First School Visit: Durham Johnston

I made my first school visit to secondary school, Durham Johnston.

Upon arrival, I was shown around the school with two students from Ms. Browns class. They took us on a tour and my first thought was "WOW!" The sheer size of the shool was amazing. The school was just three years old so everything was fresh and clean still. The rooms were built for specific purposes. There were 3 computer labs, a cooking room, sewing room, 3 art rooms with a darm room, studio space, and laptops for students to add. Each room was equipped with a smartboard and books for students.
Students were not expected to bring books to and from class. Things were left in cabinet in the classroom so the teacher could grade work, and students can have everythign back the next day class was in session.
I thought this was a great system. Students would never be unprepared for class.

When I saw the number of artrooms I was extremely excited. I wanted to hang out in there all day. Because the school is funded by the government, there is no worry about not having enough budget for the art supplies. Students were working on 5x5 ft canvas oil paintings. And may I say, in the number of schools I've observed, the work done by the students in this school was exceptional.
After speaking with one of the teachers, she had said the students have won national awards based on their paintings and charcoal work.
I can say their work inspired me to buy myself some supplies here and get to creating!!

I am sure I will be heading back to this school to investigate and observe some of her classes. I definitely appreciate coming across a great, inspiring, art teacher :)

SynergyNet Project

During one of my first classes I learned about this really cool system in some English classes.

It's called the SynergyNet Project. A professor at Durham has been researching this concept of a Multi Touch room.

Students are set up at multiple tables throughout the classroom. It is in a sense, I giant ipad. Students are able to search for content, move things around for easier understanding. There is also interaction between tables. Students can fling an image or piece of information from their table, to their neighbors.

The teacher has a smartboard up front that connects to all of the tables. When they want to bring focus to one tables information, they can pull up an image of the table at the moment. Everyones tables freeze and students are sent in another direction for the project at hand.

VERY COOL!

Students are greatly attracted to this kind of product. Just imagine a child with a regular ipad in front of them, they love it. This is bigger, better, and everyone has one and can interact at the same time.

 If you want to check out more information, click here.

New Adventures in Education: England

After graduating from SUNY New Paltz, I decided to continue my education and go out to get my masters! What better way to do this, than go to Durham University in Durham, England!

I flew out in September and have been here for four months. I am playing volleyball for the University as well. Everything is a bit slower, people are much more patient.  They may speak English, but the classes and way of living here is definitely different.
Instead of taking multiple 3 credit courses, I am taking 5 modules.

These include:
Dissertation- pretty much my thesis
Research Methods- Prepping and ways of researching for your dissertation
Arts in Education- Super excited about this class! Can't way to see the different ways students are taught in the art room.
Special Education Needs (SEN)- Course directed towards special needs students and how to work with them in the classroom.
21st Century Technology- I'm hoping this course assists me while I am trying to figure out what my dissertation is going to be focused on... It should be cool though, learning about the technology England offers

The way modules run is very different. You are expected to take 24 hours of class, spread out over a month or so, or just a weekend based on the type of class it is. When you complete the main portion of the class, you have a summative assignment which is 15 pages long and argues a point or subject from the class. That's it. No test, no class participation. Just one essay that decides your grade for the class.
The dissertation is the largest focus though, that takes the most time. You are expected to have a research topic and conduct research to aid your paper. It is 43 pages long.... That'll be fun...when I get to it.

Should be interesting! I'll be keeping track of my dissertation on here most likely. My main idea is covering the concept of using social media in the classroom.. if anyone has any info, feel free to share!