Nose, Just Above Water

First Excel Spreadsheets Have Been Produced!      

     They are pretty rough and I don't know how to add up the cells, but there are names hidden from this Jing snapshot, dates and assignments.  I'm terribly proud.  

Three articles, good reads, from ISTE's Learning and Leading this week have given me an idea for the literature review coming up.  I'm looking at the mobile phone as the easiest, most available Assistive Technology (AT) available, today.  Now, what has been written about that?

Glogster is a lovely program to create online posters, and a great piece of AT or anyone with limited fine motor skills that could make cutting, pasting and drawing a difficulty.
Ann's Glog About Assistive Technology

The Not-So-Blended Google Family That I Have Created

        How did this happen?  I have two Google Accounts, 

-an old one that I created for g-mail with teaching stuff on the drive, somehow anchored in the family e-mail address for access, and

-one that is connected to my Northwest State Community College e-mail and I cannot combine them...ever it seems.

I am told that I can get them to talk with each other, but I haven't proceeded that far.

However, I used my iPhone 4 Settings App and I now can access both school and personal e-mails, plus the ancient family account, on my phone!  

I still need to do spreadsheets for attendance and grade for my three classes.  I pulled Excel up on Monday, but became discouraged.

However, I reread the "Tool Close-up: Microsoft Excel", on page 109 of Joy Egbert's Supporting Learning With Technology and I'm willing to try again.  Her book really is a joy, and I've decided to mark it up and NOT sell it again.  Very few textbooks make that cut in my world.  

This past week I went through a laborious process, round robins of permission from multiple departments, and soon (next week?) I will be able to use Sakai, the "Canvas" of Northwest State Community College, and begin to build lesson plans online!   

Oooo, The Water Is Cold!

Welcome... 

                 to the terrifying spectacle of a middle-aged woman, vulnerable and almost naked in her swimsuit of experience, trying to jump in a cold batch of new technology.  It all began with an assessment of her technology skills:

Technology Skills Boot Camp Assessment…Ew

                Rate your confidence level (the real categories):  

         Hunt and Peck, Ask Your Children, I Had To Do That Once- But It Was A Long Time Ago, No Problemo’ and OMG, Are You Kidding?  Wow.  I have no confidence in technology other than Word Documents other than I’m willing to keep at it until I “get it” no matter how far I have to go for help.

                I’m so happy to be taking this class because I just started a new teaching job at age 53, at a new level of education and I suddenly need a whole lot of technology to help me at my community college.  Also, my initial skills assessment needed one additional category, “Pitiful!”

                I need to establish a spreadsheet system for three classes for attendance and grades.  I inherited two awful syllabuses and I need to create my own and be able to post it on a class site.  I want a power point presentation for Henry James’ Daisy Miller, and some videos of me explaining/encouraging certain writing processes for my class web site. 

                My college uses Sakai for their online classes, and I need to find out if Google Docs can be used to build a class.  Google Docs seems to be a real favorite among educators and I’ve seen some of their sites, so I’m very interested.  

                I need to check my class/school e-mail on my new phone (which provides hours of entertainment….to my family as I try to use it correctly and efficiently.)

Ann’s work plan and goal list:

Get a blog established by 9/22/13, following my learning adventures.  Here I am!

Mod 2 – Supporting Student Content Learning, Communication and Critical Thinking

By 9/29/13 I will establish spreadsheets for my three classes to chart absences and grades and I will get my Northwest State Community College e-mail added to my phone and learn how to check it and respond.

Mod 3 – Supporting Student Creativity and Problem Solving

By 10/13/13 –I will create a PowerPoint presentation of Daisy Miller, and more importantly, learn how to coach my students (many non-traditional) so that they can create PowerPoint presentations about authors and literature for our class.  Also, I will submit my Final Project Proposal (possible Google or Sakai class site with online directions for next semester?)

Mod 4 –Supporting Student Production and eLearning

By 10/27/13 I will have been teaching from my inherited syllabuses long enough, writing down modifications, additional exercises, etc., so that I can create my own syllabuses for next semester with fun teaching graphics, text boxes and easier access.  The ones I have make me cross-eyed and are difficult to follow.

Mod 5 –Supporting Teacher Development and Student Futures.

By 11/22/13  Final Project/ My Teaching Site with some embedded videos of my salient points and possibly some interviews.