Miss Chapman's Classroom

Today in lovely Manitoba, we have been hit with a polar vortex and are currently experiencing the coldest temperatures we've seen in over a decade!! -55 with the wind-chill has made it extremely dangerous for travelling and being out on highways. Thankfully, our professor called off class, so everyone could get home safe (and in daylight) and made this into an a synchronous class! I love the idea of asynchronous classes.  Although, they could not be used all the time, there is definitely a time and place where they do become very useful. There are many situations where students cannot make it to classes, such as: bad weather/driving conditions illness sports/other commitments outside school being away in another country Asynchronous means to learn online on your own schedule. The instructor provides materials, such as videos, articles, slides for students to access at their own convenience.  Students are then given a time frame, such as 1 week, where they usually nee...

Virtual Reality Technology… WHAAAAAT? I had never heard of this! Apparently, Virtual Reality is the wave of the future.   It allows you to see new worlds and experiences without even leaving your home! In our ICT class Monday, we were able to try out VR headsets.   The headsets were surprisingly simple to use.   You simply find the VR video on your phone through either a VR app or YouTube, put the phone in the headset and press play and enjoy the experience! BUT, how can we incorporate this cool technology into the classroom? There is an abundance of EDUCATIONAL VR videos out there, including videos in: Science (astronomy & physics, biology and engineering) Travel/geography (tours of cities in North America, Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia) History - (visit museums) Art - (learn about art history through art museums) Here is a list of VR Educational Apps Google Expeditions is also a great app for VR educational videos (available for Appl...

What is an infographic? Infographics are visual representations of information which display the data in a clear, concise manner.  I think infographics are very helpful in a classroom, especially for those visual learners (such as myself)! Often an image or graphic will help a student make a connection to the data, which make for a better chance of memorization.  Infographics can included: flow charts, timelines, comparison infographics(versus), statistical infographics, and process infographics(steps). Here is my first infographic I created called "Miss Chapman's Classroom Expectations."  I think having these expectations always posted in an infographic would be advantageous because they are always there as a reminder to the students.  The following is an example of an infographic I would use in an early years classroom to remind the students of strategies for reading.   ~Miss C photo: http://www.printablee.com/postpic/2012/12/readin...

Click here to check out Pernille Ripp's blog! I decided to follow Pernille Ripp's blog because her blog is mainly about books and developing students as readers, and well... I have a passion for books!  I believe reading is the number one skill students need to develop.  Being a strong reader and being able to comprehend what they have read is important to ALL subject areas.  Everything builds off of being a good reader.   Therefore, as a teacher, I want to create a love for reading in all students! Pernille is a 7th grade teacher, author, speaker and creator of the "Global Read Aloud". She writes books about engaging and empowering students in the classroom and in their reading.  Her blog includes many posts about reading, such as: including students in setting their reading goals and encouraging students to become passionate readers.  I really like the section of her blog, "our favorite books".  I have found a lot of great books to use mysel...

Click here to go to Epic! One of my absolute favourite educational websites for reading is Epic! Epic! is a digital library for kids aged 12 & under and gives access to over 25,000 books, learning videos and quizzes! Why I love Epic!: Epic! is available as an app on Apple and Google Play. FREE for teachers! Educational books available, such as National Geographic Kids. Adaptations available, such as Audiobooks and Read to Me books. Teachers can use pre-made quizzes or create their own. Easy to assign readings to students and check for student completion. Books available in other languages including Spanish and French.  Books are categorized by age and/or subject area. There is really nothing I don't like about Epic! It is a great app to use if you are in an early years classroom. If you haven't heard of it, I strongly recommend checking it out! ~Miss C. 

It is no doubt that today's students are growing up in a whole new 'connected' digital world.  We are all relying much more heavily on technology for everything. Personally,  I would be lost without my cell phone - it serves as my alarm clock, weather station, my camera, my main form of communicating with EVERYONE, my day planner, my recipe book, etc, etc....  There certainly are good and bad aspects to using technology in our classrooms.  Here are a few pros and cons I have seen in my experiences:  Pros: Resources for enhancing education and making learning more fun. For example, there are many apps such as Plickers and Kahoot! Some teachers are also using "gamification", such as with Classcraft. Students have easy and instant access to information that can help their learning experience. Almost all middle and senior year students have their own smart phones or other devices, and most schools have access to Ipads or Chromebooks.  It is qui...

Today we had a very interesting presentation given by John Finch about copyright laws for educators.  A few key things I learned from the presentation include: Anything in which you create, you own the legal and moral rights to.  You created it and must be acknowledged for it.  Others must have your permission to use your resources.  For teachers, this may include: Unit plans, lesson plans, tests, assignments, activities, projects, etc.  Students also own the rights to anything they create in school, such as an essay, poem, or an art project. Therefore, teachers must have permission from the parents (students under 18) in order to post any student work.  Teachers are allowed to copy some materials for students - 10% or 1 chapter from a book/textbook Every school photocopier has a hard drive that keeps track of everything ever photocopied - therefore, do not ever copy anything personal. Teachers are allowed to use music for educational purposes in ...

"Digital Identity/Footprint". What does that mean anyway?...    ~ " A digital footprint is a trail of data you create while using the Internet.  It includes the websites you visit, emails you send, and information you submit to online services"(Christensson). After searching myself on Google, I couldn't find much on myself except for my Facebook account and some horse show pages. I keep all of my account settings locked up and as private as possible. Upon starting into my Education degree I took down all "inappropriate" pictures from high school & my early years of university... I felt that if students, parents or colleagues were to ever search me, I didn't want anything from those days to pup up! Digital identity/footprint is absolutely an important topic to be addressed in schools because young people often don't think beyond the moment and what consequences may lie ahead. The 2 seconds it takes to post a pi...

I LOVE ORGANIZING!! If I feel even slightly unorganized, it stresses me out! I do not like mess and clutter anywhere! I think it is so important to stay organized always, for when our lives get busy and chaotic. Disorganization leads to forgetting to complete a task, losing an item, being unprepared for a situation, etc., etc. By avoiding clutter in our workspace, we enable ourselves to be more productive and less stressed! Some methods I use for keeping myself organized include: Use a day planner! As you think of something you need to do, write it down and you can't forget. (I prefer a physical planner, but there a many apps online to use for planning,  such as Timetree & Google Calendar) Create documents on Google Docs, so that you can pick up where you left off from any device. Organize computer files. I organize by year, class/subject, unit, specific task/assignment. keep hard copies of class materials in a binder as back up, just in case! Back...

Welcome to my teacher blog! I created this blog to share all about my experiences as I work towards achieving my dream of becoming a teacher! I am passionate about learning and always finding new ways to educate myself.  I am also a bookworm and will share some of my favorites I have read on my "Reading Corner" page!