Junior Year, Here I come!

Day 1

Walking into Aqu room 57, I was not sure what to expect. I've heard rumors about that class - that it is hard, that you will have to do a lot of work, that you will be so stressed out, etc. I tried to keep an open mind as I walked in and found an open seat. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised.

We started the class with an ice breaker activity to get to know our classmates. We made name tags “with love,” and answered four brief questions on the back. These questions pertained to our favorite social studies teacher and what made him/her successful, what we would define social studies as, and how to teach and learn social studies in the classroom.

Once we completed our name tags, we introduced ourselves to a partner and went over our responses to the questions. We then got into small groups or 4 or 5, and instead of re-introducing ourselves, our partner had to introduce us. I think that this was a very effective activity. By introducing your partner, you had to pay close attention and listen when she was talking originally.

After introducing our partners to the group, one person from each group then had to introduce every person and tell a summary of the groups findings.

This was a great “get to know you” activity that allowed for many people to be introduced at once. I think that this would be a good ice breaker in any classroom, from first grade through college. Though the questions would have to be changed and altered depending on the grade level and subject the class is, this can be used in all schools.

I really enjoyed the first day of class. Though there was a lot of information and assignments given to us, I think that the class will be manageable. One thing that I did learn from the first day, however, is that I will need to be very organized with my work. I will need to constantly check e-class for updates and assignments and  always keep extra space in my planner for this class.

I am really looking forward to working with Bishop Dunn again this semester. I think that the American Revolution will be an interesting and exciting topic to teach. There is so much that can be done using technology to introduce the class to this topic. I can’t wait until fieldwork starts!

Day 2

We went to the library to learn about different programs and resources that are available to us as MSMC students. I thought that the presentation was very informative. I didn’t know about all the resources that we have to use! I thought that kidspiration was a great new program that I can use in a variety of my classes. I really wish that I had learned about it earlier in my college career.

I also liked how we went through how to access and use the different databases through the library. I think that these resources will help me to succeed in this class and other classes. Not everything you find online is a reliable source, so it's great to have these types of resources at our fingertips. Look for Resources Here!

Day 3

Presentations for our “About me” projects began today. For this assignment, each student had to pick a way to introduce herself to the class using a digital media. I choose to use tagxedo, a type of word cloud. Tagxedo is a great website to use, and has many possible uses in the classroom. I really liked how you are able to create words in a variety of shapes and color themes, as well as take text straight from a website! I will definitely be using this website in fieldwork and in my future classroom!

I really enjoyed this assignment. It opened my eyes to how the classroom is changing. It's not just a whiteboard anymore. With smart boards and even laptops or tablets, classrooms are advancing with the use of technology. By equipping ourselves with these tools and useful sites, I think that we'll be ahead of the game when it comes time for us to lead a classroom.

Overall I think that the first week of class went really well. It will definitely take some time to get back into the routine of going to school, but I think this will be a great semester. Though I may be stressed out and overwhelmed at times, I have to keep my head up and keep pushing forward, not only in this class, but throughout the rest of my schooling.