Learning and Discussing Biology!

I believe in bring the information to class, and involving the students to find out what they know. I will encourage my students to be involved in every discussion, whether it relates to the topic at hand or not. I view classroom discussion as a major tool for teachers because it gives the students a different way of learning. I feel that if you involve a student's own knowledge and background into the discussion, that they will learn so much more and will remember it longer.

I enjoy learning more about Biology every day and I wish to share that love with my students. I would have field trips, so the students can have a hands on experience with how we effect the world around us. I hope to encourage my students to learn about different styles than just the average amount they are expected to know to pass standardized tests. I believe that by incorporating discussion's about each topic I encourage my students to bring their own knowledge into the classroom, not just my own.

I Don't Know... Let's Find Out

I enjoy learning new things all the time and I would want my students to enjoy learning the things I teach. I hope to accomplish that objective by exciting my students about Biology. It would be a lie of I told my students I knew everything about Biology. And it's perfectly OK to say "I don't know." because we can then say "Let's find out!" I could get my student's to research the topic for an extra credit opportunity or get back to they after I have done my research and tell them next class time.

From the 3Rs to the 3Cs!

I agree with Dr. Strange that we as educators must move away from the 3Rs of Reading, Righting, and Rithmetic to the 6Cs. The 6Cs include Clouds, ClassSpace, Collaboration, Change, Creativity, and Curiosity.

I feel that Collaboration, Creativity, and Curiosity are the most important. Teachers need to Collaborate with each other to gain knowledge of the ever changing times and they must allow their students to collaborate with each other as well via group projects. I believe that Creativity and Curiosity are the main ingredients that teachers need to shape the minds of the younger generations, without these the students are not learning the material and not wanting to learn them either.

I Am A User of Google Tools!

I am a committed user of Google's Tools.

• Documents (Word Processor)
• Presentation Creator
• Spreadsheet (which is also a Data Base as are all spreadsheets)
• Reader of RSS Feeds
• Google Earth

These tools are valuable because:

They are FREE! They allow for a collaborative effort which also produces a record of who did what when
Documents and presentations are available to online audiences if desired
Chat (in some cases also with video) is available to "distant" participants
Can't lose document (stored in the cloud, i.e. Google's server)
Accessible anywhere there is an internet connection without need for an application other than a browser

I believe that these tools are very useful in the classroom for teachers and students.

Using ALEX and ACCESS!

ALEX is FREE to use for both educators and students you only need to log in to get to certain areas. Once your at the home page there are several links to chose from. For example course of study, lesson plans, personal workspace, and professional learning just to name a few. It also provide a help button which shows you how to use this site and excellent questions and answers. After looking at the links it gives helpful directions to new lesson plans to help better teach the students in a new and fun way to learn old and boring material. There are several subject to chose from both core classes and electives. Another helpful link it provides are web links to other sites so you don't have to go around wasting time searching the entire web. I think that the best thing about this site is that it give the Alabama State Standards for educators so that they know which standard their lesson plan follows.

ACCESS is a system that uses technology in the classrooms and access to online courses. It provides distance learning to a majority of Alabama high school students and it is able to bring courses that are not normally offered in certain schools. One of the major importance of ACCESS is that it brings opportunities of Advanced Dipolmas. You must have access to a computer and the internet to use ACCESS. ACCESS saves the school board money, more teachers are able to teach a class via videoconfercing, and allows the teacher to grow professionally.

A bit about me...

I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. My major is Secondary Education Science as a double major in Biology. I have been attending classes at South since the summer of 2007 and I am currently a Junior. I am a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and I have also made the Dean's List for three semesters. I wish to teacher Biology at the 8th grade level. I would also like to bring fastpitch softball into the middle school level and become the head coach at the school I teach at.