CEDO 555 Blog #2 - Building My Portfolio

Building a portfolio is a very important task and one that requires much thought and planning. One must also consider the purpose and desired outcome of the presentation of a professional portfolio. What should the portfolio say about the person it represents, I have reviewed several online portfolios for other educators and have been impressed by how well they seem to represent their creators. They incorporate sections that give insight into educational coursework, professional experiences, accolades and philosophies of the educator. I am still at the beginning and planning stages of my electronic portfolio, however, I did see some segments that I would like to include in my portfolio. Still a work in progress, let’s see what I am able to build, what will my portfolio will say to those who view it.

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Some events occur by happenstance, others are divine intervention. I explain my career as a teacher, as divine intervention. Before I became a teacher I searched for a career that would hold meaning for me and help me to feel good about what I did everyday for a living. I had worked in several other professions before I becoming an educator, although ,at times, I felt and was considered to be very accomplished none of those jobs have been as satisfying as teaching. The time I spend working late (very, very, very late many times), the time I spend in meetings reviewing test scores or planning for better student instruction, the time I spend in trainings and in-services all are worth it when I remember how it can impact my students’ achievement.

"A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations." ~Patricia Neal

Working with children and adult learners has offered many memories and experiences that have allowed me to observe the growth of others and myself. Evidence of this has been a collection of lesson plans, student work as well as my own. During the process of my earning my teacher license I built a physical professional teaching portfolio centered around the Wisconsin teaching standards. In the portfolio I included the best work of my students and myself. Now as I prepare to build a portfolio again many years later, I feel that this portfolio should be a culmination of my work as a teacher and me as a person. Oftentimes I feel that who I am as a person is reflected in my work in my classroom.

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” William Arthur Ward

This is what I hope my portfolio demonstrates, the work and efforts of a great teacher and the work and efforts of great students. Everyday I feel inspired by my students and many days it is that inspiration that pushes me to keep working when I am feeling overwhelmed and discouraged by politics or just plain tired. I hope that I am able to include evidence in this portfolio that will reflect the mutually inspiring relationship between my students and myself.

CEDO 555 Blog #1-Reflections of Learning

Wow! I can hardly believe it is time to begin preparing for the end of this journey. It has been a long and short road to this point, but one that I have thoroughly enjoyed. When I reflect on my time as a graduate student in this program, my initial purpose for entering the program comes to mind. I was seeking to become a more effective educator, to become a better teacher for the students I have the privilege of working with in my classroom. I had no idea how fast the time would pass, how much I did not know about technology and how much I would learn. I wanted to improve the ways in which I incorporated technology into my lesson, but I learned so much more.

What challenges have I faced during my courses of study? There have been many, but I prefer to look at them as adventures. One of the first for me was learning to navigate the various LMS used by my instructors. I had trouble adjusting to having everything from the syllabus to rubrics and assignments being posted online and having to access them using the LMS. By the time I mastered, or semi-mastered, one system the current class was over and it was time to learn to navigate another one. I quickly learned that I preferred some over others and dreaded revisiting those that had made my nights of studying complicated and anxious. What I learned from those experiences is to be flexible in my planning as a student and teacher.

I have also experienced some true triumphs that have already helped reshape the practices in my classroom. In addition to discovering new technologies that I had not known about before this program, I also learned how to determine the best uses for these technologies and when it is appropriate to use technology. Many educators believe that using technology in the classrooms enhances the lessons taught, I agree, but the focus of the lesson must be the content and not the technology.

Learning for me this last past year or so has been filled with much confidence building, enriching activities, making new educator friends found in my cohort and developing a network of knowledgeable mentors through my instructors. Filling my technology toolbox has also been a thrill as I tested and tried many learning technologies to use with students and other teachers. Tools for social bookmarking, tools for collaboration and tools for establishing social and professional networks have been some of the best finds for me along the way.

As I move forward and begin compiling my portfolio, I know the work and time spent will be intense and bittersweet.

CEDo 55o Blog #4-Successes and Difficulties

While working on this module I had success/difficulty while doing something new involving creating authentic assessments. I have always been pleased as a student when my teachers provide me with constructive feedback and suggestions for improving my skills. However, this has been something I have had struggles with doing this myself.

What I have observed during my studies in this program and in this class is that the instructors’ focus for grading is strictly the skill the particular assignments are assessing. They do provide suggestions and comments, however, they outline the specific criteria for success in the rubric as the guide to meet objectives. I am learning to do the same thing for my students as a way to simplify what they need to do to successfully complete assignments. This also helps them determine for themselves whether or not they have met the learning objectives.

If I were able to identify my biggest success in this course, it would be having the opportunity to revisit lessons I have previously taught and revising them to be more student centered and creating differentiation in assessments. I have now taken on the mission of revamping my plans for how I will conduct and assess my lesson during the second half of the school year. I am really excited. Stay tuned for more developments and success stories.

See what I have been reading: 1, 2, 3 and more.

CED0 550 -#3 What Would be my challenge

Time Management –
I often think about teaching online and what it would be like. Would I be successful? Who would be my students and what format would I choose? One of the things I think would challenge me most would be time management. Currently, I am teaching in a 7/8 split face to face classroom and time management is an issue because I am teaching all subjects. Naturally, this would be a concern for me if I were to teach online.

Providing feedback

I know the importance of constructive, useful and timely feedback but even now doing this is has been difficult. I have sacrificed times of celebration, visiting and simply relaxing and enjoying one another to grade papers or tests. If I were an instructor online, I believe the sacrifice would be just as great. Students online look for instant feedback and sometimes may require extended time outside of regular classroom hours. This is something I haven’t quite figured out how I would manage this type of commitment.

CED0 550 - #2 Structuring My Online Learning Tools to Meet the Needs of My Learners

When thinking about the online learning tools I would feel comfortable using with those that I instruct, I have to take into consideration the issues of access. For my middle grade students, most of them have no computer access outside of our face – to –face classroom. Meeting their needs would mean structuring a format that would be flexible in how they receive instructional resources and submit assignments. The format for this would need to be asynchronous, not requiring the students to be online at the same time. Two asynchronous online learning tools that I believe would be most appropriate for the learners I work with are the discussion boards and e-mail. For another segment of the learners I work with, who do have computer access outside of the classroom synchronous tools may also be very useful for them. With these learners I would use videoconferencing, chats with a possible structure for blended learning, offering those who would like to meet in a face to face environment as well a place to come together for “labs” or hands-on.

To make the best of both worlds work for my learners I would include virtual tours, videos and narrated slide shows as part of the activities to keep participants engaged. A tool that I am learning to use is Audacity, a tool that can be used to record voice narration or music. Additionally, tools such as Voice Thread or Slideshare to present information to participants, but I would also teach them how to use these tools t create their own product.

To ensure that my students would be able to access and have the full benefit of these tools, I would include some pre-class tasks for participants to complete in my initial contact. In reviewing, the initial contact that I have created in the past, this was something I had never thought to do.