In the school systems, that I have been involved in, there is very little time to allow the students to be creative. It seems to me that they are always preparing for their next unit test. Personally, the most important part of this video is the part about waking the students up not putting them to sleep. I think students are often board in class and the teacher/parents want to blame it on ADHD. I agree with Sir Ken the students seem to be medicated when there is no need for it. I have never been a fan of all these types of medications, but this is just my opinion. Classrooms in today’s society are competing with video games, internet, ipods, etc. I can understand how students may go to some classes and feel board out of their minds. I am taking my first classes at the College of Education this semester. In my EDM310, we are learning how to spark interest in our students. The more we learn, the more we can teach the students and other teachers. The classes I am currently taking are interesting and keep me thinking in the UCOM building at least. When I am a teacher, I will do what I can to make sure the students are challenged to utilize their inner creativity. I do not think students will be group any differently other than grade in the near future. Although I agree, they should be and I hope at some point this will change. If I were to create a video like this, I would like to be the narrator.
http://morgbayda.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/an-open-letter-to-educators/Many times, I felt like Morgan Bayda. It is frustrating to know I am paying for a class in which the professor has no clue as to who I am. There are times that I talk to my classmates about our class work. We sometimes form study groups. This helps me more Than sitting through the class. Do not get me wrong, not all my classes are like this, only some. There is one particular class I sit in day after day (fighting to keep my eyes open). I know that I am getting nothing out of what he is teaching. As I am sitting in this class, I am thinking to myself, "If I could only get the study I will be fine." It puts me in a difficult situation because I like my professor, just not the method in which he chooses to teach. It does give me a lot of insight on the type of teacher I do not want to be. I want to make learning fun and creative for my students. I could compare the class I am talking about to this EDM310 class. In our EDM310, we are encouraged to talk to other students, teachers, Dr. Strange, or others. I am learning a great deal in my EDM310 class and I enjoy getting to read and communicate with my fellow classmates. Like Morgan said, I do get frustrated with prices and different things but I would not have quit school. Yes, school is stressful and overwhelming but I know in the end it will be all worth it.
Two Questions That Can Change Your Life This is great. It made me stop and think. I do strive to make each day better than the last. I want to better myself not only for me but also for my family and my future students. I think in order for me to be the best at what I am going to do (which is teach), I have to start with my own children at home. They are my motivation. When things get a little crazy, I stop and try to see the world through my children’s’ eyes. My sentence is: In order to teach from my heart, I have to start at home because that is where my heart begins.
Mr. McClung has some very interesting points. They are a lot of things I have thought about. He has over 280 comments on his essay. I do not expect that he knew he would get such a outpouring of comments. Most of the people that left comments seemed to enjoy his essay. Students said things like, “I truly enjoyed your thoughts on being a teacher.” There were many others that had the same positive comment to make. I am thankful I was assigned this because so many things you said hit home to me. The other day I overheard my grandmother explaining to her friend how smart I was. The reason she thinks this is quite funny. It is because I use mapquest to find directions to places I am unfamiliar. I understand this is because my grandmother is so unfamiliar with technology because we all know that mapquest is not a big deal. I am glad she thinks I am smart. It is so important for people to communicate. Mr. McClung made a great point when he spoke about communication. I think teachers have to talk to their co-workers, students, and their parents.
Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2
I think that as future teachers, we will be able to write with multimedia. That’s what we are doing: learning, studying, experimenting so that we are able to teach our students. The more we know, the easier it will be for us to teach. Let’s face it; children are much easier to teach than adults are. This video was very educational and made me think a lot. As the world around us transforms from paper/pen to laptops/technology, I think the future teachers will be ready. I do worry about the people who are already teachers. Will they go back and take classes to enable themselves to teach the students about technology?
The internet has unlimited resources. It is not necessary to go to a library when you have everything readily available. One thing that Mr. Miller said that really got my attention was things on the internet are there indefinitely. Yes, I remember Dr. strange always telling us we are leaving a intellectual trail. I guess it just finally sunk in when I was watching this video.
Rather some people like it or not, technology is here. If our children and we ourselves want to succeed, we must get educated to do so. If my kindergartener does not learn how to use multimedia, by the time she graduates, she will be behind. I believe in the near future, school will no longer use textbooks but computers. The students will be carrying around laptops instead of books.
The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies are both great videos. Jamie Lynn and everyone involved hit on what a lot of us feel at times. Edm310 can get overwhelming at times. I love the fact that I have learned so much in this class though. I know it will be well worth it in the end. If I were going to create a video on my EDM310 class, I would what the outcome is like at the end of the semester. All of us will be well educated and yes, it is crazy and makes us feel like pulling our hair out. When it is all said and done, we will be thankful to Dr. strange and his staff for pushing us past our comfort zone. We are the future educators and therefore, we are the ones who are responsible for teacher our students technology. I have learned so many helpful tools. When we finally get a classroom of our own, we will probably be the ones teaching the other teachers as well as students what we have learned.
Critiques of Smartboards
The smart board has 4 colored markers to use and erasers. Your work can be saved on it. I think it is exciting for students to play the educational games. I am sure it is hard to write neatly with smart boards. Some teachers may find smart boards challenging because they do not fully understand how to use it. They are expensive but I think they are worth the cost. That is just my personal opinion. When I was searching different things about Smartboards, I came across this:
http://smartboards.typepad.com/smartboard/#
Another blog I found is by Kelli Boklaschuk. She is an Instructional Team Leader at Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School. Check out what she has to say about Smartboards.
Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education Video on TED.com I believe people can teach themselves. Without a doubt, motivated thinkers of all ages can teach themselves. One day I gave my 3-year-old Nintendo ds to play with, within a couple of hours, she knew how to play a game. They have to want to learn. Basically, if people want to know how something works; they will be eager to learn. Computers can play a big role in the education process. I do not think students cannot learn without a computer. Most access play (rather good or bad) is teaching our children something. Children are exposed to more resources when they use the internet. Motivation has everything to do with learning. People in general are very curious about different things. When I was in school, my teacher always told us to look things up in the dictionary. My favorite phrase to tell my own children is “google it.” Even if I know the answer to what they are asking, I think it will stay with them if they take the time and effort to search for it. Solving problems forces the students to search and try to find the answer. They can talk with their classmates and work together. When this is done, students are more likely to remember what they have gone over. I believe learning should be fun and creative. It is hard for me to get motivated if I am not interested in the material. I have some classes that do not bring out my thought process at all but I have to make myself remember it. Since I am not motivated in those classes, I do not think I learn the material. I think at that point, I just memorize it enough to pass the test. When my teachers are excited to teach, I get excited too. In my mind, I am thinking, “Wow this must be something worth learning.” I have taught myself different things before. I have in the past taken online classes, and the teacher did not provide much help or information. I just took things into my own hands and did what I had to do. After watching the video, I realize that children will learn if they are curious enough. Children want to learn. It is a teacher’s responsibility to plant a seed for students. In cases where there are no teachers, children can teach themselves. They may not know they are doing this, like head fakes. Children may be just curious and this curiosity leads to learning.
“Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” by Randy Pausch. This video is very inspirational. Randy Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only had a few months to live. He did not pity himself; he made the best of the time he had left. I was touched beyond measure while watching this video. He lived his life like there was no tomorrow. We all could take a few notes from him. One of the teaching techniques Mr. Pausch used was head fake" (a term from the football he played as a kid). Head fakes are where you make a person think they are learning one thing but really, they are learning something else. The name of this particular project was “Alice.” In this case, you seem to be having fun but you are really doing something difficult. The students thought they were making movies and games but, in reality they were learning how to program. His methods of teaching really got everyone’s attention. There are head fakes everyone. We just never thought about it. Now that I have heard of it, I will be looking for them everywhere. It is an exceptional idea. Now that I think about it, I have used that technique with my own children. It is like using a game to teach them their ABC’s. They think they are just playing a fun game but in reality, they are learning. Randy Pausch set childhood goals for himself. Some of his goals did not do exactly as planned but in the end, all his dreams came true. This last lecture was not meant for an audience. It was made for Randy Pausch’s children, so when they got older they could watch who their dad truly was. He was a legacy. When I first read that I had to watch an hour-long video, I will be the first to admit; I grumbled. After watching, I will recommend others to watch it. He is not only an inspiration to me but someone I am glad I got the opportunity to read about.
My teacher was Kathy Cassidy. The first blog I read was Room Two and the Forty Designs. It was very interesting. She talked about making her classroom into a more comfortable setting. If the students are comfortable with their setting, they will be more comfortable learning. She likes to re-do (redesign) her classroom at the beginning of every year. She calls it a fresh start. When designing her knew classroom, Ms. Cassidy keeps in mind what would help the learning process. She has some great ideas and points. Check them out: http://primarypreoccupation.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/room-two-and-the-forty-designs/#comments Her second blog was Some of her students were selected as presenters of the 2010 K12 Online Conference. She showed a sneak peek of what's to come. These students are amazing and they are doing a great job. http://primarypreoccupation.wordpress.com/ Primary Digital Portfolios – The Trailer
The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler:
Without teachers, how would students learn to properly use technology. There has to be someone to teach them how to search and find articles and other education information. Blogs can be opinion but, they can also be very factual. Opinions can be great learning tools also. It is wonderful that we can search so many things at one time. It is like having the world at our fingertips. Students do not realize how lucky they are. When I was in high school, technology was not as advanced as it is now. If we had to do a research paper, we had to go to the libraries, get magazines, books, newspaers, etc. Today's students can access all online. I think it is important that they are taught the proper way to do this. I am an adult and before taking this class I knew a little about how to look things up via internet. Now, I am learning so much more. It is nice that i can get what i need without leaving my home. I may not be 100% ready to teach what I am learning now but, I am getting there. A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)I think that basically there are a lot of similarities. We both have educational websites on our page. We have some personal pages. It is great to have a PLN. I have all my sites right there on one page. The Machine is Changing UsTechnology has come so far in the past years. It is progressing so fast. I wonder what it will be like in 10 to 15 years. I think it will be astounding. I am excited to see just how far it has come. I mean 10 to 15 years ago, I personally would not have guessed we would be where we are today. Possibilities are unlimited. We have access to places all over the world. When I watched this video, I realized just how many people visit Youtube on a daily basis.
The student I was assigned to was Anahi. She is 13 years old and in eighth grade. She sounds amazing. She stated, "I believe on myself that I can do all of that." She said she would show that she can be a better person and learn. She has great goals for her life and seems to be a very positive person. I am glad a got a chance to read her blogs. Anahi reminds me a lot of my daughters. If she follows the goals she set in her manifesto, it will pay off for her
