So which type of teacher learner are you? If we're honest, we have all been unintentional and engaged during our careers. In the very beginning, we soak up every scrap of professional development thrown at us. Inexperienced educators are hungry to know more in order to gain a sense of mastery in the classroom. As that begins to occur, the shift from educationally starving to sated develops, and that is perhaps the most dangerous moment in our educational careers.
During one of the first professional development (PD) days for my district at the beginning of the school year, I worked with several teachers and had several conversations. Some were just typical teacher banter expected at the first full PD day of the new school year, but one particular comment stood out the moment it was uttered. It continues to crop up in my mind at random moments. It stirs my oppositional defiant mojo each and every time. I don't recall the specific wording, but while discussing the "new" collaboration methods our principal used on us as a demonstration, this particular teacher, an experienced teacher near retirement, said something like: I'm there to teach. Students are there to learn.
With the new updates and revisions to the New Google Sites, many educators are wanting to use Sites for their student blogs. The problem is that there is no easy way for students to also receive comments on their sites from their audience. There are a few ways to work around this, such as embedding blogs from actual blog sites, but at this point, I want my new high school bloggers to have control over the audience and for me to be able to keep an eye on the comments without having to do a lot of tab hopping.
The Future's in the Air Every time I roll out a new activity or program to increase the depth of knowledge for my students, they are never as excited as I am. None of them. While there are a range of reactions, to a student they are either thinking or voicing the fact they would … Continue reading Deeper Thinking: Using Mashed Potatoes to Fight Student Pushback
This post is co-authored by Ditch That Textbook’s Matt Miller and Laura Steinbrink. Laura is a high school English teacher and tech coach from Plato, Missouri. Check out Matt's blog, Ditch That Textbook, at ditchthattextbook.com for the full post and more. Excerpt of this post: If you are like me (Laura), you are constantly searching … Continue reading Caption This! A fun, deep-thinking Google Drawings activity
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