Mr. McClung gives his readers great insight to how he likes his classroom to be. He not only gives the audience details about his hobbies, but also shares his ideas about technology and how he feels class time should be spent.
Mr. McClung, as an educator, I strive to be a fun, creative teacher, like you. He has great ideas and seems to put his calling to be a teacher above all else. Thinking outside the box seems quite difficult in this day in time, but he shows me that it's possible.
Rules:
I found it very interesting that Mr. McClung insists on his students having lots of energy and staying positive. School can become difficult at times, but if you have a good attitude (teacher and students) then it will make it not so bad. Secondly, I've seen many teachers that would rather take the "easy" way out and have lecture or powerpoint, no energy involved. Next, he also assigns many group/partner projects so his students must work together and as a team to pull out the best grade. Lastly, he requires his eighth graders to listen. He says, "Anyone can talk but not very many people are able to listen effectively." I absolutely loved reading his ideas of gestures and signaling key words. For example, Mr. McClung says, "teach", and his class replies, "ok". When he says this, they know to turn to their neighbor and teach what they just learned. I really like this idea because the more you repeat and hear what you have learned, the better you are at retaining it. This might be an idea I have to borrow! :)
In the class syllabus, he requires that everyone needs a daily planner. This is so important. I learned to use a planner my 9th or 10th grade year and wish I could of had one earlier. Having a planner is a wonderful tool that I believe every student and teacher needs. Without my planner, I would be completely lost. I plan to make this a requirement in my classroom. It's such a great tool for knowing what homework you have and when your tests are. Once you start using a planner/calendar, there's no going back.
As far as homework goes, from his Welcome and Syllabus pages, I don't think he assigns it too much. So, when he does, the students should do it. Mr. McClung's penalties can be very detrimental to the students grade. He gives you all day the day it's due to turn it in; however, if you don't, each day it's late results in the loss of a letter grade. For example, if you're 2 days late turning in homework, you can't make better than a C. This rule gives his eighth graders a sense of initiative and responsibility. It's important that teachers (parents, too) teach children responsibility so later on in life, they're still holding themselves accountable.
In his syllabus, Mr. McClung shares his wants for his class blog. It's not only a tool for technology in the classroom, but it also serves as a newsletter and resource center for students, teachers, and parents.
Mr. McClung offers many resources on his Useful Links tab. I chose to look in depth at Scholastic Story Starter. This website was awesome. It's a resource for teachers. It opens with typing in your name, then you get to spin four wheels. There are many different topics to choose from. For example, I rolled, "Write a one sentence post card to a yellow turtle who climbs tall trees." Then, you get to choose your format (newspaper, letter, postcard, or notebook). Lastly, you get to write your sentence(s). I think Mr. McClung added this website to his links page because it's fun and the children can enjoy writing sentences. Writing can be fun; however, it's all about the circumstances you put them in.
For my second website, I chose Kidblog.org. After looking into this blog, it seems like a very legitimate place for teachers to share their classes blogs. "It is built by teachers, for teachers." Who knows what a teacher wants better than another teacher? Kidblog is set up to where, by default, only the teacher and other classmates can see each child's blog. This blog is safe and simple. Kidblog has no advertisements. This is great, due to each teacher's fear of having their student see something they shouldn't. I think Mr. McClung put this on his page for the simple fact of it being safe and simple. It's an easy to navigate blog where the teacher has control.
Internet Safety:
Mr. McClung is very careful in teaching his students about internet safety. It's very common for children to be drawn to a chat room and unreliable websites, so have to be aware. As a future parent and teacher, I want my children to ralize the dangers the internet holds. It can be fun, but they have to remember to be smart when using it. Mr. McClung says not to use your last name when commenting on a blog. As a college student, I think it's ok because I can decide whether the website is trustworthy or not. However, children shouldn't release their last names or emails. I like that he allows the children to all use his email instead of their own. I would also add, when in class or at home, don't surf the internet. Go to the website you need to go to and get off. It's as simple and as difficult as that.
Mr. McClung gives parents, educators, and students the ability to navigate his blog easily and without confusion. He is very direct. For example, your a parent who wants to see the syllabus for school supplies, simply click on syllabus. Maybe you want to see some fun websites for your children to play on, click on useful links.
Mr. McClung seems very dedicated to his school, class, and blog. For him, teaching technology is important. For other teachers, not so much. As crazy as it seems, I believe his children will understand the world better and do better in college than ones who haven't had this much exposure to the internet.
Thanks, Mr. McClung! I've learned so much from you!
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