The Journey Begins...

          My journey through social studies began on Wednesday, January 22.  This first class period was a whirlwind!  In order to get acquainted with the course and classmates, we were each given a letter written by a past student to read and answer some questions on.  While the letters were comforting in the sense that they proved that it is in fact possible to survive this class and perform well, they also were somewhat frightening!  Many of the letters discussed how overwhelming this methods class can be and how it is certainly high up on the workload chart.  Intimidating! But, many of the students discussed how incredible Dr. Smirnova is and how willing she is to guide us through this new journey every step of the way.

          We also spent a short time watching "A Vision of K-12  Students Today." This short clip emphasizes how critical it is as educators to use technology in the classroom!  Students need to be exposed to blogs, podcasts, wikis, digital storytelling software, etc.  It is a technological world we are living in.  How can students be prepared for the real world if they aren't taught with or able to use real world programs, tools, etc.  A huge point of emphasis of this video and class is that teachers must be willing to implement technology of all sorts in the classrooms!  We must adapt to the times, otherwise we are not helping students reach their full potential.

         By the end of the first class, I was sure of one thing: We will all come out of this with a wealth of knowledge, fresh perspectives, and many more tools in our teaching kits!  Despite how intimidating the course seems now, it will certainly be a worthwhile challenge.