EDG 693 Reflections

"What have you taken away from this course that will permanently change the way you teach in your classroom?"

I have been teaching for 24 years, mostly in middle school language arts. I have prided myself on keeping up with new trends in education and being a life-long learner, but EDG 693 and Dr. Wirtz have pushed me to my limit this summer.

At the end of last school year, to prepare for a professional development I had to lead on tne new standards, I was making a creating a powerpoint. I walked into the media center where our awesome media specialist, Heather Warrell, was talking to students. I overheard her say to these students, "Powerpoint is so yesterday! You all need to try Prezi!" I was convicted. I went back to work and played with Prezi all weekend, putting together a presentation about the Kentucky Core Academic Standards. You can view it here:

KCAS June 6 & 7 on Prezi

Heather also challenged me to participate in the school blog. (That can be seen at http://okhms.nelson.kyschools.us/index.htm ) I didn't realize how hopelessly outdated I was in technology, however, until I took EDG 693 this summer. This class required me to deal with technology in ways I never have before, and it also encouraged me to try new things.
At first I kept my 13-year-old duaghter right by my side so she could help me troubleshoot, but after I got my confidence, I was doing things by myself, like registering for the educator's Skype collaborative site and contacting people to participate in a collaborativce project with my class. Even starting my own blog was a challenge, and I rejoiced every time I figured something out, like the time I was able to figure out how to edit a previously posted entry.

What this class has done is encourage me to use the technology that students are comfortable with and integrate it into my classroom instruction. I would not have done this without being thrown into the pool and forced to swim on my own.

I hope I am an inspiration to others--if a 46-year-old teacher can use the newest technology, so can you! I have already talked to a few teachers about the projects I created in this class, and I am excited to implement these plans next year. It feels great to know that I already have teachers willing to collaborate with me, and I know they will keep challenging me to try new things. I really feel like once you stop learning yourself, it's time for you to get out of teaching. This class helped challenge me to learn even more, proving to myself that I am still in the game, still enjoying what I do, and still willing and able to keep on learning along with my students!