Visual Belief Statement

While doing this Visual Belief Statement, it was really hard for me to come up with a topic. A lot of other students had personal stories about why they wanted to become teachers and I never really had an experience that made me think that education was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Teaching and explaining things to other people, especially children, has always been an easy feat for me to do and it just seemed to me like an obvious choice to pursue teaching children.

I did, however, come up with a belief statement that helped me realize that I want to be a teacher who doesn't turn a blind eye to bullying and I want my students to be able to feel they can tell me anything. It honestly was a fun project to do and helped me think more in depth as why I want to become a teacher. In my future classroom, I could show a similar video about bullying so they can understand that it is not okay to make someone feel less than they are. 

Here is my video:

Open Educational Resources

Open Educational Resources are basically resources and assets that can be found online that are available to the public for either teaching, learning, or researching. Also, OER's virtually cost nothing. Another great thing about OER's, they include textbooks, course readings, simulations, assessment tools, learning applications, etc. Not only can we be saving money, but we can save paper, as well. For teaching it also has its benefits because by allowing educators to so much vital information, it allows them to become more knowledgeable in different subject areas. Therefore, the students can learn more too.

It is very surprising how much information you can find from OER's that can be helpful. A simple article on classroom management can make a huge difference in a classroom. The articles were actually helpful, as well, not where you search it into Google and it takes you to WikiHow.

I understand the downfalls of OER's, but as a college student and knowing how the economy is, I don't understand how we haven't implemented OER's sooner. Here is a link of OER's that I found useful, it is a website that allows you to pick the different topics, issues, what specifically you are looking for. Another useful link you can find here and it is basically a more in depth description of what an OER consists of. Lastly, here is another informational link where it basically explains an OER and also gives out helpful articles.

Students should feel safe

With all of the chaos that students face on a daily basis, bullying should not be one of them. Students have a plethora of hardships that they are encountering daily, such as academics, relationships, working, etc., that if they are having to deal with someone harassing them on some level ,as well, that could lead to a breaking point.

My belief statement is, I believe students will learn best and to their full potential, if they feel safe in their school environment. Teachers and school officials need to realize that there is no official way a bully or a victim will look, sound, or act. There seems to be a stereotype that the students who get bullied are the "nerdy" ones who get good grades and wear black thick rimmed glasses and the bully is the "dumb jock" who wears a letterman jacket and can bench press 300 pounds. That is not necessarily the case. Growing up, I never experienced bullying to the extreme, but when i did witness it, the students who would get bullied were those who were below average students. The bullies were the ones who would be on the honor roll, so it was basically a stereotype reversed.


Ultimately, my point is you never really can describe what the characteristics of either the bully or the victim. An explanation of why the victims were doing poorly in their academics is because if a student does not feel safe in their classroom then how are they going to focus their energy of their schoolwork, when they are more likely worrying on how they can avoid their bullies at all costs possible. As a future educator, I believe it would be my job to make sure my students can feel safe at their school. The only worries they should have are doing a good job in school and are able to learn to their fullest capabilities. I believe they will achieve this through a safe school environment.

Bullying

While some schools have some sort of anti-bullying programs, a lot of schools do not. Bullying can be defined as a method of violent behavior demonstrated by the use of power or force to affect those around him/her. Anyone can be bullied, no matter the way you look, the way you dress, the color of your skin, how old you are, the gender you are, etc. Essentially, there are three forms of bullying, which include: emotional, verbal, and physical. The impacts of bullying can be very detrimental to the student who is being bullied. They are constantly internalizing their anger on a daily basis.  If we allow our future students to be bullied, then not only are we risking the student of him/her hurting themselves, but also who those around them.  

Students deserve to feel safe at school. They shouldn't be worried about getting harassed constantly; the only concern they should have is getting an education. If we see a student getting bullied, then it is our responsibility to make sure the proper consequences are ensued. For more information on bullying, please go to The National Bullying Prevention Center.

For even more information on bullying check out this video:

Twitter

Twitter is becoming more and more popular with each day. If we can find a way to add twitter into our classroom, then the students might actually be interested in what they were learning. Last class, we were having a discussion about whether technology is becoming a nuisance to our society; and while i agree it can be, i believe if we fully use technology into our classroom it can have a realm of possibilities.

Reflection of PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a great and effective way for student's to learn. Younger student's already have a short attention span, but if you add sounds and different animations to your lesson plan, then that could be the key to keeping their attention. I really enjoyed putting together the PowerPoint because the possibilities of what I could add were endless. Technology is very forthcoming in our classrooms and I think that all future educators should be willing to incorporate it into the curriculum.

For class, we made PowerPoint's that would be part of our lesson plan. The PowerPoint I made was intended for a kindergarten classroom and was based off The Cat and The Hat. The essential components that they would be learning, would be who are the characters, what are the settings, and what are the problems? Take a look:

The Cat and The Hat

View more PowerPoint from kyoculan

Chapter 1: Blog Response

As a future educator of the early childhood classroom, I will admit that I was a bit skeptical of whether or not to add technology into my upcoming classroom. After reading over chapter one of “Understanding The Power of PLN’s” and revisiting my thoughts on the matter, I did have a change of mind. One of my main arguments on why I should not include technology for these younger students is, because I did not quite find it a hundred percent appropriate at such a young age. To be clearer, I mean the internet can be a very resourceful place, but it can be a very dangerous, as well. Then, I rethought that idea. My two year old nephew knows how to work an iPad, so whether we agree or disagree on the matter at hand, these children are most likely already going to have technologies in their lives. As an educator, we can include the positives of technology, such as teaching the threats, showing how it can be resourceful, making the classroom a more engaging place, etc.

In chapter one of Personal Learning Networks, written by Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli, they ultimately discuss the positives of technology in the classroom and the other types of techniques that come with it. A specific part of chapter one that particularly grabbed my attention was the “Changing Skills.” In this portion, Richardson and Manacabelli first talk about how, as we are conveying our information to our students we have to always be wondering if the material we are researching on the internet is actually valid. I agree wholeheartedly with them, because as someone who is fairly acquainted with the internet I realize how anyone can pretty much state anything as fact on their webpage. They also point out how it is very hard to keep our attention on what we are meant to be paying attention to.  Their solution? “Attention Literacy,” and in summary, it is basically a talent in which we have mental control of what we are doing. The authors write, “In the end, these types of skills must become a seamless and integral part of how we interact with information and people online, and as educators we have to be able to model these for our students.”

Overall, while I do still have some arguments on whether or not to add technology into my classroom at a younger age, I can also see a lot of positives as well. I enjoyed how Richardson and Mancabelli managed to talk about integrating technology into the classroom, but also finding a good balance as well. As the world is becoming more and more technologically sound, children will have to start learning and understand the different concepts that come along with that. As an upcoming teacher, I realize that I may need to incorporate these ideas into my lesson plans, whether I am for the idea or not. 

"By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character." - Grenville Kleiser

Internet Movie Database: I am fairly obsessed with watching movies. A website that i frequently go to is IMDB. It is a movie website that has message boards where you can voice your opinion on basically any movie or television show out there.

ky082029@scots.edinboro.edu

The experiment they are performing on these young children is called the "Marshmallow Test." How it is conducted is by having a child in the room with one marshmallow set in front of them. They are told by the conductor that they can eat the marshmallow now if they'd like, but if they wait until the experimenter comes back, then they can have another marshmallow. 

The results of whether the child eats the marshmallow before the conductor comes back is what's most interesting to me. The results indicate that the children who decided to wait for the second marshmallow develop into an overall more well-adjusted, successful adult than those who ate the marshmallow before the experimenter came back. The reason? Self control.

Introductory Piece

Hi, my name is Kerri and I am twenty-one years old. I was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania. I am one of five children, which include: Two older sisters, a twin brother, and a younger sister. From kindergarten until twelfth grade I attended Catholic Schools, so I was pretty much raised with Christian beliefs. Although, I will mention that my views are predominately liberal. Sports was a huge deal in my family, so I grew up playing basketball and softball. Overall, I would say I have had an average upbringing and lived a fairly normal life, thus far.

My aspirations while being an educator, is to change children's lives. I want to be the teacher children reflect on  positively and be remembered as a person who actually cared about them. I hope, someday, to make my classroom a place where learning can be seen as fun and not a chore. I hope to make a positive difference in the student's life and I want them to be able to reach their full potential. My main concern as an educator would be to make the world a better place, one student at a time.

While Sharing this blog, I hope others will understand my views better. I am also excited to see what other's point of view are, as well. I want to see how my views differ from other's. In summary, while sharing this blog, I want people to get a better understanding of my opinions and who I am.