Saturday, November 14, 2009

Professional Blogging

A CHALK BOARD THAT SAYS TEACHERS PLANT SEEDS...
For this assignment we were to read 5 post made by Teachers.

The first blog that I read was written by teachernz. In this post named "Pencils and crayons to be banned in schools" was really interesting. In this post it says that pencils and crayons if found on students will be confiscated; this is a new law coming into force later in the month. Teachernz says that the pencils are being used to poke people and are spent more time being sharpened than doing actual classwork. I do agree that sharpening your pencils and passing notes are disruptive in our classrooms but if taught at the beginning of the year (Classroom Management) the students will know your rules and if you enforce those rules you shouldn't have a disturbance in your classroom, but if by chance you do then yes confiscate them and notify the parent because it your rules.

The second post I read was by William Chamberlain called "Using Skype to Connect with Others". This post was really interesting, he talked about using Skype to communicate with other classrooms around the world! I do agree that it gives the students an opportuninty to see the different cultures and to see the similarites and differences amonth themselves. Skyping I think is a great way to connect with other individuals and to learn so much more in a different way. I am planning on incorporating Skype into my future classroom.

The third post I read was by Jarrod Lamshed. He wrote about Using Technology for Effective Communication. I do agree that teachers should be aware of current practices and participate in appropriate in-service training. We should know all the new gadgets and websites that the students/parents may be on. In his blog he says that it's difficult to communicate with the parents, and that it may be the hardest part of his job. Parents don't check their e-mail frequently, or don't answer the phones when called, he says the most effective way he has done to reach parents is by facebook. Facebook, Twitter he states seemed to be checked more frequently than regular emails and that's how he gets in touch with the parents. I myself tend to do this. I check my facebook account more than I check my e-mail, why? I have no idea!

The fourth post I read was written by William Chamberlain and it was about the usage of technology in the classroom. He feels that other classroom teacher should use technology, but wonders if he's pushing his passion onto them; He asked the question "Are we pushing it or just catching up with today's times?". I feel as though it's being pushed a little bit. That we need to try all the latest technology and that we should have them in our classrooms, and yes I do belive we should stay up to date on all the new things coming out such as smartboards, but feel as though if we want it then we do if not than we don't!

My last post I read was titled "Helping students Crate Positive Digital Portfolios" by William Chamberlain. He states in his post the violence in the younger students in today's society and he expressed the need to help them showcase their positive experiences. Mr. Chamberlain mentioned some examples on how to do this and that way was by digital content, to express themselves and to create a positive self, to be shared through digitally. I believe this to be a great point, Student should have this opportunity.

This assignment was very interesting because you got to read what other teachers are doing with their classes and gives us future teachers ideas of what to incorporate into our classrooms.

1 comment: