Rachel Miner

In the fall I am going to start working again as an educational technology teacher. For the last nine years I have stayed at home with my four children, which gave me experiential knowledge that I would never trade. My youngest are three year old twins and old enough to start school. I will be working at St. John’s Lutheran School in Chicago where my four children attend. I have experience using Web 2.0 tools socially such as Facebook, skype, and have tried wikis, blogs in order to stay up to date on technology tools. I feel very comfortable learning new tools and always looking for new ones to use in the classroom. 

This summer we have been busy getting our home in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood ready to sell and looking for a house on the northside of Chicago. So we have been doing a lot of staycations in the city. I am really excited about this class and hope to get some ideas to use in my classroom this year.

I am Anthony L. Boen

Hello everyone! I am Anthony L. Boen and I am so glad to have an opportunity to work alongside all of you. I am not yet a teacher but I hope to one day add teaching credentials and experience to my resume. Instead I am an Academic Technology Coordinator working for Chicagoland based university.

I would say that I have more experience with web 2.0 tools than your average bear. Before becoming an Academic Tech Coordinator I spent about three and a half years working as a web developer both freelance and remotely for a marketing and media company based in the state of Texas. And even before working as a web developer for a living I’ve had much experience working with some simple coding and PC hardware.

From this class I am hoping to gain an understanding of how web 2.0 tools are used as educational technology.

Intro to Erica

Hi, everyone! My name is Erica Yucuis.  I am a third grade teacher in Palos Heights.  This will be my third year teaching at this school, but my first year teaching third grade!  I have taught both kindergarten and second grade and am excited for some slightly more independent learners this year!

My district currently has iPad carts that anyone can check out, and you can usually find the cart in my room at least 3 times a week.  I love using them with the kids and have found so many great apps that have enhanced my instruction.  As far as Web 2.0 websites are concerned, I have Facebook and Pinterest account for my personal use.  I went to a tech conference this summer and learned about many Web 2.0 websites to use in the classroom.  Two websites that I really enjoyed are Padlet and InstaGrok.  I will be using both of these in m classroom this year and can't wait!

When I am not teaching, I like to run, travel, and be active.  This summer, my boyfriend and I went to Arizona and climbed Camelback Mountain.  It was very challenging, but a great experience!

Like Breanna, I too chose to get my Master's in Education Technology because of the direction my school is going in.  I have many great resources available to me at my school, and I know we are working on getting even more.  I want to be fully prepared to use these resources to benefit my students.  I am excited to learn more about Web 2.0 websites to use with my students through this class!

Breanna Atlee Intro

My name is Breanna Atlee. I am a single mom to two great kiddos. We just returned from our annual camping trip. This year we went to Starved Rock for the first time.

The three of us in one of the cavern areas. So cool!

This year marks my eleventh year in education, all at the same school. I began as a program assistant for two years and have been in the classroom for the remainder. I have taught 2nd-4th grades. I have my BA from Carthage College and at one time held certification in both Wisconsin and Illinois. I also have my ELL endorsement through National Louis. This summer is the start of my journey toward a Master's degree. 

I have chosen technology as the focus for my Master's because of the direction that I see our schools and society going. Also, I work in a building that is very technology rich. I am not afraid to use or employ any of the resources in my building, but truly do not feel that I am using it all to it's potential.

Matthew McGuire

My name is Matthew McGuire
I am a 50 year old father of four that made a full career change at the age of 45.
Here is a picture of my family.

 After 25 years as a commodity broker/trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, I went back to school at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst IL where I double majored in Studio Art and Art Education. I wanted to combine all of my interests into one complete package. My love of sculpture, my love of coaching ( Swimming and Lacrosse) and my love of transforming kids.

I am entering my second year at Mount Carmel High School in Chicago.

 Last year I taught Intro to Art, Digital Photography, Art Studio Intermediate, and a Tech class. I will also be coaching both swimming and lacrosse this year so I have a full plate.

 

(These are stock photos I found)

It was the tech class and the photography class that pushed me in the direction of this workshop. I am beginning my Masters program here at NLU in Educational Technology and look forward to expanding my knowledge and skills. I believe that this is the a vital and important time in education and there need to be coaches and guides out there for the Teachers and Administrators.

For my Tech and my Photography classes I used a few Web 2.0 tools in my classroom. I used the flipped classroom technique where I posted power points and web instruction sites on a google drive and had the students go there before my lecture. They were able to ask more questions and I believe we got more accomplished. I plan on going 100% digital in my Art room this year posting on a web gallery all student work( I hope, fingers crossed) https://www.artsonia.com/


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MODULE ASSIGNMENT 1-1

MY LINO IT PROJECT PAGE
CLICK BELOW
MY FAVORITE SCULPTURE

Hello All
For Module #1 assignment I chose to use Lino it. I created a photo story type of project  where students are asked to post at least five photos of their favorite sculpture in the Chicago land area. They are also asked to post at least one positive comment and at least one question.


MY FAVORITE SCULPTURE      <======= click to go to project

This site was very easy to set up and very easy to interact with. I believe this would  really engage the students and let them use photos to tell a story. I would add a second part to this that they would have to answer every question asked about their project and also acknowledge the positive comment with another positive comment.

The ISTE standards for technology in education used in this project would be number 1 the creativity and innovation because this would fall under part b Create original works as a means of personal expression. This also falls under number 2 part a Interact, collaborate and publish with peers.
As for Art this would hits all state standards, Production, History/Culture, and Language.

I would highly recommend this to other Educators because of its simplicity and it ability to engage students.

Joan O'Mara Lino On Line Bulletin Board (#1-1)

Wow! What a fun discovery and fun activity  for all of us.
I selected the online bulletin board "Lino".
 http://linoit.com/users/joanomara/canvases/Read%20Aloud


Discovery: What a great way to make use of technology to engage students. A quick response on a Post-it note in answer to a teacher question. The system is user friendly and quite colorful. I can see this as a follow-up to read alouds. Students will use their ipads to respond to a posted question about a book. As partners, they will discuss their response to the posed question and then post the reponse.

I like that I can go back to the student post-it and engage each student in a dialogue on the post-it. I demonstrated this aspect on the bulletin board. This also allows students to engage in dialogue as well.

Fun: I can see the engagement with the students. The post-it note element is not intimidating for any student. They can choose their favorite color from a choice of four and type their answer in a colorful font. From a phrase to a multiple sentence response completes the assignment at that center. From there, they will read other postings and make a brief, respectful comment on other students' post-its. The goal here is for agreement on the comment or to ask a friend for clarification about a comment made. And yes, disagreements are welcome as well.

I am intrigued.

The  technology standards related to this activity:

 First grade:
CC SL #2: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text real aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

• Use a document camera to project a book or online digital story

 Second  grade:
CC SL #2: Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

• Respond to a class discussion electronically (e.g., eInstruction, Qwizdom, Interwrite, Smartboards).

Joan O'Mara Intro

Hi everyone!

Insect Puzzle pre / post-assessment

I am a second grade Gen. Ed. teacher at Laurel Hill Elementary in Hanover Park. I have been working at this at-risk school for five years; nine in the district. I love it here! The staff at Laurel Hill works closely together to enable everyone to succeed, students and staff alike.

Education is a second career for me. I chose to pursue
education full-time after raising two children in whom
classrooms I volunteered for 11 years.
I strive to be the change in education I want to see.

I have a little experience with Web 2.0 tools. I dabble in Facebook and Pintrest.  I have been requested to Twitter but haven’t yet.
I do skype regularly however.

I decided to participate in this workshop to become familiar with technology. My hope is that my knowledge will enable my students to be more creative and engaged with their own learning. I want my classroom to be a true student centered experience.

Color Coded Interactive Parts of Speech

Personally, I love to create.
I am a graphic/industrial designer by trade.
I love to design new spaces, introduce color and refinish furniture.
I take this experience into the classroom as well.
I believe it is vital for my students to
live in a colorful, inviting environment
while we spend six hours together daily.

Joan O'Mara Weebly Webpage (#1-2)

As I reflect on my second project, I am pleased with the work produced. Creating a webpage for my classroom has been an on again, off again love affair. I'd love to do it, but I just did not see how to accomplish the feat.

Enter Weebly. Fortunately there was a tutorial. I scrolled through each step absorbing the screen shots because I am a visual learner. So much so the visual learner, that the step by step process was open in one window while I developed the ever allusive webpage in another window.

Low and behold, hours later, I have a class webpage. I now have in writing on the web what I have shared as a power point with parents for years. And it was fairly painless to develop the pages once getting started. The toolbar is limited, somewhat like the Prezi toolbar. Be patient, and the glory is yours!

What I like best about the webpage format is that it does not limit me to space the way a newsletter has these past years. I can give clearer meaning about information that I want to share with parents. On paper, I was more cryptic that I realized. Yet, I was forced to keep the newsletter to one page as no one reads more than that. So the webpage is divided into brief subject areas containing a photo and brief description of that subject. 

 I plan on recommending this program to my staff. It is easy to follow and a great form of communication, especially because nearly EVERYONE has a smart phone. Now parents can have classroom schedules, classroom management and expectations. I can see the success this format can have for all.

Corey Holmer Introduction Post

Howdy everyone! My name is Corey Holmer. I am currently an integration coach for a k-8 district in Crystal Lake, IL and will be starting my new role as an educational technologist for Lake Forest. Before taking this role as technology coach, I taught 7th/8th grade science for 5 years.

As a classroom teacher was fortunate enough to pilot technology in my classroom to better improve and teach 21st century skills. Starting in my first years, we started a class blog with Wordpress and used tools like Glogster and Google Apps to collaborate in and out of the classroom. I furthered my growth as I became the first 1:1 iPad teacher for out district, receiving a full set of iPads and an Apple TV to create a paperless classroom. During my two years with this amazing technology, we transformed the classroom into a learning environment where collaboration, project based learning, and technology use became the norm. It was this experience that helped me become the district-wide integration coach.

For the past two years, as the integration coach, I have helped our district move forward with the implementation of Google Apps, iPads, teacher websites, and other technology initiatives. I have also helped create and implement our middle STEM program through a partnership with Northwestern University.

Outside of the district I have shared my work locally and nationally at conferences. I am also a Google Certified Innovator and authorized Google Certified Trainer. Most recently I was recognized by the ISTE organization as the 2015 Outstanding Young Educator for my work in coaching and integrating technology into the classroom.

I am most excited to further of knowledge of online tools and collaborate with professionals in the field. This will be my first year using Chromebooks as a 1:1 device and am always looking for new ideas. Excited to be part of this class!

Twitter Account

Intro to Nicole

Hi Everyone!  My name is Nicole Zumpano.  I am an adjunct professor for National Louis and Dominican Universities. During the day I am a technology coach at Coonley elementary school in the Chicago Public School system.  This year will be my 8th year as a coach. Prior to that I was a 4th grade teacher for 15 years in the inner city of Chicago.

I am a continuous learner and volunteer in different capacities to help myself grow and contribute to the field of education.  In 2011 I was named "Teacher of the Year" by the Chicago Foundation for Education.  I've served on their Board of Directors for four years now advocating from a teacher's perspective.  I am President-elect of Illinois Computing Educators, serving as the secretary on the Executive Board prior to that.  I also volunteer on the ICE Conference Committee.

I'm active on social media, both personally and professionally.  I use Facebook mostly for personal connections.  My Professional Learning Network includes Twitter, Linkedin, Blogger and Teachability.

Personally I am married with fourteen year old twins about to enter high school.  I run and am an avid baseball fan, having visited 17 MLB parks (and 2 spring training facilities).  I've created interest portfolios on those hobbies (click the links to view them) and have a professional portfolio as well.

I'm looking forward to getting to know you and introducing you to some new tools for your classrooms!