Portfolio Assignment

Where do I even begin? This class has taught me more about myself as a teacher, a learner, and a writer than I ever would have imagined.
The assignments in this class were challenging but very appropriate. The movie was by far my favorite assignment. I had never used a movie maker program before so it challenged me to learn a new skill and create a movie that I never thought I could do. Making the movie was really hard but the finished product was well worth it. I will definitely show this movie off to all of my classes and say "see? I made this, you guys can do anything!!" From doing the movie I learned that I really CAN do something I have no idea how to do if I work hard enought at it. I'm not going to lie, I thought the blog was really strange at first. I have never had a blog before and it felt weird to write my work in it. After a while I got the hang of it and it made sense in this class. I liked being able to write more informally because it was easier to get my thoughts out. I think a blog could be very useful in a future classroom for students to keep a journal, reflecting on their work. As a teacher, I think it's important to hear the struggles and successes your students went through completing that assignment. The wikis were really challenging for me because of some personal issues that arose around the same time. I read the articles and I felt like I got a better sense of the teaching of writing. I liked how the articles were different and more creative than most articles you read about the teaching of writing. These articles opened my eyes to new ways of looking at the teaching of writing and different strategies that could be used in the classroom. Writing the memo gave me a sense of what it would be like to really be a teacher. It was challenging to write in a professional voice and organize everything that I wanted to say. This memo will definitely help me in the future because I KNOW I will have to do something like that. It also gave me a better idea of how I would want to teach writing. The assignment sequence was my second favorite assignment. I liked working with Michelle and creating this fun assignment that we would really give our classes. The hardest part for me was finding the standards and organizing my thoughts in a clear way. I have written a lot of lesson plans but this one I felt like I might really use someday.
I really liked James Gee's book. It put video games into a new perspective for me. After reading this book I understand how children can be so focused on beating a level but not as focused on finishing a chapter in their math book. As teachers, we need to figure out what drives kids to finish and learn how to connect it to their school work. Harvey's book was not as strong to me as Gee's book, for some reason. Harvey made a lot of good points in her book about nonfiction and why it is so important to utilize it in the classroom. I liked this book because she was more "to the point" than Gee. Gee would talk a lot about things that didn't really pertain to his ideas and Harvey was more straight forward with her thoughts. \
I have learned a lot about myself in this class. I learned that I can make a movie!!! no, but really. I have really enjoyed this class. This class has made me feel more confident in the teaching of writing and the way I feel it should be carried out in the classroom. I know in the future when a writing assignment comes up I will analyze it in a different way because of this class. I think the biggest thing I will take with me is to remember to give students choice and freedom in their writing. It will allow for them to be more passionate and creative with their writing and use a personal voice. Pkittle, you are a great teacher and you have inspired me to look at reading, writing and teaching in a whole new way. I am actually going to miss your class. thank you for everything!!