I have updated my Open House video! I like using an Open House Video for 3 reasons: 1) Parents can get a better idea about what happens in our classroom if they can see it. 2) I only have 8 minutes with each set of parents and I don't want to forget to tell them anything. 3) Parents that are unable to attend Open House can watch the video on my website from home. You can read about and watch my old Open House Video here: Open House Video 2012. This is the new one: A lot of people have asked how I made it and what software did I use... Here is what you need to make your own video: 1) lots of pictures of your classroom over the years.  I usually have a simple digital camera in my classroom everyday just in case a photo-op comes up. 2) I loaded the pictures into Keynote on my Mac (If you have a PC or prefer Microsoft software you can use PowerPoint) Most teachers already have some sort of a PowerPoint video for Open House...if so, you are  ...

At Open House in my school district I have 7 minutes to explain my class to the parents before the next class comes in. I was always afraid to forget something crucial so a couple years ago I took photos throughout the year and then created an Open House Video. Every year I tweak it slightly but this is the video I showed last year. I also post it on my school website so parents or guardians who could not attend can still watch the video. originally posted on ballinwithballing.blogspot.com

Charlotte Danielson's 2007 Framework for Teaching  and Index of posts from BallinwithBalling.blogspot.com Domain 1 - Planning and Preparation 1a: Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy (Knowledge of content and the structure of the discipline, Knowledge of prerequisite relationship, Knowledge of content-related pedagogy) BallinwithBiology posts:      Oneonta Biology Listserve 1b: Demonstrating Knowledge of Students (Knowledge of child and adolescent development, Knowledge of the learning process, Knowledge of students’ skills, knowledge, and language proficiency, Knowledge of students’ interests and cultural heritage, Knowledge of students’ special needs) BallinwithBalling posts:       Blood Model       Protein Model made with a baby toy 1c: Setting Instructional Outcomes (Value, sequence, and alignment, Clarity, Balance, Suitability for diverse learners) BallinwithBalling posts:       Kinesthe...

   Now a days everybody puts a lot of information about themselves out there on the web. Do you ever wish you could tell people more about yourself without pulling the "hey, let's talk about me some more."We all have interesting information that nobody knows about us. Here's mine whether you want to know or not... about.me/Amyballing  This post originally featured on ballinwithballing.blogspot.com 

 Yes, a movie trailer. To get students and parents excited about my course and to get more students to sign up for it I have created a movie trailer to drum up interest. All teachers eventually realize that we are in advertising. I believe that my obsession with infomercials and the way they can make me want to buy a product that I really don't need makes me a better teacher. If you think about it we are trying to sell a product that students usually wouldn't want. We need to see them as customers with a choice, not inmates serving time. (paraphrasing David Warlick; his blog is at davidwarlick.com ) I don't think that teachers usually do a very good job of tooting their own horn. You work hard as a professional, show it off! Here is the trailer to promote my course: (made with iMovie for the Mac)  This post originally featured on ballinwithballing.blogspot.com

One tool I like to use to communicate with students and parents is Remind101.com. With Remind101 you can easily send a text message or email message to a class of students or to all of your students and parents. I especially like that I can set the time that the message will get set. Often I will set it to send the message out at 2:10pm because our last period ends at 2:15pm and my students will get the reminder just before they reach their lockers to go home. My advice.. make up a separate class for each class period that you meet with.  This way you can send a text and/or email message to every student in one class or every student in all classes.

Many of you may know that I am a Biology teacher and in today's society it is a very stressful and demanding job. Constantly (even during vacations and weekends) I am working to improve the entire school experience for my students and to streamline the entire grading, learning, and evaluation part of my job. Very soon I will be evaluated as a teacher with the use of Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching (2007).  The framework places an emphasis on four different domains of teaching... http://www.roe13.k12.il.us/Services/KeriKorn/HND12/Trover/FrameworkTeaching.pdf Even if you are a great teacher, most of the stuff you do isn't always visible in a 40 minute observation especially if you are teaching online or using technology in the classroom. In these blog postings I hope to document all of the different techniques and tricks that I use as a teacher and to help give others ideas that can be implemented in their own classrooms.  We are much better te...