Bulletin Boards Archives - Carrie Baughcum

I walked into my classroom.

The room seemed bigger than I remembered it.

I sat at my desk and started writing my to do list. It was filled with paperwork that needed to be organized, things that needed to be cleaned, materials that needed to be made. So like all highly efficient people I decided to start on the least important and the most fun item on the list…the creating and decorating!

I looked around the room skimming the walls and pausing to look at the bulletin board. What was I going to fill that space with this year?

Would it be filled with the tech ninjas again?

Maybe a visual of gamifying my classroom behavior modification system?

or maybe…

I looked at the space some more. Nothing. No idea. No sparkle of inspiration. No use of idea….Nothing. Instead my bulletin board shouted, “Decorate me! Make me pretty. Make me inspirational. Make it colorful… do something at shouted!!!”

I had nothing…

The first day of school arrived and the bulletin board hung, black space.

I spent the early days of the week, welcoming this year students to my classroom. My students and I shared our first days of nervousness, new expectations, new routines and excitement. The bulletin board took every opportunity during my plan time, during each time I had a chance to think, during each spare moment to whisper what about this idea or maybe it could be that.

Nope… Continue reading “The Bulletin Board”

Language Arts class began just like any other class. Students had their preferred technology open to type in or write on (giggle… I said preferred technology…they know the exact technology tools that work for them). We were in a good flow. I was giving instructions and students were giving me great responses. We were all smiles at the fantastic job everyone was doing and all the learning that was going on. It was one of those periods when things were just coming all together and really clicking! As the class continued in its rhythm I sat on a desk next to one of my student and continued to give direct instruction. I turned to my left and looked down to smile at one of my students. His hand was raised. I called on him.

“Mrs. B I have a problem. I can’t get this to do what I need it to do. I try to do this and I just can’t get it to work”

I paused quickly to think of a solution and started back up giving out an additional instruction. As I continued to teach I looked down at the laptop and started to…

‘Click’

“All fixed,” I say to the student.

His head does a double take looking from me talking to his computer and back to me, “Wait what did you do?” Continue reading “My Tech Ninjas”