It's been a long time since I've posted anything.  I have been doing a lot of searching for direction in terms of my blogging.  I had envisioned this blog as a classroom tool where students would respond to my posts with intellectual rigor and wit that would astound the world.  Alas! That was not to be.  I have found, however, that I am more interested in using my blog to learn from fellow educators.

So . . . fellow educators . . . let's learn! :-)

Reading Like a Historian

In addition to technology and Common Core, I found something interesting for those who teach history:

An InfoGraphic from Visual.ly.com about the Teaching Profession

   
   

    Teaching">http://visual.ly/teaching-america-glimpse-teaching-profession/?utm_source=visually_embed">Teaching America: A Glimpse at The Teaching Profession infographic

by obizmedia.
  
   
   
   
 

Technology in the Classroom: My Journey

So this summer I have made it my mission to become more technologically competent.  I had this same goal two summers ago and failed miserably.  All you have to do is to look back on my blog posts and see that it went nowhere.  I have decided to embark upon this again for several reasons.  In the past school year, I have become more and more dependent on technology to teach my class.  I received an ipad to use in the classroom and discovered a couple of apps to make life a little easier.  I have really enjoyed using Socrative so my students can take quizzes using their smart phones.  I have used the mobile computer lab a couple of times to have students use technology.  I really should mention that I have a Promethean board and it was one of the first technologies that pushed me into using technology in the classroom.

The idea of the flipped classroom has also motivated me to embark upon this journey again.  I think that ideas like the flipped classroom is where education is headed.  For years now, the trend in education has been moving the teacher from the front of the classroom as leader to working with students in collaborative settings as facilitator.  This trend works quite well with technology.  As a teacher, I have been asked to include technology in me lessons more and more.  Most students are already using many of the tools that teachers are starting to embrace like blogging and Twitter.  The flipped classroom allows teachers to capitalize on this.  Students are asked to review all of the materials before coming to class.  So the student would view the lecture online and investigate some primary documents before coming to class.  Class time could be used for collaborative work and extension activities to broaden students understanding or at the very least, offer the teacher time to remediate those students who have not been able to process the material while giving advanced students the opportunity to expand their knowledge with collaborative projects.

My desire for a 1:1 classroom also motivates me to continue this journey.  As technology becomes more prevalent in our students' lives, the classroom must keep up with it.  Moving from the traditional pencil and paper classroom to the digital classroom is happening now.  I hope to be on the forefront of this movement. 

So stay with me as I try to further this journey.  If you are looking for resources or information for technology in the classroom, follow me on Twitter (@RebeccaBidwell).  Come back and see how I've been doing.  Let me know what you think

This is a VERY short video I created with Animoto about Birmingham and our school:

Here is an interactive image created by Thinglink about the Vulcan statue in Birmingham, Alabama.  The links highlight different things related to Birmingham's industrial development.

Here is a getting to know you form that I would like for my students to complete the first day of school: