Johanna+Diaz+Portfolio

= **Learning Goals, Reflection, Artifacts!**  =
 * Technology Portfolio**
 * 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: **
 * Grade: A (Completely Accomplished)**

**Goal:** Expand my knowledge on the different on-line tools I can use that are out there so I can share them with my students and put them into practice to make the classroom more interesting for students. By presenting material using innovative technology I may spark interest in some students that may be loosing interest in the class.

I have definitely expanded my knowledge on multiple on-line tools and have put them into practice at my school. During our class we shared ideas on different tools on our blog using Wordpress. The first tools I learned how to use was the actual Wordpress itself, I never before blogged and Wikispaces.com, I didn't even know what a wiki was. This wiki is an example of how far I have come in utilizing technology. My top tools from our Idea Share Blog section were: Prezi, Quizlet, FreeRice, Khan Academy, Voicethread, Debate.fm, and Google News. I have utilized most in the classroom and in other assignments I have to do in my graduate program. I have presented new material to my students using Prezi, I have started to show more videos in the classroom using YouTube, and I have suggested a few technology tools for my students to use during their own presentations. See below for some of my comments on these tools and uses: View my[| interview with a technology]user using Voicethread. On Prezi: I think Prezi is a fun alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint, as times are changing it is always good to keep students interested by providing them with new tools they can use for their own presentations or even by presenting new material for a class utilizing new tools such as Prezi. Like I mentioned in the past I help run the work program at the high school I work for and I used Prezi to present to the on the importance of note taking at the workplace, they all received the presentation extremely well and asked me how I did it. I was happy to explain it was simple, just create an account, and you can get started. Click on this link to see my presentation: []

On Free Rice: I absolutely love this tool! It is easy to use and great for education and humanity. I have never heard of this tool until today and I will definitely use it. I will have my daughter play the games, I will test myself, and as a High School English teacher would encourage my students to use this tool as well. I think the more words our students are exposed to the more “literate” they become and will be more prepared for today’s society. I am also going to share this tool with my colleagues, this tool is a winner. The idea that by playing a game that will improve your vocabulary will bring food to those who need it is incredible. I give a lot of credit to the person who came up with this idea! As for classroom implementation, I would probably give it to my students as extra credit or a downtime exercise.

On Debate.fm: I have to tell you that I think this tool is super cool! I will definitely be using it in my classroom, I had a debate the other day and I did it the old school way just setting chairs on each side of the classroom (pro vs. con) and had each side state their opinions. I would have loved to put this tool to use, definitely for next time. I think it is great to keep the students points somewhere in writing and to have others reply to them either agreeing or disagreeing with the points made. This tool would get about a 4 according to our rubric, can be used a lot as long as we are debating issues. It is easy to set up, clear, not a messy website with too much going on, and will probably be a website that isnt banned by the school network. Go Debate.fm! View our class [|Debate] **Goal:** Engage students and encourage them to learn virtually and collaborative, teach them how to participate in the classroom and with each other using Twitter.

This is a goal I chose to complete by exploring Twitter first hand. I completed my Personal Use Project on this and I concluded that Twitter can be a great resource for teachers and students as long as used approapriately. We can find useful information on different topics we may want to discuss in class. We can also have our students follow a person, group, company, etc. on Twitter that is associated with a topic being covered in class. This can create interesting conversation in the classroom and engage students. To see more on what I learned through my Personal Use Project visit my Blog: []

**Goal:** Find on-line tools that I could use to create assessments for my students. I found this goal to be the most difficult, but I got a few ideas. My very own idea was [|Quizlet], it is a great tool to have students practice vocabulary or other items they may want to memorize and then later test themselves and we can make note of the score. Another idea shared by one of my fellow classmates[| trackstar], this is a place we can where you can create lesson plans and even quizzes for your students. Then you can keep all of your tracks easily accessible, which I found to be helpful. I still need some work on finding other tools that I would find easier to use in the classroom, I found trackstar to require additional training.
 * 2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: **
 * Grade: B+ (Partially Completed) **

My comment on Trackstar on the blog: This tool took me a bit more time to understand it and I don’t know if I completely understand it now. I think that with proper training we would be able to utilize trackstar. I do like the idea of creating tracks on a subject and have links that associate with the topic all in one place and easy to find. I liked that it has a keyword search feature so that once the track is created it wont be difficult to find. The quiz feature is also cool, it even translates quizzes. This tool doesnt make me feel 100% confident with it and I am not sure if I will use this, I think that in order for me to use a tool for the classroom they need to be user friendly and quick to understand. Other than that I would try to practice a bit more and then maybe it might be useful, teachers nowadays are tight with time and this might cause a problem because I feel this tool requires teachers to take time with it.

**Goal**: Be able to have assignments in the classroom that involve different technologies in order to teach students that learn in different ways. (Ex. Recordings, pictures, videos, etc)

I feel completely accomplished with this goal because I have made many changes in my teaching style and the tools I use with my students! I have started using a class Blog via a tool called Moodle and I have created presentations on notetaking skills using Prezi among other progressive changes. View my [|Prezi]

On Moodle: ==== **Moodle Jan.-Feb 2012:** I had never utilized blogging before taking this course, but I have noticed how beneficial this is to our students. They can share their views and comment on other students views and this can be used for discussion in the classroom. ==== ==== I started a Personal Leadership class for my 12th grade students thanks to some great professors from Columbia University that offered to lead the course. ==== ==== The workshop consists of 6 sessions and its all about getting to know our "inner" selves and becoming leaders for ourselves. We started with the questions Who am I? and had all the senior students blog about this using Moodle (an online course management system). Click on this link to learn more about it: ==== []

Some student Blogs posted below for your entertainment:

I am confident. I am honest. I am an intelligent young adult. I am Giovani. A student from Cristo Rey New York High School. Who loves to entertain others. Who loves to help others. Who sees Everything! ** . ** Who dreams of going to college and becoming a engineer. Resident of New York City!! I am who I am, a person with high hopes and dreams.

I am **c** **o** **l** **o** **r** **f** **u** **l**, I am loving , I am **playful** , I am ** SPECIAL .** I am **funny**, I am **caring** , I am ** outgoing, I am**__greatful**,**__ I am ** // NOT AFRAID // ** to walk in this world ** //ALONE// ** I am ** //STRONG// **, I am ** //BEAUTIFUL// ** , I am ** HAPPY ! ** ** AM ** ** __C____H__ __E__ __L__ __S__ __E__ __A__ __♥__ **
 * I **

Who am I? I’m pink. One who’s separated from the troubles and everything that just stinks. Who am I? U n s u r e … Unaware of what the future holds, but ready for the grand tour. Who am I? Completely incom plete. Not a part of the world, but trapped in hopeless romantic dreams. Who am I? Grateful of NATURE. I love the grass and trees...living to one day change my community. Who am I? Scared to SUCCEED. I hide from my own light in fear of where it might lead. Who am I? I am Kimberly. Still in the making….

**Goal:** Fluently use the technologies I am currently familiar with, such as the Smart-board, Face book, Twitter, etc. I have accomplished this goal completely, we have access to a Smart-board in every classroom in our school and before this class I cannot say I was taking full advantage of this tool. Now I not only successfully display PowerPoint presentations, but I show videos via YouTube that relate to topics we are covering, I can use the mark-up tool when explaining certain things (circle, x out, draw, etc.). I have been following various educational people, groups, and organizations on Twitter in order to expose myself to ideas and get recent updates on innovative teaching tools. Follow me on [|Twitter] In addition to those tools I have also become fluent using wikis and blogs, which I will 100% continue using in my classroom. I find these tools are interactive and students love posting comments and posting what they feel about certain topics. **Goal:** Create a digital way to communicate with my students. I can count this goal completed. With the Moodle class blog I created I have consistently been posting assignments onto that and students have been good at responding to questions on the blog. I have also started to use [|Survey Monkey] with my students to get feedback on certain techniques I use in the classroom and I have found it interesting to compile statistics with this tool. With Survey Monkey I get to find out what works well with my students and what doesn't. Goal: Create an on-line guide for students and review it at the beginning of the year so that we are all on the same page as to what is good use of the Internet and the digital world. Have a set of rules that apply on-line as well. I have created a statement on digital literacy where I clearly state my expectations and guidelines for my students, this document will be shared with parents and students at the beginning of each school year. Click below to view: I have also created an online document that will establish a clear understanding to all my students about what they can and cannot use when it comes to the web. This document on Copyright Clarity will help students legally use information and resources found online for education. In order to share this document I created a Glog, click here to view: [|Poster on Copyright Clarity] **Goal**: Learn and become fluent in Twitter and blogging. This is a goal that I have accomplished and have made notes about in the above reflections, but to sum it all up I have created a class blog that I will continue to utilize and Twitter has become a resource for me as an educator. **Goal:** Share what I know to improve my students knowledge on how to use social media for education. I have learned a load of information during this class and the tools I have been exposed to I am exposing my students to as well. They have been blogging, following instructional people on Twitter for extra credit, and I have been engaging them in class by using technology via the Smart-board. My students love associating school with life so bringing in YouTube when possible is a great way to make connections and help students transfer knowledge. With technology things are simpler and new things are possible. For a presentation in one of my classes one of my group members was out and we used voicethread to have her share her part of the presentation. It is great how technology can make what use to be impossible possible, click here to view the [|voicethread] we used for our class. This just goes to show how long I have come, something I would never imagine doing for a presentation and it worked very well. I have been open to try new technologies and I haven't been scared to try them with my students. = **Overall Grade: A** = I have worked consistently and diligently and have truly implemented technology into my work as an educator. At the beginning of the class I could call myself tech illiterate, but now I am able to share ideas and feel comfortable showing people/students how to utilize different online tools that will make the classroom experience more fruitful. = ** Final Reflection ** = Who am I as a technology user? How can technology improve teaching and learning? What digital skills must students develop to succeed in school and beyond? I am a new person when it comes to technology and I am proud to say this. I am entering the world of the digital native, if there is one. As mentioned above I am comfortable using technology and trying out new tools in the classroom. When I started the class this was not the case, I considered myself very traditional and didn't bother trying new things when it came to technology. Technology is taking education into a new direction and teachers/educators should take advantage of all the resources. I consider myself educated when it comes to copyright issues and will utilize the resources out there to continue improving my teaching techniques. Technology makes information readily available to us and it lets us compare ideas easily. We can Google things in a click, find a definition, and access fun/interactive educational games such as Freerice.com. Students can get study together online using Quizlet and they can bounce ideas off each other via a class blog. If computers become available for all students from all income levels we can even start having our students take notes online using mind mapping, Notestar, or a Google doc. These tools can allow students to access their notes from any computer with internet, this can be great when starting study groups among students. In order for current day students and people in general to succeed in school and beyond they must be technology literate. The traditional method will not get you far when it comes to the current day workforce. Schools and business are all embracing technology and finding out how much easier life can be when you accept change that is moving in the right direction. Students must be open to try new things, it is more than just Microsoft Office, they must try innovative presentation tools, they must be able to interview via camera (interview may not be in person), they must create impressive presentations, and they should definitely be exposed too the Google world. Google is now being used by schools and business as their main email carrier and documents are being shared among students and co-workers via Google docs. Our students should all be aware of all the Google tools available. At this point I have to say I have come a long way and I am extremely happy this course is a requirement, I hope these types of courses will be offered to current teachers who have been teaching for many years. = ** Future Goals ** = 1) Continue to explore new technologies that I can utilize in the classroom. 2) Create other assignments for my students that will require them to utilize technology tools. 3) Use blogging more frequently for myself and my students.
 * 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning: ** **Grade: A (Completely Accomplished)**
 * 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: ** **Grade: A (Completely Accomplished)**
 * 5. ** ** Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership: ** **Grade: A (Completely Accomplished)**