I have wanted to be a teacher ever since I was a little girl. I created tests, bathroom passes, libraries, projects, rewards, and more. Everything a real teacher would do but I had to use my imagination when it came to my chalkboard. In fifth grade my dreams came true. My dad got me a real chalkboard. It was not an easel. It was a real to scale chalkboard. I would write on it every day. Teaching my stuffed animals and my collie Silky. I was in love with everything about it. What it meant. The power it held. That was in the year 2000 and now 12 years later Smartboards have taken over. At first I was 100% against them. What is this thing taking over my chalkboard? Something I have dreamed about having since I was six. I was just as apprehensive and straight up against it as I was about EDM 310. I had it in my head that EDM310 would be a waste of time and money. I will not be able to use any of this "technology" in my classroom. I was seriously misguided. With my chalkboard I had to learn to let go of the past and embrace the future. Everything I did as a child has set me up to for my journey as a teacher. Although it is more then the love of one thing it is the love for everything it represents. When the teacher is at the chalkboard they are in control, brilliant, creative, and passionate. Those are the things I want to be. I know now I can be those things without my chalkboard. This in its' own says so much. As a teacher I cannot cling to old ideas, traditions, or teachings. I have to create my own. I have to embrace change. Be open to the future. Discover new things and bring them into the classroom. Once you do it will change everything about you. I have accepted the death of the chalkboard and the birth of the smartboard. The rise of technology.
Now that I have accepted these things it will be much more beneficial to the students. They emerged in technology. They thrive off of it. I cannot honestly expect them to learn and grow if I am stuck in old ways. Being in EDM 310 has opened me up to a world I used to think did not belong in the classroom. When I was in elementary school hearing technology in the classroom you thought of three things: A. Being dragged into the computer lab (like once) being forced to draw something on paint and write something on word. B. Being sent to the library to take accelerated reader tests. C. Having a television and VCR being drug into the classroom to watch a movie. This is what technology meant when I was in school. Now it is a whole new universe waiting to be explored. I plan on sampling this universe in my classroom. I am now fully committed to technology being in my classroom.
To start things off we have a class website. This is the root system where everything else stems off of this. In here you will find such things as: class assignments (if you happened to miss class), homework assignments, extra practice quizzes, class polls, books we are reading, our class blog, other's blogs, mom approved websites, a place to show case our art, access to videos or podcasts of the lessons being taught in class, a calender, lunch menu, a place to email me, and so much more. From here comes our blogs. We will have a class blog that I will monitor. It will have what we are doing in class. What we have learned. What we are exploring. Etc. Then each student will have their own blog (just their first name will be given to protect privacy). My goal is to have the students post to their blog and post a comment on someone else's blog once a week. I have learned that this is very beneficial to the students. It gives them an audience, a purpose, feedback, connections all across the globe, and feelings of worth. I would like to do Skype sessions as well. This will help the students learn about other cultures and traditions. It will teach them how alike and different they truly are. I will true to do movies, podcasts, and even book trailers. All of this though is sadly hard to do when you only have four computers in a classroom. My dream is to one day have an Ipad in access to every student. Imagine the possibilities. All they can learn and explore. Everything that the APPs have to offer. The solar system at your finger tips. So much more is possible.
All of this came from this class EDM 310. I have grown so much. Learned so much. I now know to never be closed minded. Be open. I now know as a teacher I must always be an active learner. No one can ever stop learning. I must not get to a place where I am comfortable. I have to always strive to be better. Push myself a little harder. Do more then teach "burp back education." Most important ALWAYS ALWAYS keep the children a priority. Keep them in your heart and in your best of mind.
Thank you Dr. Strange for inspiring me.
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