Happy Homecoming/Happy Halloween/Happy Teaching

Happy many things.

It is Homecoming week here at my school; many girls (and boys) walking around with mums bigger than their bodies on today! Also Halloween--had to take away a mask last class period. Distractions, distractions! How do we teach with so many distractions?

What is distracting to one is not distracting to another. In all my classes, we are using computers and Web 2.0 tecnologies to enhance the learning experience. For example--in my Sports Marketing Class, they are working on a big 9 weeks project; 12 different assignments. My cooperating teacher has posted the whole assignment on a "wiki"--it's a web based technology, like wikipedia. The students are actually creating this project on the web--you can see it at http://springwoodshs.wikispaces.com/ and by navigating under S & EM Project, then the Team Pages. Is it distracting for them? NO!! They love using all of the new technologies; they are better at it an more interested in it than a lot of long time educators, and they are all (well, most)working very hard.

No, it is not your traditional paper and pencil make a poster activity. It's innovative! I am learning so much from my cooperating teacher about keeping things new and fresh in the classroom. But there are many teachers aout there who would not attempt a project like this, out of fear and something new. Also it is "a distraction" for the students to have internet access, according to some teachers. What if they are on My Space? Facebook? You Tube? At school? Bad?

Picture this--in my Business Education Independent Study Class they are partcipating in an internet based global project called Flat Classroom http://flatclassroomproject2008.wikispaces.com/, based on the book "The World is Flat" by Thomas Freidman. As part of this project, they have created a social network (called a Ning) that looks a WHOLE lot like Facebook--the kids immediately relate to it, and are using it to connect with other students in the project all over the world. See it at http://flatclassroomproject.ning.com/ Bad? No--REALLY good!

So a long story to make a point--"distractions" can be positive. And what is a distraction to you or me is an educational opportunity for someone else.

Here's to all of life's distractions

But Miss-Why do I have to blog?

I was asked this question today by one of my students. Why do I have to blog? I can express myself many other ways, he said. This is very true. We are using blogs in the classroom as a way to promote communication, of all types, by our students. Our students today do not do enough writing, and I am finding with my own high school son that he considers writing a chore, or a punishment. We, as teachers, are not doing enough to promote writing as "fun", or a creative outlet. So I sent my students to Ms. Cuellars blog. It's writing, but it's fun! It has links to interesting places, and even a video of her face on an M & M singing that she created. One student asked--I can make my blog fun like that?? That's the beauty--a blog can be anything you want it to be. The sky is the limit. Blog on........

TeXes PPR Test

One month and then some down in my student teaching, I have until December 10 until I am "done". Actually , I have decided I will never be "done" student teaching, because I will always have something new to learn, and sometimes the students are the teachers!

I took my second certification test today--the TeXes PPR required by the state of Texas. I hope I passed. I thought I was prepared, then had some extra time this morning and went to Barnes & Noble to look at an additonal review book--those questions were a lot harder than the review book I had been using. So that made me nervous. Glad I looked at the second review book, because it was a better indicator of the test than the first (Princeton Review--bad marks from me). If I don't pass, I know which book to get for next time!

Anyway, my point, and my mentor teacher and I discussed this, is for the test you have to answer the politically correct way, which may not actually be the way that works in the classroom. I know I probably missed a few questions because of this.

A good productive day, overall. If I had been at school, my students were also testing, taking the PSAT. I hope my mentor teacher is getting a lot done without me there following her around! Sometimes it is hard to share "space"--my "space" is a corner of a desk right now! Looking forward to my own classroom....

MISS!!! I need help

The title of my blog is how my students summon me. Now, I am a casual person, but I do have a name. So now that my students are becoming more comfortable with me, we are working on proper ettiquette! My name is Mrs. Clayton or Ms. C--since both teacher in my room have last names beginning with C, that is a good way to get one of us to respond.

But it also means that more and more students are asking me for help, and I am taking a more active role in teaching the class, so I am relishing the "MISS"!!! requests.

A reason why I have been hearing "MISS" so much is that we have had a lot of technological issues this week with our classroom computers. Yeterday, they started "hiding" files that we were working in, causing the students to have to open them again and again (and again, and so on) to perform all of the necessary functions we were learning in the lesson. Some of my less than patient students were very frustrated. I was beginning to loose patience myself, especially after I sat down to work through a few lesson and had to repopen the document 22 times (I kept count). yesterday afternnon, nice Ms. Cuellar stayed late to try and fix the problem. We thought we had it fixed! Then the first class that tried it today continued to have problems. Technology is a wonderful thing, but when it doesn't work, it is a TERRIBLE thing.

Maybe tomorrow will be better... :)