C4T Summary #1

The first teachers blog that I had to comment on was by Meredith Somsel on a site called Teacheing Matters. She discussed how the curricula and ways of teaching are constantly changing. Somsel and her fellow teachers teach at a school in New York and are having to learn a whole new program for teaching their math students. The program was a struggle for the teachers because they were being introduced to various new materials they are to incorporate into their math lessons, along with new strategies and content all while creating their own lesson plans and getting to know their new students and how they learn best. In her words, it was the "perfect storm". Her and the teachers spent their summers attending conferences and taking additional opportunities to become more familiar with this new program. It is very important for teachers to stay caught up with the ever-changing curricula in education so that students will learn all that they can and get the best learning experience they possible.
I found this as a great blogpost that, even as a student, I could relate to because this is similar to a realization I had when taking a math education class about a year and a half ago. With almost every lesson, we were taught equations and methods to teach that almost the whole class had never heard of because we were not taught those methods when we were going through school at a younger age. That was just one of many times that we realized how important it is to keep up with new and evolving curricula.

The second teachers blog that I commented on was on a blog site called Two Cents Worth by David Warlick. Mr. Warlick's post wasn't as lengthy as others but it sill made some very valid points. "In much the same ways that we all conduct our essential learning outside of school" was one of the biggest things that stuck out to me because that is something we focus on in our class. We are learning about and using various technologies in the classroom, some being very similar to the things we use outside of the classroom. I find this very important because that is what students today really want out of their education. They want to know that everything they are learning is something real and relative to their lives instead of something they just might need to know someday. Students want what they are learning to be applicable and giving them the opportunity to use various technologies in the classrooms allows that.