February 14, 2010

Wikipedia

I think it is amazing that someone thought of this! Unfortunately, I believe this just proves that Wikipedia cannot be a trusted website for any academic research. All this scanner does is show teachers how fallible Wikipedia is. This website is great for initial research, but it falls horrifically short of being a trustworthy academic site for students.

At the Teacher's Desk

I loved Mr. Mclung's entry on his first year of teaching. His advice was very much like the advice my mother has been giving me for years. Read your audience don't worry about what your superiors say to much because all that matters is that your students understand your lessons. Do not flip your lid when your lessons don't go your way. Sometimes your lessons will go in a completely different direction than you intended but don't freak, as long as the learn something that's all that matters. COMMUNICATE and LISTEN! Your students will respond better to you and you will make a more profound impact on their lives if you COMMUNICATE with them. I think this is the most important piece of information he could have given us. Being reasonable is not an option. We all remember that one teacher who refused to understand that we had a death in the family and refused to give us an extension on that really big assignment that we had all year to work on. So what this same grandparent dies every semester!? We still deserved that extension. Now this is over exaggeration, obviously, but seriously, we all had that teacher who wouldn't budge on an assignment no matter the reasonable circumstances. None of us want to be that teacher. Use technology in the classroom. Don't be afraid to help your student with the use of technology. Don't give up if you don't get it the first time. Keep trying! His last piece of advice was to continue to learn. We as educators cannot expect our students to learn if we are not willing to continue ourselves.