Even since I started working as a naturalist at the local park in
my neighborhood at the tender age of 17, I’ve had this
need to share the things I know with others, especially to younger children. Having been a teacher here in Korea for over 10 years at the elementary school level, I still feel
that I haven’t lost this
passion to teach and I still thrive to be the best teacher
I can be.
That being said, there are still a few
things that I feel that I need to improve on in order to keep up with the
times. When I first got to Korea, the only computer programs that I had
confidence in were Word, Excel, and I had a basic understanding of PowerPoint. Unfortunately due to my lack of computer skills, I
have really never ventured off that path with more current tools such as Prezi. Computers have really always overwhelmed
me. Due to this, I have stuck with the things I know and pretty much have been
milking them to death. In my defense, the reason why I haven’t
really changed is because I feel the students are still enjoying what I have to
offer them. Or at least, that's what it seems to me.
The reason why I am so excited for this course is to get a better
understanding of the technology available to me so that I can bring it in to
the classroom and make my lessons more enjoyable and interactive for
the students. With anything in life, variety is key. With different teaching
tools, I can hopefully engage the students more, and by doing
that, the students might feel more inclined to continue their English studies.
Another thing that I feel I need to improve is my communication
skills with my co-teacher. Over the last 3 years at my present elementary school I have been pretty much a “one
man show” going on. The co-teacher in my classroom
is more there for discipline and translation and is really not a part of the
class. I do this because her English skills are not very good and sometimes it
takes me a while to get my message across to her. I feel that if I had her
"on my side" we would have better classes. I hope that a can pick up
some useful tools in this class to try and improve on my current situation.
Wish me luck!
I like the color scheme in the background. Looking good. I enjoyed the comments on what a normal class is like here in Korea and what its like to have a 'co-teacher.' Real talk.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great voice when you write, but being concise is always the challenge of good writing.
What do you recommend from Pennywise?
I like that you are thinking about your coteacher when thinking about how technology will help you in the classroom. Working on presentations together might be a good collaborative process that allows her to have more input into what will happen in the classroom and give her an outline for what she can do or say to the students. I think you will find it will help her build her confidence as well.
ReplyDeleteIntroducing technology into your lessons might all spice things up for you and get you pumped about trying things out in the classroom. Teaching can become repetitive at times, so jazzing it up with your new tech skills will get you more engaged.
Good luck!
I am also looking forward to learning about and using the technology introduced in this program. PowerPoint has lost it's luster and has become outdated and boring, so I'm leaning towards using something like Prezi in the future. You may also want to try Google Presentations, which is available in Google drive. I have used it a few times for my classes and it great because it can be created, edited, and saved in one location and is easily accessible within the Google ecosystem.
ReplyDelete