A New Beginning! August 21, 2011

I am so excited and nervous to begin a new school year!!! I am anxious to start my second year at Moore.  Last year, was such a phenomenal year and exactly what I needed to get me excited about teaching again. Kudos to my 2010-2011 Second graders.  If you’re lucky, you’ll be seeing me again (or if I’m lucky, I’ll be seeing you) next year so I can see how you’ve grown and progressed.

This year, I am fortunate enough to be moving into a fourth grade classroom with a Promethean board.  This is a dream come true to me since I had obtained my masters degree in Integrating Technology into the curriculum and having this valuable piece of technology will allow me to utilize all that I have learned. Also, ever since I taught fourth grade during student teaching at a school in Bethlehem, PA, I told myself that I wanted to be a fourth grade teacher!!!

I haven’t posted in quite a long time. But I hope to use this blog as a place to reflect and perfect my teaching craft!!!!!

Google Docs September 13, 2008

I am so excited that a few of my eigth graders just completed a presentation using Google docs on Internet Safety.  They did a great job collaborating with one another.  I think that it is such a fantastic tool for kids to use. They love helping each other out.  I am glad that I can put the things that I learned during my Masters coursework into practice.

Walden University Masters in Education August 18, 2008

The time has finally come. After four years, I am finally going to get my Masters Degree from Walden University. For anyone who is interested in this program, I highly recommend it. I loved the convenience of completing the work at my own pace, from home. The interaction with my classmates was just as good as if we were face to face. Particularly, since one of my classmates had a web cam and we would chat via Skype’s Instant messaging service. It was unbelievable that while he was in Montana, I could hear and see him from my computer here in Philadelphia. I also keep in touch with a classmate who is in Los Angeles, CA. You don’t usually meet to many people from the otherside of the country when taking courses in a traditional college setting.

Now, I am plugging away at finishing my Portfolio for my Master’s in Education with a focus on Integrating technology in the classroom. I have learned so much and I am trying to stay positive that once I finally finish the portfolio, I will have earned my Masters. Whew! What an accomplishment for a single mom of two boys. I am looking forward to going back to work in Sept. and applying the new theories and concepts learned throughout this degree program. I am particularly excited about becoming iSafe certified and encouraging my students to spread the word in their community about the rules of cyber safety and digital citizenship. While it has been a lot of work, and I would have liked to be able to spend more time hanging out with my two boys, the experience has been a wonderful one. It has left me feeling refreshed and ready to go back to teach in the Fall. (Oh no thats only two weeks from now )

Mr. A to Z’s Finished his Paper August 17, 2008

My colleague from Walden U. is done! Yeah Jeff. See my response to his blog

http://teacherman79.wordpress.com/2008/08/16/reflecting-on-a-farm-in-north-dakota/#comment-46/

Now I have to get my self moving to complete my final reflection and portfolio. I am working my way at completing it.

What I Hate About Twitter August 3, 2008

What I Hate About Twitter

Posted using ShareThis

My Mission Statement July 28, 2008

I am currently a computer teacher for middle school students in the inner city, the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. It is a pretty tough neighborhood with students who experience things at home that I couldn’t even imagine happening when I was a child.
When I began getting my Master’s Degree back in 2005 at Walden University’s online MS in Education program with a focus on Integrating Technology in the classroom (what a mouthful for a degree), I took a course called teacher as a Professional. For the course, we wrote a mission statement and were told to look at it often and reflect upon ways to carry out our mission daily. One way to help teachers reflect is to have positive feedback from others. Therefore, I am posting my mission statement with the hope that I will receive many comments, feedback and suggestions as to how I can live this daily.

Mission Statement of Mrs. Defuria

My mission is to empower students to believe that they can be successful in school and life when they remain focused, persistent, flexible, open-minded, team-oriented, and express themselves creatively. To do this I will practice and model these same habits that I want my students to possess.

I would like my students to remember me as the teacher who listened to them, respected them, understood them, inspired them to think critically, and to work together as a team. Most importantly I want to be the teacher who believed that they could achieve their goals with persistence and determination.

By viewing this mission statement daily, it will remind me to be positive and to encourage my students to make the right choices when they behave in ways that upset or frustrate me.

My first Blog June 29, 2008

This is the first blog that I have ever written.  I am so excited that after one more course I will have a Master’s degree in Education with a focus on Integrating technology into the classroom. One of my classmates, Jeff, had a blog on here, and I liked it so I decided to create my own.

I am enjoying summer vacation at home with my kids so far and I am keeping busy with coursework, re-building my website, and now beginning a blog site.

Hopefully, I will be able to use this site to be a better teacher.  Thanks Jeff!!

Hello world! June 26, 2008

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!