About Me

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HELLO, MY NAME iS BRiTNEY. i ATTEND JOHN CARROLL UNiVERSiTY.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

!TiMELiNE iDEAS!

I think this timeline assignment is a wonderful project to start the semester. I feel the important thing about being a teacher is remember the many things that you experienced as a student. With this being said I’m looking forward to reminiscing on old memories with teachers and friends. I’m also looking forward to going back on the many things I have learned throughout my education.
Since I’ve taken one of your classes before I am familiar with many different multimedia applications. When you introduced us to “Timetoast” I thought it would be a pretty good way to display my timeline. However, I happened to fall in love with Glogster last semester. I would really like to see how my timeline would turn out using the Glogster application.
Although I’m not completely sure on what I would like to incorporate into my timeline, I feel I have enough things running through my mind to make this project a successful one. I am very excited to see where this project leads and reflecting on my previous years of education.
*I cannot remember my old Glogster info and it will not let me registure a new one with the same email until they send me an email. I am still waiting on that email. When it is recieved I will begin my timeline. Until then I have benn brainstorming on ideas in my class notebook.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Blog Entry #1

WebLog 1: CLASS SURVEY
Personal information
1. Name, hometown, primary email.
Britney Graham, University Heights, OH, bgraham12@jcu.edu

2. What name do you prefer to be called?
Britney is just fine for me.

3. Grade level and subject(s) that you want to teach (For graduate students: undergraduate and graduate degree(s), education license(s), current employment: grade level, subject(s) if applicable, district).
I would like to teach first grade.

4. What are you into; what makes you special? Share a few “unique” aspects about yourself that would help our classroom community get to know you a bit better.

Im really creative. I like to think outside of the box. I always find a way to make any situation great.

Learning Style and more:
5. Being as specific as you can, what must be in place for you to feel comfortable taking intellectual and creative risks in a classroom?

I'm not the type of person to sit around and be a wallflower. I like to voice my opinions and will do so when I feel that it is needed. The most important thing to me is having a inviting teacher. I need to know that I can talk to my teacher and not feel like a burden.


6. I am interested in your perception of yourself as a student. Please describe it. Consider such criteria as a) active oral class participation; b) responsible, timely class preparation (of readings, projects, etc.); c) honest, candid self-assessment; d) awareness of your own preferred learning styles/approaches; e) first thing that you do when you cannot or do not understand something; f)other dimensions you believe to be relevant and informative.

I like to voice my opinions and speak in class. However I tend to hold back at times when I feel that my answer may not be as good as others. I think I am smarter than I think and do not give myself credit for that. I will be honest and say that I can be very scatter brained. I often forget things even when I try my hardest to remember. However, I am working to fix that problem. When I don't understand things I ask lots of questions after I calm down from my normal frustrations. I have other things that I would talk to you about in confidence.

7. Is there anything I should know about you, your learning style, or life situation that may be relevant to your successful performance in this course? (Please decide what to share with the class and what to share in confidence with me).

I am a visual learner. I read material but I'm not the best at soaking in all information that I read.



Education Past and Present

8. Share a formative memory from your experiences as a student.

My best memories are community service. I love Koinonia Homes where I worked with adults that suffer from mental illnesses. I think my community service experiences make me a well rounded person. I have enjoyed everyone of them. Most of all I enjoy the impact that I make on others.


9. Please discuss what are, for you, the some significant issues or concerns facing the field of education right now.

I feel that thier are not enough dedicated teachers. Well atleast from my experiences. In all of my years of schooling I feel that I've probably had about 6 good teaches at the most. Teaching is something you have to love and if you do not love it then it's not for you.

10. Let’s imagine, humbly, that this course is definitely going to be the most meaningful and relevant course you’ve ever experienced. EVER. Drawing on your past experience in classrooms, and thinking uniquely, specifically and BIG, describe what we need to (1) DO (activities/projects), (2) STUDY (content topics and compelling issues/questions), (3) BE (interacting with each other) and (4) AVOID (in the previous three categories) in order for your visionary views of an ideal course to be mostly realized.

We need to do meaningful and memerable projects and activities that will help us when we begin teaching.
WE need to be welcoming to one another and supportive.
We need to avoid offensive comments.
We need to study and understand content and readings for this course as a class. We shouldn't assume that everyone understands or has same views.
About Dr. Shutkin:
11. Write down two or three questions you would like to ask me about myself or the class.
Why did you decide to teach?
What do you feel can improve in education today?