Current Event- Flipped Classrooms

In the following news article it talks about a 24 year-old teacher who has created a classroom that gets students to use the technology that they have to help them with their education  When students come into the classroom they use their smartphones to scan a code that sends them directly to their assignments for the day.

Courtesty of bangordailynews

As an new teacher these are ideas that I could keep in mind to help my students incorporate their technology as opposed to keeping them off from their technology.  Many teachers are afraid to use this approach because they are unsure of technology and think it may hinder the teacher lecturing to students. Though from the courses we are taking now we learn that this is not an effective approach, lecturing, anyway and that educational approaches need to be mixed.
This is important to know because it makes us aware of one teachers approach and educates us on what may work in our own classrooms.
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/09/23/education/flipped-classrooms-count-on-interaction-technology/?ref=search

10 Things

Having to depict my 10 favorite things is pretty difficult. There are many things that I enjoy but coming up with my 10 most favorite to share is not as easy as I thought it might be. However here they are:
          #1- Post-Its - Simply because there is nothing better than a good post-it. They come in different colors, shapes, designs and sizes.  I have a little collection of my own actually.

Courtesy Jaycross

        #2- Organization- So its not the funnest thing to think of but I find organizing very soothing and very fun. I'm   a little organization freak, makes working retail a bad idea.

        #3- Colored Markers/ Pens- Writing in black and blue is not on any of my lists ( and i'm a list maker with my post-its). I feel that writing in color makes everything a little more enjoyable.

Courtesy David Guo's Master

      #4- Books- I love to read. Its a new found passion of mine. Reading in grade school was always to strict and I never did well with reading what I was assigned. However with my #5 favorite thing, my kindle, reading has become enjoyable again. My #6, watching movies, is also quite easy with my kindle HD. 

      #7- Kitchen Aid- I am a baker, #8 baking, and with my wonderful Kitchen Aid that is constantly being used life is good. 

       #9- Music- Everything is done with music in my house. My family is all very into music and its one thing we all have in common. 

       #10- The HGTV channel- I am obssessed with redesign and everything DIY with houses. My favorite show is Love It or List It, its addicting. 

Video in the Classroom

Video can be used within the classroom in various ways. It can be a tool to get different students to interact, it can be a tool to teach, and it can be a tool used in various ways.When I was going to school, prior to college, we did not use video in classrooms other than watching a movie or a video. Through this course I have been taught or discovered new ways to bring in video.

One of these ways to bring in video is our 'How To' project that we are working on ourselves. This could be a way for students to alternatively create a way to explain how to do an activity without writing it down or creating the same old power point. Its a way to get students creating new ideas that are unique and original. This is a unique way to assign a project to a group of students however not all students will have what it takes to create this video and some may not be comfortable making this video. An example of a how to video one way:

Video via Youtube How to Tie Shoes

Teachers can also use video to assign homework or to give instructions. This is a unique way for teachers to get the information out there at the ease of themselves. It is one way that the teacher won't have to repeat what the assignment is again and again. This is also helpful for absent students because they can watch the video when they get back or from home. We also use video in college when we have students from other schools taking the same courses, we do this through a similar fashion to skype. 

Photo Courtesy tuchodi

In today's classrooms there are many ways that we can bring video into our classroom's in ways that benefit ourselves and our students. Today's classrooms are beginning to embrace technology and one of these ways is by bringing in video, in a better sense then watching a movie, that's not the best use of technology.

Courtesy of AV Hire London

5 Things

If there were five things anyone should know about me they are a really simple five things. I'll start with the most obvious one I am a very family orientated person. Coming from a large and crazy family I find that family is one of the most important things in life and they come first in my life especially my two nephews.

This is a photo of the ladies in the family, a few years back but still shows how we are. :)

Second fun fact about me is I am a surprisingly good cook and baker. Which comes in handy because I really enjoy eating food. As a professor of mine once said "There are foodies and there are non-foodies." I am a foodie!

This is some yum pesto chicken with fresh tomato and mozzarella made it myself. 

Third fun fact that one must know about me is I am a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to my organization. In my world everything has its place and I am very adamant about these places being just right. Which leads to my fourth fun fact and that is that I am a control freak. I feel that the first step is admitting it and I do admit I like to have things go my way. 

My last and final fun fact is that music is my escape. There is nothing that can't be solved with a little music, it can even calm my obsessiveness. :) The current song stuck in my head just happens to be the following, thanks to works soundtrack. 

 

I feel that these five facts are important to know because theses are all me, these make me who I am. I find that these are the most important facts because these are what define my everyday. Hope you enjoyed learning a little about me!

Skyping With the 8th Grade

As part of class we were able to Skype with eighth graders today and see the set up of their classroom and how they use technology in their classes. From this experience I was surprised to see how much these students use technology in their courses. They were even using sites and tools that we have not been introduced too. The tools they used were voicethread, pixton, edmodo, blabberize, prezi and google drive.
I feel that this was a valuable use of class time and that it was very useful for us as future teachers. From the tools that they described to us I am very interested in finding out more on blabberize and edmodo. I feel that edmodo would work well with a lot of classes we take at Husson.

Pixton

Teachers and Social Media

With our world being more and more technological we find ourselves using more and more social media. Almost all of us have a Facebook or Twitter or another form of social media. The line between what is private and what is personal has become quite thin when it comes to what we share on our social media. However when we become teachers what we post onto our social media we must remember that it is not private. What we post can be seen by our students, by the parents, by our peers and by our bosses. What we post can be taken in any way, some may not agree with an opinion that we have given, by a picture that we have posted and take offense. There have been instances in the past where teachers have lost their jobs due to a comment they posted or buy a picture they had uploaded.
                                      
After reading the article written by Nancy Soloman on Friendly Advice For Teachers: Beware of Facebook, I find it interesting that there are so many teachers getting knocked on what they are posting onto their social media. I am even more dumbfounded by what it is these teachers are posting onto their Facebook, especially since I know some student-teachers now who should better monitor their posting. After reading this article I am thinking twice on having a Facebook of my own, the whole idea seems to make for more trouble then it is worth.

After reading the article Teachers and Facebook: "Don't do it!"written by Maureen Downey, I am fascinated at the fact that many teachers feel as though it has been an invasion of their privacy by not being allowed to have a Facebook. In a school system in Georgia teachers have been recommended to take down their Facebook's because of postings and pictures. I agree with both sides of this story. Yes, it is a better idea to avoid having Facebook's in the school system to avoid any trouble with postings whether it be a writing or a picture. As individuals it does seem unfair that we as teachers are looked upon so strongly and are unable to post personal things on Facebook but we have to think about how we are perceived. As teachers we are to be role models to our students and we are to represent our schools. 

As a personal policy I do not post anything on Facebook that is questionable. As my Facebook is now I would have no problem showing it to my future employers or my current employers. After further studying on this I have found that it is better practice to keep from complaining about my job, students or my personal life. I am going to practice only posting positive things that relate to my personal life and leaving my job off my Facebook. I might even find that when I do teach I will get rid of my Facebook altogether. 

(The following video was taken from Youtube it was a news cast from the past)