Exams are done… graduation is complete… report card packages are stuffed… lockers are cleaned… and the hallways are quiet… my first year as a teacher is now complete! New Teacher Cartoon. (Accessed on 2014). Uploaded to Cartoon Stock by aban705.Available online at:http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/n/new_teacher.asp This year has seemed to go by at incredible warp-speed and I can’t believe that it is actually done. The first year as a teacher is an overwhelming roller-coaster of emotions that will sometimes make you laugh uncontrollably, make you bite your tongue or even swear under your breathe, make you beam with joy, and even… Read More
Free #EdTech – Apps For Your Class 4
Free #EdTech – Apps For Your Class is a sporadic posting I do every time I find a neat new app that is not only being offered FREE (for a limited time) but that is also educational and could serve a purpose in your classroom. While no longer free, last sessions app: Fun Slides, is still awesome and I recommend you check it out! Today I’ve found:Word LensThis multi-lingual translation app blows my mind and I have literally been walking around our school sharing it with staff and students (yes… I am that person). It allows users to:– translate typed text in real… Read More
Tech Club 2014-2015
Through my first year I’ve been thinking of starting a “Tech Club” at my school for those students who are interested in technology, programming, and electronics. I’ve been closely following the awesome projects being completed by Clarence Fisher’s students in Snow Lake and the innovative makerspaces in Eric Sheninger’s school in New Jersey as inspiration. While my plan is to organize our projects around student interests and creativity, I do have many preliminary ideas that I hope to begin with. After meeting with my principal about my ideas, I’ve divided our year into two sections: larger year-long projects and small-scale… Read More
Because We're Happy…
A few weeks back I decided to create a school-wide music video as part of an end-of-year/school-spirit project. Here is the finished project, featuring the students and staff, of our K-12 school! I hope this makes your day a little more happy 🙂
2014-2015 Teaching Schedule
It feels like I am in a time-warp, as I vividly remember writing this post last year when I got my teaching schedule for my VERY FIRST year as a teacher. Somehow, it has been over a year since that time… oh, where did the time go!? I am now almost finished up my first year at “S-School” and I have gotten my teaching schedule for next year. I am happy to announce that I will get to remain as the Grade 8 homeroom teacher (although I will still have classes ranging from Grade 8 to Grade… Read More
6 Steps For Creating Exams?
Deep breathe in..1..2..3.. Deep breathe out..1..2..3.. Feel that? That is the sound of one relaxed teacher. One relaxed teacher who just put the finishing touches on the last of her final exams! A relaxing planning spot can solve everything! After a full semester, or even a full year, of activities, experiences, and assessments, it is hard to not feel nervous about preparing a final exam that somehow encompasses all of that in a 2 hour event. Personally, I do not believe formalized, traditional, exams are a good assessment technique and resent the fact that the set-up of them… Read More
Free Summer PD From Home!
Summertime is here… or nearly here for some of us. While society tends to believe that teachers do not do anything for the two months of summer holidays, we all know that is not the case! If you are wondering what kinds of professional development are available in your area or are thinking of beginning a new project next year but need to learn more, why don’t you check out Coursera? If you haven’t heard of, or checked out, Coursera before, they describe their idea as: “Coursera is an education platform that partners with… Read More
June Currently
Guess what!? It is June, JUNE! In only 18 short school days my very first year of teaching is going to be done! When I look back at the year it was incredibly busy and, at times, overwhelming & stressful. Yet, on the other-hand, the year went by insanely fast and was full of amazing moments. It is definitely true what they say,”If you love your job, it never feels like work” and I couldn’t be happier to have found a career that has not felt like work once! The view out our picture window;can’t wait to be… Read More
Welcome to Our City: Math Tech
For the past week, my Grade 8 students have been working on creating 3D Model Cities as part of their summative assessment in our math unit, Measuring 3D Shapes. They were asked to develop a unique city that required them to: – Create appropriate 2D nets (with measurements) to create the building shapes they wanted – Determine the surface area of each building – Determine the volume of each building As a side project, we then created videos to show off their awesome creations! Each student filmed and edited their own movie using their personal devices… Read More
Diversity from A-Z! Chapter 1 of U.D.L
To help us work towards our school goal of purposefully implementing the Universal Design for Learning approach to our formal planning (sometimes referred to as “Backwards by Design”, “Understanding by Design”, or “Planning With The End in Mind), my principal has provided our staff with a copy of Dr. Jennifer Katz‘s book, Teaching to Diversity: The Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning. As I make my way through the book, I will be summarizing my learning as a means of organizing my thoughts and getting clarification on particular ideas. Teaching to Diversity Cover. (Accessed 2014). Uploaded to Amazon; Portage& Main Press. … Read More