What does research say about using Interactive Whiteboards? What are the pros and cons? Would you want to have one in your classroom?

Research on the whole from what I could find, and what I have experienced using them is that interactive whiteboards are good on the whole. Students like using them; they see them as a “toy”. Also they address the multiple learner styles such as visual and kinesthetic. I think the con would be that there isn’t proper training for teachers in the classroom. Therefor I don’t think they use the interactive white boards to their fullest capabilities. I have used them in my classroom and I really enjoy them. But I wish I would have had a training rather than a figure it our for yourself way of learning.

How does your current skill set compare to the NETS for teachers

Fortunately for me I am very diverse in my skills when it comes to technology. NETS for teacher could be something that I implement IF I had the proper tools and resources available I could definitely meet all of the standards and performance indicators.

What are the NETS for students?

NETS stands for National Education Technology Standards

How does motivation tie in to student success in the classroom? Give 3 examples of strategies to motivate today's students.

I am a firm believer in PBS (positive behavior support) I think this is one example of motivating students. Kids want instant gratification and if they can be rewarded for doing well on certain things, or for showing motivation then by all means I am for it. I also think providing opportunities for students to succeed by assigning things that are not too easy or too difficult to ensure success really increases kid’s motivation. Lastly I would love to incorporate more technology into the classroom. Having a student read a book versus reading online or using a program on the computer increases the students motivations to learn.

How does the US compare to other like-minded countries in our education system? What are our strengths and/or weakness?

We are falling behind compared to other countries and our education system. We have one of the highest dropout rates, and we also have the biggest achievement gap. The only strength I would say the US has is that our school system is free. Lately our school systems have taken a back seat to everything else.

OPINION: Do we need more or less emphasis of either Core Knowledge or 21st Century Learning Skills? How would we go about it?

I think for my position and working with student with special needs, we need more core knowledge. In that I would like to supply all of my students with the basic knowledge they need in order to succeed and move higher up on the educational skills. That requires getting rid of grade and core curriculum for students who are in 4th grade but are operating at a kinder level. How am I able to teach core curriculum to students who do not have the core knowledge to begin with?

How does current education practice apply both 21st Century Learning Skills and Core Knowledge?

the 21st century learning skills provides a foundation for each specific learning area and where the child needs to be in order to be able to learn. Core knowledge does something similar. Currently working in a Special Education class I believe my IEPs for each student uses both of these practices by laying a foundation for each student, assessing where they are at currently and then building on their declarative knowledge to achieve a maximum learning environment.

What is Core Knowledge and how does it apply to education theory?

Core knowledge is very simple, the more you know, the more you are able to learn. Core knowledge says that every child should learn on the core subjects such as mathematics, language arts, science, etc. This curriculum represents an effort to identify the basic knowledge children need to reach these goals. It’s a foundation of sorts. Being able to apply core knowledge to educational theory will make it easier for the child to learn and retain information. Educational theory is the purpose of learning. If you are able to identify where the child stands in their education theory, you can then lay the proper foundation for them to set up a successful learning environment, which is where the core knowledge comes in.

Partnership for 21st Century Learning

1) What are the learning outcomes established by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning? (Include information about who/what the Partnership itself is.)
The learning outcomes for the Partnership for 21st Century are stated on the website located at http://www.p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=254&Itemid=120

•The first outcome is Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes which integrate 21st century themes into the core subjects, such as reading, language, math, etc.

•The second outcome is Learning and Innovation Skills which separate students who are prepared for life and work environments against students who are not. There are three categories, which are Creativity and Innovation, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, and Communication and Collaboration

•The third outcome is information, media and technology. This discusses the fact that we live in a technology and media driven society and effective citizens and workers should be able to show critical thinking skills such as, Information Literacy, Media Literacy, and ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) Literacy

•The fourth outcome is life and career skills, which require students to pay attention to developing adequate life skills, such as Flexibility and Adaptability, Initiative and Self-Direction, social and Cross-Cultural Skills, Productivity and Accountability and Leadership and Responsibility

Great websites for students

To create word searches this is a great website!! http://www.armoredpenguin.com/wordsearch/

I use http://www.roythezebra.com/index.html to work on reading with my students and they love playing on this website. Great for younger kids and easy to use for kids with Special Needs.

Blabber!

Incorporating Blogs in the Classroom

I could use a blog in my classroom as a communication tool for my students, or a recap of the day for the students who missed the day, or for students who need a reminder. For example if I assign math homework I can make a blog restating what was taught that day in math, how to do the problems, and examples. Its a great tool to use for students with special needs who are able to navigate through a blog.