After writing a lot of research papers over the course of graduate school, I thought that it might be interesting to take a different approach, and perform my own mini-action-research project with my students. We have recently purchased a new program for our district that is called Skills Tutor. I did not know anything about it before this semester, and my students had never used it either.
It is a really useful program because it is divided into sections for language arts, math, and other subjects. The teacher goes in and enrolls each student by giving them a username and password, and then is able to select topic areas for each individual to work on. When the student logs in they are prompted with a variety of practice tests and then guided accordingly. It also gives a score for each time they attempt a task and you can set your own passing percentage.
I have found it to be really beneficial to my students, at all levels. It is very basic, and I am not sure how well it would work for upper grade levels, but it does a great job of working with beginning letter sounds, grammar, and basic math skills.
The website is http://www.myskillstutor.com
Monday, November 30, 2009
Understanding the importance of professional development and personal growth
Before I got my first job I knew that teachers were required to attend professional devlopment seminars in order to renew their certifications, but I did not know much else about it. After attending my first district-wide staff development sessions this summer, I began to see some of the benefits. I felt like I really got to know other teachers, got a good idea of how to use the curriculum, and built relationships with some of the leaders in the district.
Now, after teaching for a semester, and having created and attended more professional development sessions, I have definitely developed an understanding about why professional development is so important. Even just working with a few older teachers who aren't as up-to-date on new teaching pedagogy has made me see how it would be easy to get set in your ways and not want to learn about new ideas.
I hope that even if I teach for 40 years, that I am still open to new ideas and continue to develop my teaching skills and keep myself informed on new trends and theories in the education field.
Now, after teaching for a semester, and having created and attended more professional development sessions, I have definitely developed an understanding about why professional development is so important. Even just working with a few older teachers who aren't as up-to-date on new teaching pedagogy has made me see how it would be easy to get set in your ways and not want to learn about new ideas.
I hope that even if I teach for 40 years, that I am still open to new ideas and continue to develop my teaching skills and keep myself informed on new trends and theories in the education field.
My future as a leader in technology
Technology is susch an exciting field to be in because it is constantly changing. Even in the year and a half that I have been in graduate school there have been a lot of new advancements in educational technology. I think that being in technology and education, my future possibilities are virtually endless.
Since I still have to wait to have taught another two years after this one before I can receive my MTT certificate, I can only imagine what changes will take place between now and then! However, once I do have my certificate, I hope that I will be able to become a technology specialist of some sort, or at least be at a school that has a very technology-rich environment.
I think that technology basics are often taught, but many simple technologies are not utilized in education to their full potential. It is my goal as an educator that no matter what type of situation I am in, I strive to teach other educators about the importance of implementing technology whenever possible and keeping yourself informed and up-to-date on recent developments.
Since I still have to wait to have taught another two years after this one before I can receive my MTT certificate, I can only imagine what changes will take place between now and then! However, once I do have my certificate, I hope that I will be able to become a technology specialist of some sort, or at least be at a school that has a very technology-rich environment.
I think that technology basics are often taught, but many simple technologies are not utilized in education to their full potential. It is my goal as an educator that no matter what type of situation I am in, I strive to teach other educators about the importance of implementing technology whenever possible and keeping yourself informed and up-to-date on recent developments.
What MTT means to me
When I began my journey in the masters program at SMU, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I attended SMU for my undergraduate degree, and was very familiar with the education program, but was not so sure what getting my Masters in Education would entail. When I sat down with my advisor to plan out my courses, I knew that I was very interested in gifted and talented education, but was at a loss for what other content area I would really want to focus in. She suggested technology because the demand for technology-proficient educators is growing so rapidly, so I agreed and jumped right in.
I had always considered myself to be fairly proficient in technolgy, but I have learned a lot throughout the program. Not only have I increased my own knowledge about ways to use softwares that I already knew about, but I have also learned that there is a lot of technology for education out there that I never knew existed.
My favorite class was the multimedia class. Despite some computer problems that prevented my from being able to do everything the best way possible, I really enjoyed learning about the various forms of multimedia and how I can use them in my classroom.
Overall, I have found the MTT program to be very beneficial. I have learned a lot already, and yet I know that I still have a lot to learn in the future. Technology is a very important part of today's education and I am happy to have vhosen to be a part of the progress.
I had always considered myself to be fairly proficient in technolgy, but I have learned a lot throughout the program. Not only have I increased my own knowledge about ways to use softwares that I already knew about, but I have also learned that there is a lot of technology for education out there that I never knew existed.
My favorite class was the multimedia class. Despite some computer problems that prevented my from being able to do everything the best way possible, I really enjoyed learning about the various forms of multimedia and how I can use them in my classroom.
Overall, I have found the MTT program to be very beneficial. I have learned a lot already, and yet I know that I still have a lot to learn in the future. Technology is a very important part of today's education and I am happy to have vhosen to be a part of the progress.
Continuing Education
This class has made me think a lot about my own personal growth as well as my own professional development. As I come to the end of my masters program, I begin to wonder what the future will hold. I had always hoped to go to graduate school, but I feel like it really flew by quickly. However, it has been an extremely rewarding experience. It has put me back in line with a profession that I love and I have learned so much already.
I do not know what the next few years of my career will hold, but I am fairly certain that I want to begin classes towards my EdD in the near future. It will be spread out over more time than my masters has been, but I know that if I do not go back within the next few years, I may never do so. It is amazing to me how educating myself just makes me continue to realize the importance of education and its future in our country.
Since I am fairly young for an educator, I am sure that there will be a lot of changes to the education systems that i see over my career. I am not really sure what path I will eventually end up taking throughout my future, but I know that I want to continue to try to make a difference in as many childrens' lives as possible. Now I see that the best way to do that is by continuing to educate myself as well.
I do not know what the next few years of my career will hold, but I am fairly certain that I want to begin classes towards my EdD in the near future. It will be spread out over more time than my masters has been, but I know that if I do not go back within the next few years, I may never do so. It is amazing to me how educating myself just makes me continue to realize the importance of education and its future in our country.
Since I am fairly young for an educator, I am sure that there will be a lot of changes to the education systems that i see over my career. I am not really sure what path I will eventually end up taking throughout my future, but I know that I want to continue to try to make a difference in as many childrens' lives as possible. Now I see that the best way to do that is by continuing to educate myself as well.
Inferiority Complex
As I was planning my professional development, I also developed a bit of a nervousness about whether other, more experienced, teachers would some how see it as my way of showing off. I know that seems silly or immature, but it became a real worry of mine as a first year, first semester teacher trying to teach other teachers something.
However, as I began to feel out interest though, I was surprised at the number of people that were willing and eager to participate. I think especially in our particular situation with limited technology in a computer lab setting, teachers who are not comfortable with technology feel as though they are at a loss for things to do. The upper grades are also supposed to use certain websites and software for an alloted amount of time, which doe not leave much time to develop new technology skills.
I would definitely be nervous before performing a professional development session in front of a larger group of educators, however I definitely feel that this experience taught me a lot and helped to develop my confidence. Professional development is important to educators, and I hope that some day I can create a larger development session, or maybe even travel to other schools in our district as well.
However, as I began to feel out interest though, I was surprised at the number of people that were willing and eager to participate. I think especially in our particular situation with limited technology in a computer lab setting, teachers who are not comfortable with technology feel as though they are at a loss for things to do. The upper grades are also supposed to use certain websites and software for an alloted amount of time, which doe not leave much time to develop new technology skills.
I would definitely be nervous before performing a professional development session in front of a larger group of educators, however I definitely feel that this experience taught me a lot and helped to develop my confidence. Professional development is important to educators, and I hope that some day I can create a larger development session, or maybe even travel to other schools in our district as well.
Becoming a Mentor
I have had many mentors throughout my life, and I am sure that I have been a mentor many times before, but have never labeled myself as one. It is somewhat of an overwhelming task at times to be someone's mentor. Being a mentor carries a lot of weight because you have influence over a person, and it implies that you know more about a certain subject than someone else.
Growing up in a household with both my parents being engineers, they were always big advocates of my technology skills, even from a young age. I always took learning about technology for granted, but considered myself to be fairly technology-savvy. It has been a rewarding experience to mentor someone else because the questions she has are things that seem simple to me, but that I find hard to explain step-by-step to someone else.
Being a mentor is a lot like being a first grade teacher because it involves breaking everything down in to simple and straight-forward terms. I hope that in the future, after I have been teaching for a few more years, that I will be able to mentor first-year teachers and help them with a lot of their questions and concerns.
Growing up in a household with both my parents being engineers, they were always big advocates of my technology skills, even from a young age. I always took learning about technology for granted, but considered myself to be fairly technology-savvy. It has been a rewarding experience to mentor someone else because the questions she has are things that seem simple to me, but that I find hard to explain step-by-step to someone else.
Being a mentor is a lot like being a first grade teacher because it involves breaking everything down in to simple and straight-forward terms. I hope that in the future, after I have been teaching for a few more years, that I will be able to mentor first-year teachers and help them with a lot of their questions and concerns.
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