MAC Week 4: Classmate Response #2

Here is Hunter's post for his Week for Leadership:

My Week 4 MAC Class Leadership Update n Links

'Keep An Eye On This Presentation!'

My month 11 Leadership project is well developed now and I have determined that I will submit a speaker application for the FETC conference in Orlando, Florida. I am a strong supporter of the Full Sail EMDT program and feel that the diverse activities we have completed have prepared me to present at any level: small room or a large-scale presentation. I would like to thank all of the EMDT instructors for their strong influence along my journey. My year of research has unveiled some very interesting outcomes and I will be synthesizing and collaborating with others for quite awhile. One intricacy from the research is that, certain cultures are much more highly engaged than others due to using a class response system. Why? You must comment below if you’d like to know the answer. It is significant and you will say, “Wow,” when you hear the possible reasoning. In fact, you may need to go to FETC to hear my presentation. Let me know and I’ll save front row seats for you – First Come First Serve. Seating is limited, so write soon. And while you are waiting for the conference you can check out some past background of my Leadership project developments, which are found at these previous three weekly blog links:

Week 1 Leadership Blog:

http://bloggedonphonics.blogspot.com/2012/03/leader-of-leaders.html

Week 2 Leadership Blog:

http://bloggedonphonics.blogspot.com/2012/03/leader-within-me.html

Week 3 Leadership Blog:

http://bloggedonphonics.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-week-3-class-leadership-quest.html

My Presentation:

And even better yet, click this "clickable link sentence" to go straight to my Leadership Presentation slides and speaker notes!

Well, thank you very much for stopping in to see the progress. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you!

Below is my response:

Stephanie WaldnerMar 25, 2012 03:07 PM

Hunter you can save one of those first row seats for me...I would absolutely be at FETC to see you speak. It is an interesting concept to follow someone through beginning steps to the end like we have been able to do in this EMDT course. I've enjoyed watching all of our peers progress through with their projects.

MAC Week 4: Classmate Response #1

Below is Jonnie Williams' blog post on the reading assignment.

MAC Week 4: Reading Post; The Spark

The Spark

     The last four chapters of this book were wonderful, just as the whole book has been. It is important not to place the blame on everyone but rather understand what you can do to accept  responsibility and move forward. I loved learning about the thought of what is "off track" and what is "on track". This thought process allows me to be the driver of my track. I know that I get off track at times and it is important to take time to reflect and get back on track. Using the "We" method is something I like to do with my class. I use this method to include everyone as the class. This way we come up with solutions together. The solutions refer to the many opportunities happening in our classroom. 

     I do have to say though, my favorite reading was from "Lighting the Spark". The spark happens when everyone involved is enrolled in the activity. When people are not enrolled in the activity a downward spiral will unfortunately take affect.Enrolling people in the activity lights a spark of enthusiasm and phenomenal things will happen. No matter how big the result is, it is a lot bigger than what you would get from a downward spiral. For example, during the week of Read Across America we had a special guest read the story The Lorax. Afterwards, I needed to individually assess some students so I gave the class an open ended activity. I gave each student a large piece of construction paper. I asked them to show me what they predict will happen with the seed the little boy was given at the end of the story. I told the students they could use any materials in the classroom. A "spark"; the students were enrolled in the activity. Look at the pictures to see what happened next. 

Start with plain paper and
other materials.

A town is born and truffula trees are respected!

The Lorax comes back to take care of the truffula trees,
the fish, and the bears.

He was trying to figure out how to glue the stumps to the paper.
So, he filled the stumps with glue. 

She wanted everything to pop up. Do you see the pond with the fish?
Do you see the Lorax?

Tape is great for a lot of things. What fun we had!

    Lighting the spark in everyone is a wonderful gift to give to others. I hope this lights a spark in you.  As always...

Keep smiling!

Here is my response:

Stephanie WaldnerMar 25, 2012 02:29 PM

I love that activity. The Lorax is quite possibly my favorite Dr. Seuss book. I love...LOVE...reading it out loud to my students. The part where the last tree gets chopped, I read it in a way that ever student has their eyes trained on the book and on you can hear a pin drop. In my classroom, I've always asked them to pretend that they were the little boy and what would they do with the seed?

MAC Week 4: Leadership Post

For my leadership project, I chose to write a paper to submit to Edutopia.  My CBR project was on reducing paper in the classroom.  I began my paper with a review of my literature review touching on the points that actually revolved around the project.  From there, I began a narrative about the activities and both phases with their results which led into the challenges that I faced during the project.  The final portion of my paper was what I would like to include if I added a phase 3 or chose to continue the project next year, which I hope to do!

Leadership Post 1

Leadership Post 2

Leadership Post 3

My Paper for my Leadership Project

MAC Week 4: Reading Post

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from cover to cover with the exception of the chapter entitled...becoming the board.  This chapter made me feel so conflicted with accepting that you are a part of what happens in your life instead of being a victim.  I can see this being true or okay was somethings.  There is the phrase "people cause their own drama" but I don't believe that this applies to all situations.  Sometimes bad things can just happen.
In my continued reading, the story of the artist Alice Kahana really pulled at my heartstrings.  Anyone can think about what they have seen in movies and pictures about the situation she was in with her little brother, but when I had just graduated high school I went backpacking through Europe and my friend and I chose to visit both Auschwitz while in Poland.  I can only imagine how that last thing that she said to her brother changed her "vision" after going to that place.  It is a moment in my life that I would never forget.
At the end of that same chapter (11), the words Marianne Williamson wrote made me cry.  That is being printed and going not only in my classroom but in a frame in each of my children's rooms to remind them that they need to shine.

MAC Week 3: Classmate Respons #2

Here is my response to Kimberly Duran's Leadership blog post...

MAC Week 3 Leadership Post

I think my first choice of presentation venue that I would like to try and submit my work to would be ISTE. This is my number one choice because ISTE is focused on the use of technology in education. With the direction that education is going, and my school that I teach at is going, I would really love to be a part of a conference like this one. The experience alone and the information I'm sure I would get to see and hear would be absolutely priceless. The next place I would love to present my work would be AVID Summer Institute. I know this is not on the list, but my CBR project involved AVID students as my target audience. AVID strategies were involved, and we took so much to a new level with the use of technology, I would really love to share these things with other AVID teachers so that they could use all the amazing tools I learned about through this program, and share the information with them on a national level. People from all over the United States come to AVID Summer Institute, and one of the most loved aspects is idea sharing with other educators. I think the experience would be amazing.

Stephanie WaldnerMar 18, 2012 05:11 PM

Kimberly,
I think either choice would be an excellent one. I had never heard of AVID until coming to FULL Sail and listening to you talk about it. I think one of the best unseen outcomes of this program is the share-ability of everything we've learned. Especially when its something really exciting (like the Art of Possibility) I can't wait to tell everyone I work with about it. I'm looking forward to hearing your presentation this week. Good luck!

MAC Week 3: Reading Post

Imaged created by digitalart

Rule Number 6: Letting go and realizing that everything doesn't need to be so serious.  For me, this is the hardest thing to think about.  I immediately think of my many to do lists with school, family, kids' schedules...Then I think what if I didn't take everything so seriously?  Would everything fall apart?  I'm always told how I'm the one who has it together, and the one that everyone relies on.  So if I didn't take things as seriously would I still be that person?  My calculating self feels like the one in control most of the time and to answer the question; What would have to change for me to be completely fulfilled?  That is one that I think will need to be discovered on a quiet day when I can be by myself.
The other chapter that strikes home is The Way Things Are. One of my favorite phrases is Its All Good.  My husband has even told me that when he hears that phrase, he gets a sense of calm even at his most stressful situations.  Growing up, I always had anxiety issues.  My elementary guidance counselor was a great resource for me.  He taught me to look at what was in the "right now" not "what if."  That is still one of my most un-liked phrases---and is barred from my classroom!

MAC Week 3: Classmate Response #1

Below is Hunter Mennings post on his Leadership Quest

http://bloggedonphonics.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-week-3-class-leadership-quest.html?showComment=1331861247821#c3976843907701465485

My Week 3 Class Leadership Quest

'All Dressed Up And Some Convention Soon To Go!'

Hi. Thank you for checking in to see the steps in my Leadership Quest to speak at a national conference. My first choice is to speak at FETC, because it is the largest education convention in America and I have already been a speaker there. As an unknown speaker on the scene, the room was nearly full and these were serious educators. These people traveled a long way and were on a mission to find something new, something usable in their world. Good thing I took a survey and gleaned some incredible knowledge from my audience. Let me know if you are interested in the outcomes. The other conference I would like to submit my application for is ISTE, because is deals with the use of technology in education. My life is technology. I breathe capacitance and my veins are filled with electrons so it is my destiny to share technology so they can all be set free to see the glee of technology.

Below is my response:

Hunter Menning,
I can so see you standing in front of a crowd to speak. I could also see your audience hanging onto every word as I have over the past 11 months. I went to FETC a couple of years ago and really enjoyed myself. Always wishing to go back!! Good luck in your leadership quest!

MAC Week 3: Publishing Ideas

While writing my own literature review I looked through many different journals and the following two sites were constantly on my list.

My first choice is Edutopia.  I was very impressed with the articles that I found.  They were very uplifting and powerful articles to me.  I remember wanting to make my classroom like those I read about.

My second choice is ISTE.  I like how this publication is about the use of technology in the classroom.  I think that an article about my CBR project would fit in with this publication.

MAC Week 2: Classmate Response #2

Below is my response to Jonnie Williams's blog post:

Week 2: To Present or to Write?

Calling All Educators!!

     To present or to write an article is the question. I have pondered this question for many hours. This week has actually been a good week to discover my answer. Last Friday night the school I where I teach provided a free Science Fun night for the students and families. There was 275 students that showed up with their families. The presenter was from the company "Mad Science". After the big science presentation, students and families split up and went to the different science station. I volunteered to conduct one of the science stations. I was given a paper that gave me a high school rendition of the experiments and a 10 minute training. I quickly put together a lesson plan and decided to let loose and have fun. That is exactly what I did. At 9:30 pm, I finished up the last rotation of students. I received many compliments on my presentation from students, parents, and administration. I took that information and thought about when I conducted professional development. I realized that I love presenting. Therefore, I will present my CBR project.

Here is my response---

Stephanie WaldnerMar 11, 2012 05:24 PM

Jonnie,
Wow, great for you! I am very jealous that you are comfortable enough to stand in front of people and present. And what a way to find out how much you enjoyed the presentation aspect. A science fun night...my favorite subject! I would love to be a part of the audience that is there to hear you present your project. I've always enjoyed listening to your ideas in class.

Good luck!!!

MAC Week 2: Classmate Response #1

Below is my response to Doreen's post on her Leadership Project:

MAC_Week 2: Leadership Role Model

Discussion with students on
boardroom critique

My first response is “Do I have to?” I’ve enjoyed the process and have learned so much during my time here at Full Sail; I would encourage anyone who wants to explore new ideas in education and to have the ability to be as creative as they wish to come here for their degree. Okay, let's think . . . I need to figure out what I will do, when I look at myself I see an introvert when it comes to presenting my ideas, especially outside of the graphic design world. I do well sharing one-on-one or maybe a small group but a conference, don’t think so. Not comfortable with the idea that I am an expert in the field as this point in time and that’s how I see presenters at conferences.  It’s enough that I have surprised myself the last four years when I jumped out of my comfort zone to teach. I believe the reason I can teach is because I am teaching aspects of the field I am passionate about – Graphic Design. I am very confident that the presentation itself would rock as I’ve created many for bosses and clients, but getting up and presenting myself . . .  (thinking) . . .(thinking some more ). . . not happening. Now let me look at submitting an article. 

Writing is not my forte either; I’ve always said I’m a designer not a writer. However, I’ve done a pretty good job of it for my CBR project and feel I can finish it off easily for a journal. So think this is my first choice.  Yes, I’ve decided I’ll write an article for a Journal and then maybe later, as a plan B, I will create and do a presentation when I get brave enough to step out of my comfort zone.

Stephanie WaldnerMar 11, 2012 09:08 AM

Doreen,
I feel your pain in this area! I to do not do well in a presentation setting. I never even thought that this truly isn't in an area where I am very comfortable. As much time as we have spent on our CBR projects, I still feel like I need to know more. And good for you for wanting to brave out of your comfort zone in the future.

MAC Week 2: To Publish or Present?

When I first read this assignment and heard it talked about in the first Wimba session: I do believe I had heart palpations.  What!?! I have to either write another paper or I have to stand up in front of people and present!  Neither option sounded like one I really wanted to partake in.
However, after my heart stopped with the extra beats and I took a couple of breaths...I thought about the possibilities.

What if I publish?
The thought of writing a 2000 word APA paper is very daunting.  The perfectionist that I am, pouring myself over the paper making sure that each word is correct.  On the upside, write a paper is an individual task.  I would work on my paper at home and talk about it with my classmates.

What if I present?
I believe the idea of standing up in front of my peers and talking actually terrifies me.  I have never been any good at that.  I've talked at a faculty meeting and you could hear my voice shaking.  Once, I had to talk at a school board me and I could see myself shaking on a recording.  So that right there is a very large CON to presenting.  On the other hand, this program has taken me out of my comfort zone and forced me to look at and do things that I've never done before.  Presenting would be one more push to make me step outside of myself and work harder.

What is my decision?
As much as I would like to push myself to try something different with presenting, I believe that I am going to choose to publish.  I need to work on speaking in front of smaller groups of my peers before I move onto a conference type atmosphere.

MAC Week 2: Reading Post

Image by scottchan
Freedigitalphotos.net

I am responding to The Art of Possibility.  This is quite possibly the most intriguing book that I've read in a while.  Usually, when I am told I HAVE to read a book, I dread the task.  I'll act like my daughter and put it off until the very last minute!  I dove into this book and read the first 4 chapters like I would one of my fictional "fun" reads.  I didn't want to put it down.
First of all, just turning your attitude around to give a completely new outlook, which is invented!  Trying to think about everything being invented is a hard concept.  I liked the practice with the dots.  I never could do that problem.  I pride myself on being a rule-follower.  So I know that I impose "rules" on myself that aren't really there.  It is a hard thing to change.
The other thing that really opened my eyes were the stories that are presented in the text.  Especially in the Giving an A chapter.  I had tears in my eyes when I read the story about the Taiwanese student and his realization that he was happier with his new thought of being an A instead of number 68.  I immediately thought about what possibilities my students would have if they were given an A at the beginning of the year.  What inhibitions would they let go of and participate in the activities that we do in class.  What possibilities would a school district accomplish if students were so concerned about the expectations but instead the possibilities that could arise!
Today, I was sitting in a grade level meeting and our reading coach was discussing adding yet another reading passage that would add more rigor to our curriculum and give us a better idea of our students skills.  I thought about how my students have done so far with these passages and saw them be squashed again by another poor grade.  Another measure of how horrible they are at this reading strategy, as many of my students are struggling with their reading strategies.  I could actually see their little sad faces in my head.  It made me ache.

How can I apply this book to my classroom without going against school district policies?

MAC Week 1: Leadership Post

I had to think long and hard about who I looked to for their leadership qualities.  Before I could make a decision, I did a little bit of research and I liked the information that I found on http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html

I knew what I thought made a good leader; listening skills, delegation, and organization to name a few.  But I really liked how this site talked about the differences between a "boss" and a "leader."

I choose to look at my former principal, Stewart Maxcy.  Putting aside that he was the principal that hired me for my first teaching position, he was an excellent leader for our school.  While his demeanor was calm and laid-back, he still commanded attention with his presence.  He rarely got push-back from other staff members when he asked for a task to be done.  Even now, while he works in the county office on a project that most teachers despise (Race-to-the-Top), Mr. Maxcy can still get teachers to help out.
He always had his door open and welcomed teachers who needed to discuss school issues.  When you did have an issue, he didn't have a plan of action for you, but rather a question: What do you think we can do about that?  He included you in the decision, he didn't make it for you.  All of these things made Stewart Maxcy a leader.

MAC Week 1: Classmate Response #2

Below is my response to Berengaria Navarre's blog:

http://berengarianavarre.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/copyright/#comment-3

Berengaria's post:

In viewing the video and articles, I appreciated the broad range of materials provided on the copyright issue. One thing I noticed right away was the Stanford video on The Fair(y) Tale of Fair Use. This was created entirely from short clips from Disney movies. So this would be an example of fair use for teaching purposes? Obviously, this subject matter could be taught without using any Disney clips. We are being told that the narrow range of fair use for teaching purposes is: can the subject matter be taught without using any of the copyright material; well, mostly the answer will be yes. So how is the Fair(y) Tale of Fair Use complying with fair use? Are we being warned off for our own good from using copyright material or is Stanford violating copyright or is it a different application of fair use?

I work at a very conservative institution and all my courses have warned me away from any use of copyrighted content so I am overly careful. Personally, my views are quite different. Much of our culture has been created and sold to us by media giants. And yet, we are still humans and as the cave art shows us, stories are an essential part of who we are and how we make sense of ourselves, each other, and the world at large. We sat round campfires and told tales. Our stories come from archetypes and basic story types. How can we not remix our media to tell new stories as we sit in front of computers and connect up? I want to see the stories that others want to tell. I think the present copyright laws violate the intended purpose of the law and that if we don’t complain, the situation will only get worse as the media conglomerates pressure the government into giving longer periods of copyright.

In the meantime, places like Internet Archive are helping to keep Public Domain alive. I love the Archive and we have been using this site for years. In a recent blog post, they are trying to look into some type of peer to peer networking to speed up downloads and reduce their costs. Creative Commons is another site that is a godsend when you are looking for resources, particularly images. Their system is easy to understand and easy to comply with.

My response: 

Berengaria,
I completely understand your view on current copyright laws.  By nature, we share.  We share our ideas, thoughts, experiences.  I believe that it is important for the public to have access to these.  You talked about Internet Archive.  Did you post this on our assignment this week?  I would like to visit the site and poke around a bit.

MAC Week 1: Classmate Response

Below is my response to Hunter Menning's blog: Blogged on Phonics

http://www.bloggedonphonics.blogspot.com/2012/03/trademark-trifecta.html

Hunter's post:
Ok, how do we measure up in the copyright world? When I think of copyrights, I think of honor and trust. I respect people and their creations, because I hope that others respect my original works. I have submitted hundreds of items to be copyrighted and have studied these laws for several years. Copyrights give a creator the ability to enforce or restrict others from using something that the creator has previously invented. I love when someone creates something novel – wow, that alone, is what life is about. Original thought instead of others’ thoughts intrigues me. I have sat in meetings and heard people who only spout lots and lots of other people’s ideas from books that they have read. They are impressive and quite amazing sometimes; however, they are not original ideas. I am thankful for those who have unique and solid opinions. I appreciate those who birth new concepts – patentable, trademarkable, and copyrightable! Wow, I crave a conversation with them. Talks like that cause an hour or two to go by and it only seems like ten minutes. I believe that we should help protect each other’s work. We should report infringement to help the authors of the world. Originally inspired authors are very rare and valuable. It bothers me to find out that hit, star writers sometimes only get about 1% of the income from their works. That is because entrepreneurs get involved and take the lion’s share of the income. I guess 1% is better than 0% if the project would not have been published for anyone to see, hear, or experience it. The truth is that I tend to hang out with the creators more than the business types. What would I be like if I reversed that? Wow, which one do you hang out with more?


My Response:
Hunter, out of the hundreds of things you have submitted, have all of them received copyright? I don't mind saying that I feel completely at a loss in this subject. After starting Full Sail was the first time that I every truly looked into copyright. I was always aware of copyright, but never fully understood all of it.
I, too, appreciate original thoughts and works. I can also see the use that the typical public can get from those original works.

MAC Week 1: Reading Entry-Copyright Issues

After watching all the videos, I'm not sure if I feel more reassured or more frightened about copyright.  "Fair Use" seems like a very slippery slope.  Watching the Fair(y) Use Tale was a little headache provoking at the beginning, but once I focused on the words and not the images, I got the gist of the video.  The short clips used as a teachable movie…very neat way to show what falls under fair use. Being from Florida, near Disney World, I have heard many stories on the news about Disney copyright.  

The Creative Commons licensing is pretty awesome.  We did have to use them earlier in the program, but I've not really used them since.  I know from watching a few of my classmates’ projects/assignments, which they have continued to use the Creative Commons.  

The other video that really stood out for me was the one about the history that won’t be shown because of copyright law.  I believe the saying is, Those whom do not understand history are doomed to repeat it.  How sad is it that something as silly as money would keep such important events in our history from public view?