Portfolio for Educational Application of Computers

Carrie Cook

ccarrie1804@aol.com

Carrie

Mother

Stubborn, Caring, Happy, Loving

Lover of family, reading, camping

Who believes that there is good in everyone

Who wants for her children to be happy

Who used to play soccer three times a week

Who gives all she has to her children

Who says "If you can't change it then change your attitude"

Cook

Resume....

Carrie Cook

12345 Happy Lane

Happy Valley, Ca 12345

Objective:

To make a difference in a child's life by teaching and inspiring them.

Qualifications:

I have had many jobs involving children, from a nanny to a teacher, than have prepared me for being in a learning environment.

Education:

Associates Degree From Victor Valley Community College

Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts from California Baptist University

Currently enrolled in Brandman University's Credential Program

Relevant Experience

Substitute Teacher at Options for Youth Victor Valley

Center Area Teacher at Options for Youth Victorville 3 Center

Personal

I quit my job as a teacher to become a stay-at-home mom and to further my education. I look forward to returning to the work force some day.

Web Scavenger hunt...

http://cookscavengerhunt.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-does-poetry-do-for-you.html

Enjoy :)

Standard A

Making Subject Matter Comprehensible to Students

TPE 1B: Subject Specific Pedagogical Skills for Single Subject Teaching Assignments

How can technology help you make your subject matter comprehensible to students?

http://www.havefunteaching.com/

Loving what you do can be the most important part of what you do. Knowing that what you do can make a difference is also just as important. But you have to work hard to make your point, to have your students leave you just a little more enlightened. How can technology do that?

Searching for websites I found one that really spoke to me. What did I remember about my school days? When did I learn the best? I learned the best from teachers that loves what they did and made it fun for me to learn. The website http://www.havefunteaching.com/ had some really cool ideas about how to speak to your children, how to engage them, and how to use songs, games, videos and fun activities that will help them excel in the subject matter.

Standard B

Assessing Student Learning

TPE 2: Monitoring Students During Learning

TPE3: Interpretation and Use of Assessments

http://www.abcteach.com/ (portfolio section)

How can technology help you assess student learning?

Assessment has always been a sore subject with me. How do we say that a test is the ONLY way to see if a student is learning? Or how can homework be the ONLY way a student shows progress? Yet we learn so much from assessing growth or the lack there of.

I like what the TPE 2 and 3 stated about really looking at and seeing what children need work on or what they learned. Going back and repeating a lesson might not always be practical but it might also be what students need to reinforce an idea. The website I found most affective for this section hit on students portfolios and what they can do for you and your student. It asks students to tell you what THEY got from class. It gives such suggestions as doing a monthly or year end section to the portfolio so students can see their progress. I agree wholeheartedly in using alternatives other than tests and homework to see progress.

Standard C

Engaging and Supporting Students in Learning

TPE 4: Making Content Accessible

TPE 5: Student Engagement

TPE 6: Developmentally Appropriate Teaching Practices

TPE 7: Teaching English Learners

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/

http://www.exambuddy.com/

How can technology help you engage and support students in learning?

Engage, inspire, encourage creativity, give inspiration... These are all things that I strongly believe in and is mainly what TPE 4 and TPE 5 talk about and want you to achieve. Ask questions that make the student think, feel. Make students responsible for their learning, prepare them for the real world, these are things that TPE 5 and 6 talked about. Teaching English Language Learners is hard, there is a primal language barrier to break. But it's not impossible. Using all the services you have available, such as, para educators, can help you maximize your efforts to help English Language Learners succeed.

There were so many websites that I browsed through that were made to help you help your students. I really likes what http://www.exambuddy.com/ could do for you. TPE 6 talks about keeping parents and students up to date with what is going on in class and so forth. ExamBuddy helps you build your own site and gives you technology ideas to further students learning. For English Language Learners I really liked the website, http://www.tolearnenglish.com/ . It provided placement tests, free exercises, and games. All that you can either do online or printout. These were made to make learning English just a little more fun for those who need help. I enjoyed learning more about Standard C and what was expected of you as a teacher, it really gave me a greater understanding of what it is really about.

Standard D

Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for Students

TPE 8 Learning About Students

TPE 9 Instructional Planning

http://www.teachervision.com/ ( lesson planning tab)

How can technology help you plan instruction and design learning experiences for students?

Learning about students and their personalities can be just as important as what you teach them. Being involved in their lives shows them that you care for them. This can speak volumes to a student. I believe that it is so important to be prepared, so lesson planning (as it should be) playing such a huge part in being a teacher can help you show students that you care about what you do. Using many methods of instruction, to include all learning types, can insure that you are maximizing your students progress.

Technology can help you prepare for the classroom. There are many websites that help you format the right kind of lesson plan that can work for you and your students. As for learning and being involved in your students lives, that was a little tough. mainly just being current on the newest trends can help you understand and connect with your students.

Standard E

Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments For Student Learning

TPE 10 Instructional Time

TPE 11 Social Environment

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3751017

http://www.ncert.nic.in/html/pdf/schoolcurriculum/framework05/School%20and%20Classroom%20environment.pdf

How can technology help you create and maintain an effective environment for student learning?

Class management and social environment is so important and I found that TPE 10 and 11 really went hand in hand. Having clear expectations of what is expected of students and being prepared yourself are so vital to the classroom that allowing for all situations and setbacks can really help you, as a teacher, succeed in all areas. Flexibility was also a key component in these TPE's. Allowing for different personalities and situations will help the flow of a classroom and minimize problems. But having clear consequences and expectations can help a student succeed also.

I really struggled to come up with ways that technology could help a teacher with instructional time and social environment. I found though some articles that I felt really helped to explain more the benefits of being prepared and gave great ideas as to how to achieve this. Sure some of the ideas seem pretty basic but keeping things simple and clear (and the same every day) can really help a student feel safe and comfortable while they are in your classroom.

Standard F

Developing as a Professional Educator

TPE 12 Professional, Legal and Ethical Obligations

TPE 13 Professional Growth

http://www.ctc.ca.gov/

How can technology help you develop as a professional educator?

Being professional at any job is important, but more so when you are dealing with the education of children. Knowing all the laws that apply to you and how to follow them is so important to your success as an educator that all that are planning to become a part of this profession should take the time to explore and become family with what is expected of them. Growing professionally is also important. Always being up for change and to better your self in your profession can help you stay current with trends and what is expected of you.

I found that website for teachers credentials would be the most helpful in keeping up with laws and with what is expected of you. There is a lot to know, a lot to do and a lot to research, but again preparation is the most important key to what you do. As for professional growth the TPE's that come before this one really get you ready to be involved with other teachers and can help you become better at what you do. But just getting yourself out there might just be the biggest step, you have to be willing to accept any and all criticism and be willing to take what is said with a grain of salt.

Just some food for thought...

Miracles

By Walt Whitman
Why, who makes much of a miracle?

As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,

Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,

Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,

Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,

Or stand under trees in the woods,

Or talk by day with any one I love,

or sleep in the bed at nightwith any one I love,

Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,

Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,

Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,

Or animals feeding in the fields,

Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,

Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,

Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;

These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,

The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,

Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,

Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,

Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.

To me the sea is a continual miracle,

The fishes that swim- the rocks- the motion of the waves-

the ships with men in them,

What stranger miracles are there?

What does poetry do for you?

What does it evoke in you? Do you cherish it, or can you live without it? Does it make you feel wanted, loved, hated or confused?

There are some great American Poets that deserve your attention, and we are going to find them... Especially the 19th century poets Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.

We are going on a hunt, a treasure hunt, to find purpose in poetry. Or at least your purpose. You don't have to like poetry. Not everyone does. But it is everywhere, from the songs we sing and hear to the stories that we read as children, poetry can play an essential part in your life.

Following are some websites I would like you to explore that will help you answer a few simple questions and one essential one....

Essential question (or food for thought)....

What does poetry do for you? What does it express for you? How is it even important?

Websites to use...

• http://www.poets.org/
  
  



• http://www.poetseers.org/
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  http://www.2020site.org/poetry/
  
  

• 
  
  
  http://www.whitmanarchive.org/

Questions...

1. Who are some of the most famous or prominent American poets of the 19th century?



2. Choosing 1 female poet, Name her and explain what she has done for American Poetry. For example; Emily Dickinson along with Walt Whitman helped usher in a new era of American Poetry by being original and forth coming in their works.



3. What are some defining characteristics of American Poetry?



4. How does poetry allow poets to express themselves, especially in an oppressive time?



5. Using the Walt Whitman Website look for his poem titled America. Note the date the poem was written. What do you think he is saying? Is he being cynical or sarcastic?



6. Loneliness being a big theme in Emily Dickinson's poems, can you relate to her in this way? Does reading these poems make you realize that other people are experiencing what you might be or do they make you feel even more alone and in need of something?



7. How can it be that a poem can mean one thing to you and something else entirely different to another person? Do you think the authors of such poems intend it this way?


8. Are there any historical signifigance to poems? Can they give you a different view about the times that they are written in?