Discussion Week 4

It was great to see samples of other people’s work.  I enjoyed seeing how many

things they have on there and look forward to future classes and learning more in

this program.  I like seeing where we are headed and how much we will grown our

own portfolios. I had to view them again a second time to learn from them.  The

first time I was busy looking at all the options, admiring their work, and was absorbed
in designs and ideas.

The point of the ePortolio is to share you own work in your own way.  Everyone

can have the same thing, but it all be different.

We have a “CHOICE” in how we showcase our work, yet we have the same

title/assignment.  We do it, present it, share it in a different way.

It is like teaching the same grade level as the teachers on your team.  You

are all teaching the same thing, but in your own way. It’s is kinda like fast

food hamburger places.  Everyone is selling hamburgers, but everyone

has the own way of doing it.

We “OWN” our own site.  I made my in Google because I love all things

Google.  (I am Google Certified Level 1 and plan to do Level 2 soon.)  I wanted

my site to be in Google so that I can use my drive to save all my work, in a

folder, to put everything in one place.  I like being able to link my assignments

right from my Google Drive. This way when I make changes it automatically

saves it. By linking the document it will present the most-up-to-date information

and it will always be current as soon as I make the adjustment or tweak the

assignment.  This makes my work very “AUTHENTIC”.

We have “VOICE” our own thoughts and we all have a different opinion.  We all

discussing the same thing, but we all have our own take on the situation.

Looking at other people’s work gives you an insight to who they are, what they

think, and how they feel on a certain subject.

It was great to see samples of other people’s work.  I enjoyed seeing how many

things they have on there and look forward to future classes and learning more in

this program.  I like seeing where we are headed and how much we will grown our

own portfolios. I had to view them again a second time to learn from them.  The

first time I was busy looking at all the options, admiring their work, and was absorbed

in designs and ideas.

I don’t want to copy what someone else did, because that wouldn't be my work, my

experiences, or my thoughts..  I want to do my own work, but looking at other people’s

complete portfolios helps inspire me to be creative and helps stir up my thought process.

By viewing others we learn from each other.  It is like working with your team at work.

You share your ideas, tell how you teach something, and use each others ideas.  This

is why I follow other teachers on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. I love seeing

what others are doing in their classroom and then incorporating their ideas in my

class.  I “borrow” their ideas and make them my own. They aren’t going to be exactly

like what they did, but it will be similar. We did the same thing, but we did it differently.

An example to learning from one another in my day-to-day life, would be in regards to

a teacher that I follow is Mary from “Sharing Kindergarten”.  She share a free file

called “Dem Bones”. It is using White Cheetos that look like a skeleton. It has a

head, arms/legs, and feet/hands. She has several pages in her file, but I only plan

to use a couple of them.  We did the same lesson in a different way.

I hope that we have another class later on to work on this again in order to add,

changed, and redo things later toward the end of the program. I think this class is a

little too soon to make changes and make the as well-rounded as the samples since

we don’t have much to add right now since the last class just ended.

Pear Deck with Google Slides

As most of you know, I love all things Google.  Anytime the district offers Google type training, I try to attend.  Now that I am in Pre-K this year, I am not always sure that things will be helpful or apply to my grade level, but I am still willing to learn.  I love to learn!  I am a life-long learner.

Today was the Google Slides training about Pear Deck.  It is a really cool tool!  

It is free for the first month.  After the first month, you can get three more free months with the link in the handout.  Most of the features work in the free version.  If you make some activities during the free time, they will still work after the free trial is over.

I like the drawing option as one of the answer choices.  I made a sample lesson where the students can use the drawing option so the students can write the letter.  

Example: I decided to make a "beginning sounds" lesson.  The students look at a picture (pumpkin) and then they have to write the letter "p".

This is a really great tool and I look forward to using it to make some more interactive lessons.  

The challenge will be having the students use their individual devices correctly and staying on task.  Sometimes I have to remind myself they are only four and need more assistance than kindergarten.  The daily challenges are real, they are tough, but in the end they are worth it!

Portfolio Information

I went to a class on ePortfolios class last weekend at TCCA.  Here is the information that was shared with us during that class.  By adding it to my blog I have a place to store valuable information and can refer back to it when needed.

Week 3 Ownership

The ePortfolio is mine, I created it, and it is my thoughts about what I am learning.  

People can view it, but it is all mine.

The COVA learning approach will impact my learning by allowing me to learn

my way.  It applies to real-world learning. I am not used to having so much control

over my own learning.  I am used to the traditional learning and being told how and

in what form to do things. I like structure and choices, so having more control and

doing things with freedom will require me getting used to it.

I like this information, “It is this ownership of ideas that leads to deeper learning. In

order to make meaningful connections one has to take ownership of those ideas and

concepts in order to construct meaning. Eportfolio proponents all point to the power

of reflection but unless the student is reflecting on ideas that they own rather than

reflecting on artifacts and data the power of this reflection is lost. Making meaningful

connections is what leads to learning.” which came

from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6050.

At first it did not appeal to me, because I am used to a certain way of doing

things.  I will get used to it and enjoy having the freedom to do differently. Having

too many choices is also and issue at times. For instance, when a group of us

want to go out to eat together, no one wants to make a decision because we all

want to hear each others “voice” or opinion.  So finally we have to narrow down

our choices and basically take a vote.

I remember being in high school we had basic information that we had to

remember and then repeat on test day.  We studied the same way each time,

teachers did things the same way, it was like a routine.

I really didn’t view the lack of freedom, “C” for choice as not being creative.  

I viewed it as the teacher wanted things a certain way and you do as you were

told.  It was respect and you followed instructions. The freedom to choose “C” is

both beneficial and a challenge.  I like being able to turn in the assignments however

we want, but it is also a challenge, because I have a hard time getting started.  I

work full-time and feel like this is a lot of work to do in one short week. We are

told that we are supposed to stay until the job is done, so teaching full-time,

requires lots of extra hours past the regular school day of 3:30pm.

Taking “O” ownership of your work is important.  I didn’t like doing group work in

school because somehow I was always paired with someone that was either lazy

or didn’t care.  I usually had to do all the work. This is why I would “hold back” and

didn’t want anyone to know that I was smart. I remember one time that I was paired

with a great partner.  I had a boy for a science partner. He didn’t like to write and I

didn’t want to touch things. We made sure to pick each other when in that class. He

dissected the frog and I wrote the report.  He would tell me what to write and I made

sure it was written correctly, and turned in on time. That was a great match.

In the above example, we both had a “V” voice.  It was great. It was difficult when

you would work with certain people and they didn’t care or want to participate.

I remember a specific example where I did get out of the safe zone.  I entered a

history fair in seventh grade. My teacher, Mr. Rhodes, was wonderful and he had

great ideas.  He shared ideas with those of us that wanted to do a project for the

school history fair and we worked hard on it.  I placed in the fair and was able to

go on an overnight trip to San Antonio with the other winners. That was worth all my

hard work and effort.

One video that I found that I liked was the Rita Pierson video on YouTube.  It was

thought-provoking and I have watched it a couple of times. Every Child Needs a

Champion by Rita Pierson, retrieved from

https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion?language=en.

Resources:

Harpanuik,D. (2018). [ blog] "It's About Learning,  Who Owns the Eportfolio?"
retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6050

Week 2 Discussion

I can see the benefit of using ePortfolio for students after reading all the information this
week.  At first I was unsure about all of this work we were doing and didn’t understand
the point. I am now enjoying inputting information on there.  I like to look at it and make
changes every few days, sometimes they are small and might not even be noticed.

When we first started these I was unsure of what to even add.  I like looking at the
examples and seeing how other people are creative in their development which helps
inspire me to create mine.  Of course, I worry about doing the right thing and doing what
is required. That has now become a second priority, because I realize that making it
my own is what is important.

One thing I decided to add to my ePortfolio is meaningful ideas and lessons we are
doing in prek this year.  I have a ClearTouch panel in my classroom because I was part
of the pilot program my district did last year. I am slowing teaching these four year olds
how to use it as a tool.  I have slowly taught them one thing at a time and they are
catching on very quickly. It seems to be second nature to them. They are having fun
with it and don’t even realize they are actually learning things by using it.  We are
incorporating it into our “Morning Meeting” which is where we do our whole group
lessons when they first arrive. It has been a big hit with them. They are already
learning “10 frames”. They are also learning to take turns and patience, which is something
that four years old seem to have trouble understanding.

I want to be able to look back and see how much progress they make with all the little
things they are learning.  It is amazing how quickly they can progress even though each
class is only there a half a day.

My assistant and I decided to make them little journals instead of a portfolio.  It is a way
to track their progress this year with their writing. We are going to do a monthly activity
to help show their progress so their parents can look back on their beginning pages to
see how much they have learned. We decided to do them on paper because being in a
Title 1 school we don’t have the funds to do everything with technology.  These students
are four and they have very little knowledge of the technology skills it would require to do
it digitally.

I can see how the ePortfolio can benefit students as they get older and grown their knowledge.  
It is a time consuming project and would have to be built over time like ours are growing
over time.  If schools have the technology available they could start small and let the students
grow their portfolios over their school years.  I think that it would be a great thing to start one
when a child enters school for the first time and have them add something for each grade
level.  It would be a wonderful body of work for them to use when applying for college. It
would show they take education seriously and how they have improved, changed, and
grown as a lifetime learner.  It would help them make real-life connections.

I attended the free TCCA conference in Aldine this weekend.  One of the classes I
attended was on building a digital portfolio and how it would help students.  They used
a software called “Bulb”. I was similar to building one in Google Sites. I thought how it
would be nice to see students have a section on their site for each grade level.  This
software seemed to make it easy for students to build, create, and develop as they get older.

By having your information online you can share it with your audience or readers and
they can see what you learned, your opinions, and your voice.  You can look back and
see how much you learned, how well you did something, and what all you have accomplished.
It is great to showcase what you have done and learned.  You can change it anytime,
add to it, be creative and express your thoughts. You are always growing and improving
on your own learning.

Also having a Blog is also very helpful.  It like my mom writing in her daily diary.  I
remember how she used to write everything we did down.  She also wrote her thoughts
and feelings about the situation down.  She sometimes would get them past ones out
and tell us what we did in the years past on certain occasions.  Sometimes we would
laugh and the funny things and memories of our silly family. She had a way with words
and could tell the story in a funny way.  

Barnstable, K. (2018, January 08). Stable Transitions [Web log post]. 41 Benefits of an
ePortfolio. Retrieved from https://luonline.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/internal/portfolio

Barrett, H. and Richter, J. Reflection4Learning [Web log post]. Why Reflect? Retrieved
from https://sites.google.com/site/reflection4learning/why-reflect  

Harapnuik, D. It's About Learning. [Web log post]. Why Use an Eportfolio? Retrieved
from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7012http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6063

Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux , T., Cummings, C. (January 2018). COVA: Choice, Ownership, and
Voice through Authentic Learning. Retrieved from www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7291.

TCCA 2018

Today was a great day.  I attended the TCCA 2018 in Aldine at Davis High School with some of my work friends. 

I learned a lot of new information.  Be sure to check out  my future posts to find out all about it!

Here is my personal schedule!

6:30am-11:30am @ Cafeteria

Presenter Sign In/Registration

7:30am-8:30am @ Auditorium

Keynote Address

8:45am-9:30am @ RM 2619

Super Slides: Soaring to New Heights with Google Slides

9:45am-10:30am @ RM 817

Microsoft Office & AI: Revolutionize Your Productivity

10:45am-11:30am @ RM 804

Digital Portfolios For All!

11:30am-12:45pm @ Cafeteria

Lunch: Freebirds World Burrito

12:45pm-1:30pm @ RM 307

Google Sheets Supercharged!

1:45pm-2:30pm @ RM 2303

CHOICE, VOICE, OWNERSHIP, and AUTHENTIC learning experiences using Google Sites

3:00pm-3:30pm @Closing Ceremony - Door Prizes Giveaway!!

New Class 5303 - Week 1

This week was week one of the second course in the DLL program at Lamar.  I am excited to
begin a new class because this means I am one step closer to reaching my goal.

The ePortfolio needs to grow and change as we learn more and progress in the different
classes. It needs to be user friendly, stay up to date with the latest information, and
change with the times.  If there are links on the site, they need to be checked to make
sure they are still working links and are active. It seems like we can use this course to
“tweak” our ePortfolio and put some “sparkle” to it.  (I say it like that because I am a
pre-k teacher and we love glitter. Glitter makes us happy.)

These ePortfolios are ours.  They showcase our work, thoughts, philosophy, and
accomplishments. They are proof of what we know and can do in the education field.  
We need to make them reflect who we are and what we are learning. They will help us
grow as a person and an educator. We can share what we have learned in the way that we
want to do it.  My "go to" type of presentation is a Google Slides because it is something I
know how to make and can express my creativity using it. I prefer not to use a video
because I don’t like to see my own face.  I would rather have a presentation with interactive
links, YouTube videos, and pictures.

By having a blog on the ePortfolio you can use this for your thoughts and reflections
of what is happening with your learning.  As we take classes our learning will increase
and we can make changes to the ePortfolio. When we share our thoughts and learning,
it helps provoke thoughts in others.  We can reflect on each others learning and learn from
each other. It is natural to want to make a good grade.  We need the good grades to stay
in the program.  On the flip side, grades are not reflective of what you have learned.  Grades
will not show how much you participated and what you have accomplished.  By using an
ePortfolio it shows your learning. It will show what you have done.  By adding assignments
others can see that you were engaged in the course work.

Harapnuik, D. (n.d.) Who Owns the E-portfolio?
Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6050