This program started quickly and has ended on the same pace. I still remember trying to set up the Weebly pages, complete a research paper, and end with a major Capstone project. I am glad I did not give up and drop out of the Learning Innovative program. I feel confident with the tech tools I have learned and I feel prepare to teach students with 21st century skills. I am thankful to Cohort 13 for your support and positive encouragement. This program has inspired me to be more creative, such as to think outside the box, especially when teaching special needs students. One size does not fit all. I look forward to my next teaching endeavor.
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After many hours spent searching for images, recording and editing, I finished my Capstone video. I have more appreciation for people who work in the movie industry making films. On a positive note, I am more confident using adobe spark to create educational videos to fulfill the requirements for this innovative program. As much progress as I am making in completing major assignments, I have loads to do to complete my website. All I can do is keep chugging along, until I have it done. The next major assignment is to create the 5 minute video, highlighting the capstone project and any major discoveries. 792- Blog on Educational ValuesWith almost the completion of the Innovative Learning program through Touro University California, the 2 values that most resonate with the work I have in the program revolve around student-centered education and collaboration and sense of community. I have learned from this program that every class decision should reflect the best interest of our student population. How can we narrow or close the achievement gap, if teachers are lacking content knowledge or preparation in delivering instruction. How can we, as educators, prepare students with 21st century skills and seemingly integrate the skills to the core curriculum. My class staff and I collaborated and modeled a sense of community in and out of class in and effort to decrease students’ disruptive behaviors. We established a positive learning environment to promote student collaboration and a sense of belonging in a larger community. Every student is capable to learn, under the right conditions. Moving forward, I plan to prepare my lessons to include the three overlapping components of technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge, otherwise known as the TPACK.
792- Reflections on my Journey My initial thought of the Innovative Learning program at Touro, is best described by the word “enriched” with the opportunity to take my teaching practices and technology skills to a higher level. I remember lacking confidence in myself to complete this program, feeling I might not be able to keep up with the high demands of using technology. The first assignment was to fill out confidential forms, sign and return to its corresponding departments. This was my introduction to technology and I was already feeling loss dealing with logistics. Consequently, I reached out to my cohort and asked if I could join them for class meetings. Being proactive, worked for me, working collaboratively gave me a peace of mind. We are supportive and respectful of each other’s work and ideas. The research paper was a massive undertaking, I learned how important it is to keep track of your data and also how to manipulate tech tools to create graphs, for a more visually engaging paper. Setting up my weebly site was not an easy task, I was fortunate my niece had previous experience using this program and agreed to assist me. I am glad to say, I now enjoy blogging! I spent the second semester creating lesson plans on digital citizenship, exploring educational tools, reading books on how to create simple presentations, and making sense of design-making. The final assignment consisted of a prerecorded video presentation with voice over on a book review. The objectives were to showcase proficiency in integrating a web tool and give a thorough explanation of the author’s main points. Now, I am in the last semester of this program, the words the best describe this learning and teaching experience is “empowered” and “equipped” to take on more academic and 21st century skills challenges in the classroom. I am learning how to link pages to my Capstone Project, create an engaging video, design a logo, among many more creative experiences to keep me on my toes and out of my comfort zone. Lasting Learnings
TPACK Reflection
Despite the 10 years of teaching experience at Napa State Hospital, I left feeling behind in the area of technology training and exposure. This is my second year, as a special educator, at Napa Valley Unified School District working with special needs students. In the Special Day Class, I noticed students struggling with core concepts in mathematics and a lack of engagement. Hence, I jumped aboard the concept of technology integration through the Innovative Learning Masters Program. I felt I needed to make math content accessible to my student population. At first, I implemented whole class instruction, and it was not successful, students would talk out of turn. Secondly, the group discussion seldom worked. The students were misbehaving, creating a disruptive learning environment, and I was not meeting the students’ needs. With TPACK, a framework that combines three knowledge areas, content, pedagogy, and technology, has changed the way I view teaching. This program and TPACK, have altered the way I used to approach teaching from paper and pencil to the integration of technology. After the integration of tech tools, my students have been more cooperative and willing to make an effort, even though, math is not a favorite subject of them. In the video of Punya Mishra, An Introduction to TPACK, he says that content, pedagogy, and technology are not isolated of each other, instead they are the total package for teaching with technology. At the heart of TPACK is meeting students’ needs with the swift integration of all three knowledge areas. As I continue to work on my Capstone Project video, my struggles continue to search for free images through Adobe stock and Google. I have replaced at least half of my images with permitted images using the search engine of Google. My video is coming along, I have shortened down the script and will record it over as soon as possible. I have also added a personal touch by adding a photo of me during my visit to the London Tower Bridge. My next goal is to keep my script down to 90 seconds or less, without taking away from the content of the presentation. I have spent many hours writing out my script, then erasing it because it does not flow as well as it could. In between scripts, I pretend I’m selling a product to a stranger and I only have 90 seconds for my spiel. There are many directions my mind was to go with both the script and my Capstone video. However, I am pressure by time constraints. I am struggling staying clear and consistent on one path. Next, the images have been difficult to select, I have a specific image in mind and it’s taking a long time to research for these images. I trust it will all come together at the end, until then I will keep persevering with my struggles. Also due to the small window of time left, I will be using Adobe Spark since I am the most familiar with this tool from all other mentioned in the I-care. After exploring a couple of the capstone websites, I have decided to write my capstone project for Special Education teachers who find themselves teaching mathematical content in the middle to high school levels. As I reflect on the work I have completed throughout the last two semesters, I feel as though, I have lots to work with. And at the same time, I have much more to complete before the end of this semester. These are the major areas of completion math lessons, how to’s videos, reference page (partially done), and assessment page. I found looking at other capstone projects to be very useful, they have given me a better sense of direction for my own capstone project. I am a bit more confident of having the skills to accomplish such a comprehensive project. It has taken some time to figure out what direction best explains the purpose of my Capstone Project video script. From all the assigned readings, the University of Houston Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling resonated with me the most, it was clear and to the point. The tips for success were easy to follow with minimal text. I have completed a first draft script and storyboard of what I would like my Capstone video to resemble, I’m still working out last minute details. I reviewed the iMovie tutorial, I was impressed by all the features and video editing software applications. I was only able to view half of the iMovie tutorial due to poor internet connection. I will finish viewing the tutorial before class. I am generally familiar with the usage of Adobe Spark, nonetheless, I would like to familiarize myself with iMovie if time permits. The goals established by the Innovative Learning program are in alignment with my personal educational goals. I applied to this program to gain a deeper understanding of teaching practices within a specific subject and introduce and practice new technology tools as a way to reach students with special learning needs. I have had support from multiple cohort members. We regularly meet at Marisabel’s house for class meetings. On other days we meet at the public Napa Library to review the I-care, practice new tech tools, or brainstorm before writing a blog and/or a difficult assignment. At times, best of all, we meet for emotional support. We have demonstrated respect and support for one another in and out of class. We are all professionals and act accordingly. I explored multiple websites before settling with LogoMaker. I found this site to be easy to follow with a series of manageable steps. This site is all about efficiency, once you have created an account with them, it literally takes seconds to create your own unique logo(s). I focused on color and form during the experimentation phase. I enjoyed the aspect of creating my logo, until the site asked for me to purchase end product. At this point, I have 5 days to either purchase the original file or it will be deleted. Although I am content with my logo design, I will not be purchasing the file.
I plan to explore other apps or websites for access on a free logo maker and logo design. I am looking forward to my next adventure in designing my project logo. |
AuthorI am a special ed teacher at Vintage High School. Archives
July 2018
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