Texting Myself Reminder

I have emailed myself in the past, scheduling it to be sent at a later time/date. I have even added events to my calendar as reminder of things I wanted to do/try. I have often texted myself notes before, but I believe I figured out I could schedule message last year. And I use this […]

First Post of Summer #3things I plan to use again.

Just a quick write as my summer is getting ready to officially begin!

A few things that I did this year I want to record for future reference.

Thanks to @riehlt at TMC-Atlanta for this simple little box.  Did it end all distractions? No.  Did it solve cell-phone issues with all students?  No.  But to be honest, I can only think of two students that I actually had to write a disciplinary referral – for cell phone disruptions.  I could count on two hands how many times students were fully off task and asked to place an item in the box.  And I believe everyone I asked to place in the box, complied.  I will be utilizing it again next year.

I handled cell-phones a bit differently this year as well.  I asked students to let me know beforehand if something was going on – someone in hospital, surgery, etc. and if/when the message/call came during class, they could let me know and I would ask them to step into the hallway and take care of it.  I felt it showed I respected things going on in their lives and they respected our class time.

@gwaddellnvhs  shared this I believe TMC-Jenks.  What a perfect, economical stand for an old cell phone to video class.  Whether its me reflecting on  my teaching or a student causing disruptions and I want to see how I could better handle situations – a nice little tool to keep around for videoing.

And finally, Flip Card Charts – I used these in APStats a few years ago and students found them handy to review BIG ideas.  So at the beginning of the semester, we created cards for big idea examples.  One student even commented – I don’t even need to look it up anymore…I know it now!

I look forward to blogging this summer.  The next couple of weeks will be a bit hectic, but I have many ideas in my head that I need to reflect on and write about – in order to clear my head for a relaxing summer!