I found this activity to be both interesting and frustrating. I ended up with many more great ideas that I'd like to try, but still find myself floundering as to HOW to work the programs. Luckily for me, Lisa was willing to pop up and help me OFTEN!!!
I loved the Data Collection Tools, and will definitely incorporate some of them into my BLOG. I'd like to poll parents to see just what type of items they would like to see on my Hiawatha Web Page...which items they would access most and which would be most relevant to their child's education.
On another note, Shaun and I came across a very disturbed young lady while we were on the Story Telling website called oneword.com. This gal was talking of death and how she'd let her family and friends down and truly freaked us out. We were trying to find her profile so we could let her know things would be OK!!!! Made me wonder if some of these sites are being turned into ways for kids to reach out to others! That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if kids need help of some kind, it would be good to find ways to lead them in the right direction!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Super Strange Sledding Options
Sledding (or sleigh riding as my husband grew up calling it) has always been a favorite winter past time of mine. My family recently took a trip up north to our favorite camping spot for our annual sledding party. This is tradition, and each year it seems that people come up with stranger and stranger things to use to get them down the hills more quickly! Here are a few things that flew past me as I was climbing up the hill!
Sleds, (plastic and wooden), toboggans, snow boards... the usual boring things
Inner tubes of various sizes
Assorted lids (garbage cans, dumpster, rubbermaid containers)
Blow up air mattress (the kind you float on)
Plywood
Laundry Baskets (there were some cute little ones on the "bunny hills" in these)
Cardboard
Knee board/wake board (normally used on the water)
Plastic tarp (for covering wood and 4 wheelers)
Garbage bags
All of these things got me thinking (expecially after I saw the topic of the blog for this week) what other types of items do people us to sled. I googled this, and found some even more interesting, or strange things. For instance...
A toilet seat lid
Little Tykes house roof
Pick up truck bed liner
shovel (ouch...impact could really hurt!)
Cookie sheets and pizza pans
I guess that goes to show you, there is always someone out there thinking creatively! Now we will have to figure out what to take up next year! My family is always looking for creative ways to have fun! :)
Sleds, (plastic and wooden), toboggans, snow boards... the usual boring things
Inner tubes of various sizes
Assorted lids (garbage cans, dumpster, rubbermaid containers)
Blow up air mattress (the kind you float on)
Plywood
Laundry Baskets (there were some cute little ones on the "bunny hills" in these)
Cardboard
Knee board/wake board (normally used on the water)
Plastic tarp (for covering wood and 4 wheelers)
Garbage bags
All of these things got me thinking (expecially after I saw the topic of the blog for this week) what other types of items do people us to sled. I googled this, and found some even more interesting, or strange things. For instance...
A toilet seat lid
Little Tykes house roof
Pick up truck bed liner
shovel (ouch...impact could really hurt!)
Cookie sheets and pizza pans
I guess that goes to show you, there is always someone out there thinking creatively! Now we will have to figure out what to take up next year! My family is always looking for creative ways to have fun! :)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
My Response to 21 Things That Will Become Obsolete in Education By 2020
I found some things about this article very hopeful, and some things very disturbing. We all know that school systems will change rapidly in the next 10 years, but I do feel that some things will remain the same, regardless of technology, especially in lower income districts and rural areas.
21 Things That Will Become Obsolete
1. Desks...Great! Get rid of them. I prefer tables for student learning anyway as it promotes better student interaction.
2. Language Labs...Hmmmmm???
3. Computers...I question the "handhelds for all" theory, as district funding may prevent this from happening.
4. Homework...Great! Less papers to grade, and less paper to waste!
5. Standardized Test...Wonderful. Too much emphasis is placed on these timed tests and the information isn't always a good representation of a child's learning.
6. Differentiated Instruction=Distinguished Teacher...This should already be obsolete, as all teacher's need to, and have needed to differentiate their teaching for years in order to meet the needs of the children in their classes.
7. Fear of Wikipedia...I'm still scared of giving kids too much freedom on the internet, but that's something I need to GET OVER!
8. Paperbacks...I hope not! I love my i-pad, but don't feel comfortable taking it into the bathtub, to the pool or beach. There is something about the feel and smell of a REAL book!!!
9. Attendance Offices...Oh Well!
10. Lockers...I don't see this ever happening in elementary school. Kids have lots of gear, especially in the winter, and need a place to store it. The smell of wet coats and boots is pretty gross, and I don't want it in my classroom.
11. IT Departments...they will look different, but will still be needed as teachers ARE NOT technicians!
12. Centralized Institutions...I see this as a greater opprotunity for the older students. K-6 kids will still need to attend daily, as parents will need that security. Daycare costs could also factor into this too.
13. Organization...I love this idea, as it's based more directly in teaching kids what they need to know, and allowing them to skip over what they already have learned. Differentiation at its best!
14. Education Classes...Demanding 21st century tech integration is a GREAT idea, but districts need to provide teachers with the opprotunity to learn the new techniques and then time to become comfortable with them.
15. Paid Professional Development...This happens, but not as often as it should.
16. Current Curricular Norms...Again, we seem to be coming back to differentiation. All kids need exposure, but not all kids need mastery.
17. Parent-Teacher Conferences...Even with advancing technology, I feel that the face-to-face parent/teacher conferences are a must, at least at the k-5 level.
18. Cafeteria Food...YEAH!!! Most of it is awful, even though nutrition guidelines have improved throughout the years, the taste of school food really hasn't! Have you tried the "sun-butter" sandwich???? It's gross!!!
19. Outsourced Webmastering...Kids definately are better at it than many adults, partially because they have grown up around it and partially because they have more time to do it!
20. High School Algebra...my son took it in 8th grade! Everything is going down a year. Pre-school is the new kindergarten, as if kids are not reading by the end of their kindergarten year, we are pushing them into specialized programs! The problem with this comes back to the old "Developmentally Appropriate Practice" theory!
21. Paper...I'd love to see us decrese paper consumption, but I don't see it decreasing by 90% in the next 10 years. I think it's a good goal to strive for, but I'm unsure how realistic it is.
21 Things That Will Become Obsolete
1. Desks...Great! Get rid of them. I prefer tables for student learning anyway as it promotes better student interaction.
2. Language Labs...Hmmmmm???
3. Computers...I question the "handhelds for all" theory, as district funding may prevent this from happening.
4. Homework...Great! Less papers to grade, and less paper to waste!
5. Standardized Test...Wonderful. Too much emphasis is placed on these timed tests and the information isn't always a good representation of a child's learning.
6. Differentiated Instruction=Distinguished Teacher...This should already be obsolete, as all teacher's need to, and have needed to differentiate their teaching for years in order to meet the needs of the children in their classes.
7. Fear of Wikipedia...I'm still scared of giving kids too much freedom on the internet, but that's something I need to GET OVER!
8. Paperbacks...I hope not! I love my i-pad, but don't feel comfortable taking it into the bathtub, to the pool or beach. There is something about the feel and smell of a REAL book!!!
9. Attendance Offices...Oh Well!
10. Lockers...I don't see this ever happening in elementary school. Kids have lots of gear, especially in the winter, and need a place to store it. The smell of wet coats and boots is pretty gross, and I don't want it in my classroom.
11. IT Departments...they will look different, but will still be needed as teachers ARE NOT technicians!
12. Centralized Institutions...I see this as a greater opprotunity for the older students. K-6 kids will still need to attend daily, as parents will need that security. Daycare costs could also factor into this too.
13. Organization...I love this idea, as it's based more directly in teaching kids what they need to know, and allowing them to skip over what they already have learned. Differentiation at its best!
14. Education Classes...Demanding 21st century tech integration is a GREAT idea, but districts need to provide teachers with the opprotunity to learn the new techniques and then time to become comfortable with them.
15. Paid Professional Development...This happens, but not as often as it should.
16. Current Curricular Norms...Again, we seem to be coming back to differentiation. All kids need exposure, but not all kids need mastery.
17. Parent-Teacher Conferences...Even with advancing technology, I feel that the face-to-face parent/teacher conferences are a must, at least at the k-5 level.
18. Cafeteria Food...YEAH!!! Most of it is awful, even though nutrition guidelines have improved throughout the years, the taste of school food really hasn't! Have you tried the "sun-butter" sandwich???? It's gross!!!
19. Outsourced Webmastering...Kids definately are better at it than many adults, partially because they have grown up around it and partially because they have more time to do it!
20. High School Algebra...my son took it in 8th grade! Everything is going down a year. Pre-school is the new kindergarten, as if kids are not reading by the end of their kindergarten year, we are pushing them into specialized programs! The problem with this comes back to the old "Developmentally Appropriate Practice" theory!
21. Paper...I'd love to see us decrese paper consumption, but I don't see it decreasing by 90% in the next 10 years. I think it's a good goal to strive for, but I'm unsure how realistic it is.
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