The Flipped Classroom

There are mixed emotions about the flipped classroom with me.  I really like the concept of the students learning from doing, but the evaluation method is the hardest for me.  I like the method of pen and paper.  The teacher gives the student information that has been taught and they regurgitate the information back to them.  This is an easy way to gauge understanding.  I realize this is not the best way.  Children learn from doing.  Doing and learning from other is the way of the future. This is fantastic.  The downside is planning, planning, planning.  Once the planning is done, the hard work is over.  Teachers need to be able to answer questions and work one on one with the students.  Getting out of the box is hard, but once out, it can be so liberating.  The goal is to allow students the opportunity to work together, learn from each other, and learn to be problem solvers.

Alan November

I watched both of Alan November's conferences and enjoyed each of them.  He spoke right on cue with what the District is trying to get us to do now, which is allowing the teachers to facilitate and put the students in charge of discovering information and sharing it with other students.  They can do this with using Google Docs, podcast (which I have no idea how to do since I don't even own an IPod), and other collaborative means.  We need to change the classroom dynamics.  I plan on using Google Docs this year and having an account for each of my students.  I plan on allowing them to use the computers in the classroom to do their writing and research.  I especially liked the idea of using Google even more and setting up research material for the students to use for special research projects.  This will narrow down the information for them so they do not become overwhelmed, and I can ensure the material is appropriate before they use it.  My goal is to establish high performing work teams for more successful students.

Google Docs

Google Docs is an excellent tool to use with any age group.  After viewing the slide show of the different ways to use it in your classroom, I look forward to teaching next school year and using it.  This is such a remarkable way to engage students into collaborative work.  I plan to use the Google Docs in writing and science.  There are so many different ways to allow the students to explore and build on what others are thinking.  Thank you, Justin, for showing me tools that are at my fingertips to help my students learn with fun.

Engage Me or Enrage Me

I really enjoyed watching the video Engage Me or Enrage Me.  It made me think about how important engagement is with my students.  My students have grown up in a video world and a place that computers are commonplace.  My main goal is to teach my students, but to reach all of them, I must make it interesting.  I wish we had more technology available for daily use, but unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about that.  I want to incorporate more digital photos and powerpoint presentations that make the information more relevant. 

I have used jeopardy style questioning before in class and the students loved it.  I often try to find interactive quizzes that the students can answer and try to beat the computer.  This does seem to have more effect than general lecture.  I hope we are allowed to use cell phones next year so that the students may use the internet to aid in their learning.  I know that I will have to teach appropriate behavior of cell phone use, but I believe that will be a battle worth fighting.  I loved how Mr. Prensky stressed that students can teach me the new technology rather than me trying to learn it to teach them.  It empowers the students to teach the teacher.  I am excited to be a 21st Century teacher.

Mark as a vampire

This is a photo of Mark last weekend.  He was an "extra" vampire in his nephew's new movie that was filmed on our land.  It is an independent film that will be released this summer.

Diigo

I learned how to use diggo and love it!  This tool helps with browsing and cataloging bookmarks, allowing the user to retrieve the website with annotations about the website. This minimizes time spent searching and researching a website at a later time.  This will free my time spent trying to muddle through my bookmarks to find what I am looking for.  I can save games on my home computer and then find them on my school computer later.  I love this idea!  It made searching more fun.

Twitter

I just opened a twitter account.  Let the tweeting begin...

Charlotte Wade ‏ @CharlotteWade91

@mccandlj I like twitter for its brevity. Positive for the video. Good info. Late getting assignment due to moms illness.