My 21st Century Classroom

Welcome To My 21st Century Classroom

This I believe..
         Everyone no matter what their disability or age can learn and deserves the chance to shine.  In my Visual Essay I prepared in class, you will see a collage of pictures of the students from Maple Elementary in Chardon Ohio.  It is more specifically the Multi-Handicapped students that I worked with all through out high school. The little girl in the wheelchair with the pink scarf and sunglasses name is Myah, she played a huge role in my career decisions.. Here I tell my big Aha moment as to why I choose to go into Early Childhood and Special education.. I hope you enjoy my essay and it opens your eyes to the miracles that happen everyday. To see my reflection on making the project click here.

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*Made on Classroom Architect.

My 21st Century Classroom would incorporate several different aspects. Although it is difficult to design the ideal classroom online because you can not arrange the materials exactly like you would want them but you can get pretty close.I like how in a Montessori classroom the students have personal space, I wouldn’t completely keep students to themselves, I would just give their specific special spots on the rugs for circle time. Therefore students wouldn’t be fighting over who sits where or about who is too close to them and etc.  In my classroom I would use circle time, and allow students to use imagination through play, and pretend play like in Vygotskian and Froebel’s classrooms. Although I was not able to show kid sized kitchen sets, toys and blocks on my design above, I would have those in my classroom.
      I would use documentation boards (the green boards on the left hand side top corner) from a Reggio Emilie inspired classroom to grade the students and show progress via photos, portfolios, projects etc; This is where Authentic Assessment comes into play, I believe a bubble sheet can not capture the students true ability like seeing physical work can. I would also use the Emergent curriculum to  show a Learning Centered classroom . I like how the curriculum is based off the child’s interests in real world scenios. For example I would use a sort of investigation style to learning, because I love hands on learning and the students would have fun investigating there interested subject areas. The top left corner would be used for investigation purposes and like a workshop area.  I would integrate technology into my classroom via smart boards, projectors, TVs and computers. These tools would help make my classroom more Accessible.  I would use a site like Wiki Spaces to connect my classroom and lessons with the parents of my students and the students themselves. 



In my classroom, I would have a daily schedule but I would be flexible with it. In the morning I would start off with a morning meeting where we will be going over calendar, the days schedule, and if there were any comments or questions on the Wiki site from last class.  Then we will go into our days lesson, and depending on what it is we may be using the computers or the work area to investigate, which is Learning Centered . We may skype throughout the day with a neighboring school or we may just do a worksheet. Which would help with the Accessibility of my classroom.  Throughout the semester we will have student led parent conferences and at that time the students will walk their parents through their projects and portfolios in the documentation board section. This would help with giving the students real purposes for their work and help in Authentic Assessment. When the day is just about over we will reconvene at the rug for the closing meeting.



Instructional Glimpse:

In an earlier blog we had to come up with a sample of a lesson we would do in our classroom.  I did my blog on how numbers relate to another object like money.  Using a smart board for this lesson, I would bring up the Coin Song and use it to grab my students attention. I would then pass out play money, and go through each coin and its value. Then using my PowerPoint I would put up a number like 25 and ask which coins you can use to make 25, like two dimes and one nickel, or 25 Penny's etc.. I would start with 1 penny and work my way up to a dollar. For the assessment I would make up a worksheet with several different match ups of numbers and ask them to tell me what numbers equal which coins and etc..

My Technology Integration:

Like Ive mentioned in above sections, I would use several different technology tools in my classroom. Like I would use a smart board for interactive lessons such as the math activities, or  I would use Skype to connect my students to other classrooms or to experts willing to discus topics with us. I would also use Wiki spaces, or other online tools such an instructional blog to connect with my students and parents outside of the classroom to discuss assignments or to answer any questions.




PLN: 

I would continue to use my PLNs to connect my classroom with the world and to use them as tools to help find the best ways to teach my lessons.  I currently use Facebook as a PLN, where I have old and current teachers as friends so I can easily access them if needed. I also have a Twitter where I follow a variety of educational professionals and links where I can also easily access needed tools. I also have a blog I plan to keep after this class, and as a teacher I intend on making a professional blog where teachers, professionals, parents, students and myself can all communicate about my lessons and classroom intentions. I plan to continue my professional following and building my  network with all the future influential figures I meet.








** If you need to reach me the best way is my email or via Facebook/Twitter **




In my 21st Century Classroom I used the following as references:

"Classroom Architect." Classroom Architect. Web. 06 May 2012. http://classroom.4teachers.org/.

"Google." Google. Web. 06 May 2012. http://www.google.com/docs.

Pierce, Alicia M. "Here and Now, the Start of It All." Here and Now, the Start of It All.             Web 06. May 2012. http://www.aliciapierce21.blogspot.com/.

Smith, Marc. "Off The Top." Off The Top. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://bald
         daddieteach.blogspot.com/>.

(Along with Google Images)