My 21st Century Classroom

Hello, my name is Katie Snyder, and I am 20 years young.  I am a bright young lady who knows herself very well.  I am most of the time a happy person, and it takes a lot for me to get upset over something.  I love my parents very much, and my boyfriend; without them I don't know where I would be today.  I am a type A person, but I am learning to change my ways.  I can't wait to be a teacher some day, and I look forward to meeting my future students.

Logan and I



 

 



 

 

 

 

Here is my I believe video, I hope you like it!

 

 

My plans after school are to explore the world, and meet new people.  I am not sure if I will be teaching or not, since my field is very competitive.  I may have to move away to find a job, and I am okay with that.  Once I live my life and have a steady teaching job, I could see myself getting married and having a family.  I have learned a lot from life, and the on thing life has taught me is you can't plan every detail of your life.  Someone once said, "if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans."  I am just going to go where ever life takes me.  All I know is after graduation I will try to find a teaching job anywhere that I can get one.  I may end up in the big apple somday, but where ever I am I will be happy because I know that I have lived my life to the fullest.

 

One day when I am old and grey, and I think that life is done with me, I will surprise everyone and open a restaurant; everyone will come and eat my homemade delicious pies; that started with my granny and then passed down to my mother and me.

 

 

My School

 

I would someday like to teach in my home town at some point in my life; my home town is in Oil City PA.  I would like to teach 2nd grade at Hasson Heights, Oakland, or Smedley, these schools would be ideal for me, and they are all in the same school district.

 

There isn't much of a diversity between ethnicity of the children, but there is a diversity with special needs students.  The last time I was at Hasson, there were several kids in the classroom that had IEP plans.  There were only a few with behavioral problems, but they had a special program set in place for these particular students; it was called the Heights program.  The Heights program monitored students behaviors and came up with appropriate ways to handle outbursts. 

 

The classrooms were all full inclusion, and they really pride themselves in that.  They had programs and many resources, so that students with special needs could be in the general classroom.  The Kindergarten class that I was in had a co teacher; she helped the lead teacher out tremendously.  The lead teacher taught the lessons and the co teacher was there to help aid the students that needed more help.  This classroom had more special needs students then the other two classrooms that I observed.  The second grade classroom that I observed had one aid and she was there for one boy.  She helped get his assignments ready, and kept him on track; she was only there during certain parts of the day.  Hasson Heights really accommodates for their students, and that is why I would love to teach there some day.

 

 

 

 

 

My Classroom Setup!

 

 

 

Classroom Rationale!

 

 

The physical appearance of a classroom is very important.  I want my classroom to feel inviting and be a fun place to learn.  I will have posters that will help aid my students in learning; as well as, having bulletin boards that give my students helpful tips.  There will be plenty of resources that my students will be able to use, this includes: computers, personal library, and individual rugs for privacy.  I know that having access to many resources can help a child’s learning blossom into something more. 

            I will have everything in my classroom labeled, so that my students know where everything belongs.  Having a neat classroom will make doing projects easier, and everyone will know where everything is so we don’t lose out on learning time.  Having a clean and neat classroom is easier for children in wheel chairs to move around in.  I placed all of my objects far enough away so that students can move around the room freely.  I know that when I was on crutches I had a hard time moving around in my 5^th grade classroom.

            The classroom is set up so that every student has access to anything in the classroom.  I also made the classroom free of distractions, so when it is learning time my students will be focused on the lesson, and not paying attention to what is going on around them; that is why the computers are facing behind them along with the plants. I also have my desk behind them because I want to keep a watchful eye on what they are doing.   I know that one row of desks are pointing towards the windows, but when I am teaching the shades will be drawn, so they cannot see what is going on outside.  I know that when I am sitting in class I find myself gazing outside, so having the blinds drawn  my students will focus on school work rather than what is going on outside.  When we have station time or activities I will have the blades up.  Fresh sunlight can put a beautiful smile on anyone’s face, and I want my students to always be happy in their second home.  
Here are some articles that support my ideas, and can give you some ideas:
Responsive Classrooms
Classroom Arrangement
Placement Of Desks 
 

Technology In My Classroom
One technology I would like to use that will connect my students with me is the interactive smart board.  This board is  in every classroom these days and it helps the students be more interactive during a lesson.  I could have parts of a lesson that involves the children getting out of their seats and particiapting in the activity.  I would defently use this during math class; because the students could play some really cool games.
I would defently try to use google docs, or creating a blog that publishes the work of my students and I.  I would want others to see what we a doing in our classrooms; especially if their parents or relatives live out of state, they would be able to see their work.  The blog would be a great way for my students to see what is going on outside their world. 

I would have my personal email, phone number, and my own web page, so that my students and parents can contact me at anytime.
I would also use face time or skype to talk to a few of my teacher friends that are out of state;  my students would be able to meet new people and create new ideas through these devices.
I would also have my students use ipads to collaborate with other students.  They can save their work on their and practice peer evaluation.

Assitive Technology

 

This is John, he is a typical seven year old boy.  He loves his older brother dearly, and always wants to do what he is doing.  Little John was in a car wreck and lost his arm. He also has brain damage, which causes his behavior to change with a flip of a switch.  He gets very aggravated during writing time because he was left handed, but now he has to learn to write with his right hand.  I as John's second grade teach, let him use the computer for all of his writing.  John has told me he prefers writing on the computer because it is easier for him to write.  John doesn't type because his right hand has little mobility, so John uses a special device and talks to the computer.  John also uses an IPad to let me know how he is feeling; he just simply touches the smiley face and a bunch of different faces appear and he will touch one and let me know what his mood is.  We do this four times in the day to track his behavior, depending on the day he may track his behavior more than other days.

 

 

 

Section 4







Before  and   After


Self-Reflection

In all of my classes this year I have taken risks. I met new people and built friendships that are meaningful. In my SEDU 183 class, I took many risks. I didn't like the class at first because of all of the technology I was going to have to use. I am not that good with new things, and I sometimes feel like I am an old dog that just can't learn new tricks. Mr. Smith helped me conquer my fears, and execute every project. I had support when I needed it and for the most part I started to get a little computer savvy with things. I really enjoyed doing the blog part because I felt that for once in my life my voice was being heard. I received great comments on my blog, and I felt that my readers genially enjoyed what I was writing.

I learned not to disregard something until you have tried it. I was not looking forward to all the web work that we did, but I finally put my fears aside and learned that I am capable of doing the tasks that were being asked of me. I learned how to create a blog, work on a macbook, and create lesson plans on powerpoint. All of these things scared me, but I learned how to do them and I will use them in my classroom whenever I can.

I have grown as a learner in many ways; I am now able to use twitter as a learning tool. I also refer to blogs for teaching ideas, and I enjoy it now. Before I would hate all of the blog assignments, but now I actually refer back to them. In my SPED 240 class, I had to create a classroom management plan and I refered to blogs for some creative ideas and I put a twist on them. I have grown in many ways and I have this class to thank for the new me.



Work cited!
Berry Wilson, Margaret. What every 1st Grade Teacher Need to Know About Setting Up and Running a Classroom. 1st. Northeast Foundation For Children, 2010. 11-12. Web. 5 Dec. 2012 
http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/sites/default/files/et4ch1.pdf.

Kelly, Melissa. "Setting Up Classroom space." Netplaces.com New York Times Company. n.d. n. page. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. http://www.netplaces.com/new-teacher/organizing-your-space/setting-up-classroom-space.htm.