I am proud to say that I not only
survived another first day of school, but my coteacher and I utilized
technology on the first day of school as well. We showed a math video about how
easily math mistakes can be made, and had parents and students sign up for
Remind 101 at open house and on the first day of school. Remind 101 will allow
teachers to send messages to students and parents cell phones or email, so this
is yet another way to communicate with families to make them aware of their
students’ needs.
As an update on my first goal of
integrating at least one type of technology into my life each semester:
·
I have successfully converted my school email
from Outlook to Google.
·
I have a working cell phone again and have set
up my calendar with reminders on the phone. I also have an application that
allows me to “write” myself to do lists. I do not have my school email linked
to my phone yet, but still intend to do so.
·
Our Analytic Geometry team is creating a Google
drive so that each member can access each other’s data from any location.
·
Our Analytic Geometry team has piloted its first
year using Remind 101.
My second goal is to have
students using technology in the classroom weekly. Our first full week of
school begins on Monday, and we have planned for students to use the SmartBoard
to label the sides of triangles as opposite, adjacent, and hypotenuse from
various angles within the triangle. Our
team has been working together very well; we are busy laying the groundwork for
a great year. In addition to my personal goal we have been training to utilize
various grouping strategies within the classroom; I feel like that has been
more of a focus so far this year but I do not want to let the technology goal
fall by the wayside.
The
GAME plan is very focused on goal setting, and I think this skill applies to
many areas in the classroom. Each week we plan lessons that include objectives
or goals for the students. We frequently refer to these goals, so the students
are aware of them. Additionally, when I
write IEPs they are also very goal focused. I will remind my students the steps
of the GAME plan throughout the year as they are struggling with or taking the
next step of their goals.
Through
this course I discovered a great resource, ePals, which allows me to find
teachers all over the world who are seeking communication with other classes.
This is a great way to integrate technology into the classroom, increase global
awareness, learn about diversity, and create an audience for my students to
work for. I can send survey questions that my students have written to students
in other countries who are learning to speak English. Both sides benefit from
this, other students get to practice their English skills (or simply
communicate with another class), and my students gain authentic data to create
graphs with.
