One of my goals this year was to communicate with my paraprofessionals on a bi- weekly basis. We met as a department during the first week of school. It was nice to touch base with everybody and to be able to discuss our goals and expectations for the year. We also were able to remind everybody the importance of confidentiality.
I have sent out emails to all of the paraprofessionals. This tool seemed to work very well, as I received a lot of positive feedback from most of them. I think it will be a great way to connect with them. I will not only be able to give them pointers or suggestions but also compliments.
I am looking forward to continuing my communication with my staff.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Ipad
I am very excited that I have had the opportunity to use an Ipad in my classroom. I have found many apps that have enhanced my lessons. In math, I have found several apps that have reinforced learning targets for my students. I have a student that is working on adding and subtracting and have several apps that focus on this. I have another student that is working with number recognition and he also has several apps to access to practice this skill. I have found that the Ipad also keeps the students engaged and on task better than any other activity.
I have experienced some frustration with the Ipad as well. We are suppose to have wireless internet in our school and I am not able to access it. This can create problems as some of my apps require internet connection. We will be having another training tomorrow during our inservice so I am planning to inquire about this.
I am excited to be able to explore more apps and to continue to integrate this piece of technology into my classroom.
I have experienced some frustration with the Ipad as well. We are suppose to have wireless internet in our school and I am not able to access it. This can create problems as some of my apps require internet connection. We will be having another training tomorrow during our inservice so I am planning to inquire about this.
I am excited to be able to explore more apps and to continue to integrate this piece of technology into my classroom.
Monday, September 12, 2011
1st weeks of school
This school year is off and running. The first couple of days seemed to be chaotic as not all schedules were in place (students and para's). After getting schedules in place, it is now trying to get lessons underway. With having new students and new classes to teach, it is finding the right placement and curriculum to use. I am also trying to find new ways to document IEP goals that is convenient and accessible. I have ideas in mind and now it is trying them out to see what works best. I am excited for the year and looking forward to having new students and new classes.
Summer Trainings
This summer I had the opportunity to attend three trainings that will hopefully improve my instruction. The trainings that I attended were: Promethean Board, Ipad, and Modified block schedule.
Our special education department has a promethean board within our department for all of us to share. The training I attended went over how to care and clean the machine. We also touched on the basic maintenance and tools of the board. During the afternoon, we were given a quick run down on how to utilize and implement the board. I was very impressed with what the machine is capable of doing. I felt the training was beneficial; however, all of the information that was covered was a little overwhelming. I am excited to be able to use this with my classes. The only obstacle that I will encounter will be getting into the classroom where the board is located. It is installed in another teachers room so I will have to coordinate with him and the other special education teacher times to use it.
Our district also has provided Ipad's for all of the special education teachers. The first training that I attended set me up with an itunes account and gave me a quick run down on how to download apps. We then were given time to go home and download more apps and familiarize ourselves with the device. At the next training we were able to share the apps that we found. This was very useful because most of the apps that people had pertained to classes that I teach. I am looking forward to using the Ipad in my classroom.
This year the high school has decided to go to a modified block schedule. Last year we tried it for a 2 week period. It seemed like a success for teachers and students per the survey monkey that was completed. This training gave us an opportunity to get ideas on how to break up the 82 minute class period. We also were able to discuss as a staff things that worked well and things that did not go so well last year in order to work out the flaws before we begin the schedule. Again, I am looking forward to being able to teach a longer class period. However, I knot that it will be difficult for some of our students and we will need to work together to get through it.
I am excited to have 2 new tools to use within my classroom. I am also excited to see how the modified block schedule will work.
Our special education department has a promethean board within our department for all of us to share. The training I attended went over how to care and clean the machine. We also touched on the basic maintenance and tools of the board. During the afternoon, we were given a quick run down on how to utilize and implement the board. I was very impressed with what the machine is capable of doing. I felt the training was beneficial; however, all of the information that was covered was a little overwhelming. I am excited to be able to use this with my classes. The only obstacle that I will encounter will be getting into the classroom where the board is located. It is installed in another teachers room so I will have to coordinate with him and the other special education teacher times to use it.
Our district also has provided Ipad's for all of the special education teachers. The first training that I attended set me up with an itunes account and gave me a quick run down on how to download apps. We then were given time to go home and download more apps and familiarize ourselves with the device. At the next training we were able to share the apps that we found. This was very useful because most of the apps that people had pertained to classes that I teach. I am looking forward to using the Ipad in my classroom.
This year the high school has decided to go to a modified block schedule. Last year we tried it for a 2 week period. It seemed like a success for teachers and students per the survey monkey that was completed. This training gave us an opportunity to get ideas on how to break up the 82 minute class period. We also were able to discuss as a staff things that worked well and things that did not go so well last year in order to work out the flaws before we begin the schedule. Again, I am looking forward to being able to teach a longer class period. However, I knot that it will be difficult for some of our students and we will need to work together to get through it.
I am excited to have 2 new tools to use within my classroom. I am also excited to see how the modified block schedule will work.
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