It is that time again--a new school year! Teachers have so much to do to get ready for the first day. I have been in getting my classroom ready all last week; which is all done now :) But I still have much to do with curriculum and lesson planning. Today I have completed two or three year plans and syllabi. I needed to take a break from that and check out my webpage. It is in much need of some updating (new classes, new content, etc.), so I will close this blog post and get to work! See you all in a couple weeks :)
Today I am at COOR ISD for summer tech camp. It was a year ago that I was here and realized the importance of having a classroom web presence. I created this webpage and began using Planbook to assist students in keeping in touch with me and our curriculum. What a difference it has made! Today I here to do some updates and to learn new trick and tips :) So far (It's only been an hour) I have actually learned to use my Twitter account to connect with other educators for great tech ideas. I am excited to see what I can discover from Twitter this school year #gettingintothistechstuff
Today HLCS teachers are being exposed to two types of technology training while our students are enjoying a relaxing day off. This morning we were taught more tricks and tools for Google Mail and Google Drive. Although I enjoy my Google Mail, I'm finding it harder to become comfortable with Drive. I cannot seem to give up the "Cadillac" program of Microsoft Office for the lower-grade Drive elements. I do love the idea of the cloud, so I'm sure I will eventually get there...steady progress. This afternoon's session is on technology integration to blended learning--something that I am a little more familiar with and more open too. Blended learning reminds me of my days as a middle school teacher eight years ago with BlackBoard software. In my journalism classroom I would do Friday assignments on BlackBoard for students to log in and complete. It was fun for me, and I think fun for them. I would really, really like to get back to this! So, here is yet another technology goal for me for the year--create some online lessons for economics or English 9, either through Canvas or Moodle (which is better??). We will have to see how this goal will evolve through the rest of the year :)
Well, the first marking period is almost over and I've had some technology set-backs and some triumphs. I wish I had more tools and resources on this webpage. I would like to add some student resource links and video clips. This will be my goal for Thanksgiving Break. Although these set-backs on the webpage are minor, it will be time consuming to fix them; but will be worth it in the end as this will be a useful resource. Some triumphs I've had so far this year would have to begin with Planbook.com. Having my lesson plans and handouts available to students is great! In the classroom, I'm also proud to report that my knowledge of the techy tools I have is improving :) Technology is an ever-changing work in progress--wish me luck!
Today I am happy to say I am finally mastering technology and creating my first classroom webpage! I have wanted to create a page for quite some time, but felt technologically challenged and had no idea where to start... Well, thank goodness for summer professional development! I hope you enjoy my new webpage as much I am enjoying creating it :)
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AuthorThis page is edited and maintained by Miss Jenny VanDuinen, ELA and Social Studies teacher at Houghton Lake High School Archives
August 2015
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