Change of the times

I have spent my spring break enjoying my break. I have stayed busy, but have truly enjoyed the week for the most part. I spent a few days doing a job, a job that required me to do the same thing over and over again for hours. I would quit around noon for lunch then late afternoon for dinner, but otherwise I continued to do my job. This job, to me, is a wonderful job that I truly do enjoy. I worked eight to ten hours straight and while doing this job I realized a few things, a few things that showed a change of the times. This job I was doing, this job that I truly enjoy doing, is a job that my father does even better than I do. My father is the man that taught me to do this job and he was/is a great teacher, he is patience, calm, and yet demanding of the situation. Maybe this is where I got a few of my teaching traits. But back to the point, my father can do this job longer and better than I can. I can do this job for hours without quitting and do a good job at it. Now, the main idea is this change of the times I want to talk about. With all the instant feedback and instant gratification that society is tuned into I do not see how children can focus on doing one job for days, let alone hours without quitting or getting bored. I feel the teenagers and young adults are missing out on a vital part of life. The idea of starting a project that is not finish before dinner, but that takes multiple days to complete or months to complete and yet sustaining the drive to stay focused and committed to the project. America's youth are missing this idea and they are suffering because of it. "Oh, homework is too hard." I hear students say this often, and yet they have only spend 20 minutes or less on it. I remember in middle school as well as high school staying up well into the night to finish my homework. I studied for hours. I am not out of date, as high school is a mere five years pass now. What happened to working on a math assignment for hours or working on an English paper for days? The idea of 10 minutes of homework per grade level, so a 7th grade student should have an average of 70 minutes of homework a night, some nights more some nights less. Students of today are okay with doing little homework at home and then complaining at school when they do not have their homework done. Do students know how to ask questions or find out information? Students have more resources today than ever before. Students do not seem to understand that in a math class they have their book available to them for examples as well as, their siblings, their parents, the internet, and their teacher via email or phone. I hope that students learn how to stay committed to a project before they leave high school. College is much harder than high school and not learning a concept or not doing homework results in failing classes. The real world is about being able to do multiple tasks for long periods of time without losing focus. I hope the youth of today can figure out that this is an important concept to learn before they are ready for the real world.

Spring

New ideas come with springtime. What a great spring it has started out to be. Fields are beginning to green up, tractors are tiling fields, and the sunlight is lasting longer. As spring sets in and summer approaches I look back and reflect on the past school year. It has been an interesting ride to say the least. I have truly enjoyed my first year teaching at North Valley Academy. My co-workers are great. I think we have a great group of teachers here at NVA and I can see a promising future. As spring break starts after school today, I begin to gather my thoughts on creating my to do list for the break. I thought this was a break! In my second year of teaching I am learning that breaks are not really for teachers to relax and take a break. No, a break is for teachers to catch up on everything they might be a little behind on, to create new lesson plans, and also to do all the little things in their personal life that have been missed. How do you make a plan to work on school work when the weather is so nice outside? Teachers do have a life outside of school. I cannot wait to begin working in the yard and outside this spring. I also understand the importance of remembering the to do list. Time to go and make the to do list! I will post some tech tips and tools during the week. So remember to check the blog during spring break.

Summary of Conference

How do I summarize such a massive learning experience. I do not think I can summarize all I learned in one blog, or one short session. It will be summarized over a sessions of short entries. Starting with this one today. This summary is collaborative with Mr. Savage, my partner in learning. We would like share our knowledge with anyone who cares to learn about technology with us.

A technology conference. Yes, we learned about technology some old technology we had seen before, but used in new ways, and some new technology we have not experienced before. But the biggest concept we learned is that we are teaching in the digital age and we need to utilize technology to engage students. Utilizing technology does not mean creating our worksheets on a Word document and printing it off. Utilizing technology is about using the tools, Web 2.0 tools, to give students a creative outlet to demonstrate learning. This does not mean teaching students to use powerpoint and nothing else like we did ten years ago, but for an assignment to be for students to present their knowledge of a concept. Students can then demonstrate their knowledge in any form, whether that be powerpoint, video, paper, prezi, or other tools, the goal is that students can show in some form mastery of the concept. The goal is to create life long learners in our students. We want students to become excited about learning and about demonstrating their knowledge. We want students to become creative and innovative thinkers.

Different Google Tools:
Google file type: This allows the searcher to search for specific types of documents: examples of file types include powerpoint(ppt), pdf, and word documents(doc)
I want to find a powerpoint about frogs. I would input frog filetype:ppt
Google Voice Search: This allows the searcher to search by speaking to the search engine and the search engine input the voice as text.
Google image search: This allows the searcher to search by dragging an image into the search engine and the search engine will look for anything related to that image.
Google converter: This allows the searcher to convert measurements inside the search engine with an instant answer.

Alternative Search Engines:
Wolfram Alpha: (http://www.wolframalpha.com/) This search engine allows you search the world's facts and data and calculates answers across a range of topics. It is great for science, history, and mathematical searches.
Qwiki: (www.qwiki.com/ ) This search engine creates interactive, on-the-fly, multimedia presentations of information. 


Classroom Improvement Tools
Classroom Counters:(http://www.online-stopwatch.com/ ) This tool allows the user to select different forms of interesting time keeping and use it as a visual in the classroom. Great choice for stopwatch or a countdown.

Random Name Generator: (http://classtools.net/education-games-php/fruit_machine ) This tool allows you to random pick students in your class for activities.

Education of life

I have realized that I am learning each and every day. I learned today that stuff piles up. Maybe I did not learn that today, but I did realize that today. I want you to think about it. Dishes pile up, the trash piles up, bills pile up, work piles up, and this and that pile up. Where do you find the time to finish everything? How much can you stretch yourself before it becomes to much? Well, I am going to stretch myself as long as I continue to, number one: love my life and my family, number two: love my job, and number three: enjoy comfort items. This is a short post. I guess my first day back to work was a tad overwhelming especially with the extra stuff I had to do after school with my personal life. But how wonderful it is to be back to work in a great school and to live in a great community.

Realization

One of the hardest things to realize is the work and energy a trip takes. I am not talking about the energy and work before a trip as we already understand how much that takes, but the energy and work a trip takes when you return home. Unpacking is not a task that is enjoyable and yet is it something that needs done and hopefully is done quickly. Returning from a trip means that you are ready for a regular schedule to begin again. We are to be ready for regular schedule events like birthday parties, church, and family gatherings, but what some people do not understand is that we may need some trip debrief, cool down, and get some of our regular energy back. We have been running on high in a different environment for almost week and it is a change to return our thinking to our regular schedule. I did not realize that I needed to take time for myself. I just jumped back into my regular schedule, but today I felt how tired I was and needed one of those wonderful naps! I have realized that I have lesson plans to create, papers to grade, and the biggest one for me, going through all the material I have gathered on my trip. Taking a nap was all I needed what a great feeling. I know this week will have its share of challenges, but I am excited for them.

Home Again

I made it home last night around 3 in the morning and what a great trip. One of the greatest things about leaving for a trip is coming back home. I had a great car ride back to Jerome with Mr. Savage. Then, I had a great ride the rest of the way home with my brother who came to pick me up. This morning I am finding that the hardest part of the trip is now organizing my thoughts and ideas into logical and understandable sense. I want to share everything, but when I try it comes out confusing to start with. I have so much new information that I do not even know where to begin at times. I will think on it today and work on organizing it more tonight and tomorrow. My goal is to start using some of this ideas in the classroom. Glad to be home!

Seattle

What a great experience. Tonight was my first night without a late workshop and I went out to a nice dinner. Had oysters for the first time and some good old Seattle seafood. I met some great people today. There are over a hundred booths to buy programs, items, and so many things for your school, but there are also a ton of free giveaways. I have not won anything, but I have won some many great ideas, websites, and apps to bring back home. Seattle is great, but it has rained pretty much the entire time we have been here. Mr. Savage is a great travel partner. We get along pretty dang well. We do our own thing and yet we still remember to check on the other guy throughout the day. We have seen some pretty different dress styles, lots and lots of really high boots. Experiencing a new town is amazing. I am thankful for this experience. Thank you to the school, our principal, the school board, my students, and my family for supporting me. We are a growing school in all ways and this conference will help us to grow.

NVA

Wow I didn't realize how much I miss being in the classroom. I have great classes and great students. Yeah, some days are tough, but I truly enjoy my job. North Valley Academy is a great school with hopefully a great future. This conference has shown me that our students are great, but it has also shown me that we are capable of so much more if we choose to be successful. What are goals at North Valley Academy? What are my goals as a teacher at North Valley Academy? What are the goals of students at North Valley Academy? How do students want to be identified? These are questions we need to first ask ourselves and then commit to creating change. Change is necessary and important, but our change needs to have reason and understanding. I want to conclude with this statement. I love teaching and I love my job. I truly enjoy the school I work in. I am excited for changes to occur and also to help with implementing these changes.

Workshops

Wow, workshops, walking, eating, and above all else sitting. My backside is getting tired! The people who put on these workshops do a great job of presenting. It has to be a hard job. Presenting to a group of adults is very hard, but presenting to a group of adults who work in education is even harder. Taking it all in is hard for those sitting and learning. There is so much information and so many great ideas, but they fly in and then fly out. I need some time to sit down and organize my thoughts and all these new ideas. This conference has so many great opportunities. I cannot wait to try everything out and show the staff what I have learned. I have met some great people and learned some amazing things. Tonight I am going to check out all the tools I have learned about.

Thank you substitutes

First day having a substitute and here I sit at the Boise Airport. Had great company on the trip up. I continue to wonder how my classes are going? Students are you behaving!?? Huh, I wonder how Mrs. Klamm is doing. Creating substitute plans is a whole different ballgame when it comes to planning. I did not realize how much work that goes on when creating substitute plans. What forms should I use? How are substitutes suppose to take role, lunch count, and do everything we ask of them. Being a substitute is a big job. Substitute teachers I want to thank you. You do a thankless job. You come and work for someone that is sick or on leave and you never see or meet that person. You might hear how great or how bad that person is, yet you have no idea because you usually do not meet the teacher you are substituting for. I hope I have left good substitute plans. Substitutes thank you for all you do.

Technology Conference Part One Getting Ready

Well, I am packing, planning, and getting ready for my trip to Seattle. I am going to a Technology Conference with Mr. Savage. We are going to spend four days in Seattle learning about technology. I plan on bringing lots of information back for my co-workers to learn from. I am excited to get training on using an iPad. iPads are quite fun, but I have yet to become good at using them for work in the most effective ways. The more I play the more possibilities I see with iPads. I wonder if the school, the staff, and the students are ready for the all the technology we will be bring back. I sure hope so.