Blogging

Well, blogging has been an experience for me. It took me a moment to get the concept of blogging. I do see how it would be beneficial. It's a place to log you thoughts and gain feedback from others. It has been a little challenging keeping up with the blogging. I got off track when the first blog sight did not work, and have found it time consuming trying to catch up. I do feel confident about using blogging in the new school year. I volunteered to create a blog sight for Peer Mediators for PG County. The coordinator was interested in finding a way to communicate other than email to our team. We get so many emails per day, that many times emails were lost. We are looking for one central location to share and receive information. I am looking forward to setting up the Peer Mediation Blog site as well as possibly helping to create a Blackboard site.

Blogging

I think that we were at a disadvantage with the construction of this blog. This is actually the second site that we used for blogging. I don't know about everyone else but I have atleast three entries on the original site. I know that it might not seem like a lot, but as a current classroom teacher I have very little time to do assignments repeatedly.

Conducting a Voicethread/Podcast Workshop

Today I conducted a staff development workshop for Voicethread. It was actually fun. The teachers that attended the workshop were definetly excited to be there. I presented examples of student work, and I discussed my instructional method with my coworkers.

During the presentation, the teachers were able to make their own voicethread. We had a couple of problems with the microphones, but oveall the workshop was a positive experience

Voicethread Workshop

Tomorrow I will be introducing Voicethread and podcasting to some of the members of our staff. I am excited to spread useful information to the staff. Staff development is always interesting. Some teachers will be excited, and others could careless. This is something that will add another dimension to the classroom setting. I know that the purpose of the STEP program is too share information with staff members, and I have chosen to be proactive in this process by sharing information with the members of the science department and anyone else. So wish me luck!

Gallery Walk Anxiety

I have to admit that I am nervous about the gallery walk. I am not sure what to expect and how prepared I will be. I am putting the finishing touches on my work now. I still feel that what I am working on still can use some more expert help or more time. I am wondering if I will be able to make changes after June 2nd. I hope so. I want to put my best foot forward. Besides all of that I am excited about seeing how other teachers used the same applications in their classrooms.

Voicethread is Awesome

I would like for everyone to know that voicethread is a fantastic concept. Let me begin by stating that voicethread is a form of podcasting, but it is more than that. It is an instructional tool. When I use voicethread in my Environmental Science Class, I was able to instantly view student progress on each part of the assignment. I decided to use one username and password. I know that in the future this may cause problems, but for now its working. By using one account, I am able to view each group assignments instantly. Voicethread also allows each person to comment. So if a group is not keeping up, I can make a quick comment and move on.

Getting Away from Traditional Testing

Testing online has been my life for the past two weeks. There were some positives and negatives to this. On the plus side, testing online is more efficient, uses less paper and tools to give students, and is an easier process than the traditional paper and pencil tests. The online tests went by quicker than some of the paper and pencil tests and uses a venue that students are highly familiar with. The negatives were that I missed teaching my morning classes for two weeks, some computers did not have the links properly installed or loaded, and some computers had glitches that had not been taken care of before testing.

It would be great if all state and county high stakes testing could be completed online. I do feel that the option for pencil and paper should still be in place for the few students who actually do better with that option. The other issues would be extending the testing window (or starting earlier) in order to accommodate all students, making sure that every single computer is working properly to eliminate additional time used to troubleshoot during testing, and making sure that every school has the necessary numbers of computers to accommodate all the students for testing. Will the county move in this direction? Probably, but not anytime soon. With the budget cuts and restraints I know this is probably nonexistent on the list of needs and priorities. However, it needs to be addressed soon. As I see it, technology is moving forward, not backwards. So, it is imperative that our county administration keeps up.

I had the experience of being the test administrator for tests involving special needs students, general education students, and AP students. Behaviors varied, as expected, but I can say that the testing process was more efficient and used less time to pass out multiple tools students would need for testing. The Algebra test had the calculator online and their formulas sheet online as well. With time, I feel that this is the new direction for education. Yet, balance is always key. No matter how much technology advances, there is nothing that can replace that human interaction and need for human contact which makes teaching so magical.