Reflection for Preparation

Throughout my progress in the first ed.technology course at Walden, I can reflect on my newly developed abilities and say without hesitation, that I have grown professionally as a result of this class. As a result of the assignments provided, I have been nudged further into the technological realm with practical application, not simply discussion. I have created products I previously had no knowledge of, and have learned of other methods to use the tools I currently have at my disposal. I have gained a better perspective of what it means to be a facilitator of my classroom, and providing a learner centered environment. I have been forced to reflect on the practices of the past, that were the educational norm when I was a student, and reluctantly admit that some of those old practices have been evident in my own classroom. One of the greatest things I have gained throughout this experience is the opportunity to network with other educators that are trying to go "against the flow" and create a new educational environment for the 21st century student.

As I continue to become a more dedicated blogger and wiki enthusiast, I hope that with the help of my fellow colleagues as online "tech support," I will further develop my skills and learn of more practical uses in the classroom. I will avidly search out new uses for the tools I have access to, and maintain an awareness of new technological developments that will benefit the educational community. In order to transform my classroom into the 21st century environment my students deserve, I will continue to enhance my classroom wiki and forum, while defining goals for the future. My first long term goal is to revolutionize a magazine publication into an online version. I am currently the advisor for a student literary publication. Together, with my students, we collect, revise, and publish student writings, songs, and art work. We are not part of the journalism department, and could change our current mode of publication into that of a world wide audience. How exciting! The obstacle to overcome will be having permission to publish to the world. Not only may parents be reluctant, the greater obstacle of administration must still be overcome. The second long term goal is to attempt to become a paperless environment. While I know I can't be completely paperless, I hope to greatly reduce the amount of paper based assignments, and to provide all documentation for students and parents in electronic form, unless a paper copy is necessary. In order to allow students to complete the majority of large assignments and projects online, I will have to overcome the shortage of resources. Perhaps this can be done with strategic planning with the computer lab or reserving the portable lab well in advance. In order to accomplish both of these goals, I intend to spend a great deal of time over the summer preparing my virtual environment for student access, gaining proficiency in the details of each program, and hopefully obtaining permission from administration to allow students to publish to a world wide audience. As I step away from this experience, I feel that I am much more knowledgeable as an educator and am excited to forge ahead into what some consider the unknown. Of course there will be challenges and days that technology seems to be the enemy, when things don't function as they should, but dealing with adversity and utilizing problem solving skills to accomplish a goal are some of the very skills we desire to teach our students. It is an exciting time to unleash our creativity...the possibilities are endless!

Podcast

Hello everyone! After days (no joke) of struggling with this assiginment, I think I finally have it finished. I hope you will be patient and willing to download the necessary files to listen to my podcast. I ended up with the technology guy from the board office to help convert files, as nothing was working, and he had to create an MP4 file. (I did not know that there was anything other than an MP3!) I hope that there is an easier process to create a podcast. I know that my students could not complete an assignment of this nature with the materials we have at our school. A collaborative effort has been required in order for me to find what I needed for the assignment.

You may visit my podcast at http://sgracew.podbean.com/