Posts Tagged ‘edchat’
Needs of students
Friday, October 30th, 2009
The latest Twitter #edchat made me think. Actually, they all make me think. That’s one of the most appealing aspects of the Tuesday night events. The one on October 27th had me reflecting about students’ needs.
What are they? I believe that security, engagement, a sense of control, and non-contingent interaction are vital. If they are lacking, we are setting ourselves up for failure.
I also pondered about teachers’ needs. If they aren’t met, both instructors and students will suffer. Teachers’ needs are parallel. They need support of administration, engagement, appropriate power (without being micromanaged), and a sense that they matter.
There are more, but these are enough for now. I encourage your comments about foundational needs. What must be addressed?
Tags: edchat
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#Edchat 5
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Tonight was my fifth #edchat on Twitter. Even though there were some technical difficulties, it was still incredible. There is something about connecting with like-minded educators that I find invigorating.
The topic was about methods that foster a love of learning in students. I will post my thoughts below as well as several others that resonated with me:
My thoughts:
Methods that foster “relaxed alertness” http://www.cainelearning.com/files/Greatteaching.html #edchat
Love John Medina’s work in this area; Brain Rules is must read http://www.brainrules.net/ #edchat
Modeling. How can we foster a love of learning in students if we don’t demonstrate that ourselves? #edchat
Incorporate music. Allow choices. Get them moving as much as possible. #edchat
Make your classroom a safe place to be, physically and emotionally. Who can learn if you’re afraid? #edchat
For some reason, Twitter had some tech issues, and my tweets were not appearing until I imposed on a buddy, who was very gracious about having me send my thoughts via her account. Thanks, Shelly!
Here are some other insightful tweets:
@sammorra: How can we ask our students to function at the top of Bloom’s when we assess them at the bottom? #edchat
@cybraryman1: I loved using Cooperative Learning projects with my students: http://bit.ly/4kjU3S #edchat
@Justlikemary: I have specific goal for tomorrow. Round table discussion w/ stdts on their thoughts about motivation #edchat
@tonnet: There is a difference b/t saying “I teach” than “I am a facilitator.” #edchat Students connect better to the last assertion
@ShellTerrell: I think prof developmt from those passionate about these methods can also influence teachers to integrate methods #edchat
There were many, many more. I strongly urge anyone with an interest in education to check out this wonderful tool.
Tags: edchat
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#Edchat 4
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Another fantastic conversation among educators happened tonight. If you don’t know about #Edchat on Twitter, you are missing a wonderful opportunity to connect and learn.
The topic centered on the needs of preservice teachers. The consensus was classroom management, educational technology, clinical training, and developing into reflective practitioners are all vital.
I tweeted a few times about the importance of modeling. Here are some of the other posts that I found profound:
Reflection is not just “what happened” but must include what went well, not, why decisions were made, what to change. @Linda704
Mentorship programs dont work if mentors are forced into it & dont want to help the new tchr. @ShellTerrell
You can’t learn how to teach from a book…you have to actually teach to learn how to teach. @web20classroom
Edu is a prof of Assessment,Reflection and flexibilty. We need to assess what Futr tchrs need Rflct on doing it & be flexible to give it. @tomwhitby
New tchr training should stress that “learning” is the work. Student learning and their learning. It never stops. @eduinnovation
Tags: edchat
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EdChat #3
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
What a great Twitter #edchat tonight! The topic was on Internet filtering, which has always been a pet peeve of mine. I see the issue as one of educational opportunity rather than of extreme control. I remember when the software at Mt. Carmel wouldn’t let us type the name of our town (Essex) because “sex” was in it. Ridiculous!
Of course, we want to keep children safe. But do we want to have fear override intellectual curiosity, wonder, and just plain good sense?
Some of the posts that deserve repeating:
“I live on an island. We teach our children to swim because we can not filter them from water.The Internet is becoming as prevalent.” tomwhitby
“The best filtering is good classroom management and an informed teacher.” mbteach
“I see this as teachable moments we are missing out on completely, we could really be reaching our stdts w/ their personal struggles.” ShellTerrell
Tags: edchat
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#Edchat 2
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
Part of my job as a teacher trainer is making sure I am educated myself. One great tool is the Twitter #edchat which takes place on Tuesday evening. I just participated in my second experience with educators/parents/admins from around the globe. This week’s topic had to do with standardized testing.
Here are some of the quotes I garnered this evening:
“We once tested what we had taught. Now, too often, we teach what we will test.” (KyleneBeers)
“Think sometimes we caught up in the word testing when we really mean assessment.” (theresagray)
“Testing is an assessment tool for the teacher to determine the distance to the goal. It should not be the GOAL.” (tomwhitby)
Tags: edchat
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Ed Chat
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Last night, I had the opportunity to participate in a Twitter chat with the hashtag #edchat. Alfie Kohn was a special guest. It was a great experience, in real time, and I got to interact with professional educators at all levels.
In a way, it reminded me of the International Read-In, which was synchronous chat with real authors. After funding dried up, so did the Read-In. With Twitter, funding worries have faded away.
Tags: edchat
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