Mr. Winkle Wakes

Last week I watched Mr. Winkle Wakes.  He reminded me a lot of my grandmother.  The only difference between the two is that she was here and awake the whole time.  He visited a business office, a hospital, and finally ended up at a school.  My grandmother has the thought process of Mr. Winkle.  She believes that the school house is the only place that has not dramatically changed.  Unfortunately for Mr. Winkle, I plan to be a teacher that changes with the times.  I want to have smart boards, elmos, projection screens, etc. 

                These days students use all types of technology for school.  Many high schools have even started using blogs and twitter as sources of communication. Technology seems like it’s in a blossoming state.  I have a droid cell phone.  My two year olds already can use my phone and my ipod better than the majority of adults.  They are growing up in the hands of technology.

I am a 21st century teacher :)

John Cotton Dana’s quote, “Who dares to teach must never cease to learn,” is a fabulous example of the teacher I plan to be.  I want to be a great 21^st century teacher.  I want my students to be comfortable in their learning environment and love learning.  I want my students to be able to express themselves in their own way.  Most of all I want my students to LEARN.  Technology is a great way to differentiate learning.  Every student is on a different level and learns in a different way.  With technology guiding them, they can learn at the own pace. 

Teachers are not in this alone.  21^st century students want this.  They want to use their everyday technology to learn.  They enjoy using ELMOs, smart boards, and computer based software to learn.  In fact, from what I have observed of students, they thrive upon it.  Teachers and students still need support from within the homes.  Helping children along with assignments and offering encouragement is all it takes to help some children to succeed.

Technology is EVERYWHERE!

Technology is everywhere.  This semester I have learned so much about technology and what it can do for a classroom.  The most beneficial to me so far has been the website.  KWLs are also important, but I already knew a lot about them. KWL charts are used to gain knowledge about what a student Knows, what they Want to know, and what they Learned.  KWLs can be used in the classroom as attention getters or introductions to activities.  It is great for school age children to fill out by their self and turn in, but can be used for younger children as well.  For younger children it can be turned into a class activity.  KWL charts provide the child’s input in what they want to learn, therefore making it more interesting to them.  The traditional way of just writing it down is more effective here because the children can go it right then and stay excited about it as the teacher goes right into teaching about it.

As I already mentioned the website was the most beneficial to me.  It took a lot of effort to put together.  I had to think about backgrounds and color schemes along with effective material to add.  I spent a lot of time on it, but it was well worth the effort.  Having a class website makes contact with parents easier, answers many parents questions before they ask them, and can even keep the students busy.  Having a classroom website may not necessarily improve student’s learning, but it will intrigue it (especially if I keep it changing.)  This technological approach is much more effective than a monthly newsletter.  Websites can be updated much more frequently and provide fast feedback.  Communicating with parents via email or website forms is also a lot more reliable than a Kindergartener, especially if it isn’t such a nice note. Those seem to just vanish sometimes.