IIRC

What a fantastic tool the IIRC is! I have been using the IIRC for a couple of years now and each time I login I find the information available more fascinating than before. As a future administrator I need to be able to get my staff to be as fascinated at looking at data as I am. We have to let the data drive our decision making. Great tool!

No clear answers to the rules!

I think that the copyright laws are very confusing. I wish they can be more simple. I am still not sure if I "understand" the laws well. At least, I am more cautious about things from now on because I don't like to get into troubles. I like following rules!

I am learning new tools, and I know they are necessary in this world. I just wish that I am a big fan of technology.

I am looking forward to working on the podcasts and multi-media projects. This will be unchartered territory for me. Since I am new to the area it is interesting to see the test scores in relation to the area I moved.

Life is not fair!

What interesting lessons I learned in class today. I really enjoy the class discussions. I like asking questions to get clarity, even if it does earn me a bit of chastisement from time to time. I like thinking about ways to convince my administrator-husband to implement some of the things I learn in classes. I love hearing other people's views and realizing that though we are all in education, we don't always share the same perspectives. I am excited to finally learn how to do wikis and podcasts and multimedia presentations. My teenage daughter and her friends are EXPERTS at this stuff and I really want to know how to do it! The only element that makes me feel wary is that I will learn how and want to use it, but my school is not caught up with the technology that we need, and/or the school's web filter will have all the cool stuff blocked, and/or some other thing will go wrong that I can't even anticipate. I really do believe teachers need to increase use of technology in order to hold kids' interest, but getting the teachers caught up in tech knowledge to where the students already are (often) is a daunting task.

ad;lfkjs

I love using video clips to assist in driving home the message in lessons. I'm looking forward to creating the video while including text and graphics--similar to the Billy Joel video we saw.

The IIRC is really an invaluable tool as the numbers can be disaggregated in a variety of ways. The numbers don't lie... but they can be manipulated. I enjoy analyzing my school's scores and data to other comparable schools and districts.

Trying to keep up with the latest video pragrams and features makes me feel like I'm sinking in a live-streaming world. But, i guess that's what this class is for....

Sunday, March 21st

I learned how to compare schools on the IIRC site today. I think that will be very useful for looking at a schools strengths and weaknesses. I do not know anything about creating videos and using audio. The next weekend we meet I have a lot of new things to learn.

The videos today really got me thinking about how to use technology more in the classroom. It also made me think about whether or not students are critically thinking.

March 21

I think every time I get on IIRC I find more to do with it and more benefits to the website. There is so much information on there that it's hard to sort it out and find the time to use all of the benefits to our advantage. I would really like to see my school district offer some training, especially for our SIP team members, on the use of the IIRC website and how we can use it to effectively influence decisions in our school.

school comparisons

It was very interesting to start the school comparisons today in class. I am comparing the high schools in Davenport to each other as well as the rest of the state. Even though we are a little bit behind the state in reading in math, we are showing good progress according to the last three years of test results and it is nice to see all of the work we are doing paying off for us.

March 21st

What a wonderful weekend! I feel like I have a good idea of what to do for my assignments and all my questions (as of now) have been answered.
I'm really looking forward to doing the multimedia project. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I have a good idea of what route I'm going with the assignment and I am excited to get started.

Today really makes me wonder about the way people are "wired." When we watched the video of students passing the basketball I was one of those who totally missed the gorilla. I think the majority of my students would have seen it. I do however have a very close friend who has been teaching for 34 years who I think would have been in the same boat that I was. So many of us complain about the veteran teachers who dont use or "don't want to learn" the technology. I know this woman very well and she was a teacher that was ahead of the times in the 70's and 80's. She was the one letting students ride motorcycles in the auditorium for a speech performance. She was the one encouraging students to showcase their talents in whatever ways the could. She was thinking outside of the box. I would not consider her a teacher that uses technology in a transforming way, I don't even think I could say that she falls into the adapting category. But, I am certain that it is not because she doesn't care, or that she doesnt want to learn. I truly think she feels that technology is advancing at such an exponential pace there is no way she can even begin to keep up, that she can't learn it. She's tried. It depresses her because she does struggle and she feels like a failure. I think she doesn't feel that she can teach with technology because she will humiliate herself. Today makes me wonder if there is any research out there on people who did not grow up the way kids today have. Is it possible that they are "wired" differently as well, thus making them unable to keep up? Just curious!!!

It amazes me all of the technology out there that teachers could be using but aren't and possibly due to the lack of administrative support. The Billy Joel movie would be awesome to use in a history class and there could be all kinds of activities that could be generated from that one movie. I am going to take that idea back to our fourth grade teachers and also talk to our principal so she would be on board.

Day 2

I was one of the people who didn't see the gorilla in the video, I'm also older than 26.  I was so focused on watching the basketball and trying to keep count that I probably would not have noticed anything else that happened.   It really was a good lesson in how you can lose focus of the big picture when you are only focusing on one thing. 

As for the copyright issues that we discussed, I think that there should be both an undergrad class/lesson/seminar and that it should be a part of a districts new teacher training.  I had never heard the 10% thing before, and as we saw in the class most of us had "heard" things that weren't exactly correct. 

I am amazed at the amount of technology that is at our fingertips. I can see the benefits that can come from using technology if used correctly in the classroom. What I wonder is, if technology is becoming important in the classroom are the Universities training future teachers on how to use technology? I know it is frustrating for many of us because we just don't know how to incorporate some of this in the classroom.

an adventure

Today's drive was an adventure, much like some of the things that we learned and will learn. This year, I went from a classroom with white /chalk boards and a screen with a stick to hold it down.... to a classroom with a smartboard, document camera, etc. I know that there is a lot that i can do, but i also feel that there should be a balance between types of presentations and assignments. I struggle with having the students do powerpoints or videos -- i wonder if they are doing cool things and learning or if they are merely showing their technology skills.

After today I have two feelings. I am excited to start integrating more technology into the things I do and I am depressed at the fact that my school seems to be behind in meeting students needs for teaching in ways they learn best. We are just now installing Promethean Boards in our core classes. The first day of use, the kids were so excited to get to use the boards it showed their "thirst" for technology. That experience reinforced the fact that kids do want to learn, they just get bored with the way we are teaching.

Amazing Technology:)

A couple highlights for me from today's class are:

SIFTABLES: Watching the video had me thinking of endless possibilities for these marvelous little gadgets and the students who could most benefit from this new technology.

Excel Activities: I have been wanting/needing for years to become more proficient in Excel. I had a ball today learning some basics of Excel.(Literacy Uses) I look forward to honing my Excel skills while working on class assignments (Adapting Uses) and then taking what I've learned and using it to become more productive for recording and analyzing data.(Transforming Uses)

New Language?

When we did the exercise with all of the new terms, I felt like I was learning a new language! There were so many new terms and gadgets out there that I had never heard before. I felt very behind. I guess it made me realized that I need to get myself familiar with new tools if I don't want to look so "old fashioned" and clueless. I don't like that feeling. I thought I knew "enough" about technology, comparing with some people at my school, but I guess I knew very little.

I like learning about Excel because it is useful. However, there are so many things to learn about this program, and I am afraid that I will forget it after taking this class.

New Stuff to Learn!

I heard some new technology terms that I had never been exposed to before: Mabeam, Radio frequency ids (RFID), Prezi, Online document repositories, Extranet, Mashups, Mesh, Digital dust, and Digital ink. I got a refresher on Excel and learned new ways to use Excel. The thing with Excel is that I need to use it more often so that I don’t forget how to use it. I have seen it before, but can never remember everything. It also seems that I have not had any special class or training on Excel. With all the formulas and things, it is not as easy to pick up as Microsoft Word. Still, I am excited to learn more and look forward to becoming a lot more tech-literate by the end of class.

I definitely enjoyed today! This class will be extremely applicable in both my own classroom and in a future position as a principal. Prior to this weekend I spoke to a friend who has been through the program. She said that this class was definitely one that she took a lot away from and that she is constantly utilizing the knowledge she gained in her position as a principal. I can easily see how that is possible!
I enjoyed the activity that broke the use of technology down into the three categories of literacy, adapting, and transforming. It is interesting to think about where I currently stand as a teacher and where I think my building stands. Also good to consider where I want to stand as an administrator and where I would hope to have the majority of my staff!

Feeling the need for this class

I was in high school in the 80's when computers were not abundant or much beyond the black screen with the green words and cursor. The people that did have home computers were considered the "rich" kids. As I have gotten older and used more technology in my job, I feel like I am computer literate but nothing more. I really need to get up to speed with all the new and latest technologies for me, my students and my own children. I am excited to take this class to learn things that the 21st century learner already knows so I can reach them!!!!

Excel vs. Sliced Bread

Wow....Excel is a wonderful tool. I have used it in the past and thought I was somewhat proficient-I have already learned a ton today!!

Weekend 1, Day 1

Technology is a blessing and a curse. I love it, yet i hate it. It's always fun to learn new shortcuts in Excel, PDF file conversions, and other tech-saavy methods. But I can't stand when my computer crashes--like when you're beginning an assignment in class...

I'm curious why our District doesn't have a technology plan, yet was just awarded a $250,000 technology grant. I'm not complaining, though. Our staff was just trained on the flip cameras, and have much more training in the future over a plethora of other gadgets we got in the grant.

I believe that public education will eventually be an electronic environment; no bricks or mortar. I can't wait to implement the technology we'll be taught in this course.

First Day

I find that working with Excel is a lot harder if you are watching something on a PC and then trying to find that same thing on a Mac. Also I feel that if you do not use it on a daily basis you can quickly forget how to use it. I hope that I can find a way to use it more on a daily basis so that I can utilize it more. I think that as a principal I probably would use it more. My principal now is very tech savy and it really comes in handy.

excel

I did learn a lot of new things about excel that I didn't even know were possible. As a principal, I would at least make sure all the software on every computer in my building was EXACTLY the same because noticing all the problems we had in our classroom today with smart people working on nice computers, I cannot imagine how frustrating it must be to teach computer applications to kids working with poor equipment. I really don't see a school being very successful if they are working with many different versions of a program like excel simultaneously.

March 20th

Today was a good first day of class. I really enjoyed the video about the shiftables. They seem really neat. I'm 25 and I want some!
Going through excel today has brought back a lot that I learned when I was younger. I did also learn about the comments, which is really neat. I think that would make remembering things that much easier when looking at a screen full of numbers.

I have realized that being out of "college" for a few years the vocabulary will be a big adjustment. The amount of technology is overwhelming, Excel made me feel at home. It is like playing golf, I just needed a couple of good shots to bring me back.

Technology Challenge

I know that I am not very technologically literate, but thought I was somewhat proficient. After todays class, I understand that I wasn't even close. I do understand how technology can be an administrators best friend when it comes to time management and efficiency, but it takes time to learn all this stuff. Then it seems like when you do, it changes. It is almost a full-time job keeping up with it all. But, I also see the benefits of knowing how to full use what is out there and it is somewhat exciting once you do learn it. The big challenge is finding applications for it so I do not forget what I learned.

Excel

I liked what you can do with the spread sheets, but I have a lot of work to do to completely understand how to use it. It will be a very useful tool when I have to sort scores and it will make things much easier to look at now that I know how to hide columns.

Holy Excel, Batman!

So for my internship my coordinator wanted me to take all of the students in my school and graph out who is at benchmark and who isn't in several different categories. I had visions of graph paper and a Magic Marker. Those visions have ebbed and I think that can start to collect and import data that would give my teachers a good idea of how their children are performing. It may even be useful enough that teachers will use it.

Dane

Class 3/20/2010

I learned a lot about what I do not know about technology today. There are many things I could use excel to do. I am wondering how much data teachers would find useful. I see RtI as requiring lots more data on students. I love gathering and analyzing data, but not all of my peers feel the same way. I am leaving today thinking about how to make things as quick and efficient as possible. How can I move from just being technology literate to using technology to tranfrom things happening in my school and community? How do I get a staff to work together to be innovative and try the newest types of technology?

March 20

Wow....is there a lot of technology out there that I have no idea how to use. For me the hardest part of using technology is finding the time to research it and learn how to use it appropriately. I really like the idea of the conditional formatting that you can do in excel. That is something I have not done before and can see a real benefit to, especially when trying to sort test data and make it more meaningful for my staff. Excel is a very powerful tool and it very overwhelming to learn how to use it. It's also one that I found that if you learn something about it and then don't use it, you can quickly forget how to use it. It was a great tool for our negotiations and working on salary spreadsheets and quickly being able to get total dollar amounts for our school board.

Excel

There is so much that you can do with excel that I didn't realize. Makes me want to go back to my building and get my info to start working on it before I forget how to set up the charts:)

So excited!

I am so glad to be finally learning excel.  Just with what we have learned today, I can see so many ways to better use my yearly data.  I'm so excited to get back to work and start putting this to use.

Excel

Technology and I don't always get along. In fact I wrote on my note card that I wasn't proficient in any area of technology. I am easily frustrated and sometimes intimidated by technology. Excel is one program that has always intimidated me. It was great to find out that it is not so scary, in fact it was rather easy. I was able to follow along in class just fine and complete the tasks with ease.

Dane Barner....aka Paul Blart (mall cop)

I really enjoyed watching Dane throw his weight around in the hallway today while other students were disrupting our learning environment....Thanks Dane!!

Does this work?

I am trying to find if I am allowed to post.

Welcome back! It is challenging keeping track of everything - it seems as if I just get every password organized and one needs to be changed! Our new supt. is very technology oriented. Our school has a wiki, but a lot of the veteran teachers don't want to be responsible for looking at that too.

It was nice, but sometimes frustrating working with Excel. I find ways to do things and then foget where they were. Practice, practice, practice

Lost

When it comes to technology I am lost. I am glad that this class is offered so that I can get an idea of what is out there to help my school succeed. I want to know how do you keep up to date with all of the changes that happen in technology.