Pinterest

I have had this obsession with Pinterest for about a month now. Thanks to a friend, I was invited into the world of hyperlinked photos. Each photo takes you to the original website. Pinterest allows users to navigate through a variety of interests such as art, photography,food and drinks, travel, do-it-yourself crafts, design, kids, fitness, and many more. Users also have the ability to organize sites of interest onto "pin boards," which is a fantastic way to save information for a later date. Take a look and see what you think. If you'd like an invite to join, let me know:)

~Melissa

Boring Blog

I am exhausted from completing my assignment this week (8.1). I wanted the assignment to be visually pleasing, yet informational. While I was able to find a plethora of information regarding blog writing, web writing for gaming tips was an elusive task. I searched for hits by using several key words, with very little results. Therefore, I found some helpful sites for general web writing. I also provided a link of a gaming tips site to serve as a model.

This blog is getting boring, due to my lack of different visual content. Therefore, I need to add pictures. This is on my task list for this week. I will be taking some pictures of projects and technology projects from my classroom. Stay tuned!

Great Resources

I'm finding helpful resources as I'm completing my homework assignment for this week. Here are just a few:

http://www.educationworld.com/
Take a look at the article by Nancy Sulla entitled "Teaching the Digital Generation"


http://www.cyberkids.com/
Parents and kids may like the child friendly atmosphere of this site. The site offers opportunities to read and view kid-published artwork and composition. Kids submit work to the site, as well!

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/
This site is organized by administrator, teacher, parent and student. Each section offers helpful advice and tips from homework help to puzzle makers and lesson plans. My school pays for a subscription to the site, which allows access to educational Discovery Streaming Videos.

101st Day of School

The students and I spent the day preparing for our next celebration. The entire school is participating in Super Bowl related activities. Each classroom is required to graph students' winner predictions of the Super Bowl and complete a football-themed writing prompt. My paraprofessional, a cardboard engineering genius, concocted a 3-D cardboard stadium surrounding the classroom graph. It has been quite the conversation topic around school among the students and teachers alike! Once the glue sets, the graph will be proudly displayed outside of our classroom. The writing prompt centered around teamwork. The students brainstormed ideas and used words such as proud, goals, happy and sports. The ideas were transposed to football-shaped paper where the students developed their own meaning of teamwork.

What does this have to do with technology? Nothing at all. Besides providing a printed colored example of football helmets, the computers and SMARTBoard took a backseat to old-fashioned discussions and paper and pencil tasks. I am ok with that.

~Melissa

100th Day of School

Today was the 100th day of school. The students were excited to take part in many of the activities around the school. I took the opportunity to incorporate money and a writing prompt into the 100th day. Students brainstormed what they would do with $100. During the brainstorming session, the class helped create a graphic organizer on the SMARTBoard. The overwhelming popular choice centered around buying video games. One student said he would save the money for college, where he would study dirtbikes:) After our brainstorming session, the students took their ideas and transposed them to green paper decorated with a mock image of the $100 bill. The students were delighted to see their pieces of work hanging around the classroom at the end of the day.

~Melissa

Technology Portfolio

In an effort to obtain my future career goals mentioned in the earlier post entitled "Looking Back and Looking Ahead," I have begun developing a portfolio of technology related lesson plans for an elementary classroom. The portfolio will highlight lessons compatible for students with academic, social, emotional and behavioral needs. I am utilizing the Missouri Center for Career Education's guidance lesson plans as a starting point:
http://www.missouricareereducation.org/index.php?view=project&project=guidelsn&section=ps1

By using the lessons as a guide, I am seeking educationally appropriate websites, online games/activities, iPad apps or software to complement the lesson objectives. For example,the lesson "Many Faces of Me" can be implemented in conjunction with the following website: http://www.cccoe.net/social/BL1.htm

Ideally, the portfolio will be organized by content area (math, reading, writing, social skills, etc.) with examples of student work. This seems like a daunting project, but I have begun with the social skills section, as this is my specialty area. As the portfolio grows, I will post some pictures and descriptions.

Lots of work ahead...

~Melissa

Technology Competency in the Classroom

Waynesville R-VI School District's mission statement reads, "Educating individual students for 21st century challenges." As part of educating students, I feel that teachers must take opportunities to incorporate technology in the classroom. While some teachers are comfortable and competent with computers and technology, others are uneasy with utilizing technology in day to day learning. I have often reflected upon more effective methods of teaching the standards, which also incorporate software, online educational games and applications. Developing lesson plans around digital media is somewhat challenging but offers great rewards, especially for the students. How will teachers educate students prepared for 21st challenges when technology is a challenge for themselves, as teachers. When will paper/pencil tasks be replaced with iPad applications? When will textbooks be replaced with ebooks? When will word processing programs replace hand written essays? If/When this shift takes place, will teachers be ready? Should teachers be required to take a technology methods course? In order to prepare students for 21st century challenges, we, as educators, must be prepared for 21st century challenges.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Nearly two years ago, I embarked upon my journey through the Masters of Education program in Instructional Technology. While it has not always or ever been free from challenges, the end of the program is nearing its destination. With the end in mind, I have found myself reflecting upon my initial goals and future plans. Initially, I intended to use the degree in a number of different ways. I could use the degree to strengthen my technological skills as a special education teacher. Secondly, I could seek a position as a instructional technology specialist within the district. Lastly, I could seek employment elsewhere as a technology instructional specialist in the private or government sectors. My future goals are open to any of those possibilities. This time of year, the district is filled with conversation concerning job openings for the upcoming school year. I have decided to take a leap of faith and apply for any openings in instructional technology within the district. By doing so, I am almost guaranteed a job site change, which means new co-workers, students and administrators. This is somewhat scary, as I have reached a level of comfort in my current position. So here is to looking back and looking ahead...when goals become a reality and not being afraid to try. ~Melissa

Experiences with Technology

My experiences with technology, thus far, have been related to my profession as an educator. I am a special education teacher, in my 7th year of teaching. Many of the projects, lessons and activities in my classroom support student learning in the areas of reading, writing, social skills and behavior modification. Fortunately, my elementary students (grades K -2) have access to a student computer, a classroom SMARTBoard and computer lab. Our daily technological activities include calendar SMARTBoard lessons, online educational games and word processing programs.

In addition to utilizing technology with my students, I also designed a classroom website: http://web.waynesville.k12.mo.us/east/Meliton-Paolicelli/Mrs._Paolicelli/Welcome.html
I have also taken a Web Design course through Drury, which has taught me a little about HTML. I look forward to learning as much as I can this semester, in the hopes of becoming a better educator.

~Melissa