For two years I've been hearing about how incredible the class of 8th graders is this year. I thought the teachers might be exaggerating or trying to be positive because we got a new principal. At the beginning of the year I was still nervous to get the little angles. I felt like I was about to watch a movie I had been hearing about that was supposed to be incredible. You know how that is? You get there, sit through the whole movie, and it doesn't meet the high expectations set by your friends. I was afraid I was going to think they were average students and end up leaving the whole year feeling disappointed. That was not the case at all with these students!
They are AMAZING! This is the best group of kids I have ever had the pleasure of teaching. They work hard, have great personalities, are respectful of each other and themselves, and are overall kind and caring people. I have loved every day of the year so far.
I am trying new things in class and everything is going great. I ask for their input, and they politely give it to me. I have gotten rid of my desks and have tables in the room. We use the technology regularly. We use iPads and clickers often. We use Edmodo as a social network for education. We use Today's Meet. We work together with the people at our tables. They collaborate well, use the technology appropriately, and support each other. They are always just doing the right things! I am genuinely so impressed with this group of students!
I am appreciative of the students, their hard work, and their amazing attitudes. I love their willingness to try new things in the education world with me. I really am having the best year ever! I can't wait to see what other great things we get accomplished this year!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
One of the best days yet!
What an amazing day in our classroom!!
Our school district recently acquired a mobile lab of 30 iPad 2's and today our classroom tested them out before they are released to the rest of the district. The technology director and I have been working on getting them set up and have put a few apps on them. We were testing them to see if we'd missed anything that teachers will need to know when we provide the professional development to them in a few weeks and to see how the students reacted to them. Were they more engaged than if they had done a traditional review and quiz? Would they rather create a product explaining the process or take the traditional quiz of 15 problems?
The excitement in the room was like nothing I've ever seen before. They knew they were going to be making a recording, but they didn't know we had the iPads. When they realized we had 30 iPads that they'll be able to use in any of their classes, they all seemed so genuinely excited that it got me all fired up too! I feel rejuvinated and empowered to keep including different types of technologies into the classroom. I felt like they honestly appreciate our efforts.
We didn't do anything really major on the iPads today, but the outcome was incredible and the students really impressed me with their efforts! The 8th graders in my algebra and math classes used Quick Voice to record their voices and emailed it to me. The high school students in my algebra classes used the video camera feature to record the introductory information about linear equations, direct variations, and rate of change and then messaged it to me. All of the classes made some type of recording where they were explaining the process of doing whatever topic we'd been discussing in their class instead of taking a traditional quiz.
Students, what did you think? Did you enjoy it? Would you rather create some kind of recording or do a traditional quiz? I'm interested in hearing your feedback and ideas. =)
Our school district recently acquired a mobile lab of 30 iPad 2's and today our classroom tested them out before they are released to the rest of the district. The technology director and I have been working on getting them set up and have put a few apps on them. We were testing them to see if we'd missed anything that teachers will need to know when we provide the professional development to them in a few weeks and to see how the students reacted to them. Were they more engaged than if they had done a traditional review and quiz? Would they rather create a product explaining the process or take the traditional quiz of 15 problems?
The excitement in the room was like nothing I've ever seen before. They knew they were going to be making a recording, but they didn't know we had the iPads. When they realized we had 30 iPads that they'll be able to use in any of their classes, they all seemed so genuinely excited that it got me all fired up too! I feel rejuvinated and empowered to keep including different types of technologies into the classroom. I felt like they honestly appreciate our efforts.
We didn't do anything really major on the iPads today, but the outcome was incredible and the students really impressed me with their efforts! The 8th graders in my algebra and math classes used Quick Voice to record their voices and emailed it to me. The high school students in my algebra classes used the video camera feature to record the introductory information about linear equations, direct variations, and rate of change and then messaged it to me. All of the classes made some type of recording where they were explaining the process of doing whatever topic we'd been discussing in their class instead of taking a traditional quiz.
Students, what did you think? Did you enjoy it? Would you rather create some kind of recording or do a traditional quiz? I'm interested in hearing your feedback and ideas. =)
Sunday, January 8, 2012
First Flip
Last week I had the students watch a video of a math lesson and then we did the homework in class. This is considered "flipping the classroom" in the education world. This was the second time I've tried this method this year and it went much better this time. I wanted to reflect (and get input from the students) on the day's events.
First of all - Thank you to those of you who watched last week's video for homework. I thought it was so responsible of you to come in on your own time to watch it if you didn't have internet access at home. This was one of my biggest concerns when assigning the video for homework. Because I posted it a few days in advance, most people watched it before it was due. When the students got to class, we did a quick review of what the video was over and then they did the traditional homework. This allowed me to spend time with the students who needed one-on-one help. After they were finished, we did an activity based around exponents and the order of operations. We had some good discussion about why the groups that used exponents ended up with a higher number than the groups that didn't. Because the students watched the videos instead of listening to a traditional lecture, we had enough time in class to do this activity and discuss it when it was over. Overall, I was happy with how my first real day of flipping went.
Students, what did you think about Friday's class? Did you enjoy watching the video at home and doing the homework during class time? Did you enjoy the activity and the discussion? What would you like done differently next time? Thanks for your input!!
First of all - Thank you to those of you who watched last week's video for homework. I thought it was so responsible of you to come in on your own time to watch it if you didn't have internet access at home. This was one of my biggest concerns when assigning the video for homework. Because I posted it a few days in advance, most people watched it before it was due. When the students got to class, we did a quick review of what the video was over and then they did the traditional homework. This allowed me to spend time with the students who needed one-on-one help. After they were finished, we did an activity based around exponents and the order of operations. We had some good discussion about why the groups that used exponents ended up with a higher number than the groups that didn't. Because the students watched the videos instead of listening to a traditional lecture, we had enough time in class to do this activity and discuss it when it was over. Overall, I was happy with how my first real day of flipping went.
Students, what did you think about Friday's class? Did you enjoy watching the video at home and doing the homework during class time? Did you enjoy the activity and the discussion? What would you like done differently next time? Thanks for your input!!
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