Blog Post 7

Project Based Learning Part 1

This video is a conversation between Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps about Capps experiences as a third grade teacher. Anthony Capps looks at projected based learning as not only a means to show that the student has achieved something but also a means to get the students to learn something. The goal of a good project is to have an authentic audience, have student interests in mind, and have it involve the community some how. If the student have an authentic audience they push themselves more to do their best work. If they are given the opportunity to show their work off they are also rewarded not with just a good grade but by the audience. Having students interest in mind while making the goal for projects is important because we need to select things that will keep them engaged. Being able to involve the community somehow within projects that occur in the classroom is important because then the student can see how it relates to their life outside the classroom. As an example, Anthony Capps has his student write a letter to their congress man , Joe Bonner, to address the issue that women are now allowed to fight in open combat. Capps used this topic to tie into their reading which was about equality and cultures. Capps was also about to meet the reading, writing and history standards required by the AARS. Once the students were done writing their letters, Capps had them peer edit and revise each others. After all of the revisions were made the student picked the top eight that would be sent to their congress man. The students were okay with picking these letters because they felt as if it was representing them as a whole and not just the individuals that wrote them.

After watching this video I have learned that is can be come what easy to incorporate project based learning in the classroom. I learned some goals to set when making a good project. I have also learned that these projects can meet multiple standards that are required for the students to learn. This type of project also let the students learn how to revise and critic each others work which is also very important. Involving the community plays a major role in these projects. When you do incorporate the community the students not only learn the information but they also learn how to put it in the context of their everyday lives.

Project Based Learning Part 2

This video is also a conversation between Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps about Capp's experiences as a third grade teacher. Anthony Capps tells Dr. Strange about two different projects that had some difficulties. The first project was about the students researching what it would be like to be a child in Afghanistan. The student were to make a movie about it and include pictures. He was shocked at how the students came up with their own questions to answer. Some of them focused on specific things like religion, fashion, warfare and farming. One of his students was not allowed to participate in this project because his father had served in Afghanistan and did not quite agree with his son learning about the culture. Mr. Capps gave him an alternate assignment which he did well on. As teachers, we need to be prepared for thing like this. We need to have alternate assignments in place just in case if the parents do not agree with the project the students are assigned.

iCurio

In this video, Dr. Strange asks Anthony Capps what iCurio is and how he uses it within his classroom. Capps describes iCurio as a tool that has filtered information that students can use. Students can safely search for things like pictures, videos and websites on iCurio. iCurio is a search engine for audio and video around subjects that fit into the Common Core Standards. The students are given a login for iCurio and can search things by themselves. iCurio supplies the students with storage capacity. Not only can teachers store things but so can the students. If the students find something interesting or relevant to their topic they are searching they can save it to their account. This gives the students the practice to learn how to be organized. iCurio also has a directory for historical figures. This is a great tool because it makes it easier for the students to find who they are looking for. The students can type in a generic search into this directory and iCurio will find the people that fit the description. iCurio is great for all grade levels and can give the teacher comfort in knowing the students are using a safe site to find information. iCurio also has a read aloud feature which can be great for ELL students, blind students or if the student has a learning disability.

Discovery Ed

In this video, Dr. Strange is asking Anthony Capps what is Discovery Ed and is it a useful tool. Capps refers to the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" and he says then "A video must be worth a million." Capps lets his a students search on Discovery Ed to find videos about the topic they are discussing such as plants. Capps describes Discovery Ed as a tool that brings experts into the classroom. Providing a video to go along with text is a great way to get the students to retain more about the topic. Capps allows his students to make videos within the classroom. Capps says the students like reading just as much as making the videos. Discovery Ed is a great tool to use because it can provide the student with a source other than their teacher to learn from.

The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers Part 1
Summarized by: Chelsea Calvert

In this video Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps are creating a list of things that consists of things that as teachers we should do. They make a list of four things that teachers should do. Teachers need to be lifelong learners. To prepare ourselves to get into the teaching field we need to be extremely interested in learning. We need to be constantly learning and modeling how to learn. Teaching is hard work and even after you leave your classroom you should still be seeking to learn new information. Learning how to teach should be a teacher’s hobby and part of their everyday lives. It can be very rewarding once you have learned something new that you can incorporate within your classroom. Teacher need to be flexible and creative. As teachers, we need to be prepared for surprises that might arise in the classroom. We need to be prepared to go outside the normal routine if something were to come up. Teachers should also reflect on their work. We need to be able to critic ourselves to master teaching. These four things are all important tasks that teachers need to focus on.

Don’t Teach Tech - Use It
Summarized by: Keri Brown

Anthony starts off by explaining that whether we like it or not we use technology every day. He states “we’re immersed in it whether you want to be or not, you can’t buy groceries without it.” Anthony says that technology is natural for kids whether they are in low-income areas or high-income areas, technology is a part of their lives. When creating your lessons, you should scaffold technology into those plans. Anthony says that you should focus on one technology at a time and make sure your students have different opportunities to review and continue practicing and using each technology. Once students have practice with a technology tool you can then add on and incorporate the use of other technology. Anthony uses iMovie with his third graders and he says that by allowing them to use iMovie they can be creative, express themselves, it is free, it is clean, and the students love it. You should use technology in your classroom to allow your students to get excited about what they are doing, use it to let them share what they are doing, and scaffold it to let them use one tool at a time then progressively add in more tools. Do not expect perfection from your students, because it is not going to happen. Students will make mistakes, but as a teacher you should allow time to reflect on those mistakes so they can better themselves the next time they use this technology. Dr. Strange states “you don’t have to worry about spending a great deal of time or energy teaching your kids how to use technology, just give them the opportunity, and don’t expect perfect.” As the teacher, you should “do it first.” Use the technology and do the projects to better understand why students are asking questions and how you can help them.

Additional Thoughts About the Lesson
Summarized by: Kenesha Brown

Anthony Capps explains that “a lesson is four layers thick.” When teachers are preparing their lessons, there are four things to think about. The first layer is think about the lesson in terms of the year. Teachers should think about how are they going to cover the content standards and have the curriculum they prepared covers all of the standards. The next layers is unit. There are layers within unit that create the rest of the four layers to an effective lesson. Teacher should consider unfolding a unit in a way “that is meaningful and that is connected in some type of way.” The unit should be a stairwell of goals that teachers want their students to meet. “Stretch out a unit by saying we going to start the unit off with this and by the end of the unit the student should be able to do this.” The unit then moves down to the week. Teachers should think about their goal on a week scale. They will need to try to figure out how everything is going to get done. Most importantly, the final layer is the daily lesson. The daily lesson is the way teachers get students’ attention. It is the hook to what they can expect to do. It is also the way teachers can evaluate students learning.