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.

December 15, 2011 is a day that changed my home and my life forever.  We were shopping at Sportsman Warehouse for Christmas presents when we spotted her.  Our little girl.  Mark has wanted a little lab puppy since we have been at our home, and this was the perfect opportunity.  We saw a man with Christmas puppies and fell in love instantly with our little girl.  Little did we know we would bring chaos to the home.  Chaos should have been her name since we had trouble coming up with a perfect fit, but Mark wanted to name her after his grandmother.  GG was a very loyal person, so Mark thought that would be a fitting name.  We tried it out for a few days, but soon we decided to change it.  "Don't pee in the floor, Gigi.  Stop biting me, Gigi. Bad girl, Gigi."  It just didn't seem right to say those things about the woman that we all hold in such high regard.  We heard a song from Toby Keith's album called "Clancy's Tavern."  Clancy was a waitress that was held in high regard because of her loyalty to people.  We decided that was a more appropriate name for our little girl. 

Many bones and toys have been bought since that December day, but none that she finds more delectable than our extremities.  This dog loves gnawing on our hands, arms, legs, or any other body part she can get in her mouth.  She will put a bone down to jump at the chance to eat my toes.  We had another lab at one time who loved to chew on my shoes.  She went through seventeen pairs of my shoes.  Clancy has not eaten my shoes, thank goodness.  She has, however, tried to eat my boots off my feet. When she is scolded, she tucks her tail and goes to her little pink bed.  When I went to iron my clothes this week, I noticed she has torn two pairs of my pants.  That's okay girl.  I needed new pants anyway.  This little lab/shepherd mix is the most loyal snuggle bug I have met.  When I come home from work each day,  I never know what kind of mess I will have to clean up, but I do know that at the end of the day, I will have a dog that loves me beyond measure waiting to snuggle with me.