Blogs

Blogs can be used for various reasons in the classroom.

• I can post assignments and due dates to my blog.
• I can post links to helpful resources and enhancement material on my blog.
• I can communicate with with students outside of the classroom if they need additional help or are having problems. I can also communicate with parents via my blog.
• I can assign students a topic to research and they can post their report to their blog.
• The students can read and make comments on each other's blogs. This means the students are giving and receiving feedback, sharing ideas, and learning from each other.
• The blogs can be public or private and are free.

Microsoft Office PowerPoint (or Google Documents Presentation)

Microsoft Office PowerPoint or Google Documents Presentation Creator can be used both by me and the students. These programs are basically the same, but Google's version is free which can be beneficial to students that do not have access to Microsoft Office. While Microsoft Office is not free, it is used in most schools. I will use both in my classroom.

• I can use a presentation to present notes to the class during lecture, give an overview of a project or lab exercise, and review information.


• I can have the students construct a presentation of a research topic complete with text and images.

Presentations are beneficial because:

• By showing the notes in this form, the students are hearing and seeing the notes, which makes for better learning and remembering of the information.
• Images can be added with text to enhance the material.
• The information is better organized in this form, which will help me keep my thoughts and lecture organized and help the students understand the lesson more easily.

Hands On Learning

Some students learn better by listening, some by watching, and some by doing. However, I think that every type of students can benefit from hands-on learning for many reasons:

• Projects and lab experiments will provide first hand experience with the concepts the students learn in lecture.
• Students can work together in groups, which teaches them to collaborate ideas as well as teamwork while they learn.
• Students get involved in the lesson, which is more fun than reading and note taking, which means they are more apt to pay attention and learn.

It's Alright to be Wrong

I am a strong advocate for learning. I want my students to know that it is ok to say "I don't know" or make mistakes. I am open to mistakes because each mistake presents a learning opportunity. No one is perfect, and I will makes mistakes myself. It is inevitable. I want to challenge my students and encourage them to do their best. However,I do not want to put unnecessary pressure on them to be perfect, so I do not want to criticize them for every incorrect answer or imperfect test score. Also, I want to encourage the curiosity and creativity of the students. I want the students to question the "truths" they are being taught, and I want them to come up with their own theories and ideas about things. I may learn some things from them, which is great! And even if they are incorrect, I want them to explore their minds and actively participate in their learning experience. I do not want the students to be afraid of being wrong but be excited about learning.