Week 3: PPP Think out-loud

I would like to publish my paper in TechTrends - Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning. This is the only scholarly journal in the field focusing entirely on research and development in educational technology. The Research Section assigns highest priority in reviewing manuscripts to rigorous original quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies on topics relating to applications of technology or instructional design in educational settings. The research section features well documented articles on the practical aspects of research as well as applied theory in educational practice, a comprehensive source of current research information in instructional technology. The development Section publishes articles concerned with the design and development of learning systems and educational technology applications. I feel that my Literature Review is most closely correlated with Journal.

Week 3 Reading: Live, Laugh, and Love

Live, Laugh, Love. Three words to live by. I found this to be so inspirational. People often go through life sad and bitter, but people determine their own happiness whether they intend to or not. Just living by these three words can promote happiness and well being in ones life, and can be so simple to do. After reading this, I found that peoples attitudes play a great role in their everyday lives. A person that has negative opinions on life typically have a negative sense of life, just like a person that perceives everything as positive typically has a positive opinion about everything. I just wish all of the negative people in the world could come to this realization of how easy it is to live, laugh, and love, and how much happier their lives would be, as well as the ones around them.

Week 2: Wimba

Great review of Copyright issues. This is one of those things that I feel I could always learn more about. Thanks for breaking down the whole publication project. This gives me a little better breakdown of what is about to come. Only a few more weeks of system overload :-)

Week 2: Class blog #2

Reading the first three chapters of the book (The Art of Possibility by Zander, B and Zander, R.S.) I found myself shaking my head in agreement. The part about thought process and the "Give Them An A' chapter really hit home. In my new job as an 8th grade teacher I have found so many students that are so worried about making a mistake and so stuck in past failure that they doubt the knowledge that they have. Many students will not answer questions because they are afraid of being wrong which makes it difficult to get a feeling for how they are doing until assessments are done. The whole idea from the first chapter was very enlightening. Realizing that my students may not see the potential, may not be able to see out of the box, makes me want to develop my lesson plans to such a higher level. It is so hard to break out of old habits that I almost have to teach them so they do not realize they are learning or what they are achieving. The book also caused me to reflect on my own thought patterns and what was helping, or in some cases deterring me from achieving at a higher level. This journey has given us a lot of tools and a lot of ideas but if I (we) don't step out of ourselves and use them it would be a shame. I am intrigued by the possibility of giving everyone an A. I found the letters from the students told us everything we needed to know abot whether the idea was a success. My reply: I see the same thing in Kindergarten. I have students that are afraid to answer questions or participate in class discussions for the fear that they may be wrong. I don't think it's a learned behavior, but rather a lack of confidence at this point. I encourage them that there are no wrong answers, and their is reason for their answers that we would all like to learn.

Week 2: Classmate Blog Entry

How can we unlock our greatest potential? By thinking outside the box of course. The authors present us with a few examples how. By using the nine dot challenge, we learn that everything is not as it seems. We need to shift our focus. This reminds me very much of positive thinking. If we think positively, anything is possible. We need to stop letting others, or ourselves define us. If we define ourselves, then we're setting limits. In order to be truly potential for anything, we need to be LIMITLESS. This almost seems impossible, since people (especially THESE days) are very... what's the word... nervous? Power hungry? Money hungry? You get the picture. We're so worried about our lives and about being successful that it's too risky to believe we are capable of doing anything and everything. But what if we fail? What if we invest everything and fail, like many people have been doing these days? If we get into that mind set, then yes, we WILL fail. Because then we think nothing is possible. We also need to realize that each person affects everyone else. We need to get out of that mind set of "well, it's only me, so what impact can I have in the grand scheme of things?" Yes, I am only one person. But as that one person I have the ability of affecting everyone I meet everyday. No matter what anyone's profession is, we all make a contribution to life EVERY day. By paying it forward, we start a trend to affect others, creating that great ripple effect. And in turn, we'll get that back in extraordinary amounts in the future. My Reply: I have come to this realization this school year. If you think positive, then most things that you see or hear will seem positive to you, when it doesn't to others. It's funny how my co-workers and I can go into a meeting, and then they come out complaining about things we have to do. I on the other hand, am thinking that was a good idea, all because of my positive mentality on things.

Wk2 Think Out-Loud PPP post

After carefully viewing this assignment, I would like to publish my paper. Since I focused on Literacy motivation with the use of technology, I would like to publish my paper in TechTrends - Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning. Throughout the whole CBR Project, my main focus has been how to improve literacy by motivating students by using things like starfall.com, blogs, and podcasts. I think this would be the best choice at this point.

Week 2: The Art of Possibilty

After reading in the Art of Possibilty, it just confirmed what I was already thinking. This book suggests that attitudes can determine the ways that we perceive things. For example, If I go to work with a negative attitude, I might see everything in a negative manner. For example, in a meeting, our Principal is discussing the do's and dont's of teaching. He says everything in a nice manner, and tone, but because I have a negative attitude, then I consider his message to be negative. Whereas, if would have had a more positive attitude, I would have perceived his message as a piece of advice, and thanked him for his help. I often see this in the workplace. Most people have negative attitudes about everything, so everything that see and hear are negative to them.