Today was one of the first and many trainings I will receive this year. (We are in year 4 of a technology/writing grant and have ongoing trainings to help us to use the myaccess.com writing program to better service our kids’ writing needs.) And while I truly appreciate the technology we were given (a laptop cart per grade level), it is a little overwhelming.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m in a training, my mind starts racing with all these ideas about how I can and should implement everything I’m learning into my lesson plans ASAP. Granted, many of the ideas are good ideas, but then I come home, sit on my floor (as I am now), and try to plan. It just seems impossible to fit in everything I need to fit in–in the appropriate amount of time.
We have so much technology and in-services thrown our way, but I wish I could sit down with some teachers to discuss simple logistics. I need to see a teacher and a functioning schedule that implements the following in an effective way:
1. Reader’s Notebook with daily student conferences and timely teacher response to student response letters
2. Successful and Meaningful Reading Group Rotations
3. Science Experiments
4. Social Studies Projects and Research
5. Discovery Education videos streamed into lessons consistently
6. Digicore lessons
7. myaccess.com– Student Writing Block
8. Spelling and Phonics Instruction
9. Quick Parent Communication (I just started using Google Voice this year. I’m liking it so far, just working out the kinks. Love the texting capability though, especially that I can type texts to parents on the computer during the school day.)
10. Meaningful HW assignments using technology
11. Edmodo updates and exciting articles/video to keep students engaged
12. Math exploratory lessons (Looking into Marcie Cook Tile Math–any other suggestions??)
13. Instruction in how to create a wonderful lesson using Doceri and my new iPad
14. Finally, can I get a common core training sometime before I’m supposed to assess the students with it?!
Hmmmm… am I missing anything? Oh yes, my own personal life–husband, family, friends, church, exercise, etc. I mean, I do have a
1 1/2 year old kid somewhere…..where is that kid…. Gotta go.
Someone let me know when they have this all figured out. I would like to observe your classroom-soon!
Cortez Corner 