Well, the first three weeks are done and I feel a little overwhelmed but also extremely comfortable in my new position. I learned something amazing the other day because I am always looking for ways to learn more. When my administrator came in to schedule library time to go over the Smart Board with the new guest teachers, I asked if I could sit in and he graciously agreed. It was wonderful because I learned that my Smart Board is more than just a giant projection screen – it is a TOUCH screen!!! That afternoon I started using the touch screen capabilities to go through my word documents and Prezi presentation that were on the lesson plans. The next day I added using the Smart Notebook software to create a “quiz” for the class on the rules of book care. We had read Never Let a Ghost Borrow Your Library Book by Karen Casale and created the list of “Very Official Guidelines.” Then I brought up another copy of the guidelines in the Smart Notebook but with blue blobs covering each guideline. The plan was to remove the fill color to reveal the guidelines as the students recalled them. As I was trying to locate the tool to change the fill color, one of the students said, “you can just drag it off” and I did and it was really fun. It might have been more engaging for the students if they got to go up and do the drag themselves, so I need to play with that file a little bit because the guidelines aren’t numbered on the screen so students would have a harder time moving the correct box. Other than chronicling my teaching experience, why this post? I write this post because it should remind us that:
· We can always learn something new
· Kids can be teachers too
· Not knowing is nothing to be ashamed of
· And we would do well to step back and go over the basics with ourselves, our students, and new friends to make sure that we all really are on the same page especially when it comes to technology!
I think we tend to assume that people will ask for help but that is true only if they know what it is that they don’t understand and need help on. You wouldn’t ask for trip directions if you thought you knew where you were going, but if someone started asking you about your plans, the discussion may shed light on something you didn’t know you didn’t know. We really need to put ourselves out there and become that light that illuminates knowledge obscured by shadows of unawareness.
So take every opportunity to learn and welcome all teachers that come in to your life regardless of their age, appearance, or circumstance. Reach out to others, as you may be the teacher that needs to enter their lives at that moment. Let us all grow through help from others and giving help to others and shine as role models of what being a life-long learner should look like.
· We can always learn something new
· Kids can be teachers too
· Not knowing is nothing to be ashamed of
· And we would do well to step back and go over the basics with ourselves, our students, and new friends to make sure that we all really are on the same page especially when it comes to technology!
I think we tend to assume that people will ask for help but that is true only if they know what it is that they don’t understand and need help on. You wouldn’t ask for trip directions if you thought you knew where you were going, but if someone started asking you about your plans, the discussion may shed light on something you didn’t know you didn’t know. We really need to put ourselves out there and become that light that illuminates knowledge obscured by shadows of unawareness.
So take every opportunity to learn and welcome all teachers that come in to your life regardless of their age, appearance, or circumstance. Reach out to others, as you may be the teacher that needs to enter their lives at that moment. Let us all grow through help from others and giving help to others and shine as role models of what being a life-long learner should look like.