A Single Step
By Pamela Murphy
It is said that a Journey begins with a single step. These are my steps and where I am on my path. The thoughts that are invading my brain about what I have
learned, done and been a part of may be too vast to be contained in a paper. I
could say it all started as a well thought out plan with lots of thought and
preparation. That would not however be the truth; I was going to take one class
just one. Then I got an email to join the summer cohort. Although I did not
realize it at the time this was the aha moment, the fork in the road. Summer Cohort One 2011 The Summer that Never Was 810, 811 & 812
It hardly seems possible that so much could be learned in just a short time. Nine credits in six weeks is not for the faint hearted, I arrived on campus and drove around and around and around to arrive five minutes late. To those that know me I would rather be two hours early then one minute late, so I arrived in a complete panic. I was welcomed with a great bag of tech items. Within the first few minutes I realized I had made the right decision.
Courses
Jody Spicer and Allyson Keller were unbelievable and the best instructors for this part of the journey. They were both new to the program so we learned together. The first two weeks of class were on campus I had lived at Michigan State in the early 1980s when my husband got his degree so I fell in love with the campus all over again. I came into the program-feeling tech savvy and it took about ten minutes to knock the assumption out of me. I think is was about day two at about two in the morning reading and blogging and tweeting OH MY.
The first class 810 was a dynamic class with thirty-four assignments in two weeks and the most intense educational experience of my life and one of the best. This course introduced me to a new 2.0 tools and made me more confident in the programs I already knew how to use. With a send off at the local pub, we had lunch and talked about the rest of the summer.
811 started where 810 left off. We were now on our own at home online for the next four weeks but we had each other to text, blog and communicate with. I learned to do a lot of things with a little help from my friends and family. The wicked problem project was to take a wicked problem that you face as a teacher and find a technology solution to solve the problem or make it more manageable. The problem that I choose was that many middle school students are not on grade level with their reading comprehension, fluency and mathematics skills.
812 the summer concluded with 812 and the Multi Genre project. The Multi Genre project was one project that I am proud we had to read a book of our choice and then develop five projects to go with it I read The Inner Circle By Brad Meltzer. The book takes part in Washington DC and the character works in the archives. My daughter lives in Virginia where her husband is stationed so we took a trip to see her and went to Washington DC where the character of the book worked and lives. It was fun going to the restaurant the fictional character ate lunch at and going to his place of work. This made the project come alive for me. We ate in the restaurant where he had lunch,and went to the National Archives where the character worked.
All three of these courses made me rethink and refine they way I use technology in my classroom. The classes helped me see what was important and how technology fit into all the other things I already did.
FALL 2011
CEP 806 Learning Science through Tech was taught by professor Dr. David Wong. This class helped me to see that technology can be integrated into any subject this was a great lesson to learn in as I do not teach science, but it allowed me to see the integration in a subject that I was not as familiar with. It let me see that Technology can add to the content and pedagogy of any subject. Although I do not at this time teach science I could see great value in taking a class that I was not teaching it help me see how everything could be improved if taught with technology in mind.
SPRING 2012
CEP 820 Teaching Students on Line Instructors Michelle Schira Hagerman, Sean Leahy, Ammon Jay Wilcken, April Niemela
This course was very exciting and because I have considered a flipped classroom, this is the class that has inspired me the most to complete lessons and have the students work at their own pace. I choose Cousesites by Blackboard. This was a good fit for what I wanted to convey to my students. I am still working on my site adding some options for the student to record their thoughts, rather than write them down I want to give them a choice. I feel during this process we had great support and the best literature and it has given me some great new skills to take into my classroom. I was able to go right into my classroom and use this with my eight grade students. I was even asked to let another educator using it in her classroom.
CEP 813 Electronic Portfolios Patrick Dickson
This course was building a portfolio it was my first chance to look at how to build a professional portfolio I wanted a place to put all my work and projects. This was a great start and this time around. We tried a lot of different software various website options. This helped me to see why it is important to having a professional face on the web.
Summer Cohort #2
800, 815, 822, Puyna Mishra, David Goodrich, Laura Terry
This summer was another summer of learning and cementing all those things that I had learned throughout the program I had three revelations during these courses.
1. Garners multi-intelligence theory not being as relevant as it was thought to be.
2. That prior knowledge is so important to reading
3.The six facets of understanding. I have focused my Dream It Project to activating prior knowledge with inquiry learning and utilizing a big question before reading something new. The web 2.0 tools, as well as a lot of research, that we learned and read about are worth sharing. This will help teachers motivate students. The Willingham book that was used this semester had incredible insights into why students do not like school and how to give them a better chance to learn using different approaches and technology. These three classes were the polish on what I had learned. We explored and incorporated and focused on these new skills to make the knowledge more concrete and push our beliefs out side of the boundaries.
Teaching
The 2011-2012 school year started and it was back in the classroom to use what I had learned. Many changes had taken place and my job had changed to reading coach and Title One Teacher. Change is always one part scary and nine parts exciting for me. I guess that is why I like teaching so much; I like the challenge and the fact that every day is a new adventure. The year went by in a blur. As I remember back I was able to do many things with what I had learned I taught tech classes several times for the teachers to learn new technology that they could take back into the classroom. I was also in charge of the RTI (response to intervention) so I had to offer training with the software that the teachers used. In retrospect I was confident because of what I had done during the summer. I believe that you use the skills that you are most confident using. Our school was fortunate enough to get interactive boards in every classroom and Moby (interactive slates) to use. The students love them. I have been searching for a way to help students gain a deeper understanding and I think the use of Technology helps. The depth of knowledge is much more important then the breadth of knowledge. We really have little choice on the subjects we teach as long as we are highly qualified the district can move us around as needed. I am Teaching middle school Social Studies this year 20012-2013 one bright spot however, is that the way we teach it is up to us. The article Teaching That Sticks made me rethink some things. There are ways in which I can make my teaching stick. There are many ways in which I can make my teaching more relevant with a bigger impact.
I want the students that I teach to be ready for their next step in their journey and one way I can do that is to make them better readers with a deeper understanding. The people that I have worked with in the year since I started at Michigan State have not only broadened my horizons but also increased my scope tenfold. I now have a larger PLN and have resources to help me during the journey of the next five years. I have learned to use pineterist and am finding this to be a huge resource to not only follow leaders, but to become a leader myself. I also have learned more about having a face on the net. It is important for teachers to have a strong PLN and people they can communicate with and bounce ideas off.
To infinity and beyond
What lies ahead? I wish you could get glasses for that. I will be starting a new job as the Technology Director of my district on December 3, 2012 and I can say it all started with one summer and a wish to learn what my students wanted me to teach them. It is said that a journey begins with just a single step. The Journey will continue even though I have reached another fork in the road left or right the path I choose is up to me. My challenge becomes to use what I know to navigate each new path.
It hardly seems possible that so much could be learned in just a short time. Nine credits in six weeks is not for the faint hearted, I arrived on campus and drove around and around and around to arrive five minutes late. To those that know me I would rather be two hours early then one minute late, so I arrived in a complete panic. I was welcomed with a great bag of tech items. Within the first few minutes I realized I had made the right decision.
Courses
Jody Spicer and Allyson Keller were unbelievable and the best instructors for this part of the journey. They were both new to the program so we learned together. The first two weeks of class were on campus I had lived at Michigan State in the early 1980s when my husband got his degree so I fell in love with the campus all over again. I came into the program-feeling tech savvy and it took about ten minutes to knock the assumption out of me. I think is was about day two at about two in the morning reading and blogging and tweeting OH MY.
The first class 810 was a dynamic class with thirty-four assignments in two weeks and the most intense educational experience of my life and one of the best. This course introduced me to a new 2.0 tools and made me more confident in the programs I already knew how to use. With a send off at the local pub, we had lunch and talked about the rest of the summer.
811 started where 810 left off. We were now on our own at home online for the next four weeks but we had each other to text, blog and communicate with. I learned to do a lot of things with a little help from my friends and family. The wicked problem project was to take a wicked problem that you face as a teacher and find a technology solution to solve the problem or make it more manageable. The problem that I choose was that many middle school students are not on grade level with their reading comprehension, fluency and mathematics skills.
812 the summer concluded with 812 and the Multi Genre project. The Multi Genre project was one project that I am proud we had to read a book of our choice and then develop five projects to go with it I read The Inner Circle By Brad Meltzer. The book takes part in Washington DC and the character works in the archives. My daughter lives in Virginia where her husband is stationed so we took a trip to see her and went to Washington DC where the character of the book worked and lives. It was fun going to the restaurant the fictional character ate lunch at and going to his place of work. This made the project come alive for me. We ate in the restaurant where he had lunch,and went to the National Archives where the character worked.
All three of these courses made me rethink and refine they way I use technology in my classroom. The classes helped me see what was important and how technology fit into all the other things I already did.
FALL 2011
CEP 806 Learning Science through Tech was taught by professor Dr. David Wong. This class helped me to see that technology can be integrated into any subject this was a great lesson to learn in as I do not teach science, but it allowed me to see the integration in a subject that I was not as familiar with. It let me see that Technology can add to the content and pedagogy of any subject. Although I do not at this time teach science I could see great value in taking a class that I was not teaching it help me see how everything could be improved if taught with technology in mind.
SPRING 2012
CEP 820 Teaching Students on Line Instructors Michelle Schira Hagerman, Sean Leahy, Ammon Jay Wilcken, April Niemela
This course was very exciting and because I have considered a flipped classroom, this is the class that has inspired me the most to complete lessons and have the students work at their own pace. I choose Cousesites by Blackboard. This was a good fit for what I wanted to convey to my students. I am still working on my site adding some options for the student to record their thoughts, rather than write them down I want to give them a choice. I feel during this process we had great support and the best literature and it has given me some great new skills to take into my classroom. I was able to go right into my classroom and use this with my eight grade students. I was even asked to let another educator using it in her classroom.
CEP 813 Electronic Portfolios Patrick Dickson
This course was building a portfolio it was my first chance to look at how to build a professional portfolio I wanted a place to put all my work and projects. This was a great start and this time around. We tried a lot of different software various website options. This helped me to see why it is important to having a professional face on the web.
Summer Cohort #2
800, 815, 822, Puyna Mishra, David Goodrich, Laura Terry
This summer was another summer of learning and cementing all those things that I had learned throughout the program I had three revelations during these courses.
1. Garners multi-intelligence theory not being as relevant as it was thought to be.
2. That prior knowledge is so important to reading
3.The six facets of understanding. I have focused my Dream It Project to activating prior knowledge with inquiry learning and utilizing a big question before reading something new. The web 2.0 tools, as well as a lot of research, that we learned and read about are worth sharing. This will help teachers motivate students. The Willingham book that was used this semester had incredible insights into why students do not like school and how to give them a better chance to learn using different approaches and technology. These three classes were the polish on what I had learned. We explored and incorporated and focused on these new skills to make the knowledge more concrete and push our beliefs out side of the boundaries.
Teaching
The 2011-2012 school year started and it was back in the classroom to use what I had learned. Many changes had taken place and my job had changed to reading coach and Title One Teacher. Change is always one part scary and nine parts exciting for me. I guess that is why I like teaching so much; I like the challenge and the fact that every day is a new adventure. The year went by in a blur. As I remember back I was able to do many things with what I had learned I taught tech classes several times for the teachers to learn new technology that they could take back into the classroom. I was also in charge of the RTI (response to intervention) so I had to offer training with the software that the teachers used. In retrospect I was confident because of what I had done during the summer. I believe that you use the skills that you are most confident using. Our school was fortunate enough to get interactive boards in every classroom and Moby (interactive slates) to use. The students love them. I have been searching for a way to help students gain a deeper understanding and I think the use of Technology helps. The depth of knowledge is much more important then the breadth of knowledge. We really have little choice on the subjects we teach as long as we are highly qualified the district can move us around as needed. I am Teaching middle school Social Studies this year 20012-2013 one bright spot however, is that the way we teach it is up to us. The article Teaching That Sticks made me rethink some things. There are ways in which I can make my teaching stick. There are many ways in which I can make my teaching more relevant with a bigger impact.
I want the students that I teach to be ready for their next step in their journey and one way I can do that is to make them better readers with a deeper understanding. The people that I have worked with in the year since I started at Michigan State have not only broadened my horizons but also increased my scope tenfold. I now have a larger PLN and have resources to help me during the journey of the next five years. I have learned to use pineterist and am finding this to be a huge resource to not only follow leaders, but to become a leader myself. I also have learned more about having a face on the net. It is important for teachers to have a strong PLN and people they can communicate with and bounce ideas off.
To infinity and beyond
What lies ahead? I wish you could get glasses for that. I will be starting a new job as the Technology Director of my district on December 3, 2012 and I can say it all started with one summer and a wish to learn what my students wanted me to teach them. It is said that a journey begins with just a single step. The Journey will continue even though I have reached another fork in the road left or right the path I choose is up to me. My challenge becomes to use what I know to navigate each new path.