"Predict where you will be in one year with your technology skills and what you will be doing with technology in the classroom"
"Predict." I don't want to predict my future. The future is so random. Honestly, you never really know what is going to happen. A million different things could happen to me between now and a year from now, so I will not even make an attempt to guess which of those million possible outcomes will be the correct one. I don't like that idea. Instead, I will write about what I hope for the future.
The first thing I would like to happen is to not be working for CRT by this time next year. I was so excited to get this job, but it's been almost 5 years and a part of me feels stuck there. Which is why I am getting this degree, to help give me the motivation and qualifications to get out of this company. I think, in general, CRT is a good company. I think we do a lot of good for the community and the people as well. We provide many different ways to assist the lower income people in and around the Hartford area. We offer a multitude of services, such as housing, free taxes prep, free and reduced cost early care and education, plus many more. The problem is that I don't feel "taken care of" as an employee. It feel like they (the CRT higher ups) can do whatever they want to us (the low members on the CRT totem poll). CRT is currently being audited by the government because there is some issues with payroll. A person who retired several years ago, and currently lives in Florida is on the payroll and makes more than $100,000 / year. That's a TON of money, especially from a Non-profit agency, especially for being retired and not even living int he state! I get frustrated when I hear things like this, and it makes me feel like I need to get out of this company before the ship sinks.
So, I hope that within a year I will have a job (preferably) within the public schools. I love working with preschoolers, so in an ideal world, I will be able to get a preschool aged job with in a public school system. In that (ideal) classroom, I would be able to put these skills (that I am learning) to good use. I will have a SMART Board, and be able to show the children the many wonderful aspects of the internet (such as watching animated videos I created, or other Web 2.0 sites).
That's my biggest hope for my (professional) future, getting a better job. Really, that's my only hope.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Instructional Animation
Instructional Animation
I like it. I like it a lot. Not much more to say than that, now is there.
Why do I like it?
I like instructional animation because it is fun. It is fun to plan, to create, to watch and to share. As of this posting, I have not actually completed my 514 weekly homework assignment of creating two instructional animations. However, I have some experience doing such a task from last semester when I completed the 532 Moodle class. I created a few animations to go along with my Moodle theme which was "Teaching Preschoolers Basic Life Skills." I made an animation teaching about table manners and pedestrian safety. It took me about an hour or so to create each. The reason it took me this time was because I had to think about a particular topic, what I wanted to say and sort of come up with a mental script. Next I had to pick my setting and characters, then put it all together to type in what each one was going to say and do. This may seem a bit tedious, but the results were completely worth the time and effort.
Instructional Animations are fun and beneficial, in the classroom setting, because they require the individual to be creative. People have to be creative to make up an animation because the message that is being taught has to be completed in a short span of time. I know goAnimate's time frame is only 2 minutes. It requires the creator to really focus on the message and is forced to simplify as needed. Do you remember that article we read about what makes things "sticky"? Simplicity is one of those qualities. Simplicity forces the user to really be creative to get the idea across in a fun and entertaining manner.
In my classroom, with 18 three- and four-year olds, I need to be constantly moving and talking. It's a very active age and their attention spans are very limited. It is difficult to sit down and directly teach them many skills. They learn by doing and exploring, not by sitting and listening to teachers talk and lengthy explanations. The benefits of Instructional Animation is that to show them one and have them watch it would be like showing them a TV program. They will focus and pay attention because they do not know that they are being taught a lesson, they think it's just something fun to look at. It's bright and colorful and fast paced, all things that children are naturally attracted to.
Another benefit of Instructional Animation would be that the teacher could use it as an assignment for the students to work on either during class time or at home. This could work with older students (maybe 3rd grade and older). They could be assigned the task of (similar to our assignment) thinking of a topic to be taught and creating a script, then working on actually bringing that topic into fruition by use of animation. This brings a lot of important skills that students can learn and demonstrate their capability of. Creating a script is good for literacy skills, depending on the particular topic they can work on math, science, critical thinking or any subject skills.
Instructional Animation can have many benefits for teachers and for students. It can help the teachers explore a topic and the animation can make the lesson more"sticky." The teachers are using their creativity in a fun and exciting medium for the students to see and learn from. The students can also benefit not only from watching the animations but also from creating them on their own. Animations are fun and educational, who'd have thought those two ideas can go together?
I like it. I like it a lot. Not much more to say than that, now is there.
Why do I like it?
I like instructional animation because it is fun. It is fun to plan, to create, to watch and to share. As of this posting, I have not actually completed my 514 weekly homework assignment of creating two instructional animations. However, I have some experience doing such a task from last semester when I completed the 532 Moodle class. I created a few animations to go along with my Moodle theme which was "Teaching Preschoolers Basic Life Skills." I made an animation teaching about table manners and pedestrian safety. It took me about an hour or so to create each. The reason it took me this time was because I had to think about a particular topic, what I wanted to say and sort of come up with a mental script. Next I had to pick my setting and characters, then put it all together to type in what each one was going to say and do. This may seem a bit tedious, but the results were completely worth the time and effort.
Instructional Animations are fun and beneficial, in the classroom setting, because they require the individual to be creative. People have to be creative to make up an animation because the message that is being taught has to be completed in a short span of time. I know goAnimate's time frame is only 2 minutes. It requires the creator to really focus on the message and is forced to simplify as needed. Do you remember that article we read about what makes things "sticky"? Simplicity is one of those qualities. Simplicity forces the user to really be creative to get the idea across in a fun and entertaining manner.
In my classroom, with 18 three- and four-year olds, I need to be constantly moving and talking. It's a very active age and their attention spans are very limited. It is difficult to sit down and directly teach them many skills. They learn by doing and exploring, not by sitting and listening to teachers talk and lengthy explanations. The benefits of Instructional Animation is that to show them one and have them watch it would be like showing them a TV program. They will focus and pay attention because they do not know that they are being taught a lesson, they think it's just something fun to look at. It's bright and colorful and fast paced, all things that children are naturally attracted to.
Another benefit of Instructional Animation would be that the teacher could use it as an assignment for the students to work on either during class time or at home. This could work with older students (maybe 3rd grade and older). They could be assigned the task of (similar to our assignment) thinking of a topic to be taught and creating a script, then working on actually bringing that topic into fruition by use of animation. This brings a lot of important skills that students can learn and demonstrate their capability of. Creating a script is good for literacy skills, depending on the particular topic they can work on math, science, critical thinking or any subject skills.
Instructional Animation can have many benefits for teachers and for students. It can help the teachers explore a topic and the animation can make the lesson more"sticky." The teachers are using their creativity in a fun and exciting medium for the students to see and learn from. The students can also benefit not only from watching the animations but also from creating them on their own. Animations are fun and educational, who'd have thought those two ideas can go together?
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Something New With Technology
"I did something new with technology today."
Today is Sunday June 9, 2013, and to be perfectly honest, no, I have not done anything new with technology today. The only thing that might count, is that I figured out my mother's Wi-Fi password. That took all of 5 seconds and was nothing new. If we expand the title from "new today" to "new this week" than the answer would be "yes, I have learned new things about technology." So, that's what I will be discussing today.
Currently, I am enrolled in Dr.Abed's EDT 510 Photoshop class (Apple S!). I am LOVING this course! I almost wish I could take it during the real school year, rather than have everything jammed into 5 weeks, but oh well. I am learning so much about this new technology! The first week we learned about selection tools and how to take only 1 part of your picture and select it. There are many different ways that we learned about, my favorites being the magnetic lasso and the magic wand. Last week we learned about changing the colors and making the image look different (by making it opaque or adding a mask). This is a really neat tool. I n the classroom, many of the children are very visual, they need that image to grab their attention, to better help them "see" what you are talking about. Photoshop comes in handy that way because I can create the message I am sending to my students. Other than Photoshop, and of course 514 class, I am taking the summer easy, technology-wise, so that's all that's new on my front. Can't wait to read about what's new with you in your blog!
Today is Sunday June 9, 2013, and to be perfectly honest, no, I have not done anything new with technology today. The only thing that might count, is that I figured out my mother's Wi-Fi password. That took all of 5 seconds and was nothing new. If we expand the title from "new today" to "new this week" than the answer would be "yes, I have learned new things about technology." So, that's what I will be discussing today.
Currently, I am enrolled in Dr.Abed's EDT 510 Photoshop class (Apple S!). I am LOVING this course! I almost wish I could take it during the real school year, rather than have everything jammed into 5 weeks, but oh well. I am learning so much about this new technology! The first week we learned about selection tools and how to take only 1 part of your picture and select it. There are many different ways that we learned about, my favorites being the magnetic lasso and the magic wand. Last week we learned about changing the colors and making the image look different (by making it opaque or adding a mask). This is a really neat tool. I n the classroom, many of the children are very visual, they need that image to grab their attention, to better help them "see" what you are talking about. Photoshop comes in handy that way because I can create the message I am sending to my students. Other than Photoshop, and of course 514 class, I am taking the summer easy, technology-wise, so that's all that's new on my front. Can't wait to read about what's new with you in your blog!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
"If only..."
If only I knew this about technology, I would...
How does one go about answering that question? Wow! Technology is so broad, but I guess that gives us plenty of room in which to find an appropriate response.
When deciding to go back to school, I knew that I wanted to stay in the Education field. I enjoy teaching and being in the classroom and working with kids, but what exactly in Education should I choose to specialize in? For me, Educational Technology was a great way to go, because this is our future. It's not like computers and the internet and all the other programs we are learning about are going away. So, for me I guess the opening question would be, "If only I knew how interesting / exciting / useful / technology is, then I would have gone back to school several years ago."
Being a part of this program has been such a wonderful experience for me. I am learning about new and exciting things every single day. For example, I now Web2.0 sites have been around for a while, but I have never heard of them or (obviously) used them. Last semester, while taking the 532, Moodle course, I learned about all these wonderful, (and free!) websites in which I can include in my teaching repertoire. This is just one example of all the practical little tidbits that these professors have introduced me too.
When I finished my Bachelor's Degree, I always knew I would eventually go back for my Master's, it was just a matter of time. I procrastinated for years, but now that I'm here and I am actually doing it, I feel slightly bad thinking that maybe I should have done this years ago. Maybe if I had that I would not be in the situation I am in. I work for a non-profit agency as part of a Head Start program. I truly believe that I am making a difference in the lives of these children. However, sometimes one needs to think about one's own future, and I do not believe I have a future in this company. Maybe if I had gone back to school earlier I would not still be working at this job, an I would be in a better state in my life. Oh well, shoulda, woulda, coulda. I try not to dwell on the past, maybe I would be in a better state, but I can't worry about that. What I can worry about is using this new knowledge and abilities to help myself and make my future the one that I want it to be.
"If only I knew how interesting / exciting / useful / technology is, then I would have gone back to school several years ago." Well, now I do know and I am in school, and I am going to take all of what I am learning and use it to help myself and help all of my current and future students.
How does one go about answering that question? Wow! Technology is so broad, but I guess that gives us plenty of room in which to find an appropriate response.
When deciding to go back to school, I knew that I wanted to stay in the Education field. I enjoy teaching and being in the classroom and working with kids, but what exactly in Education should I choose to specialize in? For me, Educational Technology was a great way to go, because this is our future. It's not like computers and the internet and all the other programs we are learning about are going away. So, for me I guess the opening question would be, "If only I knew how interesting / exciting / useful / technology is, then I would have gone back to school several years ago."
Being a part of this program has been such a wonderful experience for me. I am learning about new and exciting things every single day. For example, I now Web2.0 sites have been around for a while, but I have never heard of them or (obviously) used them. Last semester, while taking the 532, Moodle course, I learned about all these wonderful, (and free!) websites in which I can include in my teaching repertoire. This is just one example of all the practical little tidbits that these professors have introduced me too.
When I finished my Bachelor's Degree, I always knew I would eventually go back for my Master's, it was just a matter of time. I procrastinated for years, but now that I'm here and I am actually doing it, I feel slightly bad thinking that maybe I should have done this years ago. Maybe if I had that I would not be in the situation I am in. I work for a non-profit agency as part of a Head Start program. I truly believe that I am making a difference in the lives of these children. However, sometimes one needs to think about one's own future, and I do not believe I have a future in this company. Maybe if I had gone back to school earlier I would not still be working at this job, an I would be in a better state in my life. Oh well, shoulda, woulda, coulda. I try not to dwell on the past, maybe I would be in a better state, but I can't worry about that. What I can worry about is using this new knowledge and abilities to help myself and make my future the one that I want it to be.
"If only I knew how interesting / exciting / useful / technology is, then I would have gone back to school several years ago." Well, now I do know and I am in school, and I am going to take all of what I am learning and use it to help myself and help all of my current and future students.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)