Grant Project

From this project I learned what writing a grant entails. Before this project I had heard of grants and talked with other teachers about writing grants and what they wrote grants for, but I wasn't aware of what a grant actually looked like. It was interesting to be able to write a grant as well as to see example grants and all of the many formats and layouts that grants can be written in. 

While writing our grant, the first struggle was deciding what we were going to write our grant for. Then, while writing, I felt that the hardest part was actually thinking about the product and its role in the classroom with both the students and the teacher. We had to actually think about how it could be used and how the school could monitor its use in the classroom.

After this project I feel that when the day comes that I have to write a grant for my classroom or school, I will be better prepared and have a greater knowledge of what grant writing is and looks like. 

Interviews

Last week I had the opportunity to view multiple interviews with different education professionals. These professionals consisted of; a teacher librarian, a technology coordinator, 1:1 teachers, a technology integrationist, and an AEA staff member. These interviews were recorded and posted online for us to be able to watch all of the interviews.

My goal as a teacher is to teach in a 1:1 classroom. I love the environment and love how much freedom the students get in and outside of the classroom. Because of this, I really enjoyed the 1:1 teacher's interview. I have had many different opportunities to talk with 1st year teachers and found it very interesting that one of the interviewees was a 1st year teacher. She gave great tips on how she adjusted to the use of so much technology and the different tools. The advice that was given was fantastic and something that I will keep in the back of my mind as a grow in my teaching career.

One major thing that I noticed while watching the 5 interviews were the similarities in the information that was discussed. One thing they all talked about was to never be afraid of the technology that is provided to you. Another thing that I picked up was that even though many people really stress to use technology more often, technology is not the only thing that matters when teaching or planning. All of the different people telling me how important it is for me to be willing to always try new things and have that willingness to fail really got to me. As a preservice teacher, I will take any advice that others are willing to give me very seriously. It was great to hear from professionals that IT IS OK TO FAIL. You have to know that you will fail at things in life, but you should always try again or try even if you are afraid to fail.

From all of my technology classes I felt that using technology was really important and that I needed to use it more often. From these interviews it was great to hear them talk about using technology but it isn't all that matters in your classroom. I completely see how great using technology is, but I often find it a little tough to change up my ideas and try to make them more technology based.

All in all, I loved hearing from these professionals. It was a great opportunity and something that I can relate back to for years to come. There are so many tips and quotes that I have taken away from these interviews that will be very useful in my future career.

Technology Review #2

Educreation is a great tool that I was recently introduced to. It is FREE but does require a login. You can use this tool as an app, on an iPad only, or on the website, which makes it even more useful. I first created my Educreation using my computer but presented my lesson to my students using the app on the CTLT iPad. I found this tool to be very easy to use and loved that you can record and pause until your read to record again instead of having to stop recording throughout the lesson. It was a great tool because it was almost like I was sitting there with the students as they were practicing their vocabulary words.

Here is the link to my Educreation lesson from another class:
http://www.educreations.com/course/lesson/view/03-12-2014-lesson/18559956/

With this tool I was able to write the word while talking them through the steps. Because I recorded my lesson, the students could hear and see me writing the word at the same time. This tool can be used for any age of students! I have seen it used for 1st grade spelling, as well as for 8th grade math. The teacher is able to walk through each step to help explain each step.

Technology Review #1

   

Comic Life is a tool that I was introduced to when I first came to Iowa State University over three years ago. I have used it again since then in different classes as well as in my lesson plans. This is a great tool because it can be used on any device whether it is windows or mac. There is one initial cost you must pay for the app but after that you would only need to pay again if you chose to upgrade your app.

I have always used Comic Life from a Mac computer or an iPad, which means I was able to access my iPhotos through the cloud. You can use this amazing app to create comic strips with personal pictures or pictures from the internet, editing pictures, scrapbooking, and much more. There are so many different options to use Comic Life in schools or in your personal life. I have always used this app to create picture collages or to display information, but I have a family member that enjoys scrapbooking with Comic Life and then sending her pages to be printed using a printing site.

One thing to remember is that because this is an app you must download it to your actual device in order to use it. Once you have it downloaded, you can begin exploring the app and creating masterpieces of any design, shape, and size!