Wisecat2001′s Blog

For my major digital project I have created a wikispace. The intent with this wiki was that Jackie, Ronelda and I would create one wikispace that would be used to represent different aspects of our school. It turned out to be a bigger project than we had anticipated. We decided for the purpose of the EC&I 831 class that we would separate it into three different wikis with the intention that when we are done this class we will work to create one wikispace for the school.

I wanted to create a wikispace that focused on being a Grade Six teacher. A place where parents, students, and community members could go to see what Grade Six is all about at Twin Lakes Community School. The pages that  I included in the wiki are:

Home- 2 pics of the school with our Vision, Mission, and Belief Statement.

Classroom- A welcome message

Classroom Expectations- a letter letting students and parents know what is expected of them in Grade Six.

Curriculum and Program- An insight into the resources and some content used in my Grade six classroom.

G.R Program- A brief description of what it is and how we use it in Grade six and TLCS.

Helpful hints for students and parents- some brief suggesstions to help parents and students to get an optimum grade six educational experience.

Links- A few sites added that can help students and parents with homework, research,ed. games, etc….

Ca lander- A monthly calendar to let parents and students know what assignments and events to expect for the month.

I really enjoyed creating this wiki. I began to realize a couple of things.

1. I had to restrain myself from adding too much information because I don’t want to overwhelm the reader.

2. That this wiki is something that I fully intend to use in the following school year. It is something that I will constantly be adding to and changing

I hope you enjoy viewing my wiki!!

Link here: http://tlcsteacher.wikispaces.com/

I have been thinking about this for quite sometime now. Everyone in my household owns an Apple I-touch. I am the only one who does not have one. I keep thinking that if I get one that I am moving forward with too much technology. In a way I want to stay with tradition and simplicity if I can. I think that if I choose not to get one then I can say I am not “acting smart” with the latest technology gadgets. But come on, my six year old has one!!! When her birthday was coming up in March my husband and I were trying to decide on a birthday gift for her. It was a toss up between one of those new 10 inch laptops or an I-touch. This has me thinking what ever happened to the days of Barbie dolls, bouncing balls, skipping ropes, etc… I am guilty for buying her the technological gadgets, however I also find a balance with the “old fashioned” fun that kids have. Just a thought for the day…and yes I do enjoy using their I-touch gadgets…lol!

Til next time…

I had the opportunity to join the edtechtalk session on Wednesday March 25,2009. The subject was about teachers teaching teachers. I found this session really interesting. It was’nt just the content that they discussed but it was also that I could join edtechtalk. I had no idea such a concept existed. I found this a very interesting way of learning about what others around the world are doing as educators. It was so neat that we were literally speaking with a fellow from the Bronx. The facillitaors were very inviting and friendly. They posed a question to the listening audience which I found really had me thinking…If you were to make a list of 5 habits you always want your students to do what would they be? This was neat to hear what others thought in comparison to my thoughts. I would reccomend anyone to listen in on edtechtalk anytime they can. It would b great to do it independantly or as a group. The link is www.edtechtalk.com/live

In the classroom I like to keep in close contact with the parents of my students. I make it a priority to involve the parents and interested community members in classroom activities, to make positive phone calls home, and to try and to encourage parents and community members to volunteer. I believe in our schools “open door” policy because I can see the benefits for the students, where students see their teacher and parents working together for their success in education, that they are cared for, and are encouraged to succeed.

In the school we tend to incorporate the community into many of our school events and functions. We appreciate the

values and the traditions of the community and work towards creating positive partnerships with parents and the

community. It can be a struggle at times, but we re-evaluate those barriers and try to overcome them. In my action

research project I am incorporating a classroom program with community involvement because I feel that I can bridge

the gap with the school and the community. This bridging will enhance a positive working relationship where the parents

and community feel valued by myself and the school in general.

Through taking this EC&I 831 class I have been able to expand my knowledge of how I can incorporate the connection between the school and the community. I want to create a classroom site or blog that parents can access throughout the next school year. I have also began to communicate to the parents via e-mail. I send them the classroom communication for the week. It is extremely useful for the parents whose children never seem to bring communication from their teacher home…lol. I look forward to making my classroom more parent and community friendly through the use of technology. I just have to find a balance between my home life, teaching and being on the computer.

Til next time…

I have been thinking a lot about how I can incorporate technology in my classroom more than I do now. Some of the points that were brought up by Will Richardson, our guest speaker for EC&I 831 class,helped me to think beyond the thought of classroom blogging as the only way I can incorporate more technology in my classroom. Using Personal Learning Networks is something that I would like to explore more with my students.  Will Richardson offers more insight into PLN’s at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mghGV37TeK8.

One point Mr. Richardson made in the class is that we need to make new connections a new way of learning. This is something that being in this EC&I class has helped me to do. I have been trying so many different things and exploring the web whereas before I used to check my e-mail and  Facebook. I have made so many new connections now and as a teacher it is so nice to interact with so many people in so many different places. I am finding my global way of learning. Til next time…

Today is Saturday, the day I collect my thoughts of the last week. I was thinking about the session we had on Tuesday with the guest being Stephen Downes. I really enjoyed the insights he shared with us. On of his thoughts that stuck out in my mind is that we need to assess the technological trends in our community. What is important to my community at this point in time? Personally I have always left it up to others to make those assessments in my community and then I would follow the trend. For instance I very much depended on our schools computer teacher, who has retired two years ago. In the time that he had left the community I found that I have not put the effort into learning and using technology in the my classroom, or school for instance. In my heart I know that I want to do more because in a sense it provides a sense of pride for our school and community that we are keeping up with the changing times and guiding our students to be successful when they leave the community and have to use such technologies.

I then decided that I would like to read more into what Mr. Downes had to say, so I looked at his site. One article I found quite interesting is the “Nine Rules for Good Technology”. It helped me to evaluate personally as to how much good technology do I practice, and what about using it in my passion of teaching? His response to Farhad Saba’s comments left much to my thinking of technology personally and professionally and being able to apply the rules of “Good Technology.” For more about this article you can look here: http://www.downes.ca/post/196.

Til next time….

I have had a couple of days to process the contents of my last on line class session. The focus was popular issues in digital media literacy…which was quite interesting. I have been embraced by technology more and more through the years and even more so in the past two months and have come to the conclusion that I need to utilize more thoroughly in order to move along with the demands of the 21st century. Some of the interesting information that is on the web that I have been looking at are some classroom blogs. I enjoyed reading through some of them but then found a few schools who use realplayer audio to add their voice. I thought that added an extra personal tough from the classrooms. I also looked at Youth Radio: connecting youth voices to the world, which uses Google video. The extent that we can go to with technology in the classrooms is absolutely amazing. I realize that I have alot to teach myself about media literacy so that I can teach my students. It can do wonders for the school moral, student self-esteem, community moral, teacher personal development, etc… I was reading this classroom blog Huzzah: A 6th grade class in Comox Valley, British Columbia and one thing that was mentioned on the page is “please note our success not our mistakes” I thought this was so interesting becuase it makes one look at the site differently. I looked at it with positivity and was seeing how I could use it as an example for my own classroom blogs. I didn’t look at in judgement about how they could do this and that better.

Part of the discussion in the on line class was the concern for offensive content, misinformation, scams, hoaxes, phishing, safety and cyberbullying. To this point in time I knew that these issues did exist but not to the extent that we reviewed in the class. It is interesting how Youtube carries alot of videos pertaining to these issues but at the same time there are so many uplifting and informative videos. I know that we have to protect our children from such things but how? In  the blog ”Joho The Blog” there is discussion on protection for children with a clear statement that “there is no easy tecnological fix”. That is a scary thought when we as teachers and parents have to teach our children using the internet. Plane and simple fact is we have to teach them the safety and hope for the best…

I have over the years made many personal connections with people. Especially in my work environment. I engage in dialogue with my collegues on a day to day basis, which I love. I enjoy the interactions that I have with people and being able to look them in the eye and nod your head because what they are telling you is of intrest to you. My fear is that is being lost somewhat with the age of teachnology. Sure you are engaging in another kind of connection with people but the intimacy among the people you know. Computing is a wonderful way to stay connected to those afar, and to engage in some networking…but man I miss the one to one in person conversations. I have to get used to the idea that technology must be embrased and that is something that taking this class will help me to do. I must go beyond using Facebook…lol. Til next time….

I have been thinking about how I use technology in my classroom and how I can utilize it better. I find that we have the tools to use technology in our schools classrooms but the problem is that when we go to use them there are too many glitches. For example: If I were to use the projector that is connected to the internet to show students the website for weather I can’t becuause such websites are blocked at our school. I find that maybe I am not quite prepared to use tecnology in my classroom, maybe I am happy with the old film strip projectors…lol
Til next time….

Here is to a first!!! This is my first time blogging and so far I am a little lost. I am sure with time it will get easier. I look forward to learning more through an online class I am taking on order to obtain my Masters in Education which is Community Based. I am actually glad I am taking an online class beacuase I don’t really want to travel right now. It has been extremely cold here and I would’t enjoy a road trip in this weather. Until next time….