Today I was able to get some ideas about creating a webpage for my classroom and even started on that. Creating a classroom webpage that is accessible to parents has been a goal of mine for some time but I'm feeling like this may not be the route for me to take. There was a lot of stumbling blocks with passwords and access to editing the one I have. I'm feeling lost right now.
On a brighter note I did enjoy looking at the Common Sense Media website. Found a summer learning guide for parents and children that had some educational apps, games, and websites for learning. This is would be a nice resource for my students and parents. It would be helpful for my 9 year old son and almost 7 year old daughter as well. As a teacher and parent it's hard to assign summer work. Frankly that stinks for kids! But if presented in a manner such as apps, games, and website learning it would be more enticing. I also read on the teacher's blog about integrating technology in the classroom on a tough budget. The teacher talked about how technology is so ahead of even the physical structure of our schools. Reminded me of our building and how there are only 3-4 electrical outlets in each classroom. That presents a problem for sure, when your running power strips with 6 and 7 year old children occupying a classroom.
Digital citizenship in our school and district has primarily been around cyber bullying and inappropriately posting on social media. Professional development district wide has been done on both. I personally would like more training and knowledge in this area. It's a concern of mine, as a parent and as a teacher that I will accidentally pull up something from YouTube or another site that children should not see. Just last week my son was playing Mind Craft with a friend and they bought an app that allowed someone unknown person to inappropriately communicate with them. This kind of thing worries me to pieces and I don't feel confident about preventing it.
The Don't Lecture me Podcast brought back every college science course I ever sat through at UNE as a marine biology major. I remember in physics 1 and 2 practicing problems that my professor had presented in a lecture and focusing on how I could get the answer and not being concerned with why. The solving was easier than learning the concepts for sure just as was stated in the podcast. What usually excites students or anyone for that matter about studying science is the investigating and inquiry that is required. It's surprising that lecture is the primary way of teaching the sciences. The process of peer instruction that was used in the Harvard physics class seemed like a great way to get students thinking critically and problem solving through discussion with classmates. The value in this could be applied easily to any age or subject matter.
The BRSU uses HaikuLearning for staff webpages and a whole lot more. I wonder how many parents in the district are visiting classroom pages (since their are password protected and therefore hard to visit). Quite a few parents I know forget/lose their passwords and don't as administration to help them set up a new one. I wonder if I should host more Haiku technology trainings for my kindergarten parents or maybe something for interested folks in the computer room? Just wondering ....
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