Here is my MP3 file in response to Blogging Group B and the topic of digital storytelling.
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mroon2/www/Week7Response.mp3
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
StoryTelling
My Pets
I like Animoto because it is extremely easy to use - just add pictures and pick music. There are several drawbacks - you have no control over the picture transitions, and you cannot type or speak to your audience. It is harder to tell a story without words, so I used my pets for this video. I think Animoto would not be as useful in a classroom as voicethread would be.
StoryTelling
The Scrapblog Builder won't load on my computer. I am not sure why, but it won't let me make a video. I did go through the website to look at several videos that others have made. Scrapblog Builder is similar to voicethread in the sense that you can play a string of pictures and move between different images with arrows on the bottom. However, none of the videos I saw seemed very interesting to me because there is no speaking or music. After viewing videos on voicethread, I don't think I would ever choose to use Scrapblog Builder because it doesn't seem very captivating. As future teachers, we want our students to be interested and engaged in the lesson, so we should try to use the most interesting tools we can find.
StoryTelling
Wisconsin State Fair 2008
I absolutely love voicethread. I can choose to draw, speak, or type my thoughts and ideas. This would be an extremely useful tool in a classroom because other people can view the video and make comments about it at the same time. Because you can write on the pictures, I think this would be especially appropriate to use in a math classroom. Voicethread makes storytelling easier because you can choose to say as much or as little as you like in a variety of ways.
I absolutely love voicethread. I can choose to draw, speak, or type my thoughts and ideas. This would be an extremely useful tool in a classroom because other people can view the video and make comments about it at the same time. Because you can write on the pictures, I think this would be especially appropriate to use in a math classroom. Voicethread makes storytelling easier because you can choose to say as much or as little as you like in a variety of ways.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Growing Up Online
Here is an online video by PBS FRONTLINE about what it's like to grow up online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/.
I view the internet as an eye-opening tool that can help amplify education. Anyone with an internet connection has a tremendous advantage over someone who is not connected. We can learn everything and anything we want (even things we don’t want to find out) online. The internet has both positive and negative effects on children, and I feel this video helped show both sides of the argument. On the one hand, we have sexual predators, stalkers, cyberbullies and other threats to worry about. On the other, we have a world of possibilities – tools to connect students to others just like them all over the world, to make learning more fun, and even to prevent plagiarism!
Jeff (http://jmudrock.blogspot.com/) pointed out that there are arguments on both sides of many issues. The internet can be a wonderful tool to help further a student’s education, but it can also be a great source for students to cheat. All teachers should be aware of this fact and do something to prevent it from playing a role in their classrooms. For example, as a future math teacher, Jeff will require that students show all their work in detail and he will require them to complete many in-class assignments so they are not given the opportunity to just copy answers from a friend or a website. The internet has millions of videos that can make a classroom lesson more interesting, but it also has negative videos that can prevent a student from getting a future job (such as the fight that got put on Youtube and made students “famous.” Their names will come up in search engines and potential future employers will not be happy with their search results.
Rachel (http://rsister2.blogspot.com/) pointed out that the internet has become an intricate part of kids’ lives these days, and both parents and teachers need to realize this. Many parents have no idea what their kids are doing online, but they should take some measures such as talking to their children about predators and other dangers of the internet. Teachers also need to take an interest in what their students are doing online, and they need to find a way to similarly entertain their students in the classroom. Rachel pointed out that a teacher lecturing with a monotone voice and a chalkboard no longer works – which will be very difficult for us math teaches, since the traditional math lesson (at least for me) has always been a teacher, chalk, and a chalkboard. Teachers just stand at the board and systematically write out examples. As future math teachers, we must make technology our friend, or I’m afraid we’ll lose the interest and enthusiasm of our students.
Jenny (http://atejenniper.blogspot.com/) expressed her concern for the internet’s impact on today’s kids. Many kids don’t know how to monitor and control themselves. Kids need to realize that the internet is very open and anyone can see what we write and post. Jenny used the story about Jess AKA “Autumn” as an example. She posted what some consider provocative pictures online, and people in the school community found them. I think what we need to do is talk with our children about what is internet appropriate and what isn’t. That is all we really can do, short of invading our children’s privacy and taking all of their passwords . . . which I think is out of line for a parent.
The internet is an amazing invention – there is no doubt about that. It has had a tremendous impact not only on my life, but on the world. The internet has positive and negative impacts on children, but I think overall the internet has a positive impact on the world. We need to teach the youth of our nation how to use the internet to their advantage, and how to use the internet for the right reasons.
I view the internet as an eye-opening tool that can help amplify education. Anyone with an internet connection has a tremendous advantage over someone who is not connected. We can learn everything and anything we want (even things we don’t want to find out) online. The internet has both positive and negative effects on children, and I feel this video helped show both sides of the argument. On the one hand, we have sexual predators, stalkers, cyberbullies and other threats to worry about. On the other, we have a world of possibilities – tools to connect students to others just like them all over the world, to make learning more fun, and even to prevent plagiarism!
Jeff (http://jmudrock.blogspot.com/) pointed out that there are arguments on both sides of many issues. The internet can be a wonderful tool to help further a student’s education, but it can also be a great source for students to cheat. All teachers should be aware of this fact and do something to prevent it from playing a role in their classrooms. For example, as a future math teacher, Jeff will require that students show all their work in detail and he will require them to complete many in-class assignments so they are not given the opportunity to just copy answers from a friend or a website. The internet has millions of videos that can make a classroom lesson more interesting, but it also has negative videos that can prevent a student from getting a future job (such as the fight that got put on Youtube and made students “famous.” Their names will come up in search engines and potential future employers will not be happy with their search results.
Rachel (http://rsister2.blogspot.com/) pointed out that the internet has become an intricate part of kids’ lives these days, and both parents and teachers need to realize this. Many parents have no idea what their kids are doing online, but they should take some measures such as talking to their children about predators and other dangers of the internet. Teachers also need to take an interest in what their students are doing online, and they need to find a way to similarly entertain their students in the classroom. Rachel pointed out that a teacher lecturing with a monotone voice and a chalkboard no longer works – which will be very difficult for us math teaches, since the traditional math lesson (at least for me) has always been a teacher, chalk, and a chalkboard. Teachers just stand at the board and systematically write out examples. As future math teachers, we must make technology our friend, or I’m afraid we’ll lose the interest and enthusiasm of our students.
Jenny (http://atejenniper.blogspot.com/) expressed her concern for the internet’s impact on today’s kids. Many kids don’t know how to monitor and control themselves. Kids need to realize that the internet is very open and anyone can see what we write and post. Jenny used the story about Jess AKA “Autumn” as an example. She posted what some consider provocative pictures online, and people in the school community found them. I think what we need to do is talk with our children about what is internet appropriate and what isn’t. That is all we really can do, short of invading our children’s privacy and taking all of their passwords . . . which I think is out of line for a parent.
The internet is an amazing invention – there is no doubt about that. It has had a tremendous impact not only on my life, but on the world. The internet has positive and negative impacts on children, but I think overall the internet has a positive impact on the world. We need to teach the youth of our nation how to use the internet to their advantage, and how to use the internet for the right reasons.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Earn an A? Here's $50!
www.chicagotribune.com/business/content/education/chi-money-for-grades-11-sep11,0,7506945.story
Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan says the time has come to pay students for getting good grades. Under a program starting this year, in 20 of the 65 Chicago Public Schools that applied for the program, straight A’s can translate into a payment of $4,000 and straight C’s can yield kids $1,600 (“Chicago Schools Paying for Good Grades” - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-goodgradespayoff,0,4855654.story ). The money is earned in increments of $50 for an A, $35 for each B, and $20 for each C in English, math, science, social science, and physical education. It is paid in five-week reporting periods. Qualifying students will get only half their earnings up front – they must graduate to get the other half.
While critics say the program bribes children, others say it is intended to discourage failure and to encourage students to stay in school and graduate. According to another article in the Washington Post, entitled “Pay Up; He Got an ‘A’” (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2008/09/pay_up_he_got_an_a.html), a similar program is already instituted in Washington, D.C. district public schools. Middle school students receive up to $100 every two weeks for attendance, behavior, and academic achievement. Some schools even pay out according to participation and adherence to the uniform policy. Similar programs have already run for over a year in new York, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, and Baltimore.
Should schools really be paying our kids for grades?
One voice of reason comes from Julie (http://www.topix.com/forum/source/chicago-tribune/TKER3LVL1Q6DRNC32) who states that we “are in a sad state when kids are more motivated by $2000 than the millions of dollars less they are destined to make over a lifetime if they don’t get a high school education.” She says the program teaches kids to be materialistic and to focus on instant gratification rather than the big picture. Also, with the poverty level in Chicago, parents will be placing undue pressure on their kids to get more money. Isn’t the purpose of education to learn, not earn wages?
A different view comes from BLH (http://www.topix.com/forum/source/chicago-tribune/TKER3LVL1Q6DRNC32). BLH claims that higher income families and even some middle class families reward their kids with cars, cell phones, and cash already. Just because students are receiving money for their grades does not necessarily mean they aren’t retaining the knowledge. Some students just need a short-term goal to incent them for the long run.
Where do I stand on the matter?
As a taxpayer, the issue does not really affect me. Chicago Public Schools are using private money – NOT taxpayer dollars.
As a parent, I can see both positives and negatives. My child might be more enthusiastic to go to school, to have better behavior, and to try harder. However, I feel this program is teaching children the wrong message. They are doing something just to get money – not to benefit themselves. Students should realize that they need good grades to earn more money in the long run. As Julie put it, shouldn’t the incentive to NOT work at McDonald’s for the rest of your life inspire you to do better in school?
As a future teacher, I can see where the program is coming from. To inspire children to do better in school and behave better in school is an excellent idea. However, I don’t think paying them to do it is the best idea. “During the first two years of high school, students are at most risk of dropping out, which is why the district's program covers students through the end of sophomore year.” I think it is great idea to try and keep students interested in school to lower the freshman/sophomore drop-out rates. However, instead of trying to get children interested in and enthusiastic about the lesson, students will just be thinking about the next check they get. They need to do well for themselves, not for a paycheck. They have the rest of their lives to work!
The sad reality of the situation is that many students don’t care about doing well for themselves. Many don’t care if they drop out of school or fail over half of their classes. Maybe in this case, money is the only thing to keep them interested in school. Where do we draw the line? Paying students for grades, behavior, adherence to the uniform code, attendance, etc. is insane! There are millions of students that do all of this with nothing expected in return. How do we inspire the rest of our students the way these students have already been inspired? That is the real question, not “How much should we pay for 2 A's, 3 B's, and 2 C's?”
Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan says the time has come to pay students for getting good grades. Under a program starting this year, in 20 of the 65 Chicago Public Schools that applied for the program, straight A’s can translate into a payment of $4,000 and straight C’s can yield kids $1,600 (“Chicago Schools Paying for Good Grades” - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-goodgradespayoff,0,4855654.story ). The money is earned in increments of $50 for an A, $35 for each B, and $20 for each C in English, math, science, social science, and physical education. It is paid in five-week reporting periods. Qualifying students will get only half their earnings up front – they must graduate to get the other half.
While critics say the program bribes children, others say it is intended to discourage failure and to encourage students to stay in school and graduate. According to another article in the Washington Post, entitled “Pay Up; He Got an ‘A’” (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2008/09/pay_up_he_got_an_a.html), a similar program is already instituted in Washington, D.C. district public schools. Middle school students receive up to $100 every two weeks for attendance, behavior, and academic achievement. Some schools even pay out according to participation and adherence to the uniform policy. Similar programs have already run for over a year in new York, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, and Baltimore.
Should schools really be paying our kids for grades?
One voice of reason comes from Julie (http://www.topix.com/forum/source/chicago-tribune/TKER3LVL1Q6DRNC32) who states that we “are in a sad state when kids are more motivated by $2000 than the millions of dollars less they are destined to make over a lifetime if they don’t get a high school education.” She says the program teaches kids to be materialistic and to focus on instant gratification rather than the big picture. Also, with the poverty level in Chicago, parents will be placing undue pressure on their kids to get more money. Isn’t the purpose of education to learn, not earn wages?
A different view comes from BLH (http://www.topix.com/forum/source/chicago-tribune/TKER3LVL1Q6DRNC32). BLH claims that higher income families and even some middle class families reward their kids with cars, cell phones, and cash already. Just because students are receiving money for their grades does not necessarily mean they aren’t retaining the knowledge. Some students just need a short-term goal to incent them for the long run.
Where do I stand on the matter?
As a taxpayer, the issue does not really affect me. Chicago Public Schools are using private money – NOT taxpayer dollars.
As a parent, I can see both positives and negatives. My child might be more enthusiastic to go to school, to have better behavior, and to try harder. However, I feel this program is teaching children the wrong message. They are doing something just to get money – not to benefit themselves. Students should realize that they need good grades to earn more money in the long run. As Julie put it, shouldn’t the incentive to NOT work at McDonald’s for the rest of your life inspire you to do better in school?
As a future teacher, I can see where the program is coming from. To inspire children to do better in school and behave better in school is an excellent idea. However, I don’t think paying them to do it is the best idea. “During the first two years of high school, students are at most risk of dropping out, which is why the district's program covers students through the end of sophomore year.” I think it is great idea to try and keep students interested in school to lower the freshman/sophomore drop-out rates. However, instead of trying to get children interested in and enthusiastic about the lesson, students will just be thinking about the next check they get. They need to do well for themselves, not for a paycheck. They have the rest of their lives to work!
The sad reality of the situation is that many students don’t care about doing well for themselves. Many don’t care if they drop out of school or fail over half of their classes. Maybe in this case, money is the only thing to keep them interested in school. Where do we draw the line? Paying students for grades, behavior, adherence to the uniform code, attendance, etc. is insane! There are millions of students that do all of this with nothing expected in return. How do we inspire the rest of our students the way these students have already been inspired? That is the real question, not “How much should we pay for 2 A's, 3 B's, and 2 C's?”
Sunday, September 14, 2008
A Vision of Students Today
K-12 YOUTUBE VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8&feature=related
VISION OF STUDENTS TODAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&feature=related
Both videos were very creative in presentation and I enjoyed watching them. The statistics in both are both shocking and interesting. Jacqueline (http://jjachym2.blogspot.com/) wrote out some of these statistics in her response:
"The average K-12 student will spend three and a half hours a week playing video games and five and a half hours on the internet, while they will only spend two and a half hours reading a book. Only 67% of teachers have ever used wikis, blogs, or podcasts. Also, only 63% of teachers will allow students to use technology in the classroom. Most students these days understand and use technology better than their teachers."
I am 20 years old and before this class, I had never used a wiki, blog, or podcast. This statistic made me feel a little old. I thought I was still part of this technological learning generation, but it has changed significantly within the past 5 years, and it is going to change even more before I get into a classroom. What can I do to make myself a better teacher?
Jenny (http://atejenniper.blogspot.com/) wrote that she would try to be an "agent of change" in the classroom to meet student expectations and inspire learning. It is our responsibility as teachers to keep our students engaged and interested in the lesson to enhance the learning process. Jenny also points out that many students learn by doing, so we as teachers should have them actively inolved in the classroom rather than passively sitting while we lecture. This can be achieved by bridging the age gap and using technology in the classroom that the students are used to and familiar with - even NEW technology. I went to a meeting for America Reads America Counts to become a tutor, and one of the best parts of the meeting was the fact that the teacher had a digital writing pad that he could pass around. We could write on the pad and the result would show up on the projector screen for everyone else to see. I wanted to volunteer just so I could write on the pad.
Since students spend a lot of time on the internet, I agree with Jenny that it would be beneficial to have a class website. When I tutored at Central High School, I had the opportunity to work with a child who had been gone for two months. The teacher handed me every worksheet the students had worked on for the past two months and told me to teach the student. If the teacher had had a website with PDFs of the worksheets and classnotes, the student probably could have tried doing the worksheets at home. Instead, I tried to cram everything I know about functions into 50 minute periods. It was extremely difficult, and I know the situation could have been made easier with technology. Technology is a great way for teachers to relate to and communicate with their students, and it is an essential part of teaching in the 21st century.
As Jeff (http://jmudrock.blogspot.com/) summed up his blog entry, "I will do my absolute best to never stop finding information about technology that can be valuable to students. I will do this because I think that I owe the young people, who will be the future, the education that will allow them to achieve their goals and make the world a better place." I think this is a tremendous outlook on the career of teaching, and a teacher that truly believes this will truly inspire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8&feature=related
VISION OF STUDENTS TODAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&feature=related
Both videos were very creative in presentation and I enjoyed watching them. The statistics in both are both shocking and interesting. Jacqueline (http://jjachym2.blogspot.com/) wrote out some of these statistics in her response:
"The average K-12 student will spend three and a half hours a week playing video games and five and a half hours on the internet, while they will only spend two and a half hours reading a book. Only 67% of teachers have ever used wikis, blogs, or podcasts. Also, only 63% of teachers will allow students to use technology in the classroom. Most students these days understand and use technology better than their teachers."
I am 20 years old and before this class, I had never used a wiki, blog, or podcast. This statistic made me feel a little old. I thought I was still part of this technological learning generation, but it has changed significantly within the past 5 years, and it is going to change even more before I get into a classroom. What can I do to make myself a better teacher?
Jenny (http://atejenniper.blogspot.com/) wrote that she would try to be an "agent of change" in the classroom to meet student expectations and inspire learning. It is our responsibility as teachers to keep our students engaged and interested in the lesson to enhance the learning process. Jenny also points out that many students learn by doing, so we as teachers should have them actively inolved in the classroom rather than passively sitting while we lecture. This can be achieved by bridging the age gap and using technology in the classroom that the students are used to and familiar with - even NEW technology. I went to a meeting for America Reads America Counts to become a tutor, and one of the best parts of the meeting was the fact that the teacher had a digital writing pad that he could pass around. We could write on the pad and the result would show up on the projector screen for everyone else to see. I wanted to volunteer just so I could write on the pad.
Since students spend a lot of time on the internet, I agree with Jenny that it would be beneficial to have a class website. When I tutored at Central High School, I had the opportunity to work with a child who had been gone for two months. The teacher handed me every worksheet the students had worked on for the past two months and told me to teach the student. If the teacher had had a website with PDFs of the worksheets and classnotes, the student probably could have tried doing the worksheets at home. Instead, I tried to cram everything I know about functions into 50 minute periods. It was extremely difficult, and I know the situation could have been made easier with technology. Technology is a great way for teachers to relate to and communicate with their students, and it is an essential part of teaching in the 21st century.
As Jeff (http://jmudrock.blogspot.com/) summed up his blog entry, "I will do my absolute best to never stop finding information about technology that can be valuable to students. I will do this because I think that I owe the young people, who will be the future, the education that will allow them to achieve their goals and make the world a better place." I think this is a tremendous outlook on the career of teaching, and a teacher that truly believes this will truly inspire.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Sir Ken Robinson begins this 2006 speech by questioning where the future of education is headed. He begins his analysis of how schools today deteriorate the creativity and talents of young minds. His belief lies in the fact that schools place so much emphasis on grades and academic ability. In such a setting, those whose creativity shines, yet whose grades may be less than above average, feel as if they are inadequate and unintelligent. As a result, studies of the arts have become less important whereas scientific and mathematical studies have become the main focus for schools across the nation.
In Robinson’s eyes, we’ve all been somewhat jaded by the school system. We’ve lost sight of what makes us unique, creative, and individualistic. Instead, all we’ve focused on is good grades, a high GPA, and a great ACT score. We’ve learned to all think the same and solve problems the same way. Whatever happened to thinking outside the box?
I agree with Robinson to a certain extent. Junior year of high school, all anyone could talk about was the ACT. It drove me insane. Why place so much emphasis on one test? Would people really be that shallow as to judge me by one insignificant score? My entire life I’ve been told to keep my grades up to get into a good school. I agree with Robinson that this obsession with grades and loss of creativity has gone a bit too far. Students have slowly strayed away from raising their hands as much as they used to – they don’t want to be wrong because they’re afraid they’ll be labeled as dumb or stupid. Some can only think the way that they’re told – they can’t solve problems on their own.
Grades are still an important part of school, but we need to find a happy medium between intuitive thinking and drilling definitions into children’s heads. We all need to be encouraged to think differently and to be wrong once in a while. We need to celebrate each other’s errors because we can learn from them – especially in a classroom. I know that when I become a teacher I may not explain something well the first time around, so by seeing what errors my students are making, I can learn what else I need to teach. Students can also learn this way. I plan to have at least one group activity per week in my classroom because students learn best from hearing perspectives from people their own age. They are encouraged to think differently, which I think is a main part of the education system.
Sir Ken Robinson begins this 2006 speech by questioning where the future of education is headed. He begins his analysis of how schools today deteriorate the creativity and talents of young minds. His belief lies in the fact that schools place so much emphasis on grades and academic ability. In such a setting, those whose creativity shines, yet whose grades may be less than above average, feel as if they are inadequate and unintelligent. As a result, studies of the arts have become less important whereas scientific and mathematical studies have become the main focus for schools across the nation.
In Robinson’s eyes, we’ve all been somewhat jaded by the school system. We’ve lost sight of what makes us unique, creative, and individualistic. Instead, all we’ve focused on is good grades, a high GPA, and a great ACT score. We’ve learned to all think the same and solve problems the same way. Whatever happened to thinking outside the box?
I agree with Robinson to a certain extent. Junior year of high school, all anyone could talk about was the ACT. It drove me insane. Why place so much emphasis on one test? Would people really be that shallow as to judge me by one insignificant score? My entire life I’ve been told to keep my grades up to get into a good school. I agree with Robinson that this obsession with grades and loss of creativity has gone a bit too far. Students have slowly strayed away from raising their hands as much as they used to – they don’t want to be wrong because they’re afraid they’ll be labeled as dumb or stupid. Some can only think the way that they’re told – they can’t solve problems on their own.
Grades are still an important part of school, but we need to find a happy medium between intuitive thinking and drilling definitions into children’s heads. We all need to be encouraged to think differently and to be wrong once in a while. We need to celebrate each other’s errors because we can learn from them – especially in a classroom. I know that when I become a teacher I may not explain something well the first time around, so by seeing what errors my students are making, I can learn what else I need to teach. Students can also learn this way. I plan to have at least one group activity per week in my classroom because students learn best from hearing perspectives from people their own age. They are encouraged to think differently, which I think is a main part of the education system.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Incorporating Modern Technology in the Classroom
Given the realities of our modern age and the demands of our children's future, is it really ok to allow teachers to choose whether or not they incorporate modern technologies into their instruction?
Three years ago, I sat in my AP Literature class listening to my instructor explain to the class how he could barely manage his email address, so if we had questions we should ask him in class. Initially this seemed alright, but what happens when a student has an urgent question about an assignment? Sure, the student could continue working the way he thinks he should, but if his idea is wrong, his grade suffers. I know back in the day, we didn't have the internet and students got along just fine. However, in our modern age, if we have the technology to improve education, why wouldn't we use it?
Teachers should not have the option to incorporate modern technology into their instruction. This should be a requirement of all schools, as long as certain hardware and software fits in the school's budget. Students need to learn about modern technology because it is vital to their future success in the world of employment. If none of us had computers in schools when we were growing up, where would we have learned how to type? Most of our parents probably could afford to but a computer, but what about the kids whose parents couldn't afford computers? They would have suffered greatly because the vast majority of employers and instructors just assume everyone can type and operate a computer.The technology today is the language that these students will need to learn and speak fluently. I had never heard of using blogs in the classroom until I entered this class, nor had I ever used GoogleDocs or Geometer's Sketchpad. I never used Moodle or Compass or anything like these websites at my high school, but I've met other students who have. Technology like this makes the students' and teachers' lives easier, so it only makes sense to use it. Any teacher who refuses to use new technology like this is just hindering his students. As teachers, we should want to provide our students with as much information and resources as we possibly can, and technology is a huge part of that.
Welcome!
Hello! This is my first time every creating a blog. I suppose I cannot refer to myself as an anti-blogger anymore. . . First of all, I am really looking forward to our class meetings. I am really eager to learn about the technological side of teaching, since I don't consider myself very familiar with anything online other than AIM, Facebook, and email.
Second, I'd like to tell you a little about myself. My name is Melanie, but everyone calls me Mimi. I have a twin sister named Melissa, but everyone calls her Missy. How did we get these nicknames? When my older brother was younger and we were born, he couldn't pronounce our names. All he could get out was "Mimi" and "Missy." We both decided to come to the U of I because of the excellent reputation and the awesome school colors of blue and orange. I applied to the University of Iowa and Purdue, both of which had the same ugly school colors as my high school (black and gold), so Illinois just stood out. I knew I was interested in Math and I always thought about teaching, so I figured Illinois was a great school for me. If teaching didn't work out, I could always head in the accounting direction (which I'm glad I didn't because I've heard it's a bit on the boring side. . . no offense, accountants! )
I am 98% sure I still want to teach. The only thing that keeps me a bit skeptical is the issue of classroom control. I'm not really a controlling person. A few years ago, I would have considered myself someone who lets people walk all over them on occasion, and I don't think this is the type of person that should be heading a classroom. Now, I feel this campus and my experiences have helped me become a completely different, better, more outgoing person, but I suppose it still concerns me a bit.
Why did I choose math? It always seemed the easiest to me, and I also loved that you could check yourself in different ways if you were unsure of yourself - a method not so useful on Literature or History tests. Plus, so many people have this terrible fear or severe hatred of the subject, and I want to try and convince as many people as I can that it is a fun and useful subject.
Where am I going? CRAZY! I am taking what I've heard to be the hardest math class in the sequence on this campus this semester, and I am also trying to get two jobs - an America Reads America Counts tutoring position and a Calculus I tutoring position. I know that when I student teach, I want to head north to the southern suburbs of Chicago. I know that this is where I want to live after I graduate because I love being near the city (No offense Chambana residents), so the sooner I start getting inside those schools, the better. This does make me a little sad because I won't be on campus the last semester of my college career :-(
As for now, I am just enjoying myself and absorbing as much information as I can. They say these are the best years of our lives, so I'm trying to have as much fun as I can getting involved on this campus!
Second, I'd like to tell you a little about myself. My name is Melanie, but everyone calls me Mimi. I have a twin sister named Melissa, but everyone calls her Missy. How did we get these nicknames? When my older brother was younger and we were born, he couldn't pronounce our names. All he could get out was "Mimi" and "Missy." We both decided to come to the U of I because of the excellent reputation and the awesome school colors of blue and orange. I applied to the University of Iowa and Purdue, both of which had the same ugly school colors as my high school (black and gold), so Illinois just stood out. I knew I was interested in Math and I always thought about teaching, so I figured Illinois was a great school for me. If teaching didn't work out, I could always head in the accounting direction (which I'm glad I didn't because I've heard it's a bit on the boring side. . . no offense, accountants! )
I am 98% sure I still want to teach. The only thing that keeps me a bit skeptical is the issue of classroom control. I'm not really a controlling person. A few years ago, I would have considered myself someone who lets people walk all over them on occasion, and I don't think this is the type of person that should be heading a classroom. Now, I feel this campus and my experiences have helped me become a completely different, better, more outgoing person, but I suppose it still concerns me a bit.
Why did I choose math? It always seemed the easiest to me, and I also loved that you could check yourself in different ways if you were unsure of yourself - a method not so useful on Literature or History tests. Plus, so many people have this terrible fear or severe hatred of the subject, and I want to try and convince as many people as I can that it is a fun and useful subject.
Where am I going? CRAZY! I am taking what I've heard to be the hardest math class in the sequence on this campus this semester, and I am also trying to get two jobs - an America Reads America Counts tutoring position and a Calculus I tutoring position. I know that when I student teach, I want to head north to the southern suburbs of Chicago. I know that this is where I want to live after I graduate because I love being near the city (No offense Chambana residents), so the sooner I start getting inside those schools, the better. This does make me a little sad because I won't be on campus the last semester of my college career :-(
As for now, I am just enjoying myself and absorbing as much information as I can. They say these are the best years of our lives, so I'm trying to have as much fun as I can getting involved on this campus!
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