Hello,
Currently my favorite teacher/teaching website is Khan Academy for two reasons, with the first being the dedication and passion of Salman Khan, the website's creator, and the other is the website itself.
Salman Khan is the creator of this web resource and initially began it to help teach his daughter mathematics but it has branched out into so much more since then. However, he still does not take a profit from the website and has all of the videos free for the world to watch and learn. I think this is amazing because in a world where money and greed often seem like the driving force, there is at least one person who cares enough about learning to spread education for free.
Secondly, this website is a fantastic resource for teachers. For example, I have recently been tutoring my significant other in the subject of finite mathematics. We recently began to cover the concept of matrices and in order to break down this concept and place it in more visual and easy to understand terms, I used a Khan Academy video to supplement what I was teaching him. Not only did this video refresh my memory, it also helped my significant other have a greater understanding of how to complete his take home assignment.
Overall, this website is a wonderful tool to supplement teaching, but not to replace it. I would highly recommend it as a resource to refresh memories and to help those who may be struggling with a concept, especially mathematics concepts.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and I hope you find Khan Academy as helpful as I have.
Thank you,
Olivia
www.khanacademy.org
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Ability Project
Hello,
For my Education 240 class (Teaching Students with Exceptionalities) we have the opportunity to choose from a number of different ability projects to complete for a final grade this semester. I have chosen to complete the project called, Cover to Cover: A Novel Idea. This project involves reading a book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer in my case, and reflect/respond on the material and reading throughout the process of completing the book.
To meet the objective of documenting my reactions, thoughts, reflections, and responses, I have chosen to use this blog page as my resource. I am planning on completing one post for every chapter that I read, with varying lengths depending on my reactions and how much I learn during each chapter.
Once I finish the book, I will create a visual presentation to display and present in my Education 240 classroom, as well as prepare a portfolio ready final reflection (details to come).
I hope you enjoy my posts and feel free to read the book along with me and comment on my posts with your thoughts, reflections, and responses.
Thank you,
Olivia
For my Education 240 class (Teaching Students with Exceptionalities) we have the opportunity to choose from a number of different ability projects to complete for a final grade this semester. I have chosen to complete the project called, Cover to Cover: A Novel Idea. This project involves reading a book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer in my case, and reflect/respond on the material and reading throughout the process of completing the book.
To meet the objective of documenting my reactions, thoughts, reflections, and responses, I have chosen to use this blog page as my resource. I am planning on completing one post for every chapter that I read, with varying lengths depending on my reactions and how much I learn during each chapter.
Once I finish the book, I will create a visual presentation to display and present in my Education 240 classroom, as well as prepare a portfolio ready final reflection (details to come).
I hope you enjoy my posts and feel free to read the book along with me and comment on my posts with your thoughts, reflections, and responses.
Thank you,
Olivia
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Poster My Wall
This website also has an easy to use interface with step by step directions on how to make a poster from scratch. Also, it has different templates that you can use to make a poster as well if you prefer to work with a template. I chose to make a photo with the step by step directions and the poster that I made is pictured below.
It is a collage format poster using photos from a camping trip that I recently went on. However, this type of poster can be used for different teacher items as well. For example, this type of poster could be used with photos from a class field trip or even a classroom roster for the first day of school welcome. Overall, I would recommend this program for teachers and people in general because of its easy to use interface and directions as well as its ability to interact with Facebook throughout the program.
www.postermywall.com
Friday, October 12, 2012
Reflection #4
For this critical reflection, we were asked to review four different websites on copyright to gain an understanding of copyright and how closely teachers have to work with copyright. Teachers have many different aspects of copyright that they deal with. First of all, as citizens, they need to know the personal and general guidelines of copyright. Secondly, there are specific rules and exceptions that apply to teachers, and as teachers, they need to know what they can and cannot use and show in an education setting. And lastly, teachers frequently have the responsibility of teaching their learners how important copyright is, how to use it, and provide an excellent example of following copyright.
The first website that we were asked to review is an article titled 15 copyright rules every student should know. This article is extremely helpful in 2 different ways. First of all, it is helpful as a tool to adapt and simplify for use as a teaching tool, making sure to follow copyright of course. The reason it would be a great teaching tool is the fact that it identifies a select number of important things to know about copyright whereas many other sources often have you search through the fine print to find what is important overall. Secondly, this article specifies that it is guidelines for students. This may seem like a small detail, but it make a large impact by putting this information into a select category for people to understand the groups of people different copyright rules and laws coincide with.
The second website we were asked to review is an interactive website about Taking the Mystery out of Copyright. This website is a perfect resource for elementary school learners to use when learning and being taught how to use copyright. The information is visually exciting, interactively presented, and the important points are repeated often for a higher chance of understanding and remembering. Secondly, this website is linked to the Library of Congress so students as well as teachers can learn more information in addition to what the website provides if their interest is peaked. Overall, I would recommend this website as a teaching tool for copyright lessons and understanding.
The third website we were asked to review is a website with information about copyright specifically geared towards teachers and school librarians. This is similar to the first article in that it lays out guidelines for a specific group of people who interact with copyright on a daily basis. This website is interactive with videos to present for different topics. These topics are broken up into logical and helpful categories such as, Why should I care about copyright and What is fair use? There is a significant amount of information on this website that is laid over very smartly and user friendly. However, in my personal opinion, the videos seem like they are more trouble than they are worth because one man is talking at a screen as if he was lecturing in a class. While this is what works for some people, it does not work for me because, to me, videos are supposed to be interesting and visually appealing, where these videos are a touch on the boring side. I do, however, appreciate the information and the effort that was put into helping teachers and school librarians across the country.
And lastly, the fourth website we were asked to review is about Teaching Copyright. This website is amazing because it outlines how to teach students about copyright, and in doing so, helps teachers review, learn, and further understand copyright at a level that is necessary to teach. In addition, this website is visually appealing and able to keep both an adult and learner’s attention for a longer span of time. I would highly recommend this website and I will most likely use it myself when I have my own classroom someday.
The links for these websites are below. Feel free to look through them and make your own decisions about the information, and whether you agree or disagree with my opinions and understandings, feel free to comment and share them below.
Thank you,
Olivia
Links:
15 Copyright Rules every student should know
http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/03/06/15-copyright-rules-every-student-should-know/
Taking the Mystery out of Copyright
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/
Copyright for Teachers and School Librarian
http://users.mhc.edu/facultystaff/awalter/Brim%20site/index.html
Teaching Copyright
http://www.teachingcopyright.org/
The first website that we were asked to review is an article titled 15 copyright rules every student should know. This article is extremely helpful in 2 different ways. First of all, it is helpful as a tool to adapt and simplify for use as a teaching tool, making sure to follow copyright of course. The reason it would be a great teaching tool is the fact that it identifies a select number of important things to know about copyright whereas many other sources often have you search through the fine print to find what is important overall. Secondly, this article specifies that it is guidelines for students. This may seem like a small detail, but it make a large impact by putting this information into a select category for people to understand the groups of people different copyright rules and laws coincide with.
The second website we were asked to review is an interactive website about Taking the Mystery out of Copyright. This website is a perfect resource for elementary school learners to use when learning and being taught how to use copyright. The information is visually exciting, interactively presented, and the important points are repeated often for a higher chance of understanding and remembering. Secondly, this website is linked to the Library of Congress so students as well as teachers can learn more information in addition to what the website provides if their interest is peaked. Overall, I would recommend this website as a teaching tool for copyright lessons and understanding.
The third website we were asked to review is a website with information about copyright specifically geared towards teachers and school librarians. This is similar to the first article in that it lays out guidelines for a specific group of people who interact with copyright on a daily basis. This website is interactive with videos to present for different topics. These topics are broken up into logical and helpful categories such as, Why should I care about copyright and What is fair use? There is a significant amount of information on this website that is laid over very smartly and user friendly. However, in my personal opinion, the videos seem like they are more trouble than they are worth because one man is talking at a screen as if he was lecturing in a class. While this is what works for some people, it does not work for me because, to me, videos are supposed to be interesting and visually appealing, where these videos are a touch on the boring side. I do, however, appreciate the information and the effort that was put into helping teachers and school librarians across the country.
And lastly, the fourth website we were asked to review is about Teaching Copyright. This website is amazing because it outlines how to teach students about copyright, and in doing so, helps teachers review, learn, and further understand copyright at a level that is necessary to teach. In addition, this website is visually appealing and able to keep both an adult and learner’s attention for a longer span of time. I would highly recommend this website and I will most likely use it myself when I have my own classroom someday.
The links for these websites are below. Feel free to look through them and make your own decisions about the information, and whether you agree or disagree with my opinions and understandings, feel free to comment and share them below.
Thank you,
Olivia
Links:
15 Copyright Rules every student should know
http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/03/06/15-copyright-rules-every-student-should-know/
Taking the Mystery out of Copyright
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/
Copyright for Teachers and School Librarian
http://users.mhc.edu/facultystaff/awalter/Brim%20site/index.html
Teaching Copyright
http://www.teachingcopyright.org/
VCSU's Education Program
Hello,
I am currently attending Valley City State University for the Elementary Education Program. This program prepares its students to be effective and passionate teachers. This is my first semester with a majority of my classes being elementary education classes. It is a large adjustment from the classes I am used to taking in college because these classes are more project based where most of my previous classes have been test based.
Initially, I had a hard time adjusting to all the little projects assigned during each week but as the semester is continuing, handling all the little projects is getting a little bit easier. Even though it is stressful, I am glad we have project based classes because I think they help us prepare for a child's and elementary school's schedule. Elementary schools are filled with many different activities that require many transitions led by teachers and since we are future teachers, we need to know how to transition quickly and efficiently between different projects.
As part of the Elementary education Program and my classes this semester, we have a 40 hour field experience in elementary education classrooms. I was placed into a 4th grade classroom and have completed just around half of my hours so far. This experience significantly helps me understand the objective behind different assignments and projects of my college classes where, without this field experience, I would not necessarily have understood the importance of many aspects of my classes.
My field experience has helped me so what an actual day as a teacher is like. There are numerous transitions, little time to work on each subject, and different routines for the overall classroom as well as specific students. It is really exciting on one end but also very intimidating on the other.
I am a multi-tasker by nature and I think that is both an advantage and disadvantage in the classroom. I believe that it is an advantage in the sense of being able to complete multiple things at once, such as asking students whether they want hot or cold lunch while still keeping an eye out for each learner in classroom and making sure to meet their needs. However, it is also a disadvantage because I often want to work on homework, projects, etc. while I am talking to someone else or listening to a movie, show, presentation, etc. but that is not approriate in the elementary school setting. When you are with the learners, 100% of your attention needs to be on them, not the things you need to get done for that night or the next day. In addition, it would not be appropriate to work on other tasks while also paying attention and participating in a staff meeting because it is often seen as disrespectful, even though I am paying attention and absorbing what is going on and being said. This will be a struggle for me, and already is in many of my education classes where I get in trouble for multi-tasking (a really big stress reliever for me) even though I am paying attention and tracking the information.
Overall, I am learning many things every day, both formally and informally, and hopefully one day I can take all those things, descern which parts I want to absorb and/or adjust, and be a very effective and inspiring teacher.
Thank you,
Olivia
I am currently attending Valley City State University for the Elementary Education Program. This program prepares its students to be effective and passionate teachers. This is my first semester with a majority of my classes being elementary education classes. It is a large adjustment from the classes I am used to taking in college because these classes are more project based where most of my previous classes have been test based.
Initially, I had a hard time adjusting to all the little projects assigned during each week but as the semester is continuing, handling all the little projects is getting a little bit easier. Even though it is stressful, I am glad we have project based classes because I think they help us prepare for a child's and elementary school's schedule. Elementary schools are filled with many different activities that require many transitions led by teachers and since we are future teachers, we need to know how to transition quickly and efficiently between different projects.
As part of the Elementary education Program and my classes this semester, we have a 40 hour field experience in elementary education classrooms. I was placed into a 4th grade classroom and have completed just around half of my hours so far. This experience significantly helps me understand the objective behind different assignments and projects of my college classes where, without this field experience, I would not necessarily have understood the importance of many aspects of my classes.
My field experience has helped me so what an actual day as a teacher is like. There are numerous transitions, little time to work on each subject, and different routines for the overall classroom as well as specific students. It is really exciting on one end but also very intimidating on the other.
I am a multi-tasker by nature and I think that is both an advantage and disadvantage in the classroom. I believe that it is an advantage in the sense of being able to complete multiple things at once, such as asking students whether they want hot or cold lunch while still keeping an eye out for each learner in classroom and making sure to meet their needs. However, it is also a disadvantage because I often want to work on homework, projects, etc. while I am talking to someone else or listening to a movie, show, presentation, etc. but that is not approriate in the elementary school setting. When you are with the learners, 100% of your attention needs to be on them, not the things you need to get done for that night or the next day. In addition, it would not be appropriate to work on other tasks while also paying attention and participating in a staff meeting because it is often seen as disrespectful, even though I am paying attention and absorbing what is going on and being said. This will be a struggle for me, and already is in many of my education classes where I get in trouble for multi-tasking (a really big stress reliever for me) even though I am paying attention and tracking the information.
Overall, I am learning many things every day, both formally and informally, and hopefully one day I can take all those things, descern which parts I want to absorb and/or adjust, and be a very effective and inspiring teacher.
Thank you,
Olivia
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Field Experience Reflection
Hello Everyone,
This semester I am completing a 40 hour Field Experience in a 4th grade classroom. It is different being in a classroom as more of a teacher role than as a student. It is different because I am starting to be in charge of and responsible for others. I make decisions each day I am in the classroom that directly effects a child's learning. It is a lot of responsibility and I am extremely grateful for the chance to have some experience in a classroom like this before becoming an official teacher.
I am really grateful to my Field Experience teacher because she is so wonderful and supportive of me learning. She always has something for me to do and trusts me with the students and that means a significant amount to me. She even let me teach a lesson to half of the class unobserved one day and that was amazing. It was so wonderful to see all of these students learning because of what I am doing. It is a wonderful feeling that I am excited to experience many many times in the future.
Thank you,
Olivia
This semester I am completing a 40 hour Field Experience in a 4th grade classroom. It is different being in a classroom as more of a teacher role than as a student. It is different because I am starting to be in charge of and responsible for others. I make decisions each day I am in the classroom that directly effects a child's learning. It is a lot of responsibility and I am extremely grateful for the chance to have some experience in a classroom like this before becoming an official teacher.
I am really grateful to my Field Experience teacher because she is so wonderful and supportive of me learning. She always has something for me to do and trusts me with the students and that means a significant amount to me. She even let me teach a lesson to half of the class unobserved one day and that was amazing. It was so wonderful to see all of these students learning because of what I am doing. It is a wonderful feeling that I am excited to experience many many times in the future.
Thank you,
Olivia
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Field Experience
Hello everyone,
Over the past couple weeks I have begun and gotten used to having field experience in a 4th grade classroom on Monday and Wednesday mornings. I really like being in the classroom and working with the students. I also really like helping my teacher with grading and extra work that she needs to get done. This last Wednesday, she said, "You are so efficient". That made me feel really good because I pride myself on being efficient and want to do my best to help make her life easier while I am in the classroom.
While I love being in the classroom, getting up around 6am to be at school by 8 is a bit of a struggle. It would be less of a struggle if I was able to go to bed fairly early but since I have college classes, am a Resident Assistant, and have homework, this is not a realistic goal. I hope that when I am a teacher I will be able to go to bed earlier so that it is not as hard to get up in the morning.
I really like the teacher that I have been assigned to for my field experience. She is kind and treats the students with respect but still has a handle on the management of the classroom. I hope I will be as good of a teacher as she is when I start teaching.
Thank you,
Olivia
Over the past couple weeks I have begun and gotten used to having field experience in a 4th grade classroom on Monday and Wednesday mornings. I really like being in the classroom and working with the students. I also really like helping my teacher with grading and extra work that she needs to get done. This last Wednesday, she said, "You are so efficient". That made me feel really good because I pride myself on being efficient and want to do my best to help make her life easier while I am in the classroom.
While I love being in the classroom, getting up around 6am to be at school by 8 is a bit of a struggle. It would be less of a struggle if I was able to go to bed fairly early but since I have college classes, am a Resident Assistant, and have homework, this is not a realistic goal. I hope that when I am a teacher I will be able to go to bed earlier so that it is not as hard to get up in the morning.
I really like the teacher that I have been assigned to for my field experience. She is kind and treats the students with respect but still has a handle on the management of the classroom. I hope I will be as good of a teacher as she is when I start teaching.
Thank you,
Olivia
Winter Coming Early?
Today is October 4th and when I looked out my window this morning, it was snowing...SNOWING!!! IN OCTOBER!! I thought it was supposed to be global "warming" not "cooling". I think someone made a deal with Mother Nature last year to get a mild winter and this year she has decided to make them pay up, and I guess whoever made the deal lives near me...
If I had my way in winter, there would never be more than a light blanket of snow on the ground and the wind would never dry out my skin. That would be a nice wintery place to live, however, this place does not exist...oh well.
Olivia
If I had my way in winter, there would never be more than a light blanket of snow on the ground and the wind would never dry out my skin. That would be a nice wintery place to live, however, this place does not exist...oh well.
Olivia
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