May 2 Final Blog Post

1. What I have learned from these things and my honest thoughts

• blogs- Blogging was quite new for me, at first I hated it because I didn't understand it. But, once I got the hang of it I started enjoying blogging. I loved some of the assignments like the PS 22 chorus. I will probably use a home blog page for my students, so that they will be able to find assignments and test dates and other stuff all on one page.
• wikis- They were alright nothing to special to them. I did know that anyone can change Wikipedia, because my teachers told me. I am not going to be to interested in using wikis in the future teaching.
• presentations- I liked them a lot especially using Google Docs, it is so much easier than Power Point.
• Google Docs- Like I said before they are great to make a presentation for to present to your students for class.
• Google spreadsheets- These was a very easy thing to make a questionnaire on. I mean it is straight forward and it gives you a lot space and freedom. I will most likely use this for making up all of my quizzes and test on.
• Picasa- I only used this tool once the whole time. I like though how it recognizes faces and immediately organizes people by who they were.
• Podcast- I absolutely loved them! It is such a great tool making a podcast and it is great for teachers and students so that they can listen to a lecture and study for an upcoming test or quiz.
• Videocast- They are pretty cool, but I think I would prefer to stick with just doing the podcast.
• YouTube- Is a gift sent from heaven. It gives you an insight into what people do with their lives whether it be funny or serious. It could be a great thing for teaching depending on the topic.
• Movie Making- I never did that at all.
• Posts you read- Some them were great like the teacher who got an iPad and the kids were so great, especially Kaia.
• PLN's- I have a pretty good one I would have to say. I follow Morgan, The Teacher's Desk, and a couple more and some students.
• Twitter- I never used twitter but I have friends who have one and they love it. Maybe someday soon I will get one.
• Other teachers and students outside our region- They were pretty cool, but the kids were the best they just gripped your heart.
• Comments 4 Kids- Probably the best thing we ever blogged on in this class. I love this kids so much. I think it is amazing the things that they are learning at such a young age. All of them are so sweet and gentle and they just talk about how their day was or a science project they are working on. I just love it.
• Comments 4 Classmates- I liked the fact that I got to see what some of my other classmates thought about certain things talked about or seen. Sometimes I got to see something from a different vantage point and it helped me appreciate things more. The only thing I have against it is that some students didn't keep up with their blogs. My advice would be let one student comment on five other students blogs for the whole year.
• Comments 4 Teachers- The thing I liked about doing this project was that I got to see what it was like being in the teachers shoes while I'm still a student. I got to see their encouraging words for me as a future educator and how we need to put more time in with kids to help them grow. It was very insightful.
• iTunes- Greatest thing ever made for music. I love using for music and now for downloading podcast.
• iTunesU- Thank you for letting us see this! I use it all the time to just find out extra information on different subjects, especially history.
• Accessibility issues and the use of html tag modifiers to address some of those issues- I don't remember doing anything on this, well at least off the top of my head
• Who you are as a professional- Right now, I am still growing and maturing just like I need to. I am starting to become more technologically advanced which I most certainly needed. I didn't know much apparently when I stepped into this class but, I will be ready once I graduate from South.
• Google Forms- Like I mentioned earlier I love Google tools they are so easy to use and just great for anything.
• Data Bases- I can't remember using any data bases through this year.
• Google Earth- Is going to be a must use in my classroom. Since I am going to be a history teacher I could show these kids where the battles and wars were located at. It will great to use.
• Delicious- I never used it once in this class, so I don't know what it does.
• ACCESS- Our group did our podcast on this. It is a great system that is being used the public school system. Hopefully sometime soon every student will be able to use it and help them advance themselves towards a brighter future.
• ALEX- I liked the website, because it gives me some ideas to do while I will be teaching like some crossword puzzles and other things. I will definitely use this when I teach.
• Technological literacy- When I first stepped into this class I thought I knew everything there was to know about technology. And when you started talking I was like I have no clue what he is talking about. Now though, I have a great idea and a knowledge about each subject.
• The future of schools- If they don't start using technology in there, they could set these kids back a couple of years from the students who are learning using technology.
• My "intellectual trail"- I must say that I have left a pretty good intellectual trail after this semester.

2. As of right now you have taught more than I can imagined. So, there isn't anything that comes to my mind that I wish you would have taught me how to do.

3. No, everything that I learned in class served a purpose at helping me to become a better educator. From blogging to watching videos on YouTube, all were right where they needed to be.

4. Yes, this class did "excite" me in a lot of ways. One is using audacity and making podcast from that to the most simple form of that type of thing using Vocaroo. The kids blogs did excite me the most they were great! All the things that were shown to me are going to be used in my classroom.

5. Nothing was super "intellectually challenging", it all just took a little work and some guidance from our instructors and fellow classmates.

6. I was never bored in this class, because I was always learning something different from either Mr. Tashbin or my classmates around me.

7. As of right now, honestly I don't know what you could add to this course to make it better. But, I know there will be a couple of things that will soon come up that you will like to incorporate into the class.

8. I came into the class low, but now I can say that I am pretty darn good. I have learned how to master most of the stuff that you assigned to us and will use a lot of it in the future. But, there is still some growing room for me to do on my own once I leave this class.

9. I will keep up everything by using another blog I will create and find the teachers that I am interested in keeping up with their work. I might not post as much to my blog, but I will learn from the other teachers.