POST #2: Challenges to Using Iowa AEA Online Resources

This biggest challenge for me is reliable internet connection in my classroom.  I am in a small rural PK-6 district and am lucky to have resources like iPads and a SMART board in my room.  These make the online resources readily available to students.  However, the difficulty comes from our server and unreliable connections.

The district has tried to update wiring and added more wireless access.  But, what I've been told, the length that our messages need to travel between our building and our AEA sometimes makes things extremely slow so we get a lot of buffering or are not able to connect at all.  This is frustrating when trying to keep kindergarten students attention and cueing up the video or needing to help them get started individually to work because the internet not cooperating and now they don't know what to do. I try to overcome this by downloading pictures or videos to my computer that I need for a lesson so I know that they are ready to go.   I try to download afterschool when the demand for the internet isn't as great. But, that doesn't help the student who is trying to read along to a BookFlix story and has to watch a small circle spin while the story is loading.

My biggest challenge for using Iowa AEA online resources is I'm a substitute teacher and I d have a classroom
To use the great resources. I took the course so if the teacher I'm subbing for has the online sources on h
Their lesson plans I could navigate the site and know what they are talking about and doing.

Another challenge is that some sites you can't get into without schools password and code. Also as I was taking this class I couldn't get into some of the sites because of no password and code so some I didn't get to try. I think for the class there sure be away to get into these sites.

If i was in a classroom I think it would take a lot of time to find and learn about all the sites and the right sites for the subjects you are teaching and how to fit them into their curriculum.

I will keep the notes from this course so when I'm teaching I have the resources to look up were to find what the class is doing.

Iowa AEA Online has so many great resources that cover many different areas in education ranging from K-12. It is easy to pick out the resources that are most beneficial and easiest to use with a first grade classroom and how I would / will use them. However, one of my goals is to get to a point where I can give my students the chance to take charge of their own learning in some form of a project where they are able to research on their own. I feel there are several resources I could have my students get on to research a topic. My biggest challenge with that would be how to teach first graders the steps of getting on those resources and how to best help them with sifting through the information they find.

Since I am a Para Educator in the classroom I want to help the teacher in the classroom with her assignments and on the computer as well as helping the students with their homework or research.  In Special Education and in our classroom the ability and learning process varies greatly in there Reading and Comprehension.  By having the different levels for some of our students would benefit from maybe a lower level of material.  Another factor is using these resources and finding the time to teach the students how to use them in a group setting or more of a one to one basis.  We would try to apply a little each day.  Some students they would prefer to have a visual explanation showing the steps.  At our High School we are planning next school year going to one to one computers as our Middle School started this this school year and has had wonderful success. This hopefully would also make it more easier to teach the AEA Online Resources that are more available.

The biggest challenge that I have with using AEA Online as an educational tool in my current position is that my students use an online class as their only course work.  They have no need for complementary work to receive their credit.  They can also have no internet in the classroom, other than what is already downloaded, for security reasons.  However, if I were to use my substitute authorization certificate and go to different buildings, I would find reasons to use the AEA Online resources.  It would be an obstacle to get the school building usernames and the passwords, but manageable.

The biggest challenge I face for using the Iowa AEA online resources is that fact that I am a substitute teacher.  Usually when I arrive at an assignment, lesson plans are already there for me to follow.  Most of the time the teacher has good enough lesson plans that I do not have to supplement.  It is not easy or quick finding something to supplement the lesson plan already laid out for the class.  Taking this course has made finding something quickly a lot easier with the resources at my finger tips.  
The other challenge I face is the lack of computers for use by the students.  Most of the time, a computer cart is already checked out to another classroom or the computer labs are already signed out to another class.  It is hard to implement these valuable Iowa AEA online resources without the use of computers.  To overcome this challenge I will write up on the board www.iowaaeaonline.org and let them know which resources there may be helpful for them.  

For me one of the biggest challenges will be to get out of my comfort zone and try different strategies that are suggested in the course.  I feel like there are so many good resources to use that I could totally revamp my whole curriculum.  I think that I need to evaluate the materials I currently use and search through the different resources available on the AEA Online website to see what I should keep and what I should change.
Another big challenge for me is the lack of technology available to my students.  We have one computer lab, one mobile lab, and one iPad lab for preschool through 6th graders to use.  It seems finding the technology to use is a constant struggle.  However, maybe some of the activities that I decide to use could be partner or group activities.  I could also plan out farther ahead to make sure I can have the technology I need available to me when I need it.

There are so many resources to choose from through I think the biggest challenge would be to know which are best for your classroom.  As a technology coach for my building I have the time available to browse the resources and learn what they offer and how to use them effectively in the classroom.  The biggest challenge for my teachers is time and being able to test out all of these resources which is where I come in.
Some of the steps I can do to help teachers overcome the time challenge is to offer mini PD sessions in my building for the different resources.  I also volunteer to come in to their classroom/lab and teach the tool along with the teacher or to the students and teacher.  For example, when our language arts teachers introduce research and research projects our teacher librarian and myself work together to introduce the various databases we offer through keystone and how to go about the research process.  When students are building presentations I usually take 10-15 minutes to share Soundzaboundz and iClipart.  I also take every opportunity to put a plug in for copyright and fair use.

I think my biggest challenge is time.  Being a Resource teacher is different from having my own classroom and implementing different strategies or programs may take some planning.  I will definitely look at BookFlix, Research Resources, and TeachingBooks.Net for resources that I might use most in my  classroom.  These resources could definitely have a positive impact on my students with their learning.

While taking this course the one challenge that kept coming to my mind was since I am a substitute teacher and don't have my own classroom yet I won't have the time or access to look through all the resources and remember how to use them. I won't have as much experience or practice on the website. Also, many times a passcode isn't left by the teacher making it difficult if ever needed in the classroom. However, since taking this course, I am aware now of what AEA has to offer and when I get my own classroom I will definitely be watching all tutorials as a refresher. I will be excited to use many of the resources I learned about and I can already see how I could use some of the resources in lesson plans someday.

I think the biggest challenge I would have in using the Iowa AEA Online resources would be that there is so much information that we went through it would be tough knowing if I could use the resource to its full potential.  I feel it would take a great deal of time to master each resource and know what is all on each AEA resource and find where it would benefit my students.  As I was going through this class for each resource we looked at I thought to myself, "O I can use this for the thing I teach" but having the knowledge to be a master at it could be tough.
I think the steps that I need to take to over come the challenge would be to use a small amount of AEA resources and then take the time to really get in depth with how they work.  Instead of trying to use them on every lesson, pick a couple of units and only a couple of resources and master them before trying another resource.

Having been away from the classroom for over a decade I am excited at all the prospective resources available to me and my future students.  As with the rest of my colleagues it seems one of the biggest challenges is the sheer vast amount of resources available and trying to know which resources would fit the needs of the students (and myself) the best. With a teaching focus on secondary education in science I am particularly excited about the different types of media that is so readily available to help explain and illustrate some of the more abstract concepts of science such as inter molecular activity.  
To attempt to offset this challenge of overwhelming amounts of data it could be a project for students, who seem to be able to find the time for technologies to compare and contrast different tools and to utilize there own evaluation criteria to find the best resources.

In my opinion, the greatest challenge to implementing these resources in my classroom is finding the time to learn to use the tools effectively. Anyone who has taught knows that if a lesson is to be learned, materials need to be prepared ahead of time. Most kindergarten students do not have the ability to sit quietly and wait for the teacher to figure out why something is not working on the computer. In order to make sure that I understand how a resource is accessed correctly, I need to make practice lessons until I am able to access my lesson materials quickly, regardless of content. The list of resources on the AEA Online is seemingly endless. I need to try one section of information at a time in order to feel I am a successful user of any material. It is surely possible that I may never find a use for some of the resources due to the age of my students.

The biggest challenge for me will be finding appropriate resources for preschool aged children. I am a "self taught" technology learner so sometimes I go about things the hard way instead of the smart way for awhile. This means it might take me longer to learn how to find what I am looking for. I anticpate looking for images, music and stories. I don't have a lot of time on site to do lesson planning or use resources. I will need to organize my thoughts, write lists  and prioritize what I want to look for so that when I do have time I will be ready to work efficiently. I also hope it is possible for me learn more about the resources this summer when I am not teaching. I can then become more familiar with the resources for next fall. I am excited to share what I have learned with my teaching team too

The biggest challenge that I will be facing in implementing these AEA Online resources in the classroom is that I will be a substitute teacher. I will have to follow the lesson plan left by the classroom teacher. Hopefully, these teachers will be taking advantage of some of these resources.

The amount and variety of resources offered by AEA Online are overwhelming. I plan to spend more time playing around with the resources to become more familiar with them, and to learn to be proficient in navigating them.  Making multimedia presentations is something I have no experience in,
I plan to use resources such as Learn360, iClipArt, and Soundzabound to gain experience in making presentations.  I plan to use the Atomic Learning website to gain more classroom and educator tech skills. The videos will help me learn to use different software and technologies, and also to be able to help students who need help with the software or technology.

In my role, I support educators in their implementation. I can show and share with educators, but implementation is dependent on what makes sense for educators. However, there are resources that can be used easily when supporting digital storytelling, for example, or research. As far as a barrier-the ones I have faced is educators not realizing all there is, and then support for implementation. Overcoming the barrier would involve my support-including awareness, brainstorming for utilization, and support for utilization.

I will support educators by helping them think of how the resources can be used. In my role, I can even present to the class helping with the creation process. Planning the utilization would be key, from copyright understanding to time to examine resources to the opportunity to create.

I think the biggest challenge of using Iowa AEA Online resources in the classroom is time it takes to search through all the great resources the AEA offers. One of the ways to overcome this challenge is our school is re-writing our curriculum in the CTE area. By rewriting the curriculum it will give me the time to search through the vast resources the AEA offers. Going through this class was very helpful, by giving me a leg up and all the resources the AEA offers. Right away it got me thinking of all the way I could implement many of the resources the AEA offers. One of the many way this online course helped me, was that all of the different resources had some kind of search that could be used in a variety of ways from the basics, to advance searches and the how to videos helped you get the most out of each search you can do. Leading to a time saving convenience.

One of my biggest challenges will be finding the time to navigate through all the different resources to see what would be the best fit for the themes we are working on each month.  The numerous resources are a bit overwhelming to navigate through, but I feel that my best fit will be the BookFlix and Learn360 will be the easiest to to implement for my classes. Since I work all 12 months at my job, the summer months will be a benefit to navigate through some of the on-line resources so that I will be better familiar of the options when school begins in the fall.  Another one of the challenges I originally faced with the AEA on-line resources is the fact that we are a private preschool and at first I didn't have access to the on-line resources because I didn't have a login and password. Now that I have that access, I am really excited to utilize the program.  

I am only coaching at this point in my career so that poses a challenge. I don't have the continual access to classroom time like most full-time teachers do. So, my biggest challenge would be a lack of resources and the necessary equipment to implement these tools.
Hypothetically speaking, if I was in the classroom, I think the biggest challenge would certainly be time and being able to put everything into action in a timely fashion.
To overcome those problems, a step by step plan of action would need to be put in order, prioritizing the most important tools and deciding the most beneficial for my classroom and students.

I have to agree that my biggest challenges to using Iowa AEA Online Resources is that there is so much information to use. My second biggest challenge is knowing if I would be able to use the resources to there potential.  I have to agree that it would take me a lot of time to master all the resources available.  My third biggest challenge is not having the time to use all the resources in my classroom. The AEA Online Resources is a great plan to find a wealth of information to use in the classroom.  The steps that I would need to over come some of my challenges would be to try to focus on using less resources and using just a few of the resources more in depth to be able to master them.