October in a nutshell

Phew!!!!! I cant believe how fast October went, and how fast we are going already in November. This month I have learned ALOT about strategies, methods, lesson planning, using more technology, IPM, and more. I finally was able to use technology such as "voki" in a few different classes (the kids went crazy over it!) I am so happy to see such a reaction from all age groups. Its amazing how focused an entire class can be when they see something "cool" like a "voki". I was so impressed how the students followed the directions the "voki" gave them, and how they were so mesmerized by what it was talking about. Its nice to see students learn in different ways!

I was really excited to share this technology with my co-workers as well. They have never seen it before, and were really excited to use it. They were definitely pleased to see how easy it is to use. Its great to be able to teach THEM something! I wonder what else I will be able to teach other teachers?

My web-quest is essentially finished. It was definitely a lot of hard work. I had never done it before, so it took a lot of trial and error to get it just right. This is something else many of my co-workers have never seen/heard of before. Hopefully I will be able to spark some interest in them to create their own!

Finally, I was able to get my fieldwork done in a 4th grade class. I was able to watch science and math lessons throughout the month. After learning about the different strategies and methods in our class, it was awesome to see how they worked when used in a classroom by another teacher. I saw ALOT of DI lessons especially in math. Once basic skills were mastered, I was happy to see other activities being done, like group math games. Its amazing to see how different lessons need to be taught for different concepts. I remember being the same age and pretty much always being "talked at". There was hardly any collaboration at all. Times have definitely changed!

As we roll into November I definitely feel more confident in my planning, and in the different methods and models as a whole. I wonder what other aspects of technology Dr. S will have us use/collaborate on? Wish me luck!