Less than two months and school will be out. It is hurry, hurry time as we teachers try to squeeze the most out of our students before their energy wanes and the desire for vacation overwhelms them.  I too desire for summer, but as a responsible adult I need to focus!  And I remind myself frequently....FOCUS.

Good news comes at the end of the year also. Students pass their Exit Exams after struggling multiple times.  The joy they feel is almost as tremendous as the joy I feel!  It is such a spectacular feat for some of my students who are only one step away from giving up and wanting to drop out.  But something tells them to push on and they receive the benefits of their perseverance.  

I really enjoy the rush of the end of school.  Two months will fly by and before I know it I will be starting a new school year with summer school.  It starts the next day after the last day. I know its crazy but I really love the work I do and I enjoy helping my students surpass their own expectations.  Most of them do! 

My class is almost finished, but that doesn't mean I will not quit blogging.  I'm not sure how often I will do it, but it has been beneficial to me to review my thoughts on my teaching experience as well as consider what my students need to be digital citizens.  Overall this course has help me try new applications which I would have hesitated trying just because I wouldn't know how to apply it.  At first it seemed like a lot of work, but then it got easier as I felt more comfortable and got into a routine.  Most of the teachers in the class taught  younger ages in traditional classrooms and often times it was hard to relate.  Yet teaching is teaching and many of the skills they discussed about classroom procedures and organization were a good reminder for me.  Many of the teachers were young and very innovative, they totally have embraced technology and it was great to hear their perspectives about learning centers and teaching their students with technology.

Where I teach, there are limitations which I have expressed many times, but I would like to improve and incorporate more technology continuously.  I will always need to monitor very strictly to ensure the safety of my students, but there are so many different applications my students can learn and apply to their school work.  It is all a matter of me gaining the experience and being able to apply that experience in order for my students to be engaged within and utilize the same technology.

Here is a Glogster that I made to represent some of the things I learned...check it out...

http://amckellar222.edu.glogster.com/technology-glog/

As far as the ISTE Standards, I think my strongest areas are the first and second standards: 1) Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity, and 2) design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments. I am working on the third and fifth standards: 3) Model digital age work and learning, and 5) Engage in professional growth and leadership.  I definitely follow the guidelines for promoting and modeling digital citizenship and responsibility by monitoring my students' work carefully. The school district firewall prevents my students from e-mailing or receiving e-mail from outside sources and they can't access social networks such as Facebook. I constantly need to remind myself to remind students about citing sources. It is so easy to just copy a picture or use ideas that some one posted on the internet.  I no longer allow my student to work through assignments on the computer without processing their ideas first on a piece of paper. I want them to synthesize information rather than cut and paste from the internet.  It all takes time.

Finally, I am a life-long learner and I will continue this work. It might look differently than it does now, but I find it a challenge and I am always up for a challenge.