Amanda's Education Blog

Positive/Negative  During this experience it has opened my eyes to how important it is to get your ideas to the table sooner than later. For example, most schools have their budgets laid out for years to Photo Credit  come because they have been talking about it for awhile. If I have an idea it is important to state it right away. Also, not being a part of the technology team and asking for funding was a challenge. I felt like I was intruding on their jobs and they were hard to get in contact with at first. One thing that drove me to this project was asking our staff what they hope to have in the building when thinking about technology and also talking to the technology director in my building for ideas. He expressed his ideas for 1:1 and how him and other building directors have talked about it so I thought it would be a good idea to present. Throughout this experience I have also learned that one type of technology may not be appropriate f...

CIPA CIPA (Children's Internet Protection Act)    developed in 2000. CIPA sets requirements on schools and libraries who receive discounts on Internet access and connections through E-rate programs. The purpose is to make sure the schools meet certain requirements to stop students from surfing on inappropriate sites like chat rooms and downloading material, to name a few. This act also requires schools to education students on Internet Safety. What was interesting to me was that the rules and guidelines were updating in 2011. It has now been 8 years and the Internet has changed drastically. I wonder if they will be updating the rules again. Also, what about the schools that do not receive the discounts? What policies do they follow? COPPA COPPA ( The Children´s Online Privacy and Protection Act)  developed in 1998 and updated in 2013 are polices created to protect children using the Internet. This acts gives parents the control over what information websites can...

Technology Leader Throughout these first four weeks, I have learned a lot about what makes a great leader a leader. A leader must have great communication skills as they will be talking to many different departments within the district. They also need to be organized. They need to be Photo Credit  organized because they will be placing orders for very expensive equipment, collecting data to ensure programs are working and figuring out the best way to store technology on a day to day basis. A leader also needs to be patient, lead by example and build relationships. When I think about myself as a leader, I think I will be a great one, but I did not think about all the responsibility that would come with it. Such as the hiring and ordering sections. The one video I listened to described how when someone is selling you a product they are only going to tell you all the great things about their product. It is up to me to do the research and ask those hard questions that might...

My Photo Hello! My name is Amanda Bielawski (Georgiou through Dominican as I have not yet changed my name). The picture above is from my Facebook account. This picture means the world to me, as I'm sure many of you can see why! On June 2, 2018 we got married at Naper Settlement in Naperville. We are expecting our first child this coming June...June 6th to be exact (it might fall on our anniversary!)  Photo Credit  I am currently a Special Education Teacher at Troy Shorewood in Shorewood. This is my first year at Troy. I love being 15 minutes away from home. I previously taught at Cameron Elementary School in Chicago and my commute was over an hour and half each way. I am overly grateful for this opportunity at Troy. I am currently taking two courses right now and I will finish my Masters in Education after that and intend to graduate in May. Hopefully the peanut does not come early and I am able to walk! My husband and I have two loving and fluffy...

My thoughts at first.... Photo Credit  During this proposal project, I have found it challenging to get my new district on board with utilizing a SMART Board in the classroom. Throughout my student teaching as well as my first 3 years of teaching I have always had access to a SMART Board. My first year at my previous jobs, we had to write a letter to the principal explaining why we should be the one to get the SMART Board out of everyone in the building. I was excited to be the first one to get one because I knew so much about it. I was able to help other teachers learn about it so the next time there was extra money in the budget they were dying to get one. I was in a K-3 classroom and was with most of my students throughout that entire time. I was able to see how much my students grew and how excited they would be about learning. I believe the SMART Board made learning engaging, interactive and fun for them. Imagine yourself as a 5 year old walking up to a big board a...

Why Social Media? I grew up when it was normal to not have a cell phone at 13 and there was no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat...but there was a MySpace. With that being said to get a hold of friends you would have to call their house phone. This photo always hit home to me because it was so true. The world we live in now relies so much on technology that if you didn't have a cell phone or one of these accounts you probably wouldn't have a social life.  Photo Credit  Social Media Eyes of a Teen The first article I read was the view from a 19 year old. It was very interesting to see that Facebook was not as popular among them as I thought it would be. I loved how he broke down each social media site and gave proper insight to was people use them, how the privacy is and why his age group likes it more. I personal like SnapChat, because it is only my close friends and if I don't want to accept you I don't have too. I like how I can be myself and then the...

Reflection  Photo Credit After taking a course based on technology, I find that no matter what we do to get away from it we can't. The world is changing so much every day with new and faster ways to do things, we need to keep learning to keep up with it. I am only 28 and remember the very first cell phone my parents had and then looking at the cell phone I have now. This is only happening more and more. I mean there is cars that can drive themselves!! My dad was offered a new job which required him to create a resume and presentation. I remember spending all summer helping him create this. (He didn't even know how to turn a computer on!) Same thing with my mom, I had to show her how to upload pictures to her computer (every month). I then created a list of directions for my mom and she just followed the steps and was able to upload the pictures herself. Now my dad on the other hand was terrified of the computer. BUT with repetition and practice is now working at an ...

My Data Mine  It is crazy to think about how everything you post on the Internet stays around forever. As soon as you update something on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram it will always be there. I remember when I was a in high school I would post anything and everything and I never listened to my mother. As soon as I entered into the career world, I realized I wish I never posted things I did before. I know am so caution of what I post because I know that future employers are able to search me and see anything they want. I started to only allow things to be tagged in my name unless I approve it. I wanted to make sure that if parents, students. employers, family and co-workers searched me they would not be disappointed.  Searching I started to Google my name. The things that came up were crazy. Information I found was my name, birthday, address(s), parents names, sisters name, income and also people I Photo Credit could know. At first I was like wow that is a lot of ...

Assistive Technology  Notebookcast Photo Credit When starting to explore assistive technology I have so many tricks in my bag, but I wanted to explore something new to me! I noticed something called Notebook Cast. Once I went to the website I was extremely excited! It looks like SmartBoard....but not! So I went on an interview and talked SOOOO much about how much I love SmartBoard, turns out they don't have one! I was shocked and scared, how many other schools don't have SmartBoards??? How will I ever teach without one??? Notebookcast will definitely help the  transition.  ScreenCast Below is a link to my screencast explaining a little more in depth how to use Notebook cast.  Pros A different way to teach a topic (not a worksheet) Colorful and allows you to use pictures Save board for future use Students can explain their thinking and teach the class "interactive"-to an extent Take photo of board and print as a worksheet ...

Twitter  At first..... Photo Credit When Twitter first came out I had no really idea what is was. All I was hearing was "I  follow  this person" or " I tweeted about it didn't you see". I mean what does 'tweeted" mean. I also  was like ugh, something else to keep up with and follow I don't know about this. My fiance uses Twitter a lot, not to post but more to gain information and knowledge (mainly about sports). I wasn't sure still how I felt about it. I decided to join and 'tweet' around a little. So I Joined and found resources  I created an account which was easy, but how to search and follow was another story. Also came to love retweeting! That was easy and helped me save things to my page that I found interesting. There is actually a lot of people that share their ideas on Twitter and I was able to gain valuable information. Some information I gained was the 1-man down zoning pla n original posted my @ree...

Reaching All As a teacher we want to make sure we are able to help all of our students learn. That means changing our ways of teaching with is hard for most. One thing teachers need to rely on to help them use best practices is the research that backs it up. It is important for teachers to look at data and statistics to make sure they are using best practices to teach. One way to reach many students would be the use of technology, but it is important to make sure the technology is appropriate for the students.  Project Tomorrow Speck Up Photo Credit  This organization provides an easy way for students, parents and educators to participate in  decisions about their school. It offers free online surveys  for your school or district.  I think most would agree that educators and parents feel that communication is important to ensure everyone is working together for the benefit of the students and their futures.  So, what is t...

Active Learning Photo Credit When I first heard about the topic active learning, I immediately thought about students being active (moving) and learning at the same time. I started reading about active learning and said "ohhhhhh, this is what my principal was trying to get me to do this entire time!" As a teacher, I have a hard time of letting go of authority. I like my room to have structure and everything so the way that I planned it to go. My principal started explaining that students need to take ownership and start to lead conversations. I always had a come back like, "well most of my students struggle to communicate their ideas verbally and they do not carry on conversations with students." (since I teach special education). He said "Well they need to be taught how so you need to teach them." I agreed.  My First Lesson My first lesson was a read aloud that I wanted to use the strategies turn-and-talk to predict what would happen next. I ...