Last March, I realized that I love to walk and just see things that are happening in nature.  I had gotten a zoo pass, so I could go to the zoo with my niece and nephew.  I would really just use it once or twice in the summer and maybe during the holidays.  So in March, I decided that to start walking after school at either the zoo or the Botanical Gardens.  This helped me relax after a day of teaching and I was able to share with the students are the plants and animals that made me happy.

Well, since the end of May, I have not gone walking because it was too hot in the afternoon (and I just did not want to walk in Texas in the summer.)  Today was a coolish day and I decided that I needed to go after a day of teaching.  The first animals that I went to was the gorillas.  There is a 'toddler' gorilla named Gus.  He is so adorable! He does not stop moving and he does remind me of some students.  

I know that I have to walk more because I feel better when I am doing this.  And I felt so great that I worked on my ePortfolio for a couple of hours!

​So today was a rough day for me as a teacher.  My students had their first "test" and it was computerized.  Now, it was not a test of material that I have taught them, but I get so nervous when my first graders have to take a test.  This is so new to them and many of them do not have the concept of taking a test.  We have been talking about growth mindset, but I just want them to well on the test (why- probably because it means that I have to do more RTI plans- but that just means that they can reflect more in their learning.)  In Dweck's book, Mindset- The New Psychology of Success, she mentions that you have to be aware of success, because it can knock you into fixed mindset.  I was when I saw there was some students that scored well.  I know that I have to now push them more... 

When I made my ePortfolio a couple of weeks, I realized that this would help me in my teaching and in learning.  In the past, after I did a major lesson or had my evaluation, I would think about it a lot.  This is reflection, but I never wrote what I thought about down.  I know that this ePortfolio will incorporate a blog that will let me reflect over what I do in my master's class and in my school job.  

As I write this reflection, I am thinking that I should of written it last week when I watched and read different websites.  I had time, but I thought that I would remember all what I learned about.  I procrastinated and now I feel a little stressed.  I will work harder on just doing it and not just waiting to do assignments.

The ePortfolio will house my work that I will put together in all of the classes and as I use those assignment, I can reflect how I have grown as a teacher.  Reflection is something that takes time, but it really helps you grow as a student and a person.   John Dewey has stated (as cited in Barrett, n.d.), “We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.”  We put so much on as a teacher to give information to students that we sometimes forget to let the children stop and just think about what they are learning.  As a first grade teacher, I use Seesaw and I have the students "read" their work in this digital portfolio.  I am going to let the students not only start to reflect about their own work, but other work from their peers.  (I also have to remember that this will not happen next week, but they will build up to this- no instant gratification.)

References
Barrett, H. Why Reflect? - Reflection4Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from
           https://sites.google.com/site/reflection4learning/why-reflect

​A couple of weeks ago, my principal asked me to do a technology training for the other teachers.  As a teacher of the littles, I sometimes feel like I don't feel always comfortable in front of adults.  But I did say yes and started to develop a plan to have the teachers "go to" stations for different things.  So Thursday morning, we started the training (45 minutes late because the admin wanted to see the training.)  I shared with the staff this DLL program that I was a part of and the term COVA.  At the beginning, the teachers were not really moving, but they got to learn some different technology.  I did a Google Form for the teachers to fill out and they liked exploring the different things.  I know it helped that I allowed them to choose their stations and take ownership with their learning.  I am passionate in learning technology, but I know that some are not, so giving the teachers options let them pick.
Here is the list of stations (if you are wondering)-
1. Seesaw Activity Library/ set up Seesaw too
2. QR codes/ URL shorteners
3. Google forms/ sheets
4. Digital Books- Epic/ Tumble Books
5. Green screen 
6. iMovie 
7. Creativity- piccolloge/ chatterpix 

Learning NetworksI love collaborating with teachers in my school and people who are not at my school.  My first teaching job had at least five teachers per grade level, so we were able to "share our wealth."   I have always loved to go to trainings in the summer and during the year and I have gotten ideas to bring into my classroom.   There are face-to-face networks and then there also is networks where you can find on the internet.