This was a long day but very enjoyable.  I am glad that I came because it lays a foundation for me in using and teaching technology in the classroom.  Presenting my Portfolio was not easy but I believe it was one of the most important steps that I have taken in moving on with my career as a teacher.  When your the old man on the block you might think it is over and your ready for the farm.  Hello! It's not over.  I've only just begun!

My goal is to put more effort into the classroom and use the technology available. If anything I need to simply remember the technology is for the benefit for the students..  Rome was not built in a day.

Enjoyed the presentation of the Art Projects.  Just incredible talent that is in this group.
What I can actually say is that I've learned so much from all these guys.  I am  so thankful that I was given the opportunity to attend. I just have so much to learn.

Dr. Bunch and Dr. Lee were very supportive and were encouraging as they made their visit.  I can't wait for the Fall session but I will need lots of practice. The more I use the technology and practice methods of instruction it will be benefit those I teach.   It's not all about me, it's about others.

Great day today!  Trying to get the finishing touches on our projects.  The lesson plan has been my stickler.   I've got to be consistent with how I prepare it. I feel a little stressed in preparing but I'm going to make it. The power point presentation will be the part if my presentation( The Civil War).
I need to work on consistent practice as a teacher in using my lesson plans.

Enjoyed Dr. Straughter presentation on self-preservation as an educator and professional.  We must take care of ourselves. I know that this will help as I finish my career! Set goals that are realistic. Take it one day at a time. Rome was not built in a day.

I'm working on trying to set up a business. I hope we have more time to get some done on my presentation.  I getting more ideas on how to present. Just don't Stress!

Great Skipe from Ruth's friend Mayara.  The Best! Enjoyed hearing about Brazil!

Another day down and one learning experience after another. Dr. Lee has been a great help today.  I have to say he is one patient man.   He would be a great Middle School teacher I believe.   Very methodical with showing us how to use Infographic on a video and audio.   Technology just blows my mind.


Just putting it all together has been hard work but worth it.  I felt frustrated at first but as the day went on I started to get my confidence back.  Enjoyed working on the Weebly Portfolio and I realize your not going to invent the wheel in one day. It takes time and practice. That's why we are Teachers.

Our final presentation was on Prezi and we found out that it changed from Classic to New and updated.   Technology changes more than coke.

I like adobe spark. It's strictly user friendly.. Writing a story about your self is truly enjoyable.  Can't wait to finish it. We just finished our work on making a newspaper. I truly enjoyed it and hope to use it my classroom.    

I'm behind in getting my samples ready for presentation on Wednesday thru Friday.   I'm going to have to take a lot time getting familiar with the work at hand. Enjoyed today's sessions.

Have gotten more work done but I feel as though I need more work in practice in just manipulating the mouse and keys.  I have to learn to walk and chew bubble gum. What a Hoot!  Have gotten some insight about starting a business in Mississippi from Jeremy Martin and info on Websites.

Well another day of learning.  Can't wait to put some of this technology to use.  I need more practice.

Well, what do you know .  It was great to see a fellow student from the Masters Program;in History from several years ago, Billie Jean Fulton.   Her presentation was very useful in using technology involving instruction.  The connection with History was very helpful.

Enjoyed the presentation of our Flat Stanley Videos.  I will need more work in trying to do this on my own but I can also use You Tube to help also.  Dr. B has been a great help. I enjoyed the videos and the entertainment.

The thing that is in the back of my mind is that what we are learning goes beyond using the technology, but also finding new directions that will even advance what we are doing in our own lives.

Another day has pasted and I'm going to try to do more posts that will show that I am using some type of technology. You know I just need more work on using Canvas.  It is very complicated but I believe that I can master it when I get some practice and understanding of how I can use it in my classroom.
 
One can only imagine on how I can use this but it seems that the more you use it the better you master it.
I hope I don"t give the wrong impression but when you are interrupted by your Doctor during a class session like this you tend to get frustrated.
Dr Lee has done a great job in sharing and demonstrating the use of Canvas.  I am impressed with the work it can do but it will depend on me to carry it out.

Technology must become personal and everyone must be on the same page. If we work together in our schools with technology then it will work for all of us.

Just realized that you've come to the point in your life that you simply have to adapt to change especially with technology.  It's just like getting your body in shape your going to have to work harder and it take practice.  Dr. Lee has impressed upon me to work hard and not quit.   He has not personally conferred with me about it but from his instruction it motivates me to work harder and smarter.

Worked on Web Quest with our theme on the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Found it to be a great asset in teaching but will need practice and time to get comfortable with it. I'm finding that you can learn from your fellow teachers. We need more collaboration of  technology on the school level and not just profession development.   My teacher friends have helped me greatly in all of this.  It's now up to me to make application.

I can truly say that I am over whelmed with all this technology.   My lack of experience is showing and what I really need to do is sit down and just practice with it and just work with it.   It has become some what frustrating working with this.   I feel that I am getting behind the others.   Well I'm not going to throw in the towel I'm going to master it .

Dr. Lee is a good teacher and very patient with me. I just going to have to ask a lot of question and just practice.  The great thing is Rome was not built in a day and Keith Manning is not going to learn this in one sitting.   Once I can learn Canvas and developing my website on Weebly. I will have made a start.

Dr. Lee said it correctly you have to learn to keep up with the technology it is changing all the time.

Another day has come and gone.  Looking at two more weeks of great teaching and sharing of ideas.
Dr. Beriswell has brought a new dimension into my teaching with using Excel and Power Point. I can now make Board Games for my instruction in US History.  I've got to practice operation of technology.   Can't wait to try it this fall.

Justin Putman introduced using hand held technology in the classroom and its applications.
He  presented the Nearpod App and its uses.  The best thing that I thought that was brought out was the use of games within this app. It is also important that I need to do more work with Formal Evaluations.  More Feedback that will evaluate learning and teaching in the classroom.  A dialogue in the learning process.

Finally, our tour of the M.K. Martin Center brought  the reality of technology for individuals of special needs.  Visual, Audio, and other needs can be met with the technology.  This tour was greatly informative.  It made us all realize that we take things for granted, but also technology has been a success for the disabled. Amazing and a Blessing!

Day 9 has been very informative to me because we began to work together on making lesson plan. In my opinion this was the first time that I have had some sort of instruction of construction of lesson plans.  Learning must be meaningful and we as teachers need to help students see meaning.  It's all about Backward Planning.  

The connection for me is to get an idea is developing a plan that can teach patterns. The goals is to transfer knowledge from us that they can understand.  ARCS Attention, Relevance Confidence and Satisfaction is the Goal in creating active learners.  Learning must have meaning and purpose.

I now have an understanding of scaffolding.  It involves questioning in terms of guiding the student to see relationships and patterns.  Have students make connections to their learning.  Focus on Project based learning as an example.

When using digital tools have a purpose in mind, a plan of strategy, and keep it simple.  Don"t over do it.

I think this day has been my most beneficial so far.   Dr. Kun Hung has kind of put things together for me.  Planning an organization are my areas for need of growth.  It's all about backward planning.  Where are we going? How do we know we have arrived? How do we get there?  The ever changing process of planning I believe has been answer thru this day.  This will definitely help!

The thing that sticks out about all of this is that we must Show the Significance of Learning, second, Informative Learning Assessments, and Third Engaging Learning Activities.  It's all based on a plan than starts with our outcomes first.   I believe this is an example of swift to listen, slow to wrath, and slow to speak. Another idea that comes to mind is " Keep the End in Mind," a quote from Steven Covey.   I Truly believe it's the practical end of getting the big picture and then we can fill in the gaps.

If I had an idea or concept to use or share in teaching it would be look at the big picture in planning and preparing for your instruction.  It not about technology because it is not the total answer but it is the use of technology that has a purpose but with give the student of how it is applied to his learning.
"Just because you taught doesn't mean you got it."

It is always important that we connect with the rest of the world in teaching by building relationships by the use of technology.

Picked up ideas for making Timelines.  The great thing is that you can use Geology Timelines along with History Timelines. Enjoyed the teacher activity using the adding machine tape as the timeline and using our computations with the help of Excel. One could  record and measure length with the time on the giant timeline.  Praise the Lord for Excel!

I really was impressed with how to present a weather forecast.  Using a power point to present a weather forecast just gave me a great idea in presenting how recording the weather in part of history.
You know you have to think out of the box.  I'm going to need to work more on power point but it will be such an asset to what I am teaching.

Our afternoon session went well Ms Angela Latham even though my paint was running everywhere.
 Not bad though the water color looked great.  Our session with our artwork went great I'm getting a better understanding of what I am doing but it just seems relaxing.

Native American studies was present by Dr. Nick Timmerman.  He presented how stereotypes were used by American Society and how it has influenced the views and perceptions of Native American.
This was a great presentation.

I just found out that Dr. Morris won't be back until our last day.  Wow! We're going to miss her. I've really enjoyed her instruction and presentations. They have been very beneficial.   Thanks so Much Dr. Morris.

Geography and Art a great combination in teaching.  The day has been profitable because it will help in teaching our wonderful kids about Geography. Our group visited Hilbun Hall and visited the Geology Museum and Weather Forecasting Studio.  The process of using technology in instruction is all around .  I can also say that getting a view point from a geographer has given me helpful ideas in the classroom.  It's not just using the technology but knowing how to implement it in our instruction.

To become an artist was always a side dream. Well, dreams come true we are going to be Artist on our Journey through GATEI.

I'm not much of a video game player but I believe I am going to learn to be one.  It"s not about just playing the game but having a purpose using it.

The Biggest challenge yet was my introduction to Weebly.  Wow! What in the world am I doing?  It's something that I can't imagine doing but I am working on creating my first Web Page.  This old teacher / coach is going to accomplish this.  Good grief, but I'm beginning to see some results.  I worked on adding images and adding titles.  

Adding to the events we got to listen to fellow GATEI teachers talk and discuss about BYOD (Bring your Own Device).  I'm coming to the realization that Fifth Street is close to get 1 person to one device.  One can honestly say that other schools face tougher challenges in getting technology.
I would say that we are blessed but we can always do better.

Dr. Beriswell presented on how to edit power points and web pages. This was very informative and will help as I work on my web page.  I like what she called it her Spinach Class.

Day 4 of my GATEI experience has been a real benefit for my teaching journey.  The Red Hill Clay Mine is not like the mines of the West Virginia or Eastern Kentucky. When one considers the other types of mining (Strip Mining) which is the type done at Red Hills, I found out that it is totally different.  It is not stripping the land but reclaiming it for the benefit for the environment for Future Generations.

It was like living in a land of giants with all the large machinery. But with this operation it must produce a great amount of coal for the Red Hill Power Plant.  Supply and demand was really brought out with our tour but reclaiming the land had much to do with the purpose of our tour.
It's not about stripping it and leaving as happened through the 20th Century.

A great activity was presented to us by Bryan Mattison which gave us an understanding of  Porosity,
Permeability, and Moisture Retention.  The Lab work was very informative and much of our findings were surprising. The goal of this Mining cooperation is to meet the supply for energy but to also reclaim and help the environment.  Great Activities and lesson plan on this ://teachcoal.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CoalActivitySecondary.pdf

Great activity this morning " Mining cookie"!    You can't imagine their try to mine chocolate chips and doing it with a tooth pick and a paper clip. What I liked about this activity was that you used a budget to mine and the cost, verses loss and gain in Mining. The  idea of going to visit a mining operation is awesome and to realize the that it is here in Mississippi ( Choctaw Co).

Another day in the life of making a Power Point something I struggle with but with the help of Dr B it has been made clearer. It will make my job a little less stress for the coming school year.  Just think a power point on Frogs and Toads to share.

After my small lunch we went to work on using Google Maps and Google Earth. This is what I like to tinker with the most.  Rob McDoogal showed us how to operate and use these tools in our instruction. This will be a great help..  Our tour of the Tempelton Room gave us a view of technology from the early 20th century to the Beginning of the 21st Century and eye opener at the most because we got to see the progression of music technology over 2 Centuries.

 As we walked back we got to experience how the earth orbits the sun and how it rotates on it's axis showing the formation of the seasons. We then finished off with a reading and writing assignment the involved writing phrase and connecting them with others. Building concepts with vocabulary and reading connections.

My second day has been great!  The materials and concepts keep pouring in and the idea that can be gained for teaching geography.  Maps are all over the place on the Web, but also low tech using the Globe.   Maps and Graphs are tools that can be great because they are used before reading for general content.  They help in giving the student a general prediction and background for the content to be taught.
 Well I just got exposed to excel and it's not just something to use to record grades and stats. I hope I can teach the students to use it to make their own graphs and analyze their findings.    When putting together with Physical and Social Data it adds to the building thinking skills for the students.  I believe I will need practice with excel for confidence sake.

Can't say enough about the Civil Right History presentation. Michael Murphy presented the History of the Movement of the last 175 years but he shared the site that was created by him and others of the Civil Right Movement in Starkville.  This will make the Civil Rights Movement real to the students because it here in our area.

The closing with Political cartoon is also an added  asset in helping the learner to interpret and learn their meaning.  What can I say?    One can say the opportunity for becoming more effective in teach is found in GAETI.

Well this is my first day of GAETI and I am glad to say that it has been an eye opener.  I really believe " Old Dogs can learn new tricks,"  I definitely had my eyes open to new technology. If anything I learned that planning has a purpose and it's not about fluff.  You're not trying to impress but to find ways to reach and teach students.  Technology has a purpose and a direction within instruction. I must embrace and not be afraid of it.

An eye opener for sure has been the availability of  using assets, such as, Magnolia, and I'm not talking about the great smelling flower.  This database is just plain full of resources that I can use and share with other teacher with the like mind.   It has made me realize that I can make things a bit easier for myself.

I feel like I just climbed out of a rock and found out that using different avenues of  instuction can be made by using Websites for teaching..   Examples would be pikto chart.com and powtoon.com involving creation of pictures and comics. Yes I can use this in American History.