STEM: It's Elementary

This is actually one of my favorite articles so far. It is about having STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in your classroom. As stated in the article, by giving our kids the tools they need to succeed in STEM, we are giving them a huge leg up as they enter the job market. I think that stood out to me the most in the article because getting students prepared early is very important and will help them in the future. Meanwhile, I like how Dr. Green helped us boil down the four essential tasks that teachers can do in order to lead their students to STEM education, which is change your lens, enlist a villiage of STEM educators, integrate STEM across he curriculum, and give kids more than just access to technology.

http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2015/04/03/stem-it's-elementary

The Use and Abuse of Technology in the Classroom

Technology is a great tool. However, I do believe that it is very important how teachers use it in their classrooms. Some teachers give their students iPads, iPod touch, or a computer just to keep them quiet while they work with small groups or respond back to emails all day, which is very unacceptable to me. I think technology is the best tool that is out there in the classroom that help students learn and share their knowledge with their teacher and classmates. As previous stated in the article, technology should not just allow us to do things in a more engaging way; it should allow us to do new things that we thought were not possible. This is an amazing article that all future teachers and current teachers should read.

http://kathycassidy.com/2013/01/05/the-use-and-abuse-of-technology-in-the-classroom/

I had never heard of Prezi in my entire life until my sweet and loving teacher, Mrs.Weathers, introduced it to my classmates and I. I absolutely love it!  I am so excited to know that there is something else out there when putting together presentations. I have been using Microsoft PowerPoint for YEARS, so I was more than excited to do my "All About Me" presentation in Prezi for the very first time. Oh, yeah! Did I mention it was user friendly? Yep, that's it...USER FRIENDLY!!! I promise you'll want to check it out once you see mines!!! :)

Today was such a awesome day in Introduction to Childhood Education. We talked about the roles of a teacher, which every teacher has many roles. Today, a few of my classmates and I were not only teachers, but we were a coach, mentor, counselor, and friend. We are all fully prepared to take the necessary steps to make each student dream become their reality. As for me personally, in my future classroom, I would like to have a wall full of positive affirmations. I believe it is important to vision, speak, and see ourselves the way we want our now and futures to be. There can be a lot of negative influences around us each and every day. I would like for my class to always feel like my room gives them encouragement and hope. An example of a positive affirmation is, I AM STRONG. I would like my students to know they are strong and can make it regardless of any obstacles that come their way.