Grants are a great way to get extra money for your classroom! With budget cuts on the rise, grants are what lots of teachers are turning to for supplies needed in the classroom. I know that I find myself being quite creative when it comes to materials needed when I don't have the funds to get them. Luckily, we still have a small budget for our classrooms that allows us to buy needed materials. We are also lucky enough to have a great PTO that reimburses us for $100 of our own spent money on classrooms materials. Of course, we have to provide a receipt but I'm guessing that many of you can agree that $100 is pretty easy to spend when back-to-school shopping!
I checked out some of the grant resources provided by my teacher and there were a few that I really liked. I also want to share of some other resources that I'm aware of. I have never applied for a grant before, but I've seen so many teachers who have been blessed with a grant. My coworker was recently awarded with a $1000 grant for educational resources where she purchases reading/writing/math games to be used during center time. The resources her students now have are worth way more than their price tag! When I taught Kindergarten, a coworker of mine was awarded grant money to purchase LeapFrog Letter Factory videos for all of the incoming Kindergarteners to take home, plus one for each classroom. I had a student who came into Kindergarten knowing zero letters or sounds and thirteen days later-after watching the video twice a day-he knew ALL of his letters!! I was amazed and so thankful to have the resources!
Adoptaclassroom.org was a great site for teachers to create a desired classroom need posting. People then donate toward the cause and the teachers get 100% of the donations to purchase materials discreetly. The aspect that I REALLY liked about this website is that you get to see videos/notes from the result of donations. It also looked like the the teacher gets to send feedback to the donors. I know if I were donating, I would greatly appreciate the acknowledgement of my donation, especially in this economy... I would use this resource! It seems easy to use and easy for donors to use.
Vernier.com is a website that provides you with a lists of grants and detailed requirements for the grants. I could see myself using this resource. One resource on this page that I really liked was how to write a grant. For someone who has never written a grant, but hope to someday, this is incredibly helpful! The 10 tips on the side of the page were especially helpful. Tips like being specific, factual, and realistic are practical tips that could help me when writing.
I teach in the Olathe School District, which works with the Olathe Public Schools Foundation to offer mini grants. These are the grants that I am most likely to try for. I support the Olathe Public Schools Foundation. They do amazing things for our poverty-stricken children and to support teachers.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Collaborative Technologies
The first element that I considered when beginning the decision-making of integrating collaborative technology was the collaboration program that I’d use. For my lesson plan, I chose a wiki, but there were many other choices such as Voice Thread, Smile Box, Flickr, etc. I chose a wiki because of the versatility of wikis. With a wiki, I could have a template developed and students can work from what I’ve developed. I also like the aspect that my students can be working on the same wiki at the same time. I reviewed the “Tips for Using Educational Wikis” on page 83 of our text. One of the tips for using educational wikis is to consider access. You’re going to have to decide who will be accessing it and what type is most suited for collaboration. Another concept that I considered was the audience. I know that the audience for my student’s collaboration will be their classmates, their families, and I’ll send out the link to other teachers to view. Limited technology availability was also something I thought about when planning. Since this particular project requires seven groups to create a presentation on a famous American, then had to plan to find seven computers for use! The most available option was reserving the school laptop cart for certain times. The school laptop cart’s schedule isn’t as busy as the school’s computer lab. If I chose to do this project after March then the laptop cart would not be available. Since I have young students, I’d have to plan time before we actually begin working with technology outlining my expectations for posts. We would spend some time discussing what’s appropriate to post, what’s inappropriate to post, and how much to post.
The great thing about wikispaces.com is that it’s a free educational workspace! All the teacher and students need to do is sign up and use it responsibly. Because Internet access can get pricey for a home, I would be sure to never require students to work on the wiki at home. I would always invite family to view what their child has done. I would welcome them into our school before or after school to view the wiki if they had Internet restrictions at home.
Future implementation:
The first project that I want to implement will be a famous Americans project (the one I slightly mentioned above). I currently do this project where I divide my class into about 6-7 groups of 3 and I assign each group a famous American such as Martin Luther King Jr. The group is responsible for researching important information that is outlined in a checklist. After the research is complete, they prepare to present all of the information on a poster. With collaborative technology, I plan to replace posters with a wiki. In an attempt to be more attentive with class time, I would like to collaborate with the computer technology teacher and have the students practice using a wiki during their technology class. When we use the wiki in class, the students would be more familiar with the technology. I also really like VoiceThread. I could see using this to post vocabulary words for the week and students could add sentences using the words. I could also use this at the beginning of the year to help introduce families. I’d really like to also look into doing something like e-pals where my students can communicate with others from a different school or state and even work on a project together!
The great thing about wikispaces.com is that it’s a free educational workspace! All the teacher and students need to do is sign up and use it responsibly. Because Internet access can get pricey for a home, I would be sure to never require students to work on the wiki at home. I would always invite family to view what their child has done. I would welcome them into our school before or after school to view the wiki if they had Internet restrictions at home.
Future implementation:
The first project that I want to implement will be a famous Americans project (the one I slightly mentioned above). I currently do this project where I divide my class into about 6-7 groups of 3 and I assign each group a famous American such as Martin Luther King Jr. The group is responsible for researching important information that is outlined in a checklist. After the research is complete, they prepare to present all of the information on a poster. With collaborative technology, I plan to replace posters with a wiki. In an attempt to be more attentive with class time, I would like to collaborate with the computer technology teacher and have the students practice using a wiki during their technology class. When we use the wiki in class, the students would be more familiar with the technology. I also really like VoiceThread. I could see using this to post vocabulary words for the week and students could add sentences using the words. I could also use this at the beginning of the year to help introduce families. I’d really like to also look into doing something like e-pals where my students can communicate with others from a different school or state and even work on a project together!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Video Technology in the Classroom-Week 5 June 20
The decision-making process for creating a lesson integrating multimedia technology begins with choosing a topic or lesson that students need a detailed explanation of directions or procedures as well as modeling. Math is a great example of subject in which model and detailed procedures are very common. When planning for this integration, I also want to remain aware of time constraints. In order to prepare a video for a lesson, I have to know how much time I can spend and the amount of modeling my class will need. With what is known about student attention rates, I also have to plan these lessons with guidelines to differentiate students from sitting, speaking with one another, and transitioning. I know that I have to structure my lessons with the appropriate amount of instructional time, discussion time, collaboration time, and independent work time. Technology is not 100% reliable so I have to always have a back up plan too!
The cost of technology may present a reason to hesitate in diving head-first into this technology integration. In order to create a video lesson, you’d have to have some type of video equipment. This can range from digital recorders to video cameras. FLIP cameras, a common handheld video recorder sells for about $130 according to Amazon.com. Many cameras also have a video option. Videos on a normal camera can really consume space on your memory card though. FLIP cameras and most video cameras record sound along with the video so finding a microphone should not be a concern.
I’ve went back and forth when determining if integrating multimedia into my lessons is something that would be come a “favorite” of mine. I’m still half-and-half! I can see the many advantages of it, yet I can also see the time-consuming aspect of it as well. I consider myself a camera shy person so that of course is another reason why I have a hard time with this. Even with that said, I really like the idea of recording the directions to center activities. This would be ideal if students could access the videos while at their centers to receive instructions on what to do while my attention is on a small group. I also would use this for our Prime Time instruction. At my school, Prime Time is an instructional focus on math and reading indicators during the first 35 minutes of school. Classified and non-classroom teachers are paired with certified teachers to have small groups. This can be a challenge because sometimes non-classroom teachers or classified staff have a tough time knowing exactly how to teach a concept they are unfamiliar with. At this point, we have a time during the previous week to walk them through the lessons and show them examples. Using a video for the instruction would decrease the chance of teacher error when delivering instruction. For example, a Title 1 reading aide was assigned to our grade level for Prime Time. Though she works mainly with reading, she is still expected to teach 2nd grade math concepts during Prime Time. She has expressed many times that she feels uncomfortable and worries that she is not teaching them the way we do! I completely understand her concerns. We could prepare specific instruction on a video so that all 2nd grade students were receiving the same instructions on steps to solve math problems or reading questions.
The cost of technology may present a reason to hesitate in diving head-first into this technology integration. In order to create a video lesson, you’d have to have some type of video equipment. This can range from digital recorders to video cameras. FLIP cameras, a common handheld video recorder sells for about $130 according to Amazon.com. Many cameras also have a video option. Videos on a normal camera can really consume space on your memory card though. FLIP cameras and most video cameras record sound along with the video so finding a microphone should not be a concern.
I’ve went back and forth when determining if integrating multimedia into my lessons is something that would be come a “favorite” of mine. I’m still half-and-half! I can see the many advantages of it, yet I can also see the time-consuming aspect of it as well. I consider myself a camera shy person so that of course is another reason why I have a hard time with this. Even with that said, I really like the idea of recording the directions to center activities. This would be ideal if students could access the videos while at their centers to receive instructions on what to do while my attention is on a small group. I also would use this for our Prime Time instruction. At my school, Prime Time is an instructional focus on math and reading indicators during the first 35 minutes of school. Classified and non-classroom teachers are paired with certified teachers to have small groups. This can be a challenge because sometimes non-classroom teachers or classified staff have a tough time knowing exactly how to teach a concept they are unfamiliar with. At this point, we have a time during the previous week to walk them through the lessons and show them examples. Using a video for the instruction would decrease the chance of teacher error when delivering instruction. For example, a Title 1 reading aide was assigned to our grade level for Prime Time. Though she works mainly with reading, she is still expected to teach 2nd grade math concepts during Prime Time. She has expressed many times that she feels uncomfortable and worries that she is not teaching them the way we do! I completely understand her concerns. We could prepare specific instruction on a video so that all 2nd grade students were receiving the same instructions on steps to solve math problems or reading questions.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Audio Technology in the Classroom-Week 4 June 14
Learning about the various ways to incorporate audio multimedia in the classroom, I feel optimistic and excited about the opportunities ahead for my students!
Podcasts have the ability to change the way we communicate with our students and our parents. For students, they will be able to access an audio file to enhance the learning environments. Like Mrs. Hobbin mentioned in our weekly introduction, podcasts add a new dimension to lessons. With an audio recording, students can listen to directions or audio that relate to a lesson, but not only can they listen-they can pause, rewind, and replay! I love this because so many times we find ourselves repeating something in an effort for students to not miss out on important information. With a podcast, the teacher can also take on more of a facilitator role and really have the opportunity to observe students and help/modify where needed. I am really excited about also using podcasting to enhance communication with my parents in my classroom! I plan on using podcast to summarize key points of my parent information packet, explaining my homework policy, second grade reading expectations and mini-curriculum explanations. With some people having limited access to Internet, I have to make sure that I also find a way that they can access audio files without the use of internet. My first thought is to have an “open door policy” and to invite parents to come in to school and use computers to access them. As the text mentioned on page 226, podcast would serve as a great way to extend learning outside of the classroom. Like mentioned on page 226, students miss class and using podcasting is a way to allow students to access information they missed in class. To create podcasts, I can use Audacity from my school computer, but garageband from my home computer. For my parents to access them, they’ll need a computer, but since that can be an issue, hopefully by inviting them into the school to access podcasts would help ease the pain for that. As far as I know, most computers have a video playing application or one could be downloaded from the internet.
Interactive Read-Alouds…..my favorite!!! This is something that I’ve already used and absolutely plan to continue. I currently use Tumblebooks to access picture books that are read aloud by various authors. When I have my laptop in my classroom, I like to put it in my literacy centers. When it’s in the reading center, students love to access tumblebooks. My students cheer when we have a few extra minutes at the end of the day and I tell them we are going to watch a Tumblebook. My students can even access these from home, which parents have said so many positive things about. One parent even said that with books being so expensive, Tumblebooks was a great way that they could still read a variety of books without it costing. You must have a computer with sound to access these.
Short audio clips has also been something that I like to incorporate into my Smart Notebook lessons or PowerPoints. I feel like I can better reach my multiple intelligences in my classroom as well as adding something new to a generally color/object/text page. When I teach the sound science unit, I like to open it with a “mystery sound” quiz where I play a variety of about twenty sounds and students have to listen then write what it is down. They talk about this activity for days afterwards!
Luckily with most of these audio options, I can use my classroom as the doorway for opportunity! In my classroom, I can model for students how to use these and provide some hands-on time for my students to get experience. My computer lab teacher is also amazing so I have confidence that I could collaborate with her to give my students more opportunities to use the new technology.
According to information found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer, computers can range from the mid-hundreds to the mid-thousands. Most likely, when you purchase the computer, the audio technology comes along with it, so the main purchase would be the computer.
The most useful profession podcast that I found was Scholastic Professional. What I like most about Scholastic Professional is the variety of topics the podcasts cover. Found at http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/scholasticprofessional/authors/podcasts.htm, teachers can access podcast from Scholastic authors such as Ruth Culham, a leading author in writing instruction books. Topics on the website from writing instruction to student thinking research. I also like that the podcasts are not too lengthy, but very information rich! I listened to the podcast from Ruth Culham where she discussed teaching writing. It was about a 3-minute podcast. She compared grasping the concept of teaching writing to grasping a handful of fog-virtually impossible! Ruth also spoke of writing as a thinking skill for students, which can be challenging.
I personally am a huge Scholastic Teachers fan and I receive their daily posts on Facebook. They always are offering great articles about classroom issues as well as introducing new strategies or tools from the classroom. The most recent tool that I highly recommend is the Book Wizard-an online tool that will provide you with the reading level for any book you have in your classroom library! http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do Check it out! This will be my first project for volunteers this year!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Handheld Technolgies-Week 3 June 10
The decision making process for integrating handheld technology into lessons begins with the availability of the technology. In order for me to choose a technology to integrate, I have to take into account whether or not the technology is available for my whole class to use. Most likely, I will choose technology that allows my entire class to participate. Also, when I’m planning a lesson, I have make sure that I plan ahead to reserve the technology if it’s not something that is in my classroom-like clickers for example. My grade level shares a bag of clickers so we have to work around each others plans. My instructional time is so valuable so I’d also want to make sure that we could use the technology effectively (with little tech support time) and efficiently. In most cases, before using a technology such as clickers in a lesson, I plan a different time during the day (or earlier on in the school year) where we learn how to use the technology in a non-educational lesson such as using clickers to tell me when your birthday is, etc. Like McMillan referenced on page 126, “a demonstration can familiarize students with an interface and reassure them that the procedure is not excessively difficult.”
One of the handheld technologies that I read about this week was the iPad. The article began by providing practical uses in the classroom such as replacing textbooks and fitting student lifestyles. The article at www.ipadsinschool.com notes the various extensions that digital textbooks can offer. I love the example that it stated, “See a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. as I read his “I Have a Dream” speech? I guess that’s fine, but with one tap of my finger, I’m watching it. The result is a more integrated learning experience, which is more engaging for students.” Currently, if I wanted to do this same activity with my social studies text, we’d read the text then we’d pull up the video on the computer and the students would watch from their seats or carpet. I can see how the iPad in this case would allow me to use my instructional time wisely! The article also mentions how the tablets can offer the same uses as a computer, but with much less space, which is appealing to me since I only have a limited amount of space in my classroom. My students would still benefit from the variety of uses of the iPad while I’m still saving space! iPads can be used at their desks or practically anywhere in the classroom! With a long battery life, I could charge at night and not have to worry about that during the day. The lightweight and small size would allow me to store in small spaces. The tablet comes to life nearly instantly so I wouldn’t have to worry about the wait time of starting a computer and waiting for it to be ready for use. I would absolutely use the iPad in my classroom if I had the opportunity! I believe that anyone who spends a little time researching the role of the iPad in education, they’d be easily persuaded that this is a must-have for their classroom! I love everything about it, but it does come at a costly price of $499 from Apple, but since the tablet market is becoming more and more competitive, you could choose another tablet such as the Verizon Galaxy Tablet for a cheaper price of $150-$300.
Another handheld technology that I could see as an enhancement to my classroom is the cell phone. I chose this technology because of the availability of cell phones. Even though I teach second grade, I see students coming to school with phones nearly every day. With cell phones, basic texting or calling could be used in a variety of ways. Like the article at www.edudemic.com stated, “From fun new apps to creative ways to communicate, there are plenty of new and exciting ways to harness the power of the smartphone in today’s classroom.” One way the article mentioned was by using the cell phone as a way to remind students of assignment due dates and other reminders. I know that communication has been a challenge the past year with my students’ families. Even though I send home notes that specifically outline certain dates or explain certain concepts, I still have parents unaware of what is going on at school. With the smartphone, I can send reminders to parents and students of these important news items in my classroom! Teaching at a title one school, I could easily question whether or not my families have Internet access, but I can almost guarantee that they have some kind of basic cell phone service that allows texting. Not only could the cell phone be used as an enhancement to communication, it could be used for activities in the classroom! Instead of using clickers, students could text me the responses to a question or use apps like Polleverywhere. One thing that I’m going to try this year with my students is a twitter account with my student families. Even without Internet access, students and parents can receive notifications from me. In all reality, I believe that my parents would be more willing to read a twitter posting versus reading a newsletter that comes home in their child’s backpack that may not even get looked at until late that evening or possibly not at all. I think it’s safe to assume that most or all of them have a cell phone and they use it regularly so it’d possibly offer me a way to increase effective communication with my parents as well as helping me save paper for necessary items.
A dilemma that I’m faced with mainly has to do with limited budgets. With limited classroom and school budgets, I have limitations for what technologies are available to my students. I have to spend my time and energy to research practical uses of the technology that I have so that my students are still getting the opportunity to become familiarized with 21st century skills. I also have to think of the limited experiences that my students have with using certain technologies outside of the classroom. I can’t assure that my students have exposure to Internet resources so if I want to use them in my classroom I have to also plan to teach my students how to properly use them. This is going to require some dedication of instructional time. The need to use instructional time wisely versus exposing my students to technology sometime becomes a battle that I have to be willing to fight and defend!
One of the handheld technologies that I read about this week was the iPad. The article began by providing practical uses in the classroom such as replacing textbooks and fitting student lifestyles. The article at www.ipadsinschool.com notes the various extensions that digital textbooks can offer. I love the example that it stated, “See a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. as I read his “I Have a Dream” speech? I guess that’s fine, but with one tap of my finger, I’m watching it. The result is a more integrated learning experience, which is more engaging for students.” Currently, if I wanted to do this same activity with my social studies text, we’d read the text then we’d pull up the video on the computer and the students would watch from their seats or carpet. I can see how the iPad in this case would allow me to use my instructional time wisely! The article also mentions how the tablets can offer the same uses as a computer, but with much less space, which is appealing to me since I only have a limited amount of space in my classroom. My students would still benefit from the variety of uses of the iPad while I’m still saving space! iPads can be used at their desks or practically anywhere in the classroom! With a long battery life, I could charge at night and not have to worry about that during the day. The lightweight and small size would allow me to store in small spaces. The tablet comes to life nearly instantly so I wouldn’t have to worry about the wait time of starting a computer and waiting for it to be ready for use. I would absolutely use the iPad in my classroom if I had the opportunity! I believe that anyone who spends a little time researching the role of the iPad in education, they’d be easily persuaded that this is a must-have for their classroom! I love everything about it, but it does come at a costly price of $499 from Apple, but since the tablet market is becoming more and more competitive, you could choose another tablet such as the Verizon Galaxy Tablet for a cheaper price of $150-$300.
Another handheld technology that I could see as an enhancement to my classroom is the cell phone. I chose this technology because of the availability of cell phones. Even though I teach second grade, I see students coming to school with phones nearly every day. With cell phones, basic texting or calling could be used in a variety of ways. Like the article at www.edudemic.com stated, “From fun new apps to creative ways to communicate, there are plenty of new and exciting ways to harness the power of the smartphone in today’s classroom.” One way the article mentioned was by using the cell phone as a way to remind students of assignment due dates and other reminders. I know that communication has been a challenge the past year with my students’ families. Even though I send home notes that specifically outline certain dates or explain certain concepts, I still have parents unaware of what is going on at school. With the smartphone, I can send reminders to parents and students of these important news items in my classroom! Teaching at a title one school, I could easily question whether or not my families have Internet access, but I can almost guarantee that they have some kind of basic cell phone service that allows texting. Not only could the cell phone be used as an enhancement to communication, it could be used for activities in the classroom! Instead of using clickers, students could text me the responses to a question or use apps like Polleverywhere. One thing that I’m going to try this year with my students is a twitter account with my student families. Even without Internet access, students and parents can receive notifications from me. In all reality, I believe that my parents would be more willing to read a twitter posting versus reading a newsletter that comes home in their child’s backpack that may not even get looked at until late that evening or possibly not at all. I think it’s safe to assume that most or all of them have a cell phone and they use it regularly so it’d possibly offer me a way to increase effective communication with my parents as well as helping me save paper for necessary items.
A dilemma that I’m faced with mainly has to do with limited budgets. With limited classroom and school budgets, I have limitations for what technologies are available to my students. I have to spend my time and energy to research practical uses of the technology that I have so that my students are still getting the opportunity to become familiarized with 21st century skills. I also have to think of the limited experiences that my students have with using certain technologies outside of the classroom. I can’t assure that my students have exposure to Internet resources so if I want to use them in my classroom I have to also plan to teach my students how to properly use them. This is going to require some dedication of instructional time. The need to use instructional time wisely versus exposing my students to technology sometime becomes a battle that I have to be willing to fight and defend!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Bloggin for Week Two-June 1st
Reflecting on my current practices regarding meeting the diverse needs of the students in my classroom…
Since I teach in a Title 1 school-Fairview Elementary in Olathe Kansas-I have first-hand knowledge of cultural diversity among students. This is my third year of teaching and so far the majority of my students have been Hispanic. Of the Hispanics, I’ve had students come straight from Mexico as well as a mixture of students who have strong links to Mexico, but live here in Kansas. Other cultures that I’ve been blessed to of had the opportunity to work with are African Americans, Laotian and White. I’m embarrassed to admit, but my cultural experiences personally have been limited too. I never had the experiences of traveling and getting acquainted with others, but I hope to someday ☺! I was raised in a very small town in Nebraska. This small town was 99.9% White. My family moved to KC when I was 16 and that is where I met my first Hispanic and African American person. Back to the point-With my limited experiences, I’ve learned a lot about incorporating the Hispanic culture into my classroom. I’ve sat through many formal trainings about ELL’s in the classroom as well as personal study. I have yet to have a student with special needs in my classroom, but before I was a teacher I was a special education paraprofessional where I got to adapt teacher lessons to help my student. I know that I will someday and I want to be prepared!
Meeting the various learning needs through my instruction
o *Accompany instruction by illustrations or gestures.
o *Spending a lot of time during the first few months of school making observations of how my students interact with each other, their interests, and what activities they get involved in. I use these observations to help me determine the multiple intelligences in my classroom.
o Using a “2nd grade friendly” version of the multiple intelligences surveys provided online to help my students determine their intelligence. I could use these results to help guide planning well-balanced units that incorporate several different intelligences.
o Use instructional strategies found at TeacherVision.com to assist in planning lessons that meet the needs of special needs students.
o Using the multiple intelligences chart from TeacherVision.com, I can plan lessons using these key words knowing that I’m engaging certain multiple intelligences.
Meeting the various cultural needs through my classroom environment
o *mixed-gender and culture groups for seating.
o *“student of the week” structure where students get one week to share with the class many different things about themselves. As supported by Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2010), my students create family trees and share photographs to share a little about themselves and their family. (pg. 280)
o *Create a friendly environment that encourages communication, tolerance, and acceptance. Teach lessons to help students learn these skills and provide them with opportunities to practice them.
o *Value individual opinions and comments in small groups.
o Learn native language and teach students those words. Larri Fish of Siena College suggests this conveys respect.
o *Recognize important cultural events
o Create a classroom library that has multicultural books and authors (Fish).
*indicates practices currently in practice. Reflecting on this list makes me realize that I really need to focus on support the needs through my instruction. I am always learning new things! :-)
Using technology and resources could enhance my lessons by providing students with culturally rich experiences and opportunities they may not normally have the chance of experiencing. For example, we read a narrative story as a class about Chinatown. In the story, the little boy was visiting a grandparent in Chinatown and preparing for the Chinese New Year. As a part of the Chinese New Year celebration, the family watched a lion dance in the street. After reading the story, I had a few stories pulled from the library that students could read on their own time about the Chinese culture. We also watched a YouTube video of different lion dances and how the people prepare for them. I know after the rich conversations we had through this unit that my students will never forget that! We live so far away from China and Chinatown, but that didn’t limit our experiences.
Some dilemmas that we face have a lot to do with school funding. With school funds becoming increasingly tight, we can use interactive online fieldtrips to take students places that we can’t go. With technology we can go places far away while still being in our classroom! When my class learned about fossils, we took an interactive tour of a fossil exhibit in a museum (in Michigan-I believe). In addition to school funding, bringing more technology into the classroom is limited. In order for me to get the newest technology, I have to write grants. I am a huge fan of Apple products so I would love to have a few iPod Touch’s as well as an iPad. With a grant, I could account for the cost of the technology, the insurance to make sure the technology will last for a while and money to buy and download free and low-cost games. I can find many math and reading games! The iPad in education proves how versatile it could be for every student. It would be one device that could serve to meet the various needs in my classroom. (Wish me luck as I write a grant next year for one!) These can be used for students who need extra attention, enrichment, and to support learned concepts during our literacy center time. Currently, according to Apple, an iPad starts at $499.
Since I teach in a Title 1 school-Fairview Elementary in Olathe Kansas-I have first-hand knowledge of cultural diversity among students. This is my third year of teaching and so far the majority of my students have been Hispanic. Of the Hispanics, I’ve had students come straight from Mexico as well as a mixture of students who have strong links to Mexico, but live here in Kansas. Other cultures that I’ve been blessed to of had the opportunity to work with are African Americans, Laotian and White. I’m embarrassed to admit, but my cultural experiences personally have been limited too. I never had the experiences of traveling and getting acquainted with others, but I hope to someday ☺! I was raised in a very small town in Nebraska. This small town was 99.9% White. My family moved to KC when I was 16 and that is where I met my first Hispanic and African American person. Back to the point-With my limited experiences, I’ve learned a lot about incorporating the Hispanic culture into my classroom. I’ve sat through many formal trainings about ELL’s in the classroom as well as personal study. I have yet to have a student with special needs in my classroom, but before I was a teacher I was a special education paraprofessional where I got to adapt teacher lessons to help my student. I know that I will someday and I want to be prepared!
Meeting the various learning needs through my instruction
o *Accompany instruction by illustrations or gestures.
o *Spending a lot of time during the first few months of school making observations of how my students interact with each other, their interests, and what activities they get involved in. I use these observations to help me determine the multiple intelligences in my classroom.
o Using a “2nd grade friendly” version of the multiple intelligences surveys provided online to help my students determine their intelligence. I could use these results to help guide planning well-balanced units that incorporate several different intelligences.
o Use instructional strategies found at TeacherVision.com to assist in planning lessons that meet the needs of special needs students.
o Using the multiple intelligences chart from TeacherVision.com, I can plan lessons using these key words knowing that I’m engaging certain multiple intelligences.
Meeting the various cultural needs through my classroom environment
o *mixed-gender and culture groups for seating.
o *“student of the week” structure where students get one week to share with the class many different things about themselves. As supported by Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2010), my students create family trees and share photographs to share a little about themselves and their family. (pg. 280)
o *Create a friendly environment that encourages communication, tolerance, and acceptance. Teach lessons to help students learn these skills and provide them with opportunities to practice them.
o *Value individual opinions and comments in small groups.
o Learn native language and teach students those words. Larri Fish of Siena College suggests this conveys respect.
o *Recognize important cultural events
o Create a classroom library that has multicultural books and authors (Fish).
*indicates practices currently in practice. Reflecting on this list makes me realize that I really need to focus on support the needs through my instruction. I am always learning new things! :-)
Using technology and resources could enhance my lessons by providing students with culturally rich experiences and opportunities they may not normally have the chance of experiencing. For example, we read a narrative story as a class about Chinatown. In the story, the little boy was visiting a grandparent in Chinatown and preparing for the Chinese New Year. As a part of the Chinese New Year celebration, the family watched a lion dance in the street. After reading the story, I had a few stories pulled from the library that students could read on their own time about the Chinese culture. We also watched a YouTube video of different lion dances and how the people prepare for them. I know after the rich conversations we had through this unit that my students will never forget that! We live so far away from China and Chinatown, but that didn’t limit our experiences.
Some dilemmas that we face have a lot to do with school funding. With school funds becoming increasingly tight, we can use interactive online fieldtrips to take students places that we can’t go. With technology we can go places far away while still being in our classroom! When my class learned about fossils, we took an interactive tour of a fossil exhibit in a museum (in Michigan-I believe). In addition to school funding, bringing more technology into the classroom is limited. In order for me to get the newest technology, I have to write grants. I am a huge fan of Apple products so I would love to have a few iPod Touch’s as well as an iPad. With a grant, I could account for the cost of the technology, the insurance to make sure the technology will last for a while and money to buy and download free and low-cost games. I can find many math and reading games! The iPad in education proves how versatile it could be for every student. It would be one device that could serve to meet the various needs in my classroom. (Wish me luck as I write a grant next year for one!) These can be used for students who need extra attention, enrichment, and to support learned concepts during our literacy center time. Currently, according to Apple, an iPad starts at $499.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Bloggin for Week One-week of May 23
Where am I and where do I want to go with technology in my classroom?
Overall, I feel like I use the technology in my classroom, but I know that I have so much more to learn about technology and how I can use different types with what I have available. Speaking of available-currently, my classroom has one computer, which is my desktop that sits on my desk. We are advised to not let students use our computer, but sometimes my students do. I have a laptop in my classroom, but that usually only lasts from August until February. After February, that pretty much disappears. On the computer, my students can access any internet website as well as downloaded applications. My absolute favorite piece of technology in my classroom, is my SMART Board! I love that I can be interactive with it, students can see what’s on my computer, and you can do so much with SMART Notebook! I also have a document camera, which I use occasionally. Other technology that I have
o Tape players and cd players for my reading center
o Camera for taking photos
As you can see, I feel limited at what I have! I am absolutely in love with new technology and getting it into my student’s hands! One day I hope to have several computers that stay in my classroom and some Apple products such as iTouch’s or iPads. I want to have the technology available at all times.
What are your top 3 elements of a 21st Century Classroom?
1) Technology! A 21st century classroom has to have 21st century technology readily available for student use. Students may not be able to use the technology at all times, but it is available and teachers are modeling how to use the technology.
2) Innovative and engaging lessons-teachers are planning lessons that involve a great amount of communication, the integration of technology, whether it’s from the delivery of the lesson or independent practice for students to use. Teachers consistently use 21st century tools to compliment the curriculum.
3) Opportunities!-these classrooms must provide the students with true learning situations where the students can apply learned skills in practical situations to help students prepare for the real world.
What kind of learning environment do I want to create for my students?
I want to create a learning environment that is conducive for optimal learning, comfortable to take risks, supportive from all aspects, engaging for students in a variety of situations and medias, and motivating!
What resources do I have to help me create the learning environment?
I have the collaboration with others who have experience and can offer valuable ideas. I also have an endless world of online resources that I can learn a lot from.
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