FAQ: How TF can help with teaching challenges
How do I know if my students are copying content from the web and turning it in as their own work?
The best way is to use their own electronic file as the basis for a search. Have them turn in or email copies of all files to you, even when they print out a copy. Highlight and copy a passage in the file that seems especially unique or unlikely to have been written by that student. Ideally, choose a sentence. Paste it into a Google search, with quotation marks at the beginning and end so Google looks for that exact combination of words. Try this with a few passages. Usually you will find the site(s) the student used fairly quickly. The benefit of doing this: once you have “caught” one culprit, the word will get out that you are “not dumb,” and others will not try it.
If the student hand-wrote the words for you, the typing will be tedious, but the search works the same way.
I teach special education. Which section of your site is best to help me?
Depending on your special ed area, you can search by subject and grade level but try to find resources intended for a lower grade level. You can also try keyword searches for a specific topic and, again, look for a lower grade level for the same topic. If you are a TeachersFirst member (free!), be sure to include these as Favorites on your teacher home page so students can find them both in class and at home.
If you are a speech and language clinician, try searching “speech” or “language development.” Many of the ESL resources are double-listed as being applicable for your students who have limited vocabulary or poor articulation.
We also have many listings for study skills and organizational skills to help your students. The trick, again, is the keyword search.
Finally, we have information in our Differentiating area of our Professional menu to help you and others understand the needs of special ed students.
I have a gifted student whose parents really want me to offer alternatives. Can TF help?
Start in the Differentiating area of our Professional menu to help you understand the needs of gifted students, especially if this is a new experience for you. You can use the keyword search with the topic and the word gifted to find resources suited to extend a topic in the classroom. Simply searching gifted will yield many enrichment and mind-stretcher ideas that might be suitable for this child and perhaps other more-able students in your class.
If you are a TeachersFirst member (free!), be sure to include these as Favorites on your teacher home page so students can find them both in class and at home. If the child has good independent work skills, you might use a classroom computer and a Favorite webquest to allow the student to investigate far beyond what your textbook explains.
Finally, be sure to pose a question on the TeachersFirst Stop blog in the Teachers Share area to get other teachers’ suggestions.
I have an ESL/ELL student who is struggling in my class. Can TF help?
Start in the Differentiating area of our Professional menu to help you understand the needs of ESL/ELL students and find practical ideas for adapting each of your teaching strategies. You can also search by your subject andgrade level, looking for resources written for a lower grade level. You can also try keyword searches for a specific curriculum topic and, again, look for a lower grade level for the same topic. Often web resources that have many pictures can help an ESL/ELL student get the “gist” of a curriculum topic and learn the vocabulary with the rest of the class.
If you are a TeachersFirst member (free!), be sure to include ESL resources as Favorites on your teacher home page so students can find them both in class and at home. Show the student how to find your page on the classroom computer to access dictionaries, etc.
Finally, be sure to pose a question on the TeachersFirst Stop blog in the Teachers Share area to get other teachers’ suggestions.
I have a really rowdy group this year and am afraid to use technology with them. Any suggestions?
Start off small, so you can reward them for a positive experience instead of getting frustrated by a negative one. Use a projector to do a teacher-centered lesson introducing the site the class will be using so you can keep control and focus attention on the appropriate things to do. Be sure to stop and model, thinking out loud, things like NOT clicking on advertisements and paying attention to the changing URLs that tell you when you are one site and going to another. Even high school students often choose to ignore these.
Talk about the consequences so students know what will happen if they are found in places on the web where they should not be. Let a student who craves attention (but has decent listening skills) actually operate the computer while you focus on the screen and direct him/her where to go.
When/if this whole-class lesson goes well, arrange to allow students to work in pairs on separate computers, and plan it carefully. Give specific tasks, choose pairs FOR them, and make sure you can stand at the back of the room and see all screens. If only one or two are still being rowdy, give them an alternate, pencil-paper assignment so the others see what might happen to them. When a day goes well, be SURE to stop and say so.
For more tips on the practicalities of technology-based, see this list of 30 tips that may save your sanity. If you have another, be sure to share it in our TeachersFirst Stop blog in the Teachers Share area.
I am very comfortable with computers but my lessons using computers always turn into chaos. What can I do to make these classes run more smoothly?
For tips on the practicalities of technology-based, see this list of 30 tips that may save your sanity. If you have another, be sure to share it in our TeachersFirst Stop blog in the Teachers Share area.
I am just not comfortable enough to turn my kids loose on computers. Is there some simple way I can start out?
Start off small so you can become comfortable. Don’t be afraid to tell the students that this is a new experience for you, but that you like to learn, too. Use a projector to do a teacher-centered lesson navigating a site that supports something you are studying and makes it “real.” A webcam or site with lots of images is excellent on a projector. Let a student who craves attention (but has decent listening skills) actually operate the computer while you focus on the screen and direct him/her where to go. Sometimes this can give a learning support student a feeling of great success and give reinforcement to positive attention-getting. If this goes well, consider finding a web-based lesson, such as an Internet scavenger hunt, that you can use with students operating computers in pairs or individually.
For more tips on the practicalities of technology-based, see this list of 30 tips that may save your sanity. If you have another, be sure to share it in our TeachersFirst Stop blog in the Teachers Share area.
My internet access at school is unreliable. How can I use any of these great ideas?
If you know a specific site you wish to use and you plan to stay within that site, it is possible that you can TEMPORARILY save an offline copy (and immediately delete it) to use for one day. This will only work for single-computer activities, such as a site you wish to share on a projector. See our How do I…? page for the nitty-gritty on doing this.
Other alternatives:
Plan a multi-task activity to be done in the room with the computers, including three or four facets, only one of which uses the Internet. If the Internet is down, students can shift to the other tasks. Ask one “eager” student to keep periodically checking to see if the Internet is back up (and let you know—quietly). Encourage students using the Internet sites to keep the web browser open or use the back button to at least be able to read the pages that DID load. When they finish, they can let someone else read the screen, as well. They just won’t be able to click the links to get elsewhere.
If your students ALL have Internet access at home (don’t we wish?), consider assigning the Internet portion of the task as homework for middle and high school students. Allow them more than one night, though, since families sometimes feud over who gets the computer in the evening.
Look carefully at the web sites you would like to use. Is it possible to duplicate any of these experiences in print materials or an in-class activity if the site goes down?
Make sure you keep a list of all the lessons you WOULD have used if the Internet had been working, including dates and content. Or jot something in your plan book and highlight it so you can compile the list easily. This list (and a similar one from your teacher-colleagues) may be the ammunition you need to approach budget committees and respectfully ask for some infrastructure upgrades. Sometimes having the specific examples makes the difference between what is perceived as a gripe and what is perceived as factual evidence.
When in doubt, you can always share your problem on the First Stop blog in the Teachers Share area and see what other teachers have done.
I am a sub and teach something different every day. Can TF help?
TeachersFirst has thousands of reviewed resources, many of which can provide valuable lesson ideas in a moment. If you are left without plans, try searching for resources that provide enrichment or practice in the subject where you are subbing. If you have VERY little time to look, try the Mindstretchers listings in the subject/grade search. You can use many of these on a projector as a whole-class activity.
As a sub, you would benefit from joining TeachersFirst so you can have these meaningful but spur-of-the-moment options marked as Favorites. No matter where you are, you can log into TeachersFirst and pop one up on the screen right from your Favorites. Tag them by subject or level, and you are ready to go.
If you are trying to get a permanent teaching job, take the time to set up a teacher home page within TeachersFirst that you can show to potential employers. Include sample “notes” (directions) with the Favorites you include, so you show your ability to create an online extension of your hypothetical classroom. Be sure to include the link to your TeachersFirst home page in resumes and applications.
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