Saturday, November 24, 2012
Progress Report on Final Project
For our final project we have decided to go with option C, a ten minute video about EDM 310. My partner, Brittney Phinesee and I have decided to do a reunion show theme. We will set up the scene as a talk show to bring on a former EDM 310. The student will give advice on what to do, what not to do, and show some flash back videos of them having a nervous breakdown. It will have the feeling of one of the reunion shows of reality TV today. We have wrote the script,made the props, and plan to record our video some time this week.
Blog Post #13
A Vision of Students Today
A Vision of Students Today is a YouTube video about the feelings of students from their perspectives of the progression of education in a college setting. After watching this video from the stand point of a fellow student, I would have to say that I can definitely relate to the video. Some of the things in the video made me question how important it really is to have a traditional classroom setting? I mean is purchasing a $300 textbook and never breaking the seal really worth the debt? Is sitting in a classroom and listening to a professor lecture about something that at the end of class makes you even more confused really what college is about? It makes me wonder if all professors want to migrate from the traditional classroom setting or do they really enjoy the "Charlie Brown" methods that have created a complacent pattern within the art of teaching? As a student it bothers me that there are YouTube videos, teacher evaluations, as well as so many other forms of complaints about the methods of teaching, yet nothing has been done to improve them.
As a future educator, I look at this video as an outcry from students. Students want to see a transformation into the 21st century classrooms. Classrooms that don't involve chalk boards and discouragement of technology. Students want their professors to embrace Facebook and use it as a help site. They would like for smart boards and other technology that makes learning interesting, to be welcomed openly to the classroom and the learning setting. As future educators it is our jobs to make this happen. It is our jobs to remember that we were once struggling college students and that the cost of education alone is a penny pincher and the cost of books only increases the debt that we were once in. We have to becoming the driving force that can find alternate solutions for the traditional textbooks. Maybe we can send PDF files of the 20 pages that the students need from the 300 page text book that we would usually assign each of them. Maybe we can become more of a blended setting that meets only once a month to make sure that everyone is on track with everything. Maybe incorporating these changes can boost the excitement of education and the learning experience overall.
A Vision of Students Today was a great YouTube sensation that made me really open my eyes to the direction that education and technology is headed. Technology is indeed taking over the learning experience and it is time that students, teachers, administrators, and school systems as a whole began to embrace them for what they are: Educational Boosters!
As a future educator, I look at this video as an outcry from students. Students want to see a transformation into the 21st century classrooms. Classrooms that don't involve chalk boards and discouragement of technology. Students want their professors to embrace Facebook and use it as a help site. They would like for smart boards and other technology that makes learning interesting, to be welcomed openly to the classroom and the learning setting. As future educators it is our jobs to make this happen. It is our jobs to remember that we were once struggling college students and that the cost of education alone is a penny pincher and the cost of books only increases the debt that we were once in. We have to becoming the driving force that can find alternate solutions for the traditional textbooks. Maybe we can send PDF files of the 20 pages that the students need from the 300 page text book that we would usually assign each of them. Maybe we can become more of a blended setting that meets only once a month to make sure that everyone is on track with everything. Maybe incorporating these changes can boost the excitement of education and the learning experience overall.
A Vision of Students Today was a great YouTube sensation that made me really open my eyes to the direction that education and technology is headed. Technology is indeed taking over the learning experience and it is time that students, teachers, administrators, and school systems as a whole began to embrace them for what they are: Educational Boosters!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Blog Post #12
For this blogpost we were asked by Dr. Strange to create an assignment that caters to our field of specialty.My concentration is English/Language Arts. For my assignment, I would:
1. Instruct the class to watch this youtube video on How to Avoid 10 common grammar mistakes.
2. Write 1-2 paragraphs on one of these mistakes that you are guilty of commonly using incorrectly.
3. Write one paragraph on how you intend to correct this mistake
4. Write 1-2 paragraphs on how you intend to reinforce these important rules to your future students.
One of the common mistakes from this youtube video that I am definitely guilty of is dangling modifiers. I tend to put modifies in the wrong place and confuse the meaning of sentences. For example: The coffee spilled when Heather tipped over the cup; Instead it should read, "Heather spilled the coffee when she tipped over the cup." The first sentence would be wrong because it gives the spilling action to the coffee not Heather.
I intend to correct this mistake by practicing using the correct way more often. I also have to learn to think before I write, that would help tremendously. If I can catch my mistakes as I write then this task can be a lot less difficult to correct. I plan to also read my sentences aloud and allow myself to hear the dangling modifiers in order to catch them and correct them sufficiently.
As for my future students, I intend to teach the lesson of dangling modifiers all year long. I will start the year off with these sentences to see if anyone can identify whats wrong with them, teach the class why the sentences don't make any sense, use these sentences as periodic ice breakers at the beginning of the class period. This will allow me to teach and reinforce the lesson throughout the year. Because dangling modifiers are something that most people struggle with and are not able to correctly identify their mistakes, I think this is something that should be taught all year long. This will ensure that the students get ample amount of practice and opportunities to ask questions if they are confused with the subject matter.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Blog Post #11
Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom
Mrs. Cassidy's classroom is definitely inspiration for how I could incorporate technology in my future class room. In the YouTube video the students di blogging as well as used Nintendo DS video gaming systems to engage in different learning activities. I thought that this was a cool way for students to learn to use the computer for fun things can be educational as well. As far as the video game goes, I never knew before this video that a Nintendo DS could be used for things that are educational. Hand held games like this will create a learning environment for a child anywhere and make children want to learn.
Mrs. Cassidy's Skype Interview with Dr. Strange and some students from EDM 310 was also interesting. Being able to Skype with a teacher whose students are assigned to you to comment on their blog is cool in itself. Cassidy says that she started her own web page about ten years ago and blogging about five years ago. She also talked about how she began the blogging process with her students. she says that she began with five computers and initially used them as a center where students would exchange a certain times or on certain days.
Cassidy says that she got federal funding too further develop the blogs and educational programming for the computers. She says that she also has support from her administrators and a technology coordinator. Cassidy says in response to a security question asked by Dr. Strange, that she sends home a syllabus at the beginning of each year to parents stating the details about the blogging and other online components that their children would be engaging in and how she intends to maintain their security in the process. One way that does this is by posting only students first names and if pictures are posted, the face doesn't match up with the name. These are definitely techniques that are clever in trying to maintain safety of the students and I intend to use in my future classroom. Cassidy also says that parents tend to have very positive feedback on the idea that their children will be on the internet because they like the idea of being able to go online and see the progress of their child's learning experience; the students enjoy it of course, because they are already exposed to technology. This just teaches them that technology can be very educational.
One thing that stuck out to me that Mrs. Cassidy said was "Why would children want to write on paper for the teacher to see it when they can write on a blog for the world to see." Things like this are very exciting to students because they get to interact with people from around the world that they never would have been able to do without this blog.
Mrs. Cassidy suggests for students who want to learn more about blogging and developing a PLN to start their own network like a twitter, blog, or YouTube to cater to what interests you. She says that it's sort of hard in the beginning but the benefits from interacting with these people and connecting with people that can help in your career is great! Overall, this skype interview as well as YouTube video was great. I definitely learned a lot and plan to use her advise about the PLN very soon.
Mrs. Cassidy's Skype Interview with Dr. Strange and some students from EDM 310 was also interesting. Being able to Skype with a teacher whose students are assigned to you to comment on their blog is cool in itself. Cassidy says that she started her own web page about ten years ago and blogging about five years ago. She also talked about how she began the blogging process with her students. she says that she began with five computers and initially used them as a center where students would exchange a certain times or on certain days.
Cassidy says that she got federal funding too further develop the blogs and educational programming for the computers. She says that she also has support from her administrators and a technology coordinator. Cassidy says in response to a security question asked by Dr. Strange, that she sends home a syllabus at the beginning of each year to parents stating the details about the blogging and other online components that their children would be engaging in and how she intends to maintain their security in the process. One way that does this is by posting only students first names and if pictures are posted, the face doesn't match up with the name. These are definitely techniques that are clever in trying to maintain safety of the students and I intend to use in my future classroom. Cassidy also says that parents tend to have very positive feedback on the idea that their children will be on the internet because they like the idea of being able to go online and see the progress of their child's learning experience; the students enjoy it of course, because they are already exposed to technology. This just teaches them that technology can be very educational.
One thing that stuck out to me that Mrs. Cassidy said was "Why would children want to write on paper for the teacher to see it when they can write on a blog for the world to see." Things like this are very exciting to students because they get to interact with people from around the world that they never would have been able to do without this blog.
Mrs. Cassidy suggests for students who want to learn more about blogging and developing a PLN to start their own network like a twitter, blog, or YouTube to cater to what interests you. She says that it's sort of hard in the beginning but the benefits from interacting with these people and connecting with people that can help in your career is great! Overall, this skype interview as well as YouTube video was great. I definitely learned a lot and plan to use her advise about the PLN very soon.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
A World where Grades will be Left Behind Blog Post
A World where Grades will be left Behind
The USA today published an article about Sebastian Thrun, the man who built Google's driverless car, and how he feels about grades in the classroom. Thrun has created a learning network called Udacity.
Udacity is a learning network that allows its students to work at their own pace, determine the time that they spend on mastering a lesson, and has no grades. Thrun says these classes will involve the lessons becoming increasing more difficult as the student progresses in the classroom, just as a regular classroom is set up. This network also allows thousands of students to sign up for just one class opposed to only being able to fill the amount of seats in the class.
Thrun stresses that Udacity is not something that he created to take place of a traditional classroom setting but sort of a revolutionary alternate approach to learning. He also believes that grades are the death of education. Thrun says that the classes will be free but fees for things like tests, which will be taken separately, will be things that the student is responsible.
Reading about Thrun's revolutionary classroom made me feel excited about learning. I definitely agree with his opinion on grades in a classroom. Often times students are so obsessed with grades that they forget the learning experience. Students become slaves to grades and only do the work sufficient enough for the master's approval. This is not a healthy way of learning and obtaining information for the long haul.
Another thing that I loved about Udacity was that it was free with the exception of some outside fees for tests and things of that sort. This means no more spending $300-$400 on one book that you can sell back for only a fraction of the price. This program will allow a lot more students to sign up for a class instead of waiting til next semester because a class was full. Overall, I thing Udacity is a great alternate learning approach and I hope i'll be around when it makes its impact on education
Udacity is a learning network that allows its students to work at their own pace, determine the time that they spend on mastering a lesson, and has no grades. Thrun says these classes will involve the lessons becoming increasing more difficult as the student progresses in the classroom, just as a regular classroom is set up. This network also allows thousands of students to sign up for just one class opposed to only being able to fill the amount of seats in the class.
Thrun stresses that Udacity is not something that he created to take place of a traditional classroom setting but sort of a revolutionary alternate approach to learning. He also believes that grades are the death of education. Thrun says that the classes will be free but fees for things like tests, which will be taken separately, will be things that the student is responsible.
Reading about Thrun's revolutionary classroom made me feel excited about learning. I definitely agree with his opinion on grades in a classroom. Often times students are so obsessed with grades that they forget the learning experience. Students become slaves to grades and only do the work sufficient enough for the master's approval. This is not a healthy way of learning and obtaining information for the long haul.
Another thing that I loved about Udacity was that it was free with the exception of some outside fees for tests and things of that sort. This means no more spending $300-$400 on one book that you can sell back for only a fraction of the price. This program will allow a lot more students to sign up for a class instead of waiting til next semester because a class was full. Overall, I thing Udacity is a great alternate learning approach and I hope i'll be around when it makes its impact on education
C4K Summary October
My third C4K assignment was for a fourth grade student named Thomas Riker @thorik954. He wrote a letter to Santa asking for some toys, a RedSox sweatshirt and some Buffalo Sabres Hockey Cards. He goes on to tell Santa that he's been a good boy except for getting into a fight with his brother. He even asks Santa how Mrs. Clause is doing. His post was too cute for words! I commented by saying that I really enjoyed his post and that I was a baseball fan so having that sweatshirt would be nice. I told him that his letter warmed my heart and to keep up the good work
My fourth C4K assignment was for a 10th grade student named Mike @MikeGwantley. His post was about blogging. He started off by saying that he was new to blogging and I told him that blogging was something sort of new to me as well. He talks about how he had the opportunity to talk to an exchange student about her opinions on the chinese government. He also stated a very important statement! He said that blogs are peoples opinions based on their experiences or upbringings. I told him that I definitely agreed with this and proceeded to tell a story of my experience with this subject and relationship views. I told him that his post was great and to keep up the good work.
My Fifth C4K was for a student named Alison. Sh had a blog called a weebly. Alison's weebly consisted of her about me, journals, and other segments of genre that she's interested in. She loves to bake and read.In her most recent journal post she talked about her definition of a true hero. Alison believes that a hero doesn't have to be in the spotlight or wear a special cape to be recognized. She says that a hero is someone who goes out of their way to help people, are good citizens, and helps others in their time of need. She says they could be anyone like a policeman or a chef who gives out free Thanksgiving meals. I replied to her journal entry by saying that I totally agreed with her about the definition of a hero. I told her that my mom was my hero because she does everything in her power to keep me safe and happy. I told her that Ii really enjoyed her entry as well as her weebly page. I told her that she was an awesome writer and to keep up the good work. I also asked her if she could pick a hero, who would her hero be?
My 6th C4K was for Patrick in @akp Mrs. Peterson's class. He did a characterization of Dally from The Outsiders. He summarized the character and then broke down the action, his words, and the views of others. I commented by telling him that he was an awesome write and that I liked hoe he broke down the summary and explained in detail and that I especially loved the part about the action. I told him that I could picture this scene happening in my imagination.
My 7th C4K Assignment was for some students that traveled to Ireland for a week. I was assigned to the blog post "Home away from home." The students talked about the hotel that they would be staying in for the length of their visit and embedded an access link to the website. The students said that they were grateful that the hotel could find them a room since they checked in a lot earlier than the check in time. I replied by telling them that Ireland was on my list of places to see in the world and I really enjoyed reading their blogpost. I also told them that the pictures that they posted were beautiful and that the hotel seemed like a lovely place to stay. I told them to stay safe and have a blast on their trip!
My fourth C4K assignment was for a 10th grade student named Mike @MikeGwantley. His post was about blogging. He started off by saying that he was new to blogging and I told him that blogging was something sort of new to me as well. He talks about how he had the opportunity to talk to an exchange student about her opinions on the chinese government. He also stated a very important statement! He said that blogs are peoples opinions based on their experiences or upbringings. I told him that I definitely agreed with this and proceeded to tell a story of my experience with this subject and relationship views. I told him that his post was great and to keep up the good work.
My Fifth C4K was for a student named Alison. Sh had a blog called a weebly. Alison's weebly consisted of her about me, journals, and other segments of genre that she's interested in. She loves to bake and read.In her most recent journal post she talked about her definition of a true hero. Alison believes that a hero doesn't have to be in the spotlight or wear a special cape to be recognized. She says that a hero is someone who goes out of their way to help people, are good citizens, and helps others in their time of need. She says they could be anyone like a policeman or a chef who gives out free Thanksgiving meals. I replied to her journal entry by saying that I totally agreed with her about the definition of a hero. I told her that my mom was my hero because she does everything in her power to keep me safe and happy. I told her that Ii really enjoyed her entry as well as her weebly page. I told her that she was an awesome writer and to keep up the good work. I also asked her if she could pick a hero, who would her hero be?
My 6th C4K was for Patrick in @akp Mrs. Peterson's class. He did a characterization of Dally from The Outsiders. He summarized the character and then broke down the action, his words, and the views of others. I commented by telling him that he was an awesome write and that I liked hoe he broke down the summary and explained in detail and that I especially loved the part about the action. I told him that I could picture this scene happening in my imagination.
My 7th C4K Assignment was for some students that traveled to Ireland for a week. I was assigned to the blog post "Home away from home." The students talked about the hotel that they would be staying in for the length of their visit and embedded an access link to the website. The students said that they were grateful that the hotel could find them a room since they checked in a lot earlier than the check in time. I replied by telling them that Ireland was on my list of places to see in the world and I really enjoyed reading their blogpost. I also told them that the pictures that they posted were beautiful and that the hotel seemed like a lovely place to stay. I told them to stay safe and have a blast on their trip!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Blog Post #10
Adventures in Pencil Integrations
![http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2009/08/dont-teach-your-kids-this-stuff-please.html]( "dangeroulyirrelvant.org")
John T. Spencer has a blogpost/Cartoon about the argument over whether Papermate or Ticonderoga would be the better choice.:
Character 1: I'm a papermate, I cost less, but Break all the time
Character 2: I'm a Ticonderoga, I'm the most expensive purchase a hipster will ever make.
My first reaction was that obviously papermate was the most reasonable choice and Ticonderoga would be the choice for more serious writers. However, after reading the comments of others and starting to look beyond the surface I have also come up with another theory.
Maybe the point of the story is one that someone I know repeatedly tells me all the time:"sometimes a good investment is better than a quick fix." It's not that using a papermate is bad its that investing in a good pen for the long haul would be the smarter choice. If you constantly buy cheap things and they break, one would probably spend more money to keep replacing it instead of buying something that cost a bit more but lasts a lot longer. Cars, for example are things that people constantly are spending money on. If you cant afford to buy a BMW and you know it costs 3x's as much as your annual salary to be repaired then don't buy it. You can buy a Honda that does the same thing and is more affordable to fix and is more dependable than a BMW. Invest in things that are dependable but affordable. I thought it was a cute cartoon that forces you to think outside the box.
Why were your kids playing games
This dialogue about a teacher and her tactics it sort of interesting. It definitely shows some of the things that are required by law for teaching environments such as the open door policy and some that should be retired like the "slate based education." This type of education is sort of robotic and non-responsive to the students of this generation. Students of today are technology driven and need new fresh learning techniques to encourage them to want to learn. If children sit in classrooms and aren't engaged in learning then they certainly won't be absorbing the information that is fed to them. If this doesn't happen then the children are not learning.
Remember Pencil Quest? is another one of John Spencer's blogs about teaching. This blog talks about a quest that one of his teachers sent him on as a child. The quest would involve a map and some pencils. He was so excited to go on the quest, not because it was involving looking for pencils, but because it was something different, This would be something that he would always remember. As a future educator, I can only hope that I can do something with my students that would make a lifetime impact on them. I want my students to remember the fun educational time that they had in my class. This was a great blog about teachers and students and I really enjoyed it.
Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?
This blog post by Scott McLeod is about not teaching your children the tricks and trades of the internet. Not teaching your kids how to blog, goggle search, social networking, or making videos are things that they probably already know. However, these are things that school systems tend to push away. They try to push away all these things only seeing the bad side of them not the good side of them. They don't collaborate education with the internet. The internet has so many beneficial sites for educational purposes. Apps on apple computers have so many different learning collaborative tools that students could use. Yet school administration chooses to shoo them away. It's kinda sad because unlike time, education is standing still. This is not a good thing because in the long run our students will be left in the dust to technology.
Character 1: I'm a papermate, I cost less, but Break all the time
Character 2: I'm a Ticonderoga, I'm the most expensive purchase a hipster will ever make.
My first reaction was that obviously papermate was the most reasonable choice and Ticonderoga would be the choice for more serious writers. However, after reading the comments of others and starting to look beyond the surface I have also come up with another theory.
Maybe the point of the story is one that someone I know repeatedly tells me all the time:"sometimes a good investment is better than a quick fix." It's not that using a papermate is bad its that investing in a good pen for the long haul would be the smarter choice. If you constantly buy cheap things and they break, one would probably spend more money to keep replacing it instead of buying something that cost a bit more but lasts a lot longer. Cars, for example are things that people constantly are spending money on. If you cant afford to buy a BMW and you know it costs 3x's as much as your annual salary to be repaired then don't buy it. You can buy a Honda that does the same thing and is more affordable to fix and is more dependable than a BMW. Invest in things that are dependable but affordable. I thought it was a cute cartoon that forces you to think outside the box.
Why were your kids playing games
This dialogue about a teacher and her tactics it sort of interesting. It definitely shows some of the things that are required by law for teaching environments such as the open door policy and some that should be retired like the "slate based education." This type of education is sort of robotic and non-responsive to the students of this generation. Students of today are technology driven and need new fresh learning techniques to encourage them to want to learn. If children sit in classrooms and aren't engaged in learning then they certainly won't be absorbing the information that is fed to them. If this doesn't happen then the children are not learning.
Remember Pencil Quest? is another one of John Spencer's blogs about teaching. This blog talks about a quest that one of his teachers sent him on as a child. The quest would involve a map and some pencils. He was so excited to go on the quest, not because it was involving looking for pencils, but because it was something different, This would be something that he would always remember. As a future educator, I can only hope that I can do something with my students that would make a lifetime impact on them. I want my students to remember the fun educational time that they had in my class. This was a great blog about teachers and students and I really enjoyed it.
Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?
This blog post by Scott McLeod is about not teaching your children the tricks and trades of the internet. Not teaching your kids how to blog, goggle search, social networking, or making videos are things that they probably already know. However, these are things that school systems tend to push away. They try to push away all these things only seeing the bad side of them not the good side of them. They don't collaborate education with the internet. The internet has so many beneficial sites for educational purposes. Apps on apple computers have so many different learning collaborative tools that students could use. Yet school administration chooses to shoo them away. It's kinda sad because unlike time, education is standing still. This is not a good thing because in the long run our students will be left in the dust to technology.
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