POST #1: Introductions and Sharing Your Past Experience

For the last 4 years I have been a physical education teacher at Central Middle School for the Waterloo Community Schools district. Previously, I taught special needs both level I and II at the Waterloo West High School. I taught behavioral disorder class where I used technology for student learning to engage my low skill level students. My past experience with Iowa AEA Online resources has been for professional development and substitute authorization class. During one of my evaluations, it was mentioned that I should work on implementing technology and writing in my physical education class. I currently do some writing and math but thought I could use some more ideas. Our district is looking at adding health class to the middle school curriculum.  I wanted to look at what is available for use in the classroom. Also with our district initiative of writing across curriculum these resources will be valuable assets to use in the classroom.

I have been teaching at the elementary level for 10 years.  I have taught Special Education, 2nd grade General Education, and 3rd grade General education. I am currently teaching special education 2nd grade.  Special education is where I prefer to be and I have had some experiences with the AEA online  resources.  In both general education as special education we us BookFlix.  I find that it is beneficial for ELL students because there are books that can read the book in Spanish and working with the lower level students it is also beneficial to have a book read to them.
In the general education classroom I also used Trueflix when it came to researching certain topics for a writing assignment.  Trueflix is a way for students to see the true events along with facts!  This course has opened up a whole new world of advantages to using the AEA online resources.
 

My name is Laney Berry. I'm currently an Instructional Coach at an elementary school in Muscatine. I work with teachers in graders PK-5. My areas of specialty are math and science but I do coaching cycles with all teachers, regardless of the content area. I actually just concluded a cycle with the music teacher! Prior to being an IC I was a Curriculum Professional Development Leader, a second, fourth and fifth grade teacher, and a Teacher Librarian.

Next year I will be returning to the classroom as an elementary Teacher Librarian at five, (yes FIVE), buildings. I do have nine years of experience as a Teacher Librarian but that was almost ten years ago. As a TL I regularly used and taught the online databases, so I do have some experience with them. However, I know that some databases have been dropped and added since I've used them. I decided by taking this course I would be able to review the databases that I'm familiar with and learn about any new ones that have been added.

I was a high school special education teacher for 7 years at a school in rural school near Waterloo.  I now teach in a rural school district along the Mississippi River.  For the 1st year there I taught Title 1 reading, then for the next 6 years, I taught kindergarten. I then went back to Title reading in elementary for a few years.  For the last 2 years, I have been teaching 1st grade reading 1/2 days and 8th grade special eduction the rest of the day.  Next year my job will change, again.  I will be 6-8th special ed and 6th grade gen ed social studies.  I have not used very many of the AEA resources.  I did use BookFlix for the 6 years I taught kindergarten.  I chose this class because I will be teaching social studies next year and will need to know as much as possible about all of the resources that are available to me.  

I was born and raised in Iowa and completed my teaching degree at UNI, but have worked at The American School of Guatemala for the past 17 years.  I am the library media specialist for Pre-K to grade 12.  We still have a great book collection, but in recent years, have been adding more online resources/ databases and STEAM materials.  I had never taken an AEA course before this and thought it would be a good introduction to all the online resources that are offered and to get a sense of how the online courses would work.  Ordering online resources/databases is also a part of my current job, so I was able to review several possibilities for my current school.  I was really impressed with the variety of online resources offered and was so happy to hear they are available 24/7 to students, parents and teachers.  It is impossible to know every resource available, but this was a great introduction to many of them.  

Hello.  I am a 5th grade teacher in Cedar Rapids.  This is my 33rd year of teaching.  Given that, I am a good example of teaching an old dog new tricks.  So much has changed over the years. I have been using Iowa AEA Online resources for many years, mostly for clipart and videos.  I have my students occasionally use Britanica for researching, and this year discovered Gale for them to use as well.  This year I am part of a blended learning cohort in my district.  I have been using more and more of the online resources as I discover them, so I was interested in this class to see what else is available. During my work with blended learning, I have really tried not to make my 'blended' just doing the same the same thing only using computers.  So the AEA resources are going to be a great place for me to go to enhance my students' learning.

I currently work with the Muscatine Community School District.  I have been with the district for 4 years.  I teach 6th grade math and social studies.  Before Muscatine, I taught in Wisconsin for 26 years (teaching math).  
I have had some experience with the Iowa AEA Online resources.  We have used CultureGrams for social studies.  One of the other 6th grade teachers is the one that suggested using this resource.  After having the students use it, I realized that I needed to know more about this resource as well as the other resources available.  Our librarian had also suggested to us some resources.  I did not know much about what the students would be using and thought this class would help me understand more all the different options available to both my students and myself.  Other than social studies, I have not used the resources.  
What interested me about this course is what resources are available that I am not using.  I know that these resources would be very helpful to me and my students.  I know that it will enhance their learning.  I thought this class would be helpful in teaching me how to best implement these resources in my classroom.

I currently work at a middle school in Maquoketa.  I have used aea self paced courses on multiple occasions through work on my own.  What interested in this topic is the continual search for resources.  It has been my experience that most social studies resource areas focus on American history and fewer are designed for world histories and experiences.  I was searching for new sources that I was not aware of.

A retired educator, I let my licence expire. I missed the daily contact with the students and felt I still had something to contribute.  I am working now as a Special Education Para in Davenport. I am taking the course to renew my Sub License, which I hope to put to use next year.  I am thankful to have access to AEA courses, particularly this one.  When teaching for Chicago Public Schools my "technology" was an overhead projector!  There are so many resources available that will enhance teaching and learning whether I Sub or return to the classroom full time.

I teach Spanish to high school students in Tipton, Iowa. I began my teaching career in the fall of 1988 and I have taught in Tipton since 1994 and I can tell you that as I am ending my 30th year, I still love being around the students and learning new things to teach them. I can't imagine my life without being around them, yes even in the month of May! My husband and I have also been teaching Driver's Education since 2005.

I don't have a lot of experience with the AEA Online Resources except to order videos to show in Driver's Ed.

I took this online course to get a recertification credit but I soon realized after just a couple of pages into the course that this is going to be something that will teach me a lot about different resources that I can use in my classroom. I am so excited to show the students the CultureGrams, iClipart, Soundzabound and TeachingBooks.net. Here it is May, and I am already thinking of how I am revamping my projects for my Spanish classroom for next year. It is hard for me to focus on the last 3 weeks when I am already thinking of changing things for next fall! The Learn 360 also has a lot of important information that I can use in my Driver's Education class.

I am currently in my second year teaching Kindergarten in a small Catholic school.  Previously I was a substitute teacher in grades TK-6 for three years, before that a stay at home, and way back before that I taught a combined classroom of 2nd and 3rd grade for three years.  My past experience with the AEA was filling out a form to acquire the instructional materials you would need.  I am currently only using Book Flix and I love all the tools that have been opened up to me.

My name is Julie Petersen and I currently work at a public school district.  I am a preschool teacher for the 4-year-old program through the school district.  I am also a director/teacher for the 3-year-old program that is operated through a private organization.  I have not had a lot of experience with the Iowa AEA Online other than a brief overview during a professional development session.  I knew from that session that the Iowa AEA Online had a lot to offer.  I chose to take this course because I wanted to learn about all the different resources that are offered on Iowa AEA Online.  I also was curious to see how many of the resources would be beneficial to use at the preschool/kindergarten level.  So far, I have enjoyed reading through each of the different resources within the AEA Digital Library.  

I am in my 21st  year of teaching.  I have taught all grade levels from Preschool to 3rd Grade. I am one of 4 instructional Coaches for our district.  I serve as the PK-3 Instructional Coach.
My past experience with Iowa AEA Online learning has mainly been the use of Bookflix. I have used it in multiple grade levels.
My interest for this course came in two different ways.  First, I was introduced to the other features, beyond Bookflix, by Maryann from Greenhills AEA.  She gave us a quick overview of what was available for use.  With that in mind, I felt that it was important for me to learn about the offerings so that I could share with the teachers in my building.  

Hello, I am currently working as a 9-12 life science teacher at Ridge View high school in Holstein, IA. I have taught for  17 years there, but have taught a total of 33 years. I have taught general science, chemistry, physics, computer science, consumer science at a middle school, biology, anatomy and physiology, environmental science and zoology in those years.
I have taken one other online class and really like the way that I decide on when to work on it. It gives me things to try on my own and then I can come back and use what I have learned and apply it to my classes. I have done the mandatory reporting, bloodborne pathogens, and other mandatory classes. I like the format that it offers.
I am taking this class for 2 reasons. First of all, I realized I was 1 credit short to renew my teaching license in June. Amazing how fast 5 years goes by when needing to take renewal credits. And in looking for a class in which I could stay at home and do, for I am a caregiver for my husband who had a stroke 5 years ago. This class filled that need and seconded this looked like something I could also use in my teaching. I have used the learn360 a lot and find it very educational to my students, but did not realize all the other things that were available at the same site. I am very glad I am taking this class. I have gained a wealth of information to expand on in my classrooms.

My name is Carol Christian and I currently work at a public school district.  I am a high school special education teacher for the school district in co-taught math classes.  This is my second year back in Iowa, after having taught in Peoria, Illinois for the last 19 years.  I had not had any experience with the Iowa AEA Online system. I needed to take licensure renewal credits and as I explored the self-paced courses I found this one. I knew from the discriprion that Iowa AEA Online had a lot to offer.  I chose to take this course because I wanted to learn about all the different resources available. So far, I have enjoyed reading through each of the different resources within the AEA Digital Library.  I am excited to see how the AEA has changed since I started my teaching career in Iowa back in 1986. The online resources are amazing and i am looking forward to using them in my teaching.

I work at Iowa School for the Deaf as an paraeducator, and occassionally acts as an substitute teacher if they need me to. I work in an preschool room.  

I don't have a lot of experience but my students in the preschool room used Book Flix. I would pull an book for them to read, and read the book to them. They loved it so much.

What sparked my interest in this class is I needed credits for my substitute authorization class and wanted to know more about the resources that AEA online has to offer. What I found out that there are not much that would benefit my students at work but with some modifications, they could enjoy the book.

Prior to taking the past academic school year away from the teaching profession, I taught for 12 years in various positions.  I taught middle school special education for six years and 4th grade for six years.  Next academic school year I will be teaching 5th grade at a new school district consolidating with my prior school district.  I am very anxious to get back into the classroom and working with students again.  I have missed working with the students the most, and it has been great to see them when I am out involved in community activities.  
I was familiar with and had some experience with AEA online resources before taking this class, but was not aware of all the possibilities.  For example, I had used some of the materials in some of the programs provided on the AEA website but did not use them to their full potential.  That is why I was interested in taking this course, to learn more about what AEA had to offer.  Making sure that the students are presented with and technology is integrated into the classroom is very important, and using appropriate material and programs correctly is important.  Having a location where students can learn, become curious, and build upon their understanding of a specific topic safely is important.  

I am presently teaching at West Harrison.  I teach Family and Consumer Science and Health classes.  I have taught for 38 years.  I have taught 37 years in Iowa and one in Nebraska.
I really missed having the AEA resources the year I taught in Nebraska.  I started using AEA resources when basically all that was available was video's.  I have continued to use resources from AEA as more have become available.  I think one of the best resources for my health classes is Teen Health and Wellness.  I also encourage my students to use the clip art and the music available through AEA for their presentations.
I decided to take this class so I would know be able to use all the AEA resources for my students.

I have been a kindergarten teacher in the Harlan Community School District for many years. As a kindergarten teacher, I've been responsible for teaching all subjects.  As an early childhood teacher, I haven't utilized the Iowa AEA online resources as much as I should have. I've used many AEA learning resources including fiction and nonfiction book kits, plush kits, math and science learning center resources, and professional resources, but I haven't used many online resources. My students have enjoyed using BookFLIX, and I've used Learn360 videos occasionally. I took this course because I was interested in learning about all the other resources available online, especially for upper elementary students, because I'll be teaching 4th Grade all subjects beginning this next school year. As I prepare to teach a new grade level, I'll be planning lessons trying to incorporate many of the AEA online resources to cover the 4th Grade standards.

I am a high school art teacher at Muscatine High School and I am working on developing curriculum that I will use to help kids explore the art making process. I have had few experiences with the AEA outside of mandatory trainings and a couple of other self paced courses that I am taking to earn re-licensure credits and substitute training class I took many years ago. I was curious about the resources and services that the AEA offered and whether they could be of any use in my classroom. It's greatly beneficial to expose kids to as many visual experiences, references and creative ideas as possible when trying to help them develop creatively so I am always looking for new resources to share with my students. I found the section of the course pertaining to visual learning interesting as well as the various resources introduced to me in the self paced course.