Two Classroom Ideas

One idea that I would definitely like to incorporate into my classroom is the use of a Survey on Effort from Chapter 8. I actually had the opportunity to use this during my student teaching experience. I created a sample survey using surveymonkey.com and I was amazed at how easy it was to use. The survey that I did last semester was incredibly long and wasted a lot of paper. I had to add up and collect all the data myself and it took me hours to do so. Using surveymonkey was quick and easy and it analyzes the data for you. It would be very simple to let the students use the computer lab for just a few minutes one day to complete an end of the year survey. I think that students would be able to express how they felt about the class and also give you a better picture of how they view their own effort. It would be important for a teacher to know these things. The next time I give a survey in class I will most likely be using and online survey tool like surveymonkey.

Another idea that I would like to use is blogs from Chapter 6. I think that this is an exciting way for students to be able to share their knowledge. It is also easy to set up and track as a teacher. Students would be able to complete the work at their own time and if used over a full semester class could be very beneficial. Students could do an individual blog that describes their progress and growth throughout the class or could do a group blog where they collaborate to accomplish a specific goal or task. This may be challenging for students without computer access, but I could make accommodations for those students, such as a written journal or class time in the computer lab. I think that anytime technology can be incorporated to an assignment, it makes students more engaged in the task.