Bullying Prevention

            There are various bully prevention programs that exist; the one I found was developed in 2001. The program is called Children’s Promise and was founded by Director Mary Harrison. She was taken aback by all the bullying that was occurring in school settings and local parks. This program provides training sessions to young children in schools or other educational programs/clubs. When this article was written, this program was effective in Brown County schools and was to be forming partnerships with other Green Bay area schools. Children’s Promise’s goal is to train students and teachers on how to better deal with bullying and to increase social skills of children.  Not only is Children’s Promise a bully prevention program, it also helps the youth make more positive decisions, increase care for others, has help for those who are abused and helps prevents animal abuse. The information I read did not seem to include cyber bullying in the prevention program. However, I do believe that cyber bullying is becoming more prominent as technology is becoming more and more popular.

            Overall, I feel like this program is effective. There has been quite a bit of reports and news about the program. It is not only in the Green Bay area, but other states have this similar program. I have not heard of this program until doing research on bully prevention, so I think it would be important to get word out that there is this helpful program to help students get through not just bullying but other life encounters and decisions.

Website: http://www.childrenspromise-greenbay.org/index.html

Video Response (Classroom Management)

            The video contained various teachers displaying and explaining what their classroom management is like when they teach. Students also spoke about different ways, we as teachers, can help them with our classroom management skills. All the teachers had a calm positive attitude in the classroom. This I felt was important because teachers need to have that characteristic for the students to feel comfortable and listen to them.

            The first teacher explained how the key is to start in September with routine and constant guidance for the students. She stated that it usually takes six to eight weeks for ones system to be established. Once the guidance is completed in the first couple months of school, the students can be more independent and know how to run their own time. This allows the teacher to pull students for extra guidance reading groups. This allows students to have independent time and the teacher can assist those who are struggling. The second teacher forms a community with her students and they go over the class expectations. In the beginning of every class they do a warm up in the community circle. Her main philosophy is to build mutual respect. This environment seems to be a very family and group like. The third teacher makes groups to do expert lessons. She spends a great amount of time to form the groups so every child is involved and the students are matched up socially and emotionally. The students are then teaching each other when the groups are mixed up.

            I believe that each of these teachers’ management approaches work for them because of their personality and the environment the classroom is built upon. The first and third teachers tend to give the students independence within the classroom, but beginning guidance in the beginning. The second teacher is seems to be into group building and working as a community.  I feel that each teacher shows passion for what they are doing and that also helps them with classroom management because the students see and hear that passion.

            The second video addresses morning meetings and knowing each individual has something important to contribute to the class. She shares that sometimes a management technique may work with one group of students but not another, which is important to know and have another technique up your sleeve at all times. She uses role playing to help students know how to behave when on the field trip they will be going on, but it can also be used for general behavior problems. She often asks the students what they think they should do in that particular situation. Her important advice is to get as much experience with all kinds of different students to see what techniques work and don’t work. It is okay if a technique doesn't work, that just means we have to try more techniques and be consistent and fair. The more experience we gain, the more confident we will be with teaching and classroom management. 

Classroom Management

List of routines/ procedures that occur in classroom on any given day:

Sharpening pencils, going to restroom, feeding class pet, changing classes, moving desks/tables around, putting school supplies away, classroom chores (cleaning off board, watering plants, picking up paper off the floor), using the computer, walking to a special (art, gym, etc), going to locker

Using one of them what are 5 or 6 rules/expectations that you would want in place?

Going to locker:

1.   1. Close the locker door quietly, because other classes may be in session.

2.  2.  Don’t go to locker in the middle of class time.

3.   3. Only use your own locker.

4.    4. Do not put personal (or expensive) belongings in your locker, keep them at home or have the teacher tend to    them if you must bring it to school.

5.  5. If locker is stuck, do not kick it; ask for help.

(An additional one) Going to restroom

1.   1. Bring pass with you when you leave to use the restroom

2.  2. Do not leave in the middle of class discussion/lecture time, unless it is an emergency

3.  3. One boy and one girl may be gone at a given time (so groups of friends are not gone at the same time)

4.  4. Walk quietly to the restroom

5.  5. Only leave to go to the restroom and come back, instead of wondering

Convergent Education

            Technology has been moving faster than many of us can grasp. The way teachers teach is still semi stuck in the traditional ways of teaching. The educational field is slowly moving towards using more technology, but still in the linear teaching stage. In many schools, the use of technology during the school hours can be frowned upon. The problem with this issue is that students can leave school and learn more than what they learn in the typical school day.

            Online learning has many positive values. Many online textbooks contain interactive simulations that students can use rather than just looking at a picture and reading the caption. The student is then able to see the process of a concept. Simulations online can cost less money and offer a quicker way of completing an activity. For example, there are online simulations to dissect frogs; this version could be cheaper than having to purchase frogs to dissect in the classroom. Another example would be teaching probability; online simulations go quicker than performing a spinner or flipping coin probability activity by hand.  

            The virtual and distance education classes are being offered more frequently. This allows students to work at their own pace, with some guidance and due dates. It also allows smaller schools who do not offer advanced courses to give those students who want a challenge the chance to get that challenge.

            The concept of using technology in education is moving faster than we know it. The education field needs to adapt to help coincide what society does outside of school and what is done in school so students can learn to their fullest and be engaged in what they are learning. The way we teach needs to reach out to all cultures and learning abilities. Technology can assist in the way we achieve this goal. We must also remember it is not important to be able to memorize the most amount of information, but it’s important to better understand the concept. This is because students can quickly access the information anytime via technology. Teachers should be teaching in depth about the concept instead of getting as much information in the student’s brain. 

Global Ed Resources

The following are four resources from the list on pg. 176-177 that I find useful form my future classroom. 

ePals Global Community

            I would use this resource in my classroom for a social studies unit on other countries. The students would be able to connect with students from other countries and learn about their lifestyles and what that country is like. This opportunity would also help the students better their writing skills and learn the correct format of letter writing.

Moving Learning Games Forward: Obstacles, Opportunities, and Openness

            This article helps us understand the various ways videogames can be used for learning. The different styles of games are defined, such as social games or power gamers. The article shows how teachers can use different games in the classroom and be able to defend the reasoning why it is being used in the classroom and show how it is educational. There are fine lines for some games that are out there, it is important to know the line and be sure the reason for the game being in the classroom is for educational purposes.

NASA Connect

            This website shows different ways to integrate math and science. There are various technology programs students can complete. The website contains lessons that can be used to teach physics or about space. Students can also keep up with the latest news on NASA via the website or social networks that are linked with them.

Educere

            This website would be helpful to help students find a higher level course if they are accelerated. These courses can connect students from other states and countries. It would allow students to learn from other students in various regions of the world. The courses a student takes through this site could help them discover what they are passionate about. 

Assistive Technology

            Assistive technology is a device that increases a disabled person’s capabilities of participating in the classroom or other times. There are various kinds of assistive technology that includes smart boards, alpha smarts, speech or text assistance, and touch screen sources. This technology does not have to be used just for disabled; it can also help other students too.

            One way assistive technology is being used in the classroom is Text-to- Speech (TTS), speech synthesizers. The user types what they want to write and the computer reads it back to the person. It is primarily used for the blind because they can hear what they are typing, like proofreading. It can also help those who do not communicate orally, but write or in this case type their thoughts and others can hear what they have to say. This assistive technology can help other students who are not disabled for tasks such as proofreading instead of having partners read each other’s papers; the computer can read it back to the student. There are various sources for using text-to-speech.

            Another example is pocket electronic dictionaries. There are various kinds out there that can consist of the dictionary, thesaurus, translations, and mini games to help build a student’s vocabulary. Some of the devices speak so there is the verbal pronunciation of the word along with seeing the word. This device can be used to help those who struggle with phonics, spelling, and grammar. Many of these devices come with a large screen so students can view the word and play games in a large text setting. Electronic dictionaries are useful for a variety of needs and people.

            Overall, assistive technology is helpful and with the fast pace movement of technology there are becoming more options available for students with needs. 

Blogging Experience

            My blogging experience for this class this far has been good. I have never used a blog before for class. At the beginning of this course I thought I would get confused having assignments due in various places, but I made a checklist to be sure the locations were correct. In the beginning I was confused as to how to tell what a page or two pages were using a blog. After the first assignment, I just type my blog posts in Word and copy and paste them into my Blogger. That so far was the only con about using a blog.

            I feel that using a blog is like a diary and you can document what your thoughts are for various topics. However, it is similar to submitting an assignment to D2L. I feel the reason why this class required a blog was to get us used to using different forms of technology that we can use in our classroom some day. Technology is enhancing the classroom in so many ways and it’s important for us to be updated and know the ways we can use it in the classroom. An example of using a blog in the classroom would be for journal entries; instead of keeping a journal or notebook it could all be done via technology. This brings to mind something I heard on the radio the other day. They were saying that soon students will be assessed in typing rather than handwriting and have to be proficient in it. If this becomes more popular, then having an assignment like journal entries on the computer would be beneficial.

            Overall, I have found nothing negative about using Blogger for submitting my assignments for this class. I enjoy the fact that all my assignments can be viewed on one page instead of opening up multiple documents. It has been a good experience thus far.