LanSchool Classroom Management Software

Technology is all around us. We see it everywhere we look...grocery stores, department stores, gas stations, doctor offices, and of course in our schools. With technology becoming more and more prevalent and necessary in the classrooms, managing the content our students view and the time they use computer can be just as important.

LanSchool classroom management software removes the distractions of instant messaging, e-mail, games, etc from students learning so teachers can teach more effectively. The following features are available from the LanSchool software:

Reduce Student Distractions
Teachers can reduce student distractions by Blanking Screens, Limiting Applications and Limiting Web Browsing on student computers. This helps direct student attention from their computer to the teacher and keeps students on task.

Monitor Students
Ideal for monitoring student activity within a classroom setting, the Thumbnail feature allows you to view all screens as well as see the current application and website that the students are running. Teachers can send messages to all or individual students.

Assess Student Understanding
Students can be quickly polled during a lecture with true/false or multiple choice questions.

Help Individual Students
Students can silently Request Help from the teacher. A small question mark appears on the thumbnail with the student question, which indicates they need help.

LanSchool would be a valuable asset to any classroom where computers are being used to help keep students on task and focused and provide them assistance when needed without them feeling embarrassed about asking. Students will feel more confident in asking for help and teachers will have the ability to assess student's understanding of the material.

The following video gives a guided tour of the LanSchool software.
http://www.lanschool.com/lanschool/guided-tour

Classroom FM Amplifier

A classroom amplification system provides great teaching and learning opportunities for both student and teacher. If you have ever been in a classroom, you know that it is not often that it is completely silent when a teacher is lecturing or giving instructions. Someone may be opening their desk, getting supplies out, sharpening a pencil, clicking a pen, tapping their fingers, coughing, sneezing, whispering, etc. For a student with a hearing loss, even a slight one, it can be difficult for them to ignore those other sounds and focus only on the teachers voice. It might also be difficult for them to hear a soft-spoken teacher above the other distractions.

How do I know this? Because my daughter, Hailey, has a 30% hearing loss in her left ear and this has been a constant struggle for her since pre-school. She was fortunate last year in that we just opened a new high school. In every room of that high school is an FM stereo amplifier with microphones for the teachers to use. The amplification of the teachers voice gives Hailey the clarity and distinction she needs in order to ignore the other sounds around her and focus on what the teacher is saying. Many students have also commented that they like it when the teacher's use the microphone as it is easier to hear them. I think these amplifiers should be in every teacher's classroom!

http://www.hear-more.com/classamplification.htm

Personal Development Podcast

I teach a class based on the book written by Sean Covey called "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens". The class is designed to encourage teens to make healthy choices in their lives, kick back habits, and learn to deal with people who just make us want to scream! It is an encouraging, fun, self-reflecting, self-realizing, and motivational class. We discuss dreams, hurts, relationships, school, life experiences, and more. By the end of the block we have established friendships that go beyond the surface and reach deep inside of who we really are. This podcast goes right along with the message I try to reach with my students...

http://www.robinsharma.com/subscribed_videos.htm

The Mint Website

Financial skills are extremely important for students, teacher, well...everyone! It seems the ability to count change, balance a check book, write a check properly, etc is an uncommon skill for our youth thanks to the vast and ever-changing world of technology. However, as a teacher, I still feel that these skills are extremely important.

I have found a website that will be a valuable asset to my Math of Business class. The Mint is an education website that has opportunities for students, parents, and teachers to develop their knowledge of basic, but oh-so-important, financial skills. It will be a great resource for students and their parents to practice the skills we learn in class.

http://www.themint.org/index.html

Photo Story

Below is a video showing an example of something a student could create for their final project in my advanced computer applications class. It is a video I created using pictures of my family's 4-wheeling trips.

Appropriate Dress for the Workplace

How you dress for an interview or a job can make a huge impression! The following videos give ideas of what you need to watch out for when dressing for the workplace.

Welcome!

I just completed my 2nd year teaching at Magic Valley High School. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the students, parents, and teachers here. It has been a learning experience for me, and I hope also for the students!

I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in the 1st grade! When I graduated from high school, I attended college for one year and then got married. Just a few months later my oldest daughter, Hailey was born. I struggled to finish my associates degree when I was 5 months pregnant with my 2nd daughter, Cedar. I quit school to become a full-time stay-at-home mom. Three years later, Emilie was born.

I always regretted not finishing my education and pursuing my dream. My husband at the time felt it was more necessary that I stay home with the kids. After we divorced in 2005, I finally had the strength and the opportunity to bring my passion for teaching to life. I moved to Pocatello and finished my teaching degree in Business Education and Mathematics. I graduated from Idaho State University in 2008. Currently, I am pursuing my Masters of Education through Northwest Nazarene University in Teaching and Learning. I hope to bring new ideas and innovations to my classroom through this program.

My aspiration as a teacher is to instill in my students a passion for learning and a desire to be successful in life...to go beyond their wildest imaginations of who they think they can be; to learn from their failures and see victory in their future.

Henry Ford once said "Failure is only the opporutnity to begin again more intelligently".