Brody, Max, Mike Follow up comments

I like the Parent-Shared Vision Letter but I also have some concerns about it too. I feel it is important that students have all the information they need and are involved but my concern is giving parents a say in how you run your classroom may open up doors for disaster if your teaching philosophy does not match how they think your classroom should be run. Also, another concern that really came up more in the presentation discussion rather than here is that overbearing parents can be a burden or a difficult challenge but I think the challenge is finding a balance between how you want to run your classroom and ensuring that parents have say in t heir own child's education and if this means that the parent is overbearing I don't think it's the teachers position to "put them in their place" UNLESS it deals with the way they run their classroom.

Brody, Max and Mike Classroom Management Presentation

I had scenario one in Brody, Max and Mike's presentation project. Mr. Ford's office consisted of a table, his laptop and the window. The classroom was in the library. They used the wall as the
"board" and they made good use of the windows in the study rooms where the parents was standing outside. The characters were Mr. Ford and Mr. Haney (Max's father). Mr. Ford has received an angry email from Mr. Haney who says that his son is one of the smartest students he will ever meet but is getting angry that Mr. Ford won't respond back to him. Mr. Ford is in class the next day teaching a lesson when Mr. Haney comes in to interrupt and cause a scene regarding Mr. Ford's lack of responding to the situation. Mr. Ford could suggest that Mr. Haney come back at another time or that he wait until class is over for them to have a discussion about Max's performance. It would be wise and important for the other students concentration and safety to remove Mr. Haney from the situation and explain the importance of him leaving and returning later. To prevent these problems Mr. Ford could have responded to Mr. Haney's voicemail or email initially and that would have probably prevented Mr. Haney from showing up. I would have favored a more proactive situation because that makes the teacher look stronger and like a better teacher for responding to the parents concern right off.

Fires then and now

When I first wrote this blogs I had a stern belief that students should just follow the rules and do what is expected of them without having to be asked again. I believe in strict rules and classroom reinforcement tactics. From the beginning this has remained mostly the same. The degree in which I felt this way has decreased but not significantly. It is for these reasons that schools have changed so drastically that has made me really doubt and question my choice to become a teacher because we are teaching in the 21^st century, a lifestyle that does not compliment my teaching philosophy. My thoughts over practicum have changed from the beginning but they haven’t changed too drastically. I see the importance of why we need to keep students engaged and try and make them want to learn but I still revert back to my initial thoughts that students should be motivated to go to school and do the work (maybe not the work part). I think the major way that my thoughts have changed from before reading to fires to now is that now I have a better understanding that schools are not the way they were before. With that being said, that means as teachers we have to try even harder to get students engaged and to care about the content area.

Room Arrangement 1 and 2

The first room arrangement fits the first good key classroom arrangement tip because it allows the students to have constant access to the wall where the teacher projects his computer screen and uses the projector as his own blackboard. This classroom arrangement works well because it allows for people to walk around and get to the teachers desk easily. It also does allow for space in the front of the room but it limits the amount of space between the rows and the back of the room is very tight and hard to maneuver through. Students are able to easily see the teacher when he stands in the front of the room but when he is standing in the back of the room using his laptop to project they are unable to see him. This may be a negative thing but it may not. It allows the students to stay focused on what is being shown to them but they can’t see the actual instructor without having to turn around. This classroom arrangement allows for storage of additional materials that student would need to use but they are stored in a closet out of the way and not causing a lot of clutter to the classroom. Also, additional resources are on the front table and that is a cluttered area but mostly used just to store students work and projects. As with the first and second tips this one too allows for students to be able to get a good view of presentations because all the students are facing the front of the room and it would be obvious for the teacher to be able to determine if the students in the audience were not focused on the presentation. Overall, this classroom arrangement seems very proficient and reasonable. 

This alternative classroom arrangement partly agrees with the teaching style of the classroom teacher but it also does not work well. It works well with group activities and allows students to see each other and in that class their is a lot of interaction between the peers, however it does not allow the student in some areas (like the row of desks facing in the circle) to see the projector. This room arrangement does allow for students to move around easily for the most part, the only difficulty is the area between the student desk and the storage. That area does not leave much room to walk behind those students without tripping over their bags or belongings and there isn't any room next to their chairs to put their stuff. Teacher is easily accessible and seen from almost all the students except those in the middle (and maybe a few of them near the teachers desk) because it has those students with their backs away from him or the students in the middle facing the front of the classroom. This structure is the same as the first one in terms of storage and it works well for the classroom because all the materials are out of the way and not adding any more clutter to the classroom. It works well for presentations for all the students except the row of desks that are facing in towards the middle of the classroom because they can't even see the wall where the screen is being projected. 

Maine Memory Network

   I would use the Maine Memory Network in my classroom to help students get a better location or historical aspect of maybe a character's placement. I could even have my students working on a project relevant to their location or their current residency and have it be a tool or activity that prompts later feedback on the students surroundings. I may be able to use the historical aspect of Maine in some way to connect it to a metaphorical situation where students use it to reflect on how the history influences who they are and the choices they make. Maine Memory Network would be a good resource to allow my students to see what other schools in Maine are doing. I can also teach my students to use it as a resource to share what we are doing as a school and focus on getting their idea's out their. In this particular instance I could focus on professional writing and the importance of correct grammar and sentence structure if others will be reading my students work.

My Contributions to the WebQuest Wikis

Introduction- Judgement  

Take Me On Vacation 

In this WebQuest students will have to chose a location for their family vacation, either New York City, NY, San Diego, CA or Orlando, FL based on parameters such as cost for airfare, hotels, car rentals, etc. They have to do research to come up with the cheapest means of travel. This is a great example of judgment because it allows the students to act as if they are responsible for planning their own trip and have serious real life situations to consider.

WebQuest Components- Conclusion 

A Seperate Peace: A Teenager Experiences World War II This WebQuest was an example of a good conclusion because it briefly explained what the students had to do and praises them for their accomplishments without being too preachy.

Intro analytical 

8. Frankenstein 2018  

This WebQuest is analytical because it discusses Mary Shelley's images of the monster and the     creator and the essential aspects of the pictures that illustrate that. It asks the student to think on a deeper level and it doesn't include any part of the task (so it doesn't spoil what is expected of        them.) The intro is all about analyzing Shelley's characters.

"How to help someone use a computer"

    I really learned how important it is for computer experts and really any expert in a field to be patience, calm and sensitive to new learners because it will help them relate to the learner more and the learner may open up more and explain the difficulties they are having rather then just "shut down."


"Beginners face a language problem: they can't ask questions because they don't know what the words mean, they can't know what the words mean until they can successfully use the system, and they can't successfully use the system because they can't ask questions" (http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/how-to-help.html)

This quote really jumped out at me because it's true, it's really hard to explain what's wrong with the technology if you don't know what any of the terminology means. It's really frustrating for the user and the expert, plus it causes a lot of discouragement.

   An important rule to follow that I connected with the most was the one where it said "show me how you did that." I was like wow that's me! I like to show people what I did because as I mentioned my lack of understanding of the machinery limits my explanation. However, in the past most people are like "ok mmhmm alright" and then take over and try and fix it. They never show me HOW or what their doing and it's annoying because I would've liked to show them what I did just in case I missed a crucial point. It was really helpful to know that I wasn't the only one who felt that way.

   I really feel like this comes in handy when thinking about how I will be teaching the class about "our" technology because I will know to go slow and not to just speak in acronyms but rather to explain the terminology that I may be using and to be very patient with people's various levels of understanding. Reflecting back on how I learn before doing this project seems like the most helpful thing a teacher could do because it will really help the students produce a better presentation.

How to help someone use a computer
(http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/how-to-help.html)