C&I 438 - Blog Reflection 4

I really can't believe that this course will be over in a few days. There are so many things learned from this course that I will not forget in the near future. Obviously, many technology-related skills will not be forgotten, such as how to upload, publish, and share documents in GoogleDocs. Yodio is so simple to use, and I am excited to use it to create podcasts for my students to use for practice and review of vocabulary. Wikispaces is more complex, and sometimes I forget where I went to do some random things on my wiki, but I will not forget the main points. However, how my thinking has changed in regards to teaching and learning is probably the most important aspect I will not forget.

Participating in this course has legitimized e-learning more for me. I feel that online courses and degrees are taken less seriously, and with my online experience, this is outrageous. I have worked harder and more independently in my online classes than in my face-to-face classes. In face-to-face classes, it is all too easy to just sit back and let others carry the conversation. Students are able to rely more on the professor to explain things or help with projects. Online, I am forced to be more confident, assertive, and independent. Especially in this course, I felt comfortable asking my technology questions and sharing my learning with my classmates. I think I will try to foster more independence in my students as a result. I will also incorporate the technology I am familiar with and investigate the plethora of web 2.0 tools that exist.

I have already been sharing some tools and ideas with my colleagues. I look forward to sharing Yodio with my foreign language colleagues, since it is so easy to use and requires only the Internet and a phone to produce a podcast. Google Forms is also a useful tool that less tech-savvy teachers could use. Google Presentations is a great sharing tool that we could use to share different presentations across the district.

There is a lot of advice that I could give other students beginning their journey in this course. Familiarizing yourself with the wiki and tech tools in the first week will make subsequent weeks easier. On the "Community Questions" page, select to be notified of all new discussion threads and comments. And, on the "Announcements" page, choose to be notified of all updates. These were all sent to my email so I could stay updated and see more easily what new questions and information there was. Furthermore, don't wait until you have to create or upload a document to try to figure out how to do so. That will just cause stress and possibly make you miss a deadline. Starting assignments early will also help with this. If you finish an assignment two or more days in advance, if technology issues arise, you have time to figure it out. As Dr. T says, do start building components of your class into your CMS as soon as they are approved. Even if you make changes or have a lot of information to add, having a skeleton of the course will making building it a smoother process. Lastly, do not hesitate to ask questions. My classmates and Dr. T answered several important questions I had and gave me simple solutions that worked.

Overall, I have gained much from this class. It was a fun process and I really enjoyed the time that was focused on building my class wiki. I am pleased that I chose to take C&I 438.

C&I 438 - Blog Reflection 3

This course has caused me to think about so much. As a big picture person, I've thought about creating my online course, Exploratory French, and how to make it feasible for middle school students. I've thought about next year, when I'll be transitioning to teaching high school French I and II part-time and only 1 middle school French I class. Since I have never taught French II, I will have to either add to my current school website (http://www.unit5.org/pabst), or I've wondered if I should just start with a wiki. One of our assignments was to review webcasts. Those really got me thinking more than I already do about our global society and how online teaching and learning opens up so many doors. Learning a little about the Chicago Virtual Charter School opened my eyes to what is already happening in education that I don't know about, even in my own state. I really wonder what to extent technology will play a role in teaching and learning in the next 5 to 10 years. I have 25+ years left, so it'll affect me for sure!

Along with gaining awareness, I am becoming much more familiar with and proficient in wikispaces. Until I had the scope and sequence planned out for my course, it was hard for me to really start building my course wiki. Since my course is geared for 6th and 7th graders, I was forced to create even better instructions for my assignments with very clear technology instructions. The technological skills of my middle schoolers varies greatly, especially in 6th grade. I have students who don't know how to turn the monitor on all the way to students who can trouble shoot most computer issues. My students will have to be more independent learners with this online class. They will have questions, and instead of relying on me for everything, which many do, they will have to rely on each other and search out more information on our class wiki and/or the Internet. I think this will be great for fostering their overall independence.

I had at least heard of most of the web 2.o tools we are using in C&I 438. Most of all, I wanted to know how to create and use a wiki and how to do more than open a document on GoogleDocs, because I see both of these being used more and more in education and socially. Having just created a presentation on GoogleDocs, which is NOT the same as just creating a PowerPoint or SMART Board presentation, I am feeling more confident with GoogleDocs. Now that I have my entire course planned out and almost all activities created, I am really building my online course, making me even better at wikispaces. I would still love to explore more of the web 2.0 tools that are out there. When I searched them, I was amazed at all of the resources that are right there that I don't think many teachers know about or are using.

I will definitely keep the benefits of technology at the forefront of my mind after this course ends. I will continue to reflect on, research, and experiment with using different web 2.0 tools in and out of my classroom. I am excited about this, because technology engages my students and brings the language and cultures we are learning about to life.

C&I 438 - Blog Reflection 2

While participating in C&I 438 thus far, I have experienced a multitude of thoughts and feelings. First of all, I almost always love working with technology, so learning about technologies that are new to me is fun and exciting. As a mother of two young children, finding the time to complete everything can be overwhelming and stressful to me.

Up to this point, I have gained a new appreciation for online learning. I really see now how it fosters independent learning. Instead of relying on a teacher or professor, I have relied more on myself and my peers. I have been surprised at how helpful and caring my classmates have been when addressing each other’s questions and concerns. I do feel a sense of community, and that can be rare in online classes.

Because I completed an entire Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction program online, plus a class while in the Master’s of French program, I was accustomed to locating assignments, resources, and feedback in an online environment. I was already familiar with technologies like Skype and Blogger and had viewed documents on GoogleDocs. When starting the class, I wanted to know how to use wikispaces and Yodio. I have coworkers who use both in their teaching, and I am open to learning anything that may enhance my teaching and my students’ learning. Although I am not an expert, I now have a working knowledge of wikispaces, GoogleDocs, Twitter, and Yodio.

For me, technology tends to be like riding a bike. I may forget minutia, but I rarely forget how to use it. I will not forget how to use all the technology I mentioned above or how important it is as an instructor to make your personality and teaching beliefs known and to make an online course easily navigable. I look forward to my continued learning during the remainder of C&I 438.

C&I 438 - Blog Reflection 1

I just completed a self-evaluation for potential online students found at: http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/selfeval.asp
The survey's intent is to help a student determine if online learning is for him/her. Will it fit their lifestyles, needs, and desires? I received a 12/12 on it, meaning that online learning is perfect for my lifestyle at this time. I have access to and enjoy technology, it's not convenient for me to go to a physical classroom for class, and I enjoy the media used in online learning.

After completing the survey entitled, "Is online teaching for you," it is obvious that I would be a great candidate for online teaching. There were only a few areas of slight weakness. Sometimes it is hard for me to stick to "office hours." If you know me, you know that I'm a perfectionist, and I just like to get any work done that is hanging over my head. There were also a program that I had not heard and do not have on my computer currently (Shockwave). The results of these surveys are what I expected.

C&I 438 - Distance Learning

I had indefinitely abandoned my blog due to busyness of family, career, grad school, and church. I also wanted to live more in the here and now and not think about or worry as much about other people's lives. Also, in my limited down time, being on the computer is not my number one choice by any means. I finished my Master's in Curriculum and Instruction in January and started grad school again last week. I am starting coursework toward earning my Certificate in Librarianship. The reasons are: 1. I think I would enjoy being an IMC specialist. 2. It would make me more marketable and give me another option in education. 3. It will help me to keep climbing on the pay scale. However, I will be doing it slowly. I'll be teaching 3 high school classes next year, and at least 1 will be a new prep, so I'm not in a hurry, and I don't want to keep living in chaos. So, we'll see what I decide for the fall.

The reason I'm explaining this is that I will be posting some reflections about my class on here, so if you're wondering why, now you know.

Enjoy your summer!

La saison de Noël (The Christmas Season)

Wow. I can't believe that I haven't really written since school started. Having Gabe, moving to IL, not having our own home, then moving into our new home, starting the school year with a new course and languages to teach, different schedule, and many changes, and starting a grad program caused much of the last year to fly by like never before. It really has been a blur. I will say that although we are crazy busy, I'm enjoying being back at Parkside. I feel like I have adjusted to having 2 kids and although some things are harder, we feel our family is perfectly rounded out. We definitely do not plan to have any more. We are at the point where we want to just want to invest in and enjoy our 2 children. If we had more, we don't feel like we could meet the standards we have for ourselves in the different areas of our lives. Stella and Gabe are both delicious and so much fun! Stella will be 3 in February and is not any less mischievous. If there's something to get into, she still wants to get into it. She is so smart, so she figures out how to get what she wants. We are still working on potty training. She still has accidents every now and then. She still wears a diaper during the night. I see a lot of me in her, but I'm told I wasn't quite as curious and into stuff. Her language is impressive and hilarious. Every day she says something new, and it's so cute. Gabe is a little over 8 months and is a smart, strong boy. He is still exclusively nursing, has been eating cereal since 4 months, baby food since 6 months (most of which we make), and recently we have been giving him real food like cheerios, avocado, tilapia, and green beans. He goes to sleep at 7pm, and usually wakes up around 6am. He naps at 9am and 1pm. He sits up and scoots around like nobody's business. He gets on all fours sometimes and rocks, but isn't crawling or pulling up yet, which is FINE with me. He's a sharp one and turns a lot of things into a game. He says "Dada" for Joel and a different sound for Stella. For me, he just fusses and comes to me and tries to crawl up me. He recognizes the sign and word for "milk." Monday, he started signing "more," and this morning he waved a couple times at Joel when Joel waved and said, "Hi!" That's just a little earlier than Stella. We're also working on "all done" and "bye-bye." He has his 9 month appt at the end of January, so I'll report on those findings. He is wearing a few 6-month clothes, some 6-9, a lot of 9-month, and more and more 12-month. He has long arms, which is the main problem.

The pic of Stella above is before her surgery to remove a white crayon wrapper she put up her nose at the babysitter's. The doctor didn't have to cut, just put her under. She threw up that night and spiked a 102.9 fever, but all was well after that. That was an expensive crayon experience.

The babysitter put on a Christmas program 12/10. It was so cute. Gabe just observed. They performed many songs with actions, recited Bible verses, and had speaking parts. We recorded it, and it was really precious. We attended Gia Hart's 3rd bday party the Saturday after school got out for break. It was a fun way to enter into the holidays. We also went to Heather and John's annual Christmas party and had a really good time.











We technically had 5 Christmases, although our personal Christmas was super fast and uneventful because we had to rush to the next Christmas celebration. We celebrated Christmas Eve with my family, Christmas day with my mom's side and that evening at Joel's parents', and the day after Christmas with my dad's side. We had a lot of fun, but 2 celebrations in 1 day with 2 kids 2 and under is too much. Hopefully that won't have to happen again. Sadly, we sang no Christmas carols anywhere, but I did get my game fix with my dad's side and my immediate family and Sonya, the one and ownya.

The above picture is the evening after I had my right thyroid gland removed 12/28. If you remember, I had a thyroglossal duct cyst removed 3/08, and from a CAT scan, they found a thyroid nodule. It had remained stable and was no big deal. I had an ultrasound in Sept., and it had grown, so I had a biopsy in October, and the biology of it had changed and they couldn't tell for sure if it was cancerous. My doctor was 90% sure my nodule was benign, and it was. My mom, sisters, and Sonya stayed with me for several days afterward, which was helpful and made things more fun:) I've been off this week from school for continued healing, and because my voice is still weak. It'll be hard to project my voice next week teaching 5 classes of mostly 30 kids a day, but I'll make do somehow. I still can't take as big of breaths as normal due to throat swelling and maybe my stitches. My voice does not have its normal stamina. I have no idea when I'll really be able to sing again. I actually had to decline singing in a wedding in February because of this uncertainty:( Here are some fun videos from December below.

Really?

Yes, it has officially been over 5 months since I did a real post, but this also won't be a real post - sorry! I just wanted to put up some pics from the last five months, some even from August, so you could see what the kids look like these days. They go in chronological order. The video is from the beginning of August. I will post during Christmas break if not before with life details.

âgé de quatre mois (4 Months Old)

This is the shortest post in my posting history, but I just have zero time to write much. At Gabe's 4-month appt 8/27, he weighed 17 lbs, 13 oz (90th percentile), his height was the 90th percentile, and his head circumference was 75th-90th percentile. He's very symmetrical, which is always good. We'll be starting cereal very soon for him so he learns how to eat before 6 months, when he actually needs other nutrition besides breast milk. I'll try to post soon with a thorough update of the start of school and such.

âgé de trois mois (3 Months Old)

Once again, overdue. Gabe is now about 3 months, 2 weeks old. BUT, much has been happening prohibiting me from uploading pics and blogging. Let me try to summarize the last month. 7/5 Joel and I celebrated our 6 yr anniversary. That weekend we did a lot of family activities including taking Stella to her first movie as a toddler. We saw Up, and she sat on Joel's lap focused the entire movie. She even got to have some sour patch kids and swedish fish. Then we all went to Monical's to use her free pizza certificate from completing the reading program at the Normal Public Library. It was a lot of fun! The following weekend we went to the Sugar Creek Arts Festival, bought Stella a head and foot board, frame, and armoire at a consignment shop, and Joel and I were able to go to Biaggi's and Starbucks (and a car show spur of the moment - that wasn't that cool).

The day Gabe turned 3 months, Wed. 7/22, we closed on our house. That night we started painting Gabe's and Stella's rooms and cleaning. Thanks to Dean and Elena for all their help. Thurs. we drove up to WI and dismantled furniture to prepare for loading. Fri. we loaded, and it somehow only took 5 hrs. and drove back to IL. Sat. we unloaded - Thanks everyone who came to help! Sun. we spent our first night in our new home. We love our house so much. I said I wasn't moving again for 15 yrs, and Joel says we're never moving again period. I think we'll stay here a really long time. We have gotten the important stuff unpacked and organized, but there are many boxes of decor left. Painting the rest of the house and decorating are my last priority. I want to really think about what themes and colors I want. I'm not in a rush. We also will have no money for awhile, so I'm not trying to buy a lot of stuff. Gabe's and Stella's rooms look great so far. Elena is working on Stella's quilt and will redo her window treatments and create treatments for Gabe's room. She is so talented and generous!

Stella and Gabe are doing great. On the way to WI, she started singing "Jesus Loves Me." It was the cutest thing ever. All my work has finally paid off. I just assumed she wouldn't be musical since she never sang. She is now singing, "Jesus Loves Me," "Jesus Loves the Little Children," "The B-I-B-L-E," "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," and "The ABC Song." She is 1 sharp cookie. Her memory is outstanding, her language keeps rapidly improving, and she is starting to get more creative by making up stories and with imaginary play with her dolls/animals. She is so sweet with Gabe. She is always looking out for him and giving him tons of love. No real improvement with potty training yet, but we're not pushing it.

Gabe is the sweetest little man. I included 1 video to show his barrel chest. We always wanted little baseball playing boys, but he sure looks like he'll be a football player. He has such a calm, laid-back personality, and he is addicted to his mama. He is doing really well with his newly-forming sleep routine. He goes to bed easily around 8pm and usually wakes once b/w 2 and 4am to eat. He slept until 6:20am 2 nights ago, but I'm not holding my breath that that will continue. He should technically be able to make it through the night now based on his weight, but 4 months is widely-known as when they're developmentally able to go w/o a feeding. I think Stella was 5.5 months before she slept through the entire night. He has been taking 3 naps a day, which is spot on according to sleep books - they aren't completely by the clock, but he tends to nap around 9am, 12pm, and 3pm. He is smiling, mimicking, laughing, doing mini-push ups, standing well, batting at objects, holding on to objects, sucking his hand, and he rolled over from back to front today in his crib. He goes back to the Dr. for his 4-month appt 8/27. I am so in love with this boy!

My back to school freak-outs started several weeks ago. We were told 7/17 (1 month before school starts) that the sitter we had lined up could no longer watch the kids. I was really upset and anxious about that. We did find someone right away (Becky) that my friend Carolyn told us about (thanks!!). She has been babysitting for 30 yrs and will have 6 kids with the oldest being 3. I like that there won't be older kids there (I don't trust them all), but I don't think I could handle that many young kids. We know Gabe and Stella will have fun and be safe in a nurturing, Christian environment. I've never been apart from Gabe for more than a few hrs, so that will be a big deal. I know I'll be distracted and busy, but I know that I'll be super sad when I think about it. I have 2 professional development classes all day next week, so that will be a good trial run for pumping and being away from them. Thankfully at this pt, my schedule looks conducive to pumping 3x a day. I'm not really looking forward to having to do that again until May.

Another reason I'm freaking out is that I'll be teaching a new course and teaching an old course for twice the amt of time with no added content to teach. I'll have to teach some German and Spanish in this new course, and I really haven't done much to prepare. Joel says that I should just view it as I'm learning it all with the students for the first time I do it. I'll end up teaching the course 12 x by the end of the year, so I'm sure I'll be a pro by the end of it all. On top of that, I am starting an online Master's in Curriculum and Instruction through the American College of Education. Carolyn proposed the idea to me. It's all online and lasts for 18 months, so I'll finish Feb 2011. Each course lasts 5 wks, and there are no textbooks. Unfortunately I have to pay for it all, but I just need to get a Master's done so I can move up on the salary schedule. I have 1/3 of a Master's in French done at ISU, but I wasn't enjoying it, and it did NOT cater to a mom and teacher working full-time. I'll still get credit for those classes on the salary schedule, but they will start expiring and won't count toward a degree after 6 yrs.

So, we need a lot of prayer. My goal is balance this yr. It's a necessity or I will go crazy or get sick or both. I really want to try to enjoy all parts of my life - Joel (he turned 29 8/1), my kids, my job, church, and my friends. I want to do a good job at everything, but I'm going to keep my priorities straight- 1. God 2. Joel 3. kids 4. job 5. grad school - you get the picture. This will be a constant battle for me and will take consistent prayer and self-talk;) Please pray for us! We love you all tons.

âgé de deux mois (2 Months Old)

Gabe will be 10 wks old Wed, but we went to his 2-month appt today. He is 15 lbs, 3 oz. (just above 95th percentile), 24.25 in. (b/w 75th-90th percentile), and his head circumference is 41.5 cm (b/w 75th-90th percentile). He is thriving for sure, and everything looked great. His Dr. did comment that he has a big pee pee;) Gabe obviously isn't on a set schedule yet. He does usually put himself to sleep b/w 8:30-9pm every night and wakes 1-2 times to eat. He takes a couple longer naps during the day. I'm also still demand feeding. We won't start sleep training until it's developmentally appropriate at 4 months, which will be really hard as far as naps go b/c I'll already be back in school. I'm trying to start establishing a simple bedtime routine for him around the same time every night and soothing him to sleep then and during the day when he gives sleepy cues. I'm trying to follow the basic rules to healthy sleep: motionless sleep, put him down drowsy but awake before he becomes overtired, etc...

So here is what has been happening in our lives - Thurs 6/11, Gabe and I drove with my grandparents to WI for Rachel's graduation weekend. My other grandparents, aunt, cousins, and Renee also arrived Thurs. Joel came Fri evening w/ Stella. Rachel's graduation was really pretty. They do things differently in Manty. Everyone wears formal wear, corsages/boutiniers, it's outside, they have flower girls, etc...It was very nice, except we were in direct sunlight the whole time sweating, and we all got burnt except Gabe:) That doesn't generally happen in Manitowoc in June. Her party was a lot of fun, and a lot of people came. We had some campfires, went on gator rides, which Stella specifically asks for, and went running along the lakeshore. Joel drove back Sun afternoon. Mon we all went to the zoo, which Stella loved. It's basically all outside and probably better than Bloomington's zoo, which is sad since BN has about 100,000 more people. For Father's Day, my sisters and I drove my dad to Sheboygan for dinner and a movie while my mom watched the kids (thanks!). It was really nice to have girl/dad time. I think he enjoyed the present. I love being with my family. I can just be me, and I know that Joel, my children, and I are loved.

Renee, the kids, and I drove back to IL Tues, and she stayed there until Sat am. Sonya also joined us for a few days. Some of the things we did while they were here were: go to story time/library, visit our friend Anne and her baby Grace (born on the same day as Gabe) in Champaign, go to the park and a "water park," make some fun dinners, go out to dinner, drink some margueritas and wine, and watch a couple movies. Sonya even came back through town Mon and watched Stella so that Joel and I could go see I Love You Man. That was what Joel wanted for his Father's Day present. I think it's fitting that that was Gabe's first movie as well. It was so great spending time with Renee. I hadn't seen her since Christmas, which is ridiculous. She helped me with the kids and loved on them as a fantastic aunt would. She listened to my craziness, although she refused to do a counseling session w/ me since that would be "unethical and a conflict of interest" - whatev. She just always affirms and encourages me, and helps me to see truth. I'm so ready for her to be back here and not in LA. Who knows if that will ever happen.

After almost 6 wks of living with Joel's parents and searching high and low for the perfect house for us, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! Although I always try to make sense of things and look for God's intervention, I don't claim that God does things unless I'm pretty darn sure of it. Well, this surely had to be God. Joel and I had become weary and frustrated with not having a home and not finding anything. Well, last Wed Joel and I had taken his parents to look at a house in Hedgewood that we were pretty sure we wanted to buy. It's humongous, but the entire house was wallpapered, and it needed other updating. We got home having decided to put in an offer on that house, when we listened to a message left for me from my friend. She was urging me probably for the 3rd time to go look at her parents' house, which is 3 houses down from Joel's parents. Her parents had moved to another state last summer, so the house had been on the market for awhile. However, we never looked at it because we knew we couldn't afford it. My friend, her mom, and their new realtor all called me about looking at this house. So we looked at it Sat and loved it. We knew immediately that we wanted to buy it but thought it was a long shot that we could make an offer they would accept. We didn't even have to make an offer because they made one to us. To make a long story short, they made an amazing deal with us, and we're getting the house for a drastically cheaper price than it's worth. We'll really be stretched for awhile financially, but we could live there forever. It is a 4 br, 2.5 bath house with a 3-car garage and unfinished basement. The house is really big and the lot is HUGE. It backs up to hole 1 of Ironwood Golf Course. It also has a screened-in porch in the back, which I will enjoy. The house is vacant and we won't have to do ANYTHING to it before we move in. That is a far cry from the other house, which would have taken countless hrs and dollars to make it what we wanted. It is funny that with our first house, we lived right by Joel's sister and brother-in-law, and with our second house, we're living right down the st from Joel's parents. We're really excited and can now see what all the waiting was for. We haven't decided when we'll close or when we'll move yet.

Let me be one of the few that I've ever heard admit this, but going from 1 to 2 children is hard. Stella and Gabe are such blessings, and I can't imagine life now or in the future without them. I do admit though that I sometimes feel stressed and challenged by having both of them and 2.5 dogs by myself during the day, especially when we're trying to get out the door. Stella is in her 2's for sure. She is a sweetheart, but she still tries to get into everything and wreak havoc. Lately, she has been taking her poop out of her diaper at naptime and smearing it on her bedding and sometimes the floor. She even threw a piece at Joel when he peeked around the corner and asked her what she's doing. She told me today that she did it, "cause the poopy is icky." This is showing more readyness for potty training, but she still hardly ever wants to try. Cleaning all of that up adds frustration to my day. I seem to be getting better at handling both of them with each week. We've been going out and doing more during the week, which has made me feel a lot better. It helps me not feel like I'm trapped at home, and I feel like Stella's getting to experience fun things. I've been fighting the fear that doing a certain activity will be difficult with 2 of them and I've just tried it. It is all worth it.

This weekend is Joel and my 6th yr anniversary. We're planning to do some fun family activities, 4th of July festivities, and hang out with my extended family on the 5th, but we'd also like to fit in a couple small Joel and Rebecca things. Happy 4th everyone!