Technology! Collaboration! Environment! Diversity! ... being the best teacher you can be!

Todays class was AMAZING! When i first walked in I was confused to see other students and did not know what was going on. However i was pleasantly surprised by how much i learned during this seminar. Many of the students that attended learned how they can use the tools on the internet to conduct research, I however feel like i learned sooo much more. Learning about all these web sites that can make my experience as an educator and my students experience for more rewarding and even more educational. There are so many tools that are one web 2.0 and other websites that allow educators to implement technology and teach students through tools that will catch their eye and keep them interested. It also provides educators with a world of information and ways to store that information. The best part about all this is that it is a COLLABORATIVE world at your finger tips. Working together is a huge part of learning, 2 minds is better then one. and being able to manipulate these websites together, by not just viewing knowledge but editing and adding to the knowledge is an amazing part of the technological world today.

 

This video clip takes you on a tour of the wonderful site of Diigo. GO CHECK IT OUT. Here is the link in case the video does not work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RvAkTuL02A

This picture represents in my mind the power of collaboration. We all hold a piece of a puzzle and when we combine those pieces we can create powerful things that can improve the world we live in. 

Learning about how to be a good presenter is something that is highly important when going into our own classrooms. Yes of course it is important to engage any audience when presenting along with many other things to make sure your presentation is great. But when your in a classroom teaching students a good presentation may be one of the most crucial aspects of teaching. For students to learn they must want to learn, want to listen, and be interested in the lesson at hand. First and foremost you must engage your students, they must want to learn so creating an initial activity to grasp their attention will set the standard for the rest of the lesson. As an educator you can do this by a video clip, a demonstration, anything that really activates their prior knowledge and encourages them to want to learn. Making sure that the entire time you are clear and have a good teacher voice that keeps the students listening. Making sure that you know your subject, students will only learn if you are teaching them thinsg properly, also when a teacher does not know their subject they will not be confident which will affect how the students feel. Students are intrigued when the teacher comes off passionate and how can you be passionate about something you know nothing about. Once a presentation is over educators must some how check to make sure that students understand.

 You can see in this presentation the students are engaged, they want to learn. Making things intriguing for students is highly important.

We learn science and integrate science into our every day life, in school, in problem solving, in our normal everyday decisions. As teachers we need to make connections between these, which can only enhance the education of students. Teaching standards and skills that are implemented into the curriculum by the state and then use that to integrate students every day lives. When students see something as a part of who they are, as a part of something within their lives they are more likely to want to learn. Also keeping in mind diversity and the connections that we need to make to different cultures because different cultures view things far differently then  others. 

 This picture I think shows that there are so many diverse cultures within our school today, as educators we need to keep in mind all of these students and educate them equally because it is those hands that will eventually be working together to make our world a better place.

 Among all this we need to keep in mind our environment, this is a crucial part of education today because of the vast growing environmental problems we are facing within the world today. We need teach our students the importance of conservation and renewable energy, make them understand that they can make a difference and teaching them small steps of how they can within the classroom will dramatically effect how they live their lives.

http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/23/50-ways-to-go-green-in-the-classroom/

This website consists of many teacher tips of how to implement going green in the classroom. There were many things on here that we can do in our everyday lives to make a difference along with in the classroom for students.