Welcome to Teachers At Risk
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Sep
16
Digital technology- nightmare in room 224
Filed Under Behaviour Management, Blogging in and out of the Classroom, Computers In The Classroom, Engaging Assignments and Activities for Students, Web 2.0 tools and technologies, underachieving students | 9 Comments
OK, so maybe I needed to be reminded that my Web 2.0 classroom may not always be the answer I thought it might be, but did the lesson have to be so harsh?
What am I talking about? If you’ve been following my blog you know how I love using the new digital technology in my classroom because it engages even my most reluctant students. Slideshare, Voice Thread, Wordle, Toondoo, class blog etc. – bring them on. I love them all.
I’ve been telling everyone how using digital technology in the classroom has helped with classroom management because the kids really like using it and stay on task and out of trouble. Maybe I was getting a little too smug. If I was, I certainly didn’t realize it. I know ignorance is no excuse, but still….
The lesson came out of the blue. It was the third day of the new semester. My grade nine Learning Strategies Class is an especially wild lively class. Most of the students are known to the office- if you get my drift. But, I wasn’t too concerned because I had computers in that classroom and that would solve any behaviour problems. Or, so I thought.
Never underestimate the power of 14 year old kids to humble a teacher, a teacher with 25+ years of experience. If there was a rubric for humbling a teacher, these kids would have score right at the top that day.
I won’t go into all the gory details . I’ve moved on, as they say. But let me just tell you a bit about what happened. After I introduced Voice Thread (one of my favourites) to the students, and asked them to explore the site they freaked out because they found a picture of a nude man (statue of David) and told me that the site wasn’t appropriate for students. I quickly, very quickly, agreed and told them to log off and that I had used Voice Thread for four semesters and never had a problem before. What else could I say? I couldn’t use Voice Thread after that discovery, but I hated to do that because my previous students loved Voice Thread and had created wonderful projects using it . Now, I couldn’t use it. All I could think of was the phone calls I might get from parents.
Instead of settling my students, using Voice Thread energized them to the nth degree. One of the student, bless her, had found what she had considered an inappropriate picture- a picture of the statue of David. She and the other students wen wild pointing at the picture of the statue and telling me in no uncertain terms that this was a site they should not be on. I guess I’d forgotten that 14 year old kids who seemed so street smart were still really only 14 year old kids and couldn’t handle a nude statue even if it was one of the most famous statues ever. When do art teachers introduce the statue of David?
I guess I should have checked Voice Thread for objectionable content, Isn’t hind sight wonderful. But, I just assumed Voice Thread was appropriate now because it had been in the past. I know. I know. I know what happens when you assume things. I wonder if there is a safe version of Voice Thread? Gotta check that out. I love Voice Thread and would hate not being able to use it in my class. Come to think of it, I’ve really got to recheck all the stuff I’ve been using so successfully in class just in case there’s some inappropriate content of some sort on the sites now. Just because there wasn’t before doesn’t mean there isn’t now.
Let me tell you, I was glad when the bell rang to signal the end of that class and even more delighted when no one mentioned the picture of the statue the next day. I think maybe sometime being paranoid might be helpful. itn does, howeveer, take the fun out of things.
Sep
6
What Students Expect From Teachers
This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of degree online . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson83@yahoo.com
In an ideal world, a teacher is a parent away from home, one who is supposed to nurture students, enrich their experience at school and enhance their knowledge through the right pedagogical methods. Some teachers are good, others are exceptional. And then there are those who just manage to take each day as it comes.
I was lucky enough to be blessed with more than a handful of great teachers through school and college. And when I look back to those days and wonder why those particular teachers had a profound impact on me, so much so that I still remember them after a decade, I find that it’s not just the pedagogical skills of a person that make them good teachers, but the way they interact and bond with students. So if you ask me what students expect from teachers, here’s what my answer would be:
- Understanding: A good teacher must know and understand why students behave the way they do. It is up to them to know what motivates them and what makes them want to achieve success. When a teacher understands his/her students, the art of imparting an education becomes that much easier because of the rapport between the two.
- Camaraderie: They say teachers and students cannot be friends, because if they are, enforcing discipline becomes a problem. But there’s no doubting the fact that when a teacher and his/her students are able to enjoy a relationship that goes beyond imparting an education, students are able to learn much more than they usually do. I would work extra hard at lessons and classes for a teacher who I really liked, even though the subject was not my favorite. Teachers who are comfortable with their authority and not nervous about using it at the right place and time are much better at positive relationships with their students.
- Passion: It’s not enough that a teacher is good at the subject they must teach their students – they also need to have a passion for teaching per se. If they come across as automatons who are not interested in whether their students learn or not, but only in dispensing with their duties. They do not go beyond what is generally expected of them and are usually not even aware of their students’ names.
- Impartiality: A biased teacher is a student’s nightmare, because no matter what they do, they know they can never measure up to “teacher’s pet”. It’s hard for students, especially those who are really talented, to concentrate or excel when they know that someone else already has an edge over them, even if they are not as clever or hardworking.
Good teachers are a rarity these days, but the ones who are dedicated make a huge impact on the lives of their students.
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