Sunday, October 12, 2014
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Blog #7
This blog assignment was to watch several videos from kindergarten and first grade teachers in Gulf Shores and Daphne on how they are using technology in their classrooms. It was absolutely amazing to see these students at work on their iPads researching, making virtual webs and boards and recording themselves reading. I am a firm believer that children are not given enough credit for their comprehension of the world of technology and learning. My daughter is my proof, but the resources these teachers were using are things I never learned about till I was twice these students ages!
One teacher, Mrs. Ginger Tuck was using the iPad in the reading center for her kindergarteners. They were recording themselves reading and playing it back to see if they made mistakes. Then she was using an app called Poplet to basically build a web on their iPads to save information and pictures on the unit they were learning about that week. Mrs. Tuck was also using the Alabama Virtual Library, which I never thought about having a special place/ page for elementary students, but it does. It is simplified, of course, for their use and shows them pictures, articles and videos. The best feature I think there is about this is that the page will read the introduction to the student so they won't have to ask what all the larger words are.
I love the ideas that these teachers have, if only I can be so lucky as to work for a school that has the ability to provide such things for my classroom. Which leads to the other parts of the assignment, listing my strengths and weaknesses of teaching technology and how I can get myself ready to do just that.
My strengths would have to be:
-I am a fast learner with new technology
-I love to learn new technology
-I am creative and can explain things easily
-I use technology daily and try to stay up to date with it
-I know that children are capable of so much more than we know
My weaknesses would have to be:
-I can get ahead of myself easily
-I am not very organized with things on my computer (though it is a work in progress)
-There are things about HTML that I still don't understand or remember
-I am the sticky note queen due to my memory
-I am a procrastinator, even with technology
Getting ready for the future of teaching through this technology is going to basically be a lifestyle change. I will have to make myself hold my work and learning to a higher standard so my students will get the best of me as their teacher. I know that many things will change in the next year and a half before I make it into the classroom, but I will have to stay on top of learning it all so that I am not teaching an old way of doing things. The last thing I want is my students looking at me and wondering if I even know what I am doing. I want them to be excited about learning, research and technology, since their futures will include more than my school career ever did.
One teacher, Mrs. Ginger Tuck was using the iPad in the reading center for her kindergarteners. They were recording themselves reading and playing it back to see if they made mistakes. Then she was using an app called Poplet to basically build a web on their iPads to save information and pictures on the unit they were learning about that week. Mrs. Tuck was also using the Alabama Virtual Library, which I never thought about having a special place/ page for elementary students, but it does. It is simplified, of course, for their use and shows them pictures, articles and videos. The best feature I think there is about this is that the page will read the introduction to the student so they won't have to ask what all the larger words are.
I love the ideas that these teachers have, if only I can be so lucky as to work for a school that has the ability to provide such things for my classroom. Which leads to the other parts of the assignment, listing my strengths and weaknesses of teaching technology and how I can get myself ready to do just that.
My strengths would have to be:
-I am a fast learner with new technology
-I love to learn new technology
-I am creative and can explain things easily
-I use technology daily and try to stay up to date with it
-I know that children are capable of so much more than we know
My weaknesses would have to be:
-I can get ahead of myself easily
-I am not very organized with things on my computer (though it is a work in progress)
-There are things about HTML that I still don't understand or remember
-I am the sticky note queen due to my memory
-I am a procrastinator, even with technology
Getting ready for the future of teaching through this technology is going to basically be a lifestyle change. I will have to make myself hold my work and learning to a higher standard so my students will get the best of me as their teacher. I know that many things will change in the next year and a half before I make it into the classroom, but I will have to stay on top of learning it all so that I am not teaching an old way of doing things. The last thing I want is my students looking at me and wondering if I even know what I am doing. I want them to be excited about learning, research and technology, since their futures will include more than my school career ever did.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Blog #6
After watching the assigned conversations between Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps, we were asked the question "What did you learn?".
Personally I found the conversations interesting. Especially since we are hearing it from a third grade teacher who has been in the classroom a while and also remembers what it is like to be in our shoes as students in college. Anthony made some interesting discussions with Dr. Strange on the subject of Project Base Learning and I realize that even though I liked the idea at first (but shut it down), I don't understand it completely. He described it as if it wasn't as hard as I first thought. I was scared that it was way more work than the traditional teaching methods, even though I love projects.
Anthony also makes great points in the discussion about technology, he says "Don't teach technology, use it." Which I completely agree with. Children are much more capable than they are given credit for. I know this personally because I have a 7 year old daughter who can use an IPad and the computer just as well as I can. It is something that will only integrate itself further into the classroom as time moves on and we as teachers need to include it, in some shape or form, in our lessons. It is a great way to open the world up to our students.
The video conversation they had on the Anthony-Strange list for new teachers was a good insight for a teacher just starting out. These were the points I picked out over the video:
1. Be interested in being a learner
2. Let your work be fun
3. Be prepared for surprises in the classroom
4. Be flexible in lesson plans to achieve the end result
5. Aim for 100% student engagement (Even though you may not achieve that)
6. Use reflection in your lesson plan for the students
Anthony also adds in one last note regarding your lesson plan. He says start with your yearly plan. Make sure that your map encompasses the entire year and getting everything the students are supposed to learn into that map. Then move on to your unit sizes. Make sure each unit has a fair enough time, so that your yearly plan doesn't need much adjusting. After that comes the weekly plan, what you are going to teach each week in that unit. Which comes to the last part of the map, the daily plan. He says each piece is as important as the other, but to make sure that every piece is a stepping stone to the next and not a plateau or a leap. Which I think is great advice.
Personally I found the conversations interesting. Especially since we are hearing it from a third grade teacher who has been in the classroom a while and also remembers what it is like to be in our shoes as students in college. Anthony made some interesting discussions with Dr. Strange on the subject of Project Base Learning and I realize that even though I liked the idea at first (but shut it down), I don't understand it completely. He described it as if it wasn't as hard as I first thought. I was scared that it was way more work than the traditional teaching methods, even though I love projects.
Anthony also makes great points in the discussion about technology, he says "Don't teach technology, use it." Which I completely agree with. Children are much more capable than they are given credit for. I know this personally because I have a 7 year old daughter who can use an IPad and the computer just as well as I can. It is something that will only integrate itself further into the classroom as time moves on and we as teachers need to include it, in some shape or form, in our lessons. It is a great way to open the world up to our students.
The video conversation they had on the Anthony-Strange list for new teachers was a good insight for a teacher just starting out. These were the points I picked out over the video:
1. Be interested in being a learner
2. Let your work be fun
3. Be prepared for surprises in the classroom
4. Be flexible in lesson plans to achieve the end result
5. Aim for 100% student engagement (Even though you may not achieve that)
6. Use reflection in your lesson plan for the students
Anthony also adds in one last note regarding your lesson plan. He says start with your yearly plan. Make sure that your map encompasses the entire year and getting everything the students are supposed to learn into that map. Then move on to your unit sizes. Make sure each unit has a fair enough time, so that your yearly plan doesn't need much adjusting. After that comes the weekly plan, what you are going to teach each week in that unit. Which comes to the last part of the map, the daily plan. He says each piece is as important as the other, but to make sure that every piece is a stepping stone to the next and not a plateau or a leap. Which I think is great advice.
C4K Summary for September
My first assigned student to comment on was Ben. He lives in Pt. England, Aukland, New Zealand and is a year 8 student in Ms. Squires class. The blog post I commented on was posted on September 8, 2014 and was a paragraph written with inspiration from the short film La Luna. You can read it here. After reading Ben's paragraph, I let him know I was impressed with his descriptions and the way he basically captured attention. I commended him on making La Luna sound interesting enough to watch, so that I would have more understanding with his insight for the paragraph.
The second student was Sinokuhle. A student in South Africa, in Mrs. Bernhard's class. The blog post I read was from May 29, 2014 and was a descriptive paragraph titled "A day as a child living in a informal settlement". It was written in somewhat broken english, but I took that as to be part of the beauty of the story. The child described doesn't have the luxuries we do, and has had a hard life helping support their family. I commended Sinokuhle on the creativity of the post and how it felt like the child itself was telling the story. It was a very interesting post.
My third student was Savannah. She lives in Massachusetts, where she is in Mrs. Greer's 5th grade class. Her Week 4 blog post was a paragraph about a safari. She described seeing a crocodile and wanting to get a closer look with her partner. I let her know I loved her creativity and description. She added a short conversation between the characters in the concluding portion of the paragraph and brought the story to life.
I had a lot of fun reading these student's posts from all over the world, and hope to one day have a class blog of my own.
The second student was Sinokuhle. A student in South Africa, in Mrs. Bernhard's class. The blog post I read was from May 29, 2014 and was a descriptive paragraph titled "A day as a child living in a informal settlement". It was written in somewhat broken english, but I took that as to be part of the beauty of the story. The child described doesn't have the luxuries we do, and has had a hard life helping support their family. I commended Sinokuhle on the creativity of the post and how it felt like the child itself was telling the story. It was a very interesting post.
My third student was Savannah. She lives in Massachusetts, where she is in Mrs. Greer's 5th grade class. Her Week 4 blog post was a paragraph about a safari. She described seeing a crocodile and wanting to get a closer look with her partner. I let her know I loved her creativity and description. She added a short conversation between the characters in the concluding portion of the paragraph and brought the story to life.
I had a lot of fun reading these student's posts from all over the world, and hope to one day have a class blog of my own.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
My Sentence Videos
This Is My Passion
This Is My Sentence
Introduction To The Parents
Introduction To The Students
Please excuse my CRAZY FACES!!! Didn't realize the way I stopped the camera!!
This Is My Sentence
Introduction To The Parents
Introduction To The Students
Please excuse my CRAZY FACES!!! Didn't realize the way I stopped the camera!!
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