Data…again (ugh)

Well, I can't say that I was looking forward to going through a bunch of data again, however this time, I did think about it a little differently. Since going through tons of RtI and Common Core assessment work all school year, it could be useful to help ensure student success (along with the other assessments that we developed). It was a bit refreshing to be able to note our school's strengths, related to the information we were looking at in WINSS. I also felt a little more empowered to say that I could actually point to groups that needed some focus and ways we could maybe think about improving their scores.

Follow the Leader

Currently, my leadership roles within my school take a more "behind the scenes" look. Some of the ways that I lead are by doing things such as professional development to improve my classroom and teaching, implementing technology, piloting new ideas and methods (which are then shared with others if they have shown benefit), I have been apart of several important committees that will help shape our school with new RtI and Common Core Implementation, and overall innovative thinking and willingness to change, grow, and improve. A large majority of these tasks were taken on without directive, but that can be said for most of the things that leaders do and take on. A few tasks have been given to me by administration, with expectation that there is feedback, input, and production. I enjoy having these responsibilities and opportunities to learn and grow as a professional educator.

Finalizing the Portfolio...

The task of creating our portfolio hasn't been as rough as I originally thought. I still think that being able to do it as we finished a course would be the best way to go about building the artifacts and more meaningful reflections. It also would have given us more time to really think and put together the proposal for the final project. The more time that I have spend developing the details of my final project, the more excited I am getting to see if I am actually going to be able to pull this off and get it established the way I envision.

Using Creative Commons in the Classroom

Before this Master's program, I never looked too much in to Creative Commons, beyond simple images. After looking a little deeper into the way that CC can be used in the classroom, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there is quite a list.

There are two in-particular that got my brain thinking…The first idea was actually one that I found as I searched around to understand more about how exactly things could be used. I read through a presentation about ways Creative Commons can be used in a classroom and how a presentation that was licensed could be used, modified, and adapted to fit your needs. With some of the major changes that are going through the educational system at the current moment, I can see this coming in hand quite a bit. I have already found a few interesting resources that I will be looking at using in/with some of the new flipcharts that I am making to correlate with the new Common Core Standards.

I also came across some information about how to teach students about copyright and finding appropriate resources for reports. This is always something that I find a little difficult to teach younger students because of all the details that are involved in citing and acknowledging the source. Using some of the guidelines that were shared made it a bit less intimidating to address and for students to understand.

Here We Go...

Holy buckets! Get ready for a load of work!

I do have to say that one of the perks of this program versus another is that the final task is a portfolio and not a thesis. However, as a few of our cohort members have already mentioned, it would have been greatly beneficial to have some understanding and mention of how the portfolio was going to play into everything else. There were several tasks that I struggled with putting together, mostly because I couldn't see them having an immediate place (or any place) with my little kiddos in early elementary. Having the guidance of the standards that we had to select, or knowing how it would be used later on for the portfolio, may have helped give me a little more direction, which also creates a peace of mind and confidence that what I was doing had a place and focus. I pulled a bunch of artifacts and put them into my site already, but realized that most of them were created with an inspiration from the program, not necessarily for the program. I hope that at some point, there will be an opportunity to look through them with the class (not just teammates) and that the instructor will be taking a peek, so that if something isn't correctly placed, it isn't addressed on the last week, but sooner.

Wrapping Things Up...

My final thoughts on this course that I definitely came away with some understanding of how some form of blended learning could be fit in and appropriate for differentiation for certain groups of students. I also enjoyed creating a lesson that could be taught via online learning, so that I had the opportunity to make things that I already have fit into an online learning situation, and not have to start from scratch. I also was happy to talk more one-on-one with Kris and find out some answers of how this could work with younger students. That was one thing that hung over my head for most of this course, so I was grateful to get a better picture of what was realistic and appropriate.

The Future...

I have mixed feelings about online learning. I can see great potential, but at the same time, have a lot of questions. For the most part, I see much more blended learning occurring versus straight online learning. I can see huge benefits and possibilities for blended learning to help meet learning needs for all students, but still see a need for face-to-face teacher time. There are so many students who need instant clarification and assistance on things, and an online learning situation is a lot of work and comes with high expectation for individual responsibility and adjustment. I also wonder how a strictly on-line education would be possible for students who come from families who have working parents and how it all works. Where do the kids go during the day? When is the work done? What if they can't afford computer(s) and other services/materials? Once I have those pieces, I may have a different understanding for the whole process and how it can completely fit.  Until then, I will continue to feel as though online learning opportunities within a traditional school building and environment may be a reasonable direction.