For blog post 9, we read Mr. McClung's blog post,
What I've Learned This Year (08'-09'). His post reviews what he has learned as a teacher throughout the course of the school year. One of the first subjects covered is
how to read a crowd, which can be hard to do as a young teacher. The ability to read a crowd comes easier with experience, but as Mr. McClung states, a good teacher allows the crowd to drive his/her instruction. Mr. McClung also points out the importance of
being flexible and having the ability to
communicate. Being flexible is key in education because not every student is on the same learning level, nor can they execute a "perfect lesson" on a regular basis. Communication is another subject covered in the post which is very important because of the variety of people you will come in contact with daily as an instructor. Though teachers hold very high expectations for their students, we must
be reasonable and remember they are only kids or "young adults." Adults all over the world seem to have a common problem with technology, that's why it is important that teachers
don't be afraid of technology. Technology can be vital in the classroom, which is why it is important for the teacher of tomorrow to be familiar with it. Also covered is the importance of
listening to your students, and how it can effect their learning habits in a positive way. At the end of the post Mr. McClung urges the reader to
NEVER stop learning, because the more you know, the more you can teach, and as he states, we owe that to our students.
For the second post I chose to view
What I Learned This Year(10'-11') which was Mr. McClung's third year as a teacher. As we discover in the first paragraph, this is Mr. McClung's second year at the same school, and his third year as a teacher. He then gives the reader insight on how he has had to adapt to becoming a head coach, and also teaching his first computer applications class. The first lesson he discusses from his new year is to
know who your boss is. This is important in any field of work, but Mr. McClung is referring to the fact that as a teacher we need to remember why we chose this line of work, and that's for the kids. He stresses this because it is easy to lose sight of your goals when you are worried about pleasing someone, such as your boss. He warns the reader to
not expect others to be excited about change as you are in the next section. I can totally relate because I know how easy it is to have your hopes crushed because of someones lack of excitement. I believe this is important because usually the ones that will accept new ideas and adapt to new ways will make it A LOT further in life. The next topic is
don't be afraid to be an outsider, which is somewhat similar to the last topic. He goes over why, as teachers, we should want to be outsider that is always inspired to learn new forms of teaching styles.
Don't touch the keyboard is referring to his section that covers why we should make sure our future students get hands on learning. The reason this is important is because you want to avoid doing your students work for them, which is sometimes hard to do. Mr. McClung urges future teachers to
not get comfortable in their job as a teacher. This is key because teaching, as everything else, becomes easier with practice. This can cause problems down the road because it is easy to get stuck in a daily routine, and to not challenge ourselves to develop new styles of learning. He offers advice on how to avoid getting too comfortable as a teacher, which is to accept new challenges in order to avoid becoming a LAME teacher. After reviewing his post, I now have a new respect for Mr. McClung, and better understand the tasks that lay before me on my path to becoming an instructor. I have gained priceless information that will help kickstart my career as a teacher.
For my first C4T comment for the month of April, I viewed Kelly's Blog, which had an article on replacing the Friday folder with a podcast. She had her students record 30-1:30 seconds each week via podcast with the Voxie Pro recording system. This idea allows the teachers and parents to gain insight on how the student is progressing in terms of the class. I plan on incorporating this feature into my classroom also because recording a podcast allows students, teachers, and parents to witness progress first hand. The fact that it is only 30-1:30 means that the podcast will not be too demanding. I enjoyed the idea and believe that it will be a success and allow students to progress more quickly in the future. 
For the second C4T comment, I read Kelly's post on using a new system, Ted-ed, to open new doors for a new style of teaching. Ted-ed is a site that allows students to watch educational video lessons and take a quick quiz on the subject covered. This site opens the door to what she refers to as "flip" teaching, which changes up the classroom model. The main difference in this style is that instead of the students getting instruction and doing there practice work as homework, they watch their instuction at home and practice in the classroom. This allows the students to recieve teacher support, meaning that the focus of the classroom is on higher-level thinking instead of instruction. Video is a great way for students to learn, and the videos on Ted-ed are animated to appeal to the students. I think this is another great idea that will allow more flexibility and options in the classroom of tomorrow.
