CI 5530 - Web 2.0 and Social Networking

I was very excited about taking a class titled "Web 2.0 and Social Networking." One reason I was excited because I honestly could not understand what Web 2.0 was or what all it encompassed. Of course I was excited about taking a graduate class about social networking - how cool is that? However, this class would turn out to be a big disappointment. There was no syllabus, no clear direction or guidance and was just very ambiguous and downright frustrating. Despite the confusion, I was challenged and exposed to a multitude of different resources on the web. Some helpful, such as delicious, others not so much...Couchsurfing.

Class Blog

CI 5642 - Introduction to Web Design

For me, this class was exactly what the title says, "Introduction!" I had little, well, no experience with web design. We joked in the class that the only experience we had with HTML is back in the day when MySpace required you to paste a HTML code on your page to change the background! I grew a lot during this class and came to be comfortable with basic web design. Again, my success was completely because the professor, Dr. Erin Kirby, was so patient and encouraging. For instance in the very beginning of the class, she sensed that I was not "getting it," specifically where the web pages lived. So she reached out to me and offered to Skype and walk me through it. This was so incredibly helpful to get a good foundation for that class but also inspired me in my own teaching career to reach out to my students who are struggling and not just wait for them to ask for help.

Index

Final Project - Canning in My Family Website

ITC 5420 - Hypermedia in Education

One of the hardest semesters in my life? Yes. One of the best classes in my graduate degree? Yes. This past spring, 2011, I pushed myself to the limit and took three graduate classes while continuing to teach full time and raise my two daughters.  The classes were similar in that they were all in the New Media program. Out of the three, this class was the most relevant to what I do each day. The central focus of this class was education, namely public education. It also helped that I took the class with a cohort of other teachers who were integrating technology and media in their classrooms on a regular basis. More than any other class, I was exposed to easy-to-use, relevant tools such as Glogster and Animoto.

Class Blog - ACHS Civics

Hypermedia Version of Position Paper - Wix Website

ITC 5220 - Computers in Educational Settings

This class was a the first step out of the "media literacy" realm and into the "new media" world. Whew - I did not realize just how breaking-edge new media was going to be! Having only graduated college in 2005, I thought that I was comfortable with new media. This class quickly opened my eyes to the possibilities of new media and showed me how truly behind I was! :) We explored how learning can best take place online. During the class we used a couple virtual worlds including AET Zone and Teleplace which was my first interaction with any sort of virtual world. The professor, Dr. Amy Cheney, was great. She was patient and encouraging - just what an immigrant to new media needed!

CI 5940 - Media Image and Influence

I was blessed to take this class with some amazing peers - Leanna Swing, Carla Segurola, Jason Guthrie, Jill Rupprecht, Helena Burns, Katie Tucker and Conner Magill - to name a few. The dynamics of all of these dedicated, knowledgable people working together made this class the most rewarding throughout the whole program. We had great discussion online, worked together well in groups, and challenged each other to become better simply through each other's work and love of media literacy. The class in and of itself was very in depth and I grew a lot during the semester.  Below are several samples of work from Media Image and Influence.

Documentary Analysis #1 - War Made Easy
Documentary Analysis # 2 - Digital Nation

Book Review - Eyes Wide Open

Film Analysis - Days of Wine and Roses Presentation - Hand Out

Final Project - Representations of Female Teachers in Film

CI 5636 - Linking the Literacies: Teaching and Learning in a Digital Age

This was an intensive week-long workshop in the summer of 2010. Two years before this, I attended a similar workshop, "Democracy, Diversity and the Media." From that experience, I decided to pursue a Masters in Media Literacy. Needless to say, I had big expectations for Linking the Literacies and was excited to be a part of this opportunity.

Multi-Modal Resource for Teachers - Constitutional Convention

CI 5830 - Media Literacy

When we talk about literacy, the first thing that comes to our mind is reading.  If I asked the common person, are you literate? They would assume that I am asking them if they can read. This class seeks to not only help us see that our citizenry needs to be literate in the media we consume, but also helped us learn in depth some of the skills needed to be media literate.

We discussed the generation of Millenials and the media. I was passionate about this portion of the course because I teach high school and am immersed in Millenial culture each day. Any ideas and research that can help me become a better teacher is welcome!

In fact, preparing students to be media literate is to prepare them for success in the 21st Century. Teaching students to not only be consumers of media, but to develop a healthy criticism of media, should be a top priority in educating our young people. 

Magazine Analysis - Seeing Seventeen
Broadcast News Analysis - Sexting - New Life
Film Analysis - Snow Falling on Cedars
Advertising Analysis - McDonalds Advertising

CI 5635 - Media Literacy and Curriculum Development

This class was my first in-depth experience with Media Literacy. I had not even officially began the MA program yet and was taking this class as a non-degree seeking student during Fall 2009. This was not the only new thing I had ventured upon in Fall 2009. On November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, I gave birth to my second daughter! Fall 2009 was a season of new beginnings for me! :)

Media Literacy and Curriculum Development was a good introductory class. Two of the main activities were to review and evaluate existing curriculums using media literacy principles. This allowed me to see how others were using media literacy in many different subjects. I feel like this early exposure not only showed me the opportunities for media literacy but also helped me to understand the full potential media literacy could have on education.

Curriculum Evaluation #1: Flashpoint IV
Curriculum Evaluation #2: Project Look Sharp
Curriculum Design Project - Workshop for Teachers - PPT (to accompany workshop)

CI 5630 - Instructional Technology

This was one of two classes that I was able to take with Dr. Considine in the Spring of 2010, my second semester of graduate school. Taking two graduate classes (not to mention Considine classes), teaching full time, and nursing a newborn sure was difficult! Admist all of the stress, I learned a lot in this class. Mostly, Instructional Technology helped me think about the decision making process of acquiring and implementing new technology in schools.  These are important decisions to make and not only because they involve money. Too often, administrators make these decisions with the wrong information or motivation. Through our systematic model, Dr. Considine taught us that the needs of the students should and teachers should be first and foremost when considering what technology to implement. 

Movie Study Guide - Iron Jawed Angels

Are you going to be a librarian?

This was the question that I have been asked numerous times during the past two years as I have been pursuing my Masters degree in Educational Media. For some reason, people - including educators - do not understand how integral media is throughout our curriculum. We have been programmed to think of media as something separate, and maybe even lesser than our academic content.

Through this program, I have learned the value of integrating media across the curriculum and the essential need for media literacy among students today.

How My Portfolio Came to Be

April 28th, 2011 was an interesting day for me. At 3:30am a tornado went over my house destroying about 70+ trees all around my home, doing some damage to outbuildings and my daughter's trampoline and playset but my home and my family were safe. At 6:00pm that evening, I was able to come watch two people present their portfolios at the end of their journey towards a Masters degree. I left campus that day with a refreshed energy and optimism that my turn would come soon!

My first attempt to build a portfolio was through Wix.com. It was going to look awesome but was not going to be very effective. I then tried to dabble in Dreamweaver and build a page from scratch. This page was going to be effective but not awesome...at all. I have come to accept the fact that it is okay if I am not a HTML guru. My goal is to be a better teacher, not a website designer...but knowing a little HTML code will come in handy I'm sure!

So now we're on Blogger.com. As part of the requirements for CI 5530, I had to build a blog which was definitely outside of my comfort zone. However, I came to really enjoy building a blog as well as see the educational possibilities of blogging.