Project: Liz Pacheco's Website

 

For my project, I chose to create a website to be used in all of my classes as well as my after school responsibilities. I needed something that could be technologically supportive to both me and my students. With the website, I can have all of my resources put together in one location such that lesson plans, worksheets, and resources are all together. I am required to post my lesson plans on our school bulletin board daily and it does not allow for attachments. The website will put everything together for me. With a variety of truancy issues, I also needed a place that would allow students to gather information and material for missed classes so that there will be easier transitions when they return.

 Creating Google Doc Forms will help me with paper work for my classroom. All information students provide at the beginning of the year will now be in a workable electronic spreadsheet. I must say creating Google Doc Forms was something I never had any experience in. I have filled out numerous forms on websites never thinking that they were Google Forms since the design layout appeared as if it was part of the website. Now thinking back to some of the forms, I believe many may have been Google Doc Forms.

I also may have been turned off from Google Doc Forms due to seeing the issues that a secretary at school has with them. She is probably trying her best, but the forms would come in an e-mail with no appeal and then usually some issues arise in order for us to click submit that she ends up sending three e-mails in regards to the form. I can understand our school secretary’s thinking about the need to have it in an e-mail or teachers probably won’t fill out the form. Due to this sole experience, I was turned off from using Google Doc Forms till I actually created one myself and realized how easy it is and how it could look very professional.

            The creation of the website has definitely enhanced my communication with students, parents, and administrators. By having everything on the website, I will be able to assist students and parents to navigate through the site better than in prior years. The website is a work in progress and I do believe that I will have to take some time to work out the kinks. I also believe the website is a stepping up my classroom instruction since I can now reference things and guide students by providing students with direct links to noteworthy projects and other resources. I currently have three student computers in my classroom with two of them working pretty well. With the website I can post online activities which could be done in the rotations of stations in the classroom. In prior efforts, working with the computers have not been successful since I often had to guide students through the websites since our school webpage was unreliable but now I could have all websites and directions all in an assignment on my own website. 

            Prior use of the bulletin boards to provide information to students and parents has brought some hint of resentment for me due to my feeling that students are being freed from responsibilities of writing in their planners or even notebooks since they now can just look online to see what their homework is.  After sometime that resentment turned into acceptance even though I still disapprove morally. Students in my class have been taught that with my constant updating of lesson plans on the bulletin board, they no longer have the excuse that they didn’t know what the homework was. I must admit also that the bulletin board is used regularly by my students based on views, so it is something that works. This issue reminds me of our discussions about Michael Wesch and Sherry Turkle. Wesch’s thought that we have to change our ways in hopes to reach the digital natives is coming to light for me and that is exactly what I am doing, by keeping up with a site where students can find all necessary information.  On the other hand, Turkle’s view in which she states technology connectedness has severely affected humans’ communication skills comes to mind too. Having homework posted on another source besides the classroom does eliminate, on some level, responsibility for the student. Will not writing down homework have long lasting effects on people? Absolutely not; but when will students be taught this responsibility before they go into the work force? They will have to be on top of everything that is said at a meeting or presentation and even what their job assignment for the day is. The person will not be able to just look up what they have to do later on, and to ask for many clarifying questions does not look good for these future employees because they could theoretically  receive the comment “Were you paying attention?” Communication and responsibility are important skills that everyone must learn but in this new world it is very different from how we were taught and therefore we must make changes to better address the needs of our students, exactly what Wesch claims.

 

Favorite Video Clip:

 

            The presentations in class were all very informative since I learned about many new technologies (some scary - Snapchat and some excellent – Prezi, Glogster, Evernote…) As I wind down my graduate work, there are many ideas of how to implement these new technologies into my classroom such as having a digital binder, and changing some of my assigned PowerPoint projects to involve Prezi, Animoto, or Glogster and such. I believe I am fortunate to be one of those teachers who tries to incorporate some technology into her classroom (sadly I am the only math teacher in my department who assigns a technology project (PowerPoint); all others usually assign hands on creations which are great but do not address the specific needs of the digital native student) and now my tool box has increased tremendously. I definitely look forward to implementing these technologies into my classroom.

Thank you everyone for an excellent learning experience!

Have a great summer!