As a teacher with close to thirty students in each class, how do you find the time to help the students that really need it? Who gets your attention and who gets ignored?
Teachers tend to focus their attention on damage control: the students who are really struggling or the one’s whose parents get on your back because Johnny’s getting a D. They deserve some of our time, but not all of our time.
The quiet students keep me up at night. They’re the ones that get ignored because they don’t speak up. They might not do anything spectacular on tests or on their papers or projects. Because they’re quiet they don’t get the attention they need. They’re in the middle and being in the middle in a classroom means being left out.
Try focusing on the middle and see if you don’t see a great harvest of improvement in your classroom. They have the most potential for improvement.
Attention science teachers. If you teach parts of a cell I have a good site for you and your students. The Virtual Cell Web Page takes you on a tour of a cell. I suggest allowing students the opportunity to research cells using this this site and a computer. Have them research each organelle. Yet another way to integrate technology into your science classroom.
Check out the other science resources/sites that are on our TIC Recommendspage.
What a neat site. I wish I had access to something like this growing up as a struggling math student. This site was recommended to me by a student of mine, so a thanks to M.O. for telling me about it.
1. Math Games: A variety of games that will challenge any student.
2. Word Problems: (I hate word problems)
3. Logic Puzzles: (I like) Includes puzzles like Tetra Squares, Sudoku, and Battleship.
4. Math Videos: Probably the highlight of the site, videos explaining math concepts. Continue reading ‘Math Playground. An Action Packed Place For Math Learning’
Um, like what do you say instead of saying “um” all the time?
Um creeps into everyone’s vocabulary whether we notice it or not. Since silence is deemed awkward in conversation and in teaching, it is replaced with um.
The trouble with replacing um with something else is that something else becomes as noticeable and perhaps annoying as um. If you replace um with OK, OK gets annoying. If you replace um with alright, alright becomes annoying. At least OK and alright are closer to words than um, OK?
The issue goes back to silence. I don’t see anything wrong with a few seconds of silence while I am collecting my thoughts and transitioning to the next point. Transitions are common times to use um when all you need is a couple seconds of silence and a transition word.
For example, if you’re teaching the order of operations in an Algebra I class and you want to teach a short cut or a mnemonic device, you can use the phrase “with this in mind” to refer to what they just learned and what mnemonic device you’re going to teach them now.
Silence and transition words, then, are a positive replacement to um and anything that would replace um. Um is safe. OK is safe. They’re both easy to use and, to a certain extent, socially acceptable. Nevertheless, I’m trying to expunge them from my vocabulary. Continue reading ‘What to Say Instead of Um’
I saw a question posted in a forum a month ago or so. The question is: Should teachers be tested for tech proficiency before being hired?
Teachers should be tested for common, everyday technology proficiency before being hired. Even if teachers don’t use technology while teaching they still need to know how to handle e-mail, use the grading/attendance technology, and find superb electronic resources for their students.
First, teachers need to know how to handle e-mail. E-mail is more elaborate than reading and responding. There are attachments, pictures, spreadsheets, conversations, reply to all or reply to one, cc, bcc, searching, finding contacts, etc. E-mail will only become more complicated as time goes on and new technology develops. Everything I’ve mentioned above is essential to working with e-mail. These are all things we deal with on a daily basis within our respective departments and in communicating with students and parents. Some documents also require collaboration: opening, saving, modifying, saving again, and sending it back. Teachers need to know e-mail in order to teach.
Second, teachers need to be able to use attendance and grading software. Most schools rely on electronic attendance and grading systems. It’s quicker, it’s backed up, and automated. Admin can check the status of a student or find out where he or she is supposed to be at any given moment. Most schools have electronic grading and attendance. Teachers need to be comfortable with these systems in order to do a big part of their jobs; i.e., grades and attendance.
Third, teachers have to know and be able to point students to the best electronic resources. There’s nothing wrong with Wikipedia, but as a professional with in depth knowledge of your subject you need to know how to point students to the best electronic resources available to them through the library or free on the Internet. There are peer-reviewed e-journals, newspaper archives, lectures, databases, etc. We need to know these resources, how to get to them, and how to campaign for them if they’re not available at our school’s library. Continue reading ‘Testing Teachers’
Decimal Squares is a fun site for students and teachers. It actually make’s learning about decimals fun, something I struggled with during the two years I taught a period of mathematics. There are 8 interactive games that involve decimals.
The Decimal Squares site is real easy to use, but you will need a Shockwave plug-in if you don’t already have it. You can also download it for free off of the site.
The interactive whiteboard is a great teaching/learning tool for those that are fortunate to have access to one.
The time it takes to create lessons/activities can often be too much. Here is a site that can ease the pain. The Center School District Educational Technology site has these free templatesfor you to use. Just click on the one you are interested in and you have the option to open it (not a download) or download it (save to your computer).
This resource will also be located on the TIC Recommends page.
What a neat site. I wish I had access to something like this growing up as a struggling math student. This site was recommended to me by a student of mine, so a thanks to M.O. for telling me about it.
