Reflection

When I created this blog the most memorable thing had to be how I struggled to create it, because I'm not a very technological person. This was a very frustrating time for me.  I was very surprised when I started to enjoy the blogging, a person might even say I became a little addicted. I learnt that social media could be a very useful and powerful tool to use in the classrooms and have many positives. This blog definitely gave me a view ideas that I could use in my every day practice o becoming a teacher.

I would especially make use of Facebook and create a page for my classes. I would make a blog for my three main subjects and keep my students up-to-date with tasks, tests and due dates. YouTube is also a great tool to use in your classroom especially when showing educational videos, I've personally used it a view times when teaching a class or while doing a presentation.

What mattered the most to me while doing these blogs was writing about how the different types of social media can influence or help you to communicate with students and to help you make the classroom a more interesting, fun and interactive place to be. We have learned in many other subjects and classes how technology and social media can help the teacher to interact with students in the classroom.

This blog changed my entire perspective on social media and how it can help the teacher with every day tasks. I will be using this method and tool for education for the rest of my teaching career, maybe even after that. One of the most important things to remember is to never stop blogging and always express your thoughts through writing. Even though I'm writing a reflection, this would not be the last you hear from me.

If I had to do this blog over from the beginning I wouldn't change a single thing. I only wish I have started to blog much earlier.

Social media in the classroom

It is definitely important and necessary to integrate social media into classrooms especially with todays generation. Kids from the age of 5 years old already know how to play games on tablets and cell phones. Students will connect and concentrate their attention on what is being done in class if the teacher uses social media and technology. Social media platforms also enable many engaging classroom activities. Studies suggest that approximately 70% of all organizations engage in structured collaboration using online social learning tool such as blogs, wikis and podcasts.

Facebook:

• Interwine class projects with Facebook by sharing book reviews, polling your class and promoting student work.
• Improve communication by allowing students to easily message teachers and other students with questions.
• Make a Facebook page for your class where you can schedule events, post notes and remind students of assignment due dates.

Twitter:

• Post supplementary materials like links to articles and videos so students can continue learning even when class is over.
• Track hash tags, memes and current events by setting up specific feeds the entire class can monitor.

YouTube:

• Record your lessons and post them on YouTube so students can review them whenever they want.
• Search for on-topic videos that you can use in the classroom to bring lessons to life, making them more memorable.

Blogs:

• Create a class blog so students can stay up-to-date on upcoming projects, due dates, events and other reminders.
• Post daily or weekly homework assignments on the blog so students who were absent can know what the missed.
• Publish student work on the blog, or have students set up their own blogs as online portfolios.

How teaching practice changed my idea of how i see myself as a teacher

Before I had the opportunity to go to a school for a month this year, I still had a little bit of doubt in this whole becoming a teacher thing. While I was at the school for a month and started to teach classes and coach my own rugby team at the school, I started to realise that I could do this for the rest of my life. The one thing that was amazing for me while I was doing my teaching practice is how you connect and get to know some of the students in your class.

Many of the students doesn't have it easy in life and you can see they want to learn to get somewhere in life. Immediately you start caring for those children on another level and you do everything in your power to motivate, inspire and give them the best education that you possibly can. I felt confident and positive about the career choice that I have made after the teaching practice month and I look forward to the day I get my degree and get the chance to teach at a school.

How do I see myself as a teacher?

Because I'm still a first year student, studying to become a teacher, I find it very hard to picture myself being a teacher. I still have three years left of studying before I get my degree and become a teacher so it's still a long road ahead and a lot can change in three years. I'm also just 20 years old so I'm still living a young life...if you know what I mean. Teaching is definitely what I want to do in the future but it's going to take a while for it to sink in and for me to realise after I get my degree that children's futures are in my hands and I am responsible for their knowledge and education quality that they will receive and develop them and make them who they are in the future. It is amazing and scary at the same time if you think of how much power and influence a teacher has on students in his/her class. It is a big responsibility and therefor you have to be very mature and be able to handle the responsibility of being a teacher.

Why I want to become a teacher and the characteristics of a good teacher

I wanted to become a teacher to take part in the development of my countries future and the best way I could think of how I would make a change and be part of the future development was to become a teacher and to teach our future generation and give them good education and knowledge to become possible strong leaders for my country or other countries in the future.

Characteristics of a 'good' teacher:

• Ability to communicate
• Patient
• Ability to discipline
• Strong moral character
• Friendly
• Committed and enthusiastic
• Ability to motivate and inspire
• Intelligent
• Concerned and caring of learners

I believe I would make a good teacher as long as I follow the characteristics and believe in myself and my abilities to be a good teacher.

Introduction

Dear readers, I am Armand van Dyk and I am studying teaching at CPUT Wellington in Western Cape, South Africa. At the moment I am still a first year student and I have a great passion for education. My main subjects are CAT, Business Management and Economics. As a result of my intense and deep passion for teaching I thought it was necessary to create this blog in order for me to communicate and interact with fellow educators who share my passion. This blog is a foundation onto which we can learn from one another and enhance our own teaching experiences through the help of other educators and their struggles in the teaching industry.