QR: Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Chapter ten is short but really has alt in it. Because it discusses how we can bring learning outside of the classroom into the classroom. I really love this chapter because it has given me, personally some ideas on how I can do this in my own class. Because from this I could bring people in who experience things in history, I mean it could be anyone, and that right there can bring learning alive for kids. It can get kids interested because they will be able to connect with the past and understand people from the past and people that actually went through the events being studied. I guess I never thought of it but I will look into bringing some outside or bring kids to outside sources during my class.

QR: Chapter 9

Chapter 9

This chapter deals with a lot of things that I have faced in my own life, thing like having to face the facts and maybe dropping out, or not knowing what to do to succeed in a class. Throughout this chapter I was asking myself why some of my teachers never asked some of those question, why they never did some of the things that were suggested in this chapter. If some of my teachers had I think that I would have done a lot better. Things like simply asking how your students feel about their grade and how they want to make it up to hw here they can succeed in the class. I guess the whole of this chapter is just making the point to teachers that if you want to become a good, or for that matter great teacher you kind of have to care. You have to care about what your students think or what they are thinking. You but if you don’t care because its one of “those” kids then at least pretend you care because you, if there’s nothing at home or these kids, could be the one thing in their life that turns everything around for them, because you at least pretend that you care.

QR: Chapter 8

Chapter 8

This chapter deals with students who are have English as there second language. What interests me about this chapter is not the fact that teaching these kids can be hard or what we need to do to help these kids learn the information. But what surprised me was the fact that getting to know these students is really important to them. That leaning who they are, where they come from, why they are here, and what there life is like is so important to these students. I don’t know, I guess I just thought that this small yet important part of the chapter was interesting, and was something good to point out. This chapter also suggests several things like lowering the level of English and also going the extra mile to make sure that these students understand the information and are learning at the same pace that the other students are learning at. Besides this there are so many other examples that I love and will put into my teaching if I ever come across this in the teaching career. But there really are way to many thing that I want to discusses to be able to put it all into a blog.

QR: Chapter 7

Chapter 7

This chapter, as the heading explains, talks about being able to teach hard material to students. Once again I like this chapter, well I guess I should say that I just really love the whole book. I love how this chapter outlines, not from a teachers view, or some doctor that sat in a chair for the last ten years, but its written from the view point of students, and it tells u what we need to know from them, it tells we as teachers need to do to help them understand hard material. They give several examples of helping students like linking material and trying several different approaches. I like how students suggest not just sticking with a textbook. I like this because I think it is hard to learn from a textbook. All these things and more I will use in my class because a lot of material is hard to understand. I really like the part about sticking to the text book, I know I mentioned it already but I love this part because I want students to get information from several resources, because hard material will come easier if they have several different view, so they can then form a view of there own about the information.

QR: Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Alright this chapter essentially tells us teacher not to remind kids why they are in school and not to tell them that school is important because kids are not stupid. It tells us that students know that school is important they know why they are there. I really like this because I think teachers forget that I think they forget that students, although being young, and inexperienced, are not stupid at all they have brains and opinions. The only other thing I really want to look at in this chapter is the passionate teacher part where students will be interested and like the material of they know that their teacher themselves passionate about the material, and I know for myself that this is true. When I got up to teach I tried to put in as much passion and as much energy as I possibly could into my teacher, and kids respond to this. The students that I talked to after said they actually like going to class when I teach and says that they are interested. This book is good at pointing out what really does work.

QR: Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Alright chapter four is nice because I really like how right from the first page it outlines a few types of kids that there are in a class, and after reading them I can see them and pick out the kids who are those kids in my classes. This chapter emphizes that all of these kids are important to the classroom environment and that you really have to pay attention to them and their characteristics. This chapter then goes into how group work should be done. I love this because I really don’t understand yet how to make groups and actually make them work together so that everyone is happy. Chapter five says that you must make far groups so that not just one students is pulling the weight, one solution to this is roles, where each student has a role in the groups and must fulfill the requirements of that role. I think that a great idea, because if you don’t do something one person in a group really does do all of the work.

QR: Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Alright, once again I do like this chapter and why? Because it explains how to help kids want to learn. I really like how the students in fires tell us that we are suppose to help them they remind us that we need to teach material but we must help them understand that they can succeed at learning the material., according to the fires in the bathroom that is what students wan t from us. To be honest this is the best part in the chapter and really the only part I actually care about because I can connect with it. While at MBHS I had a really low level class and they thought they couldn’t learn, you know thy knew that they were the stupid kids, but I did some of the stuff that fires tells us to do and after doing it they actual pay attention. It seemed like they wanted to learn like they were really interested in the material, and I loved it. As far as chapter four goes it just has emphasized the desire to help kids understand that they can learn.

QR: Chapter 3

Chapter 3

In chapter three there is a lot of useful information that I can use in my classroom. One of the biggest questions that I have found myself asking while being in the schools is what I should do when I come to the issue of classroom behavior. N this chapter we get down to the nitty gritty of things, and I found one thing in this chapter that I really like and will defiantly be using and that is the students coming up with their own rules and regulations. I really like this way of thinking about keeping the classroom under control because most times I think of myself having of use my own rule and being afraid of kids just not paying attention to them. In this chapter we get some examples and a table of questions that help us with our students set the rules for classroom behavior. The only thing with this, like the book points pout is the fact that we as teachers then have to follow up on whatever punishments students and teachers agree on, because we must show our students we are serious with this and will enforce their rules.

Which strategies are most effective for teaching and learning with technology?

As far as teaching technology I think the best way for teachers to learn is to use it, and use it often. But for students a kind of show and tell is the best way because that is the easiest way to learn technology in a classroom setting. But one thing that everyone must understand is that to learn technology, to really learn it, you must use it, if you learn how to use something and then never do it then you lose that information and can never really be comfortable use whatever technology you just tried to learn. But speaking of the technology revolution in our schools and learning and teaching. I think that we must teach all of our administrators and teachers about this new technology and how to integrate that technology in the classroom. If we do this I think that this revolution will be better accepted across the country and it will happen faster. But if we continue to let technology scare us and scare the older teachers in the schools systems we will never be able to integrate technology into our schools. Or it will take years for us to be able to integrate something that should only take one or two years. I also think it is important for all teacher and student for that matter to petition the government to adequately fund our school system so that we can get this technology. Because, for me as a student who always went to public schools, I am tired of our country priding itself on our education and then turning around and cutting school funding, it make no sense, because we are then jipping the generation that come after us. Teacher should not have to do more with less, because to get this technology into the class rooms and to give our kids the best education we can, in takes money, and that is the key to winning this type of revolution in the classroom. Before the end of the year I think that we should discuss this in the classroom because I its something we will all have to deal with, and I think that it is an important issue for every teacher and student in the country. I would also, if possible, like to see us write a letter to the governor or maybe one of our Senators about the funding issue as well. I don’t know, I just think that this is a great topic for class that will would really like to spend some time on, to get other peoples perspective.

But so far I’ve learnt so much and am excited to start integrating technology into my classroom and really start coming up with my own ideas and new ideas on how to use technology in my classroom. The only thing that I would like to see

How can you effectively integrate technology into your teaching and learning?

For me personally I am going to try to use technology in my classroom as much as possible. I will not have any handouts or study guides on paper, they will all be online on a wiki, however I would make exceptions for those who have no computer at home. I would also us blogging to hand in all papers and to write journal entry about the material being taught. But once again we have to make exceptions. Its really something I want to do, this way my student will have to be organized and will not have to deal with all that paper. Not to mention it will also keep me organized as a teacher, which is one of the most important parts of the classroom. I will also use Google earth a lot in my classroom, I think that Google earth could make my two subjects really connect and would be really exciting for my students. In Geography I would use it to look at the earth and its uniqueness, all of the great landmarks of the earth like the grand canyon, or Mount Saint Helens, and for history I would bring my students to the place that we are studying so that my students can actually see what we are studying instead of having to imagine it. I will also use the smart board extensively if I get one in my classroom. Talking to my sister this week, she told me that they just got two of them and she is really excited about, although the older teachers of course are skeptical of the new technology. But if I get one I will use it a lot in class because I think it is a great tool. Lastly I will make use of PowerPoint when ever I can because they are simple and kids don’t have to take notes, instead they can really pay attention to the information, and I can post them online instead of them taking notes while trying to also absorb the information.

Why might it be important for students to learn with technology?

When I first came to school to become a teacher I was of the opinion that technology in the classroom was a waste of money and time. I don’t really remember why I thought this way but I guess I thought that the only way that a teacher could use technology in the classroom was in a science class. I probably though this because I had teachers that felt this way and so therefore never got a chance to experience how students can us technology in the classroom everyday. But after take this class for three weeks, and it only took three weeks I’ve become excited about using technology and think we should use it whenever we can. Because in today’s modern world students can learn faster and absorb information better through the use of technology, if this is working for kids, then why go back to the past? Just like the laptop computers for kids, although I don’t necessarily agree about having laptops, I think that at least every desk in the school should have a computer. This way, teachers can really use technology in the classrooms. Besides this I think that teachers should use things like wiki’s and Google earth as much as they can just to get their kids interested and excited about the material. Because as everyone knows, if we are excited about material then we as individuals will always not only enjoy learning the material, but we will be able to learn and understand that material at a higher understanding. If technology can help us teacher in our line of work then it is important that we go all out and really integrate the classrooms. However, we cant go to far, by saying we should integrate the entire class room into the technology world we should not replace the teacher. Now, I’m not just saying this because I would be out of a job, but because I don’t think that we can replace the human aspect of learning completely, we should use technology as a tool, not to completely teach our children. Lastly there is one thing that I would love to add to this and that is about Blogging. I love the blog aspect of technology because I think it is an easy way for student to hand in work. This also allows students to save money and to not have to go through the hassle of using all that paper. Doing this will help our students become better organized because they don’t have to deal with all that paper; but, most importantly blogging and the use of wiki’s could eliminate the use of all paper in schools saving millions of dollars in the schools systems. This could then be put towards books or more after school activities. The only thing that can come from using and integrating more and more technology is good things, and I’m very excited to be one of the first generation to go out to the schools and start the revolution. A s for this stuff, by the end of the course I would really like to be able to have a class discussion on how using blogs and wikis could improve the classroom, I know we’ve done one but I wish we could go deeper into the topic. I would also like to maybe have our class sit down and teach people from mount Blue about the use of blogs and wikis and maybe try to get them to be the first school to adopt this idea and really embrace it.

Wiki

Well, alright, I really like the whole practicum wiki that was done for a project, I think that every practicum class should do that. The one and most important reason why I really like the website is becouse we can blow off steam about work, teachers, and really each other I think that its a good idea. I also really like how we could have reminders about hw on that website, thats one thing that I think should be added to it by the designers so that none of us will never, ever forget about hw or anything like that ever again. :) Overall, I really like this website and I think it can really be a good resource for our practicum class. As for being able to use wikis in my own class room i do plan to be able to use one. I really want to use the wiki so i can keep in touch with my students, about any information that they need to know or what they want me to know, i would do this by having one of those discussion boards on the wiki. I would also like to use the wiki for class assignment ss and so i can post document for my student on the website. These document for me would range from simple links that i want my students to look at, or handouts that they will need, or also article that i will pout on the wiki for them to read. I think the wikis are an important step to eliminating paper in the schools, and basically forcing our students to become organized. Idk i just really like the idea of wikis being used in the classroom, and i intend to use them in my history class.

NYT Middle School Article

All right then, this article is about taking middle schools out of the picture. For those who are for that idea they believe these schools should be replaced with k-8 schools or 6-12 schools. These people argue that these schools help students grades and also teach them how to look forward into the future because they will either be the roles models or they will have older high school role models to look up to. Therefore they will have be more successful, obtaining better grades, and behaving better in schools. However the other thought is that middle schools should be kept, because it offers that important transition stage form middle school to high school during a very volatile stage in a young persons life.

For my personal belief I think the purely, middle schools should consolidated into elementary school making a k-8 school so to save money. I know this has nothing to do with the argument but in the background this is also on people minds and I probably the actual thing that is driving this argument. I do not think that kids in 6^th grade should be thrust into high school. Because 11 to 13 year olds see do not need things to see things like sex, bullying on a high school level, and drugs these kids are ready for that. I think that they should take the role of the older kids, so that they can feel what that is like. But I also think that these 6 to 8^th graders still need to have the same experience that they would normally have in a middle school, small classes different teachers harder work so, traveling form class to class, so that they can still be eased into the high school system and not be completely overwhelmed by it. I do not think an 11 year old could handle this overwhelming feeling because they now have to deal with much old kids, sex, drugs, and an nurturing environment, which is something that kids at that age need. So I think you would find in a k-8 school, these kids are feeling that they are the big shots because they are the older students and therefore they will work harder, you will have less violence if you explain to them that the younger kids are looking up to them, and you can still provide a nurturing environment for these kids, and you are able to ease them into high school this way. Middle school, just to touch on this, isolates 7^th and 8^th graders from all the other age groups, it’s just a holding cell till they move on to highs school. This is not the right approach and I have never thought it was because that’s what these kid feel, that its just a holding block for two years.

PODCAST

Okay, well after listening to the podcast it was pretty interesting. Not only was it interesting becouse it was a podcast, I have never really heard one before, but it was interesting because of the content of the podcast. Essentially the podcast was about integrating gaming into a classroom. The speaker tells teachers that we need to actively engage students for the entire time that we have them; this means that we need to figure out new and improved ways of keeping their attention on the material at hand.
One way that our speaker tells us is a good way for keeping the attention of modern day students is with games or gaming. Our speaker tells us gaming can be incorporated into what we are teaching kids and will also keep them actively engaged in the task at hand. I think this is a really good idea because many of today’s kids do game, and therefore having games in the classroom is a really good way to get them directly involved with the classroom. However, our speaker points out that many digital immigrants have shot down this idea because older immigrants think video games are superficial. However my generation and the new generations of teachers, I think, will be more apt to bring games into the classroom because we grew up with gaming and games ourselves for the most part. I will most likely try and find someway to bring either video or even board games into my classroom as n educational tool.
As for the other podcast that we had to listen t, well I really couldn’t find one that I liked at all but, I can tell you when looking through some of them there are a lot of freaks out there that do these podcast, and it kind of scary. But finally I settled on a sports talk show that was on at the time and it was actually pretty good, I don’t know if it was recorded or not or if it was live, but it was still pretty good.

QR Copywirte

Wow, I can’t believe what I’ve just read about copyright. First of all after reading this it’s like all those years of teachers telling me to write down sources and to get permission from people have all been thrown out the window. Now, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing I’m just saying that I cant believe it. I think that as far as teachers go we should be able to use any resources we want, weather those sources are copyrighted or not. If it’s for an educational purpose, to advance the material that we are teaching to a higher level or if it’s to expand the knowledge of our students copyright laws should not stand I our way. However, we cannot cross the very thin line of good use and bad use. If we do as teachers use this material and also forgo the copywriter laws what we must not do is take credit for that material, saying that it is our own work. That’s crossing the line, using it to further our student understanding of material is one thing but taking credit for writing or making that material is a completely different idea. So if we are to forgo copywriter laws and use this privilege as teachers we cannot abuse it or we may loose that privilege.

Qr Blogging

So far my blog experience has been really easy, its not hard keeping up a blog and it is not at all hard making entries really all one has to do is fallow the direction and you’ll be fine. But if I have to say if anything is frustrating is when my other account wouldn’t open and I couldn’t get into it for some reason, so I had to start a whole new account and reenter all of my entire. Hopefully this doesn’t happen again because if it does ill have a lot more to replace.

Netday

Well after looking at the data on the NetDay chats I am for the most part amazed and on the other hand not amazed at all. When looking at the data obviously these kids are going to have had some experience in use technology. But I was surprised to see how much the numbers have gone up since computers were first introduced in our livers. It is also amazing how young some of these kids are when they first start using computers, some of them are only in kindergarteners, and of course as the grade level goes up the more students use computer.
But for the most part in comparing myself to these kids I may not have had a computer at such a young age but I am proficient enough to be able to put my computer skills up against the average high school student. But it does not surprise me at all that these kids are so proficient in using computers because they get to start using them at such a young age.
Lastly after seeing this data I think its increasingly more important to have computer in each room so that these kids can learn material in a way that they are already learning information, just transfer the skill from home to the classroom.

QR Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lastly in chapter two I found a list that really helped me remember back to my high school days, and really made me look at how kids will be looking at me while I’m in the classroom. One page 19 there is the “if you’re looking for respect” list. I think this list is a very important thing because it really does outline what kids want from their teachers. For instance the first one is Show up on time. By trying to put myself in their shoes this is a really important part of the list. If we as teachers expect our students to be in the class when the bell rings then we should be in the classroom as well, not walking the hall or talking to other teachers. This list also applies to work, and I remember this really well from high school. If a teacher expects his or her students to have their work in on time then that teacher should be passing back the work within a decent amount of time. Doing this isn’t a matter of getting the work done and handing out grades but it’s a matter of respect, if we want students to have their work done and in on time they will expect, and rightly so, that we try to hand back the work to them “on time”, exactly what this list is trying to tell us how to get.

QR Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Knowing Students Well” is a really good chapter that I gained a lot of insight from but the most important point that I found, and that I actually might use is on page 7. Here at the bottom of the page Cushman discusses how having your student write a journal is one way of getting to know them. After reading this I thought of how I could apply this to my classroom, which would most likely be geography or history. I thought if it were history I would have student look at their family history and begin keeping a journal while researching it. This way I get to know them through their family and how they do their research. In geography I would have them keep a journal about the their surrounding neighborhood, this way I learn things about them, they learn things about themselves, about their neighborhood, and they connect geography with their everyday lives.

QR: Introduction

Introduction

In the Introduction starting on page XVI, in the last paragraph and continuing onto the next page there is a story about a kid named Bryant who you would think is just the normal trouble maker in a classroom, but through talking with him we get to understand that isn’t the truth at all. After talking with Bryant Cushman finds that the problem stems from not feeling accepted into the classroom by the teacher or by the other students. I think this is an important point that she makes because most teachers would have just brushed it off by saying he’s a troublemaker and giving the kid detention. But instead we finds that if we can talk to the kids then we can find out what is really going on, this emphasizes the personal, although limited, contact teachers should have with their student so that simple things like not being accepted can be changed, another point for my give and take theory.

QR: Fires

Preface

For the Preface my favorite part is on page XI fourth paragraph down, here the author is talking about how kids in high school need to be known, but at the same time maintain boundaries, they crave learning, and they want respect from their teachers. This part is great because I can remember when I was in high school not to long ago I felt the same way, I think its important to remember that and understand that these kids are no different from you and I. As a teacher you want their respect and you want those boundaries and you want to learn from them, but you must remember that they are looking for the same exact thing in return its give and take in the classroom, more so then any other part of our lives.