Blog Post 10

Morgan Bayda: An Open Letter to Educators

I liked that Morgan Bayda posted in her blog post is welcoming to change. Bayda and the video by Dan Brown both make good points. Dan Brown is very hyped up in his video. His main point is that how educators teach is not effective anymore. He thinks that a professor with 400 students just yelling out facts is not helpful in this day. I agree. Facts are free because of the internet and why would somebody want to pay for facts when they can get them for free? However, in society today a college degree is important. To change the necessity of a degree is practically impossible. Therefore, we should change the way educators teach which would then make an education even more valuable. I feel as though EDM 310 would be a good example of a type of class that Dan Brown would approve of because we're learning so much more than just facts! Actually, our learning isn't even based on facts. It's based on becoming a better learner so we can be better teachers. In conclusion, Dan Brown, Morgan Bayda, and anyone who wants to enjoy learning would both appreciate a class that requires them to be engaged in their learning rather than a lecture hall where they fight sleeping.

Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home-
Ha Ha! This was interestingly humorous. A teacher was confronted by an administrator because he let his students take pencils home. (Maybe I am very fortunate but I still don't understand why the students wouldn't be allowed pencils to begin with...???) Anyway, the administrator spit out a statistic which said that students who use pencils at home have lower test scores. The teacher then explained to her that the statistic is a little bogus and better yet he explained some solutions to the problem. He finds homework projects which will keep his students interested so they will want to do them instead of playing games with their pencils. I think that his solutions will prove beneficial.
PS- Is this a metaphor I'm just not grasping or are students really not allowed pencils?

Project #12 Interview with Jena Jaragoski- Being in a sorority

Blog Post 9

I knew right away that I would like this post because the first words I saw were Stay positive.
Mr. McClung reminds us, as teachers, to constantly check for student apprehension. We don't need to focus so much on ourselves when we're giving a lesson. If we do that we will become unconnected from our audience. Mr. McClung stresses to let our audience drive our lesson plans. He also stresses to be flexible. If a lesson doesn't go as planned, then smile and go with the flow. Mr. McClung believes "communication is the best medicine." Be reasonable. If a student doesn't meet an expectation that you, the teacher, has set for them then pick them up, dust them off and encourage them to try again. Dr. Strange's favorite tip from Mr. McClung- Don't be afraid of technology. It's a great tip! Technology is here to help us and it can enhance learning greatly. Listening to your students is another very valuable piece of advice. Knowing your students will make teaching them that much more effective. Actually this may be Dr. Strange's favorite tip- Never stop learning. Students are expected to learn so why not teachers?

C4K#5,6

#5-
Joshua @ Pt. England School
blogged about pitching a tent. He gave good details about what to do and what not to do. Joshua also had help from a friend, Matthew, in writing this. The two gave a brief description then listed in order how to actually pitch the tent. I thanked Joshua for the instructions. They will be very useful next time I go camping. Then I told him to keep up the good blogging.

#6-
Rusty's Restaurant is Rusty by Athena in Ms. Engelhard's class-
Athena posted an example of an informal letter. She posed as an infuriated customer who wanted their money refunded. The customer, Brittany, was very rude and unprofessional. Athena added a p.s. note to the letter which said...
"P.S. This is an example of an informal letter. Do not write in this way if you would like your money returned."
I laughed. It was a great way to make a point. I told Athena that it was great idea and it was also slightly humorous.


(I talked to Mr. Capps about C4K#4 being in the last C4K post.)

SMARTboard Project 13

Blog Post 8

Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2-
I was pretty confused at the beginning of Part 1. It was hard to follow. But I do agree with Miller when he said that we are in a time of change in human history. We are changing from pen and paper to multimedia for documentation and sharing. A desk isn't as valuable unless you have a computer on top of it. Part 2 also made some good points. Miller said "...ideas do not belong to us individually but as a culture." I strongly agree with this statement. People who have formulated these ideas were raised by their culture. If they were raised in a different culture the idea probably would have never been formed. All the tools in the video kind of blew my mind. But in order for teachers to "share their ideas freely" I should get comfortable with all these gadgets. Multimedia writing is becoming so popular that my students will for sure be using it. I may be the one teaching my students how to multimedia write instead of cursive, even though I love cursive so I'll probably teach them that anyway!

The Chipper Series-
Haha Chipper says she can see the future. I enjoyed this video! It's pretty entertaining. It also reiterates the importance of doing your work on time! And the Wikipedia comment... I laughed out loud. Chipper isn't willing to learn by herself which is not how EDM310 works. Chipper is confused but the sarcastic message is great. Timeline Pilot School is a joke. There isn't a reliable way to really check the progress on the students which is really important. As a teacher, Chipper is not prepared or responsible enough to teach any students. Because she dropped out of college, Chipper moves from unstable job to another unstable job. Finally Chipper makes the right decision and goes back to school. EDM310 is helping make me more responsible and I'll be more prepared to teach effectively.
EDM310 For Dummies-
I also laughed in this movie. At the beginning, the girls are SO dramatic! The set up of the movie is great; like an infomercial. If anyone decides to make the book it would make a serious profit! I probably would have bought it! I was a lot more worried about EDM310 than I should have been. As long as I keep up with the work I don't stress out. The book would be helpful, though.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn-
Wow! I was shocked when I heard education was ranked last! Education is so important. Students need to be able to learn in an enriched, interesting environment. Kids love to be with their friends outside of school... so why shouldn't they love to be with their friends at school? A connection for teachers to collaborate with each other will benefit the students and teachers. Setting standards isn't enough. We have to lead our students to exceed these standards. The message of this video agrees with the idea that the classroom needs to adapt to technology for the kids' sakes.
RSA Animate- The Secret Powers of Time-
This video grabbed my attention immediately! The drawings were very neat. However, it was hard to keep up with the information. Basically, the video described that people live in 3 different times; the past, present, and future. People who live in the past will be reminiscing the good times (past positive) or the times they regret (past negative). The people who live in the present are hedonistic, which means they seek pleasure and avoid pain, or say it doesn't pay to plan because their life is lead by fate. And there are two types of people who live in the future: those who have learned to work instead of play and those who believe eternal life begins after the death of the body. When the narrator starts talking about Italy the video gets funny. The video says that in different cultures people have a different pace of life, which is very true! This man believes the purpose of schooling is to take past oriented kids and turn them into future oriented people. This video covered a lot of material in a little amount of time. I really liked it. I never once got bored watching it. I was disappointed to see that only 20% of American families have family meals. The study that asked people "if you had an eighth day of the week what would they do?" gave very interesting results. My first answer would have been relax but the majority of people chose work harder and make more progress. That says that people feel like they can never catch up in the work world.
RSA Animate- The surprising truth about what motivates us-
Another great film! This one talked about motivations. People who were given a simple rule-by-rule task tended to succeed in order to get their prize but people who were given a complicated cognitive task managed to fail more often for a higher prize than for a smaller prize. Money proved to not be a motivator for complicated, critical thinking. I like the idea of paying people enough so money isn't an issue. That way, they will be thinking about the work and not the money. This video states that for better performance self-engagement, mastery, and purpose are all needed in the job description. Basically, if a company wants innovation they shouldn't try to motivate with money. They should just step aside and give the employees a "free day" to collaborate and brainstorm ideas with no pressure. I really liked both of the RSA Animate videos. They had good, fresh messages with research to support them.

C4T #3

Synthesizing Education by Aaron Eyler

Aaron Eyler's last post was December 29, 2010 so I assumed he probably wouldn't have a new post up by next week. Therefore, my first comment was on an article he posted on December 16, 2010 and I left my second comment on his most recent post which is December 29, 2010.

You Get One Shot At This- posted December 16, 2010.
Aaron Eyler listed a few posts he had read which discussed the impact of failure on our education system. Eyler believes teachers need to stop ignoring failure by just moving on to the next task. If a student "fails" a task they should be able to redo it and make improvements. Students that are only grasping 70, 80, or 90% of the curriculum can't fully understand the future concepts.
I agree with Eyler in the fact that when a student fails they should get a chance to make improvements. It doesn't benefit anyone when a student only understands parts of the curriculum. Partial understanding hinders the student's future learning.

Calling All Political Junkies Who Care About Kids- posted December 29, 2010.
Well Aaron Eyler wrote that his new year resolution is to blog regularly on his site. This was his last post... haha.
Anyway, Eyler posted that he's been infactuated with commenting on political blogs and debating the educational issues they address. He wants to start a political blog that would make understanding politics easier for children.
I think it would be a great idea to start a political blog for children! As a child I never fully grasped the concepts of politics but I think with a little more help I could have. I would definitely be interested in sharing this blog with my students in the future if Eyler makes the blog. If not, I'll probably find one made by someone else anyway because I think it is important for children to understand politics to form their own opinions on the issues.

Short Movie Project #11- So You Want to be a Teacher?

First PLN Progress Report

So far I like my Personal Learning Network. I mostly use it when I'm multitasking on the internet. It makes staying organized really easy and convenient. I have all of the websites that I log onto on a normal basis on my PLN. I have a few links that I rarely use. But still, that's convenient. I'm still getting used to all the gadgets and tricks it can do. I've explored some of the links on the Edu Tools page. I can see most of them being very useful when I have my own classroom. I especially like how I can have multiple PLNs that are easily accessible and labeled with tabs. Out of the tools I don't regularly need for homework or bank accounts, the translate and weather ones are my favorite.
I'll definitely continue to use my personal learning network. I'll also introduce my students to Symbaloo and help them set up their own personal learning network. Even though I don't need it daily, my personal learning network is VERY helpful.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Professor Randy Pausch started his lecture by introducing the elephant in the room: his ten tumors. Then Pausch told us that he would not be talking about his cancer.
The thesis of The Last Lecture is to achieve your childhood dreams. Pausch believes we cannot change the cards we are dealt; just how we play the hand. The rest of the lecture is about his dreams he had as a child. Pausch knows it is important to have specific dreams.

Pausch's Childhood Dreams
1. Being in zero gravity.
2. Playing in the NFL
3. Authoring an article in the World Book Encyclopedia
4. Being Captain Kirk
5. Winning stuffed animals
6. Being a Disney Imagineer

Pausch found an opportunity to be in zero gravity. Then he hit a brick wall. The brick walls are there for a reason- to stop people who don't want it badly enough. Most people would have called it quits but Pausch kept trying and finally was able to be in zero gravity.
Pausch's desire to play in the NFL led him to a lot of life lessons. One practice his coach hassled him the whole time and later realized if someone isn't yelling at you when you've messed up then they've already given up on you.
Captain Kirk was a leader and Pausch believes Captain Kirk was a good role model for every young child. Obviously Pausch would never be Captain Kirk so he changed his dream to meeting him instead. Pausch believes it's okay to change your dreams Winning stuffed animals was also important to him because as a child he was always impressed by the big men carrying around huge stuffed animals at theme parks.
Pausch was initially denied as a Disney Imagineer. But a few years later he found an opportunity to work with the Imagineers. Pausch proved worthy and was offered a job as a Disney Imagineer. He declined. Being an Imagineer didn't fall into his life's path anymore.
Pausch mentioned toward the end of his lecture that none of this would have been possible without his parents. I really liked when he said that. He credited the people whom have inspired and taught him the most important life lessons.
It's inspiring to see Pausch so happy throughout the whole lecture. I believe that a truely satisfied person can be so happy when they know they are dying. Pausch indirectly taught me that no matter how bad the cards you've been dealt stink, you can always play a good hand. Persevering [your childhood dreams] is the most important message Pausch taught his audience. I think Professor Randy Pausch is a great role model for every teacher looking to make a difference in their students' lives.

C4T #2

Lee Kolbert- A GeekyMomma's Blog

Protecting Reputations Online: A Lesson to Share and Then Create
Lee Kolbert is a 4th grade teacher. She also believes in the idea of engagement in learning. Her post was about the importance of being mature and responsible on the internet. I strongly agree with her because I think anyone's reputation can be permanently ruined from one controversial post. For example, when John Lennon said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus their reputation was ruined and they were boycotted. Eventually, of course, Lennon apologized and everyone loved the Beatles again. Who could hate the Beatles forever, anyway?
Everyone else may not be so lucky as to get a chance to apologize. Offensive comments on the internet can ruin your future. So be smart and avoid offending people.

An Exercise in Perception-
Lee Kolbert posted this picture and asked what my first impression is of what's most likely going on.
A) Learning
B) Cheating
C) Wasting Time


I responded A) Learning because, even though I can't see what the boy is writing or drawing, their expressions show that the two students are engaged. If they were cheating their expressions would be a little more mischievous. The kids in the background also look like they are engaged in an activity. I would presume that the two students are collaborating and learning.