Pause and Ponder

Thanks for the wonderful experince!

What I gained from Digital Writing in the Classroom

To my fellow educators I would stress the importance of the changing world and how technology is shaping it at very quick pace. We must keep helping prepare our students for the world they will be living in. The world is becoming more global by the second. I would encourage our teachers to push pass their comfort zone and get up to par with the technological world that we live in. Students are surrounded by the technology at home and when they step into the classroom they are stepping back into time. I would encourage teachers to participate in technology staff developments. I would encourage all grade levels to participate to getting our students prepared for the world. We cannot teach today's or tomorrow's students like we taught yesterday’s.


My message to the general public would be to support the use of technology in the classrooms. There are those who feel that students will become too dependent on technology, and find inappropriate materials. The same was probably said with the invention of the printing press, radio, and television. We cannot fear change but we should embrace it. All of these can and have been used inappropriately, but all of them have given us the unlimited access to information which can be turned into knowledge. They have become tools for the development of higher order thinking skills if used appropriately.

Let us prepare our students for the world they will live in. They are not only competing with themselves but with the rest of the world. The question is not are they ready, but are we?

Mind Mapping with Mindmeister

What an excellent tool! Mindemeister is a tool that allows users to create mind maps, or what I would use it for in the classroom is planning units and creating concept maps.  It offers a free package , premium and business packages. With watching the tutorial and planing around, I mean exploring the tool, I have fell in love with it.  I think the tool will be very useful in a classroom. I can just envision how much engaging it would be in the brainstorming process of writing. A digital brainstorming web!

Watch YouTube Here Comes Vimeo

Vimeo is a video sharing service. That is similar to YouTube. Vimeo allows an user to  upload any kind of video they create. Vimeo accepts many different file formats and even have a desktop uploader. The free basic account allow for 500 MB of storage a week.  Vimeo supports high definition. If you would like the Vimeo Plus you can upload 5GB a week, with high video quality, no ads, and HD embedding for $59.99 a year.

Smug Mug

Smug Mug is a photo media website that has many great things to offer an user if you are willing to pay. It does offer a free trail to test out the service before you buy. The options and quality of the service is outstanding. The website is user friendly. It is a great way to allow friends and family to view your photos and order prints. It offers unlimited storage for you pictures and videos. They offer many sizes for your photos and many privacy options. I love the unlimited storage and privacy options with this service. The only downfall I can see for this the price when there are free service that perform this service only with the additions of looking at few ads. If you are willing to pay for Smug Mug then it is a great investment. If you not looking for professional quality and don't mind the ads you might want to use another photo sharing site.

My Teaching Biography

I have wanted to be a teacher as long as I can remember. I remember the Christmas when I was eight years old when Santa bought me a large chalk board easel, tons of chalk, and a grade book! I was so excited, that I played school for hours on end. After winter break that year, my third grade teacher gave me a couple of textbooks and extra worksheets to play with, it was like Christmas all over again. My youngest brother would play school with me, even though now he claims he was forced into playing. I showed leadership in my youth. To my child eyes, teaching seemed like a perfect job. A teacher got to write on the board, she got attention from the entire class, and—best of all she always got to tell everyone what to do! I could not have thought of any job that could be better than being a teacher.

I entered college in the fall of 1999, convinced that a teaching career was the one for me. Through the first three years of my college experience, I changed my major several times. Going "green" and becoming environmentally aware was a hot topic, so I switched majors to Environmental Science for a semester. For the first time in my life, I considered the fact that teaching might not be the only career that I might enjoy. Then I decided I wanted to transfer schools, I wanted to go to Coastal Carolina University and live at the beach. With that change I toyed with the idea of a major in Marine Science for one semester, but I soon returned to my lifelong dream of teaching. After, this wandering through the vast forest of college majors, I become conscious to my true destined path, of education.

Now I realize that I have never wanted to be anything but a teacher, and I love it as much as I ever hoped I would. I have always wanted to help people, have a love of learning, and a desire to make the world a better place. I think it is these qualities that led me to the classroom. Walking into my classroom every morning brings back that feeling of that special Christmas when I was eight.

    I feel that one of my greatest contributions to education is a genuine love and concern for my students. I try to help each student to realize that he or she is a precious individual, capable of making our world a better place for everyone. I try to make my classes fun and interesting for the students. To help the students grasp the concept of guerilla tactics, one of the reasons Francis Marion was a well known partisan leader, we had a paper ball fight. One side of the room represented the British and the opposite side represented Francis Marion and his militia. The side led by Francis Marion hid in the "swamp" (under desks). We then discussed the two battle tactics and which was more successful. Yes, teachers teach content, and it is exciting when students learn the content and can apply it as well. But learning has a larger outcome; the student has learned something about how it feels to be successful. They have also learned how it feels to be challenged to reach for success, and maybe along the way they have had to learn something about how it feels to fail, as well. Learning from mistakes is just as important as knowing how it feels to succeed. These are the skills that will carry our students into the next level and the skills that will make them lifelong learners. I like to say that I am building a better world one student at a time. I also love the moments when they grasp a concept and then in turn go and teach that concept to another student who is struggling.

Duck Tape Doesn't Fix Everything