July 2009 Blog Posts (175)

" An Informed Teacher" :A Reflective Classroom Teacher 25

One can never be too well informed. Remain current in your field. Continue your education on both a formal and informal tract. We suggest that you belong to those professional organizations that will be of the most benefit to your as an educator. Be active in your local organization and know and support your state represenatives. Push for useful in-service time and use your professional for just that. Investigate what effective teachers are doing in their classrooms. Take out subscriptions to… Continue

Added by Ronald Bovill on July 23, 2009 at 6:35am — No Comments

" Tired of It All":A Reflective Classroom Teacher 25

There will be days of frustration. At times you will feel you do not have the strength or the will to continue in the classroom. We have all had these feelings from time to time. That is the reality of any profession, not just teaching. If however, this feeling of despair and of being overwhelmed continues over an extended period of time, it is time for honest reflection.

Our suggestion is that you try and pinpoint what it is that is causing the depression. There is a good possibility that… Continue

Added by Ronald Bovill on July 23, 2009 at 6:32am — No Comments

Eat at Joe's... NOT!

An acquaintance (not a friend) of mine ate a local restaurant the other day -- at "Joe's" -- and had a bad experience. And then complained to me about it. The food, the service, the blah, blah, blah.

So, what is my opinion now of that restaurant? In an ideal world, I'd remain free of her input and go and judge it myself. However, all of us have so much going on in our lives that we often reply on the input of others to help us shape our own opinions of… Continue

Added by Alan Sitomer on July 23, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

" The Effective Teacher ":A Reflective Classroom Teacher 24

There are certain characteristics that all effective teachers have. This does not mean that if you don't possess all of these traits you can't be a good teacher. You can but you will never be as effective as the teacher who demonstrates a mastery of the following.

1. You must have positive expectation for yourself and for your students. If you do not believe you can be effective, you won't be. Realize what your strengths are as a teacher and utilize those aspects of your character.… Continue

Added by Ronald Bovill on July 23, 2009 at 6:29am — No Comments

I'm back!

It has been a very busy summer. I'm back to work, but now I have another school added to my schedule as a school psychologist. Because of the economic problems in my region, school psychology positions were not created to keep up with the addition of new schools. The good thing is that my third school is CATA: Central Academy of Technology and the Performing Arts!

I am sure this will be a busy, busy year. Although I wish I was still working part-time and taking graduate classes, I… Continue

Added by Lynn Marentette on July 23, 2009 at 4:56am — No Comments

"And That's the Way it is"

The voice that introduced America to The Beatles, the man who was there throughout the Nuremberg trials, the Vietnam war, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and the moon landing, has now left us. Walter Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America," after whom the term anchor was coined, died in his New York home on Friday. For those who grew up in the 20th century, Cronkite was an constant narrator in living rooms, store windows and kitchen counters. From blue-lit television screens… Continue

Added by Erika Johansson on July 22, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

From Shakespeare to 21st Century Geeks: TeachPaperless Guest Posts at Change.org

Guest posts from Change.org's education blog: here's a week's worth of work covering everything from Romeo and Juliet to Geek Culture to Mobile Education to Digital Health.

Added by Shelly Blake-Plock on July 22, 2009 at 10:51am — No Comments

" Brush Strokes " :A Reflective Classroom Teacher 22

Teaching is as much an art as it is a science. It is possible to become an effective instructor without the science of teaching. We will however, never be as a complete a teacher, unless we develop our art of teaching. By art, we refer to the personalities of teaching. The personality is defined by all of the tools that we use; all of the acts that we perform; all of the beliefs that we have and are willing to show to others.

If those superior teaching traits are not cultivated, then we… Continue

Added by Ronald Bovill on July 22, 2009 at 8:02am — No Comments

" Dynamics of the Classroom" :A Reflective Classroom Teacher 23

There is going to be some conflict in your classroom. But, there is also going to be cooperation; some competition; a little accommodation and hopefully all of this will result in the assimilation of everyone into a productive, caring class. There are no guarantees the latter is going to happen but, if it does, the results will be monumental. We have been witnesses to this phoneme on more than one occasion in our classrooms. The effort needed to create such an atmosphere; is well worth the… Continue

Added by Ronald Bovill on July 22, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

Inviting participation in survey

Calling all educators:

Please complete a survey about how you use online tools personally and with students: http://snipurl.com/nnpvg

Please invite others - we need to hear what's going on around the globe. Let's make it viral!!

Thanks,
Cheri

Added by Cheri Toledo on July 22, 2009 at 7:31am — No Comments

The mysterious ways of the secret ninja teacher warrior

A part of my teaching life is paralyzed by feelings of perpetual professional inadequacy. And I feel like I am not alone.

I mean I finally get a grip on how to effectively teach theme and then I recognize the value that incorporating a classroom wiki could have. So I learn how to add this tool to my growing digital teaching arsenal but realize that there are some really high qualities insights to be gained by doing a bit more reading on using inquiry in the classroom. So I… Continue

Added by Alan Sitomer on July 22, 2009 at 6:30am — 1 Comment

" Needs and Choices ": A Reflective Classroom Teacher 21

Everyone in the classroom has the same set of basic needs, and that includes you, the teacher. Like our students, we choose various methods to meet those needs. Unlike your students, you should have internalized the concept of delayed gratification by the time you receive your first teaching certificate. At least that is what should have happened at this stage of your life. However, that will always be the perception that life could be better and at times this leads us to the state of… Continue

Added by Ronald Bovill on July 22, 2009 at 6:20am — No Comments

Language is Vital

Language is the most vital part of our children's being. Without it they cannot access their education.

Big Universe

Added by Bernice Wonderly on July 22, 2009 at 5:15am — No Comments

Some Delicious Links, July 21, 2009

Reposted from Meg's Notebook

Consortium of School Networking (CoSN)

Founded in 1992, the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) is the premier professional association for school district technology leaders. If you check… Continue

Added by Meg H on July 21, 2009 at 9:30pm — No Comments

How Montessori Schools Evaluate Students

I think many of us feel the letter/number grade system is woefully inadequate for evaluating students and providing them with meaningful feedback. But what's the alternative? We have to evaluate students somehow - how else could we provide trusted certification to students for other educational institutions and employers? Well, a Montessori… Continue

Added by Chris Fritz on July 21, 2009 at 7:42pm — 3 Comments

Tutoring Match goes ONLINE

Experience why TM is the faster, better way to learn.

Since 1999 Tutoring Match has been “match-making” one-on-one in-home tutorials in Fairfield, New Haven and Westchester Counties. Our network of over 100 pre-screened professionals personalizes academic assistance in all subjects for all ages.

With a state-of-the-art website, TM now offers instant, online tutoring with whiteboard technology and live customer support 24/7. All you need is a computer with a broadband… Continue

Added by Henry Lane on July 21, 2009 at 2:06pm — No Comments

Beginning of Classroom 2.0

So this is my first blog post for classroom 2.0. In the final stages of completing my professional project for my master's program I came across this site and I am excited to become a member and start this connection as I prepare for my future time in my own classroom. Right now summer is in full swing and I will be done with graduate school by next week (hopefully!) and then I will start back into my aide job in special education on August 31. My goal, to build a foundation of experience in my… Continue

Added by Kimberly Buls on July 21, 2009 at 1:37pm — No Comments

Powerful Learning

Which is more powerful, a service or a community? This idea came up during the last ETT Community Meeting. A service was defined as a fully funded entity like your landline or your local hospital or even your community college. A community was defined more like a bunch of people who contribute to each other's learning. A community is an entity with which you can engage, and by engaging, learn.

The difference is both a but murky but at the same… Continue

Added by Durff on July 21, 2009 at 9:35am — No Comments

Social bookmarking

I've searched through the archives and I can't find one place that really summarizing the thinking of the group and the group's experience with social bookmarking sites.

I'm trying to discern whether I should use delicious or pageflakes or diigo. I get that delicious doesn't allow you to share anything but the annotation and the URL. It seems as if pageflakes allows you to do that and adds more options (podcasts, RSS feeds). Diigo almost has another purpose...to save teh URL along… Continue

Added by Marsha Ratzel on July 21, 2009 at 8:52am — No Comments

" The Endless Task" :A Reflective Classroom Teacher 20

The task of teaching is never completed; a finished product is never produced. As teachers, we promote, we graduate, we advance but there is never an end to the process; but don't despair. Off in the wings there is always the latest model to come off the reproduction line. As long as parents are willing to reproduce the species we will have new fresh students who will spend time with us and leave much better people; but not complete.

Education is a process and is never completed. There are… Continue

Added by Ronald Bovill on July 21, 2009 at 8:47am — No Comments