Thing #15- RSS

Rich Site Summary takes feeds from other sites and delivers them to you in a constantly updated format. 

Thing #14 - Blog Reader

I chose blog #15-This Week in Education. It linked me to blogs found on Scholastic.com. I found some very interesting blogs about teachers shortages. I found this article: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/tfa_departs/ about a group of newly trained teachers leaving schools. As much publicity as our schools get, I am surprised to find some much worse off. The blog was well designed, with useful links and articles that would be insightful for teachers. I was surprised Scholastic had a news section.

http://www.scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/

Thing #22- Conference Reflection

I attended 16 sessions of the 2012 WV Technology Conference. One session I attended was by Bill Smith from Samsung about the Samsung Galaxy Tablet. I was interested in this session because I received a tablet in August 2012 and I hoped the session could show me what else it could do. The session included a great deal of information about Samsung Electronics overall. I do see the tablet as something that could be very helpful in the classroom. I use my tablet to monitor behaviors by using Internet based behavior management software.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zgjr13hszt7l9uv/16Sessionsmaster_techconference_certificate.pdf?m

Thing #13: Mid-Module Reflection

The journey so far has been rewarding yet difficult. At times, I have felt overwhelmed by the whole process. After the summer meetings, I still had unanswered questions, yet was ready to begin. I went through a period where I printed off every guide, list, and table I could find on WVLearns in an attempt to get an overall picture of the work required. Once I did this, I sat down and went over every aspect and checked off things I had already completed and made notes on what still needed to be done.

When the cohort leader visited to me, I had a great deal of questions answered and was given assurance that I was doing well so far. Now, I just keep working away little-by-little, bit-by-bit on assignments. Someone in the TIS programs said once, "work on assignments every week." I have found this impossible to do as working in school takes all my time and working my second job on the weekend doesn't help either. I am working on the assignments when I get time and feel up to it. There is light at the tunnel, I just have not seen it yet!

Thing #9: Learn from Podcast

I listed to a podcast made by the previous State Superintendent Steve Paine about how education is changing. This was explained as the basis for 21st Century Learning. He explained we need to compete with other countries on global standardized tests. He feels teachers need to use more technology and project based learning to better prepare our students for the global workforce.

Podcasts could be used by teachers in numerous ways. Teachers can use these to supplement lessons, reinforce lessons, or help students understand global perspectives. I would encourage teachers to listen to podcasts before using in the classroom.

http://wvde.state.wv.us/global21/podcast/