Distance Education

Social media has sky rocketed in the past few years. From Facebook to Twitter, the opportunities to catch up with one another have greatly increased. Distance learning can only be successful with effective communication. If this area is lacking, then the student and the professor suffer. They must have a communication line that is open. So with all of the new resources of technology that are amongst us, the communication era is growing rapidly. Some of the most effective types of communication tools that can be used in distance learning are video presentations, blogs, wikis, and classroom forums. If effectively used, the students will become more involved in the learning process. Also they will be more motivated to learn and are more likely to be successful in the online classroom.

Game Plan- Reflection

My perception has certainly changed just in the short time that I have been enrolled in this class. The main focus is geared towards implementing innovative ways to increase student achievement in the classroom. One of the areas that I have really enjoyed is learning new ways regarding new technology to use in the classroom. I also enjoyed learning different ways methods that my colleagues have used in their classrooms and what has worked and what has not worked. I feel more confident in myself as an educator by taking this class and learning all of these different and effective methods. To be an effective educator, all teachers must learn and strive to reach new heights just like we encourage our students. As a result, we must learn new and innovative ways that will make our students more successful in the classroom and most importantly, life.

Just in the short 7 weeks of this course, I have gained useful knowledge regarding new types of technology that will help in all content areas. I feel that I have a better understanding of what I must do as a teacher to teach more effectively and being able to be more flexible as a teacher. An effective teacher must be able to be accommodating to each students' individual needs. As a Special Education teacher, I am faced with new challenges each day. It is vital that I can be more flexible and more willing to try different types of technology that will gain the students' interest.

In this class, we have learned about using more social networking and collaboration tools in the classroom. Also we have learned about digital storytelling which helps students to create a movie and to present it to the class with options for voice over, pictures, and texts. These tools help students to become more engaged in the lessons and increasing student motivation. It is important that students can become more involved in the learning process and these methods provide that. I look forward to implementing these tools in the classroom.

To be able to successfully apply these different ideas and methods, I need to attend more professional development opportunities and collaborate with other teachers in my school and community. Each teacher is different and it is very important that I collaborate with several teachers to gain their input on meeting students' needs. A good way to collaborate with other teachers is to observe them in the classroom setting. I have gained some great ideas from my colleagues in this class and I look forward to implementing them soon.

Game Plan Progress

My progress towards my game plan is going pretty smoothly. I have done lots and lots of research for my resources and have gotten some great ideas that I think will be beneficial for my students. My school just had a professional development opportunity to give us some ideas on technology lessons and lessons that will increase student engagement. I also have book marked some ideas that will be helpful and will make learning more fun. Also I have collaborated with some of the more experienced teachers to find out what has worked for them and what has not. I have also spoken to some of the more technically savvy teachers that have helped me gain some insight of what types of resources that I can use in the classroom.

Some things that I have learned is that in order to have a successful lesson, the teacher must do hours and hours of research and collaborate with other teachers. The lesson needs to be worthwhile and must be one in which the students "think outside of the box". Lessons need to improve the students critical thinking skills. In order to do this, technology needs to be introduced in the classroom and give them the opportunity to be a better learner.

Game Plan

The two goals that I have selected include: is to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity and to design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments. These are two areas in which I feel that I need to work on and improve on as a teacher. These goals will not only help me as a teacher but most importantly, it will the students become better learners.

In order to accomplish these goals, I must have a game plan that must be implemented effectively and successfully. Also I need resources that will help me to implement these goals. Some resources that I will use will be the mobile computer that my department have. This lab has 12 laptops that we will use for research and for students to create blogs and presentations for class.

The next area in which I really need to improve in is assessment. I need to find different types of assessments that will help all students learn the content and for it to retain. I am going to research all different types of assessments that teachers have used and I will discuss with other teachers what they have used and what is successful and what is not. This collaboration will be and effective resource for me to make my students successful learners in the classroom.

Game Plan

My game plan and my two goals for this year is to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity and to design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments. This two goals will help create a positive learning environment and will students become more engaged in the classrooom.

To be able to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity, a teacher should design his or her lessons that will help promote creative thinking in the classroom and will help the students to "think outside the box". Many students have trouble thinking critically and being creative. I am planning on implementing more technology in the classroom and getting my students more involved in the classroom. My department has a mobile computer lab and I am going to use when we do research projects and give them the freedom to gather the information and to be creative on how they present it to the class. Also I plan on focusing on more writing in the classroom and using more creative writing assignments. These skills will be necessay when it comes to going to college and eventually in the work world.

One area in which I feel that I need to work on is assessment. Students get tired of doing the same assessments in the classroom such as quizzes and tests. This year my game plan is to come up with different types of assessments that give me an indication of just how my students are doing and if they are retaining the information. Also I plan on giving assessments more frequently in order to gauge if I need to move on to the next material or if I need to reteach the material. This will be beneficial for all of my students and will be extremely beneficial for me as a teacher. My goal is to use assessements to help my students become more successful learners.

Reflection

The biggest thing that I have done towards my "Personal Theory of Learning" is to increase student engagement and increase student participation in class. With this class, I have learned many ways that I can help my students become more attentive and become more interested in the material that is being taught. This class has me interested in doing lots and lots of research on ideas from other teachers on how to integrate technology in the classroom and being successful.
Two technology tools that I would like to use in my classroom would be a smart board and an Ipad lab. The smart board would help make it easier to diagram sentences for the students and to show information in a large format so all my students can see easier and participate. The Ipad lab would be cool to use because they are easier to use than laptops and they are much lighter and easier to store. In the classroom, it helps the students to work with others or themselves more efficiently.
Two long term goals that I would like to achieve regarding technology integration are: being more proactive on integrating new technology in classroom and attending more technology professional development opportunities. These goals go hand and hand with one another. I need to be more willing to integrate more technology in the classroom and by attending technology conferences it will help me become more aware of the opportunities of technology that are out there.
 

Voice Thread

With my issue for voicethread, I may have done something totally different that others. I decided to post some pics of antibullying with the last slide showing statistics on bullying. Here is the link http://voicethread.com/#q.b2094730.i0.k0