Web 2.0 Educator

I chose Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis because there was a lot to explore on her site. She seems like a teacher who is constantly trying to keep up with all the technologies and advancements in the world so that she can apply it to her teaching. There is so much that a computer can offer within the classroom and she seems like she is very interested in finding these technologies, testing them, and seeing if they can be used in her classroom. I read the blog about wiki spaces because it obviously caught my attention because that is what we are using right now in our classrooms. Her specialty seems to be Web 2.0 in general. To teach her students about wiki spaces she had them complete a project on web 2.0 on a wiki space. I also liked the idea of having the students create a wiki page that may help them to study for a test. Personally I like the wikis that we use for class, it is a very organized way of assigning homework assignments and compiling the classes information together. I like the idea of integrating different technologies in the classroom like wikis or even you tube. But I just hope that technology does not take over classrooms or replace other ways of doing things in the classroom. My fear as a teacher when it comes to technology is that schools will become too dependent on it, I think technology needs to be integrated into all classrooms but to a certain extent.

Type I and Type II Technology

Type I and Type II uses of techonology all depend on the way that the peice of technology is being used, such as a computer. Computers in the classroom can be used to make things a little easier for the teacher to get a point across to the students, or the students can use the computers themselves to create projects and type their essays. Type II is using a computer to its full benefit.

Type I Examples: A student talking to friends on AIM Express on a laptop while sitting in class, learning how to use cretain features on microsoft word, Encarta dictionary.

Type II Examples: The use of a discussion board online for a class, use of IM for classmates to discuss ideas during and outside of the classroom, the use of powerpoint to present a project for class.

My MEL experiences

• Learning Styles: For my senior English class the main project that we worked on throughout the year was a portfolio. This portfolio had different portions to it such as a story, poetry but we were allowed to be creative with it. It allowed all the students to incorporate our different learning styles in the portfolio to get our points across.
• Connections: In another English class of mine we had to keep a journal. In the journal we had given topics sometimes but he Incorporated our own lives into the given topics. Also it was a really good way to vent when something was upsetting me and I didn't mind if my teacher read it. I think that it helped my teacher to understand what I was going through at times and if it may affect my learning in his class.
• Student/teacher relationship: I had a teacher that would use incentives for us to get our work done and do it good. At the end of class we would play games that had to do with class in a way, like one we called the dictionary game where we would read the definition to a word and everyone would try and guess what the word was. It was actually a fun game because us students would come up with funny answers. Also he told us that if at the end of the year we were good then he would rap for us. He does not look like the type of man to rap, he wears a suit and bow tie every day to school. It was the best things seeing him rap in his bandanna at the end of the year. He opened up to us and played games with us and was funny at times which created a sort of relationship between him and his students.
• Helping Students Succeed: Most of my teachers in school were very supportive when it came to struggling with work. They always stated that they would help us, and all we had to do was ask. Sometimes I think the teacher needs to take notice and ask the student if they need help if the situation calls for it. When I was struggling gin math my teacher stated to the whole class that he would be after school for help but sometimes the teacher has to take the initiative and ask their students if they need help personally. That shows that they really care and take notice in each individual student.
• Interest: I had a teacher in middle school that would have us to a sort of meditating thing in the middle of our class. She would play this soothing music and talk us into this soothing imaginative world while he laid on the floor. It was a really different exercise but all of the students seemed to like it, I know I did. I found it to be really relaxing, which is something hard to find in middle school everyday.

Fires: Chapter 2 - Respect, Liking, Trust, and Fairness

What really stood out to me in this chapter were all the comments from the students. It was surprising to hear what some of them had to say when it came to their teachers. These comments from students I found to be very interesting but very useful. It was interesting to see that students had pretty prominent opinions about their teachers. Every students voice was different and they all had different opinions. Some liked their teachers to be like a friend and others stated they didn’t.

This brings to light that every student is different whether it be their way of learning, their ethnicity, or simply how they prefer a teacher to treat them. This is important for a teacher to understand and come to terms with so that they can try and adjust to all their students differences to better their ability to learn. As a teacher I'm going to try and listen to all of my students opinions about myself and themselves to better their learning environment. A teacher has to adjust to each individual student and not the class as a whole. Some kids are going to like you to be more friendly and others are going to want you to be different, these are the cluse that I'm going to need to pick up on.

Fires: Chapter 1 - Knowing Students Well

The two things that jumped out for me in this chapter were the surveys that teachers could give their students to have a better idea of what each individual student's life is like which I found to be very good activities to use. The surveys asked basic questions about the students, which may never come up in the classroom otherwise, I think it is important for a teacher to know the basics about their students. Also throughout the chapter there are quotes from children in a classroom about their teachers and school.

What made this portion of the chapter stand out was the way that the book gave you an example of these surveys. Also the information that is provided through these surveys are so basic, but they provide a map of each students life to help the teacher better understand how the student can best learn. A student's personal life and daily schedule allows the teacher to know what obstacles they are against and how to work around them so that it does not affect their education. I would love to use this kind of activity within my own classroom someday.

Learning Style Inventory Results

Memletic learning style graph thanks to learning-styles-online.com.

I found these results to be very accurate when relating to myself. My concentration is English so it would only make sense that I am very verbal also I am a very social person which is also reflected in the graph as well. Also the graph reflects my weaknesses which are logic and anything to do with numbers.