My Visual Essay

This I Believe:

When I first heard about this assignment I was very curious about some of the movie making software that we were talking about in class.  I wish I would have had the opportunity to actually use it myself. However, due to circumstances beyond my control I was unable to do so, but I had fun exploring other possibilities!

I think that elementary students would be really excited about making a little movie or something similar for a class project.  It would be a different approach to making a lesson fun and memorable.  I used photo-story which I ended up liking, but I think that a video would have been more engaging; I think there is a lot you could do with a program like photo-story though.  It could easily be used for any type of lesson.  Visual aids are great ways to keep children interested in the topic.  

It's funny really, before writing this I hadn't ever really thought about why exactly I wanted to be a teacher.  I just knew that I always wanted to be one.  It took some time to trace back where the desire initially came from.  Most classes have you write about what you believe, but I haven't had one ever ask me about why.  This was a fun project for me, and although I didn't get to use a video, I did enjoy selecting the photos that would go along with my essay.  

My visual Essay:  Enjoy!

OER

As a learner and a student, I think that Open Educational Resources can be a very valuable tool if you just know where to look.  Text books, manuals, and walk-throughs are available at my fingertips for free.  As a teacher, tools like these will be just as valuable. 



While exploring Open Educational Resources online I found some resources that I can actually see myself using within my own classroom at some point.  I found a site that I can actually load and alter textbooks for free, and they are all geared towards elementary education!  I could use this site by itself or along with actual textbooks that may be provided by the school.  Textbooks in the schools however are usually out of date even before they are purchased depending on the subject.  So I could use the online text that is constantly being updated to fill in the gaps of the actual textbooks that I have been given within my classroom.

I found another tool that is geared more for organizational purposes within the classroom.  It has tips and programs to help with gradebooks, lesson plans, and you can even have it so the students can access assignments as well.  I am not sure just to what extent I could use this OER in an early childhood classroom, but like I said, it has a lot of information for teachers. 

My favorite OER that I found is actually a digital children's library.  How great would it be to bring a library into your classroom?  Many schools have things like "library day" where once a week the children can spend a half and hour in the library and they can check out one or two books at a time.  This OER can be used on several different devices, so they could access the site at home, in the classroom, or even on their parents smartphone! 

I think that resources like this are very useful to learners, students, and educators alike, and I am very excited about several that I have stumbled accross today. 

I Believe

I believe that every child can learn if they are given the right opportunities.  I think that all children have different learning styles, and some require more one-on-one attention than others.  Sometimes a little extra time from a teacher can make all the difference.

I have wanted to be a teacher since I was 10 years old.  My little sister was two grades behind me in school and began to struggle in math.  She hated doing her homework, and she refused to ask for help.  We used to pretend play "house", we would make our own little "stores" so we could be cashiers, and pretending to be princesses was one of our favorite games, so why not play "school"?  I set up a little desk for her, and I moved the little easel my mom had bought me to draw on to the front of our "classroom".  We then pretended to be in school, and I was the teacher.  I dressed up how I thought a teacher would look, piled my hair up on the top of my head in what I thought was a classy look, and marched up to the board.  We worked through several math problems together, and then she went to work on a worksheet I had made for her.  She mastered the concept and I felt proud of what we had achieved together. 

As a child, I loved school.  I enjoyed everything about learning.  A lot to do with that love for learning came from having wonderful teachers.  I had teachers who loved doing what they did, and it was reflected in there work.  That is the type of teacher that I want to be.  It makes all the difference on how a child looks at school especially in the younger grades.  

The feeling you get when you see a child light up as they learn something new or when they finally understand something they have been struggling with is amazing. I believe that every child deserves a teacher who is willing to go the extra mile for them, and help them grow.  It is the teachers job, and responsibility to do whatever it takes to help each child learn in whatever way best suites them.  There is so much more to being a teacher than standing up at the front of the class and spilling out information.  I want a students centered class, and I believe that, although it may be difficult at times, that every student can learn, some just may need more support.  I believe that one great teacher can make all the difference to a child.