Technologies I thought about how to incorporate:
Using Facebook as a way for parents and Students to reach out to you:
I found that the book did NOT recommend using Facebook as a learning management system, but it did advocate the use of Facebook to communicate more effectively with parents as well as students. Wes Fryer thinks that parents are more likely to visit the teacher's Facebook then navigate the school website, and students are more likely to ask what the homework is on your Facebook page then they are to email you. I found this teacher's Facebook page that is very active and the students seem to enjoy the availability that it gives them to ask questions. I may think about making one, honestly (and I am usually very against Facebook in the classroom)!
Tumblr:
If Tumblr is not blocked at the school, it can be used as a blog just as blogger can. Students may be more familiar with Tumblr because they may have personal blogs of their own. Tumblr is also unique because it allows you to post things on your blog made by other content creators with one click of a button. This reblogging feature is also valuable so others can share the content you have created. This is a link to the tumblr blog I made for last year's UMF symposium day.
Glogster:
Glogster is a online poster making site where students can make digital multimedia poster presentations. Glogsters can include links, videos, audio, images, graphics, gifs, text, pretty much anything you want to include. There are plenty of glogsters on almost every topic you can think of, made by students, for students. Here is an example of one that is similar to what I would have my students create. I experienced glogster first hand this semester when I made a student sample for my unit using glogster.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Final Fires Reflection
Fires in the Bathroom by Kathleen Cushman was the most interesting book I have read about education. This book just shows that a lot can be learned from student opinion. The students are the ones who are supposed to be benefiting from what you are teaching them, so hearing the opinions of students on everything from when to give to tests to what to do on the first day is an invaluable resource. I was planning on selling most of my textbooks at the end of the semester, but I might not with this book because I really enjoyed the way it was written and I can reread it and use it if I have questions in the future.
After rereading my blog entries for this book, I realized that for the first half of my blog entries, I wasn't thinking like a teacher, I was still thinking like a student and thinking about how my teachers used to treat me and how they used to teach me. I was saying things like "I felt like my teachers didn't understand or didn't care that I was very busy," or "there were times when I felt very brain fried or my brain felt overloaded, or I physically or mentally didn't feel okay, so I would rather have put my work down and came back to it later when I was at home in my own space." While it might have felt nice to vent to this blog and focus on what it was like when I was in highschool, I know now that I need to be focused on how I am going to be treating my students, what I am going to do for them, and how I am going to teach them. In my later blog posts I said things like "This part of the chapter stood out to me because it encouraged me because I love to play games in class and with my students. I feel that students will learn better when they are having fun because they are involved and motivated to participate, " and I would try to have some kind of peer or adult translator to sit in with the student during class and work one on one with them, or I would ask the student what kind of test they would like to take because maybe saying the answers orally would be easier for them." It is valuable to relate to your students by remembering your high school experience, but you are in a different position now, and you need to think about making the experience your students have better than your former one. After reading Fires in the Bathroom, I am more confident in the area of classroom management because I know how my students will react to what I do, and how to respond in a way that is best for them.
After rereading my blog entries for this book, I realized that for the first half of my blog entries, I wasn't thinking like a teacher, I was still thinking like a student and thinking about how my teachers used to treat me and how they used to teach me. I was saying things like "I felt like my teachers didn't understand or didn't care that I was very busy," or "there were times when I felt very brain fried or my brain felt overloaded, or I physically or mentally didn't feel okay, so I would rather have put my work down and came back to it later when I was at home in my own space." While it might have felt nice to vent to this blog and focus on what it was like when I was in highschool, I know now that I need to be focused on how I am going to be treating my students, what I am going to do for them, and how I am going to teach them. In my later blog posts I said things like "This part of the chapter stood out to me because it encouraged me because I love to play games in class and with my students. I feel that students will learn better when they are having fun because they are involved and motivated to participate, " and I would try to have some kind of peer or adult translator to sit in with the student during class and work one on one with them, or I would ask the student what kind of test they would like to take because maybe saying the answers orally would be easier for them." It is valuable to relate to your students by remembering your high school experience, but you are in a different position now, and you need to think about making the experience your students have better than your former one. After reading Fires in the Bathroom, I am more confident in the area of classroom management because I know how my students will react to what I do, and how to respond in a way that is best for them.
Images
Both of the links I explored for this chapter are from flickr.com. I have never used Flickr before so I was very surprised and happy with the features I found. I learned that you can browse Flickr photos without an account, you only need to make an account to if you want to upload photos. I also learned that Flickr allows you to store 1 terabyte of images on their site! That is so much! Lastly, I learned that you can search images for what they are tagged by. This is the tag that I found for pictures about Biology.
The second link I looked at was also on Flickr, but it was exploring their creative commons sections. Their creative commons section has over 258 Million images! They also have them under different licenses: Attribution, Noncommerical, No Derivative Works, and Share Alike Licenses, as well as combinations of each. It is also really useful that Flickr has the definitions of these licenses on the side of the page, so every user can use the licenses consistently without getting confused on the technicalities.
Digital Text
The blogging process for Practicum could be improved if we only had one blog for all of practicum. It became very confusing with multiple blogs, and it would be much easier if we had to post everything to the same place. We could just have separate tags for Technology Integration, CIA, and in the schools (if we posted anything for that). Additionally, I believe it would be better to post our TK20 things to the blogs instead of using TK20, since we asked each of you and none of the teachers for practicum seem to like TK20. Lastly, I would use the blogs and the wikis for more assignments so we wouldn't have to be wasting so much paper.
The first website I visited was the New York Times Website. I looked at the archive like it talked about in the chapter, and I was underwhelmed. Most of the articles were behind a paywall, so that was inconvenient. However, I was surprised and i did like that the article archive did go back over 150 years ago to 1851. The second site I went to was Wes Fryers wiki. It was interesting to see his actual wiki. I however did not find it very easy to navigate and I didn't really understand what materials were supposed to be available, but I think that with more time I would like it as a supplement to his ebook. The last site I looked at was Moodle. Moodle is a Learning Management system that can be used as a collaborative class blog, but I believe that a wiki would be easier for both the teacher and the students to use and understand, but I like that I know know of an alternative to wikis in case the site goes down or something goes wrong.
Ch. 10: Going Beyond the Classroom
" Steer us toward summer and enrichment programs. Anything a teacher can do to keep us learning outside the school calendar pays off. What would you want your own kids to be doing when they weren't in school? Suggest it to us, too, and help us find ways to make it happen.
'It helps to go away to camps, and school is a place where you can hook up with that kind of program, like leadership camp. You learn communication skills and you can be on your own.' - Mahogany"
This section stood out to me because when I was in high school my teachers nominated me to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Award conference which is a leadership summer camp that is sponsored by the local town Rotary. My teachers only nominated students who they feel had strong leadership skills and potential, so it was a really big honor to be noticed by my teachers. I attended the camp, and it was such a valuable experience from which I learned many skills I still use today. I also am grateful for that opportunity because it helped me win a large scholarship my senior year of high school. I have obviously seen firsthand the value of summer enrichment opportunities and will suggest them to my students in the future.
'It helps to go away to camps, and school is a place where you can hook up with that kind of program, like leadership camp. You learn communication skills and you can be on your own.' - Mahogany"
This section stood out to me because when I was in high school my teachers nominated me to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Award conference which is a leadership summer camp that is sponsored by the local town Rotary. My teachers only nominated students who they feel had strong leadership skills and potential, so it was a really big honor to be noticed by my teachers. I attended the camp, and it was such a valuable experience from which I learned many skills I still use today. I also am grateful for that opportunity because it helped me win a large scholarship my senior year of high school. I have obviously seen firsthand the value of summer enrichment opportunities and will suggest them to my students in the future.
Ch. 9: When Things Go Wrong
"'My first-year teacher, the whole first semester we busted his chops, but then by second semester we let up on him, because we saw he was doing things right. Another teacher, we kept going on her because she was still scared. And kids go to the bathroom at times they're not supposed to, and then they set fires in the bathroom, while she was trying to be so friendly.' - Lauraliz"
This is the quote that spawned the title of the book. I have mixed feelings about this passage because I want to be the male teacher in the beginning who earned his footing and they no longer gave him trouble, but I am worried I may act like the other teacher. She is being so nice, which is important, and I want to be nice, but I don't want them to take that as a license to misbehave. I think I have to be nice, but firm, and focus on teaching the students, and maybe that will the students ease up? Maybe I am just nervous.
This is the quote that spawned the title of the book. I have mixed feelings about this passage because I want to be the male teacher in the beginning who earned his footing and they no longer gave him trouble, but I am worried I may act like the other teacher. She is being so nice, which is important, and I want to be nice, but I don't want them to take that as a license to misbehave. I think I have to be nice, but firm, and focus on teaching the students, and maybe that will the students ease up? Maybe I am just nervous.
Ch 8: Teaching Teenagers Who Are Still Learning English
" My first year in science class, the teacher gave me a test and he said, 'I think you can't do this test because you don't speak English, but anyway I will give you a B if you come every day.' I started to cry- he assume that I couldn't do it, and I felt really bad. Because I feel comfortable when I study and take a good grade and say. 'I did this.' -Elaine"
This part of the chapter made me very sad for this student. I can't even imagine what it would be like to have a teacher give up on me so easily, and to just say he would give me a B. I would be very upset because I wouldn't have learned anything. This is the reason that this teacher disgusts me. I would try to have some kind of peer or adult translator to sit in with the student during class and work one on one with them, or I would ask the student what kind of test they would like to take because maybe saying the answers orally would be easier for them.
This part of the chapter made me very sad for this student. I can't even imagine what it would be like to have a teacher give up on me so easily, and to just say he would give me a B. I would be very upset because I wouldn't have learned anything. This is the reason that this teacher disgusts me. I would try to have some kind of peer or adult translator to sit in with the student during class and work one on one with them, or I would ask the student what kind of test they would like to take because maybe saying the answers orally would be easier for them.
Ch. 7: Teaching DIfficult Academic Material
"Use a lot of concrete examples...
'It doesn't work when we just sit and take notes on different terms. It has to be more real than that. Science and math are so conceptual that at times it's hard to comprehend, so students need concrete analogies or examples.' -Latia"
"Don't rely too much on the textbook.
'When things in the textbook seem really boring, do activities that force us to get involved and make connections. IN my ninth grade science class, we read about how resources we divided among the world, and he had students act as countries and divide up popcorn in amounts that represented their country's share of the resources. We had to organize to get enough popcorn for our countries.' - Daryl"
Science, particularly Biology, is an incredibly difficult subject when it is not taught in a way that students understand easily, so I believe that using concrete examples that students have experience with and relate to is crucial. Also, I think that I would have done MUCH better in my high school biology class if my teacher hadn't stuck to the textbook for every single powerpoint, reading, homework, activity, quiz, and test. I don't like reading from textbooks, I avoid it whenever I can, and whenever I do I have to read it out loud in some kind of accent so I don't give up and do something else, I just don't learn well that way. Textbooks are good resources, but in my opinion they should be resources, and not the majority of the curriculum.
'It doesn't work when we just sit and take notes on different terms. It has to be more real than that. Science and math are so conceptual that at times it's hard to comprehend, so students need concrete analogies or examples.' -Latia"
"Don't rely too much on the textbook.
'When things in the textbook seem really boring, do activities that force us to get involved and make connections. IN my ninth grade science class, we read about how resources we divided among the world, and he had students act as countries and divide up popcorn in amounts that represented their country's share of the resources. We had to organize to get enough popcorn for our countries.' - Daryl"
Science, particularly Biology, is an incredibly difficult subject when it is not taught in a way that students understand easily, so I believe that using concrete examples that students have experience with and relate to is crucial. Also, I think that I would have done MUCH better in my high school biology class if my teacher hadn't stuck to the textbook for every single powerpoint, reading, homework, activity, quiz, and test. I don't like reading from textbooks, I avoid it whenever I can, and whenever I do I have to read it out loud in some kind of accent so I don't give up and do something else, I just don't learn well that way. Textbooks are good resources, but in my opinion they should be resources, and not the majority of the curriculum.
Ch 6: Motivation and Boredom
"Make learning a social thing.
'My best teacher always has us up and doing experiments to make it fun, working in groups, playing in games. That's how he gets us to learn. ' - Porsche
'It can be fun to do activities and group work, because you get to talk but also learn with your friends. Some people's attention span is very short, so listening to the teacher is stressful and they get distracted. - Diana' "
This part of the chapter stood out to me because it encouraged me because I love to play games in class and with my students. I feel that students will learn better when they are having fun because they are involved and motivated to participate. I have always loved games because they are typically hands on and they usually have competition involved, which I also love. I was very encouraged because Porsche said that the teacher that plays games with his class was her BEST teacher.
'My best teacher always has us up and doing experiments to make it fun, working in groups, playing in games. That's how he gets us to learn. ' - Porsche
'It can be fun to do activities and group work, because you get to talk but also learn with your friends. Some people's attention span is very short, so listening to the teacher is stressful and they get distracted. - Diana' "
This part of the chapter stood out to me because it encouraged me because I love to play games in class and with my students. I feel that students will learn better when they are having fun because they are involved and motivated to participate. I have always loved games because they are typically hands on and they usually have competition involved, which I also love. I was very encouraged because Porsche said that the teacher that plays games with his class was her BEST teacher.
Ch 5: Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Group
"The eye roller. Once angered or embarrassed by something, students like us stay that way throughout the course. We deliberately tune out, to make sure you get the message that we don't care.
The wallflower. Students like us may know the answer or have something to say, but we have a high level of anxiety about our ability to perform. We don't raise our hands, because we don't want to be noticed.
The hand-waver. Students like us need to prove to the teacher that we're knowledgeable or smart. Grades matter more than anything to us.
The dreamer. Students like us know plenty, but we don't have a drive to prove ourselves to teachers. We prefer to inhabit our own private world, which is usually more comfortable than the classroom.
The con artist. Students like us are always developing strategies to fool the teacher into thinking we know something. We're not necessarily cheaters, but we know how to play the game and win.
The goof-off. Students like us may be very smart, but to impress our peers we spend most of our time joking around and causing disruptions.
The workhorse. Students like us always come to class, do the homework, and answer the questions. We might not excel, but the teacher can depend on us."
I found these categories of students very interesting, but once I tried to place myself in one of these categories I found out that some students may be different pieces of each and may not fit into any of these boxes. In high school, I was a dreamer because I used to doodle and daydream often, I was a con artist because I used to know how to ask the teacher for the answer in a way that would give me additional information that I didn't know, and I was a goof-off because I knew a lot, but I would sit with my friends and would pass notes and get distracted. As a student in college, in lectures I have become a bit of a wallflower, because the size of the class will intimidate me, and I am also still a dreamer because I doodle. However, I have realized that as a teacher, I can't be any of these things, I have to leave those habits behind and step up to the plate for my students.
The wallflower. Students like us may know the answer or have something to say, but we have a high level of anxiety about our ability to perform. We don't raise our hands, because we don't want to be noticed.
The hand-waver. Students like us need to prove to the teacher that we're knowledgeable or smart. Grades matter more than anything to us.
The dreamer. Students like us know plenty, but we don't have a drive to prove ourselves to teachers. We prefer to inhabit our own private world, which is usually more comfortable than the classroom.
The con artist. Students like us are always developing strategies to fool the teacher into thinking we know something. We're not necessarily cheaters, but we know how to play the game and win.
The goof-off. Students like us may be very smart, but to impress our peers we spend most of our time joking around and causing disruptions.
The workhorse. Students like us always come to class, do the homework, and answer the questions. We might not excel, but the teacher can depend on us."
I found these categories of students very interesting, but once I tried to place myself in one of these categories I found out that some students may be different pieces of each and may not fit into any of these boxes. In high school, I was a dreamer because I used to doodle and daydream often, I was a con artist because I used to know how to ask the teacher for the answer in a way that would give me additional information that I didn't know, and I was a goof-off because I knew a lot, but I would sit with my friends and would pass notes and get distracted. As a student in college, in lectures I have become a bit of a wallflower, because the size of the class will intimidate me, and I am also still a dreamer because I doodle. However, I have realized that as a teacher, I can't be any of these things, I have to leave those habits behind and step up to the plate for my students.
Ch 4: Creating a Culture of Success
"Direct and specific feedback from the teacher helps kids much more than grades.
'If instead of grades we just had a paper from the teacher telling us how we are doing, we would want more to go back and do it better. -Porsche'
'You don't need to have grades to want to work harder. If my teachers told me how I was doing without my grades, I would pay attention to it...' -Veronica"
I know that realistically this may not work, but I would rather have parent teacher conferences and only evaluations at the middle and end of a semester. I have seen this work because where I worked over the summer it was how they did things. Gifted and Talented students who were going into 6th and 7th grade were taking college level classes during their summer break with Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. The students (who were normally very focused on grades during the school year), got to participate, explore, and experience the content without all the pressure. As long as the students behaved, participated, and understood the material at the end, they would have successfully completed the course, and I wish that system could be applied to a regular school setting.
'If instead of grades we just had a paper from the teacher telling us how we are doing, we would want more to go back and do it better. -Porsche'
'You don't need to have grades to want to work harder. If my teachers told me how I was doing without my grades, I would pay attention to it...' -Veronica"
I know that realistically this may not work, but I would rather have parent teacher conferences and only evaluations at the middle and end of a semester. I have seen this work because where I worked over the summer it was how they did things. Gifted and Talented students who were going into 6th and 7th grade were taking college level classes during their summer break with Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. The students (who were normally very focused on grades during the school year), got to participate, explore, and experience the content without all the pressure. As long as the students behaved, participated, and understood the material at the end, they would have successfully completed the course, and I wish that system could be applied to a regular school setting.
Chapter 3: Classroom Behavior
"My teacher would touch me on the shoulder and ask, 'Are you okay?' If I am, she would say, 'I can;t have you sleep in my class, so please step outside, rinse your face with cold water, the come back when you're okay.' -Lauraliz
Usually the sleepiness goes around in the morning classes, when the heater's on, or when the lights are off. My teacher always taps us on the shoulder when we fall asleep. - Andres"
This part of the chapter stood out to me personally because I tend to fall asleep in class very often, even when I am trying very hard not to. My doctors think I may have some kind of sleep disorder or sleep apnea or some other condition. I have gotten in trouble before with teachers because they think I'm sleeping or purpose because it's boring or because I'm lazy, but I'm not. I really appreciate what the teacher did in the first quote because she did not get angry at the student she just told the student to leave the room for a few minutes until they are more awake and doing better. I believe this is a very respectful way to handle the situation.
Usually the sleepiness goes around in the morning classes, when the heater's on, or when the lights are off. My teacher always taps us on the shoulder when we fall asleep. - Andres"
This part of the chapter stood out to me personally because I tend to fall asleep in class very often, even when I am trying very hard not to. My doctors think I may have some kind of sleep disorder or sleep apnea or some other condition. I have gotten in trouble before with teachers because they think I'm sleeping or purpose because it's boring or because I'm lazy, but I'm not. I really appreciate what the teacher did in the first quote because she did not get angry at the student she just told the student to leave the room for a few minutes until they are more awake and doing better. I believe this is a very respectful way to handle the situation.
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