FINAL Reflection for the MEIT Program

Where to begin...this program has taught me way more than I thought I would learn about technology. I began wondering if anything would apply to my grade level and I am leaving with way too many ideas to use in my classroom! The best part about the program is that I got all of these ideas for myself AND I have plenty to share with other teachers. Ideally, in the future, I would like to be an elementary technology integrator. I would enjoy not only teaching children from 5 to 11 how to use technology, but also the staff. They are the toughest ones to get on board with technology and I really think I could help some leary teachers learn how to use technology in their curriculum. Since our district and most surrounding us are cutting in the area of technology, I am going to try to share my ideas with others without having the "integrator" title. I really hope that my Third Grade WIKI takes off. If it does, I would like to start other way for grade levels to share ideas. I would also like to start a blog to share with the teachers all of the interesting Web 2.0 tools and software programs that are available for them. I say that now, I have high hopes, but I am a classroom teacher and when school starts, the kids in my class and my curriculum becomes priority, but this time I hope that it is different. Here is to hoping!!! :)

And... I AM DONE!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!! :)

Computer Architecture-Final Reflection

Looking back on this, I learned a lot of very helpful and important information. I wish this class would have been a bit earlier in the program. Now when I read an ad about a computer, I can understand what it means. It was very interesting learning about the components of computers. I also really liked learning about the different malware. It amazes me that most of them did start with good intentions...it goes to show that one bad apple spoils the bunch. My favorite activity was the disaster recovery activity. This is going to be very useful to me in the future. Overall, I enjoyed this class and I feel like I have a much better idea of how a computer works.

Computer Architecture-How a Computer Works

Here we go...(I'll give it my best try!!)

It all begins with the motherboard. This is where all of the critical components are. Then there is the central processing unit is the brain of the computer. All info that comes in and goes out will travel through the CPU. Most of the computer memory is stored in the hard drive (long term storage) and that information is there forever. Another way a computer gets it's information is through the random access memory (short term memory storage) or RAM. This gets to the CPU much faster than the hard drive. All of this is possible because of the processor, where most of the electrical circuits are to help the information travel through the computer. All of the information that is put into a computer is the input and the information that comes out is the output.

When you boot up a computer it starts with the BIOS read only memory (ROM). This tells the BIOS it is time to start looking for and begin running the operating system and the rest of the computer components. It is looking for things like the memory card and loading all of the information into the RAM. The BIOS also does a memory check and count at this time. Now the BIOS looks for the operating system (OS) located in the RAM. The OS is crucial because it interprets different application software programs to the computer, like software. All things that are used in the operating system are coded specifically for that OS. Computers do no run without an OS. The OS is where all of the software is located, but in some cases you need hardware to run software. For example, if you have software that plays or burns DVD's, you cannot do that unless you have a video card and DVD burner.

Computer Architecture-OS Activities

These are the activities that I completed for the Operating System activities:
Talk to a "Techie"-I called my brother who works in computers. He fixes, installs, and updates computers for companies and homes. He was forever a PC guy, until he bought a MacBook. What switched him to the other side? He says that Apple has a superior operating system, no viruses, and their computers come with far more than a PC does. The main reason that he likes PC is that it keeps him employed with all the problems it has. Most of the time he is re-writing hard drives. He said that only about one percent of his cases are for Macs and they are typically old models.

Use an alternative OS for regular daily tasks- For this activity, I borrowed my mother's PC laptop for the day. Let me start by telling you that I have forever been a Mac girl. Every school I attended had macs and we had one at home since my dad was in education. I have very little experience with PC's. So, I tried to switch for the day and tried Windows XP. At least I only had to do basic operations, because that was easy. It was not very organized to me. I felt like I took too many steps to get to a place. I am used to just going to my dock and launching an application. The other thing that I did not like was how plain the interface was. If anything, this activity confirmed why I continue to be a mac girl.

Learn 5 new features of your operating system- On my mac, I have OS X (10.5.8). I went into system preferences and learned about Spotlight, Parental Controls, Spaces, Universal Access, and Sharing. In spotlight, I learned that you can actually block spotlight from searching some applications and folders. Parental controls is great, because you can limit the amount of time a child spends on the computer, applications, and what they do on the internet. Nice for the future! Spaces is great because you can manage all of the windows that you have on your desktop without having to move them over and minimize them. You can adjust the rows and columns and how to switch between spaces. Universal Access allows you to change settings to help people with impairments. You can zoom in, add audible sounds, and change the display. This is helpful if I would ever have a student with special needs that needed an adjustment so that they could use a computer. Sharing is fun, but dangerous because you can make your computer open for others to share files with. I tried this out with my brother who lives in Colorado. He had some files that he wanted to share with me and I with him, so we went to the sharing function and shared our files!!

Pirates of Silicon Valley- There were a few things that stuck out for me in this movie. First of all, Steve Jobs was basically the voice behind Apple, but not the inventor. I was also amazed at what a difficult person he was. The movie portrayed Bill Gates as more of the calm, cool, collected guy, and I always thought the opposite. Second, it was interesting that both guys had "sidekicks" that were with then through out the process. Third, after watching the movie, I understand why PC and Mac are so different. Both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were very different people. Steve being the holistic type and Bill Gates being more of a mathematical genius. However, the one similarity between them was their drive. They had to go through a lot and sacrifice to get where they are, but they were both very driven individuals. "Good artists copy, great artists steal." No wonder I am a mac girl; great name for a computer (LISA)!!

Computer Architecture Class #1

Prior to the class, I can honestly say that I have had no experience with the components of a computer. I have heard all of the terms that we discussed and maybe knew a "loose" definition of some, but I would not be able to identify these things within a working computer. I find that everything that we cover is interesting to me because it is new and interesting. It is also beneficial to know what you are talking about, especially if you are going to be considered a technology leader in your school/district. The history of the computer was very interesting to watch. It s amazing to me that someone can come up with something like the computer. I also enjoyed the discussion about different components and input, process, and output. Like I said, I have heard the terms before, but I am looking forward to having a deeper understanding of a computer.

Digital Media Class #5

Again, a lot of information to be shared in this class. I really enjoyed the screencasting. It was very easy and very useful. I can see using this a lot with my kids so that they can refer to directions at home and at school. I also like the podcasts and could see using that with the kids doing a summary on a book that they just read. I am busy working on my WIKI which I am excited about. I am making it for the third grade teachers in the district so we can use it as a place to share resources. The hardest part is going to get others on board, but I made a screencast, so hopefully that will help to start the process.

Digital Media Class #4

Lots has happened since our last class and it has really helped me to see how useful and important Web 2.0 tools are. My daughter, Molly Brynn Gartzke was born on 3/28. This is my second child and it has amazed me how things have changed in just three years. After my first daughter, Maggie, was born, we spent many hours on the phone calling friend and relatives and sending out pictures on e-mail when we got home from the hospital. With Molly, we were on the laptop right away posting things on Facebook, uploading pictures to Flickr, and talking with relatives in PA on Skype so they could see the baby and big sister. It was amazing how fast we could get the information our to people. However, all of this missed a generation. Our grandparents did not get any of this information. My husband's grandmother lives in Oconomowoc and didn't get to see a picture. For as much as we could share in that little time, it did still leave some people out. This really made me think about things. I am not sure what I am thinking yet, but it was an eye opening experience as to how powerful yet inclusive all of these tools can be.

Digital Media Class #3

This week we talked more about wiki's. At first, I was thinking that wiki's are not really useful to me. Then I did a search of some and found some really good ideas out there that could work. I just would need to find the time to build and maintain one. That is my biggest concern with a wiki. I would also need to teach the kids many lessons on how to use it, which is not a bad thing because it is teaching them a life skill, but as a third grade teacher, I am under a lot of pressure to teach reading and math for so many minutes a day. I could use the wiki for reading and math and that would count towards the minutes. I would also like to take a look into wikibooks and see how that would appl to my curriculum.

Digital Media Class #2

This week we met online in Elluminate. I really liked this method of meeting because you were not just sitting there listening to the instructor. It gave you the opportunity to turn your mic on and off to participate in class. I also like the features like raising your hand, applause, and the check mark. Those are great ways to communicate without having to type a response. It was cool how you could also draw on the board. It will take a little getting used to, but I found it very easy to use.

We also talked about blogs and wikis. There were some interesting articles that we discussed about the use of both in education. We also watch some Plain english videos about both. I LOVE this series of videos. I use on with my third graders on how to elect a US president. I am still up in the air about using a blog for m students, but could potentially see using a wiki. We will see what I come up with!!

Digital Media Class #1

This week, besides the whole getting to know the class stuff, we explored blogs. There were some nice search tools to help us to find blogs that may be interesting to us as well as looking at different weblog sits that could be useful to us in class. I find that most of the time, I think that there is not much that I can do with third graders and some of this technology, but once I research and look at different ideas and examples, I always seem to come up with at least one thing that I could use. I have to remember, I don't always have to be thinking about just the kids in my class. A great way that I could use a blog would be to use it as a resource of other teachers in the building. I feel like I am learning so much through the program and learning about so many resources that a blog would be a great way to communicate with other teachers not only in my grade level, but across grade levels and throughout the district. I always seem to have people asking for advice and a blog would be a great resource to refer them to.

Final Leadership Class

My definition of leadership has been reinforced because I have always thought that leadership goes beyond the school and district administrators. Teacher leaders have many different roles and I do not think a school can be successful without the teachers stepping into those different roles. I really enjoyed learning about the different roles of leadership and how on even the elementary level there are opportunities to lead.

I think that my opinion of my leadership potential has changed. I forever thought that I would be a classroom teacher who does committee work and helps contribute to the school climate. Now I have begun to think about how I could potentially be a district leader and maybe take on a role that would take me out of a traditional classroom setting. The only reason I hesitate would be job security and change, but change is also something that I look forward to to keep me fresh and on top of things.

Education can be improved from within and what I can do to improve education is continue to be open minded, try new things, and be a positive role model. I think that I do these things, but I have to careful not to let those things go to the wayside when lots of negative things like budget cuts are happening in the district.

Leadership Class #5

Well, this week we got to play the making change simulation game. Needless to say, the process was interesting. My group had a little difficulty at the beginning of the game, ok, the first two years, but one we started to see some movement across the board, we started to catch onto the whole process. One thing that I did realize about playing this game is that I can be critical at times about how change/decisions are made in the district, but I now have a different outlook. Now I know that I would not want to be the one to begin/implement change in the district. That does not mean that I am not going to be on board with change, however, it is not a very easy process for anyone involved. There are benefits and disadvantages for all. So, I think that I have gained a bit of respect for those in my district that have to begin the change process, but I still think how some approach change in the district is not a good model. My district is way too top down or let's just give it a try without really looking into it.

Leadership Class #4

Change is a difficult process, that it why it IS so important to have a plan for change. School districts go through a lot of change and sometimes the change is well thought out and planned and other times it is too fast. Our district changes the curriculum every 7 years. There is a well thought out process for each curriculum so that it doesn't come all at once. There are things, however, that are not thought out and just implemented. Then before you know it, you are asking teachers to change 2 or 3 things a year depending on the new "fad" in education. Then teachers make that change to only change it again two years later. If a district is going to make ANY change, I think it is vital that they have a plan, follow through, and then go back and review to make sure that the change was a positive one, not a negative one.

Leadership Class #3

The topic of change is one that I can relate to. In the past five years, I have taught at 3 different schools and two different grade levels. The reason this came about is because the district closed the school that I was working at for budget reasons. That was the hardest change. None if us really wanted to go, but we knew that we had no choice. Over the years, I have come to accept changes much better. Through all my moves I have learned what I really need and do not need, met all kids of different teachers and families, and have stayed very fresh in my teaching. For awhile, I taught Kindergarten and thought that there was no place else for me, but then I started to teach third grade. Now that I have am getting a degree in IT, I feel that the door may be open for more possibilities for change in the future. Change was something that I resisted at first, but now I think change is a good thing because it keeps you "fresh" as a teacher.

Leadership Class #2

Data is something that has taken me awhile to "buy" into. When I was a kindergarten teacher, it was really hard because there was not a lot of data there for me to use. As time went along, I realized that I could be collecting data on so many more things that I was. Now as a third grade teacher, data really helps me to drive my instruction. When I give a math assessment, I fill out a form that tells me the areas that my children did not score well in so that I know to go back and reteach the concept so that they have a better understanding. I also use data with the kids reading and spelling levels. Three times a year I give a district assessment for both and use the data that I gather to help me make groups where the kids are working at their level of comfort. Then the kids that need a little bit extra help can get it and those that are way above grade level can go beyond. Data has really helped me become a better teacher. I am not saying that I am ALL about data, but it can be very useful when used the right way.

Leadership Class #1

This first week was interesting. I enjoyed learning about the different leadership styles and the fact that each one has it's place. One may have a dominant leadership style, but a good leader knows when to use a little bit of each one. As a leader, I will keep that in mind. I currently lead in my school/job by volunteering for committees and offering teachers help when they need it. Since our school restructured our technology department and we do not have a go to person at the elementary level any more, many teachers come to me for help. I do not turn them away, but help them through any issues that they may have. I also like to turn those teachers who think technology is more of a hassle than good by showing them really how easy it can be. I have also done some work with the parents at the school to help them understand more how SMART boards work and how a teacher would use them in the classroom.

HTML Class #5

In class this week, we learned about many interesting and useful Web 2.0 tools. There are many out there to use, it is just a matter of finding the time to use them. I have to be careful as a third grade teacher because I have to find the balance between the tool being useful and taking too much time just to teach the tool to the kids before they can actually use it successfully. I also discovered this week how to problem solve when writing HTML. I did my work for an assignment and it was not working but I could not figure out why. Sitting down with Kris she taught me to take a little out of the code at a time to find which part was wrong. Eventhough that didn't work (because it was really something else), it was a great strategy to learn. I was just cutting and pasting n different places, not actually taking stuff out. Thanks, Kris!!