"Takeaways"

As I reflect back on the last 8 weeks and this course, I'm amazed with all I have learned.  Before beginning this course, I felt that I was proficient with technology and its uses in the classroom.  While that may have been somewhat true, my eyes have been opened to a plethora of new ideas, materials, and ways of looking at things.  My job is going to be changing next year as our school adopts the Google Chromebook for all students.  To be honest, I'm very nervous about what next year will bring.  I want to be able to be a technology leader in my school, and I feel that this class has helped me prepare for this role.  While I realize now that I still have a lot to learn and understand to be the best help that I can be for our staff.  

Perhaps my favorite tool from this course is Symbaloo.  I think that this is such a neat program and will be so easy for the staff at my school to use next year.  I hope to help them all create their own Symbaloos to use in their classrooms.  

I am looking forward to the next Cake class that I will be involved in and hope to add to my knowledge base for next year and beyond.  

Social Media's Place in a Classroom

To be completely honest, the idea of using social media, especially Facebook, in the classroom is an idea that I am constantly weighing in my mind.  As a sixth grade teacher last year, my language arts students did a project about the dangers of social media, as well as the safety precautions that should be used.  With the exception of a few students, most were under the age of 13.  I was absolutely shocked at the number of students who had Facebook (usually with a parent's permission), knew they had lied about being the legal age to use it, and had parents that NEVER kept up with their actions on Facebook.  As anyone in middle school education knows, Facebook and other social media sites can cause a TON of trouble in terms of bullying and other drama at school.

However, I do see the benefit of a school using social media to keep parents and students up to date on school happenings, upcoming exams, and other announcements.  Most people now have a smart phone with a social media app - the information flows seamlessly.  I do think that in these instances, the site must be closely monitored.  I don't feel that it should be used as a message board for negative and degrading comments.

I think that there must also be an educational piece for parents, as well as students.  In order for social media to be used effectively, everyone involved must know the application's purpose.  I do think there are a lot of wonderful opportunities with social media in the classroom, it just has to be gone about in the proper way.

Symbaloo!

We had an assignment this week to start curating technology resources for us to use in the future.  I chose to create my assignment on the website www.symbaloo.com (as did everyone else who has posted at this point!).  For that reason, I'm going to blog about Symbaloo and how I can see using it in the future.

Until this week, I had only heard of Symbaloo.  While at the HECC Conference in November, I was able to use a Symbaloo called the Five-Star 50.  During a presentation, this resource was presented and I had a chance to play around with it.  This week, I actually created a Symbaloo page to use for curation purposes.

I can see the benefit for this program in the coming months at my school.  In the past, I have tried to give teachers lists of websites or resources, but they became overloaded with useless information.  I really like how on Symbaloo I can create a page, the teachers can visit it and instantly access the information in any order they wish.  I also like that it is web-based, meaning they can access it from anywhere they have internet.  

I could envision teachers using this website to create unit plans.  I could also see coaches using this site to share training websites or resources.  I could see students using this tool to catalog all of their  internet creations.  The possibilities are endless.  I also appreciate the ease of use of this program, and am sure many of the teachers in my building will, too.

Applying What I've Learned

After completing the first six weeks of class, I feel like I have learned so much.  It's been nice to experience a progression of the steps and reasons for implementing technology into a classroom and into a school.  I have also appreciated the conversations and comments that have helped guide my own understanding of the content and the concepts.  

I feel that probably the most beneficial aspect of this class for me has been the tools that have been presented and discussed.  For example, this week, I will be using voice thread to complete an assignment.  By actually using the program, I will have a better understanding of how to tell other teachers how to use it.  My school is going 1:1 next year with Google Chromebooks.  Part of my job next year will be to help the staff and students use these devices to their full potential.  

The SAMR model has really clicked in my mind.  I had our administration share it at our faculty meeting last week.  I think that it gives teachers an outline of exactly what they need to be pushing for.  There are also a ton of examples online of how to complete each level, which is helpful.  I have bookmarked all the resources from the online class on that topic to share with our staff at future meetings.

One concept that is going to be hard for me to incorporate in the immediate future is the authentic assessment.  I can see this being something I really try to focus on during the school year after next.  One thing I have learned in educating teachers and other staff is that you have to move slowly in order to keep peace with all participants.  I feel that our teachers will see the benefit of authentic assessment today if I asked them to, but it's not fair to add that to their plates at the current moment.  

I'm looking forward to continuing to learn!

Of the information shared in the course so far, what do you believe will be most applicable in your professional situation?
Which concepts will be harder for you to incorporate?