"My goal is to continually prepare my “professional” self by every means available to me. I don’t just want to hit the classrooms as an enthusiastic teacher that has his positive attitude bubble burst because he wasn’t prepared for the many challenges that face teachers every day. I want to use these classes and all the technology and information outside of these classes to equip myself for the task that is ahead."
1) I am pretty sure that I did this. "Every means available" had a lot to do with the technology involved in the class and how you constantly stretched us to use things we didn't know how to use. I feel like my growth using bookcasts aided me as a teacher to my students in the ALP process and that my professional self continually grew throughout our time together. I feel more prepared for a number of different genres, questions, and technologies as a teacher. My enthusiasm has been applied to new types of learning and for that I am very thankful. At the end of this goal, I state that I want to equip myself for the task that is ahead and I think that that definitely happened during this class.
"My goal in this class is to continue adapting my style to teaching the literature that I love. It is a simple task for me to read and soak in a great novel, but how do I share it with others? I certainly have friends that ask me about books and will bring out my opinions, and those are enriching experiences. However, it is my goal in this classroom to meet others who want the same kind of feedback and are willing to constantly challenge my literate self to not rest in stagnancy."
2) Bookcasts, book clubs, and other activities in this class certainly answered the question "but how do I share it with others?" I've always loved to read and enjoyed the process, but teaching is about sharing what I know with others and learning alongside them as we read. I feel like I learned a number of different ways for organizing my class' ability to share about what they read as well as techniques for myself in teaching the books that I love. I seriously can't wait to teach now that I have a number of options for informing students of why they should love novels. I don't believe that I "rested in stagnancy' this semester, so this goal feels accomplished.
"These games teach a number of modern skills and require a large amount of preparation and organization when you reach end-game content. The result was that I learned valuable skills while simultaneously growing to love fantasy even more. Every dungeon has a new story behind it. However, I have done very little research or implementation with these worlds and education. I see them as avenues to network and enjoy myself, but it makes perfect sense that these convenient technologies could enhance the learning experience. I can’t wait to find out more about this."
3) I enjoyed Second Life so much. I got to see what a classroom looks like inside a virtual world as well as getting a taste of author interviews in the virtual realm. Both of these stretched my understanding of what works in the virtual world and what doesn't. I won't go awkwardly into these technologies now when I understand that Second Life has a slight wait time when people are responding to a question. I also saw how much the teacher had to implement and explain and be patient with students who were struggling to use the technology. I love the idea of using virtual worlds to stretch teaching, but I have a much better understanding of the difficulties involved in doing that and wouldn't just jump into a virtual/technological undertaking without proper preparation and sincerity.
All in all, the class did wonders for me as a teacher and has me more anxious than ever to actually get into a classroom and start teaching. I learned so much and feel like I accomplished even more goals than I have listed above. Thanks again, Dr. Crissman!
bookhenge
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