Sunday, October 13, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Twitter Reflection
The first thing that I learned from Twitter was that I was WAY out
of the loop of technology. I had no idea of all the different professional learning
communities that are out there on Twitter. I did not know all the different benefits
that Twitter had to offer such as direct messaging, chats and hashtag to keep
you connected with common topics. I was very glad to learn about TweetDeck because
with how fast people tweet, I would have missed so many great ideas if I tried
to follow everything using the layout of Twitter. I also thought it was very
cool the way you could collaborate with people all over the country in a matter
of minutes and I thought about how beneficial this was to me but especially for
a person in a smaller school district who really doesn't have anyone to plan
with.
The most interesting people (more specifically a group)
that I followed were
the people who posted items
on #edchat. I found a number of articles, poster and ideas that I have
retweeted or printed off to share during one of my professional learning communities
at school.
I think I will use Twitter more as professionally tool then
personal. I am the type of person who likes to keep my personal and
professionally stuff separated. I use Facebook as a personal tool to
communicate with friends.
Free Technology for Teachers
I discovered a number of math
resources on www.freetech4teachers.com
that I feel would benefit my students greatly, especially once they have access
to their Chromebooks. A few of the resources that I would like to take a closer
look at are:
+plus magazine at http://plus.maths.org/content/
TenMarks and Math Live would be a good resource that I could give
to students and parents as a supplement to the instruction giving during class.
But I need to check out each lesson in depth to see which ones would be most beneficial
for my students.
At my school one of our big emphasis is on nonfiction text and I
have a feeling that I could find a number of things in +plus magazine that I
could use in my classroom.
At
this point in time I do not see myself having my students create their own
blogs but I have created a blog on blogger for my classroom. The main thing I had
planned on using my blog for was collect student’s understanding of their
homework using a Google form. But now after looking at all the different resources
out there that I would like to make sure my students are aware of, I now plan
on placing links to them on my blog. Another
link that I would include along with the resources mentioned above would be Web2.0calc
(http://web2.0calc.com). This would allow
them to have a scientific calculator with them wherever they go. I know just
need to find the time to put all these ideas into action.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Animoto: PBIS Intro Video
Thank you Animoto for helping me create this video. I had a BLAST making this! I plan on taking this video to my next PBIS meeting and sharing this site with them. We have been looking for ways to spice up our lessons for students during seminar. I could see this being very beneficial to both students and teachers alike. As a teacher it would be great to make a video that you could share with parents and students at back to school night to highlight topics that will be covered throughout the year. At this point in time I have not yet found a way that I am going to use it in my math classroom but will definitely keep this technology in mind.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Corrie Wohlers Introduction
My name is Corrie Wohlers, and I am
a 2005 graduate of Central College in Pella, Iowa. I am married and have two
young kids. I teach middle school math at Lewis Central middle school in Council
Bluffs Iowa. I am a certified 7-12 math teacher and currently teach 8th
grade math and high school algebra. In addition to my responsibilities in the
classroom, I am part of Lewis Central’s mentoring program, a member of our
building’s PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) team, and a MathCounts
coach.
I enjoy using technology as a tool
in my classroom, but I am a bit of a cautious adopter. I am not the type of person who likes to “poke
around” with new technology on my own to figure out all its various features. Frankly,
I worry that I will accidently mess something up. Once I’ve been introduced to
a new tool, however, I work to integrate it into my classroom approach. The
main forms of technology that I use in my classroom are PowerPoint,
Instructional Planner, PowerSchool and graphing calculators. During the last
month of the school year I also received a Smart Board. During that time I used
only the basic functions, but I am looking forward to learning more of its
functionality moving forward. I use Mac
computers both at home and school. The
version of Office that I will be using is 2010.
I was inspired to pursue a master’s
degree following a very thought provoking conversation with one of my more
experienced collages. Her reflections on her own career made me realize the
importance of continuing to advance my own education and qualifications. This
will not only help me to continue to advance my skills in the classroom, but
will also help to keep options open for me outside the classroom down the road.
I am specifically interested in the idea of one day becoming a Dean of
Students. I have decided to take courses that emphasize technology so that I
can incorporate more technology into my classroom, but I am not looking to move
out of math instruction at this point.
When evaluating potential programs, one of my primary concerns was
ensuring that I would be able to effectively balance the demands of the program
with my responsibilities as a committed, loving mother. In that regard, PSC’s online
program felt like a natural fit for me.
At the same time, I prefer to operate in team environments and to feel
connected to peers who are sharing my experience. I had some reservations about being able to
achieve this through an online program, but a number of my colleagues in the
Lewis Central District have also decided to enroll, providing me with a great
peer group. I am excited to have found a
program that seems to fit so well with my goals and needs, and I am looking forward
to the experience ahead.
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