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I believe...

“This I believe” was one of the final projects in SEDU 183.  The assignment was to create a “visual essay” supporting our belief statement about education.   At first I was a little unsure and apprehensive about this assignment.  However, when I broke it down into manageable steps, I succeeded in creating a visual essay that reinforced my statement, “I believe the passion to teach is something you were born with.”  I experimented with several different tools including Garageband, iMovie, and Windows Live Movie Maker before deciding which tools I wanted to use.  My plan of action was first to record my voice and then visually represent my essay.  I decided to use Garageband to record my voice and then Windows Live Movie Maker to finish my visual essay.  I encountered some difficulties along the way, although overall this project was rewarding in many ways.  The greatest difficulty was learning how to use the new programs, but in the end I increased my knowledge in the use of these programs.  This assignment also helped me to discover the many experiences in my life that brought me to Edinboro University.  I do not foresee using video very often in my future classroom unless the production becomes more seamless.  I feel the process is too time-consuming, although I would consider using video for a large project or unit project.

Open Educational Resources

Open educational resources are a collection of teaching, learning, and research material that are available free online.  This is done through open license which allows a more lenient use of the material than under copyright only. This learning data contains courses, course material, content modules, learning objects, collections and journals.

The impact OER for me as a learner…

As a learner OER offers an endless supply of new material for me to take advantage of.  This opens the door to endless opportunities of enhancing my knowledge on a specific subject. Open Educational Resources on the ORE Commons site is a great resourse for teachers as well as students, which offers material in all grade levels and in all subject areas.  I found this site to be very informative and useful. 

The impact of OER for me as a student…

As a current college student ORE are a super resourse for supplemental material that can be used in courses or subject areas.  Since OER are free online this makes access available almost anywhere and at anytime and to anybody.  While searching for OER, I came across Community College Consortium for OpenEducational Resources  this site offers numerous open college textbooks.  This alone could possibly save me hundreds of dollars on textbooks for my classes each semester!

The impact of OER for me as a future teacher…

As a future early childhood education teacher, I can see the prospect of using these resources to supplement my future curriculum.  On  SlideShare I found several exciting presentations concerning the use of Twitter, Facebook, e-learning, social media and many others in the learning environment.  This would be a site I would use when introducing a new concept or as a reference for students to use as well as a good support resource for me as a teacher. I feel the availability of OER will transform the instructional practices of my future classroom.

I believe the passion to teach is something you were born with.

As long as I can remember I have wanted to teach! As a child going through the educational system myself I always loved school and looked forward to the day when I would be standing in front of my own classroom.  I could not wait to feel the satisfaction at the end of the day knowing I had made a difference in the life of my young students.  I come from a long line of teachers.  My mom is a teacher; several of my aunts, uncles, and cousins are currently teachers, and my great-grandmother was a teacher.  The passion of teaching is in my background and in my genes. 



My desire to teach was fueled by the numerous times I was given the opportunity to be a teacher’s helper as well as to teach children myself.   For several years I helped teach the children’s program at Peniel Holiness Camp.  Those ten days every summer were the best!   Not only did I love the teaching part but the relationships I developed with the kids were great.  I cannot help but think what it will be like to develop a teacher- student relationship over a 180 day period.   Over the years, teaching opportunities presented themselves.  I became involved in the children’s ministry at my church, where I have had the privilege to teach children 2 years-old through the 5^th grade.  The best part about this experience is the feedback I receive from the kids.  There is no better feeling than to see the kids connect and learn something from the effort you have invested in your time and work into a lesson. 

My passion had just begun to grow.  When I was crowned the 2009-2010 Pennsylvania Alternate Maple Sweetheart I was given the opening to go into the public schools and educate the students about pure PA maple syrup.  Through numerous presentations at different area schools and at different grade levels opened my eyes to the life inside each classroom as each classrooms was different.  This experienced unlocked my passion for the younger elementary students.   After spending hours in high schools and elementary schools I discovered I felt a pull towards elementary students.  Something about their innocent and sweet spirit and their desire to learn and how they looked up to their teachers appealed to me.

I am presently leading the Cloverbuds Program within the 4-H Program of one of the local 4H Clubs.  The children range in age of 5 years-old to 8 years-old.  My journey to make my dream a reality has started at Edinboro University where I am pursuing a degree in Early childhood Education.   I know the impact education has played in my growth as a person and I am looking forward to having that same impact on a student’s life.