Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Badges
There are 2 badges on the side of this page that have been added from the 5 Star courses I have taken.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Digital footprint- Negative/Positive
I have tried my best to avoid much being posted on the internet about myself. This is something that is hard to do when you are hooked into the social media sites and use the internet for so much now.
I googled my name and found that there really isn't much about me online. I have something from facebook, minitime, and bestbuddies. There are some pictures from facebook that are easily seen, but other than that there isn't much. Minitime is one of the traveling apps I tried using, but then deleted so when you click on the link you don't get to see anything come up.
I don't really have a negative digital footprint, but I think there are ways to make it positive instead of nonexistent. One thing that I could do is probably make sure that my blogs are being published and seen by more than just those I share it with. I am not someone who likes to make things available to just anyone and tend to make everything as private as I can. This includes facebook.
I also want to get into doing presentations. I will be doing one at school this week and I am ready to see how that goes. I could then take those presentations and write about them on a blog and let others know what they can do with the information I shared.
Digital footprints may be important, but I also think it is more important to make sure that people know that negative footprints are not great to have. With getting employment now a days many employers will look up information on the internet. If there is negative information found online they may be less likely to hire someone. This is something that I try to help my students understand about what they are posting on social media sites.
I googled my name and found that there really isn't much about me online. I have something from facebook, minitime, and bestbuddies. There are some pictures from facebook that are easily seen, but other than that there isn't much. Minitime is one of the traveling apps I tried using, but then deleted so when you click on the link you don't get to see anything come up.
I don't really have a negative digital footprint, but I think there are ways to make it positive instead of nonexistent. One thing that I could do is probably make sure that my blogs are being published and seen by more than just those I share it with. I am not someone who likes to make things available to just anyone and tend to make everything as private as I can. This includes facebook.
I also want to get into doing presentations. I will be doing one at school this week and I am ready to see how that goes. I could then take those presentations and write about them on a blog and let others know what they can do with the information I shared.
Digital footprints may be important, but I also think it is more important to make sure that people know that negative footprints are not great to have. With getting employment now a days many employers will look up information on the internet. If there is negative information found online they may be less likely to hire someone. This is something that I try to help my students understand about what they are posting on social media sites.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Life Skills in Education
As a Life Skills teacher I think that it is important for all students to learn life skills. Some of the main thins we do are skills that students need in order to maintain a job, friendships, etc. once they graduate high school. I have found that many high school students are in need of these same skills even though they are not considered to have a disability. In my classroom I teach my students employability skills, communication skills, time management, organizing skills, problem solving, conflict resolution skills, and many other life skills that they will need. There are times when I find that my students have so many more life skills than the general high school students do. My students are able to cope better with stress and what is going on in their lives than other students can.
Other areas that I cover in our curriculum include money management skills. I teach my students how to keep track of their checking account by using a registrar book. I also teach them how to write checks. What I have come across in my years of teaching is that many general education students know way less about those skills than my students do.
I think that life skills are an important part of everyone's life. These skills are going to be needed during high school, after high school, and throughout their whole lives. Life skills should be a part of the education that ALL students are receiving and not just part of the special education students lives.
I have many peer tutors every year, about 10 a trimester. When we are covering our life skills there are times when I can't separate my students into smaller groups because the peer tutors do not know what to do. I then have to do a whole lesson so that the peer tutors can learn the skills that my students are learning. I find this to be the case with handling different situations, money management, and writing checks. I also find that students don't have good communication skills. They can't relate to people and don't try to maintain conversations.
Do you find that students need help with life skills at your school? What do you think could be done in order to help these students gain those skills at school since they are not getting them at home?
Other areas that I cover in our curriculum include money management skills. I teach my students how to keep track of their checking account by using a registrar book. I also teach them how to write checks. What I have come across in my years of teaching is that many general education students know way less about those skills than my students do.
I think that life skills are an important part of everyone's life. These skills are going to be needed during high school, after high school, and throughout their whole lives. Life skills should be a part of the education that ALL students are receiving and not just part of the special education students lives.
I have many peer tutors every year, about 10 a trimester. When we are covering our life skills there are times when I can't separate my students into smaller groups because the peer tutors do not know what to do. I then have to do a whole lesson so that the peer tutors can learn the skills that my students are learning. I find this to be the case with handling different situations, money management, and writing checks. I also find that students don't have good communication skills. They can't relate to people and don't try to maintain conversations.
Do you find that students need help with life skills at your school? What do you think could be done in order to help these students gain those skills at school since they are not getting them at home?
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Assessments: What type do you do?
To me there are two different types of assessments, authentic and traditional. In my teaching I have found that I generally use the traditional assessments more than the authentic assessments. I find that traditional assessments are easier to generate than authentic ones. I also tend to get more information from those than I do from the authentic ones.
For the traditional assessments I have found many online websites or even iPad apps that are great for making those assessments. One website that I use quite often is plickers. With plickers my students have cards that they hold up and I scan with my device. It shows if each student has answered and will also tell me if they are right or wrong. Another way I access is during videos that they watch on Edpuzzle. These videos stop when it is time for a question that the students must answer. It could be a multiple choice, a short answer, or just a think about this type thing. I have also been using kahoot.it. This is a neat website that has all kinds of assessments already made. The students can link into it and then respond in game like fashion. It has a ranking board and the students really like trying to beat each other.
With authentic assessments they are harder to make and find. I have done a few with different apps that will track how a student is doing and those help me with their goals. Other than that I mainly do this type of assessment one on one with students in order to track progress on their IEP goals. I don't think that authentic assessments are practical to use all the time. I do think they can help show mastery towards a goal though.
What ways do you use to assess students? What have you found to be more effective?
For the traditional assessments I have found many online websites or even iPad apps that are great for making those assessments. One website that I use quite often is plickers. With plickers my students have cards that they hold up and I scan with my device. It shows if each student has answered and will also tell me if they are right or wrong. Another way I access is during videos that they watch on Edpuzzle. These videos stop when it is time for a question that the students must answer. It could be a multiple choice, a short answer, or just a think about this type thing. I have also been using kahoot.it. This is a neat website that has all kinds of assessments already made. The students can link into it and then respond in game like fashion. It has a ranking board and the students really like trying to beat each other.
With authentic assessments they are harder to make and find. I have done a few with different apps that will track how a student is doing and those help me with their goals. Other than that I mainly do this type of assessment one on one with students in order to track progress on their IEP goals. I don't think that authentic assessments are practical to use all the time. I do think they can help show mastery towards a goal though.
What ways do you use to assess students? What have you found to be more effective?
Monday, October 12, 2015
Classroom Tools- Ones I have used
As a teacher I have found that there are so many tools available to teachers online. This summer I went to a conference about technology in the classroom. There are two tools that I have now been using because of that conference: Plickers and Class DoJo. Through a class I am taking with 5 Star Academy I have found many other tools to use in the classroom like Kahoot.it and Quizlet. As an educator I have found that symbaloo and padlet are also useful tools for sharing with other professionals.
Plickers is a tool that can be used for free. You print out these cards and all you do is put questions up. To answer the questions students use the card and turn up their choice. You then take an iPad or smartphone and scan those answers and they pop up immediately. This is a fast and easy way to get answers to questions and eliminates the need to wait and call on a student to answer a questions.
Class DoJo is how I manage my classroom behavior. Instead of having the stop light system up where everyone can see it each student has their own log in. The students can bring it up and see how they are doing on their own and not have to worry about other students seeing it. Students can also get notes on the system that are sent to parents who register. If a student is working hard teachers can also share pictures on the story wall. Only parents who have registered can view those.
Kahoot.it is a new way to assess the students that is all online. You can create your own set of questions or use ones that have already been created. My students have done one over the ecosystem. It is color coded and easy for the students to follow. This is set up like a game and they are competing against each other to see who does the best. My students enjoyed it and it will be used a lot more. The results can then be downloaded and/or saved on google drive.
Quizlet is another app or online system that I have found to be useful. You can put vocabulary words on here for students to learn and they can quiz themselves in many different ways. Not only do my students use this, but I have shared it with other peer tutors and they love it. They find that it is very useful for English vocabulary words.
Symbaloo and Padlet I could see being useful to teachers in a collaboration. So many things can be shared and discussed on these forums that it would be nice to use them just to share information. They can also be used to have certain discussions if needed.
All of these tools have come in handy for me in some way this year. I haven't dug very deep into many of them, but I have used the surface level of them and love it. I think these make teaching easier and it also makes it to where the students enjoy the material more.
If anyone has any other tools they would like to share I am open to learning all about them! I love learning about new technology tools.
Mrs. Jagger
Plickers is a tool that can be used for free. You print out these cards and all you do is put questions up. To answer the questions students use the card and turn up their choice. You then take an iPad or smartphone and scan those answers and they pop up immediately. This is a fast and easy way to get answers to questions and eliminates the need to wait and call on a student to answer a questions.
Class DoJo is how I manage my classroom behavior. Instead of having the stop light system up where everyone can see it each student has their own log in. The students can bring it up and see how they are doing on their own and not have to worry about other students seeing it. Students can also get notes on the system that are sent to parents who register. If a student is working hard teachers can also share pictures on the story wall. Only parents who have registered can view those.
Kahoot.it is a new way to assess the students that is all online. You can create your own set of questions or use ones that have already been created. My students have done one over the ecosystem. It is color coded and easy for the students to follow. This is set up like a game and they are competing against each other to see who does the best. My students enjoyed it and it will be used a lot more. The results can then be downloaded and/or saved on google drive.
Quizlet is another app or online system that I have found to be useful. You can put vocabulary words on here for students to learn and they can quiz themselves in many different ways. Not only do my students use this, but I have shared it with other peer tutors and they love it. They find that it is very useful for English vocabulary words.
Symbaloo and Padlet I could see being useful to teachers in a collaboration. So many things can be shared and discussed on these forums that it would be nice to use them just to share information. They can also be used to have certain discussions if needed.
All of these tools have come in handy for me in some way this year. I haven't dug very deep into many of them, but I have used the surface level of them and love it. I think these make teaching easier and it also makes it to where the students enjoy the material more.
If anyone has any other tools they would like to share I am open to learning all about them! I love learning about new technology tools.
Mrs. Jagger
Monday, October 5, 2015
Moving Mindset
I believe that I have already started changing in my classes to a moving mindset. During one period we are using iPads for all of our work. In another period we are using the iPads and regular books, but then at a different point in that class the students get to participate in genius 1/2 hour. During this time the students are able to pick something they are interested in and learn more about it. We have done this for just over a month now and the results for some of them are really neat.
Having a moving mindset really helps teachers in the classroom be flexible. I have noticed that many older teachers really have trouble changing and adapting to the 21st century use of technology. They continue to do things the old fashion way and when asked they don't really change much or anything they are doing. They continue to go about teaching the old way and say that they don't have time to get into learning something new or don't see how this is going to help them in the long run.
I have seen that it does help to adjust my mindset because the students are always wanting to learn in a new way. The students are all about technology and the mindset that teachers tend to have of not including that in the curriculum is hindering the possibilities for those students. Many are learning more through technology then they are in the classroom. If we can put those together and use them to our advantage then that helps everyone, not only the student.
Teachers need to be open and honest about what they are wanting to do. Take risk and try to stop avoiding things that they would like to do, but don't just because there are others that don't. By trying new things that is how teachers keep the interest of their students and is one way for them to figure out if something really does work.
Having a moving mindset really helps teachers in the classroom be flexible. I have noticed that many older teachers really have trouble changing and adapting to the 21st century use of technology. They continue to do things the old fashion way and when asked they don't really change much or anything they are doing. They continue to go about teaching the old way and say that they don't have time to get into learning something new or don't see how this is going to help them in the long run.
I have seen that it does help to adjust my mindset because the students are always wanting to learn in a new way. The students are all about technology and the mindset that teachers tend to have of not including that in the curriculum is hindering the possibilities for those students. Many are learning more through technology then they are in the classroom. If we can put those together and use them to our advantage then that helps everyone, not only the student.
Teachers need to be open and honest about what they are wanting to do. Take risk and try to stop avoiding things that they would like to do, but don't just because there are others that don't. By trying new things that is how teachers keep the interest of their students and is one way for them to figure out if something really does work.
Technology Integration
Looking at the technology integration matrix at http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix.php has been interesting. I have never seen this matrix before, but I like how it let's you click on the different levels and see more information. According to the matrix there are 5 levels of technology integration into the curriculum and 5 characteristics of the learning environment.
On the integration of technology I can see myself in the Infusion and Transformation categories. This year I decided to change the way I teach the students. Instead of doing everything on paper and pencil we are now doing just about everything on the iPads. This I thinks put me in the Infusion category because students are able to choose the tools they want to use in order to achieve the outcome that is expected. However, there are many other things that we are doing which puts me in the Transformation stage. We are doing genius hour this year and the students work on their own projects. The students will video tape how their projects are going and will edit them on the iPads. We are also learning about community leaders. With this the students have come up with interview questions and we invited 6 people to come in to tell us about their jobs. Those six people have been interviewed while being videotaped with the iPad. At the end of it the students will each take those videos and edit them anyway they want and then we will show them on our touch screen tv to the group. This is something that can't be done without the use of technology.
Since I am already doing some things in the Transformation stage I believe that I will just get better at integrating technology more and remain in that last stage. I know that I have a lot to learn still and I am hoping that I can learn that during the different times that we use the iPads to interview, edit the videos, and show them. I know that as we go along we will get better and hopefully quicker.
Some of the things we are using at the Infusion and Transformation stages are: iPads with google classroom, edpuzzle, and email, Green Screen, VeeScope Live, iMovie, bluetooth microphones, iPad tripod, and many other things.
On the integration of technology I can see myself in the Infusion and Transformation categories. This year I decided to change the way I teach the students. Instead of doing everything on paper and pencil we are now doing just about everything on the iPads. This I thinks put me in the Infusion category because students are able to choose the tools they want to use in order to achieve the outcome that is expected. However, there are many other things that we are doing which puts me in the Transformation stage. We are doing genius hour this year and the students work on their own projects. The students will video tape how their projects are going and will edit them on the iPads. We are also learning about community leaders. With this the students have come up with interview questions and we invited 6 people to come in to tell us about their jobs. Those six people have been interviewed while being videotaped with the iPad. At the end of it the students will each take those videos and edit them anyway they want and then we will show them on our touch screen tv to the group. This is something that can't be done without the use of technology.
Since I am already doing some things in the Transformation stage I believe that I will just get better at integrating technology more and remain in that last stage. I know that I have a lot to learn still and I am hoping that I can learn that during the different times that we use the iPads to interview, edit the videos, and show them. I know that as we go along we will get better and hopefully quicker.
Some of the things we are using at the Infusion and Transformation stages are: iPads with google classroom, edpuzzle, and email, Green Screen, VeeScope Live, iMovie, bluetooth microphones, iPad tripod, and many other things.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Homework in Education
As an educator I know that homework is something that many people just generally think is necessary. My kids are growing up and I have noticed that as they get older the homework gets less. I have kids in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 11th grade. My first grader brings home a book to read everyday. With this book he must read it to an adult or to himself and then get a signature/initials stating it was done. My 2nd grader brings home a paper that has each day on it and has squares for different types of homework questions. This covers mainly math and english, but at the end he must read each day for 20 minutes. My 3rd grader comes home and she never has homework. The only thing she needs to do is study her words for her spelling test. My 11th grader, who is taking honors classes, also comes home with no homework.
Questions I have: Why are my younger kids coming home with more homework than an 11th grader taking honors classes? Why has homework gone obsolete over the years? Is homework even necessary anymore?
I have thoughts on all of the questions which I will share. I find that one reason my oldest kid comes home with less homework is because he has more time to do it in class. With class times being about 70 minutes long the teachers generally give students 20-30 minutes to just do homework. In one way I think this is great, but I also think that it is not teaching them to be responsible or showing them that they need to do stuff at home in order to succeed. I can tell you as a teacher that I can't just sit down at school and get everything done. I have to bring home work just about everyday in order to make sure that I have completed what is required. When my kid is older, graduates from college, and has his first job what do you think will be expected after the day is over? I would think that he would still be doing some work after the normal business hours. It is hard as a student to understand what the real world will be like, but I also know that it is hard to do something that you have never had to do before. My younger two tend to have homework because they are just starting some of these things in class. Teachers give them reading because we find that being great readers help later in the school years so my youngest child having reading everyday could potentially be very beneficial. My other child who has homework that covers math, english, and reading I also believe it will be helpful. I think that those two are gaining the knowledge that can be very beneficial and that those are the things that are going to help them. My oldest child doesn't come home with homework because her teacher doesn't feel it is necessary. This is my child's first year with "real" text books in the classroom. At the desk there are books that cover science, english, math, social studies, etc. I like that my child is finally able to see what it will be like growing up, but I also think that bringing those books home could be beneficial. As a teacher I get many parents who ask for their children to have homework each night. I understand why the teachers of my children don't give homework each night or even if giving homework they don't give extended assignments. They are already doing so much that to add that on top of the ours they are already working will bog them down even more. I think that some homework is a good thing, but I don't think that they necessarily need it everyday!
As we continue to grow in this world with technology homework continues to become obsolete. I think that many times this is happening because everyone has more they can do then assign or do homework. I also think that there are a lot of parents who complain about their child having homework or there isn't someone to help their child with their homework. Many things are going on now that prohibits the chances that children use to have of getting homework completed and turned in. Many parents are taking a back road to their child's education and feel that everything needs to be completed at school. I think that homework is necessary, but not everyday with doing hours of it each night. I like how my youngest two children bring home very little homework and that it has to do with the main concepts they are needing to learn. Reading at a young age is very important and so is math and english. I also believe that once we continue into the uses of technology that it may change everything since it already has started. In my room we do a lot of things on the iPads and my students love it. I think if I made a google classroom that said homework many of them would go home and do it because they like being on technology.
Overall I think that homework is necessary in some cases, but that children don't need to be bogged down with hours of it at a time. My hope would be for students/children to have homework that is a) beneficial, b) only takes about 20 minutes to do, and c) easy enough to do on their own because you never know if someone is around to help them. I do not think that students should be penalized for not doing homework because you don't know what their home life is like. It's hard for us with good lives to understand what some of our students are going through at home. It's also hard for us to even try walking in their shoes because we were never in a situation that is even close to theirs.
Daidra
Questions I have: Why are my younger kids coming home with more homework than an 11th grader taking honors classes? Why has homework gone obsolete over the years? Is homework even necessary anymore?
I have thoughts on all of the questions which I will share. I find that one reason my oldest kid comes home with less homework is because he has more time to do it in class. With class times being about 70 minutes long the teachers generally give students 20-30 minutes to just do homework. In one way I think this is great, but I also think that it is not teaching them to be responsible or showing them that they need to do stuff at home in order to succeed. I can tell you as a teacher that I can't just sit down at school and get everything done. I have to bring home work just about everyday in order to make sure that I have completed what is required. When my kid is older, graduates from college, and has his first job what do you think will be expected after the day is over? I would think that he would still be doing some work after the normal business hours. It is hard as a student to understand what the real world will be like, but I also know that it is hard to do something that you have never had to do before. My younger two tend to have homework because they are just starting some of these things in class. Teachers give them reading because we find that being great readers help later in the school years so my youngest child having reading everyday could potentially be very beneficial. My other child who has homework that covers math, english, and reading I also believe it will be helpful. I think that those two are gaining the knowledge that can be very beneficial and that those are the things that are going to help them. My oldest child doesn't come home with homework because her teacher doesn't feel it is necessary. This is my child's first year with "real" text books in the classroom. At the desk there are books that cover science, english, math, social studies, etc. I like that my child is finally able to see what it will be like growing up, but I also think that bringing those books home could be beneficial. As a teacher I get many parents who ask for their children to have homework each night. I understand why the teachers of my children don't give homework each night or even if giving homework they don't give extended assignments. They are already doing so much that to add that on top of the ours they are already working will bog them down even more. I think that some homework is a good thing, but I don't think that they necessarily need it everyday!
As we continue to grow in this world with technology homework continues to become obsolete. I think that many times this is happening because everyone has more they can do then assign or do homework. I also think that there are a lot of parents who complain about their child having homework or there isn't someone to help their child with their homework. Many things are going on now that prohibits the chances that children use to have of getting homework completed and turned in. Many parents are taking a back road to their child's education and feel that everything needs to be completed at school. I think that homework is necessary, but not everyday with doing hours of it each night. I like how my youngest two children bring home very little homework and that it has to do with the main concepts they are needing to learn. Reading at a young age is very important and so is math and english. I also believe that once we continue into the uses of technology that it may change everything since it already has started. In my room we do a lot of things on the iPads and my students love it. I think if I made a google classroom that said homework many of them would go home and do it because they like being on technology.
Overall I think that homework is necessary in some cases, but that children don't need to be bogged down with hours of it at a time. My hope would be for students/children to have homework that is a) beneficial, b) only takes about 20 minutes to do, and c) easy enough to do on their own because you never know if someone is around to help them. I do not think that students should be penalized for not doing homework because you don't know what their home life is like. It's hard for us with good lives to understand what some of our students are going through at home. It's also hard for us to even try walking in their shoes because we were never in a situation that is even close to theirs.
Daidra
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