Tech Readings

This was an amazing video! Not only did it send a great message but the way it was done looked really cool! I agree that we need rethink a lot of things because of what the web has become and what technology has become. Seeing all the things we are capable of doing with technology made me realize that I still have a lot to learn.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Blooms Digitally
This was a neat article! There is so much happening in the world of technology and bringing it into the classroom. This definitely requires students to learn an entirely new set of skills. This article brought that to light for me. Re-working Bloom’s Taxonomy and including all the verbs that have to do with technology made me realize how much you need to know to survive in our blooming technological world.

New Versus Old: Which is the Way to Better Learning?
Again, another great article! I have seen a similar situation first hand. I have had experience this year with older teachers who resist using technology because they don’t want to take the time to figure it out. These are the classes that seemed boring, even to me. I think it is important to teach in a way that students are going to learn best. If kids today are good at multitasking, are good at using technology, then I think that is how teachers should teach. The study in this article seems obvious to me. Of course students who are being taught in the way they learn best are going to do better on the test! I don’t want to imply that “older” ways of teaching are bad, they are not; they are just different. At the same time, I also think the older more traditional teacher should talk to other teachers who are comfortable using technology and learn from them. Maybe then they wouldn’t feel so intimidated by it.

Chalk Up another One for Blogging
I have to admit, I am not a fan of blogging… But, after reading this page about why Dan Meyer blogs, I can at least see the benefits of it. I think I resist blogging right now because it is an assignment and we have to blog about certain things which takes me longer than if I were writing about something I want to write about. If I were teaching and choosing to blog about what I am doing, then I may have a different opinion. I could see using a blog as a form of communication with students and even parents. It is an open, public, form of communication, which may have its limitations, but it at least could be used to keep parents informed about what’s going on in the classroom.

Getting the Word Out: Slaying Myths about Video Games
As I read this article, I couldn’t help thinking about the argument that chocolate is a vegetable because it is made from the cocoa bean. I’m not I agree with the idea that World of Warcraft is educational… My brother plays that game for hours at a time, completely cut off from the outside world with his headphone and mic. I think that games can be educational only if that was their purpose for being created. Sure there are games out there like WoW that can teach strategy skills or if we stretch it farther, communication skills, but there is NO way it would ever be approved to use in the classroom to teach those things!

Orchestrating the Media Collage
This article talks about a new kind of literacy; about being able to read and write in different types of media as well as being able to create something using different kinds of media. This article was harder for to follow and understand than the others… I don’t really agree or disagree with anything in this article. It seemed to simply present the facts about how technology is changing the definition of literacy.

Blog Comment - Learning is Messy: Writing Phones

What a fantastic idea! This is a great way to give each student privacy but at the same time get them listening to how their writing sounds. I may "steal" this idea in the future :)

Added to Cohort Wiki

Free Worksheets I used one of these for my direct instructions lesson for Jean's class. They are all pretty simple, but look like they would get the job done. (http://worksheetplace.com/)


Ideas Galore! I found this when I was searching for thematic unit ideas. They have a ton!!!! Lesson plans are included :) There is a bunch of stuff on this site that I haven't ecplored yet so check it out!!!! It all looks great! (http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/)

Here is a great way to think about division when students are first being introduced to it.




This is a fantastic video from Scholastic about how to structure Reading Workshop. There are many other videos and teaching resources here as well!

Blog Comment - Learning is Messy: Interactive White Boards

I agree that the jury is still out! I am a student teacher right now and have been in classrooms with SmartBoard and ActiveBoard. In both situations it didn't seem like they were being used to their full potential. They were being used as a surface to project what was on the computer, which could be done without the IWB being there. But at least the computer was being used! One teacher didn't even use it because she didn't want to take the time or effort to learn how.

I think that if teachers were mandated to take a class that the results would be better. Teachers would know how to create Flip Charts and use the many other resources offered by interactive white boards to engage their students in learning. One solution I have seen is that the school district hired some teachers specifically to create Flip Charts for the math curriculum. These are what my master teacher uses. She likes it because she didn't have to take the time to create them not to mention all the time she saved on not having to learn how to make Flip Charts!

Drama in the Classroom

This is my ideal job! I want to be an elementary school drama teacher. This position does not exist in very many places here in Washington, but I hope that one day I will find one.

This video is an example of what drama looks like in an elementary school. I have learned about all of these activities and was excited to find a video like this on YouTube.

Welcome to the world of drama!

Middle School Math

So many things have been happening in my current placement! I don't have the time to write about it every day, but here is a synopsis.


I was really excited to be in a new district, in a new school, with a new teacher, and a new grade level. Middle school kids are so much different than elementary school kids! There is more drama, more cell phones, and more height! Many of the 8th graders are taller than me which is a little intimidating at times. However, I feel like there is less of a connection between teacher and students...


In elementary school you get the same kids all day and there are only about 25 of them. In middle school, you get 5 different groups of kids in different grades for a grand total of around 135 kids every day! And with only 50 minutes in each period, there isn't time anything besides math. There is no time to really get to know your classes. I miss that... I have been in my placement for a total of 4 days over 2 weeks and I know only a few names. In elementary school I knew all the kids' names by the end of the first day. It makes it harder that 5 different kids sit at the same desk throughout the day. One of the ways I learn names is by visualizing who sits where and I found that technique doesn't work in middle school.


4 out of 5 of the math classes are the gifted program. These students are very smart! This plus the fact that the teacher has the desks arranged in groups and these groups work together very well means that these students do not need much extra help. This leaves me and my partner to simply watch all day. This isn't necessarily bad, it can just get boring doing it period after period. Even in the one class that is not gifted, students always work with their group members to figure out answers to their questions. I still walk around to see what students are working on but there really aren't any questions to be answered. Another major difference between elementary and middle school - the amount of self sufficient behavior.


I am conscious not to interrupt students as they are working to ask them to explain something to me to see if they understand because if they don't have a question and it looks like they are doing the math correctly, then that leads me to believe that they understand. They are old enough to know to ask a question if they don't understand and to know when they don't understand. In fact, that is part of what they have to turn in with their weekly homework packet: they rate their level of understanding of the weeks' work on a scale of 1-10. They also know that it is their responsibility to come for help during the extra period at the end of the day if they need it. From what I have seen, they actually do this! There is just not enough class time to teach the lesson, practice the new skill, and make sure everyone completely understands.


I think I like elementary school better.