Active Learning

"Students do not absorb knowledge through their bottoms!"

I was at a conference years ago, in a workshop about gross motor ideas for Pre-K and the presenter said this while explaining why it's important for students to get up and move and how it activates all parts of the brain.  Her direct quote was a little less PG rated, but you get the idea.  Obviously this statement made everyone laugh, but it really stuck with me about how our instruction and class day should look like.  This comes fairly naturally in the Early Childhood setting as we are doing much of our learning through play, but it is just as important as students get older.

Mapping Digital Spaces

Living in a Digital World and I am a Digital Girl

Our lives are more and more being played out in front of a screen.  We are able to do almost everything from behind our computers or via the smart phone in our pocket. Just as computers and the internet have grown over the years, so has our interactions with it.  Technology touches so many aspects of our lives and we also shape and change those digital spaces we interact with.

Trends in Ed Tech

Learn More about the Makers Movement

Articles:

Why The Maker Movement is Important to America's Future

How The Maker Movement is Moving into Classrooms

Video:
Maker Movement in Schools

Website:
Makerspace for Education

Make Magazine

Frameworks for Evaluating Technology

Evaluating Technology Use in the Classroom

Before this week's assignment I hadn't given much thought to evaluating the student use of technology in my classroom.  Although to be honest, student use is fairly low at the Early Childhood level.  While I appreciate and acknowledge the importance, and usefulness of technological tools, we are focusing more on a student's communication and interpersonal skills with this age group.  That is not to say we use no technology.  We do use some technology with the students, we have a Benq board that we use for writing practice and we can project videos and music to.  I like the idea of being more intentional when I think about using technology in my teaching.

All About Me

Hello!

Welcome fellow classmates and anyone else who may stumble onto this page!  My name is Melissa Donofrio and I love working in Early Childhood Education.  I have worked in blended model classrooms for the past 11 years. I love the joy and energy my students bring to the class and I strive to help them all love school and build relationships with their peers.  In my classroom you will find lots of singing, dancing, puppets, talking and laughing. I love sharing all the wonders of the world with my little friends. My profile picture is me releasing butterflies with my class last spring.