Bloomin Peacock

http://ilearntechnology.com/  Check this out for a terrific list and representation of tools to higher order thinking.

A Teacher’s Field Guide to Parents

http://moourl.com/mbeod  Very well put.

ARE YOU A TEACHER OR A PERSON WHO TEACHES?

I don’t think that this is true of most of the teachers in my district but I can see why Mr. Rogers might feel this way.

‘In my school a teacher who attends free pro­fes­sional devel­op­ment dur­ing the sum­mer is either crazy or has too much free time. But this is not how I view it. I am a teacher. A teacher sees the world in a par­tic­u­lar way, and it is not only when he is in a school. I am a teacher all the time. This is dif­fer­ent from a per­son who teaches. A per­son who teaches punches an inner clock, even if that clock counts time out­side of the class­room, all the while think­ing what will I get for this time rather than what will my stu­dents get. I real­ize now that I can never help those who only teach, and I will con­tinue to be frus­trated if I try. But I am going to do my best to find all of the teach­ers in my dis­trict. So which one are you? Are you a teacher or a per­son who teaches?’

http://www.edtechswami.com

I definitely think that there are teachers in my district that are just clocking time and do not see the true value of each of our students.  I find it hard to listen when these teachers refer to our students as those kids from ‘insert town’, like they have no aspirations.  I don’t care what each of our students want to do with their lives.  They may not be college bound and who says every one of them needs to be.  The value in giving each of them my best is that they are all thinkers and individuals of worth.  Therefore I have spent all summer again rejuvenating myself to be a better educator and frankly a better person.  How I motivate myself carries over into the classroom and this year again I am full of ideas to inspire the students that will walk through my doors in two weeks.  I too, have decided to let go of the frustration of trying to drag along the nonbelievers and to focus on the other educators that think like I do.  I know that I do a great job, that I inspire others, and that I am a teacher that I want my own children to have.  It has taken me years to stop apologizing for myself.  No longer.  I may not be perfect but I am who I am.  I continue to learn and find new inspirations for myself.  Not to toot my own horn but my students are lucky to have me and I AM LUCKY TO HAVE THEM.

Tech News Sept. 2010

Open publication - Free publishing - More web2.0

My first Prezi

10 ways by edsaid

What are your 10 ways to improve yourself?

Essential question

Where do we fit?

How would life be without structure?

What would happen without structure?

How do scientists know things?

How are natural phenomena represented?

What will happen if I let go and let the students be the classroom leaders?  I have been working on this for years and this summer I have learned some new skill to let this happen.  I am going to challenge myself to be even more of a facilitator and not the sage on the stage.  I cannot be concerned with how the other teachers in my building are teaching.  My classroom needs to be unique and I need to be me.  The students will engage and find their joy of learning.  I promise this year I will not let my frustrations overwhelm my goals.

http://iconscrabble.com/j1sq6

http://iconscrabble.com/j1sq6

What

I have spent the summer reviewing, learning new, and experiencing new ways to use technology in my classroom this summer.  When I saw this, I am once again reminded it is not about me but about my students.  As the new school year begins I am going to keep this in the forefront and not just do things because I think they are fun.  Even though fun is appropriate some of the time.

I am going to twitter. I am going to glog. I am going to blog.  I am going to create students pln’s.  I am going to mentor others.  I am going to collaborate with other educators and have my students collaborate with other students.  I am going to learn, unlearn, and relearn and be a 21st century educator.

SEE Calgary

Wow, what can I say about the SMART Exemplary conference in Calgary, Canada.  First of all they treated us like we were the most special people in the world.  Second I made fifty new friends.  Third I got some new tools for my classroom. Fourth I have a new project to work on.  Fifth I reaffirmed my 21st century goals.  Lastly I can say that I am going to spend this year reaching out to others and trying to share my knowledge on how to use technology to inspire the students in their classrooms.

In my district we live in a bubble.  I learned from the other SEE’s that in my district we don’t have to be afraid of the students knifing us but we also do not have a unified vision of how technology should be used in the classroom.  I hope to help foster this with my fellow teachers.  Our students want it, need it, and deserve it.