Final Blog

This is my final blog for my EDUC 597 Technology class.  I have actually really enjoyed blogging this semester, and I might even continue a blog for my class.  I have learned a lot about technology this semester, and I look forward to implementing the technology that I learned about in my classroom in the near future.

Three New Things I was Introduced to in this Class:

1. Great Apps for my iPad - My favorite class was probably the night that we learned about all the great apps for our iPads.  I use several of the apps for personal use, and I know that I will be able to use many of the apps as an administrator. 
2. Scoop.it! - This is a great website that I used to help me with research for my paper.  This is also a site that I think can be beneficial for my students in organizing information for different projects.
3. Blogger - I had heard of blogs before this class but I had never written a blog of my own.  Blogging is a great way to express your feelings and opinions, and people can read your blog if they want to hear what you have to say.

Two Questions I Have:

1. How can we properly educate our students about digital citizenship?  Teaching our students how to be responsible digital citizens is very important in today's society, and I want to make sure that I know how to properly educate them.  It is important to continuously teach students about digital citizenship.
2. How can I use LiveBinders in my classroom as a type of portfolio assessment?  I think that LiveBinders might be something that I could use in my classroom.  I just have to figure out the best way to utilize this tool.

One Thing I Will Incorporate in My Classroom:

1. My students already have a Symbaloo webmix that I created as their homepages so that they can easily access all the websites that we use in class.  I also believe that I will be able to use some of this technology to my benefit when I become an administrator.  I especially enjoyed the class about iPads, and I believe that there are lots of apps that can make the life of an administrator much easier.

I love technology, and being a business education teacher I use and teach about technology every day.  This class introduced me to several new technologies, and I was also reminded about many different websites that I had learned about at one time but had forgotten to use in my classroom!  Technology is here to stay, and as educators, we need to be sure to teach our students how to use that technology correctly.

Christmas Time! :)

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is time to move on to the Christmas season.  The day after Thanksgiving was spent decorating the outside of my house for Christmas.  I love Christmas lights and the way that they just make everything feel more festive.  I try to keep my decorations plain and simple, with wreaths on the windows and white lights on the bushes and around the windows.  This year I added a cute little snowman to the front yard.  I also really enjoy decorating the inside of my house.  I am still in the process of getting all the inside decorations out, but I have put up my Christmas tree.  I just love Christmas time, and now that my house feels like Christmas, maybe I can get motivated to get started shopping! 

Portfolio...FINISHED!!!

I am excited and relieved to say that my portfolio for Dr. Spivey's class is finally finished!  And I still have a whole week before it is due.  I always tend to be someone who procrastinates and waits until the last minute to get things finished, so I am very proud of myself for finishing my portfolio early.  I will probably still wait until next Monday to turn it in because I'm sure that I will feel the need to read and reread every entry to make sure that everything is perfect.  But it sure feels good to say that I am finished.  However, I then quickly realize that I still have 31 more standards to complete for the Spring!  

Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving!  This is one of my favorite holidays.  You get to spend time with loved ones, eat tons and tons of great food, and watch football!  We always spend Thanksgiving at my sister's house.  Everyone brings their favorite dishes to share.  This was kind of a sad Thanksgiving because my grandfather passed away recently.  This is the first Thanksgiving that I have not had a grandparent around.  Even though he was not there, we were able to tell stories and remember all the great Thanksgivings that he was able to spend with us.  I have so much to be thankful for, and I had a great day spending time with friends and family!

BYOD and Mobile Learning

I believe that bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and mobile learning is something that can be very beneficial to student learning if the school system's network is capable of handling it.  Having that many computers all demanding Internet and network access can be very stressful on the infrastructures.  I believe that Madison County is working toward readying our computer network for BYOD one day in the near future.  One negative that I see with BYOD at New Hope High School and other low income schools in our area is the fact that not all students (or even the majority of our students) have access to their own technology devices to use in school.  This means that BYOD will not really be beneficial to the majority of students.  Providing all students with their own mobile device seems like the only way that everyone will be able to benefit from the technology.  However, this is very expensive and something that most schools will not be able to afford.  I am excited about the day that all students will have access to learning with their own computer both at school and at home.

Really!?!

The University of Alabama football team has to be the luckiest team in the history of sports!  No one thought that it would be possible for both #1 and #2 to lose in the same night, but it happened to Oregon and Kansas State last night!  How is it possible that for the past 2 seasons, Alabama has lost a regular season game, yet they will most likely still find a way to make it back to the National Championship game.  Don't get me wrong, I would love to see an SEC team in the championship game, but why does it always have to be Alabama?  While I am an Auburn fan, I do cheer for the other SEC teams when they are not playing Auburn.  But I am really beginning to wonder if Auburn will ever get the chance to be the team where luck goes their way.  We just always seem to be on the bad luck side of things.  Remember the 2004 season where Auburn was undefeated but was somehow left out of the National Championship game!  Who knows, maybe Saturday will be our day (I seriously doubt it, but one can hope)!  War Eagle!

Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship is something that everyone should be taught about.  It is very important in today's technology-driven society that people know how to properly use their technology.  Parents and teachers should teach students about appropriate technology use.  However, there are times when it seems as if some adults do not know how to be a responsible digital citizen.  It is important as a teacher to make sure that you are setting a good example with your technology.  From teaching students basic digital literacy and how to use a computer to making sure that they know how to be safe on the Internet, digital citizenship should be an integral part of the school curriculum. 

iPads and Special Education

I believe that iPads can be very beneficial for Special Education students.  I have seen students in the self-contained classroom at New Hope High School greatly benefit from the hands-on learning experience of using an iPad.  There are many apps that are specially designed for special education students.  iPads allow students to be hands-on with their learning, and they get instant feedback on what they are doing.  They are also easy to use and very portable, so students can use the iPads anywhere, anytime.  iPads can be used in many different ways, including helping with communication and fine motor skills.  I believe that iPads and similar technologies are very beneficial in the Special Education classroom.

The Joys of Being the Webmaster

I am the webmaster at New Hope High School.  I did not know this until recently, so I am in the process of updating our very outdated website.  This is something that I enjoy doing, but the problem is that I just can't seem to find enough time to work on the website.  I have recruited some help from our assistant principal and our librarian, so we are going to take a day off on Thursday and work on the website.  We decided that this was the only way that we would actually sit down and work on it.  Hopefully we will be able to successfully update the website and make it much more user-friendly than it is right now.  Having a good school website is very important in today's technology-driven society.  We can keep parents updated on important happenings at school, and it also allows parents to connect with their children's teachers.

Flipped Classroom

The flipped classroom is a concept that many teachers are beginning to experiment with in their classrooms.  Students watch lectures on their own time, and then are able to work on assignments, labs, and activites with the aid of the teacher during school.  It really puts students in charge of their own learning.  Teachers are more like facilitators of the learning rather than lecturing to the students.  I really like the idea of the flipped classroom.  My classes are really suited to the flipped classroom model.  I rarely lecture, and students are always hands-on with the computer completing assignments.  The flipped classroom really allows students to work at their own pace and control their learning.  I am going to be piloting the Microsoft IT Academy in my classroom next semester, and it definitely sounds like it will be like a flipped classroom.  Students will watch videos and then complete exercises on the computer.  The only problem I see is that all the learning will most likely have to take place in my classroom.  The majority of my students do not have access to a computer at their house.  I believe that the flipped classroom idea will be integrated into more and more classrooms in the near future.

SIFAT

Last weekend I had the opportunity to chaperone a youth retreat to SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology).  SIFAT is located in Lineville, Alabama, and its mission is to educate people around the world about using appropriate technology.  This is not the technology that we think about here, like computers, cell phones, and iPads.  SIFAT focuses on technology that helps people have clean water, nutritious food, and safe shelter.  I have been on probably more than 30 youth trips in the past 8 years, but this trip was like none other.  We were forced to live like millions of people live around the world, in conditions that are very uncomfortable and different from what we are used to.  Friday night and Saturday morning were much like a normal youth retreat, with meals in the cafeteria, spending the night on bunk beds, and participating in team-building activities.  However, Saturday afternoon things changed.  We were given a potato sack and told to pack anything we thought that we needed for the next 24 hours in that sack.  We then went on a mile and a half hike with our stuff to the Global Village.  Before entering the village, we had to go through customs, where most of the things that we thought we "needed" were taken away.  All we were allowed to keep was our sleeping bag, water bottle, flashlight, Bible, and any medications.  Pillows, extra clothes, cell phones, and other personal items were taken back to the lodge.  For the next 24 hours we learned about various cultures very different from our own.  We experienced slum life, where we had to work for money to buy food and shelter.  We slept in a hut in "Uganda," and it felt like the longest, coldest night of my life.  We cooked our food over the fire the next morning before heading back to civilization.  As one of the youth put it, "it was the best worst experience of our lives." We were exposed to how life is for millions of people around the world, and we were able to see how truly blessed we are.  Both the adults and youth on the trip will never be the same!

Technology Barriers

There are several barriers of technology in education.  One of the biggest barriers of technology is money.  Technology is expensive, and there never seems to be enough money to buy new technology.  Another barrier that is closely related to money is the fact that we have old, outdated technology in our schools.  We are forced to use old, slow computers with outdated software when students should be learning about the newest technologies to help prepare them for the future.  Another barrier of technology in education is teachers who are anti-technology.  There are still teachers who are simply against using technology in the classroom.  Either they don't see the benefit of technology or they just refuse to learn how to use it, and therefore refuse to teach their students using technology.  These barriers prevent students from using the technology that they need to be learning how to use to help prepare them for the future.

Technology and Literacy

Does technology help or harm literacy?  This is a question that is really hard to answer.  I think that in many ways technology has helped literacy, with many programs and devices designed to help children and others learn how to read.  However, I believe that technology has greatly harmed spelling and grammar skills.  When we type on the computer, it tells us if we spell a word wrong and gives us suggestions as to how to correct it.  We have also gotten into the habit of using text language and shortening and abbreviating words so we don't have to type everything out.  I have so many students who will try to use text language in their papers, and then they get mad when I take points off their grade.  They also don't seem to see the need to capitalize anything!  I believe that technology has definitely harmed our proper communication skills because we feel the need to communicate quickly instead of focusing on proper spelling and grammar! 

Technology Article

I recently read an article in the October issue of Tech & Learning called "Mix it Up!" by Ellen Ullman.  The article discusses how five school districts have come up with innovative ways to deliver professional development opportunities to teachers.  Professional development is something that most teachers dread because we very seldom get much out of it.  Technology PD is something that is vital to make sure that teachers incorporate technology in their classrooms, and we must make the PD beneficial in order for it to be effective.  One idea I really liked was the eCoach school bus that the Scottsdale Unified School District in Arizona uses to train students and teachers in effective technology use.  The eCoach travels from school to school and is installed with technology that is in the classroom, including a SMARTBoard, document camera, iPads, and wireless Internet access.  The eCoach allows teachers to stay at their school and still receive hands-on, effective professional development.  Tom Clark, chief technology officer in this school district, says that "by providing teachers with experience with iPads and some of the innovative apps that are available, they can learn what might work best in their learning environment."  The article discusses other school districts who are utilizing online PD, providing teachers with hundreds of videos and interactive online technology coaches that provide teachers with individualized instruction.  I thought that this was a very informative article that had some great ideas for providing teachers with better technology professional development.

Homecoming Week

This week is Homecoming Week at New Hope High School.  Everyday the students (and teachers) get to dress up based on a different theme.  Monday was Camo Day, Tuesday was Salad Dressing Day, Wednesday was Twin Day, Thursday was Generation Day, and today is Indian Spirit Day.  I kind of enjoy homecoming week because it means that I get to wear jeans and a t-shirt to school everyday!  :)  There are other fun traditions that the students take part in during homecoming week - they roll people's houses throughout the week, each class builds a float for the homecoming parade, and each class decorates their hallway in the school. We also got out of school today at 1:30 for the Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally. Tonight is the homecoming football game, and we are playing Brindlee Mountain, and then tomorrow night is the homecoming dance. Then next week, hopefully we can get things back to normal!

Along with all the homecoming festivities, last night we also hosted the Volleyball Area Tournament. We beat J.B. Pennington in the first game, so that means that we get to continue our season and play in the Super Regional Tournament next weekend in Huntsville!

Old Technology

What do we do with old technology?  That is a question that is kind of hard to answer.  At my school, it seems like we use our technology for as long as possible, and we only buy new technology when the old technology dies and we are forced to replace it.  As for where that old technology goes, it is kind of a mystery.  It normally ends up in the corner of the teacher workroom, waiting patiently for Computer Services to come and dispose of it.  It eventually disappears, having either been picked up by Computer Services or having been moved to a secret closet where old, broken technology goes to die.  Is this where our old technology should go?  I'm not really sure.  But as long as it doesn't sit in my classroom and take up space (like a broken printer did for the last 2 years), I try not to think too much about that old technology.

The Joys of Being a Tech Contact

I am the Tech Contact at New Hope High School.  This is my first year as tech contact, and I had no idea how much of my time would be devoted to this new role that I have been assigned to.  My job as tech contact is to help any teachers who are having issues with their computers.  At least half of my planning period each day is spent with me visiting other teachers' classrooms seeing if I can fix computer problems.  Most of the time I can fix the problem, but if I can't I have to put a work order in with Computer Services.  They are great about coming out quickly to solve problems, but sometimes the solutions to the problems don't make the teachers happy.  And I am the one who the teachers complain to when their computers aren't functioning exactly how they want them to.  I really enjoy helping teachers with their technology issues, but sometimes it is very hard when I know that I should be spending my time planning lessons for my students rather than fixing computer problems.  I am learning a lot in this new role as tech contact, and everyday I learn something new about the technology in our school.

Symbaloo

A website that I’ve discovered recently that has been very helpful to both me and my students is Symbaloo. Symbaloo is a great website that allows you to place all of your favorite websites as tiles on one page. I have recently set my Symbaloo webmix as my homepage on my school computer. This allows me quick access to all of the websites that I frequently visit in my classroom. In the near future, I plan on having my students create a Symbaloo webmix as their homepage, so that they can quickly access websites that we use in class. Teaching in a computer lab, I have my students visit various websites on a daily basis. Symbaloo seems like a great tool that my students can use to access different websites instead of adding the websites to their favorites. I also plan on creating a Symbaloo webmix for my home computer with websites that I use personally on a regular basis.

The Joys of Teaching in a Computer Lab

Being a teacher who depends on technology each and every day can be stressful at times.  I teach in a computer lab with 24 computers that are over 6 years old and are still running Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003.  Needless to say, things go wrong with these computers all the time.  For example, twice already this week the Internet was down, and I had to modify my lesson plans quickly so that my students wouldn't just be sitting there doing nothing.  When the Internet is down, you would think that the world was coming to an end the way that the students overreact!  They are so dependent on having technology available to them at all times.  I believe that teaching in a computer lab has prepared me for the stressful job of an administrator.  I have to be prepared everyday for something to go wrong, and I always have to have a backup plan when things don't go as planned.   

Resistance to Technology

There are many teachers who do not see the need for using technology in their classrooms.  Either they do not see how technology could make teaching easier for them or they just don't understand how to effectively utilize technology in their classroom.  In today's technology-driven society, it is important that all teachers use technology to better teach their students.  As a computer teacher and tech contact, I see resistance to the use of technology almost everyday.  I try my hardest to help teachers see how beneficial technology is, but some just don't want to hear it.  

As an administrator, it will be very important for me to make sure that there is no resistance to using technology in the classroom.  One way I can do this is to provide teachers with professional development to help them feel comfortable using technology in their classroom.  Another way to make sure that teachers utilize technology in their classrooms is for the administration to use technology in an effective way.  If teachers see that the administration is on board with using technology, maybe they will be more willing to give technology a try.   

BLT

This school year I have the opportunity to serve on our Building Leadership Team (BLT).  Last week, BLT members from all over Madison County had an opportunity to come together at the Jackson Center at Hudson Alpha to listen to a great motivational speaker.  His name was Jamie Vollmer, and he talked to us about the fact that as educators we have the power to change the way that the public thinks about education.  He talked a lot about the assumptions that the general public has about public education.  He said that most people believe that public education is flawed, that it's the teachers' fault, and that if schools were run like a business everything would be okay.  As a businessman, he said that he used to believe those things but quickly learned after speaking at different schools, that these assumptions are just not true.  It is impossible to run schools like businesses, because schools have the responsibility to educate EVERY student regardless of their circumstances while businesses can pick and choose who and what they do business with.  He ended his talk by describing what we can do as educators to change the negative perception of public education.  We have to go out into the community and promote our successes.  Mr. Vollmer wrote a book called Schools Cannot Do It Alone that I plan on reading in the near future.  I feel like we all learned a lot from his presentation and hopefully we will make the effort to shift from the negative perceptions to the positive!

Integrating Technology into Instruction (As an Administrator)

As an administrator, you set the tone for how things run in your school.  It is very important for administrators to encourage teachers to integrate technology into their daily instruction.  One thing that is very helpful in integrating technology into instruction is professional development.  As an administrator, it is very important to provide teachers with appropriate professional development that will allow teachers to effectively utilize technology in the classroom.  This does not mean that teachers are introduced to the technology one time, and then they are expected to use the technology in their classroom because this simply does not work.  Teachers must be provided with hands-on training with the technology, and then be provided with follow-up training sessions to make sure that they understand how to integrate the technology into the curriculum.  Another thing that is very helpful in integrating technology into instruction is for the administrators to be using technology as they interact with their staff.  If administrators do not embrace using technology, it is very unlikely that the majority of teachers will try very hard to learn how to integrate technology into instruction.  In today's technological society, schools must learn how to effectively integrate technology into instruction, and administrators play a vital role in setting the tone for having a technology-rich school.

The End of the JV Volleyball Season

Well, the season offically ended tonight for the New Hope High School JV Volleyball team.  We played in the Madison County Tournament and lost our first game to Madison County.  It was not a very successful season in terms of wins and losses (6 - 24), but hopefully the girls learned a little bit about how hard it is to play high school volleyball.  Three of my six players will continue playing with the varsity team for the next month, so technically coaching volleyball will continue for me for a little while longer this year.  However, I get to make the transition from head JV coach to varsity assistant coach.  I really enjoy the role of assistant coach much more than head coach.  As an assistant, you get to sit back and observe a little more.  You get to make suggestions and still coach, but all the pressure is not on you!  I'm really looking forward to the rest of the varsity season.  We get to host the area tournament and have a chance of making it pretty far in the playoffs this year!

How Technology Affects the Learning Process

I believe that technology has a very positive effect on the learning process.  Our students have grown up with technology, and most are much more knowledgable with technology than their teachers are.  When teachers embrace using technology, their students seem  to benefit.  Technology allows students to be hands-on with their learning.  Teaching in a computer lab allows me to see how much technology affects the learning process.  Students really enjoy being able to complete all of their assignments on the computer because that is something that comes easy to them.  Knowing that students are using technology all the time, teachers should try to integrate technology into their lesson plans as much as possible. 

Motivational Speaker Inspires Students

Last Thursday, Michael Peterson came to speak to the students at New Hope High School.  He is an award-winning country music artist and song writer and now spends most of his time as a motivational speaker.  He spoke to our students about thinking about their lives and trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives.  He talked a lot about "What's Your Story?" explaining to students that the future is like a blank sheet of paper that you get to decide what you want to write on that paper.  I thought that he related really well with our students and made the presentation very interactive.  It seemed like our students and even the teachers really enjoyed the presentation.  Check out his website at www.tagyoureitonline.com to learn more!

Sustaining Technology Innovations in Schools

Sustaining technology innovations in schools seems like something that is very difficult.  Financially, it is almost impossible to provide students with the latest technology that they should be learning about and learning with.  I teach in a computer lab each day, and the computers I have are 6 years old!  I am teaching students about Microsoft Office 2003, when I should really be teaching them about Office 2010.  I believe that it is very important to provide students with opportunities to learn about the latest technology because they are using that technology in their daily lives.  In a perfect world, computers would be updated every year so that students can learn about the latest and greatest technologies available. 

My Life as a Volleyball Coach

As this school week is coming to an end, you would think that I would be super excited that it is Friday.  However, as I mentioned earlier this week, during the fall I coach volleyball, and that means that almost every Saturday is spent at a volleyball tournament.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy coaching, but sometimes I just wish that I could spend a Saturday at home on the couch watching football!  Tomorrow I have the pleasure of spending a wonderful Saturday at Elkmont High School.  We play at 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 4:30 pm.  Then the championship game (if we are fortunate to play well enough to make it that far) is scheduled for 6:30 pm.  This means that my entire Saturday will be spent at Elkmont!  As far as this week went for the JV volleyball team, we lost all 5 games that we played.  Not the successful week that I was hoping for.  Hopefully we will play better this weekend and bring home a trophy!  And hopefully my Auburn Tigers will play better too!  War Eagle!!!

Technology Best Practices

As a business education teacher, I teach in a computer lab and am fortunate to be able to use technology daily.  My students really enjoy being able to use the computer everyday and learn how to properly use different software programs.  I teach my classes the basics of using Microsoft Office.  We spend time learning about Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and Publisher.  I also try to integrate online technologies as much as possible.  One online tool that my students really enjoy using is Prezi.  At first they think that it is too complicated, but soon realize that they enjoy this presentation tool much more than PowerPoint.  I also use Moodle to manage my class.  This online tool allows students to take quizzes and tests online and instantly see their grade when they finish.  Also, students who are absent are able to see the assignments that they have missed from home and not get behind in the class.  There are several other online sites that I use in my class that I will tell you about later in my blog!

The Start of a Busy Week

Today is the beginning of another busy week!  Looking at my calendar, I was surprised to notice that I do not have class at all this week.  Since June, it seems like I have had class at least once or twice each week.  However, this week is class-free.  While you would think that would mean that I would have an easy and relaxing week that is not the case.  Volleyball season is now in full swing!  I am the JV Volleyball coach at New Hope High School, and we are reaching the point in the season where it seems like we are playing games everyday!  This week we have a game at home today and away games at Ardmore tomorrow and at Hazel Green on Thursday.  I wish I could say that we have had a successful season so far, but that is not the case! :(  Our record is currently 4 - 11.  This means that we have won only 4 games, and lost 11.  Not so good!  We only have 6 players on the JV team, which means that everyone has to play the whole game with no options for substitutions when players are not playing well.  Hopefully we will play well this week and improve our record. 

Why I Want to be an Administrator?

This past June I became a student once again.  I am currently pursing my Master's Degree in Instructional Leadership from Samford University.  This degree will allow me to one day become an administrator.  It seems like everyone I talk to thinks I'm crazy to want to be an administrator, but I have honestly dreamed of becoming an administrator since I began teaching at New Hope High School six years ago.  While I love being a classroom teacher, I feel like I have more to offer.  My goal in life is to influence others and hopefully make a positive difference in other people’s lives.  As an administrator, I feel like I will still have the opportunity to influence students, but I will also have the ability to influence the faculty and staff in my school as well as the people in the community where I work.  Having this influence on others is the main reason why I want to become an administrator. 

As of right now, I am having a hard time ever picturing myself as a principal.  However, I believe that I have the leadership and management skills necessary to serve as an assistant principal.  I can see myself over instruction and curriculum, making sure that teachers are effectively teaching their students.  I can also see myself teaching other teachers about technology.  As a business education teacher, I use and teach others about technology each and every day.  I believe that educating teachers about how to effectively utilize technology in their classrooms is very important.  Today’s students are greatly influenced by technology and teachers who use technology in their classrooms greatly help their students.

Throughout my life, I have been encouraged to follow my dreams.  When I decided to become a teacher, several of my friends questioned my decision, saying that I would never make any money and that they could not believe that I would pass up an opportunity to be a successful accountant or lawyer just to follow a dream.  I believe that God has called me to be a teacher, and following that calling is something much greater than money or fame or success.  Now, I believe that pursing this degree in Instructional Leadership will allow me to continue to follow my dreams.

My First Post

Tonight I have created my first blog.  Being a technology teacher, you would think that I would have a blog, but I don't!  I am taking this technology class, and we are required to have this blog.  I am not the most creative person, so this should be interesting! :) I am kind of excited to see how blogging works so that I might be able to have my students create their own blogs.