The world we live in

I came across ‘Teachers Without Borders’. It is a non-denominational, non-profit, international NGO that is designed to close the education divide through community teacher professional development and learning centers.  Their core premise is to connect support for teachers with the economic and social development of society.  Teachers are the key to the future, “the glue of civilization”, and have the capacity to be a catalyst for positive change. They work primarily, but not exclusively, in developing countries, in order to build self-reliance, health, and capacity.

Researching further into their organisation, I found a video that highlights the success of their mission in Fezeka, South Africa. There are no words that can describe the emotions you feel when watching this clip. Seeing the reality is heartbreaking, we are so fortunate to go to school here and we don’t realise it. Nomtha Daniel is a student at Fezeka Highschool, she sees her community separated by those who want to be educated and those who don’t. She speaks about a common ideology within her community, “I feel that coming to school is the best way, because if I am a gangster I’m going to go nowhere because gangsters end up being sent to gaol or killed…so that is not good”. 

Their teacher speaks her students and how their background affects their characteristics. I found it interesting when she says that “they don’t have, you know, someone to go home to, to get help from, advice, motivation and moral support so I try to give that to them as much as I can.” Their teacher steps into various and multiple roles in order to give the children a chance at success and a chance at life. She sees the hardship but she tries to block most of it out and motivate them to succeed. It is her strength and positive attitude that I wish to take on within my own classroom. They aren’t technologically advanced as we are, nor are they well equipped with resources, but  the students are now going to school happy, motivated and they are learning. “school is your future, school is everything in your life”

karina-vodcast.mp4

National geographic has created an interactive website for kids of all ages. I believe that it is great fun and highly educational. It is appealing to all users and the best part is that it’s free! (A subscription and/or donation is optional, however, well worth looking into).

I thought i would share with you a cartoon. When i saw this it made me think how much technology is part of our everyday life. It seems that we are depending on it more and more every day with new tools and machines advancing by the second. It wasn’t long ago that the original joke was “the dog ate my homework”.

One of the topics covered in the primary school is weather. I came across a very useful site that helps teachers incorporate weather across the curriculum and support their lessons. It is called What’s the Weather and I found that it helped enrich the lessons by giving lesson ideas and activites. The site gives out websites that the children can explore and interact with games and information about weather. One of the given maths websites makes you create your own snowflake, it’s fun and the children love making patterns- http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/.
The website, What’s the weather, covers Kindergarten right up to Year 6. I highly recommend it to any teacher.

One of our literature readings was an article highlighting how we have “pushed” technology integration onto teachers without first making sure that it was a worthwhile endeavor. This thought provoking piece was constructed by Jamie McKenzie, the author who I wrote about recently. His opinons have personally inspired the way I approach the curriculum and how to teach children. The point he is making is actually quite simple. He says we should emphasize learning goals and strategies when planning lessons. We should then select tools that match this point. He continues by saying that to “unstuff” the curriculum we should expect that “curriculum planners within the areas of social studies, math, science, language arts and the fine arts will make smart choices of technologies as they might blend naturally and comfortably into the content areas.”

Are we cramming too much junk into subjects that let children miss out on what is important?
Are we keeping up with our advancing society?
Are we making smart choices?

His article is great. It is, however, the picture attached to the article that says a thousand words.
Article- Stuffing Technology into the Curriculum

The Sunday Herald recently brought out a article concerning the future of our classrooms. It highlights the new techonolgy advancements that will be brought into the schools. However, reading the article has put me into two minds. The computer-connected microscopes, touch-screen technology, integrated video projectors, digital cameras and infra-red hand-held devices would be great to initate every student in the room to take part of their learning electronically. However I believe that when students are text-messaging their questions and answers instead of putting up their hands is taking technology too far, both a waste of time and money. Within the article, Respected US education commentator Jamie McKenzie states that it’s vital that “educators don’t fall into the trap of adopting new technology for technology’s sake”. I agree with his views in saying that teachers should focus on the childrens learning and not be caught up with the “frivolous, fun, fanciful, trendy, cool, neat stuff that does not contribute to intellectual rigour and thinking.”

How far is too far?
Article- Time to reboot the class

Smart boards are used accross the globe to help energise presentations and motivate learners. I believe it is one of the greatest technology tools used today in the classroom, combining the simplicity of a whiteboard with the power of the computer. Scholastic have provided a useful clip that demonstrates its versatility in schools across various countries. I believe it is important for schools to invest in these boards in order to establish effective learning and a motivating environment. Smart board clip

We have come so far from the use of chalkboards, we should celebrate that we are now living in a time where have so much information and resources at the touch of a button.