Before I started the MAT program, I had some experience with computers, but I had very little experience using a Macintosh/Apple computer. I had never used a video camera to create my own video project, or used video editing software for the Mac (iMovie HD, iDVD). Before this program I had never created any concept maps using a computer before. I was inspired by the concept mapping and outline process for creating projects. Inspiration I bought Inspiration, and experimented with creating concept maps for the first time. Before this program, I had never synthesized any projects on line, and was able to learn how to designed a website, using Nvu (a new program for me). I feel that learning to use technological tools, like Apple computers, video cameras, web page and video editing software, and concept mapping software would expand my knowledge and resources that can be used in my educational teaching experience.

    Before this program, I had only owned an Apple computer for only a couple of months. I had switched over from using a PC. I didn't know what I was doing with it, because I was so used to using a PC. I was able to learn and develop my skills throughout this program using my Apple laptop to create, and organize my projects and classes. I learned how to use my computer to connect to the education department server, and interact with it using web drops and my personal folder on the server. I learned how to efficiently interact with the Apple operating system to enable my use of applications, pictures, movies, documents to be more accessible and organized. I also developed my skills using iLife software like iPhoto, iDVD, and iMovie on my Apple computer.

    I decided that learning how to use a variety of technological tools would serve my future teaching, and educational experience better. I decided to purchase a video camera for the first time and learn how to use it. I spent a lot of time researching the types of cameras and the specifications. Once I found one that I liked, I practiced filming various things inside and outside. I was able to learn different various methods, and techniques for filming. For example using a tripod to steady and focus still shots. I learned how to steady the camera for more focused shots, and keep shots from being too jumpy and quick moving.  Within the process of learning how to use a video camera, I had to learn how to take the film and put it on my computer. I learned to use a firewire cable, and sync it to my Apple laptop. Once it was on my computer I learned to use iMovie for the first time. I figured out how to edit clips, organize them in a logical flowing manner. I learned how to make transitions between clips, add titles, add music to clips, edit sound of the movie, organize my clips in to chapters, add video effects, and develop themes for the video clips. This was a fun, but very time consuming process. I was able to create two videos during my experience in the program. I was able to demonstrate my video skills by creating a video documentary of my placement. I filmed classrooms, the halls, the gym, cafeteria, and library. I learned how to record audio commentary, organize and sync it with video clips. I created a second video for a Learning Communities class where I worked with a group to create skits, film in various locations, and at various angles. This project was difficult for me because I had to refine my filming skills to adapt to lighting, and environments environments for filming. Once I learned to edit my films to the way I liked, I had to learn how to create a file in Quicktime, or a DVD. I learned to develop and understanding of how to transfer my movies from iMovie to iDVD. I learned how to create chapters of my video clips and organize them into scene selection format within iDVD for my DVD. I learned that this was easier said then done, because the chapter names in iMovie format did not fit into iDVD format as readable. I learned that in order for the names to work they had to be shorter in length, which caused conflicts when renaming them to make sense with the video clip in 1-2 words. Creating a DVD in iDVD was a fun process. I learned to create a theme for the menus, add music to the background for each menu, insert pictures into the menus, and create a whole interactive interface for the DVD.

    I decided to purchase the program Inspiration as a way to develop my technological skills when synthesizing outlines, and concept maps on my Apple computer. This was a new experience for me, and I learned how to interact with the software to organize my thoughts for various projects. I developed my skills for creating concept maps that described my philosophy of education. I was able to develop my skills within this program to use clip art, and insert photos into the concept map. I learned how to create diagrams, format shapes, and use interactive note within the program. I developed my ability to take my concept map from Inspiration and create a web page to link to my personal home page.   

    Designing a website in this program was a challenging learning process for me. I had never created one before, I was using an Apple computer which I was still getting used to, and I was introduced to Nvu (a website editor program) which I was completely new to as well. I learned how to develop my first web page using Nvu by learning how to create tables to visualize where I was going to put each individual element of the page before I added anything. I continually developed my skills as I slowly started to figure out how to change colors, background, add pictures, format text, create links, anchors, I began to put my first homepage together. I learned how to create multiple pages that all linked together to represent myself, my projects within the program, my student teaching experiences, and post on line pictures from my experiences.

   I feel that through this program, I have been able to learn new skills within technology that will enable me to demonstrate my growth of understanding of how technology can be applied in many educational experiences. I know that because I have learned these skills, I will aways have them, and I can continue to develop and build on them as technology changes. I have spent a lot of time and energy to learn how to use and apply technology into my school work and my teaching methods. Now that I know how to use an Apple computer, design a web page, film a movie, edit a movie, create an interactive DVD, and develop concept maps using Inspiration I am prepared to take these technological skills to a professional level in education.

    I attended the OTEN Conference in Fall 2006, and became a member of ISTE as a joined the MAT program. By joining these two organizations I have been able to keep up to date with information relating to current technology uses in the classroom environment, and new educational articles.

   Within the MAT program I learned how to design a webquest that provide appropriate learning opportunities for students while applying the use of technology. I learned that a webquest is a lesson designed for the Internet, as a way for students to investigate a topic through multiple on line sources. I created a webquest called Journey to Our Nation's Capital Washington D.C for a fifth grade social studies class. My webquest enables students to explore on their own the many museums, monuments, and historical buildings throughout Washington D.C. by using the many links provided. My webquest accommodates to the diverse needs of the students, by providing links to the many Smithsonian museums including American history, African art, the Holocaust museum, and the American Indian museum. My webquest provides enhanced opportunities for students to explore the city, learn about transportation, maps, geographic vocabulary, measuring distance between places using maps, identifying how the physical environment affects human activity, and learn about the physical environment of the city's region.

    When designing my webquest, I picked a topic that would have students using current research and web links to develop an understanding of Washington D.C. I picked a variety of things for students to explore (monuments, museums, and historical buildings) that all use web pages to display their history, current purpose, and are constantly being updated to provide the viewer with the most recent information. With current research from websites, and the use of the Internet as a teaching and learning environment, my webquest is able to provide a new opportunity for students to explore a city and its region with technology.

    When I was designing the webquest I had to make sure the topic, and the sites that students looked at were suitable for their age, and grade level. I picked sites like the Smithsonian museum's homepage, and memorial sites that described the monuments history with accuracy and language that was suitable for students' level of cognitive understanding. I reviewed the sites I linked for my webquest, and confirmed that they would be acceptable places for students to explore and locate the knowledge that they would need to understand Washington D.C. and complete the objectives for the lesson.

    My webquest provides learning activities that helps to manage the student's web exploration, while providing them many opportunities to pick and choose through a variety of websites. The webquest provides students with specific questions to answer and provides specific links of where they can find the answers to the questions. Students are required to create a journal of their findings from each of the sites that they explore, and use lesson objective questions as their guide to help manage their exploration of the Internet technology resource. This provides students direction, and provides opportunities for explore on their own within the provided website. For example, I have students answering why Washington D.C. is a significant city, why is it the United States Capital, and what are some of the physical landmarks or traits that surround the city?

    My strategy to manage students learning in a technology-enhanced environment is to have them keep a journal. The journal that provides them with a tangible item for recording their findings, and a structure for their answers to the lesson's questions. In my webquest I have students keep a record in their journal of how people in Washington D.C. move around, a  maps of the city, a recorder of six museums, five memorials/monuments, and four historical buildings. I have students identifying what state is Washington D.C in, when was Washington D.C. founded as a city, what year did Washington D.C. become the United States capital, who decided where the capital city was going to be located, and what river does Washington D.C. border? By having multiple questions for students to answer and record in a journal provides them with a lot to do, and keeps them managed and occupied.

    I was able to develop a website that would allow me to show to the public my educational experiences, my background, my philosophy of education. I can show my peers, friends, students, family members, professionals this web page can be used to identify and contact me as an educator. This was my first website that I created, but I feel that I have demonstrated that I can learn a new skill within technology, and synthesize my own unique web page that I can refer back to over the many years. 

    My webquest can be applied to help students develop new skills and creativity within a technological learning environment. Within the exploration of Washington D.C. through websites students will be able to develop an understanding of why Washington D.C. is a significant city by researching it and synthesizing a personal journal of their findings. Students will be able to think at higher cognitive levels (Bloom's Taxonomy) through analysis of the city's design, where specific buildings are located, and creatively exploring their own destination route through some of the significant places throughout the city. 

    The activities in my webquest can be used to support a student-centered learning, and accommodate the diversity of student's' needs. For example, for students who learn more effectively through the use of visuals, my webquest provides opportunities for students to see many pictures of buildings, monuments, city design, inside museums, and the geography within and surrounding the city. Students who prefer to have choices, and opportunities to explore rather than direct instruction will find my webquest very accommodating. Students when using my webquest will have to follow the my expectation to keep a journal, but are free to choose through the sites provided a number of different places that reflect their interests, needs, and design their journal any way they like. 

    My webquest lesson manages students by providing many appropriate educational links that directs them to information that they need for questions within the online lesson, and complete their journal. By providing students at the beginning of the web lesson with many choices for exploration, clear objectives for the use of the websites provided, creating a journal, students are less likely to be off task, and explore other websites that are inappropriate to the the web lesson.

    During this semester, I worked with a group to create an expressive art's lesson on Chinese opera that involves showing video clips as a visual representation of Chinese opera incorporating the use of technology. By showing a video clip of the Peony Pavilion, students will be able to visualize what Chinese opera is, provide students with a structure for the multiple elements in a Chinese Opera (characters, sets, colors, costume design, face masks and makeup, sounds, and music). By using a television, a DVD player, and a DVD, students will be able to experience a Chinese Opera through the use of technology at a much lower cost than going to see the opera live. Within the Chinese Opera lesson plan, applying technology into the lesson by showing students the Peony Pavilion will enable students develop an understanding of Chinese Opera at a higher cognitive level. Students can apply their understanding from the video of Chinese opera to their own synthesis of a Chinese opera mask, and opera skit.

Within my webquest I am able to apply the use of technology to inform students of how I will assess them on their participation throughout the lesson online. Students through the use of a online assessment rubric will be provided clear objectives for how they will be assessed during the webquest. Students will also have the lesson process, and objectives clearly stated on line for them to refer back to at anytime. After students have completed the webquest lesson, I will use the rubric to assess the student journal's, and interpret their scores using spread sheet document. After I record all the students scores, I can use a computer to analyze the entire class's scores to see where students excelled in meeting the objectives with the use of spread sheet. I can determine which students need further work on the geography objectives of the lesson. The results will also tell me if the lesson is too complicated, needs to be simplified, or if it was successful in helping students develop an understanding the of the lesson's purpose.

    Throughout this program I have used different kinds of technology to make my educational, and professional life more efficient. I have been using the Internet to find Oregon standards and benchmarks as a reference for my lesson plan's evaluation. I use my Apple computer every day to work on word documents, to email, to print out documents and assess myself as an educator and my professionalism with the work I do. 

    Within the MAT program I have done many things that enabled me to use technology in a way I have never done before, and maintain a professionalism as a student and educator. I subscribed to the International Society in Education, ISTEto access monthly information relating to teaching and education. I received a monthly magazine that providing me a way to keep up to date with current news, and reflections from educators around the US. I attended the 2006 OTEN conference to see what other educators were doing to incorporate technology in the profession. In my Learning Communities II class I worked with my peers to create a video reflecting Forrest Gathercoal Judicious Disciple Book and how the author's views classroom management ideas can be applied to an early childhood elementary classroom. During this process I was able to demonstrate my new video skills using iMovie and iDVD to produce a video for a class presentation. Throughout this program I have communicated with my peers in the program on educational articles for classes, video reflections, and preparing for in class assessment through the use of Web CT (an on line discussion forum for our classes). I have developed a website that displays my educational, and professional work within the MAT program. My website provides me an opportunity to display my philosophy of education, my professional ethics, who I am as an educator to the community, to Pacific University, my students, my educators, and my friends. I developed a webquest that is appropriate for fifth grade level to learn about the United States capital Washington D.C. from a geographical perspective. Designing a webquest demonstrated my productivity, and my ability to provide students in an entertaining and educational online lesson. I designed the webquest professionally by citing my sources of web links, pictures, and professional references. 

    I am constantly using technology to help me as a student, educator, and as a professional to increase my productivity. I use my Apple laptop to do word processing with Microsoft Word. I use my computer to create outlines and concept maps for projects using Inspiration. I use PowerPoint to create presentations for classes, and Photoshop to edit pictures for my web pages. I use Nvu to design my web pages on my computer. I purchased a video camera during Fall MAT semester to film videos for my classes, and create a video documentary of one of my student teaching placements. I learned to be productive using iMovie and iDVD to edit my videos and create a DVD to show to my peers and instructors. I use my digital camera with my computer to save pictures and post them on line. I connect my computer with a printer to create hard copies of materials to distribute to my educators and peers. I also use email regularly to communicate with my peers, family, teachers, and my community.

    Throughout my experience in the MAT program I have learned the importance modeling a professional ethical practice when using technology, and displaying information on line. I have learned as an educator/professonal, when using technological tools like a video camera, or digital camera, it is important to make sure you have permission before you take pictures, or display them to the public. When I developed my webquest and web pages, I made sure that all the links to pictures and websites were well documented. I made sure my links were appropriate for my teachers, students, peers, and family to view were properly cited. When using pictures from other websites, I made sure that they were not copyrighted, and I properly citied the link to where they were found. When I first began learning how to create my own website, webquest, and cite sources, I looked online to identify how to make my on line materials credible and suitable for the public view. I found one cite that has helped me decide if the cites I used were appropriate for the target audience, and how credible they are as educational sources. This was particularly important for when I designed my webquest. I need students to have sources that they can rely on for educational purposes, that are not biased, display accurate information, and with proper authority. As an educator, I will encourage the use of technology that is safe for students, appropriate for the projects they do, and enable students to create many of their ideas into a visual representations in a safe and fun way. I learned as an educator, it is important for students to learn what they can photograph, and film. It is important for students to know what images and visuals are appropriate to show in class projects. As an educator, I will encourage the use of technology (computers, cameras, movies). I will provide my students equal opportunities to experiences and incorporate technological tools to enhance their diverse interests, and creativity within their projects and educationals experience.