ED357 REMINDERS AND MORE

Dear ED357 Students,

I'm pleased with the work that you've accomplished, knowledge that you've gained, literacy strategies that you've learned, and so much more!

In any event, it's that time of the semester again wherein we need to finalize all remaining course requirements. By now all assignments that you've submitted throughout the semester should have been graded. If I missed anything, please let me know as soon as possible.

If you haven't caught up, it is imperative that you communicate with me immediately. I have made considerations on a case-by-case basis with the understanding that quality work will be submitted.

Keep in mind that this Thursday we will be meeting in class. Be prepared to present your philosophy on the teaching of reading.  As a recap, the following are the remaining topics for our class:

MAY 2:                     

-Present philosophy about the teaching of reading

-Post Reflection in Class Blog at www.blogger.com  (http://ed357spring2013.blogspot.com)

MAY 7:                      

Moodle Session:

-Philosophy Paper Due

-Effective Literacy Website #1 Review Due

MAY 9:          

Moodle Session:

-Book Review #2 Due

-Effective Literacy Website #2 Review Due

-Post Reflection in Class Blog at www.blogger.com  (http://ed357spring2013.blogspot.com)

MAY 14:                    

Moodle Session:

-Final Self-Reflection Due

-Effective Literacy Website #3 Review Due

MAY 16:                    

-LiveText Presentation

-Learning Log Due

-Post Final Reflection in Class Blog at www.blogger.com    (http://ed357spring2013.blogspot.com)

----------

Be sure to also keep up with your blogging, as it is part of our online collaboration. You must reply/comment on your classmates' postings/entries as well.

I modified the lengthy LiveText Portfolio designing/submission in order to meet the needs of those who require additional time to complete the rest of the course requirements. Therefore, with regards to LiveText, you will only be required to submit the main artifact, namely the write-up for the presentation of the teaching aid, as this will be evaluated with an oral presentation rubric in LiveText.  You may submit this in LiveText now, if you haven't already.

Good luck, keep me posted, and I’ll see you on Thursday!

All the best,
Dr. Rivera

Book Reviews & Much More

      I really enjoyed today's class discussions, which were different children books, students with special needs, and classroom management. Reading different types of books to students is important, because it allows them to learn and be engage in the story. Everyone's choice of book was very diverse, i.e. fables (Jen's book: Doctor De Soto, Evin's book: The Ant and the Grasshopper), philosophical (Kelsey's book: The Giving Tree), science fiction (Amanda's book: A Wrinkle in Time), and child friendly (Rachel's book: Mouse Mess and Rhea's book: The Artist who Painted a Horse Blue). All of the books that were mentioned in class were great books that any teacher can incorporate in his/her classroom. I will definitely use these books in my future classroom, because they are fun and it will make the students learn.

     The next topic that we discuss in class were students with special needs and classroom management. I believe that students with a disability are capable of succeeding in life the same way a “normal” (as society perceives) person can. They are capable of doing what other people can do; the only difference is that individuals with a disability have a unique way of learning and living life. It is important that schools provide awareness or training to those who are working with individuals with disabilities, because it will allow them to understand their disability and provide accommodations.

     Classroom management is one of the most important functions in a classroom. It ensures that students are staying on task and continually learning material that is being taught. How a classroom is managed is a  reflection of the teacher and their ability to prepare for any situations that may occur in the classroom. 

Accommodating disabilities and classroom management

          In today's class session I shared my practicum experience from this morning, and my book review.  I shared the book Doctor De Soto with a second grade class at Price Elementary.  After reading the story, the students completed a story map that included the title, characters, setting, problem, and solution.  When they were finished with the story map, I asked them to write their own story continuing from where we left off with Doctor De Soto and his wife taking the day off.  I asked them to draw a picture to illustrate what they think the De Soto's did.  The students' stories were very interesting, some of them wrote about going shopping at Macy's and going to the beach.
          We also discussed disabilities and how we can accommodate our students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment.  Some disabilities we discussed were speech impairments, visual impairments, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and emotional disorders.  I believe knowledge about how we can accommodate these students are very important because they are mainstreamed into our classroom.  I like how Rachel and Amanda shared their ideas on how we can solve the problems that regular classroom teachers are faced with when teaching or dealing with a student with a disability.
          The last topic we talked about in class was classroom management.  It is very important to have strong management skills when it comes to your classroom.  It not only will encourage student learning, but it will also help the teacher as well.  Overall, I absorbed a lot of information from today's session as far as disabilities, classroom management, and the integration of technology.  Today's session also added more titles to my book list!

Special Needs/ Book Review

   Today in class, we discussed our book review #1 and explained how it will impact student learning. I thought all the stories were great and I will definitely keep them in mind to use in my future class. We also discussed how to approach students with special needs and what strategies work best. Inclusion is a critical part when teaching and allowing all students to be a part of the mainstream classroom is very important. We went over accommodations and modifications and the possible training that teachers need to be well equipped in the classroom. Our role as a teacher is to facilitate and we have create an environment that students will feel comfortable in. Providing a print rich environment is one of the many things teachers can do to make the classroom more inviting. Learning about all the different strategies and approaches to include all students, especially students with special needs is something that I will definitely keep in mind, and hopefully in the future I will take more courses on special education to enhance my knowledge.

Congratulations everyone! We finished the book! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Books To Share

     Today we shares all our book review books. I really liked the books everyone selected. Some of the books shared was the Mouse Mess, The Lourax, Doctor DeSoto, The Giving Tree and the Wrinkle in Time. They are all great stories to put into our classroom library. I am excited to get a chance to read the books I haven't read yet.
     We also talked about SPED and having children with disabilities in our class room and classroom management. We discussed ways we can accommodate them in our classroom such as giving children more time or following BMPs. I am disappointed that not all education majors have a chance to be introduced to the basic information of SPED situations. I really think it is something important and we should be given more opportunities to gain some knowlege on the children with these special needs.
     As for classroom management I think it takes a good teacher a couple tries to get something down packed in their classroom. As we know every year is a new set of children and we are not always lucky to have the same method work with a new bunch. However we do need to always be ready with a back up plan the event plans A, B, C, and D do not work. Being prepared is key.

Book Reviews, Special Needs, and Classroom Management

   In today's session everyone shared their book reviews with the class. There was some books that were familiar like The Lorax and Dr. DeSoto, then there were others like The Artist Who Painted A Blue Horse and A Wrinkle in Time. I was pleased to hear about all the new stories that were discussed today and to also reminisce with those that I have read before.
   After everyone presented their books, Dr. Rivera started her lecture on special needs. She touched base with the different acronyms and laws that were associated with special needs and followed after were the different accommodations we can provide students, whether they have disabilities or gifted. The next discussion we had was about classroom organization and management. Things we discussed were how teachers are facilitators and decision maker and that it is our responsibility to provide a safe and comfortable learning environment. some factors that can create such an environment are to have age appropriate furniture (sink, toilets, counters, etc) and to also make it print rich. I feel that a classroom should be in a sense animated and eye-catching for students so that they will enjoy being in the classroom, but not to the point where it would be distracting during instruction.

Readers with Special Needs and Classroom Management

Great discussion today! The focus was on students with special needs and classroom management. It is very important to understand that students with special needs need to be included in instruction like everyone else. I truly feel that more training should be required of teachers regarding strategies and accommodations. We, as college students aspiring to be educators, also should take courses that emphasize this issue. Classroom management is also essential. Unless a teacher has a good hold of their class regarding behavior, learning will be affected. Behavior is becoming a big reason why students are struggling in school. I also enjoyed everyone's book discussions. There are so many wonderful books that we can use in our class so it was really hard to choose. What's important is that we utilize books that engage students and can help them meet learning objectives. Good job to Jen who did her practicum today. It sounded like the students enjoyed it!

Classroom Management

Today after all presentations, we discussed classroom management. I wanted to focus on classroom management for the blog because classroom management is very important for a conducive learning environment. Dr. Rivera gave us a lot of tips for good classroom management.

- positive and negative reinforcement
- using buddy systems
- arranging desks properly
- making a comfortable learning environment
- keeping your classroom safe
- using paraprofessionals
- good relationships with stakeholders

There are so many ways we can practice good classroom management. As teachers, because learning is ongoing, we should always take extra training courses.

Besides this great classroom discussion, I just wanted to tell everyone that I truly enjoyed all your book reviews. Have a great weekend!

Practicum Experiences and Tech Tools

   Last class session was filled with so much great resources and practicum sharing. Everyone had awesome technology tools that I could see myself using in the classroom. I would love to use the tool Rachel had shared with us (Raz Kids). It seems like a good way to keep track of students' progress/grade, plus a fun activity for them to do for computer time.
   I enjoyed hearing everyone's practicum experiences and how successful they were in executing their lessons. I most especially proud of Angela and Evin for keeping such a huge class engaged and entertained. Having the same class and teacher as them, I know how challenging it can be to keep the class on track and to control the noise level of over 30 5th graders. Bravo!

Great Tools and Experiences!!

Wow! Last class we shared so many great tools. I am so excited to try them all out. I really hope to use technology in my class so many of the tools shared will really come in handy. I like how the tools shared ranged in price, age group, resource, and accessibility. The Raz-Kids, EZ School, the IPad and all the other tools are so great to hear about and how useful they all can really be. 

We were also able to hear most of the practicum experiences. Everyone pretty much had a great turn out. It was nice to hear that everyone was able to get something out of the practicums. It was funny how Kelsey, Angela and Evin each had the same teacher and how they had to work around the great number of students in their class. Jessilyn was able to see the teacher extend her lessons and stayed the whole day. I had a great time with my students and was happy with the outcome. Overall it was a great turn out for everyone.

Technology tools/ Practicum

   Today we finished up our practicum presentations and we also presented our technology tools and resources. I enjoyed listening to everyone’s practicum experience and it really gave me ideas and made me realize how many different ways we can approach students with lessons. I had fun doing my lesson at Price and I know that the students were really engaged. Although it took me two days to do my lesson, I know the students learned something in the end. We also talked about the different technology tools and resources that can be used in the classroom. I think all the tools that were discussed today were very useful and I wrote them all down so I can refer back to them when I start teaching. Everyone did an awesome job and learning is ongoing so I can’t wait to see what other great tools and ideas are coming our way!

Technology Resource

Today's class focused on technology resources.  The technology resource tool that I chose to share was the iPad.  I believe that the iPad would be a good tool to use in the classroom because it is so convenient.  The iPad is portable and can be easily connected to the internet through wifi. I would use the iPad mostly for ebooks and comprehension.  Everyone else had a chance to share their technological resources as well.  I thought the sites were very interesting and useful, many of them I have not had the opportunity to work with but now that I am aware of them I would definitely use them in my classroom.  Although they were very good resources, the only downfall with some of the websites is that you have to pay in order to access the full feature.

I also had the opportunity to listen to some of the practicum experiences.  I thought all their practicum experiences were interesting especially since I had not done mine yet.  It gave me an idea of what to expect when I actually start teaching my lesson.  As I listened to Kelsey, Evin, and Angela's presentation I thought to myself how overwhelming it might have been to teach a class with over thirty students!  Great job to the three of you!  In Rhea's presentation, I like how she integrated technology to help carry out her lesson.  I also liked the idea of comparing two stories that have similar elements.  Jessilyn's adjective lesson was also interesting.  I like how the children were able to describe the apple as being red when the instructions were to feel the object!  Overall, we had a great class that I thought was very informative and full of potential resources!  Keep them coming!

Technology Tools

Today's class focused on different technology tools and resources that can impact student learning. There are so many different software programs and devices teachers can use so picking one was really difficult. It was great to see the different ideas from everyone, especially because of the variety of uses. I definitely would utilize all the suggestions from the class. I introduced the website, Raz-Kids (http://www.raz-kids.com), which is a great literacy interactive tool for use in the classroom. I also enjoyed hearing about practicum experiences. Everyone did such a great job! I plan to note down their lesson ideas and use them in the future. It is always fun sharing and learning at the same time!

Technology Tools

Today in class we all presented our technology tools. Majority of all our tools, were tools that had multiple uses. For example, students can read, take tests, review, etc. on the site. All the tools were also versatile for more than one grade level.
My tool was studysync. Its so unfortunate that it's specifically for middle and high school students, I hope they decide to target elementary so I can use it. However, Rachel's raz-kid is similar but for elementary. So maybe I'll use that instead. I wish all the tools were free, but Dr. Rivera mentioned grant writing.
Overall, everyone's tools were excellent. I'm glad they shared them with us. Good job everyone! Great tools and great microteaching practicums!!!

Professional Articles

   In today’s class we presented our professional article #2. It was great to hear about all the different articles and how we can relate and learn from them. Understanding what works and how we can help students succeed in reading is what we as teachers should do. My article is called “Reading in the Digital Age: Using Electronic Books as a Teaching Tool for Beginning Readers” by Katia Ciampa. My article was about the use of eBooks in the classroom and to see if it has a significant difference from regular reading instruction. I think introducing new ways to motivate students to read and to keep them focused is something that teachers should be always looking out for. Technology is becoming more and more advanced and I think we need to be familiar with all the new stuff that is coming out, especially if it will benefit students in the classroom. Today’s class session was very informative and I hope to hear more great ideas next time we meet. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Professional Article

Today's sharing of professional articles was very interesting. I enjoyed listening to everyone's articles, especially because it was good to keep tabs on current research. My article was: "A Breakthrough for Josh: How Use of an iPad Facilitated Reading Improvement" by Barbara McClanahan, Kristen Williams, Ed Kennedy, and Susan Tate. The article is about how the iPad helped to improve reading skills for a 5th grade student with ADHD. I thought it was important to think about different ways to help students with disabilities. Evin and Rhea also shared similar technology articles, which shows that technology is becoming more and more a part of educational environments. With all the articles, we were able to share our ideas and thoughts. It was a really good class discussion. I look forward to next week's class when we will share technology tools and hopefully hear about some practicum experiences. Have a good weekend everyone!

Professional Article Presentation

In today's session, we presented our professional articles to the class. I really enjoyed hearing everyone's articles and how they would either apply it and their personal reaction to the article. The presentations have really given me a lot to think about, most especially the strategies on what we can utilize in the classroom, such as technology (ipads, ebooks, etc) and developing open-mided students by providing critical thinking and open-ended questions for books and other reading material.

Articles Worth Reading!!

This class time we went over some great articles dealing with many tools and strategies to use in our classes. I really think that these articles are such great ideas and tools. Personally, knowing about what we can be ready for puts some relief in having my own classroom. From the great technology tools to use in the classroom and techniques to help our students think critically are all very important. I am sure we will all use these ideas one way or another.

My article is First Graders with iPads? by Saran Getting and Karin Swainey from Learning and Leading with Technology.

Professional Article Presentations

Adolescent Literacy: More than Remediation Gina Biancarosa Educational Leadership 2012

Today everyone presented their professional articles, there was so much information that I can't summarize everyone's presentation. Thankfully everyone is going to blog their articles so that I can go back and read them.

In general, all the articles presented today were very helpful. I can see the importance of integrating all the ideas from them in my classroom. I noticed that most of the articles integrated the use of technology. I really appreciate that Rhea brought up that point how we're scared to have our students work with gadgets because they are expensive, and we don't want them to break it. However, Kelsey pointed out that there are so many accessories to keep our gadgets safe. This is the age of the digital era, most of the children can operate these tech tools better than we can...so we just have to give them chance.

Integrating Technology in a Classroom

     Technology has evolved throughout the years and has been an important tool in today’s society, especially in education. The integration of technology in education is no longer a "new" idea. Because technology has become such a vital part of society, it is necessary to integrate its use in education in a variety of ways. Today's technology can provide teachers and students with opportunities for teaching and learning that were impossible in the past.
     The class discussion on using technology in a classroom was very informative. I really liked how several of our classmates gave examples of websites for our future reference. Some of the websites included teacherspayteachers.com, share my lesson, and weesing.com. There were many technology tools that were mentioned in the class discussion, such as Prezi (online presentation tool), a Smart Board, Elmo, instructional transparencies (overhead projector), television programs (PBS, Reading Rainbow, Mister Rogers, etc.), and audio recordings (CD’s, DVD’s, Blu-Rays, and cassette tapes, etc.).
     Using technology in the classroom has many benefits, such as improving overall skills in reading, math, and writing, motivates the students’ interest in learning, and prepares students for the future. Technology can be beneficial in a classroom, but it also has its negative impacts. Technology can distract some students and can be expensive. Another negative impact of technology is not all teachers are comfortable using technology and they are not properly trained. As future educators, it is important that we always remember that “we are the teachers, not technology”.

Technology in the Classroom

On Thursday, Dr. Rivera lectured on technology in the classroom.  We discussed how important it is to evaluate the technology you would like to use in your classroom, to be sure that it would be effective for learning.  We also discussed the different levels of technology such as computers/laptops, the iphone, smartboard, and ELMO.  These are all very useful technological aids to help assist in student learning.  These days, the students are so technologically in tune that they may know how to use a tool more effectively than the teacher!  So, it is very important for teachers to be updated on the different tools and uses.  I was also very happy to learn about new resources that are available to us via the internet.  Sites that were shared by Amanda and Rachel such as Share My Lesson and Teachers Pay Teachers, are very useful resources for us students training to be teachers, as well as seasoned teachers.  I liked how we had blast from the past moments discussing Barney, Reading Rainbow, and Steve & Greg!  It really brought back memories of when I was in elementary school.  Although they are considered medium technology, I really learned from them then, I might revive them in my own classroom!  Another part of the class I enjoyed was Amanda's recap on her practicum lesson.  I really liked her parody of Sleeping Beauty and I loved the way she read it!  She was so excited to read her story and I am glad she shared it with us!

Technology tools

   Today’s class focused on technology on how it has evolved throughout the years. We went over all the new devices that we have today, like the ipad, tablets, smart boards, etc. These tools help enhance learning, but are something that teachers should not rely on. We also went over devices like av-projectors, and Velcro books.  We hardly use these types of technology today, but they are still very effective.  We as teachers have to be prepared and familiar with both teaching students the manual way and also teaching them with technology. Remember we are the power in the classroom and we are there to share our knowledge. We also went over the different websites that teachers can benefit from, such as pbs.com and sharemylesson.com. These sites can help teachers with lesson plans and activities for students and it’s free of charge.

   Amanda also shared her practicum lesson with us today. She read the story Waking Beauty, which is a parody of sleeping beauty. I bet the kids really enjoyed the story. I also liked her activity that she had the kids do. It helped me out and gave me ideas of what to do for my students when I do my practicum.

Amanda's Lesson

Technology and Literacy

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful spring break! Today's session focused on technology and how it is a teaching tool. The discussion included different types of technology tools that can aid us in meeting our teaching objectives. It was fun talking about the "old" gadgets in comparison to what we use now. Since I am an older student, I can definitely relate to the more simpler technology. I have to say that I don't believe that the lack of technology in my school days impeded my learning at all. A good teacher should be able to successfully teach regardless of how many (or little) teaching aids and tools he or she has access to. We must remember not to be reliant on technology to do our jobs. Still, technology has been proven to enhance learning and build motivation and interest. Thus, it should be used whenever appropriate. And great job to Amanda, who shared her lesson with us today! I truly loved all her ideas and her story was hilarious. I look forward to hearing about the practicum experiences of the rest of the class! Have a great weekend!

Technological Era

Hurray, I finished my lesson practicum. Today, I presented my lesson I carried out at Price Elementary. The lesson focused on character mapping for the story Waking Beauty. Overall the practicum was very successful, and the students really enjoyed the story.

In class we also discussed different online resources. Here is the link for my resource: sharemylesson This website allows teachers to share lesson plans they've developed for free. It has lesson plans for grades K through 12. It's user friendly because you can search by features (i.e. grade level, subject/content, topic, standard, etc.)

Finally, we touched up on integrating technology in the classroom. There are so many pros and cons to the technological era. I can see both sides to this debate. I can't really say whether I am for or against it. I think that we should focus on what the goal is for the lesson we're teaching, and let that dictate whether or not to use technology. For example, in writing a research paper if the goal is how to look for  information using books then don't allow them to use computers. If the goal is how to properly format your final draft of the paper, then allow them to use computers. Whether you love or hate technology its inevitable that technology is here to stay, as future educators just make sure you evaluate your tech tools.