Response to Alonzo

My reply-
These chapters really could create a possibility of world peace if people just followed what was being said. In chapter 9 I truly was inspired by how students that others said wouldn't get it or appreciate it, GOT IT! Just because one person saw that things are done better in person. I almost wish that this book could be distributed at every United Nations meeting in every language, to all diplomats and individuals that make life altering decisions for common people. Possibly if they read, absorbed it, and applied it maybe just maybe things could or would change.

Original Post-
This week’s reading continues with chapters 5-8 of “The Art of Possibility” by Zander, R. and Zander, B. Chapter nine was entitled, “Lighting a Spark”. This chapter showed how we can inspire in those around us, action, creative expression, and contribution. Chapter ten, “Being the Board”, spoke of simply how we should all be 100% responsible for how things are going. Next was chapter eleven, “Creating Frameworks and Possibility”. This chapter gave me the idea of how we put this practice into reality, in the type of “world” we may live in so that we can make a difference. Lastly is chapter twelve, “Telling the WE Story”. This chapter speaks of how finally by coming from a “we” type of partnership. We can create a bridge that unites all divisions and people as one. This could be a real possibility for world peace from this point of view.

Response to Barry

 My reply-
I agree with you about teachers not fully being able to explore the opportunities of marketing ourselves. If this would happen more often possible teachers & teaching would undergo a paramount shift. Possibly society would take education more seriously because they would see us sharing our expertise and knowledge. Imagine if celebrities included secondary and primary educators rather than athletes or movie stars simply because we were able to branch out and connect. The power that we possess has not fully been tapped into and I commend you on tapping into it. I hope all goes well with your presentation and wish you the best!

 Original Post

My plan is to present my Action Research Project to at the Spring CUE Conference, SJUSD Teach Workshops, and Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) trainings. I believe that teachers havent had the opportunity to explore the great benefit of creating a personal brand and marketing themselves through social media outlets. Extending the one’s perception of their power and status as a professional, teachers can benefit greatly when they market themselves and the knowledge and expertise that they posses. The Keynote can be found here. And the speaker’s notes can be found here.
My initial brainstorming can be found in this blog post (I only completed one of the “Think Out Louds”).

WK 4 Publishing_Presentation Project

    One place that I would be interested in publishing my findings is Edutopia. It is a blogging site for educators. Unlike some of the journals it is not as directed toward academic individuals as to really speaking to the average person. My CBR project & results would be more of the focus rather than the literature review and research. Its requirements are very simple but it may not allow me to fully explain my findings because of the word limits within the blog.

    The second place is actually a conference. Its location changes each time it is hosted and it was actually in Dallas this past weekend. The next time its in Kentucky. But it allows anyone to present as long as what they are presenting involves new technology. From what I gather it is an open forum and everyone is treated like a rock star! If one feels as though they are not gaining anything from a session they simply remove themselves. I think that this would be a great experience and I would like to one day present here because of the environment and support that is laid out in the expectations.


http://historythroughsharolseyes.blogspot.com/2011/10/publishing-presentation-project-think.html

http://historythroughsharolseyes.blogspot.com/2011/10/publishing-presentation-project-think_14.html

Presentation Document

The Art of Possibility Week 4

"Certain things in life are better done in person." In this day and age of endless technology things are seldom done in person or even over the phone. Something as simple as visiting an individual and sharing their idea & time & space can change the outcome of a situation. In order to do this a few simple steps are to be followed:
1. Imagine that people are an invitation for enrollment.
2. Stand ready to participate, willing to be moved & inspired.
3. Offer that which lights you up.
4. Have no doubt that others are eager to catch the spark.

Vander followed these steps and changed the lives of students that society had "thrown away" & labeled as failures. Just taking interest in someone else's fate has a ripple effect. They appreciate it. But it has to be done genuinely and you have to trust that they will respond & partner will you in it. Also at times we have to learn not to point the finger at others but to accept what our role may have been in the situation. Become the board rather than just a player on it. After lighting the spark & seeing our role we must set peraminters for possibility to happen. This can be done through:
1. Make a new distinction in the realm of possibility: one that is a powerful substitute for the current framework of meaning that is generating the downward spiral.
2. Enter the territory. Embody the new distinction in such a way that it becomes the framework for life around you.
3. Keep distinguishing what is "on the track" and what is "off the track" of your framework for possibility.
Lastly, we must see both sides of history and tell the story of "WE". Instead of focusing on one side or the other being right or wrong, see the possibilities on both sides.
1. Tell the WE story- the story of the unseen threads that connect us all, the story of possibility.
2. Listen and look for the emerging entity.
3.Ask: "What do WE want to happen here?"
   "What is best for US?" - all of each of us, and all of all of us.
   "What is OUR next step?"

If only more people in history and now had read this book, our society would be ran so much different. People would not give up as easily but they would also see past the present situation of a person and see what that person or object could become.

Response to Rosalyn

The reading has helped me develop a new viewpoint on life and my career. I admit I started this year with the worst attitude but reading this book has made me really re-evaluate my thinking. I know I can not continue to focus on the negative but expect positive results. And I must say your positivity is a God send!

Week 3 Wimba

What am I going to take from the reading and use in teaching and in my life? Reading the Art of Possibility has given me a more open mind. I have to say I have always been a positive thinker, I would take the worst situation and find the positive in it. However, the reading has encouraged me to continue to do this, and maybe even see if I can help others see things from a more positive view. Not only does this apply to teaching, but my personal life, and the relationships that I have established with friends and family. Very inspirational!

Posted by Rosalynn at 8:24 PM

Response to Fari

 I could not agree with you more about how individuals lead. In my personal experience it seems as though once individuals get a wee little bit of power it taints their view of the world. Sometimes "bosses" or "supervisors" can get so caught up in the numbers & data that they forget what matters most, the people.  Unfortunately this "diseased" thinking is trickling into education. People must know to keep a clear view of their students' abilities  & their students will move mountains for them.

 

 

Wk 3 Reading: The Art of Possibility (5-8)

My reflection journey continues...
5. Leading From Any Chair: "How much greatness are we willing to grant?"

Image taken from www.freedigitalphotos.net

Very thoughtful question! In my professional life as a teacher I've had to work with people that seems to forget that leading has nothing to do with imposing a concept or thought, but being open to your employees ideas and new ways to do things. A good leader knows how and when to delegate responsibilities,  to trusts others, and usually puts himself/herself in someone else's shoes to understand a situation or to come up with a solution to a problems. As teachers, it's always a good idea to survey our students to find out what works best or what can be improved in our clasroom. If our students shine, we shine too! The effectiveness of a teacher is definitely shown through our students' achievement...

6. Rule #6: "What would have to change for me to be completely fullfilled?" 
Finding balance is my answer to this question. It's so easy to lose your temper and get out of control if you let your "calculating self" take over your reactions to a situation that arises. However, letting your "central self" handle it, is a way to put in practice rule number 6 and come up with a more productive solution.

7. The Way Things Are: "What do we want to do from here?"

Image taken from www.freedigitalphotos.net

We definitely need to change our negative way of seeing an unexpected situation,  and turn it into  a positive one, taking the best out of it. If we can't change it, we "think outside the box", and come up with a more optimistic outcome. In other words we get rid of the "downward spiral talk" and get into the world of possibilities. If we  choose to see the glass "half-full", we can even come up with a new way to fill it up!

8. Giving Way to Passion: We should not refrain ourselves, we should release that energy and passion trapped in our souls, in our hearts. This way we will connect with a world of possibilities and we'll go beyond the limits set up by those who think that "all is invented"

Publishing/ Presentation Project Think- Outloud Part 2

So after doing a little research and getting pretty scared to be honest I think I am still leaning toward Edutopia. On their site they offer some instruction as to what would be needed to be considered for publication as a guest blogger. All of the items seem like I would be able to fulfill them except possibly #4 because the only items I written have been for Full Sail so does that count? Just wondering but I'm excited to at least try & attempt.

Want to get involved?

• Guest Blogs: We welcome submissions by guest bloggers on a wide range of topics. Blogs should be positive, proactive, and actionable. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. To submit an idea for consideration, please email community@edutopia.org and include:
• 1. a few sentences describing your proposed post
• 2. tell us who the target audience for your blog would be (e.g., high school math teachers, or reform-minded educators)
• 3. an 80-word bio of yourself, with details about your role in education
• 4. three to five links to other pieces you've written
• 5. your Twitter handle and link to your Facebook page (if you have these)

Week 3 Wimba.... Art of Possiblity

   Reading this book is helping me not only in my professional life but my personal as well. Focusing on the possibility and not the limitations has been something I've done my entire life. But I have found that lately my attitude has change & it is changing what & how I view the world. Chapters 5-8 all spoke to me in some little way but chapter 5 did the most. When the conductor allowed others to input on how to lead them. I think that this is something I will definitely try just to see how I can better service my students.

  Other useful information I received was over the abstract and the publishing/ presentation project which still confuses me but I'm rolling with it.

Week 3 Art of Possibility...Taking the Bull by the Horns

  Often educators pride ourselves as being the sage on the stage. But for the learner or listener that may not be the moniker given. A classroom is more than just one voice or mode of thinking. In chapter 5, Zander conveys a practice of given those that you lead a chance to lead. If this thought process was adopted in schools, in school boards, in administrative offices, & legislative sessions I think the educational climate would shift. Giving students an honest no holds barred opportunity to share what REALLY works for them. Rather than continuing to test them to death would be beneficial not only to instruction but to society as a whole. More students would gain more from school because they had a hand in creating its output. Teachers would restore that connection with students instead of fumbling to find it for 187 days. Administrators and legislators would know EXACTLY where to spend time, energy, & funds rather than blindly attempt to dictate change.  Thus creating a "round table" atmosphere would level the playing field & invite everyone to play ball since everyone now has to bat.

Response to Stephen Pope

 His original post: I think that the reading really hit on a very important subject. We spend a lot of time discussing how our students learn, but not why. We don't really look into what creates the thought process as much as we look into engaging methods. We can have the best methods, but if past performance or past failures cloud a students ability then what do we do. The student that refuse to try for fear of failure falls further and further behind. The student who feels that their life outside of school is hopeless has no reason to engage, regardless of how great the lesson is. I know that we can't be responsible for our students psychological issues, but if we can't find a way to help them believe in and feel good about themselves than all of our knowledge and study isn't going to have a very big effect. How do we 'Give Everyone an A' in our classes everyday?



My reply: Amen, amen, amen! I was having this exact conversation with some teachers at my campus last week. Some teachers feel as though students dont matter outside of the 50 minutes they have them each day but so much can influence a student besides those 50 minutes. I understand not every student will love history but I try to come to a common ground with them and let them know that they are significant. No matter what their race, gender, creed, or socioeconomic background they too can make a difference in our society. I think that if I do this with my students then I am giving them an "A" everyday.

Response to DeMarcus Wright

His blog post:It is ironic that we would be talking and reading about copyright issues this week. I work part time for a mega church located in Texas. We are currently being audited from CCLI to make sure we are obeying our copyright guidelines. We have faced some opposition from some who believe that we can just throw lyrics on a screen and broadcast them with out giving credit for the use. We wish it was the easy but we have to abide by the rules or risk the chance of ultimately being sued by the author of the song. I am pretty familiar with copyright I can remember taking a class during high school called mass media law were we learned and studied cases that involved copyright infringement and other legal issues. We were even thought a way to copyright a piece of work for short term while you are applying to get a piece copyrighted. We were told a simple way of just mailing the piece of work you want copyrighted to yourself that has been postmarked is a temporary fix until you work has been officially copyrighted.

 My comment:
Wow I go to church here in Texas and you know what I would have never ever in a million years thought about copyright laws during praise & worship. At our church we do the same thing just as a courtesy to our members so that they can follow along with the choir.

Week 2 Wimba...Copyright Issues

How many staff handbooks have a clause on copyright infrigement? I ponder these things especially when it comes up. I am a history teacher and usually this is not a conversation that is had say teacher to teacher but rather student to teacher. Most students figure that as long as something is available on the internet that it is public domain and theirs for the taking....WRONG! But unfortunately many educators share the same sentiment. Items that are copyrighted are those that can be seen or fixed. This includes books, plays, films, movies, dances, and music. Also they are covered for a lengthy amount of time for a single author its 70 years and for companies its 100 years!
Many individuals do not know this. Oftentimes teachers fall into the is this a reproducible product or is this for my own personal use. Basically it boils down to this: "Do you have permission to use it & share it with others?" If you can answer that question without cringing... go right on & do what you do!

Publishing/ Presentation Project Think- Outloud Part 1

To publish or to present that is the question? I am not Shakespeare by any means but this is a loaded question. To begin I have to weigh my options. Anyone who knows me, knows I love to talk. I talk all the time but I only like to talk about history and helping people. So that could work in my favor if I was to present. But then I have to look and see where I could be presenting. I would be away from my daughter, in front of a foreign audience, and honestly I may not have the time to do it. Let alone the obvious fact that I would have to miss school & I do not like missing school.

Now my other option: publishing. Seems easy enough but it seems scary too. What if no one likes what I researched? What if no one wants it? I think that I would like to publish my findings because of where I am right now in my life and my situation. Only time will tell...Lord knows I don't have enough or much left to figure out what I am going to do.

Week 2 Required Reading

Education can be humorous at times. The idea is very basic actually- to convey knowledge to another individual for them to use and retain. It's not the basic idea that is in question but the method however. Michelangelo states that within every block of marble or stone is a beautiful statue. Imagine if every teacher, parent, and school administrator shared this ideal with education. Maybe then we could get back to the basic idea and see why students may have "road blocks" in their learning. Rather than comparing them to student "a" from district "z". Students like most humans make snap judgments based off of assumptions we've created in our minds from previous experience or what we've been told. I wonder how can we get our students to buy in to their own intelligence without having to test them to death? Just wondering....

Final Project

Please view my video via this link.

Sharol Caw

Target audience: 7^th grade Texas History Students ages 11-13

Materials: Computer, steady Internet connection, wikispaces account, some prior knowledge of Texas/ U.S. History

Objective: For pre-ap students to be paired with non pre-ap students to assist each other in reviewing for summative formative and end of year final.This would assist students to take their learning from an understanding and knowledge level to the analysis & synthesis levels because they will be creating, answering, & assessing each others questions & thought processes.

Procedure:     1. Rosters from pre-ap & non pre-ap classes will be divided up.

                        2. Students will choose partners at random.

3. Students will create a wikispaces account that will be monitored by teacher.

4. Pre-ap students will pose questions via their teacher’s blog that non pre-ap students will answer & vice versa. These questions will be discussed in class to assist in the review process. Students will also create an Internet scavenger hunt in order to help each other learn, re teach, or review needed items for the approaching tests.

Web 2.0 Tool: Wikispaces : This is an online 2.0 web tool that allows users to create products that can be shared with anyone who accesses their site. Also those who are on the site can make changes to the products that have been produced.

Social Participation/ Social Learning: Students get to interact with students that they would not otherwise be paired with due to their different schedules. This would allow students dictate their level of learning. Their interaction would be via Wikispaces. It would not be a face to face encounter more of an online tutorial in a safe place where they can pose questions & receive answers to prepare for upcoming tests.

Making connections: Students would be able to fill in gaps in learning for each other by going back and touching base with items already covered in class and connecting them to items they will need in 8^th grade history. This action would be done via wikispaces on the blog provided there for students.

Create/ produce: End of year review

Assessment: Students have previously taken several common and formative assessments. Upon completing the interactive review I will assess them 1^st with a verbal questioning session and secondly with the district summative assessment and our year end final test.

Reflection: Students are in control of their individual learning while helping other students become successful in their learning and retention. Through journal entries students will reflect on their learning in my classroom and comment on the various methods used.

---

PE5_WIKISPACES

So now that I am up and running with my Wikispaces account I have to create some posts. Nothing is worst than saying" Hey I'm going to go green & use the internet in my classroom!" But actually never do it. For many educators this seems to be something that annoys us. Large scaled plans are announced but with very little follow through. Well I am trying to take a step in the right direction. Below is my first post for my students:

Hopefully my students will enjoy this and it will create a sense of ownership for them in the classroom.  I'll keep you updated!

PE4_Wikispaces

Hello friends! Im back again this time with my new wiki. To get to my wiki follow this link.  When I signed into wikispaces and created it this was the first screen I ran into.

Now guess what? I'm up and running now my students and I have an interactive online environment for them to learn. I'm excited let's see how this goes.

BP7_COMMERICAL

Please follow this link to watch video.

BP6_Catherine Brooks

Please follow this link to see my comments on Catherine's blog!

BP5_Alonzo Moses

Hey follow this link to see my comments on Alonzo's blog!

BP4_Wikispaces

            Educators today have many issues plaguing them. At our campus this has been the year of the “click”. Click by definition: when 1 copy is made on the copier that equals 1 click. So for instance if a teacher would like to make a double sided worksheet for 155 students, she would use 310 clicks. In August each teacher is given a specific amount of clicks, I received 30,100 for the year. At first glance that sounds like it would be a substancial amount to last the 36 instructional weeks of our calendar year. WRONG! As of Friday, March 11^th I am down to 2,500 clicks that must last until June 3^rd. So what am I to do? I must find an alternative to paper for my classroom. Some options I have: increase note taking, more pencil paper, and bookwork, or turn to technology. “I’ll take option #3, Alex.”

            How am I going to use technology to replace the norm? Wikispaces.com- this site allows educators or individuals who are going to use it for education to create a sight for free. I would be able to create assignments for students to complete in groups or solo, paperless. Of course the question with anything that is Internet based- security. On wikispaces.com the wikis are ad-free, and I can make them private for extra security for my students. Also they can be created without student email addresses. This will allow me to create assignment posts for posing questions or to assign projects so that students can collaborate better and learn to take responsibility for their own learning. I will save clicks and my sanity!

   So in order for you to get started go to www.wikispaces.com and then scroll until you see this image:

Click on create wiki for K-12 education. You will then be led to a screen to register and create your wiki like this:

After you have registered your wiki you are ready to go. Good luck and just think you've taken a step in the direction of going green!

PE3_iMovie

Please view the video below to hear & watch what I learned from Lynda.com on iMovie.

PE_2 iMovie

  Within this blog post I will cover the items I learned from chapters 6-10 of Lynda.com's iMovie tutorial. The more and more I watch the more excited I would become at the new knowledge I was acquiring. I learned by double clicking the clip would bring up a box called "inspector" and this would allow you to make adjustments.

 Also you can choose normalizing which will adjust the volume across your whole video to the same level. Sometimes this could be a blessing other times its a curse. Also in the inspector box is a speed dial which by double clicking on clips you can increase or slow them down.  I also learned that a 'Ken Burns' effect is added to all photos used in iMovie by default. This adds zoom & pan movements. If you double click in the upper left hand corner you can customize the effect. Precision editing allows you to precisely edit clips. This tool also allows audio to be manipulated which will allow clips with different audio to have the same sound. And transitions can be made as well. M is the music playback shortcut and you can delete a marker by dragging it out of the editor.

Lastly, I learned that sometimes files need to be stablized in order to have optimal viewing. This can be done by accessing the file-> analyze for stabilization. This will smooth out shaky footage. Now there are 3 colors that may appear after stabilization has occurred. Black, orange, or red. Black means that mild smoothing was required, orange means that moderate smoothing was required, and red means that extreme smoothing had to take place. But there are even some cases where the video could not be stabilized and then a slash would appear. In case you may want to freeze the frame you can press ctrl + click this freezes the frame in your video! But as if this wasnt enough you can even do a picture in picture addition to your film.

This is what I learned! Now I'm ready to put it to use....stay tuned.

PE1_iMovie

 There is a lot that could be said of iMovie. When I first received my Mac book I honestly was afraid of it. But I see now how much easier it makes everything. For this blog post I will review what I learned in Lynda.com tutorials covering chapters 1-5 and the introduction. With any program there is always new information that one could learn. I learned that if I press E I can add new clips to a project.

Also that all media that is imported stays in the event library. There are 3 sections to iMovie: the project library, viewer, & event library. There are two sliders one determines the length of clips & the other their size.

Through these I can adjust the time & size of my clips. Also I learned a neat feature called "Drag & drop" where you literally find clip you don't like & you find a clip to replace it & you drop the new one on it.

Something kind of cool to me. Another interesting tidbit in the tutorial was that a rookie mistake that some may be unaware of is adding too many transitions. There is more information to come. So stay tuned as I travel on this Lynda journey.

BP2_RemindThis

RemindThis is an alternative to bookmarking. Through this service, you will be able to have notifications put your way, reminding you to visit a site that you saw just once.

You may ask how would this site help a teacher? Easy! Imagine doing lesson plans and you are trying to revamp what you’ve already done. Our district would like us to incorporate more technology into our lessons. A quick and easy way to accomplish that is of course through the Internet. One issue I’ve always had is finding sites that I went to once but then I never find them again. But now thanks to RemindThis no longer will I wonder where that awesome site went?  Using this tool will allow me to increase student retention and make lessons more interesting for my audience. A site like YouTube and Facebook can now be quick links without permanently bookmarking them to your computer memory.

Teachers have a lot that we have to keep up with this will allow us to plan efficiently and effectively and also will serve as a reference point for future lessons.

1)   Click on following link: http://www.remindthis.com/

2)   Click on following image 

3)   The widget is now installed on your computer. Begin to surf.

This program was originally created for website or business owners to increase traffic to their sites but for a teacher its pure bliss. So if you would like to keep track of where you’ve been so you can you can have great lesson plans! Good luck and happy surfing!

BP3 Google Screen Shots

Home:

FSO:

 ETC:

 CBR:

BP_1 Welcome to my blog

  Hello world! Welcome to the first post of my personal blog. This will be an interesting journey but I hope that it will be an intellectually stimulating one. So far Fullsail has enabled me to test my own strengths & weaknesses but I am enjoying this. This week has been a crazy one, I started a new course & administered a state test on the same day! Whew...this 'ol girl is tired. Well with that said "Good Night!"