From+Your+Heart

I really enjoyed taking this class. I am truly glad that I waited to take this class at the end of my time here at Metro. As much as it would have been nice to have several of the tools we learned about in this class for lessons I have written, I do not think I would have appreciated enough when I first started this career change. I always knew I was a somewhat creative person. Thoughts run through my head each and every day with different ideas, but I never thought I would have needed to be this creative in this class. I really believe that this class has prepared me more for the teaching world. It has also made me very excited to start teaching and implement some of the tools we have learned about. I think the biggest thing I learned about being a teacher is that it’s not going to be easy. I learned that technology can definitely not be used for each and every lesson. I also realized that you really do need to cover all of the different learning styles of your students. It’s easy to write a lesson or a unit and have a worksheet for the students to do afterward, but to cover the vast learning styles of each student is not easy. You must take the time to think of your students. You also must keep them motivated to learn. I think this is where incorporating technology into different lesson plans is going to help me out as a teacher.

Although some of the lessons took more time than I thought (probably mostly because I was trying to be a perfectionist), I am most proud of my creativity to incorporate technology into ten math lessons on measurement. I have always loved math and science growing up, and thought that this would be a fun unit to try. I did not think it would be so hard, but I’m glad it was difficult. I’m the type of person who likes a challenge and getting the opportunity to be challenged like this was great for me. I think creating this hard unit will make the easy units seem like a breeze. I think that the next time I am writing a unit and using technology, I would like to be a bit more prepared with the web 2.0 tools. I think much of the time spent on the lessons I created was trying to find a web 2.0 tool to use on this measurement unit. I think a little more research will help me cut some time out of this process. I would also like to try to possibly get the students more involved in the lessons with coming up to the smart board and practicing with the tools when I am modeling. I tried to do this in some of my lessons, but I felt that it did not call for it in all of them.

I am most concerned that my students will not have a computer or internet access in their homes in order to do technology assignments as homework. I will need to make sure that when I am using technology in an assignment, I set aside computer time in school for the students to complete the assignment. Teaching in general kind of scares me. I am taking on this challenge that I have never encountered before. I am not so sure why I am nervous, I have stood up in front of people and given a few lectures with my previous job, and I have also taught several different group exercise classes at the many different health clubs and gyms. I think this being a career change for me is the main reason I am nervous about starting my first day of school in my own classroom. I love the rush I feel sometimes when standing in front of the kids, but it also makes me a little nervous. I think I am most concerned with being the authoritative figure in the classroom. Each opportunity I have had to work with children had me playing with them as their peer. From the after school program I worked at to volunteering with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, I have always just been able to hang out with the children and play games with them. Big Brothers/Big Sisters is not all playing with the kids, but for the most part you mentor the child and try to show them a fun time. It is very difficult in my field experiences as well. It is hard to come in to a classroom a month or so into the first or second half of the school year, (and only work one day a week) and try to tell certain students what to do. I keep telling myself this will be different when I have my own classroom because I will be with the students each and every day. To over come this, I have been trying to teach as many lessons as my CT will let me so I can work the nerves out of my system. For the last two semesters, I have also stayed in my field experiences past the required hours so I can be more comfortable in the classroom. As a future teacher, I must use the resources around me and pick the brains of my peers to aid in my own teaching. I believe this will be extremely beneficial to me especially when I am first starting out.

I am excited to teach the 21st century learner. I am extremely excited and intrigued to learn from all my students. I think the students will be teaching me at times, not only when using technology, but through the entire school day. It is amazing what I have observed in my field experiences. Many of the students come up with some of the most interesting thoughts or questions when talking about different topics in the classroom. I am excited to use technology in my classroom because I know it will help me make my lessons more fun and definitely more interactive. I am excited to learn how to use the Smartboard or Permeathean board and have the kids come up in front of class and use it too. I know I have said this at the end of each of my lessons, but I truly think that using technology in the classroom will keep the students motivated and inspired to complete their work. I will still need to be there to scaffold them and model the correct way to utilize some of the tools, but I think that in the end, technology can make the difference in the classroom.

I plan to be a 21st century teacher. I will try my hardest to have all of the tools my students and I will need to be 21st century learners and a 21st century teacher. I do fear that some schools want to hold their teachers down a bit and not allow this to happen. I also fear that some schools will not give teachers the tools, such as computers or Smartboards, to help in the teaching process. I will need to be proactive in my classroom. I will need to stay on top of the principal and other educators to help me get the tools I need to help me make learning fun for my students. I want to have a set of computers in my classroom. I want to have a Smartboard or Permeathean board to use on a daily basis. I want to have posters of different technology tools the students can use for different assignments. I will use different tools on a daily basis to aid in my teaching and assist in the students’ learning. It would be great to have some kind of tablet or laptop the students could use for one of their stations. I would also be great to have a Kindle or Nook to use as part of the students’ literacy block, and have the students take turns getting to use this digital book.

I plan to be a role model for my students. I will model appropriate behavior for my students, but we will have fun in the process. I want them to look back when they are older and realize that I made a difference in their lives; not only in teaching, but in their everyday life. I will make learning fun for my students. I want them to be excited when they come into my classroom. I will get involved in my students’ lives. I would love to make a home visit either at the beginning of the school year or shortly into the school year to get to know my students better and get to know their parents/guardians and the environment in which they live. I believe that truly getting to know my students will make all the difference in the world to my teaching, to them, and to me.