POST #1: Introductions and Sharing Your Past Experience

I'm currently working in the Urbandale District as a school psychologist. I have not used Iowa AEA Online much this school year, but have used it in the past while I was working on my teaching endorsement. I had forgotten how extensive the resources were until taking this course. I took this course because it was required, but it was nice to become familiar again with the resources and how to navigate through them.

I recently retired from 13 years in the Assessment Industry, where I worked closely with the technology teams and scoring teams to develop online test delivery and scoring. Most recently I worked with the Research and Innovations teams exploring gaming, 21st century skill assessment and use of “Big Data”. I am in the process of renewing my license and I found the AEA Online Resources course interesting because of my experiences in assessment. When I first taught in the 1980’s, computers had just started to arrive in schools and the internet had not yet linked PC’s together, but I could see the potential even in those early programs for allowing more individualized learning. This course gave me a valuable primer for digital resources that can be accessed to further expand individualized learning for students in the classroom and the continuing expansion of technologies available to the individual learner.

I have been teaching 6th grade language arts at St. Edmond Middle School for the past 11 years.  I teach 90 minute blocks which allows me a great deal of flexibility when it comes to project based learning.  I like the fact that my reading class doesn't end after 45 minutes.  If it takes longer, we can relax and really delve into to the subject matter if we must.  We have a 30 computer mobile cart that I share with 5 other teachers.  This can sometimes be a scheduling nightmare.

When I started back to teaching 11 years ago, I had one desk top computer that was for my own use.  I did not have a docucam, projector, or laptop.  When I did get all of these things, it took me sometime to get comfortable using them.  When I finally figured it all out, I discovered I loved sharing things off of the internet with my students.  It really opened up discussion and generated interest.  It wasn't until our library scaled back and did away with the hard bound encyclopedias that I started to investigate the AEA online resources site.  Within the past 5 years, I have become very familiar with Britannica, and Gale.  We do research in my class and I feel the students have a good handle on using these sites.

The reason I decided to take this class is because I have never really taken the time to explore AP images, BookFllix, iclipart, and CultureGrams.  Now that I know more about them, I will encourage the students to use them when doing research.  I will probably also use these to find information for myself!

I am a middle school math teacher. I can't wait to dealve into the online resources to see what matches best. I am beginning to formulate ideas for our cross curricular connections.

     I am currently a high school mathematics teacher in the Clarke Community School district and have concluded my first year here as both a teacher and coach. My previous experience was in the Des Moines Public School system for 6 years as a teacher and coach at varying levels and schools.

     Prior to taking this self-paced course I had been made aware of the AEA and their multiple resources but knowing the quantity of what was there made it daunting to go diving in uneducated about the process.  Due to my proclivity to stick with hands-on resources, I never found time or a reason to go searching AEA’s vast quantities of pages and links for more material when what I had on hand would “do the trick”.

     What brought me to enroll in the course was an interesting desire to look into the processes of the AEA and what they had to offer. After 7 years of teaching and not using them but hearing year after year of their availability, curiosity won over me and I decided to take a look. This course was an excellent introduction to the many different capabilities and resources available and was helpful in its instruction on how to use and maneuver the system.  After having completed the course I now feel a better understanding of what is at my disposal and look forward to using these materials in full.

   

For seven years I have been employed as a Special Education teacher in the Clinton Community School District.  My job can be very challenging, but very rewarding also.  I work with student that struggle behaviorally and academically.  I enjoy watching students mature behaviorally and grow academically.  To see their faces when students "get it" is what I teach for.  My experience with AEA on-line is very limited.  I didn't know that the AEA had so many resources available to students and educators.  I took the course to find more resources to help engage students.  The students that I work with sometimes have a difficult time focusing.  I need resources that keep my students interested in learning. This class has shown me a vast amount of resources.  I am so glad that I took the course.

I am currently a sixth grade language arts teacher at St. Edmond Middle School in Fort Dodge, Iowa.  I teach language arts and reading in 90 minute blocks.  This allows me a lot of flexibility.  I have the luxury of teaching mini-lessons if I need to and then spending more times on books or projects if the need arises.  I have been teaching language arts for the past 11 years.  My class sizes are generally 23-25 students.  Reading and writing abilitites vary.  I have had students with second grade reading and writing abilities mixed in with students who are excelling at the high school level.  This makes for a challenge.  When planning my research paper project a few years ago, our school librarian told me of AEA Online.  We taught a lesson together on researching and how to use the library and its many resources.  Then she showed the students (and me) how to use AEA Online.  I was really impressed, but because of time constraints, I didn't really have time to explore all the site has to offer.  I encouraged the students to use it for research, but it wasn't until this year that I required them to ONLY use it.  I felt like I had a handle on Britannica, but a lot of the other sites remained a mystery to me.  That is why I chose to take this course.  I will continue to play around with it over the summer.  It really is a great source of information!

I have taught for the past 16  years in West Des Moines as a 7th grade mathematics instructor.  Prior to this, I taught in Iowa City for two years in the same capacity.  I teach three levels of math, a basic math for those that struggle with it, regular math for the general population, and an accelerated math, for those that are advanced.  I have very limited experience using the Iowa AEA Online resources prior to taking this course.  The reason that I decided to take this course was because I want to be more familiar with resources that are out there to use.  Our building has taken an initiative to make changes in the instruction to be more student-centered and using more technology along with project based learning with groups.  I felt that this would be of great help for me in making this transition in my instruction.

I have just completed my first year at Benton Community High School in Van Horne, Iowa, where I serve as the Director of Bands.  From 1998-2004 I taught at Hubbard-Radcliffe High School in Hubbard, Iowa.  For the 11 years in between I left the state to pursue graduate degrees, and I worked for 6 years at a University as a band director and music education professor.

I have had almost no experience with AEA Online Resources.  I remember back in the “good old days” when teachers would request movies for their classrooms through AEA.  I had no idea all of this was available.  I have to say that the amount available is comparable to what libraries offered at my graduate schools for resources.

I was interested in this course because of the unique topic.  Having pursued graduate degrees, I was not sure what I would find out there that interested me.  I did not want the same old course.  When I looked at the course description, and got just a lesson or two into it, I knew right away there was something here available to me that would really benefit me in the classroom.

I work in a small private school in Creston, Iowa.  I have the opportunity to teach in a blended classroom of 3rd and 4th grade students.  This allows for a lot of instructing at very different levels. When I originally started teaching I worked in a public school system in the area and had access to our local AEA and enjoyed all the benefits it had to offer.  However, now that I am in a private school I have not had the access to the public AEA which is a disappointment.  I enjoyed taking this class to see what the AEA had to offer for online resources.  I am still not certain if I have access to these resources for my students.  I would really enjoy enriching their educational experience with several of the things I learned in this class. I was amazed at all the activities available and enjoyed learning about them.  I just wish I had more time and materials available to implement more activities individually with my students.

I have worked at the middle school level for the past 12 years.  I have taught Math, Science, Language Arts and Religion but have spent the last 4 years serving as our school's Technology Integration Coach.  I have worked with some of the resources in my role as teacher and coach including Soundzabound and iClipart and was familiar with others.  I was interested in this course as I wanted to learn more about some of the other resources and in turn I learned a few things about some of the resources I was already using.  As I transition to a Media Specialist position in an elementary school, new resources caught my attention as well.

The past eight years I have been a stay at home mom and a substitute teacher.  This fall I will be teaching again at Sheldon Christian School where I taught preschool and K-8 vocal music for six years.  I am looking forward to heading back into the classroom where I will be teaching K-8 vocal and instrumental music.  Prior to taking the self help course the only online trainings I have taken have been the Mandatory Child Reporting and the Bloodborne Pathogen trainings.  I was interested in taking this course because many resources have become available since I have been out of the classroom.  It is amazing the materials that are available online which can be beneficial and also overwhelming.  I took this course because it gave me the opportunity to be informed about some of those resources and how they can be used in the classroom.  

I am a 4th grade teacher in the Iowa City Community School District.  In the fall I will be starting my 31st year of teaching.  I have taught grades 3-6, but for the past 10 years I have been in a self contained 4th grade classroom.  Throughout my teaching career I feel that learning about let alone using technology is my biggest challenge and fear.  I knew, however, when I traded my overhead projector four years ago for a smartboard there was no turning back!  I can honestly say that I love using the smartboard and helping students use technology.  I am also lucky enough to have 10 ipads in my classroom.  I have regularly used Learn360 this past year.  I have loved the short video clips that tie to my science and social studies lessons. In taking this class I wanted to learn more about the other available resources for use in the classroom.

I have been a 4th grade teacher for the past four years. Next year I will teach math, reading, and science. Our school district consolidated 3 years ago. We have been slowly getting new curriculum materials each year for the different subjects. This means that I have had to research, create, and compile a lot of the resources I use on my own. Next year I will be the only teacher teaching 4th grade science. I wanted to know if there were any resources that I could use to help me to start implanting the new science standards. I knew that the AEA had many resources online, but hadn’t had the chance to utilize them in the best way. By taking this course I wanted to learn about the resources that I didn’t know existed or that I haven’t used to the fullest extent. Through this course I learned about many resources that I can use next year. I also found some that I am going to share with my colleagues. For example, I am going to share CultureGrams and TrueFlix with my colleague that teaches social studies. I am excited to dig deeper into these resources on my own!

I have recently been hired as a part-time K-6 media specialist for the Williamsburg School District. Previously, I was a media specialist in two districts in Illinois from 2001-2006. I then took time off to be a stay-at-home mother, and am returning to the media scene this fall. I have no prior experience with the Iowa AEA in any capacity, but I knew when I saw the outline for this course, it was the perfect way for me to get an overview of resources my students have used and/or will be using on a day to day basis. Since technology has greatly advanced in the 10 years I've been out of the library, it also introduced me to training programs in Atomic Learning that will get my knowledge up to date to best serve my school community. I can say I truly learned a lot and am so glad I enrolled!

I am a para educator in the elementary special education. I have used AEA online to take classes, and my school's computer teacher uses BookFlix and TrueFlix in her classes. I took this course to learn about other resources my students can use.

Currently I stay at home, but am hoping to keep up my license as a teacher during this time.   So taking classes every summer, keeps me on top of what is changing in the elementary education area.  Also, gives me ideas to put towards my teaching when I go back to teaching.

But the wonder of it is, education does not JUST take place in the classroom.  It is everywhere.  At home, it applies to my children.  Even though, they go to school, I never stop the learning there. It takes place constantly in the home.  

Before taking this class, I have used storyline online for my children so they can listen to stories.  

When I saw this class...Digital Use in the Classroom, I realized how I was quite limited when I was teaching 10 years ago.  So I wanted to learn more about the digital world and apply it-at home, but also when I go back to teaching.  I LOVED the BOOKFLIX part.  Could easily apply that in the classroom.  But, could also use it currently at home with my children.

I currently work at Oskaloosa Christian School. It is a private K-8 grade school. I am the resource room teacher at the school. I have always received the information about the online resources available through the AEA but have never actually used them in my own classroom. We have chapel groups at our school. These are groups of students from each grade. One year in our chapels we were learning about different countries and we used the Culture Grams as a resource to familiarize the students with these countries. It worked really well and the kids seemed to enjoy it. I became interested in taking this course because I saw the information about BookFlix and was very interested in using that resource in my classroom. Last year, I started doing rotations with my students in my room. This allowed me to have them practice the specific skills they needed to work on as well as providing me the opportunity to work with students in smaller groups. Once a week, I was trying to find a way for them to practice their reading skills with technology. This course provided me with a lot of ideas to use for that besides just the BookFlix! It was also helpful in giving me some resources for my older students which is sometimes a little more difficult to find.

3vsa3I currently teach elementary talented and gifted students in Fairfield, Iowa.  I have used the AEA Online resources for years, especially Britannica, Power Knowledge, and Culturegrams.  Our district has always provided professional development to stay updated on the AEA resources including Online Databases.  I took this course to improve my use of digital media in the classroom.  I would like to differentiate and engage students more with content.  I will spend some of my summer exploring BookFlix, TrueFlix, Learn 360 and Khan Academy.  

Blog 1 Intro and Past Experience:
After working for 25 years in cancer related work I see the need for helping students to be aware of how their health choices increase or decrease their risk of cancer and other health issues. I blog medical book reviews. One blog is a book review of Dr. Duane Graveline’s Lipitor: Thief of Memory; Statin Drugs and the Misguided War on Cholesterol . I  do not have a classroom (I help as a guest teacher in 15 schools in 5 Iowa/Illinois Districts) however, I enjoy engaging students in working with the teacher’s assigned plans.
Based on my background I would anticipate the use of these educational tools: Teen Health and Wellness; Culturegrams; AP Photo and Text database; SIRS Issue Research.