Project #10 Interview

Blog Post 16

I want my students to have the options to learn in different ways. I will be teaching the third grade. I want to teach this grade because they are so eager to learn. I plan to rearrange my classroom up as needed. I will have the desk arranged into groups so that the students can discuss about what they are learning. I also want my students to be able to work well and have the proper social skills to communicate with their peers.

My classroom will be mainly hands on. I do not believe in using worksheets for my students to learn. I will incorporate projects into every subject at least once a week. I myself need to have projects that are hands on to stay engaged in the class so I do not want my students to do the same. I also want my classroom to have an environment that the students are comfortable asking questions in front of their peers and participate in class discussion.

I plan on using the SMART Board for most of my instruction. I am still amazed at how much an be done on the SMART Board. I also plan to use the SMART Board Exchange because it has lesson plan already on there that I can modify. I will use the SMART Board because it is interactive and the students are more likely to stay engaged. I do not want to be in front of the class lecturing the entire class I want the students to be able to interact and learn from what each other are thinking.

I will also have a class blog and the students will have a blog of their own. On the class blog I will post a few times a week if not daily on what we are doing that day or throughout the week. When we do projects I want them to be able to video them and post them to their blogs. I will also have them do assignments on their blogs and they will have to comment on their peers work. It will be beneficial for the students to get feedback from their own peers and not just the teacher. Their parents will also be able to see their progress in the class.

As I have stated I want my classroom to be hands on. In my first blog post I was referring more to individual projects but after doing projects as a group I have changed my mind some. I do want my students to do some projects individually and some with their classmates. I have found that if they are a group they can learn from each other and also learn how to work with their peers more. I think now that I would have my students make iMovies for some of their projects because the options are endless on how to do a project on iMovie. I want my students eager to explore the different options that these types of things can have.

Blog Post 11

Mrs. Cassidy's Class uses blogs, internet, webpages, Skype and many other technological advances in everyday learning. The students’ post and EDM310 comment on them. The children explain how they learn from the comments. The students get video, audio, written practice. Mrs. Cassidy has been doing a class webpage for at least 10 years. She has been using a blog for at least 5 years. The administration supports her. This whole technological thing started with 5 donated computers. I would use computers in my classroom daily. So many students learn by seeing, doing and writing. If they see the keys, type the paper, then read the paper they may learn more from it. The blogs have taught me so much from this class. I can only imagine how much I could teach my students with the blog peer commenting. The excitement I have seen in these students is what gives future teachers hope that the technology advancements can bring a smile to education.

 Cassidy 13 Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3

In the videos Dr. Strange is asking Ms. Cassidy questions about the support she is receiving from the school, parents and students. The administrators do not encourage her to try new things but they support her in what she does. She sends a letter home to the parents to get permission from them for the students to have a blog. The parents enjoy the students having it because they can see their progress throughout the year. The blog reflects all subject but it mostly shows the students writing. While you are reading the students work you can see how their writing skill have progressed. The students love to blog because technology has become a part of their everyday life. The students are excited to be able to use technology at school and not just at home. Technology is something that is going to be around forever and always will be evolving. I think as teachers no matter what grade we are teaching it is important for us to be able to incorporate it into our classrooms.
In the second video, Ms. Cassidy is discussing why and how twitter or social networks are so important. Dr. Strange also comments and says how he use to never want to use twitter because he felt it was pointless. Then he was told by a few different people that he just needed to try it and since he did he met Ms. Cassidy and other educators. She also mentioned how she thought it was pointless but once she began to use it realized it was not. She discussed how as teachers we can communicate and meet other educators through social networks and learn from each other. I think using twitter and other social networks to communicate and learn is important. All teachers need to be communicating with other teachers to not only learn but share their work and findings with other teachers.

In the third video. Ms. Cassidy is answering questions asked by EDM310 students. She was asked realistically how much do your students get to blog? She explained that since has a smaller class they all blog together collaboratively. I think blogging together is a great idea because the students and feed off of each other. One student addressed the fact of protecting the students and what they see since they are on the internet. Ms. Cassidy makes to sure to tell the students to only use their first name and not to post pictures of themselves. She also teaching them that they need to be positive when commenting on other people's blogs. To protect the students from what they see, she uses her class blog as a hub for them to use. She will give them links to educational games but is sure to tell them that what she wants them to click on is in the middle not the flashy add on either side of the page. I think this a great way to keep the students off of sites that might not be safe. By using the class blog as a hub is a good way to keep them on the pages they need to be on.

Blog Post 15

Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impaired Students

Summarized By: Ke’Nesha Brown

Assistive technology is “an umbrella term used for assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices” (Wikipedia). It promotes independence by giving people the opportunity to perform tasks they were once unable to perform (Wikipedia). Assistive technologies give disabled children a chance to feel normal and interact with others in the classroom. It enhances their learning, remove all learning barriers, and pushes students to go beyond their boundaries. Assistive Technologies give each disabled child a sense of hope. In addition, it changes the way people think around them.

According to the video, one in 2500 Australian children have vision impairment (ATVHIC). Every day in Australia, one child is diagnosed with hearing impairment. With the statistic given, the curious questions for educators are “Are we doing enough to support impaired children” and “Are we prepared” (ATVHIC).

Teachers should be the main line of defense for all children when it comes to quality education. They should be willing to knock down old walls and building new ones. With assistive technologies, impaired kids have the ability to engage, investigate, and explore. Most importantly, it gives the students the ability to interact with their environment. 

There are many devices that can be helpful to sensory disabled children. Some of the devices are:

·         Text to speech devices

·         Text phones

·         Talking Calculators

·         Note takers

·         Sensory aids

·         Speech to text devices

·         FM radio’s

·         iPhone, iPods, iPads

·         Screen magnifiers

·         Flip cameras

The Mountbatten

In The Mountbatten video, they explains how vital immediate feedback is to struggling learners. The Mountbatten Braille Writer allows students to receive audio and tactile feedback. It produces braille while announcing what letters are being produced. In addition, the device is an advance tool. It has the ability to save files; transfer files to, and receive files from a computer. 

For teachers and students who don’t know braille, the Mountbatten Brailler is a great tool for mainstream classrooms. The braille text converts into print and is display upon a screen.  This tool allows blind children to be included in curriculum. It also allows them to receive feedback from teachers and participate in peer group projects.

Assistive Technology for Children with Autism

(written by Susan Strokes under a contract with CESA and funded by a discretionary grant from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction)

The assistive technology tool I found useful for the classroom was provided by Autism Consultant,Susan Stroke. She explains how technology have improve the quality of life for people who suffer with different disabilities. However, despite the fact that  technology attracts the children who has autism. Stroke explains how technology can be helpful for children who has autism. Stroke explains how technology can be helpful for children with autism. It can help them understand their environment. It also help them with communication skills, social interaction skills, and motivation skills. 

Stokes explains how the Visual Representation Systems are helpful for autistic children. Objects, pictures drawing, line drawing, and written words can be used with various modes of technology, as long as the child understands.  One software program Stokes mentioned is Boardmaker. Boardmaker is a software  from the Mayer-Johnson software program. It is a program for children, as well as adults, that provides 3,000 picture communications in black and white or color. PCS present a clear representation of objects or words. However, autistic kids may dislike color; therefore, teachers should take caution on what color they may use.

Another tool that provides a more concrete images without risking ambiguity because of background clutter is Picture This (20).   It has over 2,700 pictures from a lot of different categories like, creating schedules, sequence activities for following instructions, etc.  

Strokes tells us that some children who suffer Autism have difficulty understanding two dimensional visual representation system. These students may require an actual object, or True Object Based Icon. TOBI can be any line drawn picture that has been cut out in a shape or outline of what it is suppose to represent. The child has the opportunity to see and feel the symbol and shape.

Having assistive technologies in the classroom helps teachers and disable children communicate with one another. Every child’s learning ability is different; however, every child has the ability to learn. By providing the tool sensory aid children need, teachers are providing their students with a fair chance in receiving the same quality education as others.  It also teaches the other students how to interact and accept people who are different from them. I personally think this assistive technologies is a tool that all teachers should have. 

Teaching Math to the Blind,iPad Usage For the Blind

Summarized by: Chelsea Calvert

Both of these videos gave instructions and reasoning for using the two different resources. The first video discussed how it is almost impossible to learn or teach math through braille. The University of San Francisco invented a board or a work space for the student to lay tiles that had the letters printed on them and written in braille. The board also would connect to a computer and the computer would say the numbers as they were placed on the board.

The second video shows how the iPad has the over voice feature. With having this feature one could set the iPad to say out-loud what functions were being used. The video shows how to navigate an iPad with having the iPad read whichever icon you ran your finger over. It will also read books once they are selected. For the blind this is the only tool that you can turn on and have this feature in effect.According to the 2007 National Deaf-Blind Child Count, over 10,000 are children under the age of 21.(National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness. (2008, September)) This tool gives these students the ability to have a book at the tip of their fingers that can be read to them.

Both of these videos were informative on different subjects. I never thought about how difficult it would be to teach a blind person math until now. I think that the board would be a great asset to the classroom with a blind person. I think that this board would be helpful in learning the basics of math. I think both tools would be beneficial in the classroom. Using the iPad to read and for other things is a great tool. The students could read whenever they had free time and it would be an easy transition. I think the iPad could be used for every subject in some way.

Summarized by: Keri Brown
Teaching Mom What her Deaf/Blind Child is Learning on the iPad
This video shows a mother using an iPad to learn what her deaf/blind child is learning. This video showed me that just because a student is blind or deaf they are still fully capable of using technology. The deaf students can see all of the icons that are on the iPad and work the same way a hearing student does. For blind students, this showed the mother learning how to swipe with four fingers to change pages and when she scrolled her fingers over the apps and icons they say out loud what exactly they were helping the blind student hear what they are using or what they are looking for.

Apple has a special link on their website for special education students. They say "We believe that technology can provide great learning tools for all learning abilities. Every Mac and iOS device comes standard with innovative accessibility features." The iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch come with assistive features that have changed the learning landscape for students with special needs. These features help with learning and literacy, vision, hearing, and physical and motor skills. "Guided Access helps students with autism or other attention and sensory challenges stay on task." This allows the teacher to limit a device to stay on one app by disabling the Home button, and even restrict touch input on certain areas of the screen. "VoiceOver is a gesture-based screen reader that lets students know what’s happening on their Multi-Touch screen — and helps them navigate it — even if they can’t see it." This is great for blind students to still be able to work the technology and navigate through the assignments. "Closed captions offer all kinds of visual learners the ability to see captions in video to help with comprehension." This application is very useful for deaf students.

Blog Post 14

Go Ed is a website for teachers to get ideas from. This website provides teachers with a 101 resources to find games, rubrics and more. Each subject has individual tabs so that you do not have to search for a certain one. They also give you links to eBook for every subject. Go to this website and choose a subject and a game. Describe why you choose this. You can also choose a game that is multi-subject. Do not forget to check them out on Facebook and to follow them on Pinterest. If you would like you can comment and add a helpful website that you have found on their page. I choose to select as English as my subject of choice for now. I selected the Audio Flashcards: Family. This game not only lets the students hear the words but they can also see pictures to represent the word with an image. You also have an option of English, French, German and Spanish. Once you select the language you want to hear it the spelling of the words pop up also. I think this is a great feature because the students can not only learn the words in English but also in other languages once they have mastered the word. This game could also be used for students that speak one of the other languages other than English to learn the English language.

C4T November

This week I was assigned to comment on Tony Baldasatro's blog. In this posted a quote from an email he had written. The quote was "Just because kids will work and hard and do whatever we ask them to do doesn't [automatically] mean we should be asking them to do what is is we are asking them to do."

In my comment I stated who I was and where I am attending school. I said that this is a great quote and that as teacher we need to remember why we are having the students do whatever it is we assign them. I also said that we need to make sure ever assignment has a purpose and this quote is a great reminder of just that. I thanked him for sharing.

C4K November

11/10/2013
This week I was assigned to comment on Kayden's blog post who is in the eighth grade from New Zealand.
Kayden wrote this blog post about rock climber and the success. He described how he was trying to climb a rock. He described the climate as he was trying to do this. He also described how his body was reacting once he began to climb.

In my comment I said who I was and that I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I said that I thought he did a great job of being descriptive.

11/17/2013

This week I was assigned to Sarah's blog post. She wrote about her experience about auditioning for the junior orchestra.  She also provided videos of her and her sister named Hannah. She described her responsibilities she was given once she had made it onto the orchestra. 

In my comment, I told her who I was and where I attend school. I also told her I really enjoyed her post and the videos that she had provided. I said that her and Hannah did a fantastic job. 

C4T #5

C4T #5

This week I was assigned to watch video about transgender. A child presents the book When Kayla Was Kyle by Amy Fabrikant and why this book should be available to students.  Within the video, he gives the definition of a transgender and examples. Then he goes on to tell the story within the book which is about a boy who got picked on for playing with dolls. After having his parents accept him be started dressing like a girl. This book addresses a topic that is not discussed often but needs to be. Some students may feel this way but their peers pick on them instead of reassuring them it is okay to be different.

In my comment I said I thought this was a very interesting video. He pointed out great reasons for this book to be in schools. I said that this book not only addresses transgender but also bullying which is a major issue.  I stated that I liked how the book encourages students to be who they are.

C4K October

10/13/2013
I commented on a students blog who was discussing about the events in a book and why the characters made the decision they did. They also mentioned the struggle the characters where going through.

 In my comment I stated who I was and that I am a student from the University of South Alabama in EDM 310. I said I thought they did a great job at describing how the house is full and it is going to effect the parents. I told them to keep up the good work.  I gave them a link to my blog.

10/18/2013
This week I commented on Aylin's blog, who is a seventh grader. In this post she describes her science class and her teacher. She states how she really likes her teacher and enjoys the class.

In my comment I stated who I was and that I am a student at the University of South Alabama in EDM310. I told her I could really tell how much she enjoyed having this teacher. I also said it sounds like she is excited about the school year and it seems like she is going to like this class. I said hopefully she will be able to take some of the skills Mrs.Hartooni will teach her and apply them to other subjects.
I gave her a link to my blog.


11/03/2013
This week I commented on Madison P.'s  blog post that had fun facts about pumpkins. She states where the word pumpkin comes from and that pumpkins are actually fruits. She tells us that Illinois grows the most pumpkins out of the entire United States. She gives us a few more facts about pumpkins and the largest one ever grown.

In my comment, I said that she did a great job of telling fun facts about pumpkins. I also said how I learned a lot by reading her blog.

PLN Project #2

For my personal learning network, I put the websites I most frequently visit and some learning website I viewed from this class. I think this is a great tool for everyone to have because it makes navigating through the internet easy. I feel that my future students will be able to create and use PLNs in the classroom and at home.

Project 12B

Here is a link to the Google Site for our lesson plan.

Project 11

To collaborate about Project 12B without meeting face to face our group choose to open a Google Document. Within this document we discussed  how we were going to present our lesson.  Google Drive is a great way to communicate and collaborate with fellow classmates. Using this tool, we were able to communicate while we were doing our daily routines. It will email each of the group members notifying us that someone has added to the document or project. I plan to use this tool in within my classroom because it gives the students more freedom to communicate on their own time. It also can show who did what within the document so the participation from each group member can be seen.

Blog Post 13

Shukla Bose: Teaching one child at a time

Summarized by: Chelsea Calvert 

Shukla Bose is a woman who went to the Indian slums to start making a difference in the education system they have. She has never been educated how to teach but she has been in the corporate word for twenty six years. In 2003, she started the Parikrma Humanity Foundation out of her own house. They started by walking through the slums and visiting the children and the parents. They realized that most of the children did not go to school. They tried convincing the parents to send their children to school. Once they got back to Shukla Bose's house to begin a plan they were overwhelmed with the numbers of children that should be going to school but do not. The number of students that attend school but cannot read or even do basic math. It was then they realized they are focusing on one child at a time. They started a school in a slum of 70,000 people living below the poverty line. The school was on the rooftop of two story building that was only partially covered. The school started with one hundred sixty five students. Now, after six years they have built four schools and a junior college with one thousand one hundred students that are attending. Their goal is to prepare these students to be educated and be able to function in this chaotic world. They teach every student how to speak English within about three and half months. They also chose one the most difficult curriculums and their students excel in it. The students are also excelling in sports.

The schools not only address the student’s education but also the parents. The parent attendance to school meetings is over eighty percent. At first the parents would sign in by using their thumb print but their children taught them how to sign their names. Some of the fathers had begun to attend the school. They had some mothers approach them about wanting to learn how to read and write. They school formed an after school program for these mothers to attend to educate themselves. She says that 98% of the fathers are alcoholics who they send some of them to a facility to get sober. Once the father has gotten sober, they help him get a job so that he does not relapse.  The school as also taught some fathers about hygiene and how to prepare meals. Some of them work at the school and cook for the students. This type of job gives the father a sense of importance. The school also has programs for the older children in the families so that they will attend and the younger ones will have a way to school.

Bose addresses a few myths in her discussion. One of them is that the children from the slums cannot integrate with mainstream. She shows a video of a student who was selected by Duke University to participate in a program and was sent to a place that had many different cultures. In the video, the girl discusses how much she loved socializing with people of a different race or class then she was. She said normally she would have never approached people that were not in her social class or of her race. Once she had spoken to many different people she realized they are all the same they were all very friendly and could interact with her.

Shukla Bose shared a great testimony that anyone who has the will to make a change can. Within six short years she has help build four schools and a junior college that in itself is amazing. She not only educates the students but also the parents. I think it was a great of them to start an after school program for the mothers to become a part of the learning process. Helping the parents and getting them involved with education will benefit the students. The parents are more likely to make sure their children go to school and get an education if they are excited about it too. This program is also changing the whole demeanor of households by helping the fathers get sober and finding new jobs. They are also teaching the fathers how to cook and how to set up their kitchens. This not only gives the father a new skill but also gives them the knowledge to share to their spouse. They also provide programs for the older students to ensure they will come to school along with their younger siblings. This is something I would have never thought about doing because normally the action of the older siblings does not affect the actions of the younger children. It was a great idea for them to impalement a program to keep the older students engaged in school.  

Summarized by: Keri Brown

Shane Koyczan is an amazing man who told his story through poetry. Koyczan began by talking about how as a child we are told to "stand up for yourself," but that is a hard thing to do when you don't even know who you are. He says that we are expected to define ourselves at such a young age and if we didn't others did it for us by calling us names like geek, fatty, slut, or fag. "What do you want to be when you grow up" is not a fair question because it doesn't allow kids to be what they already are, kids.

Mr. Koyczan talks about his childhood by saying:
At age 8, he wanted to be a marine biologist.
At age 9, he saw JAWS and said no thank you.
At age 10, he was told his parents left because they didn't want him.
At age 11, he wanted to be left alone.
At age 12, he wanted to die.
At age 13, he wanted to kill a kid.
At age 14, he was asked to seriously consider a career path.
When he told them he wanted to be a writer, they told him to come up with something realistic. They told him to come up with something and then told him what he couldn't be. He was basically told to accept the identity that others would give him. His dreams got called names too, silly, foolish, impossible, but yet he kept dreaming.

During the ages 15-18, he hated himself for becoming the thing he loathed…a bully. At age 19 he wrote, "I will love myself despite the ease with which I learn toward the opposite." He said that "standing up for yourself does not have to mean embracing violence."

Mr. Koyczan talked about one specific time when certain people always wanted his answers for the homework and he wanted friends so he would always give them the answers. One boy would always call him "Yogi Bear" and laugh at his belly. After a while, Shane got fed up with this and when the boy asked for his answers to his homework, he gave him all of the wrong answers. When the boy got his homework back, he looked at Shane mad and puzzled that he had received a zero on this homework assignment. This was just enough satisfaction for Shane.

Shane closes by saying "if you can't see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror, look closer, or stare a little longer." There is something inside you that made you keep trying despite everyone who told you to quit. He says that you have to believe that those people were wrong. Shane said, "yes, those things did hurt him, but life is a balancing act that has less to do with pain, and more to do with beauty.

Mae Jemison: Teaching Arts and Sciences Together
Summarized by: Kenesha Brown

Mae Jemison is an American physician and NASA astronaut. She was the first African American woman to travel into space. Jemison had a successful career at NASA; however, she resigned in 1993 to form her own research company. Jemison participated in the Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED) Conference. TED is a global set of conferences owned by a private non-profit organization.
In the video, Mae Jemison explained how arts and sciences should be revitalized. Lewis Carrol quoted “If you don’t much care where you want to get to, then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.” However, Jemison explained that it does matter which direction to take. What we do now is critically important to our future. The world is built off of abstract ideas that people think of today. Knowledgeable ideas came to play as early as the 50’s. The subjects that are now invented, internet, high definition, etc., was thought of and mentioned during the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.
Jemison explained that during the 60’s people believed in hope for the future. They thought that everyone could participate in giving creative ideas. The tools people think is “hot or cool” now are based off the ideas from the 60’s.
On her trip to space, Jemison took three items with her. She took an Alvin Allen poster of a dancer performing a dance piece called Cry, a Badu statue that was given to her by a women’s society, and a certificate from the Chicago Public School students to work and improve science and math. People found it strange that Jemison took the items she chose. However, she felt as if each of the three things she took with her represented human creativity. Human creativity is what allowed them to conceive, create and launch the rocket into space.
Albert Einstein stated that “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true arts and sciences.” The differences of arts and sciences are deconstructive. People look at science as deconstructive because often times it is something that has to be pulled apart to understand. However, Jemison explained that science provides an understanding of universal experiences; whereas, art provides a universal understanding. People must realize that understanding, resources, and will are the cause of the outcome. Ideas and innovation should be driven from a person’s intellect.
Jemison stated that ideas should be thought of as potential energy. Nothing will happen until someone takes a risk. I believe that the arts and sciences play an important role in critical thinking for students. As teachers, we should to continue to stay ahead on a technological standpoint. However, we must remind our students that inventions come from people who are not afraid of sharing their ideas and failing. Students need to learn the importance of embracing culture. They need to understand that there are many ways of viewing situations. Therefore, as educators, we need to teach our students how to accept abstract ideas.

Project 12 Part A

Project 15

My Lesson Plan #3 

This lesson plan is for a third grade social studies class that will last for one week. The students will learn about what civil rights are and they civil rights movement. The driving question is: "What is the importance of the historical events and locations within the civil rights movement?"

 The students will get to pick the location of the topic they want to discuss and make a presentation about it.  They will do research and make a Google presentation to share with the other students in class. Throughout research and working on projects, students will break into groups to practice their presentations and later revise any critiques their peers provided. After making any necessary revisions, the students will present their projects to the class and then write personal reflections to post along with their presentation on the class blog. 

 

Blog Post 12

Changing Education Paradigms

Summarized by: Kenesha Brown

In Sir Ken Robinson’s video, Changing Education Paradigm, he explains how every country is reforming public schools.  The main reason why public education is reforming is because of economics and culture. With economics, people are trying to figure out a way to educate children in the 21st century, given that people cannot anticipate what the economy will look like at the end of the week (Robinson). With culture, on the other hand, people are trying to figure out a way to educate children so that they will have some type of cultural identity. However, where the problem lies with education is educators are trying to meet the future by doing what they have done in the past.

A lot of kids are being alienated because they don’t know the purpose of their education.  Robinson explains how when he was younger  he was taught to go to school, work hard and in the long run, hard work pays off; however, kids these days don’t believe in that. As educators, we have to raise standards, but the current system is designed and conceived for a different era. The educational system is conceived in the intellectual culture of enlightenment. Robinson tells us that before the 18th century there was no form of public education. Mostly wealthy families could afford schooling. Public education gives compulsory to everyone. It is funded by taxation and free at the point of delivery. On the contrary, a lot of people objected to public education. They felt as if it was impossible for poor and work class families’ children to benefit from getting an education. People believe that these children were incapable of learning how to read and write.

Robinson explains how public education base kids’ academic ability off of deducting reasoning and knowledge of the classic. Children who are smart are considered academic; children who are not smart are considered non-academic. However, non-academic children don’t know how brilliant they really are. Robinson views the model of education as trouble. He explains that the modern epidemic of education is ADHD; however, this is not an epidemic. “Children are being medicated routinely” (Robinson).In today’s society, kids are living in the most stimulating time in the history on the earth. They have a more advance perspective of how technology works. Instead, they are being force with information. Their attention is being pulled away from every technological platform.  Lecturing is becoming boring.  Children are getting through education by being anesthetized. Instead of shutting students’ senses off and deadening them to what’s happening teachers should be waking them up.

In addition, Robinson tells us that education is modeled on the interest of industrialization. Schools are being organized as if they are factory lines. Children are being educated in batches, age groups, instead of ability. Robinson explains that the model of education don’t start from the line of mentality; it is about standardization and changing directions.

“Divergent Thinking is not the same as creativity” (Robinson). Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value; whereas, divergent thinking is an essential capacity of creativity. There are a lot of possible ways to find answers. Teacher should encourage students to find creative ways to interpret a question.  Questions can have multiple answers, however, kids are taught there is only one answer and it’s in the back of the book.  They are often told not to look or copy because it is cheating, but outside of schools’ walls, it’s collaborating.  This is because of the gene pool of education.

Sir Ken Robinson made valuable points on how our educational system works. Teachers don’t realize that they are failing our students by not taking advantage of the technological opportunities that is being presented.  Great learning happens in groups. Allowing students to collaborate is the stuff to growth in the classroom. As educators, we need to embrace our stimulating society and apply real world application to our classrooms. Kids have more advanced opportunities that they need to be exposed too. The educational system from the 18th century has no use for this 21st century generation.

The Importance of Creativity by: Ken Robinson 

Summarized by: Chelsea Calvert 

Sir Ken  Robinson believes that as an educator we have to prepare our students for what the world will be like in just a few years even though we ourselves have no idea. He believes that creativity is just as important as literacy. In every school system the arts at the bottom of importance. Mathematics and English are the two most important things in the education system. Art and music are taught but not on a day to day basis like he believes they should be. He refers to the woman that was a choreographer for the production "Cats." He tells us how even she was a child her teacher thought she had a learning disability because she could not sit still and was a distraction to the class. Her mother took her to the doctor to learn that her daughter did not have a disability she only was able to learn when she was active.

I think that Robinson has made a great point in this video. I had never thought about much the arts get over looked. Every student learns in different ways and as an educator it is important to meet the students’ needs whatever they may be. Teachers should incorporate the arts into their classroom. Incorporating the arts in lessons would not be difficult to do.

After watching this video, I think the schools are more focused on trying to catch up with today's technology. It seems as if the schools are putting so much money into technology and having less teachers. The school systems have always been low on funding when it comes to teachers so they will get rid of the art teachers first but to be sure that every student has a personal computer to take home.

I think it is important for students to be technology literate but I think that it is equally important for them to be able to express themselves and be creative. The education system needs to find a way for the students to do both. If the school cannot afford to have a teacher for the arts then the classroom teacher needs to be sure to incorporate it into their lessons. 

How to Escape Education's Death Valley

Summarized by: Keri Brown

Sir Ken Robinson begins by giving us a statistic that states "in some parts of the country 60% of kids drop out of high school, in the Native American community it is 80% of kids." This is a very sad fact to think about in our educational systems. One estimate about this is that if we half that number, that would create a net gain to the US economy over ten years of nearly a trillion dollars. Mr. Robinson explains that American spends enough money on education, America has small class sizes for the most part, and we have hundreds of initiatives to improve education. All of these impacts on education are good, but they are all going in the wrong way.

In this video, Sir Ken Robinson outlines three principles that are crucial for the human mind to flourish and how current education culture works against them. The first principle he discussed was that human beings are naturally different and diverse. The education under the No Child Left Behind Act is based on conformity not diversity. Schools need to start focusing on the arts, humanities, and physical education more rather than just the core subjects. One estimate says that nearly ten percent of kids are being diagnosed ADD and ADHD. Mr. Robinson says that "children are not suffering from psychological condition, but yet childhood itself. Kids prosper best with a broad curriculum which includes all of their interests." The second principle Robinson discussed is curiosity. He says that we are all natural learners, we just need something to spark learning. Teaching is a creative profession, and in this profession we need to mentor, stimulate, provoke, and engage our students. Education is all about learning, and as teachers we have to facilitate learning. Robinson says that standardized test should not be the dominant part of education. They are good, but they are not everything. Standardized tests should support learning, not obstruct it. Instead of curiosity we have a culture of compliance and teachers are encouraged to follow "routine algorithms" rather than to excite that power of imagination and curiosity. The third principle Robinson addressed was that "human life is inherently creative, it's why we all have different resumes." He talked about how we create our lives and we can re-create them. Robinson compared Finland to a state in America by saying that when he was at a conference and someone asked their educational leaders about their dropout rate, they looked funny and stated they do not have a dropout rate because when kids have trouble they get help and they have a very broad curriculum. In the United States of America we need to begin by individualizing education and learning. The responsibility of this should be on the school level to "get the job done." Education is not an industrial process based on mechanics, it is a human system. Sir Ken Robinson ends his discussion by saying that "the culture of the school is essential. The "Death Valley isn't dead, it's dormant. Right beneath the surface are these seeds of possibility waiting for the right conditions to come about." 

I loved watching this discussion. I feel like we have lost sight of the creativity that is necessary in education. Mr. Robinson had so many wonderful and true points. I completely agree that standardized tests are good to have, but they should not be everything. I feel that students learn better when they are interested and actively engaged in what they are learning. I hope to be a creative mentor to my future students.

Project 14

My Lesson Plan #2

This lesson plan is for a third grade math class that will last for three days. The driving question is "What is data and how do you graph it?" The students will learn what data is and research for their own definition on iCurio. They will also learn how to graph data on a bar graph. They will be given a bag of M&M's each for them to separate the bag by colors to collect data. They will have to form a graph of the data they have collected. The students will break up into groups of three and discuss their own definition of data. In groups, they will also practice presenting their graphs to prepare to present in front of the whole class. After all the students have given their presentations they will write a reflection about themselves. The class will discuss as a whole how they thought everyone did and their likes and dislikes of the lesson. 

Blog Post 10

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture 

This video by Randy Pausch has been very eye opening to me. Dr. Pausch is a very inspirational man; even though his life is ending he wants yours to go on. With everything going on his life I do not see how he can be so positive and excited. Dr. Pausch’s last lecture shows us life is what you make of it and knowing that think of what we could make it for students.

Randy Pausch, had dreams and goals someone could not even think of today, yet he is dying and is happy with his dreams and goals. He has accomplished so much in his life and wants to teach about it before he can’t teach it. The way this man can be dying and be so happy gives me the inspiration to keep going and that life could be worse. His beliefs in living life to the fullest, has inspired me to teach my students that no matter what live life to the fullest .I have always had a problem in seeing the good in every situation but this video gave me hope that it is possible. As a teacher,  I can persuade students to use this outlook on life.

Dr. Pausch refers to setting the bar as a downfall. I totally agree with this. If students have a bar to reach some will fail. If those students who fail get too bogged down, how will they ever feel successful? If my students do not feel successful, how will I encourage them to be positive and dream big? Goals are what you make of them. I will try to remember that not all students think on the same level and be open-minded to their outside thinking.

I could go on and on about how I could use things from this video in the classroom and how wonderful this man is. But, I need to relate my inner self with this man and see who I can be for my students. He was probably the most inspiring teacher a student could ask for. I want my students to remember as the teacher who impacted their dreams and goals. I do not want to be the teacher who downed them and told them there ideas were not good enough. The golden rule is to treat others how you want to be treated. Just think of John Doe when he is walking across the stage at graduation. John Doe will remember me as the teacher who was always positive and encouraging. 

Blog Post 9

Back To the Future – Brian Crosby

Brian Crosby has a 4th grade class that will be enrolled in his class for the next three years (grades 4, 5, 6). Over 90 percent of his students are second language learners. At the beginning of the school year, Crosby took a survey of his students’ knowledge in his class. Most of the students weren’t able to give basic demographic information.

There is a disconnection between students and learning because of a narrow curriculum.  However, students only know a narrow curriculum.  They have only been taught in a lecture style. Students don’t have any experience or input to build schema for the world. It is hard for them to imagine if they don’t know how to do this. As teachers, if we don’t have imagination or creativity then where would the students passion stem from?

Crosby took a narrow curriculum and enhanced it to 21st century learning. A hands on activity that he and his students did with the hot air balloon covered standards that the students needed to know and gave them experience on how air pressure and other things work. After the activity was done, the students embedded videos and summaries about the activity and why the reaction was the way it was on their blog.

Crosby explains that active learning empowers students to learn own their own. It allows them to connect with others, collaborate with classmates, and include thoughts and ideas during activities.  Brian Crosby changed his 4th grade class by doing things that attract their attention. His class went from not knowing their basic demographic information to illustrating science projects to other students in a different country. Crosby’s class is the perfect example of innovative learning.

Paul Andersen: Blended Learning Cycle

In this video, Paul Andersen who is a high school AP biology teacher, is explaining a system he uses within his class. Mr. Andersen uses a strategy known as the blended learning cycle. The strategy is combining mobile, online, and classroom learning. There are six parts to this learning cycle. The first one is a question. This is also known as the hook to get them interested in the topic. The next step is investigation/inquiry. Then they have a video of instruction. This frees up some of Mr. Andersen's time and the students are able to review the videos when they do not understand. The next step is elaboration which goes into the explanation of the answer to the question originally asked. Then he reviews with the students. He meets with the students individually or in small groups to ask them questions to check their understanding. This also gives the students the opportunity to ask him questions if they are having trouble understanding. The last step is a summary quiz which is about what they had just covered. He will not give them the quiz if he can tell that they do not have a good understanding of the subject. If they do not do well on the quiz then he makes them start the process over.

We think that this strategy is a great idea. We think the first step is extremely important because it gets the students interested in the topic. The investigation step is important because the students need to find the answer out for themselves. They are more likely to remember the information more if they find it out on their own. The video gives the students more insight about the topic at hand. The review stage is especially important because it gives the teacher the opportunity to evaluate if the students are ready to take the summary quiz. We think that it is good that he gives the students the chance to go back and learn the information again if they did not get it the first time.

Making Thinking Visible

In this video, Mark Church, co-author of the book Making Thinking Visible, describes a little bit about a lesson he does in his 6th grade classroom with this students. This lesson is the “headlines routine.” The students are going to work in groups to do a project on a video they had watched the day before in class on early human beginnings and the origins of society. He will have the students talk about the puzzles and video their groups and come up with a short headline to tell what it is really all about. He gave each group a long thick sheet of paper to write their headline on after their discussion. After every group had completed their headline they shared them in front of the class. The students needed to have just a little bit to back up why they chose this as their headline. After doing the same unit for two more weeks, Mr. Church will ask the students what is the headline now since they have learned a lot more and things have changed since the beginning to when they are doing their final projects.

We think this would be a great idea to use in the classroom. This would work especially well for long projects like the one in the video. This engages the students in thinking about what they already know, or what they think they know in the beginning. This also allows the students to stay interested in the assignment and continue to learn and change the headline as time goes on and they learn more about the specific unit.

C4T #3 and #4

C4T #3

The Lasting Legacy of “The Red Group”

In this blog post vice principal, Erin Paynter, tells about watching a little girl chose colors because of the group she was in school. She wanted to use the red color pencil and give her brother a green. Now we would assume that the colors are based on skill. She emphasizes that as teachers we need to be careful in how we group students and not to confine them to just one group for a long period of time.

In my comment I said that this story makes me realize that as a future teacher I need to keep in mind to change up the groups within my classroom. I do believe that it is important to have groups within the classroom but the students should not be confined to just one group. Students should be given the opportunity to work with everyone in the class. Thank you so much for sharing.

C4T #4

My Back-to-School Letter to My New School #SAVMP
I was assinged to Erin Paynter again. Ms. Paynter has not posted any new post. This post was the most recent before the Lasting Legancy of "The Red Group." In this post she is giving an update that she has recently become a part of an on-line mentoring project called School Admin Virtual Mentor Program. She posted a letter that was sent out to the families of her students. In this letter she introduces herself and expresses her passion for the students education. She also discusses something she refers to as the 6 C's: Creativity, Critical-Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Character and Community. She wants to shift how the teachers are teaching. She said " the process of learning is the goal, not the content of learning."

In my comment I said I really enjoyed her post and could that she portrayed her passion for the students education and her own learning. I also said that communicating with the community is vital. The letter did a wonderful job at at informing the community of what you expect out of the school year. I thanked her for sharing.

Blog Post 8

Why I Flipped my Classroom by Katie Gimbar
Dr. Lodge McCammon's FIZZ - Flipping the Classroom

Katie Gimbar and Dr. Lodge McCammon both have made videos on what flipping the classroom means. In the videos they discuss how before flipping the classroom teachers spend ninety percent of class time on lecture. When a teacher flips the classroom, they provide students with videos and activities that cover the lesson that would normally be taught in the classroom.Once the students are in the class they work on the lesson they have already learned. After flipping the classroom, the teacher can focus on each students need and what part of the lesson they did not understand. Giving the students the videos that explain the lesson gives them the opportunity to re-watch the video if they do not understand it the first time. Before flipping the classroom, the students only had one chance to understand it because once they teacher explains it and then moves on. This is a good concept but could be difficult in the beginning.

Pearl Diver
Summarized by: Chelsea Calvert

This is an app that covers number and operation standards. Since iPads are becoming more common in the classroom this is a tool that could easy be accessed. This app helps the students understand how numbers are represented and the number system. The students must understand and know how to represent fractions on a number line. This game is more geared toward grades third through eighth. I chose this tool because it is something that will keep the students engaged. The students can also move into harder levels as they learn more so they are not confined to the same problems. If the teacher was to cover fractions and their place on the number line, they could let the students play this app to practice and check their understanding.



Summarized by: Keri Brown

Spelling City is a website and also has an app for iPads other devices. This app has a feature to search the language arts standards correlation list for standards by region and grade. This app provides correlations to U.S. Standards by State, Common Core Standards for each State's Implementation, Australian Standards by State, Canadian Standards by Province, and English National Curriculum Standards. This is a great tool for teachers to work with students in the classrooms as well as at home on their own time for homework or extra help. There are many games provided on this site for parts of speech, nouns, synonyms, contractions, phonics, Dolch-sight words, as well as vocabulary activities. There are also premium membership opportunities depending on how many students you have. There are many benefits with the premium membership such as, student activities being tracked, student test results and activities are automatically recorded, and you can create customized lists and lessons to meet each student's individual needs. This makes it great for ESE, ESL/ELL, and RTI.

21st Century Learning is Here!
Summarized by: KeNesha Brown

Mark Stevens explains how the technology people use in their daily life influences how students learn. Students and teachers have changed, and learning has changed, as well. However, the former setting of a school remains the same over the last 100 years. Stevens states, "We live with the reality that the same structure of brick, mortar, and steel will continue to greet us each morning" (Stevens). The great thing about 21st century learning is it can take place anywhere. Stevens explains that learning environment is not about the cool gismos and gadgets that are being used but the teacher applies today's technologies to make materials for students more engaging. "In other words, encourage the students to create, communicate, and collaborate in many ways" (Stevens).

"Learning in the 21st century takes new thinking" stated by NEA Executive Director John I. Wilson. 21st century skills are required in order for teachers to prepare their students for the globalized workforce. The teachers should find ways to incorporate technology while fulfilling the requirements for the curriculum. There are many useful tools that are available for teachers.

The question that Stevens mentions is "what does this 21st classroom look like?" He explains that interactive demonstration allows students to work through materials together. In addition, having access to the internet allows students to engage and transform content from around the world through tests and reliable learning portals. Students should have pens that records audio and data, because it helps students learn organization skills and allow teachers to share notes easily. Also, Stevens states that mobile devices allow students to learn on the go. Moreover, web-based applications allow teachers, students, and parents to stay connected outside the classroom.

The question is where do we start from here? Stevens explains that all teachers must think through the entire learning experience that they are creating for their students. Stevens provides NEA's and SETDA's key questions to inspire teachers thinking on how they can incorporate technology this school year:

-What tools and technologies will help the students create, collaborate, and communicate better?
-How can teachers let students learn with technology they already have?
-What is the appropriate role of the web, social media, mobile technologies, interactive white-board, etc., in today's classrooms?

Mark Stevens made some great points on 21st century learning. Teachers should consider ways to incorporate technology in their classrooms. These generations of students that educators are up against are more advance. Every moment of their lives is evolved around some form of technology. Educators must enhance their lesson plan to keep the attention of their students and cover all of the state standards. The main focus of the teachers' lesson should be allowing students' interest be the guidance to their learning process.

From reading Mark Stevens article, I did a search on tools to use to incorporate technology in students learning process. The website I can across is called BrainPop. BrainPop is a great tool to use as an inside or outside source in the classroom. It provides students with videos and games on any subject and topic. BrainPop is a tool that I would use to make sure my students are using technology as a tool of learning.