Final EMDT Reflection

Week 4-Wimba

I was truly sorry to have missed the last Wimba session with my group. I’ve felt disconnected with Wimba sessions due to scheduling conflicts with my children’s activities. It has been almost impossible to attend any of them at all during the course of this program. I’ve traveled back into time and visited the archives, and was so impressed by the presentations by my classmates. Specifically, Russ Gaspard, and Erik Holvig’s AR projects. I agree with Eric on the troubling issues of poor writing in the classroom. In our high school in the Bronx, our students are very low in writing. This is due to various socio/economic reasons as well as large portion of our school speaks English as a second language. Our principal has adopted a writing- across the curriculum program to try to help remedy the problem. Every subject must include at least two essays. It is a struggle for them, as it is for teachers like me (I’m a studio art teacher, not an English teacher!) However, practice is what really counts for our students.

As for my Final Presentation, my critical friends are still reviewing my work, and will hopefully get my final presentation reviewed soon.

Week 4 DB#2 What stands in the way of your dream job?

What stands in front of my dream position is time and money. I’m pressed for both. I think with more time, I could write away for grants. I’m hoping with more funding, I can get more equipment and materials for my art program. My dream is to have 10 desktop computers in my classroom. This would enable students the opportunity to upload their artwork to online portfolios as well as introduce various web 2.0 applications, digital arts, and video. Hopefully, I will have more time upon the completion of this program to write away for funding.

week 4-Comment To Laurie Merril

Laurie's Original Post

WK4 PUBLISHING LEADERSHIP PROJECT

I teach in Fillmore, California, which is part of the Ventura County Office of Education. I would like to be a part of a local Computer Using Educators (CUE) chapter to find other local teachers who are integrating technology into their curricula. Once I complete my master’s at Full Sail University I will need to find other teachers who can help me with technical support, policy issues, and implementation of new Web 2.0 tools. My contribution will be a presentation in September of 2011. It will be great to be a part of a team of educators who want to integrate tech tools into the curriculum.

I hope to prepare a presentation that members of CUE statewide will find useful and present it at the state conference in Palm Springs in October of 2011. That will give me this school year to test out more cell phone and other media projects with my current students and add to my current data. It will also give me an opportunity to implement my LMS and see how that works out. Having all the blogs in a private classroom in one place is an essential component to the success of the LMS. It will also give me the summer to improve my presentation.

My Comment to Laurie:

It's great to see you actively trying to implement change into the system. How wonderful to put your AR into "Action". I'm impressed by your bravery and dedication to educating the educators whom are mostly "digital immigrants".

week 4- Publishing Leadership Project

http://files.me.com/aimenjade/a1cgcj

I have finally finished my Publishing Leadership Project and feel proud of my accomplishments. It has been nice to reflect and put together a cohesive paper to document my journey through my AR process and project. However, are several things I wish I had done differently in my AR, especially how I collected data.

I will focus on submitting to International Journal of Education & The Arts as I’ve been an art teacher for 4 years in the NYC public schools, and 1 Year in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. I’m excited by the prospect of having my research and findings published with the possibly inspiring other educators.

The second journal is called Educational Technology and Society. I felt this to be a great journal for getting the latest trends in technology and how it pertains to education.

Week 4 Comment to Tim Edinger on "Being the Board"

Tim Edinger's Week 4 Blog Response

I connected most with the chapter 10 - Being the Board. I feel that is how I live my life for the most part. I don’t like to blame others. Everything that I do is because of a choice I made. I think that you could even take it a step further and not get angry for things that are out of your control. I now that my wife sometimes gets upset about certain situations, while I am not bothered - which upsets her even more. One time we went KFC with our family and some friends. The place was very busy and it only had three people were working. We had to wait for a much longer time than we normally would have. My wife felt that we should get a discount or something extra. I told her that they only had three people working and were working as hard and fast as they could. We didn’t need to be anywhere and could wait. I told here we could relax and spend some time talking with our friends while we waited. She felt that they could be more prepared and could have called in extra workers. I told her we didn’t know their situation - there could have been a sickness, gone to a funeral, or a number of other reasons why they only had three people. I felt there was no sense in getting upset with three people that were working as hard as they could to ensure everyone got their orders as quick as possible.

I also had a poem emailed to me that had a similar theme. It talks about someone getting cut off in traffic. The driver who gets cutoff is very upset and is yelling some choice words their way. At the end of the story we find out that the person who cut them off was upset and just left the hospital where a loved one had just passed away. There is no way we can no the situation or actions of others, so there is not sense that we get upset. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I try to be the “board.”

My Response

Thank you your insights. I commute daily in and out of NYC where the traffic is intense, as are some of the people. One day I was attempted to be "cut off" off by a driver as I was waiting on an exit ramp for over 15 minutes. It enraged me because I had been patiently waiting, so I decided not to let her in. She then rolled down her window in tears, and pointed to her infant in the back seat whom she was rushing to the hospital. I felt horrible. There are many stories and reasons behind the actions of others.

week 4-Chapter 10, Being the Board

“Being the Board” is an invaluable lesson. It means you must be accountable for your place in the world, not as victim, but realize your place in it, as a whole, as life moves around you. Zander also talks about relationships and blame, “when I blame you, I seek to establish that I’m in the right” and he goes on further to explain that one loses their own power when you seek to blame. I have found this to be very accurate. When you point fingers at others, you take the responsibility off of yourself, thus shutting the door to a deeper self-awareness. If however, you take responsibility for looking at things objectively, or perhaps from another person’s perspective, you might learn a valuable insight about yourself and how you interact in the world.

Zander also discusses the uselessness of anger, and blame for things beyond our control. This has been a valuable lesson for me on my sometimes very traffic lased commute in and out of NYC daily. I used to be enraged by the traffic, and now I’ve let go of any of that anger realizing I’m wasting my precious energy on something completely out of my hands. Another incredible insight, “grace comes from owning the risks we take in a world by and large immune to our control.” My risk in the situation is knowing that NYC traffic is intense, yet I choose to commute in it daily.

It has been a real gift reading this book, as it’s been therapeutic as well as deeply insightful, with suggestions and tricks on how to stay mindful and present in a modern world.