Teacher Leader!

Teachers spend their days introducing students to new ideas and unfamiliar content.  They guide their students and encourage them to try their best.  They challenge their students and believe that they can succeed.

As a teacher, it is just as important to learn as it is to teach! Education is constantly changing and evolving and what worked in the past may no longer be best practices.  A big area of change is that of technology.  As teachers we need to learn the best way to integrate these new practices into our teaching. 

While I am FAR from an expert in technology, I do feel like I could share a few of the ideas and programs I've learned from my technology class with my fellow teachers.  For example.....I am VERY proud to announce that Miss Hensley's class is now on twitter!  Follow us! @Miss_Hensley

http://twitter.com/#!/Miss_Hensley

 

I'm hoping to use this as a communication tool.  The plan is for the class to come together every afternoon to summarize what we have learned or accomplished during the day.  We'll then tweet our highlights.  This will give parents and other followers a daily look into our school day instead of just a weekly newsletter.  I'm excited!!!  I've already shared this idea with a few teachers at school, but I'm looking forward to showing our twitter page to the other classes!

Internet Concerns

One concern that I have with using the internet with my little ones is where they might end up.....there's a lot of information out in cyberspace and not all of it is appropriate for the eyes of 6 year olds! I like using moodle because the kids are directed to sites that i have selected for them to use.  Last year the kids had begged me to post some of the youtube videos we watched in class (exploding volcanoes....they were OBSESSED!).  I didn't think much of it and posted a link.  With the student login at school, students can not access youtube links.  I mainly put these links up so that the kids who wanted to watch them at home would be able to find them.  The problem is that some of the kids watched the videos and then would continue to click on other suggested links and eventually got away from material I deemed as appropriate.  I had a parent let me know that her son navigated away from the video I had posted.

I think the best way to address this is to let parents know from the beginning that while all links from my moodle page are safe, it is still important for them to monitor their child's internet use at home.  I want to continue to include videos because I feel like the kids get a lot out of them, but I need parents to be aware that any time a child is on the internet there is a chance he or she may end up somewhere we did not intend.  Keep an eye (or two!) on the kiddos when they get on the computer! :-)

I've got SKILLS!

Software skills that is! I use a variety of software on a regular basis in my classroom.  I use Publisher every week to create my newsletter.  I use Word to create documents for the kids all the time.  I enjoy using PowerPoint for things like jeopardy games, making words, and informative slideshows for my little ones.  I've recently become addicted to Google Reader because it helps me keep up with all my amazing teacher blogs and Google Docs helps me save all those amazing *freebies* so that I have access both at home and at school.  The beauties of technology!

My goal this year is to become a Mobi board master.  Our school has 2 Mobi boards per grade level (for 4 teachers to share).  I'm yet to get a chance to tackle it yet, but I'm ready to try!  I will admit....last year I didn't jump on board.  I let a few of the other teachers try first because I've felt like I already had my hands full....the last thing I needed was another piece of technology that could crash and burn while I was in the middle of a lesson!  But this year I'm FEARLESS IN FIRST and I'm ready to take on the challenge.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with a Mobi board, it's basically like a Smartboard except it's a small table that the teacher can use to walk around the room and use.  By writing on the tablet, it is projected onto the computer/projector for the class to see.  You can also use manipulatives on the screen and use the tablet like a mouse.  Basically you can control your computer without actually being at your computer!  You can walk around while teaching a lesson and keep those kiddos on their toes!  How perfect is that?

So my plan of action is to beg and plead with the teacher across the hall to share her little Mobi board with me!  I need to ask my amazing tech specialist at school for a little refresher on how to use the manipulatives on the screen.  I want to practice a little bit before I unveil my new technology to my kiddos.  Hopefully I can get these beginning steps accomplished in the next month and I'll be a pro!  I'll let you know when it's up and running in Miss Hensley's room. :-)