It's that time of year again...teaching interviews!

I am still searching for that "ideal" teaching job and find interviews to be one thing that is simply nerve-racking. There are no other words to describe it for me. I am looking for some advice and guidance. Do you remember any questions during the interview that surprised you or a question you asked that really shocked the interview panel. Any questions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)

Learn from the Past, Imagine the Future

To summarize the experiences from this class, I found a very appropriate website to help further my knowledge about web 2.0 tools. Judy Brown's website, Learn from the Past, Imagine the Future summarizes tools that we've used in class, but also tools that will be useful as we are ready to begin new thrills with technology once we've mastered what we've learned thus far. She not only categorizes the tools but gives a brief description about how they pretain to education in the classroom. One of the tools that I found to be very interesting is the online gradebook that is free! In my school we are not required to have the grade online and because of this do not have a system for keeping grades. That is definately something I will be looking into further. I encourage you to check out her site at http://www.judybrown.com/tools.html and see what useful information you can take from it! Enjoy :)

Experiences with using Web 2.0

During my last graduate course my eyes were opened to the wide world of technology. It amazes me just how much more technology tools are out there since I received my undergraduate degree. I feel after taking these courses I am on my way to achieving some satisfaction in the classroom when using technology. Some of my favorite tools I have use in this class so far were podcasts, vodcasts, and my favorite blogging!! It was great that I was able to incorporate these tools into my classroom after using giving them a try in class. I received so many positive comments from my parents and really saw my students more motivated than ever when using these tools. Overall, this class had such a positive impact on my teaching.

Vodcast-Johnny Appleseed

Here is a vodcast of my second graders performing the play "Johnny Appleseed."

Inclusion Week

The first week of December is coming to be known as "Inclusion Week" for schools all across America. The article that I read this week can be found at http://www.inclusiveschools.org/week. It was an informational article describing the positive aspects of having an week dedicated to this topic in your schools. I know in my school district we have done a couple different things to celebrate this week. Last year, we have a day called "mix-it-up" where older students sat with younger students at lunch. That way they could meet new friends and share their lunch time together. This year we are having a school wide-friendship week. Each student received a booklet and inside the booklet are "good deeds" the students can do to earn letters that spell out our school. We also watched school wide video that depicted "bullying" scenes and how to handle different scenerios. They video really set the tone for the project the students are working on over the next week.

Book Review Podcasts

One great site that I use for podcasts in my classroom is found on my librarian's website. The fourth graders at my school create podcasts about books they've read and give reviews for others to read. They are broken down into categories so students can find exactly the type of book they are searching for. My students know how navigate through the different podcasts until they find a book that sounds interesting and then they can go to the library to check it out. These podcasts are extremely helpful to promote books that are in the library and really makes the students want to read and read more. They enjoy listening to other student's voices the most! Check the podcasts out at http://www.mtlsd.org/markham_elementary/library.asp. You will need to scroll down the page until you find the section on student podcasts! Hope you will find this site as useful as I do!

Podcasting in the Classroom

This week for our assignment I decided to put podcasts to work in my classroom. I am always very excited about using my students to try out the new ideas I learn through my classes. Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I had my students team up and read a play about Squanto. Not only did the podcasts teach them the value of speaking clearly and fluently but it also taught them about patience and team work. To listen to my students podcasts, reciting the play, Squanto's Home, check out my school librarian's website at http://www.mtlsd.org/markham_elementary/library.asp. They can be found under the category Thanksgiving Podcasts by Second Grade, Room 9. There were 3 different groups each reciting the same play. I used audacity to record them and then turned them into MP3's so they will play on any computer that contains Windows Media Player. Enjoy :)