Who Are We to Judge?

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”  – Mother Teresa

Many educators have the best intentions when they give one another the run down on a student they had difficulty with. My mentor teacher in undergrad warned me about receiving this type of advice and then prejudging a student based on it. It wasn’t until my first year teaching that I was able to see what she meant.

My first year teaching was in 2013. I was so excited to be teaching second grade. All of my colleagues were so kind and helpful. First grade teachers came to my room the day that I began setting up. They wanted to warn me about certain students. They asked to see my roster, so I gladly showed it to them. One teacher made a grunting noise and rolled her eyes. I asked her if I had a bad class. I understand that using the word bad is frowned upon, but I was a little concerned about her reaction to my class list. She said “Oh no, your list is fine, except for one student”. Her exact words were, ” He will make you want to quit your job”. I was terrified at this point. Again, I was a first year teacher and she was telling me that a student was so horrible, I would want to quit.

When the year started for students, I was waiting for this child to come in. I had his desk in a group closest to mine. I was ready to set him straight as soon as he walked through the door. This problem child, or so I was told, was not going to run me out of the building. I was judging this child before I even met him. I was judging him based off of the opinion of another teacher. At the time, I did not realize just how wrong this was.

When the child entered my room, I didn’t even say good morning. I instructed him on what our morning routine was. He needed to unpack, get breakfast, and pick lunch. I was not being the teacher that I wanted to be because I was so worried that this child would think he could walk all over me. He had a frown on his face and refused to take off his backpack or coat. I immediately thought to myself, “Oh boy, that teacher was right”.

The child stood at the door and refused to come in. I walked over to my other students to help get them settled in. They were all smiling and cheerful. I had heard many pleasant things about all of them. Looking over at the child standing by the door, I decided to walk over and give it another try. This time I approached him differently. I smiled at him and said good morning. I asked if he would like me to take his backpack while he got something to eat. His face softened a bit. He agreed to get breakfast. While he was eating breakfast I decided to have a chat with him. I asked was he excited to be back at school. His reply was a simple “No”. I pried for a reason. He said that he did not like school because the teachers did not like him and they thought that he was stupid. My heart broke. As a teacher, my job was to make  sure that each student that I encountered felt safe and loved. When this child entered my room, I did not do that. I judged him before I had met him.

The rest of the year with this student was  a great one. He had his days, just like any of us do. I did not treat him differently because of what his previous teachers had to say about him. Truth be told, he was one of my favorites. He helped me learn a valuable lesson in education. When a student enters your room, its a new year and how they behaved for a different teacher in the past, does not determine how they will behave in your class. It is our jobs as educators to build meaningful relationships with our students. If we show them love and respect, they will show it in return.

Flexible Seating

Why Flexible Seating?

I remember being in elementary school. There was always one spot, area, or chair in the classroom that every child wanted to occupy or use. My third grade teacher had a huge bean bag chair in her reading area. She would chose one student to use that chair for the day. It was so comfortable and relaxing. Every student made sure to be on their best behavior to earn their turn and to keep their turn once they were chosen. I loved to do my work in that chair. I felt as though I did my best work there because I was so relaxed and so willing to complete my work.

Thinking back to how I felt when I was given that choice for the day, made all the difference in my mood. I had a choice. I had freedom to do my work in a manner that better suited me. Giving students choice allows them to make a decision where they can do their best learning. As educators, we understand that not all students learn in the same way or at the same pace. We must also be aware that not all students do their best work in the same way. The traditional setting of having students sit at desks, with regular chairs, is not fair to them. I am guilty of assuming that most of my students are comfortable with this style of seating.

As a second grade teacher, I am always looking for ways to keep my students motivated and engaged. We take brain breaks throughout the day because they are seven and eight year old who need frequent movement. They need to move around and stretch. When they are forced to sit for long periods of time, they lose focus. Flexible seating will increase student motivation and engagement. Instead of having a student sit on a regular chair and fidget, allow them to stand or sit on a yoga ball.

My Vision

Above is a google drawing image, I designed, of a flexible seating classroom. There are many different areas and types of seating being utilized.

Class meeting area- This area is used for whole group discussions and sharing. Here is where we would start in the morning to have our daily morning meetings. During math, we would use this area as a meeting point to display and share our work. A white board is also at the front of the room to aid us in the sharing process. During reading and writing, we would also meet here as a group to share.

Group Tables- There are three different types of group seating. One option would be the table closest to the floor. Students will be provided with pillows or cushions to sit or kneel on to complete their work. Many of my second graders love doing their work on the floor, using only a clipboard. Many will also try and kneel on their chair, instead of sitting on their bottoms. A second option would be the high table for standing or sitting on high stools. Sitting, for some students, is especially difficult. I have several students throughout the day that ask if they can stand to do their work. The third option for group seating is a table with yoga balls. I have seen yoga ball seating be used for several students who have trouble with fidgeting. They are able to bounce a little while completing work. These students seem to understand that it is important not to bounce to hard. Group work and partner work would be completed at these tables. For testing, students would use privacy folders.

Computer cubbies/ Individual work area- Each class is given one or two student computers. This is the place where that computer would be stored. This is also the place where students can go to work independently or for a cool down. It is important to provide a space like this in every classroom. Students should have a place to go if they want to work alone or if they feel as though they need a place to regroup until they are ready to rejoin the class.

Small group meeting area- The purpose of this area is for small group or intervention work. Group sizes for this area would be no more than six. Students will use crates as seats in this area. This is an area for the teacher to meet with small groups or intervention groups to work.

Library/ lounge area – All of our class’ books would be stored in this area. We have a classroom library as well as our ARC books. Students will be able to use this area to read during our thirty minutes of independent reading.

Teacher/student conference area- This is an area I would use to meet with students one on one during our writing or ARC time.

IPads- This would be a class set of IPads to use.

Student Storage Area- Since we will not be using traditional desk, this will be a storage space for individual and group supplies.

Classroom Management

This would be something that I would implement at the beginning of the year. Setting expectations and having them posted would be key. I saw a set of rules/ expectations on Pinterest and thought it was perfect!

With younger students, it is really important to set one’s expectations and follow through with them. If students are not doing their best work in the area that they chose, move them. If you move a student, explain to them why. You can even give them another chance to be responsible and try again another day.

Many teachers are terrified to consider flexible seating with younger students because they don’t think they are mature enough to handle it. I think the opposite. Students at this age are more mature than we think. They know what works best for them. They know what helps them learn. It is time for us to listen to our students and take into consideration their wants and needs. There are more benefits to flexible seating than concerns.

Weather Around the World

There are not any teachers in my school who participate in any global projects, or at least none that I am aware of. Honestly, I have not given it much thought before taking my Educational Leadership and Technology course this semester. Now, having a globally connected classroom, is something that I cannot stop thinking of. I am excited to see all the opportunities there are to connect with different classrooms or experts from around the word. I have since signed up for Google Classrooms and I get numerous notifications each day from teachers looking to connect with other classrooms for various reasons. 

The benefits of connecting your classroom globally outweigh any thoughts of “There is no time”, or “It’s too complicated”. I have heard both excuses from educators when I have asked for their thoughts of connecting their classroom. Students can connect with experts on the subject matter. This will allow them to ask questions and be provided with quick and accurate answers. Students can also chat with students from different parts of the world, thus gaining multicultural awareness. Children sometimes learn best from interacting with peers. Having an authentic audience to share with and get insight from will allow students to get more out of a lesson than reading from a textbook. Global classrooms offer a fun way for students to collaborate with other children around the world or take a virtual field trip to a place that they may possibly never see. 

Thinking of a way to connect my class globally allowed me to research the different ideas already out there. My second graders absolutely love our weather unit for science. Using this unit to connect my class globally would be a bonus and experience for my students. I googled to see if any teachers, which I knew they would, have done something like this before. I found one, which you can find the link to at the end of this blog, whose global project is similar to something I would definitely want to try in my classroom. 

The project “Weather Around the World” is the idea of an educator named Ashley Melton. Though I will need to adapt this project to fit my classroom, I think it is an amazing idea. Ashley is looking for classrooms in just the southern hemisphere to participate in her project. I would be interested in connecting with many different parts of the world, taking into consideration time differences if we decide to do any live chats. The project focuses on a science weather unit, which last for nine weeks. Our science units last no more than three. Ashley, has it in her plan for students to keep logs and journals, every day, of the weather. I would also have my students document the weather daily, but they would need to keep an online journal or blog to share with any class we decide to connect with. Like Ashley, we would have live Skype sessions for our students to discuss our current weather, typical weather for each season, or any natural disasters that have happened in our area. Students will not only get to share, but to ask questions as well. Our science tech-books offer a lot of information on the weather in different parts of the world, but hearing it from those who get to experience it will be great for the students.

Other than just connecting with another classroom, I will also have students connect, via Skype, with a meteorologist. Yes, students can read about what meteorologists do, but getting to ask them questions in real time will allow students a chance to work on their communication skills and get up to date answers from an expert. Students will be instructed to compose a list of questions, to be approved by myself, to ask the expert. 

It is exciting to think of the new experiences I will be able to share with my second graders and allow them to learn beyond the classroom. Students learn more when they are excited about the activities planned. Many of the students in my county have never been outside of the state of Maryland. Some have never left the city. It great to know that there are ways to give them these experiences and it be of no cost or burdens to the families. 

Here is the link to the project “Weather Around the World”. I will be using some of this educator’s ideas for this global project.

http://kidworldcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2ndGrade_Weather_Around_the_World.pdf

Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable: Green Screen Assignment

This week’s assignment was challenging. We were asked to use the TouchCast app to create a video using a green screen. I chose to make an event announcement for my school, since this is something I will be able to show my students as well. This was my first time creating this kind of video. Before tackling the assignment, I watched all the tutorial videos to try and get a better understanding of what I needed to do. Even after watching the videos, I was still a little unsure of how to work the app and go about adding a title and vApp to my video. The app itself is not hard to navigate and understand, this was just something that was new to me. 

There were a lot of trial and errors with recording. I needed to make sure that I selected the green screen option and background before recording. This is something I did not know until after my fourth time trying to record. I heard that it would be easier to do separate clips where you can easily add different titles and vApps, but I am not quite at that level of comfort. Instead, I chose to do one long recording and choose one title and one vapp. The title is one that I decided to have throughout the whole video, but the vApp I figured out how to have it showing for a set length of time. I was excited once I saved the video and uploaded it to my TouchCast channel. I made sure this time to upload it to my YouTube account as well so that it could be embedded into this post. 

This is something I will be trying with my second graders. Our current unit for writing is informational writing. I will be using the TouchCast app to have them read a couple of facts about their noun. In the background, I will have a picture of their noun using the green screen. Using this new tech tool will also be a great way to get information out to parents. I think it would be a great idea to have students act as news anchors and create a video to inform parents about upcoming events. During the day, I offer brain breaks to my students. More students may be willing to participate if they or their peers created and led the breaks. Students would use the TouchCast app to create different dance or exercise videos for the class to use as their brain breaks. 

As I continue to practicing using and creating with this app, I know that I will get more comfortable with it. I do, however, plan to start using it with my kids before I become an expert on it. I think I have figured out the basics and can at least create quality videos with my students. The tutorials are helpful and I will continue to use them as needed. 

Professional Branding: Baseball Card

This week in class, we were asked to use Google Drawings and Aurasma to create a professional baseball card. At first, I was very nervous. I was not sure how difficult this task would be. I decided to dive into the task before asking any questions. Once I started using Google Drawings, I realized it wasn’t as difficult as I thought. It did not take long for me to create the images for my baseball card. Using Aurasma was also easier than I had imagined. The only issue I had was taking an image of the front of my card that was acceptable for use. These two apps would be great to use for instructional purposes, branding, and communication. They are super easy to use for both adults and children.

I am already considering and thinking of ways to use these two tools this year. Students could use these tools to share their thoughts on their favorite book to read during our ARC time. They can create a baseball card that includes an image of the book they wish to share. An Aurasma would then be created for students to tell what they like or love about the book.  It is always extra special when students get the chance to share and talk about their own work. Students could also use these tools to showcase any work they have done in class that they are proud of. Teachers, such as myself, could also use these tools to provide homework help, give classroom updates, or to inform parents of upcoming grade level events.

School wide, I feel as though these tools would be great to use when announcing our students of the month. We currently have a bulletin board where there is a group picture of the students from each class. It would be really cool to display a picture of each student individually and to have them create an Aurasma of what it means to be a Maple Lion. Parents, volunteers, and other visitors would be able to come in and scan the pictures.

This month is Black History month. Our principal announces a fact about a prominent African American in history each morning. These tools would have been great to use. There could have pictures posted around the school for students, parents, or other visitors to scan to get the fun facts. Each class could’ve been assigned a specific African Americans and given the task to create images using Google Drawings and  videos using Aurasma. This would have been a more creative and interactive way to share the facts, rather then over the announcements in the morning.

I am really happy that this assignment was created. It allowed me the opportunity to experiment and create with two additional tools that I have never heard of. Using these tools will definitely bring life to my classroom and school. Now that I have used them, I will be sharing them with other teachers and staff in the building to do the same. Teachers need to build a brand of their own and inform parents of what is expected in their classrooms. What better way to do that than to create your own baseball card?

Leading Out Loud- Buncee

Student engagement is a huge issue in my school across all grade levels. Many teachers complain that they cannot find ways to get their students to want to learn or participate. This is a problem I struggle with myself. When you walk into a classroom, you will see students playing in their desk, talking with friends, or any other off task activity. As educators, we know that all of our students are capable of learning, we just have to find ways to teach them. Finding things or activities that they are interested in is a great way to reach students. I chose to focus my professional development plan on engagement because this is where a lot of our problems in the classroom seem to come from. It is not necessarily always that the student doesn’t understand the content or skill being taught, but rather that they are not focused or engaged in the lesson. There are multiple students leaving their classrooms daily or being disruptive. Suspension and referrals are steadily increasing. Younger students, at my school, seem to struggle the most. I use a lot of PowerPoints because students love having that visual piece for every lesson.

I, at first, wanted to so badly use Plickers for this activity. Being that my professor wanted us to use a tech tool that we were not familiar with, I knew I had to use something different. After checking out each site that was a choice, I fell in love with Buncee. I was lucky enough to be able to sign up for a live webinar where I was able to chat live with a Buncee expert. He was extremely helpful in answering every question and demonstrating how to use Buncee. Buncee is definitely a tech tool that would aid in getting our students to be more engaged. I can’t wait to try it out with my second graders!

Part I : Professional Development

Part II : Presentation

leading-out-loud-myesha-ford

https://app.api.edu.buncee.com/player/b5962206cd3247e09267c6e4ca4c326a

EDLD 510 Expectations

• What obstacles are you going to struggle with this semester?
• After reviewing the syllabus, is there an #edtech tool you are excited to learn about?
• What are you looking forward to learning?
• What is your honest outlook on being a connected educator?

I was excited when signing up to take this course, yet nervous at the same time. This is my first graduate class and of course I want to do well. I was excited when enrolling because I am interested in learning all the new ways I can use technology in the classroom. I am nervous because I know that I have done a very poor job of incorporating technology as much as I should. I believe I am going to struggle the most with getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. A lot of our assignments involve uploading video responses using Flipgrid. It is always very difficult hearing or seeing myself talk. I feel as though I look away from the camera more than I tend to and I say “um” a lot! It pains me to hear it, but I know that through practice I will only get better.

After reviewing the syllabus, I am excited to learn and use both Flipgrid and WordPress for blogging. After using Flipgrid for the first time, I already started brainstorming ways to use it with my second graders. I feel as though it will really help my students who struggle with written responses. It will give them a chance to share their thoughts and participate more comfortably in some of our class’ discussions. I have also been interested in giving my students the opportunity to start blogging to share their writing pieces. I want them to be proud of their writing and publish it beyond the classroom. The more I learn about and use these two educational technology tools, it will prepare and allow me to be more comfortable to use it with my students.

Besides learning about the different educational tools that I can use in the classroom, I am looking forward to learning how to help other educators, like myself, overcome the fear of using technology with their younger students. I understand that many counties, like the one I work in, have limited technology available in classrooms. We do not have a SMART board or a set of iPads for every class, but we cannot let this stop us or be our excuse as to why we use little technology with our students. I work with second graders, and I must admit that I at first was very hesitant to use laptops with them because I felt as though they were too young to handle it. They are not too young! In fact, if we as educators wait until second grade to use different technology with our students, then we are failing them. This course has already helped me to admit to myself that I am not as comfortable as I thought with technology. I need to be more open and willing to not only use it, but to get my fellow educators to hop on board as well.

When I wake up in the morning, the first things I check are my social media accounts. I have no problem with using social media, but being a connected educator, that is a different story. On Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, I follow many educational pages. I like and save many posts that I agree with or would like to use in my own classroom. When it comes to sharing my own thoughts or feelings, regarding my profession, I am very hesitant. Creating this blog made my heart race a little. I am always nervous that I may not say the right thing. I used twitter in high school and college, but stopped once I started teaching. Creating a new, professional one for this class got me excited me to be on twitter again, but after not using it for about four years, I need to get used to it again. I am already following other educators taking the course and the professor. I find myself already “liking” their tweets and I am trying not to overdo it. I find myself wanting to post a tweet about something, but then I think to myself “is this tweet worthy”? I know I will get better and more comfortable the more that I use it.

I am looking forward to all that I will learn in this class. It will not only better me as an educator now, but it will help me with my goal of becoming an administrator.

– Myesha