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| ME! |
My
name is Melissa Fawcett and I am a Secondary Education in Earth and Space
Science major at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. This is my final project
for my Technology in Teaching and Learning class, SEDU 183. The following video
is my "I believe" oral essay. This video will explain why I wanted to
become a teacher, what I believe every child deserves in education, and how I
will help change the lives of my future students.
As
you saw in the video, I never wanted to be a teacher. But since I believe that
I was called to this profession, I will go after it with all my heart. School
is hard for me since it took me seven years to get back in the classroom. I
love school, and that was part of the decision to accept this calling of
teaching others. I get to be in school for the rest of my career. I will be a
learner until the day I die. As a teacher, I plan to give my students every
opportunity they are entitled to. I will also continue my life as a learner in
order to meet the needs of all my students. Learning never ceases. As a
secondary education major, I will be teaching high school students. Some people
cringe when I tell them this. They say things like, "those kids are
tough" or "good luck." I don't understand why they say these
things. I believe that teaching younger children would be more challenging. I
work with three to nine year olds at the moment and I am losing my patience day
by day. That is one reason why I chose secondary education. The main reason why
I chose high school is because I want to still be involved with Geology. And
many high schools have an Earth Science class. I loved mine in high school!
My dream classroom would be in a middle class Alaskan school district. I looked up the demographics for Juneau-Douglas High School. There is a 50/50 ratio of male and female students, with a 17:1 student to teacher ratio. 57% of students are White, 23% are American Indian, 12% Asian, 4% Hispanic, 1% Black, and 4% unknown. Only 9% of the student body is eligible for a free lunch and 2% are eligible for reduced lunch. The median income for the district is $63,197 with 43% of citizens over 25 years old have a college degree. (Public School Review)
Now,
you might be asking why I want to go to Alaska. Well, as a future Earth and
Space Science teacher, even though this particular school does not have an
Earth Science class....yet, Alaska has some awesome geologic features, such as
volcanoes, deep sea trench, mountains, glaciers, etc.
At the beginning of the school year, I would give my students a learning style assessment in order to understand how my students learn, whether visual, auditory, and/or kinesthetic. Knowing this, I will be able to adapt my lessons to give my students the best ability to understand and enjoy the material. (Understanding Learning Styles) Take the Learning Assessment yourself, and see what kind of learner you are.
At the beginning of the school year, I would give my students a learning style assessment in order to understand how my students learn, whether visual, auditory, and/or kinesthetic. Knowing this, I will be able to adapt my lessons to give my students the best ability to understand and enjoy the material. (Understanding Learning Styles) Take the Learning Assessment yourself, and see what kind of learner you are.
My 21st Century Classroom would include laptops and/or tablets for each student to use and take home. The student and parents would sign a contract for the use of the computer at home. I would also write a grant in order to get funding to offer internet service at the homes of children whose parent's could not afford it.
I would have at least one SMART board in my classroom and educate the other staff to use it, and hope to get funding to have SMART boards in every classroom of the school.
I would try the Flipped Learning technique when it would be beneficiall. (The Flipped Class Revealed) I would use and contribute to the Open Ended Resource movement and use online textbooks to save the school money. (Open Education Resources) I would
use
and contribute to the Open Ended Resource movement and use online textbooks to
save the school money. (Open Education Resources) I would still have
handwritten exams and assignments and periods of teacher centered instruction,
but most of the class with be student centered. The reason I would keep
handwritten assignments and exams to give parents a sense of peace. They would
know that their children are not just sitting in front of a computer while the
teacher sits in front of theirs. I have the tables set up in small groups to
encourage collaborative learning and teamwork, when the advantages outweigh the
disadvantages. (Advantages and
Disadvantages of Collaboration) I would also have my students create a
blog just like I have done in this course. Blogging helps support the
publishing of the students' and my work which helps that students and I receive
feedback on our creations. (To Blog or Not to Blog) I loved using Google
Drive to create a group project when we were unable to get together, to
actually "work together" on the project. Google Drive helped us see
each other's work, proofread, edit, and share ideas in order to create one
awesome project!! (What is Google Drive)
Assistive TechnologyIn my class, I have a student named "Susie Mae," she is legally deaf but cochlear implants have allowed her to hear the world around her. As a child, "Susie Mae" attended a special education class where she was not mainstreamed. But since her implants at the age of 12, she was put into regular classrooms. You might ask, "what if her implants are malfunctioning, or some other issue with them?" Well, I plan on having polished up on my sign language skills while obtaining my teaching degree, with the emphasis on the new signs for teaching science. (New Sign Language) Also, all the technologies described above can also greatly help "Susie Mae" in the classroom and enhance her education.
Bibliography
Bennett, Brian; Gudenrath, April; Kern, Jason; McIntosh, Philip. “The Flipped Class What Does a Good One Look Like?” June 23, 2011/May 3, 2012. The Daily Riff. December 2012. <http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-flipped-class-what-does-a-good-one-look-like-692.php>. This blog describes what a flipped classroom is and the benefits and downfalls of implementing such a technique in certain classes throughout all grade levels in education.
Bowerman, Todd. “What Are Some Advantages & Disadvantages of Collaboration in the Classroom?” December 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/info_7900311_advantages-disadvantages-collaboration-classroom.html>. This article explains the main advantages and disadvantages of collaboration in the classroom.
Invectura. April 27, 2012. December 2012. <http://www.invectura.com/what-is-google-drive-advantages-of-using-google-drive/>. The Invectura team produced this article to explain what Google Drive is and what the advantages of it are.
SMART Education Solutions. December 2012. <http://smarttech.com/edredirect>. This website offers all sorts of SMART technologies of the classroom.
Understanding the Styles. 2009. December 2012. <http://people.usd.edu/~bwjames/tut/learning-style/styleunder.html>. This chart gives you ways to identify and understand the three styles of learning.
7 Things You Should Know About Open Educational Resources. June 2012. Educause. December 2012. <http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7061.pdf>. This article explains what “open educational resources” are and the pros and cons to using them.
Self Reflection
This class opened my eyes to technology available to me as a learner and a future educator. When I was a high school student, we had blackboards and the occasional dry erase board, so when I entered my first day of this Technology for blah blah blah class, I thought nothing about it because I was pretty comfortable with technology. Well, when the professor asked us if we had ever used a SMART board or a Promethium, I couldn't raise my hand. I had to ask what a SMART board was, or the Promethium board. I felt so old and uneducated. But as the class progressed, I began to learn about these new technologies available now days. I took risks in this course. I tried to exceed the expectations put forth by our instructor. I tried things that I did not want to do, like signing up and using Twitter, but it proved useful as a tool for learners and educators. I gained so much knowledge about blogs, Twitter, The Teaching Channel, open educational resources, even Facebook as tools that I can use as a current learning and as a future educator. I now have more tools in my belt to use as I continue my education at Edinboro University and in my future.
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