EDL 518 Final Post

The activities I enjoyed most about class are:
1. Learning how to make an video with MovieMaker
2. Learning how to make a Podcast
3. Having time to research sites
4. Having time to work on projects in class.
5. Excel activities done together was very beneficial.
I know that this course is going on-line, but I think one of the most beneficial aspects of the class was working on projects during class time and being able to have access to Dr. Closen and other members of the class for assistance.
Thank you for an enjoyable final course.

5/6/10

Although this blog is dated Thursday, it is actually a comment for 5/2/10, post-last class of EDL 518. I learned how little I know about technology in this class, but I also was forced to use it and to try it out. One of the best things was the time to explore and the time to collaborate with other teachers/future administrators. I learned of a lot of websites from my colleagues of where to get information that I need (via the Scavenger Hunt) so that is definitely part of the course to keep - the Scavenger hunt not only had us look for stuff but also sharing our two faves with the class helped me see a whole lot more. Wendy form Moline provided me with priceless information about ESL for which I am grateful. Jenny from Galesburg told me a lot about Reading Recovery, and made me which I was trained so that I could have been using it all year with one of my ELLs who is dyslexic (undiagnosed officially) and is an extremely low reader (Kindergarten level but in the 7th grade). Dr. Closen, you are a great instructor for many reasons. However, I am most grateful for a) your dry sense of humor, 2) your patience when we have technological difficulties and your willingness to help, and d) your easygoing manner. Thanks everyone for sharing.

Sunday 5/2

I really enjoyed this class mainly because most everything done in class I can use immediately. I think that the multimedia and scavenger hunt will be the most useful short term. I would like to see this class use prezi or spicynodes for a presentation to turn in. This, in my mind makes more sense for this class than a research paper. Overall, this is one of the more valuable classes I have taken in term of affecting the way I do my job. Thanks Dr. Closen.

5-2

I loved the Blog assignment!!  I think that this will be one of the most useful things for me.  I'm not looking forward to scanning all my assignments (the ones that I didn't create), but once that work is done, it will be so easy from then on.  I hated the wiki.  After talking to other people, it turns out that those who love wikis hate blogs and vice versa.

I'm with Dane on the research paper and the IIRC paper.  The point of the IIRC assignment seemed to be to prove that we could cut and paste, and couldn't the podcast replace the research paper (of course I'm also with Dean as my paper isn't done yet and the podcast is).   

While I was hating the webquest assignment while I was doing it, I also understand the value of doing an assignment like that.  Each web site is so different and trying to find the information that you need is often difficult. 

Overall I really enjoyed this class and learned a lot!  Thank you for a great 3 weekends!

Suggestions

I think that the huge list of websites we explored the first weekend was a cool thing to do. However, I'm not sure what that would look like in an online format.

I do not think the research paper is a worthwhile activity. (that may explain why mine is not done!) I'm sure that is an NCATE thing, but that's what I think.

Wiki, Blog, multimedia, podcast = cool
Why don't we do a Prezi. Learning that new system would be fun.

Great class. Really enjoyed it.

Dane

Class Overview

I found the wiki page and blog assignments to be very useful. There are a lot of ways administrators could benefit from using excel. I thought the webquest could have been shortened. During the class I was hoping to learn how to create a video and transfer it into something such as movie maker.

My suggestion for putting this online is to give very detailed directions. It really helped me to read the handouts you gave. The rubrics were very helpful. I was not sure how long some assingments should be. You might want to add this to the syllabus. Overall, I thought the class incorporated projects which benefited both teachers and administrators.

Sunday

I enjoyed the opportunity to see the various presentation and websites. It would be very nice to have an infinite amount of time to look at and for the various sites.
I look forward to developing and using some of these tools for my class. Students definitely learn differently than when i first taught in 1979.

I liked the multi-media and the podcast, I think they will be useful in the future.  I liked the Blog assignment metter than the Wiki.  I am not good with technology, but you made this topic easier to understand and I now have a better idea of how to solve a technology problem. If there was one thing I would get rid of it would be the research paper just because they are old news.

Sunday.
It was interesting to see the different multimedia projects. There are some interesting educational sites. I could see myself using many of the websites or videos in class. Of all of the assignments the url searches will bethe most helpful for me.

5/2/10

Things that were beneficial excel project, blog, pod casting, scavenger hunt, and multi media projects.

May 2

I really enjoyed watching everyone's presentations today. I feel we have all learned new skills in the area of school technology. I really liked being forced to produce the assignments and projects. We tend to get too busy in our lives that we simply don't take the time to learn new things or get too frustrated with technology. I also REALLY enjoyed the food..THANKS and good luck to all of those finishing the program!!

course "eval"

This course was great and there is not much I would change! I think the webquest was frustrating for some of us, but I definitely see your reason in having us complete it. Some of my favorite things that I think were definitely worth while were the multimedia project, podcast, and the scavenger hunt. We will have a ton of resources when we complete this course and I really apprecaite that. I feel like I can go back to my own building and be leader when it comes to technology after this course! Thank you!

Last Day

I really enjoyed seeing some of the projects that our class created.  I gave me some ideas for future projects and it was insightful to see others projects and buildings.  I feel A LOT more up-to-date with my technology skills after taking this class and feel like I am more motivated to continue to learn.  I also found it helpful to do the scavenger hunt.  When we get copies of all the sites from everyone in the class, I will create a resource for teachers in my building.  There were a lot of good websites previewed!

For future classes, the only thing I did not find to be of value for me, maybe because I am from Iowa, is the WebQuest.  I really thought that the other assignments were helpful to my learning.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the different multimedia projects today. If our minds can come up with all of these different ways to use movie maker, think of what our students could do! I am very excited about my own project and can't wait to show my students and get feedback from parents.
Overall I think this is one of the most useful classes I have ever taken and it has opened my mind to many new things. I am only 25 and I already do a poor job keeping up with technology, this course has definitely given me a wake up call!

The Last Sunday

This class has been very informative. I enjoyed learning about all of the different homepages. My favorite was iGoogle. This class really got me out of my comfort zone with regards to technology. It was a challenge, but I persevered. I just hope I don't forget what I have learned by the time I decided to leave corrections and venture back in to the "world" and teach "out on the streets."

I thought that the projects like the podcast and multimedia projects were great, but frustrating. Even though I have no use for the blog or wiki, I see the value in them. I think the scavenger hunt was a bit of a time waster.

last day

My list of educational websites is growing considerably. I'm amazed at the resources available. A couple weeks ago I felt like I was drowning in a pool of technology; a year ago i wasn't even in the pool. Now it seems like i'm treading water--albeit barely. Multi media presentations can be very powerful and productive. I'll certainly use those as an administrator. This was a great class that will certainly enhance my educational abilities.

last sunday

I was very impressed by not only the technical aspects of everyone's multimedia presentations, but especially their content. As a teacher, we rarely get to know, especially see, what projects and field trips other classes take part in. This project did exactly that. Nice job everyone! This was a fun class and I learned a ton. Have a great summer everybody!

Dos de Mayo...

I really enjoyed watching everyone's multimedia presentations today. I liked the creativity of the different uses for the presentation. It seems everyone is using them in their classrooms or at work for some use. How wonderful!
I think what I enjoyed most about this class (aside for the lovely snacks today, thanks guys!) were the multimedia presentation and podcast assignment.
I look forward to putting these skills to use in my classroom and as an administrator.....

Sunday, May 2

Today's class was very interesting and it was nice to see everyone's multimedia project. People are so talented and creative, I wish I had their skill and ability when it comes to creating these projects. I have learned a lot through this class and have enjoyed visiting all of the websites, even some of them from the webquest yesterday.....although they make my head hurt! Thanks for all of the info and resources for us to use!

Igoogle

I enjoyed looking at Igoogle, netvibes, and pageflakes websites. I personally like Igoogle and Pageflakes. Igoogle was very easy to customize. The gadgets were very cool and easy to add.

It was also interesting to look at people's projects. Everyone was very creative. I assume that everyone got some kind of frustration while working on those projects, but I learned a lot. I know that my wiki page, and blog page will be useful. It was neat to be able to put a multimedia and podcast project together too.

May 2nd

I enjoyed seeing all of the sites and projects others created today. I still have a lot to learn about using technology. I feel like this class has helped to push me in the right direction. After sharing my projects with others, a couple of teachers have updated or created projects. Educators sometimes just need a gentle push or led in the right direction.

Saturday.
I felt the pain of a few in the class, with converting video to wmv. Bit U finally overcame my deficiencies with video conversion.

post for 5/1/10

Blog for 5/1/10

My Mac is out of commission until my new charger arrives in the mail. For this reason, I have been unable to get to the class blog. I have it saved as a favorite on my Mac. I also do not have internet at home until my mac is recovered. My husband brought home his Sony work laptop and it is useless when it comes to connecting to the internet anywhere out of his school because they have a Nazi tech coordinator who has control issues.

That being said, Saturday’s class was incredibly productive – able to get the podcast and the multimedia presentation completed. However, Sarah and I could not get the presentation to play, so I fear we forgot to “publish.” This will become a Sunday job.

I liked seeing the websites that other people found on their scavenger hunt. I wrote down everything I liked and found it very useful. I love having all of these new ideas to use as a teacher. This class I would almost say is more useful to teachers than for administrators because there are so many opportunities to use technology to teach students. It makes learning so much more interactive for students, and they are clearly more engaged when technology is part of their leanring.

5-1

I have such a headache from looking through some of these websites.  I truly hate the ISBE site, it is one of the most user unfriendly sites that I have ever visited.  Looking up things there are a nightmare.  The excel projects are great, I have always wanted to know how to do many of the things that we have learned.  My only fear is that I don't use excel enough to really remember how to do it all.

websites

Today I realized how important it is to have a user friendly website. Trying to dig into information and find exactly what you are looking for can be very frustrating. I have to remember that this is what it will be like when I am a principal. Looking at different websites to find information. I am sure that we will use these sites a lot. Let's just hope I'm better at finding the information than I was today!

Technology

I have learned so much in this class, but at the same time I have never been so frustrated.  I think the two things that I will take advantage of will be the blog and the ability to do a pod-cast.

We laughed, we cried, we threw our computers...

Okay so big deal, I can do things with Excel now. Not well, but I can use what I learned today in my school tomorrow (or Monday as it were). I was able to put together a presentation that taught me the skills I would need to be able to create other presentations that could be used in school. There could be an application for our awards ceremony, for a music-pitching movie before a musical, or something to be shown at a board meeting showcasing what is being done in our school. This is cool.

The webquest = not cool.

Dane

Today was an interesting day. I found the podcast to be a good experience. When we listened to it, you realize how valuable a tool this can be. Finishing the with the webquest was interesting. It was both frustrating and necessay. I thought Dr. Closens point about doing here and knowing it now beats looking like an idiot when you get a job and cannoy find information for people.

Saturday, May 1

I enjoyed the Podcast activity until we lost our original and had to redo, however, our redo only took 20 minutes while the original took over an hour to create. I've been messing around with Audacity at home while I play the guitar and sing. Audacity reaffirms why I am a teacher and not a professional musician/singer. My four year old son enjoyed hearing his voice recorded singing the ABC's.

5/1/2010

I put off taking this class because technology is not really my strength but after doing all of the projects I wish I would have taken it sooner. Knowing more about excel would have been very helpful earlier on.

May 1

I found today's excel work a little frustrating, but very beneficial. Working with a Mac can be a little challenging when 90% of the class is using a p.c. I do however think excel is a wonderful tool.

I also thought creating a podcast in an hour and a half was very cool. I have always wanted to learn how to utilize this type of technology.

Saturday, May 1st

Happy May day. This morning went very fast. I really liked the experience of working on a podcast. I think I will use this in the future. I'm looking forward to getting my multimedia presentation turned in and presented. Myself and Jen worked very hard on it.
I am looking forward to seeing more of what people put on their scavenger hunt.
I am not looking forward to finishing the webquest of doom.

See you tomorrow 518. :-)

Saturday - May 1

The webquest activity at the end of the day was pretty frustrating, although I think it was really good for all of us to work though. There is so much information and so many websites that as administrators we need to be aware of that this assignment just touches the tip of the iceberg. I think having some time to visit the websites not while we are sitting in class will hopefully stick with us enough that when it comes time to actually be a principal we will remember that these resources are there. I was really impressed with the Illinois Principal's Association PD opportunities and wish that our prinicpal would share them with the staff, because there are many of them listed on the website that would be useful for teachers as well as administrators.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Today has been a very frustrating day. The information is great, really and has been a character building experience. Our supt is very technology savvy and we now have blogs, wikis tweets...etc. SO i must get with the program. I can see good uses for all of this and hope to have opportunity and more patience for this later this year!

3rd Sat. Reflection

After seeing Ben's multimedia project I am excited to see everyone else's tomorrow. I was very impressed with Ha's wiki and blog also! Even though I find the little scavenger hunt things rather tedious, I do see the value because I had no idea that I would find the schedule of payments/nonpayments toward my district with certain programs and other obscure things like that. See you all tomorrow.

Today's projects

The two items that were very helpful from today's class were the excel project and the Podcast.  I use excel often to formulate data from MAP testing, ITBS, SRI and summer ALEKS progress.  There were some "tricks" that I learned today that will probably cut my time down tremendously when working on these projects. 
The other project that was fun/interesting was the Podcast.  I plan on putting that Podcast on my blog for parents.  It is a good was to get information out especially to people who don't have a lot of time, or patience, to read newletters that are packed with information that is of no importance to the reader.  With the Podcast, those that are interested will be able to hear/view the program.  If they are not interested, they do not have to listen to it!

I feel like I am becoming more up-to-date with my technological skills and will be more comfortable using the with parents and students.

"Help" really does help.

Today I have been thoroughly frustrated by technology. But I did discover that "Help" really does help. I think this was the first time in my life that when I had difficulty and went to "Help" and it actually had an answer for me. It was amazing. I was able to complete my multimedia presentation after that.

ISBEIASAIASBIASBO

Good to know that there are like 50 sites detailing anything you want to know regarding state or federal education policies. I'm not sure why my principal looks at me with a confused look each time I mention one of these sites to him! I liked looking up the financial information specific to my district. You look at school operations a little differently when you know how much they cost...

May 1st

Today I enjoyed doing work on both Garageband and Excel. I am considering moving from the lower elementary to upper next year, and I think excel would be extremely helpful now that I may have to figure letter grades! It is nice to have the wiki page to help with excel because there are so many formulas and tricks to remember. The Vodcast we created on Garage band is very informative and I think my partner is actually going to try and present it to parents at a meeting as she is a guidance counselor and the content focuses on "sexting," an issue that I'm sure she sees in her own building and community. I teach young enough children that I do not deal with it as much, but I am certain I will have exposure next year if I decide to move up!

May 1st

The past few weeks I have learned a lot about technology programs through trial and error. I really enjoyed creating my own wiki page. It will be a great place to store documents and share information with other educators. My students really enjoyed posting on a blog. They have not had many opportunities to use technology in my classroom. I look forward to incorporating more in the future.

My students also love when music is put with pictures and slides to present information. It amazed me how a little music can help to hold their attention. They love teachertube and youtube videos. I appreciated others sharing the great sites they found and use.

Podcast

Podcast was an interesting assignment. We were having a little difficulty putting everything together. Then we had problem saving it. However, by redoing it several times, I think I will remember how to do it for a long time.

Excel is always nice to learn. I would like to use it more often in the future. It makes everything much easier and quicker.

benefit of 518

As a teacher, I'm reaping the rewards of taking this class early in the edl program. I've used wordle, wiki's, and other wonders of technology like the excel tools including conditional formatting and formulating costs. I think all school districts should include technology workshops utilizing some of the same concepts and programs we've covered so far.