So I really think that I should present my AR project to my colleagues at Woodmont High School. I will start with the English Department as they will show no mercy in critiquing, and I can get constructive feedback from them before I move on up to the faculty. Each month at the faculty meeting, there is a curriculum spotlight. I have realized from taking this course that I really need to start getting my face and more importantly, ideas out there. There is one thing I'd like to do though before presenting... I'd like to get my fictitious company copyrighted. If anyone can point me in the right direction, please do! After presenting at my school, I'd like to move up to the district level and present at one of our summer technology conferences. The deadline for this year has already passed, but I could possibly get on the docket for next year.
What keeps me from my dream job? Well, probably a couple of things. First and foremost, sometimes I am afraid to put myself out there. I’m not one who likes to call attention to myself. Which, is kind of weird for me because I am not at all shy. Next, to find my dream job, I am sure that I would have to relocate. We are not ready to move in this economic climate. Plus, my husband would need to find a job wherever we go as well. However, I plan to start actively searching once this program is completed.
My dream job would be to be a technology coordinator on the district level and teach other educators how to incorporate the latest technology in their classrooms. I have seriously thought about applying to work for Promethean.
@Jill, I like your school hours and the idea of no standardized testing!
Why Are Teachers Resistant to Change and Technology?
There are so many things I could say for this board. Perhaps the main reason is that some teachers just don’t want to take the time to learn anything new because some of them swear that they know it all already. Another factor could be that teachers are so bogged down in the bureaucracy of education that they feel like they just don’t have the time to do anything else. I echo Jolyn's sentiments!
I haven’t really pioneered anything at my high school. I like to try things and then perfect them before telling anyone about them. I guess that is why I am looking to be bigger voice within my department with the presentation part of our assignment for this class. I can say that I did have my students write proposals for and plan a media project to demonstrate their grasp of The Crucible. They did an awesome job! I even had a spoof of a Jerry Springer Show.
My wife is 7 months pregnant with our third child She isbeginning to wobble around the house now and complaining about her back. We are having another girl, and this makes three in a row. I have finally struck out. I was really hoping for a boy this time to carry on his daddy’s name. I guess now, I will be at ballets and dance performances instead of football and basketball games.
Congratulations. But don't assume what your precious little one will aspire to. Our own Dr. Sue Bedard loves football and basketball and would not care one wit about ballet or such things. So, enjoy the discovery. :-)
Monday, May 24, 2010 - 11:41 AM
Deniela Collington
Congratulations Quentin! That is wonderful. My daughter will be two in December and my husband is already dropping not- so-subtle hints about wanting a little boy. I didn't understand it at first. However, I guess I can appreciate dressing up my little princess and think that my husband wants to know what it would be like to have a carbon copy of himself to carry on the family name. Never fear, your daughter may surprise you. I was a tomboy climbing trees, playing football, and beating up my dad's friends' little boys until my mother intervened. I always felt that boys' toys were so much more fun. Maybe one day, you will want to try for number 4! Congrats again and God Bless.
I can only say one thing HEELLPPPP!!! You this too is stressing me out. If I am understanding correctly, I need to find somewhere to present my AR project. Is that a correct understanding? I hope so. If not, I am confused!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
1 Comment
Deniela Collington
Emily, you aren't the only confused person out here in Full Sail land. I tell you this thing is certainly daunting. I am hoping it all comes together soon for your sake and mine!
So ever since I've started this Masters program, I have become addicted to anything media related. I already have a"crackberry" that is surgically attached, although I forget to keep it charged. Hey I can't remember everything. I LOVE my Macbook. To think that before Full Sail, I had no idea what this magical machine could do. Nor did I know how much it would revolutionize my practice as an educator. So now I think that I would like to move on up to an Android phone...I'd like the new iPhone that was leaked, but I am with Verizon. However I am sure that a few of my students could hack it if I had one. It is amazing what students left up to their own devices can do.
However, the ultimate gift would be an iPAD. I just want one. Can you imagine how many cool points I'd instantly get from my students and how I could use in in the classroom? Alas, I am just a teacher and everyone knows that teachers don't make that much compared to everyone else. With the budget cuts and all and the fact that I will not be getting a raise next year makes the iPad seem somewhat out of my league for now. But if Apple or anyone would like to give me one, I will certainly take one off your hands!
The ipad image was found on the internet via Google images at: http://www.readmobilenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/verizon-prepping-the-ipad.jpg
I usually pride myself on flying below the radar. Although I am an outgoing person I don't like to boast all of my talents to the world. I want to stay humble. The same is true in my classroom. Close friends and colleagues comment that my students are doing awesome things in my classroom. Just this year alone they have written collaborative research papers, blogged, conducted their own studies, became employees in a fictitious corporation, participated in board meetings, written project proposals, problem solved, written, acted in, and filmed talk shows, created commercials, podcasts, and multimedia presentations. But am I ready to talk about all of that? I am not sure. I think that for my presentation, I am going to start small. Since I have never told the English department or faculty and staff at my high school in detail about any of this, I think this would be a good place to start.
I cannot believe that I have almost made it to the end of 12 months of this journey.I remember starting my cycles and wondering if what I was doing was making a difference.I now find myself working on my summary.A paper that will put everything together about my journey into looking how creating video mini-lessons had impacted my students ability to become better writers with a strong foundation.
I am excited to be this far in the program but am still a little apprehensive about the end and what other people have to say about my project.The hardest part about the summary project will be only writing the main details instead of everything.Picking and choosing the best key points will take time.More importantly making it easy to understand and scholarly will also add some extra time.I can’t say enough how nice it has been to have time to work on my Action Research Project.I wish that each class would have had some built in time for it.
Holly, I wish I could ditto everything you said! This year has definitely flown by. I never knew the direction that my AR would take. It seems that mine blew up and took a direction of all its own. I am struggling to make changes so that those who weren't there to witness it can understand what I did and what happened because of it. Good luck to you and Keep on Truckin'!
I really liked the notion of looking at life like a game and playing by the rules that suit your school of thought (within reason). Zander hit the nail right on the head when he talks about how parents want their children to be successful, even if it isn't said, it is definitely implied. I can remember having similar dinner table conversations as a child. Luckily I am the oldest and I had the opportunity to share first. However, that didn't mean that any of the pressure was taken off.
Neither one of my parents pursued a higher education, but I was expected to do so. To that end nothing less than a B was acceptable. That doesn't mean that I didn't have the occasional slip up, because I did. Let me tell you, when I did slip up, there was heck to pay. My parents saw my potential and knew exactly what I was capable of and what they WANTED me to be capable of. :) My parents always told me that the world was mine as long as I got an education. They didn't have to make me read as a child, because I loved it. They didn't have 2 and 3 degrees but they instilled a lifelong love of learning within me.
Having two younger siblings makes me the one that has to set the example. So not fair to be the first... My parents always compared the three of us, so there was a spirit of competitiveness in our home. Although that worked out fine for myself and the middle child, the youngest had issues with it. Now that I am older I see that it can be counterproductive for parents to compare their children, although I know that it is done out of love and motivation. Instead, I try to get my parents to focus more on my youngest sibling's accomplishments instead of his failures. I do not want him to feel that he falls short.
SO when I think about what my contribution has been to my family, I think that it has been that I have set a good example. I was the first person in my family to go to college and graduate. Look! I am still in college over 5 years and 2 degrees later! Since then, I have had one younger cousin graduate from college and my sister will graduate in December. Although my brother struggles somewhat academically, he is determined to succeed and wants to go to college. He has 6 years to put the pieces together, and my sister and I along with my parents plan to hep him every step of the way!
I posted this introduction below that I found on YouTube promoting a book that is about making contributions. It has been out for a while, but I knew nothing of it. I think it is going to be the next book that I read AFTER I finish my coursework!
My AR Summary should go smoothly now that I have my cycles completed. The only problem I foresee is trying to get some feedback on my Literature review. I am afraid that I will have so much to redo that I will run out of time. So, Dr. Bedard if you are reading this could you please give me feedback on my lit review?
Thursday, May 13, 2010
2 Comments
Quentin Cleaves
Hey, don't get so stressed out. We are almost finish and if you have made it this far, you can't give up now. Yes, I agree that it seems like a lot of work to do before the last presentation but it'd the LAST PRESENTATION. Be strong Emily. I feel your pain!
Sunday, May 16, 2010 - 01:23 AM
Deniela Collington
Emily, just remember last week's reading when you start feeling overwhelmed. It is all about our perception of things. Even though I too, feel your pain about all of the work still to be done, and I still allow myself to get stressed out. However, just try to stay positive.. say that your literature review will be fine and conquer any hurdles that may arise when you get to them. Sometimes I feel that we are our own worst critics. Don't count yourself out, you may be stressing for nothing. I hope this encourages you. Remember, we're all in varying stages of the same boat!
As an educator conducting research for my Master's program, I find the most frustrating part of doing the work is finding the motivation to do the work.
It's not as though I don't find the work or the research interesting. Obviously I do, or I would not have chosen the topic I choose. So I have to ask myself, what is my problem? Is it my fundamental procrastinator nature? Is it that housework suddenly becomes far more interesting when it competes with homework?
The truth is, I think the biggest dilemma is that I sometimes feel like I might be missing out on something....I have to say better, but that is the possibility. I could be spending time with my family, my friends, or even my colleagues.
The worst part is, I don't mind doing my assignments for my program all that much. The assignments force me to acquire new skills and assess myself as a teacher. Not bad, right? I enjoy gaining new skills and working with my classmates, and connecting with them and my professors in different parts of the nation. I also have to admit, I think the fact that assignments have grades attached is more an incentive than it should be for me, a graduate level student. I'm being honest here, though, so I have to admit, an A motivates me. Like I wrote in my first week one blog post, I use it as a tool to motivate my students as well.
So, if my problem is that I feel I'm having to miss out on fun experiences, I have to reason it out. I have to be honest in saying I find reporting part the research portion of my program the least interesting of the program. It may be a confidence issue as well, I sometimes think, "who's going to care about this research of mine in a few years." I also have trouble finding relevant research that aligned with my own research, and am having a bit of trouble revising my literature review as of.
While there is no real solution to the problem of lack of interest in this part of my program, I know I will complete it to the best of my ability. I know from speaking with classmates that I am not the only one who feels this way. I also know I enjoy a lot of the pieces and parts of this program, and since there is no clear project to report on this week, maybe my next blog can be an ode the things I LOVE about this program.
Therese, I thought I was somewhat alone in this area! I am glad to see that someone has a similar struggle. For me, it seems that I have so many other things that take up my time. I am a wife, mother, educator and student. By the time I get around to getting my coursework done I am completely drained. I had so much fun completing my AR, but it spiraled out of control and became bigger than I ever thought it would. The writing up part of the AR is horrendous to be because it is so much. At this point though, there is nothing to it but to do it! WE WILL SURVIVE!
FEELINGS I was intrigued with the conversation that took place in Chapter 3 on page 31 between the distraught tenor and his teacher. The young tenor went to his teacher looking for sympathy over the loss of his girlfriend. His teacher consoled him, but deep down inside the teacher was delighted for his loss thinking now he would be able to fully express the heartrending passion of the song in Schubert's Die Winterreise. Does someone show more affection in a sad song when they have suffered a loss? I have many friends that are musicians, and I think there might be some truth to that statement. I do know that when I heard a ballad I listen to the words and wonder if the situation applies to the song writer. A friend of mine had written a song called Eligy for Amy, and I wondered what the meaning the song had. Finally, he revealed that there was girl who used to come and watch him play in bars a long time ago named Amy, and she was ill which he didn't know. She was always there for him at the beginning of his career giving him encouragement, and then one day she didn't show up at the bar. He knew something was wrong. She had passed away. I guess you can say the same for life in general. When someone suffers a loss, life is more meaningful.
At first, I thought that the exchange between the tenor and his teacher was awful because I don't feel that one should take pleasure in a loss of that sort. However, I can understand how such raw, pure emotions can come across in music and how his loss, in this case, can make the music more meaningful.
When reading the chapters for this week, there were a few quotes that just resonated within me. One quote I'd like to point out is when Zander (2000) says, "Our small business attracts the label, "The Can-Do Company," and that is exactly who we are. We speak with the awareness that language creates categories of meaning that open up new worlds to explore." When I read this passage I immediately thought of a scripture in the Bible, Romans 4:17 that talks about speaking things that aren't as though they are, as well as Proverbs 18:21 that says, " The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." I realized within that instant that we sometimes create situations for ourselves, whether they be positive or negative, just because of the words that come out of our mouths and our mindsets. The language we use creates meaning!
With that being said, maybe if more people just took the time to look at things from a more positive perspective, maybe people would be more pleasant, happier and more successful. I can apply the same principle to my studies at Full Sail. If I look at all the work that is left to do and say that it is too much and that I can't do it all, or I won't do well then, that is what will happen. Sometimes, we constrain ourselves in our minds because we can't see beyond the present. So here's to having positive outlooks in everything! If I am going to be in charge of "creating meaning" for myself, I certainly want the outcomes to be positive ones.
The image above is located at: http://www.torontoschoolforstrings.com/img/art-of-possibility.gif I included it to place a visual to my source of frustration right now. :) SO... I downloaded the e-book version of The Art of PossibilityBy Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, only to find that my version of the Adobe Digital Editions needs updating. I go to update it, but it doesn't update. I only figure this out by clicking the install button for what seems like 50 million times and restarting my Macbook. I go to the website for technical support and still can't figure out what to do. There is some sort of issue with the program and the Mac OS from what I can gather. If any of my fellow Full Sail colleagues can talk me through what to do via Skype or ichat please let me know! ichat denielacollington skype dscollington
Until then, TGFGB... Thank God for Google Books! I will have to read it from there until I can get to Barnes and Noble. Prayerfully, the chapters that I need for this week are there!
Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the WIMBA session this week. But I did have an oppoortunity to view the archive and freak out at the fact that the end is coming really fast! From what I can gather I need to get my AR website finished by TUESDAY. AHHHH! I can do it... I am going to have to work overtime. I may have to take time off to finish. I am feeling better about the Lit Review and the sources... I have been stressing because I feel like it isn't quite the way I want it. Somehow I missed that I was supposed to have it proofed before I posted it to my AR site! Oops. Will get on that immediately. At this point, I am seriously hoping that I can get everything done so that I may walk in July. This has been a long, arduous, but exciting and engaging journey! Life has certainly gotten in the way sometimes... You see the image, right? That is my family on Easter Sunday, of course. I started this program when my daughter was 6 months old. She and my husband are two of the most important things to me. At times, I have had to re-evaluate what is important. I have to get this degree. I have a mini-me looking right at me. I have to show her that she can do anything! My husband is working on his PhD. I tell you we are two busy educators, time is limited, but somehow we will succeed.
