I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.
~Lily Tomlin as "Edith Ann"
Wow, what a semester! I think this has been one of my most stressful semesters yet!! I must say, I started off with a lot of anxiety this year. This was my first semester balancing full time work, two graduate courses, plus on online undergraduate course to make up a deficiency. One of my courses had the instructor listed as "TBA" right up until the week before class started (it ended up the teacher was someone I had previously that I enjoyed, so that was nice!). And honestly, I had heard things about taking a class with Dr. Smirnova. Not exactly bad things, but warnings about the amount of work that I was up against...
And for the most part, every last warning rang true! My General Methods of Instruction class was work. HARD WORK. Blood, sweat and tears were involved. (Literally or figuratively, you be the judge). There were many, many late nights. Many, many log-ins to Moodle. Many, many frantic e-mails and text messages to classmates, asking "What are we doing right now? What's due?? I don't get it!!!"
But in the end, I feel like that skills and knowledge I'm walking away with right now are the most relevant and useful to my teaching career. I truly understand a lesson plan now. What kind of planning goes into getting one organized, then writing it. Aligning my goals and objectives to state and national standards. Why I would choose a Direct Instruction Lesson over an Inquiry Based Lesson or Social Interaction activity. The types of assessments I'd want to utilize at the end of the lesson.
I think the other important thing I'm taking away from this course is all the new technology tools I now know exist!! I've always considered myself a pretty techno-savvy gal. I'm generally at the top of most of my friends list when they need to call someone for help with computer issues. I have a Graphic Design background and know my way around the computer. I've designed websites, plaques and stationary.
Before this class however, I had never heard of a Voki. I'd never used PBworks. I had no clue what a Wordle was. I've always had grand visions of having a super technology immersed classroom, with multimedia projects, blogs and a class webpage that gets regularly updated. Video chats with a sister classroom somewhere across the country or around the globe. My Dr. Smirnova and my peers exposed me to a whole new arsenal of tools that I can incorporate into my digital world, and that excites me so, so much!! I recentely signed up for Edutopia and Classroom2.0 and plan to continue to stay abreast of all the amazing (and fun!) ways to bridge technology and learning.
And now, I close this blog with some quotes. Because honestly, someone out there has already said it (and better than me)!!
A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.
~Thomas Carruthers
Teaching should be full of ideas instead of stuffed with facts.
~Author Unknown
The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.
~Author Unknown
The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.
~Mark Van Doren
A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.
~Horace Mann
A teacher's purpose is not to create students in his own image, but to develop students who can create their own image.
~Author Unknown
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