Students Being Teachers

I was thinking about my blog Thursday and had it planned out in my head….UNTIL…I had such a great co-teaching moment Friday! Our Spanish teacher came to me earlier in the week and told me that the third grade was learning about animals in Spanish and she wanted them to “create” something on the computer. We really didn’t have time to talk about ideas but knew that it would not be a problem.


On Friday, we had both third grades at the same time. Our computer lab does not have enough computers for two classes, however, one class brought their netbooks and they sat at tables in the back of the room.

We decided that using PowerPoint would be the easiest way to create the project. The student had to find a piece of clipart of their animal, write their animal in Spanish, write three sentences about their animals in Spanish, and then they would print their project.

The amazing moment came when the students were showing each other ways to design their PowerPoint by adding a background, changing font, or playing with the picture. It was so much fun to watch the students teach each other. It truly was a moment where the students became the teachers and the teachers were the facilitators. What a wonderful lesson!

Here are some examples of their work:

An Amazing Moment

Many times during your teaching experience you have an amazing moment.  A moment that you want to share with everyone and one that you tuck away and recall when the day is not going your way.  Well, last week I had one of those moments.

I was in our Kindergarten where I have a fantastic opportunity to assist the teacher in helping her students develop their computer skills.  Our goal is that the students will be able to turn on the computer, find the correct short-cut which will lead them to a website (ex. Starfall), navigate the site, and then shut down the computer.

Two students came over to the netbook center and sat down very excited to show me how good they were with computers.  They immediately showed me how they could turn on the computer and then log on using the username and password.  Then the both asked me “what site would you like to see?”  I admit, I giggled a little, they were so proud of themselves.  I told them that I would love to see Starfall.  They both clicked on Starfall and they could not wait to tell me all about the site, I was amazed.  After they finished, I asked them if they could turn off the computers since our time was over.  Both of them immediately shut down the computer the correct way and closed them, leaving the area as neat as when they arrived.

I took a picture of each of them and we are going to make a bulletin board in their classroom.  As each student in the class accomplishes this task I will add their picture to the bulletin board.  

I cannot wait to see all of their pictures hanging on the board! 

New Year's Resolutions 2012

Now that we have officially welcomed 2012, it is time to look at my New Year’s Resolutions.

First, I plan on blogging once a week.  Since I starting blogging last year I was not consistent with it, but I will now ( I promise)!

Second, I would like to tweet more regularly.  I love reading and learning from everyone’s tweets but now I would like to contribute as well.

The third and final resolution this year is to increase my professional reading.  During this break I finally started reading Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, I look forward to sharing my thoughts on this book along with other books on my blog!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Reflection of 2011

With the New Year right around the corner I must first take time to reflect on this year before I can make my resolutions for 2012.

The most exciting accomplishment was the completion of my Master’s Program.  Along with my Master’s Program I also completed my Reading Specialist classes.  So this truly was an exciting accomplishment both professionally and personally.

Another amazing adventure for me this year was the change in my career.  I was nervous in September when I left the classroom and became an Instructional Technology Coach (ITC).  It was a new position for me as well as our school so I did not know what to expect or where this position would take me.  Well, I have to say it has been a wonderful journey so far and I look forward to see what else occurs along the way. 

There is a long list of people that I need to thank for my wonderful journey, such as: my ITC partner, my fellow colleagues, the administrators, and the students.  My ITC partner has been a wonderful person to work with, she has taught me a lot of IT techniques and has been very support, especially through the rough days.  My colleagues have also been wonderful because they have been so terrific to open their classrooms and allow me to come in and co-teach with them on many incredible projects.  They also have been fantastic to spend time with me during their breaks to plan out new projects for their students.  My administrators have been a great support throughout this new adventure and their guidance has meant so much to me.  Finally, for the students who are so open to learn new things and have been great to work with.

This year has been fantastic and I am looking forward to 2012.

Reflecting...

When I started this year I was full of questions: Will I grow as a person in this job?  Will I be able to help my fellow colleagues grow in their own professional development?  Will I make a difference in my school?  Will I make an impact on the students (the way I use too)?  WOW!  All of these questions and how would I get all the answers?  Reflecting, that’s how!

So I am taking a little time and reflecting upon the first six weeks of school.  My first question … will I grow as a person?  Well, that definitely is an easy one to answer, YES!  I am growing everyday as a person and a leader.  Do I still have a lot of growing to do? MOST DEFINITELY!  But what I have learned so far about myself is that when you are good at something share it with the world and when you’re not ask for help, it’s okay!  Asking for help doesn’t make you any less of a leader, as a matter of fact; it probably makes you a better leader!

Will I be able to help my fellow colleagues grow in their own professional development?  I certainly hope that is what I am doing each and every day I walk into my school.  The other Instructional Technology Coach also is very helpful in this department as well.  There are times I am unsure of myself (which happens to all of us from time to time) and she has been there to reassure me and give me advice to help not only my colleagues but myself.

My impact on the school and the students is still a work in progress.  Have I seen students learning and collaborating on a project in which the teachers and I have collaborated? YES!  Is it wonderful? ABSOLUTELY!  But I can not wait to see what will happen next!

Don’t get me wrong, there are obstacles…There are times of self-doubt…There are even times that I ponder if I made the right decision to leave the classroom.  But then, a teacher or a student walks up to me and says “thanks” and I know that my decision was the perfect one!