The Classroom

I’m always playing around and tweaking the blog, and now I’ve just linked it up with MyBlogLog.com to host avatars for the comment section.  Just sign up for your free account, upload a picture, and post your comment!  You avatar will magically appear beside your words of wisdom!

I also want to take this opportunity to once again extend the invitation for anyone to write a post for The Classroom.  Simply write about what your passionate about, and e-mail it to me.  If it’s appropriate I’ll post it on your behalf and people can start commenting on it!  I don’t mind starting the conversation (just ask my class… or my wife), but if other people have a great idea, I don’t mind stepping off my soapbox for a while.

Well with that said, I’m off to shape the minds of the future (that’s a scary thought…).  Have a great day, and have fun!

-Mr. G

I think this is got to be one of the toughest questions a teacher can try to answer, but one of the most important. Everyone has a different way of reaching their students, of bringing the best out of them.

Some are stern task masters, driving their students to be the best they can be. I’ve had teachers like that – and I learned a lot in their class. Sometimes is was because they pushed me along, other times it was so I could show them I was better than they thought – either way it was effective motivation.

Then there are the nurturers. The “parent” figures. The ones who cared for you, and would help you feel good about yourself no matter what you did. The ones you would move heaven and earth for because that look of disappointment when something went wrong was a fate worse than death. Read the rest of this entry »

Ok – I’ve been trying to avoid the technology stuff on this site as much as possible, because that’s not what I’m all about. It’s what I’m best known for – but it’s only the tip of the iceberg of what I use in my classroom. A very large tip perhaps, but just the tip.

Like most teachers I teach my students, not the curriculum. I teach people, not technology. I mean technology is just a tool. A pencil is a piece of technology. One we use all the time, but you don’t hear a kindergarten teacher say I teach the pencil, and when they’re ready I’m going to teach the eraser! It’s just a tool to help students master the world around them. To interact with those near and far and to make their mark on the world.

I tell my students I teach because I want to live to be 300. I figure that’s a great age. To reach my goal I need people who will make huge advancements in medical science, who will make sure the food I eat is safe, those who can build a home that won’t fall on my head, and make sure the economy runs smoothly so I can afford to buy a new car every once and a while, and people to make sure the world is a peaceful place for my family and I. That’s not much to ask is it? Read the rest of this entry »

Videoconferencing. What was the stuff of Hana-Barbara’s Jetsons cartoons is now a reality. You can have a face to face conversation with someone thousands of kilometers away. I know this technology has been around for years in the form of webcams. But you can do so much more now then you could with the first webcam that was pointed at a coffee pot back in 1991. I’ve heard a lot of debates over the use of expensive videoconferencing systems (like those from Tanberg and Polycom) over $30 webcams from the local electronics store. To me it makes very little difference. It’s not what technology you use – but how you use it. Yes you get better quality with the full VC system, and there are more educational opportunities & conferences that can be held with VC rather then webcams, but these are just tools, and in the hands a an artist, even the simplest tools can make masterpieces.

So I’m not opening up this debate. Instead I’d like to talk about the educational potential of this technology. According to Wikipedia:

Videoconferencing provides students with the opportunity to learn by participating in a 2-way communication platform. Furthermore, teachers and lecturers from all over the world can be brought to classes in remote or otherwise isolated places. Students from diverse communities and backgrounds can come together to learn about one another. Students are able to explore, communicate, analyze and share information and ideas with one another. Through video conferencing students can visit another part of the world to speak with others, visit a zoo, a museum and so on, to learn. These “virtual field trips” can bring opportunities to children, especially those in geographically isolated or the economically disadvantaged. Small schools can use this technology to pool resources and teach courses (such as foreign languages) which otherwise couldn’t be offered. Teachers can use this technology to acquire additional college credits for recertification without driving to classes.

I have seen cases where children from the Arctic were taught how to play the violin via videoconferencing. At Meyokumin we’ve “taken” students to the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller 300 Km way. We’ve learned about conditions in Afghanistan, and talked to a Canadian Solider in the field. We’re able to provide students with educational opportunities, and access to individuals that were previously beyond our reach.

One of the most powerful, in my opinion, is the Read Around the Planet conference put on by TWICE (Two Way Interactive Connections in Education). Read the rest of this entry »

I know I’ve blown my post a week goal – but as always everything hits at once. PD days, Teacher’s Convention, Read Around the Planet (I’m co-ordinating 9 classes for that one… I’ll let you know how it turns out next week), and of course – Report Cards.

Report Cards – the most dreaded of all teacher duties (with winter supervision being a close second). For those of you who work on your reports all term, and hand them in early with a smile on your face… you’re the bane of my existence. Every term I try to do that – I have it all planned out – get my mark books all laid out… and before I know it I’m a week late with my cards! Read the rest of this entry »