First Day Called To Sub

My first day called for a sub job was yesterday.  I was more excited than nervous.  It was a nice first day because I was asked to sub for a teacher's aide.  Since this was the case, I was able to get a feel for the school and classrooms.  I worked mainly with one student and took the whole class to recess, lunch, and gym.  Overall, the day went good.  I was able to work well with the student I was assigned to and get him motivated to do his work.  I learned that recess and lunch can be chaotic times.. Unfortunately, I did not have a whistle like the other aides in the lunch room had, so it was difficult to draw all students attention when it was so loud.  Students definitely did try to take advantage, knowing that I was new.  Getting this preview, I know that one of the most important things is to establish rules early and clearly.  

Behavior Management:

I liked an idea that the classroom teacher used to monitor behavior.  She had a bulletin board in the room with all of the students' names on it.  Under each student's name, there were three index (sized) cards, one red, yellow, and green.  They were layered on top of each other in this order.  After being verbally warned more than one time, the student would be asked to change their card from "green" to "yellow."  Each day the students start off at green.  Then after students got to red, there would be consequences.  I like this system because it teaches the students that they are in control of their own behavior and they are physically moving something to remind them of that.  Students can visually see where they are and how the majority of the class is.  

A New School Year, A New Experience

I am both nervous and excited to start substitute teaching.  I have been reading a few books to help prepare myself:

• Substitute Teacher Handbook K-12
• Substitute Teaching from A-Z

I've also purchased some books such as Mind Joggers! 5-15 Minute Activities That Make Kids Think.  I want to be as prepared as I can.  I have looked at the district's website and printed out information on the school policies and also found some really neat web resources there.  This blog is full of resources :  Teaching 2.0  A Professional Development Resource Blog.  There is an infinite number of tech resources out there for the new school year!

Right now, I am in the process of making a binder to organize everything that I will need to carry with me, such as my assignment logs, teacher reports, student activities, school calendars and locations, etc.  I will be subbing mainly for elementary and middle school students and need to have a variety of plans.  If there is time to fill, I want to have something that I can implement and that is educational.  I've continued to build my book collection for different levels.

I have read tips for substitute teachers on management and organization.  I plan on going in with an open mind and getting the most out of my experience.  I will keep a notebook of different ideas I see in classrooms that I may want to use in my own one day.  I know that there will be good days and bad and will use each day to shape my teaching style.  I can read different tips and strategies but won't see the reality until it happens.  Being prepared and organized is the first step! :)

Continuing My Professional Blog

I really would like to continue to utilize this blog that I created with my Masters program for Integrating technology. I will be starting to substitute teach in the upcoming school year and would like to use this space to write about my experiences and put up any resources that I find or would like to share. I am going to put an effort into finding ways to use the web to benefit my teaching career.

As I probably have mentioned in earlier posts, I am unfamiliar with Twitter. Today, I logged in again (it has been a few months since I created it). I am going to use my Twitter site to follow educational posts. Here is a link to my page: https://twitter.com/Michelle0529. You can see who I have began to follow there.

New and Emerging Technologies - Final Reflection

During this course, I've learned a lot about the transformation of digital tools and the stages that technology passes through (McLuhan's Tetrad). I've also learned how to be a teacher leader and the different steps or approaches I can take to advocate for technology programs at my school. One of the themes of this course that I came across several times was that student learning styles are changing and as teachers, we need to consider that and be open to trying new things in our classrooms. Almost all students interact with some form of technology outside of school. In order to make learning relevant to their everyday lives, we need to bring some of that technology into school and show students how to use those tools in an educational way. By showing students how to successfully manage and organize the large amounts of information that are available to them, they will become better self-directed learners. With technology, students need to know that they can customize their own learning experiences. This course has provided an unlimited number of ways to customize curricula. We have studied different virtual environments, such as online learning modules (Moodle), multi-user virtual environments (Second Life), digital games, and creating personal learning networks. Teachers can be unsure about using certain virtual environments because they are unfamiliar with them. From my own experience, I was unfamiliar with MUVES, like Second Life, and was unaware of all of the educational benefits. I learned that there are many resources for teachers in Second Life, including professional development opportunities. Teachers can also meet in Second Life from different places around the world to share ideas and have conferences. Students are able to create avatars, build worlds, and collaborate. According to Will Richardson (2009), we should "be proactive in educating about social networking." Using MUVES creates opportunities for students to learn in a multi-sensory environment, problem-solve, and view content through multiple representations. A major benefit of using online learning tools is that it reduces student's threat of failure. In virtual environments, students can experiment with trial and error. Several software provides immediate feedback. What more could a teacher ask for?

In demonstration of my learning, I created a lesson that integrated digital mini games and other interactive web sites. The content area the lesson focuses on is Science, specifically, human body systems. Students watch a video clip from Brain Pop and discuss familiar systems as a class. During the explore phase, students work with a partner to interact with these web sites: Kinetic City - All Systems Are Go!, Inner Body, and Kids Health. While gathering information from these sites, students are asked to record notes on a graphic organizer. At the closing of the lesson, students take an online quiz. Through these web sites, students are able to navigate the body systems and focus on what they feel they need to. At the Kinetic City site, students play a mini game where they match body parts to their body systems. This game is very content centered, but gives students a fun way to learn. I was able to demonstrate my learning in this course through creating this lesson because I successfully integrated educational digital games that were goal-directed. Using these web sites, provides an example of how technology can enhance student learning and focus on multiple learning styles. I also constructed a report on influencing adoption and explored grant resources. I found several great grant resources and programs aimed at technology integration.

According to Fullan (2001), "change is a process, not an event" (p.40). Adjustments I will make to my efforts and teaching will focus on this thought. Change is ongoing and should be managed in steps. When I have a classroom of my own, I will create a mixed learning atmosphere. I will integrate the technologies I have learned about in this course based on the needs of my students and my own readiness. I will look into more professional development opportunities for myself and other teachers to learn about new and emerging technologies. I also now have the knowledge to locate funding and defend my choices of technology to administrators and parents.

Resources:
Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009) Virtual worlds. New and Emerging Technologies. Baltimore: Author.

Emerging Technology: Online Learning in K-12 Schools

My Voice Thread presentation on online learning:

http://voicethread.com/share/1180623/

Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology: Course Reflection

The course, Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology, has taught me a lot about UDL, differentiation, and integrating technology to make it all come together. Teachers can use technology as a tool to organize and implement differentiation in their classrooms. Differentiation is a way of thinking. Every student has his or her own way of learning. There are several different classroom elements that teachers can differentiate, including content, process, product, and learning environment. Throughout this course we have had the chance to practice creating differentiated lessons and plans to use in our classrooms. We have also created a Ning web site to share resources and work. Creating the Ning was a positive experience for me. I am glad I have had the opportunity to create different web sites with my classmates at Walden. Doing this has helped me become more familiar with them and how they can be beneficial to learning. I will be more prepared to use educational sharing sites with my students.

There are several ways that I can use the Differentiation Station (Ning site) to implement the principles of Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction. I can always look back at the UDL/differentiation presentations my group members and I created to refresh my memory. I could also use the ideas from these to show other teachers that I work with. Our Ning site has been an amazing tool for sharing resources. I will most definitely be returning to the site to use resources that have been posted. I like how on the Ning site there is the option of contacting someone individually or the group as a whole. We can also use the chat feature to discuss what we are learning or how we are using differentiation in our classrooms. The Ning site itself is supportive of differentiated learning in that it offers multiple ways to share information. For example, there is a blog feature, option to post photos or video, and a discussion forum. I will use this site to connect with my Walden classmates and perhaps even more colleagues in the future to share resources and experiences.

Adjustments I will make in relation to integrating technology to customize instruction as a result of this course include: matching technology the closest I can to learning outcomes or students' personal needs, using technology to differentiate assessment, and looking in to different types of technology (digital cameras, Ipods, response systems, different types of assistive technologies, etc..) that I am not as familiar with. I think a lot of our focus in our class at Walden was different resources offered online or from a computer, such as wikis, Ning, blogs, screen recording software, photo story and creating videos. I want to try to extend my knowledge to other types of technology. I'm glad that I now have a better understanding of how to design and organize educational resources, projects, collaboration, and assessments online.

Implementing UDL and differentiation strategies, while integrating technology as well, requires a teacher to be flexible and have a flexible classroom design.

*Links*
My group's Ning at Walden: http://waldengroup2.ning.com/

Dare to Differentiate (a wiki with tons of useful resources!) http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/

UDL Presentation