Monday, April 30, 2012
This I believe Reflection
This visual essay project served as an effective way to demonstrate what we believe about teaching while integrating technology. It forced students to leave their comfort zones and use technology to express themselves. It simultaneously helped students familiarize themselves with different technology applications such as garageband and i-movie. Personally, I have discovered how to get my opinions and ideas out there for everyone to view. I gained an insight to what having a personal learning network is like and demonstrated a way to express my ideas in an interactive way.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
OER
Open educational resources are a learning experience for both students and teachers alike. As a future teacher, I will use them in my classroom similar to a flipped classroom. They will be a resource that I can assign for homework and discuss the implications of them in the classroom. Furthermore, I can give my students access to resources that they won't be required to use, but might be helpful to them. Dr Math and other resources like it are great examples of such. My students will be able to get on OER Glue and see my curriculum, as well as a list of resources that I have found for them. For them, the possibilities are endless. From actively involving them in their own learning to discovering new resources and communication skills (Open Study.com), open educational resources set a base for student growth and achievement.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Believing in Students
“I believe that they will become what you believe they are.” This quote from my high school math teacher and role model Mr. Stephen Simcheck really set my future. I realized the significance of the role teachers have in their students’ lives and how I wanted to be the one to make that difference.
Starting from day one, my parents have always supported me, imbedding in my daily thoughts the idea that I can do whatever I set my mind to accomplish. I could be anyone. I chose to be a teacher and make a difference in the world by educating our future.
From that decisive moment on, I have worked my way to living out my dream of becoming a math teacher. I aspire to help students discover their true potential of creating their own dreams and living them out. Moreover, I hope to be the voice of my parents for every student that needs or lacks support in their home or personal life. I believe that every child has a dream, no matter how small or obscene. Teachers need to provide an avenue for these dreams to become reality, and the only way to do so is by continuous encouragement. Children need to be believed in. Teachers have an incredible influence over their students’ lives, from classroom conduct to future careers and everything in between. From teachers, students learn how to live. I believe that every student can go out in the world and live out their dreams. Students can become what their teachers believe they are. As a teacher, I will constantly encourage my students, making sure they know that they have the potential to live out their dreams. I believe that they will become what I believe they are; capable of anything they set out to do.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Top 10 Cool Tools
1- Wikispaces is one of the best ways for teachers to communicate with their students outside of the classroom while allowing student input.
2-Wicked is a very interactive resource that gets the students interested in science/biology first hand.
3-Pegby relates more to the students than the teacher. It is a great group organization tool and helps keep everyone involved in the group work.
4-Evernote is a tool that I have used before. It is perfect for student-teacher communication outside of the classroom.
5-Prezi allows teachers to present their powerpoints in a new and unique way. Powerpoint is definitely overused, and Prezi offers an excellent alternative.
6-Hyperphysics is an interactive resource to help kids better understand physics.
7- LeeSummit. is a great resource for early education teachers to gain ideas on how to actively involve their students.
8-Super Teacher Tools seems like a great classroom management and idea resource.
9-Virtual Book gives students a way to be proud of their work by allowing them to be the author of their own book and post it online.
10- Wordle could be useful, but only in some classroom situations
2-Wicked is a very interactive resource that gets the students interested in science/biology first hand.
3-Pegby relates more to the students than the teacher. It is a great group organization tool and helps keep everyone involved in the group work.
4-Evernote is a tool that I have used before. It is perfect for student-teacher communication outside of the classroom.
5-Prezi allows teachers to present their powerpoints in a new and unique way. Powerpoint is definitely overused, and Prezi offers an excellent alternative.
6-Hyperphysics is an interactive resource to help kids better understand physics.
7- LeeSummit. is a great resource for early education teachers to gain ideas on how to actively involve their students.
8-Super Teacher Tools seems like a great classroom management and idea resource.
9-Virtual Book gives students a way to be proud of their work by allowing them to be the author of their own book and post it online.
10- Wordle could be useful, but only in some classroom situations
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Cool Tools for School
In my high school mathematics classes, I learned from the teacher and a chalkboard or whiteboard. The most technology I ever used for an assignment was Study Island, an online resource that gives multiple guess questions for students to answer. From personal experience, not the most effective resource. If my students are anything like I expect them to be, aka like me, they won't care about getting the right answer or how they got it as much as getting lucky with their guesses. Honestly, that's what I did every time we had a lab day for Study Island. For this reason, I found a more hands-on resource to use in my classroom: a Smartboard. I never said it would be the most original, but it is the one that I am most comfortable with. Not only that, but there are so many unexplored opportunities to use a smartboard in the class. From interactive polls to writing out problems to interactive games like jeopardy and whack a mole, the possibilities are endless. I will always feel that math is best taught by a chalkboard or whiteboard, and a smartboard is nothing more than an advanced version.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Growing Diversity = Growing Problems
A major problem in education today is the increase in diversity in the classroom and how to manage it. I took an education course last semester that focused entirely on this diversity, with emphasis on English language learners (ELL). This semester, I am enrolled in another education course that has a broader focus on the issue. The class deals with how to create an inclusive classroom environment and meet the needs of every student.
Why is this increase in diversity a problem? The answer is simple. Education is one of the most important factors to being successful in life. The more education you have, the better chance you have of obtaining a higher job. The better job, the more you get paid, and it snowballs immensely from there. As such, America's educational system is meant to have every student have a "level playing field," or as close to level as we can get it. The problem lies in how we achieve this level playing field when you have students understanding on completely different levels. Every student is unique and learns at their own pace. Without outside diversity, our schools have an uphill walk both ways to get every student to the same level. Throw in diversity such as: PA Statistics, and you just turned that walk into a sprint.
PA is only one state, however, and it's not even a high immigration state. It only gets worse as you go to states such as California and other high immigration states. Now we just mixed in a high percentage of students that have no understanding of the English language, have a lower education than average, and are being tested one year after they arrive at schools. The playing field isn't so level now.
Diversity Video
The question that everyone should ask themselves is "What can we do about this?" There are many solutions, but they are only as effective as the teachers make them, and it takes time for an entire education system to adapt to growing diversity. The emphasis is on the teachers. Change the way instruction is given, and pedagogy classes for upcoming teachers needs to adapt instruction on how to deal with this issue. Realize that not no two students are the same and teach specifically to each student's needs. That is definitely a good starting point, but it still needs to grow exponentially.
The real issue is that our future is involved in our education, and we need to grow our education system to manage diversity in the classroom. Everyone is a stakeholder in the problem.
To read into this farther, I found an article that highlights main points of the increasing diversity problem and names multiple ways to deal with it. Diversity Article
Why is this increase in diversity a problem? The answer is simple. Education is one of the most important factors to being successful in life. The more education you have, the better chance you have of obtaining a higher job. The better job, the more you get paid, and it snowballs immensely from there. As such, America's educational system is meant to have every student have a "level playing field," or as close to level as we can get it. The problem lies in how we achieve this level playing field when you have students understanding on completely different levels. Every student is unique and learns at their own pace. Without outside diversity, our schools have an uphill walk both ways to get every student to the same level. Throw in diversity such as: PA Statistics, and you just turned that walk into a sprint.
PA is only one state, however, and it's not even a high immigration state. It only gets worse as you go to states such as California and other high immigration states. Now we just mixed in a high percentage of students that have no understanding of the English language, have a lower education than average, and are being tested one year after they arrive at schools. The playing field isn't so level now.
Diversity Video
The question that everyone should ask themselves is "What can we do about this?" There are many solutions, but they are only as effective as the teachers make them, and it takes time for an entire education system to adapt to growing diversity. The emphasis is on the teachers. Change the way instruction is given, and pedagogy classes for upcoming teachers needs to adapt instruction on how to deal with this issue. Realize that not no two students are the same and teach specifically to each student's needs. That is definitely a good starting point, but it still needs to grow exponentially.
The real issue is that our future is involved in our education, and we need to grow our education system to manage diversity in the classroom. Everyone is a stakeholder in the problem.
To read into this farther, I found an article that highlights main points of the increasing diversity problem and names multiple ways to deal with it. Diversity Article
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Twitter-an Outside the Classroom Tool
First off, here's this
My Twitter: RienWetmore
Now to the main point of this blog: the potential of twitter as an educational tool. Twitter is a social networking site, and it's meant to be used as such. It was never designed to be an educational tool, except for how easily it makes communication. As a teacher, if you have lesson plans or ideas that you want to share and have commented on, Twitter is the perfect tool. If you want feedback on how effective you think a project was, Twitter is the perfect tool. It's a perfect tool for communication. Inside the classroom, however, students will simply use Twitter to socialize and not focus. There are already enough distractions in students' lives, why add one more inside the classroom?
My Twitter: RienWetmore
Now to the main point of this blog: the potential of twitter as an educational tool. Twitter is a social networking site, and it's meant to be used as such. It was never designed to be an educational tool, except for how easily it makes communication. As a teacher, if you have lesson plans or ideas that you want to share and have commented on, Twitter is the perfect tool. If you want feedback on how effective you think a project was, Twitter is the perfect tool. It's a perfect tool for communication. Inside the classroom, however, students will simply use Twitter to socialize and not focus. There are already enough distractions in students' lives, why add one more inside the classroom?
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