POST #2: Challenges to Using Iowa AEA Online Resources

Think about the use of the Iowa AEA Online resources in your classroom or school.  In a moderate-sized post (150-300 words), describe what you feel your biggest challenge will be to implementing the resources in your classroom.  Then, add what steps you will do to overcome those challenges.

Though it is not required, when you look through other individual's posts, feel free to reply to them with your own suggestion on how to overcome the challenge.

Because there are so many wonderful resources, I think finding the time to find the best ones to use in class may be the most challenging. For example, if I think of teaching American Literature and say literature from the time of the Pilgrims, there are a variety of themes I could use. I could focus on a couple of the key figures, look at the diet of the people, discover the Native-American culture etc. I know there are an abundance of resources, so I will need to pick and choose what will best fit the needs of my students. Looking through all of those possibilities will take a considerable period of time.

Ways in which I can solve the time crunch include force myself a certain period of time to look through materials and then make a decision. If I give myself an unlimited amount of time, it could take me weeks to find the perfect option. I also think making a tally sheet where I keep track of what types of resources I'm using in each unit will be helpful. That way I can make sure I'm not relying too heavily on one type of learning style or resource vs. another. I also need to remember that I do not have to have all kinds of AEA resources for each and every unit the first year. I can always add additional resources in subsequent years. The AEA resources also lend themselves to being swapped out with other resources depending on the year and the nature of the class.

I'm utterly amazed at all the resources I will have at my finger tips just through the local AEA!

There is so much to choose from on the AEA online source. It would take a year of PD to properly search through everything and find the stuff that you want to use, just because there is so much. Also finding the time to learn how to properly search and use all of the material will be a challenge but taking this class is a good start. I think that the best way to start is just to pick one thing and watch the video for example and when you are ready use it in class and see how it goes. If it works well then save it and move on to the next thing you want to try and after that school year you will have a good start. For example I may try and find a video that explains geometry proofs and show it to my class, just so they are hearing the same things from someone else in a different way and I think that will help increase their learning.

I think that my biggest challenge to using the AEA Online Resources would be I do not feel comfortable always navigating through new technology.  Serching for ideas and making sure they're the right ones and that my students would get the most information out of what is being presented.  I'm glad that through the AEA they offer tutorals of how to do things because I need to be able to see it and write down some times step-by-step how to go about doing something and taking notes.  With my experience as a one-room teacher it was very hard for me to find the time to search and do research on line, but maybe by adding one or two things from the AEA's resources it wouldn't have taken as much of my time because it is all right there.  In my current possission I would not need to use this, but am hoping to get back in my own classroom soon and would be excited to use all the resources that AEA has to offer.

The biggest challenge for me will be finding the classroom time to train my students to use the resources. This means I will need to be very selective in what I choose for them to use. It's a myth that just because students can navigate about in the apps they are familiar with that they also have decent information literacy skills - they do not. Our school district does not have a standardized plan for disseminating and scaffolding the basics of infolit.

Now that I have seen the outstanding resources available for the AEA Online, it has me thinking that this should be the place we start training our students in a methodical, shared way. Too often, I am left teaching students about new digital resources or infolit processes at the expense of my social studies curriculum. If we had a way of sharing the burden across content areas and grades, it would be advantageous not only to the teachers, but especially to the students.

The first way I will meet the challenge is to work more closely with our media specialist in training my students. I think our 6th grade team has the 6th graders do this already, but we seem to lose the momentum in 7th and 8th grades.  I also think I need to press the issue with our social studies team of teachers, that we need to all be on the same page when it comes to infolit procedures. I'll be curious to find out when I meet with them soon, how much they use the AEA Online Resources. It's a topic I will definitely address.

The biggest challenge for me in Using Iowa AEA Online Resources is the fact that I am a substitute teacher.  I always try to follow the teacher's lesson plans. One reason I took the course was to learn how to navigate  the sites if they were in their plans. One thing I did think of as I was taking this course is the fact that you can't get into some sites without a school password and code. I understand this is probably for safety reasons, but I thought that I wouldn't be able to get on unless the teacher left the codes which they often do not. Also when taking this course, I got excited about some of the resourses and wanted to go there and explore and realized that I couldn't. It would also be good to be able to explore and become more comfortable with the sites and what is available on them. Something to think about.
If I was in a classroom, I think the biggest challenge would be in finding the time to explore the resources and then see how you could fit them with your curriculum.  I guess I would start with the ones that could be used rather easily like Teaching Books.net and listen to the author's interviews and their reading of their books.  I also think Book FLIX, True FLIX, and Britannica School would be easier to incorporate.  

My biggest challenge at the high school in special education is my students are all performing at different levels with their learning.  So my biggest challenge would be grouping students together and figuring out what online resource would benefit them the most and then teaching that to them.  Also, a lot of my students do not feel comfortable navigating their way around a computer so I will have to teach them the skills to using a computer.  The perfect solution to all of this is that we are going to 1 to 1 computers for all students and this will make it more easier to teach the AEA online resources that are available.

My challenge is that I am a substitute and don't have a classroom to use all these great resources.  I will be able to follow the teacher's lesson plans when they are using the AEA Online for their classes though which will be a great help.  Remembering how to navigate all the different resources will be the biggest challenge for me.  The best resource for a specific purpose would also be difficult.  I am most deficient in the multi-media presentations.  One of the steps to overcoming these challenges will be to type up my notes from this course so that they are readily available for a quick review when I need them.  They can go in my "sub briefcase" which also includes mini lessons for when there are no plans due to an emergency.  In fact, teaching a class how to use one of the resources could be added to the mini lessons cache.  That could be adapted to many levels and disciplines.

One challenge will be utilizing all the great resources available.  I am a para educator so I don't always have the say where our students should be researching.  I think there will be times when I am one-on-one with the student that I could guide them to these resources.  It will also be a challenge getting them to use a different search then what they are used to.  Often, special ed students like to stay with what is familiar.  Also, we have students at different levels of ability in navigating around on a computer which could present a problem.

I have used the site for digital videos and try to have the students use Britannica. I feel I will have 2 challenges.  The first will be to remember where I need to go for the information I am researching and the second will be training my students how to use these tools.  We don’t always have time to train students in these tools.  I plan to work up some lessons that will give the students some training in these tools.  I am particularly interested in AP Images and SIRS for my 8th grade Earth Science class.

I am actually excited about searching through and finding the best resources to use in my classroom! There are SO MANY different resources to choose from,  and since I'm new to the school I'll be teaching at this coming school year, I'd like to make sure I choose the ones that will best fit the needs of my students.

So I'm thinking that I'm going to have to wait until I actually meet my students and get to know them a little bit before I start adding these resources.  However, in the meantime I am going to look through these resources more thoroughly this summer for quality content and be ready to go with it when I need it! I am hoping to start small, and keep adding resources as the year goes, depending on the needs of my students.

The biggest challenge for me in implementing these tremendous resources is the fact that my students at the Keokuk Learning Center do not function within what would be considered a typical learning environment.  These students are in an alternative setting because they are either incapable of performing traditional educational requirements, or they simply have chosen not to.  They are in my classroom for one of two reasons:  they have exhausted all chances at the high school but want to earn a diploma, or they have continuous truancies but are legally still too young to drop out.  Those students who are not required by law to be at the LC are very task oriented.  There is a series of lessons and assignments that must be completed before credits are awarded.  That said, their learning is self paced and one-tracked.  There is no whole class instruction at the LC.  It would be possible to introduce the various resources provided by AEA to students, but to attempt and require them to explore and utilize such would be likely met with opposition.  I do believe that I many of the young people I encounter could benefit from and enjoy the SIRS website, as well as teen health and wellness, so I think I will start with those two sites and see if I can peek some interest.

This year I will be working as  a Kindergarten Paraprofessional and occassionally substitute teaching in the same school.  I feel like knowing about AEA Online Resources is important for both positions, yet it was quite a challange to learn about them without a "teacher" password.  So how I learned about these without a password was my challage and I overcame it with creative navigation.  

When I clicked on the Book FLIX link on the Resource sight, it took me to the Scholastic sales page link.  The free trial was only offered to teachers with a classroom or librarians, so I watched the sales video to learn about Book Flix.  Then I researched the books from their sample demenstration.  

Heres another example of creative navigation to understand 360 learning.  To view this resource I clicked on a sample lesson plans.  When I clicked on the link, it showed me a movie title.  I looked up that title on U-tube and viewed it there.  It was a reading rainbow video on immigration to Ellis Island.  It was fascinating and really helped a person connect to how the passengers felt.

Some other ways to navigate the challenge of getting in without a password would have been to hire a hacker (ha, ha); request one from AEA for temporary use; or best of all ask the princable of the school I'll be working as a Paraprofessional at for one.  In hind sight, the third one sounds best.  I wasn't sure if it was allowed for use that way and didn't want to get anyone it trouble.  Once in the class, when the teacher feels it's best for "her" student who I'm working with, I can use it and know it's acceptable use.

I think the biggest challenge to me is being overwhelmed.  I'm overwhelmed by how many different resources are available through the AEA.  I just had no idea and I will also say that I'm very impressed!  Even just focusing in on one module of related resources like the Research Resources contains such a vast amount of information which I would love to spend more time diving into to explore but that would overwhelm me even more.  With starting a new job, at an unfamiliar school, and teaching a new grade level I'm already overwhelmed.  Being overwhelmed can be paralyzing and keep you from ever getting started.

To overcome this obstacle and prevent any paralysis, my plan right now is to focus on just one or two resources that I could immediately utilize.  I would really like to start off the new school year with excellent management strategies and a very appealing learning environment so I would like to start looking into the audio and visual resources that were reviewed in this course.  As I get settled into my new routine, I could then start exploring other resources that may be of benefit to enhancing the content of my physical education curriculum.  So, starting small and trying little things along the way as I get comfortable.

One of the biggest challenges will be the newness of everything for me and becoming familiar with all these resources. As I went through the course, I thought about ways I would have used the resources in my language arts classroom. I know what a few of my closest colleagues teach so I will concentrate on ways to help them with the resources that will best supplement their curriculum. I plan to  look at BookFlix, TrueFlix, TeachingBooks.Net, and Atomic Learning for resources that I might use most in the library at first and these are also resources that I feel will be a good starting point for colleagues .

     I think the biggest challenge to using on-line resources will be choosing just a few things to start with.  I would like to use BookFlix as my "jumping off" point.  We only have one computer in our room and it is on my desk.  I will need to figure out if the kids will take turns, we will gather around it, or most likely, we will ask our wonderful computer teacher to help us by implementing part of the lesson during our class computer time.  
     I already have my curriculum organized by units.  I would like to add an on-line component to a few of the units.  It will be neat to watch the kids get excited about the video storybooks and then share added content through the nonfiction read-along books.  Our units will lend themselves to this easily as some are science centered, some are social studies centered, and others are holiday centered.

There are so many great resources available at Iowa AEA Online!! I think the biggest challenge will be the time it will take to locate exactly what I need to align with my current curriculum. I would also love to share these resources with my students.
The solution to my first challenge will be to take it one lesson at a time and to use the recommended search techniques to find the best materials for my students needs. I also plan to make a list of the resources available on the Iowa AEA Online site and tape it to my desk, so when I'm creating lesson plans I will be reminded that these great resources are available. Lastly, I plan to enlist the help of our school librarian to help share these resources with my students and help me further explore what AEA Online has to offer. Now that I am more aware of the resources that are available, I will be sure to use them this next year!

The biggest challenge for me is feeling confident in myself to use and teach the students all the resources available in the AEA website. For example, using the multimedia to make a videos using the cliparts and sounds that you can use from the AEA resources. To overcome this challenge, I feel I need to make examples for the students so I can get the hands on practice and feel more confident in myself using the resources. I also want to provide time for the students at the beginning of the year to gain knowledge of all the resources available for them to help them in their regular education classes.

I would definitely say that “time” is my biggest challenge. Initially, I would have to decide which of the resources would best meet the needs of my classes, and then time to modify my lesson plans to include the resources for both myself and my students.  I would need time to train myself in navigating the pages for the multitude of choices so that I can share with my students. I believe the first step has been taken by enrolling in this class.  I will need to review the resources again and select one to start with the first quarter.  After implementing the resource with my students, I can add another next quarter, and revisit the first selection again.  I think by selecting the AEA resources before searching any other options, I will eventually become more fluent in knowing the options that each one provides.

I believe the biggest challenge to implementing these resources in my classroom is teaching my students how to use them. While I have had the luxury of learning about these resources from my couch at home, on my own time, my students will need to be taught how to use them. This will take time. Time in which I feel is always limited.

The best way to overcome this challenge will be to first select the resource I believe to be most beneficial first. For example, TrueFlix. If I took just 10 minutes of whole group reading instruction and used it to demonstrate TrueFlix - students who are more tech savvy will likely pick up on it write away. I could then also reinforce how to use the site during small group reading time as a guided practice. Students could then be partnered to use during literacy stations. Hopefully through all that practice they could navigate the site independently. I could also have handouts with step by step directions.