Month 12 Discussion Board Post

Okay, so I started writing for our Month 12 discussion board and I couldn't stop. I looked back at the assignment and saw that there is a 500 word limit .... I went a little over :-) Well, I didn't want to merely erase everything that I had written, so I have posted it here. I will have to rewrite what I have here into a much shorter version before the Thursday due date. Until then, I hope that you enjoy my rants about our entire journey thus far.




A year is a long time and when you jam it full of fun and learning, you make it hard to remember the fine tuned details. Month One, Media Literacy and Research Methodologies, is where we began our literature review process. The perfect intro class. I really enjoyed learning how to research for information and I was able to apply some of that knowledge to my Cycle 2 implementation. The only thing that I felt was unclear about month one was that we were working on our actual Action Research Literature Review. At such an early state, many of us did not know what we were going to do for our action research project. I liked having the bulk of our research completed by the end of month one.

In month 2, Multiple Learning Theory Applications, I learned a lot about how people learn new information. I liked that we did not focus on only one way of learning. We had to learn about all ways of learning and then pick the one that applied to our Action Research project. I did not like how much reading we had to do this month, but that is a personal problem (I am working on the speed of my reading :-) ). However, I do feel like some of the reading could have been covered via multimedia. If I am remembering correctly, this is also the month we were introduced to Prezi! What an amazing tool!!

Month 3, Training and Motivational Development, the presentation zen book was amazing. I already knew about most of the techniques that we read about, but I was able to apply everything that I learned from that book to my Action Research Project, especially Cycle 2. This month was the first time that I had ever videotaped myself, which I did not like (but who does?). I loved that we critiqued each other on these videos. Even though we started using SecondLife in Month 1, I feel like this month was the first month of use. We had to tell how we could use a specific location in SecondLife for education purposes. I look forward to one day being able to take my class on a virtual field trip via SecondLife.

Month 4, Emergent Technologies in a Collaborative Culture, I only have one word... iGoogle! What an amazing tool. Not only did I plan on teaching Google to my teachers in Cycle 1, but my principal has hired me to teach my teachers technology this summer. Number one on the agenda is iGoogle. I don’t think I would be able to find anything if it wasn’t organized on my iGoogle page. Ahhh... and Lynda.com. The training that I received through Lynda.com in Month 4 is still being used today, not just in my Action Research Project, but also in my professional career as well. I learned about blogging and found a plethora of new technologies to use in the classroom.


Month 5, Education Design and Evaluation, where we didn’t just learn about the ADDIE model, but we put it to work. We used everything that Google has to offer us in the process. This experience really inspired my Cycle 1 implementation. The school where I was teaching used Google as their email provider and therefore had access to everything that I used in month 5. I think ADDIE was the most important thing we learned about in month 5. I loved collaborating with my classmates!! This was our first real chance to collaborate using Google. We used Google hangouts, Google chat, Google Docs and Google Drawings.... not to mention that our project was to make a website using Google sites. 

Month 6, Digital Media and Education Applications, WOW.... Flash is intense! The only dislike that I have is that the tutorials that were necessary to watch were very boring. I could not have done it without the videos, but they were very hard to make it through without falling asleep. I loved using Flash animation. It is on my list to watch the lynda tutorials to learn even more about Flash and the cool things you can do with it. As much as I loved learning about Flash, it had no connection to my Action Research project. We had to place our Literature Review on our WordPress site which was a helpful piece of the overall Capstone website.

Month 7, Music Theory and Education Applications, I can’t believe that I wrote my own song!!  I will probably never use music created by someone else again. Everything has been my own since month 7.

Month 8, Filmmaking Principles and Education, The best thing about this month was our mentor for the course, Kathy Kellen. I met a new life long friend through this course. The 48 hour challenge video was fun to make and truly a challenge.

Month 9, Game Strategies and Motivation, Again, I can’t believe that I have created my own game. My students asked me on the last day of school if they were going to be able to play “Matherstermind” like the kids a few month ago. I already used games in my classroom, but I learned the do’s and don'ts of games for educational purposes.  

Month 10, Learning Management Systems and Organization, I really enjoyed learning about learning management systems (LMS), because my only experience was with Blackboard and my teachers only used it for final grades. I can’t wait for the day when I am in an environment that is more conducive to using an LMS.

Month 11, Media Asset Creation, I’ve never been to a conference so I am ecstatic about the opportunity to present at one. Creating a presentation was easier than I thought it was going to be and I got to use one of my favorite tools... Prezi!

Month 12, Education Media Project Development, The End! I can’t believe that my journey to achieve my masters as come to an end. This month will like a show and tell session for all that I have been able to accomplish in the last 11 months.

Wk 4 Leadership Post: Role Model Reflection

My Mom and I at... Chick-Fil-A

The first leader that I would like to talk about here is... my mom. I know that this sounds weird and childish, but everything I learned about leading people I learned from her. My mom, Angela Cormier, has worked for Sam’s Club for over 20 years. She started when I was only a toddler. She worked really hard and everyone around her respected her because of her hard work and dedication. It was this respect and her own dedication that gave her the courage to apply for the management program when I was in high school. It came as a shock to her and was no surprise to everyone else that she was accepted right away. She moved away from her hometown and her beloved daughter to pursue her dream of leading her own department. She has since been transferred back home and is working as a manager under the same man as when she was a mere employee. In watching her lead and speaking with those that she leads, I have found that what gives her such respect with the people she is in charge of.... she hasn’t forgotten what it is like to be in their shoes. She isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and do the work with them instead of simply watching them do it. There exists a high level of accountability and expectation between her and her team. I think that this is because they know that she expects it because she can make it happen herself, but trusts them to do it just as good. She has taught me that people will live up to your expectations.... so why not set them high. Her love for the company and her expectation of success has gained her respect all the way up to the top of her management chain. She has now gained enough confidence in herself that she is striving for the top and would love a club of her own. As much as I look up to her as a leader, I am also just as proud of her for her courageous leadership style.

I have taken what I have learned from her into every job that I have worked. I give 110% and expect the best out of the people that answer to me. I think that this is why my students have excelled so 
much under my tutelage. 

Principal Jeri Michie
Gateway Academy

Another leader that I am striving to be like is my principal, Jeri Michie. She leads in such a way that you know that she has your back. Her love of learning is contagious and trickles all the way down to every student in the school. As a teacher, I knew that I could not only come to her for professional advice but also classroom teaching advice. She is another leader that started at the bottom and worked her way to the top. Every time I went to her she not only shared ways that worked for her, but also ways that had worked for other teachers as well. She never cared which option was chosen as long as the student’s needs were put first. I have read and heard about awful dictator like principals and I have been blessed to work with a fellow teacher, who happened to also be the principal. If I ever reach the point in my life where I become a principal, I hope that I can lead as well as she does!


Unfortunately in some ways, I try to keep myself sheltered and naive. I haven’t really accepted the fact that I am a grown up and should be paying attention to grown up things. Because of this, I do not know of any leaders outside of my little “bubble.” I like the way the Steve Jobs ran Apple, but I don’t know any details about what/how he did it. I like the wasn’t afraid to take risks when he knew that it was a good idea. I also love that Chick-Fil-A has managed to stay true to its Christian believes. I can’t think of any other major restaurant that closes on Sunday. My closest Chick-Fil-A also plays Christian music all day long.

I wish I knew of more leaders out there in the “real world,” but it is something that I am striving to learn more about. I am finally starting to “feel” like a grown up and I am sure that sooner rather than later I will become more aware of what is going on in this crazy world that we live in.

Wk 4 Comment # 2: Rodolfo Fernandez

Rodolfo’s Blog

Wk4 Reading: The Art of Possibility: Keep the Fire Burnin'

Hi my fellow cohorts and professor:

Yes, I put or should I say quote REO Speedwagon on my title, but that's how I looked at this week reading.  Chapters 9-12 explain so much about opening the world of possibilities to those who share this world around us. How we can motivate, engage, inspire students, friends, co-workers, to approach problems, obstacles or difficulties with a different view, taking advantage of having a difficult situation to a positive, productive moment.

I believe that this week's reading sums up what we can do to work with "our board", our lives.  It teaches us that this world is a community, not a race that we had to win.  We must deal as "we" and not as "I". I was impressed how Ben storm into Cora's coaching and how sarcastic he was when speaking to her as missing the rehearsal. He forgot Rule No.6 and it cost, not him, but the orchestra the resignation of Cora.  After admitting his mistake, he did what he taught to his students. He wrote a letter to Cora, giving himself an A. This humble act of reflection improved and strengthen his relationship with Cora.  He lit the spark himself, looked at his board and approach the situation as a "we" instead of "I"...

How fascinating!!!!

My Response to Rodolfo’s Blog:

Well put Rodolfo! We must keep the fire burnin’ and what better way to keep a fire burning than with a spark. It is hard sometimes to view the world as the board instead of just our own lives on the board. When we view the board with more than just ourselves on it, we find that there are more sparks to be lit than meets the eye. You ask a great set of questions: How can we motivate, engage, and inspire those around us.

How fascinating that Ben himself forgot about Rule Number 6! It was a great way for him to show how to handle what happens when you slip up and forget such an important rule. We are human and therefore not perfect. I’m glad that Ben included a story that shows that though we are not perfect, we do have the power to make up for the mistakes we make in life. Life is about making mistakes and learning from them. Ben did just that in his story with Cora.

Wk 4 Comment # 1: David Mouri

David’s Blog

Thursday, May 24, 2012

MAC Wk 4 Reading Entry Chapters 9 - 12

This weeks reading for me centers on Chapter 12 and the prompt offered in FSO, Telling the WE story. I have been in the classroom for 23 years, and in that time I have worked with students ages 5 to 21, and they represented a huge range of disabilities cognitively and physically. My whole teaching career has been focused on paying it forward, giving as much as I can so my students can lead successful more independent lives as an adult with a disability.

The "we" comes from two opposites in the spectrum of disabilities. David a tall, thin, happy child with Autism, and Brandy a young trouble teenager who used drugs, was oppositional, and was a runner. David from the first time he joined our Life Skills program as a freshman said that he wanted to be a Car Detailer. As a freshman David had very low self-esteem, and he lived the life of a student with autism. He had to eat the same lunch every day, he had to have certain items in his backpack. He hated to be wrong, and he had no social skills. He would blurt out answers, or stand two inches from you. He would eat super fast. That meal had to have a can of Ensure, a fusion yogurt drink,  and a tuna fish sandwich. He would refuse to try any new food. Changes of schedule had to be explained to him a week a head of time if possible. Remember he wanted to be a car detailer.

Brandy was a typical teenage girl, who was cute, and had a very outgoing personality, but she was hiding! She was hiding all of the hurt that had come her way with her dysfunctional family. Like many teenagers she would challenge authority to not only get her way, but to just push anyones buttons. What was he future going to be? I had no clue, I had my hunches. Did I think she was going to screw her life up along the way? YES I did.

As David grew older and became more confident it was clear that this young man was really going to go after his dream. He was able to live through his parents divorce, and he took on living with mom, and seeing dad on weekends. He proved that he take some regular education classes as long as he had a para with him that could keep him on task and organized. David was a visual learner, and reading fluency was not his strong point. If material was read to him, and gone over slowly with a fine tooth comb, he would get it. He joined our NJROTC program, and proved that he could learn how to be disciplined in study as he learned training manuals that would bore any of us. The auto mechanics course had MATH in it, OH NO Math. His connection with his para, teacher, and his mom got him through it. Mom was a wreck, but he made it through. He also took on a training job that paid him sub minimum wage at a local car dealer. It was there he learned how the professionals detailed a car. By the time his senior year rolled around he was detailing cars on his own in his garage. He was slow at it, but he was trying. He graduated and returned to us to take more auto shop classes. Classes at the local community college.With his para in tow they both learned the art of body work on an automobile, from dents to painting. His dad stayed in the picture, and provided him with funds to start his business, tshirts, and business cards brought Dave's Detailing into reality. David reached age 21 and soon it was the day before his 22nd birthday. He was about to age out of our services provided to him as a public school. A small business license was applied for, and a local car dealer provided him with a work space and cars to detail. It was a car port attached to the used car dealership. Today it is an enclosed garage and his business is thriving! My co-teacher and I are proud that we paid it forward by sticking with him, and teaching him as many functional life skills as possible.

I met Brandy when I was teaching computers and history in a residential treatment facility for students who had severe conduct disorders, and juvenile sex offenders. She was a hurt confused young lady that at the same time was very witty, sarcastic and foul mouthed. She used drugs and running away as her form of escape. She had issues with authority, lying, being inconsiderate to herself and those around her. I taught her in class, where her general attitude was I don't care. It was a rough start for both of us. I decided to put in extra hours and work on the residential units when they were short staffed. Each teacher was part of a treatment team, because  school was considered part of their therapy. Working on the unit proved to the students that I cared, and was willing to put up with what ever they could dish out. I was called names, spit on, hit, and in the end they learned that I could physically restrain them if it was called for. It turned out that I was the only male trusted to work on the girls unit. Brandy and I slowly established a relationship. She figured out that I was a male that was going to respect her, help her and not try to be physical with her. It blossomed into a relationship built on trust. I could just look at her and she knew if I was approving of her behavior or not. Brandy left the program after working on her issues for almost 3 years. She became a leader on the residential unit and she left with her head held high. She would write to me from time to time and check in, then I lost track of her after that, until Facebook came along. She typed in my name one day and found me! We reconnected and I visited her home with her future husband and two kids. It was a tiny house, and seemed to have lots of problems, but it was a house. I asked her how she did after she left the treatment program. She said she had struggled but my letters helped keep her on track, and she admitted that the treatment program called Positive Peer Culture really did teach her a lot. YES I had paid it forward, and she was living proof.

What do I do from here? I keep going, I keep teaching. People who are not Special Education teachers often say to us that you have so much patience, your a special person. I don't think about it in those terms. I think that we are passionate, and we look for those sparks to ignite, we push ourselves to think out of the box to help our students to succeed. We go for the Possibilities!

My Response to David’s Blog Post:

David,

I think that it must be an amazing feeling to be able to watch your students grow into independence. Where most teachers only see their students through one year.... you have the opportunity to help them over the course of many years. How fascinating! Your personal stories were true to the nature of our reading and just as delightful. Real stories make learning more meaningful. I have been told by many higher education teachers that I must have a lot of patience to work with young students.... but I see it the way you do with your own students. We must go for the possibilities within each student. If we can ignite a spark within them for a love of learning.... their future will be full of endless possibilities. I have made it my personal goal to ignite a love of reading in my students and I think I have been successful in doing so in the last two years. This past year, my class alone read over 20 million words (via Accelerated Reader Quizzes). Although I am proud of my students accomplishments.... they can’t come close to the pride you must feel for all of your students, especially the two that you wrote about here. Keep up the great work!!