Electronic Portfolio

I have created an electronic portfolio containing professional information and samples of my educational projects while in Graduate School at Albright College. It is a site that will be under construction for the next two years to show the progression of growth and aptitude in the Educational field . The link to this site is http://pdougherty.weebly.com/

Please feel free to visit my webfolio and enjoy!

Edu 610: A Reflective Piece

My last assignment for EDU 610 is to tell what I have learned in this class that will make me a more effective teacher, if I will make a conscious effort to integrate technology into my classroom and if I feel technology is important.

First of all, I was extremely excited about taking this course because I am-scratch that-was not the most computer savvy person around. I have since created and uploaded videos, adding sound and special effects, worked on a Smartboard, created a Smartboard presentation with interactive elements, and posted my own e-portfolio web page- all for the first time. The information I have received and the hands-on activities and projects assigned may have been second nature to many students in the class, but for me it was truly a rebirth into the new land of the Net generation. I may not be as fast at texting, but I now know my way around many innovative tools that will surely make me a better teacher. I waited to go back to school until my children were older and I am so happy that I did. Had I started earlier, I feel I would have

kind of missed the Smartboard wave that has really taken over in many school districts. I would have had to learn it second hand through a trainer - and while that is very important, I probably would not have received the intense attention to detail that was given to us in class. I hope to be using all the information handed to us in this class to make learning, and teaching more fun and motivating for everyone, despite diversity in the classroom.

I will absolutely make a conscious effort to use any and all technology available to me. Before taking this class, I was inspired by 3rd graders whose eyes "lit up" when I took them to a computer to show them real pictures of a submarine they had just read about in their Reading books. Imagine how excited they would be to go on a virtual field trip to the moon, or be a pen pal to a student who lives half way around the world!

Technology is not only important, I believe it is essential! I feel if teachers do not use technology when it is available to them, they are cheating themselves and their students out of some wonderful opportunities for learning and growth. It may take extra time to research what is out there, but the time is worth the fun and excitement in teaching and seeing the motivation level rise in the classroom.

Before this class, I knew there were some cool activities and fun educational games on the internet, but I never realized the magnitude of all the tools (hardware and software) that are available now and are being developed to enhance the learning process. Thank you Michele!

great websites/infor I found from Journals...FYI

I'll be adding these with reviews to my diigo site in the near future!!!!

Good Stuff from Journals

Websites:

http://podcast.eusd4kids.org/groups/iread/

http://www.eusd4kids.org/edtech/project_live.html

SOFTWARE RESOURCE LIST:

Choose options that support your school's curriculum focus.

Angel: www.angellearning.com

Angel allows educators to offer online interaction or classes. Teachers can create class Web pages with it.

Blogger: https://www.blogger.com/start

Google offers free blog space and directions on how to set up a blog. Since many of today's students already use blogs, give clear expectations for classroom blogs.

DyKnow: www.dyknow.com

DyKnow supplies a computer-monitoring segment as well as interactive teaching components. Start with monitoring and then expand to the other components.

Email: www.gaggle.net/gen?_template=/templates/gaggle/html/index.jsp

Gaggle.net makes available a free, filtered email service for schools. Educational email expectations for students need to be clearly defined.

PBWiki: http://pbwiki.com

PBWiki provides a free format for creating a collaborative, accessible Internet space. Students may have already used this space, but will see it in a new light when it is used educationally.

Hardware Resource List:

Each company sells a variety of equipment See which pieces fit your educational plans.

Acer: www.acer.com/public/home.jsp

Compaq: http://h18000.www1.hp.com/

Dell: www.dell.com/

HP: www.hp.com/

IBM: www.ibm.com/us/

Mac: www.apple.com/dotmac/

Sony: www.sonycomputers.com/

Toshiba: www.toshiba.com/tai/

Interactive Whiteboards aka "Smartboards"

I really enjoyed working with "Smartboard" technology in class. Unlike many of the students in our class, I have never done so before, so it was a lot of fun. I learned a lot from the readings as well. I definitely would want one in my classroom and would use it as much as possible. I cannot wait to download the "Smartboard" application to my computer- and play around with it- in all me spare time(which, I hope, is sooner, rather than later!) I sincerely hope that the seasoned teachers will embrace this technology and are motivated to learn all it can be, if they take the time to learn. I also hope that the Net Genner, incoming teachers, take the time to share this wonderful resource, not only with students, but with the older teachers, who may feel intimidated and uncomfortable by this valuable resource. I know a few who would fight it tooth and nail! The students would benefit tremendously and I believe, we can keep many more students engaged in school, dramatically decreasing dropout rates! I am very excited to be in the middle of this exciting time in education and look forward to following the studies and statistics of how technology affects the entire educational system.

Moviemaker project

Being a MAC user, I was very unimpressed by the Movie maker program on the PC, and I found it very difficult to edit clips and do what I wanted it to do. That really frustrated me. Otherwise, my partners and I had several good laughs at what we ended up with and how it all came together. The three of us are definitely "Immigrants" in this "Net Genner" class, but are also learning so much as we go. I think an intro course to this would be beneficial to those of us who are not as computer savvy as others. I think I now know enough to be dangerous, and I feel with more practice (especially on MAC's) I can become more effective and actually feel comfortable and want to use this tool in my classes.

Video in the Classroom

Using video in the classroom is a very powerful tool! Actually using the computer to show any information to students shows them the "realness" of what they are learning and that we are not just spouting out facts for our own good. I have seen a group of learning support students get truly excited when I pulled up just an article on the computer and pictures of what we were reading about. I think some students feel that school is boring and so is everything they are supposed to learn. If we connect real life,( ie, streaming videos, youtube, or just internet information) to the subject matter, to the net-genners, it makes the information become pertinent in their world.

I have had only one methods class so far, and during the lesson plan I was to teach, I did use a video (The VHS kind). In the future I would streamline the video from youtube or one of the other sites.

As an Elementary and Special Education Major, I will be teaching all different subject matters, so the possibilities are endless.

I can see:

*Watching Science experiments that may be too dangerous for the classroom

*Taking virtual field trips that are too costly or unattainable for Social Studies

*Broadcasting news reports and interviews or acting out plays from our reading books

*Using youtube videos like schoolhouse rock, to teach multiplication tables, history, grammar

It is a very exciting time to be entering the teaching profession and I am grateful, at age 40 something , to be using technology to keep students motivated to learn.

Being Successful with the Net Generation

I remember, in the last month of High School(1983), being taken into a classroom that was just equipped with computers. They were very large with black screens and green numbers and letters. We just looked at them, turned them on, and were told what they could do- we were amazed! In college('83-87), there was a computer room but to get anything printed, you would have to go to another room wait in line(there was only one or two printers and tear your paper off of a large sheet of green lined paper). Yeah, I'm old! Anyway, even though that was 20 some years ago, I do feel we are in the infant stages of having a fully integrated classroom, where using the computer is just a natural part of the day, like taking out a pencil and paper. I believe the best way to be successful with the Net Generation is to use the technology available-and use it often. The Net Genner students and teachers of today still are using computers and technology mostly for social uses(emailing assignments, questions, etc.). Slowly we are integrating things like "Smart Boards" into the classroom, but even those are being kept in the closet by the teacher who is to set in their ways. As we read in the Chapter there are so many tools online for every subject imaginable. NOT to use technology, in all its forms, when it is available to most schools, should be reprehensible. The best way to to be successful with Net Genners is to learn with the Net Genners. Find activities, movies, songs, games, projects, that will motivate and excite the students. As more and more "new teachers" enter the schools with this knowledge, and more and more schools embrace the daily use of computers in their classrooms, the students of tomorrow have a better chance of realizing the full potential of being educated into well rounded individuals with a new view of education through the world wide web and beyond!