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An organization that I might be interested in joining is the Nebraska Association for the Education of Young Children.  The mission of the organization is to strengthen and support early childhood community. Nebraska AEYC began in 1976 and is organized as a nonprofit corporation. The association is organized in a tiered system. There are two large local afflliate chapters, and several small local and student chapters. Membership is open to anyone interested in supporting and promoting the mission of the organization. A membership fee includes membership in the local, state, regional, and nation AEYC organizations.  Membership dues are regularly 50 dollars, but for students the cost is only 40 dollars.

In this video, Richard St. John shared his secrets to success. His first secret was to have passion. Having passion for what we do makes a huge difference in our success. Next we must work, nothing comes easy in life. We have to work for what we want. We also must get good at what we do. Practice makes perfect. Next he says, focusing on our goals and pushing through any hard times or failures with persistence is key in being successful. Lastly we must remember to serve others. I truly believe that when we serve others something of value, the best reward is received. Relating this video to teaching, I think its important that not only we as teachers keep these secrets of success in mind, but share them with our students.

The internet is a huge part of our generation. Almost everyone I know has a computer, i-phone or some sort of device accessing the internet. It has become a method for people to create, communicate, share, and research. The internet has transformed everyone’s everyday lives. But what happens when you can’t afford a computer or a device to be able to use the internet? We reach a divide where some people get left behind without the technology to keep up.

A flipped classroom is a teaching method that allows students to watch lectures from home using online videos.  Once back in the classroom students have more one on one time with their teachers. This is a good method because it allows students to learn at their own pace. Students can rewind and listen to their online lectures again if they need to. It also allows teachers to help students in the classroom and answer any questions they might have. By doing homework in the classroom, teachers can help the student if they become frustrated. The method allows students to take charge of their own learning. Some problems that might come up with this method are that many students might not have computers at home and could fall behind.

I think this method would be great to use in the classroom. I would use this method in my classroom for elementary students by posting videos of concepts for them to watch. I could communicate with the student’s parents to make sure they have access to the videos. I would model to the students what my expectations are for them in the classroom, by showing the video and stopping often to teach them how they can take notes. Once the students have watched the videos at home, I would make sure they understood the video content by having them ask any questions that they might have. I could talk to each student individually and make sure they understand what they are learning. Class time would be spent doing more activities in class instead of lecturing.

Resources:

http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/