Overall, I thought that the first lesson really got me thinking, especially about my skills as a presenter. Thinking about things, I do think that I am a bit "above average" if that is the right word, in the way that I present material to my students. I think I am able to teach the content, but also bring in a little be of humor and stories that they can relate to, making my presentations overall successful. As I said in a post on the class site, I do hope to learn more ways to ensure that all of my presentations include "just enough" information and never "too much." In addition, I am really excited to learn the various other presentation techniques that there are and also how to include more media in my current presentations.
The one assignment that I thought would be a challenge, the picture of a day, has actually been the most fun for me. While I am known by friends for loving to take pictures, I thought that it would be a challenge to remember to take and post a picture every day, but so far it has been fun.
Bringing in humor and stories into your lessons (especially in history) really bring life into the lessons for students. I am also excited to learn presentation techniques to make them more meaningful for students. I reflected on our lessons taught in the library and learned we need to work on them!
ReplyDeleteI love your first posted picture of the meal you tried to make "just like mom"! Being a new home owner I am sure you are having fun and learning the ropes. I too attempt cooking my mom's recipes but my husband reminds me that my cooking just isn't as good as my mom's--perhaps my sons will think I am the best cook someday!
I'm getting in the habit of posting each day...I think it's really interesting how it makes me look around my house in a different way. Suddenly I'm noticing position and lighting. I've used a digital camera alot but I'm definitely an amateur photographer. I'm hoping this will stretch me to move beyond the auto-picture setting and learn more about the flash, etc. Like you I'm finding it more intriguing than I thought it would be at first.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about the picture assignment. When we first got it I thought, "What a hassle." Not that I mind going online every day, or even taking a picture every day, but I felt like the combination of the two would be a hassle. I actually love to take picture and I'm very creative and always want to take an awesome picture - that's what bothers me. I always want to take an awesome or funny picture. This assignment has helped just to say, "Hey, just snap a picture of something and see what happens." So that's what I've been doing.
ReplyDeleteHumor is always a good thing to add to a presentation. Our students today are looking more for entertainment in their work than learning. They are used to a culture and technology where they can personalize everything. Sometimes I think we forget that as educators by making assignments that basically come out the same way even in this age of differentiation. What we are learning can definitively help us improve.
ReplyDeleteJenny you are a FANTASTIC educator. I think your stories are exquisite. The students are dazzled by your antics. On a more serious note, when we make ourselves more visible as people, students often are more likely to buy into our lessons. I think when we were at the same school, our "co-story-telling" antics definitely helped us to capture our audience.
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