Blog Reflections

Prior to my Educational Technology class, I had heard very little of what Educational Blogging was. This can be used to promote communication in the classroom while also giving the students opportunities to express their own thoughts and opinions. Teachers can also use educational blogging to relay information to their class, co-workers, etc. You can bring in many different types of media, encourage freedom of  choice in regards to what they write about, and allows students to set up their blog in a way that expresses their style and creativity. It is a great way to get students writing for enjoyment instead of them seeing it as a unenjoyable task that has been assigned. 

Person typing on the computer,
writing in their blog

While reading my peers blogs, I learned so much more about all types of topics related to education. In Kate Cofer's blog, Everything Elementary, it was interesting to learn more about classroom management. She brought up the idea of student contribution when it comes to creating class rules. It encourages students to follow the rules but also remember them easily since they created them. In another one of my peers blogs, ETEC Blog, by Brooke Dewalt, she made a post on school safety. I didn't know how strongly school safety related to how children perform in the classroom. Looking back now, it makes sense, but I just didn't know it had such a strong correlation. Lastly, in Darby Redding's blog, Educational Technology 386 Blog, she has a post about parental involvement. It is super important for parents to show up, most importantly for their kids. It shows that they are supporting them in their academics and care about their child's success. The topics about are all something I want to encourage in my classroom, I enjoy learning as much as I can and look forward to implementing these in the future. 

Personally, I don't see myself using blogging in my classroom. I may share the idea of what it is, but won't directly include it. I think teaching elementary, it wouldn't be the most beneficial since they are so young. I do however, think this would be great for middle and high school students. They could use this for assignments or just creativity. I think blogging has a multitude of benefits and could greatly impact student success and creativity in the classroom.

Technology in the Classroom Setting

Technology use in the classroom is something that is becoming more prevalent in today's society. They are hardly any classrooms that don't use technology in some aspect. There is use of smart boards, laptops, tablets, phones, and many other devices. Teachers use technology daily, and there are many more ways to incorporate it into their classroom. From when technology was first introduced, till now, there are many more ideas of how to implement it. There is always something new that is coming out so it is important for teachers to be able to adapt and learn quickly so their students can get the most out of technology. 

Classroom full of students using laptops

Technology became a huge part of the classroom when Covid-19 hit. Students, teachers, and parents all had to rely heavily on technology. Some may have not even had to do this before. Everyone was using Zoom, and platforms like Canvas and Google Classroom. Technology is something that isn't going away so it will be interesting to see how technology is used in the future. 

When I was in school, technology was slowly being introduced. I vividly remember the day my teacher got a smart board installed. It made all of us excited to learn and encouraged participation in during whole group instruction. Everyone wanted the opportunity to go use the pen on the board, even if it was just clicking an answer. In middle school, each student got a laptop. We all were so excited and again, it made us eager to learn since we got to use these devices. I have basically grown up with technology being integrated into the classroom. I look forward to learning and coming up with ways to use it in my own classroom in the future. Technology will be something that I use and rely on but I also think it is important to still use paper and pencil every once in a while, especially for subjects like math. I am eager to see the ways technology changes in my time as an educator and while I am still in school. I think there will always be something to learn regarding technology. 

Flipped Classroom

Image of comparison of what a flipped classroom
looks like compared to a traditional classroom

If I had not experienced this type of class structure myself, then I would have no idea where to even begin defining this thing called a 'Flipped Classroom.' This type of class structure is basically when the students watch lessons at home the night before and the next day come to class for reinforcement and activities covering the topic. Having a flipped classroom allows for the students to do more collaboration in the classroom and teacher guidance and ability to answer the unknown questions students may have. The teacher becomes the "guide on the side" which means they just assist in any questions and activities for the students. Teachers would have students watch lectures at home and come to class the next day to have activities, assessments, and group work to check for understanding. 

The first and only experience I have encountered this type of class structure was sixth grade math. It was one of the most challenging classes I have experienced and I do believe the flipped classroom aspect had a lot to do with it. I think this can work in some classrooms and subjects but I firmly believe incorporating into a math class is not a good idea. Also, I am the type of student that likes to ask questions during a lesson, and that took that opportunity away from me. By the time I was in class the next day, I forgot what I didn't understand. A flipped classroom has the possibility to work for subjects like English, Science, or History but only for older kids. I don't think it belongs in a elementary school classroom. I do however, think that the concept itself is a good idea, but has some changes that need to be made to ensure that every student is successful. 

Teacher Salaries

 One of the most controversial topics in education today, is teacher salaries. It is very obvious and well known that teachers are severely underpaid for their work. Teachers have one of the most important jobs, if not the most important jobs in society.

Woman holding a sign in protest stating a teachers
starting salary is $37,000 and after 30 years it 
only increased to $60,000.

They are educating our youth and without teachers, we all would be nothing. We wouldn't have lawyers, doctors, or any other job, if it weren't for educators. Knowing that, why are we still not paying Americas educators enough? For example, Tennessee educator salaries are averaging around $50,000, aligning with America's average as a whole. Those averages are after they have been teaching a while, starting out, teachers barely make a livable salary. For as much as teachers do, one would think their pay would reflect that. It has led to teachers leaving their profession as they feel they are not being respected for what they do. 

As a college student entering the teaching profession, this is a problem that is concerning. My career should pay me enough to only have to work one job, but that is not the case for many teachers. Most educators I know work one, even two, jobs outside of teaching just to be able to support themselves and their families. As a comparison, I babysit/nanny in my free time, charging 10 dollars an hour per kid roughly. Let's make the comparison in the classroom. $10 per kid, per hour, 5 days a week, per month. A teacher has roughly 20 students in her class. 10 multiplied by 20 is 200 dollars an hour. Multiply that by 7 hours, is $1,400 a day. There are 180 days in a school year, so that comes out to $252,000. Now, I am not saying that teachers need to be paid that much exactly, but for as much of their time and effort educators put into their jobs, they deserve more. Educators work long hours, even outside of their contracted hours, that they don't receive compensation for. They bring home papers, create things at home, etc, and that all goes unnoticed. As a nation, I think we need to step back and reevaluate our education system and how much we are valuing and respecting our educators, as they are our foundation of our society.