Tag: inspiration

What HASN’T Gen2108 taught me? That’s the real question..

I feel as though, as a class, we can all agree how much we have learned from taking this course. I have be introduced to ideas that never once crossed my mind. I will be honest, before taking this class, I truly question my ability to become a teacher. I never knew if I would be good at it. With the work that we do in the class, my opinion has completely changed. Each and every weekly activity we participate in, has truly helped me feel more confident as a future educator. Making presentation and lesson plans allowed me to prove to myself that I can do this! Focusing on presentations for the moment, I wanted

Popplet Lite App

to mention how before this class I though PowerPoint’s were my only option. I have now learned that there are so many different directions I can go in regards to making a presentations. I can make a presentations with a voice over, I can use google slides, I can use Prezi(https://prezi.com/), Emaze(https://app.emaze.com/mypresentations), Popplet(http://popplet.com/), etc. I am positive that when I become a teacher, I will be using all of these different platforms. I learned that I can turn social media into a educational place. I love using twitter to connect with educators across the globe, and I think beyond this class I will continue to use my twitter as such.

Also, I really love our textbook because it allows us to connect with educators via their twitters or blogs. Most chapter use quotes from these individuals and then

Twitter

leave their twitter handles at the end, so that we can easily follow them and connect with them. I like how our textbook uses real-life personalities rather than people that are less obtainable, meaning we would not be able to actually

par-take in discussions with them. I can easily find these people on twitter and messaged them or reply to one of their posts and 9 times out of 10 I will get an encouraging and friendly response.

Subsequently, I learned about websites like EDPuzzle, Edmodo, and Diigo. I really enjoy these websites and I think they work really well in the classroom setting. It is interesting to see us as college students using them, and then see that children much younger than us are engaged in these sites, and even adults older than us are using them as well. I find all of the sites a lot of fun to use and I know I will be using them in the future as well.

 

How to Inspire Your Students

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A topic that truly sticks out to me, is the idea of inspiring students. I find it hard to feel inspired, especially in the educational setting. School nowadays is very one-toned. Everything is the same. Everything is very uniform. You show up to class and repeat a daily routine. What about this routine is inspiring? As a student, wouldn’t you be more inspired and excited to learn if you were doing something different every day? I think teachers need to realize there is no perfect way to teach. Each person is unique, and as a teacher you need to use your uniqueness to bring out the best qualities in your students. As educators, our goal is to inspire students to be the best versions of themselves. Our goal is to inspire them to reach their own goals! In the textbook “The Global Educator,” Diane (a U.S teacher) says that she aims to “inspire (her) students to change the world or to at least make a positive different” (pg. 63). Another idea to think about, is the fact that maybe the teacher is uninspired, thus causing a spiraling effect. We, as teachers, must have passion for our jobs. Children can tell when a teacher is uninterested in his or hers students educations. I’ve had plenty of teachers who could care less if their students passed or failed. In order to inspire, you must be inspired.

I found the following article extremely thought-provoking: http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/what-are-you-going-to-do-to-inspire-students/. This article creates a conversation. Whose fault is it when there is a lack of inspiration in the classroom? The teachers or the students. Honestly, it is both parties fault. I love how real this article is when discussing how hard it is to be an educator. Nothing is sugar coated. You will have hard days, and their will be times when all your effort goes unnoticed. Also, this article leaves the reader with some important questions. Where does one find inspiration? How does one stay inspired? Finally, how are you going to inspire your students?