Student posts – Page 62 – UAS MAT Program ~ 2016 Cohort

Where I’m From, Ketchikan AK

How I got here. – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

I have learned from this activity that technology can be useful for teaching to an extent. It can make projects easier to organize and research. Haiku deck is a great example of a program where you can easily jump in and get started and programs like Google are great for research. On the other side of the coin technology offers many opportunities for distractions and procrastination students can easily get caught up on Facebook or messaging each other on google docs. I think a good way of utilizing technology involves having the students complete what they can before bringing out the computers. For example have them plan out their slideshows on paper before starting on the computers.

When using technology to teach it isn’t just about learning the subject matter, allowing the students to learn how to use technology productively is also an important skill. Many students grow up to use similar technologies at work and throughout their daily lives.

Where I’m From: Juneau, Alaska by Lindsay Clark

Where I’m From-Lindsay Clark – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Haiku Deck is a technology that is new to me. Although similar to PowerPoint, it is a shortcut that accomplishes simplicity and relevancy. This assignment incorporated self-directed learning as well as website navigation, which is scary to me. However, finding my way through the class website and going at my own pace allowed me to re-watch lessons and collaborate with my table peers. I know that I am less competent in technological skills than others so it is possible that I would not keep up with the pace of the lesson if taught in a lecture setting.

There are many aspects of this lesson I enjoyed. First, we got a choice of doing a poem through Haiku Deck or a map of places through MyMaps on Google. Allowing me to pursue to my own interests catered to me as an artist and a poet. It was also be helpful to have a self-directed choice because students may have already had experience with one of the options and would be bored otherwise. Our teacher was available for individual questions or directed us to a place where our questions could be answered. This is a great way to provide differentiation in a lesson.

I would use flipped-learning as a way to utilize class time for engaging discussion and my own website as an avenue for class collaboration. One example of how I would use Haiku Deck or MyMaps in music is by making at-home lessons as a way of navigating through music history. Students could pick a composer or time period and teach their peers through an online visual aide. Students would be able to teach each other while giving their peers and teachers a window into their cultural background and/or interests.

Girdwood

The “flipped” structure of this assignment was new to me, but eye-opening. Using youtube and a course website to provide instruction without eating too much class time opens a number of possibilities for a teacher. Having that time instead for working on an assignment seems helpful for students, and it would free the teacher up to walk the room and help them individually with any problems they might be having.

My map walks you through my former home of Girdwood, Alaska, a small town near Anchorage (you probably know it for its mountain). I look forward to looking through your maps and haikus!

Where am I from, MattyB

Where am I from ? – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

MattyB’s

Reflection on 6/14 assignment: “Where I’m From”

I reaffirmed that I am still not a poet although I do appreciate it.

Learned:

With open arms I embrace the process, utilizing technologies available to me like Haiku Deck and Word Press. This was not without hiccups but not too daunting.

I could see using Haiku Deck in the classroom with pointed/focused assignments that do not require scientific terminology or specific/detailed imagery and word press would be useful for group journaling.

Juneau : The Constant Tourist

I came to Juneau for the first time in June of 2012. From May – September I didn’t live in Juneau proper, I lived 12 miles in on the Mendenhall Glacier at Dog Camp. We were a glacier dog sledding tour with 300 dogs and 18 people living on the ice. It was one of the most beautiful and desolate places I’ve ever lived. Many liken the experience to living on the moon, and even though we were only 12 miles away from downtown Juneau, it felt another world away. I came down off the glacier once a week for 24 hours and would explore Juneau in my free time. While I got to know parts of Juneau intimately, I am still a stranger to others. I view Juneau through the lens of a constant tourist.

In reflection on using My Maps, I believe this was a good way to show places to fellow users geographically, but I feel like this is still a shallow method of storytelling. I feel limited by only using texts and videos in the public domain. If I were a teacher I think I would use this as an introductory brainstorming technique, but I would want my students to go even further by creating their own video of place. Of course that is easier said than done!

My Schools: A Walking Tour

Born in 1970, I was a student in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District from 1975 to 1988. I attended three schools, two of which were in my neighborhood, Houghtaling Elementary School and Ketchikan High School (Kayhi). Attending Schoenbar Middle School, I rode the school bus, although I occasionally walked. The movie theater was downtown, which was nearly the distance to from my home to school, and I walked there all the time. I remember walking alone to Houghtaling Elementary from my first day of kindergarten. Following this walking tour is a great way to see Ketchikan as it takes you through historical downtown.

A Home In Transition

For This Reason – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

In this haikudeck, I am trying to get across that my home is changing. Up to and including the frog picture, all of the pictures are from Pennsylvania. After the frog picture, all of the pictures are for Alaska. The reference from Genesis of course has to do with my upcoming marriage, which is the reason that I am changing my home. The frog is Pennsylvanian, like me, and relates to fairy tales about frogs being kissed and becoming princes. (I can only hope that this will be the case for me as well.) I met him at a point of transition in my life, so I thought he’d make a nice point of transition in this presentation.

On another, more personal note, I took the first picture in the collection for my mom on her birthday in 2012 while I was working in the natural gas industry. All of the Pennsylvanian pictures after that first picture were taken around that time as “romantic messages” for a former girlfriend. After the frog picture, all of the flowers, from my “new home,” Alaska, are for my wife-to-be. But in truth, I think they are all for her and they were always all for her.

The movement of the piece from mother to failed attempt at relationship to wife is meant to reflect the scripture verse as well.

I see this program as having some serious potential use where I will be student teaching in Napaskiak. Many high school students in that village struggle mightily with English language skills and are (quite frankly) presently unable to come anywhere close to composing formal academic essays. However, the whole body of students are, as a group, quite comfortable with the use of images and can be quite clever with subtle and expressive artistic forms such riddles or dance. I think that haikudeck would be a natural way to encourage students to tell stories or express themselves artistically. I might also think about tying it to local photography and (for example) ask students to create a visual presentation of local history based on photographs that they are presently taking.