School Funding

Welcome back friends. So now its time to take a trip down memory lane for just a minute. Today I pose one simple question: When did you know you wanted to be a teacher? Were you one of those people who was playing school with your stuffed animals when you were a child? Or were you one of those people who never really thought you could be a teacher but had a life changing moment that changed the course of your life forever. Whatever the case maybe we all have one thing in common. We all want to change the world and show our students that they can be a part of it.

So my education story is much like the second scenario in the first paragraph. People all around me always told me that I would be a great teacher but I had other plans. I told people that I was going to be a medical examiner. (Yes folks me. The 4'8" person cutting up dead people for a living. That is what I wanted to do with my life.) When I was a freshman in college I got the opportunity to travel to Guatelmala over spring break to do a week long service project at an orphanage. Throughout this week I got the opportunity to interact with the children at the school. I discovered that they had a love of learning that went way beyond the classroom walls. By the time the plane landed in New York City I know that teaching was what I wanted to do with my life.

Fastforward now to today. We were asked this week to search for an educational grant that we would want to apply for. Taking my eduactional journey into consideration I decided to focus my grant search on volunteerism science and global awareness. With that all in place I came across one grant that fit all of that criteria. The grant I chose is called the Academic Enrichment Grant. The grant is sponsored by the McCarthy Dressman Education Foundation. This grant awards ten thousand dollars per year for a maximum of three years to programs that provide opporunities for programs that foster understanding, deepen the student's knowledge and give them chances to expand their global awareness.

So now that I have your attention how do I apply for this grant? This grant is very straight forward. You must fill out the application between January 15th and April 15th of that year. (Sorry folks I could not fill out the application seeing that it is November and not January.) But more specifically they are looking for educators who have regular contact with K-12 students in a low income area. The only downside I found to this grant is that you have to be willing to work with the foundation on your project. Many teachers I know may not want to give up their power when it comes to their project.

Overall my friends I encourage you to take a look at educational grants. Many of them are not hard to qualify for and can actually be fun. Until next time have a Happy Thanksgiving and keep teaching.    

Curriculum Project Video

Edmodo

Welcome back friends to my latest post. I have a quick question for you. How many of you have a Facebook My Space or some other type of social media account. Ok times up. I take it that most of you ( probable around ninety percent of you) do. Well now think about it in an educational setting. Imagine a place where you can post new class assignments any daily announcements and other random items that students are always asking for. Well guess what my education friends there is this wonderful place and it is called Edmodo.

So why choose a social networking site when many of my students already have one. First of all Edmodo was created by teachers so it is completely safe to use. Also you do not have to worry about blocking or removing all the items that you do not want your students to see. Another perk to Edmodo is that you control who has acces to the page and who doesn't. Also it is a great way to keep parents informed without having to respond to a million emails every night. Students will have full access accounts that allow them to talk with you and with their classmates about assignments upcoming projects and even tests. And the coup de gra its FREE!!!

So how will I use this? You all know that I have been working on a curriculum project all about lab safety and the scientific method. Using Edmodo I can upload videos and diagrams about the scientific method. Also I will be able to put up a lab safety contract that every student and parent will be required to sign after the completion of the curriculum project. Also this is an easy way for my students and myself to keep track of their overall progress throughout the project.

Overall Edmodo is a great tool that can turn your classroom into an online community. Imagine a world where everything you and your students need is all in one place. Well its here. Get going.  

App Reveiw

Alright friends, its time to take a look some educational apps. Being an inspiring teacher I am always looking for new ways to incorporate technology in the classroom. If you have been following the past few posts you know we have been working on a curriculum project.  My focus has been on the scientific method and lab safety. These two topics are taught every year so students can lose interest quickly. While doing my my research I found an app that is entertaining and will definately  keep your students interested. The app is called Brainpop. Brainpop is an animated education site for kids. This site includes videos quizes and games for six different subject areas. The videos are extremely well done and are short enough to keep even the youngest learners interested. The best part of this app are the quizes. They not only cover the content but word origin and critical thinking skills. The app is easy to navigate and overall its fantastic.

Action Slides

Hello again! This weeks assignment was all about taking the first part of our project and expanding on it. Again there will be another wonderful diagram. This time it is brought to us by PowerPoint (sorry no Inspiration :( Hope you like it.

ADDIE Project

Hello again friends. This week we will be taking a look at cirriculum projects. We will be using the ADDIE model. ADDIE stands for Analyze Design Develop Implement and Evalaute. So today we were asked to complete the Analyze section so here it goes...

1.      Who is the audience?

-          20 eighth grade students

2.      What do they need to learn?

-          To create supplemental activities for students to increase their knowledge of the scientific method and laboratory safety so more time can be spent in the lab not outside of it.

Instructional Goals

-          To make the site easy to navigate.

-          Eliminate the need for unnecessary links or pop ups that can become a distraction to students

-          Incorporate text video and gaming technology into each lesson to accommodate every type of learner

3.      Concept map- See Concept Map at the bottom

4.      What are the delivery options?

-          Sites such as Google could be used for the individual activities as well as links to BrainPOP and the National Science Foundation can be used to provide additional information. Also a link to the unit page would be available on the class website

5.      What constraints exist?

-          Some students may not have access to the internet at home

-          Some connections may not be fast enough to run the videos and game content

-          Students may rush through the assignment just to “get it done” and not really get the quality learning we expect.

6.      What will the students do to determine competency?

-          The lessons will be based in a video game style. The students must complete small assignments within each level.

-          The last assignment at the end of the level will be a quiz. A minimum score must be obtained before they can move on.

-          A lab safety and scientific method test will be given at the end of the unit to ensure competency.

7.      What is the timeline for project completion?

-          Research of sources (1 week)

-          Design and Development of game (4 weeks)

-          Classroom Implementation of the program (3 weeks)

-          Summative assessment and student feedback (1 week)

8.      What are the classroom/ Web learning differences?

-          Students will be doing this at home so I am not there to supervise. Parental involvement will be critical.

-          Students may need a few classes for me to navigate them through the ins and outs of the program.

-          Students may run into some IT issues that I may not have already addressed.

9.      What are the pedagogical considerations?

-          Information must be presented in many different ways in order to accommodate many diverse learning styles

-          Formative assessments will be taken seriously and if evidence shows otherwise that particular student(s) will be removed from the program

Tablets in the Classroom

Well blogger friends I am back. This time through I unfortunately will not be talking about potato chips. (Sorry all you pickle chip lovers.) Instead I will be switching my focus to tablets. Yes folks we will be talking about IPads in the hands of students.
Today's topic comes from the k-12 Horizon Report. This report focuses on the up and coming technology that could soon be in the hands of our students. Well of all the new and exciting thins going on in the world of technology why would I pick the tablet? There are many reasons why I love the tablet but I will limit it to just two today so that I don't find myself writing another novel.

First of all I own a tablet. It was a birthday present from my parents and I am very thankful for all the ease of accessibility it has brought me. You see I own a laptop but its going on being seven years old. And for all you computer junkies out there you know that the older a machine gets the slower it gets. (My first laptop lasted me almost nine years so I'm hoping this one will do the same.) Also as time goes on many of the operating files become obsolete and let's face it my computer weighs a ton and is such a burden to carry around. With the tablet I have been able to explore its potential in terms of education apps. While granted most of the apps are built for younger audiences I find its potential to be extraordinary. While messing around with my tablet I found one geology app. So I downloaded it and gave it a shot. (Because what kind of teacher would I be if I didn't experiment with the new technology.) The app was really useful. It was able to give me a contour map (a map with various height lines) for famous geologic sites from around the world. (For those of you who have ever had to do this by hand this app will truly save you time and energy.) The large screen and easy touch access also make it a great tool for today's classroom.

The final reason I love the tablet actually comes from my past. When I was twelve years old my family and I moved from a small town in New Jersey to a medium sized town in Washington state. As I was reading the Horizon report I came across Snoqualmie Valley School District and my jaw nearly hit the floor. Snoqualmie Valley School District is where I went to middle school. The middle school is experimenting with a program in which students and teachers are using the IPad to find areas of weakness throughout their studies. Well I have to say Snoqualmie Middle School I am jealous. Why couldn't we have had IPads back in 2003. It definitely would have made class way more fun. I have attempted to reach three of my former professors to see how they enjoy using the IPads in their classrooms. Hopefully my friends they will remember me and get back to me soon.

So overall the large screen the lightweight and the cross curriculum uses make the tablet one of the new and exciting technologies that should be in today's classrooms.