Cohort+reflections

> In your journal:

My day was (choose only one) characterisitc ballistic  a boomerang

Explain why in one sentence:

How did the day go? What successes did I experience? What challenges did I endure? What did I learn today? About myself? About others? What do I plan to do--differently or the same--tomorrow. Whom did I interact with? Anyone I need to update? Thank? Ask a question of? Share feedback with? Ask myself, was I better today than yesterday?

__**Josh Gaffga**__ Exploring how to build more successful learning communities through the use of 21st Century educational philosophies as well as educational technology has given me a desire to help empower teachers and students to use social networks to build their own global learning communities. I've started working on a few projects toward that end, one of which is my beginner's guide to using Twitter: "Give Twitter a Go [for a week]".

A cohort-exclusive preview... [click on the image for the entire preview]



While taking on new technology opportunities I want to use just a few. I am now feeling excited about spreading my wings and trying many things a little bit at a time. By having this time I feel that I will be able to play over the summer to begin using some new tools from the start. Beginning a new grade I feel empowered to make changes in my teaching to benefit my students independent learning! Lisa Ross

When I learn something new I feel empowered and excited. I want to try new skills and new ideas in innovative ways and ask myself “what if?” “I wonder...” Technology does not intimidate me. I am excited to think of ways I can apply what I have learned. Sometimes I get frustrated when the mechanical aspects don’t work or when I forget how to do something. Sometimes it seems intuitive and sometimes it makes might head hurt! The biggest shift for me is thinking about how I can guide my students to explore, solve problems, create and not just do what the teacher tells them to do. I have limited time with my students so I have to figure out how to limit choices and at the same time give them the space and time to be innovative with technology and to find their own solutions. //-Christi James//

Sarah’s reflection: When I am learning something new I feel challenged and inspired. Being challenged might elicit positive or negative emotions- that is dependent on my comfort level. However, the more I try and/or the more I take time to process I find my knowledge increases and so does my confidence in my personal learning. I desire to be inspired and grow intellectually- the cohort has been motivating, stimulating and that professional push I welcome. It is a balance of your individual journey versus being a contributing member to the greater process. That is a balance I continue to develop and realize this group will encourage this. I am also conscious to be mindful of what is best practice for the age group I work with and anticipate much trial and error in the coming year. I look forward to the experimentation process in my classroom and then being apart of a committed group of educators who are dedicated to digital, personal and professional development.

Over the past few days I have learned so much. I have been challenged to step outside the box and to extend my views of teaching. I enjoyed collaborating with my peers and learning a new approach to teaching and learning. I look forward to next year and implementing the new ideas we learned and experimented with this week. I know my biggest challenge going forward will be giving up control as a teacher and allowing my students opportunities to explore with technology. I struggle with the best way to do this with primary children, but know they will be capable of more than I would expect. I already discovered last night when looking through my student iPads that my students were making movie trailers in iMovie all year during free time. I never knew. This opened my eyes to what they are capable of and how much they truly know!

-Kristin Newman

Betsy's reflection media type="youtube" key="PJOEdGonnr0?version=3" height="315" width="420" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJOEdGonnr0&feature=youtu.be

June 14, 2012 “The dizzy, dancing way you feel…” Joni Mitchell from “Both Sides Now.” After four days of being in the Cohort that is exactly how I’m feeling. Wow! I’ve learned so much and learned that I have so much more to learn, or have someone, most likely my students or my colleagues, to teach me. I feel like I’m spiraling into new places. It’s exciting, nerve wracking, overwhelming, I can’t wait to do and learn more. I can’t wait to see how students will react to owning their own learning. --Barbara Acker

June 14, 2012

Lots of tools at our fingertips. Diigo- lots and lots of bookmarks need to get tagged. (import them from your Firefox or Safari browser- then you just need to add links.) I learned to make a video and upload to YouTube, and the best and simplest method seems to be “Screen-o-matic” which can do a screen capture of websites or whatever is happening on your computer. This can make a flipped classroom much easier- you’re already going to be talking about the topic in the class with kids, just do a once over and they can watch it on their own and move onto lab materials during the class time. Too many apps to play with, but our VoiceThread at the end somehow came together- but I will need to play with that to get it to work for my class. Also, we made a start on interdisciplinary work with the Revolutionary War topic and the book Chains. We’ll explore that more into August, and get Beth’s input too. Very cool week!

Thanks! Mark Gatlin

June 14, 2012

I found these past few days to be incredibly empowering and insightful. I think one of the biggest “take aways” from this cohort has been recognizing where and how I can let go of ownership and direction over my students’ learning. I’ve placed myself in the role of my students these past couple of days- I’ve taken risks, been asked to step outside of my comfort zone and have been encouraged to explore new topics and subjects through a variety of resources and applications. I’m excited (and nervous) to be in the classroom in September and to really apply what I’m learning and to see what directions my students will take. If anything, enabling my students to take more ownership over their learning really reinforces the notion of a classroom community- where we are equals and are working together to support each other in our endeavors.

Ashleigh Finn

June 14 I was so excited when I heard I would be a part of this year’s Tech Cohort. I didn’t fully know what we would be learning, but I was eager to find out. For the past four days, we have been immersed in all things technology. From web sharing, to social media, to movie creation and tutorials, we have been exploring the world of technology in education. I have to admit, this is a fast moving group! While at times I love this pace, there are moments where I feel overwhelmed. But even though I have this feeling, I know that I am surrounded by helpers and mentors who will help me succeed. I am looking forward to spending the year with my fellow cohort members. -Jess Rowe (4th grade)

Cohort Reflection: Wow, so much to think about. I feel really inspired about the way I can __deliver__ learning experiences. In some way it feels overwhelming because on the “tech” side I still have a lot to learn. I keep thinking about the ways we can integrate technology into the lives of children with learning struggles and reignite their passion and curiosity for learning. The biggest take-away has been that the content does not change, but the delivery does and it has the power to create lasting learning, being chiseled into kid’s memories by using the novelty of technology. I do wonder about this though, will the novelty wear off? Just reading over my reflection thus far (as I’ve procrastinated posting it to our wiki) and am feeling rather anxious. I’ve forgotten all my passwords and recognize if I’m not using the technology, I forget how. Though, I do know how to do a mean imovie trailer and my children are getting the acting bug! I guess I have to do some more personal projects to keep my new technology muscle active. Must admit, I find myself playing with my iPad late into the night, this has not been good for my summer goal of getting to bed early. I look forward to reconvening with you all in August. Kathy Riley

April 13, 2012

My perspective of technology in the classroom has changed over the course of the year. Technology has been taken out of my hands, and put into the hands of my students. Once we let go, and give children the opportunity to take control of their own learning, it is incredible to see the results. We are teaching digital learners, and we need to adapt our instruction to meet their needs. As a first grade teacher this was a hard concept for me to grasp, but once I put the tools in their hands, the outcome speaks a million words. They surprise me everyday.

Bryann Nourse

April 13, 2012

Choosing an idea of how to integrate technology into the 5th grade English classroom is sometimes as complicated for me as opening the fridge and figuring out what I am going to cook for dinner. There are so many possibilities; one just has to start somewhere.

I've appreciated this cohort of colleagues in a completely new professional development environment for me. Seeing and hearing from others first hand about their successes, challenges, and ideas with technology integration in the classroom has been extremely beneficial.

Through the iPad pilot this year, I've realized it's alright to try and "test" things out in the classroom. If they work, we use them again and again. If they don't work, we tweak them and try again or leave the idea behind and move on.

The biggest "lightbulb" for me has been seeing the engagement with the students, the excitement to create vocabulary flashcards or iMovie poetry. Even the most mundane typing assignment has become more interesting and motivating for the students.

I've had the idea to have the students create their own wiki next week as a book report project. In talking with a couple of my students this morning, we began collecting some ideas for what it might look like. I can't wait to work on it this weekend….

Kimm Lucas

April 11, 2012

I am always looking for ways to differentiate my teaching to meet the needs of my students. Julia introduced us to the Khan Academy site. This site works beautifully for those students needing extra help and those wanting to be challenged. I showed it to my two fourth grade math classes. They love it. Almost half my students signed up to work on this site. When we have free time, often my students will go to this site to continue working on a skill or reviewing a video. At times, I put up a short video to reinforce a concept from //Math in Focus// curriculum. I am hoping to get all my students to sign up so I can try and "flip" the classroom. Parthenia Williams

April 11, 2012

When we joined this cohort, we were asked to propose a project, or something that we wanted to accomplish in using technology to support student learning. When I thought about all of the ways that I already use technology in my classroom, I realized that I was only skimming the surface. The more and more I thought about the ways I could continue to use technology in my classroom to support student learning, I realized that I was the project, metaphorically speaking. I needed to relinquish some control, be more flexible in the ways that I allow students to show their learning. I want to give them opportunities to collaborate, reflect, and share their learning with others. One way in which we have been sharing students' knowledge and work is through our class wiki space, but also a creation tool called Wixie. You can check out some of our projects, such as our Peace Jam Important Books and Student-Led Conferences[| here.]. -Jessica Ross, 2nd grade

Please post your reflections on what you are going to take away from the day.

March 6, 2012 So I'm still after all these years wondering about assessment. I think it is what is impeding our progress to move away from the industrial model of schools. I was sitting at a conference a little bored, so I decided to check the stock market, just for a second. What I love is that I can get an idea of what is happening, not just a single frozen piece of information, like a letter grade. The stock report can be shown by a sparkling or series of graphs. I wonder if visual graphs like these have benefits in showing how a student is "becoming" or where they are heading vs just where they are at a particular moment without a context. Just musing. Julia Leong

4/5/12  I continue to find new ways to integrate technology into my science class to support student learning. The use of technology in the classroom is not just to create finish products, but it is allowing students to ask questions and find the answers on their own. The collaboration with the library has supported students’ ability to find quality resources on the internet, and in the science classroom the students focus on the content and finding answers to their questions. I have observed a changing role in my instruction and giving students more control over what they are discovering. I hope that next year I will continue to integrate the use of technology in different ways. If I start using the technology in the classroom at the beginning of the school year, I believe that it will change how I set up the classroom and how the students discover and ask questions. Next year I would like to have more collaboration with the classroom teachers as we are researching and creating products to present their research. I know that each class has their own standards for research and products, and I think if there was more collaboration we would be able to strengthen these skills in our students. I would like to have time to meet with second and fourth grade teachers about research and technology, and also work with kindergarten to integrate more technology into their science curriculum. To view some student samples from this year, please visit http://leddyscience.wikispaces.com/.- //Elizabeth Leddy LS Science//

1/12/12 I just wanted to give an overview of what we’ve done so far today, and where we hope to take what we’ve learned. We’ve talked about (and created): wikispaces, hyperlink embedding, and video presentations, which fall under the umbrella of being able to both locate and create content for students to use in our classes. We’ve worked on becoming better searchers, using websites that we did not know existed and allowing us to connect to the greater educational community outside of Graland.

It has been a great collegial atmosphere, where faculty members have been able to assist others and bring everyone up to a level where they can not just survive, but thrive, when it comes to using technology to communicate with students. Without this time dedicated to working as a group, I don’t think that we would have been able to figure out who can be a source of assistance whenever we are looking to implement new ideas in our classroom.

The main issue I’m facing now is how to communicate these new messages to students, whether it is through new wikispaces or blogs, and how we as a school can minimize the hoops and red tape in order to integrate our students’ learning into a true online community as efficiently as possible.

4/13/12 This past trimester, I have moved to a flipped classroom model. To this extent, I first tried to find videos online that mirrored lessons that I would be teaching, so that students could study the instruction at home, and then apply the lesson at school under my guidance and supervision. The problem I ran into was that the lessons were not completely parallel to my instruction, and I would sometimes have to clear up misconceptions due to a concept being taught a different way than what I would have done.

Realizing this, I decided to create my own lessons and submit them online. I created a GralandMath YouTube channel for students to subscribe to, complete with lessons so that students would be learning the information from a first-hand source. I would upload a 10-15 minute video, students would watch the video, take notes, and then come into class ready to apply the concept. What this did was allow the students to spend a fixed amount of time on math homework each night, and it allowed me the freedom to operate as more of a tutor/guide/mentor during the classroom time. Struggling students received feedback almost instantaneously, and instead of spending hours at home confused and disgruntled, they have been arriving prepared and eager to work on more challenging concepts than what I’ve been able to do in the past. The drawback, as you can imagine, is in the preparation of these videos.

Jorge Chavez

What a morning filled with information, collaboration, and fresh ideas I can take back to the classroom.

Julia introduced us to www.wikispaces.com. I have always been interested in Wikis and how to use them in the classroom. Between the GralandTech wiki that we set up for the Teacher Tech Group to the Writer’s Block Wiki I set up for my Language Arts classes, I am beginning to see the endless opportunities to use Wikis in the classroom. There is so much to learn; one day is hardly enough to spend learning and exploring.

One of the Graland Tech wiki pages is an apps page where each of us can add links to apps as well as a brief description of the app. I learned about an app called MaxJournal that has given me some ideas for how to have students create journals about what they have been reading. I wonder if the app is worthwhile purchasing as a similar thing could be created in a Keynote presentation. I will have to explore this further.

The power of technology in the classroom is amazing. There is always something to learn or discover.

Kimm Lucas

I can see the value of my own Wikipage for my 5th grade Spanish students to submit their homework to my site via their personal iPads. They also could have immediate access to teacher tools we use in the classroom including youtube references (i.e. practicing the Spanish alphabet song). In turn, parents could access students' work via Wikipages (i.e. viewing a skit the students performed in Spanish during the class, or viewing still photographs of classroom activities.)

Wiki is a great place to share lesson plans, websites, Ipad Apps, classroom management, resources, and collaboration among educators. Students can view the classroom wiki, student work, pictures, make additions to the page, and take ownership. It increases student involvement and encourages interaction in the classroom. Utilizing Wiki, I can go back in time, see the details of what I did last year, the links I visited, samples of projects, and update where necessary. Today, we learned how to join wiki and worked together to make a wiki cohort page and a classroom wiki page. We learned how to link websites, add files, and insert pictures and videos. Glogster can also be linked to class websites to share pictures and student work. Educators are able to share so much useful and valuable information.

Wikispaces would be a great venue to display student work. It would be a valuable assessment tool and keep accountability of student learning. Wyne Cler

We are used to holding onto our own lesson plans, our own ideas and then sharing this info in a "safe" place; sharing with a friend, with our grade level team, presenting to a group we can see. We as teachers, in today's world, we need to let go, share, allow our students to ask the questions, and make the rules. I'm learning not to be afraid, to innovate - I feel like we are at the tip of the iceburg......we are beginning this journey in part with this Wiki. - Kristin

A Wikispace serves as a window for parents to look into our daily classroom learning. It allows kids to post projects and news. It’s a place for me, as a teacher, to organize and share resources for parents to use home. It can be a place for parents to visit, post questions, check important dates, etc. It serves as a bridge in the home-school partnership. You can update your Wiki “live” with your students to share immediately with parents. –Jessica

I can see the benefit of having a wikispace for my students. All the resources I find can be posted there for them to use. The idea of having the homework posted on this site will be useful for parents and for students absent for the day. I like the idea that students can add work. The wikispace is easy to use. It does not take a lot of steps or time for uploading information. This is all new to me. It is all very exciting. Parthenia

I can see the value of my own Wikipage for my 5th grade Spanish students to submit their homework to my site via their personal iPads. They also could have immediate access to teacher tools we use in the classroom including youtube references (i.e. practicing the Spanish alphabet song). In turn, parents could access students' work via Wikipages (i.e. viewing a skit the students performed in Spanish during the class, or viewing still photographs of classroom activities.) -Kelly Viseur

Graland Tech Committee Feedback- Dana Pease

Today we explored wikispaces. We created our cohort wiki as well as a personal one. We learned multiple ways to share work both internally within our classroom and school and externally with the parent/alum population. This seems to be a one-stop shop which provides a window into our classrooms. The benefits: 1.) Better communication, with more frequent updates available for parents to read at their will. 2.) Student involvement – Students will update parts of the wiki, involving their voice into the conversation of what we do each day. 3.) Showcase of student work - Enhancing student accountability and motivation. Buy in!! Allowing parents to see what we do each day, nit just read about it. 4.) Multiple ways to communicate what we do in our classroom (text, pictures, video) 5.) A resource for families to continue learning at home.

Troubleshooting: Teachers would need a checklist of content to include on their Wikispace. Even more, we may need a common template. We would need proper training for teachers and parents.

3/20/12  The fourth graders have completed their projects using the iPads for research and presentations. There was a great amount of learning that went on for the students and for me. We learned that when filming using iMovie, it is important to be in a quiet room. Although this was our first time using the iPads for a formal project, I learned that I need to provide clearer expectations for roles and products. After the project was completed, we have used the iPads for more informal projects such as a "jigsaw" for body systems. Students were assigned groups of 2 or 3 to research one system in the human body and share out with the class. This almost worked better than the big project we did before because it was concise and students had 2 days to answer their questions and create a Keynote or Poster to share out the information. It has been a couple months of learning the best ways to share 6 iPads among 18 (or 19) students. I am still working on finding more ways to integrate it into second grade, and eventually kindergarten. - //Elizabeth Leddy LS Science//

1/12/12 <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14.4px;"> During the technology cohort meeting today, we shared out celebrations and resources that we have found during the past month. Teachers shared resources that I immediately downloaded if I thought they would be useful for my classroom. I am looking forward to trying out the app that Bryann shared for creating eBooks using the iPad. We also had time for collaboration and sharing our expertise with our peers. I created an YouTube account and began playing with uploading videos. I also began uploading videos to my own wikispace that I was able to work on during this time. I am looking forward to spending time learning more about what I have started today. - //Elizabeth Leddy LS Science//

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">During the professional development today, I learned how to create a wiki space and began to understand its effectiveness for collaboration. Wiki spaces allow teachers to communicate about technology and what we have found useful. Finding technology to integrate into the classroom can be time-consuming and it can be difficult to find appropriate websites and applications to use with students. The wiki spaces gives us the opportunity to share what we found and how we use it in our classroom. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Elizabeth Leddy //LS Science//

Wiki is a great place to share lesson plans, websites, Ipad Apps, classroom management, resources, and collaboration among educators. Students can view the classroom wiki, student work, pictures, make additions to the page, and take ownership. It increases student involvement and encourages interaction in the classroom. Utilizing Wiki, I can go back in time, see the details of what I did last year, the links I visited, samples of projects, and update where necessary. Today, we learned how to join wiki and worked together to make a wiki cohort page and a classroom wiki page. We learned how to link websites, add files, and insert pictures and videos. Glogster can also be linked to class websites to share pictures and student work. Educators are able to share so much useful information.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//Jennifer Rawlings// <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//kindergarten//

The technology training with Julia Leong allowed me to create a Wiki. It will help me centralize my information and resources and create easy access to my blogs Eventually, I would like to post my students’ finished work including Keynote or Power Point presentations, written documents, videos, songs, etc. Also, I intend to use the Wiki to post the email exchange between my eighth graders and their pen pals in France. In the future, I would like to find more ways to use the Wiki.

Monique Lathrop

I can see the value of my own Wikipage for my 5th grade Spanish students to submit their homework to my site via their personal iPads. They also could have immediate access to teacher tools we use in the classroom including youtube references (i.e. practicing the Spanish alphabet song). In turn, parents could access students' work via Wikipages (i.e. viewing a skit the students performed in Spanish during the class, or viewing still photographs of classroom activities.)

Wiki is a great place to share lesson plans, websites, Ipad Apps, classroom management, resources, and collaboration among educators. Students can view the classroom wiki, student work, pictures, make additions to the page, and take ownership. It increases student involvement and encourages interaction in the classroom. Utilizing Wiki, I can go back in time, see the details of what I did last year, the links I visited, samples of projects, and update where necessary. Today, we learned how to join wiki and worked together to make a wiki cohort page and a classroom wiki page. We learned how to link websites, add files, and insert pictures and videos. Glogster can also be linked to class websites to share pictures and student work. Educators are able to share so much useful and valuable information.

April 13: Wyne and I are working on a final project for the 8th grade called the Legacy Project. The purpose of the project is to have the kids reflect on their experiences throughout Graland and to compare/contrast their experiences with characters they have learned about in US history during the year. The end project will involve a very personal reflection along with other various media (videos, art, etc.) of what constitutes their character. At the end of the project, we are hoping to compile all of their documents into an EPub using Blurb sorted by MESH classes. That publication will be available for purchase at the end of the year. I hope this becomes a Graland tradition. Jake