Let’s Get Creative!

Let’s Get Creative!

This week’s class was presented by Sylvia Martinez.  I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation…I think!  I say that because it felt like a whirl wind with all the information came at us so fast that I could not absorb it all nor could I keep up with the “chat” conversation going on!

I spent some time exploring the websites:  http://www.inventtolearn.com and I literally got lost!  I discovered so many links to great websites that provided practical, hands-on learning activities for people of all ages!  I also toured around the Maker Faire website and this too, was amazing!  http://makerfaire.com/be-a-maker/

I am a strong proponent of hands-on learning activities.  I found the power of this teaching approach when I was asked to take on the role of Activity Specialist working with children who have significant behavioral challenges.  My job was to go around to 9 different school programs and do activity-based learning.  This could range from arts and crafts to wood-working projects and even included school-based field trips.  Every school group was different and so were the activities.  What worked at one school may not exactly work at another school!  In the end, I would say that any time kids had the opportunity to be hands-on and creative, th

 

ey were very engaged!  In fact, the biggest thing I learned was the strengths that these students had was in the hands-on learning activities compared to the traditional regular pen and paper!

To give you an example of some neat projects we worked on:  (1) we read the book “Stuart Little” and students were asked to build a model scale room based on what they would imagine Stuart Little’s house to be.  Supplies were:  cardboard, construction paper, toothpicks, miniature furniture from toys at home, etc.  I was amazed at their creations. 

Another example was when I took students to the Science Center and we watched a movie based on Tornado chasers.  I went to the Dollar Store and bought these plastic cars which were about 8 inches wide X 3 inches high and we used cardboard, glue, tape and paint to build our very own Tornado Intercept Vehicle (TIV).  Students had a blast creating their very own TIV’s!   

 

Google “Eye Opener”

Google “Eye Opener”

Google Apps for Education by Michael Wacker (Oct 7, 2014)

This session was a great ‘eye opener’ and introduction for me.  I kept trying to make connections with the power of Google Docs (iGo) and with my current job and this was a challenge because in our department, we don’t currently make any use of Google Docs or iGo.  Much of our work is stored and shared on a secured drive for confidentiality.  After giving this more thought, it occurred to me that I was probably limiting my view on how this tool could help me.  So, I came up with three ideas/areas that I could use this tool:

1)      Share out general information with the 4 people I work with. 

2)      Share out general information to principals I work with.

3)      Share out documents/calendars/etc. with teachers/programs that I work with.

It’s going to take getting in the habit of utilizing this new tool and asking other teachers to do the same.  I’m actually quite excited about the potential of this tool.  I see it opening the doors to greater collaboration amongst colleagues!

 Action Plan:  I’m going to set up 1 document I can share with 4 of my colleagues and it will be related to our “Weekly” Meeting Agenda.  I know it sounds pretty simplistic but it’s a start and a good intro to our team!  I’m hoping this will start a wave of new thinking in our office! 

Special thanks to @MichaelWacker for his time tonight!

Effective Blogging...

Sue Waters – Edublog Presentation (Sept 30/14)

Effective Blogs:

1)      Allow for reflection and feedback;
2)      Collaboration in the classroom;
3)      Encourage Family involvement;
4)      Create a way for people to share;
5)      Are a place to lend your voice & ideas;
6)      Improve your ability to write;
7)      Build a community;
8)      Show the process of learning;
9)      Give writing a purpose;
10)   Create a total learning experience;
11)   Allow marginalized persons a voice;
12)   Show student’s thought processes;
13)   Allow for ownership = powerful.

Hurdles to overcome:

1)      Assessment of blogs – debate on whether they should be assessed, marks given

2)      Access to technology.

3)      Getting more teachers to be comfortable blogging!

Summary/Action Plan:  I have been thinking about how I can incorporate this into my current role and I believe that there might be an opportunity.  I honestly didn’t plan on this but the more I think about it, the more I think it might be a good way for me to communicate to the teachers/programs that I work.  I will think of it as a newsletter going out.  There can be a calendar, events listed, resources shared and a place to share good news!  It will also model with them how they might be able to incorporate this into their classroom.  One of my goals this year was to find a better way to communicate (messages and resources) with the teachers I work with.  This might be a very good experience for me!  Thanks @SueWaters!