Reflect on my process of building my website. Well, it was a lot and well I did it. So, I like taking this in the summer bc there is more time to do work during the day. But, I don’t like taking this class during the summer bc well, it’s summer and I like my summers. I think I feel the same way everyone else does just from hearing the chatter before class started. It is a lot. But, I think it is good. I would love to take more time but I also don’t want to take anymore time.
I felt that the examples really helped me with how my site should look and how my final capstone project should really be. The checklist for what should be where also helped guide me to what should be done with my project. I am borderline over this. But, bc I can see the light at the end of the tunnel I think I will be able to push through and get this thing done! I think how they have it set up helps. I almost wish we could have started in the middle of last semester with the site though. It may have helped relieve some of the pressure now felt. That is my clearly stressed out point of view but yeah. I was talking about it with my wife and I think it might help. I really think the one on one’s helped and also the critical friends looking at our site and working with our sites was a big help. Really most of my time is spent critiquing my own work before putting it on the site. I am currently into track 93 of my 193 Hot Water Music/Coalesce playlist. (fyi those are both band names) I have to have a creative process where there is a lot of introspection and I do my best work when I listen to music and am busy doing something else. Sometimes I feel like this guy...
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Haha what does being a good critical friend mean to me? Haha, well if you’re asking about a critical friend in the sense that I want you to pick apart my life and tell me what is wrong and then give me advice on how you think I should or could fix it then well I don’t believe those “friends” exist. Haha, more like frenemy...But in all reality I do need someone to go behind me with a critical eye and see if what I am doing, saying, showing and acting is acceptable by the standards with which they are placed. My appointments went well. I learned about the hyphen usage and the wonderful things that it could do. So, really I want to share a story. I write music reviews for a magazine called New Noise (for real look it up no, no in fact here is a link). While we are talking about that how about this-I was also referenced on a wikipedia page for one of those reviews. Check out the pic. But, this is important because of this simple fact I did not do it alone. What do I mean by I didn't do it alone? It is rather simple yes I have an editor but before I even send it to an editor I have my wife look at my reviews and make sure that I am not giving our family a bad name. Haha
So what I took from my good critical friends viewing my pages I took everything away. They helped me see it as an outsider would. I hope I gave that to them as well. I had help with my pages where they showed me what they thought about certain design questions and if my meaning was even coming through to the viewer. I thank them and am grateful for their insight and vision. So I would like to say that we at Franklin Middle School are ahead of the game and have a stellar technology mission statement. Haha you would like to think that me being on what is called the design team or the school’s leadership team. More importantly you think that by me being the technological liaison for our school and in charge of all things technology based I would have already have pushed this and had one. But, alas I am sad to say that we do not have one. Here is our mission statement as it currently reads. It does not mention technology in it at all. I guess it could be implied but honestly I feel that would be a stretch.
Our Vision is for our diverse learners to be empowered, prepared and equipped with academic and life skills needed to be productive citizens, who can positively contribute to society. Our Goal is for every student to have clear, attainable pathways to career and/or college success. In Support of Our Vision, we will attract and retain highly qualified staff, as well as leverage community resources to provide support systems for all students and their families. Here is the my new revised Vision statement with technology added. Vision Our Vision at Franklin Middle School is to provide our diverse learners with access to state-of-the-art information technology which will assist them in:
Our Goal is for every student to have clear, attainable pathways to career and/or college success. In Support of Our Vision, all administrators, teachers, and district/school staff will use technology daily to effectively help students attain high standards and prepare for tomorrow's world of work. We as a one to one school will use resources efficiently and strategically to ensure productivity and fiscal responsibility. We will encourage staff and students to use the technology as a way to extend learning outside the classroom walls during traditional school time. So my new statement meets the goals for my capstone wonderfully. My capstone actually is there to help my fellow teachers (and my mom and anyone else who needs it) reach what I have envisioned for my school. I am going to be so bold as submit it to my principal to review it to see if we are able to adapt it as our school's vision and put that bad boy on the website. I think they will go for it. I am going to brag that I have made it a top priority to incorporate technology into my personal practice. I have personal reasons for doing this. I feel that the use of technology is the great equalizer. I want to give my economically disenfranchised students every opportunity to come out ahead and I feel that by teaching them with and through technology they will have that much of an advantage over those that are not as privileged. I also wanted to go to my principal and brag about how much paper I have saved this year. I have used a quarter of the paper allotted to me this year. So I have an environmental reason as well. Looking at others sites has helped me to see that I need to come out strong straight from the start. I need to boldly state in my hook who and what this site is for. Kind of how we as a cohort want you to give us exactly what you want in each assignment. Which in turn is what a good teacher should do for any of their students.
Now knowing this and actually doing this may be more difficult than I may have originally anticipated. But as we have been instructed we are to use our peers. So really this is a warning to all those in my cohort I’m going to use you haha! So who is my audience? Well originally I was thinking it was going to be a couple of teachers that I work with and maybe my principal (only bc I bounce things off of her). I then thought that this could be used on a slightly larger scale within the walls of my school. After about a week of thinking this I decided that there could be a bigger need for the How-To videos and after talking some with others in the Cohort I saw the need existed to open the parameters of my audience to teachers and really anyone that used the software/ ideology that these programs encompass. So directly my audience is teachers. But I am not going to set it up as a site like one teacher teaching his peers, because really as we learned there is a gap that those with the knowledge may not see or even understand. So to bridge the gap I am going to teach or set it up as someone who does not have the knowledge on how to use the products. I mean really that only makes since. If I want to use a product/site and it confuses me when I go to try and use it I will not use it which that is the exact opposite of this whole program. So now having led you to this point I am going to say that indirectly my audience are my students or actually any students or if we dial it back even more anyone who is need of this knowledge. I could see my students using this site as well as my principal all the way up to my mom who has a hard time with text messages. So I have to keep my mother in mind when making this site. So in short who is my audience? My mom! Ahhhhh Dearborn
On Dearborn’s page I feel that their audience was suppose to be teachers. More specifically teachers in the Napa County School District. I am not sure if it was me and my connection, but, and I tried several times to click through the pages and some of them came up without any info on them. So, if I’m the rule and not the exception then no they were not effective in presenting to their audience on every page. As I already stated there was info and missing links all throughout their site. Making it really hard to follow their project. Gottfried Gottfried’s audience are fellow teachers. There is no reference to a specific place as with Dearborn’s page. I feel she was successful presenting her message about blogging to other teachers. I could also see her audience possibly being admin as well. On her Learn More page she talks about how her school decided to go as a school and start blogging. This indicates that the admin had to be involved in the decision to change. The site was successful at presenting more and why we (the audience) should use blogs. It was easy to follow her logic/journey. Vale Vale makes it very clear who her audience is right from the beginning. Her hook asks directly if our classrooms indicating she is talking to those that have classrooms or teachers. She keeps that consistency up throughout the rest of her site. She gives suggestions to teachers and she is addressing teachers throughout setting a clear concise tone to her audience. About the Author Some days I am Fodo and some days I am Gandalf. That is as simple as I can put it. (cue up Led Zeppelin Immigrant Song) I come from the land known as Virginia and before I stepped foot in a classroom I walked in others shoes with collars colored blue. Fodo: My journey has been long and I have the callouses to prove it. I’ve worked in construction, manufacturing, and even selling. I’ve translated foreign tongues and been lost in foreign lands. I’ve seen humanity at it’s lowest and it’s highest. I’ve helped the poor and I’ve been needy. Some days I am walking taking the scenery in being like Fodo. Gandalf: I have taught in the humblest places and help share a knowledge that I feel is important to us. I have been a leader and helped those in need. I am a mentor, an older brother, a best friend, and a guide. When I am Gandalf I help and I give what others need. In my Frodo stage I went from job to job thinking that I had found the one. Knowing really that I hadn’t. Once at VCU I even started on the path to education. But, I left it and said that that was not for me. I found that nothing satisfied me like I knew it would. One day I embraced it and I heeded the calling. Leading me here. The technology part of me has always come naturally. I would help my dad back in the 90’s with his computer. I am just wired that way. It just makes sense. Here is an excerpt about my beliefs and how I think... When I think about my beliefs it is hard sometimes to articulate what they are. Don’t get me wrong I have many beliefs and am very passionate about making sure others know many of them. If I had to pinpoint and ask myself what are my beliefs and what parts of those beliefs make me who I am? Above all there is respect. I can break it down into smaller parts and share those pieces, but at the heart it is respect. Someone who respects themselves will do what is best for them. Now this does not mean they are selfish and take at the expense of others. Quite the opposite actually. As a self-respecting person they understand and respect others the same as they respect themselves. How does this impact behavior in my class? I believe that in order to build a positive relationship of confidence I need to set the tone in the class. I start each day greeting my students individually to set the tone of respect for the class. See I learned my work ethic from my father and he is the hardest worker I know. I work hard and I have high expectations of myself. I expect the best from myself. This bleeds over into my class. If I share this respect with my students then they will in turn respect me. If my students remember one thing I want it to be to respect themselves and to respect others. Another strong belief I have is confidence. To me this runs hand in hand with respect. I intend on helping my students gain confidence in themselves. This is something I wish was taught to me when I was in school. Kids have enough things to worry about they should not have to worry about whether they are sufficient or not. We need to be without apology. Someone I emulate is Fred Rogers. He talks about discipline and he says, “as its root word “disciple” suggests, discipline is a teaching-learning kind of relationship, which depends more on intimacy and trust than on authority. Disciplining includes comfort, care, and nurture. It includes praise for achievement, and it most certainly includes examples, from which young children learn so much.” I believe in being a disciple. I am not a teacher because someone shamed me into doing it. So, I am not going to teach like I was. The more I think about why I decided to teach and my beliefs the more I feel I was chosen to fulfil this calling. I am a teacher because I chose to take on the responsibility of educating wee ones. Come what may! I am called to the greatest calling. I believe in being kind, loving and I am willing to change what I need to change to improve my students' success. This all comes full circle back to respect. I respect myself and I respect my students. I am called to the greatest calling. I believe in being kind, loving and I am willing to change what I need to change to improve my students success. This all comes full circle back to respect. I respect myself and I respect my students.
As far as my driving question. I have changed it slightly to open it up and be more encompassing. My focus has dialed back a little. Does the infusion of technology with strategic design increase student comprehension? Originally, I focused on one specific strategy to see if student comprehension increased. In my study I found that the use of technology could enhance student’s comprehension. I decided that by providing support for others would help students grow. So really my audience is two fold. It is suppose to be for my fellow teachers and supporting them with their technological needs. But, in reality it could also be used for students as well. I hope to and already have had continued support from my cohort and I will be able to complete everything needed to have a successful capstone project. In turn I will continue to help and support my colleagues in their endeavors. |