The Journey Begins: Weeks 1 & 2

"Teachers create all other professions"

As the semester begins, I look forward to learning about Social Studies and the ways in which technology can be used in the classroom. I have heard many students talk about this class and had a general idea of what to expect. Often times, students talked about the tremendous amount of work that is required for this class; however, all of the students I spoke to had said that this course is filled with so much useful information that will be able to be used in our future teaching careers. I am very excited to see what this semester has to offer and what knowledge and experience I can gain from this course. 

Day 1: 8/26/2013

On the first day of class, Dr. Smirnova introduced herself and created a very friendly and welcoming environment. Our first task for this class was to write our name with love on a folded piece of paper.

We were then told to think back to a good social studies teacher that we have had in the past. The activity was constructed in a way that allowed each student to work individually, as pairs, in small groups, and as a whole class. We each discussed our favorite teachers and our definitions of social studies. In doing so, we were able to picture some of the qualities of a good social studies teacher,  for example welcoming, knowledgeable, and resourceful. This assignment was a good way to help each of the students in the class get to know one another. However, I felt that most importantly, we were able to share our understanding of Social Studies with our peers by communicating our ideas. 

Day 2: 8/28/2013

On our second day of class, we met in the Curriculum Library on our school campus. This library has a lot of different resources that can be used throughout this course. I found the librarian, Tiffany, to be very helpful in letting us know what the library has to offer. I also think that it is important to be aware of the resources that are available to us, such as the computer program Kidspiration and the teacher textbooks.

Day 3: 8/30/2013

Today, we began presenting our About Me projects. This assignment was given to our class to familiarize ourselves with different types of technology that can be used in our classrooms in the future. I chose to make a Vizify. This website allows anyone with a Twitter profile to turn his or her page into a video. I found that it was very simple to use and a fun way to introduce oneself to his or her peers. Here is the link to my Vizify.

As each member of the class was presenting their creations, the rest of the class spent time reflecting on the presentation that was being given. During these reflections, we had to write three good things about the overall presentation and one way in which the presenter could improve. I think that this technique can be very useful because it is difficult to grow as a communicator and teacher if you are unable to receive feedback from the work that is being completed. I also thought that this assignment was very helpful because be became familiar with different programs and discussed or thought about how they could be used in an elementary school classroom. 

Day 4: 9/2/2013 

LABOR DAY - No class today

Day 5: 9/4/2013 

Today, we continued our About Me presentations and provided feedback to our peers on their presentations. 

Day 6: 9/6/2013 

Happy Friday! Today, Dr. Smirnova taught us how to set up our blogs! Each student created a title for their blog. This is my first experience blogging and I am really excited to continue blogging throughout the semester. We were also shown a song in class that can be used at the end of the week in an elementary school classroom.