Teacher Professional Development: I need a Canon Rebel Camera, Tripod, Memory Card, and Wireless Remote to help document the lessons we learn in my classroom. <profdevpilot>
This quote by Phil Collins explains my teaching philosophy, "In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn." I am thankful that I still have so much to learn about teaching. Being a student in my classroom always makes things fresh and exciting. I love exploring digital composition.
For the past fourteen years I have taught high school English in a rural area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
We are a high poverty school district with 73 percent of the students eligible for free and reduced lunch. Over the past few years our school board has grappled with painful budget cuts that have led to building closures and layoffs. Despite the challenges, however, we teachers continue to support our students and to provide the best education that we can. Instead of allowing financial crisis to be a set-back, I try to use it as an opportunity to be resourceful and creative and teach my students skills that will help them be successful. I am a teacher consultant with the National Writing Project and on the leadership team of the Northern Shores Writing Project at Northern Michigan University. The NWP has helped mentor my belief that teachers should be writers and I love to blog and bring my writing, and student writing, into my classroom to share with my young writers.
My Project
During the course of the school year I assign many projects that require a visual component. It is my goal to preserve projects but there is not enough physical space in my classroom to file the work. Saving student work digitally is a logical solution.
This project would help me chart both my students' growth and my growth as an educator. The photos could go into the digital stories/videos that I create as lesson enhancements, could accompany my professional portfolio, be featured on my education blog, serve as a model to my students, and I can share my classroom practice with other educators as I begin to pursue an Education Specialist degree.
In the next year I would like to attend a blogging conference for professional dev so I could teach a blogging class.
I also think that these technology tools will help me be a better mentor when I supervise a student teacher. I can help them document their teaching journey and help them build a professional portfolio to seek employment.
The lasting impact of this project if it gets funded will be wide reaching.
Currently, if I want to take a photo I have to use my personal cell phone. This technique has limitations and I would love to be able to capture crisp and professional images of my classroom space, student work and writing, workshops, and all of my lessons in action.
If fulfilled, this project will allow me to better become a learner in my classroom. It will allow me to chart my teaching journey and provide growth.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Waldo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
