Blog Post #16

Would I change my school?
THEN
I want to teach in an elementary school, teaching grades one through fourth. I would prefer to use a student oriented way of teaching. The students will learn from each other as well as me. This type of learning is based on building relationships with peers and learning the material. I want my students to think for themselves but have enough direction from me to know how to do that.

There are four things that I wanted my students to know. I want them to know that they will not and cannot know everything. Technology is constantly changing. They should know how to adapt. They have the ability to teach themselves. And lastly, I am there to teach them how to be better learners and thinkers. I will never tell them they are learning or thinking wrong.

There are three things that I wanted my students to be able to do. Be able to think with an open and thoughtful mind. They should be technologically literate. And they can teach me something that maybe I didn't know how to do before them.

My primary way of teaching will be student oriented. I want my students to build good communication skills while learning the material. I will show them to an extent how to do something, but I expect that they finish it and excel in whatever they are learning at the time. It is not my job to do anything for them. It is their job to learn. I am only there to show them how. I would use a class blog to keep up with current work of students.

NOW
At the beginning of the semester, I claimed to use the tools such as the SmartBoard, iPad, and class blogging. Now, I would use podcasting in my classroom as a project based learning technique. I created lesson plans that involved students getting creative and using podcasting as a way to gain an audience for their work. I think elementary aged children, especially third grade, would love to really do that. My classroom would be set up in pods, small groups of students seated together. This will enhance student-to-student communication.

I would still use a class blog. After reading and responding to all the C4K’s this semester, I believe that students will benefit from blogging. Many students connect through technology better than through pen and paper. It is, after all, what they know best. Blogging will help students with their writing skills, their communication skills, critical thinking skills, and sometimes collaboration skills. These aren’t really changes to my original methods. I simply learned how to use my methods in a more beneficial way to me and my students.

My Final Reflection