1st Quarter

As I look back on 1st quarter, I am noticing some things that have gone really well and some things I need to improve on.

Strengths:

The students are very comfortable using the laptops. They respond quickly to directions and they are willing to help others. Establishing a specific routine in the beginning has definitely helped my class run smoothly.

I think I have done a decent job at giving the students projects where they can create something from what they have learned.

I have showed the students a variety of sources they can use to create presentations from topics they have researched.

I thing I have kept the students more engaged in school using the computer.

Room for improvement:

I need to do better in giving them activities that are higher levels in Blooms Taxonomy. Common Core calls for students to think logically at a higher level so I need to find activites that incorporate a higher level of thinking.

I have a handful of students that always forget to charge their computer. I need to come up with an effective method to help those students remember to charge their computer.

The internet is also an issue sometimes. These laptops are very tricky to get onto the internet. Even though the students are very familiar with the routine, if a problem arises, they don't know what to do. Sometimes, I don't know what to do other than tell them to restart their computer. Of course, they get frustrated and they get further behind in completing their assignment for a reason that is not their fault.

MATH! That is the subject where I find it very difficult to incorporate the computers. I am so accustomed to thinking/teaching math in one way. I really need to work on getting myself out of that mindset.

I also want to do more PBL. My goal is this quarter is to incorporate one PBL unit per subject this quarter.


Hopefully I can wrap my mind around all this. I am blessed to have a great class, but I know from previouses experiences that establishing a firm routine is necessary to help everything run smoothly. Sometimes, I feel like I am being way too strict. However, this has definitely helped me to keep my level of sanity!