Reflective Essay

Reflective Essay

George Couros said, “Technology will not replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational.”   When I moved from one middle school to another last year, I moved into a school that was adopting a one-to-one model. Each student was allowed to check out a Chromebook for the entire year to use in the classroom, at school, and at home.  I’ve been teaching for eighteen years, and I have always found it imperative to be on top of the latest and greatest teaching methods. “Kids are different today than the past due to the media that is available.  Each generation will be different due to the available media to the kids.” (Today’s Students, 2015)

To be completely honest, this course has not helped me to develop any skills that I did not already have with technology.  I have built websites in my life and with Google Classroom and other educational platforms, a wiki or website is truly unnecessary.  I am very familiar with blogging as I maintained one for my family eight years ago, when blogging was the most popular. I also will not use a blog in the classroom.  For one, not all students have the parent permission to post pictures or work to the web. Two, I cannot control who follows the blog, and once again, I will not be responsible for that openness from my classroom.  And three, there are other educational sites that I can use to achieve similar goals that a blog can. I use Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat on a personal level, and can not and will not integrate Twitter into my classroom lessons.  Social Media is actually not allowed for students in our district, and truly is not a safe place for students to be unless closely monitored, and I can not guarantee that students’ accounts will be closely monitored. If I taught high school or even college, I could see where Twitter might be a more appropriate tool to use, but not at the middle school level.  I’ve been using podcasts in my teaching, by creating my own, and integrating others’ podcasts into my lessons. The textbook, “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms”, while in 2010 when it was written was probably a useful and mind-blowing source for educators, is now very outdated. The majority of the websites used as examples are no longer available, and the modern technology as a whole has completely changed and advanced.  I found myself more annoyed reading it, than putting it to use. In all, this class is very outdated and needs to be updated for it to be useful to modern teachers. In fact, this class should probably be restructured every year to keep up with the current technology trends. Just as I type this, my eleven year old daughter just came up and showed me a video that she created using an app that I had no idea even existed. The app is very user-friendly and creates professional looking videos all on her cell phone.  What a great tool to use in the classroom!

So, how has this class been a benefit to me?  I feel that I have benefited by being introduced to the ISTE Standards for Students and ISTE Standards for Teachers.  We as educators focus on the standards that we are supposed to teach and the standards we are supposed to meet in our professional evaluations, but with technology transforming from using it as a word processing tool to THE tool to use in the classroom, it’s great to have those standards and resources to use and share with others.  In other educational experiences and professional development I have been introduced to Webb’s Depth of Knowledge and am intrigued on how to implement the strategies in my teaching. The idea that teachers have to change their mindset from being the educational leader to the educational facilitator is a huge idea or concept that I am working on.  For me to successfully implement Webb’s DOK into every lesson, I must restructure how the lesson is introduced and taught.

As I said above, I will not be implementing any new Web 2.0 or social media tool that we learned in this course for the above reasons, but I do plan on implementing others.  My first SMART Goal is that I plan on becoming a Certified Google Educator and learn all of the ins and outs of Google and how they can be used in the Classroom. I would like to be more savvy with Google Sheets so I can use them as assignment pages in my classroom. I plan on completing all of the training by August of 2019 so I can implement all of the strategies into my teaching for the 2019-2020 school year.  My second SMART Goal is to implement Webb’s DOK into all of my lessons. I am also looking to create all of my quizzes using a website called Quia. I will be able to create a bank of questions that will dump into quizzes, and if students need to retake a quiz for mastery, they are not getting the same quiz, yet are getting the same concepts all while the quizzes are graded instantaneously and reports are given so I can analyze student data.  I also do hope to create lessons that give students the opportunity to create their own podcasts and allow them to become the facilitator of knowledge instead of just participating. “Can be used for teaching and learning. Podcasts can be powerful when students are able to create their own podcast and share them.” (Spotlight on Technology, 2015)

I honestly do not see any types of roadblocks in my own personal implementation of these goals, nor are there any roadblocks with the technology available.  The students and I have the tools, I just have to adjust how the students will learn the material and give them time to create a presentation via podcast.

By achieving my goals, I will be a technology learner and a technology leader.  I am the Digital First Responder at my school, and I hope to share my knowledge with the rest of the staff.  I will be growing students into digital citizens. I will be collaborating with other educators in the district to make the teaching of math and the use of technology more relevant and useful.  I will be designing lessons and facilitating them with the Webb’s DOK in mind, and be able to use my time to analyze student data rather than being up in front of the classroom teaching to the middle.  (ISTE)

Technology in the classroom is something that will always be evolving.  We as educators have to make sure that the students of today are ready for the workplace of tomorrow having skills in collaboration, critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, people management, creativity, and so much more.  Unless we embrace the new tools that are being created on a daily basis and have an open mind to implement them in our class, we are doing an inservice to the students.

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (2015I). Today’s students [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Laureate Education (Producer). (2015f). Spotlight on Technology: Learning with Podcasts [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Aungst, G. (2014, September 04). Using Webb's Depth of Knowledge to Increase Rigor. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/webbs-depth-knowledge-increase-rigor-gerald-aungst

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Sidewalk Chalk PAINT!

My friend posted a picture to my Facebook wall challenging me to try Sidewalk Chalk Paint and report the results to her.  What she didn't know, was that this was already on my Summer Bucket List - and today was the day to tackle this project.  It was EASY!!  As Jennah says, "easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy"!

Here's what you need:

1 cup of cornstarch

1 cup of water

food coloring

Mix the cornstarch and the water together until it is completely liquid.  Divide the mixture into separate cups.  (When I do this again, I'll either do it one of two ways.  One, each painter will get their own 6-count muffin tin, OR, I'll put each color in their own plastic cup with their own paint brush.  There were three of us painting, so it got a little annoying sharing, and the paint was getting all mixed up.)  Stir in the food coloring.  I used Wilton Icing Coloring and we got some beautiful vivid colors to paint with.  Then go paint!!!  The paint dries very quickly and vividly.  We painted for over an hour - it was SO much fun.  

Kylee's bird trap!

Jennah's flower!  Great job Jennah!

I'll definitely do this over and over again.  I truly hate sidewalk chalk.  I hate the feel, and I especially hate it when I scrape my hand when I slip - so this is SO much better!!!  SO much more fun!  Try this - your kids will love it!

Summer is Here!!

Summer has finally found Alaska, and the last couple of days we have been having some beautiful weather.  We're wearing shorts and tank tops, and hopefully sporting Alaskan tans very soon!  Jason's been doing a sanding/staining project on the front porch and around the garage door.  The updated color really makes the front of the house look great!  

Picture will come tomorrow.

I've been planting flowers and getting my greenhouse and mini-garden all set up.  Last year I ended up having maybe 15-20 tomato plants, but harvested NO tomatoes because the greenhouse isn't finished, so when it got cold outside, my plants in the greenhouse died.  This year, I have beans, peas, tomatoes, jalapenos, spinach, watermelon, pumpkin, cucumbers, herbs, and sunflowers.  My greenhouse is full, and I had to build a mini-garden outside of my greenhouse as well.  I hope that I have enough space for all of my plants. I think they are kind of smooshed together, so we'll see if I get any results.  I also hope that the moose don't like watermelon, pumpkins, or cucumbers, or I may just be planting a garden for the local moose.  Nevertheless, each year, I'm learning more and more - and what's awesome is that I have a very handy husband who will be fixing my greenhouse so I can extend my growing seasons!  Yay!  Next year, I hope to be able to create my own beautiful hanging baskets instead of paying a crazy amount of money to buy them.

My greenhouse. I think I need to paint it pink or
something fun!

Inside of the greenhouse.

Tomatoes

My baby beans! Aren't they so cute!

Spinach

My first thought was to just have two boxes for plants, but
then, I realized that I had way too many seedlings and
needed more space, so I had to extend the "flower bed"
into a garden.  Next year I'll either take out the boxes,
or  I'll extend the garden even more.  

I'm trying to grow a Clematis!  I saw these at the store
and I thought they were just beautiful, especially
because they are my favorite color.  The girl said that I
would be able to dig them back up and bring them  inside
in the winter. . .we will see.  Flowers and Heather usually
don't get along too well.  Hopefully they like me.

And what have the kids been doing you ask?  Well, they have just been being kids!  They love playing on their swing set, playing in their sand box, making mud pies, riding their bikes, walking/running in the yard with no shoes, and so much more.  Each day, it's more of a struggle to get them inside than it is to boot them outside - and, for the most part, they play well together, and they do a great job of keeping themselves occupied.  Today was really warm, so they sported the swimsuits and ventured to play in the sprinkler.  Kylee didn't like it so much as she told me to "warm the water up Mommy" - but Jennah played until her lips were blue.  I remember summers being so magical - I constantly wonder if their summer is as magical as I remember mine.  

We still have a month and a half until I have to go back to work - and I'm cherishing each and every moment!  

Father's Day Weekend Adventure!

"Happy Father's Day Dad!  We love you!"  

Last weekend was Father's Day Weekend, and Jason's activity of choice was to go to the local off-road community's Meet & Greet weekend.  On Saturday, there was an obstacle course for people to drive through which included a large hill to climb, logs to climb over, large tires, rocks, a small mud hole, a large mud hole, and then another rather challenging hill to climb back up.  We did about half of the obstacles.  The obstacle course was for more of the bigger trucks.  There were winch demonstrations, activities for the kids to do, food, raffles and prizes, and entertainment.  

The tires!

The large mud/water pit!

Going through the obstacle course.

On Sunday, we started the morning off with a homemade pancake, egg, and sausage breakfast and then followed with an all day trail ride on Baldi Trail.  I have to say, this weekend was probably by far one of my most favorite off-roading experiences that I have ever had!  The kids had a blast getting all dirty!  And we just simply had a great time making our way through all of the obstacles and making it to the top of the mountain.  Jason's masterful driving was successful!  We never got stuck, nor did we ever get in a situation where we needed assistance to get out!  And the view from the top is just absolutely amazing!  All in all, it was a GREAT Father's Day Weekend filled with good wholesome family fun!

Getting ready to hit the trail!

The girls were ready to go with Skittles in hand!

The girls were excited to go.  Jennah wanted to go through all of the mud, and Kylee just kept saying, "oh - this is so not good".  Great memories!

We made it past the first obstacle - a large water pit!

Large water/mud pit.

The next major obstacle on the trail was crossing a creek.  One of the vehicles broke down here, so I got a chance to take some pictures of the girls!

I took a lot here - but this is my favorite! Gotta love them!

After the creek, it was all up hill (more like mountain) from there!  Lots of climbing, which always freaks me out - but I survived and the view up top is work a bit of anxiety!  Breathtaking and priceless!

This climb was a bit challenging.  That truck high centered
on a rock, so getting around was a bit tough - but Jason
and the Rover made it through!

More climbing!

The first pit stop with a spectacular view!

And the top of the mountain!!!  Gorgeous!

There was snow at the top, so we had fun playing it in for a few minutes!

And then, I was able to capture some close up moments with the girls.

Pickin' flowers!

Jennah, my beautiful flower!

Happy Father's Day Jason!

All in all - it was a very successful and fun family adventure - and we are looking forward to doing many more of these adventures.

It's Slime Time!

Do you want something to do with your kids that will keep them occupied for a while!?  Try this project that we just got done doing!  It's known as Gak or Flubber or slime, and there is a recipe out there to make it with Borax, but I found, on Pinterest, a non-Borax recipe - and it WORKED!!!  

What you need:

1 cup of Elmer's Glue

Food Coloring (gel or liquid)

1/3-2/3 cup of liquid starch

In a plastic bowl (I used ones that I could just throw away), add one cup of Elmer's Glue and food coloring.  Stir until you have the color you desire.  

Next, stir in the liquid starch a little at a time.  The original recipe called for 1 cup of liquid starch, but for Jennah we used maybe 1/3 of a cup and Kylee just a tad more.  As soon as you pour and stir the liquid starch in, it starts to thicken.  In fact, Jennah instantly said, hey, it looks like eggs.  

See Jennah's mouth?  That's the
"whoa - look at that" look that I
love doing these projects!

Keep stirring in a little starch at a time until you are able to pick it up all together.  It'll still be "sticky", so fold in more liquid starch, little by little until you are able to play with it without it sticking to you.  If it starts getting sticky, just add a little starch to it.

Then have FUN!  This was a VERY easy project, and the girls played with it for over an hour!!!  Make sure to not let your kids play with it near carpet, and be careful of it sticking to clothes.  (Yes, I may have some special cleaning to do.)  But, not too bad.  The girls had fun!


This idea came from this site:
http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/05/making-gak.html