Special Assignment - Mr. McClung's World

A review of Mr. McClung’s World reflects a teacher who strives to be connected not only to his students but parents, teachers, and the global community. To say that he is technologically literate is an understatement. It is clear that he is diligent, hard-working and organized.

To snag a line from his post, he is a “Power Teacher.” There can be no doubt that Mr. McClung chose the right profession. It is evident that he is passionate about teaching and learning. He uses technology to motivate his students in a way that’s fresh, engaging, relevant…NOT BORING/traditional. I am shocked that this is only his third year as a teacher.

Mr. McClung “expects” his students to be effective communicators and listeners. His rules are simple and clear and provide structure. Mr. McClung isn’t the only teacher in the room. His students become teachers with the “Teach-OK” rule. This motivates students to work hard to understand the concepts they are learning because they will be teaching those same concepts to their peers. It also provides a way for them to demonstrate leadership.

A little friendly competition is introduced with the “Scoreboard” rule. Kids love to compete, especially when they can beat the teacher. This is a clever way to encourage students to follow rules and “work together” to be successful. “Gestures”, “Class-yes”, and “Hands and Eyes” improve student’s ability to focus and pay attention.

Since Mr. McClung expects his students to STAY POSITIVE, this in turn creates a positive learning environment where students can not only be encouraged but encourage one another.

The first thing under “Everyone Needs” is a Dayplanner to aid the student’s in being organized…self-directed…self-motivated…responsible…reliable. As for homework penalties, late work constitutes the loss of a letter grade for each day that it is late. After 4 days, the student receives a failing grade on the assignment. Mr. McClung gives the student everything they need to complete the assigned task on time. Assignments and instructions are available 24/7.

As a mother of three, I sincerely hope that Mr. McClung’s parents appreciate what an awesome tool they have in Mr. McClung’s World. Collectively, my children have been in school for more than 18 years. They have never had a teacher offer a “vehicle” so valuable for learning. Mr. McClung’s World serves as a model for our future class blogs. I am definitely taking notes!

I really enjoyed browsing the helpful links and chose the following two links as one’s I would add to a classroom blog: THE PLAGIARISM CHECKER This tool will find plagiarized text in homework and other essays/reports. For fun, I really like Toondoo.

I would really like to know how to use slideshare. I tried to catch Mr. McClung while he was on chat to ask what version he uses. The basic version is free. I’m hoping that is what he uses because I can definitely see the benefit of integrating this into a classroom blog!

Mr. McClung’s blog is user-friendly. It is a window into his classroom. Parents, teachers, administrators and others have access to student work samples, classroom assignments, and helpful links to resources, and so much more.

Mr. McClung’s blog is a place where 8th graders would want to “hang out.” Cool gadgets like “Song of the Week” and “Dropshots” make his blog different in a good way.