ELE 300 Exit Interview

Wow! This is it my exit interview for Practicum 1. I am so nervous, I feel sick to my stomach. What if I don't have all my stuff she needs? I think I am prepared, but sometimes her directions are unclear and I get confused. I really want an A. I think I deserve an A. I have handed in all my assignments on time and I have mostly perfect scores on everything. ARGH! STRESS!!!!!!

Once I finish this I can concentrate on TIE 300. I have almost finished my checklist. I also hope I get a good grade in this class. I really did enjoy learning all about different things you could use in your classroom. My new favorite website is Google. I have begun to use all those cool tools available to me. I have also learned that blogging in kinda fun. I may continue to do this through the rest of my time at NLU. Which won't be much longer....One more year. I graduate November 2010. Woo Hoo!!!!

TIE Lesson Plan

Here is my lesson plan that integrates technology.

I was trying to just post it through slideshare but it didn't work. Here is the link.







http://www.slideshare.net/estasiowski2009/tie300-lesson-plan

Review of a journal article

Digital Textbooks: The Next Paradigm Shift in Higher Education? By Kelly Heider, Deanna Laverick, and Bethany Bennett


http://www.editlib.org/f/27054


"As students gain more control over their learning, they also want to have more control over the tools that guide their learning."

The author states that we are now using a "learning paradigm" which is more student oriented that the previous teacher-centered approach. The author believes that using traditional textbooks is no longer useful. These books are not conducive in a student centered learning environment. The article discusses the history of textbooks and the rising price of college textbooks. The author states that since digital textbooks are cheaper and can be updated more frequently more professors should use them. The authors also sited a study done at State University of New York at Stony Brook, technology and the use of DVD versions of the textbooks were used in a human evolution and history class. The results were positive. Digital textbooks would also be helpful for students with special needs. The print could be adjusted very quickly for a student with a visual impairment.

I understand where the author is coming from. My son and daughter will probably be using digital textbooks by the time they are in college. I guess I have mixed feelings about digital textbooks. I see there usefulness, but I am an older student and I feel that I cannot read text from a computer screen. I need a hard copy. I need to look at the paper and take notes. Every time I have to research something I print out the information. I even printed out this article to do this entry. If this is a cheaper alternative, I of course am on board.

Last Day of Observation

I had my last day of observation on Monday. It was sad. The children all made me cards. They came up to me one by one and said good-bye. I am really going to miss those kids. I feel that I became a part of the classroom in the short time I was there. It was pretty funny when I child that lives near me, just realized who I was. He asked me if I was Johnny's mom. When I said yes, he told me that he knew I looked familiar. It took him over a month to make the connection. The teacher and I both laughed.

I will be visiting that class soon. The teacher told me she will keep me updated on future events in the classroom. I hope it is soon, becasue I miss them already!

Thoughts on www.thethinkingstick.com

"School 2.0 although driven to change by the advancement of technology is not about technology, it's about the advancement of society, of our culture as a world" (Jeff Utecht)



Jeff Utecht is an educator in Shanghai. His website is dedicated to his work in telling educators about the importance of Web 2.0. He says that we need to implement all these tools available for our students. the reason we need to do this is because this is how the world communicates now. You can teach a class on the other side of the world. The reverse is also true, you could learn from a teacher who is a thousand miles away.



Society has embraced Web 2.0 and this is how most of us communicate. We use facebook, twitter, myspace, and text messages to keep in touch with our friends and families. These are useful tools in the workplace, life in general, and in school. You see commericals all the time that show that people that can access the Internet with a flick of the wrist are at an advantage. Why can't our children also be at an advantage?

Jeff Utecht discusses that changing our thoughts about Web 2.0 is a challenge. We need to look beyond word processing and power point presentation and as educators learn the tools ourselves to teach them to the children. This class has taught me a lot of tools that I would have never thought about before. I hope I am able to utilize this information in my future career.


www.thethinkingstick.com

This I Believe

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

This I Believe

View more presentations from Liz Stasiowski.

Has it been this long already?

I can't believe that it has been almost two weeks since I posted a blog. Life has been such a whirl-wind lately. My children both had the flu and my sister got married on Halloween. There are some great pictures out there.

My time with my third graders is almost over. I am really going to miss those kids. I have learned a lot from my cooperating teacher. She has also given me so many task to do that my day flies by. I have been working individually with a lot of children. Some need help in math and some in reading. I realized that there is a great need for more aides in the classroom. If there were more people to get stuff done the teachers could really do more with the children. I know that this is a matter of money and resources. I wish we could find a way to get past this. Any ideas?

This I believe......

In class we neede to make a power point presentation about our beliefs on education. Here are my thoughts about the presentation.
http://www.slideshare.net/estasiowski2009/this-i-believe-inspiration-doc

Progress Reports and other fun

The first set of progress reports have gone out in the Chicago Public Schools. Parents will now know how well their child is doing. I am proud of my children. They seem to have started out the year well. I hope they can keep it up the rest of the quarter.

My daughter's teacher did something neat. She set up individual meetings with all the parents. She called it an informal "Getting to know you". I really liked that I was able to sit down with her teacher and ask her anything I wanted to. With 30+ kids in a class it is really hard to get one on one time with your child's teacher. Report card pick-up should not be the first time you meet your child's teacher. I know that I will try to do this type of parent meeting when I have my own classroom.

A Fun Survey that has nothing to do with Education

This I believe.....

http://thisibelieve.org/essay/39780/

This is an essay written by Martha Leath. She wrote it for the website thisibelieve.org . It is about how telling kids the truth is beneficial. I think we often under estimate the minds of children. In some ways they are capable of complex thoughts and ideas. We tend to sugar coat the truth so that kids can "understand" it better. I really think we do it to help us avoid explaining things. I know I am guilty of this when it comes to my own children.

Getting Involved During Observations

Well the time has come for me to step it up during my observations. The teacher has me doing all sorts of stuff. I have graded papers, gave children assessments, and wrote an outline on the blackboard. I have learned that I need to work on my handwriting. How the heck do you do that at 32 years old? My observation time is flying by. I am going to miss the children after I leave next month.

I am also pleased to announce that I received my letter telling me where I will be placed for the winter and spring quarters. It is a school ten minutes away from my house. I can't beleive my luck. I have to contact the principal Friday to set up a meeting. I am so excited!

Its week 4 already?

This quarter is going by so fast. I say that every quarter. If this is you first year at NLU, get used to that sentence. You will be saying often. The thought of ten week classes sound cool. Then you are in them and you are probably losing your mind about now. How will I get it all done in time?

Education students are doing observations, logs, blogs, reflections, lesson plans, power points, and any other fun stuff you can think of. It is crazy!

You will get it done and you will be relieved when you get your A.

Just remember it is week four and there is still a lot to do in all of your classes. Lets all buckle down and finish this quarter!

Any thoughts on good ways to finish the quarter stress free? Please let me know.

This is just an old Reading Rainbow video that I thought was cool. Reading Rainbow was absolutly my favorite show when I was a kid.

First Day of Observation

Hello All,

I completed my first day of observation yesterday. It was a blast! I went home feeling exhausted by happy. I really like my cooperating teacher and the kids are great. I am in a third grade class at a school by my house. One of the kids in the class lives across the street from me. I was worried about that since I am doing a school so close to where I live, but the teacher told me not to worry about it. The teacher lives in the neighborhood so she see kids from her class all the time. Yesterday I just introduced myself to the class and sat and took notes about the classroom and how it was set up. Tomorrow I am going back for day 2. I can't wait.

First Day of CCD

I started my fifth year as a CCD (Religious Education for Public School Students) teacher on Saturday. It is amazing how easier it is getting. I remember when I first started, I used to be so scared. Now I am much more comfortable with the material and myself. The most exciting thing about teaching CCD this year is that I have my first class of third graders back. I used to teach third grade, but I moved up to seventh grade last year. It is so cool to see how the children have grown in the past few years. The kids know me, so that also made my job easier. The only thing they didn't like was the fact that they are going to have homework this year. Oh Well!

I also start my observation hours this week. I will write more about my first experience later this week.

Have a good evening!

First post 9/24/09

We were asked to start a blog in class. I have never blogged (is that the right word) before. What do I write? Just stuff I guess. My thoughts on my classes and teaching experiences. This should be interesting. Have fun reading!