Blog: Write any final thoughts you’re having about your whole master’s experience.
It feels good to be finished! Whew! I think I'll miss it, though. Keeping up with the trends and stimulating my brain with themes from my profession instead of personal hobbies has been really good for me. I have a new interest or specialty now that will keep me motivated and help to be an "influential teacher" for years to come. Specifically, I'm really looking forward to putting into practice the outdoor photography homework plan that came out of this experience. I want to get my students outdoors more with their parents on nightly walks around the neighborhood. (If you have ever had a dog walking schedule around your neighborhood you can relate.) Except with my plan, you are doing much more than helping your dog relieve themselves and mark territory while you enjoy the neighborhood. With my weekly homework, you could feel good about helping your child do science while enjoying your neighborhood. And if you also walk your dog, then it'd be three birds with one stone! I hope the model becomes a popular idea because, (to me at least), it makes sense. How else can you touch so many bases? (I'm imagining this for Third Grade.)
Check! Check! Check! Check! (How long do you want this post to be, anyway?)
The Touro/NapaLearns master's program has been almost too good to be true. It feels like a Goldilocks program for teachers because it wasn't too much or too little. The focus on technology and innovation is so appropriate for these times, and especially for these distance learning times. We must use technology in innovative ways if we want to guarantee a quality education for the near future, and beyond. Being in this program has given me the skills to make an easier transition to distance learning. That's another take-away I will never forget. I'm very thankful to have been a part of the Learning Innovation Lab. It's too neat to have a webpage floating around out there in this big database. I'm honored to feel I may have contributed in a small way to our children and public education! I want to give a big thanks to all the people who make it possible! (You know who you are.)
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What is your biggest takeaway from the 703 class? What’s been your favorite part of the class? Where did you struggle and what did you do to push through your struggle? How do your skills in transliteracy relate to the TPACK model?
My favorite part of class 703 was making the video. It was also the most challenging. And because it was challenging, and creative, it was the most rewarding project. I like the idea of having a website that contains my work from this program. It is out there in the digital world, in all its imperfection, but will hopefully will help teachers who are interested in the theme of outdoor education. I feel like my biggest struggle was with very silly things. My computer did not seem to function properly. For example, whenever I downloaded something, I could not find it. Nothing appears in my downloads folder. I manage to find things somehow. But every time I have to perform digital somersaults to connect things. Other times I can't connect things. My video does not have many photos from my class. For some reason the photos in my iCloud won't appear where they should be, either. I suspect it has to do with which accounts are linked to what. It is complicated and frustrating for me. So I just used stock photos for most of the time. I know things are not appearing because of some simple problem that a couple of clicks could fix. I searched for solutions on the Internet. None of them seemed to address my problem. It's this "not knowing" and "not being able to find it out" that bugs me about computers. Solutions are hidden. People who might know how to help are not around. I feel like I have "old school" intuitive problem solving skills that don't apply to technology. Having suffered like this is what I have been needing to improve my teaching game, however. Now that I've made videos I'll be able to help my students do the same. I'm really looking forward to passing along the skills I've learned in these classes to my students. I'm super duper exited to try my outdoor photography project starting at the beginning of the school year. With the distance learning model we'll be in, it will really come in handy! |
AuthorJeremy Smith teaches third grade at Calistoga Elementary School. Archives
July 2020
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