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This article discusses how new trends in education have an influence on teacher dissatisfaction resulting sometimes in good teachers leaving the teaching profession. While new teaching techniques and software programs (trends in education) are listed as contributing to the problem experienced by the teacher at the focus of the article, the teacher herself could overcome these obstacles, but for her feeling unappreciated in the new teaching environment. The teacher in question has been teaching for 20+ years in an economically disadvantaged community and has recently received awards for her excellence in teaching. Discussion questions: 1. Is the desire in the educational field to embrace the latest technology and educational trends causing unnecessary stress on highly qualified and experienced teachers? 2. Is the story described in the article an anomaly or a symptom of a greater issue related to the need of administrators to meet test scores and other exterior goals for the school? 3. Given the countless lessons and student interactions represented by teachers of the length of service and caliber of the teacher in the article, should our schools make efforts to cultivate their experience into new instructional models, providing the teacher with a sense of contribution and the instructional system a grounding in historical relevance?

Perfect! Great summary and questions

The views Whoppi Goldberg started a wildfire when made this statement on air, "To me, bad teachers don't do anybody any good. So the union needs to recognize that parents aren't going to stand for it anymore. And you teachers in your union, you need to say these bad teachers are making us look bad. We don't want it. You and the parents can make this change." This article discusses the backlash from teachers and it asks the question what are some of the characteristics that makes a teacher "bad" or good. They also give a list of twelve different ways you can spot a bad teacher in your school. In your own mind what constitutes a "bad" teacher? Does mentoring help new teachers? What would you do if you observed a teacher exhibiting these "bad" behaviors listed in the article?

Awesome summary-interesting article. Great questions :)

This article addresses the issue of teacher burnout and a solution to help treat and minimize it. The article suggests that relieving one's stress for a short period each day goes a long way in avoiding burnout. 1) Should all teachers be required to participate in a short training to teach them mindfulness and stress relieving techniques? 2) What techniques do you use to destress and how can incorporating mindfulness improve them? 3) How would taking time to destress through mindfulness effect your classroom performance?

It's that time of year. You'll always see LOTS of teacher burnout/teacher slump articles written in November :)

A teacher edited his student's rough drafts for statewide test to make sure punctuation and capitalization were correct on their exams. She stated she felt the pressure of performing well on the exams. Other states have been found to cheat on the standard test created by No Child Left Behind. How do you feel a teacher should be punished for violating standard assessment rules for a broken system like NCLB? Do you feel NCLB standards help or hurt students? teachers? Why do they hurt and why do the help? Why do you fell there are so many scandals with teachers cheating for students? Do they not have confidence in their teaching abilities and/or their students?

Such a heartbreaking and timely article. Great summary and questions.

This article talks about how Forest Lake Elementary School in South Carolina helped teachers develop technology usage in the classroom. The school and administration takes an active approach to the use of technology in the classroom. This articles talks about the steps the school takes in forcing the teachers to use technology tools and the support the teachers are given.

Great article with very practical tips for how to get teachers on board with technology despite their age or years of teaching!

This site shows different ways a teacher can incorporate technology in the classroom. It's aimed at teachers who are not tech savvy. Ideas include: using Webquest, creating a Class Webpage, having the students create Podcasts, having the students create blogs or wikis, having students do an email exchange and more ideas are discussed.

Teachers just need a few simple ideas to get them started with technology.

This article looks at how exemplary science teachers use technology in their classrooms. It also looks at how often they required their students to use technology as part of their assignments. What I like about this article is that it looks at quote unquote, "good teachers," so one can see how a successful teacher uses technology.

This article focuses on understanding the differences between the teachers and students acceptance for technology in the classroom, as it is found that many of the teachers are found to use technology in the classroom and the children increasingly using technology outside of the classroom. While reading this article it will help better understand the new learners in the classroom and provide them with better technology.

This study examined ten teachers' use of technology for five years following initial certification. Only one in ten reached the highest of the five stages the authors used to "grade" the teachers' use of technology. Researchers (e.g. Russell, Bebell, O'Dwyer, & O'Connor, 2003) have pointed to the need for teacher education and professional development programs to provide the time to implement the technology to allow for more ownership of how to teach with the technology.

Teachers are wondering if their student's attention spans and their ability to face and work through challenging tasks are hampered by technology. Some teachers argue they have to work harder to capture their student's attention and curiosity. Currently, there is not enough evidence from studies to substantiate this claim so researchers are querying educators as they feel their subjective input is the most accurate at this current time.

An interesting perspective on technology in the classroom!

This article is about the relevance of social media in today's classrooms. Facebook allows students to work collaboratively with teachers and peers, and encourages creativity and communication. Facebook can be used by teachers to post homework, create groups, communicate with parents, and to works with other teachers.

This is a great guide for schools and teachers thinking about using Facebook with students.

How exciting to see art teachers embracing technology to open new avenues of creativity for students. This article is an interview with two art teachers using ipads in the art classroom. Students can learn traditional elements of art plus things like layers and transparency plus undo mistakes, while gaining valuable technology skills. 1. How much technology is too much? 2. How do teachers keep up with advances in technology in art? Specialized art programs can be incredibly in-depth. 3. Can teachers who don't have access to ipads in the classroom, stay on the cutting edge of art ed?

Good questions!

78% of K-12 teachers believe technology in the classroom makes a positive difference; however, 17% believe it does not make a difference. Students today spent a majority of their day using 21st century technologies and if teachers put them in a 19th century classroom settings, they will have a significant disconnect with their students. Technology can raise students enthusiasm for learning, as well as amplify a teacher's strengths or weaknesses.

If a teacher isn't invested or prepared, technology can definitely spotlight a teacher's weaknesses.

This article is about a secondary education language arts university class that paired with a 6th grade class. The 6th graders would submit their papers to the college student, who would then edit it and return it electronically. The purpose of this pairing was to use technology to make the 6th graders better writers and the future English teachers better at revising papers. Both teachers involved believed that it was a success and all of the students improved as a result.

This is a great activity for middle school kids.

This is an article written by the national education association. It is based on how to control a classroom with unruly students. It is written about a first year teacher and how she gained confidence within her classroom and firmly established rules and boundaries. It also talks about the importance of relationships and understadning your students. 1. What is your main tactic for establishing rules and bondaries that first year teaching? 2. Who do you know you can go to for help managing an unruly classroom? 3.What do you think is the hardest thing when it comes to classroom management as a first year teacher and as a veteran teacher?

This is so important! Great article!

This article talks about reading with the common core standards of reading more difficult and non-fiction texts in schools. In one particular classroom, the teacher asks intelligent questions about a non-fiction piece of work and the students find the answers within the text, a non-fiction piece of reading. Students read the required texts together and illustrate the research that children gain the most from reading difficult texts rather than easy ones. Instead, children read texts under their reading level for fun. The required reading is both interesting and challenging enough for the higher level students. Choosing reading below level for entertainment allows the students to get a sort of brain break, and still be able to engage with a difficult text during class with a fresh perspective. I think this article demonstrates another positive view of the common core in reading and how it can improve children's reading scores. 1. What elements of common core are Nebraska teachers not benefiting from because the state has not adopted common core? 2. How can secondary language arts teachers a common core standard of reading more non-fiction into their classrooms? 3. Who is more responsible for introducing non-fiction texts? Language Arts? History? Social Sciences? Science?

Interesting article! Great questions!

Five trends in CCSS: Instruction in How to Listen; Evolution of the Teacher-Student relationship; Increased Responsibility for Students; Move toward Project-based learning; and K-12 will get serious about Coding. These trends will have an impact on you as a teacher, be informed...be a learner first. Questions: 1) How will these trends affect or change the physical make-up of your classroom setting? 2) If you compare how your students use social media with the trend of teaching students how to listen, what challenges do you anticipate? 3) What are your thoughts regarding the trend "the evolving of the teacher-student relationship"?

Make sure your summary represents graduate level writing. I like the list, but impress me with the last two sentences. WONDERFUL questions!

This article looks at two different structures in place at different school systems to investigate and introduce new technology into the classroom. In the first example, the school district has invested in a full time administrator whose job it is to find new technologies and uses in the classroom and then provide the information to the teachers. The second case study involves a more traditional approach where the classroom teacher collaborated with other teachers and developed an program in Kindergarten through 3rd grade to introduce the children into inquiry into technology by dismantling robots and other forms of technology, solely to awaken a sense of discovery within the students.

More and more school districts are hiring integration specialists/technology coaches/21st Century Learning Coaches. Both case studies reveal important ideas for how technology can and should be used.

"Imagine a system that provides teachers with real-time insights to understand how a student is performing. The teacher can then use the data to spot weak areas and adjust the lesson plan accordingly. This type of tailored instruction has the ability to greatly improve student performance." We've been learning about individualized instruction in all of our classes, and now Xerox researchers have been tracking students for the past 7 years in New York and California to invent a system where teachers "could determine what concepts were being taught successfully and which were missing the mark-- and they could do it on a student-by-student, class-by-class basis."

Technology such as ipads open new channels for sharing art. Programs allow students to try different methods and see for themselves (at their own speed) step by step instructions. It also allows the art teacher to mix traditional and new methods of instructions.

I wrote down some of these apps to share with the art teacher in my building. This is a great example of a teacher finding ways to use technology and acquire it for her classroom.