Another Week, Another Blog

This week in SSED 307 we continued presenting our traditional lesson plans. These, we combine with Dr. Clarks class which allowed us to have a larger audience to present in front of. This was very helpful to have more people in the classroom while presenting. It made the lesson more realistic. Even while presenting a traditional lesson plan, it is suggested to still use technology in the classroom.

The article I found this week is from Teaching Strategies. This article talks about how to develop appropriate technology in the classroom. Some of the tips are to make sure to integrate technology into the classroom as much as possible. The teacher should provide a balance of activities in programs for young children and how it can relate to this around them in the real world. Also, it helps that students who are younger than two don't need to have technology interactions except for TV and things like that. Students who are five and older care more likely to understand. Teachers should be leaders and allow their students to use technology to teach their content and make the lessons engaging for students. 

Teachers should demonstrate teacher leadership when incorporating technology in the classroom. This is standard 1 and 4 of the North Carolina Teaching Standards. Relating this back to the article, teachers should be leaders and demonstrate how to use technology. 

And we're back!

I hope had an amazing spring break! I know that we are all ready to finish this semester with a bang (in a good way). This week in SSED307 we taught our flipped lesson to the class. I enjoyed getting to do this lesson. It was way different than the traditional but I really liked getting to do something new! I think that everyone did a wonderful job with this task and getting to see all of the other ideas and technology pieces used during the flipped lesson.

This week for my research I found an article, "Voxer Versatility: New Ways to Communicate",  from edutopia.org that explains Voxer being used in the classroom. Voxer is "a walkie-talkie app that allows a user to send and receive voice, photo, or text messages, all of which are saved on users' smartphones." This is a technology tool that "has been embraced by the educational community and has enabled students, teachers, and administrators to communicate broadly, easily, and instantly-- with transformative effects." With this technology tool, teachers are able to give meaningful feedback by recording things that students may be struggling with. Then, the student is able to use that recording when they go home or are having trouble remembering, and listen to the recording for help. Another useful point about Voxer is, you are able to hear intonations, the pauses and the bursts of excitement, which gives the student a personal connection. It is something that can be carried on the go and convenient. Voxer also includes back-channel conversations. This is where people are able to communicate and stay connected such as, the principal with the administrative team, staff and students. Last but not least, Voxer gives education the opportunity to connect across boundaries. Teachers can communicate with other teachers all around the world who they've never met. I thought this article gave me the chance to expand  my knowledge on technology tools.

North Carolina Teaching Standard number two is, "Teachers Establish a Respectful Environment for a Diverse Population of Students". Voxer is an example of a great way to use technology with every student. As the teacher, I can record something different for every student just to help them where they need it. This is a fun and easy way to engage students with learning and technology.

What a week it has been!

Midterm week is the second most stressful time of the semester. This is the time where teachers like to pile as much work on as possible. This also happens to be the week right before spring break. Let's be honest, everyones mind is on spring break and not really worried about school. However, this week our flipped lesson is due and it has been an eyeopening assignment. I am so amazed and how much time and information it takes to create a flipped lesson. I am glad to say that everything that I have been learning is finally starting to fall into place and make sense. It's such a relief to know that the information that you are learning is actually being put to use!

For my research this week I found a really cool website that relates to my PDP goal that I am trying to reach. This website is called, Kiddle. I found this website on twitter, which was tweeted by Kasey Bell. The tweet gave the link to the website, which is www.kiddle.co. This is a great source for students to use in or out of the classroom. It is set up just like Google, however, it is safe for kids and blocks websites, images and other things that are not safe for students to see. The information that is also given on this website is written specifically for kids to understand. This is a easy and safe way to include technology into the classroom. Students can use this when doing research for a project or paper. The information is accurate and it even includes pictures. 

Standard 4 of the NC Teacher Standards says, Teachers facilitate learning for their students. This relates to the website that I included because it is a way for teachers to include technology into the classroom. This is a way to help students think critically by researching and creating a product from their research.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe spring break!