Attending ACTEM
On Friday, my practicum classmates and I had the pleasure of attending the ACTEM education conference in Augusta. It was a powerful experience that opened my mind to some of the great tools and techniques that educators use to support their pedagogy. Not only did we get to see other teachers present, we got to present out units that we have been diligently working on so far this semester.
I was able to attend an amazing presentation done by two high school co-teachers from Morse High School in Bath, Maine. They talked about how to apply co-teaching methods to their English classroom. This is something that I am learning about in my Special Education class and I was fascinated to see Maine schools putting this into play. These two educators highlighted how technology and the tools they are using are "leveling the playing field" for students in their least restrictive environment. I learned about new tools such as pear deck and how to create specialized assignments on google classroom to fit the needs of one student, if needed. Pear deck is an interactive way to learn vocabulary and different terms. It is not as pressured on the students since it is anonymous to the class and one student is responsible for making a definition/meaning and the other is responsible for drawing. Once the cards are brought back to the "factory", the class can then decide what flashcards are good enough to keep. I was amazed by this tool and how it really helped students learn without the pressure that kahoot brings.
The audience was also introduced into two other technological tools: kami and orange slice. Orange slice is an "add-on" for google docs that allowed the educator to put a rubric at the bottom of a assignment and to grade it right on the same sheet. In my classes, we talk about giving appropriate, rapid feedback and this would be a great way to do so. Kami is an online annotating tool that can be used for the students to annotate their readings online and pass them in through google classroom, or to provide support and help for things to look out for when reading. Although this was very ELA based, I found ways to apply these apps and techniques to social studies.
I attended a few other presentations, but found the first one to be the most useful and powerful. I was able to meet many new educators who later came to my poster session where I presented my unit on the Holocaust Propaganda.
Before presenting, I doubted myself and figured that I would face complete shame from an hour from educators who may have thought my unit was not well detailed or put together correctly for middle school. Amazingly enough, it turned out to be the total opposite. I had educators talking to me for almost the full hour who were amazed by the work that my classmates and I were doing. I had a few educators who were going to take back some of the tools I used to assess their students upon returning back to school. I got great constructive feedback from one teacher (who is a UMF alum) and really helped my classmates and I improve professionally. The teachers who took the time to talk to me were excited about what I had to share and discussed how engaging this unit would be, especially since the topic I chose was so difficult. Getting feedback from in-field educators helped me grow as a future teacher and how much learning potential these professional development days provide.
If I got the amazing chance to present again, I would come prepared with questions people might ask. I remember getting caught for a split second by an educator asking why I would not focus on one type of propaganda. I knew that the purpose of my unit was to expose and teach my students about the different types and how they were used in the Holocaust, but in that moment I forgot. It took me a few seconds, but I wish I had made questions that people might ask to better prepare myself.
Next Thursday and Friday I am heading to MAMLE in Northport, ME where I will learn how to apply many cool things to middle school and look forward to applying these tools to my practicum placement. I will also be attending the MEA conference at the Samoset in Rockport where I can build my portfolio of career knowledge to better myself as an aspiring educator.
One of the best parts of ACTEM was the keynote speaker, Dr. Joe Sanfelippo, Superintendent of Schools in Fall Creek, WI. His positive attitude towards his teachers, students, and community was outstanding. It really gave us an understanding of the support old and new teachers get and how to get everyone involved, all over the world by using #gocrickets.
Emily
I was able to attend an amazing presentation done by two high school co-teachers from Morse High School in Bath, Maine. They talked about how to apply co-teaching methods to their English classroom. This is something that I am learning about in my Special Education class and I was fascinated to see Maine schools putting this into play. These two educators highlighted how technology and the tools they are using are "leveling the playing field" for students in their least restrictive environment. I learned about new tools such as pear deck and how to create specialized assignments on google classroom to fit the needs of one student, if needed. Pear deck is an interactive way to learn vocabulary and different terms. It is not as pressured on the students since it is anonymous to the class and one student is responsible for making a definition/meaning and the other is responsible for drawing. Once the cards are brought back to the "factory", the class can then decide what flashcards are good enough to keep. I was amazed by this tool and how it really helped students learn without the pressure that kahoot brings.
The audience was also introduced into two other technological tools: kami and orange slice. Orange slice is an "add-on" for google docs that allowed the educator to put a rubric at the bottom of a assignment and to grade it right on the same sheet. In my classes, we talk about giving appropriate, rapid feedback and this would be a great way to do so. Kami is an online annotating tool that can be used for the students to annotate their readings online and pass them in through google classroom, or to provide support and help for things to look out for when reading. Although this was very ELA based, I found ways to apply these apps and techniques to social studies.
I attended a few other presentations, but found the first one to be the most useful and powerful. I was able to meet many new educators who later came to my poster session where I presented my unit on the Holocaust Propaganda.
Before presenting, I doubted myself and figured that I would face complete shame from an hour from educators who may have thought my unit was not well detailed or put together correctly for middle school. Amazingly enough, it turned out to be the total opposite. I had educators talking to me for almost the full hour who were amazed by the work that my classmates and I were doing. I had a few educators who were going to take back some of the tools I used to assess their students upon returning back to school. I got great constructive feedback from one teacher (who is a UMF alum) and really helped my classmates and I improve professionally. The teachers who took the time to talk to me were excited about what I had to share and discussed how engaging this unit would be, especially since the topic I chose was so difficult. Getting feedback from in-field educators helped me grow as a future teacher and how much learning potential these professional development days provide.
If I got the amazing chance to present again, I would come prepared with questions people might ask. I remember getting caught for a split second by an educator asking why I would not focus on one type of propaganda. I knew that the purpose of my unit was to expose and teach my students about the different types and how they were used in the Holocaust, but in that moment I forgot. It took me a few seconds, but I wish I had made questions that people might ask to better prepare myself.
Next Thursday and Friday I am heading to MAMLE in Northport, ME where I will learn how to apply many cool things to middle school and look forward to applying these tools to my practicum placement. I will also be attending the MEA conference at the Samoset in Rockport where I can build my portfolio of career knowledge to better myself as an aspiring educator.
One of the best parts of ACTEM was the keynote speaker, Dr. Joe Sanfelippo, Superintendent of Schools in Fall Creek, WI. His positive attitude towards his teachers, students, and community was outstanding. It really gave us an understanding of the support old and new teachers get and how to get everyone involved, all over the world by using #gocrickets.
Emily
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