Tech integration

Technology In the Classroom: Prezi and Clip Art 



 

I recently was even the opportunity to sub for four days in a 5th grade classroom. I was really struggling to get the talking and side chatter under control. So on the second day of feeling like I didn't get anything taught I told myself that I needed to change my tactics. After about an hour on Pinterest and revisiting several of my textbooks and consulting the Holy Scripture in discipline. "Teaching with Love and Logic" book. I worked frantically to get everything together for the next day.

In college I discovered a website that completely reinvigorated my presentations. Prezi.com goes beyond the normal power point slide presentation by allowing you to either pick from premade templates or to create your own. The thing I like the most is that all your presentation is on one page, you can then set the order the slides are shown and then it almost litterly hops from point to point. You can incorporate things like video's from YouTube or even music that you may have downloaded on your computer. Also if you get stuck they have short instructional videos that you can view to help you with your presentation. This is an AMAZING resource for college, business, presentations, and teaching.

After much thought I decided that I didn't want to necessarily say talking is not allowed in a classroom, but that there is a time and place for talking ( CK this is the situational appropriateness that was discussed at training). SO I made sure to incorporate talking/ brain breaks throughout the scheduled day. In addition to this work I knew how much this class and vocalized a dislike for history, the number one thing I heard was that they didn't learn anything from just reading and then answering a question in the book it was boring and the soon forgot what they read. So I decided to split up what we were suppose to read and created a jigsaw activity (each group is given a part of the reading and then becomes experts on that part and tells the other classmates about it). I spent the rest of the night making sure I was going to have the materials.

Now I know you may be thinking OMG that is WAYYYYY too much work! In all actuality it took me maybe an hour to do all of the above. In the morning students arrived to the screen down and the entry task on the screen in readable inviting colors. After we checked in I clicked to the next activity we were doing. I had placed the entire days activities in their own spot  and directions. This is what it looked like: http://prezi.com/plzlex1kehfd/daily-schedule-5th-grade-cv/?kw=view-plzlex1kehfd&rc=ref-33949889 . Then the Jigsaw activity was just getting paper for each group, markers and then making sure their was an accountability sheet for the students to record the other groups information. The accountability sheet was simple with the name of the group and then they had to record two things they learned from the presentation.

This day went excellent!!! I had less talking and they were listening when it was instruction time. So the next day I decided to do this same kind of setup with the Prezi schedule again. It worked amazingly well the whole day went smoother.

This isn't a post focused on celebrating my achievements, I really wanted you all to see some of the ways you can include technology in the classroom. While the Prezi is what I used for structure, you could use it for your class to do presentations on a subject, you could use it as a time line piece, to show a food chain, or even the course salmon take in life cycle. The website is free with a basic subscription but I know that they allow educators and classrooms to work in the website for free as well. There are several other resources that you can use with your classes and I will try to post a Technology resource once a month. The field of technology is continuing to expand everyday and we can continue to learn as teacher by incorporating a little technology at a time, or even a little here a little there.



"Educations's Purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one."- Malcolm S. Forbes

Coug Teacher

Clip art from http://www.mycutegraphics.com/graphics/graphics.html

A spoon full of sugar...

As many of you know flu season is here based on the mass influx of substitute calls/jobs I am getting. As a substitute and teacher it is always important to take care of yourself. I am probably the worse at this if you ask my husband, but since I don't have medical insurance and when I get sick I get super bad sick almost everytime, I am trying to take preventative steps. So since today is very a Mary Poppin's inspired blog post I thought I would share my system. I begin every morning with taking two Airborne chewables and two Echinacea pills, then making sure I have a good balance ( as best as  possible) lunch, insuring that I am getting plenty of healthy fluids in my system throughout the day. I know that teachers in general with a lot of support from myself are the number one supporters of soft drinks. I am not saying cut it all out I am just suggesting counter acting it with water, so one soft drink one bottle of water.When/If I do get sick I take the Mary Poppin's song almost literally, I start with a spoonful of honey and then drink tea or water and rest whenever possible.

Sticking with the Mary Poppins theme, the almighty never ending bag! As a substitute/teacher at times it is important to have this resource avaliable. I like to have a few things in my bag as emergency supplies in case of last minute lesson plans, get done with an activity earlier than you expected, or if something is not working as far as teaching the lesson left. Just this last week this bag saved me in a Kindergarten classroom I was in to fill time that was left open when we flew through a interactive whiteboard activity.

To make a Mary Poppins bag the first thing you need is a bag/tote.

Next you need to find some books that can span multiple age ranges. This is what I currently have in my bag. These are great time fillers, I always make it a big deal that I am going to share something special to me with them.

I always include a folder with some back up lessons in my bag that I have all the supplies for,or would only have to go run copies fast.

Then I include a notebook where I write down thoughts or ideas that I see/experience in a classroom that I look at later for inspiration of what I want in my future classroom, as well as great ideas to blog about.

Finally a binder with a calendar, my business cards, and daily summary reports as well as school calendars for the districts I am subbing for, and contact/direction information for the two school districts.

Stay healthy and hope this insight was able to inspire you!

Have a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious week!





Coug Teacher

So I'm a substitute teacher, now what?

If you are someone who is substiute teaching after just receiving your degree, someone who is looking for something new to get you more jobs or a retired teacher who wants to still stay in the profession. I thought I would share some tips and tricks I use that have helped me in the subbing world. For this blog I will discuss some basics that I started with that have helped im
mensely.

In my personal experience, I graduated mid -school year so substitute teaching seemed like the natural starting point after graduation. I started by applying for substitute teaching jobs in two different school districts. Which allowed for a better pool for me to work with for funds to pay back student loans.

After I submitted my application, I had to atten
d trainings for the jobs. The first training I was pulled out of within the first 10 minutes, because they needed a certifcated substitute right then for an emergency fill in, so I volunteered. I left the training with very little and went to teach in my first subbing job. Music, the teacher had used a previous sub plan made last minute changes, which read for the classes to watch movies that took most of the time up.

After the first day I realized that I was not prepared and left a note for the teacher on a scrap of paper I had found. The teacher returned so I just told them what happened. They informed me that because of the family emergency they were going to be out the rest of the week and wanted to know if I could be their substitute for that time. I agreed, they then showed me what they had for back up lessons and let me know that I was free to try anything else I may want to teach related to music.

I went home that night and started working. I turned my eyes to the creative store bins of Pinterest and Teaching Blog Addict! The first thing I looked for was a template for leaving notes for teachers. I found a  couple templates on Pinterest that I really liked. I looked at them took the pieces I liked and then created my own template.

I created the template in Microsoft Office Publisher ( which my mentor teacher introduced me to) I started with the four boxes ( Highlights, Challenges and Solutions, Lesson Plan Notes, and Other Notes) and then created the text box. I inserted all the information and just highlighted and dragged things to were I liked them.   This is the template I use after I have subbed for any general education teacher. I have gotten compliments about how nice it is that there are categories, and information is easy to find. 

As an elementary teacher and daughter of a former business man father I understand the importance of a little personal flare.Personal flare is going to be part of how you are intially preceived. If your substitute template has a font that is very you but very hard to read, the teacher will note this as they try to decipher what happened while they were gone. So important to make sure you use a font that is easy to read. In addition if your template picture is too complex, large, or even inappropriate this will send the teacher a message about you. I suggest using a clipart picture so you don't have to worry about quality, one that has bold lines, and not a lot of background detail in the picture. The more organized your template looks the more organized you are preceived , the more professional you will you will be preceived.

The template and personal flare sagway into another key component for networking. The all mighty Business Card! You can go with the Vista Print or buy them from a local company. If you are like me ( trying to pay student loans off) though it was cheaper to make my own cards they may not look as professional but they get the job done.Try to keep your personal flare consistant when making your card. Again I used my favorite program in Microsoft Office, Publisher! I used the business card blank template that corresponded with the paper that I bought. I kept the picture of an owl on my business card. I came up with a cute picture related slogan related to teaching ( Whoooooo needs a Substitute Teacher?).  Then included the basic infomation: Name, e-mail I have attached to my phone, and my phone number. Sorry image is blurry I am still working on some issues I am having with uploading pictures and documents.

Then once I had taught at a couple of schools and made a name for myself I dropped some of my cards in the teacher lounges. Then this summer I went to district wide training for teachers and passed out my card like wildfire. I started with people I know that I had subbed for before and then introduced myself to other teachers near them who asked for cards. This year this has afforded me a lot of jobs.

While these two things have been instrumental and helpful in my subbing experience, NETWORKING is the best business you can do for yourself. Get rave reviews, by teaching using what you have learned and don't be afraid or timid and be willing to take advice or try ideas in the classrooms that may help you to improve your teaching. Hope this first post has been helpful, please feel free to leave comments!

"Who dares to teach, must never cease to learn." - John Cotton Dana

Coug Teacher