Thursday, September 4, 2014

INTRODUCTION:

Hello! I'm Melissa Quinn (Dardaris) and I was born and raised in the Syracuse area. I received my undergrad degree in Elementary Education from Oswego State and worked on my Masters Degree while teaching in the Jamesville-DeWitt School District. My Master's Degree is also from Oswego in Literacy Education. I have been teaching in the middle school setting for 14 years and I currently teach 5th Grade. Along with teaching, I also coach the modified soccer and lacrosse teams.  I love my job so much and over the past few years I have noticed that my students pick up on technology so quickly. I know that I need to get on board in order to best instruct them and be on their same page!

8 comments:

  1. Hi Melissa,
    I am excited about getting technology into education. I don’t have any knowledge in Quizlet. I will check in your blog frequently to know about it.
    Thank you

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  2. Hi Melissa,
    I'm also interested on learning what Quizlet, is it for testing? study tool? And your right about kids picking up on technology fast in this day and age and I feel like reaching them with what makes them comfortable is a good idea.

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  3. Hi Melissa,
    I used Quizlet years ago when I taught in high school in what they used to call Hebrew computer lab. The students used it mostly to enhance their vocabulary skills and for the teacher to follow up with their progress. I remember I opened up an account as a teacher and added my students to the roster. Then I added words for them to learn and they had online flashcards for practice. I could upload exercises and assignments, as I wanted. I could choose how and who can see my account, which in my case only students in my roster could view what I offered. It was like I have my own space of learning online.
    Good Luck with the blog ! Great Topic :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mirit! Thank you so much for the information. I think it will be a fun and meaningful opportunity for both myself and my students. I am thinking that I will use it with my science class because there seems to be a lot of new vocabulary!

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  4. Hi Melissa,

    Quizlet is a very interesting topic and seems to be on the rise in classrooms. From what I've read it looks like it's mainly a study resource for students in a variety of subjects. They also have study apps you can download on your phone. It looks like a great supplement for teachers to use. Students seem to greatly benefit from this additional tool.

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    1. Hi Jason,
      Thanks for your response! I think you are correct and it will be a great supplement to use for vocabulary. I didn't realize they had a downloadable app for the phone. I am looking very forward to learning more about it!

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  5. Hello Melissa!
    It is great to see another Syracuse native in our course. Although I attended Fayetteville-Manlius, I had cousins who went to the Jamesville-DeWitt School District. I admire that you received a Masters Degree in Literacy Education. I believe that is a high needs area for students in schools today. I also received my undergraduate degree in elementary education, if you had to choose a favorite grade level from all of your experiences, which would you choose?
    I have never heard of Quizlet, so I am very much interested in hearing more about it as the weeks go on. From the name, I think it could have a potential to link into what I am blogging about with educational games. Thank you for sharing and I will be looking forward to reading your future posts to learn more about this Quizlet topic!

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    1. Hi Alexander!
      You're a Hornet! I actually grew up in Chittenango and got a teaching job at J-D. I very recently moved into Manlius! If I had to choose a favorite grade level I would definitely choose 5th grade! Where I teach, they are the youngest and they are so full of energy! I taught 6th grade for 6 years before choosing to move to 5th grade.
      I cannot wait to see what you find with educational games because I'm sure I can use them in my classroom. Where have you done your student teaching and practicum placements? If you could teach any grade level, what would you choose?

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