Hi! It is   a month since we started the new academic year2009, and we got ourselves, adjusted once again to the regular routine work.  . By now you must be knowing   your students and are busy in the process of preparing and framing strategies to deal effectively with each of them.

Keep moving and complete every challenge placed before you, it is mandatory that we keep reminding each other on the work to be accomplished within the specified time frame.

As the weather is becoming warmer there is a possibility for us to be bogged down with lethargy   , we need to gear up ourselves and ensure that everything is completed without delay.  Our watch word for this academic year should be BEING FOCUSED.

We need to pay attention to every detail, be clear on our goals and strategies, understand our limitations, take help wherever it is essential and move forward. James Baldwin was right when he said “children are not good listeners but they are good imitators” Remember ! there is someone observing you all the while and trying to imbibe your behavior, attitude and your mannerisms, so set a good example for them.

There should   be clarity on all  the instructions passed to students and colleagues. I expect you to be mature in your day to day dealings and concrete in your thinking. Be straight in your talk and be very professional in your work. Time is another factor which is of prime importance. Delegating, completing and attending classes on time are very essential.

Kindly ensure that the post-test schedule is followed as given below:

• Completion of correction work–17/05/09
• Entry of marks –18/05/09
•  Completion of Performance analysis  with the remedial steps to be taken— 20/05/09
• Meeting with the Supervisor – 21/05/09

I hope you have allotted peer-mentors for the new admissions. Plan .prepare and ensure that you complete the portions of the 1^st term exams on time. The time-table for the coming up exams will be given to you very shortly.  Our next progamme   featured in the calendar is the English Week. Do look into your calendar at least once in a week..

 If   it is not your regular habit ,learn to develop it from now on.   

I expect English teachers to come up with interesting and thought –provoking   ideas and make the entire week meaningful for all of us.

In this context, let me remind you that you need to utilize the library resources to the maximum. Kindly take time to go to the library and read as many books as you can, to build your vocabulary and to enhance your knowledge and skills on your subject.  At the end of the year ,I will be checking with the librarian  .

We will be having an academic forum very soon to discuss on certain important issues.   I wish to have these kind of forums once a month. Hope this will help us to enhance our professional skills.

Has Summaiya given you the rubrics for the smiley chart? Follow the guidelines given in it, and enter the details in your feedback copy.  Did you receive the teaching materials which I had passed it around last week? Kindly read the material given to you and implement it in your classroom teaching.

We have   a month to complete our academic work and prepare students for the exams. Be alert and stick to your deadlines. The Question papers should be submitted by May 26^th.

 Our Annual Prize Day programme is scheduled for  5^th June ( Friday ) . As most of our students are participating, ensure that maximum help is rendered to these students to complete their assignments and they  are well  prepared for the final exams.

Deep inside our mind each one of us  is thinking about  the coming up summer holidays.  Keep remembering   the song   ‘We are Going on a summer holiday um—-‘  and complete all the tasks.

A successful team  beats with one heart- Unkown. Let us share, care and work together to complete this term successfully.

Kind regards,

M.Sheela Anand

Hi! It is   a month since we started the new academic year2009, and we got ourselves, adjusted once again to the regular routine work.  . By now you must be knowing   your students and are busy in the process of preparing and framing strategies to deal effectively with each of them.

Keep moving and complete every challenge placed before you, it is mandatory that we keep reminding each other on the work to be accomplished within the specified time frame.

As the weather is becoming warmer there is a possibility for us to be bogged down with lethargy   , we need to gear up ourselves and ensure that everything is completed without delay.  Our watch word for this academic year should be BEING FOCUSED.

We need to pay attention to every detail, be clear on our goals and strategies, understand our limitations, take help wherever it is essential and move forward. James Baldwin was right when he said “children are not good listeners but they are good imitators” Remember ! there is someone observing you all the while and trying to imbibe your behavior, attitude and your mannerisms, so set a good example for them.

There should   be clarity on all  the instructions passed to students and colleagues. I expect you to be mature in your day to day dealings and concrete in your thinking. Be straight in your talk and be very professional in your work. Time is another factor which is of prime importance. Delegating, completing and attending classes on time are very essential.

Kindly ensure that the post-test schedule is followed as given below:

• Completion of correction work–17/05/09
• Entry of marks –18/05/09
•  Completion of Performance analysis  with the remedial steps to be taken— 20/05/09
• Meeting with the Supervisor – 21/05/09

I hope you have allotted peer-mentors for the new admissions. Plan .prepare and ensure that you complete the portions of the 1^st term exams on time. The time-table for the coming up exams will be given to you very shortly.  Our next progamme   featured in the calendar is the English Week. Do look into your calendar at least once in a week..

 If   it is not your regular habit ,learn to develop it from now on.   

I expect English teachers to come up with interesting and thought –provoking   ideas and make the entire week meaningful for all of us.

In this context, let me remind you that you need to utilize the library resources to the maximum. Kindly take time to go to the library and read as many books as you can, to build your vocabulary and to enhance your knowledge and skills on your subject.  At the end of the year ,I will be checking with the librarian  .

We will be having an academic forum very soon to discuss on certain important issues.   I wish to have these kind of forums once a month. Hope this will help us to enhance our professional skills.

Has Summaiya given you the rubrics for the smiley chart? Follow the guidelines given in it, and enter the details in your feedback copy.  Did you receive the teaching materials which I had passed it around last week? Kindly read the material given to you and implement it in your classroom teaching.

We have   a month to complete our academic work and prepare students for the exams. Be alert and stick to your deadlines. The Question papers should be submitted by May 26^th.

 Our Annual Prize Day programme is scheduled for  5^th June ( Friday ) . As most of our students are participating, ensure that maximum help is rendered to these students to complete their assignments and they  are well  prepared for the final exams.

Deep inside our mind each one of us  is thinking about  the coming up summer holidays.  Keep remembering   the song   ‘We are Going on a summer holiday um—-‘  and complete all the tasks.

A successful team  beats with one heart- Unkown. Let us share, care and work together to complete this term successfully.

Kind regards,

M.Sheela Anand

                                 Time has passed so quickly that the term is over and we are now into our summer vacation. We deserve this break, as we have successfully completed the tasks assigned to us during the 1^st term. Have a relaxed and fun-filled holiday and come back refreshed and recharged with a new look, to take up the challenges and opportunities set for the second term.

While you enjoy with your family, relatives and friends, keep sometime for yourself and follow the tips given below:

• Read books to enhance and enrich your knowledge and wisdom on different fields which can help you to be an effective teacher in the class.

Reflect, and revisit your teaching methods and think as how  effective it was for the classes which you are teaching.  Reframe it, if you come across innovative methods

            Teaching is an art and a science,-as well as an adventure. Doing it well takes time and thought, and the thrill of the job is that every year we do it; we should see improvement in our methods.

                 TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND THINK AS A LEARNER.

Time spent in finding out what students understand, and figuring out as where changes can be made to make our teaching effective, can be a rich reflection on our teaching.

• As Class teachers think on the topics for the second term to conduct class assemblies and   for general discussions during the class teacher’s period.
• Prepare your lesson plans and use the notes which I had given you on thinking questions and class room management, frame suitable strategies for your students.
• Prepare a check list for checking the holiday homework.
• 2nd term is going to be hectic as you will have to balance the activities and your academic work. Wisdom lies in you as how well you can handle.
• If you are traveling, visit schools in India, to learn and understand the mode of operation adopted in the Middle – school. Get information which can be of use to our department.
• Go on to the following websites to become familiar with concepts and skills.

www.talkingteaching.co.uk, www.behaviour4learning.ac.uk, www.teachernet.gov.uk

www.learn.co.uk .

• Find out creative approaches to improve Club activities, I donate a book campaign and Eco-Club activities   and make it a fun-filled learning experience for the students.
• English teachers should bring good pieces for the K.S.Varkey English Elocution Competition.
• Teachers in-charge of the different committees should ensure that the best articles with good pictures are provided  to the magazines and newsletters.

Once again, I wish to thank you for your good work. Continue with the same spirit. The Almighty has given us different passions, talent and abilities, so that everything he wants done in the world gets done. We need to explore, and use our wisdom and knowledge in doing our best.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful summer vacation. Travel safe and see you on August 26^th.

                  Holiday gives one a chance to look backward and forward, to reset oneself by an inner compass.

Regards,

M.Sheela Anand

One of the most demanding aspects in today’s education is finding ways to engage all students into learning and ensuring that academic success is achieved by each one of them. In order to do this, it is very essential for all of us to learn a variety of teaching strategies anhodologies which can be used to suit the varying abilities of our pupils. Every Day is a new day to bring out the best out of our students. It is more than a month since we have started the term, and I am glad that our work was completed as planned without any delay.. The Green Olympiad Examination, Eco-Office bearers’ Induction ceremony, 2nd language week, Maths Quiz and the inter-class eco-art competition offered a good learning experience for all of us The new technique applied for the Math’s Quiz was very interesting and creative. I could see the excitement among the participants and the audience. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK MATHS TEACHERS! Being innovative and guiding our pupils in building thinking skills is very essential Evidences through research has shown that, to inculcate 21st century skills among students we need to include inquiry based teaching and meaning ful group work . By involving students into group work we help them to build their confidence, to think collectively and frame strategies and to resolve differing perspectives, through arguments and discussions Our students should not be engaged into too much of writing work in subjects such as social studies, science, English and Hindi. Instead, group work and projects will be preferable where they can apply what was taught in the class. Our main focus should be to make our methods of teaching interesting, so that students enjoy and comprehend.. We need to be more organized in delegating work. Distribution of work should be followed by clear and concrete instructions.. Every perceptive teacher sees a diversity of strengths and weaknesses in each of her students. It all depends on a teacher in helping students to hone their abilities and excel in areas where they are strong. No student should be ridiculed or teased before her classmates. Every child should be respected for her capabilities. It has been noted that the class display board’s s are not up to the expected standard . I.will be coming on an inspection to see the boards any time next week and I expect the boards to have the information which I had discussed with you in the meeting.. Please do maintain a file of all the resource papers which I had given, and do read it, to enhance your knowledge and skills. Our general assemblies will start from coming Tuesday. Please note that in future, assemblies for Grades 5-8 will be conducted on Tuesdays and house assemblies will be as usual on Thursdays. Our department will conduct assembly every alternate Tuesdays. Kindly prepare your class when your turn comes. The assembly co-ordinator Mrs. Catherine after a discussion with you, will prepare the duty list and the topics for the general and class assembly. Equal importance should be given for the class assemblies as general assemblies. Class teachers are expected to take the onus of inculcating in students good values through the assemblies. Kindly ensure that the term test corrections are completed by October 25th . Answers should be discussed before distributing the papers. . Do collect the medical report from students who were sick and absent during the test period.. Our 2nd term exam is scheduled for November 15th. Plan your work ahead and try to complete the portion a week before the exam. Question papers should be submitted by November 1st without fail. You will be informed as to which class you will be setting the Q.paper. The classroom environment plays an important role in our teaching and learning process. How we arrange our classroom sets the tone for both teaching and learning. I had a meeting with class monitors in this regard to assist the class teachers. Kindly take a note of the following before you start your class. • Chairs and desks are placed in a row. • The necessary materials are there to start teaching. • Students have only the relevant stuff on their desk. • The floor is neat and tidy with no litter around We need to talk to students on cleanliness and hygiene everyday during the class teacher’s period. Good habits, healthy living , discipline etc should be discussed during this period. I would like to have the list of peer mentors who are assisting the weak students and the new admissions. Kindly enter their names in your feedback-copy and submit it to me by October 20th. Our educational systems are rapidly changing, we need to get connected and know what is happening around the world to be better teachers in the class. Developing technical competence in the digital media including video equipment, digital cameras, audio recorders and computer software is very very important .It is up to you to determine how best your students can learn. Developing appropriate activities and offering students options to present information and the way we evaluate their work will determine the success our children achieve in their lives. LET US GIVE A CHANCE TO ALL STUDENTS TO SHINE.

interview

The invention of technological tools has brought in sweeping changes not only in the industrial sector but also in the educational sector.  According to Englesing   people used to read books individually or extensively by lending and borrowing material in the past which has changed with times. George landlow (1992) and Jay bolter (2001) have examined as how computers have altered the materiality and reading of the text. By clicking the mouse, users can choose their own reading paths and can make their own preferences in choosing   topics of their liking.

Course management systems and course learning systems encourage students with collaborative learning and thinking.Learning involves interaction with content and with People.

Courses should be designed to promote high order thinking skllls, rather than rote memorization. It is the combination of technology and pedagogy that will provide a rich environment for teachers and educators to design wonderful learning materials and opportunities to enhance skills and knowledge.

The interest and passion with which students can learn to a great extent depends on the instructors, who need to be the   Educational facilitators, creating a friendly social environment in which learning can be promoted.

I am glad that I took up this short course as the instructors were friendly and created a warm environment which made to learn with great passion,. I am able to design my projects ,use blogs and wikis and podcasts, train my teachers to improve their  technological and pedogogial knowledge and enhance their teaching and learning in the classrooms. My teachers are getting   benefitted through the PD sessions ,very soon we will get into tech innovation projects.

Implementing course management systems require a big investment of time, money and support from management.  I should also mention that the school which I work   is managed by Gems Group, and we are happy that our teachers are getting trained on the Global Learning Gateway to conduct online classes and complete assessments and send assignments to students.

Very soon, every teacher will be given an ID to log in and learn many things. 

Time is not far away, when students will take up online learning as a part of their regular curriculum and will learn to utilize the course management systems   like moodles, blackboard, desire 2 learn and many more. I am sure that , teachers will also be trained to guide students to handle their work through these systems.

http://bananiroychowdhury.edublogs.org/2010/03/29/teaching-and-learning-in-internet-based-environment/#commentshttp://raniamohi.edublogs.org/2010/04/15/post-2/comment-page-1/

http://dareen.edublogs.org/2010/04/11/post1-online-teaching-how-to-make-students-learn/comment-page-1/http://nidasiddiqui.edublogs.org/2010/04/05/instructional-strategies-and-blogs/#commentshttp://msdanielle.edublogs.org/2010/04/17/reflection-assignment-3/comment-page-1/#comment-12http://graememccafferty.edublogs.org/2010/04/19/course-reflection-assignment-4/comment-page-1/#comment-3http://yvonnesblog.edublogs.org/2010/04/20/5-control/#comments

Most educators around the world are starting to catch on to the 21^st century ways of doing things. Using online resources such as websites, podcasts, blogs, wikis etc helps students to develop their skills in literacy, ICT, creativity, critical thinking and civic literacy which deepens their understanding about the world and their place in it.

By using portals such as the international education and resource net work and epals, teachers can connect with other educators in almost any country to develop activities ranging from collaborative science experiments to natural disaster preparation projects to fun cultural informational exchanges.

The Indian  school I work with, follows CBSE curriculum. Understanding the needs of  2ist century students the Board  has changed the system from this academic year ( 2010) to continuous comprehensive evaluation consisting of formative and summative assessments.

As there are limitations in the usage of internet sources by students in the school, we are trying to implement the best web tools which can help students and teachers to collaborate and work. Teachers are being trained in using blogs, wikis to manage assignments and assessments effectively.

Using podcasts and managing other web 2.0 resources may be little difficult as students do not carry their labtops. However, as most of them have their PC’S  at home , teachers post the worksheets and make students do their assignments’ on blogs.

The main problem is monetary assistance  to buy the best software tools and training the teachers in using these tools effectively , once this is done I am sure students will enjoy the online learning, which I feel, is a must in  attaining success in today’s world. 

Teachers need to be self-learners and explore the varied pathway to help students meet the demands and expectations of the world they live in.

Research clearly  indicates that teacher led environment leads to the success of students.

I am positive that the challenge s which I am facing at the moment as an Academic Supervisor for middle-school   will be taken care by my senior leader ship team and the management.

 We are in a new era of education,they may be a day in my school too, where the traditional text books will all go online or on CD’S with companion websites.

New generation of children and young adults have grown digital.  Students and teachers should be able to use modern technology in the classrooms because that is the world we are growing up in and it is a skill to know how to use the latest technology.

According to Read (2006) Blogs are online journals-a-series of archived internet postings, some of which contain hyperlinks to websites and other blogs.

According to Merriam-Webster (2008) A blog is a website that comments on online personal journal with reflections, comments and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.

In classrooms ,blog s are highly communicative tools that create a variety of authentic writing experiences for students and teachers.  Working out blogs and instructional strategies for the students to use it constructively takes time, planning, practice and patience. With continuous experimentation teachers can find what works best for their students and classroom blog. 

In subjects such as English, Social studies and Science students can exchange views, concerns, and comments, make recommendations, and write reviews on certain topics which they are asked to read as a part of their assignment. Students can respond to current events and place suggestions.  Teachers can post homework   , classroom calendar or podcast lessons. .Blog  is an eco-friendly tool ,as it will help us in reducing the use of paper.

In our technological world blogs can be used to create limitless, unique and meaningful writing opportunities for students’ worldwide. Students needed to be guided before they start using the new tool. When instructions are not layed properly there is a possibility for them to write comments and views, which can turn to be controversial and counter-productive. As there is no face to face contact , misunderstanding can easily arise when the information is not communicated well. “Technology cannot replace teachers”. Students need guidance from teachers whatever technological tool they are given to operate.

As an Academic head of the middle-school for Grade 7&8. I am excited to use this new tool in enhancing the teaching and learning process .among my teachers. I can create a forum to discuss on various issues relating to class room management skills, instructional strategies Assessment techniques, professional development plan etc. I can also extend this to parent community and involve them in our discussions.

Looking forward to learn, explore, experiment and interact with students, teachers and the parent community.

Regards

M.Sheela Anand