Blogging can be used to communicate with stakeholders, because blogs create an open form of communication for parents, staff members, and community members. People can create newsletters to keep parents and community members informed of what’s going on. As teachers, parents and stake holders like to know what concepts will be taught. Stakeholders like to see a calendar of events, lessons, or activities of what is taught in the classroom on a daily basis. Blogs are a great way to technologically keep people connected and be accountable for the lessons on the calendar for that day.
Concerns of blogging are the privacy and predators that are usually involved. Students have to be careful of predators and spam that can come in contact with your blog. What is important is to set privacy boundaries so that spam and predators cannot post a comment without you first accepting or posting a comment. What is also important is that anyone can view a blog if you set it up that way. It is important a person setting up a blog does not post any personal information that can tell someone where you live or work. People should not post cell phone numbers, addresses or any other personal identification information for it is on the Internet for anyone to see. As educators we need to be protective of our students and allowing blogging. We need to be conscious of our efforts to keep them safe from predators.
Blogs hold a great deal of educational value. In this day and age blogs create engaging, collaborative interaction with others. Students can collaborate with another student from another county, district, state or even country. Students can learn from peer tutoring or peer collaboration. Blogs are a great way for students to learn from others and come up with new inventive ways of creating technological products. Students can see videos from other classrooms and then comment on what they have learned. I think blogs are a great asset to any classroom and students can learn a great deal from them.
From this class I learned that I am a pretty technologically savvy teacher but still with much to learn. I learned that I am open and willing to try new technology, especially in the classroom with mathematics. I already have a blog and I am still in favor of using it. I am a strong technology leader on my campus. I help the new teachers on my team with how to access data, gather it and use it on a daily basis. I find that I am very willing to help other staff members out with technology and I like to help students create visual products as well. I have a open minded attitude to technology and how it is done. I like it when my students teach me new ways of using Microsoft products or computer applications. I think I learn just as much from them as they do from me. They even tell me of bootleg movie websites and proxy websites.
I was very successful in carrying out the course assignments. I will say that technology assistance on my campus was a struggle. Our campus technology director was available but when I wanted to interview the district technology specialist he was not available. Many people working for the district have already “checked” out for the semester Christmas break. I found it hard for anyone to have time to communicate with me on technology. My principal and his secretary promised me a couple of documents and still didn’t pull through with it. I did think that my assistant principals and campus staff were most helpful with the decisions and papers I did have to write. This did not prevent me from completing or accomplishing my goals but it did slow me down.
I found that our assignments and projects were very relevant to work at school. I really enjoyed the professional development activities that came from our assignments. I am using first hand the smart board lessons that were designed to add technology to the mathematics classroom. My mentee is using first hand some of the professional development that was designed to gather, use and interpret data. If she had not been taught these things she would not know where or what to do the numbers involved.
I envisioned for this course to learn and use more technology in the classroom. I never thought that I would be considering putting technology in every facet of my mathematics classrooms. I find that students are far more receptive if technology is present. There is still resistance from other teaching partners in the math department. I think they will find it is much easier to use the technology in the classroom than to resist what the administration is working towards. I did achieve the outcomes I was trying to achieve and more. I found that students are more willing to help and create technological projects when the teacher is willing to try new things. I found this course to be one of the most interactive and helpful courses that can actually be applied in the classroom and later on in my administrative career.
Christmas was much better than last year. This year Addison slept through the night and was up by 6:30am. Lindsey wasn't happy to be opening presents by 7 am but youngest gets to set that time line. That's our new rule. Addie, the Kings, and the Reynolds went to church at 3 and then dinner at Ranchos and the Christmas story later in the evening. Having Addison a little more aware of things this year gave me a new meaning to Christmas. It was ever increasingly less about me and more about Jesus and the little one in our house. I really enjoyed the message that Rick Baldwin gave at the service on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus.
