This class has had a big impact on the way I do business. For some who have been using a variety of tech to support their work, I am sure this class did not have the impact on them that it had on me. The connection between how to use different tech programs for t he same project has really come to light for me. I worked with students today in Publisher to help them make the newsletter assignment. While I was showing them this program, one of my students taught me a tech trick I did not know. I am truly excited with the possibilities. I have the movie I made on the schools web for our parents to view, something I could not have done without Danielle’s patience! The students that shared there time and the expertise was a great experience and motivator. We just got back our ITBS and the conditional formatting will be key in dissecting the info.
I am thankful for the opportunity worked through this class with Danielle as the instructor.

Final Reflection

I have to admit I almost forgot to do this. I was cleaning out my school bag and saw my binder and it hit me. Thank goodness my bag was a mess.

In looking at all that we covered in a short amount of time it is hard to figure out where to start. I think that the multimedia project went with standard 3 in managing the different uses of technology and the resources that the teachers and students need in order to use these resources. I enjoyed the process of moviemaker (even though my short clip took my numerous hours). I can see how students could get engaged in this process will tackling the new information at the same time.

I also think that all that we learned and completed in this class falls under standard 1. The vision of many schools is to find a way to incorporate tecnology into the classroom more and provide students with many different experiences. I think that this class shows that there are many things out there that students and schools can take advantage of to make the learning process more interactive and meaningful.

I am anxious to really sit down and see how all these new things could be incorporated into the curriculum and even shared with fellow teachers.

I liked seeing the different projects and was impressed with all the work that everyone put into the multimedia project. I wish everyone the best of luck as they move through the program and in the future. Thanks Danielle it was a great experience.

One more thing...

Today at school I had a "transforming" technology experience! Six of us had just divided up a list of 360 families to call to schedule for appointments. We had to stop and think for a minute to figure out how to accomplish this without creating conflicts on the master schedule.

(Here comes the transforming moment.)

I went to our building tech person and asked about (drum roll.....) creating a WIKI!!!!

Well, I was shot down - it seems that this issue is in discussion among the district powers - but we struck a compromise by getting a central calendar set up that we can all view and edit simultaneously. Yay! Problem solved!

Final thoughts

I think the multimedia project speaks to Standard 2 in regards to "an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program...". What better way to advocate than a knock 'em/sock 'em multimedia project???

An administrator advocates for all facets of the school culture. In our fast-paced, techno world, it only makes sense to utilize a variety of media to drive home a point when the need presents itself. I'm sure many school boards would have been impressed, swayed, or inspired by the presentations that I saw last weekend.

I was floored by the successful efforts of my classmates to make their final projects as impressive and effective as possible. I'm inspired to get creative and use multimedia in my own class presentations and hopefully in my curriculum.

Thanks!

I hope the files burned ok!

I'm talking about the files in my head - not the ones for class. I learned a lot of new and exciting things in EDL 518. I just hope I can remember them all! As it is with most things, you learn them best when you use them. I plan to try to incorporate many of the skills I have acquired to either assist me in my classroom or in my coaching. On Sunday, it was cool to see so many people use the things we had practiced in class. Through them I grabbed even more great ideas - I just hope I remember them.

Randy Lee's Last EDL518 Blog

Well in the words of Mel Tillis from that classic movie "Smokey and the Bandit"; "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there." That is what the journey in this class has seemed like to me; I came a long way in a short time. I was exposed to quite a few new technologies I hope to use in the classroom and in future jobs, areas of technology that I can explore to increase my awareness in this field and a collection of just good old fashion technological know-how from a very talented group of educators. I was extremely impressed with Kevin Olesen's use of the "i-stop-motion" software, so much so I have already explored the web looking for PC based software and plan on downloading the free trial versions from sites that have the best reviews that I have discovered on Animation BLOGS. I know these last comments have little if any to do with the assignment, connecting what I learved to the standards, but it is what I reflected upon. I am a little burnt out from this year for a variety of reasons and I was not sure if I was going to resign my contract for the next year but this class has sparked me to try and incorporate some of this technology into my lessons, trying to go farther with student center learning and transformation. My belief is as an educator, if I don't always try to modify my lessons so they match with the student's skill sets then I really am not educating. It was great working with you all; good luck to those that have completed the program and are moving into administration and to those that are continuing, I hope to have class with all of you again; you are all great talents. And in a final word, Danielle thanks for putting up with the many personalities and learning levels you had in this class. I loved the fact that things didn't frazzle you much and that one of your pet sayings with us was "That Works"; it sure did. Thanks again, great job and look forward to seeing you again some time.

Final Blog: April 12 and 13

Hard to believe this is our final weekend together. Please take time to reflect on the weekend and the class as a whole. Your reflections are important!

Be sure to tie some of your thoughts to the standards. Thanks to all of you for a great class!