Engage Me or Enrage Me???

Marc Prensky did an awesome job of portraying how students are in todays classroom.  Students are no longer robots that will sit in their desk with pens and paper and listen to lectures.  They must be constantly engaged because that is their world.  We, my generation, tend to label students as ADD/ADHD when it is simply that the students are listening because they are BORED! I think this was an excellent point made.  I think many teachers could benefit greatly from listening to this presentation.  

Flipped...Out

I did like several things that I viewed in the video from Caitlin Tucker.  The way she used Diigo for online annotating was great.  I think the idea behind a flipped classroom is very neat and I would love to say realistic.  However, I don't feel that it is as easy and "great" as portrayed.  I think that for one who is a bit "tech savy" so to speak would be able to utilize it.  But, I feel it might be a bit overwhelming for other teachers who are just now comfortable with the standard technology provided inside their classroom.  I do see how it would more actively engage students and have them learning without even realizing they are learning.  At the elementary level I don't see it being a good tool to use at the level she used it at.  I know a teacher who does post videos to her website of her working math problems so the students may refer to it if they are stuck on a homework problem, and I think that is a great idea!  To each their own...I love the idea of a flipped classroom and eventually I see it being a more useful technique, but at this time I can't see it being used to the fullest way Mrs. Tucker did.

Boxing the Cable Boxes

As I watched my husband take the cable box down and pull the cable from behind the T.V. I couldn't help but smile.   Just hours earlier our 2 year old was running and jumping around the living room like a wild animal, her version of dancing, while I was holding my breath praying she didn't step on her 4 month old brother who was laughing and talking to her.  While the "princess was putting on her show, the 14 year old was steadily asking questions about how she could answer her homework assignments, laundry was being started and the thought of cooking supper made me cringe.  The one thing that wasn't adding to our chaos was the television.  Now, don't think we are the people who are anti-television.  You see the problem is when we do sit down to try and watch T.V., we are so exhausted by that point we fall asleep, or we only get to watch bits and pieces of it because somebody needs something.  

I often think back to the times when we did watch T.V. and have adult conversations. It seems like a lifetime ago.  The times when my husband and I would snuggle on the couch and watch our shows religiously every week.  Oh, and the times that we would stay up late to watch that movie during the week, because well we could sleep all night and even until that very last minute before having to get up and get ready for work.  Then one simple word brings me back..."momma"  I love the chaos, I love the exhaustion, I love the mundane everyday "stuff".  So, tonight as I watched the cable boxes being boxed up I smiled because there isn't a package that can bring me the joy or the entertainment that I have right in front of me everyday...and I don't have to wait for the next season to see what happens next ;) 

The Next Big Thing In the Classroom...Technology

I know, I know, technology in the classroom really?  It's not anything new, but in ways it is.  Some people see technology in the classrooms with handheld gadgets, projectors, lots of computers, and all the latest bells and whistles.  In a perfect world this might be, but I live no where near a "perfect world."  Using technology in the classroom doesn't have to be as daunting as you might think.  

When you were younger, did you have a diary with a lock and key?  What about a trapper keeper or a notebook you kept daily logs in?  Now kids use social networking such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to share their thoughts and ideas.  Kids feel the need to have hands on interaction and to be constantly engaged.   What better way to achieve this than by incorporating technology into the classroom.   A simple way to do this is blogging.

Blogging can be very beneficial for you and students.  Who wouldn't want to write a review on a book and receive immediate feedback from their peers or teacher?  Blogging can create a sense of "family"  between students.  They can reply to one another's post and create dialogue that might otherwise be non-existent.  What about the fact that you can keep the posts for the span of the school year and go back to the beginning to see how the student's work has improved?  A complete student portfolio in one spot, created completely by the student...NICE!! Blogging is a simple way to incorporate technology into your teaching.