Trust

Trust is a big thing for me.  In the article, it states that “you can’t be effective without trust—which means learning to trust yourself and trust others.”  There is trust in all aspects of my own life.  When it comes to my personal life, I rely heavily on trusting my family and friends to be there for me when I need them to listen and tell me the truth.  In my professional life, it is important that I trust my colleagues and also my administration.  Without this bond of trust, we will not be able to work as a team.  My students also need trust from me as their teacher.  They need to know that I am there for them.  My life as a learner is another area where trust is needed.  I need to trust my facilitators that they are leading me in the right direction.  I also need them to trust me in that I am doing the best I can.

The quote “trust is interesting.  We have found that it is a little bit like love.  When you give it, you receive it” really stuck out to me because the people who I trust are also the people who have a special place in my heart.  I also feel that without trust, relationships can’t be built.  The feeling of trust is needed in order to build relationships with one another.

Technology

            Technology is very important to me.  I love using technology in my classroom.  After I complete this program, I plan to continue learning more about technology and finding ways to enhance my teaching with it.  I believe technology needs to be included in the classroom because it is the future and we need to prepare our students for it.  Even though I do not have as much technology in my classroom as I would prefer, there are many things I can do with what I have to expose students to technology.  The Smart board and Ipad in my classroom are used on a daily basis by my students.  After I complete this program, I will continue to explore blogs, websites, and articles to learn about new technology for my classroom.

Technology

This past week, I implemented a new app in my class called StoryLines.  I used this app as a vocabulary game, but the possibilities are endless.  The game is similar to the game telephone, but with words and pictures.  Up to nine students are able to play at a time.  In my class, I used the app as a whole group game by projecting the iPad screen for all the students to see.  The first student typed in a vocabulary word.   The next student drew a quick sketch to show the word.  I then projected the iPad for the whole class to guess the word.  My students really enjoyed this game and asked to play it again and again.  I plan to use this app again in my class.  In the future, I would like to use this game in small groups as a center.

Persistence

I have been feeling extremely stressed lately.  I am feeling as though there is no down time.  I am feeling like this because it is a busy time of year at school.  I have many meetings on a weekly basis so I try to keep up with my lesson plans and papers outside of school.  Report cards and conferences are also coming up and that stresses me out.  With all the school stuff, there is also all the master’s work.  I am trying to keep up with things and get ready for the spring conferences.  I am trying to stay positive with all the stress in my life.  I know that I am slowing approaching the end and will soon graduate and have some work lifted off my plate.  When I reflect upon persistence, I know that with hard work, I can meet any challenges and goals I have.  I am always up for a challenge and right now, I feel like I am challenging myself to do my best and complete everything that needs to be done to the best of my ability.  Reflecting upon persistence has improved my mental state and attitude as I constantly remind myself to stay positive.  I know that when I fall down, I can always call my colleagues and friends to encourage me to keep going.  As I think about myself, I have learned that it is okay to feel down, but it is important to get back up and keep going.

Technology: Haiku Deck

I began creating a Haiku Deck on my own to try it before presenting it to my class.  I wanted to create a deck with synonyms and then have students add to the deck by creating their own pages.  Well, as soon as I began creating one and typing in words for pictures, inappropriate pictures came up multiple times.  I instantly knew that I would not be able to use this tool to let my students explore with individually or projected for the entire class.  As an alternative, I wrote the words on the deck and found a picture.  Students then worked as a class to add synonyms without having to find pictures.  My students enjoyed using this technology tool.  This tool could be very beneficial for the future especially with vocabulary words.  I would use this tool again, but similar to how I used it the first time due to the pictures.

I have always been very excited about technology in the classroom.  Before the master’s work with technology, I was always looking for new ways to incorporate technology in my classroom.  This program has given me more resources for my tool kit that I can continue to incorporate in my classroom.  Although the resources are limited for my students, there are still many ways to get technology in the hands of students even if it means with whole group instruction.

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/dY91txsnb0/my-story

Technology

       I recently tried using QR codes as part of a literacy center in my classroom.  My students loved it.  I created an organizer with the headings past, present, and sentence.  Students had to find a QR card with the present tense verb on it.  They wrote the word, changed it to the past tense, and scanned to check their answers.  Students could then make adjustments as needed and then used the word in a sentence.  I really liked that students were able to get instant feedback to check their answers and make adjustments as needed without my help.  This is something I plan to continue using in my literacy centers.

       This week, we have been learning about graphing.  Students were expected to take a survey of the class, tally the results, and turn the results into a table, picture graph, and bar graph.  I had two students in my class use the iPads to create their project since there are two iPads available.  The used the app Educreations.  Each page included a different part of the project.  After completing the survey and graphs, they went into the hallway to record the steps they took and explain each part of the process in detail.  I was then able to go back and listen to what they did, share it with the class, and their parents.  The class enjoyed hearing the steps they took and relate to similar steps they took.