Educational Philosophy

In creating a movie that outlines my educational philosophy I was able to identify what is important too the education of my students . I took this philosophy and paired it with pictures of student work that I thought exemplified their accomplishments. Using MovieMaker I developed an audio/visual representation of my thoughts. Please read my Philosophy Statement below or watch the video at this link.

Philosophy Statement:
It is my philosophy that the classroom is not only a place to study the content area being taught, but an environment in which students are free to explore their individual capabilities and interests. As a high school Spanish teacher it is my job to help my students become active learners as we explore the distinct cultures and vocabulary of Spanish speaking regions. Students must be encouraged to, and supported in, taking risks, making mistakes, and learning from their errors. Laughter and a sense of comfort are key components to student achievement and success. If teachers are successful at building a trusting relationship with their students, there is no end to what can be accomplished together. Each student must be an equal participant and actively work to broaden their world view and communication abilities.

Article Assesment 3- Tools for the Mind

Overview:

“Tools for the Mind” is about the shift away from technology use in the classroom as NCLB continues to dominate the educational front. However, rather than focus her energies on complaining about this change, Mary Burns, explains how this might be beneficial to school in the long-term as teachers have not been using technology to support higher levels of learning. She suggests that as teachers we need to not concentrate our efforts on using word processors and power point programs for presentation but to increase the understanding of our students and improve the way they evaluate information and consider new information.

Reference Points:

1) NCLB has taken priority relegating technology in the classroom to the back burner.
2) Burns thinks this movement might be beneficial in the long-run as it will give us the time to re-think how we use technology in the classroom.
3) Eureka moments using technology are not common enough as most teachers use computers as a way to present information not gain a better understanding.
4) Not all programs are instructionally equal.
5) If we want to reach the higher cognitive levels with our students we must look at technology differently.
6) The internet is not just a digital textbook and students must be taught how to evaluate information for validity.
7) The majority of teachers use technology (81%) for electronic presentations while only a few (6%) use spreadsheets.
8) Spreadsheet use, databases, and collaboration in content areas over the internet are some ways we can increase student understanding.
9) One reason that teachers have not done this is because long-term professional development programs have not been implemented in many districts to train teachers how to integrate these tools into their curriculum.
10) Teachers need to expand the ways they use technology in their classroom.

Reflection:

I think that Mary Burns makes some important points in her article. It is easy as a teacher to write-off technology because I don’t feel as though I understand it well enough to teach it. However, students do understand how to use many of these tools and if given the chance they can use interesting programs to find the deeper meaning behind numerous subjects. The long-term professional development programs she discusses could be very beneficial in this way.

It seems to me that the majority of teachers do not have enough spare time during their day to find ways to incorporate new technologies into their current curriculum. To make a real impact in this area, teachers need to be shown what it can do. As a first year teacher this year, the task seems daunting. However, as I progress through my career I will be able to build on what I already have set in place and use more of these tools in my classroom.

Energy Conservation Project Video Presentation

It was interesting to have to video tape myself giving a presentation of my Energy Conservation Project. What I found is that my apartment really would need better lighting if I were to teach there on a regular basis. I also decided that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. On a more serious note, however, here is a list of my strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:

• I stay on topic most of the time.
• I maintain a casual atmosphere while giving important information
• I address the topic in a logical manner
• My voice is loud enough and my words are easily understandable

Weaknesses:

• I think that I move my feet too much while presenting
• Some of my hand gestures are overkill
• My voice kind of shakes due to nerves
• I presented something that didn’t correspond with one of the slides by mistake
• I turn around to look at the slide behind me too often

In general, I think that my presentation was okay. In the future, I should have note cards when presenting information for three reasons. 1) It might cut down on the hand movement. 2) This strategy would make it more likely that I don’t present the wrong information on the wrong slide. 3) I won’t have to turn around to look at the information I am presenting anymore. It might also help with nerves but in reality, I am not nervous in front of my class. A video camera is a different situation though.

Other notes: I should invest in a better digital camera so that I could have done this in one recording rather than three. If you would like to see my presentation the links are below.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Warm-up Activity Paper Consumption

• The results of my energy conservation project, Warm-up Activity Paper Consumption in the Annette Island School District, were incredibly surprising. What I learned through this activity is that my class can make a significant impact on the amount of paper we as a district are using if I provide previously used paper for the assignment. However, the surprising fact is that if all the teachers that start their classes with a warm-up activity adopt this strategy, over the course of a year we could save 59,584 sheets of paper. This is of course assuming the kids will use the previously used paper provided by the teacher. It is ridiculous but my kids, the same ones who complained about my destroying the environment with the assignment, are now often too lazy to stand up and grab a sheet of paper.
  
• The other interesting facts I discovered in completing this project are that most of the trees used to make paper come from environmentally sensitive areas, not areas that were planted for such purposes. I always assumed that since paper was so disposable, the trees harvested to make paper were sustainable. Apparently this is much more of a problem than I ever realized. This is such a problem that the Palo Alto Research Group and Xerox have teamed up to make a printer that uses disappearing ink. After 18 hours the ink would disappear and the same sheet of paper could be used multiple times.
  
• To see my powerpoint regarding this project please visit this link.
• To see my spreadsheets regarding this project please visit this link.