Who dears to teach must never cease to learn

    The high developing technology changes our daily life as well as our education. As a 21st century teacher, what kind of challenges will we meet and what should we do to adjust ourselves to the changing world? To keep the traditional teaching method or to be creative?
    The video Educational change challenge summarizes what challenges all of us interested in education and how it is best accomplished today. Just as George Evans says:” Every student can learn, just not on the same day or the same way.” The young are more open faced with new technology so that many students are expert in Internet and show boundless enthusiasm about it. Thus, moving from a one-room schoolhouse to the one world school house is now a reality. The video come up with the question to the teachers:

   

    This video A vision of 21st Century Teachers gives us the answer to the teachers.

     In fact, we can take full advantage of this tool and create a platform, thus helping students to connect, communicate, collaborate, and create in an interactive technology-rich environment.We can encourage students to collaborate to create multimedia reports, such as posting their videos, soundtracks, photographs, essays in their study as well as in life. We can inspire students to interact in online projects with other students not only in our school but also across the country or even the world. We can build up their self-confidence so that even the shy ones can express their opinions freely. We can give students different experiences by providing different learning styles.

    To sum up, all of above not only takes us more time online to maintain a class website or research for learning resources but also requires us to do more with technology, critical thinking and so on. Even though we have started, we still have a lot to learn in the process of improving the efficiency of online teaching. 

A useful tool for teaching ---- Blog

    With the high-speed development of technology, it is necessary for teachers to make good use of some internet tools to simplify our teaching process and motivate students involved in the language, thus, improving our teaching efficiency. Blog is one of the useful tools that can help not only teachers but also students in many ways.

    First, blog is a versatile tool since it allows for photographs, images, videos and links etc. Teachers can utilize these advantages in their teaching. For example, teachers can post some videos, articles that are related to the class in advance and ask the students to watch before the class so they can have a discussion in the class. This can not only save a lot of time but also leave sufficient time for students to think so that they can well prepared for the class. In addition, teachers can post their opinions, thoughts and reflections on blog, and it is a great opportunity for other teachers and people who are interested in teaching to learn and discuss.

    Second, one of outstanding features of blog is its commenting capability, which makes blog a fantastic tool for collaboration. Teachers can organize the students as a group to discuss some topics and ask them publish their thoughts, which can help students exchange their ideas and learn more about the topics as well as create a good study atmosphere. As for students, if they are stuck with the study after class, they can post their problems and ask for help. Also, they can express their opinions and thoughts on what they learned in class which provide good feedback for teachers and teachers comments can clarify students and encourage them to study them harder.

    Anyway, blog is a useful tool for teachers and students of which we should take full advantage.

Performance Indicator ESL.E.2-4.2.1
Students learning English as a second language will use English for self-expression, artistic creation, and participation in popular culture. They will develop and use skills and strategies appropriate to their level of English proficiency to listen to, read, and respond to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances, relate texts and performances to their own lives and other works, and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent.

Performance Indicator LOTE.LA.2.1.B.B
Students read culturally authentic passage of Latin adapted from Latin authors  

My Chinese Students

Before my coming to America, I was a teacher of a senior high school called Xiantao NO.1 Middle school which was very beautiful.

This is the QiuZhen Square (means pursue the truth). Students do morning exercise every day on this square.

 Don't you think our school looks like a garden?

As senior high school students, they have a lot of work to do. Most of time, they have to study by themselves.  

Sometimes they work in groups.

If they have difficulty in study, they can ask teachers for help. In fact, most Chinese students are too shy to ask teacher for help. Fortunately, this situations is becoming better and better now. 

You know, Chinese students bear heavy burden of study. In order to be admitted to key universities, they have to study very hard. My students often get up at 6 am and go to bed after 11 pm.

The classroom is equipped with multimedia system so that it is convenient for teachers to give lessons.

The school offer a lot of sport equipment to the students to help them build up their body and relax themselves in their spare time.


 

They are my students and I really miss them.

 Taking pictures with some "fatter" students so that I can be "slimmer" . So considerate of them. :)