Goodbye to you all....

Hello and goodbye to all of my blogging classes,

Well, the semester is coming to an end. It has been a pleasure to read each and every blog posting that you have written. I did not know how the blog would be received, but you have exceeded all of my expectations. Thank you.

Keep writing. Do not stop. The act of writing does not need to be painful; it should be a process that brings you to a better place. Writing can help you become a better reader, mathematician, and student. It can even help you become a better person. It really can.

Do not believe anyone who tells you that you cannot write. There will be some. It may be a professor or a friend or even a relative... Do not let them bring you down. You can write. I know it. You just not be writing in the way that person thinks is "good writing". However, what really is "good writing"?

I hope some of you continue this blog or start one of your own. Do not forget this when you are applying for jobs. This blog is a living document of your scholarly work and your interest in education.

Good luck in all you do!

Take care and have a wonderful holiday!

"Kids Know It" Website

Here is a site that one of my graduate students (John Lucas) examined for a class project. During the night he presented, the website would not load (OF COURSE) so he posted the site on his blog and I thought I would share it, too.

John explained: "It would be most useful for teachers that are working with younger students. I think that students could really benefit from the site. I think it's great that it's free and yet it isn't overwhelmed by a lot of advertising. The link can be found at the bottom of this post. I hope it works for you and enjoy.www.kidsknowit.com"

Thanks, John!

Educational Organizations

In my Ee204 (LAL) class we are discussing activities and affiliations you should add to your resumes.

Here is a link you can examine that may help you find some to meet your needs and interests:

http://www.theteachersguide.com/Educationassociations.html


Good luck!

Do You YouTube?

Take this quiz:

http://www.techlearning.com/instantpoll/

Advice for Student Teachers

Here is a list of hints from a current student teacher to those of you who will be student teaching soon:

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/pages/1812.shtml

Any thoughts?

Another New Teacher Survivial Website

Since many of you seem to enjoy these sites, here is another one for new teachers:

http://discoveryeducation.com/survival/

And here is a blog for New Teachers called the New Teacher Network:

http://www.newteachernetwork.net/

Enjoy!

Not on the Test Music Video

Any thoughts?

List of NJ School Districts

For all of you who are starting to look for teaching jobs, I thought I would share this site with you.

This site gives you the addresses of all NJ school districts:

http://www.state.nj.us/education/directory/districts.shtml

Good luck!

Open House Videos

Here are the links to the Open House videos:

Pay Attention

A Vision of K-12

Portfolio Ideas

In response to Jaclyn's recent post about portfolios, here is a link with some ideas of how to manage and organize your portfolios:

http://pdonline.ascd.org/pd_online/portfolio/1997danielson/ch5.html

Any other ideas?

Writing Fun

Here is a link to an excellent writing site:

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/writingfun/writingfun.html

This site provides many ideas for students and teachers.

Take a look!

Curriki

Thank you to Katie for showing me this site:

Curriki is a community of educators, learners and committed education experts who are working together to create quality materials that will benefit teachers and students around the world.

Curriki is an online environment created to support the development and free distribution of world-class educational materials to anyone who needs them.

Take a look and find something you can use today!

Election Day Sites

Since most of the USA is focusing on Tuesday, November 4th, I figured this would be a great time to post some Election Day activities you can use with your students.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/election.shtml

If you have any others that you use or have found, please feel free to post them on your blogs or as a comment to this one.

Thanks and happy voting!

The Learning Page

Another excellent resource for beginning teachers!

LearningPage provides a huge collection of professionally produced instructional materials you can download and print. Lesson plans, books, worksheets, and much more can be found at this site.

Scholastic Computer Lab Favorites

Thank you to Catarina for showing me this wonderful site!

The Scholastic website provides so many interesting ideas and this is one.

This link will bring you to some quick, compelling one-session activities that use interactive learning and technology. Each activity requires no prep and can be completed in 15-30 minutes.

Have fun!

Math Songs

At the AMTNJ conference, a teacher in my session showed me this site.

http://www.songsforlearning.com/index.php

You may find some materials to include in your lesson plans for musical learners.

Each song is designed to help children of all ages learn and remember important mathematical concepts and enjoy themselves at the same time.

Another Powerpoint Helper

Here's another Powerpoint video that may help you as future teachers:



Enjoy!

Pumpkin Lesson Plans

Here is a link to an elementary My Pumpkin Story lesson plan.

Your students can use an online tool to create a unique pumpkin and write a story about its special characteristics.

Happy Halloween!

How NOT to Use Powerpoint

Now you all know how much of a technology advocate I am. However, there is a side of me who knows that not all technology is effective.

Take a look at this humorous video about how NOT to use technology. According to Don McMillan, this is a viewpoint on how people (teachers included) should NOT be using PowerPoint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cagxPlVqrtM&feature=related

Any thoughts?

BrainPop Blog

At the NJAET conference, I met with a BrainPop representative who showed me this blog site.

http://www.brainpop.com/educators/blog/

There are a variety of lesson plans, graphic organizers, movies, and other cool teaching tools. Enjoy!