Final Pause and Ponder

Personally, this class has been a window of opportunity for learning new skills related to recent technologies that will enable me to become a more effective teacher in this digital world. I set a goal at the beginning of the year to become more fluent with the newest technologies and this class was a challenging but attainable way to meet that goal. What I used to believe as hard or uninteresting, I now see as an opportunity and a possibility.

I want to develop in the integration of technology with 5th grade curriculum standards.

There are many ways that I can find resources now that I have been introduced to these technologies. For example, I will continue to live the life as a blogger and I will collaborate in educational social networks.

Even though I am tired due to the end of the year hussle and bussle, I remain eager to seek out more information related to the newest technologies. My plans for the future include taking more classes related to technology and making the time to grow and develop in digital teaching and learning.

At this point in the class, my professional abilities have been enhanced with the knowledge of the digital world including social networking, peer collaboration through digital means, and improvement of student engagement using the instrument of technology.

Thus far I have applied what I have learned in the digital writing class in my own class. I am currently working on a photo story about our field trip. It is almost complete. I have a few more narrations to record and I may put in music if it does not take away from the voices in the photo story. It has been fun. When I finish the final touches, I will give each student a copy.

Panic Mode

I have spent hours, I mean hours on the digital story and it is still unfinished to my expectation. This ocd is a pain in the you know what sometimes. I am having the most difficulties with converting i-tunes to mp3 files. I am also having difficulties with photo story three. It keeps telling me that my mp3 files aren't valid. It is very frustrating. I will not give up. I've come too far to back out now.

A Powerful Moment

Thursday during science, the children were setting up their stream tables which are rubbermaid containers with soil and water to represent land and water. One of the groups lost their stopper which plugs the whole in the container. It looks sort of like a black rubbery cork. The group members looked high and low for it and could not find it. Several other students tried to help them find it and were not successful.

In the past, I would have told the group not to worry and join another group to continue with the experiment. But, I decided that the class would not complete the experiment until the stopper was found. I wanted the students to understand the importance of taking care of the materials, even a small stopper, as well as each other. Plus, the science kit company would have sent me a bill for like $4.58 because we lost it. One student offerred to pay for it. I thanked him for his generosity, but I explained that was not the point I was trying to make. If I would have not made a big deal over a small stopper, then most likely other groups would have the mentality that it's not big deal if we loose or break the materials and we can just join another group.

Well, surprisingly we had a CSI episode in room 506. The students began talking about all the possible places it could have fallen or any possible motivations for someone taking the stopper. They were asking questions like: If it was knocked down accidently, would it bounce or roll. Also, could someone have kicked it while walking by not realizing it? One student asked, Can we take our stopper out and drop it to see what it would do? Then, we can get an idea of where it might be. Still in shock, I told the student to continue with the wonderful idea.

One part of me was wanting to panic because I was off schedule. The other part of me was wanting someone to come in and see what was happening. The students were actively engaged in the scientific method without even realizing it.

Anyway, the students observed the stopper would not have rolled or bounced. It was also observed, that if the stopper would have been kicked, it would have tripped someone. The children concluded based on their experiments and observations that the stopper is some where around their desks.

And then it happened. A student walked over with confidence because he knew the stopper was around their somewhere. After about 45 seconds of diligently looking, he found the stopper in a side netted pocket of a bookbag that had been sitting in a chair the whole time. It was unforgetable. This child is normally shy and serious. He is not one to show emotion normally. This day, he shouted with joy. Although, his face turned apple red, I don't think he was embarrased. The students were amazed and impressed. We were all proud of him. The students rewarded him with r-cards. It was powerful!!!!!!!!

The students wanted to get immediately to work. They worked very hard and cooperatively. It was one of the best days of my teaching career.

Writing into the Day

I learn by first, a purpose and then, by doing.

The last time I learned something was how to play "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" on the violin. The music director at church gave me the music to practice for the "Old Time Christmas Musical". I went home and began to play it. But, I wanted to hear it in a fiddle style. So, I searched you-tube and found a video that was exactly what I was looking for.

I know that I learned something when I can do it independently with automaticity. For example, I played "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" without the music. My fingers knew exactly where to go and what to do. I am confident that I could play it again at the drop of a hat. It may take a few times to get it right, but I will eventually.

I know when my students have learned something when they can do it independently, engage in conversation about it, and teach it to someone else.

Learning Voice Thread

Learning voice thread was simple. First, signed up for an account. Second, I jumped in the Digital Writing Workshop conversations. The most difficult part was figuring out what was wrong with the microphone. Luckily, my husband came to the rescue--or that is what he thinks. Once the microphone was working, it was smooth sailing. There is one more thing...I knew that I had a southern accent, but I didn't know it was that bad. I sound like I'm from the sticks. It's a good thing I teach in Loris because we all kinda sound the same.

Pause and Ponder #2

Camping at Playcard was very exciting! I do not know who overcame the most fears; my students or me. I went zooming down a zip-line 35 feet in the air with only a helmet, a harness, and a prayer.

While reading The Digital Writing Workshop by Troy Hicks, I learned that teaching in a digital workshop means that we teach students to compose new literacies and technologies. Hicks also writes that we need to teach digital writers to assess their own work based on authentic audiences and purposes, various genres, and self reflection. I realized that in order for me to guide, assist, and or faciliate digital writing, I am going to have to be a digital writer. That is a scarry thought! It is necessary for me to assess my own work the same way. For example, living the life as a blogger keeps me writing for real audiences and purposes. It is my desire to communicate my thoughts in a way that is captivating and comprehensible. With that being said, I am on the right track. I just need to put it in a higher gear.

While reading The Tech-Savvy English Classroom by Sara Kajder, I found the section called Ending Points very true. Kadjer admits that she believes strongly in using computers as tools in writing, but not for all writing. She continues to honor the power of pen and paper as well. It is important to choose the right tool paired with the right student and the right task. Keeping in mind, with an engaging and rigorous writing task, technology can enhance and empower our student writers. This means, building relationships and using multiple intelligences appropriate for each individual must be a priority in order to plan accordingly in my classroom.

So far, I have tinkered with various technologies that were both challenging and invitational. Being able to actually use these tools purposefully has enhanced my learning significantly. After this course, I will continue to use Photo Story 3, iPadio, Wall Wisher, and live the life as a blogger. Blogging has made sense to me as a teacher, writer, and social butterfly. The other technologies we have used did not make as much sense to me at this point in my life. This is most likely due to the information overload and complex interpretation my brain is balancing. For the most part, the majority of the technologies explored in this course are relevant and accessible in the classroom at some degree, either directly or indirectly.

Class discussion has influenced my thinking in several ways. Collaboration, support, providing and gaining information were and are the most influential.