Happy Holidays!

Hope everyone enjoys the holidays and had a very merry christmas. I actually like the idea of the blog staying up like Erin said but we'll see if everyone feels the same. Its a good way to keep in touch with everybody. Well, just wanted to say that this was a difficult and hectic but great semester. Enjoy the break everybody!!! Have a safe and happy New Years! May this years best be next years worst!

Useful URLs...

Hi Everybody,

It looks like you may not want to continue on this blog--that's fine, of course. Some classes keep it going, others don't...I will keep it up for at least another few weeks so you can look back & note useful sites and information.

Great Semester!

I had a great semester and every single one of you will always be remembered! We should keep this blog to keep in touch.


Good Luck Next Semester!!

I hope everyone has a safe and HAPPY HOLIDAY!!!

happy & healthy holidays to you and your family

Grades are in!

PicNik ™

A tribute to us fabulous ladies =]

comments

I thought the video was really good. It was a creative idea that Andrea came up with this semester to have interview videos rather than a video from youtube or just a powerpoint. The two links on Andrea's and Raquel's powerpoint were great, very informative. Their overall powerpoint helped me understand inclusion more and I liked that it was brief, yet they were able to get their points across. I am still not fully sure as to where I stand when it comes to inclusion. On one of the websites, it had a poll where it asked whether a child with a disability should be kept in a normal classroom, should be kept in a special classroom, or should spend the day half and half. I had to answer with spending the day in both classrooms becuase I feel as if it is important for the child to have a normal experience in a mainstream classroom, but I also feel as if the student can not get the full education they need when a teacher is working with the entire class and not just with that one individual. Although this is all just my opinion, when I filled out the poll, having the child spend half the day in the classroom and the other half in a classroom for their specific needs ended up being the number one choice.
-I hope everyone's holiday is filled with lots of fun, happiness, laughter, and love! Get lots of rest becuase a month from now we will be starting up with all the work and homework again! :) This class was a pleasure and I hope to see you all around campus!
Nicole W

Inclusion

Hi all! Hope everyone is doing well! I like all the pictures that were put up!! Especially of Laura! What would we have done without her assistance?? lol

I just viewed Andrea and Raquel's PowerPoint and websites. I found all of the information to be very helpful. With the information already summed up for me, I felt that I was able to get a clear idea of what inclusion was. I especially liked the part of the PowerPoint where it said the beneficial points for the inclusion students and mainstream students. As for the websites, I found the first one more as an opinion piece and the second one as facts. I thought it all was great! Good job ladies!!! Thank you!!

Special Thanks to our classroom techie...

final presentations of the semester

final presentations of the semester

Inclusion Video

Kean Edu2 Tween Social Networking

This is the power point presentation of the breakout session that I attended

Kean Edu2 Tween Social Networking

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

21st Century Learning

Field Journal
21st Century Learning: Going Global

I observed a conference on 21st Century Learning. I was a little nervous about attending a conference never having done so before, but when it started, I was a little more relaxed and able to enjoy what I was experiencing. Dr. Chen’s site edutopia.org is an invaluable resource for becoming a better educator. I especially enjoyed the link to project based learning because that is how I learn best. His site offers examples and links to almost anything you can imagine. Unfortunately, I have not been able to spend more time exploring and learning on this site, but plan to do so as soon as the semester is over.
Even though Dr. Chen was interesting, I found the lunch speakers more interesting. They are a great example of collaboration and I love the idea of writing research papers with multimedia. I question however, if this is truly possible with professors who refuse to accept web pages as good sources, or tell you only use books. It has been several years since I have had to write a research paper and find myself doing so now. I find the use of the internet such a valuable tool that I cannot imagine writing a paper without it. With all the e-books available to us online why would we go to a library and waste time searching for a book that has already been checked out. As the speaker stated, some people check out books to keep others from finding the information. I found that to be the case with my paper and am grateful that I was able to find what I was looking for in an e-book.
I attended two breakout sessions, the first being 21st Century Learning Communities - Promethean with speaker Gordon Froloff. I will not go into too much detail since Andrea has done such a great job of describing it. I will say that although it did sound like a sales pitch I loved the product, mostly because of the interactive qualities that it brings to a class. Gordon had asked a question about fraction, which I will admit I need some brushing up on, and when the answers came up I didn’t feel like the “dumb kid” in the class because I wasn’t singled out for not knowing the answer. This is a powerful tool to have in the class but I do not think this should be a teacher’s only tool. I would use it as a motivational tool possibly to engage children with attention disorders.
The second session I attended was Tween Social Networking Sites with Kevin Jarrett and his daughter Holly. It was interesting to see how an actual tween in the 7th grade interacts on the computer. Most of the sites she showed us, although very interesting, involved the use of actual money, of which I am not a big fan. You can use these sites without actual money but as my daughter and I found out, they are not much fun. For the first time ever after this conference, I allowed my daughter to use the computer for a social site and truthfully, she did not care for it. She enjoyed creating an avatar but that was about the extent of her enjoyment. She spent about 2 hours playing in whyville.com and when she was done asked me what the whole point of it was. I told her it was to talk with people from around the world as Holly had mentioned in the conference. Alex responded, “I already do speak with people from around the world when I call my friends in Spain." Needless to say she was not a big fan, but we will be trying some of Holly’s other suggestions. I have attached a copy of her power point presentation that I believe does include some valuable information on other social sites.
http://tiny.cc/Hollyspresentation

Confusion!?!

Hi all!! OK! So I just had a quick question! The only thing I was confused about Friday was the papers/forms we are supposed to fill out. To my knowledge, there was a blue paper and a green card. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Am I right/wrong? Anyone? I only have the blue paper that is for out assessment. Thanks for anyone's help!!

Also, I posted info about NCLB on Google Docs, did everyone get it?

-Caitlin

Friday's Workshop

Hi everyone, hope all is going well. It's hard to believe that we are almost done with the semester! I found Friday's Workshop to be really interesting. All of the sessions sounded great, it was hard for me to choose. One of the sessions I sat in on was 21st Century Learning Communities - Promethean with speaker Gordon Froloff. Let's start by saying it was a definite sales pitch, but a very interesting one. The Promethean Activboard is similiar to smartboards, this particular board carries the Promethean name. The speaker showed us all of the software that was available with this system. It is definitely a way to bring the classroom into the 21st Century. An interesting feature that this active board had was a hand held component, like a cell phone, so that the children could answer any questions the teacher presented. The answers would then automatically post to the board and show feedback right away. The hand held device had capabilities for students to answer multiple choice questions, true/false, and yes/no questions. It even allows for the student to answer "I don't know". Results can be shown in a multiple of graphs for the students to see. There are also programs that allow the students to drag the corrects answer to the question that was given. If the answer is incorrect, it will not stick to the question. This provides immediate feedback which is fantastic. One example that was used was a math lesson involving money. The money was big and clear on the board and the students were able to drag the pictures to show the amount that was asked. It also helped to show how to make change. We were told that all of the information that is entered can be transfered to Excel for recording keeping. I think that there would be a lot of great lessons this could be used for in a classroom, however, I am sure the cost is high. The speaker didn't really address the cost. Regarding the workshop in general, all of the speakers were great and it is amazing to see how far technology has brought us. I especially enjoyed the session where the speakers compared how we researched information at one time -you know the library where you would have to take out a zillion books to gather information. Now, information is available at our fingertips!! It makes me realize that we as future teachers have so much available to us to create an exceptional learning environment. To me, it seems very overwhelming, but I know that it can be done. Have a great day, see everyone on Friday and I will bring in some snack, not sure what yet, but something sweet.

My Last Day!

Hi Ladies! I am so sorry I have not been actively writing on the blog lately!! Like everyone else, I have been very busy with life itself. I have become overwhelmed by personal issues as well as school issues. DECEMBER 20TH CANNOT COME QUICK ENOUGH!!! BUT, onto why I am posting!

My last day went very well! I was able to interact the most with the students on my last visit. The first two times, my teacher was a bit reluctant. This caused her to send me on copy-machine runs and other miscellaneous errands. I don't know why but I assume this made her able to trust me somehow? Hah! The only reason I say this is because the last day I was busy! I did the regular copy-machine runs, gave a spelling test, graded the tests, graded homework, etc. I enjoyed working with her and was happy she gave me more to do on my last visit! The students were also very pleasant! They were sad to see me go and I was sad to see them go as well!

Hope everyone else had a great last day too!

See you all soon!!

-Caitlin

Bloom's Taxonomy

I'm looking forward to seeing you all on Friday for our final full class session. We can meet at our regular classroom and then decide to go to the computer lab or not. Don't forget to bring your papers and paperwork, and even though we first agreed to write the introduction during class, I think that's too ambitious, so please bring it with you instead...

I'd also like you to be prepared to discuss Bloom's Taxonomy. There are different versions so you should check a few out...I've sent you a powerpoint presentation via Google Docs to look at too.

Bring your calendars; we'll set our individual meetings on Friday...

Last Visit at Hehny Elementary School

My last day at Hehnly was pretty interesting. It surprised me that the teacher I was with allowed me to actually interact with the students, because in the previous two days that I went she had me sit in the back of the classroom doing nothing. Also, the students were pretty sad that it was my last day. In all I noticed the two big differences between Hehnly and Harrison. I loved Harrison's environment and how I felt more welcomed there than I did in Hehnly. After this experience I would love to go back to Harrison Elementary, if possible, to do my Junior and Senior field.

"Going Global" conference

I think Dr. Milton Chen from Edutopia showed alot of interesting sites. I especially liked the one video where students from all over sent blankets to Thailand. That was really incredible. I wrote majority of the sites that he recommended down, they all seemed really interesting and informative. I haven't had a chance to go on them yet because of finals this and next week but I definitely plan on it!
The "Genocide" session was pretty informative. Even though I'm definitely not a history person, it was a different way to spend the morning. I thought the conversations were really good and everyone shared their opinions and beliefs. I liked our "chicken" debate and whether or not it was a right to intervene on a farmers land. lol It was pretty cool to listen to everyone's opinions on why they felt the way they did and give their reasons. I wished we would have had more time to watch the Rwanda movie and discuss it a bit more. Overall, the session was 2 hrs. but it didn't feel like it at all. I have to say that it was a fun learning experience. On top of learning about technology in the classroom and hearing different speakers, I got a chance to talk to other professionals who were teachers and principals. I enjoyed conversing with them. It gave me a chance to ask questions and express my feelings and concerns about being a new teacher in the near future!

Last Day

Hey ladies,
Hope everyone had a good day on Friday and also a good weekend. My last day at the schools was great! I really going to miss it! The kids were so sad that Friday was my last day! The teacher asked at the end if it was okay for the students to give me a hug and they all did! It was so adorable! Overall, I had a good experience as Harrison school!

Hey girls! I hope everyone had a great time at the last field visit and at the conference!! I am really sad that I am leaving Harrison!! The kids were all really sad that i was going!! I promised i would go back and visit them! I told the teacher I was going to get my sub certification and she said that when she was absent she would recommend to have me!! It was exciting!! Alright well I need to get back to work on all the papers and studying but ill see you on Friday!!

Howard Gardner

Multiple Intelligences and New Forms of Assessment

How are your Google Docs projects going?

Forget about textbooks?

21st Century Learning: Going Global

I'm eager to hear about the sessions you visited at the conference yesterday...What did you think of the keynote speaker Dr. Milton Chen from Edutopia? Have you visited his site?

What about the two Rutgers professors who talked about writing during lunch? Are you ready to give up writing regular papers and going with the multimedia approach they demonstrated?

Which breakout sessions did you attend? What did you get out of them?

And for those students who were out in the field: How was your final visit?

Just saying Hi

Good morning everyone. I hope you have all recovered from turkey overload. I just finished the rest of my turkey with turkey salad!! My kids have just about had it. Oh well. Good luck for everyone who is finishing their observations on Friday and I look forward to seeing everyone else at the conference. I am excited about it and am still trying to figure out which topics I should address. Anyway, I hope you all have a good day!

Check your emails--I just sent you all a message!

Who is the leader of the future?

Group presentation

Hey, ladies in my group for the presentation (Erin, Nicole W., Kirsten), go read our google docs page and send me some feedback!! Thanks

hey

Hey ladies,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! I know I have not been keeping up with the blog there is a lot going on right now, my great-grandma is really sick and I haven't really been feeling like doing anything. She is like my second mother and I'm scared of losing her. =(

Sticky keys

Hey quick question, does anyone else find it difficult to type in the gmail email? I find it very annoying that when I am typing only everyother letter is coming on the screen? Any ideas why this is happeneing or how I can fix it? It doesnt happen anywhere else... thanks

Happy Thanksgiving Girls!!
Enjoy the weekend off!!

Happy turkey day hehe

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE :)

Get to know Google Docs better...

How was yesterday's lecture, Raquel?

Just Wanted To Say

Hey ladies,
Just wanted to wish everyone a good Thanksgiving! Hope everyone enjoys there few days off!

Another Video about your generation

And an article to go with it...

Trying my best

Hey ladies,

Knowing me I am probably going to forget something so ladies who were in class on Friday if I forgot something please feel free to add it. But, on Friday we discussed our observation in the beginning of class a little. Then we headed into the computer lab the professor handed back our papers and such and we looked over it. Then we went on the blog during class, people who didn't join twitter joined it and the teacher showed us a few links which are already on the blog on the left hand side. We also went on www.google.com and search google docs and sign up for that ladies its really good site and helpful. The from the readings we were giving a while back our professor broke us into groups and we summarized it and sent it out to everyone in their gmail accounts. Thats just a main summary of what we did. Like I said knowing me I most likely forgot something so hopefully one of the other ladies will add it ! Hope I was some what of a help!

Friday's class

Ok so I'm feeling a little bit lost and overwhelmed since I missed Friday's class. Prof.Tomich, I read the post for the summary that Caitlin, Rana and I are supposed to do but I'm still confused and have alot of questions to ask! Can someone fill me and the other girls in on what went on during Friday's class, please!?!?

Pedagogy Lecture---UPDATE

Ok Ladies.....

We have a room..... CAS 106
TUESDAY 3:30-5PM


HOPE YOU CAN COME

Definition

Pedagogy (IPA: /ˈpɛdəgɒdʒi/), or paedagogy is the art or science of being a teacher. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction.

Pedagogy is also sometimes referred to as the correct use of teaching strategies

SAVE THE DATE

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 25 3pm

PEDAGOGY LECTURE

GIVEN BY: DR. SHEPHERD

not sure on the room yet


PLEASE COME!

WILL BE VERY INTERESTING~

Teaching through Technology

http://tiny.cc/PTtpa

Ok so I found this as I was researching Inclusin Classroom and I thought it was a really helpful site. It actually halps you plan a lesson including tech and inclusion children...step by step.... hope you enjoy this link....

I figured it out!!!! yeah me!LOL

WOW, She's 2!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r43yCiKlbCo


sorry for the link... i need someone to show me how to put the video on the blog...


anyway, this video received both positive and negative responses, what do you think of a 2 year old knowing this much information? Is she really enjoying it or is she being forcefead information as one responder stated. Are all children capable of learning at earlier ages, and is teaching them at such an early age trully going to put them ahed of the game in the future? Im interested in knowing how you all feel.

Caitlin, Natasha & Rana's google doc summary

You three can collaborate on a summary of something other than the readings--that's the what the rest of the class is doing...what would you three like to summarize? Some suggestions are:

• NCLB
• The five biggest problems with K-8 education in New Jersey (& what to do about them...)
  
• The (curriculum) standards--national & state

Hopefully one of your classmates will step up to the plate soon to fill you in on details...

If there are any special instructions regarding the conference Friday Dec 5th, I'll post them here, so keep a look out.

Bumch of thoughts and questions

heeeeey ladies !!!

thank you professor Tomich :) can someone tell me and the other girls who weren't in class today what happened?


super duper quick question... are we supposed to summarize the wiki book readings?? because i've been receiving these Google email things with the sumeries.
can someone just let me know.. i have no clue how i missed that one..

professor Tomich. i had an idea this morning that i would've probably been in class while im at home through skype lol but i didn't know if u were going to check your email in the morning before class.

Class Summary

Will someone be kind enough to summarize what we did in class today for Caitlin, Natasha, Rana and Erin (Erin you missed some)...?

Thanks!

Dec 12

Please Bring all your papers on the 12. Have your presentation ready for that day as well.

Dont forget to do your introduction for your contextual factors paper.

More Great Resources

Create your own Puzzles

http://www.armoredpenguin.com/wordsearch/
My daughter showed me this yesterday and I thought it was really cool.

Iming Made easy!!!

http://www.meebo.com/


Check this out!!!!

Web site for Mr. Smith's class

Sorry guys, I have had some computer issues and never got a chance to comment on the web site for Mr. Smith. I truly think it is great and got some great ideas. When my son was in 5th grade, his school started a news paper. He wrote the sports section. It only lasted one year due to an issue the teacher doing it had, but it was great while it lasted. He felt a lot of pride in his writing when he saw it in black and white. This site has many great things to offer. It's definitely a keeper. Hope all is well and see you on Friday.

Change.gov

Have any of you had a chance to look at our president-elect's change.gov website?

I encourage you to look around to see how Mr. Obama and his team utilizes web 2.0 tools to communicate to the American people and the rest of the world.

Here's the link to plans for education

• What do you think about the plan to recruit teachers?

• How about this comment in the plan to prepare teachers?
  "Obama and Biden will also create Teacher Residency Programs that will supply 30,000 exceptionally well-prepared recruits to high-need schools."

Look at the blue box on the page...do you have any ideas that you'd like to suggest to the incoming administration? What are they?

Save the Date!

Hello ladies, I was given the heads up on a lecture that will be held at Kean by Professor Shepard,PhD. about becoming a better teacher through Pedagogy and experiential learning. It will be held on NOVEMBER 25 during college hour... I am still waiting for a location... I am helping to get the word out so I hope that some of you can attend. Prof. Shepard is very knowledgeable and interesting to both listen and talk to. Please let me know if you are interested in attending. I hope you all can make it... you to Prof. Tomich.

Friday 21 Nov Class

Please be sure to bring all of your field reports and reflections to class. (We'll go over writing mechanics.)

Look at the link regarding the NJCCS, and take a look around the standards...we'll have a short discussion about that, along with some of the reading you've done recently. You may want to skim through the reading assignments since it's been a while...

I'm going to try to arrange for at least an hour in the computer lab that day.

Any questions or comments?

Playing with my computer..

http://voicethread.com/share/258585/ I hope this works....

Smiths Class

The website for Smith's Class was a great idea. For starters it it user friendly, which makes it so easier to browse through different sections and choose activities that you want. I did a math activity as well as a social studies one. The math one was so much fun, I sat at my computer and just kept playing it. At the age of 20 I am having fun with a learning website, so I am sure that a younger child would have a lot of fun using this website. This is definitly something I would show to the girls I babysit for and to my future class. It incorporates learning as well as fun and games. The games were so informative and in a fun way. This definitly proves the theory that students learn better when it incorporates some type of fun because I learned from the website because it was fun!

Warning: DO NOT OPEN THE EMAIL I SENT TODAY

Natasha, I had to label your email address as spam! The IMVU avatar chat email I sent out is very aggressive--it grabbed all of my contacts and spammed out to everyone. I didn't even send it, I only opened it...don't open it--label it spam and delete it immediately.

Sorry about that; a former student sent it to me (well, not really, it grabbed my address out of her contact list) so I was curious thinking it might be another cool 2.0 tool...

Recent Joke that was sent my way...enjoy!

Former teachers (and those still ‘on the job’) will love this one. Although I never had a ‘Le-a’ in my classes, I had a myriad of other unpronounceable names; many still bring smiles to my face when I think of them. Enjoy-
How would you pronounce this child's name " Le-a" ???

Leah?? NO
Lee - A?? NOPE
Lay - a?? NO
Lei?? Guess again.


It's pronounced "Ledasha."
Oh yes … you read it right.This child attends a school in Livingston Parish, LA. Her mother is irate because everyone is getting her name wrong. So, if you see something come across your desk like this please remember to pronounce it correctly.When the mother was asked about the pronunciation of the name, she said "The dash don't be silent."

MORE GREAT RESOURCES

This is so easy and looks like fun

Would any of you like to try voice thread and share with us on Friday?

The New Media Literacies

Smith's Class!

I found this site to be so useful for children. I randomly clicked on Maps and Links and found the language and Brainpower section. English is my academic major so I instantly fell in love. The part that I love the most is that they have storybooks online. I honestly think this will make students love to read. They have an English Zone, which I think is very effective because it gives examples of incorrect sentences and the student’s job is to correct the sentence. There are so many games available that would actually make a student enjoy what they learn. I caught myself sitting here playing these games and was really into it. This website can definitely help a student achieve. It takes technology and learning to a whole different level and I will definitely recommend this to my own students one day.

one more question

i was talking to Anna and she told me that we have a 1/2 day at Harrison because of parent/teacher conference so we were wondering if we can attend the conferences? sorry i'm asking too many questions lol

the observations and conference

prof. Tomich...
on December 5th is the conference that i knew some girls from the class are attending including myself. so, i was wondering how am i supposed to do the observations and reflections?

Obama 2.0

Obama to pioneer Web outreach as president

Mr Smith's Class

I thought Mr Smith's 4th grade class website was so cool and such a brilliant idea!  It really gets the students involved and helps them be creative and have fun and learn at the same time.  I first clicked on the "Back to Taiwan" tab to see what that was all about.  It is a bunch of learning based projects that connects the students to the real world while sitting in  the classroom.  They actually get to communicate with kids from schools in other countries.  I saw one called "Kwazulu Natal Friends South Africa" which is very close to where I am from, but for some reason the page wouldn't open.  But the rest of the projects were very interesting and looked like a lot of fun.  I thought the newspaper "The Fourth Grade Times" which they write every week was very cool too.  The students write, edit and put together all the articles and then get to read their articles aloud.  I thought the whole website was really good and a great way to give the students fun way to learn!

From an older post:

"For the 21 Nov class I'll send out more reading assignments via email and we'll also talk about the differences and similarities in the classrooms and schools you've observed. We'll critique the reading assignments from this session and the session above." Since we never went over the original reading assignment--let's do that and review the standards--if you aren't going to do it here...

"For 12 Dec we'll sit for the group presentations." If you've started something already, fine BUT... Why don't you do something on Google Docs as your collaborative project? It'll give you practice, you can do it from home, and we can look at them in class...what do you think? This will make it so much easier for you and you'll learn a new tool at the same time. You can use PowerPoint, make a survey, spreadsheet or of course, collaborate on a word document...
"Hope this helps you feel more organized. It would be great for you to start reading and sharing thoughts about the selections."

By the way, this is our new College of Education dean, Dr. Susan Polirstok.

Mr. Smith’s class website was so fun to explore! The link that caught my eye is entitled monster project. It is the link located on the second line, fourth link in. This site is simple to navigate; all you have to do is scroll down the page to receive the description of what the project is. There are links to play with and videos to watch from all over the world. The main goal for this project is how to work together and learn from each other. In this, the students from many different classes pick a body part as a class and have to describe what it looks like. For example, Mr. Lee's Classes from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma described an arm as “length -1 meter blue with polka dots, colorful spikes around wrist, flag of country”. Once the children are done describing their body part, they post it on the website. Once all the parts are collected, the students create an online monster. The students are learning from using the internet, and from all of their subjects such as math and English. This assignment is a little hard to assess because it is all online; however, the teachers see if the students do the assignment and could assess them on how much they participated. This particular area interested me because it seemed like a lot of fun. Like Raquel said, students learn the best by having fun…what is a better way to learn than connecting with children from all around the world to build a monster!

Mr. Smith's class

Hello everyone :) it's good to be back on the blog after the tons of papers i had to write lol
so, Mr. smith's website was interesting... as soon as i opened it for some reason i looked at the math section. so i opened it, and i read through it and i really liked how he had everything so simple for guiding the children how to add, subtract , multiply and divide in one of the sections. i also liked how he gets the students to participate by posting their math problems online. i think that it such a great way to get the students involved and experience things on their own.

Smith Class

I really enjoyed going on Smith Class website the particular section that I enjoyed was the math section. They have four different things on their one section talked about creating and writing word problems and talks about how it’s challenging just as math. I thought this section was really interesting because I always found word problems when I was younger my weak point so this was great to read and see what the students do. I also enjoyed the perimeter section there was video showing what the students were doing and the activity they did outside the school. How Smith Class does math I found very fun. The students how to be involve and work together in order to solve the problems I found It a great way to learn math and practice team work.

More info on Twitter

This may help...

You've GOT to check out this website on Google Docs! Provided by another NJPLP colleague, Evelyn Cruz.

Mr. Smith's Site

It is my turn to open up to you everyone!

When I was a Junior in High School I found out that my mom had lung cancer. She fought really hard for two years, and was the strongest woman I know. My first day at CCM two years after she was diagnosed my mom died. Since that day I have used the symbol of a Butterfly to represent her. Ever since she passed I will randomly see a Monarch Butterfly flying past me or sitting on a flower, and when I do it reminds me of her.

On Mr. Smiths website, towards the bottom there is a link that says "Monarch Butterflies." This link brings you to a page where his class explains their exploration of turning catapillars into butterflies through the whole cycle. There are different pictures that show the children measuring the catapillars and playing with them as well as a video of the children letting a butterfly free.

This whole project is actually something that was created to unite North America. Children from all over the continent create paper butterflies and mail them to Mexico (where the real monarch butterflies go in the winter) and then in the Spring they recieve butterflies from Mexico. The children understand that the butterflies that go to Mexico in the Winter are not the same at the ones that come back in the Spring, and in return they recieve butterflies from students in Canada, Mexico, or a different state in The US.

I really thought that this project was cool. On Mr.Smiths Website there is a link that tells you how to get involved and explains the whole process. This is something that I am going to look into when I become a teacher and have my own class.

'Smithclass' site

I thought this site was really interesting and cool. I immediately went to click on the Australian project-Animalcasts because I'm a science major and it's the first thing that caught my eye. I thought it was really different how the students did this project. They were to research a particular animal, find out what continent it lives on and its location, what it eats and what sound it makes. Then, they were to voice record themselves talking about it and making their animal sound. So next to each one of their names was a click able voice recording of each of the students talking about their animal. I thought it was so innovative and creative. I'm sure they all went on the site and listened to all of their classmates recordings! So it's like a lesson in disguise. They had to research their own animal, which involved learning about it and then got to listen to each one of their classmates' animals also. I then clicked on another 'Animalcast' site. It was another class, Mrs. Lowe's students who also did a similar project but they did it in a 'Who am I?' format. Each student gave clues and animal sounds to guess what animal they were talking about. In both classes, it seemed like a really fun project. I'm going to look at this site a bit more and see what other interesting things they've done. Hopefully I can be this fun and creative when I teach!!

Let's discuss this...

Here are the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards. (Bookmark this site.)



"The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards were first adopted by the State Board of Education in 1996. The standards describe what students should know and be able to do upon completion of a thirteen-year public education."

As you look through this site, you will see what the student expectations are in each subject at each grade level. When you begin to write lesson plans, you are required to refer to these standards.

Take a look around and pose any questions you may have about these standards; by the end of your program (senior year), you will be expected to thoroughly understand them.

You may want to ask your cooperating teacher if you can take a look at her/his lesson plans...

Kevin Jarrett

So here's the link to Kevin Jarrett's Blog which will tell you more about Mr. Smith's Blog--and in addition, point you to more web/tech/teaching info than you'll be able to absorb from now to the end of this semester.

Mr. Smiths Class

This is so cool. I spent several HOURS playing on this site! Discovering new things and seeing how children really can use technology. Until now I didn't realize how a elementary school could use it but how cool is it to be able to learn in such a fun way. I bet they don't even realize they are learning. I navigated to something called Picasso Faces and this is what I was going to talk about originally but then discovered Movie and Story Maker. I made my own little scary movie on Kerpoof Studio. First I clicked on Maps and Links, then scrolled all the way down the page to the Imagination then clicked on Movie and Story Maker. The page opens right up and you have different choices. Make a picture, movie, card, drawing, or story. I truly believe students learn through fun and play (part of my philosophy of education). I think I believe this because that is how I learn. I am a very visual persona and love creating things. With this site children learn many different things such as creative writing. There is even a section that helps teachers link the site to state standard lessons. Go to the Kerpoof home page then click on FAQ's the click on the Education Standards question... then the link that's in the answer. Several states come up so I clicked on NY since its the closest to NJ. It shows how the site can be linked to lessons being taught in the classroom. I wish that this was around when I was a child. I would have loved going to school instead of being bored all day. OK off subject sorry. Students can also learn about Math using this site because stories can involve math problems. As for assessments the children can either print out their work for the teacher to evaluate or show the class their movies on a projector. With this site students can learn about genres, metaphors, similes, irony, etc. Students can use their imagination to learn how to be a better writer through making movies with a beginning, middle and an ending.
This site interested me because I truly believe people learn through play. Not just students but all people. I learned that the Internet is not just for paying bills and blogging for my sophomore field class but a real tool for learning. Love it!

Your Assignment

I'd like each of you to explore Mr. Smith's website; when you've found an area of particular interest, write about it here. Let us know:

1. How to navigate to it
2. What are the students learning?
3. How are the students learning?
4. Is there assessment involved? Explain.
5. Why did this particular area interest you?

Kevin Jarrett, in our NJPLP group, found a wonderful website of Mr. Smith's 4th grade class. He shared it with us as an example of 21st learning & teaching at a very high level. You will be intrigued by the many dimensions. Within the website is this slideshow. Take a look:

| View | Upload your own

Today's Class

http://www.kean.edu/~tpc/ post mark this link...

Hehnly Elementary School Visit

WOW!!! I am so late posting about my observation, and I apologize. Well at Henhly Elementary, I was so impressed about the parental involvement. Coming from an urban school myself, parents were never involved in little holiday parties like the parents in this school were. I was put in a fourth grade classroom with all mainstream students, which was very exciting for me coming from a second grade bilingual class in Harrison. The teacher was very nice to me and was very quiet at first, later on throught out the day she began to open up more and told me that it was her first year in fourth grade, she had taught third grade ever since she began teaching. I honestly can't wait until next week to go back and observe what a real day is actually like.

The Mock Election at Harrison!!!

Hey Ladies,

The teacher I observed at Harrison sent me pictures of the Mock Election and I wanted to share some of them with you!! The 1st picture is of the 3rd grade class I observed, the 2nd picture is of my father showing the children how to vote, and the 3rd picture is of Election coloring books being handed out to all the 3rd graders who voted.

i felt left out

so i felt left out when you girls took a whole class picture and i wasn't in it.. so i decided to be a little creative and add myself lol here's the product :)

New plans for our class session on December 5th

Hi Everyone. It will be good to see you all tomorrow. I wanted to send you some info on this conference

It takes place on the 5th and 6th of December, and is one of the best annual events here at Kean.

Take a look at Friday's break-out sessions and we'll talk about it tomorrow...

Oh--and we're having a guest speaker stop by with a short presentation towards the end of our class tomorrow. As usual, full agenda.

See you in the morning!

PS: This is a photo of Professor Ippolito--he's the coordinator of the elementary ed program

Harrison Visit

Hey guys!

sorry its taken me so long to post about my first day at Harrison-things have been a little crazy for me...I like Harrison so far, but I can't really say much about it because the students didnt really do much considering it was Halloween. I was placed in a 1st grade class, which was a lot different from Vally Road, where I was in a 5th grade class....the students in the 1st grade were so cute and so excited about Halloween! except for 5 students, everyone came dressed in costumes-we had a lot of princesses!-the students who were not dressed up went to the fall ball when the other students went out for the parade. the parade was cute and all the students were very excited to show off their costumes to the parents and each other. the class i was in were not allowed to have candy-one student gave out lolly pops, but the students had to put them straight into their backpacks. instead, the teacher gave out popcorn and gramcrackers...

I'm glad to hear that everyone likes their schools so far and can't wait to hear more about them on Friday!

Samples of Philosophy of Education

http://tinyurl.com/5dxpow I found this site while researching.....thought you guys might find it useful....or at the very least interesting!


My dear children: I rejoice to see you before me today, happy youth of a sunny and fortunate land. Bear in mind that the wonderful things that you learn in your schools are the work of many generations, produced by enthusiastic effort and infinite labour in every country of the world. All this is put into your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honour it, and add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to your children. Thus do we mortals achieve immortality in the permanent things which we create in common. If you always keep that in mind you will find meaning in life and work and acquire the right attitude towards other nations and ages. (Albert Einstein talking to a group of school children. 1934)

WHOOO!!! WHOO!!!

THIS IS HISTORY!!! OBAMA & BIDEN 2008!! I CANNOT CONVEY HOW HAPPY I AM! THIS IS AMAZING! THIS IS THE CHANGE WE NEED!!

YES WE DID!!! YES WE DID!!! YES WE DID!!!

=] =] =] =] = ] = ] =] =] = ] =]

October 31, 2008 - Hehnly School, Clark

My day at Hehnly was a bit different than Harrison. I can't comment much on teaching in the class since we really weren't involved in much teaching, but I liked the teacher. I was placed in first grade. The teacher is very organized and spoke very compassionately to the children. I would like to comment on how prepared the principal was. She had copies for each of us with what teacher we were going to be with, a lay out print of the school, and a copy of a paper which tells us what to expect and what we are responsible to be doing. Very organized. At Harrison we were able to pick our own grades, which I liked, but that was the only guidance the principal gave us.I forget who commented on the difference between the children in both schools, but I agree that the children at Harrison were definitely more affectionate. The class party was really nice. I am amazed how much candy and cookies they were allowed to bring in. My district has a list of about 4-5 items that we can bring in and candy and cookies are definitely not on the list. I was also surprised that they have 3 class moms. The room was some what crowded. I helped make picture frames for the class mom. The kids did have a lot of fun - it's great to see kids laugh and smile. It was a good day. Have a great week!

Harrison Elementary School

I really enjoyed my day at Harrison on Friday.  I was in a 1st grade class... the teacher was great amongst the craziness of Halloween and a birthday party in the class!  Everybody was dressed up in costumes except for 3 students that don't celebrate Halloween and as Laura (I think) mentioned they got to attend the Harvest Ball, which I think is an excellent idea for those who don't participate in Halloween to still have something to celebrate.  3 parents helped by bringing in snacks and the child whose birthday it was, her mom brought cupcakes and read the class a story.  Even though not much was done that day it was good to see good strategies to keep an over excited class under control!  At the end of the day the teacher asked me to read a couple Halloween books to the kids which was fun!  I'm looking foward to the next visit.

My cross country super star!!! 8am meet the day after Halloween! Ugg, I was tired! She didn't win a medal but did finish the coarse (without walking)... I am so proud of her!

(Bethany eating pringles for breakfast...bad parenting on my part!LOL...)

Alex- dead bride, Bethany- Cinderella, Mikey-monkey, and Sophia-banana.

Don't they all look great!

Hehnly School

My day at Hehnly School was interesting. I chose to observe the third grade class, which was a bilingual classroom. It was interesting to see how the teacher helped the students who didn't speak any English at all. That day we didn't really do much. They had an assembly, which a magician came and did magic tricks, but incorporated the topic of bullying into his presentation. After that, all the third graders were able to vote in a real voting booth for either Obama or McCain. Obama won, 58 votes for him and 5 for McCain. After that, my class went to a kindergarten class to read to the students. After that it was time for lunch, and then gym. Once gym was over it was time for the Halloween parade and then art class/Halloween party. So as you all can see, I was not able to get a good amount of learning from my day of observing. But overall, it was a fun day and it was nice to meet new students and a new teacher.

Henley Elementary School

Unlike some of the other girls I Loved Henley! I observed a fourth grade class. My teacher was so well organized. She has been teaching for over 10 years. She showed me her lesson plans and showed me how to do them. I think I learned more in the first 30 minutes of the day than all of my previous visits. I cant wait to go back.
The kids where not as affectionate as the children at Harrison but that might have something to do with their age. They were so well behaved, the teacher barely had to redirect them throughout the day. They went home around 11 for lunch to get changed for the Halloween festivities. Only 1 student was absent, not sure if it was because of the holiday or illness. When the children arrived back from lunch, they were dressed in very creative costumes. There were 3 room moms who helped throughout the afternoon. The children started the festivities with a parade that their parents observed. When they returned to the class the moms had a creative task for them to complete.(assembling a Halloween photo frame) After they played a game of guess the gross stuff in the box. They loved it. Then they were let loose on the snack table. There were cookies, fruit, veggies, fruit juices, water, chips, pretzels, and yes candy. The kids ate a little of all. I was surprised at the freedom they had with the sweets. Not like my children's school at all. (I hope I didn't get anyone in trouble, I know what the state policy is...) Overall I believe the children had a wonderful time.
The assembly also went well. It was about Halloween safety and bullying. Some of the children performed skits on some Halloween rules. I was not a long assembly but I think it got the point across.

Interesting...

Did you all check the email I sent? Any questions or comments on that? Are you excited about the election? Anymore thoughts or comments about it? Any predictions? How many of you registered & are voting for the first time? Anybody out there vote early? Nicole: How are plans for the classroom election? (Or did that happen already? I can't remember...)

1st day in Clark. Just expressing my opinion!

So, I just felt like expressing my thoughts on the blog about the comparison on both school districts. I'm assuming this is like my 1st journal for the Hehnly school but I wanted to share it. Well, I have to be straight forward and say that I definitely, do without a doubt, miss being at Harrison school. The atmosphere and the kids was more of what I like to see in a school. Nothing personal against Hehnly or Valley Road but I instantly knew that I loved being at Harrison. I wish I could do all of my field work there! One thing that bothered me was the fact that the teacher at Hehnly was an older woman, who really didn't have any control over the class and this made for a chaotic environment. She was a high school teacher for many years and has been teaching kindergarten for about 7 years. Another thing that I was cringing over the whole day, was the fact that her classrooms were so disorganized and messy! I couldn't bare to look at the piles and stacks of papers, books, and god knows what else all over her desk and tables. I couldn't even see the table or desk! That's how cluttered it all was. I was so used to my fresh faced, incredibly organized 1st grade teacher at Harrison who most definitely had her students under control and managed her classroom very well. I also noticed that the kids were much nicer to each other at Harrison. I mean, kids are kids and they're going to 'tattle tale' on each other here and there but at Hehnly, none of the kids shared and didn't played well with each other either. I was a bit disappointed but this is a learning experience and now I really see the difference between these two 2 school districts. It's funny because I thought my experience was going to be the other way around and that I would like Clark better. To my surprise, I found myself thinking of how my first graders at Harrison were doing on yesterday's gorgeous Halloween day.

Halloween in Clark!

Halloween in Hehnly/Valley Road was fun. The reason I mention both schools is because I was informed that morning, when I was assigned to be in the kindergarten (we didn't get to choose our grades like at Harrison) that the teacher has an A.M. kindergarten class at Hehnly and a P.M. kindergarten at Valley Road. I was a bit surprised when I found out but I made the best of it, even though it was a hassle to drive to Valley road when I expected to be at Hehnly all day! I got to see what the teacher goes through everyday, and it's definitely tough for her. Well, my Hehnly kindergarten was a group of 21, rambunctious students and I was informed that the fact that it was Halloween,wasn't the reason that they were acting up!! It wasn't a very productive day at all. They came into school in costume, were read a Halloween book on the carpet and then paraded around the school to the upper grade classrooms to show off their costumes. The kindergarten classes were the only ones who did this because the parade was at 1:15pm and they go home at 11am. They then had a party back in the classroom and gave out any treats and goodie bags that they might have brought from home. There was only one girl with a peanut allergy and she wasn't in school that day, so there was no precautions on the candy issue. All the students participated in the Halloween festivities and it was adorable to see all of them in costume. Valley road with the P.M. students was more laid back. There was only about 11 students in this kindergarten class and it was less chaotic. All of the kids were dressed up in costume and the afternoon was basically like the morning class but they got to participate in the school's parade. They got to parade around the playground for all the parents (which, might i add, was a lot of people with flashing cameras!!) and then stayed off to the side to watch the older kids in their costumes. After, they went back to the classroom for a party with cupcakes, chips and juice boxes. All the kids definitely had fun and so did I. Even the teacher got into the Halloween spirit and dressed up like an M&M made out of cardboard!

Holloween!!

Halloween at Harrison was fun! I was in a second grade class and it was so much fun! The teacher that I was with dressed up as little red riding hood and a lot of the kids were dressed up. 4 of the children who were in school that day did not celebrate halloween, so like laura explained they went to the gym. There were also 3 other children who didnt come to school because of it. It was not a very productive day, we played alot of games and colored. In the after noon we went to the parade and then after they had a party. Only three of the children brought things in, and there was one parent who stayed for the party, but it was only because her son did not want to go home yet. I had a pretty amazing day and I cant wait to go back!!

Halloween was fun!!

Harrison School on Halloween was so much fun! I had kindergarten and the children were so happy and excited! My teacher doesn't celebrate Halloween so what Harrison school does it all the children who celebrate Halloween goes out and walks in a parade. All the children who do not participate in Halloween go into the gym when they have the parade and the teachers who do not celebrate Halloween have a little party with those kids who don’t and dance to music and such they feel it isn’t right for those to not have fun like the others. For my class the parents really didn’t participate physically but each kid brought in either candy, fruit salad drinks and other goodies. It was a fun day! Also, in the morning there was a magic show! the kids seem to really enjoy it! Overall, I really had a great time!

How did it go?

Can't wait to hear about Halloween in the elementary schools!

Were the kids happy?

Where there many non-participants?

How did the teachers deal with the candy issue?

Did parents participate?

What was the assembly like? The parade?

Part of your assignment

Thought I'd post it here...

Agenda for Class 7 November

Time is flying, so I'd like to organize our last three class meetings. The last session (12/19) is canceled so I can meet with each of you individually during that last week.

Next meeting, 7th Nov:

• We'll review Contextual Factors: please be sure to bring a copy of the model paper I sent to you via email recently--I'll bring your papers w/ comments
  
• Please check your email--I've sent some instructions for reading that needs to be completed before we meet--I'll be asking for discussion leaders for this class on the topics read
  
• Since your visit tomorrow lands on Halloween, we can suspend your field report (next time you can do A & B--just send me a reflection for Halloween.
• Please also bring any field reports & reflections I've returned to you--I'll bring the rest of them.
  

For the 21 Nov class I'll send out more reading assignments via email and we'll also talk about the differences and similarities in the classrooms and schools you've observed. We'll critique the reading assignments from this session and the session above.

For 12 Dec we'll sit for the group presentations.

Hope this helps you feel more organized. It would be great for you to start reading and sharing thoughts about the selections.

Paper Due Date!!!

Hey ladies...I was just reading some of the posts from last week and noticed a mistake.... the DUE DATE for our philosophy paper is NOV 21 NOT Nov 24......

Seeing the world in two ways

Hello Ladies, I haven't written a blog in a while so I decided to do one now. I just wanted to wish everyone a safe and fun Halloween! Also, have a good time at your first day at your new school. Oh, yeah this is another favorite pic that i found. From reading the blogs it sounds like your presentation last Friday went great!! So yeah just was just a simple post and oh yeah if you can't tell I am into the pictures that contrast and bring out certain objects in color lol

back to the drawing board!

After reading most of your papers I thought it would be a good idea to give you a chance to rewrite them...you know me, I'm not thinking about your grade...it's important to me that you gather your information and analyze how to use the information you've got.

The collecting part is easy (although some of you didn't even do that). The analyzing (implications/assessment tools) was not as sharp as it could be. The good news is, you're getting another chance. The bad news is, you probably should write your paper over.

I've sent you an email with another model--so check it out.

As always, feedback welcome.

short film..watch it!!

I found this video on youtube that I saw in one of my world literature classes a couple of semesters back and I was really excited that I found it again. I really really loved it so i wanted to share it with everyone. You might think its a bit creepy at first but really watch it! It's sort of sad but its amazing how a silent short film can move you and have so much meaning. I couldn't paste it right onto the blog but here's the link..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8aFxk0aUuU&feature=related

Please read !! This picture is a reflection of my views BUT that is not what I wrote about. Do Not let the picture stop you from reading!!

OKK!!!! So automatically even without my name being under this post, you know who I am. Why? Because I've posted 3 posts about voting. Election day is a week away. That's it!! I know you all are already registered to vote which is GREAT, but now the next and MOST important step is to get out to the polls next Tuesday and VOTE!!! Again, I don't care who you want to vote for, just vote. I know it might not seem important now but we need to think about the future. If we do not make a change now, think of how the U.S.will affect all of us when we get older. We are the future leaders of America. We can make history.

New discussion question(Going out on a Limb Here): America is identified as a Democracy. What defines a Democracy to you the individual and does America fit in to your definition of a democracy?

It must be the history teacher in me. I hope people respond.

-Caitlin

Hey Guys!!

I'm not sure if you heard about this or not but I just talked to my aunt and she informed me that the chocolate candy that is wrapped in the GOLD FOIL has some type of chemical in it that can make children very sick....there is a brand name, but its escaping me at the moment......I'm not sure if you or your parents buy this candy for Halloween or not, but also, keep an eye out for this candy at the schools on Friday.....I'm going to try to call my aunt tonight for the brand name...just wanted to let you all know

Hope everyone has a great visit on Friday and have a safe Halloween weekend!

Burrrrr!

I would just like to start off by saying that I do not approve of this sudden cold weather!! I am NOT ready for this!

I really liked Kirsten's presentation on Friday. I never knew exactly what a wiki was and the information that she gave to us was very interesting. I liked how she used to different form of technology in her presentation as well.

Here are some of the examples of my bulletin boards that you can take a better look at. I know there was a glare in the classroom. Here are some really good suggestions for bulletin boards! There are ideas for all the months and differnt themes as well.

Have fun on Friday at your schools!! Good Luck!! And have a save and Happy Halloween Weekend!!

Friday's Visit

Here's the scoop on your Halloween visits: For the urban school (like Caitlin said...) you can come dressed up if you like--as a fairy tale or storybook character--just no weapons of any kind. There will be an assembly during the morning, and a parade during the afternoon. The principal will not be in in the morning, so assignments will be left at the front desk for you...I wouldn't be too upset if you didn't get a real assignment on Halloween--just go with it.

Suburban school visitors: I met with the principal this morning; she's looking forward to meeting you (it is on Raritan Road...mapquest it). They will have a parade in the afternoon, so if you'd like to bring something to change into, she said you're welcome to do that.

Remember to do a dry run, park on the street, brown bag it for the first day, and...everything else you already know from our discussions. Please let me know if you have any questions...

It's a little weird that your first visit lands on Halloween, but that's the way it worked out, and I know you'll make the most of it!