What?
We worked on our class site in class this week, most of the information and tools were very new to me. Our pages included About Me, Announcements, Classroom Tools, and Homework. The Tools page is the one I am least familiar with, so I plan on doing some extra work with that until I feel more comfortable and confident with it. I've never done much with links and videos, so this is a great activity for me!
So What?
This site would be a great central place for students and parents to keep informed, updated, and organized. There would be less confusion about my expectations, assignment and test due dates, and it would offer more resources to help give students what they need to truly succeed. Most families are able to access the internet in some way, even if it is at the public library, so no one should feel out of the loop or at any disadvantages when it comes to communication and knowledge of my classroom and any opportunities or expectations that arise. The more variety of tools I can use to communicate, the better! Technology and a class site will be at the top of the list.
Now What?
I most definitely plan on using a class site for my future classes. I will include information about myself as well as the environment and expectations for my classroom. This will help students and their parents know what to expect from me, and will hopefully help found a good and trusting relationship between us all. I will also incorporate a homework and calendar page, because I know how easy it is for students to miss information, forget dates and assignments, and forget to communicate things with their parents. They have other classes, a social life, and other responsibilities, so I want to make things as clear and accessible as possible for them. The Tools page is my favorite and I can't wait for my students to be able to utilize the information I put on there for them. Some things will be directly related to assignments, and some will just be there for extra help if they need it. The more resources for learning, practice, and application, the better! I never want my students to feel like they didn't know where to go for help.
I plan on continuing to learn about the possibilities a class site has to offer, and getting more comfortable and familiar with all of the functions that can be used to make it even better for my classes. I know that technology and all of the tools and options it offers is constantly changing, growing, and improving, so I can't wait to stay on the "spirit of discovery"train and keep learning all that I can!
Video: Pay Attention
This video mentioned the different kinds of learning styles that students (and people in general) have, but specifically said that they are all digital learners because of how much video games, cell phones, TV, computers etc are a part of their lives. This kind of technology adds richness to learning and allows for more engagement and higher level thinking, such as reaching the level of creating, not just knowing and understanding. The clip gave examples of how we can use the internet, cell phones, and iPods (podcasts) to help in the teaching of our students.The students already use these materials, why not utilize them in the classroom? The main point was that there are so many other tools that are already popular with our students, that we could use to enrich their learning and reach them on so many levels. Some of these things (like the internet) seemed like a "no duh!" to me, but other ideas, such as cell phone use in class, is something that I'm definitely not used to. I would be so worried they'd just text their friends during the class and would miss what was actually supposed to be learned that day. It would take me some brainstorming to find ways to make phones effective in an ASL classroom. I'm sure there are ways, I'm just not used to the idea of using cell phones in school. But, I know times have changed and I need to change with it. Part of being a teacher means being flexible and meeting your students' needs. That will mean going out on a limb and trying new things. Who knows- I could end up loving cell phones in class. We'll see!
This video mentioned the different kinds of learning styles that students (and people in general) have, but specifically said that they are all digital learners because of how much video games, cell phones, TV, computers etc are a part of their lives. This kind of technology adds richness to learning and allows for more engagement and higher level thinking, such as reaching the level of creating, not just knowing and understanding. The clip gave examples of how we can use the internet, cell phones, and iPods (podcasts) to help in the teaching of our students.The students already use these materials, why not utilize them in the classroom? The main point was that there are so many other tools that are already popular with our students, that we could use to enrich their learning and reach them on so many levels. Some of these things (like the internet) seemed like a "no duh!" to me, but other ideas, such as cell phone use in class, is something that I'm definitely not used to. I would be so worried they'd just text their friends during the class and would miss what was actually supposed to be learned that day. It would take me some brainstorming to find ways to make phones effective in an ASL classroom. I'm sure there are ways, I'm just not used to the idea of using cell phones in school. But, I know times have changed and I need to change with it. Part of being a teacher means being flexible and meeting your students' needs. That will mean going out on a limb and trying new things. Who knows- I could end up loving cell phones in class. We'll see!
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