Life is....

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

                                                     By Mother Teresa

Technology and me

   I think that my view on the usage of technology has definitely changed.  I really had no idea that there were so many options and new tools that I could learn to use then transfer into my classroom.  In the beginning I did not think that I was going to be able to incorporate a lot of Internet use into the classroom, because it was never something big when I was in school and I don't know many teachers that were using it now.  After this I have seen that there is no reason not to use it!  Everything is not only more creative and fun, but it is very easily organized because I do not have to worry about thousands of papers.  


   Having to create the Wiki gave me a nice chance to stick my toe in the waters, so to speak.  I wanted to use the Wiki in my own classroom, but if we did not have to make one for class I may have not known how, or it may have been not a very strong site.  The SMART notebook is a another great tool that I can add to my 'toolbox'.  Having to create a lesson got me thinking of ways to integrate it into the classroom and how to involve my students in meaning full lessons, while still keeping it fun.  


   In moving forward I am definitely confident in myself for using the new tools I have found and even discovering new ones too. Plus there is nothing that you can't look up, so if I ever have a question with a little research I can figure it out.  

Technology Integration

Wiki's, Bloggers, and Google Docs...Oh my!!


Christina sums it up best (Google Reader=Awesome) Using Google Reader I was able to do some one stop shopping and view exactly what has been going on with anything I have chosen to follow and all in the same place.  I love the fact the Web 2.0 tools have become so easy and I could see it was the same type of response from my colleagues.  There was an agreement between all of us with how easy it was to collaborate and quickly finish project when we all were contributing using Google Docs. 


 The blogs are quite and amazing tool and it was really cool to see what videos or images people would post every week.  I also noticed that the blogs have all evolved as well from when we first started and were new to this  form of technology. We started with very simple answers to any question asked and moved to putting in sites and other vehicles to transport information to everyone around us.  Its very apparent that we have all grown as intellectuals in such a short timeframe.  I hope that we do continue to use our blogs because it will be fun what we all have to say as we continue into teaching.  Also the integration of this into the classroom is key, all of these tools make it so easy to stay in touch and share information, that I cannot wait to share it with my students to see what they'll come across. 


Christina. (2011) Google reader=awesome. Retrieved from http://xtinatsk.blogspot.com/

Web Resources For the Classroom

This week I found myself bookmarking almost every single site that I happened upon, just because I was amazed at what online activities have to offer now.  I love sites that that have for science. I think that because a lot of them bring the student to places that I would never realistically be able to bring them too is an amazing advantage that I can offer them.  I wish in future that where ever I am hired that they offer anatomy and physiology to the students as a course, because that is definitely a strong passion for me to be able to share with others.  However, one of the bigger issues when trying to teach the real life application of this subject is actually giving students the "field" background for the understanding.  Sure, we animal dissected organs while I was taking this in school, but if something is already deceased and then the organ is taken out of the animal, then how can you possible teach how closely everything is connected?? The fact that you can watch live operating room videos at http://www.orlive.com/ gives me and my class a huge advantage in making real world connections.  Obviously I would have to use this with a dose of caution for those students that are squeamish, but this is an experience that students may never get if this was not available, and I hope it can bring the organs we use in class to "life" for the students. At our fingertips we can see how knee surgeries are performed, how doctors physically adjust eyeballs to help their patients with their vision, and plenty of more exciting surgeries that will allow us to see why we need to know the basic anatomy to begin with and what types of amazing things people can accomplish once they are experts at their work.

Secondly, because I plan on using a class Wiki for my students to allow them autonomy in their learning, I want to post for them to look and review proper use of the Internet before I send them out into the wide web.  I know that they probably have used computers their entire lives, but in today's society there are many ways that you have to keep yourself safe and proper ways to act to ensure everyone has an enjoyable experience.  I am planning on posting netiquette the class Wiki.  I think that I will have them review this before they are allowed to do anything on the page.  To verify they have read the information and proper safety and usage techniques they will have to post at least 5 things they learned, or thought was important to know and keep in mind from the site.  

I am excited to keep on investigating other sites that I can bring into the classroom to give my students opportunities to expand their horizons.  I will take students outside of the constraints of the walls that surround them and put them into the practical settings in which their education will be used.

References:

OR live (2010) Retrieved from http://www.orlive.com/

Shea, V. (2004) NET Etiquette. Retrieved from http://www.albion.com/netiquette/book/index.html


Wikispace (2010) Retrieved from www.wikispaces.com 

T2P Week 5 Reflection

When we look at the human brain and the connections between neurons that grow and atrophy through time. We can get a better example of how students may  be learning at during these developments, but also see why it is that certain behaviors and actions seem to present themselves.  If there are physiological changes occurring in the brain all throughout our lives, then learning and observed action patterns can either be enhanced or dissipate as we grow older, because the brain is always adapting and changing to its newest and most frequent stimuli, i.e. making or breaking connections.

It is the case of adolescence, around the age of puberty and into young adulthood, that is most frequently used for examples.  The prefrontal cortex, which helps us with self control and planning, is not fully developed in adolescents and therefore leads them to take different risks or act in ways that may not seem rational to adults around them.  There are certain stages that all people go through in their development.  In Erikson's theory he shows us that there are certain stages that build onto one another in developing a healthy psycho-social norm.  I think it is noteworthy for teachers, or any adult in a teenager's life, to understand and genuinely make and effort to empathize with what the teens are going through in these stages, because we want them to be confident (so we encourage), and know that they do belong (so that they may become participating members of society).

Still in being the "teacher as a guide," as many theorists Piaget, Vygotsky, etc, suggest, what I want from my students, is to develop in a successful manner.  What do I mean by success?  Well success is purely subjective, and I do not mean it in a sense that they will be ready for college, the army, or the workforce.  I want them to successfully develop into their own persona.  I want them to be able to listen to their bodies and go ahead and push their boundaries (after all what kind of growth can happen if we are not willing to expand our horizons), but at the same time not let them push the walls totally out.  I will encourage students to keep on going and not get bogged down in any speed bumps they may come across.  Also, I want to make sure that I am extrinsically motivating my students constantly so that they become intrinsically motivated and hopefully become addicted to feelings of joy and other positive outlooks on life.  I think that positivity is a great quality for people to posses and I my amateur observations have led me to believe that it is the people that are outgoing and positive not only have more "doors" open up to them, but also are more likely to at least give these opportunities a try.

A Good Teacher...

Not only conveys their subject material in a manner that all students can readily understand and then apply outside of the classroom, but also genuinely care about the students and their well being.  Good teachers embody the energy, intellect and the social qualities that their students can look to as a role model.  These types of teachers do not answer every question or believe that they are all knowing, but rather admit their "humanness" and allow themselves to learn from their students as well.  Good teachers do their best to involve and motivate all of their students in the classroom 100% of the time using tools and ideas that they have come across.  

If the teacher allows themselves to also become a student in the classroom, then learning can be accomplished from all parties because learning  and knowledge is easier attained when everyone learns from each other.  Lave's theory of learning showed me that even newbies coming into a community have just as much to contribute as the old timers that have been there awhile.  In essence, every member of a society can contribute and we cannot make stereotypes about age or familiarity because we could miss out on learning opportunities.  It was Vogotsky that believed education and learning happened through social interaction as well.  Everyone has something that they are very good at that others can learn from them, we are all the More Knowledgeable Other from time to time.  It is by sharing this information that education spreads and it is through conversation that learning can organically flow without the use of a specific formula.>>> Socializing is an important quality to develop in ones persona. It is something that all of us will do on a daily basis hundreds of times a day, therefore, we need to have the skills to externalize and convey our thoughts and ideas so that others will understand us.  On the other, hand we need these social skills to then understand and critically think about what others present to us.  In a classroom where everyone is equal, students are more likely to express themselves, because they are comfortable and not afraid of possible mistakes.  In making themselves equals the teacher can get to know students on a personal level and can facilitate them in other areas that they may be struggling in.  Having that connection between students and teachers positively effects everyone's well being.

Assistive Technology

One of the greatest parts about living in our time is the great advancement in all of technology bringing not only different cultures closer together, but helping level the field a little more for those children with special needs.  The NETS-S standards expect all children to demonstrate creativity and innovation and conduct research and use information among a few other expectations; it is through the use of new assisted technology that students can now achieve these goals even if they are hearing impaired, low vision, have a broken arm, autistic (non communicative), etc.

There have been a big break through in speech recognition software that have many uses for the classroom.  The most obvious of these uses would be for a student that has limited mobility or motor skills.  This allows them to complete that tasks given just like students that have the normal motor function. In class the student would verbally control the computer through use of a microphone system, but can also 'type' a paper via the microphone software as well that turns speech into text.  Another application of speech recognition is for the hearing impaired.  I would like to experiment with this in my own classroom.  If I were to have hearing impaired student I would like to talk into the microphone during the class and allow my speech to pop up on the students computer, almost like sub-titling, so that they can be as much a part of the class and will not miss anything even if I were to walk around the room.

Another aspect of technology that helps make everyday life easier for low vision people is the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY).  This is a talking book technology that will help students with these types of issues stay up to speed with everyday life.  Even Microsoft has joined with DAISY, together they have collaborated and made a program in which allows anyone to save a document in a standard format.  I remember having a low vision student in my class in middle school, and I always felt bad that things were harder for her to read and keep up with the class because she always had to leave to use a magnifying computer to read her textbooks.  I would love to have DAISY in my classroom, instead of leaving the class to go struggle with the small print the student can stay and listen to the book.  By being able to stay in the classroom allows more time for socialization as well which is amazing for education.

What has been nice is the advent of this technology to also help students who are autistic or non communicative.  In doing a little research I found the ever popular IPad has become an excellent tool in helping these students become more socially aware.  As structure is important for understanding the world around us the IPad has seemingly limitless applications with more being created everyday.  There are applications for the weather, so the child can predict what will happen during the day outside.  There are applications to help people understand the terminologies used in ordering food (e.g. small, tall, etc.). "In addition to basic classroom applications, IPad and ITouch users report success with everything from scheduling and behavior-management applications to basic and augmentive communication" (Youngwith, (2011).   I would hope that as a teacher if I had a student who was autistic in my classroom that they would have access to an IPad so that I may show them good applications to download and therefore assist the child.  However if they do not have an IPad I would do my research to present and argument to the school or who ever I might have to, to get the funding for an IPad in the classroom to help students progress.

It is through this assisted technology that I can help all of my students perform at their best.  I can allow them the creative freedom by leveling the playing field for them that will allow them to hopefully become inspired to try the things they were once hesitant to because of their disability.








References:

ISTE NETS-S  Advanced Digital Age Learning (2011)  Digital-Age Learning. Retrieved fromhttp://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx

Wikibooks (2011) Assistive Technology in Education/Speech Recognition Software. Retrieved from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/Speech_Recognition_Software

Youngwith, J. (2011) Technology helps children deal with autism in school. Retrieved fromhttp://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110301/news/703019898/

Pedagogical Taxonomy in Practice week 4

If the teacher allows themselves to also become a student in the classroom, then learning can be accomplished from all parties because learning  and knowledge is easier attained when everyone learns from each other. ( if, then, because)  Lave's theory of learning showed me that even newbies coming into a community have just as much to contribute as the old timers that have been there awhile. (theorist and evidence) In essence, every member of a society can contribute and we cannot make stereotypes about age or familiarity because we could miss out on learning opportunities. (terminology) It was Vygotsky that believed education and learning happened through social interaction as well. (theorist and evidence) Everyone has something that they are very good at that others can learn from them, we are all the More Knowledgeable Other from time to time. (terminology) It is by sharing this information that education spreads and it is through conversation that learning can organically flow without the use of a specific formula. (moral/ ethical) (terminology)

In putting this into my practice, part of my pedagogical outlook (terminology) will be allowing not only my students to learn from one another, but I want to learn from them as well. (moral/ ethical)  I think after our lab experiments in which students would have worked to together to prove or disprove a given hypothesis that we should have a group discussion on the conclusions that each group had drawn and why they felt this way. (context/ event) By doing this I can sit and listen to the rational behind the collaborative team, (terminology) but they can also be helped along by their peers if something was done incorrectly or incompletely. (event)  In listening to the group bounce ideas off of one another I hope to learn why the students think that way they do and hopefully they can open my eyes up to something I had not noticed before. (evidence/ event)  If I recognize my students and myself as equals in our mini-community then my learning process will never stop because there will always be something new that will present itself that I can grow from. (moral/ethical) (if, then, because)

In filling out my summary on my theorists I was reminded why I loved nature and science to much to begin with.  My favorite moving growing up was Fern Gully.  I loved it when the elder woman gave the seed to Krista and told her to help it grow.  I want to plant the "seed" into my students and inspire them to grow and allow them to become life learners with a passion for science. I want our students and future leaders of our communities to leave our world better than they found it, just as we should do ourselves. (moral/ ethical)




Viki Davis 


Viki Davis's pedagogical outlook allows students to become their own teachers.  She presents ideas to her students and then lets them go out and become masters in that area. Another important note is that she accepts that she does not know everything, and allows herself to be taught by the students.  She begins by creating smaller teams is the class, each smaller group then helps instruct the other students in what there content was.  She also uses more professional terminology so that the students have to look up what they do not understand and can therefore get more experience on the computer, while at the same  time figuring out their question.  She allows intrinsic motivation to take over every time she assigns a task for the students to complete.  One of their tasks was in digital citizenship.  They were given a program that they had to not only navigate through, but collaborate with their team members to put together their presentation.  By navigating on their own the students were autonomous and discovered new things and became more competent as the project went more in depth.  In sharing their project with their class and helping those around them the class was still connected to each other.  The class also had to link up with towns and schools around the globe in an effort to share information.  This was another way to allow students to teach themselves how to connect with the world, while at the same time relate to who they were talking to and externalize their information. 


If the teacher makes a valiant effort in encouraging intrinsic motivation in his/her students, then the students are allowed to develop their own competence in a subject, and by doing this become, autonomous or self determined. (if, then/ terminology) When students feel that they are experienced in a certain area they are more likely to share and externalize this information and can then relate to those around them and grow as a community.  (because/ event) By allowing them to become the 'more knowledgeable other' the self determination theory seems to play into Vygotsky's learning theory as well. (theorist/evidence)  Allowing social development to naturally occur amplifies the amount of understanding that each child can walk away with. (moral/ethical)  Siemens suggest how we need to externalize our knowledge, and I believe the Internet is a great place to do so.  By guiding and helping my students create their own web of knowledge from valid resources, I can help them create a 'tool box' of information that they can carry with them and be motivated to constantly add to and perfect. (event) And with more of a positive outlook, they can help shape the world to be a better place. 


For a link to my chart of theorists click here




T2P 


If a teacher applies more than one theory in their pedagogy, then they are more likely to get all of their students to not only learn their content, but understand the material and be able to apply it abstractly.  Students have many modes and styles of learning, and not all the modes/style are the same for any given student, or any given classroom.  Say the teacher subscribes to Vygotsky's theory then they will understand the importance of having social learning, however they will also understand that there are other concepts in play at that given time (e.g what developmental stage the child is in (Piaget)).  It is through awareness and practicality of the application in the classroom that the teacher can become most effective.  
Part of my pedagogical outlook that I have developed is that I have come to the realization that I want to be a guide, and I want to be hands on (Lave), but I must also realize that I cannot always jump in the material head first; I must allow students to become comfortable and 'edge' in.  I know that I will have to start with the simple concrete concepts and build on them (Skinner), while assessing to make sure no one is left behind.  I must also take into consideration that students are not blank, and that each one walks into my classroom with preexisting knowledge and experiences (Piaget).  I also plan to do a good amount of group work, that allows socialization in reaching a final goal. And when ever possible I'd like to incorporate the Internet, because it truly is a vital tool in connecting the students to the world. (Vygotsky) It is in the movement of theory into practice, that I plan to meld the theories so that they will facilitate not only myself, but so that my students can get their optimal learning experience.

EDCI 5825- The Wiki!!

What is really nice about being introduced to all of this technology in class, is learning that there are so many sites on the Internet made to help out teachers or instructors of any type.  This week we focused on the Wiki stuff.  "A wiki is essentially a collaborative website. Wikis can be private in-house sites meant to serve a limited number of editors, or wide-open public sites where almost anyone can contribute" (EdTech Teacher, 2011). It is through this portal that we can connect and share virtually anything.  In the fist video on the EdTech Teacher page I liked how everyone can post the links to other pages that were dealing with the specific content.  It is impossible for one person to find every useful page on a topic, but if there are many people doing the same task the more efficiently it will be done.  Students even uploaded their own videos which is an amazing touch, and it can verify for a teacher if the students are actually understanding the material being presented.  I think this was my favorite use of the Wiki and how I plan to use it in my classroom.  Of course, I would be making the assumption that all of the students would have access to a computer either at home or in a library, I would like to make a Wiki page for my classes starting at the beginning of the year.  The Wiki would be our connection between all of the classes taking biology that year.  They could assist each other through the discussion page if I am unavailable at the time, or by adding information that we are learning to the page to solidify their own understanding, while putting it in terms that their peers are more likely to recognize. 
The scenario that I have playing in my head is that after I create the Wiki and get all of the students on the page, I plan to make one of the first homework assignments the task of adding a link to our Wikispace relating to the subject matter we are about to cover; for example, genetics, or the cell.  After they have posted their site I will require them to investigate at least 2 more that their peers would have posted and bring in comments and questions into class.  By doing this I believe I can get the students thinking about the upcoming material and prepare them a little more through some self inquiry.  If possible I could also for an end of a unit project have the students post videos of themselves as if they were teaching the subject matter to someone.  This way they would not only be reaffirming the knowledge on the subject, but familiarizing themselves with technology which is ever advancing. 


Reference:
EdTech Teacher (2011).  Teaching History with Technology accessed from http://thwt.org/historywikis.html

T2P Week 3 Reflection

If the teacher allows themselves to also become a student in the classroom, then learning can be accomplished from all parties because learning  and knowledge is easier attained when everyone learns from each other. Lave's theory of learning showed me that even newbies coming into a community have just as much to contribute as the old timers that have been there awhile.  In essence, every member of a society can contribute and we cannot make stereotypes about age or familiarity because we could miss out on learning opportunities.  It was Vogotsky that believed education and learning happened through social interaction as well.  Everyone has something that they are very good at that others can learn from them, we are all the More Knowledgeable Other from time to time.  It is by sharing this information that education spreads and it is through conversation that learning can organically flow without the use of a specific formula.

In putting this into my practice, part of my pedagogical outlook will be allowing not only my students to learn from one another, but I want to learn from them as well.  I think after our lab experiments in which students would have worked to together to prove or disprove a given hypothesis that we should have a group discussion on the conclusions that each group had drawn and why they felt this way.  By doing this I can sit and listen to the rational behind the collaborative team, but they can also be helped along by their peers if something was done incorrectly or incompletely.  In listening to the group bounce ideas off of one another I hope to learn why the students think that way they do and hopefully they can open my eyes up to something I had not noticed before.  If I recognize my students and myself as equals in our mini-community then my learning process will never stop because there will always be something new that will present itself that I can grow from.

In filling out my summary on my theorists I was reminded why I loved nature and science to much to begin with.  My favorite moving growing up was Fern Gully.  I loved it when the elder woman gave the seed to Krista and told her to help it grow.  I want to plant the "seed" into my students and inspire them to grow and allow them to become life learners with a passion for science. I want our students and future leaders of our communities to leave our world better than we found it, just as we should do ourselves.

I'm still working on my tech skills, so I was able to get the video of the part, it just does not start where I would like it to, but if you start it at the 5 minute mark you can see what I am talking about. :)

Learning theories week3 Q&A

Q1. List the four stages of Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development.
    
        A. This is the first level in Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
             I placed it at this level because the question was asking me to list what I had learned word for      word without expecting me to expand on anything.
        B.  The four stages are:
                Sensory motor (0-24months)
                Preoperational (2-7 years)
                Concrete Operators (7-12 years)
                Formal Operational (12 & up)

Q2.  Explain how having class discussions use Vygotsky's principle of the 'More Knowledgable Other' as means to involve students of all ZPD levels.

         A.  This is the level of Analysis
                I placed this question at this level because I am expected to not only recall Vygotsky's theory but expand on it as to how it affects a classroom setting.
         B.  In Vygotsky's perspective each individual is a master at some level in something.  True learning is done through language and dialog.  Class discussions are highly effective because the students are likely to have their own language set and their personal thoughts and can more readily explain this to their peers.  It is also allows expansion on previous knowledge through interpersonal conversation.

Q3. What is a negative result from the teaching atmosphere which only focuses on concrete representatives of concepts?

          A.   This is the level of Evaluation
                 I placed this question at this level because I am being asked to assess the effectiveness, or rather the ineffectiveness of a teaching strategy.
          B.    By only focusing on the concrete representatives the student does not develop the true, or rather full spectrum of a certain concept.  The repercussions of this can result in the student never actually 'learning' the concept and he or she will not be able o apply it to a real world situation.  The important abstract ideas would not be addressed and it is possible that the Formal Operational stage will never be met and problem solving skills may not be acquired.

EDCI 5825 week 2

Similarities that I found between the Internet Project, Internet Workshop, Internet Inquiry, and Web Quest was that all the forms encompassed some way of making the children more comfortable using the Internet while incorporating technology into the classroom.  It also linked students and teachers to one another around the world, which is a great way to show children that there is much to learn and discover beyond their town and state (Leu, 2002).  However, there are naturally a few differences between each form.  Each technique or project helps build upon those learned on the past one.  For example, Internet workshops would be more to aid in reading and navigation of the Internet, while the next step would be the Internet Project in which there is slightly more freedom given to the student, but the entire project is done almost a a mass group, therefor it is a collaborative effort.  If we were to place the projects in sort of a chronological order next would be the Internet Inquiry.  The Internet Inquiry is more of a personal journey through the Internet.  It demonstrates independent research skills, and to communicate their findings with others.  It envelopes problem identification skills and helps problem solving (Leu, 2002).  I think a real world application of the Internet is very vast in the world of science.   I could see using this is in my classroom in the teaching of genetics.  There are many sites for decoding genes, and I can do an Internet Inquiry or Project having the students either research their own genealogy or another topic that they would like to know more about. They would then put together a project and present it to a small group.    


On another note, after talking to my cooperating teacher I was able to find out the main source of technology that I will have access to is my computer and a projector.  As of right now there are no SMART boards that I will be using, however they are in the school.  She is interested in incorporating any type of technology that I can think of and that we could get access to so long as we both deem it as appropriate.  For the fall I need to be prepared in teaching marine biology, cell structure and function, and DNA.

References:
Leu, D.J. (2002). Canter Video Website. Available at http://ctell.uconn.edu/canter/canter_video.cfm

T2P week 2 reflection

I have progressed into learning that teaching is so much more than the traditional view I had walked in with.  The best way I think of it was that my views were deconstructed and then rebuilt and replaced with a whole new out look on the subject.  I had no idea of how my ethics and morals could show so apparently through my actions in class.  I also opened my eyes to the context of how things were being taught and how to look back and check for actual acquisition of knowledge or simply regurgitation of the facts.  I put together my analogy of teaching which to me came in the form of building a home and how the teacher takes the form of the contractor in providing the blueprints of the home aka knowledge and it is the workers that fill in the home to make it a whole, which I translate as the students actually learning and going through life's processes in their attainment of knowledge. I enjoy the concept of the home because as things become out dated, they must be renovated and can be always changing.  I was also able to critically look at other teachers' teaching methods and see how I could use them, or if it would be in my better interest to disregard some aspects but incorporate others.  I was also opened up to the idea of how many things the developing individual is balancing at any given point in their life and how I can nurture these developments to help students grow as people.  I think that one of my bigger issues will be how to be sure to incorporate this all into my content area of biology which, for me,  has been so cut and dry in the past, and will be a considerable challenge to always keep in mind.



If a student knows how a learning activity fits into the overall course curriculum,
 then they are more likely to be more motivated to understand the content,
 because they will be able to see its relevancy and importance in the "big" picture

week 2 if..then..because

There are a multitude of teachers and ways to teach, just as there are a multitude of students and ways to learn.  If the teacher is in tune with their students and gives them the structure, while at the same time the freedom to learn, then knowledge can properly be acquired in all forms (context, morals, ethics) because it gives the opportunity to the student of becoming a "lifetime" learner.

T2P Week 1 reflection

At first coming in the course/coursework and the timing of the classes seemed daunting.  However, there was an instant sense of connection and comfort from not only the professor, but my fellow classmates as well.  By being able to converse in groups it gave me a better understanding of how to view certain concepts.  It was awesome to hold a conversation with those in class and fill in the "holes" of my thought process, and I believe it was this open conversation that lent itself to becoming more comfortable.  It was weird at first to have such freedom in a classroom but it actually made me think harder and more outside of the norm.  I feel like I actually started to obtain more information from that process than simply having facts thrown at me for 6 hours.  I hope to learn how to go about this process on my own and keep students constantly engaged.

TCPCG 5065

 Biology Lesson Plans This site is a collection of everything biology.  It includes lesson plans from anatomy, botany, the cell, genetics, etc.  There is also a section just for lab work and experiments to try along with study aids.  This was a good start for me because people learn from many different forms of media and I believe this site is important in addressing multiple ways of teaching any topic.  They have even included links to other biology site for teaching.  For being a good teacher one needs to realize that every student is an individual and not all conventional ways will work for everyone, which is another reason I had chose this site because it opens up a multitude of possibilities for anyone to work with.  By teaching using a variety of different resources can help students develop competency in biology as every form of learning can be attended to.

Access Excellence  This site is dedicated to honing in on the skills necessary for a teacher to efficiently teach their subject matter, specifically health and bio science.  There is a whole section  devoted to current topics.  Learning is a never ending process and by keeping everything up to date makes a teacher seem a little more in tune with the world around them and therefore can make the material more crucial as to why students should be learning about said content in the first place.  This technique of staying informed and seeking out to be a life learner can subconsciously be passed on to students.  Not all education is so formal and is also obtained by students following certain mannerisms that the teacher conveys.  


The Apple  This is a branch off of monster.com.  This site allows one to network, find help to create lesson plans or come up with new lessons in general, and how to teach effectively.  There are news articles about how people learn and what new resources teachers can use and how to use them.  As each student is their own individual with their own set of experiences and ideas it is important to address them as such and this site helps the teacher accomplish this goal.  The concept of a "good" teacher is easily talked about, but very difficult to achieve.  The Apple is committed to making schools a haven for fostering development of not only the teacher, but the student as well.  They provide a compilation of content specific videos and various other resources that will help convey what ever subject is being taught in class (in this case biology).  And once again by having diverse methods in teaching the instructor is more likely to effectively convey the material to the student so it is better understood and can then be applied outside of the classroom.

fun/family

Hi!
My name is Effie, currently I am seeking a masters and teaching certification through the UCONN TCPCG program.  I am an experienced tutor and I look forward to greatly expanding my education in the up coming year.  Before getting into the education field I was a makeup artist for a while and held a series of odd jobs from serving to making the lenses for eye glasses.  I am not very experienced using mac systems, but I am catching on quickly, thank goodness the programmers made this system easy to learn.  Outside of school I enjoy kayaking, hiking, volleyball, and fishing; pretty much anything you can do outdoors is a good time in my eyes.