What I Love Most About Teaching (30 Day Blogging Challenge: Day 4)

   by  denise carbonell 

The prompt for day four is to reflect upon what I love most about teaching.  Since I have spent a great deal of time reflecting upon this question, over the past three years in particular, I appreciate this opportunity.

While working at Browns River Middle School last year, I found a home.   The drive in each morning was beautiful; the building is flanked by Camel's Hump and an abundance of open space and lush woods.  The students and the faculty are warm and welcoming.  Each day spent there was different from the one that proceeded it, yet each one was filled with meaning.  The relationships that I forged with my students were incredibly strong, and I felt like a valued part of something bigger.

In a nutshell, the thing that I love most about teaching is feeling like I'm making a difference.  It means a lot when a student expresses excitement about some new way of thinking that they might not have previously experienced.  It means a great deal when a student who is having a bad day can be made to smile through the exchange of a few kind words of encouragement.

Teaching can be difficult, because human beings have complex needs and desires.  We all desperately want to connect with other people and to be seen for who we truly are.  The best teachers that I have ever had were very good at taking the time to get to know me as a person and making an effort to reach me on a personal level.  It was that gesture of kindness that allowed me to take risks and try harder than I otherwise might have.   As a teacher, I recognize that I also wield this incredible power to impact lives.  That is a huge responsibility, but it is also a gift.

Teaching becomes most meaningful through the creation of relationships with other people, and that is what I love most about teaching.

Focus for Future Observations (30 Day Blogging Challenge: Day 3)

   by  Fred Seibert 

The third prompt asked me to reflect upon an area where I would like to improve upon in future teacher observations.  While I am consciously aware of the fact that there are always areas for improvement in my teaching, I believe that the area that I'd most like to focus upon is feeling more comfortable while having formal observations done. Although most people would characterize me as an energetic speaker, I sometimes suffer from stage fright.

I routinely create engaging lessons for students, and I expend a great deal of effort building relationships with students.  Nonetheless, I still feel intensely nervous during observations and interviews.  I wish that I could switch off the part of my brain that sends the fight or flight message that high-stakes situations signal for me. It's not that I don't value constructive criticism, because I have learned a great deal from the open and honest feedback that I've received from mentors seeking to help me improve my practice.  I just feel more aware of my shortcomings whenever I'm trying my best to perform for a live audience that is different from the one that I might normally perform for.  This RSA short on the "Power of Introverts" speaks to the issue I've addressed.

I'm not exactly sure how to go about making the mental shift, though.   Also, I wonder whether other teachers feel the same way I do, or if I am truly in the minority.

Update:  Susan Cain, the author of Quiet, shared this link on FaceBook.  It seems to offer some good advice for people like me.

New Technology: Lily Pad Arduino (30 Day Blogging Challenge: Day 2)

Yesterday's prompt was to reflect upon a new piece of technology that I want to try and to explain how I might use it.  Although this post is a day late, I spent the afternoon teaching myself how to program a musical composition, using my LilyPad Arduino.

This summer, when I started playing around with an Arduino Uno, I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoy the LilyPad Arduino. Perhaps it's because I like the idea that I can sew the components into art projects!  I'd like to learn more about programming with the LilyPad, because I want to integrate blinking lights into art projects that I'm working on.  I'd like to learn how to easily move between my Arduino Uno and my LilyPad Arduino to solve problems and increase my understanding of how to write my own code.

Today, I sat down with the book, Sew Electric, and I used it to get started on programming music. As was suggested by the book, I created variables for my music notes, because they were easier to work with than the numbers assigned to different frequencies.  Since I didn't want to be limited by the frequencies printed in the book, I found a lovely cheat sheet of Arduino frequencies and their corresponding notes online that helped make this easier.

Then,  I played around with the tones to compose my version of Sarah McLaughlin's song, "Ice Cream," which reminds me of my daughter.

Although this is not a visually engrossing video, you can hear the song if you want to.   In the near future, I will try to revise my code to match blinking lights with the song.

Goals for the Year (30 Day Blogging Challenge: Day 1)

   by  Sweet Dreamz Design 

Even though I am not working under a contract right now (I worked under a one-year contract last year), and I don't currently have my own classroom, I have decided to embrace the 30-Day Blogging Challenge for Teachers.  Although I was hesitant at first, feeling a bit like an outsider without a school to call my own, I want and need to feel connected to other educators.

Furthermore, I remain passionate about teaching and hopeful that a position matching my qualifications will open up in the near future. So, while I continue subbing and working on my Educational Technology Endorsement, away from the frenetic pace that most of my friends are currently operating within, I think that it's fitting that I make the most of this gift of time by taking on this blogging challenge.

The prompt for September 1,  2014 asks that I write my goals for the school year, inviting me to be as specific or abstract as I want to be,

My Goals for This Year (I need to articulate my action steps).

1.  Take steps outside of my comfort zone to increase my confidence in presenting to large groups of colleagues and other adults.  I get very nervous when all eyes are on me.  One way that I may tackle this is by organizing and teaching a workshop for educators about copyright and Creative Commons.  Update:  I did it!

2.  Learn how to program my LilyPad Arduino in order to integrate programmed LEDs into my art projects. One way I plan to address this is by taking a workshop on Arduino at Vermont Fest 2014.  Update:  I did it!

3.  Become a Google Certified Educator.  Without distraction or procrastination, I need to commit to a few days of review and just do it.  Update:  I did it!

4.  Learn more about IVECA, perhaps by participating in a training session.

5.  Find ways to remain connected to other educators.  I plan to do this by participating in Twitter chats and volunteering at the Generator, in Burlington.

Code Camp

Yesterday at Code Camp, we learned how to create 3D spheres and boxes.  Using Processing2, we learned how to translate, rotate, and change the scale of our grid!

Here is what I created!

Today, we had time to build upon what we've been learning.  I feel like I am finally get the hang out this.

We also learned how to use Processing2 to create our our Andy Warhol inspired photograph!

Code Camp: Art Strand

I am participating in the Tarrant Institute's summer Code Camp at the University of Vermont this week.  We are using a programming language called Processing to create interactive works of art.

Here is the first sketch that I created yesterday!  I am most proud of the pattern that I created with the squares.  I also like that when the big, blue "breathing" circles come together, as they increase in size, that they look a bit like a monster with bulging eyes.

When I got home, I changed the code from this first sketch to create two more pieces of art (see below)!

Today, at our second day of camp, I learned how to make shapes rotate, as well as changing in size!

Invent to Learn Picture Notes

Invent to Learn

I recently read Invent to Learn as a requirement for the Create Make Learn course that I participated in this summer.


I enjoyed the reading so much that I decided to take picture notes, using the Grafio app ($8.99), rather than taking written notes.


After taking notes for each chapter, I used PicCollage (free) to organize them.

I think that combining these tools with Audioboo would be a great way for students to reflect upon their learning.