10/4/2017 0 Comments GoNoodleI am absolutely obsessed with this website! GoNoodle is an insane website that has tons of different videos for young kids to watch about a wide variety of topics. The five main categories on the website are curricular, mindfulness, sensory and motor skills, school life, and movement type videos. Each of these categories is broken up into more categories in order to find the type of specific video the teacher is looking for. Some of the categories are guided dance videos, holiday videos, inside recess videos, fine motor skills videos, balance videos, videos about managing stress, boosting confidence, math videos, and Spanish videos. There are an ENDLESS amount of videos to search through. Teachers can also subscribe to different channels on the website that have specific types of videos. There are workout channels that have different workout videos for the students to participate in. Other channels have fun little videos for the kids to watch. GoNoodle can be used in the classroom as a way to introduce new topics, a quick, fun way to get out the students' energy, or it can be used as a sort of award if the students behave throughout the day. My virtual co-op's classroom uses GoNoodle for a dance break at the start of school every school day to get the students pumped up for the day. Whatever your reason may be for using GoNoodle in the classroom, it is ensured that both the teacher and the students will get a good laugh out of the videos. I know that I will definitely be using this website when I have a classroom of my own. Here are a couple of my favorite videos that I found... Citations:
GoNoodle. (2017). App.gonoodle.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017, from https://app.gonoodle.com/discover
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9/18/2017 0 Comments SAMR Model![]() Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. What does this have to do with teaching, though? These are the different levels of implementing technology into the classroom. From substitution to redefinition, technology is used more and more in the atmosphere of the classroom. Substitution and augmentation are the enhancement portion of the model. This means that they enhance the learning of the students. Technology is not the sole teaching tool in the classroom, though. It is used to strengthen the learning of the students. An example of these would be to print copies of worksheets or having your students take a quiz online instead of on paper. Modification and redefinition are used in the transformation of the classroom. Here, technology is the main resource that is used. New projects and tasks are able to be assigned due to the use of new technology and resources. Technology is fully implemented throughout the classroom, and the students are fully involved in knowing how to utilize the resources that they have been given. An example of this would be groups creating a video about a topic that was discussed in class or students making a presentation that they can present to their peers. SAMR is useful to every student and teacher. Each teacher can use it at their own discretion. As a teacher, you have the ability to use as much or as little technology in the classroom as you would like. This is one of the many benefits of the SAMR Model. Citations: SAMR Model. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2017, from https://sites.google.com/a/msad60.org/technology-is-learning/samr-model 9/12/2017 0 Comments The 4C's![]() CREATIVITY. CRITICAL THINKING. COMMUNICATION. COLLABORATION. These are the 4 C's of education. What do they help us do exactly, though? For students, these 4 C's are the key to their success. If they can master these four traits, then they will be prepared to become beneficial members of society. How is CREATIVITY useful? Employers look for employees who have visions on how to implement change in the workplace and in the world around them. It can be used to sway people's opinions and to show them that what YOU have to offer is better than your opponent's. A creative presentation could mean all the difference in getting a job or not. How, as teachers, do we teach our students CREATIVITY? 1.) We, ourselves, need to be creative. Use creativity throughout the classroom. Classroom themes such as "the jungle" or "under the sea" can bring learning to life for kids. Show your students what a difference creativity can make. 2.) Create a classroom environment where creativity is encouraged and rewarded. Art projects, storytelling, dress up. These are just a few creative activities that we, as teachers, need to support. By showing them at an early age how creativity is useful, we will be preparing them for their future. How is CRITICAL THINKING useful? It helps students begin to develop their processing and questioning skills. These skills are not only used as a child, but also as an adult. By starting this process at a young age, students are able to become apt at solving problems inside and outside of the classroom. How do we, as teachers, promote CRITICAL THINKING in our students? As teachers, we need to ensure that ample time is spent on this process while in the classroom. By creating situations where students will be contemplating and questioning different topics, they will begin to utilize their critical thinking skills. Make these times fun, though. Critical thinking is usually thought of as a hard or boring task, but try to find ways to make it exciting. For example, here is a fun activity where critical thinking is used: Break the students up into different countries. Each country is now to make up a Constitution. By having the kids name/develop the country and create rules and government, you are coupling fun with the critical thinking of what is necessary for a country to thrive. How is COMMUNICATION useful? Communicating with people is key to being successful. If you cannot effectively communicate with people, then it will be hard to succeed. Communicating is anything from giving a presentation to having a face-to-face conversation with someone. We need to equip our students with the skills to effectively communicate their ideas and beliefs. How do we teach our students COMMUNICATION, though? 1.) Children learn by example. If we can model good communication, then our students will be more likely to follow in our footsteps. 2.) Encourage your students to always talk it out. If some of the students get in an argument, help diffuse the situation by having each calmly share how they are feeling. This will show the students that problems can be solved by communicating effectively. 3.) Help students feel comfortable with speaking in a group and, also, in front of the class. By creating situations where the students must speak in front of a group, they will learn how to cater their speaking based on different situations. How is COLLABORATION useful? Today, very few jobs are individualized. Most jobs require people to work as a team, at least most of the time. We need to be preparing our students for this type of work environment that they will face in the near future. How can we, as teachers, teach our students COLLABORATION? 1.)We need to offer many opportunities for students to work in group projects. By assigning each student a role and then placing them in a group, they will be able to demonstrate their skills and knowledge for the good of the group. 2.) Collaboration does not have to be just part of the classwork, though. During free time, the students can collaborate by playing together and getting along. Encouraging this type of behavior shows children how to work together in different situations. CREATIVITY, CRITICAL THINKING, COMMUNICATION, and COLLABORATION. The 4 C's that will prepare your students for a lifetime of success. For further information on the 4C's of Education, visit http://www.nea.org/tools/52217.htm. Citations: An Educator's Guide to the 'Four C's': Preparing 21st Century Students for Global Society. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://www.nea.org/tools/52217.htm [Image depicting the 4C's of education: collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity.]. (2013, September 16). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://blog.connectionsacademy.com/how-online-education-builds-career-readiness-with-the-4-cs/ 9/9/2017 0 Comments Online PresenceThanks to our new technological era, online presence has become a big part of the interview process. Social media sites say a lot about who you are as a person. Interviewers are looking to make sure that both your professional and personal social media accounts are appropriate and align in content with each other. Whenever you make a post remember the 3 A's... ACCESSED, ADAPTED, ARCHIVED. Firstly, anything that you post can be accessed by anyone who views it, so make that it is suitable for your profession. Secondly, remember that your post can be adapted. Try to refrain from saying anything that could be used out of context that could offend someone. Lastly, keep in mind that once you post that picture or tweet, it can never be fully deleted from the internet. Someone could have shared or screenshotted it, and now it is no longer in your hands. Don't let what you post online keep you from getting your dream job. If you can think of a post that you have on your social media that may not be appropriate, take a minute right now to go delete it. Make your social media sites a positive reflection of who you are, not a negative one.
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