What: Reflection of Classroom Management
So What: This class has been very eye opening this year in the importance of establishing a consistent and methodical way of approaching all of the components that go into maintaining control in the classroom environment so that students are able to learn. I never realized all of the little things that could throw off the "zen" learning environment of a classroom. Establishing rules, procedures, expectations, etc. are all very important to consider and have thought out beforehand so that there is consistency from day one when the teacher steps into the classroom. This class is interesting because it looks at both theories and real-life applciations so that there is a balance in being able to realistically develop your own classroom management method.
Now What: As the course continues throughout the semester, I'm becoming more and more aware of how important it is to have all of the little details previously planned out before starting teaching. As we are learning about differnt methods and even becoming aware of different situtations that I wouln't have considered until it was happening in front of me, I am beginning to shape out more and more in my mind of what I want my classroom to look like. The best thing that I could do, at the end of the class, is to make sure that I've taken note of all these differnt things that I've taken a preference towards so that I can keep them in mind for the future.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Follow Up to Week 7 Post
Ok so I just went back to Garfield's website to get their URL to make a link so everyone can see it if they want...
Garfield High School
...and their picture slide show was a completely different set of pictures that included a much wider diversity of students, which totally defeats my critique in the last entry, so props to Garfield High, you guys rock the house.
Garfield High School
...and their picture slide show was a completely different set of pictures that included a much wider diversity of students, which totally defeats my critique in the last entry, so props to Garfield High, you guys rock the house.
Week 7-School Website
I chose Garfield High School because its website appeared easy to move about and find things. I liked the design of the website, it was visually appealing, and their information was easily accessible. I liked the "Student Life" link as it gave links to some important information including school conduct and life skill resources. They also had cool pictures of the basketball teams.
On the home page under a side of tabs was an option for “Student Life”. It was here that I found the link to the campus conduct. This list of school expectations gave guidelines that concerned grades nine through twelve. Expectations in the list included personal property (i.e. ipods, cell phones, etc), visitor protocol, loitering policies, dress guidelines, bicycle and car expectations, and participation standards for athletics, leadership, clubs, and activities, among others. Many of these rules and expectations were similar to those that were set at the high school I attended. There were also some, however, that were more strict, as well.
As far as lifeskills, there was a page dedicated to college and careers. This listed the contact information and office hours for those who work at the center. Along with this were a weekly bulletin, as well as career center resources and vocational apprenticeship programs. The college information provided information pertaining to ACT and SAT testing dates, general college information, scholarships, and college visits. This page was set up very clearly and had some helpful links that would portray high and positive expectations for their students.
There wasn't really anything missing or that I couldn't find on this webpage (which is why I chose it because it was so easy to navigate). However, if I were to suggest something to be improved on the page, I suppose that it would be more of a diversity of photos of the student life than just the athletics so that more of the school is represented. However, that is something that is easily fixable, and I'm sure they represent a different body of students at other times of the year.
On the home page under a side of tabs was an option for “Student Life”. It was here that I found the link to the campus conduct. This list of school expectations gave guidelines that concerned grades nine through twelve. Expectations in the list included personal property (i.e. ipods, cell phones, etc), visitor protocol, loitering policies, dress guidelines, bicycle and car expectations, and participation standards for athletics, leadership, clubs, and activities, among others. Many of these rules and expectations were similar to those that were set at the high school I attended. There were also some, however, that were more strict, as well.
As far as lifeskills, there was a page dedicated to college and careers. This listed the contact information and office hours for those who work at the center. Along with this were a weekly bulletin, as well as career center resources and vocational apprenticeship programs. The college information provided information pertaining to ACT and SAT testing dates, general college information, scholarships, and college visits. This page was set up very clearly and had some helpful links that would portray high and positive expectations for their students.
There wasn't really anything missing or that I couldn't find on this webpage (which is why I chose it because it was so easy to navigate). However, if I were to suggest something to be improved on the page, I suppose that it would be more of a diversity of photos of the student life than just the athletics so that more of the school is represented. However, that is something that is easily fixable, and I'm sure they represent a different body of students at other times of the year.
Week 6-SMART Board reflection
The class presentations for the SMART Board activity was a lot of fun. It was great to see what types of lessons everybody found to present. This was helpful because no matter what the topic was, there were a lot of designs or activities that could be adapted and be used in a future lesson that I plan.
Another great aspect of the SMART Board session was the class participation. While some students participated more than others, I believe everybody participated at least once. As a teacher in the future, there could be a method drawn up to make sure that class participation is more even for all the students, and isn't dominated by a few.
Some questions that I still have about the SMART Board pertain to specific activities and lesson plan designs that I saw demonstrated during the period. The best way to answer these would be to look for those programs and to play around with them to figure out how they work.
Another great aspect of the SMART Board session was the class participation. While some students participated more than others, I believe everybody participated at least once. As a teacher in the future, there could be a method drawn up to make sure that class participation is more even for all the students, and isn't dominated by a few.
Some questions that I still have about the SMART Board pertain to specific activities and lesson plan designs that I saw demonstrated during the period. The best way to answer these would be to look for those programs and to play around with them to figure out how they work.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Assignment #2
Link:
The Living Cell
List of Features:
1) Sorting items containing living cells vs non-living cells
2) Quiz on properly identifying cell organelles
Nets for Students:
1) Research and Information Fluency
2) Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
-These standards are met by the above activities because they require students to apply the information that they have learned and apply it to solve the puzzles and problems while using the SMART Board features.
Nets for Teachers:
1) Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
-This standard is met by the above activities because the activities are are those of a problem solving/quiz-like nature. These will test how much the students have grasped the material so far and will help identify weaknesses.
Benefits of Interactive Boards in Classrooms:
A SMART Board could help student learning in the classroom because it helps to cover material at a quick rate to keep students engaged, but it also allows for concepts to easily be revisited that need to be reviewed. SMART Board allows for all kinds of resources to be pooled together to reach out to a diverse learning groups of students. For example, some of these things include power points, pictures, videos, music, audio, easy web access, hands on interaction, etc. Because the SMART Board is hands on, it is easy to engage your students because there are so many different activities and lesson plan designs available to test students on their knowledge. Students may not even be aware that they are being tested many times because the nature of the activities are so drastically different than traditional testing practices. Overall, SMART Boards have a great potential to engage students, keep them interested and increase understanding of material.
The Living Cell
List of Features:
1) Sorting items containing living cells vs non-living cells
2) Quiz on properly identifying cell organelles
Nets for Students:
1) Research and Information Fluency
2) Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
-These standards are met by the above activities because they require students to apply the information that they have learned and apply it to solve the puzzles and problems while using the SMART Board features.
Nets for Teachers:
1) Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
-This standard is met by the above activities because the activities are are those of a problem solving/quiz-like nature. These will test how much the students have grasped the material so far and will help identify weaknesses.
Benefits of Interactive Boards in Classrooms:
A SMART Board could help student learning in the classroom because it helps to cover material at a quick rate to keep students engaged, but it also allows for concepts to easily be revisited that need to be reviewed. SMART Board allows for all kinds of resources to be pooled together to reach out to a diverse learning groups of students. For example, some of these things include power points, pictures, videos, music, audio, easy web access, hands on interaction, etc. Because the SMART Board is hands on, it is easy to engage your students because there are so many different activities and lesson plan designs available to test students on their knowledge. Students may not even be aware that they are being tested many times because the nature of the activities are so drastically different than traditional testing practices. Overall, SMART Boards have a great potential to engage students, keep them interested and increase understanding of material.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Week 5-Edutopia Blog
What: Edutopia Blog-A Look to the Future of Education
Edutopia is a foundation that is dedicated to better enabling and supporting public educators is taking a step into the future and moving all of their work to the web. The group that previously published a bimonthly magazine is abandoning this form of media and moving completely to the Internet.
So What:
Edutopia realizes the enormous benefits that are to be had by publishing their work and research via the Internet. The information is more accessible to more people (free), it can go more in depth, be updated more quickly, respond to personal questions and needs, be available for more interactivity, post videos, etc. Edutopia will become a place of infinite information availability.
Now What:
Some of Edutopia's followers were excited about this move, others, however, were not far from utter disappointment. However, I do not believe that this was as a result of the integrity of Edutopia's information or quality of work. I am convinced that this is completely due to the digital natives vs digital immigrants generations. It is difficult for educators who have grown up in a certain lifestyle to be excited about something that is unfamiliar to them. However, I do feel that it is necessary to challenge them in their openness and thinking, as Edutopia's move will likely result in producing a more in depth and accurate database of information that will result in helping educators to be better.
Edutopia is a foundation that is dedicated to better enabling and supporting public educators is taking a step into the future and moving all of their work to the web. The group that previously published a bimonthly magazine is abandoning this form of media and moving completely to the Internet.
So What:
Edutopia realizes the enormous benefits that are to be had by publishing their work and research via the Internet. The information is more accessible to more people (free), it can go more in depth, be updated more quickly, respond to personal questions and needs, be available for more interactivity, post videos, etc. Edutopia will become a place of infinite information availability.
Now What:
Some of Edutopia's followers were excited about this move, others, however, were not far from utter disappointment. However, I do not believe that this was as a result of the integrity of Edutopia's information or quality of work. I am convinced that this is completely due to the digital natives vs digital immigrants generations. It is difficult for educators who have grown up in a certain lifestyle to be excited about something that is unfamiliar to them. However, I do feel that it is necessary to challenge them in their openness and thinking, as Edutopia's move will likely result in producing a more in depth and accurate database of information that will result in helping educators to be better.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Reflection #3 SMART Board Mania
What: Last week we downloaded the SMART Board program on our computers and took time in class to go through several stations to explore the tools and capabilities of the program.
So What: I am so excited to learn more about the SMART Boards and to start working on Assignment #2 which is all about the SMART Board! It was so fun in class last week to mess around and so what all the buttons and taps on the board could do.
Now What: Of course, there is still a lot to learn about the program and to become familiar with. Really, the best way to go about knowing the program better is to actually use it. I know that we will get a lot more practice in with the upcoming assignment, but I'm also considering making SMART Board presentations based on what I'm learning in my science classes. This could serve a multitude of purposes: 1) Becoming more familiar with the SMART Board program, 2) Developing a better comprehension of the material being talked about in my classes by being familiar with the notes to actually create the presentations, 3) Gaining experience of creating technology aided lessons for future teaching, and 4) Creating presentations that could actually be used in future teaching (science). Although this may be a bit more time consuming than just looking through my notes, I think this could be more beneficial if I can set the time aside to follow through with it.
So What: I am so excited to learn more about the SMART Boards and to start working on Assignment #2 which is all about the SMART Board! It was so fun in class last week to mess around and so what all the buttons and taps on the board could do.
Now What: Of course, there is still a lot to learn about the program and to become familiar with. Really, the best way to go about knowing the program better is to actually use it. I know that we will get a lot more practice in with the upcoming assignment, but I'm also considering making SMART Board presentations based on what I'm learning in my science classes. This could serve a multitude of purposes: 1) Becoming more familiar with the SMART Board program, 2) Developing a better comprehension of the material being talked about in my classes by being familiar with the notes to actually create the presentations, 3) Gaining experience of creating technology aided lessons for future teaching, and 4) Creating presentations that could actually be used in future teaching (science). Although this may be a bit more time consuming than just looking through my notes, I think this could be more beneficial if I can set the time aside to follow through with it.
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