Blog 6 - Module 4

Blog 5 - Module 3

Week 3 Reflection

Blog #3

For me YouTube is a minefield, I see my kids sit for hours, if I let them just watching mindless video after video. I know when I watch something it amazes me how the next video catches my attention, or I just watch it any way and before I know it 30 minutes have passed.

I have not worked in a school for three years now and when I did the iPads were limited. When we moved to Illinois all three of our children had one issued to them from their new schools. The novelty at first was immense, then frustration because they had not used them as extensively as others. However, using them 90% of the time saw them quickly navigate them. I wonder how you keep them on task? I see my children at home distracted so easily, when I notification of grade comes in, they can’t leave it until they have finished the assignment they were working on, they click on the notification and then this leads to reading the comments to then reacting to the grade. Stressing that it wasn’t what they expected, hoped for or needed, to calculating the impact it has on their semester grade. All of this instead of being focused on the assignment in hand. It drives me crazy to watch, it feels so inefficient.

So how do teachers use them effectively? I came across this video and so many things captured my interest, from the seating in the classroom to the various stands and cases for the devices. I loved the QR code in the morning, it felt to me that it creates an excitement to get to work in the morning. Morning work was always something that I found difficult to plan for and make relevant to our learning. Some students come in early and are easily bored or finish what you set and with this, they can not only come in and the fact they have to scan means that it creates a buzz and they can move on to other things when finished, without the teacher being disturbed as the morning can be unpredictable with parents or notes etc. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzSNdxsfk0Q
I had one of those moments where I was convinced that the internet can hear me, this video shows how the tablets are used for instruction and not just apps! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7mKX4D76NU
I really like this video as it captures the positives of technology and how it allows a teacher to take a holistic approach and use technology in all areas of the day instead of the traditional approach I remember of technology being a class we took once a week so that we had basic skills. I really loved the platforms that allow easy differentiation for students to be able to carry out assignments to their reading levels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN1StZzlmbU
Another positive to how much we use technology now if how easily it allows some students with disability to remain in mainstream classrooms and feel more included. This video shows how the technology allows a blind student to keep up without an aide or feeling different to the other students. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j5-7xQ_7qM
I'm glad that one is done.... I refuse to admit how long I was on YouTube 'researching'. I found so many posts that were over five years old and how dated these already looked, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!

Blog #2

Blog Post #1

Introduction

Its early on a Saturday morning and I have dropped our Freshman at school for her Archery tournament, our Junior is frantically heading out the door to her Saturday job, our eldest is on a flight to Amsterdam for the weekend from the UK where is lives and studies, my husband, our 7th grader boy and the two dogs, Captain America & Bucky, are still sleeping and so armed with coffee I thought this would be a good time to try this blogging thing out. 

Technology gets harder the older you get, I just work one platform out and its out of date or everyone is using something else. I can't keep up with the children. I got a new phone at Christmas and I can do the basics! Yesterday I learnt how to close all the open apps, it felt like a huge victory.

We moved to the US from the UK 8 years ago and spent the first five in North Carolina. Three years ago we relocated here and its be a huge adjustment. The south is very different in so many ways. Talking of differences, its snowing! If it snowed this much in the south the whole state would be closed for a week, just the forecast of snow is enough to shut school.

I was a classroom assistant in the UK, however the training does not translate here and each state has different rules, so I am trying to take the most relevant courses to get enough credit to get my assistant license. My goal was to qualify as a teacher but translating education is incredibly difficult and extremely frustrating and I just miss working in a classroom. 

Our girls talked so much over the holidays about what their thoughts and goals were for the new decade. A lot of them were very worrying as a parent, apparently this decade I will become a grandparent, which is a scary thought! I reflected and decided to just do what is needed to get back to work in a school so I stopped working and am taking enough classes to meet the requirements. I am excited to take this class so that I can be a useful addition to the classroom and support the teacher in the best possible ways.