B day used to be my nemesis. Last year it was chapel, long class, study hall, class, lunch, 2 long classes, and finally home. No time to breathe, no time for the bathroom. Usually, if you took a trip down the hallway in the mini break between the long after classes, you would see the four team teachers sitting amongst the chaos....heads down, trying to gather the strength for the last hour of the day. They say that classes all day means at least the day goes by fast. Does that matter when I feel like a mack truck hit me at the end of the day?
This year, not so bad. Chapel is always a chance for reflection (although my advisory host chapel next cycle and I am a little worried). Then "free time". This is in quotes because it is not really free, I spent time answering questions, going over test scores, etc with kids in study hall.
Classes today are all about the lab - it is funny how kids are during lab. Some are super serious, completing their work and diligently writing everything down in their journals. Other choose to be more social. Always a few have NO idea what they are doing. Since today was day 3 of lab testing, I mostly just watched.
Lunch of course was awesome. We are watching the Pacifier. Kids love Vin Diesel.
After school was the highlight. Since Track + Baseball has started, most head home at 3 pm. That leaves the quiet ones. Today, a quiet game of lab table ping pong. With four kids coming in to complete extra testing. It was bliss. I laughed. I answered thoughtful questions. I helped with calculations. I even got a chance to organize my bookshelf. Bliss!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
curriculum day
Today was curriculum day at my school, which I both love and hate. I love, love, love that I have a chance to STOP and reflect on what I am doing. I am so programed to teach young adolescents that I sometimes forget about adults. Also it is a fabulous day when we have a chance to share and collaborate with our colleagues. But there seem to always be a series of "meetings" that are disguised as essential, but really are not.
We started with the All School meeting in the chapel. I guess, it is nice to gather as an entire group instead of our various sections. But I have to admit, I zoned out when our President was talking about board meetings and upcoming trustee events. I love my school, but I am not from Hawaii, so names and "culture" is foreign to me (even if I have been here 5 years). Although I did hear that we are getting a "raise". Anyway about 1 hour of my time.
Then our guest speaker, from a group called iDeo. I'll have to check them out, but our speaker was entertaining and spoke about what the company does. But it wasn't meant for me, but the 2-5 teachers who will soon be deciding what is an ideal campus for their age. They will have a private meeting with the group.
Then as 2-5 left. Those remaining did Yoga. I love Yoga, in the quiet and peace of my house...where I can mediate for 5-10 minutes depended on when I drag myself out of bed. Not scrunched up with my colleagues. How can I focus on my breathing when I keep bumping into the people next to me. Whatever. I can deal.
The highlight was a TedTalk by Dan Meyer. 11 minutes.
This spoke to me! I need to be less "cookbook" and more about solving science problems.
But then I had to go off to another share with my colleagues. Good yes, our school is huge and there are all these unfamiliar faces. Talking story (aka discussing in small groups) was great! I posed a question and got some feedback, but I wanted to think about Dan Meyer and how I could be more like him. Then it was off to a lunch meeting with my team, before I had a chance to digest what the 7 members of my "talk story" group shared. Sigh! I really wanted to think about ways to organize kids and how to teach kindergarteners. Or how to be more like Dan Meyer.
Lunch again great! I love my new team and we came up with a list of "essential things 8th graders need to have before we see them". But before long the hour had past and it was time to move to science department meetings. But I really wanted to think about note taking and research skills. Or about organization and kindergarten. And at this point, I have forgotten about Dan Meyer.
Thankfully the librarians were there to show us some cool resources. Have you ever used SweetSearch? We were walked through the various databases our school subscribes to, and allowed to search on our own. I can see potential when 8th graders get to their Human Body Project.
But then at the very end of the day, when energy is low, and I am checking out the clock - we have to talk about the sequence and scope of 8th grade science. Ugh! I mean I enjoy teaching chemistry and biology. I am a chem major after all and at this point in my career, I have honed my bag of tricks with each subject. But chemistry and biology are not age appropriate, nor do they fit the sequence at our school. But the school is not going to change. I will be LONG gone when that happens. So why discuss, if no significant change will be made? Ugh!
When am I to find the time to digest all that I learned today?
We started with the All School meeting in the chapel. I guess, it is nice to gather as an entire group instead of our various sections. But I have to admit, I zoned out when our President was talking about board meetings and upcoming trustee events. I love my school, but I am not from Hawaii, so names and "culture" is foreign to me (even if I have been here 5 years). Although I did hear that we are getting a "raise". Anyway about 1 hour of my time.
Then our guest speaker, from a group called iDeo. I'll have to check them out, but our speaker was entertaining and spoke about what the company does. But it wasn't meant for me, but the 2-5 teachers who will soon be deciding what is an ideal campus for their age. They will have a private meeting with the group.
Then as 2-5 left. Those remaining did Yoga. I love Yoga, in the quiet and peace of my house...where I can mediate for 5-10 minutes depended on when I drag myself out of bed. Not scrunched up with my colleagues. How can I focus on my breathing when I keep bumping into the people next to me. Whatever. I can deal.
The highlight was a TedTalk by Dan Meyer. 11 minutes.
This spoke to me! I need to be less "cookbook" and more about solving science problems.
But then I had to go off to another share with my colleagues. Good yes, our school is huge and there are all these unfamiliar faces. Talking story (aka discussing in small groups) was great! I posed a question and got some feedback, but I wanted to think about Dan Meyer and how I could be more like him. Then it was off to a lunch meeting with my team, before I had a chance to digest what the 7 members of my "talk story" group shared. Sigh! I really wanted to think about ways to organize kids and how to teach kindergarteners. Or how to be more like Dan Meyer.
Lunch again great! I love my new team and we came up with a list of "essential things 8th graders need to have before we see them". But before long the hour had past and it was time to move to science department meetings. But I really wanted to think about note taking and research skills. Or about organization and kindergarten. And at this point, I have forgotten about Dan Meyer.
Thankfully the librarians were there to show us some cool resources. Have you ever used SweetSearch? We were walked through the various databases our school subscribes to, and allowed to search on our own. I can see potential when 8th graders get to their Human Body Project.
But then at the very end of the day, when energy is low, and I am checking out the clock - we have to talk about the sequence and scope of 8th grade science. Ugh! I mean I enjoy teaching chemistry and biology. I am a chem major after all and at this point in my career, I have honed my bag of tricks with each subject. But chemistry and biology are not age appropriate, nor do they fit the sequence at our school. But the school is not going to change. I will be LONG gone when that happens. So why discuss, if no significant change will be made? Ugh!
When am I to find the time to digest all that I learned today?
Sunday, February 6, 2011
keeping an open mind
Okay, today's post (composed during Super Bowl halftime) is all about keeping an open mind. In an article I found, Smith (2007) states how important it is to teach students about communicating with others. Essentially she says that kids are social will want to use social networking in their classes. Our job as teachers is to figure out how to use effectively.
First I did some research. What else is out there besides Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter?
There is Delicious (http://www.delicious.com/), which allows the bookmarks (or links) to be save and shared with a group...aka social bookmarking. I had heard of, but never used. I checked out some of the bookmarks that were popular today. Interesting there was a link to one of the blogs that I read regularly (Free Technology for Teachers). I can see that this might be helpful for a class completing the same research project. Kids could be encouraged to find and share their sources. Good websites could be definitely used. A con of that system is that kids who struggle with finding sources are just given the sources instead of finding them on their own. How would a teacher avoid that? Or does that even matter as probably these same students are weak in the writing area as well, and probably it is more important to work on the writing skills.
There is Tripline (http://www.tripline.net/) which allows a trip to be created between a group...aka social trip planning. I had bookmarked this tool to help me plan my summer trip between friends in different states. The places we want to go would take up a whole other blog....I can see this to be used, like GoogleEarth, in an English class. As students read a novel, they can plan a virtual trip just like the characters.
Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/) is another. I love reading and this year I created a bookshelf in my classroom with young adult options (thanks Goodwill for your 99 cent books). It has been really successful with books flying off my shelves. (FYI: Books by Neal Schusterman are quite popular). I have created a list posted by the bookshelf and write down who is reading what....but I should use this site to encourage students to recommend books to their classmates.
One last category I should mention is all the websites that allow social flashcard making.....There are so many (quizlet, headmagnet, studystack). We really need to encourage students to be social when studying for a test. I didn't figure this out until college, but study groups quickly helps you figure out what you know (and don't know)....and if you don't understand something, you have others to help out.
Ok - I am beginning to see possibilities.....I must do some more research into what other schools are using.
Thinking back to my last post, I realized what I was looking for, with my own students, is something like Walden's eCollege. Where can I develop that? There is a classroom, media seems to be easily shared, there is a place to discuss, and students can even turn in/get back work.
References
Smith, F. (2007). How to Use Social-Networking Technology for Learning . Edutopia. Retrieved February 6, 2011, from http://www.edutopia.org/how-use-social-networking-technology
First I did some research. What else is out there besides Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter?
There is Delicious (http://www.delicious.com/), which allows the bookmarks (or links) to be save and shared with a group...aka social bookmarking. I had heard of, but never used. I checked out some of the bookmarks that were popular today. Interesting there was a link to one of the blogs that I read regularly (Free Technology for Teachers). I can see that this might be helpful for a class completing the same research project. Kids could be encouraged to find and share their sources. Good websites could be definitely used. A con of that system is that kids who struggle with finding sources are just given the sources instead of finding them on their own. How would a teacher avoid that? Or does that even matter as probably these same students are weak in the writing area as well, and probably it is more important to work on the writing skills.
There is Tripline (http://www.tripline.net/) which allows a trip to be created between a group...aka social trip planning. I had bookmarked this tool to help me plan my summer trip between friends in different states. The places we want to go would take up a whole other blog....I can see this to be used, like GoogleEarth, in an English class. As students read a novel, they can plan a virtual trip just like the characters.
Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/) is another. I love reading and this year I created a bookshelf in my classroom with young adult options (thanks Goodwill for your 99 cent books). It has been really successful with books flying off my shelves. (FYI: Books by Neal Schusterman are quite popular). I have created a list posted by the bookshelf and write down who is reading what....but I should use this site to encourage students to recommend books to their classmates.
One last category I should mention is all the websites that allow social flashcard making.....There are so many (quizlet, headmagnet, studystack). We really need to encourage students to be social when studying for a test. I didn't figure this out until college, but study groups quickly helps you figure out what you know (and don't know)....and if you don't understand something, you have others to help out.
Ok - I am beginning to see possibilities.....I must do some more research into what other schools are using.
Thinking back to my last post, I realized what I was looking for, with my own students, is something like Walden's eCollege. Where can I develop that? There is a classroom, media seems to be easily shared, there is a place to discuss, and students can even turn in/get back work.
References
Smith, F. (2007). How to Use Social-Networking Technology for Learning . Edutopia. Retrieved February 6, 2011, from http://www.edutopia.org/how-use-social-networking-technology
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Integrate in my classroom?
I have to say that I have actually thought alot about integrating a social networking site into my classroom. I want to use what my students use. To connect learning with the present and make them engage even more with learning.
But honestly Facebook is losing its appeal with my students. That is an interesting discussion - where will Facebook be in 5 years? Will it still be around? There was that rumor that Facebook was ending in March......but honestly, it does seem that some users have migrated away. I like it strictly for the ease it is to communicate with those far away.....also you can easily share media like a funny video or a news report. In the past year I remember sharing a video about body image and young girls.....my teacher friends instantly picked up on it and shared with their classrooms.
and my 8th graders are not really interested in Twitter. I think that they see Twitter as more serious, less fun. You see Twitter in the news as educating the world about the unrest in Egypt or people commenting on who will win the Super Bowl.
What part of social networking do I want to add to the classroom?
I want a class to be a class, online (aka have an online space) and to share what each student is learning. I want it to be easy to use written text, embed a video, and post pictures. I want students to comment on each other's work. I want students to learn to use a social network, the same way they would use it for personal use.
But Facebook and Twitter are not what I want to add to my classroom, yet.
But honestly Facebook is losing its appeal with my students. That is an interesting discussion - where will Facebook be in 5 years? Will it still be around? There was that rumor that Facebook was ending in March......but honestly, it does seem that some users have migrated away. I like it strictly for the ease it is to communicate with those far away.....also you can easily share media like a funny video or a news report. In the past year I remember sharing a video about body image and young girls.....my teacher friends instantly picked up on it and shared with their classrooms.
and my 8th graders are not really interested in Twitter. I think that they see Twitter as more serious, less fun. You see Twitter in the news as educating the world about the unrest in Egypt or people commenting on who will win the Super Bowl.
What part of social networking do I want to add to the classroom?
I want a class to be a class, online (aka have an online space) and to share what each student is learning. I want it to be easy to use written text, embed a video, and post pictures. I want students to comment on each other's work. I want students to learn to use a social network, the same way they would use it for personal use.
But Facebook and Twitter are not what I want to add to my classroom, yet.
Social Networking
Sigh! I am just reading now that for our assignment that we need 3 blog posts on social media (ideally over a 3 day period)....but sigh, again! I have only two days....so let's get to it.
What value do social networking sites have in education?
How might you included them?
Well, social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter) are excellent for communication from far away. As stated before, I live in Hawaii, but my family and friends are in Boston and other places. I can keep in contact with everybody from far away. Most of my high school class is on Facebook, so it is nice to see pictures of little ones and know what everybody is up to without a reunion. I am "friends" with my cousin's wife, a woman I have never met. But I get to "know" her through her funny status updates. As I was telling my mom's friend (a non-facebook user), it is a just different kind of communication.
Twitter also adds a bonus, lots of cool educators out there tweeting away. I feel current with education policy but checking on those that I follow. You should check out "Cool Cat Teacher" and "Larry Ferlazzo"
However, I am still thinking about how to integrate it to my classroom. Next post!
What value do social networking sites have in education?
How might you included them?
Well, social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter) are excellent for communication from far away. As stated before, I live in Hawaii, but my family and friends are in Boston and other places. I can keep in contact with everybody from far away. Most of my high school class is on Facebook, so it is nice to see pictures of little ones and know what everybody is up to without a reunion. I am "friends" with my cousin's wife, a woman I have never met. But I get to "know" her through her funny status updates. As I was telling my mom's friend (a non-facebook user), it is a just different kind of communication.
Twitter also adds a bonus, lots of cool educators out there tweeting away. I feel current with education policy but checking on those that I follow. You should check out "Cool Cat Teacher" and "Larry Ferlazzo"
However, I am still thinking about how to integrate it to my classroom. Next post!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Assignment!
What do I like about multimedia?
How would it improve student learning?
How would it adversely affect some students?
I really like the Roblyer book. Although lots of text, I think it does a good job at presenting information with graphics. I tend to work better with specific examples – so the Technology Integration Examples at the beginning of the chapter and figures with breakdown of types of products and specific websites – gives me a chance to start thinking about my own teaching. I plan on incorporating the top 10 tips for PowerPoint (or Keynote) into my own lesson that I give on PowerPoint.
Regarding multimedia in general, I like using to give my students a different perspective of what I am teaching. After I teach a lesson on Acids and Bases, I can watch a video, like a BrainPop for those that need to see things visually or those who need a big picture summary. I try to use an interactive with each unit, so that those that love games can play and learn on their own. I want multimedia to help engage my students in the topics. I also want to use multimedia to make connections between concepts.
However, 8th graders need some guidance it how to manage their time on the computer. So when I expect students to watch a video, then answer some questions. Some students have trouble stopping their "entertainment" to get to the "work".
How would it improve student learning?
How would it adversely affect some students?
I really like the Roblyer book. Although lots of text, I think it does a good job at presenting information with graphics. I tend to work better with specific examples – so the Technology Integration Examples at the beginning of the chapter and figures with breakdown of types of products and specific websites – gives me a chance to start thinking about my own teaching. I plan on incorporating the top 10 tips for PowerPoint (or Keynote) into my own lesson that I give on PowerPoint.
Regarding multimedia in general, I like using to give my students a different perspective of what I am teaching. After I teach a lesson on Acids and Bases, I can watch a video, like a BrainPop for those that need to see things visually or those who need a big picture summary. I try to use an interactive with each unit, so that those that love games can play and learn on their own. I want multimedia to help engage my students in the topics. I also want to use multimedia to make connections between concepts.
However, 8th graders need some guidance it how to manage their time on the computer. So when I expect students to watch a video, then answer some questions. Some students have trouble stopping their "entertainment" to get to the "work".
Welcome!
aloha,
Welcome to my second blog! All about my job! Wahoo! And I have the BEST job ever; teaching 92 wonderfully crazy eighth graders. I say crazy because in January/February I usually say that my students "go over to the dark side". We are just too comfortable with each other. They drive me crazy!!!! I know the troublemakers (and watch them like hawks) and I know those who are really interested in science. But then, they know me. They know that I love, LOVE science and that I am always smiling (even when yelling). They know that when I close my eyes and start breathing deeply, that I am reaching my breaking point. Oh, come April, they will return "to the light" and I will cherish ever last moment I have with these kids.
I actually had this blog post ready to go on Monday, but I just couldn't come up with a "cool" blog title. I follow blogs called "It's not all flowers and sausages" (3rd grade teacher - She is hilarious and you must check out) and "Tall Mom on the Run" (hopefully you can see that one is about running). I really needed a clever title. Suddenly this morning (at 4:47 am), it came to me. Change of State. It fits. I teach science and recently just covered matter and the changes it undergoes. My students had to complete a lab, in which they did these mini experiments and decided whether physical or chemical changes. They see that changes of state (i.e. melting, evaporating, etc.) are just physical changes because the substance never changes.
But it also fits my current situation. Five years ago, I headed west from Boston, Massachusetts and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii. At least I had a fabulous job, but I knew no one here........Five years, and I love it here! The weather (this weekend I am heading to the beach), the people (did you know it is rude to honk here?), the relaxed nature of the place (aloha), and the fact that I am not THE teacher of color at my school. Ultimately I know I will return to the snowy Boston (and my family), but for now - I am so happy.
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