Second Reflection: What do you need to change?

Part of becoming a better technology using teaching is doing a self assessment of your skills..  what are some areas that you need to work on to make more meaningful use of technology in your job.

  Something that I continue to struggle with as a new teacher is classroom management. It is something that I learn more about everyday, and I'm constantly assessing my ability to manage my 1st graders. I believe that this is a big area that I need to work on in order to make meaningful use of technology (once I get some!). I need to be able to see issues that can happen in the classroom while using technology ahead of time and be prepared with how to handle anything that could go wrong while keeping the management of my classroom up. Perhaps in that aspect, I would need to sharpen my abilities to multitask as well.
   Time management would also be something I need to work on. I have a tendency to get lost in my lessons, especially when my kiddos are curious about things and want to ask questions. I love to feed into their curiosity, but that can be time consuming. Being able to better manage my time would help me with effective use of technology in the classroom, as I believe that it is extremely easy to get lost in technology and lose track of time.

Video games, Mesopotamian style!

 In his article "Learning Theory, Video Games, and Popular Culture," James Gee states "human understanding is not primarily a matter of storing general concepts in the head or applying abstract rules to experience. Rather, humans think and understand best when they can imagine (simulate) an experience in such a way that the simulation prepares them for actions they need and want to take in order to accomplish their goals." If this is indeed the truth, then an activity that could be transformed for 21st century brains (particularly 1st graders that I teach) would be a video-game simulation in which my students would be taken through Mesopotamia and would have to explore various aspect of this place and time (eg. cuneiform writing, Hammurabi's Code, Tigris & Euphrates river, vocabulary words like canal, fertile, etc.). This is a current objective for my first graders under Common Core, and we have been reading out of the text books that were provided and most of the information is delivered to my kiddos via "lecture" type discussion. Since I have young students, I believe they would understand the curriculum more if they experienced it through an interactive video game where they were citizens of Mesopotamia.

First Reflection...

After the readings and our first class, what is something in your practice that needs to change.  Is there something that we did or read that sparked something in you..  and made you think - I could be doing something different that would make me more effective in my job, my life, or my role as a student? 


   As a fresh new teacher (probably among one of the first new generation of teachers that come from the digital native generation), this is such an interesting field for me because honestly I never even thought about what it might be like to teach without technology. Going through a fantastic elementary education program at OU, I was prepared to step into my first classroom expecting technology to be waiting, and was even equipped with a few SmartBoard lessons to begin my career. Low and behold in a brand new school that isn't considered Title 1 yet, we are severely lacking on the very same technology that my fellow peers and I were trained to use with our Digital Native students. Now this was not something I was ready for.

  "The single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the predigital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language," Prensky says. Whoa, that's pretty intense. Now even though I myself am a Digital Native (as my students are), I was taught by people that spoke in the predigital age tongue. I remember how some of my lessons were delivered to me. But pair the problem of having to reach Digital Natives along with a class of 21 students of which English is not the first language and then throw in a pinch of oops-you-don't-have-technology-for-your-kiddos-have-fun-with-that and what happens? Initially, a feeling of confusion, despair, maybe even a little incompetence. What has happened is that I have become dependent on technology in the classroom so much so that I have no idea what to do without it.


  Thinking about this, I've come to realize that in order for me personally to be more effective in my job, I need to think outside of the tech world. I need to unplug myself and get back to basics right now, because technology is not very accessible to me and my students. My first graders have already asked, "Mrs. Roland, why don't YOU have a insert-fancy-technology-here?" I've gone home several nights thinking to myself, "Oh, if only I had a insert-fancy-technology-here. THEN I could reach all of my students!" This is certainly not the case. Even though the Digital Native students I have are more engaged when technology is involved, this doesn't mean that I am ineffective. I need to change the way I think about my abilities as a teacher without technology, because only then will I begin to be effective. As a Digital Native teacher, however, this is a very hard belief to change.

Mrs. Roland's ideas for teachers to change common practice to engage digital natives.

Five ways that a teacher might need to change common practice to engage digital natives:

1. Come up with fun and engaging lessons that involve technology that the students use every day.
2. Find new and innovative technologies that you and your class can learn to use together and develop lessons using the new technology.
3. Move away from the old, boring methods that keep kids in their seats all day with their noses in a book or on a worksheet.
4. Have students that are confident in their technology skills teach skills to the class.
5. Once students learn new concepts and skills, have them "re-teach" those skills to their parents via technology as a way to review and reinforce these skills.

Enter the Circus- The world of Tiffany Roland for EIPT 5513

Good evening, classmates! I'm Tiffany Roland, and I'm a first year (just started January 3!!) first grade teacher. I'm also starting my journey down the road of obtaining my master's in technology in teaching. I'm pretty excited to be here! Bear with me, as I may get glossy-eyed and overwhelmed. A little about me: I'm 26, I grew up in Norman, OK and have lived here all my life. I love reading, traveling, and learning about all things techy. I also really rather enjoy my sleep. I've run out of ideas on what to write...so...cheers!

So would it be cheating if...

...I kept the goals I already had and merely changed the end date? Meh? Welp...gonna do it anyway, so woo ha!

Whoops, procrastination?

So, turns out that this past semester at school took the life out of me. I hardly had time to breathe, let alone update this!! BOOOO me.

Ah wells, my 4.0 semester was worth avoiding Facebook and the computer for a while. :)
Since I have a bit of time before I start the dreaded summer school, I'm going to re-evaluate my list and make any necessary changes to it/update things I've worked on or completed. I promise I'll try to keep up more here!

2nd week of school down, and snowed in!!!

Snowed in...YAY Oklahoma. How I LOVE your snow-ice, and FANTASTIC drivers in this crud. Oh, also the fact that EVERYTHING except Wal-Mart is closed. I hate you.

Well, at least I have time to update the blog! Week 2 of school is down, and I think this semester is going to be pretty intense. Nothing I can't handle, though! In the madness of the beginning of school, I've managed to start a few of the tasks on The Mission.

First, I finished playing the New Super Mario Bros. Wii!!! It was a blast, as a matter of fact, my husband and I are going through and playing it again. Anyone needing new Wii games, this is a must for anyone who wants to feel a little nostalgic! Here are the end credits :D

I've managed to purchase a "Wreck This Journal" amidst purchasing my and my husband's million dollar textbooks. Methinks this is going to be annoyingly difficult for my Type-A personality to finish...but  we'll see how it goes. For anyone who doesn't know what a "Wreck This Journal" is, read the story of how it came to be by the author here: YES, click here. (Also, enjoy my open cabinets in the background, for your viewing pleasure. I was so excited about this "journal," that I went around opening all of my cabinets while singing show tunes as well as strategically placing my pink plaid backpack on the couch, of course for it to be in this shot.)

ALSO I managed to finish the nautical flags for our aforementioned themed living room I was painting! Acrylic on canvas, the flags spell out the name my husband and I share...I'm debating on whether or not to add two more flags, one on either side (once the go on the wall) for each of our initials. I'll get a pic up once they are in place on the wall.

I'm currently in progress of obtaining my teaching certificate in elementary education (oh, dear...) hence my going to school AFTER obtaining my Bachelor's degree in something completely different last spring. If I'm lucky, I will complete this task before The Mission's end date. Then you can all trust me to teach yer chilran how too spel and dew grammarz::: az wel az mathes?!

#13 is a go!

Just "granted my first wish"via swap-bot!

What I am considering as "one wish" is every time I've completed a swap. This first particular swap involved being assigned to 5 random people around the world to "swap" emails with about our favorite job, current job, dream job, and strangest job. It sounds a little simple, but it's surprisingly really fun! I can't wait to do some more swaps, particularly ones that involve me actually physically sending things out.

#93 and #94 are now in progress!

So, thanks to OU's IT store, I was able to purchase this lovely device, as one step closer to completing #93.

I already have a mediafire account as well, so let the massive amounts of back-ups begin! This puppy comes in at a whopping 2 terabytes. I'm sure between Adam and myself we'll probably end up filling this up REAL quick.

Adam and I preformed earlier tonight at Hastings, a local entertainment store and cafe. This makes #94 in progress as well. The show went pretty well, for it being our first gig! It was amazing to get to perform in front of our friends and family that support us, as well as complete strangers that let us invade their space. This picture was taken by my best friend Shandell, and we're setting up in the shot.

I've had an exciting day, if you can't tell :D

Starting #53

What is Plinky, you ask? Well, taken from the website itself:


Plinky makes it easy for you to create inspired content. Every day we provide a prompt (i.e. a question or challenge) and you answer. We make it simple to add rich media and share your answers on Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

Here's my first answer, just posted. Slowly, but surely :D



http://www.plinky.com/people/timaro/answers

#96 & #66

Are now in progress :D. Adam and I went out last night to see  Avatar in 3D, which was amazing. If you haven't seen a 3D movie at the Warren, do yourself a favor and post haste! We also had dinner out at Red Robin. It was a pretty nice evening, Something the hubby and I don't get to do often. I'm hoping that seeing this movie will also count for #66, which is seeing 26 random movies for each letter of the alphabet. Oh well, it counts today :D I'm going over the list I've made to see which ones I can go ahead and start on immediately, and which items will take a bit more planning on my part. I have a feeling once school starts next week, that I won't have a whole lot of time for this. We shall see.

To boldly go where many have gone before...

Today, I begin The Mission. Ah, what is this Mission I speak of, you ask? Well, let me give you the down low:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? 
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Yeah, yeah...so I've jumped on the bandwagon. I did what everyone else has done or is doing. And I don't give a fudge. Each one of these tasks on The Mission means something to me, and I believe will help me become a better person, as well as better understand myself. And if you know me, you know I'm pretty tenacious and determined- a deadly combination. So, follow me if you will, on my journey of self-discovery through this blog. Or don't. Either way, I don't really care. The list of tasks to be completed on The Mission is to the left, if you'd like to peruse through them or whatnot. I've already started on a few of them. We'll see how the rest turn out. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd, GO!