Extending my own Learning

With the beginning of 2016 right around the corner, I want to talk about one of the things that I want to try and learn in the coming year.  As I mentioned in an older post http://crookclass.blogspot.com/2015/11/one-teacher-two-teachers-old-teacher.html, one of the things that I think every teacher should be involved in is always learning more for yourself and becoming a lifelong learner.  One of the main things that I want to focus my learning on for 2016 is on using Chrome Extensions.

My main reason for this as my focus is that I know that I am doing a lot using technology, especially Chromebooks (both with my students and for my own productivity).  I think I often make things harder for myself because I tend to forget about the Chrome Extensions.  I want to stop reinventing the wheel and learn to use the tools that are already provided for me.  Why haven't I bothered to learn about these before?  Well, I have found that I am open to learn a new Chrome Extension if it is recommended to me by someone else.  I don't find myself searching out Chrome Extensions because I feel that I can probably do what I need to do and NOT have to learn something new.  (Sometimes it seems more tasking and daunting to find the extension, download it, and then learn how to use it properly before I can actually be productive.)  One of the ways I plan to learn more about the various extensions is to try out a new one each week...and remind myself that if I don't like the extension, I can get rid of it.  

Here is to 2016 and continual learning!  Happy New Year!

Looking Forward

As the new calendar year approaches, I often think about how I want to change things about myself or the way I do things.  While we are not starting a new school year at this point, this time of year always makes me ask myself what I would like to see happen differently in my classroom.  Just a small example of this is that there will be a new seating chart in my classroom when we go back in one week.  But thinking a little more deeper, there are some things that I have already been working on changing within my classroom throughout this school year.
Living in such a digital and technological society and time, I have felt a great need to teach students (and teachers) about Digital Citizenship.  It seems that there are so many people (of varying ages) that don't understand the importance of being a good digital citizen.  This year in my second grade classroom, I have been giving my students specific lessons on Digital Citizenship from commonsensemedia.org  When we get back to school, we will be finishing up the second of three digital citizenship units.  As part of my DALLA project for this year, I am focusing on digital citizenship.  Once we finish our third unit, the students will be working on creating their own video about different components of digital citizenship.
Some of you might be wondering why this is so important to me and why I want to invite this as a positive change into both my classroom and my whole school site.  My school site this year was able to get 1:1 Chromebooks for every single student K - 5.  The middle school and high school in my district also by the middle of January will have 1:1 for every single student.  At the high school level, the students will be bringing their Chromebooks back and forth between home and school everyday.  So now that you know a little bit of the background, let me explain why this is so important to me.
I have seen too many people (kids and adults, and not just in the education field) that don't use proper internet etiquette, get caught into web sites/situations where they are uncomfortable, or don't understand the impact that their own digital footprint can make in the world.  It is my feeling that if we change how we teach our kids about technology, its uses, and digital citizenship, that it will begin to form easy and good habits that can follow our students throughout the rest of their lives.  The only way our society is moving is forward and the technology is going to become ever-more a part of daily life.  My hope in teaching 2nd graders about digital citizenship is that not only will they apply it in their own technology use and remember it for years to come, but that maybe some of these kids will also pass this information on to other people that they associate with in other settings.  While this change that I want to see in classrooms definitely won't happen all at once, I would like to think that by continuing this in my own class that others may eventually see the importance of keeping students readily informed on technology etiquette and digital footprints.

How many days until Christmas Break? :)

With the holidays quickly approaching, I have to remind myself of this on a daily basis.  The atmosphere in my classroom is very different from what it normally is.  While I have a very good class this year, I am feeling the pressure and stresses of getting everything done in my classroom and in my personal life before Christmas.  Between classroom plays, grade level performances, and every day curriculum in the classroom, I think this is a perfect time to remind ourselves to take a step back and calm down (even if it is just for a few moments of the day).

One Teacher, Two Teachers, Old Teacher... New Teacher

This post is for those who are training to become a new teacher.  There are certainly many things to consider when studying to be a teacher, or any other profession for that matter, but there are some key points that I would like to touch on that I thought would have been helpful when going through my own studies to become a teacher.  I was probably given this advice within my credential program, but I don't recall that specifically.  I feel that most of the advice that I am going to give came through my own beginning experiences as a teacher.  *Please Note: I have only been teaching for a few short years and I definitely don't consider myself an expert, but I am happy to share my thoughts on some helpful tips.*
New Teacher Tip #1
Always be a willing learner.  Sometimes it is hard for teachers (or soon-to-be teachers) to be the student or learner; that doesn't mean we can't learn, but it is more natural for us to be the one giving information instead of receiving it.  When I first started my credential program, I thought that I was going to teach in the way that I was taught.  It seemed like a logical thought at the time because that is what I had known up until that point.  One of the most valuable things I acquired from my teaching program is to be willing to try new things out constantly.  During my student teaching, I tried to do things the way I had seen them done in my own educational career, but I quickly found that it didn't work for me.  I had to find my own style of teaching, classroom management, and working with individual students.  There are times where I turn to another teacher's style of teaching (usually one that I can remember from when I was in school) and I deeply appreciate those moments if it only means changing it up a bit for me and my students.  However, it is extremely important to know how your style of teaching reflects the type of classroom environment you want to create.
New Teacher Tip #2
Don't expect perfection out of everything.  As an individual and a teacher, I often consider myself a bit of a perfectionist.  I found out that in teaching there is no absolute perfection --- either for the teacher or the students.  A career as a teacher is within the people services category; in other words, you are working with people, and specifically young people.  Of course, we can always shoot for the stars and plan the "perfect lesson," but the people factor (especially 20-30 different people at a time in a single space) can dampen the plans a little bit.  One example of this for me was that I had spent a good deal of time planning "the perfect lesson" and got into my classroom that morning and the students were behaving differently than normal, asking more "off-topic" questions, and focused on the smaller details of the larger assignment.  I quickly realized that my perfect plan was not going to happen that day, or maybe any other day for that matter, and started following the lead of my students.  We took the lesson in a much different direction than I had anticipated, but by the end of the lesson I felt that not only had my students learned more than I originally hoped for, but they were learning with an interest that involved the entire class.  My original perfect plan didn't happen, and what did happen was definitely NOT perfect, but seeing active and engaged learners was worth the imperfection.  This lack of perfection can also be applied to the assignments your students turn in.  The idea of education is that the students are learning, so it most likely won't be perfect ---- and that is perfectly acceptable.
New Teacher Tip #3
Embrace ALL of the differences.  This last tip ties in well with my other two tips and is what I consider the icing on the cake.  Every... and I mean EVERY.... situation is different.  To mention a few, Every district, school site, principal, school climate. teacher, and student is DIFFERENT.  Remember Tip #2 ---- your main factor in teaching is people.  Numerous lives, cultures, social and economic status situations, and family settings will enter your classroom each year.  In thinking about the winter season that we are approaching, I often think of my students as snowflakes.  Every single student, just like a snowflake, is different.  No two are alike.  Each student has their own unique talents and strengths along with flaws and weaknesses.  When I first started teaching, the differences scared me in a way because there are so many things going on in a single classroom at one time that each student brings into the school environment.  How was I ever going to be able to meet all their needs and still teach with my own style?!?!?  I have since learned through experience to embrace the differences, every single one of them.  The different students in my classroom is what creates the climate and learning environment that encourages learning, motivation, and critical thinking skills.  From my students' various methods of learning and their various backgrounds, I am able to create a learning environment where my students can feel accepted for the unique individuals they each represent in my classroom.  Together our differences help us create a community of learners.

So.... One Teacher, Two Teacher, Old Teacher, New Teacher:
One Teacher can help many students become smart
Two Teachers can create a wonderful team of cheer
the Old Teacher has a great amount of experience to share and depart
to the New Teacher who becomes a lifetime learner with a new set of students each year