Welcome to Teacher Techniques! I hope this site will be helpful for you to learn successful teaching techniques that have been proven to work with students in the classroom. I encourage you to browse my entire site and learn from information that is posted to the site as well as collaborate with other educators from around the world about teacher techniques.
Mission:
My mission for those viewing this site is to provide up to date information, including videos, about current teaching techniques that are used successfully in the classroom. Those who may find this site helpful include educators, such as teachers, principals, superintendents, education consultants, substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, assistant teachers, and childcare directors. Viewers can use this website to build upon knowledge of educational practices and teaching methodologies in today’s classrooms. Opportunities are available for educators to share techniques through posts that have had a positive impact on students in their classroom, such as hands-on activities and positive reinforcement. All educators from around the globe are welcome to collaborate with others on this site concerning teaching methodologies through comments and reply to any informative postings on the website.
In addition, techniques that may be outdated will be discussed and why new techniques teachers use are more beneficial to students. I hope this site will motivate teachers and education professionals to incorporate the best teaching practices into classrooms today. As an Education Coordinator, I believe it is important for teachers to stay current with teaching strategies because students greatly benefit from a positive and successful learning environment. Educators, who are connected through collaboration, will help to improve our educational practices and, therefore, students will benefit from the teacher’s knowledge of what the best practices of teaching are.
Please log on to stay current with teaching strategies that have proven to be successful in the classroom. These teaching strategies that are provided are from my experience as an educator as well as teaching professionals from around the world who have insight on strategies they have successfully used in the classroom with students. If you need a new approach to teaching, please visit the site to gain new ideas regarding teaching techniques. I encourage teachers who have specific classroom challenges to post questions on the website to receive suggestions from myself or others who may have had the same challenge and overcame it using specific teaching strategies.
Vision of Teaching, Learning & Technology:
Technology is everywhere:
Technology allows us to have information at our fingertips at all times. Through the Internet, we are able to look up any information at any time we wish and it is available in so many places throughout our daily life. This website is online for teachers to log on at any time of the day, such as on a laptop or smartphone, and also can be accessed in many businesses, such as using hot spots to access wireless internet. Having technology more available, allows us more opportunities to learn any information at any given moment. Therefore, it will be easier for all educators to access information on this site as long as internet access is available.
Collaboration is easier to achieve:
Technology allows us to collaborate more with others. Having access to technology lets us instantly speak with others at any time through texting, email, Skype, FaceTime, and cell phones. Technology will allow educators to discuss pertinent information on this site very quickly and get a response in seconds. Accessing information quickly helps people form and share ideas on topics and learn about each other in many ways. This includes learning about areas of education. Don Tapscott (2009) states in Grown up Digital that education is moving “from a teacher-focused approach based on instruction to a student-focused model based on collaboration” (p. 11). This helps to show how learning has progressed to the idea that we can learn from others and build upon previous learned knowledge through discussions with others. My website will encourage collaboration between educators by creating opportunities for comments and replies posted to the site.
Communication is easier for all no matter what location:
We can communicate with others both near and far quickly and easily through technology. Being able to communicate with others at any location in the world, we can receive and reply to information much more quickly and efficiently. Information can be shared with others and instantly be read or verbally heard. This process makes learning information from others happen more often and quicker, which increases the amount of information we learn from each other. Collaborating with others who are very far away helps us learn information that typically would not be available to view. My website will allow educators near and far to communicate with each other about current education practices used across the world and view videos to demonstrate teaching techniques.
Question information we receive:
A large amount of information we receive is provided through technology written based on both facts and opinions. When reading information online, one has to read the information and make a decision whether it is factual or someone’s views. A person reading information on the Internet has to recognize that certain websites are based on opinions while other websites published are factual just as a non-fiction book would be. Therefore, when learning new information one has to consider the source and base his/her own opinions on the content to make the distinction. On my website, opinions about educational teaching techniques will be evident and a viewer will have to formulate their own opinions about information posted.
Organization creates easy access to new information:
People can organize information and data easily and have access to the information with a click of a button. The Internet organizes an infinite amount of information for users. When looking up a topic online, a keyword typed in the search box will immediately bring up countless websites that include the specific topic searched for. This creates learning about a specific topic fast and easy with a click of a button. My website will be organized in a way that viewers can click under a topic heading to find information, such as my mission for the site.
Instant Knowledge:
Information can be instantly updated at any time for a reader to immediately read or view. Information online can be edited and uploaded to exhibit new information. Grown up Digital (2009) by Don Tapscott states “…communication is instant and automatic” (p. 56). Anyone can learn the most recent and updated information available in relation to any given topic or viewpoint. On my website, educators can share their ideas at any time that fits their schedule and viewers can respond at their convenience to the postings. Also, I will update the website to reflect current trends in teaching techniques, which will provide viewers with instant knowledge about educational practices.
View happenings in an instant:
One can view happenings from across the world in real time. This relates to the idea of technology offering instant access to information. Being able to see what is happening across the globe, allows people to learn instantly what is happening. Technology and Society: Opposing Viewpoints by David Hangen and Susan Musser (2007) quoted Mortimer B. Zuckerman who stated “students can take virtual trips and collaborate with other students around the world…” (p.80). This is an example of how anyone who has access to the internet can visually see events from across the world in real time and speak to others to learn from them, such as their culture or viewpoints. My website will allow users of the site to view videos of examples of current teaching strategies used from educators around the world. Viewers will be able to comment about what they view on the site as well as reply to any postings.
Everyone has the ability to learn something new:
Technology allows people to learn up to date teaching methodologies from around the globe. With technology available, it makes learning from others faster and easier. One can communicate with another who is far away and immediately communicate back and forth about ideas, such as teaching methodologies that are currently used successfully. As stated in Technology and Society: Opposing Viewpoints by David Hangen and Susan Musser (2007) who quoted Mortimer Zuckerman’s views that “teachers can compare techniques with colleagues around the country…[and]even the smallest oneroom schoolhouse in the wilds can tap into great teaching on an infinite variety of subjects” (p. 80). On my website, educators will be able to speak to others or view posted ideas quickly to stay up to date with current ways to teach children. Viewers can become aware of ideas or strategies that would not be known unless online technology was used to view the currently used techniques.
Overview:
This website will inform educators about successful teaching techniques to use in the classroom. I will provide opportunities for teachers to post comments on the site about the strategies. As the site progresses, I will build upon my knowledge of teaching techniques while collaborating with colleagues about the best practices in teaching.
As an educator who has experience working in classrooms, the teaching techniques will be mainly for teachers in elementary grades. I will approach teaching and learning by incorporating a place for educators around the world to provide comments posted to the site. Viewers who access the site will learn updated techniques that have been proven to work, which is based on experience from myself, educators who post to the site, and information written and uploaded videos referenced from current best practices in teaching.
References:
Haugen, D., & Musser, S. (2007). Technology and Society: Opposing Viewpoints. New Haven, CT: Thompson Gale, a part of The Thompson Corporation.
Tapscott, D. (2009). Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies.