This course went fast

Well my class I am taking at Walden Univeristy is almost done and there is so much I learned and so many things I would like to do. The class has shown me how I can use current technology, which is currently available to me at school, differently. It has shown me how I can take a new and different role in the classroom. It has also encouraged me to look for other professional developement courses within my school district which can help further my technology knowledge in order to benefit my students.

A goal I am going to work hard on is allowing the students to do more investigation and even teach the information they have learned to other students. Showing them different ways in which they can communicate this information, such as making a podcast or a video, is one way I can help them to decide how they will present the information. I would then take on the role of a facilitator in order to help them to locate and find information on a subject and show them different ways to organize and present the information.

My second goal would be to take all the information which I am learning and share it with other teachers and help them to discover ways in which this technology can be incorporated in the subject they teach.

I am looking forward to getting back to work after our winter break and eager to take on a new role.

Well done Ms. Jones!!

Well it is getting closer to our Christmas break. I have had a student with me for the last 9 weeks from Youngstown State University. Today was her last day and she will surely be missed. The kids really liked her being there and so did I. It was nice to have another person to bounce ideas off of or just hearing her ideas on how to teach something. She was always willing to help and was always wanting to know about the students. She was never afraid to ask a question and got along with my fellow teachers. She will be a great assest to the educational community. Good luck Ms. Jones in your student teaching and you will surely be missed.

Figuring things out

Wow. I just spent a couple hours figuring out the whole podcast posting on here. It was well worth it. I enjoyed doing this with my students and want to do it again. So I just need to think another subject we can do a podcast about. Maybe an environmental issue or talk about a current environmental article that was in our local paper. Who knows. I would accept any idea. Hmmmm...maybe I will ask my students and see what they come up with. I also figured out that those "help" areas on websites are very useful in helping to get my goal accomplished.

Technology survey

This is the technology survey that I did with my high school students. Unfortunately one of my students was absent so I had a college student who has been working with me fill in for the student.

21st century learning skills

I am attending Walden University in order to achieve my Master’s degree. We were asked to look at a website called Partnership for 21st Century Skills. This website talks about 4 key elements of a 21st century education and how the elements need to be incorporated into our private/public school systems. I enjoy reading about each of these elements and the support systems which go along with them. One support system which I was really impressed with was about the 21st century assessments. They don’t just go by Standardized testing alone but use a variety of assessments to see if a students has mastered a skill.

One thing that did surprise me was the amount of members there currently are in Partnership for 21st Century Skills. There are approximately 40 businesses/organizations involved but only 12 states are currently involved which makes me wonder why more aren’t involved. I also would like know how everyone is involved in the development of these ideas and to what extent do teachers have input into the instructional design.

I believe as more businesses, government leaders and community members become involved with the student’s learning then the student can see that the community and others do care about them and want to see them succeed. In seeing this hopefully it will prompt them to work harder and to become more successful. It is also helpful for us as teachers to have the extra support.


Website: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php

My Desk

I am mentoring a college student in my classroom. She was working on her paper for her behavior management class and had to describe what my classroom looked like. She stated that there was a lot of stuff on my desk and that was a good sign because I am spending a lot of time with my students so I don't have a lot of time to keep my desk perfectly clean. I like her way of thinking. My desk isn't super messy but I do have stacks of things and I know what is in those stacks. It is hard staying organized as a teacher but I do have a system even though it doesn't always look like it. If you asked me where a certain IEP was I could get it to you. I also have piles for what I need to get done, what is being done that week and work that students have missed. I have a folder for each student so I can write down notes, store papers, and put assignments in that they missed the day they were absent. If I didn't have these and other systems in place it would be very easy for me to lose things. I am not perfectly organized but I know how things would be if I didn't do what I do.

Using a blog in my classroom

In reading my course handbook for school and watching videos on blogging I have come to understand how blogging can be useful in the classroom. I am a Special Education teacher at the high school level. I teach Environmental Science to 11th and 12th graders and Physical Science to 9th and 10th graders. One way in which I teach them new information is by giving notes which they have to write down. I usually ask them at the end if they have any questions and usually they say no. What I would like to do as a blog is have each one of them rewrite what they had learned that day. I would have them write it as if they were writing to a friend. I would then check it to see if they understand the content of what was presented that day and then provide feedback to them on an individual basis. I have trouble being able to set time aside time to have one-on-one with students and I feel this would be an ideal way for us to interact. I can also use that same information to see if my students are understanding what I am teaching them or if I need to present the information in a different way.

Being flexable

This is the first time I have ever started blogging about teaching. I am an Intervention Specialist and teach Physical Science and Environmental science to High Schoolers. As you learn in college teachers must be flexible. I can honestly say I have learn that by sharing just a couple of examples. In my second year of teaching I was moved from Elementary school to the high school which was shocking. The past two years I was only teaching Environmental Science and that was all that I was planning on teaching this year. The Monday before the teachers were to start back to work I found out I was teaching a Physical science class. I was shocked but yet not surprised. It is going okay but I am learning right along with the students. I must always need to remember to be flexable because I know there are going to be many more moments when I have to.