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.