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.

Week 4 - Dream Job

My dream job would be one just like the one I have, only one with an adequate arts budget, and one that values the arts a bit more. I haven’t received arts materials in three semesters, and have shelling out the supplies on my own time and budget, with the hopes of being reimbursed. I also dream of cart filled with Macbooks, fully equip with the latest version of Adobe CS , where I could show students how to create online portfolios, digital video, and sound compositions.

Taking it even one step further, I dream of a paperless school in which every student gets his or her own laptop and completes work online via blogger, experiments with various web 2.0 tools, and integrates the latest technologies into course work (not unlike what we have learned how to do at Fullsail).

Week 3-Comment to Julie Jerue

Hi Julie,

I understand how you feel. As a single mother of two young sons, working full time and juggling this degree is a challenge to say the least. It’s tough trying to stay “present”. I also struggle with very real feelings inadequacy as a parent trying to further my career. It’s hard not to feel bitter when you have to skip your child’s football games to catch up on graduate work. However, the end is in sight! It will all be distant memory soon enough. I guess we need to be present to our feeling of frustration, guilt and being completely overwhelmed for another month and week!

Week3-Comment to Elizabeth Klauer

Hi Elizabeth,

I agree with you completely. The Zanders’ insights are powerful ones. The Rabbi’s perspective is also great. If we clear our internal judge, we gain clarity that allows for gratitude and a deeper understanding of circumstance.

Week 3-Reading Response

Chapter 7, The Way Things Are

Letting the “storm sweep its course”, is a valuable lesson. I feel we have been so conditioned to believe life is always supposed to be pleasant and comfortable and resist the very valuable and real feelings of frustration, anger and sadness. To embrace and be present when things are bumpy and roll with them; that’s also part of the ride. I often see “storms” brewing in my six-year-old son. It begins with a tantrum or two, or a fight with his older brother and finally ends in a trip to his room for a time out. I have come to realize that time is valuable for him. The storm rages, for a few minutes while he usually explodes in tears, yet he emerges from it minutes later new and completely refreshed kid. Sometimes we all need a good cry or scream. It is release.

In chapter 7, Mr. Zander also discusses “exits” as a way people often time deal with very unpleasant feelings or circumstances. Turning our backs on things that make us very uncomfortable always seems to resurface in the long run. I had a friend whom lost his mother to cancer 10 years back. He still has yet to visit his mother’s grave since despite the fact that she is buried only minutes away from his home. He’s also developed in these years since her passing, a drinking habit that wasn’t there before her death. Being “present” to life’s realities, comes more naturally for some than for others. The teachings of Zen Buddhism, and yoga which incorporate those very beliefs of being “present” and “in the moment” into a spiritual practice, and

is a skill that some people acquire after years of practice and training.

Week 3-Four Links to Educational/Inspirational Videos

1.

http://www.mylearningtube.com/media/1167/In_The_Mix_What_Makes_a_School_Worth_Going_To_Excerpt/

A great story to reinforce the importance of arts education in schools. About a young man growing up in an impoverished New Mexico where dropout rates are some of the highest in the nation. He finds his passion and voice in arts and digital video and claims that is what keeps him in school. The above story was posted on my learning tube http://www.mylearningtube.com/ an amazing resource for educators.

2.

http://www.pbs.org/pov/differentcolorblue/differentcolorblue.php

Inspiring and true short story about an artist who is nearly blind, who continues to create his paintings despite the odds. Beautiful soundtrack and art created by a man who nearly lost all of his vision in a horrible accident. He sees that the accident allowed him to dig deeper into his art despite the odds. Found on http://www.pbs.org/pov/educators/ many amazing resources for educators including documentary, short stories and full-length feature films.

3.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1732754907698549493#

Dr. Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream speech. I never grow tired of this clip, and show it every year around his birthday. This is a great one too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkRdj9L3wyE&feature=player_embedded

4.

http://www.dove.us/#/features/videos/default.aspx[cp-documentid=7049579]

I’ve shown most of these films to my advisory girls. Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty has focused on the beauty industries distortion of beauty and how it affects young women and girls. Powerful short films to be viewed by all young women and parents of girls. Find it in the videos section of the website.

Week 3-Discussion Board Topic #2

I’ve recently introduced IMovie and Screenflow into my classes. I’ve set up a series of demonstrations on how the programs work, and have told the students to take notes during the demonstrations. The students seem to have a second nature in how these programs work, however, the problem lies in the availability of only one computer in the classroom. I received a grant for a 17-inch Mac pro, and am having students work in small groups of 4 to produce movie reviews, capturing scenes via screen flow, and creating narrative explanations of film elements. Because I am an art teacher, I’ve created this as sub lesson within a studio art lesson. Every week on Friday, one group of four works on the film review while the rest of the class works on a studio art lesson. It’s been a balancing act, but the only way to get students to explore the technology until I can get more computers in my classroom.

week 2-Podcast Suggestions

Robert Bergman a photographer, and Toni Morrison introduces his book of photographs, A Kind of Rapture. Two incredible artists, Toni Morrison (my favorite author) reads her introduction.

http://dl.luxmedia.com/nationalgallery/audio/121409bs02.mp3

Education Podcast Network, a library of podcasts made mainly by educators and students wnting to share their stories, experiences and knowledge.

http://epnweb.org/index.php?openpod=13#16

Art History podcasts. All of the hallmarks of western masterpieces http://www.learnoutloud.com/Catalog/Arts-and-Entertainment/Painting_-Architecture_-and-Sculpture/Art-History-Podcast/24148#plink

Incredible resource for educators, many different subjects and disciplines; history, kids, languages, self development, travel, ect.

http://www.learnoutloud.com/

Wimba Wk-2

Attended the Wimba 2 session and the session hashed out the expectations for month 11. I’m still honestly a bit lost about the publishing and leadership project. Hopefully I will also be able to attend one of the sessions in week four.

Week 2- Natalie Hill Blog Response

I should have been informed about this phrase when I began this program. The phrase is “ Rule #6, don’t take yourself so seriously”, I have been guilty of this since I started this program. I have been so uptight about each subject because I didn’t know what to expect. My blood pressure have gone up tremendously.

Normally, I am the person who is telling people around me to smile everything is going to be ok but, lately that my caculating self has taken over. My mom asked me the other day why I get upset about things so quickly and I said stress. She replied, that’s not you and I said “I know”. Once again I let myself get wrapped up in the measurement world, scared of failure.

I’ve always been told admitting the problem is the first step to solving the problem. Now that I have admitted to being stressed I am going to follow “Rule #6” to the fulliest and finish this program to the end. Enjoy life and don’t let life take control of me.

Sources: Book entitled The Art of Possibility

Hi Natalie,

I'm glad I'm not alone in feeling like I've have been pushed to my limit during this course. It has been challenging, painful, yet rewarding I've gained skills that weren't there before EMDT. Relaxation is key. One of the coping mechanisms I've learned throughout the year is how to meditate. If I didn't learn that valuable skill, I'm not sure I would have made it to month 11. Breathe, we are almost there!

week 2- Reading Response

I can honestly say there isn't a day that goes by that I'm not appreciative about what I do. I have the incredible job of piercing through the 'calculating self ' of my students and helping them find their 'center self '. As an art teacher, I get to see my students rediscover the joy in creativity and I witness that on a daily basis. Many of my NYC public high school students haven't had an art class since elementary school and come into the class tough and hard, however, almost all of them at one time or other reach a childlike and joyful state. The process of making art is usually rewarding, and fun for many of them, as we we work with paint, plaster, and get our hands dirty. Yet, I see first hand how the scrutiny of the ‘calculating self’ sucks the joy right out them after the final product has been made. Their 'calculating' self makes comments like, “that sucks” or, “Miss, I don’t like it” or, " I'm bad at art" permeate the airwaves of the classroom all too often. Much of my day is spent reassuring them their work and visions are important, and that their voices and ideas need to be heard, that they are special.

We all need to take a look at how we take the joy out of ourselves. Will we scrutinize, judge and reprimand ourselves to death? Or can we step back into the innate joy we all have in that 'center' self. Stepping into the center self might be messy, but sure worth the while.

Week 2-Blog Response to Kathryn Nemelka

Media Asset Creation - Week 2 - Entry 1 - Book Reading

My thoughts about reading The Art of Possibility Chapters 4 - 6:
Wow! I am sure thousands of people can relate to the feeling of being a “success” or being a failure to ‘society’. I like how Ben changed the ‘being a success’ to “how will I be a contribution today?” I am a queen of figuring out if I am a success/failure. I LOAD myself up with a zillion things to do so that I can be a ‘success’ where in reality I am just setting myself up for failure due to lack of time. Everybody wants approval from others. If we could train our minds to just focus on what we do contribute on a day to day basis we would be so much happier. We all do need to remember we are leaders. Many of us who are teachers can be HUGE leaders in our students lives for motivating them into positive passions instead of negative things such as gangs and poor school performance.
I am in love with “rule number 6 – Don’t take yourself too seriously”. I have a perfect example in my own life about ‘don’t take yourself too seriously. This year my kindergarten class is a very ‘tricky’ class. Usually I have the ‘perfect’ classroom with a quiet working environment. This year I have a class with many different ADHD problems, challenged learners, and many broken homes. I was getting so frustrated with myself that I wasn’t making as much progress with MY students as I had in past years. And MY class wasn’t the perfect class to look at and watch. I took a step back and decided to ‘lighten up’ (even before I read this book) and decided to go with the flow. I am now FALLING in love with this group of kids. I kicked back and now I can focus on the STUDENTS instead of MY ‘perfect’ classroom. We have fun and I am now getting to them. We still have a lot of academic progress to make, but we are making progress!
I also enjoy the way this author writes this book with stories. It makes the book more personal and it touches me emotionally as I read them. It motivates me to want to change.

Week4 -LMS Future Project

Week 4-Udutu link

http://apps.facebook.com/udutulearn/?ref=bookmarks&count=0