Helping to Keep Students' Safe Online or At Least Hoping To!!

The other day I got a text from my school's technology director asking me if I taught any Internet safety in my classes. I told him I had not but was thinking about incorporating it into my middle school exploratory next year. So when my professor gave us an assignment dealing with cybercitizenry, I was thrilled. Here was a way to not only do an assignment but create lesson plans that I will actually use!! Click here to find out how I found the Common Sense Media website and other Internet safety lesson plans to be very useful. And of course, this information will be very useful for my growing boy!! I am sure he will be using technology soon!!

Getting My Classroom Ready for the 21st Century

We have been in the 21st century for 11 years now and I admit I am a little bit behind. However, I am working on trying to get my classroom to the point where the students of the 21st century are getting the skills they need in an environment that will challenge them. Having to evaluate how well my classroom met the different characteristics of effective classrooms in the 21st century, which are Student-Centered Classrooms, Teaching for Understanding, Assessment for Learning, Rigor and Relevance, Teaching for Learner Differences, and Technology Infusion, was a good wake up call for me to see what I am doing to help my students be prepared for the 21st century. It means even more now because of the little skeleton below (can you tell I am a proud momma?). I want to do whatever to make sure my son and all children get the education they need to be prepared for their future.

Overall, I think my classroom is going in the right direction. I try to create lessons that are student-centered, create understanding for the students, and are relevant. Technology is used to help increase student understanding. The areas I need continue to work on is teaching for learner differences and formative assessments. Click here to view my assessment of my classroom.