Feedly is Fantastic!

Feedly can be an amazing tool to help organize all of the different blogs that we all enjoy reading. Feedly lets you find all of the blogs that you enjoy reading and organize them into different categories to make them easier to access. A couple different categories that I have my blogs organized in are classroom decor, literacy, education, classroom technology, and Spanish blogs. All I have to do is click on a category, and all of the latest blog posts from those blogs will appear in my feed!

Here is a screenshot of my home page with Feedly.

Technology at César E. Chávez Elementary

As I did my research on the technology found at César E. Chávez Elementary, I was told by many teachers and faculty about their strong need for better technology in their classrooms, and for the school as a whole.  Only a couple of the teachers K-5 have a student computer in their classrooms. One teacher that I chatted briefly with talked about how she had to collect old, throw away parts of different computers in order to have a computer in her class for her students to use.

            The rest of the school has to schedule time periods to use the one computer lab, which is full of computers that are 7+ years old, even though the building is only five years old. Unfortunately, since the computer lab is on the second floor of the building, the kindergarten and first grade students are not allowed access to the lab, as it goes against fire code for our youngest César Chávez students to be above the first floor. This means that any kindergarten or first grade teacher has to schedule a time period to use on of the six movable laptop carts in order for their children to even have access to computers. The laptops on the cart are also old, so many of the teachers do not even bother with them. Since the students are not using technology consistently in the classroom, they are not encouraged to bring their own devices to school.

            Thankfully, many of the teachers do have very functional computers, projectors, and even document cameras, due to phase one of the school improvement plan. My own cooperating teacher uses her document camera and projector daily. Her computer and projector are linked, so she is able to show the students her educational videos and websites from her computer.

            Even though much of the technology at César Chávez Elementary and Grand Rapids Public Schools as a whole is lacking, there is a current bond proposal in the works to have the entire technology system updated. The vote for this bond happens in November, and I have no doubts that the bond will be passed, as the last two bond proposals and improvement plan phases have been accepted and executed perfectly. According to their instructional technology plan, GRPS values technology integration, growth, and competency for their students and faculty, and many of the steps in their plan for staff professional development have already occurred. For more information about the upcoming bond, you can watch this quick video, or visit the GRPS site http://www.grps.org/bond-proposal.

 GRPS Bond | November 3rd, 2015

Classroom Blogging

A classroom blog has the potential not only to be useful to the teacher, but to the students as well. I as the teacher can use my blog to keep the students and parents updated on current assignments, classroom happenings, and other relevant information for our class. My students could also have their own blogs, and create posts involving their learning and research in different subjects such as science, Spanish, art, social studies, and more. The possibilities are endless. Students can also post finished projects for their parents, teachers, and peers to see. Blogs can be used differently than Word documents because they offer a much bigger audience, and are much more interactive; students can comment and initiate discussions on each other’s blogs that they cannot easily do on paper. Blogs also give the opportunity to post pictures, videos, and live links onto them which take readers directly to the source of information. Blogs can be an amazing asset in the classroom.

10 Educational and Inspiring Blogs

1.       http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/ : Teacher Tech is a blog created by Alice Keeler, who has her B.A. in Mathematics and her M.A. in Educational Media Design and Technology. Her quest in life and on her blog is to promote new and effective ways of using technology in the classroom.

2.      http://www.teachingandlearningwell.com/ : Teaching and Learning Well is a Weebly website run by GVSU professor Susan Laninga. This site is meant to be a well of information for teachers and more specifically, Social Studies teachers.

3.      http://www.coolcatteacher.com/ : The Cool Cat Teacher is a blog run by Vicki Davis, who is a fulltime teacher, author, and keynote speaker. Her blog, full of countless ideas, innovation, inspiration, and more, is a constant on the list of top 50 educational blogs.

4.      http://larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com/ : Chalk Talk is run by Mrs. Laramore, who taught kindergarten for 16 years and has a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Dallas Baptist and a doctorate in early childhood studies from the University of North Texas. This blog is aimed to provide useful tips and strategies for early childhood teachers.

5.      http://corneroncharacter.blogspot.com/ : The Corner on Character is authored by Barbara, a school counselor, character coach, and former Spanish and ESL teacher in Texas. Her blog contains many helpful and interesting posts about her experiences in teaching, in hopes that she can inspire other teachers to become better.

6.      http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/ : The First Grade Parade is run by Cara Carroll, a first grade teacher from Texas who’s been teaching for 13 years. The goal of her blog is to be a “virtual scrapbook” of her everyday classroom happenings.

7.      http://www.kids-bookreview.com/p/about.html : The Kids’ Book Review is run by ten women with decades of experience between them who fill roles such as authors, speakers, teachers, librarians, and more. This blog is a literature and book review site which includes literary news, book reviews, interviews with authors and illustrators, events, literacy articles and more.

8.     http://www.kleinspiration.com/p/tiny-tech-tips.html : Kleinspiration is run by Erin Klein, an educator who makes it her goal to help bring other teachers into the 21^st century by embracing technology integration and global preparation in the classroom. Her blog is full of pictures, examples, and more to help other teachers to implement technology in their own teaching.

9.      http://blog.maketaketeach.com/ : Make, Take, Teach is run by Julie, a proud Michigan resident with a history in special education. Her goal in her blog is to help teachers better meet the needs of their students by providing multi-sensory materials, as well as other literacy, special needs, mathematics, and DIY resources.

10.  http://funforspanishteachers.blogspot.com/p/about.html : Fun for Spanish Teachers is run by Carolina, founder of 1-2-3 Spanish Together, an early language program for teaching Spanish to children and also a K-3 Spanish teacher. Her blog is full of useful materials for elementary Spanish teachers such as songs, games, lessons, and more.

20 Social Media Educators

PINTEREST PEOPLE

1.      Maria Manore: Kindergarten teacher from Detroit who runs the blog Kinder Craze and keeps up a well-stocked Pinterest board with teaching ideas.

2.      Seusstastic: Melissa D. is a first grade teacher from Chicago who posts classroom inspiration regularly to Pinterest and is the author of the blog Seusstastic.

3.      Megan Zachman: second grade teacher from Minnesota and manager of the website Almost a Third Grader, who keeps up an active Pinterest board for teachers.

4.      Stephanie @ Third Grade Thoughts: Third grade teacher who runs the website 3^rd Grade Thoughts, which is full of teaching resources and more.

5.      Charity Preston: Pinterest user who runs the Organized Classroom website and frequently posts important classroom resources and information acquired during years of teaching.

6.      Mandy Neal: Runs the website teachingwithsimplicity.com and shares tips and tricks for teaching with simplicity.

7.      Mr. Hughes: John Hughes is a full-time elementary administrator and blogger of An Educator’s Life, who has a huge Pinterest board full of educational ideas for teaching.

8.      Schoolgirl Style: Melanie Ralbusky authors the website schoolgirlstyle.com, which offers many creative ideas for classroom decor.

9.      Patti Barker: Fifth grade teacher from South Caroline who posts about classroom management and technology in the classroom on also authors the blog Tales from a 4^th (and 5^th grade teacher).

10.  Jennifer Jones: Literacy staff developer and curriculum and instructional coach who keeps up the blog Hello Literacy.

11.  Samantha Ham: Samantha keeps up boards about Spanish education and English as a Second Language.

TWITTER ACCOUNTS

12.  @donalynbooks: Donalyn Miller is the author of The Book Whisperer, and is a strong promoter of books in education.

13.  @pernilleripp: Pernille Ripp is a 7^th grade teacher and creator of The Global Read Aloud, who keeps followers up-to-date on literacy development.

14.  @ronclarkacadamy: Ron Clark is a middle school teacher and author, and is the founder of Ron Clark Academy.

15.  @frankigibberson: Franki is a 3^rd grade teacher and blogger who tweets mainly about literacy and technology in the classroom.

INSTAGRAM EDUCATORS

16.  The Pinspired Teacher: The Pinspired Teacher is a fourth-grade teacher and active Instagram user who posts photos about creative classroom activities and other things for teachers to enjoy.

17.   Apples and ABC’s: This is a kindergarten teacher who is very creative in her classroom and loves sharing her teaching life and experiences with others.

18.   What the Teacher Wants: This Instagram account is geared towards those who work with children and is mainly used to provide inspiration and teaching tips for educators.

19.  Tattooed Teacher Blog: Mrs. Lamb is a teacher who posts about what it is like to be an elementary school teacher by including pictures of students working and other school-related activities.

20.   A Differentiated Kindergarten: Marsha McGuire is a kindergarten teacher who posts many unique ideas for teaching which are easily accessible and doable for other teachers.

Educational Organizations

One influential organization that supports the development of bilingual students and educators is the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE).

NABE is very involved with social media, and is linked with Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and even has their own YouTube channel. There are many avenues for even nonmembers to keep up with NABE.

If an individual is interested in a NABE membership, the rates are very reasonable. An annual membership for individuals is usually $60, but university student memberships are only $30. A membership with NABE includes six annual issues of its PERSPECTIVES magazine, as well as unrestricted access to the website, discounted rates for other publications, professional networking opportunities, and much more.

There are three publications put out by the NABE organization. One is the PERSPECTIVES magazine. The other two publications are research journals called the Bilingual Research Journal, and the peer reviewed NABE Journal of Research and Practice. Some of these publications are available to the public and the organization’s website.

NABE offers their 45^th annual conference in the spring of 2016, which is a 3-day conference in Chicago. A basic package for the entire event is around $445.

NABE is one of the only national organizations that is actively working to ensure that minority students have equal opportunities to learn English, as well as support bilingual educators and usher in improvements to the field of bilingual education in the United States.

More information can be found at the organization website: http://www.nabe.org/

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A Michigan-based organization which supports technology in education is the Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME). The purpose of this organization is mainly to support Michigan library media specialists, and it does this by providing opportunities for profession growth and access to resources and workshops, by keeping educators up to date on recent educational media news, and by advocating for school libraries.

MAME can be accessed through the social media sites Twitter and Facebook, which both provide extra resources and information about the organization.

An annual membership with MAME is $50 for individuals and $30 for fulltime students (with proof of fulltime, post-secondary school attendance). Joining MAME allows members to be part of MAMElist, an active listserv community for sharing educational resources, Media Matters monthly newsletters, discounts on the annual conference, professional development opportunities, and an awards program for recognizes outstanding professionals in school library media services.

The annual conference is in late fall, and is a two day conference. For nonmembers, the price of the full conference is $220 and $165 for 1-day attendees. Discounts are available for students and retirees upon request.

More information can be found at the organization website: http://www.mimame.org/

About Me

Hi, all!

My name is Lanaia Walker, and I am going to Grand Valley State University for Elementary Education and teaching Elementary Spanish! Super specifically, I am a Core Sciences and Arts for Teaching (CSAT) major, and a Teaching Elementary Spanish Minor.

Directly related to my degrees is my first fun fact: I am the very first person to be going through my program in the College of Education. This makes me a sort of guinea pig for the COE; while they figure out the best way to send us elementary Spanish teachers through. This semester I am in a Spanish transition bilingual kindergarten classroom at Cesar Chávez Elementary School, and so far it is awesome! I get to teach the children everything you would normally teach kindergartners, but for the Spanish language instead of English.

Some things that I absolutely love, besides Spanish and children, are reading, spending time outside being active, hanging out with my husband, watching NCIS (season 13 starts September 22^nd!), and getting to see my family. I have seven people in my family, and soon there will be nine of us, as we are in the process of adopting two toddlers who have been in foster care in our home for almost two years.

As far as planning and using technology in the classroom, throughout my time at Grand Valley I have spent a lot of time planning and using PowerPoint presentations while teaching lessons. They are very helpful for keeping lessons on track and interesting. I have also used a couple different blogs, including Weebly, in many classes to organize information and incite discussion among classmates. While tutoring in English 308, I relied heavily on a couple different book websites, including the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD), to help me evaluate book levels and quality for my tutees. Finally, in our elementary health class, we were required to find websites and online videos to help plan lessons for each unit of health. In many of these lessons, Pinterest was an extremely useful resource.

Kayaking with my husband, Kevin, in Wisconsin.

The schools I have spent the most time are Robinson Elementary, which is a part of Grand Haven Area Public Schools, and Sibley and Cesar Chávez Elementary, which are both part of Grand Rapids Public Schools.