Discussion

Discussions in the classroom are not a new idea in education, but the ways to facilitate and carry out a classroom discussion are. There have been some new ideas that have come about in education on how to handle classroom discussions with students. In my teaching classes as well as my CEP classes we have talked about different ways of carrying out discussions and new tools or strategies.

One way to get students involved in discussions is to have them be more student based. by giving the power to the students rather than the teacher more students may feel comfortable opening up and talking. Most discussions in a classroom are teacher-student based, but by having the discussion student-student based or led there is more room for the student to open up and say how they feel or voice their opinion on a topic.

Another strategy is to give students a role. Splitting students up into small groups and having each student hold the role, ex. facilitator, reporter, etc, the students will feel more in control and more likely to participate. This gives the students a chance to feel as if they have a role of leadership and therefore they may be more likely to participate. New ideas of discussion can be used in any class and this can really help students to feel more comfortable in the classroom and during discussions.

The use of Twitter

In the past I have been skeptical of the networking site Twitter. I thought it was just a place for people to write about what was happening in their day or what they were going to eat for dinner. The only experience I had ever had with Twitter was hearing about "tweets" that celebrities or athletes were publishing. I never wanted a Twitter account and didn't think it was for me. Last semester though I was asked to set up an account for my CEP class. At first I thought I would just be making this account for the class and never using it again. After a full semester though I realized that Twitter is such a useful tool for education. I am a follower of a handful of professors and teachers and am able to see very useful and interesting articles and blogs thanks to the tweets from these people. This semester I will be working more with Twitter and other groups that involve this website. I am very excited to explore this networking site more and get into contact with more people that will be able to help me in my quest to become a teacher and after.

Welcome!

Welcome to my Blog!:) My name is Courtney and I am currently a Senior at Michigan State University. I am majoring in Elementary/Special Education as well as English/Language Arts. I hope to someday live in Madison WI and teach Elementary Special Education. This blog is set up so that I can share my thoughts and ideas about technology for my CEP 416 class. I hope to be able to explore many different technologies and to become an expert in others. I previously took a class that focused on technology in the classroom and hope that this class will help me to further my understanding of technologies that I will be able to use with my future students.