Tag: teacher

Twitter in the Classroom

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

One of my favorite aspects of teaching is keeping update with new technology, and finding exciting ways to capture my student’s interest. Many people use social media like Facebook and Twitter outside the classroom, but at a recent training I attended, I learned about how teachers can use Twitter inside the classroom, and I thought it was awesome! Please enjoy the guest post below, and let me know what you think!

When it comes to social media in the classroom, some educators remain skeptical. These individuals think that Twitter does not have a place in the classroom and that the only purpose it would serve would be as a distraction.

But Twitter can actually be extremely beneficial to both students and teachers, but too many schools are refusing to see these benefits, eliminating the site from school computers. Most schools just suffer from pure ignorance to the advantages.

1. Continue the lecture.
It is sometimes hard for teachers to present all of their information during the allotted classroom time. Instead of trying to rush through all the information, Twitter allows teachers to continue the lecture even when class is over. Teachers can use Twitter to provide students with links to videos or websites that provide more information about they topic they’re currently learning. This allows teacher to ensure that their students are receiving all the information relating to the topic so that they’re not missing out on any important details.

2. Students can share notes.
Taking notes is essential to education, and if a student misses a day of school, it can be difficult to catch up on the notes taken during the day they missed. With Twitter, both teachers and students can provide links to websites where students can find information or notes about what they missed in class. Now, students who are sick don’t have to spend a great deal of time trying to catch up.

3. Students can learn more on their own.
Thanks to the use of hashtags, students can easily find information via Twitter about topics they’re learning in school. They can gain knowledgeable information from others who are discussing the same topic, and they can even join in conversations that are taking place on the web. This allows students to hear perspective from people other than their teacher, and it can be a great way to help them gain more information for the test.

4. Use the technology for homework.
Instead of sending students home with worksheets, send homework to Twitter. The teacher can post questions via Twitter and have students answer them on the site. It’s also a great way for teachers to provide help for students outside of the classroom. A student can reach out to a teacher when they have questions, helping them gain information when they’re studying.

5. Send reminders to your class.
How often are students saying “I forgot” when it comes to class assignments or tests? Twitter can alleviate this issue. Teachers can send reminders to their students about projects or assignments that are due or remind them about upcoming tests. This way, students will have reminders to provide them with ample time to study or finish projects.

6. Keep parents involved.
If parents are on Twitter, it’s a great way for them to stay up to date with their child’s education. Parents can use Twitter to join discussions with teachers to find out what their child is learning and if they need any extra help. Parents can also find out assignments from the teacher to make sure that their child is keeping up with assignments and projects and that they’re amply studying for tests.

So before educators and parents start ruling out Twitter in the classroom, they should instead find out the benefits associated with it first, and then they may start singing a different tune.

Ben Myers is a college English professor. He is currently grading a huge stack of essays on Of Mice and Men. In his spare time, Ben likes to study about learning methods and learning disabilities.

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Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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365 Days of Finding My Voice

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

When I was a little girl, I was terribly shy. Talking to most people was a physical impossibility for me – I’d rather hide behind a tree than have to speak to my friend’s parents as they opened their door. I was perfectly content burying myself in library books, finding great adventures through someone else’s life stories.

It was amazing to me, as I started my teaching career, that I could actually stand in front of people – children and adults – and actually say something that people wanted to hear. I still have those moments, honestly, when I look out at my classroom in amazement that every eye is on me. Kind of makes me shudder sometimes.

Contrary to many childhood lessons, being shy is not a disability. There are benefits, of course, but it takes a great deal of self-reflection to discover them. Shyness means that one can step back, observe situations, and hopefully think before speaking. Being shy is a great quality for people watching – one of my favorite hobbies. And of course, being shy allows us to create our own thoughts and opinions without having to share them with anyone else – which would create an opportunity for making a mistake.

First-born children, like me, are somehow inbred to be perfect. Just ask my sister, who came only 13 months behind me. No matter what I did, it was always subject to great scrutiny as the ‘golden child’. That’s a mighty high reputation to uphold, for sure.

Living life as a shy, first born of first-borns created an inner determination to break the cycle with my own first-born. Wanting so desperately for my daughter to have her own voice, however, was really what allowed me to find my own.

Suddenly I couldn’t hide anymore-I was someone’s mom. I needed to be the one to speak, teach, and nurture the little voice I had created. At times, her ‘voice’ nearly deafened me in those early days, but as she grew, we blossomed together. We both learned to ask for what we wanted, demand what we needed, and express our feelings and beliefs clearly.

So last summer when I let loose this blog, my voice was born. Surely, it was shaky at best, but it stumbled out of me and landed firmly on the page and kept tumbling and somersaulting and back flipping until before I knew it, I was a writer. Thousands of others, some as introverted as I, were hearing my voice.

Over the last 365 days, I’ve learned to trust it, listen to it, and share it. I’ve learned to pause, ponder and pour it out onto the page. I’ve learned to watch and heed the commentary it produces, to observe the emotions it creates, and to suspend that inner critic who cautions me that I’m treading on the brink of disaster.

Now that I have a little girl, I’m not so shy. Talking to most people is not a physical impossibility anymore – as long as I can let my fingers do it for me.

Jennifer Wolfe

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Summertime Payback

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

This may be a little known fact to some, but school teachers don’t exactly get three months of vacation.

The way I see it, our vacation is really a way to add in some of the overtime hours that we racked up during the school year.

Let me explain. If my teaching day ends at 4:00, I have put in 8.5 hours at school. Only 50 minutes of that was allotted for preparation and grading. If I assign one essay and spend 20 minutes per student on grading it, that will take 720 minutes (12 hours) for one class of 36 – remember, no one has class sizes of 30 anymore. if I have five classes, that’s 60 hours of extra work per essay assignment. That’s another entire work week, plus overtime.

As I head into my second week of ‘vacation’, I’m finally starting to relax. I’m not hearing any bells buzzing in my ears, telling me when to stop and go. I’ve stowed my book bags in my home office, willing to let them sit until August. I’ve gone to the gym and grocery store mid-day, I’ve washed all my coffee travel mugs, and am beginning to make my way through the stacks of magazines that have built up since December.

But the best part about being a teacher isn’t all of those things; it’s not even the time payback.

I really think the secret is that teachers have the best of both worlds.

I’ve always been a ‘working-outside-the-home mom’. I’m not complaining-we made that choice in order to live where we do (California), get health insurance benefits, save for retirement and our children’s college, and to have the ability to live off of two incomes. I don’t know what it’s like to be a stay-at-home mom, but I imagine parts of it are pretty great.

I also imagine there are parts of it that are really, really hard.

The loveliness of being a teacher isn’t just about having fun in the classroom, or having a few weeks off in the summer. It isn’t about having my own child at school for three years, personally knowing all her teachers, or having a place outside my house to store all my books.

What I find delicious and at the same time difficult is the transition between being a ‘work-outside-the-home’ mom and being home all day. I say it’s my compromise for all the missed walks to and from school while they were little, the lunches I forgot to pack, and the field trips I couldn’t go on. It’s my way of making up for not being the ‘science’ or ‘library’ mommy in their classroom, and for having to send store bought cookies for their birthday celebration.

Summertime is my time to not only catch up on the ‘to-do’ lists, but also to do things with my kids that I can’t squeeze in during the school year- like long walks at dusk, talking about what’s important. Riding our bikes. Spending hours in the library looking for a perfect book. Making that cake recipe that takes an entire day. Swimming and reading at the pool. Wandering around a museum. Road trips to anywhere. Lying on the grass for a cool evening baseball game.

For me, working-outside-the-home makes these moments just a little sweeter-it makes summertime special.

Nothing is better payback than that.

Jennifer Wolfe

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Education Issues, May 2012

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

via Pinterest

For many families, May signals the end of the school year. Some parents start worrying about how to keep their kids busy during the long summer days, and others worry about how to afford to keep their kids in college.

This month I thought about these issues and more – how to explain the shrinking job market for college grads, why California is losing bright students to other states, and how the presidential election will influence college financing. Please click on the my article links below, and feel free to share your thoughts!

“College Grads Facing Higher Levels of Unemployment”

FIRST PERSON | As a ninth grade AVID teacher in Davis, California, a huge part of my job is preparing freshmen for admission to the college of their choice. I help them plan their high school schedules to make sure they have their admission requirements satisfied. They register for and complete the PSAT, set up College Board accounts, research and tour all types of colleges, and create a final project highlighting the school of their choice. I teach them the value of a college education, and how much more money college graduates make than mere high school graduates. However, according to Investors.com recent article, “New Normal: Majority of Unemployed Attended College”, I may have to change my message.

Brain Drain: Are California’s Brightest Students Leaving the State?

COMMENTARY | Arizona State University, University of Oregon, Northern Arizona University, University of Nevada-Reno, Oregon State University, and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. What do these colleges all have in common? Each university has seen a triple-digit percent increase in the number of California freshmen students enrolling in their campus. Nearly 27,300 students left California in 2010, up 90 percent in the last decade. California’s declining support of education, combined with large numbers of qualified applicants, has made out-of-state college a very attractive option.

As the number of California students accepted to out-of-state colleges grows, California has increased its own efforts to recruit out-of-state students.

If Romney is Elected President, My Kids May Not Go to College

COMMENTARY | Parents, look out. If Mitt Romney is elected president, the only hope your kids have for going to college is if you can pay for it. Romney’s proposal suggests reducing funding for Pell grants and other student financial aid resources for middle income students, cutting 18 percent of federal education funding, and defying teacher’s unions efforts to maintain manageable class sizes.

There’s a few things Mr. Romney doesn’t seem to understand. Not all parents can afford to pay for college. In fact, for most of the middle class, like me, we work hard, save for retirement, and are being forced to choose between helping our kids fund higher education, or helping ourselves fund retirement. Hard working Americans shouldn’t have to make these kinds of choices.

What do you think?

Jennifer Wolfe

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Communication Breakdown

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

It’s funny how differently people communicate. Some think that because they talk, they are communicating. Others think that if they listen, they are communicating. Taking notes-is that communicating? So is body language-do we count that?

When I’m teaching, I’m communicating. My students have silent and not-so-silent forms of communication. Boys communicate differently from girls, and men from women. Do animals communicate? People of different cultures have modes of communication that are sometimes difficult for outsiders to understand. Writing is a form of communicating, too, and probably my most comfortable mode.

I start the year teaching about precision of language, and how problematic it can be when we are careless with language and use incorrect and powerful words. When I’m teaching my students literary analysis, I hammer the idea of justification-that whatever claim they are trying to make, they need to back it up with proof from the text. When we work on argumentative writing, we try to not only consider our beliefs, but also try to predict a counterargument. Narrative writing needs to communicate visual ideas and sensory

details.

The problem I’m noticing lately is when adults try to communicate only through words, and they either have little command of language, or are sloppy at it. Some adults prefer email to face-to-face encounters, and would rather write out their feelings and opinions than talk on the phone. In meetings, some use language to communicate verbally, others try to write it all down as it is spoken, and leave the interpretation for later. In watching this, I’m realizing that these modes are all problematic.

The poor writer chooses the wrong word and is misunderstood. The emailer loses the ability to show emotion and body language. The talkers spend so much time hearing their own voice that they cannot hear anyone else, and the note takers risk having slow fingers that only catch part of the truth, and leave the rest open for interpretation.

For me, it all kind of comes back to justification and precision. If we think, then write, we need to back up our assertions. This isn’t to say that we all need to create lawyer-like arguments for our thoughts, but we need to think it through before it comes out of our mouth or onto a paper. We need to consider our language, and the power of our words to motivate, measure, or make misery. We need to choose what we say, when we say it, and how we say it with thoughts of the recipient. To do any less opens the door for heartbreak, heartache, and misunderstandings. I know this is a tall order-thinking before I speak is something I have to make a conscious effort towards daily. It’s not easy, but it is getting easier.

I can only imagine how much better my world would be if more people took the time to communicate. Isn’t it worth a try?

Jennifer Wolfe

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