World Teachers' Day

October 5 is celebrated as World Teachers' Day and is observed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Although many countries have a specific day set aside for the celebration of it's nations teachers, today we recognize this global celebration and give credit to the many teachers around the world. Teachers inspire a generation and set the foundation for unearthing hidden potential in students. Teaching is a lifetime of service and dedication to helping students become effective global citizens who desire to give the best of themselves.

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."

Albert Einstein

Seesaw

Seesaw is a great resource to help students document their learning. It gives them the option to capture pictures and videos of their work and load it to their folder where they can track their progress. Their work can be shared with parents and teachers and basically gives an eye into the classroom and their learning.

MATH WORD PROBLEMS

Math problems encourage students to think through their strategies before providing a solution. A Math problem might require the use of several operations to solve. Mathplayground.com is a great resource with over 600 Math problems for students Grades 1 to 6. Hopefully you can use this to challenge your students to work on their Math problem solving.  A wide range of Math games are also accessible on this link which will definitely engage your students and support their learning of Math.

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Every child can learn ... just not at the same pace!

Professional Development

The Teacher and Professional Development

Professional Development is one key to the classroom teacher's quest to remain relevant, current and quite frankly, useful in today's classroom. It necessitates the use of different strategies and methods to develop the skills and techniques the teacher can use to motivate learners. No longer can the teacher feel accomplished after a successful completion of a degree in any given field. The fact is, learning is a life long process. It does not stop after the graduation ceremony. The teacher is charged with the responsibility of inspiring learners and helping them to become critical thinkers and problem solvers in the 21st Century and beyond. The teacher can never be content with what he or she has learnt within the confines of a teaching environment. Inspiring learners involves a community of thinkers and innovators willing to share and learn from each other's experiences.

Build a Professional Learning Network with Twitter

Twitter is a fantastic Social Media tool to get started on the journey to connect with teachers and educators all over the world to build a Professional Learning Network (PLN). There might be teachers who strongly detest anything to do with Social Media and those who are constantly listening to, or even feeding into the negative chatter. I can assure you they will soon become irrelevant in the classroom. As educators we have the power to change, even more than we care to acknowledge or accept. It is amazing how educators have turned all the negative talk around Twitter into a positive learning environment where best practices and proven resources are harnessed, shared and used to enrich our teaching and learning environments. You will never know until you delve in and start your journey.


Here's a quick intro to get you started on using Twitter:

 


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PlanbookEdu

PlanbookEdu is a tool to help teachers plan and organize lessons and other resources. Access your files from any browser anytime. You can also share your files with your colleagues using variable permission settings. Although Planbook carries an annual payment there is a free version which provides basic access which you can explore.

EZVID

EZVID is a free video maker that comes with a screen recorder and video editor. It features a range of options for you to create your own video for your viewing audience. With Ezvid you can have easy access to:

• Video editor
• Fast and easy screen recorder 
• Instant slideshow maker
• Awesome screen capture 
• Face-cam and Voice Synthesis

Watch this video on how to use Ezvid.

Ezvid offers very user friendly technology with quick and easy YouTube upload. The screen capture gives you the option to stamp and draw on the screen while you create your video. One cool feature of the video option is being able to speed up or slow down your recording as well as the conversion of text to a computer generated synthesized audio. All text slides offer formatting features such as changing font style or size. This tool is available for free download at http://www.ezvid.com/.

The Importance of Family and Community Engagement in Schools

The value of positive teamwork within any organization cannot be overemphasized. In the context of the school, engagement among all stakeholders is absolutely critical to the success of the students and the overall success of the institution.

Photo credit: Taken from Great Valley School District 

For the next six weeks I will be part of a community of educators and parents reflecting on the importance of partnerships within the schools. Majority of the participants are educators with varying roles. Although I am an educator myself, this week my reflection on the topic of engagement will be from a parent perspective.

What are the questions I need answers to:

• What kind of environment is the teacher preparing to facilitate my child's learning?
• Are communication lines open for me to be heard on critical issues?
• How can I get involved in my child's learning within the school?
• Can I get feedback on my concerns in a timely manner?

The list could go on and on... what really matters is atmosphere that is created by the school for my concerns and that of my child or other families to be addressed. In going through the book Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family/School Partnerships, I find that the arguments purported for family and school engagement quite hit the target. As a parent I can identify with the statistics that partnership and student academic achievement are closely linked. This has definitely been evidenced in the success of my child's journey to this point. So how do I get involved?

• I get to know my child's teachers 
• I find out what the school needs to make the learning environment better (if I can't provide it, I help to find sponsors or other volunteers)
• I volunteer my time to assist in any way possible -  there is always a place where a parent volunteer can be facilitated
• If meetings or events are planned and parents need to be there, I'm there...It makes a difference (remember a large gathering starts with one)
• I recognize the efforts of the staff and try not to criticize or throw blame 

Open Door School Policy

On the Family Engagement Rubric four options of family school partnerships are presented. The school definitely has an open door policy.  Parents are free to go in and discuss any issue of concern. Living in a multicultural neighborhood the school administrators recognize the need for communication in several languages. The principal and office staff are careful to ensure that important documents are translated in a language that parents can follow. School administrators recognize the need for partnership and so they do whatever they can to facilitate the process.  Sadly though, with all the stress on the benefits of involvement and partnerships, many parents simply don't find the time to get involved.

I am happy to be a part of this six weeks journey with #ptcamp. The shared resources and experiences from educators and parents makes the conversation rich and engaging. Looking forward to week 2.