Wednesday, October 31, 2007

MY PUMPKIN



So my dog hated me for the whole night..ahahah HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Valley Road Elementary

Hello there! Will those of us going to Valley Road be meeting outside the school, wherever that may be? I was there last week and personally, I don't know where the entrance to that school is. It is quite confusing.

Have a good visit everyone! I hope you all have another great experience!

(= Sarah =)

PRAXIS Link









I know many people are thinking about taking the praxis instead of the MAPP. Here is the link:


I am taking it 11/27- may the force be with me. And since I am a ham and love sharing I added some more halloween pics.
Also is anyone else watching Kid Nation?










Good Luck!!

To everyone at their new schools! I'm really excited to go to Harrison School. I have a feeling I will love this school considering I attended an urban school as a younger child. I am definitely filled with a lot of excitement! Good Luck to everyone again and I am sure all of us will see many differences as well as similarities!

FIRE YOUR GURUS by tijn touber

This article really made sense to me! I believe there are so many people out there that raise the bar so high in their life that it can be out of reach. We have "gurus" that try to lead us in the right direction and their successes in life are our inspiration. That inspiration can make us followers rather than leaders. There are paths in our lives that we have not yet traveled, but are we ever going to walk as individuals? "Because the path is already worn, he doesn't have to work as hard to walk it, nor does he learn the same lessons." Some people out there may not realize this, but we are our OWN gurus! We should look to our real life gurus as pure inspiration..nothing more or less. The guru INSIDE all of us should determine how far we can go even if it's through a path that's unfamiliar.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Just browsing again

I found these insights on teaching and thought it was pretty cool. It is on this web address:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/1467/We-Need-To-Teach

some bits of it are: "Everybody has talent, it's just a matter of moving around until you've discovered what it is."
- George Lucas, movie producer and animation innovator

Doesn't that make sense? Lucas, an inventor and producer of dreams in reality, learned that as an adult. In general, that is not a lesson that children are taught.

Innovation--just being different--is a risky business. Society mediates against those who are different. They don't have ladders to climb. They must create their own mountains, then scale the precipices themselves. When they reach the top, they need to market themselves so that others will know what they have accomplished.

Our society is designed to produce followers. Which suits business fine because they treasure employees who will follow the role model they have described. In a society whose work habits, clothing styles, cosmetic usage, hair styles and even morals and ethics are dictated by business, the economy revolves around followers.

Changing schools


Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to remind you to do a dry run to your new school so you won't have any problem getting there on time. Spoke with Mrs. G-P at the urban school--she'll be there to speak with you, and I left a message for Mr. B at the suburban school...if you have any questions, please let me know.

I'm not sure yet which school I'll visit (if not both) but you're all in for a real change, and another good experience.

Good luck and enjoy!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

More about you...

Happy Halloween


Everyone be safe! See you in 2 weeks!
Jennifer the "Devil" McCartney (my horns did not fit in this picture!)

Friday, October 26, 2007

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Inclusion

Hello there!

This coming Friday, as you may or may not know, I will be doing a presentation on Inclusion in the classroooms. Here are a few websites to get you all familiar with the definition of inclusion as well as some basic information. These two websites in particular really helped me understand what inclusion is all about.

http://inclusion.uwe.ac.uk/csie/csiefaqs.htm

http://www.newsforparents.org/experts_inclusion_pros_cons.html

See you all on Friday!

(= Sarah =)

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Info I came across

I was browsing the internet and saw something interesing. It was a study that followed a couple of individuals that recieved thier bachelor degrees in teaching in 1992-1993. It had statistical information. It had the percentage of them that are teaching, and why some did not continue or choose to teach and the preperation they went through to become a teacher. It was pretty interesting.
the website is : http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007163

Autism

Here are some websites about autism. I am going to do a quick presentation on the subject on Friday. As autism becomes more prevelant in our schools and in our lives. Here are some websites that give good general information about autism.

If you want to can look around
http://www.autismspeaks.org/
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer

Monday, October 22, 2007

How much is too much ?

I saw this article on Monday night, and it really made me question, why is the cost of College so expensive. Not only are you paying over thousands of dollars to attend but what about the five hundred plus dollars spent every semester on books for all of these classes? Plus if you live at school, or even commute, the gas money spent driving back and forth ? How much does college really cost?

Just thought it was an interesting article.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/education/21cnd-tuition.html?ref=education

Sunday, October 21, 2007

American History

This site is chock full of all kinds of useful information as well as loads of maps and images. The information is about 20th & 21st Century America.

http://www.teacheroz.com/20thcent.htm

(Not just for History or Civics teachers...)

Sexual Misconduct Plagues Schools



This story was on my aol home page The statistics mentioned are quite frightening. I can not believe that a teacher can molest a student and leave the district with a good reference-it is sickening.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/sexual-misconduct-plagues-schools/20071020124309990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Saturday, October 20, 2007

My philosophy of education


Hi Everyone,


I had to complete this earlier then expected. If anyone needs any help with theirs please let me know. I am not the best writer in the world, but I am pretty good at catching typos. (Except my own!) See you Friday!



My philosophy of education is still in its developmental stages. It stems from my own struggles with education in the past. In simplest terms, I feel that you cannot force a child to learn; yet you must be fully able to teach them when they are ready. I think we must see potential in every student and realize that even though they might not fit the description of the ideal pupil, that it could be our ideals, not the student, that is flawed. With time and maturation even the worst student can become a successful member of society.
In high school I had a disgraceful GPA of 1.602 and saw no reason to strive for more then this. I felt I was an intelligent person and did not need a degree to do well in life. I questioned the real life applications for what was being taught and thought that I would be a success based solely on my personality. Much like the teenager who thinks that they are immortal I did not fear my lack of academic achievement.
My appreciation for formal education did not blossom until I found myself in the workplace. It was there that I was able to recognize its value. Desire for promotion, monthly bills, and even the price of gas motivated me more then any teacher ever had. I found myself taking night classes and doing well. Formal education was no longer an abstract process and with real world motivation, I found myself succeeding at a level far greater than my previous grades would have predicted. It was in these moments of clarity that I knew that I should be a teacher, to try to pass on this motivation to students at an earlier age. I wanted to teach in a way that was not judgmental, nor motivate with happy faces and stickers but with experience. I can relate to them because I was them, with the hindsight to understand their fears, the patience to work through their doubts and ability to supply real life reasons to why they should apply themselves.
Elementary teachers must be chameleons. They must always adapt to the subject matter being taught and changing needs of the students. Teachers must bring real life into the classroom so the children can value what they are being taught. They have a responsibility to truly know the curriculum and not merely rely on the teacher’s editions. Teachers must also always be students, and learn to adapt so that the teaching methods never become stale nor lose touch with the students. They must respond to the pace of technology, and be open to the opportunities and responsibilities new technologies will bring to the classroom.
I am no longer the student who questions why I am learning or how it benefits me. Today my GPA is a 3.77 and I have a newly found respect for academic success and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

October 26 Class


Hi Everybody!

Hope you all had a chance to look over the sample Contextual Factors paper I distributed the last time we met. As I told you then, it's a good model for you to refer to when you're ready to write your paper. I hope you took plenty of notes and notice while you were at your first school. Don't forget too that you will find the statistics you need on the "report card" page on the Internet.

Just wanted to clarify: who is presenting on Friday? I know Sarah will, but I also have Kari and Adriana down for "Special Ed/Autism" and "The Struggle for Educational Opportunity." Will this be the second presentation for both Kari and Adriana? Please let me know. Do Diana and Nicole want to present on that day also? If you'd like to, we will have the time. Otherwise, I'll arrange for something else.

See you soon!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Second Life experiences

Hi there!

This is Librarian Craig Anderson, aka Draconius Merlin in SL.

I just wanted to say that it was so much fun being able to teach a class in Second Life this morning, and that I am so glad to see so many of you embracing this new technology. To download Second Life onto your home computer, simply go to www.secondlife.com and choose "Download Second Life" on the bottom left of the homepage. If any of you are having troubles with getting into Second Life from home, you can either comment on this post, or send me an e-mail at: cjanders@kean.edu.

I've sent you all an invite to join the Kean University group on SL, which will allow me to send you bulletins and news as a group. I have the SL names for 11 of you, so I'm missing someone. Here are the names that I have:

Nana Masatada
Princesa Liotta
Miley Mayako
MarieElizabeth Pinklady
Purplelady Oceanlane
Cool Silverspar
Actually Blessed
Feeling Timeless
Leighlani Pinazzo
Tennesee Outlander
Pink Lovenkraft

A few tips for newbies:

-- Remember that once you're on SL, you can use the "Search" button to do a search for different areas, people, and events online.
-- Your inventory contains many things that may be useful to you. Whenever someone gives you a landmark, calling card, or article of clothing, it goes into your inventory. Right-click on an inventory item to use it.
-- Right-clicking enables you to interact with many items in the work. Some vehicles will allow you to right-click on them and select "drive". If you right-click on a person (including yourself) , you can read their profile, add them as a friend, or send them an IM.
-- The "Communicate" button on the bottom will bring up your list of contacts (friends), any groups that you belong to (Like the Kean group), and let you teleport people on your contacts list. Always be careful that you're not saying anything private in the "near me" tab. That means that you're announcing your statement to the surrounding area.
-- When you feel comfortable with it, you can click "build", and start using the 3D modeling tool to build objects. Be careful with this, and be sure to always right-click on the object and select "take" when you're done building. Otherwise these objects stay in the area in which you built them. (and that's littering!) Once an object is in your inventory, you can delete it if you don't want it.
-- for those of you with headsets and/or external microphones, you can go to the Edit menu and select "preferences" to enable voice chat. This will allow you to speak with others using voice instead of typing. (it puts a little snowflake above your head so that you can tell people who have voice enabled)
-- If you really want to, feel free to get a Premium membership. This gives you 300 $L (Linden Dollars) /week, which you will surely spend quickly.
-- When you get into SL, do a search for "Hypatia Dejavu". She is a wonderful librarian, extraordinarily helpful, taught me everything I know, and most importantly, SHE LOVES TO SHOP. Speak to her, and she'll have you better dressed in no time. :)

I look forward to seeing you all online, and I hope you have fun with this. But as Professor Tomich (Prof. Amat) says: Don't get TOO addicted! :)

Sincerely,
Craig Anderson/Draconius Merlin.


PS: Check out http://secondlife.reuters.com for the SL news desk! (one of them, anyway)

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Eugene schools share their technology knowledge

I was searching google for some education news articles, and I found this. I found it interesting and it reminded me of all of the techology videos we looked at a few weeks back. This takes place in Eugene, Oregon. There is also a video in the link provided that I am unable to post. I recommend taking a look at it. It's very interesting.

The link: http://www.kval.com/news/10490432.html


The Eugene School District is playing host to teachers and administrators from across the west.

They're showing off their computer savvy to help other school districts benefit from technology.

At Howard Elementary school, the future is now.

Teachers and students use smart boards, clickers, computers and ipods for everything from science to reading.

Now they're sharing their experience with 50 educators from districts all over.

Teacher and technology expert Carol Greig Pitetti of Howard Elementary says, "How we integrated technology and infused it into our entire curriculum."

The teachers and principals at the 4j tech seminar are watching, and learning.

Bruce Krieg of the Oregon City School district says, "I'm thrilled, I'm thrilled, very excited wonderful example."

These Oregon City teachers are planning their own technology roll out.Tech Specialist, Micah Baker, says "This is an incredible example to bring back and I've got many pages to bring back, notes to share."

Howard Elementary started using ipods 4 years ago, but only recently fully integrated technology.

Greig Pitetti says "I'm proud, yeah of our kids and our staff, the fact were able to be a leader and show people look, look what we can do with kids."

And the technology isn't just in the classroom, but in the gym as well where the visiting educators kicked off their shoes and learned how dance dance revolution gets students moving in PE.Heidi Dahlin of Oregon City says she's been in tech for 13 years and has never seen an application for PE.

She says, "I thought it was a clever use of technology it certainly engaged me."

The teachers say if they find technology this fun. imagine what their students will think.

Krieg says "Look it can be done and be done very successfully."Howard Elementary used apple computer grants and district title one money to buy their technology tools.


(= Sarah =)

Kids say the darndest things...


I was writing my journal and could not find a place to put this.


At the end of the day my cooperating teacher asked me to take a student back to the library to trade her book (she had chosen an autobiography instead of a book of fiction).

We went to the library but it was already closed for the day. We then went to the office to find where the Librarian was, we then went to her end of day post (but not before being spotted by the students 2nd grade sister who then joined us on our quest for fiction)

The librarian gave me permission to reopen the library for this student. The three of us went to the library where the student swapped her book- I closed the room up and realized I was not sure where I was taken the children to next.

So I asked "So where do we go next" and with out skipping the beat the student responded "We go home with the babysitter, I am not sure where you go."

I couldn't help laughing out loud.


Always remember students take what we say literally!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Top 10 Common Teaching Mistakes For Teachers To Avoid




I saw this article on About.com and thought I would share. I am sure we will all make mistakes (We are new at this, and only human) but maybe this can help us avoid the common ones!

Saturday, October 6, 2007

"Educatio est omnium efficacissima forma rebellionis"

I saw this quote on someone's profile in second life. Can anyone find out whose quote it is? What does it mean? Do you agree with it?

The first person to answer gets (some kind of) extra credit!

Know Your Personality

It may be helpful (or at least interesting) to take the free test they offer at this website.



Enneagram Institute
Enneagram Institute

Friday, October 5, 2007

Reminder About Your Writing Skills

Hi Everybody!
Ouch! I've been reading your first reports and journals--please review my post on September 26th--proofread or have someone proofread your assignments before you send them to me!

Hope you had a good visit today...

Enjoy your long weekend.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Lets Meet Up!

For those who would like to meet up outside of Harrison School again we will meet at the same time 8:15. I hope we all have a great second visit!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Hello There!

Hey everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their first field visit! I know I did, and I am really looking forward to the second. (=

So good luck and have fun on Friday! Luckily, I'm not nearly as nervous as I was last Friday, haha.

(=

My 1st Field Report at Hehnly Elementary


Field Report 1
School: Hehnly Elementary School
Grade: 4
Teacher: “Miss Lopez”
Time: 8:00am-3:00pm (6.5 hours)
Date of visit: September 28, 2007 (Friday)

My first field experience started at 8:30am as the students rushed into the classroom to prepare the appropriate materials to start their day. I was quietly sitting in the back of the classroom as I observed the chaos that was happening. Miss Lopez then had control of the students and started her morning by writing the date and the activities that were going to take place throughout the day. The day was full of excitement and anticipation because I had no idea what to expect considering I have not been in an elementary classroom since I was a younger girl.
The classroom consisted of twenty-four energized students and one amazing teacher. Her teaching techniques were definitely out of the ordinary. Friday’s math lesson was about subtraction of long numbers and the students showed an enormous amount of interest! Her students were absolutely in tune with her when she began the lesson. When Miss Lopez saw that the students were experiencing minor difficulties with a few problems she had the students pick up a 9x12 dry erase board and a marker. I was certainly surprised to see this particular teaching material because it was something I was not familiar with. I was always accustomed to teachers using the dry erase board as a teaching method and not have each student have one of their own. I believe it was a great way to engage the students visually and gave Miss Lopez the opportunity to see where they might be making mistakes.
All of the students were equally participating in the lesson and then soon asked Miss Lopez for more challenging problems. The students were then given a problem to figure out on their boards and asked to raise their board when completed. Miss Lopez walked around the classroom and was able to make out the students that needed more of her assistance. What I liked about her teaching method was that she gave the students a chance to figure out their mistakes on their own. Miss Lopez did not just write out the problem on the board and then solve it. Miss Lopez asked questions to guide the students to the right answer and help them better understand where they might be making common mistakes.
The dry erase boards gave the students the chance to feel like a teacher and visually show Miss Lopez the strategies they used to solve a specific problem. I definitely felt the energy in the room when she asked the students to get the boards. I think slightly changing the common way of learning engages the students in a positive way. Students do tend to get uninterested when they are given the same routine everyday. Miss Lopez integrated her everyday teaching tool with the students and it changed attitudes of the students drastically.
During reading time Miss Lopez put on a tape so the students can read along with no trouble. A student asked, “Can we sit on the tables?” and I was surprised to hear such a question. Miss Lopez then agreed to the inquiry and everyone jumped for joy. They sat on their desks and followed along with the tape attentively. Again, I never saw such a thing, but it was a great idea to keep the students awake and attentive. She probably lets the students sit on their desk during reading time to better grab their attention and not have the students put their heads down and possibly fall asleep.
In conclusion, my first field experience was great and I was able to gain many different teaching techniques that I can perhaps use for my future classroom. Simple, yet effective techniques such as white erase boards and sitting on desks while reading are great ways to engage the students physically and mentally.

Question

I can't figure out what I did with Prof. Tomich e-mail address and want to email her our assignments. Can some one please let me know? and good luck to everyone on their second visit! Thanks