Greatest Gift a Teacher Can Receive

A preview of the new report sponsored by Scholastic Inc.and Bill and Linda Gates Foundation called “Primary Sources 2011, America’s Teachers on America’s Schools” was recently released. The full report will be released in January. The report captures the voices and opinions of teachers from across the country on learning and public education. One quote caught my attention. An Elementary School Teacher said, “Having the resources to effectively teach and empower all students would be the greatest gift a teacher can receive.”

I am not sure I think resources would be the greatest gift, but I do think that Gaston County Schools has access to many resources to teach students. One that I feel goes under utilized is the use of Discovery Education (formerly United Streaming). There is so much more than videos available for teachers to use to empower their students, including the capability to create classes and add students to those classes. Once the student has been added, they have the access to the great video content, images, clipart, sound files, and more that teachers have, all included in the service paid for by Gaston County Schools. The students can then use that material with Web 2.0 services such as VoiceThread, Museum Box, or a host of other free sites. 

Other resource provided to classrooms in Gaston County Schools are the interactive whiteboards (SMART Boards and Promethean) that can be an effective tool when leveraged for the interactive abilities these boards provide. We have to move beyond the teacher experiencing the tool to the students experiencing the tool.

If you have any interest in learning more about Discovery Education or help with creating interactive lessons, please let me know. I will share these resources with you and help you use them to empower students.

In the meantime, I am curious, what do you think is the greatest gift a teacher can receive?