Padlet

I had the pleasure of watching my peers present on a tool called Padlet. I found the presentation seamless and I learned a great deal from their presentation. I appreciated that they enabled me to create my own Padlet with a partner. Jesse and I had fun creating a wall that asked students to identify how living organisms are characterized.

I find Padlet a great tool and way to engage students in meaningful discussions. I liked that students do not need an account to access a Padlet and I also enjoyed that Padlet's interface is simple. Padlet is allows for customization and I feel that this feature allows students with an opportunity to be creative if they are making their own board. I find Padlet a great way to share bell work with students and to take notes. I believe using Padlet will also enable students to engage in deep discussions and share observations and thoughts.

I really find that the ability to share walls with others is a wonderful way to get ideas about how other teachers structure their lessons and use the tool. One aspect that was discussed pertained to the unavailability for a previously created Padlet to be modified, this can be a disadvantage if I wish to modify a padlet. I feel in the end I would examine another teacher wall and recreate my own. I noticed that padlet sticky notes have a limit of 150 words this may also be a disadvantage if you want students to write long responses.

I really find this tool to be useful because it is a great way to have students complete bell work and exit tickets. This tool however can only be used in schools where computers are easily accessible and if students have computers at home. I feel if I assigned a Padlet exit ticket for my students I would allow students who do not have access to the internet to send me an email with responses to questions I ask. I really appreciate these presentations on different tech tools because I feel that as education moves towards technology it is important to be aware of how to use technology as an aid in my future teaching career.

Inspiration from Mr. Theune

I really appreciated Mr. Theune's presentation. As a student I was lucky to have  parents who were engaged in my academic career. My parents however never attended my soccer games or my theater performances because they had work at that time. I feel that Mr. Theune's attempt to engage parents with their child in school was novel and brilliant idea.

Mr. Theune has his students write a personal essay and once they finish he has parents come and listen to students read their essay's. I think that involving parents is an excellent way to instill motivation and pride. Although his lecture revolved around ELA, I believe I can incorporate his strategies in many way in a high school biology classroom. I believe that I could potentially create a unit that prompts students to create a model and have them write up a presentation. I would then set a time and day that students will present to their parents and their peers. I would probably provide snacks and drinks and encourage parents to participate via email and phone call.

Mr. Theune also described other ways he seeks to engage his students. He has his students write to pen pals with students in another class. He did this by randomly asking a teacher to collaborate online. I believe that when students have an audience and an aspect of interaction is mingled with a lesson students will find a assigned task more motivational and meaningful. As a future teacher I should strive to find ways to provide meaning and interaction in my lessons. Finding entry points to activate student involvement and engagement will be a difficult task and I feel that it will take a lot of practice until I create a unit that can do this; but, I feel it is important to do because providing relevance and motivation is fundamental in education.

I feel Mr. Theune's presentation really left me pondering ways in which I can create a classroom that engages students and parents. Rearing the end of his presentation he discussed how he published a book with a student and I found this really applicable to myself. I have published a book already but it was more of a bucket list thing I wanted to do in my life. I am working on a series but I think I may put that on hold because I want to use the skills I have learned about publishing and apply it to my classroom.

Overall, I was very impressed and intrigued with what Mr. Theune discussed and I feel that I will take his wisdom and I will certainly try to implement some of his strategies in my classroom in the future.