FINAL REFLECTION

I was surprised by how interesting and fun this class really was. The class was simply organized and actually had me use and learn technologies that will be useful to me in the future. One thing I learned was how to build a website. This was interesting to me because I had always viewed it as a way complex thing. But instead, I found it to be one of the easier things I've learned to do on a computer. Another thing I will take from this class are some of the best ways to create and present a PowerPoint and also how to make a video.

Now that I know how to use these tools, I will definitely use technology in the classroom. The biggest one I will do is to create a website for all my classes. I will include calenders, videos, and other cool apps for my students. I will give it a professional look though for parents. Another tool I am going to use is the video maker. I found it so interesting and awesome that it wasn't too difficult to make. I will use this ability to promote physical education throughout the school year and to colleagues and parents.

Because of this class and these skills I have learned, I have changed my view of teaching more. I have always thought that teaching was already good. But now that I can do more and know how to integrate teaching with technology and improve my teaching, I can make classes more interesting. Another way my view of teaching has changed is that if used properly, technology can enhance the learning experience so much more than teaching without it. My view of technology has definitely changed. I think that technology isn't this big scary beast anymore. Its still complicated i think, but its not a huge obstacle to overcome. I also think tat technology is teaching friendly and anyone can learn some of the basics if I could. All in all, I have really l.earned a lot and feel that using technology in my classes will only make me a better teacher.

Mobile Apps

I wouldnt use mobile apps in the classroom because it would be difficult to keep students on task if theyre all using their cell phones. I wouldnt mind doing a powerpoint or some other presentation on them and showing them some that would be useful or even kind of cool.

Studiocode Project

I have learned several things about my management skills since doing this project. I learned that I am already pretty good at discipline, but after watching myself and making examples of each instance when i used discipline, i realized how much better i could do. I saw that I used some of the basic skills when it came to disciplining, but i shouldn't be afraid of trying new methods and being more strict with the kids. But still, I was impressed with how well i did.  Another important skill I observed was of organization. I saw a lot of good things there. I saw myself do a lot of things well. The problem was that I saw several things that I did wrong. The good things I did were getting the kids into 2 lines and getting them organized when we did the activities. I saw several things that I could improve on though. The third skill I observed myself doing was signals use. I saw that several times I was consistent and confident when I blew my whistle or used other signals. But at other times I saw that I wasn't as confident or allowed the children to take control of the class some.

The other category of skills I evaluated were instructional skills. The first category there was jargon use. After watching the video, I saw that several times I almost "you guys" or other jargons but stopped. This is good because it is showing improvement on my part. Also, I saw that several times I used "boys and girls." I saw how much I had improved in my professionalism in speech as a teacher. The next category I did was repeating cues. I saw that several times I could've done better at repeating the cues so that the kids would know what to do. That way it would be harder for them to be unsure about what they were doing. But I did see the few times that I did repeat the cues they did better and stayed on task more. The third category I watched was of simplicity. This was one of the biggest shockers to me. I thought I was doing good and being really simple but i realized that I was only simple a few times. Most of the time my instructions were too long and complicated. I saw that I need to give shorter explanations and rules. This way, the kids will be focused longer on me.

Next semester when I teach again, I hope to take some of these skills I've learned and apply them once again to my new students. I think that mos t concepts remain the same no matter the age group. One thing i hope to do is to make my instructions and rules more simple. That way, the students will stay focused on me and I wont have to keep repeating the rules to the activity we are doing. Another thing I hope to improve is to be better at discipline. I want to be able to be more forceful and not let the kids walk all over me. I will only give them a few chances and then make them sit out until they are willing to behave. I also want to be more organized when I teach middle school kids. They won't be as forgiving as elementary kids and I need to be ready for that. I need to have all my formations, transitions, and rules planned out ahead of time and stick with them. By implementing these tings, I hope to be a better teacher next semester.

Web 2.0

Facebook could be used in education by creating groups on facebook for your class. That way, you could post announcements and send messages to your group members/students and they could always know any new changes that you make because kids are always on facebook. Another 2.0 tool that could be used is PE Central. This is an effective tool that could be used more by pe teachers because it has hundreds of ideas for activities from different teachers around the nation. Also, it allows for teachers to communicate with each other and link up on blogs and share ideas and techniques.

IPT video

here is the link to the video that jake made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SaPKZIEwHE&feature=player_embedded#!

iMovie Project

Our theme for the movie is "Fit for Life." We havent talked about the second movie yet, but I was thinking of having it start out with different people of different ages doing different activities:dance, sports, walking, etc.

Internet Safety

I was really surprised about how little information is needed to hurt someone. I have realized how important Internet safety truly is. Internet safety is important to know and to constantly update. Some of the changes I made were taking my phone number and other personal information off of my facebook. Also, I went through and edited all my privacy settings so that only my friends could see most of my information. Another thing I did, was to go to my class website and edit a few things on there as well as all my emails. In the future I will make sure I always check the URL of any website that I get on to make sure it says https if I plan on entering private information on it. Also, I will make sure that I check the URL to make sure I'm on the site I wanted and think I am on.

This applies to the students I will teach because they need to know how easy it is for people to locate/stalk them, or to even steal their identities. This is also important information for them to know as they have more blogs and social networking sites that they join. They should remember to check their privacy settings constantly and make sure there is no or little information on where they are or could be found.

I taught the Internet safety lesson to my room mates. I told them about how easy it is to find people with just their names and phone numbers or any other piece of information. I also told them about how banks will never send a link in an email asking you to click it and go to their website. I told them how people send that and then when people type in their personal information, they keep it so that they then have access to their accounts. I also told them to make sure the URL says https before putting in private information and also to check the URL to make sure that they are on the website they wanted to be on. It was interesting to see how much they didn't know, and how they immediately went to their online blogs and social networking sites to check their information.

Website Project

I really enjoyed this project. Its a useful skill to have and be able to utilize. This will be helpful as a teacher because I can post assignments and announcements on my website for both parents and students to look at. I think I could create another website using google sites because of how easy it made it. This project was a lot easier than i thought it was. I always imagined it to be hard, but google made it easy. Check out my website: https://sites.google.com/site/adamandersonsclasswebsite/

Challenges

Some challenges I was having was changing the template. I found out that the way to do it is to go to manage site, and then click on change template. This is my first time to create a website and have found everything new and hard. But i have found out that most of the changes i really need to make are actually pretty easy.

Copyright Laws-Good or Bad?

In general, I think copyright laws are good. They're good because they allow those who spent money on a work to be paid for it. Also, I think it helps generate more creativity and spontaneity which helps cause growth in every field. One change I would make is to making copies of a chapter of a book for school. Personally, I dont think you should have to buy a whole book just to use one chapter. I think that you should be able to pay a small one time fee (if the author demands it) to use it as you need. As a teacher you wouldn't be claiming it as your own work, and if you included all the information of the the text from where you got it, I think it should be fine.

Theme and pictures

I changed the theme of my blog because the black just seemed so dark. I like this one better because it reminds me of back home in Texas. Where I'm from its not a deserrt, but it is definitely flat. Growing up in West Texas, I have always been a fan of the underdog and pullin for the not-so-popular teams. For that reason, among many others, I put the Texas Tech logo up. I love Tech and its football program. I also added the picture of the mountains because I love hiking.

Helpful Resources

Some of the online resources I really enjoy are the ones found on google. Google docs is a good website along with Google presentation. These are nice because it makes it easy for a group to collaborate on a project or paper. As a teacher, it would make it easy for your students to access powerpoints or papers necessary for a class. Also, if there is a problem or confusion on the material, it will be easier to fix and will allow my students to acess it easier. Another helpful resource is my Personal Learning Environment. This is helpful because it will allow me to communicate with fellow teachers and other professionals to share ideas and receive help for my classes. As a student this is also helpful because it allows me to interact with my peers and get solutions to problems that I may be facing.

My technology experience

I'm not the worst when it comes to technology. I learn stuff pretty easy as long as it's semi-basic. Computer programs on macs are the worst because I've only used windows almost my whole life. I remember growing up we had an apple and I cold use the dos program, but thats about it. Nowadays I am pretty good at using powerpoint. word, and excel. I would like to learn how to create a website. I've always thought it would be interesting to do and know. Also, I hear that Apple has pretty cool movie creating programs so that would be cool to learn how to use. I found apple's website about their imovie program.