Peer Coaching

Hello Team I am available on Monday the 2nd of March or Wednesday the 4th.  Happy holidays to you all.

Rebecca

I learned about blogging, and re-learned things about ThinkFinity — which looks really neat now.  My biggest thing is getting organized enough that I can put a lot of this to use in my lab — kind of a trial run before I try it out on my collaborating teacher!

  For 2 years I have been wanting to set up blogs for students in my advanced French classes.  SInce I teach more than 1 level at a time :  3 dfferent levels this year – it is hard to meet all students’ needs.  I would like to see kids writing more but I lack time to correct their work.  The blog has 2 distinct “convenients”  – or advantages :  The students will write without being graded, which could be a motivating factor, and 2, they will be readin other students’ writing, so they can learn more words and figure out different structures.  My plan is to give them weekly assignments, starting with simple topics on what’s going on at school, and moving to broader topics : politics, culture, whatever.  I want to encourage them to come up with topics, in the hopes that being interested will motivate them.  

Thus, learning how to set up a blog is  a major learning coup today!!!  But also high on my list was revisiting thinkfinity.  They need more world language materials, but I found some good stuff for “Animal Farm”, and I will remember it when I do other literature in English. 

Today I learned about blogging.  This is good because I’ve wondered what all the fuss is about.  I am curious to see what will happen when I invite my students to participate.  I think maybe we’ll start by using this to respond to a daily journal topic.  I do; however, wonder if the are certain rules of etiquette that apply, or is this a free-for-all?  After reading some blogs before the election, I saw that some people use this medium to come off sounding like an expert or something.  I wouldn’t want that.

We shared ways in which we are using technology. I shared about how I am using smartboard technology in my classroom instruction. I gave examples of how I am using the senteo response units, wireless airliners and the smartboard themselves.

I have learned more about thinkfinity. I found a Spanish cultural lesson that has students learn about the origins of the different dances (salsa, merengue, rumba etc) study the history and give a report/demonstration of the dance. I plan on using this lesson to meet the requirments for national board certification.

We learned about blogs, set up an account and practice posting a blog on this website.

I learned more about Thinkinfinity. I learned more about Delicious, I learned about another classroom performance system and the portable boards (like the interwrite) that work with smartboards.  I opened my united streaming account and my blog account at Edublogs.

http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=EM647&page=teacher

The above site is a good one for getting students to look at advertising and being an educated consumer.

http://freerice.com is also a great site to use with the students to work on their vocabulary, grammar, basic math, and geography.

EALR 1 – Integration
Students use technology within all content areas to collaborate, communicate, generate innovative ideas, investigate and solve problems.

Components
1.1: Innovate: Demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
1.2: Collaborate: Use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively to support individual learning, and contribute to the learning of others.
1.3: Investigate and Think Critically: Research, manage, and evaluate information, and solve problems using digital tools and resources.

EALR 2 – Digital Citizenship
Students demonstrate a clear understanding of technology systems and operations and practice safe, legal, and ethical behavior.

Components
2.1: Practice Safety: Demonstrate safe, legal, and ethical behavior in the use of information and technology.
2.2: Operate Systems: Understand technology systems and use hardware and networks to support learning.
2.3: Select and Use Applications: Use productivity tools and common applications effectively and constructively.
2.4: Adapt to Change (Technology Fluency): Transfer current knowledge to new and emerging technologies. [Grades 6-12 only]

http://www.k12.wa.us/EdTech/techstandards.aspx

This was fun.  I enjoyed googledocs and edublog the most.  I am going to use these in class and with my colleagues.  check out my empty blog at mtelstad.edublogs.org

I am in! Eduublog, once you are in, could be useful in a classroom situation if you were using Literature Circles and you wanted students to respond to each other and at home.

As for Peer Coaching, my fellow colleagues and myself have discovered a great new site for grading. It is free (for the first year) and has great resources, is web based so it can be accessed anywhere, and student names only need to be inserted once, at the beginning of the year.

Another great resource is Scholastic teacher where titles of books are leveled by either Fontis and Pinnel, DRA or grade level. Very useful site.

m