Well, I finished the Innovative Educator Advanced Studies Certificate, the IEASC, an online educational technology certification through Computer Using Educators (CUE) and Fresno Pacific University. I can say to everybody who cares that it has transformed how I teach. It was quite a ride: I was able to succeed in completing 18 units in 6 months from April to October. Completely done.
From learning Google Drive...to exploring numerous Web 2.0 tools...to implementing iPads...to taking the plunge into classroom blogging with my sixth graders, using technology as a tool to help students create deeper meaning has become an expectation I have of myself, and I hope to spread the joy within my sphere of influence.
As a class, we have published our first blog posts to our Australian
photo credit: Lisa Nielsen
friends. In the welcome paragraphs that the students shared with the Australian class, they made sure to begin with a jovial greeting, continue with some information about themselves, and end with a few questions for their buds across the globe. After a 2 week term break in Australia, we eagerly await responses within the blog comments. This will be our first real communication with our buddies who live almost 8,000 miles west of us!
We have just completed one quarter of our school year, so you could say that our road has been slow-going. But I believe it is extremely important to do something like blogging for the very first time in a deliberate manner. We laid the groundwork in August, September, and some of October, and now we will continue our journey and see what's around the bend.
As a teacher who just completed an intensive series of courses to earn the title "Innovative Educator", I feel as if a journey is ending, but if I'm completely honest with myself, I know my journey is far from over. And I want to take as many as I can along for the ride.
Part of the requirement of the IEASC program was to create a project that could innovate education and be effective on a global scale. As I took an elective course as part of the program through FPU called Web 2.0 Tools for the Classroom in June and July, my eyes were opened to student blogging, and I decided then that I wanted my Language Arts students to blog their way through sixth grade. I didn't quite know where to start: some pieces fell into place and some had to be pounded into the proper shape, but my final project became blog2buds. It is a website that documents my blogging journey with my students, offers suggestions for other teachers who would like to start blogging in class, and connects educators by using my blog2buds Google Plus global community.
If you haven't already clicked on the link above, you should check out blog2buds now!
This is an unveiling of sorts. It's the road I'm taking. As I travel, I hope to see you along the way. Perhaps we could travel together for while and get to know each other and share some stories as we walk along toward our destinations.
