Productivity Tools

We have talked about how productivity tools such as those that are a part of the Microsoft Office Suite can help us save time in completing our daily tasks, as well as keeping our students and their parents informed. Do you see these as essential to the task of teaching? Are there any other tools that you feel would raise the productivity level of teachers, whether in general or subject specific?

I see them as tools for teaching, but not necessarily a necessity. Work can be done without these tools, but the work would take longer. With all of the requirements that teachers are expected to do, there would need to be a productivity tool in place to achieve these tasks. Ideas such as helpers and keeping organized would work very well.

These programs help with daily tasks, but the teacher must be organized for these products to be effective. Organization is the key to success and must be demonstrated for our students.

Professional Development for Teachers

As a teacher, I do agree that we have to continue to learn. We must stay up to date with the new and improving material, so that our students are receiving the best learning environment they can.

How do we do this? There are many opportunities for teachers to attend workshops and professional development classes. These classes take time away from the classroom. That is a huge disadvantage for the students and for the teacher.

But, we have to stay in the now and the only way to accomplish this is to attend the workshops. In my opinion, I would attend a well structured and informative workshop to keep myself educated.

New Technologies Within A School....

I would like to see districts bring the new technologies to the staffs table and let the staff have a word on what they think would be worth spending the money initially for and what new technologies they should hold off on for the data to prove its worth spending the money for. The teachers are who will be utilizing most of the new technologies and I believe that they should be the most influential on the decision. Teachers know what works with the students and have a wonderful understanding of what will catch the attention of students and what may not.

In my opinion, schools should be on the cutting edge of technology, but not at the expense of our teachers, staff and students. If the new technology is going to put the district in financial difficulties, then the decision should not be taken lightly. Every person within a school holds a very important job, from yard maintenance to Superintendent and if we are cutting positions and eliminating opportunities for our students, than we may need to reconsider the purchase. We need teachers to use the newly introduced technology, and with so many jobs being cut right now, let's be sure that is where we should be spending our money

Multimedia In the Classroom..

Multimedia is very important within a classroom this day in time. Our world in advancing everyday and we must keep out students up to date. There are some drawbacks, such as safety and expenses, but there are these issues with everything.

Smartboards are a wonderful tool to have in a classroom. If I am one of those lucky teachers to have one, I will use it everyday. There are so many items that can be brought to life with this tool and it helps the students become engaged in the lesson.

Using the Internet within a Classroom

The Internet is a great source for information if used correctly. As teachers, we need to teach our students to use the Internet properly. Students will be able to search for information successfully and be safe in the process with the proper knowledge and constant supervision. The Internet has a lot of useful tools for teachers and students that could be brought into lessons. Teachers can access movies and students can search for questions that they may have.

A great way for teachers to use the Internet is by accessing pictures of the items that are being discussed during the lesson. Don't assume that all students know what the state flower looks like. By showing the students a picture, it will give the students a visual as well as the needed information on the topic.

The Internet is not a safe environment for students. There are a lot of horrible things that go on within the Internet. Don't allow your students to be victims of it. Give them the proper tools and be a "present" teacher while your students are working on the Internet. Students should not be left alone during research. Be available for questions and help.

Blog or no Blog??

The idea of having the option of creating a blog as a teacher is appealing to me. Keeping your parents informed is a huge part of teaching. A blog would be a great way to inform them of what is happening within their child's classroom.

Within a school, there is the privacy concern. A well developed blog with the proper settings applied, the privacy concern would be mostly eliminated.

Blogs would be a great way for parents to communicate with the teacher. Simple questions could be answered by this blog and both the teacher and parent could respond and read at their convenience. There will be some parental concern about privacy, but most parents will see the blog as a great source of information about their child's day.

I know that it would be a great deal of extra work as a teacher, but most parents would appreciate the information and the extra time that was spent for their children.

Introduction (June 7, 2010)

I have been married to Brad for almost 12 years. We have 4 boys. Their names are Logan who is 9, Dalton is 8, Karson is 6 and Colton is 3. I am a full time student and will graduate with a Bachelors degree in Elementary and Secondary Education in May 2011. I love my family and know I am exactly where I should be in life.

I believe that I will use many theories as a teacher. There a many valuable ideas that all of these theorist portray. The Behaviorists Theory provides a positive learning experience with rewards as reinforcers. This theory also states that continuous reinforcement increases the rate of learning. I believe that children learn in a positive and fun, loving environment. In Piagets' Cognitive Theory it states that children must learn in steps and by sequences. Most children understand and comprehend better when taught one thing at a time in a certain order. In Bruner's Constructivist Theory he explains that children should research and investigate during their learning. This exploration will generate more ideas and allow for bigger and better discussions from the children.

With a combination of all of these theories within my classroom, I believe that my student's will have fun, be challenged and become great students. Finding the right approach to teaching a classroom can be challenging. This is the key to having a successful school year.