Joke #1:
Two men walk into a bar. The first says, “I’ll have some H2O.” The second man says, “That sounds good, I’ll have some H2O too!” - The second man is now dead.
Joke #2
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Funny Stuff
Wanted to change the pace of the blog a bit and share some humor. Enjoy!
Joke #1:
Two men walk into a bar. The first says, “I’ll have some H2O.” The second man says, “That sounds good, I’ll have some H2O too!” - The second man is now dead.
Joke #2
Joke #1:
Two men walk into a bar. The first says, “I’ll have some H2O.” The second man says, “That sounds good, I’ll have some H2O too!” - The second man is now dead.
Joke #2
Friday, October 14, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Motivational Speech of the Day.
I believe we are teachers in a position of technological shift. We need to learn so many technologies, yet be wary of which may become obsolete or unnecessary. It is hard to decide which programs and software are worth investing our time to learn, but we are the “Deciders.” We pick and choose for now which programs will be used in the classroom and many of our decisions are based on our students practices. Which do they use and which do we choose? Which companies, which software will highlight and successfully achieve student growth in education and do it the way we want to teach? Stay ahead of the game and don’t fall behind. Learn, Learn, LEARN the technology. It will pay off, don’t be afraid to use it!
If teachers could embrace the changes in student communication they could harness student interest in the technology and lead the way in how those devices are being used. In previous experiences during school years and in-service meetings I have found that the number one reason for not utilizing technology inside the classroom is because teachers do not understand it and fear it. They do not understand how to use the growing number of technological devices and software, nor are quick to invest time in learning them. There is also a feeling of helplessness, that “they don’t know what they don’t know.” Often teachers remain idle and frustrated with students when confronted with inappropriate computer or cell phone use, where as they should be quick to embrace, learn and guide students on more productive uses for those and other devices in the classroom. Stay ahead of the game and don’t fall behind. Learn, Learn, LEARN the technology. It will pay off, don’t be afraid to use it!
If teachers could embrace the changes in student communication they could harness student interest in the technology and lead the way in how those devices are being used. In previous experiences during school years and in-service meetings I have found that the number one reason for not utilizing technology inside the classroom is because teachers do not understand it and fear it. They do not understand how to use the growing number of technological devices and software, nor are quick to invest time in learning them. There is also a feeling of helplessness, that “they don’t know what they don’t know.” Often teachers remain idle and frustrated with students when confronted with inappropriate computer or cell phone use, where as they should be quick to embrace, learn and guide students on more productive uses for those and other devices in the classroom. Stay ahead of the game and don’t fall behind. Learn, Learn, LEARN the technology. It will pay off, don’t be afraid to use it!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Free AVG Protection
When teachers get new computers from their administration they all begin to sing, "O Happy Day." That is until they realize they received a virus from a weird internet site they didn't even know was bad or when they allowed a student to check "something" for "just a second." Don't that happen to you!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Chalk it up is happening THIS WEEKEND!
Chalk It Up is being hosted this Saturday and our students will be participating. I hope you will go out to support them. SAMA hosted First Sunday for families this last weekend and Art Pace was there to promote the event. My son and I went and participated. Thought I would share some pictures to inspire you to go. Helping students and children to create memories is so important and really helps build trust and relationships; something to think about.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Teachers Control Effectiveness of Interactive White Boards
Here is an article that was shared with me by Dr. Wirth. I highly encourage you to read it from start to finish. It has great insight into what we are trying to do in our classrooms with white boards. I felt that many of the ideas and language transferred over to what we are going to establish this year with blogs, podcasts and rss: http://bit.ly/l1winW
Here are some things that resonated with me:
The title rings true, “Teachers Hold the Real Keys to Whiteboard Effectiveness.” I hope it rings true for you!! The first line supplements this, “Educator skill seen to determine the technology’s impact.” “An IWB is just a tool, and if it’s not used correctly, you can’t blame the tool, you have to blame the user,” he added.
For those teachers that fear the ‘stumbles and falls’ of new software and 21st Century technology (including Web2.0 or 3.0) never fear! I have always found, and the article reaffirms via the spotlighted teacher, that the fluidity of class lessons and student understanding is based on the time we invest in and our comprehension of the resources available to us. And it should be pointed out that intimidation should never be a factor in your teaching and growth as a teacher. The article shared, “[She] has the slightest hiccup with the whiteboard software, a number of students yell out suggestions on how to fix it.”
I have had my own hiccups and found that they are teaching moments. Students that are good with technology will shine in front of the class and teach you, along with the students, how to troubleshoot the problem. When my IWB did not work correctly one lesson I had a student jump up, grab a marker and say, “Mr. Kelsey, I got this. Fix the problem and I’ll give them problems.” She demonstrated her knowledge of the concept and her understanding of the general format for word problems by writing her own out for the class to solve on the marker board, and then led them through it.
In a recent in-service I chose a room to teach the remotes our school would use in conjunction with the IWB’s and found that not all of the software had been loaded to it’s computer. It did feel uncomfortable, but the teaching moment there (for us both) was how to power through the difficult, embarrassing moments with this technology, improvise and still teach. In the afternoon, our staff meeting readjourned in another room and everyone got to work hands on with the remotes and IWB. We found success in the afternoon because we were patient and took the time to work through the problems together in the morning.
I hope you feel encouraged and inspired to learn, practice and use IWB’s as well as all new technology (Qwizdom, blogs, podcast, wikis, etc) in your classrooms.
Here are some things that resonated with me:
The title rings true, “Teachers Hold the Real Keys to Whiteboard Effectiveness.” I hope it rings true for you!! The first line supplements this, “Educator skill seen to determine the technology’s impact.” “An IWB is just a tool, and if it’s not used correctly, you can’t blame the tool, you have to blame the user,” he added.
For those teachers that fear the ‘stumbles and falls’ of new software and 21st Century technology (including Web2.0 or 3.0) never fear! I have always found, and the article reaffirms via the spotlighted teacher, that the fluidity of class lessons and student understanding is based on the time we invest in and our comprehension of the resources available to us. And it should be pointed out that intimidation should never be a factor in your teaching and growth as a teacher. The article shared, “[She] has the slightest hiccup with the whiteboard software, a number of students yell out suggestions on how to fix it.”
I have had my own hiccups and found that they are teaching moments. Students that are good with technology will shine in front of the class and teach you, along with the students, how to troubleshoot the problem. When my IWB did not work correctly one lesson I had a student jump up, grab a marker and say, “Mr. Kelsey, I got this. Fix the problem and I’ll give them problems.” She demonstrated her knowledge of the concept and her understanding of the general format for word problems by writing her own out for the class to solve on the marker board, and then led them through it.
In a recent in-service I chose a room to teach the remotes our school would use in conjunction with the IWB’s and found that not all of the software had been loaded to it’s computer. It did feel uncomfortable, but the teaching moment there (for us both) was how to power through the difficult, embarrassing moments with this technology, improvise and still teach. In the afternoon, our staff meeting readjourned in another room and everyone got to work hands on with the remotes and IWB. We found success in the afternoon because we were patient and took the time to work through the problems together in the morning.
I hope you feel encouraged and inspired to learn, practice and use IWB’s as well as all new technology (Qwizdom, blogs, podcast, wikis, etc) in your classrooms.
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