Week 4 Reflection

I don’t see how the Internet and the World Wide Web won’t have a major influence on the way instruction is presented to learners. In the K-12 school system a teacher can use a classroom blog to present information to their students. In the higher grades, the students will be able to do more at home and use class time for more constructive activities. In lower grades, or all grades for that matter, podcasts are another way to instruct learners. In college settings, the Internet can be used to make more classes in the format that we are using for this class. Thinking back to my undergraduate classes, I could have saved myself a lot of time by taking most of the general education classes online. Maybe they have done this by now, but it would have been nice!
I think that most teachers, and schools, use some form of the HPT model already. I know that my coordinator sat all of the staff down last winter and went over our model again with us to refresh our memory. I think that this is a good thing to do a couple of times a year to get everyone back on track so that we can all be working towards a bigger goal. This model is a good thing to adapt to your classroom too. I know that I try to find more incentives and rewards for my students instead of consequences. I have to remind myself of this a few times a year, especially around Christmas vacation and spring break when I just can’t wait for vacation!
I chose to listen to a Love and Logic podcast titled “When Kids Are Home More Often.” I listened to the first two episodes and there was a really good message. Basically what Dr. Charles Fay was trying to get across to parents was that you need to make children responsible for their own actions. Isn’t this always the message with Love and Logic? In this episode, he wants the parents to run “practice outings” to learn how to behave in public. What he suggests is to have the kids make the outings fun for the parents. This is accomplished by having a conversation with your kids before you go on a “practice outing.” Tell your kids that you will go somewhere, let’s say Chuck E. Cheese, somewhere that you don’t really want to go, but your kids really do. Tell your kids that this could be fun for the parents in the following ways, if the kids are doing something that they’re not supposed to be doing, they will stop just with “the look.” Tell them that there will be no complaining or tattling. Once you get to Chuck E. Cheese you let the kids do their thing and if there are problems that can’t be solved without confrontation, you simply pack up and leave without warning. You get away from threatening to leave “the next time that you have to say something to them.” With these “practice outings” the key is to practice acceptable behavior at a place that you don’t necessarily want to be. This way when the kids are learning the hard way the consequences of their actions, you’re not tempted to give them a second and third chance to correct their behavior because it really doesn’t bother you to leave.
Podcasting could be beneficial in school setting for teachers because they could be listening to an episode while getting caught up on their grading or responding to emails. I have yet to meet a teacher who can’t multitask. You can catch up on a podcast during your planning period or at lunch if you want to stay in your room.