Put It On (Virtual) Paper

         Cue Alice Cooper.  This week begins my summer break from school:  not as a teacher (someday), but as a returning college student of 3 1/2 years.  With my final semester allowing for a glimmer of light before I pass into a credential/masters program, I have reflected on what lessons I have learned in and out of the classroom.  My best teachers have been my peers, if you can call 20 year-olds the peers of someone old enough to be their mother.  So, with thanks to teachers and students alike, I share my lessons learned.


1.  Sit at the front of the class.  Sure, you'll look like a studious nerd (is that redundant?), but go for the complete package.  The looks you get from being the oldest in your class eclipse anything you might get from being in the front row/table.  It has also allowed some of my professors to benefit from my ability to provide fact checks.  "Caesar Chavez organized a boycott of, uh, . . ."  Whisper:  "Grapes."


2.  Make sure you always bring your glasses.  Sure, it's easy to view large rambling writing on a white/black board, but if you really want to know what's going on in the classroom, you need to be able to read the projected web-pages on the screen.  Don't try to look younger by keeping your glasses off.  Your squinting will give you away.


3.  Always ask questions.  Sure, you'll be annoying some of the time, but your younger peers will love you for it.  With age comes courage, and the firm belief that no question is a dumb one.  Just know that you might get an occasional rolling-of-the-eyes from a less than passionate professor.  You'll need your glasses to catch that.


4.  Professor titles can be awkward barriers.  Professor, Dr., Mr., Mrs.  Conversations before and after class  are wonderful, but what do I call you?  Seeing a professor while walking briskly across campus or shopping at Target allows for very little time to determine the appropriate greeting.  "Hey, there!" covers most bases.


5.  Parking permits are over-rated.  When your school has expanded into residential neighborhoods, the walk to your classes can be motivation for the post-graduate life.  "So, this is what it looks like to be home at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday."  People do graduate and live a life void of night classes.


6.  An A- is more valuable than an A+.  Please don't share this with my professors, but this has been my belief since going back to school.  It means that the paper or essay was actually read.  A glossy A+ on a 20 page paper sounds like a major achievement, but did the professor fall asleep after page 6?  At least that's where the comments stopped.  An A- will always spark me to dig deeper and analyze more, that is after I take a few minutes to gripe about it.


7.  Power Point is a read-aloud for college students.  Read-alouds word for K - 2, but usually it is to reinforce concepts of print.  While more entertaining than becoming motion-sick from an overhead projector, Power Point is not a replacement for the content and real-world knowledge of a PhD.  Sharing with students and inviting discussion feeds both the student and the professor.


8.  The best advice can come from the most unexpected sources.  If you haven't guessed it already, I like to write.  Writing doesn't necessarily flow from the formed thought.  Rather, the act of writing can spark the thought process.  Kick start it, if you will.  A "thank you" to a professor who encouraged her students to write when they felt that they had no answer for a test question.  "I will follow the trail of your writing, because in the end you will lead me and yourself to the correct answer."  And this advice came from my Power Point professor.   Here's to new discoveries through writing.

          

Breaking News:  

Girl Enters Brave New World

          I just participated in a technology revolution.  Well, not in the way that you would consider revolutionary.  But the fact that I was able to be introduced to, practice with, and apply technology to assignments and educational applications was an experience that changed my perspective regarding technology.  I am a paper-and-pencil kind of girl.  I like to hold a book in my hands, turn the pages of a newspaper on the kitchen table early in the morning, and do my best thinking when writing with a pencil (not pen) on unlined paper.  The idea that I could not only keep up with the technology instruction in ed407 (okay: slow, but I did keep up) , but be able to envision its application in my educational future was not only unexpected.  It was revolutionary.

          One of the technology gold mines that I discovered during ed407 was Google and all of its bells and whistles.  I had been aware of certain aspects of Google in the educational setting, but primarily through the eyes of my children in high school.  Peer projects could be accessed and assessed in the classroom and the home.  Suddenly, material along with the means to network with peers, had been placed in the hands of the learner in a way that extended the classroom experience. Students created, shared, and supported each other's learning.  And that was just my view as a parent.  Then, I viewed it as an educator.  Through the utilization of Google Docs, Google Voice, Google Forms, and my personal favorite, Google Sites, I discovered that I can create, share, and experiment with information that will allow for a deeper level of learning for my students.  That is educator jargon for:  I love Google!  Google invites the student and the educator to enter, play, and learn.

           Another ed407 discovery was the application of technology to facilitate sharing.  Sharing opinions, ideas, or sometimes simply asking a question can be somewhat limiting in a classroom environment that has placed increasing demands on both teacher and student alike.  Enter social media.  My pre-ed407 view of social media was that of all fluff and rare substance.  I viewed people who habitually tweeted, posted, and blogged as those who had too much to say about too little.  Present company excluded, of course.  Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger were tools that I was aware of, but I had been generally dismissive of, especially as an educator.  I just knew that blogging was something that would never fit me.  But then, here I am writing, and there you are, reading these words.  We are communicating, and that is the life-blood of education.  Sharing, imparting, and sometimes, idea creation require communication.  It is often challenging to provide enough classroom face-to-face time to fully communicate all that is necessary for learning.  Social media provides a classroom extension which allows for an intimate sharing of ideas.  I loved the analogy for Twitter of being at a party and wanting to not miss out on any conversation.  Or an idea.  This was a major revelation for me:  social media to facilitate listening.  Social media can now provide me with the tools to reach out, listen, and share.  Now, I just need to learn and then master Twitter etiquette.  Stay tuned.

          A further revelation to me in ed407 was the creation and utilization of screencasts, Skype, and YouTube for out-of-classroom experiences.  The idea of these tools has always been at the back of my mind, but seeing them in action provided me with yet another means to reach students outside of the traditional classroom.  There exists in the educational shadows a population of students who often slip through the cracks:  chronically ill children.  Not only is it difficult for them to consistently participate in the traditional classroom setting, their absences can be sudden and prolonged.  When a medical crisis occurs, it is usually difficult and sometimes medically impossible for students to gain face-time with their teachers outsdide of the traditional classroom.  Virtual tools not only provide information for continued learning at home or in the hospital, but it more importantly allows for authentic interaction.  Screencasts can be customized for a specific student with a specific query, and Skype can provide real-time sharing.  Imagine a hospitalized student being able to participate in a classroom discussion!  When used as an educational channel, YouTube is a clearing-house of ideas, illustrations, and targeted lessons which can be bundled to suit any educational need.  Virtual tools can reach and benefit all students while allowing the educator to maintain the interaction and relationship that is critical to learning.

           There is so much to learn in order to teach, and at the core is how best to communicate and facilitate the sharing of information and ideas.  Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge," and technology captures this spirit in the delivery and sharing of information.  Ed407 introduced me to many aspects of technology, and for that I am grateful and inpsired.  I cannot wait to get started.