The light at the end of the tunnel

As EDC3100 comes to an end, it is safe to say that I have enjoyed blogging about the course and will do some more blogging in the future as I start to work on my professional portfolio. It has been great reading fellow bloggers posts about their learnings and engagement from the course. After all of the time consuming blogging, late nights and early mornings trying to complete the requirements for this course, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Everything we have learned from the course all makes sense now. I would like to wish everyone the best of luck with their studies and I’m sure our paths will cross again soon in other courses. All the best!! xx

Image Credit- Zahova, P. (2011). ‘Fashion Thrill’. Retrieved June 18, 2016 from http://www.fashionthrill.com/2011/08/monday-quote-anonymous.html

Assignment 3

As I complete assignment three, I have had the opportunity to reflect on my prac and the ICT in which I used throughout the three weeks. Overall, there weren’t many ICT’s available at my context for me to use however, there were enough resources to amplify an enhance student’s learning and I was luckier than some, who didn’t even have an interactive whiteboard. I have leant so much more about ICTs and how to utilise them in the classroom for student’s learning and am now much more capable at planning lessons with ICTs in them. I was lucky on prac, as I didn’t have to deal with too many errors or technology problems when teaching my lessons. I did have back up plans but I’m glad I didn’t have to rely on these back ups to complete my lesson as they would not have been as effective without ICTs. I wish everyone in EDC3100 good luck with their assignment 3 if they’re still going, and hope that you achieve the result you are after.

Go Noodle

At the school, each morning before morning tea the student have a 10-15 minutes brain break and LIFE where they eat fruit or yoghurt and play a game, go for a run around the oval or do physical activity/exercises in the classroom. One of the preppies favourite activity for LIFE was to do a dance on Go Noodle or Just Dance Kids. The children loved it and really got them moving. Go Noodle has a great selection of songs for the students to dance to as well as Yoga exercises which they also enjoy doing. A great website for both teachers and parents to use at home.

My experience whilst on prac

After reading fellow blogger’s post about her overall experience on prac, Zoe explained that her experience was ‘unforgettable’. I would have used the same word to sum up my prac, as it was an experience I will never forget. The children were beautiful and had such lovely manners, which made my experience a memorable one. It was a pleasure to be with the preppies for three weeks, and to be honest I didn’t want to leave. This prac made me realise that this is definitely what I want to do each day. It put things into perspective and with my degree nearly finished, I’m excited, scared and have mixed feelings about it but can’t wait to finish and have my own class. After prac it was back to reality, finishing off assessment and working. This prac was definitely one of the best experiences and I have learnt so much more about using ICTs!

Effective ICT

I was reading a fellow blogger’s post about an ICT in which she engaged with whilst on her professional experience. Jane was lucky enough to use an ICT resource called Bee Bots, which her mentor purchased especially for her to use with the class. Bee Bots were an effective and engaging tool to use with the children for many areas including the topic of location and direction. After reading her post I was interested in learning more about this ICT and learning more ways that they could be used and implemented in the classroom.

Storybox Library

Storybox Library is a website that teachers can use in their classrooms, where students can read and watch a story read by Australian storytellers. The teacher can choose from a range of books to display on the interactive whiteboard. The teacher at my prac used this website several times at the beginning or end of an activity or when the students finished their work early in some lessons. A great time filler resource and students really love watching the storytellers as they use expression and really engage the students. One of the stories that I watched with the class was read by an Australian comedian and she made the story very fun to read and watch. I highly recommend this website, with just a small subscription of $29.95 per year, it would definitely be worth it.

Soundwaves

Each week, the preppies in my prac class learnt a new letter and their sound. Sometimes they would learn more than one letter and sound. Every morning for their phonics lesson, to help them with their songs for each letter, the teacher would display the soundwaves chant (which is just a YouTube clip) on the interactive whiteboard for them to sing along to and do the actions. The kids loved singing this song and it really does help them to learn and remember their letters and sounds. This is a great resource to use in the classroom, especially when your singing voice isn’t that great haha. After the students watched this clip they would then complete a craft activity at their desk about the letter/sound of the week and complete a page in their soundwaves books. The students also have a soundwaves chart that they use as a guide when they are reading and writing.

Speech, Sound, Pics

Although I didn’t experience the ‘Speech, Sound, Pics’ program whilst on prac, I was reading a fellow blogger’s post about this great program for spelling and reading. Jane used this program with her prac students and she stated in her blog how beneficial it was for the students in her class. After reading about her post I was really interested in learning more about this program so I could check it out and maybe use it with my own students. This seems like another great way of engaging students and helping them to learn how to spell and read. Thanks for a sharing a great tool Jane! I have enjoyed looking through the website and reading more about this fantastic program.

Reading Eggs

When I was on prac I was fortunate enough to see the children engaging in an online educational program called ‘Reading Eggs’, where the students learn to read by completing a series of interesting and engaging activities. The students really enjoyed this program and it motivated them to enjoy reading and have fun. The students have the opportunity to participate in this program at home to practice and encourage their learning to read. A great program used in schools and very helpful in the student’s development, especially when they are in their first years of schooling. This link gives you some more information about the reading eggs program, go and check it out!

First Week of Prac

The first week of prac went so quickly and it was safe to say that time flies when you’re having fun! I was fortunate enough to be placed with the preppies where I experienced many interesting and exciting things and learnt so much in my first five days there. The classroom is a fun, engaging and colourful environment that promotes student diversity. I was also lucky enough to be placed with a great teacher that has many years of experience, who made my experience comfortable, rewarding and memorable. Living in a small town, I walked into the classroom on the first day seeing some familiar faces from childcare, which made it easy for me learn to each student’s name and form a relationship with them in the classroom. The preppies were a beautiful bunch of children who were a pleasure to teach for the three weeks. I actually miss them a lot! I would like to share something I thought was very cool for the students when my mentor marked the roll each morning. This class has a superhero theme and uses a fun superhero attendance sheet on the Interactive Whiteboard. The kids really love it!