Thursday, October 20, 2011
Quarter Summary
This quarter is extremely stressful.. And now it almost Christmas break, I love Christmas :)
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Maggie Mathias: a Profile
Maggie Mathias: Freshman at Ohio University
When asked about her life, Maggie sighed and said, " It's all about the memories."
Mathias reminisced about times she has had, the people who have shared them with her, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
Family
It is a regular week day for Mathias, and she is doing homework. Her favorite television show is on this evening, but the thing she is looking forward to the most is a call from her mom. Maggie talks to her family and visits them often. Her family consists of her dad, Rich; mom, Tonya; sister, Lynn, 16; and brother, Blake, 11. Because they are so close in age, Maggie comments on how close she and her sister Lynn are. She misses seeing her every day.
"I also really miss my dog Sammie! He always puts a smile on my face after a long day" says a smiling Mathias.
Maggie plans to spend her spring break back home in Lancaster spending time with her family and her dog "just relaxing and spending time together."
Maggie's favorite things to do with her family are:
- Go out to eat
- Hike
- Bike ride
- Watch movies
- Play board games
Above is Maggie and her family. Left to right: Maggie, Lynn, Blake, Tonya, and Rich
This picture was taken this past Christmas at the family's church.
Friends
In addition to her family, Maggie shares a lot of great memories with her friends. Between being active in the marching band and honor society in high school, she has made many wonderful friends.
The most memorable moment she has shared with her friends was on a band trip her senior year when they missed the bus back to the hotel and her dad had to come pick up all eight friends in their group!
"I just met up with a couple of my friends for lunch on Saturday, it was so good to see them! We laughed so much" Maggie shared.
Because she is just a freshman in Athens this year, Mathias said it has been hard to make new friends but she hopes to start getting more involved so she can meet new people and "really get the college experience!"
In the picture above is Mathias (right) with two of her best
friends, Kelsey and Jessica at their prom senior year. The prom was held at Old Man's
Cave in the Hocking Hills.
Most Recent Adventure
When asked what her most recent adventure was, Mathias lit up and explained that she had gotten to spend one day in New York City the week after Christmas this year. In search of a road trip, Maggie and one of her cousins searched the many "Fun Bus" trips and found one to their liking: one day in New York City full of shopping and site seeing.
"The worst part was that my feet got completely soaked and were freezing the entire day. But other than that it was a great time, I have always wanted to go there!"
Mathias said she would love to go back sometime when she could stay for longer than one day so that she could explore the city more and see things when it was not winter time.
In this picture, Mathias is standing in Times Square. She said
the bus got there so early that it was still dark out!
Ohio University
Apart from memories and adventures, Mathias still has her day-to-day life, which is being a college student. She is a freshman at Ohio University studying integrated mathematics. She wants to teach high school math at a small school, in order to give students a similar experience that she received in her own education.
"I chose to attend Ohio University for many reasons, the biggest being that it was close enough to home that I could visit whenever I wanted. Another reason was that my mom went here and my cousins currently go there. It makes it nice to know a couple of people!"
As far as her favorite activities around campus, basketball is number one. Mathias loves to cheer on the men's varsity team and says that their games are "just a blast."
This picture is of Maggie and Rufus during her pre-college orientation this past
summer. She and Rufus share a love for the Bobcats!
Hopes and Dreams
Five to ten years into the future, Maggie sees herself married with a job and maybe a baby. She would love to have a house in the country where her family will feel comfortable and be able to enjoy the outdoors.
In addition to this life with her future family, Maggie sees herself loving her job: being a teacher. This is the career she has always dreamed of, and one that she is excited to begin.
In her own words:
Monday, November 8, 2010
4 Discussions
(A) Web Evaluation Discussion:
-FAIR-3
-Immigration Blog-3
-America.gov-3
-News from the Onions-3
total=12
(B) WebQuest Discussion:
total=6 (one comment on each webquest and 2 comments on my classmates' thoughts.)
(C) Google Form Discussion:
total=4 (2 of my own comments and 2 comments on my classmates' thoughts.)
(D) Lost Arts of Teaching Discussion:
total=4 (2 of my own comments and 2 comments on my classmates' thoughts.)
-FAIR-3
-Immigration Blog-3
-America.gov-3
-News from the Onions-3
total=12
(B) WebQuest Discussion:
total=6 (one comment on each webquest and 2 comments on my classmates' thoughts.)
(C) Google Form Discussion:
total=4 (2 of my own comments and 2 comments on my classmates' thoughts.)
(D) Lost Arts of Teaching Discussion:
total=4 (2 of my own comments and 2 comments on my classmates' thoughts.)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
EDCT 203 Final: Technology Integration Plan
For my technology integration plan, I am going to utilize a couple of Web 2.0 tools that I learned about in EDCT 203. In this lesson, students will research a topic in groups. This topic will deal with an aspect of the type of literature we are studying at the time. For example, I may ask them to research Shakespearean theater before reading Hamlet. While researching, the students will use the social bookmarking tool, Diigo, to communicate back and forth about the information. Following this research and collaboration, the students will write a cooperative paper using a Wiki. This lesson entwines two very useful and beneficial technologies and should take 1-2 weeks depending on the students and the extent to which they research. Through this lesson, I would like to communicate the importance of working together and seeing every group member as an asset. I will also stress what credible sources are and how to be respectful while working collaboratively on a paper.
First, after giving students a brief introduction to the topic, I will teach them how to use Diigo. After each student is comfortable with the social bookmarking tool, I will separate them into groups of 3 to 4. Once in their groups, each member will locate one credible online source and share it with the rest of the group members. (I will review what makes a source credible). Once each student has a link to every other member’s source, the students will spend time reading and analyzing the material. While doing this, they will use Diigo to comment on the material. Through use of the highlighting tool, floating sticky notes, and the ability to comment on their group members’ comments, the students will collaborate their ideas and be provided with in-text references that they may utilize in their paper. I think that Diigo is an excellent tool to use during research for a collaborative paper because the students are forced to actually absorb the text and talk about it, making them analyze the information more.
Next, once the students have read all of their sources and had Diigo conversations on each, students will learn how to create a Wiki. I will model the process for the entire class, and then each group will create their own Wiki page. They will have the opportunity to spice up their Wiki and personalize it. Once the group’s Wiki is complete, they will begin their collaborative research paper utilizing their credible sources and ideas that they formed through their Diigo conversations. There are multiple ways this paper can be written. Students may choose to each contribute a certain piece of the paper on the Wiki, or they may choose to add things “here and there.” I will give them freedom to decide what route works best for their particular group.
I feel that this lesson utilizes technology in a way that facilitates learning because the students are using Diigo to find information and analyze it, and then they are using the Wiki to do collaborative work and use good group work skills. All of these skills are important in our day to day lives, so that is what makes this lesson that utilizes technology beneficial to students. This method of carrying out a research paper is more fun for students because they get to learn new technology and work together—making a “dry” assignment more interesting.
My assessment as to whether this assignment was effective will be the students’ final product. Is it well organized and put together? Did they take advantage of the text that Diigo helped them decipher? But most of all, I will observe the students and listen to them as they work to see if they are enjoying/benefiting from this experience. I keep all of my lesson plan ideas on hand to have the ability to pull from them in a job interview situation. I can utilize this lesson to show my knowledge of different Web 2.0 tools.
First, after giving students a brief introduction to the topic, I will teach them how to use Diigo. After each student is comfortable with the social bookmarking tool, I will separate them into groups of 3 to 4. Once in their groups, each member will locate one credible online source and share it with the rest of the group members. (I will review what makes a source credible). Once each student has a link to every other member’s source, the students will spend time reading and analyzing the material. While doing this, they will use Diigo to comment on the material. Through use of the highlighting tool, floating sticky notes, and the ability to comment on their group members’ comments, the students will collaborate their ideas and be provided with in-text references that they may utilize in their paper. I think that Diigo is an excellent tool to use during research for a collaborative paper because the students are forced to actually absorb the text and talk about it, making them analyze the information more.
Next, once the students have read all of their sources and had Diigo conversations on each, students will learn how to create a Wiki. I will model the process for the entire class, and then each group will create their own Wiki page. They will have the opportunity to spice up their Wiki and personalize it. Once the group’s Wiki is complete, they will begin their collaborative research paper utilizing their credible sources and ideas that they formed through their Diigo conversations. There are multiple ways this paper can be written. Students may choose to each contribute a certain piece of the paper on the Wiki, or they may choose to add things “here and there.” I will give them freedom to decide what route works best for their particular group.
I feel that this lesson utilizes technology in a way that facilitates learning because the students are using Diigo to find information and analyze it, and then they are using the Wiki to do collaborative work and use good group work skills. All of these skills are important in our day to day lives, so that is what makes this lesson that utilizes technology beneficial to students. This method of carrying out a research paper is more fun for students because they get to learn new technology and work together—making a “dry” assignment more interesting.
My assessment as to whether this assignment was effective will be the students’ final product. Is it well organized and put together? Did they take advantage of the text that Diigo helped them decipher? But most of all, I will observe the students and listen to them as they work to see if they are enjoying/benefiting from this experience. I keep all of my lesson plan ideas on hand to have the ability to pull from them in a job interview situation. I can utilize this lesson to show my knowledge of different Web 2.0 tools.
EDCT 203 Assignment # 12: Lost Arts of Teaching?
Do you think technology can facilitate learning? Why and why not?
I do think technology can facilitate learning, it just has to be done in the right way. A teacher who makes Power Points and fills them with notes, and then stands up and reads them word for word, is not facilitating learning. At all. I think that some teachers use technology as a crutch in that way, they make it do all the work, and use it in a way that is not beneficial for students at all. However, I am not against technology. After reading the article "Lost Arts of Teaching," I really started thinking. I believe that there has to be a healthy balance in the classroom. This includes technology, group work, independent work, hands on projects and many other things. In this environment, technology should be used as a tool to assist a multidimensional lesson--not BE the entire lesson. Good examples would be all of the tools we have learned thus far in EDCT 203.
What are the factors that affect our decisions on whether and how we will use a technology in our classes or not?
Obviously, I am not a teacher yet, so it is difficult to answer this question realistically. However, I think that as a teacher, we need to first develop a lesson and a method of how to teach that lesson, and THEN incorporate the technology to enhance the lesson and deepen learning. You always need a base of knowledge before you can effectively use and integrate technology. As far as Power Points, I feel that they should be used sparingly, and only as a guide. I could see using a Power Point to show pictures that are associated with a lesson, or You Tube videos that pertain to a lesson and make a lesson more tangible. I definitely plan to use technology on a fairly regular basis, but it is hard to say exactly how because I do not know how equipped my school and classroom will be.
I do think technology can facilitate learning, it just has to be done in the right way. A teacher who makes Power Points and fills them with notes, and then stands up and reads them word for word, is not facilitating learning. At all. I think that some teachers use technology as a crutch in that way, they make it do all the work, and use it in a way that is not beneficial for students at all. However, I am not against technology. After reading the article "Lost Arts of Teaching," I really started thinking. I believe that there has to be a healthy balance in the classroom. This includes technology, group work, independent work, hands on projects and many other things. In this environment, technology should be used as a tool to assist a multidimensional lesson--not BE the entire lesson. Good examples would be all of the tools we have learned thus far in EDCT 203.
What are the factors that affect our decisions on whether and how we will use a technology in our classes or not?
Obviously, I am not a teacher yet, so it is difficult to answer this question realistically. However, I think that as a teacher, we need to first develop a lesson and a method of how to teach that lesson, and THEN incorporate the technology to enhance the lesson and deepen learning. You always need a base of knowledge before you can effectively use and integrate technology. As far as Power Points, I feel that they should be used sparingly, and only as a guide. I could see using a Power Point to show pictures that are associated with a lesson, or You Tube videos that pertain to a lesson and make a lesson more tangible. I definitely plan to use technology on a fairly regular basis, but it is hard to say exactly how because I do not know how equipped my school and classroom will be.
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