Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Blog Post #10
Morgan Bayda's Blog
We were assigned to read a post by Morgan Bayda, who is a new teacher working in Canada. The experiences in her post and in the video by Dan Brown reflected the ones of my schooling here. Like she says, she goes to class to sit thru a lecture struggling to keep my eyes open. In some classes, not all, there is little to no interaction about a topic between students. This is not true for one of my classes I have this semester where when we go to class we get into our groups and so basically the whole learning experience is collaberative group work. I agree with Dan Brown when he says that yes education is using some forms of education in schools today such as email or online databases, but in order to really succeed you must use more of the technology being introduced into society today. In some of my classes today my teachers learn names of students but in most experiences its the students who ask questions and go to the teacher for help who actually have their names remembered by the teacher. The teacher never really bothers to try, although with a class of 200 I really cant blame him/her. To me, depending on the course, most classes do consist of what Dan Brown says. He said that his classes consisted of the teacher teaching facts and come test time the students simply regurgitate the facts and information. This class to me is an exception to all these experiences and concepts. It is something more along the lines I think of what they are trying to explain in this video and post.
In two questions that can change your life, he created two questions for us. The first is "What's my sentence?" and the second is "Was I better today than yesterday?" They can affect me by helping me realize what i am trying to do in this world. I believe my sentence is "I believe I was put on this earth to help people, and so i am becoming a teacher."
We were assigned to read a post by Morgan Bayda, who is a new teacher working in Canada. The experiences in her post and in the video by Dan Brown reflected the ones of my schooling here. Like she says, she goes to class to sit thru a lecture struggling to keep my eyes open. In some classes, not all, there is little to no interaction about a topic between students. This is not true for one of my classes I have this semester where when we go to class we get into our groups and so basically the whole learning experience is collaberative group work. I agree with Dan Brown when he says that yes education is using some forms of education in schools today such as email or online databases, but in order to really succeed you must use more of the technology being introduced into society today. In some of my classes today my teachers learn names of students but in most experiences its the students who ask questions and go to the teacher for help who actually have their names remembered by the teacher. The teacher never really bothers to try, although with a class of 200 I really cant blame him/her. To me, depending on the course, most classes do consist of what Dan Brown says. He said that his classes consisted of the teacher teaching facts and come test time the students simply regurgitate the facts and information. This class to me is an exception to all these experiences and concepts. It is something more along the lines I think of what they are trying to explain in this video and post.
In two questions that can change your life, he created two questions for us. The first is "What's my sentence?" and the second is "Was I better today than yesterday?" They can affect me by helping me realize what i am trying to do in this world. I believe my sentence is "I believe I was put on this earth to help people, and so i am becoming a teacher."
Additional Assignment #3
We were assigned to watch Changing Educational Paradigms by Sir Ken Robinson. There is nothing in this video that I dont agree with and it is done in a way that grabs the attention of the listener by doing in the animated format. I believe his main point for the video is to get us to realize that our educational system needs to change. We must get rid of the older curiculum that he says was thought of during the industrial revoltuion and create something new to help educate our children to take their place in society today. He gives the example that most kids these days are diagnosed with ADHD and it is all because we are teaching the same old boring things in the classroom. I agree that it is not an epidemic that is spreading across the country and that we are doing as he says, which is getting our children through school by anaesthetising them. When he says that changing the paradigm is about going in the opposite direction of standardization, I completely agree with him there.
I think that we are able to address the issues he brings up by working to make our individual classrooms the way he thinks schools should be run. Of course one classroom out of the whole school wont make a huge difference but it is definitely a start. We could turn away from standardization, turn to more convergent thinking, and help to educate children to take their place in society. I loved the animation video style and if I were to be a part of a team making this type of video, since I absolutely cannot draw I would try to be more of maybe the author or the idea generator.
I think that we are able to address the issues he brings up by working to make our individual classrooms the way he thinks schools should be run. Of course one classroom out of the whole school wont make a huge difference but it is definitely a start. We could turn away from standardization, turn to more convergent thinking, and help to educate children to take their place in society. I loved the animation video style and if I were to be a part of a team making this type of video, since I absolutely cannot draw I would try to be more of maybe the author or the idea generator.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Blog Post #9
What I've learned this year
We were assigned to read "What I've Learned This Year" by Mr. McClung. He makes very valid points in this blog post and I agree with each one he has posted and I think that each are a valuable lesson that we as young aspiring teachers can learn a great deal from. He says that you must be able to let your audience drive your instruction and i believe that is the whole part of teaching. Teach for comprehension and not for what others think about you. His next point was basically dont sweat the small stuff. Here he explains that not every lesson plan is perfect and you must simply go with the flow. I know that this is something that teachers face all the time and I think that if teachers would learn to do like he says then it would make their lives much less stressful. He also says that we must communicate, be reasonable, and most importantly listen to your students because we may be the only one who does. I believe that it is very important to communicate and listen to your students because it builds a trusting and strong relationship between the two. Sometimes students actually look at teachers as role models for thier lives and also look at them as father/mother figures if they never really had one. That is why I think that it is very important to communicate and listen in order to help you create that bond.
We were assigned to read "What I've Learned This Year" by Mr. McClung. He makes very valid points in this blog post and I agree with each one he has posted and I think that each are a valuable lesson that we as young aspiring teachers can learn a great deal from. He says that you must be able to let your audience drive your instruction and i believe that is the whole part of teaching. Teach for comprehension and not for what others think about you. His next point was basically dont sweat the small stuff. Here he explains that not every lesson plan is perfect and you must simply go with the flow. I know that this is something that teachers face all the time and I think that if teachers would learn to do like he says then it would make their lives much less stressful. He also says that we must communicate, be reasonable, and most importantly listen to your students because we may be the only one who does. I believe that it is very important to communicate and listen to your students because it builds a trusting and strong relationship between the two. Sometimes students actually look at teachers as role models for thier lives and also look at them as father/mother figures if they never really had one. That is why I think that it is very important to communicate and listen in order to help you create that bond.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Blog Post #8
Richard Miller's two videos were about using technology in general. He made a fantastic video of him with his mac. In the first video, he demonstrated how he was using his mac to write his paper or journal about the one year anniversary of the killings at Virginia Tech. He said that in writing this, he never once went to a library and rented a book for any of the information, however he did go online and found it at the drop of a hat.
His next video is called this is how we dream. It is a part two of the first video. In this he uses his mac once again to this time demonstrate how material and information on the internet can change instantly and is updated quickly and efficiently. He describes a type of educational system of using this information and using it from online, and even though he says that he supports a system like this, he is aware of how difficult it is. He does however also forsee a time when these technologies will be used in such a way as he is describing.
I believe that i would be willing to try some of these ideas and write with multimedia as an attempt to incorporate technology into my classroom as a teacher. And i do believe that soon enough, like he believes, this type of educational system will be implemented.
I think that it would be interesting to create videos of how things work. Videos that are instructional while at the same time being hands on type learning. And in watching the 2 required videos i have found that the main points are dont procrastinate and dont blame your problems on the teacher. And also i want one of those books!
http://www.whiteboardblog.co.uk/2009/07/20-interactive-whiteboard-resources-for-teachers/ is a link to the opposing view. The teachers who didnt like smartboards gave us a few examples of what smartboards do and how they arent much different than older modes of technology already in the classroom. These teachers also complain how smartboards dont make teaching in the classroom any easier. This post i put up gives a list of 20 resources provided by a smartboard and how they help, if used properly, to make things easier for the teacher.
His next video is called this is how we dream. It is a part two of the first video. In this he uses his mac once again to this time demonstrate how material and information on the internet can change instantly and is updated quickly and efficiently. He describes a type of educational system of using this information and using it from online, and even though he says that he supports a system like this, he is aware of how difficult it is. He does however also forsee a time when these technologies will be used in such a way as he is describing.
I believe that i would be willing to try some of these ideas and write with multimedia as an attempt to incorporate technology into my classroom as a teacher. And i do believe that soon enough, like he believes, this type of educational system will be implemented.
I think that it would be interesting to create videos of how things work. Videos that are instructional while at the same time being hands on type learning. And in watching the 2 required videos i have found that the main points are dont procrastinate and dont blame your problems on the teacher. And also i want one of those books!
http://www.whiteboardblog.co.uk/2009/07/20-interactive-whiteboard-resources-for-teachers/ is a link to the opposing view. The teachers who didnt like smartboards gave us a few examples of what smartboards do and how they arent much different than older modes of technology already in the classroom. These teachers also complain how smartboards dont make teaching in the classroom any easier. This post i put up gives a list of 20 resources provided by a smartboard and how they help, if used properly, to make things easier for the teacher.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Additional Assignment #2
In this assignment, we watched Sugata Mitra, who is an educational scientist. He did experiments with children in countries that do not have technology and in most places he would bring in some computers for the kids to use. With this video as evidence, I do believe that if people are motivated, regardless of if they are young or old, they can learn on their own and teach themselves. I believe that for them to teach themselves, they must be with others to collaberate with each other. Computers allow for people who have never seen them before to search around and find information on the computer and about computers on their own, thereby learning and teaching themselves. Motivation is the drive for someone to learn something new and the problem is the motivation for the person wanting to solve it. I think that you can motivate someone to learn by introducing new things to them, allowing them to teach others what they learn, and also constructively criticizing the person so he/she feels accomplished. I believe that for someone who is not motivated, it will be very difficult for them to learn to learn. I definitely teach myself all the time! Im sure that most people in college do as well. Everyone is driven to make good grades so they can graduate with a degree. I believe that teachers' roles in learning are to be there to make sure that the information is understood and to be there in the event that some information needs to be clarified. Self-learning is possible, even in places that have never used or heard of the information they are trying to learn... this is the most important thing i get out of this video.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
PLN Project #10
A PLN is a Personal Learning Network. I had no clue what thast was before i came into this class nor did i really care. This class had helped me to see the importance of a PLN and how it could help me to become a better teacher. My PLN is coming along. I am not sure how many blogs i follow (if any) but when i post comments on all my assignments i choose the option that lets you know when someone has commented back and so i get notifications from teachers blogs that i posted on back in the earlier parts of the semester. This helps me to stay in touch and once im on this blog reading the new comment i then usually go and check out the new additions to the blog. I believe i am making good progress especially since i had nothing to start with. That is definitely an improvement.
C4T #2 Summary
I was assigned to comment on Mr. Needleman's Blog. His first blog that i commented on was about the six ways teachers can improve education. He came up with six fantastic ideas that i believe will actually help teachers. To summarize them shortly they are 1. say hello at the door 2. eat in the teacher cafeteria 3. teach authentic writing 4. incorporate multi-media into every lesson 5. teach art as a dicipline 6. teach test prep two minutes every day. He says that doing this will help a teacher improve their education by doing new and improved things in their classrooms for their students.
My comments for this were simply that i agreed whole-heartedly with his six ideals and told him that i would be trying these ideas out in my first class. I told him also that i believe that it is very important for a teacher to say hello to a student because it is just a good way to break the ice, joke around with the kids, and get them to know and like you better. I also told him that i would be outside my classroom after every period saying hello to all my students.
The next blog i commented on was called Three Ways to Download Movies from Youtube. In this blog he simply put up three techniques with instructions on how to download videos from youtube.
I commented that this is a great thing to know because at some schools websites such as youtube are blocked and so the teacher would need a way to show a video in class and this would be done by downloading the video first then you would be able to watch it without having the trouble of a blocked website.
My comments for this were simply that i agreed whole-heartedly with his six ideals and told him that i would be trying these ideas out in my first class. I told him also that i believe that it is very important for a teacher to say hello to a student because it is just a good way to break the ice, joke around with the kids, and get them to know and like you better. I also told him that i would be outside my classroom after every period saying hello to all my students.
The next blog i commented on was called Three Ways to Download Movies from Youtube. In this blog he simply put up three techniques with instructions on how to download videos from youtube.
I commented that this is a great thing to know because at some schools websites such as youtube are blocked and so the teacher would need a way to show a video in class and this would be done by downloading the video first then you would be able to watch it without having the trouble of a blocked website.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Blog Post #7
Randy Pausch is a professor at Carnegie Mellon who is dying of liver cancer. We watched his video entitled Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. In this video he uses many different teaching methods and techniques.
One of these techniques is using visual aid, where he provides slide shows with pictures, text, and other things to help get his point across. He uses graphs and statisics and he also brings items as visual aids as well. He is also a very interactive teacher in that he knows what he is talking about, he explains to everyone unfamiliar topics in a way that that is easy to comprehend, and he also gets the crowd involved and keeps them involved by being so interactive.
He covers his topics in a very thorough way. He presents his main points and goes into depth with each point while providing many examples of how he accomplished these points. For example in talking his goals, he presents his goals then he shows how he has gone through his life doing things that he loved and how he as a person has accomplished his goals with many opportunities. These opportunities come in the form of working at places like disney, flying with his students, and even meeting his role models in life.
He also uses audio/video during his presentation. He showed videos of his virtual projects his students worked on and showed and explained the technology that he was using. The video helped to give evidence of the actual technology that he was using during his virtual projects.
One of these techniques is using visual aid, where he provides slide shows with pictures, text, and other things to help get his point across. He uses graphs and statisics and he also brings items as visual aids as well. He is also a very interactive teacher in that he knows what he is talking about, he explains to everyone unfamiliar topics in a way that that is easy to comprehend, and he also gets the crowd involved and keeps them involved by being so interactive.
He covers his topics in a very thorough way. He presents his main points and goes into depth with each point while providing many examples of how he accomplished these points. For example in talking his goals, he presents his goals then he shows how he has gone through his life doing things that he loved and how he as a person has accomplished his goals with many opportunities. These opportunities come in the form of working at places like disney, flying with his students, and even meeting his role models in life.
He also uses audio/video during his presentation. He showed videos of his virtual projects his students worked on and showed and explained the technology that he was using. The video helped to give evidence of the actual technology that he was using during his virtual projects.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
http://gallery.me.com/jstrange#101216Saturday, October 2, 2010
C4K #1 and #2 Summary
I was assigned to comment on Francisco Hernandez's blog. Im his first blog it was an about me post. He informed everyone reading about his hobbies, how he was doing in school, and also about what his goals were in life. I commented telling him about my hobbies and how they sound similar to his and i also told him that if he sets his mind to it, he can accomplish anything.
Next i was assigned to comment on his manifesto blog post. In this, he explained his his goals for school, for becoming a better student, and his life ahead. I told him that he has set great goals for himself and that as long as he remembers to stick with these goals, then he will surely succeed in life.
Next i was assigned to comment on his manifesto blog post. In this, he explained his his goals for school, for becoming a better student, and his life ahead. I told him that he has set great goals for himself and that as long as he remembers to stick with these goals, then he will surely succeed in life.
Blog Post #6
The Networked Student
This video was about a student in a class that meets a few days a week and then the rest of the class is online. He is in what they call the "Social Network" and he uses resources such as wiki, itunesU, and google scholar to search for and find information that he needs for his project.
Personally, I really dont like the idea of having a lecture class where you go a certain time per week and the rest of the time is online. The reason for this is because i have a cell biology class just like that now here at South and we go to class one day a week only to do a group assignment. Our lectures for the class are posted as podcasts in itunesU under our teachers link and that is where we get the lecture material for that certain unit.
When the question arises of "Why does the student even need a teacher," i believe his response answered it perfectly. The teacher essentially becomes a resource in case he has questions. For my class it is the exact same way. We have a teacher to make and put up the podcasts, answer any of our questions, and administer the test.
7th Graders Learning Experience
I think this was a great video by this 7th grader. Her class PLE reminds me of our PLN. She posts to blogs, reads the blog every morning to see what work she has to do, and she even does podcast type projects for the class. I think that this kind of technology is important for schools because of the possibilities that you have such as skyping a teacher for a different part of the country or even the world!
The Machine Is Changing Us
I like how he says that, since most conversations are on tv and they are one way conversations, then you have to be on tv to get your voice across and heard. This is true in our day in time because tv is watched in homes all over the country and it is unfortunately a very influencial part in kids lives these days. And i think he describes our generation in a pretty funny way when he says todays generation is... more miserable today than ever before and its because if they dream of being the next american idol and if they dont get it then they are shocked. I also believe people are more and more focused on themselves then what is really important, such as helping others or worrying about worldly things.
This video was about a student in a class that meets a few days a week and then the rest of the class is online. He is in what they call the "Social Network" and he uses resources such as wiki, itunesU, and google scholar to search for and find information that he needs for his project.
Personally, I really dont like the idea of having a lecture class where you go a certain time per week and the rest of the time is online. The reason for this is because i have a cell biology class just like that now here at South and we go to class one day a week only to do a group assignment. Our lectures for the class are posted as podcasts in itunesU under our teachers link and that is where we get the lecture material for that certain unit.
When the question arises of "Why does the student even need a teacher," i believe his response answered it perfectly. The teacher essentially becomes a resource in case he has questions. For my class it is the exact same way. We have a teacher to make and put up the podcasts, answer any of our questions, and administer the test.
7th Graders Learning Experience
I think this was a great video by this 7th grader. Her class PLE reminds me of our PLN. She posts to blogs, reads the blog every morning to see what work she has to do, and she even does podcast type projects for the class. I think that this kind of technology is important for schools because of the possibilities that you have such as skyping a teacher for a different part of the country or even the world!
The Machine Is Changing Us
I like how he says that, since most conversations are on tv and they are one way conversations, then you have to be on tv to get your voice across and heard. This is true in our day in time because tv is watched in homes all over the country and it is unfortunately a very influencial part in kids lives these days. And i think he describes our generation in a pretty funny way when he says todays generation is... more miserable today than ever before and its because if they dream of being the next american idol and if they dont get it then they are shocked. I also believe people are more and more focused on themselves then what is really important, such as helping others or worrying about worldly things.
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