Technology As a Mode of Professional Development
Over the summer, when I decided that I was going to pursue my degree in Elementary Education, I was wondering how I could get a glimpse into the life of a teacher without having to wait until field placements and student teaching. Since we are in a generation full of technology, and normally you can find anything on YouTube, I wondered if there were any teachers who had put any videos on YouTube, so I checked. I was right. I found that there were actually quite a few teacher vlogs and helpful professional development videos. If you don't know what a vlog is, it is a video where the person simply takes their camera and films themselves doing their normal everyday tasks. I was so shocked when I discovered these videos. There were teachers right online who talked about what made them want to become a teacher, what made them quit teaching, what worked in their classrooms, and what didn't work in their classrooms. It was fascinating to get insight from teachers all over the United States without having to leave my room.
Since the summer, I have started watching a few teachers at least once a week. My favorite teachers on YouTube are Pocketful of Primary and That One Happy Classroom. (I linked their YouTube pages in the upper right of the home page.) Pocketful of Primary is a teacher named Michelle, and she is in a 4th grade classroom somewhere in Maryland I believe. She loves math and is very good at organization. Her channel showcases products she loves using as a teacher, curriculum tips, and ways to organize the classroom. She has lot of experience, I believe she has been a teacher for five years, and consequently lots of insight. On the other hand the teacher on That One Happy Classroom's name is Fernanda. She is a first year teacher, in a Kindergarten classroom in Arizona. It is awesome to watch her experience things for the first time and share her thoughts on what she liked and what she thought she should've done differently. These videos are really helpful for me as an education student because I get to see what the career is like in its highs and lows. I recommended them to my fellow education majors and they also enjoyed them, they're even interesting if you aren't in the education field yourself because you get a glimpse of the behind the scenes world of teachers.
Since the summer, I have started watching a few teachers at least once a week. My favorite teachers on YouTube are Pocketful of Primary and That One Happy Classroom. (I linked their YouTube pages in the upper right of the home page.) Pocketful of Primary is a teacher named Michelle, and she is in a 4th grade classroom somewhere in Maryland I believe. She loves math and is very good at organization. Her channel showcases products she loves using as a teacher, curriculum tips, and ways to organize the classroom. She has lot of experience, I believe she has been a teacher for five years, and consequently lots of insight. On the other hand the teacher on That One Happy Classroom's name is Fernanda. She is a first year teacher, in a Kindergarten classroom in Arizona. It is awesome to watch her experience things for the first time and share her thoughts on what she liked and what she thought she should've done differently. These videos are really helpful for me as an education student because I get to see what the career is like in its highs and lows. I recommended them to my fellow education majors and they also enjoyed them, they're even interesting if you aren't in the education field yourself because you get a glimpse of the behind the scenes world of teachers.
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