Welcome to My 21st Century Classroom page! This is a project to reveal what my dream classroom would look like and the changes I would like to incorporate into the education system. Please take a few minutes to listen to my belief essay to learn about my journey and my passion for teaching early childhood education students.
This
project helped me to truly uncover why I am an early childhood education major
at Edinboro University.The visual essay project also helped me to discover how my passion originated and flourished. Check
out my reflection on this project for more insight into my personal experience!
2. My Classroom:
Graphic Representation of my classroom.
When designing my classroom I consider three options: ease of collaboration, transparency, and a communication basedclassroom. My classroom features bean bags, tables, chairs, laptops, kindles, smart board, internet access, and my desk. The bean bags are fun for kids and easy to move so that a large or small group discussion can be comfortable and trouble-free for both the students and for me as the teacher. This classroom also features round tables with chairs. This I feel promotes unity among the student because everyone is part of a group and belongs somewhere and this makes collaboration almost effortless. A smart board stands in the far right of the classroom. I chose a smart board because I want the instructional time in the classroom to be interactive and engaging for the students. The room is complete with storage for both laptops and kindles for every student.
Collaboration: My 21st
Century classroom is designed with collaboration in mind. Every work space is in a circular design so
that communication between students is promoted. The room is divided into two sides. Group
discussion is the theme of the left hand side of the room because the bean bags
are arranged in a oval formation so that everyone in the group can have an
equal to interact.
The right side of the room takes on a whole different feel. This is where more “traditional” educational
instruction will take place. The layout
also screams collaboration; the students sit in round tables in a semi-circle
arrangement facing the Smartboard so when directed to collaborate the students
can each take part in group discussion around their own tables.
Transparency: My 21st
Century classroom is a network classroom because it is transparent. The goal of a classroom being transparent is
the classroom is open to the online world.
My room is complete with laptops for every student so each student is
connected and able to share their learning experiences from classroom project
to the world outside the classroom and even the school. Not only does every student have a laptop but
they also are privileged to have a kindle.
This kindle is used not only for textbooks but for their own reading
pleasure. The students are no longer
limited to the books in the classroom or the school library and they do not
have to wait until the book is returned before checking it out. With this access every student is able to
make connections with other classrooms around the world. Since this is a 3rd grade class,
I will use this as a learning opportunity to teach safety and appropriate
publishing methods online.
Communication based: My 21st
Century classroom is intended to promote both oral and written
communication. The blueprint of the
classroom promotes both large and small group discussion. Large group discussion will take place around
the bean bag circle and the room is compatible for small groups because each
table breeds a small group discussion among five or six students. Technology is at my students fingertips. With internet access in the classroom each
student has the opportunity to participate in online discussions. My students will contribute not only in
classroom discussions but with other 3rd grade classrooms around the
globe.
3. Rituals and Routines:
A typical
day inside my classroom will follow this format. I believe the
relationships I develop with each student are extremely important. I want them to know that I truly care about
them, their education, and their experience in my classroom. Children need to
know you care about them before they care to listen to you. At the start of each
day I want to greet each of my students by name as they walk into my classroom. After arriving at school the
students will check in on the smartboard for attendance and then take a seat at
their assigned table. I chose to use the
smartboard because throughout the day the smartboard will play an important
role in the educational experience and I want to get each student familiar and
comfortable with touching and operating the smartboard. This is a flipped classroom, therefore, the students wil have watched a short video lecture the previous evening and filled out a simple
form voicing any questions or concerns they have. I feel that it is very important that I create these videos so that they are personal to my students and my class; these videos are posted on the classroom blog followed by a short form to fill out. Because I know not every student in the
classroom has the same opportunities or access to these videos, the laptops are
available for the students to use so that they can watch the video before I call
the class to order. I want every student to succeed and part of that process is
participating in classroom discussion. By allowing students the opportunity to
watch the short video they can then participate with their peers. Each subject period starts off with an
activity that would formally be “homework” and then discussion follows. When I am confident that each student is
grasping the concept we will move on. Whenever possible I
want to bring the world to my classroom as much as I want to bring the
classroom to the world. Such as when studying world cultures my classroom will connect with a similar
aged classroom from that another part of the world and learn about the peoples’
lives from that country. This kind of connection is happening between a classroom in Japan and England. This video describes the experience and the benefits it brought to each classroom. I
believe reading is important to the overall success of a persons’ education so
each day there will be an allotted time for individual and group reading time to take
place. The kindles in the room offer a
wide selection and range of reading level prospects. Students have an endless supply of books to read and will not have to wait for the "class library day" before they can begin reading their next book. The classroom work will be published on
moodle so that it is available not only for the students in my classroom but for
the school and the world.
Accessibility: My 21st Century
Classroom is accessible to the current students inside my classroom and
available to the online world. This is a
flipped classroom; the lectures are recorded and posted on the classroom blog
along with a review questionnaire for the students to fill out. This
content is available at any time for the students and for me as a teacher. This content is also available to anyone
following the classroom blog; in this way my classroom is accessible to the
world outside the classroom. This
benefits not only my classroom but other classrooms that take part in the interaction.
Instead of the traditional nightly homework, the students will watch the videos and
come to class prepared with questions and concerns. The "homework” is done in class so I can be
used as a resource rather than instructor during the class time.
Promotes
authentic assessment: My 21st
Century classroom assesses students’ performance through a variety of
different methods rather than the traditional manner. I assess my students on self reflection,
class participation, and projects.
Instead of memorizing facts and figures my students learn by doing. The projects and concepts that are introduced
in my classroom are not meaningless but meaningful, they will be published on
the web for a real audience and receive real feedback for their work.
4. Instructional Glimpse
Lesson
Title: Synonyms and Antonyms
Objective/Assessment/Adaptations:
Objective
|
Assessments
|
Format
of assessment
|
Adaptations
|
Objective
1: Students will analyze the difference between synonyms and antonyms as well
as identify common synonyms or antonyms for vocabulary words.
R3.A.1.1.2:
Identify and/or interpret a synonym or antonym of a word used in text.
|
Pre-assessment
|
Students
will watch synonyms vs. antonym video posted on the classroom blog for
homework prior to coming to class.
|
If
some students have not previously viewed the video I will provide the
opportunity for them to do so.
|
Formative
Assessment
|
Students
will answer an online worksheet to measure their comprehension.
|
I
will provide assistance and support through the entire lesson to those
seeking help.
|
Lesson Body
Anticipatory
Set:
I will grasp the students attention and interest in my lesson using the
interactive power point.
Procedures:
The lesson is taught using the flipped classroom approach. Preparing for this lesson will begin the
night before with the students viewing a short video on the definition and use
of synonyms and antonyms. When students
come into class the following day they will put into practice the concepts they
learned by actively participating in an engaging power point. If I am confident that every student is
grasping the concept then I will bring the instruction to a close.
Closure:
The assignment to check for comprehension will include giving each of the six groups
a different online work sheet to complete and then share with the class what
they have learned.
Independent
practice: The students
will return to the classroom blog for homework and complete an embedded form
for my benefit to check individual comprehension.
5. My Technology Integration
My 21st Century
Classroom is equipped with numerous tools to connect my classroom locally and
world-wide. Blogger is one of the
many tools that connect me to my students.
The classroom blog is the place where my lecture videos are posted and
where the feedback forms for the students to fill out after they watch the
video are located. The students can also
leave me feedback about what they are struggling with in class and any concerns
they have. The classroom blog is also an
opportunity for my classroom to share their knowledge and experiences with
others not only in the school district but to the online audience. Student work and project will be posted to a
course management system called moodle. Twitter will be used to post announcements, from
upcoming events to daily happenings in the classroom so that I can connect and
communicate with the parents of my students.
Twitter will also enable me to
grow my PLN because I will be able to connect with educational experts from
around the globe.
6. PLN
I have big plans for growing my PLN
over the next 4 years as I am preparing to become a teacher and then when I reach
my goal of having my own classroom room I will continue to grow my PLN. I want to stay connected and current with the
new ideas and developments in education. I feel it is important to be connected with
current teachers to hear what changes they are making in their classrooms,
their struggles and success and their insight. Not only do I want to be
connected with current teachers but with future teachers as well. Future teachers are familiar with the
current developments and ideas being presented. I feel that Twitter is an excellent way for
me to grow my connections with both future and current educators as well as a
great source for new tools and ideas. I
also want to grow the number of blogs I am following. I would like to follow some education blogs
by early childhood education teachers that are incorporating the new ideas
concerning technology and instructional practices. I will also use my Diijo account to further my PLN by bookmarking excellent education sites.
7. Feedback
8. Annotated Bibliography
Works
Cited
"Classroom
Architect." Classroom Architect. ALTEC. Web. 02 May 2012.
<http://classroom.4teachers.org/>. I used this site to create a graphic
representation of my classroom.
"Female Teacher In
Front Of Class Stock Photos / Pictures / Photography / Royalty Free Images at
Inmagine." Female Teacher In Front Of Class Stock Photos / Pictures /
Photography / Royalty Free Images at Inmagine. Imagine. Web. 05 May 2012.
<http://www.inmagine.com/bl081/022466bl-photo>. I used this site for
pictures.
"The Flipped
Classroom Infographic." The Flipped Classroom: Turning the Traditional
Classroom on Its Head. KNEWTON. Web. 03 May 2012.
<http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/>. I used this site as a resource
to support the idea of a flipped classroom.
Lands, Bradley.
"Google Images." Google Images. The Landscape. Web. 05 May
2012. <http://www.google.com/imgres?start=309>. I used this blog to
attain pictures.
"SlideShare Is the
Best Way to Share Presentations, Documents and Professional Videos.Get a Free
Account to Upload and Share. Or Go PRO to Get More. Welcome ! Update Your
Profile, Check out Updates from Your Friends or Get a PRO Account for Premium
Features. Welcome ! Update Your Profile, Check out Updates from Your
Friends." Upload & Share PowerPoint Presentations and Documents.
Web. 05 May 2012. <http://www.slideshare.net/>.
I used this site to
upload my Power Point to my blog page.
Pocketlodge. "Katie
Gimbar's Flipped Classroom - Why It Has to Be Me!" YouTube.
YouTube, 06 Aug. 2011. Web. 05 May 2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMfSLXluiSE>. I used this as a resource
to support my idea of creating my own lecture videos for my classroom.
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