Link to Screen R

After trying and trying, I was unable to link my Screen R video to my blog; however, I was able to embed it. Go figure. Haven't I learned anything this semester? Well, the definition of insanity is trying to do the same thing over with the same (or no)results. I am tired of trying to link the video so you get the whole video, no need to click!

Wrap_Up_Reflection: Week 16

Aloha Fellow Ed 279 Students As we come to the end of this spring semester, I hope that you have had as much fun as I have. I have learned a lot. I have also learned to better work together in a group. Mostly, I learned that I needed to be prepared when we got together so that I did not waste my time or anyone else's. Another thing I learned was to have flexibilty and patience for myself and others. At any time, any one of us could be having a rough or busy week. I feel that we were able to help eachother and work together to get the job done. Hopefully, I contributed enthusiasm and comic relief. Our fun times with the Pue'o Ladies at Starbucks in Waikele brought fun and challenges. Sometimes, we needed to adjust if someone was having a hard week. Somehow, we always seemed to get the job done and with style. Below is our final Screen R video of our Problem-based Learning Scenario. I hope that you all like it. Have a wondeful summer and congratulations to any AAT graduates for spring 2013. Aloha, Mary

Task_3_6_Reflection:

      This week the Pue'o group reflected on what it would be like to be or to deal with a "Breathless in Pearl City."  We have all been there, haven't we?  Overwhelmed and stressed out, we find it hard to step out of our comfort zones in order to try to relate and cooperate with others. So we can overreact and also create sttressful situations where none yet exists.

1.   In a PBL situation, where you have a grade level or department working together, the idea of group learning will lighten the workload.  The ideas flowing out of a group collaboration will be dynamic and creative. 

2.  The biggest problem that I see with student teams is in the initial workings in the team setting.  Everyone has different expectations.  Everyone's schedules are different.  Yet, everyone needs to have the same goal of working towards future group and thus individual success.  It is also hard if one group member fails to communicate or come through with their part of the project.  that leaves the others in jeopardy of a bad grade.

3.  The best strategy for managing conflict is constant communication between team members.  This is especially easy with the use of text messaging and e-mail.  No longer do you have to play phone tag or deal with lengthy phone calls.  The next strategy would be flexibility.  Learn to work together as a team.  Everyone's schedules are different; yours is not the only busy one.  Be compassionate and cooperative.

4.  Our group had no problems this week.  We work together very well as a group, so we it ws easy to share on this subject.    

Task_3-5_Reflection:

Alas, alas, the Pue'o Group realized that this would be our last meeting at Starbucks for the semester, though we vowed to meet at Chili's for a celebratory lunch after the semster is pau.  Once again, the Pue'o Ladies demonstrated our ability to work together as a well-oiled machine.  Girl-power!

Lauren was back as our go-getter, leading the charge to get things done.  We were able to score our big table at Starbucks right away and so with laptops out we tackled our task, each of us working on one portion of the document.  Did I mention that Google Docs is wonderful, though sometimes we got in eachother's "space".  Later, I edited the document at home.  As usual, there was some confusion, and then discussion about the task, but we worked through the problems to get things done.  Another great session at Starbucks!

Task-3-4_Reflection:

This week the Pue'o Group met again at Starbucks to discuss and work on our task.  We all brought our laptops.  Evette wrote on our Google Doc, while Cherise and I did research.  I worked on our Screen R presentation, a power point.  We attempted to record the powerpoint at Starbucks, but it was too noisy.  I will record it at home.  Lauren did not get to come to Starbucks; however, she posted our current event reflection on her blog.  There was some confusion about the term, "authentic assessment".  We also were a little confused about the specific tasks, the PTA Screen-R presentation and the Google Doc.  How did were they similar and how were they different?  We got that sorted out.  Once again, the Pue'o Group worked like a well-oiled machine, cranking out our tasks with efficiency and collaboration!

Task_3-3 Reflection:

This week our group again met at Starbucks and worked for over two hours, discussing and collaborating.  It has been a fun time.  Working with the Google Docs has been a fun frenzy of creativity!  I acted as the editor, correcting any grammatical errors as the the other gals furiously typed.  We built on our ideas on doing an activity-based social studies project:  Interviewing Pearl Harbor survivors for a historical record.  I also provided the comic relief.  Some of the instructions were unlear, espeically for the memos.  Working together, we had a lot of laughter and discussion.  It was a productive and fun time.

Week 11_Current_Event!

     This week's current event choice comes from Lauren Maeda.  Our task was to find a resource article from an online magazine on teachers using technology.  Lauren chose the International Society for Technology in Education's membership magazine, Learning & Leading with Technology.  The article that she chose detailed the learning resource, Learning without Borders.
     In 2010, a school district in Pennsylvania agreed to help develop an international classroom exchange called the Schoolwires Greenleaf program, which paired US students with Chinese learners to create a collaboration of learning and global citizenship.  This is an amazing vehicle to create global awareness and cultural understanding between two diverse and distant cultures from very different parts of the world.  Included in the article are the standards and curriculum of the project, which includes but is not limited to:  landmarks, iconic images, global citizenship, and our futures and careers.  The Chinese and American teachers worked via e-mail because of the different time zones, as well as through video and Skype.  While this program was piloted for high school students, it could be easily modified to work with students at lower levels. There is so much to learn about people from other cultures: geography, civics, government, and climate, just to name a few. This is a great example of technology truly being used to expand our borders of learning and understanding using the tools available in the twenty-first century!


http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/issues/november-2009/students-without-

Week 3-2 Reflection:

     Once again I am so blessed to be a member of the Pue'o Group of amazing future teachers!  Our group manages to meet each week at Starbuck's despite our busy schedules.  What a great group of ladies we have! 
     Lauren facilitated and spearheaded our project for the week, being the most prepared and having previously posted.  Evette added to our task by sharing from the wealth of her ten years of classroom experience.  Cherise and I added our own thoughts and ideas.  I feel that we came up with some excellent ideas for our project and a solid set of SLO's.  Even though we are future teachers, we are really "chomping at the bit," if you will and full of great ideas for some awesome instruction.  Someday soon.
      As usual, I would have liked to have started earlier on the module.  I know, I know, I say this every week.  I want to be able to contribute all that I can; however, I always feel like I am playing catch-up.  What works every week is our group's awesome ability to meet and work together to accomplish our tasks.  We have an awesome group.  Even though we all have busy schedules and other responsibilities, every Saturday we get together and accomplish so much.  Thanks again, ladies, for a great week of work!

Task_3-1 Reflection:

     This task was a task of true collaboration that tested our group cohesiveness.  I have always enjoyed working with my Pue'o group members; now I see that our working together is not only enjoyable but very efficient.  With this task, we were able to flex our collective and collaborative muscles and come up with a workable and wonderful finished product.
        Since I had off this week, I was the one who initiated the google document and sent it to the ladies.  They received the document and from there we were able to share ideas.  I began a basic format for our flyer, adding a graphic and some basic structure to the document.  During the week the ladies viewed the document and added to it.  By Saturday, Lauren, Evette, and I met at Starbucks to  share and edit the document.  Evette did the final typing of our document.
      I created the document on Monday while my car was being worked on.  I was glad to get a head start.  This does not happen most weeks.  I was able to figure out Google docs and send the newly-created document to my group members.  I loved working with Google docs.  It was fun and very efficient.  I plan to use it in future collaborations.
      What I would hope to do every week is to get started early.  This helped me by not creating a situation of stress and uncertainty as the deadlines approached regarding the project.  I also liked that Google docs created for the group another line of communication besides forums and e-mail with which to communicate ideas and information.

Web 2.0 Tool

     I am really digging Screen R.  For those of us who are time challenged as well as technologically challenged, Screen R is a fun tool that I will surely use.  It is fun and it is easy.  So I am using ScreenR to present yet another Web 2.0 tool which is also equally easy and fun and that is Class Dojo.
     Now Class Dojo may not be new to many of you, but it was new to me.  I enjoyed the video with the cute music and the narrator with the English accent, but it especially caught my attention when he said the word, "FUN".  I love technology.  I love technology that is easy to use.  But most of all, I love technology that is fun.  Check out my video!  ClassDojo is fun, it is easy, it is colorful.  Students will love it.  By incorporating Smart Board technology, your students can assist you in the taking of attendance or by customizing your class, you can get a lunch count.  You can give positive reinforcement and feedback to your students.  You can communicate with parents and they can communicate with you using parent codes for privacy.  Best of all, it cuts down on your paperwork.  Check it out.
     Are we having fun yet?   Yes, we are!!!  Aloha, and have a great week everyone.

http://www.screenr.com/embed/umq7

ScreenR Presentation

Aloha,
     Tonight I did my first ScreenR presentation.  I hope that you like it.  I have not used any of these tools before beginning Ed 279.  The only social media site that I am really famiiar with is Facebook, from where I know I can message and chat in that informal setting.  I know that more formal communication is important when you have your own classroom.  Instant and safe communication is essential.  Therefore, I can see how these tools would be very beneficial.  I think it would be great to have a classroom blog where students and their parents could view photos, videos, and class updates.  Parents could keep current on upcoming projects and events.  That said, the new and many forms of technology can also be overwhelming.  I look forward to familiarizing myself with all of this great technology in the days ahead.  have a wonderful week Ed 279 cohort!
http://screenr.com/Awc7

This week's Pue'o group website contribution was submitted by Lauren Maeda.  it is Edmodo.com.  You can connect to it by clicking on the following link. http://www.edmodo.com/about/.  Edmodo bills itself as the free and safe social network.  As we know.  Safety is very important when working with students.  This site is reviewed by a high school English teacher in a video.  The teacher states that this tool reduces teacher workload, which in itself is something so beneficial.  However, there is something else that makes the site very appealing.  In the video, this teacher used the word "relevant" many times.  I love this word and think that it is so important when relating to the students.  We want the material that they study to be relevant to them and we need to offer ways to make it relevant.  In the video, the teacher states that using this technology makes the teacher more relevant, because he or she is connecting to their world.  Students are quite technologically adept and they love spending time on their phones or computers.  Having this app on their phones, for instance, they may not even realize that they are doing work.  They may be communicating with their teacher, exploring a link, submitting an assignment, and all the while they are exploring this new and interesting technology.  As their teacher puts it, they think they are playing.  In light of students' attraction to video games, this may not be a bad thing.  The teacher is able to communicate all the time with her students.  She is able to post links or update the class calendar.  The students can submit an assignment from  anywhere they are at or receive updates and announcements.
      In closing, let me echo what this teacher said:  we need to find ways to be relevant to our students and using Edmondo goes a long way in accomplishing this task

Week 3 Current Event

     For this week, The Pue'o's found an article on the website Edutopia that focus on differentiated learning using modern technology.  Samantha Hamilton found the article entitled, "Differentiated Instruction:  Getting Personal with Technology".  This article focuses on a school in South Carolina, Forest Lake Elementary School, and how they use computers to engage students in the learning process calibrated to their individual needs and abilities.   This includes incorporating  technology into all classrooms, including interactive white boards and computers.  The teachers use a diverse range of technologies in their classrooms to help their students become successful.  In this article, there was a quote that stood out to us:  "These veteran educators are living proof that success lies not in the flashiness of the gizmos you have but in how well you use them."  We like this quote because, as teachers, this is an important factor.  We truly need to understand the technology and how it operates so that we can use it appropriately for differentiated learning.  This way, both teachers and students are using technology to its fullest potential in the classroom.  The website also provides information on how technology is being used at all grade levels.  Here is a link to the video in the article that includes lesson plans and activities for using technology in differentiated instruction.

www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-technology-elementary

If at first you don't succeed.....

Okay, so this is my third attempt at publishing a blog that I can actually transmit. Technology can be both a blessing and a curse. My greatest gizmo is simply a laptop not plugged into any power source or cable that can do all that it can do. Of course, when I was growing up, just having cable TV was the latest and greatest. So, now that I have dated myself, let me just say that I do not want to be one of those people who are glued to their i-Phones. Seriously folks, my smart phone is smarter than I am. And Siri scares me to death. I do not wish to be so connected that I am disconnected from the world and people around me. That said, I can see how having a classroom blog someday would be a fun and efficient way to communicate with students and their families. Maybe by the time that I have my own classroom, I will get this blogging thing right. I think that I would be an asset to an online working group because I am obsessed with getting things done well and done on time. I never thought that I would ever get to go to college, but here I am. So in the words of a line from a movie, "I'm just glad to be here!" My video is entitled "10 Reasons to Use Technology in the classroom" or something like that. I am afraid if I go to youtube to check on the correct title that I will lose this blog (again). I like the video because it is fun and to the point. You may get discovered as the world's best teacher if your mom posts videos of you (just think: Justin Bieber). I really like the idea of doing homework in the classroom and watching video lectures at home. Works for me, as I think that kids have too much homework. Or how about just looking at the fun factor: technology is fun. As it says in the video: technology will not replace teachers, but teachers who use technology will replace teachers who do not. Food for thought. Now excuse me while I try to upload my video and post my blog. Have a great semester everyone!

Okay, let's try this again. Technology can be a blessing and a curse. This is my second attempt at a blog post. When I was growing up, cable television was the latest technology. Well now that I have dated myself, let me just say that I think that my laptop and printer are just amazing. My smartphone is smarter than I am (smile). I don't need anymore gizmos. I know that i-phones are great, but I don't want to be one of those people who are glued to their i-phones and, frankly, Siri scares me. I think that I would be an asset to a group project in that I am very diligent about getting things done well and done on time. I am just grateful to be able to go to school, because I honestly never thought I would go to college at all. So, hey, to quote the line of a movie, "I'm just glad to be here. Here is my link to a video from youtube.com.  It is entitled top 10 reasons to use technology in the classroom.  Just think, you could be like Justin Bieber and get discovered as the world's best teacher.  No seriously, there are some great reasons here in this video.  How about edoing homework in the classroom on computers and limiting lectures to computers at home?  Or what about the "fun factor" in the classroom.  Of special interest to me was the fact that technology is especially useful in special educationc classrooms because that is where I want to work.  Bottom line:  technology will not replace teachers; but teachers who use technology will be replaced by teachers who do not.  So we had better learn this stuff and learn it well.  Happy blogging!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzi2RIt8_nk