Hello. I realize it has been a while since I posted last. I am now immersed in my job at St Paul's High School in Winnipeg, and loving it. I teach grades 9 and 10 basic French. It is a term position; I am taking over for a lady going on maternity leave. I teach four classes, two 9s and two 10s.
The atmosphere here is great. I love the friendly staff that are always willing to help you and answer your questions. The extra-curricular program here is also great. There are many opportunities for the boys to get involved in the community. I am in charge of curling here, both intramural and inter-school. I am really excited about this, and I hope it will be as fun for the boys as it will be for me! :)
Anyway, just thought I should update you on what is going on. Until next time!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Good news...
So, I got a job offer! I will be teaching high school French in St Paul's High School in Winnipeg! It's not official yet...I haven't signed any contracts, but I got the offer! Just thought I'd let anyone who reads this blog know! Will keep you posted!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Searching...
So, I don't have a job yet, everyone seems to be getting a job except me! I have applied for lots, been on an interview, but this waiting is killing me!
I haven't even had a subbing job. I have applied in at least 4 divisions for subbing, but have not received one phone call yet! This is crazy, whoever told me that having French is an asset, lied! I have applied for a few French jobs, but nothing. Anyway, just thought I'd keep people updated in case anyone is reading this blog!
I will update as soon as I find a job! Hopfefully I will be blogging soon!
I haven't even had a subbing job. I have applied in at least 4 divisions for subbing, but have not received one phone call yet! This is crazy, whoever told me that having French is an asset, lied! I have applied for a few French jobs, but nothing. Anyway, just thought I'd keep people updated in case anyone is reading this blog!
I will update as soon as I find a job! Hopfefully I will be blogging soon!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Morden Science units
So, here are a list of videos that are good for teaching some topics in high school science. They are all youtube videos, so if you don't have access to youtube, they won't work.
Grade 9
The first part of our unit is about Mitosis and Meiosis. These are both ways of reproducing on the cellular level.
Grade 9
The first part of our unit is about Mitosis and Meiosis. These are both ways of reproducing on the cellular level.
Best video I have seen for mitosis. It is fantastic!
Mitosis
Meiosis
Asexual Reproduction
Vegetative Propagation
Differences between Meiosis and Mitosis
For the part of our unit on reproductive success, here are some neat videos that show some animal behaviours and calls.
Lemur Mating call
Bird of Paradise Dance
Camel Mating Behaviour
Penguin Mating call
Embryonic Development with emphasis on the early growth
Genetics and Heredity
Grade 10
Photosynthesis song
Cell respiration (I've got a feeling)
Teacher singing a Photosynthesis song
Carbon Cycle Video
Limiting Factors in Ecosystems
Grade 11 Bio
Circulatory System video (great)
Circulatory system video (very quick)
Really good website for information about Blood
Respiration 3D
Monday, March 1, 2010
Last day of classes!
Hey everyone, this is the last post that will have something that I learned in classes...because it's the last day!! here is a link to my professional website with my eportfolio in it, if you're interested.
Today we learned about iTunes and podcasts. I thought this was interesting. I didn't know they were all free! I am definitely going to look through the store and see what I can use for my next student teaching.
I liked Mike's statement about the technology being great, but it can't replace good-old-fashioned great teaching. It can't replace good activities that you can do in the classroom.
Thanks for everything Mike, and to the class: it was a blast!
Today we learned about iTunes and podcasts. I thought this was interesting. I didn't know they were all free! I am definitely going to look through the store and see what I can use for my next student teaching.
I liked Mike's statement about the technology being great, but it can't replace good-old-fashioned great teaching. It can't replace good activities that you can do in the classroom.
Thanks for everything Mike, and to the class: it was a blast!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Second Last week ... Yay!!
This week is the second last week of school We only have 6 days left before we depart for student teaching, and I am so excited! I can't wait to be done classes, but we had more presentations this week and they were interesting!
Video conferencing was the first up this week. They talked about Skype and showed us how to use it. This was good because I have never used Skype, but now I actually know how to use it! I think it's a great tool for guest speakers who can't come into the school. This could lead to a greater variety of presenters, which is excellent! I also didn't know about that you could share files and show the screen that they are on. If they are having issues with a project or something on their computer, instead of sending the file, they can just show you the screen! I also like how the students would be able to leave a voicemail if they had a question. The second thing they talked about was Elluminate. We saw this with Alec Courous earlier in the term, but it was interesting to see it from the perspective of the creator. I like how the moderator and the students can modify the white board. This could allow collaborative work at large distances. I think Alec Courous was in Regina, Saskatchewan! I like the idea of the students being able to take notes about the presentations! Well done guys!!
Next up was "The good bad and the ugly of the internet:"
Bad:
Unreliable Sites : I think we need to teach students how to figure out which sites are good and which are bad.
Viruses : always a threat for schools, especially when filtering and blocking are not in place.
Personal Contact : I agree that the internet is having an impact on our social skills in face-to-face situations. These skills are something that we need to teach students in our classes.
Copyright Infringement : Teachers must emphasize the importance of citing and the ill-effects of passing things off as their own when it's not.
Anyone/Anything : Anyone can post anything. There is no monitoring and some of the information and ideas they are posting can be false or harmful to other people. We have to teach students how to use information safely and how to tell the bad sites from the good ones.
Good:
Instant Messaging : Can contact people in all parts of the world. Gain information that otherwise would have been unavailable. Blogs, Skype, Webcams, Facebook, etc are all examples of how this is used today. Instant messaging can be difficult to keep inappropriate use to a minimum, but I guess that's the teacher's job!
Information : Information can be found about anything and this can be a really useful tool for teachers and students as well!
Distance Education : Access for all! Good education for all students and courses that they could not take before, they are able to take!
Teacher Resources : Again, we can find anything on the web, and the internet is such a great tool to use. It makes teachers lives less hectic and crazy! Something we all can appreciate.
(atozteacherstuff.com, etc.)
Teacher networking : Teacher support over the internet is great. Sometimes teachers need help, and they can send out a call for help on their network, and tons of people will reply.
The next up was Video games in the classroom. It's a great idea for some courses, but I think there are very few games to teach biology! Someone should invent that...*hint hint*
Ok, so sorry to make this blog longer, but I almost forgot about today! Today we had Darren Kuropatwa and another guy and I can't remember his name right now! But they came to talk to our class today about technology...no kidding! Darren talked today about technological literacy. I thought it was interesting that he said we shouldn't be teaching kids literacy, but fluency. Technological fluency is competency with today's tools and using them with new technologies tomorrow. I thought that was a good distinction. Our tools evolve way faster than our culture and we need to be sure that our kids can extrapolate their skills to future endeavors. That was the thing that stuck out most for me!
The other guy (still can't remember his name) talked about neat things you can do with your cell phone in class. He showed us a program called iPadio where you can call a number and record a call. You can then attach it as an mp3 to a website OR transcribe the call into words. This would be a good program for children with special needs. If they could take the phone call and have it transcribed into notes for them.
The only thing I wanted to see was HOW to use these interesting technologies in my classroom. I have found with a lot of the presenters, they tell us all about a program, but don't really tell us how to use it in the classroom, because goodness knows, I don't know how!!
That is really enough for now, so blog you later!
Video conferencing was the first up this week. They talked about Skype and showed us how to use it. This was good because I have never used Skype, but now I actually know how to use it! I think it's a great tool for guest speakers who can't come into the school. This could lead to a greater variety of presenters, which is excellent! I also didn't know about that you could share files and show the screen that they are on. If they are having issues with a project or something on their computer, instead of sending the file, they can just show you the screen! I also like how the students would be able to leave a voicemail if they had a question. The second thing they talked about was Elluminate. We saw this with Alec Courous earlier in the term, but it was interesting to see it from the perspective of the creator. I like how the moderator and the students can modify the white board. This could allow collaborative work at large distances. I think Alec Courous was in Regina, Saskatchewan! I like the idea of the students being able to take notes about the presentations! Well done guys!!
Next up was "The good bad and the ugly of the internet:"
Bad:
Unreliable Sites : I think we need to teach students how to figure out which sites are good and which are bad.
Viruses : always a threat for schools, especially when filtering and blocking are not in place.
Personal Contact : I agree that the internet is having an impact on our social skills in face-to-face situations. These skills are something that we need to teach students in our classes.
Copyright Infringement : Teachers must emphasize the importance of citing and the ill-effects of passing things off as their own when it's not.
Anyone/Anything : Anyone can post anything. There is no monitoring and some of the information and ideas they are posting can be false or harmful to other people. We have to teach students how to use information safely and how to tell the bad sites from the good ones.
Good:
Instant Messaging : Can contact people in all parts of the world. Gain information that otherwise would have been unavailable. Blogs, Skype, Webcams, Facebook, etc are all examples of how this is used today. Instant messaging can be difficult to keep inappropriate use to a minimum, but I guess that's the teacher's job!
Information : Information can be found about anything and this can be a really useful tool for teachers and students as well!
Distance Education : Access for all! Good education for all students and courses that they could not take before, they are able to take!
Teacher Resources : Again, we can find anything on the web, and the internet is such a great tool to use. It makes teachers lives less hectic and crazy! Something we all can appreciate.
(atozteacherstuff.com, etc.)
Teacher networking : Teacher support over the internet is great. Sometimes teachers need help, and they can send out a call for help on their network, and tons of people will reply.
The next up was Video games in the classroom. It's a great idea for some courses, but I think there are very few games to teach biology! Someone should invent that...*hint hint*
Ok, so sorry to make this blog longer, but I almost forgot about today! Today we had Darren Kuropatwa and another guy and I can't remember his name right now! But they came to talk to our class today about technology...no kidding! Darren talked today about technological literacy. I thought it was interesting that he said we shouldn't be teaching kids literacy, but fluency. Technological fluency is competency with today's tools and using them with new technologies tomorrow. I thought that was a good distinction. Our tools evolve way faster than our culture and we need to be sure that our kids can extrapolate their skills to future endeavors. That was the thing that stuck out most for me!
The other guy (still can't remember his name) talked about neat things you can do with your cell phone in class. He showed us a program called iPadio where you can call a number and record a call. You can then attach it as an mp3 to a website OR transcribe the call into words. This would be a good program for children with special needs. If they could take the phone call and have it transcribed into notes for them.
The only thing I wanted to see was HOW to use these interesting technologies in my classroom. I have found with a lot of the presenters, they tell us all about a program, but don't really tell us how to use it in the classroom, because goodness knows, I don't know how!!
That is really enough for now, so blog you later!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
And the presentations begin!
Okay, I am going to attempt to make this blog non-intense. I will cut down on the length for you guys!
Today we started the presentations. I really enjoyed the presentation about cyber-bullying. It was very informative and it made me think of ways that I could combat cyber-bullying in my classroom. Of course, there is not much we can do but offer support to the students when they are bullied and report any incidences to administration.
The presentation on filtering also made me think. I really believe that someone needs to figure out a better way of keeping students safe on the internet but meanwhile allowing adequate access to the websites that the students need. I personally think that the best way to teach kids to be self-sufficient on the internet is to take off all the filters and teach them how to be safe on the internet.
Our presentation was about the world wide web and the internet. Yes, they are different things! I did not know that until I started doing research for this presentation. The www is a sub-section of the Internet. The internet is the means by which people can connect on the web. It was a bit confusing at first, but Joaney found the "bus" analogy. The internet is like the bus and the world wide web is like the people on the bus. They are always getting on and off and moving around. I found this really interesting picture that illustrates the web quite well, and it's also very pretty!
Anyway, there was no class on Monday, so that's about all I have to talk about for now!
See you next time and thanks for reading!
Today we started the presentations. I really enjoyed the presentation about cyber-bullying. It was very informative and it made me think of ways that I could combat cyber-bullying in my classroom. Of course, there is not much we can do but offer support to the students when they are bullied and report any incidences to administration.
The presentation on filtering also made me think. I really believe that someone needs to figure out a better way of keeping students safe on the internet but meanwhile allowing adequate access to the websites that the students need. I personally think that the best way to teach kids to be self-sufficient on the internet is to take off all the filters and teach them how to be safe on the internet.
Our presentation was about the world wide web and the internet. Yes, they are different things! I did not know that until I started doing research for this presentation. The www is a sub-section of the Internet. The internet is the means by which people can connect on the web. It was a bit confusing at first, but Joaney found the "bus" analogy. The internet is like the bus and the world wide web is like the people on the bus. They are always getting on and off and moving around. I found this really interesting picture that illustrates the web quite well, and it's also very pretty!
Anyway, there was no class on Monday, so that's about all I have to talk about for now!
See you next time and thanks for reading!
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