new digital story

video comments and thoughts

I watched the videos that Sam, Alli, Nancy, Julie Chatfield, Keri Wooten, and Sarah Kunz made. They were all really good and so different and creative!

I think the most difficult challenge in implementing a project like this would be students getting frustrated. I know that even I got a little bit frustrated a couple of times when things would not import or when I could not get two audio tracks to be filled at the same time. I could just see how there would have to be a lot of teacher help and scaffolding to prevent kids from getting to their frustration level and wanting to give up. Also, I think that the students who are really perfectionistic could take a long time making their project, which could be a problem if we had to visit a computer lab for limited time or if we had a limited number of computers to share in the classroom.

TPACK--what it means for me

I think that TPACK is really just a great way for us as teachers to stay focused on making all of our teaching and learning activities really meaningful and purposeful for our students. What I understand about TPACK is that it is an easy way to check that we are using many different knowledge bases to pack a ton of meaning into even one lesson plan--we can just mentally go through TPACK in every lesson. I also think the principles behind TPACK--of using technology, content, and pedagogy in our teaching--helps us as teachers to fulfill the sometimes overwhelmingly long list of things we have to cover in the 7-8 hours we have each day. Using TPACK really helps to kill 2 birds with 1 stone as we fulfill multiple objectives and pack in all of the learning we should provide students with. Also, these multiple facets to each lesson plan helps present the materials in a variety of ways to help meet the needs of all students.

Most important learning this week

I think the most beneficial learning I participated in this week was in completing the first half of the communications project. It really opened my eyes that I could create a beneficial website for both my own learning and that of my students. I never realized that creating a class website/wiki could be so easy! I didn't know that there were so many tutorials out there to help you do virtually anything. I really like the idea of having a sort of online community that can encompass my classroom and the learning my students and I do together. I know that the students I will be teaching are really a part of this new technological culture, and thus believe that using technology as a teaching tool can really reach out to the kids and their understanding. I also never realized you could have so many convenient online resources in one central location.

My initial technology experience

I do not have a lot of technology background or experience, but I feel like I know enough to get by and to continue learning about technology. I took a computer class that was mandatory in high school (which probably everyone has to take). I wasn't ever really into computers, but during my senior year of high school I worked for a man who had a web design business. During this experience I learned how to create a simple html website and design html pages. I also did a lot of photo-editing on photoshop. I have used powerpoint several times for class projects and lesson plans. Mostly, my experience is average.