Friday’s class was so great! We met so many great teachers that taught us a lot. It is always nice to hear from teachers, but it is even better when the teachers are former MACers. Since we are in a unique program, it’s so great to hear how things have worked out for people that have once been in our shoes. I definitely liked hearing from Lauren the most. It was great that we could talk with some of her students and ask them questions about how she runs the classroom. I was really surprised to hear just how much cell phones are allowed in the classrooms these days. I just feel like I would get so distracted if I was in the classroom and students were whipping out phones and texting all the time. I think it’s rude when people do it to me in general, let alone when I am trying to teach a lesson. Understanding that most of my students, especially in high school are going to have cell phones I will need to figure out my own rules for my classroom.
I also really enjoyed hearing about all the ways that Lauren got around her technology problems. One thing that I am worried about is that some of my students will not have Internet access. I want to have my students doing up-to-date projects and I want them to have access to all the possibilities that other students around the country are afforded. Not having Internet access seems like it could be a problem, but I have learned some great tips from Lauren. Allowing the students to complete the assignments in class if computers are available and assigning Internet assignments well in advanced are some of the great options that Lauren talked about. Another great idea that I took away from Lauren was her idea of having office hours on Facebook during the week. I think that is such a great idea! Why not utilize the technology that we have? I wish I would have had virtual office hours with my teachers growing up. There were so many times when I needed help with my homework or project and as I got older it was harder for my parents to understand what I was doing. Having a teacher online, able to answer questions is such a great idea. Hopefully, I can be as unspiritual as Lauren is one day!