Life in Education

Portfolio

2015-04-16T17:59:00.001-04:00

The idea of a portfolio is twofold for me, and somewhat of a dichotomy. On one hand, I understand the need to have a place to showcase my work as a teacher, and as a lifelong learner. Portfolios are a great resource to have to demonstrate what I am capable of, what I have learned over my time as a student, and what I have done as an educator. On the other hand, while in undergrad, I spend countless hours updating my portfolio, taking pictures of my latest and greatest lessons, constantly updating my core values as a teacher, and writing and re-writing my resume. When it came time to interview for jobs, I was never once asked to take it out, and ended up simply using it as a place to take notes while interviewing. That being said, I indeed do find value in the portfolio, so long as it is a WORKING document.

As a collection of documentation of what it is I am good at, I can see great value in the idea of a portfolio. As an educator, I feel that my strong point is the connections I make with my students. I would like to be able to demonstrate that idea with an electronic portfolio, using taped lessons, testimonials from students, colleagues, and principals with whom I work, and a demonstration of my spirit as an educator. Of course, I would like to document the amount of student growth my students have shown, as well as artifacts from unique lessons I've taught, an up to date resume, and digital accomplishments (assessments I have designed, games I have created, etc.) This working document would be a place I could sent a potential employer so they can get a feel for who I am as a teacher before they even meet me. This, I feel would set me apart from many other potential candidates.

As far as how my students can use portfolios, I actually have a living example. At one of my schools, teachers utilize goal binders so that students can their own goals, own their learning, and be responsible for how they take advantage of the opportunities school supplies. Specials teachers typically have not participated in this activity, but I could easily see myself participating, having students set goals and use artifacts from my class to provide as proof of their learning. One aspect of this could be a digital aspect, where they upload websites or presentations they have worked on in the past and can take with them as they move from elementary and into middle school and beyond.

Web Authoring

2015-04-07T16:22:00.000-04:00

For my class website, I use Weebly.com. At the end of last school year, we were encouraged to create a web page that highlights communication with students and parents. As part of our in service, we created web pages with bare bones minimums (ways to keep in touch, communication with parents, etc.). Being a technologically-minded person, I created mine rather quickly and was assigned with the task of helping others as they needed it. Given this information, I have since let my classroom website fall into near disuse. That is, while it is available for students and parents to check, and several parents have even used it to get in contact with me, it is not used as a daily tool in my classroom. While I did have grand plans for it, daily life caught up with me, and the website became rather static. It is my goal in the next week or so to update it (conveniently aligned with the website activity in class) but I will be further revising throughout the summer as on of my main goals to re-vamp my entire classroom experience (a bit of "spring cleaning" goal I've got in mind for this summer).

As far as my students go, they use web authoring a bit, but not nearly to the extent to which they could be capable. At one of my schools (Keller Elementary,) we have 5th grade exhibition, which calls for students to move into action regarding a pertinent topic which they choose to research in the spring. Some students will create web sites to bring awareness to the topic. While this is a unique and very valuable application of web authoring, it is my no means universal, as not all students choose this method, let alone are assigned such an activity.

For the future, part of my "spring cleaning" idea is to, along with revamping my website to allow for a "flipped" format (having students come to class having viewed and practice pre-loaded activities) I would also like to use web authoring within the context of my classroom as a student-driven activity. I plan on using my "Spanish speaking countries" project as a guinea pig, having students create websites as opposed to simple poster boards as in the past. If they are successful in these projects, I may open up the activities to more classes and more activities, depending upon availability of computer labs, Chrome Books, etc. I feel like this will be a great way to get kids engaged and excited about topics within elementary Spanish!

Classroom Tools

2015-03-19T18:01:00.004-04:00

Classroom tools sounds like an incredibly vague term. Topically, when I think of classroom tools, I of course think of the things that I use to make my life as a teacher easier. However, when presented with, more specifically, classroom tool software, my mind is immediately drawn again to PowerPoint and simple concept maps, diagrams, etc. Essentially, I use these tools as a way to organize my students' thinking. The bulk of my curriculum is teaching Spanish vocabulary. For each unit, depending on the grade level, there are anywhere between 10 and 30 new vocabulary words for my students to learn. I use these tools as a way to organize and make meaningful the various vocab words. I will very often create webs to illustrate how different words are related, and help to compartmentalize various vocabulary. For example, one 4th grade unit is Food and Restaurant. We will create a concept map that starts with foods and restaurants and branches out to fruits, vegetables, meats, drinks, desserts, etc. as well as ordering food and talking about a menu. I quite often use PowerPoint as a means to introduce new units and present new material in a meaningful way, so as to create both a visual and audio memory of the vocabulary.

My students will often help contribute to said PowerPoints and webs. Many times I will pass out papers for students to fill in their own webs as we are having a classroom discussion, organizing their thoughts in their own way, and I will ask for a reflection for understanding. Similarly, if we are going through a PowerPoint, I will often have a slide that asks them what they already know about a topic, and will fill it in as we go along.

Moving forward, I would like to utilize these tools as a means of productivity on my own end. Having webs with vocabulary helps me remember from year to year students' thinking as I tried new means of introduction or discussion. Furthermore, keeping amendments to my PowerPoints and keeping notes keeps me thinking about how I can do something different from year to year or even unit to unit (perhaps a venn diagram was not developmentally appropriate for one age group, while a concept map was not challenging enough, for example).

Presentation/Multimedia

2015-03-05T15:40:00.002-05:00

I use powerpoint in my classroom on a fairly regular basis. Most often, I create a presentation as the introduction of a new unit. Often I will present a new Spanish word with a visual hint as to what it means in English. This is, I've found, a good way to present words in a fresh, memorable way in order for students to become proficient in the vocabulary I am presenting.

In the future, I strive to have students make their own PowerPoint presentations for a "Spanish speaking countries" project, which they currently present simply using poster boards. I have had kids experiment using Powerpoint on a very topical basis, but never with much of a presentation use, but simply exploring.

Another goal I have in using multimedia is using a Mimio. This is a tool similar to a SmartBoard, turning a regular white board into an interactive board. While I have the tool in my classroom presently, it still needs to be installed and calibrated, and just as importantly, I need to be trained. This will revolutionize my classroom, as I can upload my powerpoint presentations, stream my iPad, or save white board drawings, lists, etc. This use of multimedia will save me time, energy, and just as importantly engage my students!

Spreadsheets

2015-02-26T17:09:00.000-05:00

Spreadsheets are something I feel I under-utilize. My wife works at Ford Motor Co. in headquarters, and says she is constantly using spreadsheets to collect and analyze data, organize presentations, and use the myriad formulas to quantify her work as a psychologist. Inside the classroom, I feel that I rarely use spreadsheets. To me, they seem to be little more than a way to organize data, which is exactly what I use them for: entering grades and calculating averages, growth, etc. Occasionally, we will use them in our PD as a way to organize which teachers use different techniques, or organizing our units. While these are all certainly valid uses for spreadsheets, I just feel like such a useful tool could be put to better use, and I certainly do not use them every single day. Because of my relative lack of experience with them, rather than utilize formulas built in to Excel or Google Sheets, I will simply pull out a calculator to calculate growth and class averages. This seems to be the area that I would like to put to better use. How can I maximize my time when entering the thousands of grades I input on a weekly basis?

That being said, one might imagine that my students to not use spreadsheets very often at all. Occasionally the may use one when looking up their grades on MiStar (the aforementioned database on which all of Royal Oak Schools' grades, attendance, etc. is run). I would like to have students be able to keep track of their own assignments, enter their grades, keep track of goals with their own spreadsheets. Once again, however, the main limiting factor is time. Limited computer time and access to devices that can run spreadsheets in a useful manner (they are still rather cumbersome on iPads, the resource that is most readily available) and I am left to enter grades manually. Such is the nature of the teaching profession, though.

Databases

2015-02-19T13:41:00.002-05:00

I use databases on a regular basis. In Royal Oak Schools, we use MiStar, which is a database program that houses each student's attendance, demographic information, report card information. I can log on from any computer and run a report that easily shows students' pertinent information, as well as any records that I have kept for that student including report card information from previous marking periods, which also includes any notes I have left regarding that student. While this is a wildly convenient system that allows me to easily track each student, it has not quite caught up to the district. We are in our first year of standards based grading, which is a very different system than years past. As a result, MiStar's grade book feature, which formerly would link grade book grades to standards on report cards and had an auto-calculate feature, is currently disabled. Therefore, I have to keep a separate database through Google Sheets for my grades, and link the grades manually as opposed to being able to flip easily from grades to report card marks.

Being elementary students, in my Spanish class, we do not get much of a chance to use databases. Most of my classes (25 minutes) are a whirlwind, with classes filing in, reviewing the last class period lesson, teaching a new skill or set of vocabulary, and lining up for pickup. This kind of somewhat rushed environment does not lend itself well to setting up a database, though with some help from classroom teachers, I think it may be possible! I would love to see each student keeping track of their Spanish assignments in an online, digital setting (perhaps Google Sheets). This would work hand in hand with my idea for having electronic worksheets sent to parents' or students' email addresses. In the spreadsheet database, students can keep track of their grades, annotated with notes on what their strengths and weaknesses were on a particular assignment or assessment, what they struggled with, and what they need help with. Students at one of the schools I work at already keep performance binders, but having these online would create an easily accessible line of communication with parents for an invaluable at home connection.

Word Processing in the Classroom

2015-02-11T21:43:00.001-05:00

I use word processing in my classroom nearly every day. I use it to create worksheets, assessments, and newsletters. It seems that I am so used to using word processing, that I hardly even notice at this point. The basic format for Word, Google Docs, etc. is so seemingly universal, that I hardly notice the difference in formatting. That being said, students hardly ever use word processing in my class. Meeting for only 25 minutes, we hardly have time for students to log onto computers, much less create word processing documents. I would love to have students create presentations, brochures, etc. that highlight what they have learned in my class about the Spanish language and culture. However, time is simply not available for my students to complete such tasks. With nearly every student having technology available at home, there could possibly be some at-home application, so long as I am sensitive to students current workload. Being a specials teacher, there is a certain unspoken understanding that, while my lessons are valuable to students' education, they are supplementary to classroom education, and, given the incredible amount of work students do both in the classroom and at home, I try to keep the homework to a reasonable minimum.

Technology in my classroom

2015-01-20T22:34:00.001-05:00

In teaching elementary Spanish, my life is somewhat hectic. My classes are 25 minutes long, and on my typical day has 13 or 14 classes of kids ranging from Kindergarten to 5th grade. I am constantly on the move, and my days fly by! That being said, it is incredibly important that I use my time wisely. I try to use technology to engage my students, pique their interest, and try to promote as much at-home practice as possible.

My classrooms are equipped with Apple TV, projectors, desktop computers, and DVD players. On top of that, each teacher is provided an iPad. Furthermore, in each school there are two carts of Chromebooks. I often use the iPad as a tool to project work students are working on via the Apple TV in order to work along with or provide examples for students. I have used Chromebooks for research projects on Spanish speaking countries, and have had students develop their own vocabulary lists. Furthermore, via my classroom website, I provide parents and students with at-home videos for practice, as well as a simple communication tool.

I've heard a bit about "my classroom," a Google app. that keeps a constant stream of communication between student and teacher, and can track assignments, attendance, and solid at-home connection. What I am curious about is how I may be able to apply this app to 1)various grade levels-as I teach K-5, and 2) the vast numbers of students I teach-more than 900 in total. Would there be a way to alter or adapt Google classroom to meet my unique needs?

On "Frankensteining" my old blog

2015-01-20T22:14:00.000-05:00

This blog has been on hiatus since apparently 2010. Quite frankly, I forgot about it. Life as a teacher has somewhat taken over, and I've let my thoughts slip. That being said, it's being revived for a graduate class (at LTU through Marygrove) and I thought it would be appropriate to keep my thoughts on education in one space.

Apologies and Positive News

2010-07-26T00:16:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry that I have not updated anything in this blog in quite some time. I got a part-time (.5 FTE) position in Royal Oak which made a commute to Ann Arbor and Royal Oak a weekly task, which, in turn, added to my already crazy life of a substitute teacher. I was originally somewhat reluctant to accept the position, given that I would be teaching only one half day per week teaching Spanish to Elementary students, but accepted nonetheless with hopes of having my foot in the proverbial door. WELL...mission accomplished! After being initially "laid off," I was called back and told that I was to be signed on for a full time position. I was free to apply to any position open in the district, many of which were vacated due to the "incentive" (read: threat) in Royal Oak schools for teachers to retire. I was told that I definitely had a position, but they have been unable to give me a straight answer as to what exactly I will be teaching. Celebration ensued. About one week later, I got another call saying that it is very likely that I will be replacing a teacher who is going on a child care leave which she plans to be permanent. I'll be teaching Spanish again! What's more, I got an e-mail from this teacher asking me to come and meet with her. After meeting with the departing teacher, she informed me that she's going to be leaving me some materials. I was expecting some lesson plans, maybe a few worksheets, nothing too exciting. I was incorrect. She is leaving me EVERYTHING from decorations to lesson plans to binders. Everything. It is hard to describe the weight that has been lifted from my shoulders. Not only have I been hired on full-time in a great district, within a great city, especially for young professionals, but perhaps my greatest reservation (where to get all the STUFF teachers seem to magically ac quire) has been put to rest. Thank you for all the support I've received, and of course, good luck to all those still in the search for a job. Trust me when I say that it seems good news is around the corner!

The Power of the Internet

2010-02-12T01:20:00.002-05:00

I think we have exciting times ahead of us in the age of technology. Let's just hope they don't try to replace us with MacBooks and DVD's.

Oh wait, they already did.

"The Giver" inspires sentiments on classroom behavior.

2010-02-08T23:04:00.003-05:00

Today I subbed in an 8th grade English class at Royal Oak Middle School. It was a very different experience from what I've grown accustomed to at Ann Arbor Open, as well as having my own Spanish classes at Northwood Elementary. As the bell rang, kids quietly filed in, took their chairs down, and began to read, EXACTLY as was noted in the lesson plans the teacher had left for me. After 20 minutes, they got out their notebooks, and composed letters to elementary school students about why reading is fun and important; again, as noted in said lesson plans. All of this was happening while I, the substitute teacher - whom most teachers must assume are, shall we say, less than capable of running a functional classroom - had nothing better to do than read from "The Giver," which was what I'd be reading with the next four classes. Upon witnessing these students drone though what had the potential to be an enlightening experience, I found this teacher's selection of novels to be rather eerie. For those haven't read it, Lois Lowery's version of Big Brother depicts a society which is entirely prescribed for its citizens. Down to what to do in the event of an impure thought, every action, impulse, and decision has a set of prescribed answers. I immediately found this to be the case for many of the students I was witnessing. (Yes, I say witnessing, because what I was asked to do today had little to do with teaching.) Upon the walls were rules that looked to be written by students, but were as detailed as "cough into your elbow," along with "respect each other," and "raise your hand to speak." Now, I am not challenging the validity of these expected behaviors, nor am I chastising the sense of structure many teacher employ. However, when the ultimate goal is to experience education - that is, to challenge one's self to look at something in a way that he or she may not be accustomed to - it seems like these prescribed actions that many teachers employ seem to be counteractive. I want my students to be able to explore their own thoughts (albeit within some structure I have yet to materialize;) to make the knowledge they create their own.

To be fair, my observations of this class were one day out of an entire school year, at it was a day that the teacher was absent. Obviously, there was value in having her students used to a routine within the structure of her classroom, as there were literally no behavioral problems throughout the day. I would love to see this teacher in action, as she clearly has a grasp of her classroom. However, it just seems to me that the students had a pre-determined expectation coming into the class that they would do a certain amount of work, with little feeling that they would be challenging themselves to get something out of the experience. They were so bogged down by the daily routine that they were able to get through the day as robots.

Every day, I learn something new which points me toward becoming the teacher and person I want to become. Even the days I do nothing more than read the same 20 pages of "The Giver" to four different classes.

Open Education

2010-01-28T15:05:00.002-05:00

Substitute teaching at Ann Arbor Open (the system for which my dad has been a teacher for 35+ years) has been a rejuvenating experience this year. There is a certain amount of excitement on the kids' parts about being at school, and that sentiment seems to be shared by the teachers. There is an overwhelming sense of respect between teacher and student that goes beyond the "expectation" that children are to adhere to every request of the teacher without a second thought. Students are invited to question teachers, choose their own interests, and have a say in the curriculum. It just seems like the most logical way to inspire kids to learn: let them figure it out themselves! Teachers aren't viewed as the omniscient source of all knowledge (nor, in my opinion, should they be,) but rather, simply as classroom facilitators. Especially in the upper grades, there's a trust that ranges from work to behavior that most students, having grown up in the open system, are inherently bonded to, making it a virtual non-issue. Of course, there are the students who need their reminders, as we all do, but the active force of defiance that I've become all-too-familiar with seems to be absent in this school. Needless to say, it's so refreshing and inspiring to take part in a system so concentrated on the student and the community in which s/he works, that I'm often reminded why I got into this profession. Hopefully I can find an open-school system (if not in Ann Arbor,) where I am allowed to create such an environment.

For more info. about Ann Arbor Open, (a great way to learn more about the Open School system and philosophy without the uninformed bias) go here.

Getting Started

2010-01-25T23:38:00.000-05:00

Apart from my livejournal, which I all but abandoned years ago (save for one post about a month ago,) I wanted a forum for my thoughts. Being a teacher who has yet to find a "real" job, I wanted a place for my musings on education, inspiration, frustrations, and thoughts about the subject of education. Though I'm sure my thoughts will stray, I want to keep on the topic of education as much as possible as a place to refer to both for myself as I evolve into the educator I strive to be, but also for anyone who may want to know what I'm "all about" when it comes to education.

Tonight's Daily Show, albeit a satiric source of news, actually got me thinking about education. Especially when they cited this guy.

To save those of you whose attention spans are as short as mine, the LT. Gov. of South Carolina essentially (and literally) compared kids on free and reduced lunch to stray animals. Going on, he says that such programs encourage poor people to breed, hence exacerbating the problem.

Never mind that these are children who have the same rights and needs as his own kids (assuming, admittedly, that he has any.)

I don't think I have to add anything to this. These are the things that tear our education system apart.