Fianl Blog

First let me start off by saying that I enjoyed you Professor Luongo, the material & the rest of my classmates. I have been teaching awhile, and many things we discussed in class were not knew to me. That doesn't mean it wasn't beneficial. Now in my new role as administrator, I need to know what is out there, & how what can I do to help my teachers.
That brings me to the Blog. Yes it has a positive side, but to be honest I found it diffcult to keep up with it. Summer classes require a great deal of work, & if you are taking more than 1 class, it is tough to Blog. I did like learning about it & how to do it. The jury is still out whether or not I would use it in my school. Have a great summer.
Rosalind

Role of Technology in the Classroom

There is an article in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics News Bulletin entitled, "The Position State on the Role of Technology in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics."the statement reads, "Technology is an essential toolfor learning mathematics in the 21st century, and all schools must ensure that all their students have access to technology. Effective teachers maximize the potential of technology to develop students' understanding, stimulate their interest, and increase their proficiency in mathematics. When technology is used strategically, it can provide access to mathematics for all students."

The Council also recognizes the fact that technology can't replace conceptual understanding, computional fluency, or proble-solving skills. Again there has to be a balance.

Rosalind

Literacy for PreSchoolers

In class we have discussed when literacy skills should begin & we have come to the concses earlier the better. Therefore it should begin prior to when we get the children in school, but what do we do when they do begin in PreK programs. Some of these programs begin as early as 2 years old. In my school we have a 3 & 4 year old program. The children are not mixed in the same class.

One of my school goals is to build up the PreK Program. I have been researching how the program can be improved academically. I found a Website called Preschool Literacy. It offers many valuable tools for the teachers of these grades. It has links to other wesites. There are sites to assist teachers on how to intergrate technology into their daily routines. One site called Literacy Center.net has interactive early literacy activities. Another called Preschool Coloring Book introduces the children to journal writing. All of the acitivities offered on these sites offer great way to help develop literacy skills in an age appropriate & fun way.

Rosalind

Teacher Interviews

I have teaching positions that I have to fill, and I have been interviewing candidates for these positions. I have been asking them to discuss strategies on technology intergration in the classroom. It has been interesting to hear how some of them use it, and how some feel uncomfortable using it. The ones who were uncomfortable attributed it to lack of professional develoment. All of them felt that technology should be used as a tool along with other strategies. Basically the same things we have discussed in class.

Rosalind

My Access

I found MA to be a very beneficial program. If I was still teaching in the classroom I would make use of this program. I liked it because it was easy to navigate through, directions were clear & specific, & the feedback for both students & teachers was valuable.

From a teacher's point of view, it provides all the information needed to teach and remediate a student's writing skills. Again the information is presented in a clear & concise way. The benefits for the student are many. It intantly shows them where their weaknesses are, but gives them the tools to improve their writing skills. I think this is a more positive approach. It motivates students to do better each time.

It is also a great tool to use to practice for standardized writing samples. In my school the fourth & seventh graders take the writing portion of the Terra Novas. I could see the teachers of these grades using this tool to help improve reading scores. I enjoyed using the program last night.
Rosalind

Article entitled,'No Limits"

This article can be found at www.techlearning.com or in the magazine Technology & Learning, February 2008. The author discusses the rapid evolution of technologu over the past 3o years.
She points out that most of us just tried to keep up with it, but didn't realy incorporate it into our classrooms.According to her, "the time is ripe to begin instutite true change."

Educators are now dealing with a new kind of student. Only 1/4 of senoirs intervied felt school was meaningful. Many believe school has nothing to do with their succes in life. There is evidence that supports the fact that when students participate in media acitivities, they become engaged and more porductive. Therefore, anew kind of teacher has to emerge. A math high school teacher argues,"that while 21st century teachers may no longer serve as dispensers of informatin and ideas, they will continue to provide the most essential service of professional educators; creating learning opportunities that help students develop the skills and motivation that result in success throughout life."

The article goes on to say that a digital classroom has to use strategies as well as materials that will transform the classroom into a 21st century one. This type of classroom need to beable to to do global networking. They need to be able to act collaborativel, and risk taking allowed. I know our world is based on technology in this day & age. I think there are pros and cons concerning when intergrating technology into the classroom. It has a time and place, but I don't think it applies for every situation, nor all of the time.

Beginning the new school year

I know this school year has already ended for some of us while some of us arestill awaiting the end. As an administrator I am already thinking about next year. Presently I am interviewing for some positions I will have open for next year. Many of the applicants have not had any classroom experience at all. So of course that got me thinking how will I help new teachers with getting their year off to the right start.

Of course I thought of Harry K. Wong. He has written many books on classroom management.
His website is HarryKRose@aol.com. The article I found is very useful. It is a summary of major concepts covered by Harry K. Wong. It comes from his book, The First Days of School.
I found this on The Busy Educator Newsletter http://www.glavac.com/harrywong.htm.

The articles lists about 60 very helpful tips. I know some of you in class will be going on interviews & this will be of help for those & hopefully when you do have your own class. I can't help it. I found myself thinking like an administrator more and more, but I will always try to remember what it is like in the classroom.

Rosalind

What Great Teachers Do Differently

What Great Teachers do Differently is a book written by Todd Whitaker. This book is a good toll for new teachers, as well as experienced teachers. The author writes about 14 things that really matter the most for educators. In lite of our discussions in class about teaching things that the kids can relate to, I suggest this book to help you.

Chapter 5 if High Expectations - for Whom? Whitaker states that even poor teachers have high
expectations of their students. So what separates great teachers from the rest? Great teachers hve even higher expectations for themselves. Poor teachers expect the students to be engaged even if the material is irrelevant;pay attention even when the material is boring and repetative.
The great teacher goes above and beyond to engage the students withe relevant material.

As educators whether we are new or are seasoned, always have to keep our skills sharp, & in keep in mind our purpose for teaching in the first place. That purpose is to excite our students to want to become engaged in the learning process. We want them to become livelong learners.

Arleen's Reading Presentation from Last Week

I taught in High School for only one year, and many of my students came from non English or limited English speaking homes. Many of them would be the first to graduate High School, never mind having college in their futures. They had a hunger to be more. If Arleen read for them, I truly believe it would have effected them in a positive way.

Kids from low social economic backgrounds need to have positive role models. They need encouragement. They need to know they can make it. They need to know education is the way and not drugs. That way can be very allouring because of the instant money.

As educators we can have a profound affect on children's lives. I have first hand experience in this area. I was fortunate enough to have teachers who cared and went the extra mile. They installed in me a love for learning.

Blogging

In the article Dr. Luongo gave us to read, "Let Them Blog," a main concern that educator's have regarding a blog is Cyberstalking or sexual predation. This is a very real concern not only for educators, but for parents as well. The issue of providing privacy is very important to keep children. This applies to school and in the home. I think it is an easier task to do in a school setting, than in the home. Schools can incorporate secure sites & block out certain sites. teachers are montoring what the students are doing during class time. This not always so in the home. Computers are in the child's room and out of sight of the parent.

I read an article in U.S. News & World Report which discussed MySpace. The article was called Decoding MySpace. The fact that most parents don't know what is on their child's MySpace was brought. I thought this article would benefit parents to read. It talked about ways to protect children from Cyberstalking or sexual predation. One of the ways was to view your child's
account. Know what is on their. Limit their use on the computer. Explain the dangers. Tell them only to use it with the friends they know, and not to think everyone they communicate with is a friend ,or for that matter who they say they are. It explains to praents that places like MySpace have become the new social meeting places for the youth replacing the mall or sodoa shops.

We know that technology is a way of life and of the future. Let's be aware of the positives and negatives. As educators and parents we can ensure that it is used for the right reasons.
The link for this article is: http://www.usnews.com/unews/news/articles/060910/18myspace_5.htm.

Rosalind

Article on Highly Qualified Teachers

In class the other night, we discussed the NCLB Act & its impact on education. I came across an article in "education update." This is a bulletin printed by the Association For Supervision And Curriculum. The author is Rick Allen. If you are a member of this Association, or if you have access to it in your achools, you may have already read it. The website is www.ASCD.ORG.
The title of the article is "Giving All Students High-Quality Teachers." In the article the author discusses the provision mandated in NCLB that all students would have highly qualified teachers by the year 2006. As of yet not all of the states have met this mandate. States such as California, New York and Texas don't even use the Praxis test for licensing.

What I liked about the article is that it points out that just because someone is degreed and
certified doesn't guarentee that they will be effective in the classroom. It is a difficult process for an administrator to determine the effectiveness of a potential hire. There is a book called,
"The Teacher Quality Index" which provides some tools to help determine if a person would be effective in a classroom. The authors of this book are James Strong snd Jennifer Hindman.

Strong gives six areas of teacher effectiveness. The first is prerequisites of effective teaching: this includes experience, verbal ability, education coursework as well as certification and content
knowledge. The second is the teacher as a person: Does the teacher get across to students
caring, trust and respect? The third is classroom managemant and organization. Do they have routines, procedures and expectations. The fourth is planning for instruction. The teacher
would have to exhibit content knowledge and be able to impart it to the students. The fifth
is implementing instruction. What strategies does the teacher use. The last is monitoring the
students. Does the teacher use different ways to check for understanding and progress.
I think these are good to keep in mind if you are the one going for the interview, not just for
the person doing the hiring.

First Class

Dear Doctor Luongo,
I enjoyed your class very much tonight. I can see that I will be learning some valuable
strategies that I can use & also bring back to share with my faculty. See you next class.

Rosalind