A blogger response

While surfing through a teacher-blog, I found one posting that was really interesting:

Kurt Vonnegut, Facebook and the Teaching Life

In this post, a teacher reminisces over the idea that with the advances of social networking these days, teachers and students have the ability to connect and over-lap in time. That is, in the past this teacher remembers specific students, in specific times. Now however, her past students and current students are able to connect and communicate which creates an over-lapping in time for the teacher of past and present students. 

This is a testament to how powerful technology and social media is in this day and age. However, it also brings to mind the concept of using the technology appropriately. Now, more than ever, our past mistakes can come back to haunt us. Students now not only have the ability to connect with past and future students, but they can also know much about you (me) as a teacher and a person. .... Have I used good judgement in what I have allowed to be posted of me on social media sites? Have I been the teacher that students rave about in a positive, or negative light (and what they will post of me on the internet)? How will these choices affect my future teaching career and/or reputation? 

The rise in technology and social media sites can be extremely useful when used appropriately. however, teacher need to always be careful about how they use this technology, because it can be quite harmful when used inappropriately. 

Blog Website: http://practicaltheory.org/blog/

Digital Story

Attached is my first attempt at a digital story!

It is titled "Maggie goes to the toy shop" and is about a little girls who has been saving her money all week to go to the toy shop on Saturday. After she picks out all of the toys she wants to buy, she finds out that she did not have a enough money. The story then goes on to the process of figuring out how many toys can be bought with the money that she does have.

This digital story addresses the 3rd grade SOL which has to do with adding and subtracting money up to $5.00

Use of inquiry is not particularly heavy in this story, but it does engage the watcher/listener to the extent that they may want to stop and pause the money to figure out the math problems themselves and/or to try to figure out how Maggie will be able to afford the toys that she desires.

This digital story does follow in line with UDL because it appeals to both the auditory and visual learner, and also it puts learning how to make change out of money into a new context (story context, rather than problem sheets etc.).

Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry-based learning is a concept that although I did not previously know its formal name, was integrated into my education from a young age. I had an alternative education from grade school through high school of being home-schooled/tutored. My mother was/is a Montessori teacher, and always put an emphasis on not just memorizing facts, but understanding the "bigger picture" and asking lots of questions to come to that understanding.

At my first teaching experience in a small private school, I taught in a unique setting of a combination of inclusion and self-contained students who all had intellectual disabilities. I was trained to teach the students in a manner in which I should constantly be asking them questions that make them understand and come to conclusions themselves. This type of questioning was particularly used while focusing on areas such as life skills.  

Inquiry-based learning will absolutley be in my future classroom, and will be integrated into all subject areas. This quote from the website http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html really emphasizes the importance of inquiry-based learning in today's world:

"Memorizing facts and information is not the most important skill in today's world. Facts change, and information is readily available -- what's needed is an understanding of how to get and make sense of the mass of data."

Resources:
Concepts to Classrooms http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html

Webquest

After learning about WebQuest from the website http://webquest.org/search/index.php, I found a great unit on money. This unit looks at what money is, what each piece of currency is (dollar, quarter, dime, nickel and penny) and what they look at. this WebQuest will fit in great with my unit on money!

Link to money WebQuest:
http://questgarden.com/124/35/6/110414113136/