Popular Posts of August 2012!

 

And the top 5 are:

Fabulous Phone Call!: Go Ahead, Make Their Day!

While attending the 2011 PLC summit, one of the presenters told us about an experience he had while watching Family Feud. The question was, “What is the reason your child’s teacher is calling your house?” Not one of the “right” answers were positive, not one! Two of the answers were, “Your kid is failing” and “Your kid skipped school”. These answers only served to reinforce the stereotype of parent/teacher communication; we’re the bearers of bad news. 

 

Thinking Out Loud! If I Don’t Tweet and/or Blog, Does That Make Me a “Bad” Teacher?

After reading numerous articles and tweets over the past year, I am getting an idea. An idea, that may be a misconception on my part. Is there a belief that teachers who are passionate about tweeting and/or blogging, are considered “better” teachers??? Are we considered “better” than the ones who don’t?

 

Happy New (School) Year! I Resolve…

I resolve to:

1. treat all students fairly, regardless of race, gender, age, behavior, a parent’s nasty attitude, the comments from last year’s teachers, or seemingly lack of interest in learning 
2. to realize that all children can learn, but not always at the same pace
3. stop using sarcasm as a disciplinary tool, no matter how effective it may seem. 

Discovering “Discovery Education! It’s Not Just Videos Anymore!”

 

I remember when I began using Discovery Education. It was years ago, and I was excited because they had great videos per United Streaming,  that I could show my students!

Well, Discovery Ed has come a long way baby, and it’s not just about videos anymore! 

 

 

“Getting to Know You Game” and “Fotobabble!” More “Getting to Know You” Activities!

 

I found FotoBabble in The Alice Mercer Daily. The one I made below will be embedded on our class blog and Edmodo. My students will create one as well. I will use their Fotobabbles to produce a slideshow. They can also post them on their blogs on Kidblog. A great way to get my students feet wet with the tech I will be using in my classroom!

 

 

Advertisement

Discovering “Discovery Education! It’s Not Just Videos Anymore!”

I remember when I began using Discovery Education. It was years ago, and I was excited because they had great videos per United Streaming, that I could show my students!
Well, Discovery Ed has come a long way baby, and it’s not just about videos anymore!
As a matter of fact, there is so much more to Discovery,that I couldn’t possibly cover it in this post!…Read more

Boring Lessons? Revamp With Videos!

(Updated blog post)

 

I wanted to spice up my lesson on fact and opinion, but I wanted to make sure I was in the upper echelon of Bloom’s Taxonomy. At this point in their schooliverse, my students are well versed in writing F and O on a worksheet. Not because of me, because you know how I feel about worksheets. I wanted to step it up! What to do? What to do?…Read More

 

Environmentally-friendly lessons!

We just received new copiers. . Big ,big, heavy-duty copiers, meant to run off lots and lots of paper. I have come to the conclusion,  that teachers,mind you this opinion is  not based onany  research, use more paper than any other profession.  Between assessments, handouts, flyers, and the” 25 pages that were copied 2 sided/2 sided because someone forgot to clear the machine” or “the teacher who used it before you forgot to remove the pink paper,’ we waste a lot of paper!

That being said, I was so proud of myself when I created an environmentally friendly lesson.  As a matter of fact, more and more of my lessons are “green.”  I owe it all to my friend, technology.  I was teaching the skill making inferences and it  was almost completely green. First, my whole group lesson was  obtained from SMART exchange and was shared on the SMARTboard.  The students followed and interacted on the board, no paper. Next, they watched the video, “Miss Nelson is Back”, courtesy of Discovery Education’s United Streaming.  After viewing the movie, they completed the  “Organizing Inferences” sheet,that was  posted on Edmodo, turned in on Edmodo, graded on Edmodo, AND their grade was viewed on Edmodo. And as an icing on the cake, “Mrs.Nelson is Back” was  assessed using the quiz I obtained from United Streaming and typed onto Testmoz.com.  The quiz was  taken online, graded online,and the  scores were given to the students instantly! I tell you, how much more “green” could I get? 

More and more, because I have access to these tech tools, I have been moving away from the use of paper in my classroom ,and it’s a good thing. My students have begun suggesting lessons where I don’t require the use of paper. Our reading and math program have online assessments where the students’  grades can be accessed online.  I have created an answer key for assessments though, it’s always good to have a hard copy and some parents do not have Internet access at home. Our state testing program is online as well. I’ve found that being “green” is not only good for the environment, but it’s good for my classroom as well!

“Teaching the Teacher” Webinars are wonderful!

Teachers are an ever-evolving bunch, , we are constantly learning.   If we don’t learn, we become stale, and it is almost impossible to engage our 21st century students.  But, thanks to the advances in technology, teachers can expand their mind without leaving their homes.  Online courses and  tutorials in every subject imaginable are available on Youtube,   Teachertube , and of course,  Google.  But my favorite resource  are webinars.  I discovered webinars about  a year or two  ago, and have been hooked ever since. What is a webinar?   It’s a web seminar.  All you have to do is register.  You will even get reminder emails, which is great, if you are as forgetful as I am!    I love webinars for a number of reasons. They are free!   Usually, you get a choice of dates and times. I don’t have to leave my house.  I can cook breakfast, lunch, or dinner while listening and watching. It is a fantastic way to build a PLN (Professional Learning Network) because people from all over the world participate.  If it’s live, you can ask questions, make comments, or provide helpful information to your peers.  Links are embedded directly into the text chat,so, no worries about checking out  that exciting new site that was introduced.  You can always go back and obtain any information you missed, because the webinars are recorded.  And most of all, you get tons and tons of information from your presenter and/or the other participants!.  I usually attend technology webinars, because that’s my thing, but there are so many out there,I’m sure there’s one for whatever your passion is. If you’re really brave, you can even host your own webinar! I’ve listed a few sites that host webinars that are beneficial to educators below. Try one! Webinars are wonderful!

LearnCentral(Connect,Share, Inspire) ,

All New Edmodo webinars

Discovery Education

PBS Teachers Live

Classroom 2.0 Live

Thinkfinity Webinars

Solution Tree PLC webinars

DonorsChoose.Org

What a great idea! I discovered them earlier this year and I love this organization. Someone said to themselves(or a group of people, who knows?), what can I do to make it easier for teachers to get money for all the wonderful things they do?  How can I provide them with the funds they need without any out-of pocket expense? How can I help those, who want to help teachers, find teachers in need? I know, I’ll create a site where donors can choose what project they want to fund!  At least, that’s my version of what happened. 🙂 But, this is what they do.  All you have to do is have a project in mind, go to their website, put in the asked for information, and ” Voila!”  Okay, not everyone gets funded, but at least you stand a fighting chance.  I needed 30 headphones and mouse pads for the wireless laptops my school received. I posted on DonorsChoose.org and, no kidding, within a month I had funding for 30 mouse pads and 30 headphones. One of our donors was students who wanted to give to others! Also, I almost didn’t get my headphones because of a mix-up. I wrote to Donors, they stepped in, and I received 30 headphones. Edmodo, in correlation with Discovery Education has stepped in and have a page that publishes teachers’ projects, all you have to do is email them your project information.  I have another project on Donors, I want wireless mice to use with the Office Mouse Mischief program, which I hope gets funded.  But even if it isn’t, Donors has given me a  chance to get what I need for my classroom, with no out-of-pocket expense!

Related Articles

• DonorsChoose.Org: Education Charity Celebrates Ten Years In HuffPost Exclusive (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)