Friday, February 27, 2009
Thing 5a
One of the blogs that I found, http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/2009/02/thurs_feb_26latest_version_dea.html, mainly trashed standardized testing. The reason I liked it so much is because I agree with much of what the author said. I have a big problem with standardized testing being the only measure of what a child has learned. I know the children in myh classroom. I know where they started and how much they have progressed. Unfortunately, the state does not really care that my student was reading on a first grade level at the beginning of third grade and now is reading on an end of second grade level. Unfortunately, I am a terrible teacher because he didn't pass the third grade test. Unfortunately I am a terrible teacher because a child just bubbled in whatever bubble he wanted. Unfortunately, I am a terrible teacher because my student was more worried about her mother in surgery than what I was teaching that day. Research and common sense tells us that there the success of a child depends on support from the school, home, community, and the child! There are just too many other variables to pin success or failure on the teacher alone.
Thing 3
I just read The Infinite Thinking Machine blog post: http://www.infinitethinking.org/2009/02/friday-five-create-express-learn-with.html
One of the websites it linked to is www.kitzu.com. What a great tool to use in the classroom! It has different "kits" on all different topics, organized by content area. The kits contain pictures and audio clips. I already found lots of kits to use with what I am already teaching - habitats, triangles, biographies. It only took me a few minutes to find just a few topics! I strongly recommend checking this site out. If you do use it, I'd like to know how you are going to incorporate it into your lessons.
One of the websites it linked to is www.kitzu.com. What a great tool to use in the classroom! It has different "kits" on all different topics, organized by content area. The kits contain pictures and audio clips. I already found lots of kits to use with what I am already teaching - habitats, triangles, biographies. It only took me a few minutes to find just a few topics! I strongly recommend checking this site out. If you do use it, I'd like to know how you are going to incorporate it into your lessons.
Thing 2
It's interesting to read blogs. To me, it's almost like having a conversation with the author. I also allows the opportunity to look into the mind of someone else. In our own lives, there is usually only a few people that we talk to in depth each day. By reading other people's blogs, we are able to look into their lives and be able to see someone else's point of view.
One of the blogs that I read was written by Mr. Meyer, titled Why I don't Assign Homework http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=133 . This post entrigued me because it's a concept that I have thought about often throughout the years. I do assign homework and I have read research supporting both sides. According to Marzano, assigning homework in elementary school does not lead to significant increases in percentile points, but there is a value to assigning it. This is why I still assign homework. However, I don't strive to assign it every night. They have certain assignments they complete Monday-Thursday: fluency and word study, which should only take about 10 minutes. The parents I have spoken to about this have supported having homework. It gives them an opportunity to see what they students are studying in class. I would love to hear what other teachers think about homework.
One of the blogs that I read was written by Mr. Meyer, titled Why I don't Assign Homework http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=133 . This post entrigued me because it's a concept that I have thought about often throughout the years. I do assign homework and I have read research supporting both sides. According to Marzano, assigning homework in elementary school does not lead to significant increases in percentile points, but there is a value to assigning it. This is why I still assign homework. However, I don't strive to assign it every night. They have certain assignments they complete Monday-Thursday: fluency and word study, which should only take about 10 minutes. The parents I have spoken to about this have supported having homework. It gives them an opportunity to see what they students are studying in class. I would love to hear what other teachers think about homework.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Thing 1-B
To be honest, when I first heard of Web 2.0, I had no idea what it was. When I read the chart explaining the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, it made much more sense. The first thing I thought of after I read the article, A Day in the Life of Web 2.0 by David Warlick was it would be a great way to communicate with parents. It can be a pain to create a weekly newsletter, but to quickly post something on a blog site would be easy! Parents could ask questions and I could respond when I have a free moment, which could be 10:00 at night! Then I tried to think of ways that I could use it with my students. I could pose questions about topics or books that we are reading in class and have students respond to the question and to each other. Students could work on their writing online and their peers could review it and leave comments, each helping each other become better writers. There are endless possibilities!
Using ideas such as these forces students to become active participants. It also allows all students, especially ones who don't like to contribute orally, share in a discussion or respond to another student. By sharing with one another, it allows students to think more critically by pushing them to work on a higher level and consider alternative positions.
Using ideas such as these forces students to become active participants. It also allows all students, especially ones who don't like to contribute orally, share in a discussion or respond to another student. By sharing with one another, it allows students to think more critically by pushing them to work on a higher level and consider alternative positions.
Who I am - Thing 1A
Hello everyone! My name is Courtney. I teach third grade students at Auburn Elementary. This is my seventh year teaching - most of which I've spend in third grade. I was a little nervous signing up for this course - mostly because I wasn't sure if I could juggle one more thing. But I wanted to learn more about using the web in education. I want to learn how to integrate using the web into what I teach everyday.
On a personal note, I've been married for almost 7 years and have two great kids - Gabe, who just turned 4, and Callie, who is 21 months. I grew up in Central New York (Go SU!), but got tired of the snow and cold, so my husband and I moved to Georgia 7 years ago.
On a personal note, I've been married for almost 7 years and have two great kids - Gabe, who just turned 4, and Callie, who is 21 months. I grew up in Central New York (Go SU!), but got tired of the snow and cold, so my husband and I moved to Georgia 7 years ago.
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