PICASA II

BEFORE



AFTER

PICASA I

BEFORE



AFTER

What Constitutes a Good Teacher?

The Philosopher Parker Palmer said,"Good teaching isn't about technique. I've asked students around the country to describe their good teachers to me. Some of them describe people who lecture all the time, some of them describe people who do little other than facilitate group process, and others describe everything in between. But all of them describe people who have some sort of connective capacity, who connect themselves to their students, their students to each other, and everyone to the subject being studied." (1999, p. 27)

I believe that good teachers connect to the children in the class as individuals. Like Parker Palmer explained they also help the students connect to learning and those around them. Educators who make the material meaningful to each child serve the greatest purpose. The best teachers care about their students and have expectations for them. They help the children reach their fullest potential through adapting and changing for every type of learner. The best teachers love to see their students succeed and enjoys what they do everyday

Being a Teacher Not a Techer

Technology is a great resource in the classroom that can enhance teachers teaching and learners learning if it is integrated properly. I don't believe technology can replace a teacher, but I do feel it can better and strengthen the educator. The web provides teachers with countless approaches to learning for all types of students. It opens more opportunities for the children to grow.

"The National Educational Technology Plan" entitled Transforming Education: Learning Powered by Technology. The plan lays out an ambitious agenda for transforming teaching and learning through technology.

Much of the NETP emphasizes "21st Century learning" as the path to transforming education: "engaging and empowering learning experiences for all learners... and leveraging the power of technology to provide personalized learning instead of a one-size-fits all curriculum." The plan seeks to challenge the traditional model of the isolated teacher in a classroom, promoting the idea of "always on" learning resources and online communities for both educators and students."

Technology is a HUGE step forward.

Technology In The Classroom

In my classroom I want to use online tools, such as blogs to connect with the students, their parents, and the community. I feel that this is a great way to interact specifically with the parents and get them involved. They will be able to access their child's grades, progress, activities done in class, and the topics we are studying in class.
In EDU 300 I have learned how to create these resources (i.e. Twitter, G-mail, and Blogs) and use them to communicate with my fellow students, teachers, and other viewers. I am starting to understand how important technology is and the many ways it can enhance learning. I hope to increase my knowledge and confidence through this course in order to keep up with the change in the world and education system.
I remember the day my eight year-old sister started to text, e-mail, and teach me how to work blackboard. Her third grade class was even creating PowerPoint's and checking their missing assignments on the class blog. Its times like these that I feel I am inadequate of being a teacher in the near future, but I know this course will help me and improve my technology skills.

Blogging In Education

What is Web 2.0 and why should teachers know about it?

Web 2.0 provides online tools that allow students to interact, enhance, morph, and create information and then communicate the results to a real audience. Blogs, wikis, photo and video sharing sites are a few of the social interactive components available on the Web. Students and their educators can use these resources to develop a better and more professional learning environment.

What is a Blog and why should every teacher have one?

Blogs are a powerful online tool that expands a learner's experience. They serve several purposes from self-expression to focusing on particular subjects in a classroom. Blogs promote writing, peer editing, and sharing. Students are posting poems, stories, illustrative books, their opinions on necessary events, personal experiences, and school activities. They are a great way for teachers to encourage their students to think on a deeper level and communicate more effectively. The world and technology is changing, it is important that teachers use the new tools to interact with their students and make a difference in their learning.

What are the pedagogical implications of student driven BLOGS in contrast to a teacher-created website?
Student driven Blogs are a productive way for the class to connect and interact with each other. Blogs get the students more involved with the topic, course goals,assignments, and activities. Blogs open a window of opportunity to grow in and outside of the classroom. In contrast teacher-created websites helps the teacher introduce a specific topic for the students to research and report their findings. It allows engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation, which are key elements in teaching.