3 February - Podcasting!

I had no idea I had ever personally viewed a podcast until class this week! Apparently its something I have used on a regular basis since the day I got my first Ipod (aw)! I didn't know listening to a song in the Itunes store or watching a video or listening to a clip of news on the internet was a podcast.  I've been using podcasts for a long time  now!  Now I know how to create my own and post it to the internet! This is going to be very useful.

I will use podcasting in my future classroom as a communication tool.  It will be a great benefit for long weekend vacations to be a resource for my students if they forget certain information on a topic we discussed in class. I can even record my lessons during class and post them for later use! How incredibly helpful this will be to my students in any situation! If they didn't get all the information in class, or they were sick, or a family emergency occurred, they will be able to refer to my podcasts for instruction and direction.  I can also make quick announcements.  This is also a great resource as an accommodation for students with sight limitations.  They may not be able to read my announcements, and have to rely on their parents or a peer to read it to them, but with podcasting they can be independent and have a sense of autonomy in their own education! That is something I am truly excited about.  My little sister is partially blind in her left eye, and majorly deaf in her left ear, and wears hearing aids for both ears.  Accommodations mean all the world in a situation where limitations are involved.  Podcasting can be a great help and one of which I'm very grateful for. 

I still keep in contact with some of the teachers I worked with last semester for field work for elementary education.  I can create podcasts for these teachers and help them with whatever they would like me to create with a podcast.  One of the teachers doesn't use technology very often, so I could even create a podcast explaining how to do things on the computer, where she can listen and try it out as the podcast plays along.  It will also be useful in helping out her students and keeping them posted on certain information.  I can create my own podcasts just for fun for my friends and family, or to communicate with my cohort!

27 January - Google Site

Google site is a great way to communicate with your class outside of school, as well as with parents.  They can help keep their children on track and be more involved because they know exactly what's going on! I can use this tool in my education, also.  It will help keep me organized with a calendar tool, and my classmates and I have already messed around with the survey application. The survey/quiz option is a fun way to get to know people.  It can be as silly or serious a survey as you want, but either way it helps you connect with people.

I will be using Google sites for my future classrooms.  It will be great to help me stayed organized along with my class.  I will use the survey option as an initial get-to-know-you questionaire (for parents and students).  I will also use the survey option to see where my students are on a subject. Do they understand it or are there a few points we need to review, or do we need to go over the whole concept again? It will be very helpful! I will also post announcements. This will help in keeping parents informed and help the children be responsible.  The calendar option will give parents an overview of the month's tasks.  Let's be realistic, families want to go on vacation together.  This tool will be useful in helping them understand what to plan ahead for and get everything finished before missing anything.  I believe it can be useful in keeping children on task at all times.  Along with that will be the weekly homework postings under the homework tab.  In there I will post a list of the homework on a weekly basis, so children have a close up view of their current assignments.

How will this be useful now? I can begin to adjust my site for what works for me.  By being aware of this now I can prepare my site with any extra ideas and strategies that may come from the options I already know.  My future classroom site will already be created and organized and I will be better prepared in the future because I am currently preparing it. I'm excited to get going! Maybe I'll even send some random survey's to my cohort.  It's our version of fun during all the chaos! :) Google sites is a great organizer and tool for my future classroom!

20 January - Google Rocks !

After today's lesson - I would just like to say: Go Google!!  I love the whole concept of document sharing! I can work on a project and have someone else edit it from a completely different computer, or even work on it at the same time as me!  I also love the calendar idea.  I rely on a home made calendar, so having one on the internet will be useful any time and any where, from my phone.  I have always used Google as just a search site, but now I know it has many more tools

I am excited to start using Google for school.  I'm already using it for a partner project!  I will be out of town for the holiday weekend and my partner will be here, but with Google we can work together on our project and have it done before we even go back to school! I should be a Google spokesperson! I'm so excited about it!!!!! We'll be using the PowerPoint option and the spreadsheet. This will be very helpful. With Google Calendar, I can update all my school projects and due dates and have that calendar with me all the time on my phone.  Helpful? I'd say yes! 

These tools will be very useful as a teacher in my future classrooms.  With the ever increasing rate of tech-savvy children,  I believe that Google tools will be useful even among the primary grades. One tool I will definitely be implementing into class discussions will be the "forms" option.  It will be a great way to get to know my students.  I'll also use that tool to take polls on subject matter and gauge the understanding of my students and which ones need extra help.  I'm so excited about this! I will also use the other document tools for creating lesson plans and presentations.  Google is going to be a great tool for my future classrooms!

13 January - Introduction and About Me

My name is Elise Van Wagoner.  I'm a junior at Utah Valley University and majoring in Elementary Education.  I'm hoping to find time to minor in music and dance.  I've been singing since I was one year old.  It's my outlet for any emotion and I've always loved music.  I danced when I was younger and again in high school with drill and cheerleading. I love art, as well.  Another love I've always had is working with younger children.  I'm the oldest of five children, which served to an advantage in my career choice.  Even at age seven, I would play school with my brothers and sisters as my students.  I started a dance and cheer class at an elementary school in my home town this past spring and summer.  I loved teaching the elementary age dancers! That helped me make a final career choice and move forward with it.

I graduated from Bountiful High School and attended UVU my freshman year of college.  It was hard at first because my Dad, being my greatest education model, went to BYU and I always thought I would do the same.  When I didn't get in, I was a little lost because I had always planned on going to BYU, and being somewhat indecisive, it was hard to decide what to do next. I tried to keep moving forward and decided to still go to school near Provo.  I was taking a voice class at the time, and after discussing it over with my teacher, I decided Utah State University was where I wanted to pursue a Vocal Performance major.  I went to Utah State and began my vocal education when I decided I might need to pursue a more practical career if I needed to support my self and a future family.  I then started to aim for a business major, but it still didn't feel right.  I moved home for a semester to work and think it over, then I started the dance and cheer class where I worked with the elementary children.  I decided that was what I wanted to do! Now I'm back at UVU and pursuing this wonderful major which I am so excited to go forward with!  I hope to become an elementary teacher and work in Bountiful.  I want to be the kind of teacher that helps everyone feel included.  I want them to learn to treat others the way they would want to be treated. I guess you could say my goal is to be a life-lesson teacher, along with the curriculum!