Sunday, September 30, 2012
Blog Post 5
iSchool Initiative is a video created by a high school student named Travis Allen that is designed to solve "America's education problem." His idea basically involves replacing most of the current books and paper model of education with Apple products like iPads and iPods. While there is definitely some validity to his argument that this movement will most likely improve America's educational system, it is a little naive to believe that his idea is a solution to America's education problem. For one thing, there are a multitude of problems that involve far more than funding and style of teaching; however, he does make some excellent points about where classrooms are most likely heading. iSchool Initiative is a unique idea that will most likely come to complete fruition in the next decade.
Eric Whitacre's virtual choir is an incredible video that shows some of what is capable through Youtube. There are a number of videos like this one out there that show how collaboration can take another step through using the internet.
Teaching in the 21st Century gives some revolutionary ideas about the way teaching is evolving now that so much information is always at everyone's fingertips. This opens up new ideas about what it means to be a teacher and what needs to be taught. Some of the old ideas about memorization of numerous objects only to be later forgotten are slowly going out the window (hopefully). Teaching actual usable skills has become more important now than ever.
The ideas in the video are pretty basic but extremely important. I would like to apply some of the core ideas to my classroom when I become a teacher. I want to not only teach students the rules of grammar and how to write but also how to access GOOD information about these subjects whenever they have questions later in life. I also hope to teach students how to use online resources and databases for many of their needs as they advance to college.
The Flipped Classroom videos are a great example of teachers thinking outside of the box. There are definitely a few inherent problems with the flipped classroom, but I love the ingenuity of the idea. A system like this could create much more time for teachers to spend helping students apply information and keep them engaged throughout the entire duration of the class. It also would allow for more freedom for students who are ahead of their peers.
The obvious problem with this idea is keeping students motivated when away from the classroom. I think it is a possibility that a substantial percentage of students simply wouldn't watch the videos leaving teachers in and odd position. At least when teachers are in front of a class speaking, they can attempt to keep the attention of the class and call out a student who is daydreaming or sleeping. With the flipped classroom, a teacher would have much less control over engaging students. I still love the idea however, and would like to see some portion of it implemented into wherever I end up teaching.
Eric Whitacre's virtual choir is an incredible video that shows some of what is capable through Youtube. There are a number of videos like this one out there that show how collaboration can take another step through using the internet.
Teaching in the 21st Century gives some revolutionary ideas about the way teaching is evolving now that so much information is always at everyone's fingertips. This opens up new ideas about what it means to be a teacher and what needs to be taught. Some of the old ideas about memorization of numerous objects only to be later forgotten are slowly going out the window (hopefully). Teaching actual usable skills has become more important now than ever.
The ideas in the video are pretty basic but extremely important. I would like to apply some of the core ideas to my classroom when I become a teacher. I want to not only teach students the rules of grammar and how to write but also how to access GOOD information about these subjects whenever they have questions later in life. I also hope to teach students how to use online resources and databases for many of their needs as they advance to college.
The Flipped Classroom videos are a great example of teachers thinking outside of the box. There are definitely a few inherent problems with the flipped classroom, but I love the ingenuity of the idea. A system like this could create much more time for teachers to spend helping students apply information and keep them engaged throughout the entire duration of the class. It also would allow for more freedom for students who are ahead of their peers.
The obvious problem with this idea is keeping students motivated when away from the classroom. I think it is a possibility that a substantial percentage of students simply wouldn't watch the videos leaving teachers in and odd position. At least when teachers are in front of a class speaking, they can attempt to keep the attention of the class and call out a student who is daydreaming or sleeping. With the flipped classroom, a teacher would have much less control over engaging students. I still love the idea however, and would like to see some portion of it implemented into wherever I end up teaching.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Blog Post 4
Integrating ICT into the MFL Classroom is a video that discusses the ways in which podcasts in the classroom can open new windows for students and teachers. The most obvious benefit is keeping students up to date on classes that they miss. This is something I would really like to incorporate into my classroom either through podcasts or blogging or some combination of both. I think some types of these dramatic readings could definitely help build up excitement for reading among students. Getting students engaged in books can be a difficult task, and having them read aloud and listen to recorded podcasts could really be a good way to create excitement for literature.
The Curriki Blog is an extremely useful tool for podcasting. It is basically a reference page for everything someone interested in creating a podcast would need. The blog is very detailed in providing information on creating the podcast and also uploading it to iTunes. This is a blog I will be revisiting as the day for our group's podcast approaches.
The Langwitches Blog is a blog that details a number of different approaches to using technology in the classroom. They have specific podcast assignments that are great for younger students.
The Curriki Blog is an extremely useful tool for podcasting. It is basically a reference page for everything someone interested in creating a podcast would need. The blog is very detailed in providing information on creating the podcast and also uploading it to iTunes. This is a blog I will be revisiting as the day for our group's podcast approaches.
The Langwitches Blog is a blog that details a number of different approaches to using technology in the classroom. They have specific podcast assignments that are great for younger students.
C4T#1 Summary Post
Ali Handscomb's blog is mainly concerned with leadership in the professional setting. The first post I commented on was a post called "Olympic Lesson," in which she gives a list of ten lessons that can be learned from olympic athletes. These inspirational tips are comprised of things like: Don't be afraid to fail, and we all have talent. I made sure to comment on how her tips could be useful for people in all walks of life. Like her, I watched almost all of the olympics, and I really enjoyed her take on the games.
Her most recent post deals with communication in the workplace, specifically communication that involves superiors and their employees. She talks about the importance of everyone being on the same page and knowing their role in the company, which can easily be applied to the classroom. It is essential that students know how important they are in the learning process of the entire class as a whole.
Her most recent post deals with communication in the workplace, specifically communication that involves superiors and their employees. She talks about the importance of everyone being on the same page and knowing their role in the company, which can easily be applied to the classroom. It is essential that students know how important they are in the learning process of the entire class as a whole.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Blog Post 3
Peer Editing,Tutorial Peer Editing, and Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes are three videos and slide show presentations that deal with helping people become better peer editors. Peer editing is something that almost everyone has attempted at least a few times throughout school with varying degrees of success. From personal experience, it seems that often people view peer reviewing as a way to quickly exit class quickly, but these videos and power points attempt to provide some tips to turn peer editing into a useful tool. Some of the tips are quite useful, but for the most part they are things that most people already know.
In my opinion peer editing can be extremely useful for certain small errors like typing errors and things of that nature, but it is limited when it comes to major errors like organization and content. As a future English teacher, I hope to employ some type of peer editing in my classroom, but I also don't want students to solely rely on each other to correct errors. I hope to help students individually at least part of the time to further their writing ability.
Technology in Special Education
Technology in Special Education is a phenomenal video that shows the ways in which some pretty basic technology can do wonders for special needs children. Last year I visited a school in Mobile designed to educate special needs children most of whom were non verbal and needed a great deal of assistance to accomplish most tasks. The people that worked there were some of the most patient and generous people I have ever met, but often they simply did not have the proper tools for helping these children out. Most of the "technology" at the school I visited was probably from the early nineties. A few simple computers could have done wonders for these kids, but most likely the funding simply wasn't available.
Obviously this video was a great representation of the positive effects that technology can have in the lives of special needs kids. If or when I have special needs kids in my class I would love to be able to implement some of this technology to help them better understand the material and also help them communicate better.
"Sound Amp r" is a simple app that could be very useful in a classroom setting for students with mild hearing difficulty. It would be perfect for someone who possibly didn't have a significant enough hearing problem to require a hearing aid but did need a little enhancement of the sounds of a lesson.
Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts is a video that features Vicki Davis, a Georgia high school teacher who implements a great deal of technology in her classroom. Her classroom seems like an environment where a great deal of interconnectivity takes place. Her students learn about a number of tools that will help them throughout their lives. Much of this is possible because of the setup of her classroom, which contains a ton of computers and Smartboards.
Most of the activities she seems to require of her students wouldn't have a place in an English classroom, but the blogging aspect of the class is definitely something I could implement into my classroom. Often young writers struggle with the notion of an audience and either write for themselves or to attempt to impress a teacher. Blogging is a great tool for helping students learn to write for a wider audience. I would love to add some type of blogging assignments to the writing curriculum in my classroom.
In my opinion peer editing can be extremely useful for certain small errors like typing errors and things of that nature, but it is limited when it comes to major errors like organization and content. As a future English teacher, I hope to employ some type of peer editing in my classroom, but I also don't want students to solely rely on each other to correct errors. I hope to help students individually at least part of the time to further their writing ability.
Technology in Special Education
Technology in Special Education is a phenomenal video that shows the ways in which some pretty basic technology can do wonders for special needs children. Last year I visited a school in Mobile designed to educate special needs children most of whom were non verbal and needed a great deal of assistance to accomplish most tasks. The people that worked there were some of the most patient and generous people I have ever met, but often they simply did not have the proper tools for helping these children out. Most of the "technology" at the school I visited was probably from the early nineties. A few simple computers could have done wonders for these kids, but most likely the funding simply wasn't available.
Obviously this video was a great representation of the positive effects that technology can have in the lives of special needs kids. If or when I have special needs kids in my class I would love to be able to implement some of this technology to help them better understand the material and also help them communicate better.
"Sound Amp r" is a simple app that could be very useful in a classroom setting for students with mild hearing difficulty. It would be perfect for someone who possibly didn't have a significant enough hearing problem to require a hearing aid but did need a little enhancement of the sounds of a lesson.
Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts is a video that features Vicki Davis, a Georgia high school teacher who implements a great deal of technology in her classroom. Her classroom seems like an environment where a great deal of interconnectivity takes place. Her students learn about a number of tools that will help them throughout their lives. Much of this is possible because of the setup of her classroom, which contains a ton of computers and Smartboards.
Most of the activities she seems to require of her students wouldn't have a place in an English classroom, but the blogging aspect of the class is definitely something I could implement into my classroom. Often young writers struggle with the notion of an audience and either write for themselves or to attempt to impress a teacher. Blogging is a great tool for helping students learn to write for a wider audience. I would love to add some type of blogging assignments to the writing curriculum in my classroom.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Blog Post 2
Did You Know? 3.0 A John Strange Version is an update of a previous video. Many of those statistics are very shocking, and it puts America's place in the world in perspective. The first few statistics dealt with India and China and their burgeoning power in the world. The latter stats discuss how rapidly technology is changing.
The most obvious take away from this video deal with the latter statistics about rapidly changing technology. Imagining that we as educators will have to prepare students for jobs that don't exist is shocking. That is why it is important to help students become life long learners rather than fact memorizers. As the world changes, adaptability will be one of the most important aspects of finding and maintaining a job, and life long learners will be much more adaptive than fact memorizers.
Mr. Winkle Wakes
Mr. Winkle Wakes is a satirical video directed at the educational system's lack of progress in the last hundred years. Obviously it is an oversimplification, but some of the issues the video raises do ring true. Not much has changed in education over the years, but technology is not the complete solution to this problem. It is part of the solution, but there are numerous other factors.
Creating a classroom environment where students' ideas are appreciated and valued is a critical part of changing the educational system. It is extremely important to make use of what technology is available and to use this technology to foster a thirst for knowledge among students. Students need to be aware of how to use new technology for their educational benefit.
The Importance of creativity
The Importance of Creativity is a video of a speech by Sir Ken Robinson that details the ways in which traditional schooling suppresses creativity. Ken Robinson makes some excellent points in this video and raises some serious questions. He does much of this through humorous stories, but often humor is the best way to get a point across. Traditional schooling stifles creativity. This is an almost indisputable fact. College degrees are so common that something more is needed to succeed, and that can be where creativity comes in.
As a future English teacher, I feel like Sir Ken Robinson's ideas about creativity can be implemented in a multitude of ways. Obviously careful study of literature and attempts at creative writing can be linked in ways that foster creativity. There are numerous other ways in which students can be creative in an English classroom. Things like projects and videos are two ways to help get students become more creative.
A Day Made of Glass 2:Same Day is a mind blowing video. That is really the only appropriate description. It is incredible to think that some of this technology is currently available. These type of glass technologies could have a great impact on schools everywhere, but it will probably be years before the classroom shown in the video is available. That doesn't mean that incredible technology isn't available in classrooms now though. As always the most important part of implementing new technology in a classroom, is actually using it to benefit students. Too often teachers treat technology as a novelty rather than an actual tool.
I like to think of new technology through the eyes of a future English teacher. The type of technology in the video, such as the iPad type tablets could be used in an English classroom to really help books come alive. The options are limitless. Students could use tablets and the glass board to visualize books and any type of lesson. Even a simple grammar lesson could be improved by this type of technology.
The most obvious take away from this video deal with the latter statistics about rapidly changing technology. Imagining that we as educators will have to prepare students for jobs that don't exist is shocking. That is why it is important to help students become life long learners rather than fact memorizers. As the world changes, adaptability will be one of the most important aspects of finding and maintaining a job, and life long learners will be much more adaptive than fact memorizers.
Mr. Winkle Wakes
Mr. Winkle Wakes is a satirical video directed at the educational system's lack of progress in the last hundred years. Obviously it is an oversimplification, but some of the issues the video raises do ring true. Not much has changed in education over the years, but technology is not the complete solution to this problem. It is part of the solution, but there are numerous other factors.
Creating a classroom environment where students' ideas are appreciated and valued is a critical part of changing the educational system. It is extremely important to make use of what technology is available and to use this technology to foster a thirst for knowledge among students. Students need to be aware of how to use new technology for their educational benefit.
The Importance of creativity
The Importance of Creativity is a video of a speech by Sir Ken Robinson that details the ways in which traditional schooling suppresses creativity. Ken Robinson makes some excellent points in this video and raises some serious questions. He does much of this through humorous stories, but often humor is the best way to get a point across. Traditional schooling stifles creativity. This is an almost indisputable fact. College degrees are so common that something more is needed to succeed, and that can be where creativity comes in.
As a future English teacher, I feel like Sir Ken Robinson's ideas about creativity can be implemented in a multitude of ways. Obviously careful study of literature and attempts at creative writing can be linked in ways that foster creativity. There are numerous other ways in which students can be creative in an English classroom. Things like projects and videos are two ways to help get students become more creative.
A Day Made of Glass 2:Same Day is a mind blowing video. That is really the only appropriate description. It is incredible to think that some of this technology is currently available. These type of glass technologies could have a great impact on schools everywhere, but it will probably be years before the classroom shown in the video is available. That doesn't mean that incredible technology isn't available in classrooms now though. As always the most important part of implementing new technology in a classroom, is actually using it to benefit students. Too often teachers treat technology as a novelty rather than an actual tool.
I like to think of new technology through the eyes of a future English teacher. The type of technology in the video, such as the iPad type tablets could be used in an English classroom to really help books come alive. The options are limitless. Students could use tablets and the glass board to visualize books and any type of lesson. Even a simple grammar lesson could be improved by this type of technology.
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