Memes the Word in Engaged Classroom Learning

categories: Teaching Pre-service Teachers

Last week as I was sitting in a meeting, I received a text message from an unnamed colleague that contained a meme that related to the discussion that was occurring. AND…I chuckled a bit, AND… sent her a meme, AND..then thought to myself, “I wonder what memes my students would post about our class learning?” I mean who doesn’t love a good meme? So, I decided to do what most educators would do when they have a question related to teaching: I Googled, “Using Memes in Learning.” AND…yes, I found some great ideas out there. ISTE actually has a post on this very topic, titled, “5 Ways to Use Memes with Students.” You can check out the whole post here.

Meme Generators

There are MANY different meme generators. Check out the free, easy to use, meme generators below.

Imgflip This free meme generator allows you to use images they have selected or upload your own and add your own text. You can download the Imgflip app and create memes using your iPhone or iDevice.
Make a Meme is similar to Imgflip. It is free, but if you register for an account you can select from a variety of text options.
Google Play Meme Generator is a meme creator app for your android devices.
Imgur allows you to search for default memes or upload a new meme and then customize it with your own text.
Mematic The Meme Maker is an app specifically for Apple products.

Memes in Instruction

Learning Vocabulary: Plenty of research on vocabulary suggests that using multiple representations of words helps students to better remember and understand vocabulary. So, instead of using the “boring” assignment of having students use the vocabulary word in a sentence (Zzzzzzzz), ask students to create a vocabulary word meme. The ISTE article mentioned above shared this meme of the word “meddle.”

Novel Chapter Summary: The ISTE article shares the idea of using a meme to summarize the dramatizing action within a novel or a play. Students could select or create one or more memes per chapter or scene. This Meme from memegenerator.net is an example from To Kill a Mockingbird.

Grammar Understanding: We Are Teachers provide seven ways to use memes to engage students in learning; one of these ways is using memes to help students understand grammar rules or asking students to create memes to show they understand grammar rules. This fun meme comes from the We Are Teachers website.

Formative Assessment: I was thinking about using memes as my end-of-class formative assessment. I would ask students something like this: Create a meme that summarizes your learning about the material today and provide a rationale, in case I don’t understand the meme…you know because I am old.

I’d love to hear how you are using Memes within your classroom. Please post your ideas in the comment box.

22
Jan
2020

Life Long Learning at Its Best: Free Professional Development

categories: Professional Development

Hey All You Aspiring Teachers~What sets you apart from the other 247 candidates that are applying for that job in the perfect school district? What value can you bring that other candidates might not? Want to show those future employers how much you LOVE learning about new things related to teaching and learning? One way to set yourself apart and become a better teacher while doing so is to continue learning about new trends and ideas in education and I found some great, free, online professional learning opportunities just for you. Below I highlight several of these. If you are looking for others, Differentiated Teaching has put together a great list for you here.

Teacher Podcasts

One of my favorite sites for great educator podcasts is Cult of Pedagogy. Here you can search podcasts by topic or category and several are highlighted on the homepage, such as this one, “6 Tech Tools to Try in 2020.” The podcasts range in time, some very short and some an hour or more. Accompanying each podcast is information and links to resources mentioned in the podcast. For example, the Tech Tools podcast provides information and links to all 6 technology tools mentioned in the podcast.

Vicki Davis from the Cool Cat Teacher blog offers 10-Minute Teacher podcasts. There are a variety of topics to choose from (over 500 actually), but she has also designated certain days by a theme. For example, Mondays are Motivational Mondays and Tuesdays are Ed Tech Tool Tuesdays. You get the point.

Teach Me Teacher is an awesome site to find podcasts that feature authors and exceptional teachers speaking on topics they know best. For example, one podcast features Korey Collins, reading specialist from the Ron Clark Academy. He shares insights about teaching reading and graphic novels.

Webinars

edweb.net touted as helping “educators connect and share ideas to improve teaching and student learning” offers several options for professional development. Their one hour online webinars are perfect for those crunched for time and they offer a wide range of topics for all grades and subject areas. If you have a special interest, say for example, coding and robotics or early learners, you can also join a professional learning community to connect with other educators from around the globe.

ASCD offers free webinars on a variety of educational topics from experts in the field who typically have published books on the subject matter on which they speak. Webinars are typically around an hour in length and you can register for live or pre-recorded versions.

Online Courses

If you are a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the National Honor Society for Educators, then you have access to a few free professional development opportunities and many that are offered at reduced rates. Even if you are not a member, you can still access the courses, but the fees are higher. Their Educator Learning Network provides a wide range of courses; examples include Classroom Management, Supporting Grieving Students, Social Emotional Learning, and lots more.

OK2Ask is online virtual professional development happening in real-time. Educators can search upcoming events and register to attend the live course or an archived course; all courses are 90 minutes in length and are very interactive. They even offer professional learning certificates for proof of completion.

If you are a preservice or inservice teacher in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System (SAS) offers registered members access to a host of free online courses that are aligned to the Danielson Framework. Courses provide Act 48 hours, which all practicing teachers must acquire throughout their teaching careers.

So there you have it. Clear some time in your schedule and learn something new to enhance your instruction and your resume!

17
Jan
2020

Be an Advocate for Teachers Everywhere

categories: Uncategorized

Sometimes as you are browsing the internet you come across something that makes you say, “Ain’t that the truth!” Well, today’s post is about that something. The reality of teaching graphic shown below from @thethriftyteacherlady speaks about the unseen work that teachers do everyday. The work that usually goes unnoticed. But, it’s work that should not be left in the dark; it’s work that should be shouted from the mountain tops. Teachers everywhere need to be advocates for their profession.

Advocacy is something I preach to my preservice teachers, beginning when they are freshman. In Foundations of Education, an introductory course at my College, I compare a teacher’s job to that of a surgeon in an Emergency Room. I ask students, “Which job do you think is more difficult? Which job comes with more stress? More accountability?” Most say the job of the surgeon because s/he is responsible for life and death situations. I do not disagree that the job of a surgeon is important. But, the point I make is that the job of a teacher is just as critical, but has less support.

For example, while the surgeon is diagnosing one patient, the teacher is diagnosing 25 or more children, each with different learning needs, backgrounds, and personalities. While the surgeon is providing care with the best technology, tools, and staff (nurses, specialists, etc.), the teacher is providing care with limited resources and technology and most likely they are doing this all by themselves. The surgeon’s work is supported by a network of medical professionals who give advice about what works best while the teachers get advice from politicians and community members who lack expertise in child development and educational research. I could go on and on, but you get the point. The sad part of the tale is that the surgeon is revered and but the teacher is not. Both are saving lives, both are changing the world, but one is respected and valued above the other.

Advocacy is about changing “what is” into “what should be” and it begins with one educator at a time. We need to embrace the power we all have and do something to change the perception of education as an “easy” job with “summers off.” We need to live the words of Lilly Tomlin: “I always wondered why somebody doesn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was that somebody.”

At the Campaign for America’s Future Awards Gala in October 2015, National Education Association president, Lily Eskelsen García, sums up the work of educators when she speaks about “What Teachers Do.” Teachers “Do” so very much….more than they are given credit for by the general public. It is our duty to advocate for our professional every chance we get. I will leave you with this.

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