Although Some Voice Doubts, Advocates Say Differentiated Instruction Can Raise the Bar for All Learners

This article was a great way to start. I remember all this stuff from the MAT but I had forgotten most of it. Reading what she had to say was a good way for me to get back into the swing of things with differentiation. When I was in the MAT I really did not enjoy or even care for reading or listening to what Carol Ann Tomlison had to say. Think that I may have felt that way becuase of teh people who were teaching it to me. They were a little over the top and not really into letting us discover what works for us and letting us work at our own pace. I can see how to maybe start slow next year and work into the idea. After working for a few years it seems not so hard a thing to do!

Evaluation of IVC as an instructional tool

I agree that IVC is a wonderful instructional tool. I have a few problems with it however. I realize that it costs money to produce a conference and I understand that the equipment is expensive but wow are the programs expensive. Last year I wanted to do an IVC with colonial Williamsburg. They offer a series on the computer but not a video conference for over $500.00 I can't imagine what school could afford that. I also have been looking at everything that is offered through CILC and the lowest price I have found besides free is $75.00. I know that money is what makes the world turn as seen by our recent financial woes but please, how can we make this less of a novelty and more of a piece of the educational puzzle. The ECORS grants are a step in the right direction and earning e-bucks is great. I think that if I had more time I could probably apply for some but who knows. The other drawback I see is using it as a high school or middle school tool. Most MS and HS teachers need to have more than one class of the same subject and how are they going to share the benefits of an IVC with more than one class without paying for the program twice or messing up schedules for that day and with the student limit how can a mass lesson be accomplished. So what I am trying to say is that this is a wonderful system with many many applications. I see how this could connect us and build a generationo f enlightened kids but it is so expensive that we need to figure out a way to make it accessible.

Strategies for follow-through of an IVC Fieldtrip

I expect that as I follow through with IVC trips that I will gain a greater understanding of the techniques that best help the student to retain the information and view the trip as a worthwhile part of education. I think that I can rely on my experience in reviewing a lesson or following up on a previously learned topic. With a kindergarten class and a first grade class I cannot expect a great deal of debriefing on the topic. we can talk about how they felt and maybe do some drawings or coloring pages having to do with the topic but as to follow through I don't know. I do know that I plan on doing what some may see as follow through before the trip. I plan on using the trip as a way to bring together all that they have learned. I am using the trip as a review instead of as a teaching moment. As I said before, after the trip takes place I may have different view on things but for now I have a plan but it can always be modified. That is what a teacher does everyday.

Preparing students for an active role in an IVC Fieldtrip

I know that I will have to prepare not only my class but also my co-teacher's 1st grade class. I think that for our specific program that I will teach my class and get some info to her class about habitats. We may even go looking for habitats around our school. I want to make this as educational as possible so I will need to really get both classes prepared with a base of what a habitat is. We can talk about our homes as habitats. We can even make model habitats. We can talk about what makes a habitat nice and what would be not nice to have in a habitat. I also know that I will have to prepare my students to communicate over the system. I have already had a classroom connect with mine so my students have seen the process but I am worried about the communication abilities of my students. We will see with the first one and go one from there. I will have a set of questions ready and maybe we will role play the situation. Depending on availability I may have both classes connect with my special ed class again.

Choosing an IVC Fieldtrip

The most important thing for me in choosing a trip is to find one that is free. I found a provider when we did the thing in the summer that seemed perfect and I just now rediscovered it. The Lee Richardson Zoo. All programs are free and targeted at the elementary level. They even list for pre-k and Kindergarten. Which is perfect for me. I have just e-mailed Jay and asked him what I need to do next to get a PIN and get going on this. I see that this Lee Richardson Zoo has a number of great programs and seeing as how my school is closing at the end of the year I think that I would like to try and schedule one for each week until the end. I will ask that the first graders come in as well to make it a very worthwhile experience. I also think that by having the first graders there asking more in depth questions that they kindergarteners will be able to take more out of the class. I am excited again about bringing this to my kids.I hope that it can work out. I will have to pre-teach some stuff so they know what they are seeing but it should not be too hard to do. My kindergartners are starting to really get it.

The potential of IVC as a tool for project-based learning.

I need to say that I have not had a good run of things with this system. I have seen it work fairly well at the high school using it for an AP class taking place at HVHS. I however have not seen how I can use this system for my special ed situation or my kindergarten situation. I was very excited about this in the beginning but have found that it was maybe not the best idea to have a first year teacher go to the training. When I have used the system I have enjoyed it but I have found that I just have so much more to do that is more important. With two two jobs and not enough time for either I have found taht I can't even think about planning a trip for my special ed students and I have only been able to connect my kindergarteners with my special ed students once this year over the ECORS machines. I would like to complete a trip for my kindegarteners at some point this year but as I only see them every otehr day it is extremely hard to plan anything that happens outside of the school. What I am saying is that I am frustrated with teh whole process. I am especially frustrated that I felt that I could complete a class this year with this system. I think that if I was not a first yera teacher and if I was not in two places every other day and if I did not sign up for the class that I would be happier with the ECORS project. I see how if I used this system in a class that was not so structured like special ed that I could really use the system to help engage the students in a project maybe on carrers or something, as it is with special ed we don't do any projects that are class based. I have only been able to do something with the ECORS machine as a novelty for one class. I could even use the system for what it was intended for in the elementary classroom if it was not a kindergarten classroom. In a ffith grade I could do a project on biomes and then have an expert in the field talk to them about biomes but I am a half time kindergarten teacher. My kindergarteners will barely talk to new adults that they meet at school. I don't know how they would react to an adult on the screen. I have basically used the ECORS cart as a projector and doc camera 10 times more than as a tool to connect with the outside world.

Tanberg in the media

I noticed a Tandberg being used during a show I watched right before the super bowl. Some managers were having an employee use a handheld camera with a cord and a headset to show the managers in a distant place what was happening on teh production floor. The managers could see what was going on and could talk with the tech but the tech could not see the managers. I know it was a Tandberg because the screen on thier laptop had the same menu as I see and even had Tandberg displayed in the bottom corner of their laptop screen. Anyway, Tandberg in the real world. neat!

I finally did it

I finally did it I have done my first videoconferencing. It went well. I did it between my two classes with the help of my partner teacher at IVHS. My kindergartners had a really good time and even warmed up to the process so well that by the time to log off they were asking questions of the high schoolers and having no problme talking to the camera. It was so much fun and I hope that they told thier parents about it. I have not had tinme to talk with my HS kids but I iwll today. hey seemed to enjoy it. The bad attitude boys in the back even had a good time. One even smiled(which he never does)

Testing Testing

So I finally did a test with the esd today and it was a good thing that I did because our Tandberg machine was wired a little wrong. The Ethernet cable was plugged into the ISDN port on the back of the computer instead of into the Ethernet slot. We fixed that and then had a quick conference and now I think that I am ready to do my first real conference on Thursday

I am aware

I have been playing around and I am ready. I understand what I need to do, I think, I am ready to hold my first conference. I have decided that I will connect my two classrooms to each other. I will have my high school special ed kids meet and later teach my kindergarteners some skills. This will enable my kindergarteners to see that older kids still have a need to learn and it will enable my high schoolers to practice, teach, and therefore retain learned information to a greater degree.

First Blog

Hello everyone this is the first blog that I have ever written. I am doing this to satisfy some requirements for a class that I am taking. I don't know how useful this will end up being but I feels kind of cool to be part of the "blogosphere"? Anyway, I really want to become better at using technology in the classroom and expanding my tool chest of techno tools. I think that if I apply myself that I will be able to get the lead out of my butt and accomplish what I need to in order to get educated!