Hello!
My name is Alan Seaver. I am from Church Hill, TN and have lived there all of my life. I am 25 and I still live with my mom. I am not married, but I have dated Kristen for almost four years. I have two brothers, who are both married. My middle brother has a three year old boy and has a girl on the way. My nephew is the coolest!! I graduated from ETSU in May 2006 with a degree in social studies. Since then I have tried unsuccessfully for a teaching job in the middle school level. I thought about going to grad school last year, but I decided to stay with my dad. He died from Lou Gehrig's disease in December. He had the disease for seven years and was on a ventilator for the last three.
I have worked at Hibbett Sporting Goods since 2ooo. I took some time off last Spring and took a six week interim job at Church Hill Middle School. I taught six grade language arts and loved it. I feel like I am more suited to teach younger kids so that is why I have decided to pursue a Master's Degree in elementary education.
I love sports. I am so excited for football season to start. I am a huge Tennessee fan and I also like Virgina Tech pretty well. I am a big Miami Dolphins fan as well. I love baseball, golf, basketball too. The Astros, and the Duke Blue Devils are some other favorites of mine. I also like to play sports games on my xbox. My favorite game is NCAA football.
I like southern gospel music. I like Greater Vision, Gold City, Legacy Five, and the Kingsmen to name a few. I was a huge Cathedral Quartet fan. I also like country music. Some of my favorites are Brooks and Dunn, George Strait, Diamond Rio, and Dierks Bentley to name a few. It is hard for me to pick a favorite movie, so I will list a few that I really like. That lists includes: Remember the Titans, Gladiator, Facing the Giants, Uncle Buck, and The Fugitive. Those are some that come to mind.
I use a PC with Windows Vista. I have a DSL connection. I hope to learn how to use more technology in my classroom. I am also excited to learn how to use some of the different programs as well. For example, this is my first blog so I am glad to know how to set one up.
As far as Chapter One goes, I agree that technology helps enhance student learning. For example, when I was doing student teaching at Surgoinsville Middle, I had the students do a web quest on the underground railroad. They learned more from doing that than they did when I taught on the topic. When I lectured, I used notes that I typed out, which made it easier for them to read and copy down. I also learned about some technology that I never new existed, RFID being one of them. One problem I do see with the rise of technology is that some counties may not be able to afford to purchase the items. Even though a lot of them get grants, some still do not have the resources that some counties/cities do. Overall, new technology helps not only the students, but teachers as well.
3 comments:
Alan,
First off, I am so sorry about your father's passing. I think that was a very honorable decision you made to stay with him last year. I admire that.
As for your thoughts on chapter one, I found it interesting that you mentioned the students learned more from their own research than from your lectures. In my experience as a student I tend to do the same. I think most of us do. For example, if we attended a powerpoint lecture on this chapter, I don't think I would have noted the information that struck me. I tend to allow my instructors to "spoon-feed" me information at times and just take it at face value. Most often it seems that when we or our students are allowed to get into the information on their own, they learn more from it. Along with that, we get that great sense of accomplishment once we've finished!
And I do agree that funding is a major problem where technology is concerned. As a teacher, if I were faced with that situation, I suppose I would utilize everything we had. (Maybe by allowing the students to take turns with the one computer we have :)
Hey Alan,
Your thoughts on the lack of funds for some schools hit home with me. I teach at a very rural high school with a high poverty rate. I assume a lot of our grants go to help pay for free and reduced lunches and things of this nature. Funds can be extremely difficult to come by no matter how desperately we need the updates.
Another issue that comes along with a high poverty rate is that many students have very little knowledge of computers. Unlike urbanized, higher-end cities/counties, they do not have them at home. I can't tell you how many times students have refused to do work on computers. I do not think it is an issue of insubordination but rather a feeling of intimidation or fear of something out of their comfort zone.
Dear Alan,
I too am sorry about your father's passing. My mother died two years ago and sometimes it is still hard.
After reading your blog I Googled RFID to find out what it was. It seems interesting. I imagine that your student’s loved the internet quest about the Underground Railroad. This seems like a great way to engage your audience and really make the lesson come alive. Did you have any problems with students using bad resources, those with incorrect information? I often find that mine believe anything that Wikipedia says even if it is blatantly wrong. While I believe that new technology is great I really worry about the Digital Divide making it harder for poor students, and countries, to catch a break.
Sherry
Post a Comment