Blending Two Worlds {entry #4}

This summer's lectures and projects that we have been working on since day one is to help us (future teachers) to prepare ourselves for the tough roads ahead in our teaching careers. Education 422 is specifically designed to help to blend the world of technology into the classroom. How can we take technology and make it a part of our student's world where they are not only learning about math, science, art, reading, writing but also leave a lasting impact for them. I want them to learn from technology and come to an understanding that technology can enrich my learning experience with my other subjects. But I also want my students to understand that technology shouldn't take control of their lives. They shouldn't be consume with it 24/7. I want them to be able to set boundaries for themselves; know their limits. In the past couple of weeks, I learned there are many ways to engage a student in the learning experiences. Incorporating technology in your classroom has the potential to motivate a wider generation of students.
Here are some suggestions to think about when you are trying to incorporate technology into the classroom.

1. Maximizing Student Engagement: I find that student engagement is at the top of the priority list when it comes to classroom technology. Technology should keep students in engaged and keep their curiosities rolling. By maximizing their technology time, we keep them coming back for more. This increases active learning, high-level thinking, they become more invested in learning and hopefully prepare them for the new digital age.
2. Computer Illiterate: before you can even start introducing techs and gadgets into your classroom, make sure you, as a teacher, know the technology, the purpose, it's usage and etc. At times, I think it can be okay to learning with the students, depending of course of the situation, the gadgets, the projects, etc. Teachers! There are plenty of tutorials out there on line, in stores, workshops, to help you through the process. Don't ever think that you are in it alone!
3. Time Savers: teachers and future: please be aware of this. Technology can actually increase the efficiency of your classroom and help you save time. You'll be able to cover more material in a more in-depth way and reach more students of different learning abilities and styles. So instead of feeling like you've been run over by a truck come Friday afternoon, you just might be able to put your feet up and relax.

These are just some of the common factors to consider when introducing technology into the classroom. They are not the definite. You can do some research on the internet to get some better ideas. Here are some websites that are worth taking a glance at.
http://www.edzone.net/~mwestern/
http://www.teachersnetwork.org/ntol/howto/incorptech/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/using_technology.htm
http://fno.org/mar98/flotilla.html
Hopefully these websites and my tips were of some help to you.
Tune in next week for my last entry! It's a real treat!

Reading We Can Do {entry #3}

Reading is one of my favorite hobbies. Some people, especially the younger crowd, may find this hobby nerdy, geeky, plain, boring, etc... the list could go on. But I love to read. My all time favorite author Jane Austen.... I have 5 copies of Pride and Prejudice... it's like an obsession with me when it comes to P & P. I can't help myself... I've been able to tone it down for the past couple of years, but I still get that rush whenever I past by the English literature section at my local bookstore.

When I start teaching, reading will be one of my "fun" staples in class. Yes, it is an essential core subject that will be focus in class, like it is in all classrooms around the world, but I am going to make reading, as a group and individually, fun, excited and something that my students will look forward to everyday and everynight at home. One of my goals when I start teaching, will be teaching from a multicultural perspective. I believe that we can provide a strong education with touches on multiculturalism on all subjects, like English, social studies, science, math, etc. I think children should be expose to as much diversity as possible because they surround by so much diversity as it is. We live in a society that is not only a melting pot but also a salad bowl, at the same time. We're building and practicing many traditions today and it would be quite sad if we choose to ignore how diverse of a society we are. By reading and learning about different cultures, we are also learning about each other in the process. Everyone has a different and it is important to respect and appreciate that.

So how to do you start? How do you choose? Here are some books to choose from.

Navajo Sheepherder by Katie Henio

You'll follow Katie, a grandmother, as she moves between her traditional Navajo world and the modern world of her great-grandchildren.

Meet Danitra Brown by Nikki Grimes

This book is full of poems by Danitra and her best friend, Zuri and you'll follow these city girls as they jump rope and swap dreams.

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

Mexican-American Maria tries her mother's wedding ring on while she is making tamales for Christmas dinner. When the ring is missing, Maria is sure it is in one of the tamamles and she and her cousins try to eat their way out of trouble.

Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco

This story chronicles the friendship between a lonely Jewish widow and a young African-American boy. It's a heartwarming story that the students will love!

Do you have a books that you love to read? Would you share them in your classrooms?

Aftermath {Entry #2}

I recently read caught up on some news about the survivors of the Haiti earthquake. Some 600 survivors enrolled in the Palm Beach county school districts and they are making a smooth transition, says school officials. The Haiti earthquake took place earlier this year, January to be exact, and it was one of the most devastating natural disasters to have happened since Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The students were placed in schools best suited in the student's interest. Not only will they have a warm welcome from the student body and community but district will be looking out for them and making sure that they transition well into their new surroundings. If more students arrive, the district said that it will make more room for them. (If you would like to read the full article, click here)

The story above is amazing to me. I am strong advocate of helping not only the community that we will live in, but also the ones outside our perimeter. We do live in one world, in one society, so I believe we have a moral responsibility to our society and to help others around us as much as we can. Although not the same, this situation reminds of the one that is currently occurring at our borders. There is a huge debate on whether or not we should teach children of illegal immigrants. For however long it may have been, people have been making their way into the U.S. territory to make a new life for themselves; to live out the American Dream. Some come here on sponsorship, apply for citizenship and some cross over illegal. But for some reason, it is more noticeable when it comes from the Mexico border. My view on illegal immigration is irrelevant to the issue of teaching children of illegal immigrants. I am a teacher, not an immigration officer or someone that works with homeland security. As a citizen and as a teacher I believe in offering an equal opportunity to every children in the world, whether or not they are here in the US illegally or legally is really not up to me to decide. I know it's a fighting and debatable issue that we have going on and it will be on the hot seat for quite some time. Many people will have certain views on this particular issue. My personal opinion is that very child deserves an equal educational opportunity, whether they are of illegal US status or a survivor from a natural disaster.

What are your views on teaching children of immigration status?

what is this blog for? {entry #1}

via

The purpose of creating this blog is to meet the course requirements of Education 422 that I am taking at Cal State University San Marcos. Hopefully while still completing blog assignments, I also hope to create an interactive outlet for myself in terms of education. I am on the path of becoming an elementary school teacher one day, (hopefully either 3rd or 2nd grade). What I would like to discuss in this blog is anything that involve education but with a multicultural perspective. I recently finished a course that concentrated on diversity in education and after completing the course, I am a strong believer in a multicultural education. I will be looking for projects, trends, inspirations, ideas, current events, and anything involving education in our society with a multicultural point of view to post on this blog.

My technology experience hasn't been that great but it is improving. I find myself fascinated more and more each day. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. I consider myself to be more of a hands on kind of person. I like to do things up front and interactive with people in person. But more and more, I see myself sucked in to this virtual reality that our society is becoming obsessed with. Whatever happened to writing each other hand written letters and mailing them? Or a simple phone call to say hello or happy birthday? Everything is done through cyber space or via telephone. I see myself turning into one of those people that text's happy birthday through their telephone and I use to be one of those people that criticize people for not being more personal and depending on technology to get in touch with people. But in this case, it's society growing and our culture expanding. You can't stop a culture from maturing, you can only go along with it. But what helps is keeping in touch with your past, and remembering to always ying out and yang. 

My previous experience with education has been pretty active up until graduating from college. I went into a field that was more of a corporate environment and never really truly enjoyed it, except for the money aspect of it. But money can only go so far. I came to realize that this was not the career both that I wanted to continue on and that I wanted to pursue my aspirations that I had upon graduating form SFSU. Education, working with kids has always brought me joy and satisfaction. During college, I had the opportunity to working with an under privilege elementary school for 8 weeks. It was an experience of a lifetime and it was something, and still is, that I carry on today. After that experience I knew that I wanted to pursue a career as a teacher. 

I want to be a great teacher. I want to make a difference in a child's life. I want to have that feeling, that at the end of each school year, I felt like I did all that I could do to enrich my students with an equal opportunity of education and that I taught each child that best that I could. If this course will help me achieve that goal, then I am looking forward to Education 422. 

Everyone is Different

{hola}

Hi! This is my first blog post for this blog. I will be posting ideas, trends, updates, pictures and what nots that have an educational aspect. Hopefully this website will be an inspiration for fellow aspiring teachers. I will be posting soon so please be patient. Have a lovely day!