Dump everything in at the end post!

I just wanted to add a few words about my experience here in the technology class at MATSL this summer. I am excited to know that when I return to my department at school, I will have an entire arsenal of web applications to share with them. Hopefully, I can inspire them through my example and sharing to try to incorporate some of these activities in their classrooms. My brain is absolutely jammed with all the information that I've tried to absorb. I am thankful that everything is stored on the web so I will always have access to it. That is something that I've been thinking about since the presentations this morning -- being able to use the web as a filing cabinet for me. I now have access to the MATSL website with all the amazing apps that Lisa found for us. I have access to fourteen other professionals to whom I can turn when I need to for advice and help. I also have the enthusiasm from the program to share what I know with my co-workers. This has been an amazing experience! Thank you everyone!

It's all about the Presentation

I am soooooo tired of going to professional development courses to learn how to teach better and then have to sit through a Power Point presentation being 'read' to me. I've known that if I can learn everything I need to know from reading the slides, the presentation is lost. It is so important to know the important skills for making a professional looking presentation. I really think that I need to save this page in my 'favorites' and send it (anonymously, of course) to all my professional development people.

Multimedia and content

Xtranormal.com!! What a fun way to create! I made a video relating to my Spanish class here at Bennington College. I used the cartoon as a way to express some of the ideas I've learned about Argentine Nationalism. It did not take long to create the animated cartoon. What a fun (and easy) way to create multimedia presentations to present background information or history. Students would much rather watch a cartoon and get the main points from that, than listen to a droning teacher.

You can check out my cartoon on my website: www.sraredford.weebly.com .

The thing that I'm learning here at Bennington, is that technology is so much more than YouTube and Power Point presentations. There are so many ways for you to reach out to your students through technology.

I think that I would love to set up a wiki as a blog for each class. That way, they could post writing assignments on the web and completely eliminate the need for papers to clog up my desk!

Technology in my classroom

The whole issue in education is making connections. Making connections with content and making connections with understanding. My huge problem right now is in making connections. As I sit in technology class, I experience the new websites, play with the content and think about how the activities would be very fun in my classroom. What would be even better is if the way to make each project magically fit into my curriculum and my classroom would suddenly appear. There is a huge ravine in my brain between the technology and making it work in my classroom.

I can see the possibilities for webquests in my classroom, but making one and using one is another thing entirely. I can see the possibilities for using wikis and webpages, for making and filtering photos, for creating and using blogs. Great ideas. But how to make room for them in my classroom and my time is the essential question here. Some of these are great at the beginning of the year when there is time, but what happens to the upkeep when things get out of control toward the end of the quarter, or worse, at the end of the year?

So, is it better to try new things and not follow through? Or is it better to just stick with the status quo?

HOPE

It is easy to take sides in this debate between the gorilla artist (Mr. Fairey) and the AP. Corporations and large organizations seem to shoot themselves in the foot by going after the "little guy". In this case, it seems as if the artist took all the correct steps by contacting the photographer to get permission. The Associated Press is trying to claim ownership of the original photo and demand fair share payment for the original image.

Does a corporation have ultimate ownership of any product created by employees? Does my school district have ultimate ownership of things I've created for my classroom using their materials and my work time? I wonder . . . It might be a fight that I'll have to deal with sometime in the future.

Creative Commons and Magnatunes

I have really been considering how I am going to deal with the issues of copyright and plagiarism in my classes from day one. There must be a multitude of ways out there to get the information to them and make them understand. Most of the issues I face in plagiarism come when the students write my assignment in English and either use an online translator or a Spanish-speaking friend. (Both are clearly identifiable -- thank goodness.) But it does not make it any easier to hand out consequences. I would like to make it part of my class rules for the beginning of the year and then revisit the idea several times later on until they REALLY understand that I mean business.

On a more positive note, the idea of a free site to download music is genius. They really understand the needs of teachers and other (not-for-profit) enterprises. They also have a great idea of marketing. The most important thing is getting the product out into the public.

Again with the decisions . . .

To be honest, our Project Understanding fills me with dread. Not because I fear planning a teaching unit nor am I paralyzed by the thought of presenting to my peers. Neither of those things bothers me one bit. I, however, become completely immobile when I have to decide on a topic. The extreme perfectionistic side of me makes it almost impossible to "just pick anything". I want it to be the perfect topic and the options are too wide open. I've been trying to practice my decision-making skills as I order lunch here. I have to force myself to order the first entree that seems tasty. If I analyze all of them, I would never eat lunch!

I am going to have to use my time during these next few days to narrow my choices and try to block the perfectionist side that screams for the perfect subject and the perfect presentation. I have to convince myself that perfect is not what I want. A very good something is better than a perfect nothing. Right?

On a happier note, I am proud of what I've accomplished this week in tech class. In two days we created a wiki, a blog and three websites. Now, I'm a regular blogger. Not bad for three days work!