Changes are a-coming....

As most teachers know, as the school year winds down, the discussions about 'changes for next year' start.  And now that the school year is complete (for the students, at least) and this is when the changes begin.  For me, there is a lot changing for next year.

First up, I am moving up to 7th grade.  I have mixed feelings. I am very excited about working with the 7th grade teachers (I hear good things about them) and I am happy to be moving up with my students.  I think the other changes that are coming fit in nicely with 7th grade and their abilities.   However, I do love 6th grade and am sorry to be leaving.  I love all the other 6th grade teachers and my team was a strong one.  One of my strengths is getting the 6th graders settled into a new school and new routines and other newness (like lockers).  I am not looking forward to moving all my stuff into a new room.  Luckily one of my classes has a bunch of wonderful volunteers who helped me take everything down and start the purging process.  I am further along in the moving process than I planned - which is a plus.  

The other big news is that I was selected as the Next Generation Digital Classroom (NGDC) teacher for my campus.  It is a RRISD initiative and you can find more information here.  I am very excited and very nervous about it.  The exciting part is that I get a class set of Samsung Galaxy Notes for my class and the expectation is that we use them everyday as a part of class. The scary part is that I have to take what I learn and then teach it to other teachers - so that technology becomes more of a part of every classroom.   I know it is going to be a lot of work, but I think I am up to the challenge!





Lastly, I have decided that I am going to flip my classes next year.  I was going to do it before I got the NGDC, but with that addition, it made the change more imperative.  I think the technology will be used more effectively if the students are "digging into" the math during class time, rather than just listening and taking notes.  I have been reading and bookmarking a lot about flipping since I first heard about it a few months ago.

So if you have any advice about 7th graders or using Galaxy tablets or flipping your classroom? I would love to hear it!

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 25, 2014 at 8:23 PM

    I sort of flipped my 5th grade class for the last two years. It turned more into blended learning though where they sort of watched the videos in class.

    I wrote a blog on it:
    http://wp.me/p3LdGY-x

    And here's my website with the videos I made using LiveBinder:
    http://tinyurl.com/mathatiduma

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Math Icon Board

Image
In my job, I am always looking for new ideas to share, whether it is a new activity or a new twist on an established one. Recently I got an email from Matt Miller at Ditch That Textbook with this idea -   an icon board for visual thinking.  I really got me thinking about how it could be used... and what other icon boards could be created. Since I am a former math teacher, that is where my mind heads - to math.  I started looking at the icons in the Insert Icons for Slides add-on, and sure enough, I found plenty that apply to math. So I started adding them, and thus creating my Math Icon Board My goal was to add icons that could be utilized in a variety of math and science classes. Obviously I do not have everything, partly because I couldn't find it or it didn't come to mind during my creation. When students use this, my suggestion is that they copy the icon (either by right-clicking and choosing copy OR hitting ctrl and C keys at the same time) and then...
Read more
Image
Math is Real Life!  It is the first Wednesday of November, which means it is time for Math is Real Life! I actually had an recent experience in my house that I shared with my students how my husband and I used the skill they were learning to make waffles. On Saturday morning tradition is to have waffles or pancakes for breakfast. A couple weeks ago, my husband and youngest daughter decided to make waffles and to use what pancake mix was left in the box.   I was in another room, but when I heard my husband say " 2 times one and a half equals 3", I ran into the kitchen and said "What did you say?" He replied "The recipe calls for 2 cups of mix, but there is 3 cups, so I figured out that 2 times 1 1/2 equals 3, so I will multiply my other ingredient amounts by 1 1/2 to determine what I need".  Well, I was a giddy mess, because in my ACCEL class I was introducing Multiplication of Fractions on Monday.  This is a topic that the kids always question me wh...
Read more

Remote Learning Recommendations, part 1

Now that many of us are in the thick of remote learning, or for those of us in my district, where we are preparing for remote learning, I have come across some great resources that I wanted to share. I am sure that throughout all this that there will be more, so that is why this is part 1. First, I have to say, I love Slidesmania . Her templates are amazing and I am constantly recommending her site to everyone. Right now, her Weekly Planner template is a must for teachers teaching remotely. Check it out! Second, I have seen a lot about educational technology companies reaching out to teachers, schools, and districts with free offers of normally paid versions.  On one hand, that is really cool, but it can be really overwhelming to teachers to decide what new tools to try in their classes.  Edweek  even wrote a very good piece on it. Based on what I have seen, planning with teachers and instructional coaches for remote learning, my recommendation is for teachers to ge...
Read more