Last August I got married and changed blogs! I'll now be sharing my "words of life" through a joint blog with my husband. So if you want to keep up with me from now on I'll be blogging at: http://seanmisty.blogspot.com/
Grace and peace, Misty
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Monday, July 06, 2009
My Classroom in the Year 2020
Blog Post #3: Describe what your classroom will be like in the year 2020.
It is difficult and, let's face it, impossible to know what the future holds. I would have never guessed that when I was staring high school in the year 2000, that 10 years from now, almost everyone I know would be on a social networking site and that email would be a primary form of communication in my life and education. That was less than 10 years ago, so who knows what the technological world will be like in another 10 years. So here's what I think might happen in my classroom in the year 2020:
When I walk into my 3rd grade classroom, I see all the kids' cubbies along the wall and sitting on top of that area is another small shelving unit that holds a personal laptop for each student with their names and numbers assigned. From the beginning of the school year, as part of the classroom routine, we practiced retrieving, handling, returning, and charging the battery on the laptops. We also routinely do interactive math lessons using the laptops while I give a presentation and instructions on a SMARTboard. Students still get excited to come up to the screen to move the images and share their thinking. In the area of language arts, as writing assignments start to be written with the keyboard instead of a pencil, I find myself having discussions with the class about why it is still important to learn how to write "the old-fashioned way." In order to keep this practice alive the students having writing journals in their desks that they write in every day.
Most days I still feel like my students know more about how to use the laptops than I do. They come across technological glitches and problems and learn to figure them out themselves and then share this knowledge with their classmates. It also helps that a Technology Teacher comes into the classroom once a week to give a lesson on features of the computer to help students problem-solve as well as introuducing different applications and tools they can use to make new creations. They learn to apply and use these for the class projects they are assinged which require the creation of powerpoint-like presentations, digital videos, and podcasts. My students also love to enjoy interacting with each other via KidChat and other online friends on the internet during free choice time. The school has been able to create a safe-online network for students to have video calls with a school in South America.
I often look around the classroom and look at the students with ear-buds in their ears and eyes fastened to the screens in front of them and wonder if this change in the look of my classroom is good or harmful. Then I remember that it is up to me as their teacher to find new ways to incorporate the personal computer as a tool for collaboration and interaction.
It is difficult and, let's face it, impossible to know what the future holds. I would have never guessed that when I was staring high school in the year 2000, that 10 years from now, almost everyone I know would be on a social networking site and that email would be a primary form of communication in my life and education. That was less than 10 years ago, so who knows what the technological world will be like in another 10 years. So here's what I think might happen in my classroom in the year 2020:
When I walk into my 3rd grade classroom, I see all the kids' cubbies along the wall and sitting on top of that area is another small shelving unit that holds a personal laptop for each student with their names and numbers assigned. From the beginning of the school year, as part of the classroom routine, we practiced retrieving, handling, returning, and charging the battery on the laptops. We also routinely do interactive math lessons using the laptops while I give a presentation and instructions on a SMARTboard. Students still get excited to come up to the screen to move the images and share their thinking. In the area of language arts, as writing assignments start to be written with the keyboard instead of a pencil, I find myself having discussions with the class about why it is still important to learn how to write "the old-fashioned way." In order to keep this practice alive the students having writing journals in their desks that they write in every day.
Most days I still feel like my students know more about how to use the laptops than I do. They come across technological glitches and problems and learn to figure them out themselves and then share this knowledge with their classmates. It also helps that a Technology Teacher comes into the classroom once a week to give a lesson on features of the computer to help students problem-solve as well as introuducing different applications and tools they can use to make new creations. They learn to apply and use these for the class projects they are assinged which require the creation of powerpoint-like presentations, digital videos, and podcasts. My students also love to enjoy interacting with each other via KidChat and other online friends on the internet during free choice time. The school has been able to create a safe-online network for students to have video calls with a school in South America.
I often look around the classroom and look at the students with ear-buds in their ears and eyes fastened to the screens in front of them and wonder if this change in the look of my classroom is good or harmful. Then I remember that it is up to me as their teacher to find new ways to incorporate the personal computer as a tool for collaboration and interaction.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
My Digital Story Script: First Draft
Here is a podcast of the first draft of the script for my digital story. It is a little long, so guess I'll have some editing and cutting out to do. I also had some technical difficulties and made the file with the audio 3 times in a row. So it is not actually 18 minutes. The whole thing is only about 6 minutes. Oh well, it is a start.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
EDS 204 Blog Response #1
I have a few more courses to finish up my Education Studies teaching program this summer. EDS204 is focused on learning and using technology as a teacher. Part of the class is writing blog posts about various topics, so here's one of them:
Blog Response #1: Tell us about a classroom event this year that had an impact on your professional growth and/or vision this year.
Blog Response #1: Tell us about a classroom event this year that had an impact on your professional growth and/or vision this year.
In my last student teaching placement in a 1st grade classroom, I was working on growing in the area of classroom management. In particular I was uncomfortable with giving specific and positive reinforcement of good student behavior as well as enforcing the consequence of "signing the book" for student misbehavior. Eventually, I did start getting used to being constantly vigilant and verbal about specific student behavior. I tried to be fair and consistent with all students. However, one day I ended up having some students "sign the book" who usually have good behavior, but I felt needed that consequence after I had already set expectations about what they were to be doing. The next day, my CT ended up pulling me aside because she had heard from parents that some of their kids came home upset and crying the other day because I had them sign the book. My CT clarified that the book was to be used only after trying positive reinforcement and making sure students were give a direct verbal warning/reminder first.
Yikes! I had not idea that these students were so upset by having to sign the behavior book. To me "signing the book" was a way for me to show that I was firm and fair with my behavior expectations, but for some of the students it was no small thing. After that experience I was definitely more afraid, but also more careful and thoughtful about how I give out consequences and how that impacts students. The ironic thing about the experience is that before that incidence I had sent a few students to sign the book before, but these students took it in stride because they were used to having to sign the book and it was not as much of a shock as it was for the others. Overall, in terms of professional development, getting some parent feedback about students response to behavior consequences forced me to question whether or not I was being fair to students and realize that those consequences in the classroom may be having an impact I do not see at school. I have learned to be more thoughtful in how I do behavior consequences and the lasting impact of what I say to students.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Quetico Canoe Trip: Aug. 5 - Aug. 14
Day 1: This is the whole group just before setting out on our 10 day journey in the wilderness of Quetico Park in Canada.
Day 2: Blueberries!!! Just as the rain clouds were coming we landed on Blueberry Island, unloaded the canoes, and huddled under the tarp. There were tons of blueberries and they were delicious. It was a blueberry filled birthday for me :)
Day 3: This is what lunch times generally looked like: bags, twisties, shaker bottles, and a food fest. We survived til dinner ongorp, velveeta, beef jerkey, crackers, dried fruit, PB&J and Ritz, Bakers chocolate, and hard candies. Yum yum.
Day 4: Morning fog over the lake by the campsite.
Day 5: Had to push the canoe over a small beaver dam.
Day 6: Paddling through a stretch of water lilies. Beautiful.
Day 7: Took a day trip to check out some of the waterfalls.
Day 8: Pretty chill day of paddling. We found our campsite early in the day. Our canoes were flipped over once we got into our campsite for lunch.
Day 9: A beautiful sunset to end a challenging day. We finished our last portage of the trip, checked-in at the ranger's station before leaving Canada, paddled through some rain and rocky waters, then crashed once we set up camp in the U.S.
Day 10: A sunny last day of paddling in the Boundary Waters.
We made it!!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Preacher Preference
For anyone who has spent a long enough time in school, one comes to realize that a teacher can make or break your opinion of a class. Sometimes you can take a class on a subject you are really interested in, but if the teacher stinks, it can ruin the experience. Also, even if you do not particularly like a subject, you can still enjoy a particular class on it because the way the teacher presents the material. Furthermore, a good teacher can even change your mind about the subject that you may have not understood or appreciated before.
I realized this is also true from the church's perspective. The preacher, pastor, pope, or whatever you want to call him or her is essentially a teacher. Many people end up judging religion based on their experience in church which is highly shaped by the manner of the preacher/teacher. Just like teachers can ruin classes for students, I think preaching styles can also potentially ruin a person's experience with the church and thus with Christianity. Especially if that person has no other experience with other preaching styles, they will likely think that all churches are taught in that same manner and in the same setting.
Did you know that some churches have choirs that wear robes and the church sings traditional hymns, but that other church communities have people dance to hip hop and do spoken word in the name of Jesus? Some teachers of the Word read directly from the scripture, some speak very formally, some speak very casually, some will make jokes, some are very animated and loud, some are very mild-mannered, some wear a suit and tie, some wear t-shirt and jeans, some wear dresses, some wear robes, some will sound like they are talking to you, some will sound like they are yelling at you, some give examples in their own life of how the Word is true, and some let the scripture speak for itself. Thank God that not all churches are taught in the same style! I wish more people knew that the gospel can be presented in more than one way, in more than one setting, in more than one culture, by more than one type of teacher.
We all pick out our own favorite teachers because different teaching styles appeal to different people. In the same way, I think someone should experience church in a teaching style that appeals to them and in a setting that makes them comfortable. It is important to learn to appreciate different ways of "doing" church even if it may not be your style or culture. As long as the truth of Jesus Christ is represented, there is no right way to teach the Word or to worship our Lord. Figure out your own preacher preference so that you can ENJOY learning about your faith in a church setting!
I realized this is also true from the church's perspective. The preacher, pastor, pope, or whatever you want to call him or her is essentially a teacher. Many people end up judging religion based on their experience in church which is highly shaped by the manner of the preacher/teacher. Just like teachers can ruin classes for students, I think preaching styles can also potentially ruin a person's experience with the church and thus with Christianity. Especially if that person has no other experience with other preaching styles, they will likely think that all churches are taught in that same manner and in the same setting.
Did you know that some churches have choirs that wear robes and the church sings traditional hymns, but that other church communities have people dance to hip hop and do spoken word in the name of Jesus? Some teachers of the Word read directly from the scripture, some speak very formally, some speak very casually, some will make jokes, some are very animated and loud, some are very mild-mannered, some wear a suit and tie, some wear t-shirt and jeans, some wear dresses, some wear robes, some will sound like they are talking to you, some will sound like they are yelling at you, some give examples in their own life of how the Word is true, and some let the scripture speak for itself. Thank God that not all churches are taught in the same style! I wish more people knew that the gospel can be presented in more than one way, in more than one setting, in more than one culture, by more than one type of teacher.
We all pick out our own favorite teachers because different teaching styles appeal to different people. In the same way, I think someone should experience church in a teaching style that appeals to them and in a setting that makes them comfortable. It is important to learn to appreciate different ways of "doing" church even if it may not be your style or culture. As long as the truth of Jesus Christ is represented, there is no right way to teach the Word or to worship our Lord. Figure out your own preacher preference so that you can ENJOY learning about your faith in a church setting!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Words on Hope
"Ultimately our gift to the world around us is hope. Not blind hope that pretends everything is fine and refuses to acknowledge how things are. But the kind of hope that comes from staring pain and suffering right in the eyes and refusing to believe that this is all there is. It is what we all need - hope that comes not from going around suffering but from going through it."
pg. 170 Velvet Elvis. Rob Bell.
Hope that stares pain and suffering right in the eyes... that statement really gets me... it makes me long to have that sort of audacious hope in the face of a suffering world.
If you like good quotes and going "hmm" when you read, I highly recommend Velvet Elvis. While reading this book I stopped on nearly every page multiple times to write a quote down in my journal or just process what Bell talks about, but also the way he talks about things. If you want to know what it is about, I guess I would say it is about repainting the Christian faith. It is a fresh perspective, but is rooted in what God, Jesus, and Christianity has been about all along.
pg. 170 Velvet Elvis. Rob Bell.
Hope that stares pain and suffering right in the eyes... that statement really gets me... it makes me long to have that sort of audacious hope in the face of a suffering world.
If you like good quotes and going "hmm" when you read, I highly recommend Velvet Elvis. While reading this book I stopped on nearly every page multiple times to write a quote down in my journal or just process what Bell talks about, but also the way he talks about things. If you want to know what it is about, I guess I would say it is about repainting the Christian faith. It is a fresh perspective, but is rooted in what God, Jesus, and Christianity has been about all along.
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