Getting that classroom organised

In Australia, it's the start of the school year and for many teachers Down Under, that means getting to know new student cohorts and a burst of enthusiasm to create an effective learning environment. Experience has taught me that a well-organised classroom can give students a place where they not only feel comfortable learning but it actually becomes a place where students want to be.

I remember my principal in the UK telling me to get my classroom organised and while I knew it was important, I didn't realise how important. It wasn't until last year that I ventured into another teacher's classroom that was so drab it made khaki colouring look positively pink. This made me realise how a boring, disorganised or irrelevant classroom display could make students feel and, accordingly, act, when it came to learning.

The school I am currently at has undergone transformation in several classrooms in preparation for younger students joining high school over the next few years. I am lucky enough to teach in two of these classrooms and have blank canvasses to work with.

One of the most useful websites I have found to assist in this is Learning Unlimited and their 12 days, 12 tools archive in particular.

It's a useful source of information with tips and infographics on creating wordwalls, how to use Pintrest in education, a classroom library checklist and "how to" guide on building said library when financial resources are tight.

It's worth a read and it's worth enacting the tips.

Enjoy and feel free to add your thoughts below or catch me on Twitter @KerrynManifold

Technology in education

It'd been a long time since I delved into the world of technology in education and after a six year break I found lots of change. One of the many tools that caught my eye was LiveBinders.

LiveBinders markets itself as online ring binder and is a useful tool to collaborate information. While I'm still learning to use it and discovering its features, it's quite easy to get off to a flying start.

All you need to do is copy and paste a URL into a tab and it shows the content. You can also upload your own content. I have started collating links to short stories for an upcoming Year 10 unit but also collating professional resources which I have embedded below. If you have any great sites I can add to this list, leave me a comment below.
  

Welcome

Welcome to Education Mirror.

I created this blog because I want to create an online space where it's easy for teachers to discuss what is working in their classrooms and keep my own passion for effective pedagogy alive.

In part, this is because I have recently returned to teaching after a six-year hiatus. So much has changed. For most of 2012, I felt like a first year teacher in a fifth year teacher's body. If nothing else, it was a stark reminder that part of our job as teachers is continue to learn "how to teach", strive for improvement in what we are doing and be open to changes in our pedagogy. If we don't change our practices, how are we ever going to get the best results, not only out of our students, but also for them when the world they live in is changing at such a rapid pace?

Changes in technology have not only meant changes to what content is taught, how it is delivered, the processes used and how students demonstrate their understanding. These changes also mean access to information about our students, their histories, their strengths, their weaknesses and their needs is greater than ever before. In my opinion, the sheer availability of data available means we are stupid not to find new ways to use it to our advantage.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below or send me a tweet to @KerrynManifold.