Learning Style

After taking the learning styles quiz I scored the highest in intrapersonal. This didn’t surprise me because I am very independent, self-reflective, and introverted person and learner. Even today as a teacher I learn best by doing, then reflecting on what I learned and how I can improve. In school I struggled with classes that were focused on lecture and whole group discussions. I never wanted to participate because it wasn’t “my thing.” I still remember dropping my junior year economics class because each class was a lecture. I was learning nothing from his class and was panicking that I would not pass. I learn best when a concept is modeled and I can independently practice the concept directly after learning it.

Meeting the needs of all my students can be difficult. I focus on having a variety of activities in a given unit and making the culmination of the unit meet all learning styles. If a lesson can include ways to meet the needs of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners I will try to incorporate them all into a lesson. I think the most important thing is allowing choice within lessons. During reader’s workshop in my classroom students have the opportunity to read with partners, read individually, and also meet with me in a group setting to learn reading strategies and have discussions about books within their groups. I have a variety of manipulatives available such as retell ropes and wooden checkmarks to practice checking for understanding to support kinesthetic learners.

Creative Commons

Photo Attribution:
Original Image: Waterfall in Donegal, Ireland
Image URL: Waterfall
By: Becky
Creative Commons License

Reflection: I like to incorporate images into many aspects of my teaching. The waterfall image above could be used during a water unit to discuss how water flows and takes the shape of the space it is in. When creating powerpoint or prezi presentations I like to incorporate images from the web to give the audience a visual example.




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PC Maintenance & Security

Which tutorial did you choose?
1. Blocking spam in gmail
2. Installing RoboForm
3. Exploring the settings of Firefox

What was one thing you learned that you will definitely be sharing with others?
1. I learned how to filter emails. I never knew you could choose specific email addresses and have any messages from that email filtered to spam, deleted, or moved directed to an archived area.
2. RoboForm is a great way to store all your logins. I have a file at home where I have all my logins and passwords written down, but this is a great way to keep them safe electronically.
3. After learning about RoboForm it was great to see another way to store logins and passwords. I like that Firefox has the master password option so your computer is still protected if someone gets access to it.

Was there any information that surprised you?
In all three tutorials I was most surprised by not knowing about these features. It is amazing how much is available through gmail and also through Mozilla Firefox. I think I will take some time and explore each of these further.

Getting Things Done

I started my Getting Things Done process on a Monday when I was feeling overwhelmed by the tasks for CEP 810 and also the week ahead in my own second grade classroom. I have always been one to write down a “to-do” list, so this activity was right up my alley.
I organized my process by sticking with paper and pencil because there is something very pleasing to me about crossing a task off my list. I might try an alternative and paper free method eventually, but feel I would have a hard time not being able to physically cross off a completed task.
It was a little different and time consuming going through this process the first time. I read through each task and made some notes about each one. Next step was to organize each task. I don’t usually add dates to my list, but this was the most helpful part for me. Visually seeing which activities needed to be done and when was very helpful and put my mind at ease.
I feel the process was very beneficial for me. As soon as I wrote down my tasks for the week I felt a weight lifted from me. I have noticed during my first year of teaching that I am responsible for remembering a lot of things! Writing tasks down is very necessary for me. The added step of organizing helped put priority on certain tasks, specifically ones that had a due date.
I will continue using the GTD process. The quote included in the activity by David Kekich, “Anxiety is caused by a lack of control, organization, preparation, and action,” is very true in my life. I never go into a day of teaching unorganized or unprepared because I get high anxiety and feel out of control. This process helps me ensure all tasks get completed and I can feel prepared and ready for each day.

Social Networks

Social networks can be used in a variety of ways professionally and personally. With the options of school choice growing, social networks can help parents and students gain awareness of different schools. The use of a social network to promote the school or district you teach in can be very powerful. Social networks are also a great way for parents to stay involved and make a building have a greater feeling of community when everyone is connected.
On a personal level I found a great connection with a quote in the article, “Social Networking Goes to School.” The author discusses how teachers can use social networks to find new teaching ideas worldwide and not feel so isolated to their classroom. I find this very true. Facebook allows me to listen to co-workers in my building and other buildings share teaching ideas or even just share a funny story from their day. It is great to have such an easy way to connect and network with each other. As a lower elementary teacher I don’t push for my students to be involved in social networks, but I think it would be great to have a classroom facebook page for parents and students to follow.

RSS

I have included a screenshot of my google reader home page, as well as a comment I made on a blog called "Two Writing Teachers."

Since beginning my RSS page I have been following several feeds daily. One RSS page is Michigan Education and Schools found at MLive.com. It has been interesting to hear about the many perspectives of Snyder’s proposed cuts to school aid funding. Almost daily there is an article about a school district fighting back in some way, such as the article, “Bay City teachers hope to change minds at ‘Grade-In.’ Unfortunately the daily articles on MLive are mostly about budget cuts, potential layoffs, and an occasional general education update. Another favorite page I have been reading daily is a blog called Two Writing Teachers. Each day the blog has a different feel to it. Yesterday’s post was entitled “Words that are Speaking to me.” This included an inspirational quote by Dodinsky, which read, “Today, fill your cup with sunshine and laughter.” A few days prior there was a post about misused apostrophes and clever ways to teach the importance of proper apostrophe use to your students. I love following this blog because you never know what you’re going to get when you check in each day.
I have really enjoyed following my Google reader pages. It has become a new part of my daily routine to check in with at least a few of my favorite pages. By following the ISTE Connects news feed I have learned about several inspiring ways to use technology in the classroom. The Two Writing Teachers blog has taught me some great writing mini-lessons to incorporate into writer’s workshop. Last Monday, Ruth, from The Two Writing Teachers, included a very invigorating blog post about a wonderful way to encourage her students to continue writing throughout the summer. The lesson felt so powerful to me that I plan to give it a try this week. What I have learned the most from creating my Google reader account and following several news feeds is that my personal learning network can continue to grow in so many ways, and there are so many great resources right at my fingertips.
I haven’t quite figured out how I would incorporate the capabilities of a RSS reader page into a second grade classroom, but I think it would be great to use in an upper elementary classroom. Students could subscribe to the local newspaper or their favorites sports newsfeed. Students could check in each week and write a response to what they read. As mentioned above I feel I will learn so much about myself and continue to find new ideas to use in my classroom by checking my RSS pages daily.

810 Blogging Lab

Blogs and traditional web pages have only a few differences. Blogs, originating from the term web log, is simply a website organized by blog posts (Blogs in Plain English).  Blogs are generally written by an individual person, and are formatted as a series of entries or posts in chronological order. A traditional web page mainly remains the same, where a blog is updated often with new posts. Blogs become a discussion through comments, where as a traditional web page does not have the option for discussion.