Vignettes

VENT

I can definitely feel the time crunch as the end of the year approaches. This has been the shortest school year I’ve ever experienced. Fellows coursework and comps papers are becoming more stressful as deadlines approach and classroom work is becoming very demanding and time is running out. Being on the “other side” of education has been very eye opening this year and I’m thankful for all my experiences although, at times, I feel a bit overwhelmed. Sorry for the vent, but I had to get it out.

YouTUBE

As of late, the greatest news that I’ve received concerning the use of technology in the classroom is that Rock Bridge Fire Walls have been changed to allow teachers to sign on to YouTube with our CPS password. There are many great educational resources on this site and it will greatly benefit the students and classroom instruction. I used You Tube once in the classroom already in teaching a short WWI parable called “The Last Flower.” I also have been proactive in attempting to consider the possibility of using it when I plan my lessons for my African American Experience course.

RESEARCH

As the year ends I have also been making sure that my students are honing their research skills. My World Studies class is researching the extent and evolution of non-Western countries’ self-determination from the age of imperialism to the falling of the Berlin Wall. The first time I wrote about research skills in the classroom I explained how we gave students key words and sites to visit. Our focus now is to see how well students can research on their own. The supplemental instruction is focusing on how to determine a valid site from one that is useless or unreliable. I feel that allowing students to research in this way will better benefit them for the classes they take in the future, and for my seniors, it will aid them as they enter into a world that will not make the many facets of research so plain and straight forward.