CED0599 FINAL Post

Hard to believe after all this time this will be my final post as this graduate program is coming to an end.  It's difficult to think back to the beginning since this has been a constant in my life for almost the past 2 years.  Prior to this program I was already using any technology in my classroom that I could get my hands on.  I felt I was, and still am, a positive influence of the use of technology in my school and district.  This is what drew me to this program to begin with.  Here's what this program has done for me, besides all the knowledge I have gained.  I did and would have used technology with or without this program, however, this program provided me with tools (and therefore skills) I was unaware of before.  I might have found some of the tools on my own, but after this program I feel I'm stronger in finding new programs and tools on my own.  In addition, I've had to "struggle" through the learning curve week after week to learn not only one new program, but usually anywhere from 1 to 4 (or more) a week - especially during the first+ year of this program.  Several times I'd take the new program and immediately find a way to incorporate it into my classes with my students.  It was a win-win for all.

I can honestly say I've never looked inside a computer prior to this course.  I knew some of the details about Apple and Mac, but I sure learned a lot more about beginning of the computers and the internet.  I've used programs I had never heard of, and found new ways to use programs I had used.  I've been able to facilitate a synchronous and an asynchronous lesson and I've gained certification to teach students online (I'll definitely be pursuing this in the future.)  I might also say it has given me a little different perspective of virtual learning. (Anyone know of anyone highering?)  I still don't think it's for everyone, but it's an option for some.  Never hurts to have options.  I definitely can see the benefits and I learned about blended ed.  As an adult I've certainly enjoyed the online learning experience, although I did wonder where flexibility fits in. :)  I've created my first blog, yes I did say, first.  I'm planning on blogging.  I've learned about social bookmarking, collaborating in a new way, I was able to learn and use gmail and Google prior to my district getting it.  That feels/felt great.  It's allowed me to be again demonstrate my knowledge with my peers.  What a good feeling.   There's so many things I've learned and will be taking away from this program that are just the fabric of my life now.  It's a great feeling when someone sends me a link to a "new" program or tool and I know that I've already used it, I'm using it, or I already know about it.  I plan on continuing to grow (as we all should) and would like to present or teach peers about ways to incorporate technology into their learning environment.  So if you know of any opportunities, Louis - wink, wink, nudge, nudge, keep me in mind. :)

Some things I wish - is that I had a copy of all of the syllabus or at least all the programs we were exposed to.  I learned about so many programs, but there were many that I didn't look at.  Now that I'm done I'd like to explore those programs more.  Looking back I also would have liked to have created a place where I would have put links to all the items I created.  They were put into Angel, but once they were removed from Angel I no longer had the links.

Well I'm going to miss sitting on my couch night after night burning the midnight oil doing homework and my Tuesday night classes.  I consider myself fortunate to have part of a good team.  I especially enjoyed the strong work ethics of my team members.  Thanks teammates.  Best of luck to all of you in the future.  We are graduates!

CED0599 Week 2

This week was completing my project.  The project is designed for my students with special needs.  This project is based on a field trip to the planetarium and doing a scavenger hunt at a Wisconsin Visitor Center.  After doing the scavenger hunt, the students need to do research on a Wisconsin location of their choosing.  They will be creating a Wordle and Animoto to present the location they chose.  That will be their way of presenting their location.  Then they will be creating a Voicethread to create a presentation of the solar system.  After they have created the Wordle, Voicethread, and  Animoto these will be posted into a Google class site.

My students really enjoy the use of technology.  This is an area where I will continue to grow and my students will reap the benefits.

CED0599 Week 1

The end is quickly approaching.  This is the beginning of the last class of this graduate program.  For this week's class I need to create the timeline for my final project.  While it seems easy, I always find it a challenge to put times with various tasks.  I'm more of a doer and less of a time keeper.  I think that's true of a lot of people.  I also wasn't quite sure if I was making the timeline of MY hours for setting up the projects or my students time.

As I'm working on my work, I feel like I can't wait for this program to be over.  On the other hand, I feel like is it really coming to end?  Where has the time gone?  What will I do to fill up my Tuesday nights and ALL that time I spent on coursework?  Okay, I have plenty to do, but it will feel pleasantly odd for a little while.

CED0565 week 6

While this course was informative and just like any class you take away information, I wouldn't say this course has altered my definition of a leader or teacher leadership.  I feel a teachers' role is to educate students and with that comes various other responsibilities.  I've always seen teachers as managers, if you will.  Instead of working with profit and loss statements, we work with people.  We have budgets and need to work as efficiently as any other profession.  I've always viewed teachers as leaders, some better at it than others.  Teachers, hopefully, are involved in their school, district, and community.  We are constantly learning and integrating that new knowledge.  Just like any leader we need to listen and communicate, grow, and collaborate.  It is through this that we will improve education from within.  If we work as a team, changes will take place.  Teachers do need to make more of an effort to learn, grow, meet, and collaborate.  Unlike in other professions we aren't always given time during our "work day", so we need to make that time.  It's during that time that real changes happen, even though it can be challenging and difficult at times.  I wouldn't say that my leadership potential has changed.  I'm constantly trying new things, collaborate with my peers, and have joined various teams that I feel play a leadership role in our building.  I'm always look for ways to grow and to use that knowledge in my profession.

CED0565 Week 5

This week we finished the simulation.  While it was interesting, it would have been better if the material was there sooner to figure it out.  I wouldn't blindly walk into a meeting of this magnitude without being prepared.  If you did you would get what we did, trial and error (blindly) sometimes.  Change is always interesting, and many times the people involved in the changes are too.  The part that was missing for me was the "change" in the simulation.  What were we changing?  Depending on the change their are usually different "key" players.  Having worked in other professions and positions, I'm aware to some degree how changes take place.  Schools are different in some ways because the stakeholders are different, and their are a lot more of them.  Isn't that the part that we teachers like?

So am I leader?  I would say yes.  I've been fortunate, or unfortunate depending on how you look at it, to have held leadership positions.  Now as a teacher I feel I've brought that experience with me and I'm a leader in the classroom and technology.  A skill I've learned fairly well is to look outside the box at the broader picture.  I feel this isn't as common these days, especially in school settings.  So many times we are only focused on the here and now.  I been a leader in various capacities.  In my younger years I would have been a more subtle leader (quieter and more soft spoken.)  Today, I can be more vocal when I need to be and feel I need to be.  This helps in special education when I feel I need to advocate for the student or students.  So many times we think of teachers as leaders only in the classroom, but teachers are leaders in meetings, their school building, their school districts, and in the community.

CED0565 Week 4

This week in class we did the 1st year of a 3 year simulation.  The simulation is suppose to represent a school environment and various stakeholders.  The stakeholders also verified in their willingness to change and their ability to influence others.  It took a little while to get started, but my group worked rather well together.  If something didn't work we found another solution.  Having been in management before this is how change happens.  Things aren't going to go the way you always want, it means stepping back and revising when needed.  In a school environment we also need to keep everyone involved.  My group worked well together and did just that.

The other part of our coursework was thinking and discussing our work environments and the overall morale.  How do these things affect, if they do at all, the school environment?  Both are critical to the success of a school (or any environment). You can only be surrended by negativity for so long before it will affect you.  People need to feel they are part of the team through actions and not just words.  Once they do they will take more ownership in the environment and the overall morale.  I've worked in both positive and negative environments.  Morale is a direct correlation to the environment.  After awhile you don't want to be there and you certainly don't feel like going above and beyond.  If you do, others won't, leaving you to pick up the slack.  Students need to feel the positive energy to want to do their best too.

CED0565 Week 3

This week we watched an animation video of Who Moved the Cheese.  I read the books a few years back and really liked it.  I've been taught to think outside the box and to look at the bigger picture.  I feel that sometimes these qualities are lacking in the teaching environment, just like in any other profession.  Unfortunately, it's easy to do when teaching.  We teach all day in our own little world (the classroom) and are sometimes to isolated, sometimes by choice, other times by design.  We also watched videos on systems thinking and leadership.  We also read an article called Tune In.  I found the article offensive, not because of when I was born, which I refuse to answer on principal, but because it lumps people into groups.  I am the type of person that doesn't see stereotypes, but rather as individuals.  As individuals, each person has different things to offer.  I don't like to be stereotyped and I don't do it with others.  To be honest, I feel that's how people get into trouble.  As a leader, I feel that ALL of the "parts" should be given the same opportunities.  Some will resist, some with need reassurances, some with jump in with both feet.  A leader knows their team and knows which individuals not groups need which.  People will respect and respond that type of leader, over the type that stereotypes them, and they will get great results.  

CEDO565 Week 2

This week we explored the WINSS site.  In WINSS we are able to look at various types of data, including how each school in the state perform on state assessments.  This is information that all the stakeholders would be interested in.  How does the school I teach at perform?  How does it compare within the district, neighboring schools, the state?  It also shows demographic information and economonic status.  The user is able to compare to previous years as well.  Typically this site might be used by principals and data team members, and then shared with the school.  That's how it's done in my building.  I have used the WINSS site for my PDP. Other stakeholders like parents and the community might find this information interesting as well.  When looking to buy a house, especially if moving to an new unfamiliar area, home buyers might be interested in this information. While it shows if a school has met AYP, as a home buyer I'd be more interested in the trends.  We also read the chapters 2 and 3 of How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader.  Chapter 2 was about assembling the team.  The team  and their roles, interviewing the applicants, and scheduling classes.  Chapter 3 is about communication - oral, verbal, and body language.

CEDO565 Week 1

This week we took several surveys to assess what type of leader we are.  We also started examining what makes a good leader - what skills do they need?  Can everyone lead or is only natural born leaders?  Pat Awuah (TED talk video) says that leaders need to be trained and they need to serve humanity.  Leaders need to have courage, think critically, have the ability to confront complex problems, creative, engaged, ethical, empowering, the ability to challenge, and integrity.  His most powerful statement was every society must be intentional about how it trains its leaders.  This is especially true in today's world.

Am I leader?  Prior to becoming a teacher I have held management positions in the corporate world.   Today, I'm a teacher and I do consider myself a leader in my school and district.  I am engaged in my building and with my students.  I question things and offer different approaches and solutions when I feel there are alternatives.  I use my creativity in my lessons and activities and I share with my colleagues.  I have been instrumental in creating a CDB curriculum and getting the funding approved for it by the school board.  I enjoy being engaged and sharing ideas with my students, peers, and colleagues.  I'm a teacher, case manager, committee member, and a team member.  In these roles I've been and continue to be a leader, even though there's no recognized authority or compensation.  I've been a leader of technology and incorporating in into lessons and activities.  Why then do this?  Because I care about the students, the school, the district, and our community.  This is what a leader does.

CEDO555 Week 3

Ugh!!!  Should it really take 10 minutes to sign into my blog?  Google I'm not a fan of your gmail/blog changes.  Anyways....

This week the focus was on the finding a set of standards to use for my portfolio.  I chose to use the ISTE NETS.T standards.  Since these are technology standards, I felt these standards best represent what I've accomplished and learned throughout this graduate program.  Once I found the standards, my next step was to state why I chose them, and then to find at least one artifact per standard and create a rationale.  It sounds so much easier than it was for me.  I don't think this will ever be my strong suit.  Logically it sounds easy, until you sit down to do it.  Right now I'm hoping that I did them correctly.

I also spent quite a bit of time finding artifacts - 1 artifact per each course in this graduate program.  This too was a challenge.  Unfortunately, the challenge was first to remember what I did in each course and what was the work created.  I've created items using many different programs.  I actually liked looking back at the artifacts but I wish I had been doing this all along.  Sometimes it's very hard to remember things from last week, much less 1 1/2 years ago.  For me personally I would have liked to have created a google site earlier on and then selected an artifact in each course, at that time, that best represented my skills and what I learned at that time.  However, at the very least I would have liked to have had access to all my work through Angel.  Instead of having the courses and discussion forums removed, it would have helped me to bring up for example course 501 to look at the syllabus and/or the discussion forums.  I feel that either would have been very helpful, again for me personally.  With all that being said I did like looking through my work.

From here I need to add my rationales to the course artifacts and "tidy up" my google site.  I also need to get my project proposal completed.

CED0555 Week 2

Last week we looked at examples of various portfolios.  It's quite amazing how many different types of portfolios there are.  This week we are starting the creation process of our portfolios.  We are beginning with the vision and mission statements.  Vision statements were defined as the ultimate destination.  It's a description of a desired outcome that helps create a mental picture of the professional target.   The mission statement is defined as how to get there.  What do I want to accomplish within the next 5 or so years and how I plan to do it.  For me the writing the statements is harder than the actual vision.  Here's a link to my vision and mission statement.  My vision is to continue to grow and incorporate technology in my teaching.    I know that my special needs students left and went to high school proficient in some areas, such as PowerPoint and the use of the Internet.  These skills will only benefit them as they move forward.

In addition to the start of our portfolios, we had to start thinking about our project proposal.  I'm not really sure if I'm on the right track with this so I'm hoping for some feedback.  My project proposal is for my students to take a field trip to the Planetarium and a visitor center.  They will do a scavenger hunt in the visitor center and then pick up a brochure on a place they have never been to and/or heard of in Wisconsin.  They will research their location and create an Animoto to teach us about their place and a Wordle describing it.  Then to link the Planetarium they would create a Voicethread on the solar system or the topic from the Planetarium.  This field trip would be taken to support the Science and Social Studies curriculum.  This would be a "project" for my CDB students.

CED0555 Week 1

The first week of a new class.  This class is about making our portfolios for our graduate program.  This brings me back to my portfolio for my undergraduate degree.  LOTS and LOTS of hours and frustration.  It was good when I was done, but...  Portfolios are not my strong suit, but it will get done and as always I'll do my best.  Right now I've been permanently locked out of Angel and since it is the weekend, I'm stuck and I can't do anything.  I'm hoping their back tomorrow, MLK day.  There's one of the challenges when using technology.

This week we are doing some research for our portfolios.  If I remember the assignment correctly we are searching for and looking at other people's online portfolios.  I enjoy learning from other's.  Looking and seeing what they have done or used, and then incorporating some of their ideas or using it as a starting point to build on or change to meet my needs.  Isn't that learning and teaching at it's best?  My only challenge without Angel is that I'm not sure what exactly I'm looking for in details.  Isn't amazing how lost we are without the tools?  I wish I had made a copy of it earlier BEFORE I was permanently locked out, like I normally would have.  That will teach me.