. With the help of TPACK, teachers will be able to easily use apps and programs similar to Lexia Core5.

All About Me!

     My name is Claire Sherman and I am a Junior at Iowa State studying elementary education. I have endorsements in english/language arts, reading, and I am working on the learning technologies minor. I absolutely LOVE it here at Iowa State and could not imagine myself anywhere else.

     I started off my college career at the University of Northern Iowa and decided that it was not the best fit for me. I stayed for a year and enjoyed my time but transferring was definitely worth the hassle. 

     I am originally from Ames, so being back on my stomping grounds really has its perks. I love being around my friends and family, going to sporting events, and getting involved around campus. 

     I am very active in my sorority and love being pushed to be the best that I can be everyday. I am so happy to be studying something I am so passionate about and am extremely excited to start my career as a teacher.

Week 1 - Class resources

The first day of class in CI 302 was just as I expected. Night classes can be challenging both mentally and physically but the relaxed nature of 302 makes it enjoyable. I love learning about new forms of technology and different shortcuts for tools that I am already familiar with.

I was offered a great opportunity to serve as Colo-Nesco Community School district's technology intern. Through this class and my internship, I hope to bounce ideas off of each of my responsibilities. I hope to learn new skills of growing technologies to better current classrooms as well as my own someday. I believe that incorporating technology into the classroom is extremely powerful and will definitely be the main focus in our society someday.

Throughout the semester I hope to better myself, and help to better the people around me.