What I have learned...
Over the course of this Summer, we have completed several projects in an effort to meet the ISTE Standards for Educators. Although some of these standards are focused on student engagement, which was not possible over the Summer, I fully believe that I now have the knowledge and tools that will allow me to meet these standards in my classroom. First and foremost, the first standard states that educators will improve by working with others, which was accomplished nearly every week with the group projects. Each week our group worked together to create and revise our projects in order to meet this standard. Moving forward, I have no doubt that I will be able to take what I have learned and collaborate with my colleagues at the school I teach at to design and facilitate quality and technologically advanced education to our students. The Tools Google Docs/Slides: Throughout the semester, our group utilized Google Docs and Slides for several projects. We used Docs to create our grant proposal, lesson plan, and instructional materials. We used Slides to also create instructional materials. I personally love Google Suite applications because everything you create saves to your Google Drive. Google Drive can be accessed from anywhere on any computer or device, which makes it so easy to work from anywhere. The district I work in uses Google accounts, so I already have experience working with it and will continue to work with these applications going forward. Google Forms: Our group utilized Google Forms for the survey project. Forms allows you to create many different types of questions and view the results all at once. These are both features that I really like, and I already use Forms in my class very often. I am able to use it for many different types of things, from gathering student information, giving tests and quizzes, and even allowing student to cast votes for non-curriculum activities such as Homecoming. Google Sites: The last Google application we used was Sites. This was by far my favorite Google application that we used this semester. Sites allows you to create a personalized website where you can upload everything students may need to be successful in your classroom. I have mentioned before that I have tried to create a Google Site before for my classroom but found that I did not have the time to play with it effectively enough. However, now that I have used it in this class, I feel that I am much better prepared to use it going forward. Podcast: To record my podcast project, I used the website Vocaroo. Personally, I do not foresee myself using podcasts in my classroom. The current generation of students do not seem to be interested in learning in this manner. Although I personally love listening to podcasts on my drives to and from work, the age groups I teach are more interested in the videos that are provided from apps like TikTok and Snapchat. Screen Capture/iMovie: I used Loom to record my screen capture video and then used iMovie to edit it. Loom is a free Chrome extension service that allows you to record yourself or record your screen. I find Loom extremely easy to use because it has fast processing speeds and allows you to pause and restart your video at anytime without having to start over. It also allows you to share the videos you produce by sending a link or downloading the video file. iMovie is also a very beneficial software that is free when you own an Apple product. I use it regularly, but I actually found myself exploring it even further when using it for this class. I suppose that is because I was being graded and wanted to ensure I produced quality work. I already utilized these softwares and will most certainly continue to do so in my class moving forward. Edpuzzle: Edpuzzle is one of my favorite teaching tools from this year. There were times that it was easier for me to assign a video to my students learning virtually than to just simply make them read something. However, this project was the first time I produced and uploaded my own video to Edpuzzle. I found it very user friendly, and I really like how easy it is to create questions. I did, however, dislike that a class cannot be edited much once it has been created. That is a feature that I wish was present. Otherwise, I most certainly see myself continuing to use it this year, and I also intend to do more uploading and creating of my own with it this year. Quizizz: Quizizz was by far the best thing I learned to use this semester. In the past, I have always used Gimkit, which requires a paid subscription. Using a free tool like Quizizz that is so easy to create on was a real game changer for me. I see myself using it for reviews, quizzes, and to provide things like bell ringers and exit slips. I love that it allows me to collect and review student work while also grading it for me. I cannot wait to use it in a few weeks! Rubistar: Rubistar is a rubric creating website that allows you to download the rubric as an excel file when complete. Although it has many advantages, I do not intend to use this site in my own class. My main issue with it is that it does not allow you to set different point amounts for different criteria prior to downloading it. Once I download the rubric to excel, I do not want to have to continue to edit it to my liking. Although there is an obvious benefit of having preset criteria descriptions, I simply found that I was editing it more than I would have liked. Also, we use Google Classroom in my district, which has a way for your to build in rubrics on assignments. I have grown accustomed to this feature and intend on continuing to use it. Padlet: Padlet is a tool that allows you to post links in a Pinterest board set up for students to use. It also allows students to post resources and contribute to the board as well. I personally really liked that tool and anticipate using it in my Zoology and Human A&P classes this year. These two classes are designed to be more research based, so I hope to create a project where students must upload their resources to the class Padlet to answer specific questions. Thinglink: Thinglink is similar to Padlet, but it does not allow for collaboration. Therefore, I would have to use it as a pre-made lesson tool, unless I assigned students to make their own Thinglinks. Regardless, I still hope I can somehow incorporate this tool in my class. I think it may be possible to use it for some type of online scavenger hunt, such as with lab safety rules during the first week of school. Weebly: The overarching tool for this entire course has been to create a blogfolio using Weebly.com. During Week 1, I found this task very overwhelming and questioned whether or not I would be able to produce a quality blog. However, 9 weeks later I feel like I have executed this task very well! Although I do not think I will be using Weebly in the future, as I prefer the interface of Google Sites, I did find that I was able to learn how to use it effectively during this course. Strengths and Weaknesses I have actually learned a lot about myself throughout this course. I learned that I seem to be able to work well with a group and a I am able to take on a leadership role when necessary. I am much better at learning new technologies than I originally thought I would be, and have strength with these technologies once I understand them. Perhaps my biggest weakness that I have established is having a lack of confidence in myself. I began the semester with a lot of doubt, but here I am at the end feeling as if I have accomplished exactly what I felt like I could not! Future Learning Goals As I have mentioned on each individual technology above, I do intend on utilizing many of these technologies in my classroom moving forward. My reasonings behind using or not using each tool is also mentioned with each individual took write up. As for the future of my technological advancements, I am excited to dive deeper into my chosen tools, as well as begin exploring new ones. I hope to sit down with fellow teachers and learn new technologies from them, as well as acquire new resources through professional development opportunities. The new school year seems to have many exciting opportunities coming into view, and I cannot wait to take them all head on.
0 Comments
Chapter 9: There is a fine line between students’ right to express themselves (freedom of speech) and the requirement that educators must protect all students from inappropriate commentary and invasion of privacy. How will you handle balancing your student’s right to express and the requirement that they behave as good digital citizens when using technology in school? Give examples. Students oftentimes, if not all of the time, completely misjudge what is appropriate or not when it comes to what is appropriate or not online. In my first year teaching, I encountered many instances where students used their devices inappropriately during school. The may have been by searching inappropriate content, bullying other students or teachers online, or expressing themselves in such a way that made them a spectacle. Although there is a right to freedom of speech, there is not a right to hurt others. In the new digital age, we must teach students what is and is not appropriate because the time we live in requires knowledge of 21st century skills. My district does not allow the use of cell phones in class unless it is for instructional purposes. However, I personally found it very difficult to be strict in my classroom about this because we were not 1:1 the first semester, but we were required to work in Google Classroom. When we finally got to be 1:1 and students received their devices, it was difficult to reestablish new boundaries for cell phones. This year, I intend to be strict from day 1 about cell phones. I will not tolerate the use of cell phones in class. Although it seems harsh, I believe that it will help teach students digital awareness and keep them focused on the reason they are at school: to learn. I think the most Important thing that I intend to do this year is actually teach students what is and is not appropriate online. I think that as adults, we often forget that kids have to learn how to behave in an appropriate manner. We think that they should inherently know, but they actually have to be taught, just like with anything else. Therefore, I want to give a presentation that shows examples of appropriate and inappropriate internet use and behavior, and have students write a short narrative about their own thoughts in regards to Freedom of Speech. If we teach students what is expected, they will usually follow it. Chapter 10: Consider your level of educational technology literacy as you complete this course. How competent do you believe you are in order to teach in a technology-rich environment? What other opportunities would you search for to become even more proficient in the use of technology in the classroom? Prior to taking this course, I was anxious about my technology literacy. I struggled my first year in the classroom incorporating technology because I simply did not know what was available. I also just did not have the time to dedicate to exploring them as a first year teacher with 3 preps. However, after taking this class, I do feel more confident in my ability to teach with technology. I fully believe I can utilize many of the resources I learned in this class, particularly programs like Padlet, Quizizz, and Thinglink. I am very interested in looking at how I can utilize Google Sites as well. Although I have all these new technologies in my toolbelt, I know there are many other potential resources out there to use. In particular, I need to find more resources that will help me with teaching my specific curriculum. It is surprising how little there is out there to teach Chemistry, Human A&P, and Zoology. I intend on doing more research and diving deeper into finding more resources to help me teach my courses. This week, each group was required to create a class website that compiled all of the materials and assignments that we have created so far into one place. Our group chose to use Google Sites, which I was very excited about. My district uses Google Suites, and I tried to make a class website last year but found it difficult to find the time to learn how and execute the task.
As always, we chose a divide and conquer approach, and my job was to create the assignments tab. I started by adding our Student Technology Survey, however when I added the form itself to the page, it left a lot of dead space between assignments that could not be removed. I decided to add it differently by linking it to a button. The button was much simpler, and took up significantly less space on the page. The rest of the assignments were easily added by embedding a code within the page. Students and viewers can simply click the linked codes and see the preview before clicking with it set up this way. I chose assignments from each of my group members to ensure that each of our work was represented in the course site. Overall, this week was very fun and enlightening, and I am really excited to try to maybe use this feature of Google in my classroom this year. Project 11 Link This week, the group project was to create a group Padlet based on our lesson plan and topic from project 2. Eli began our Padlet and then shared it to us all to add. We also each created our own Thinglinks that could be used and provided to students for supplemental resources. I found creating both of these materials exciting. I had always been interested in utilizing Padlet but had never had enough time to dig deep into its uses during the school year. After using both of these tools, I realized that I could use both of these in my science classes this year. In particular, I see myself using them in Zoology or Human A&P and having students collaborate to find resources and information to solve a problem or present a project. As a group, I think we really executed this week's task well. We worked quickly and efficiently and everyone really did a great job! For project 10, I chose to create a Quizizz to allow myself to become familiar with something now, as I use Kahoot in my classroom already. I actually found that I prefer Quizizz! The interface is very user friendly and I like how many options there are for questions. As for the rubric, I had no idea that there was an online tool like RubiStar for creating rubrics. I think the only thing I dislike about it is that each category is worth the same amount of points. When I use rubrics in my classroom, each category is weighted different. For example, presentation may be worth 20 points total while creativity is worth 10 points total. Overall this week was very simple and enjoyable. I really liked all of the tools I was introduced to and will most definitely be using them this year. Project 9 Padlet Group 2 Project 9 Links (view in Google Doc) Project 10 Quizzizz ![]()
Chapter 8: Have you had any distance education or blended course experiences? Try to remember what were the benefits and the disadvantages of that experience. If you have not had either type of course, try to imagine what it would be like and what characteristics of it you would like and which ones you would not. Why?
My first year of teaching fell during the year of COVID, and my school chose to implement a hybrid learning schedule. Students had the choice to come to school or to do distance learning. If they chose distance learning, it was asynchronous, and they did not have to log on to any video chat service everyday. I personally felt as if this had both advantages and disadvantages. On the upper hand, students were able to complete work within their own time limits, so long as they met their due dates. However, it eliminated the chance to develop teacher-student relationships, which I feel is an important aspect of education. Further disadvantages that I experienced was a lack of online resources. I found that because I teach upper level science courses, the availability of free online resources was very limited compared to the state tested classes. Softwares like Study Island and Khan Academy did not contain material suitable for my standards. My students learning from home also tended to become dejected and I had a hard time relating to them through text in an email. I think perhaps the biggest challenge of all was that our school is located in a rural area. Therefore, many students who chose distance learning had no internet access, and I had to send their work home each week in packets. This defeated the purpose of using Google Classroom and completing work online. However, distance learning did come with its advantages. The students who took it seriously were able to complete their work and have a part time job. Although this in some cases was not a good situation, I did have a few students who worked really hard and were able to provide for their family at the same time. It was also of great benefit to students who have their own children at home. They were able to take care of their responsibilities without having to leave their children with a caretaker. This year, our district will only be allowing students to do distance learning if they have reliable computer access and a valid medical reason. I think this will help a lot with eliminating failures! My Learning Experiences This week we took a break from group projects and completed 3 projects individually. The first of these was a screen capture of a lecture or procedure. Following our lesson plan from project 2, I recorded myself setting up MLA format on a Google Doc. This was a simple task for me because I did this very thing all year long when I would record lectures for my virtual students. Project 7 was to edit the video that was recorded in project 6 and add transitions, titles, and credits. I decided to split the video into 5 parts: page setup, font, spacing, document body, and header. This project was something I had not done before. Because I had 3 preps this year, I did not have time to edit my screen captures, and I would just upload them. To edit this screen capture, I used iMovie on my personal laptop. I found this task to be very easy because of how well the iMovie interface is setup. Perhaps this year I will have time to edit my lecture videos. Project 8 required the project 7 video to be uploaded to Edpuzzle and made into an interactive learning tool. I personally love Edpuzzle, and used it many times in my classroom this year. However, I always used already made videos. This was my first experience making my own interactive video. Again, I found Edpuzzle so easy to use! I can definitely see myself using this more to upload my lecture videos this year. A common issue I ran into last year was that students would not watch the lecture videos. This year, I could use Edpuzzle and make watching the videos apart of their grade. It would also provide me with documentation if issues with engagement were ever to arise. If you would like to video my Edpuzzle, you can click the link below! The class access code is adalije. Project 6: https://youtu.be/RvTZfyX-cUc Project 7: https://youtu.be/4L-eldVZRxE Project 8: https://edpuzzle.com/assignments/60df3cddba50cd416667ecd4/watch Chapter 7: When using the Internet with children, there are privacy and acceptable use issues. Describe the issues you are most concerned with and how you plan to address them when you become a teacher. It is interesting that I am answering this question this week because there was actually an incident in my school this past school year. Our district uses Google Suites and all students have access to all of the Google Applications that come along with it. This of course includes Google Hangout, which is a chat room type function of Gmail. Students are able to chat with each other, their teachers, or anyone else that Gmail gives them access to chat with. During the regular school year, there was a problem with students cheating on assignments or chatting during lessons through Google Hangout. They also were sending inappropriate links and messages. Unfortunately, when the technology department tried to disable it, it causes a lot of other vital applications to malfunction, so it had to be re-enabled. The issues that I am most concerned with other than cheating or disruption of class time have to do with student safety. I do my best to monitor student internet activity in my classroom and make sure that they are not navigating to dangerous or inappropriate sites. It is not always easy, but I learned quickly that if I set a tone and procedure for the class, students will follow it 90% of the time. With that being said, however, students test the boundaries all the time. In my classroom and at the school I teach at, using technology is a privilege. When students compromise that privilege with inappropriate behavior, they lose their privilege to use the technology. If I feel as of a student is misusing their privilege, I have no problem immediately referring them to the school administrator and calling their parent. My students know that I have no problem calling home, and they rarely allow that to happen by misbehaving or misusing their privileges. My Learning Experiences This week our group worked together to create 3 group projects. We also all individually completed a podcast project that related back to the group projects. On Monday, we had another group Zoom meeting to devise our strategy for the week. We decided to use a divide and conquer approach, and split the 3 projects amongst ourselves. Eli worked on Project 2 and created the lesson plan that will serve as our base line for all of the remaining projects this semester. The lesson that we chose is a 6th grade English lesson on MLA Format. Kimberly and Carletta worked together to create a survey to assess students' technology use for Project 3. Michaelah and I split the work on Project 4. On project 4, Michaelah and I created instructional materials to go along with Eli's lesson plan from Project 2. I created a Google Doc that is meant to serve as a reference guide on MLA format for students as they complete their own essays. Michaelah created a Google Slides presentation that demonstrates how to set up MLA format in Google Docs, complete with both text and images. As a group we decided to have our drafts completed by Wednesday evening so that we could spend Thursday and Friday providing comments and suggestions to each other and making edits. By Friday evening we had everything completed and ready to submit. Overall, our group once again worked very well together. There were a few moments of confusion, but we all asked questions and clarified when it was needed. Project 5 was an individual assignment that each of us had to complete on our own. For my podcast, I chose to create an instructional material meant for students to listen to prior to coming to the lesson. In this podcast, I go over the instructional Google Slides presentation from project 4. At the end of the podcast, I asked students to come to class prepared to ask questions and complete practice assignments. I created the podcast using Vocaroo.com. I found this website very easy to use! ![]()
Project 3: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hI2zYT2ILu-SLsKLT581nqwozxglj9hyD964BmsEbPE/viewform?edit_requested=true Project 4- Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QzYPdjlXgkaMifITnjqi8z6mEh2ife2pFYVuBTjggTI/edit?usp=sharing Project 4- Google Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vYTmoKl-bLohpmveRHwJ0F-UoeBQUKuecAihEFBC8bU/edit?usp=sharing ![]()
This week's objective was to collaborate with our group to create an ideal classroom. The goal was to produce a grant proposal justifying the use of $20,000 for technology integration in the classroom. On Monday, Elijah set up a group meeting on Zoom and we narrowed down who would focus on each part of the project and what subject we would like to use for the lesson plan. During our group discussion, we talked a lot about how we could utilize virtual reality technology to produce a lesson. A science course seemed to be provide the most to offer for the use of virtual reality technology. Throughout the week, we set goals for our group to complete the project efficiently and in a timely manner. We set up a group Google Doc for everyone to see the entire project at all times. We also set up a group Google Sheet to add technology that we felt would be beneficial in our ideal classroom. By Wednesday we all knew our roles and had a mostly final list of technology to ask for in the grant. My role on the grant proposal was to create the lesson plan. Our group chose to create an ideal science classroom, and I already teach three science courses. After doing a little research, I found a virtual reality frog dissection software for the Oculus VR headsets, which was perfect for our goals! I already teach Zoology and have a frog dissection lesson. However, my frog dissection lesson is performed on actual frogs, so I had to adapt the lesson plan to utilize technology. Utilizing technology in my classroom is difficult for me because my students only have student issued laptops. So I found my self relying on my group members to help me decide on what would be the best ways to incorporate more technology in the learning process. Carletta helped me a lot to add more to the DPA model section of the lesson plan. By putting our thoughts together, we actually were able to create a two day lesson plan that utilized quite a bit of technology! The first day students are learning everything they need to know about a frog and how to dissect it. The second day, students actually complete the dissection. During this project, I learned a lot about all of the different types of technology that can be used in the classroom. I also learned how to effectively complete a group project with people I am not actually working with in person! I can honestly say that our group really did a great job dividing and conquering in such a way that we were finished with our project by Friday night. ![]()
![]() Chapter 4: You will no doubt have a variety of technologies to use in your school and in your classroom. Do you feel you are ready to make the most of these technologies to help you teach and help your students learn? What can you do to further prepare yourself? After completing my first year in the classroom, I think I came to the same conclusion that every first year teacher comes to at the end: I could have done more. In particular, one thing I could have done more of was utilizing technology for instruction. At the beginning of the year, everything was new. I, along with all of the other teachers, was faced with the new challenge of teaching virtually. The technology that I chose to utilize at the very beginning of the year was Google Classroom and Loom. Loom is a screen recording extension available for recording lectures. I found it extremely useful for recording lectures in my classes for me to post for my asynchronous learners at home. The main challenge I faced with virtual learning was having virtual ways for students to do laboratory experiments. Many of the available softwares are expensive or require additional resources that were unavailable to my students, which presented a real challenge. I was completely unprepared for this type of technology in my classroom. Throughout the year, I found a few free websites that were available to use in some of my classes. The best of these was the PhET simulations produced by The University of Colorado Boulder. Using this website, I was able to provide simulations for Chemistry that students could learn from at home! Going forward into the next school year, I am planning to better prepare myself by doing better at paying attention and participating in the professional development opportunities for technology at work. I also intend on talking with veteran teachers to get ideas for more technology to incorporate. I want to find a workshop that will teach me more ways to utilize my Newline Interactive Board with my students as well. Chapter 5: Recall a class where presentation software, such as PowerPoint, was used. Did you enjoy the experience? Was it easy to take notes? Did you stay focused on the presentation, or did your attention drift into other thoughts? Could the presentation have been modified to make it more interactive, more interesting? How? Select a grade level and subject matter that you would most want to teach. How you would use three different types of academic software to teach a specific topic. Explain why you selected these three academic software packages. I can remember many different teachers using presentation softwares throughout my academic career. Whether or not I felt like I was learning from the presentation largely depended on the presenter or teacher. The teachers who created presentations that were interactive were always more beneficial. For example, when they had built in elements for students to participate, such as drag and drops, I was much for engaged. However, when the presentation was just being read to me by a monotone presenter, I found myself losing focus and not gaining anything from the lesson. In my classroom, I create a powerpoint presentation for every unit. Because I teach different classes, these presentations are highly varied from class to class. For example, my chemistry presentations have built in practice problems that I require students to come to the interactive board and solve for the class. In contrast, my Human Anatomy and Physiology and Zoology presentations have built in lesson checkpoints that ask students to recall what they have just been taught. This keeps students engaged because they must pay attention to pass the checkpoint. Since I am already teaching, the subject I will discuss right now is chemistry. My chemistry class contains grade levels 10 through 12. A "dreaming big" technology that I would love to utilize in this class (and all of my classes for that matter) is a large paper printer to print student posters on. I have inserted a picture of an Epson SureColor P8000 to make it clear what I am talking about. Having this technology would allow me to have students develop large scale projects to present in a formal manner. Being about to do this would allow students to become very familiar with the instructional material and prepare them for college level presentations. Another technology I would like to use is Science2Go by Flinn Scientific. This digital media provides over 20 national standards based chemistry labs that students can complete virtually. It would make teaching virtually so much easier because students at home would still be able to have some hands on learning with the units. Chapter 6: Consider how technology has helped you to be productive and complete tasks. Examine the physical requirements for using your favorite technologies. How might physical disabilities hamper your use of those preferred technologies and impact your personal productivity. As a teacher, what can you do to mitigate these challenges for students with special needs? My favorite technologies that I use are my laptop, my iPad, and my Newline Interactive board in my classroom. However, all three of these technologies require certain abilities, such as sight, hearing, and touch. Someone who is deaf and/or blind would be unable to hear and/or see a video that I have assigned for a lesson. Someone which a physical disability that limits their range of motion or use of their hands and/or arms would be unable to navigate a computer or other technology on their own. Mitigating these challenges for a student in the classroom can be accomplished as long as the effort is put forth to do so. For example, a deaf students can use subtitles to still be able to know what is occurring in a video. A blind students can be provided additional resources or alternative resources to ensure they are still receiving the same educational opportunities. Physical disabilities can be accommodated by providing the students with a guide or mentor to help them accomplish tasks of movement. Accommodating students with disabilities is a vital part of education, in my opinion. We cannot be effective educators if we do not try to serve every single student in our classroom! Chapter 1: What standards do you feel are most relevant to your teaching and to your content area and that will challenge you the most? What strategies will you employ to become familiar with these standards so that you can more easily address them in your classroom?
Prior to reading this week, I had no idea there were so many standards available to helping teachers implement technology into instruction. After reading and doing my own research, I realize that the most relevant standards to my teaching and content area are the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Standards. P21 standards rely heavily on preparing students for the real world, which is something that I work very hard to teach my students in tandem with the subject area curriculum. This set of standards finds its basis in teaching students critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, otherwise known as the 4 Cs. It also promotes learning life and career skills and technology skills. As a science teacher in a rural community, I find this set of standards so relevant because many of my students will be going into trade work rather than going to college. I believe that for them to be successful, it is my job to show them what science knowledge they will need in their trade. For instance, students that go to the pipeline or oil field industry need to understand the chemistry of oil and what a combustion reaction is. The P21 standards can help me teach this to students because it applies to life and career skills. The AECT standards can be beneficially to my science classroom because of its reliance on inquiry. Science has its foundation in inquiry, and students are taught how to inquire using the scientific method. The AECT standards not only require the teacher to have content knowledge and pedagogy, but require the teacher to provide a safe and productive learning environment conduct research to further improve instruction. This final standards is precisely what I will do to address these standards in my own classroom. I will conduct research and apply inquiry based knowledge to better instruct my students. Chapter 2: Using Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, describe three intelligences in which you excel and give an example of each. How could these intelligences be useful when you become a teacher? While reading this section of the chapter, I decided in my mind that my three intelligences are logical-mathematical, musical, and interpersonal. However, I found a quiz on literacynet.org, and it states that my 3 highest intelligences are musical, interpersonal, and naturalistic, in that order. I find this very interesting because although I do feel as if I identify with these three, I did not think they would be that significant. Of course, this was just an online quiz, and I find my personal view point and understanding more reliable than a fun online quiz! The reason I have chosen logical-mathematical is because I can see the logical reason behind most situations and I address problems with critical thinking. I can remember being a young child in elementary school and adding numbers on mailboxes and finding numerical patterns between street addresses. I have had the pleasure of already teaching this past school year, and say with confidence that I use my logical-mathematical intelligence in my teaching style. For example, when teaching chemistry, I always tell students the simplest and most logical explanation for why something is the way it is. The best example I have for this is when we learn stoichiometry. The logical way to tackle the problem is to start with what we are given in order to get to what we want when using mathematical conversions to solve a stoichiometry problem. I push my students to not just memorize steps, but to use logic to guide them from one step to the next. The second intelligence that I find I have is certainly musical intelligence. I have always loved music. I listen to all genres, from the old school country of Patsy Cline to the modern music we listen to today. The way that I use my musical intelligence in my classroom is by relating it to the content. This may be through changing the words of a catchy song to fit the curriculum, or having students complete a project where they do this themselves! I also sing to my students regularly to get their attention and keep them engaged. At times I also play music during independent work time. I find music to be very beneficial in education. It allows me as the teacher to connect to my students, which leads me to my third intelligence. My third Intelligence is interpersonal, or responsiveness to others. I like to consider myself to be a very empathetic person. I can tell when someone is upset or struggling. As a teacher I find this intelligence to be extremely useful when gauging student understanding. I can see in a student's face when they are struggling or do not understand, but are afraid to speak up. It is at that point that I make a note in my mind, and make sure I approach that student privately to give them independent help. Chapter 3: Think back on a classroom environment in which you were not as successful as you might have wanted to be. What were the factors that you encountered from the teacher and/or other students that may have hindered your learning? How will you mitigate such factors in your own classroom? When I think back on my own education, I can recall one specific classroom where I was not as successful as I wanted to be, which was my 10th grade history class. In this class, the teacher took on an authoritative role. She allowed her favorite students to rule the room, and she often took on a bullying mentality to students. She did not put much focus on differentiation, and expected all students to perform tasks with the same ability. In my classroom, I make it a point to treat all students with the same manner. They are all there for the same reason, and it is important that I give them all the same respect and attention to teach them. However, I do not tolerate disrespect or bullying of any kind in my classroom. I require all students to participate, and if they fail to do so, I conference with them individually to figure out what problem they are facing in regards to their learning. It Is my belief that all students can learn. They just need to be given the guidance and support to do so. Not all students learn the same and respond to the same form of instruction, so differentiation is something I strive to improve on and encourage in my classroom. ![]() Hi! My name is Sarah, and I teach high school chemistry, human A&P, and Zoology in Columbia, MS. I am also currently an MAT student at the University of Southern Mississippi and will be graduating in December 2021! I currently live with my mom, Melissa, and my 5 year old chihuahua, Ollie. My mom is pictured above and Ollie is pictured to the left. I received my Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Related Sciences from the University of South Alabama in 2019. Prior to my transfer to USA, I attended USM from 2014 to 2016 where I was majoring in Chemistry. So it is pretty ironic that I've ended up teaching the very subject I shied away from in my youth! This blogfolio will serve as a means to express my thoughts on the assignments and criteria required in this ITD 645 course. In my personal life I use nearly all social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Reddit, and Snapchat. My social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat is mostly to keep up with distant family and friends. I only use Tik Tok and Reddit to scroll and pass the time. My teaching philosophy is something that has always been difficult for me to describe. I believe that students should be given realistic expectations and provided the tools and guidance to accomplish them. However, I also believe they should always be treated like human beings, and given compassion and grace. We cannot expect children to act like adults when they are, in fact, not adults, and expect them to be children at the same time. Therefore, it is important to me as their teacher to teach them my content area, but also teach them the life skills and life lessons that come along with growing up. I emphasized this heavily with my students this year, and I saw how many of them blossomed in their responsibilities and met the realistic expectations I gave them. I had many students whose first instinct was defense, as in they were ready to battle and fight me with every turn. Once they saw that I was not there to give them busy work and I was actually going to teach them what they needed to be successful, they had a change of disposition. In my classroom, I utilize Google Suite every day. I utilize Google Classroom to post lectures, notes, and assignments. I create content presentations in Google Slides and use Google Docs to create most of my assignments. We also utilize learning tools such as PhET Simulations, GimKit, CK-12, and Edpuzzle. These tools really help students to interact and develop an understanding of concepts in a virtual hands-on manner. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, I have learned how to integrate technology more affectively in my classroom. The above tools have been very effective in providing technology based education while maintaining social distance. I also have been appointed as one of the Facebook editors for our school's Facebook page this year. It is very fun getting to post all of the fun and creative lessons that teachers come up with! I also work a lot with iMovie and create videos for the school. This year I created videos for 3 of our Awards Day ceremonies, a video honoring the graduating class of 2021's time at East Marion, and a video of the Senior Walk. It is vert rewarding and fun to honor our students through technology. |
Sarah HolderA quirky science teacher with English teacher handwriting. ArchivesBlog Reels
|