Post #1: About Me |
My name is Rebecca Wittebols, and I am studying Math and Elementary Education at GVSU. When I am not at my placement or in class, I work as a preschool teacher at Orchard Hill Christian Preschool & Learning Center in Grand Rapids. I really have a passion for working with young children. My hometown is Warren MI, which is just outside of Detroit. During the summer months, I live there with my three sisters, my mom, and my cat. |
Some of my interests & hobbies:
In my spare time, I like to binge watch shows on Netflix, go out to eat, hang out with my friends, and go see movies at the theater. Besides working with kids, another passion of mine is painting. I’ve been painting since I was very young, and my favorite medium is acrylic on canvas or ceramics.
I also love to spend time with my family. My mom, my sisters, and I love to go to concerts. Every Summer, we go to at least 10 concerts in Detroit. Some of my favorite concerts that I’ve been to were The Backstreet Boys, Matchbox Twenty/ The Goo Goo Dolls, and Brad Paisley.
Experience using Technology in the Classroom:
I have not had very much experience using technology in the classroom. At my current placement, we have a Smart Board in the classroom, so I have been learning how to use it. We also have access to an iPad cart, so I am really excited to start working with those soon.
From my school career, I have some experience using Prezi, Microsoft Office, Google Docs, YouTube, Geogebra, Google Slides, Weebly, and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
From my school career, I have some experience using Prezi, Microsoft Office, Google Docs, YouTube, Geogebra, Google Slides, Weebly, and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Post #2: Learner Analysis
09/18/2016
My character is Shawn Hunter from the show "Boy Meets World." He is very popular, is a trouble maker, and has a ‘bad boy’ reputation. Shawn comes from a lower-class family and lives in trailer park with his father, who is an alcoholic and really struggles to make ends meet. His mother left him behind when he was young.
While he is at school, Sean often distracts his classmates with humor. He often makes jokes in class, which could be an attempt to distract from his lack of effort in school. He really struggles in school, and he doesn’t see the value in participating in class or in doing his schoolwork.
One of Shawn's interests is sports. If he were in my class, some strategies that I would use to assist him are to let him read about things he is interested in, like sports articles in the newspaper or online. I might also let Shawn do projects about sports or try to explain things to Shawn using sports metaphors so that he better understands them. Since Shawn has been through a lot in his life, I think that allowing him to write about his experiences can serve as an outlet for him. I also think that letting Shawn read books about characters with adverse experiences that are relatable and reading about how they cope with their problems can help show him that he can survive the struggles in his life. Shawn doesn’t have any strong relationships with any of the adults in his life, so I would really try to get to know him and build a relationship with him so I could become a trusted adult figure in his life.
I think that the best thing to do for Shawn is to get him involved in his own learning. Instead of telling Shawn that he has to do his schoolwork and listen in school, I could ask him what he would be interested in learning about. If I can let him learn about something that he is interested in, he will likely be more engaged in class and he will feel like he has a voice. Since Shawn is popular and loves social interaction, I can also incorporate opportunities for interaction into class time. Shawn likes to be heard, so I will give him the opportunity to be heard in class or group discussions.
Many wouldn’t view Shawn as being “college ready”, but I do see a lot of potential in him if he puts more effort into his school work and finds something that he is really interested in and passionate about to pursue.
Post #3:
Blog Use in the Classroom
09/15/2016
Thoughts Using a Blog in my Own Classroom:
I think that blogs can be a very useful classroom tool. I can see myself using a blog in my future classroom as a classroom webpage. On my blog, I would include information about myself and my classroom, including an introduction to parents, a picture or video tour of my classroom, and a description of classroom expectations and procedures. I could include a resource page for parents that I could use to share a weekly newsletter, updates of hat we are doing in the classroom, homework help videos, a classroom calendar with due dates and school events, and important other resources for parents like how to access grades online, links to articles, and links to other useful resources.
I might also include a student page with links to fun educational activities that students can do and other educational websites they can visit at home to practice core content. If I teach older grades, like upper elementary or middle school, I can create a classroom discussion blog that students can use to share and discuss their ideas. I could see something like this being used for an English class as a book club discussion page.
I might also include a student page with links to fun educational activities that students can do and other educational websites they can visit at home to practice core content. If I teach older grades, like upper elementary or middle school, I can create a classroom discussion blog that students can use to share and discuss their ideas. I could see something like this being used for an English class as a book club discussion page.
Advantages:
One advantage of using a blog is that you can do more with it than you could a Google Doc or Microsoft Word. What I like about a blogging format is that is a lot more user-friendly and interactive than a Word Document or a Google Doc. I think that a blogging format helps you keep things more organized so that all it takes is a click of a button to access what you need. On Weebly, for example, you can create different pages, and all you have to do to access a page is click on a tab. I think it would be harder to find what you need on a Word or Google Doc document because you would have to scroll through the pages to look for it. What I also like about having a blog is that it is easy for your audience to access. With a blog, you wouldn’t have to email a link or attachment for parents to access your document. Parents could access your blog by simply typing the address into their browser’s search box.
Possible Constraints:
There are some possible constraints with using a blog in my classroom. If I teach at a school with limited technology resources, I might not have the necessary resources for students to write their own blog posts in the classroom. Another possible constraint is that families might not have access to a device they can use to access my blog. If I decide to let my students blog in the classroom, I would also have to teach them things like how to create, post, and edit a blog, and I would also have to set some ground rules about how to safely use a blog and the internet.
1 Comment
Jason
9/20/2016 07:35:46 am
Interesting choices for music. That makes you seem about 10 years older in terms of musical taste (as those bands were a lot bigger in the late 90's).
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About This Blog:
I am a student at Grand Valley studying Elementary Ed and Math. This blog is a collection of my reflections on topics in EDT 370.
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