Since the beginning of the semester, my views on what my future classroom will look like have changed quite a bit. ECMP 355, cross cultural education and my education language class have all shown me that there is so much diversity in Saskatchewan classrooms nowadays, that we need to be open to change in the classroom as well as open to having ever changing technology in the classroom. I want to make sure that all cultures and languages are present in my classroom so everyone feels welcome and valued. This will be a challenge, but will be beneficial for all the students in the end.
One thing that I have learned from ECMP and from my blogging mentorship is that I would really like to have a classroom blog set up for the students sake and also for the parents. I think that this is a great idea and I think most students would enjoy being a part of it. By each student having their own blog, they can showcase their individual talents, thoughts and ideas. They can also get feedback from people all over the world which would be a motivator to want them to blog more regularly. As for the parents, with a classroom blog set up they can stay up to date with what is going on in their child’s school life whether it be in the classroom, extra curricular activities or just basic news around the school.
I would also like to have smart board in my classroom. I don’t have too much experience with them but think that it could be a useful tool to use. I have a few friends who are teachers and they always say how much they love using the smart boards and how much time they save using them as opposed to a black board or white board.
I may also try and incorporate cell phones, Mp3 players, digital cameras and video cameras into my class if ever possible. Students may not be aware of all of the options that these tools have and how they can be used for educational purposes. I know I wasn’t until this year! I also think that once the students understand that these tools can be used in the classroom for learning purposes and that their teacher is giving them the opportunity to use them in the classroom, then they may begin to respect the teacher more when they are to not use them in class, for example such as cell phones.
