‘How Far I’ll Go’ from Moana “See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me And no one knows, how far it goes If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go” Photo retrieved: http://srsounds.com/j3/images/easyblog_images/700/Moana-2016-1.jpg https://youtu.be/cPAbx5kgCJo I love the thought of the ocean horizon being a mysterious, unending adventure. Technology always seems to baffle me by the amount of learning I’ve encountered and the amount of learning still to come. At first, the waves may get rough and you may want to quit, but once you have the wind in your sails, there’s no telling where you’ll go. How Far I’ve Come I needed to reflect on what I’ve accomplished over the span of this program. ‘How Far I’ll Go’ I need to plan ahead what my next steps are and my future strategies to fully utilize everything I’ve learned. ePortfolio Expansion My ePortfolio has cycled through many phases, but the whole journey has taught me a lot about myself as a teacher and learner. I learned that I can really feel proud of my work when I share it with family and friends, as well as professional colleagues. I could tell that I was more creative in my learning since it was all on a themed website platform. I felt more comfortable and free in expressing my ideas on my ePortfolio because it was customized to my own design style. Looking forward, I want to share the power of ePortfolios to other educators and young learners. First graders may be a little too young to create, design, and execute their own ePortfolios. However, I have ideas for young learners that extend to Class Dojo Student Stories and even Seesaw. There’s other platforms worth exploring like Google Sites, Sesame, and more. I want to share this feeling of accomplishment to students so exploring ePortfolios would be a great start. Online/ Blended Course I’ve enjoyed the best parts of online learning through these courses. I get to learn at my own pace and in the comfort of my own environment. I still feel very included and collaborative with the people in my class. I feel like I’m not missing anything from being in a virtual classroom. Interestingly, I feel like I’m being more challenged and engaged in my learning. After I’ve discovered blended learning, I just knew this is the way education will look in the future (possibly very near future). I think blended learning is a great way for educators to differentiate, engage, personalize, and create excitement for young learners. I do use blended learning in my first grade classroom and will continue to inspire others to try it out so they’ll also see its benefits. Organizational Change I learned about how to really make crucial change in my organization. I reflected on Simon Sinek’s “What, How, & Why?”I defined results and vital behaviors to achieve blended learning. I used sources of influence and disciplines of execution to get real change. Finally, I delved into crucial conversations and self-directed leadership. I have been using what I know about key actions to make real change in discussions with leadership. I will continue to use my research and studies on organizational change to really engage people with their hearts first, then their minds. I had a friend who was thinking of starting a business but I couldn’t help myself but to channel Simon Sinek. I said “What is your goal?” and “How will you really reach people’s hearts?” I was shocked at how I can be a leader so easily and with such confidence. It’s quite freeing and I can’t wait to see what I lead next. Professional Learning My first reaction to Professional Learning was that it is not the same as Professional Development. My blog post Uninspired and Uncomfortable summed up the way I feel about the way we do PD now. I enjoyed learning the standards for PL in that I could engage educators in a better way to make real change. I created a Blended Learning Timeline which started to make things real. I will continue to be a pioneer in Professional Learning where educators can become inspired and engaged, rather than how PD used to be. I will continue to also present to sessions where I can make a difference. Sometimes I feel that I can only do so much, but I want to keep trying, if only to help a little. Personal Learning Networks I have loved networking with other educators to get more involved with this whole process. I have connected with three other educators in a FB group chat where we have been communicating from the very beginning. We always help each other and share our ideas. It’s been the best way to feel more comfortable in this new adventure of M.Ed. Also, I joined a bunch of Facebook groups where I connected and learned even more. I have expanded my TPT page and store where I have gained a lot of traction on my sales. All in all, Professional Learning Networks have saved me. I will maintain a virtual presence on my facebook, pinterest, and instagram, where I will keep contacts to network with and make connections world-wide. I am always baffled by how much information that can be shared through the internet all over the globe. I love reading through my TPT sales and seeing the UK, Australia, and other countries of educators who are using my work. It’s amazing how teachers next door to my classroom have a lot to offer, but globally, there’s so much more to learn. M. Ed. DLL Capstone I have been so entranced by the effects of COVA and CSLE through this master’s program. It has been truly special to learn the approach through doing it and experiencing it. I was free to be my own creative self while I challenged myself to do even more than what was asked. It has been an amazing experience. I will continue to ‘talk up’ Lamar and this program. I absolutely love the vibe of this online program as it is really helpful to me. I started this program thinking that I may not even be cut out for grad school. I’m leaving with a lot of promises for a better future in Digital Learning and Leading. Cycling through my innovation project
My innovation plan has been worked, reworked, and revisited, since learning can never really end. In the beginning, I wasn’t entirely sure what kind of project I was working on. I knew that I was creating a project to roll out blended learning to my organization. I felt that this project was a huge way to realize my ability to make actual change in my classroom, school, and beyond. When I am working on a project that is so personal to me, it is so easy to feel connected to it. Some things can slow things down I feel like my innovation project has evolved in great ways, but the theme has always been really simple which is to roll out blended learning in primary grade levels. I personally am one-to-one chromebooks with my first graders. I have presented several times on influencing primary grade level teachers (k-2) to use digital learning in their classroom. The feedback is always very positive and encouraging. However, I do worry about my colleagues’ anxieties about an innovative concept that some administrators might not be ready for. I just want to give them the confidence that they can use digital learning alongside their mandated curriculum to better their students’ learning experiences. At this point, I imagine that my innovation project is all about wrapping up. I will use the newest information that I learned from my ICT class and digital citizenship class. As I’ve been working through this master’s program, I’ve learned a lot through experiential learning on what would work well in my innovation project. I wanted to make sure I had all the parts to make the plan more attractive to all parties involved: teachers, students, leadership, and maybe even community. I believe I still have some work to do in order to really sell this plan to everyone. I also think that the world may need some changing, at least South Louisiana, so that people see technology as positive and powerful. I hope to keep working on more innovation projects that align with introducing blended learning to my primary teaching buds. Slow and steady wins the race! Photos are from https://unsplash.com/ The Scandal of all Scandals. I was around 7 years old when the Lewinsky Sandal broke. I remember it a little, but only when my parents let us see a moment from the TV news. I teach first graders of the same age now. I can say that these days, we let our 7 year olds see and hear way too much from the public arena. During the last election, I would hear my 6-7 year olds say things like “Trump is bad and its horrible that he won”. I tried to maintain a mutual stance because as educators, we really shouldn’t be imposing our political party ideas or religious ideas, for that matter. I think the government has easy access to our private data and information when we spread it all over the internet. At the end of the day, when we post on the web, its public for all to see. I think my family had a strong grasp on this concept (I’m not sure why they did) but I knew from an early age that posts are forever. I feel like some of my childhood friends still don’t understand that. If the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal had occurred during current times of Social Media, things would have been very different. Lewinsky thought her sad infamy was overnight, but these days, things go viral in minutes. These days, people are so mean online. They have a seemingly anonymous wall where they feel as though they can say whatever they want, without regard to humanity or empathy. I identified with Lewinsky in her TED Talk when she noted that we can change this vicious cycle by becoming upstanders and showing empathy to counteract humiliation of cyberbullying (2015). We know how horrible online harassment is; however, we need to develop plans to directly educate our impresionable students about its concerns. Unfortunately, I can relate to online shaming in my recent community discussions. In local news, there was online outrage with our Public Library having a ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ (2018). The comments made on their Facebook page were “sick, poisonous, disgusting”. It was a very dividing story and is still undecided upon whether a parish funded location will be able to have the event. I can say that it is disappointing to read the comments on either side. I wish for a more empathetic and compassionate online community. Garcia, D. (2018, August 21). Mixed feelings over Drag Queen Story Time in Lafayette. Retrieved from https://katc.com/news/around-acadiana/lafayette-parish/2018/08/20/mixed-feelings-over-drag-queen-story-time-in-lafayette/ TED. (2015, March 20). Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_8y0WLm78UTED. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_8y0WLm78U Preventing Cyberbullying and Promoting Kindness. I am a huge Ellen DeGeneres fan, not just because she’s from the same town as my family, but because she advocates “being kind to one another” as she says at the end of every Ellen show. I also think of that author unknown quote “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” It may all just boil down to promoting kindness, standing up for what is right, and sharing how words online can be very hurtful, much like in real life. In an inspiring TED Talk, Shane Koyczan poetically compares the dark bullying side of school as a circus (2013). Koyczan brings words, digital arts, and music together to tell a story of how we must acknowledge the dangerous bullying happening in schools and even how some adults seem to mold students in a fashion that they want.
I hope to promote kindness in my first grade classroom in real life so my students will grow to become productive members of society. I hope to teach my students that saying mean things really hurts people’s feelings and that they should be self aware of others’ feelings. I hope the foundation I set in first grade builds as they grow older. Interestingly, my state of Louisiana ranked highest in students being bullied in a study by McCann (2018). I hope that my state is able to do the right thing in terms of being responsible and respectful. McCann, A. (2018, September 6). States with the Biggest Bullying Problems. Washington, D.C.: WalletHub. Retrieved from https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-at-controlling-bullying/9920/ TED. (2013, March 08). Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa1iS1MqUy4 |
AuthorTaylor Pons Digital Learning & LeadingePortfolio Blog Digital Waves BlogA Splash of Professional Learning NetworksClass Dojo MentorDigital Learning and Leading |