POST #1: Introductions and Sharing Your Past Experience

I am currently a Preschool/Preschool Special Education Teacher with Waterloo Schools. I have been teaching for many years, the past 12 with Waterloo. My past experiences with AEA Online Resources have been mainly as a student. I have taken online trainings and courses for professional development, but have not used the resources with my students directly. My interest in this course was to familiarize myself with the resources available in order to use them more directly with my students and incorporate more use of technology in my lessons.

  I graduated in 2006 as a non-traditional student with a degree in History and Secondary Education.  I had a hard time finding a position in the Cedar Rapids area, and signed up as a substitute teacher, however soon after ended up being a stay-at-home mom.  My substitute license has since expired, and am seeking to renew it upon completion of this class, since with three kids it is hard to have a traditional position for my family at this time.
  My past experience with the AEA Online was pretty much non-existent, consisting of a brief yearly letter from my child's school with the school ID and password, saying that the AEA Online had great resources and to check it out.  It was one of those things I meant to do, but never got around to.
  Hence the reason I selected this course!  Not only was it in an area I had been meaning to check out, but it was also self-paced, which helped with my crazy family life =)!

I currently consult for Bellevue University, developing content for online, self-paced adult learner courses that focus on media and communications. The department I work within at BU is called the Institute for Adult Professional Programs, and the content is targeted at those learners who have likely been in the working world and are interested in career movement.

I began my career as a secondary teacher of Journalism and English. I taught, advised the newspaper and yearbook staffs, and coached girls sports for several years. I then moved into public relations--first for a liberal arts college, then a major appliance manufacturer. I also spent several years as a magazine editor, and most recently returned to a corporate PR role. Currently I am developing clients for my newest venture, communications consulting. During my teaching years I was familiar with Heartland AEA and the help they offered.

I loved teaching--have done some adjunct work since the earlier teaching years--and I'd like to apply my career experience for the benefit of others. As I develop a list of communication clients I also thought it would be a good idea to renew my teaching certification in order to sub, as I've had a couple principals call me to see if I was interested in doing so. Who knows? Maybe I'll come full circle and teach again. And that is why I took this class and the other online, self-paced courses--to become more knowledgeable about what's available out there now and how best to put it to use.

I retired three years ago from teaching English as a Second Language for thirteen years. I taught students with no knowledge of English to students with moderate English language skills from kindergarten to high school. I now substitute for the ESL teacher, volunteer with a non English speaking student in school, and also tutor two non English speaking students outside of the school.
When I taught ESL in the public school I borrowed bi-lingual books and backpacks from the IA AEA library loan program. I didn't know all the resources that were available through the AEA Online resources.
So many online resources would be useful when I substitute and tutor non-English speaking students. The visual charts with the use of the PWIM would be very helpful. I used the PWIM method when I taught ESL and the students became were very engaged in that learning tool. Making a bi-lingual video would also be a great learning tool for the moderate English speaking students. They could make it for the Non-English speakers(besides other levels) using pets, farm animals, or any other subjects that they could get access to. This would help non-English speakers get more involved in a subject and excited about learning English.

I am 60 years old, a month into being unemployed due to “position elimination”. For years I have trained adult learners. I’ve also taught as an adjunct at the community college level, and was a nearly full-time substitute in Newton for two years in the mid 2000’s.

I had no prior experience with the online resources. My sole driver in taking the course was to get re-certified and the self-paced online coursework looked like the path of least resistance. My preconceptions were admittedly not favorable. I believe face-to-face interaction is essential for learning to take place. By my book, online coursework is nothing but a convenient short-cut to more efficiently check the box and be done with something.

I was disappointed that there were only a few options.  After completing the Mandatory Reporter requirement, Using Iowa AEA Online's Resources was the first course I took. There wasn’t much else to choose from. My first thought was that the course would be minimally relevant to a substitute with no responsibility for planning lessons. But since the topic was somewhat related to what I’ve always done for my “day job” I dove in.

The outcome after completing the online portion of the class: I WANT to teach in this environment! I WANT the chance to use these resources because they are the most comprehensive and user-friendly source of validated information I have ever seen! I WANT a chance to apply these new classroom management techniques!

But…back to those pesky limitations of the sub role. Not an insurmountable barrier. I fully intend to visit with administration to see whether there is some kind of role I can play. There are some ideas percolating already, believe me!

I am a substiute teacher in the Southeastern part of Iowa. The reson why I chose to become a substitute teacher is that I am partially disabled. My disability was caused by head trama when I was eight years old. I was struck by a fast moving truck. I had a stroke leaving my full right side paralyzed. My speaking ability was gone also. I had to struggle with my physical ability and my mental ability.
As the many years have come and gone, I have struggled with school work and keeping jobs. The school work was very difficult for me, but I was determined that I was going to get a college degree. I did. A bachelors degree in Communicatin. As far as the jobs went? I could not keep a job for that long of time. That's when the substitute teaching came in to play. I like substitute teaching due to it is not an every day process.
I have had my substitute authorization certificate for nine years. When I have had to renew the license, I had no problem. All I had to do was pay the ex amouny of money and take a two credit class over the internet and then I was done. Within four weeks I would receive my substitute authorization diploma and that would be it for the next three years.  But, now? I have spent much more money to get a substitute authorization. I have to pay an ex amount of money to receive one credit. I need two in order to be alble to renew my substitute authorization. So, in other words, I have spent over two hundred dollars since I have started to renew my substitute teacher authirization. No I do not like it. Since I enjoy being a substitute teacher, I will give it my all.

I taught for 17 years in my own classroom.  Anchorage, Alaska; Centerville, Iowa; Davenport, Iowa.  All were in private Christian schools.  We had limited access to media help.  Because of a growing family and a need for income, I started subbing in two different public districts.  I currently sub in Clinton, Iowa.  I have a long term math assist position where I pull students to give extra help in math skills.  Before this class I knew the AEA as a building in Bettendorf.  They have helped me with registration for classes, but I didn't realize how much more they have to offer in the way of media.  I really would like to have my own classroom again and be able to use the resources available to do make learning so "up-to-date."  How could you lose the students' attention if you were in their world?

I am a 8th Grade Social Studies teacher at Sergeant Bluff Luton.  I have been teaching for 14 years.  I use to use AEA online but have not in years.  When United Streaming was on AEA online I would use video clips as support material in my classes.  We now have ConnectED and learn 360 is part of that.  If I didn't have Learn 360 as an option on my online text I would use AEA online.

I allowed my teaching license to expire 7 years ago and entered the field of Nursing.  Since then my family has grown and my hours at the hospital have caused me to consider returning to teaching.  I am currently a casual nurse on the Med/Surg floor of a hospital.  I am hoping to return to teaching as a substitute.  When I was teaching full time 20 years ago, there were no online resources at the AEA that I was aware of, one school I taught at still had a mimeograph machine! I took this course because I feel so behind in the area of technology in the schools today and was hoping to find some helpful information on the resources available.

1.  I currently work for the Linn-Mar Community School district as the Elementary Student Assistance Specialist.   2.  I have not had much past experience with Iowa AEA Online.   3.  My interest in taking this course is due to the fact that I have not had much experience with Iowa AEA Online.  I have heard teachers talk about the resources here and there, and it sounded very helpful.  I work with all teachers in the buildings and help them with various issues.  I believe the more versed I am in many different resources the better I can assist the teachers.   I am also always looking for creative ways to encourage student learning.

  I am a sustitite teacher at MFL MarMac. I also teach at the Jewish school in Postville. I substitute on Fridays and during holiday breaks at the Jewish school. I enjoy substituting, especially in the resource room. I like to help students understand their assignments and the looks on their faces when they "get it" are rewarding.
  I have not had any past experiences with AEA online.
  The reason I decided to take this cousrse is because when I have substituted at the high school level, I have seen students researching on their computers for various classes. When I saw the name of this course, I thought this could possibly be what the students were using, and it would be in my interest to know about it. Now, when I am subbing, I will be able to help students with their research and give ideas where to look for particular subjects.

Hello, I am going on my 6th year as a Vocal Music teacher here at Red Oak High School, prior to that I taught in the Omaha and Millard area for 14 years.  I have really enjoyed getting to know even more about the Iowa AEA resources.  Up to this point I have used the iclipart quite a  bit and have been introduced to the other area by our Media Specialist, Ann Peterson.  Many times in professional development or in meetings Ann has done a great job of bringing all of these great resources to our attention.  I guess I knew they were great, and that both my students and I would benefit from the resources, I just needed a reason to go deeper in them.  So when it came time to complete a new continuing ed course I was pleased to find this as an option, especially because I knew that it would be something I would take some great ideas away from.

I am a 30 year veteran teacher from Illinois.  The AEA is amazing and to have these tools available is incredible.  I am a bit overwhelmed and underskilled.  For example, I don't know if I am posting this correctly.  I am unable to view the tutorial at school so I am taking a chance.

I am teaching Family and Consumer Science at Davenport North High School.  It is fun and a challenge at the same time.  I look forward to gaining more opportunities and knowledge through these courses.

Hi! My name is Michele Busch I currently live in Edgewood. I am currently subbing in the Edgewood School district.Before moving to Edgewood I was a Kindergarten aide for 5 years. I then became the class-size reduction teacher for that same district. A year later I moved into a Kindergarten teacher position. I was able to keep that position for 2 years and then the district had to reduce staff. I then subbed for a year. Moving to Edgewood last year I only subbed a handful of times. This year is off to a better start with that.

With my current teaching job I knew about our AEA and took classes through them but never experienced an online class with them. I am looking forward to taking this course so I can learn how to  incorporate more technology into my own classroom when I have one again. I am also looking forward to getting credit toward re-certification through this course and AEA.

I work in an elementary school in Burlington Iowa and I teach special ed. in a level III classroom. The classroom is self-contained but with integration opportunities with general education. I have been introduced to the online resources in a general context. I was interested in taking the course for PD credit. The other reason was to get more SPECIFIC information about each resource. Though I work with special education; the students are introduced to grade level information. By learning about all the types of media that is available I am able to reach students with multiple sensory information. Also information that would interest their peers for the times they are working with my students.

I am currently a substitute teacher in the Decorah Schools, and need to renew my certificate.  I taught music K-12, instrumental and vocal, for 30 years previously.  I still have a desire to be in the classroom and share my energies with students. I used the AEA Online Resources many times before, and have always found it to be quite helpful.   As I started substituting, I discovered that many of the teachers are also using the AEA online, and wanted to make sure I kept up with new resources with the AEA and knowing I could go in to a classroom as a substitute and feel comfortable using technology.  This class is very relevant, and I appreciated the self-paced part.

I am currently an Instructional Coach for the Iowa City Community School District.  I decided to take this online course because I wanted to become more familiar with the online resources the AEA has to offer.  I have had some experience using Book Flix, Culture Grams, and True Flix but with the rigor of Common Core and integrating technology, I wanted to familiarize myself with online resources to promote and use in the classroom.  

        I have worked in the Mount Pleasant Community Schools for the last 14 years with grades k-12.  I was employed full time working with at risk children, behavior and learning disabilities. It was quite a challenge to help teach these children, I learned a lot!
        I also have worked 2 yrs in the Library as a Library Para- Educator at the Mount Pleasant Community High School.

I work for Prairie Lakes AEA as an Instructional Media & Technology Consultant.  Previously I have been a teacher-librarian.  In my present role, I work with teachers individually and in groups to learn to use the IAO resources.   I recently presented to a group of School Counselors to show them all of the resources in Teen Health & Wellness.  I shared  the matter-of-fact way this resource presents information on even the most sensitive topics. Many times I work with the districts’ teacher-librarians to review with them all of the resources available in IAO.  I help them learn what is new each year with these resources, also.  Every time I present to teachers…I ALSO learn something new.  When I work with students, I find the younger students LOVE BookFLIX.  Even the K students I see can learn to access it. Older elementary students like to pick a variety of categories to make the graphs and tables in CultureGrams.  Most students like to have the articles “speak” and many students like to translate the articles.   I was interested in seeing how this self-paced course looked/worked. I also wanted to be able to speak from experience when I recommend this course to teachers.

I am currently a middle school counselor. I have used the Learn 360 resources and love the videos. I wanted to take the course because it was self-paced, and I have an interest in technology resources.