What I've Learned in TED633

It's really hard to believe that the class is in the 4th week already!  To begin, what a great class.  What I received from the texts alone was worth the effort of reading.  The idea of planning for lessons within the content has now linked my understanding to how, why, what, and when assessments are made.  The idea of how to check for understanding seemed to be the missing ingredient in my repertoire.  I was able to put a plan together, but now, after taking this course, I realize how ineffective they were without implementing a plan for ongoing assessment.  I also understand the importance of evolving plans to include technology.  This is a critical element of today's teaching and it cannot be ignored.  I will further dedicate time in my day to better implement technology in every lesson.  This idea support both differentiation in my teaching as well as it also supports diversity in learning.  I took the time to learn how to incorporate "I-movies" into my PowerPoints and thus added a new element to how students can show their knowledge.  I furthered my understanding of Integrated Learning Systems too.  What a great way for students to self-monitor their own progress.  These systems are complete module that support classroom activities and adhere to the new standards in Common Core.

Movie on 2 25 16 at 9 31 AM

Hello everyone,
My name is Paul Mandry and I have never used a blog or even read a blog in my life.  So I hope this actually works.  Just a little background info.  TED633 is my tenth class with National University and I am pursuing a Master's degree in education with a single-subject credential in Science.  I am a retired PGA golf professional of 25 years.  I started school when I was 45 and now I am 52 and ready to finish.  I start student teaching in September.  What a shame that we have to spend 3 months working so hard and not getting a dime for the effort.
Anyway, I was challenged by my 3 beautiful children who said to me, "Dad, you want us to go to college, but you never did."  So, that is why I started this endeavor and since then I have never looked back.  We live in Lake Tahoe and we are moving to Southern California in January when my wife starts her new job.  I'm not sure how that is going to go since I absolutely love it up here.
I also love being a dad more than anything in the world.  My kids and I love to fish, golf, kayak, and play volleyball together.  Thank you for reading this much, and good luck to everyone in the class!