To Summerize is to Learn!

To Summarize is to Learn, Google Slides Presentation

To complete my Summary of Learning I used Google Slides. I am a huge fan of google slides because it is both easy and useful. I am not a big tech person and often times I do not know how to use many different forms of technology, but Google Slides is simple!  This presentations lays out the things I found most important over the course of the semester. 

My biggest takeaway from EdTech is that technology can be used in MANY useful ways. Technology isn't just something that we use to keep someone busy or to distract them, we can use it to better educate our students on a particular content area. I also learned that you can use blended learning when incorporating technology. By using blended learning you are allowing the students to learn in an environment that best suits them as learners. 

I plan to incorporate technology into my classroom in many different forms. I will use technology as a means of communication by using things like Twitter and Blogger. I think social media is important to use in our classroom because it has become a way of life for students. If we are able to effectively communicate to our students on social media it can be beneficial to both the teachers and students. I will also use technology in different ways such as making graphs or charts to better explain content. I hope to use technology to give my students a better appreciation of it!

Teaching Philosophy!

Teaching is not just about what I can teach my students, it is also what my students can teach me! 

As an Intervention Specialist major my goal is to be that constant for my students. I feel that students need someone that believes in their success no matter what highs or lows they encounter during learning. As an Intervention Specialist often times I will help students in areas they may struggle in while they are in a normal classroom setting. This could mean I follow them to their classes and give them extra help as needed. Although I will be there for my students while they are in class, I do not want my students to use me as a crutch to get them through school. I want my students to learn that they can believe in themselves and succeed in life without having to lean on someone for everything. 

It is important to set goals that are achievable. Often times we set such high goals for ourselves that we often don't achieve them because they are unrealistic. I think that it is crucial to set goals that are not low, but achievable. If my students have a goal in mind, they may have a greater desire to achieve such goals for the satisfaction they will receive in the end. I will know my students are learning by evaluating and reevaluating their goals as the year goes on. Goals can be as simple as coming to school everyday or achieving a B in a class they may be struggling in. If myself and the student see that they are achieving their goals we can set new, higher goals, for achievement. 

As stated previously I believe that teaching is not teacher centered anymore. It is important to let students have an active voice in their education. By allowing students to have an active voice in their education they become more excited about school and the material they are learning. I also believe that we as teachers, can learn just as much from our students as they learn from us. This can be as simple as learning to listen before speaking when it comes to our students. If we allow ourselves to learn from out students we can learn how to better teach and prepare our students for success. 

21st century learners love technology! I, as a teacher and learner love technology! In the future I will incorporate technology into my classroom as much as possible. I feel that students for more attentive and focused when they see something that is catching their attention and often times that is in the form of technology.  If we learn how our students learn best, we can teach in such a way that allows them to have a voice and desire to learn! 

Final major project submission!

Learning to paint is a skill that I have always wanted to learn. Through this process I have learned that it is not as difficult of a task as I anticipated. It is actually extremely relaxing. The first week I consulted an art instructor that I had when I was in elementary school. Through this art teacher I learned that with painting, like any other skill, you will make many mistakes but you cannot give up. Throughout the week I documented my progress through weekly updates using many different cool tools. But as the Major Project concluded I made a YouTube video explaining in detail how to paint Cattails and Sunsets! I hope you like it!

Major Project!

I also wanted to document my learning through a google Slides presentation to show what I have learned from week 1 until now! Enjoy!

Progression! Google Slides Presentation

 

Last update before submitting!

This collage was created using PicMonkey. 

For the last and final steps you want to add the cattails! 

First you want to put your brush in both black and brown. For this step you can use any size brush depending on how large you want the cattails. You want to use a simple tear shape to make the cattail and fill in the middle creating a black and brown cattail. 

Finally you want to add yellow to one side of the cattail making it seem as if sun was shining on the cattail! To finish the project you will do the best part, signing your name! 

Major project update

Update!

Before posting my major project submission I wanted to update the progress I have made! This week I added the tall grass which will then become the cattails. This project has been pretty easy to learn and I think anyone can learn and paint this beautifully! 

I updated this project using Google Slides

Major Project

This week I continued the painting process. I could not get the college I made to load to Blogger so I created a Google Docs page to share with everyone!Major Project Update

This week was exciting because I feel like I have come a long way in the painting process! I am happy to share pictures of my progress but I am even more excited to make a video of myself painting Cattails and Sunsets! I hope you enjoy my progress so far!

Teacher Productivity

Professional Learning Network!

As a future educator and student I am absolutely HORRIBLE at staying organize and on top of my work. I get all of my work done but I am usually cramming to complete assignments or plan for the next lesson I have to teach. Teaching full time while going to school full time has been the biggest challenge of my life. But this is a challenge I am willing to undertake because I know my future will directly benefit from it. 5 Tolls for Increasing Teacher Productivity is an article that speaks directly to me! This article lays out 5 different apps that can help teachers to stay organized. I know that as a future and current educator I am going to take great advantage of such apps.

I believe that technology can solve many problems in the classroom, but you have to watch because we can rely too heavily on technology. I personally think Audio boom is such a great resource that can be used in the classroom (10 Tools for Teachers and Students). This app allows teachers to record voice messages and share them for free. It is so ironic because I was just thinking that I need an app to reach out to parents in a quick and easy way without having to type a newsletter on a daily basis. This app is great for that! This can help me to become a productive teacher because it allows me to be transparent with my parents and students on a more often basis.

I also think that Google Forms is a great tool to use in the classroom! (10 Tools) This app allows for all resources to be available in one place such as worksheets and quizzes. If i use this app in the correct way students can really find great success in my classroom. I believe that students thrive  in an  environment   they are comfortable in and the use of technology is something that todays children are very comfortable with.

As stated previously I believe that technology can help to solve many problems, but we cannot use this as the main focus of the classroom. We have access to resources at the tips of our fingers if we know how to appropriately use the internet. But  I think that sometimes we rely to heavily on technology and not the old school way of doing things, textbooks. I think that with a good combination of the two you can have a very successful classroom!