Special Blog Assignment

A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind

In the article, “A world where grades will be left behind” by Mary Beth Marklein, Marklein sits down with Sebastian Thrun, the vice president of Google, professor, and founder of Udacity. In her interview with Thurn, Marklein discuss his new approach to education and how this concept of teaching will change education as we know it. Thrun says “you want learning to be as much fun as playing a video game,” and he believes this new way of teaching is a great start at accomplishing that goal.

There will be no classrooms, no one will be late, success is the only option, and all with little to no cost to the student. The idea sounds insane to me. How in the world can you make teaching as fun as video games with little to no cost to the student, allow the students to show up whenever and never have anyone fail? That doesn’t seem possible, but Thrun says it’s more than possible it is the future of higher education.

Thrun uses a small soundproof room to teach his lessons as his producer’s record him then add in fun special effects to make the lesson more fun. Tens of thousands of people sign up online to enjoy these lessons taught by Thrun and other state professors for free. Thrun says this form of education will allow “education to respond to you.” Education will no longer be the one size fits all system it once was. Those who truly want to obtain an education will have the chance to do so.

Personally I’m skeptical, I’m not sure this way of learning will catch on in a wide spread manner. Is it an amazing idea with great potential? Absolutely! Unfortunately, it is my fear that since education has changed so little over time that it will not take well to such a drastic change all at once. I completely agree that education shouldn’t cost as much as it does and that there should be some way to allow anyone who has the desire to further his/her education to do so.

I think that it is my responsibility as a future educator to use the resources I have available to me and my classroom. I think I would be doing my students a great injustice by not providing them with the best education I possibly can. I think that in doing these things I will most defiantly have to incorporate some of the ideas Thrun is suggesting into my teaching. I think learning should be fun and when it is it motivates our students to do their very best. It is my goal to always strive for the best, to allow my students to have fun, to be motivated, and to have no choice but success.

Blog Post 9

What I Learned This Year Volume 1

In the blog post, “What I Learned This Year Volume 1” by Joe McClung, Mr. McClung takes a look back at his first year as an elementary teacher. Mr. McClung takes what he has learned in his first year teaching and gives out some great advice to all educators new and old.

Mr. McClung talks about the importance of remembering who you are talking to when planning your lessons and that no lesson is going to be perfect. He says as educators we tend to forget we aren’t talking to our superiors we are talking to our students (both in the actual conversations we have and in planning our lessons). His advice is to “let your audience drive your instruction.” I think this is great advice, we should always remember our students are our main concern.

Mr. McClung also discusses the importance of being flexible and communication. He says in his first year of teaching he has learned you have to be able to go with the flow. He says you must be able to adapt to changes, because changes will have to be made. Mr. McClung also says that he has learned communication is key in success. He says communication can solve disputes as well as open doors for new ideas and ways of learning/teaching.

According to Mr. McClung we must not forget technology is our friend and even as educators we must continue to learn. He says that technology is all around us and we must be willing to learn new things to continue to reach our students. He reminds us that as an educator we all but beg our students to learn yet as educators we tend to forget we must learn as well.

I learned a lot from reading this post. I think the thing that stood out the most to me was that I am going to have to remember everything isn’t going to go just like I’ve planned it. I have a hard time with that and it is something I need to be working on now. I was also reminded that just because I’ve graduated college doesn’t mean the learning is over and that I will always need to be open to learning new things and using the most recent tools available to me. After all, it isn’t about me it is about my students and their education and they deserve nothing but the best from me.

What I Learned This Year Volume 4

In the blog post, “What I Learned This Year Volume 4” by Joe McClung, Mr. McClung takes a look back at his fourth year of teaching. Mr. McClung says being that this would be his third year teaching the same subjects and at the same school he didn’t learn as much as he had in the past, yet the two things that he did learn was career changing.

First Mr. McClung says he learned that as an educator is imperative that you never forget why you are an educator in the first place. He says that throughout his fourth year of teaching he began to become obsessed with what his colleagues thought of him. He said that he had lost sight of the real reason he went to work each day. That as an educator we should remember we have not chosen this career path to impress our fellow employees but to educate out students.

Secondly Mr. McClung says he learned that it is important to stay creative, to constantly be improving your lessons, and to avoid falling into complacency. Mr. McClung says that complacency is exactly what happened to him in his fourth year of teaching. He says he began to become lazy, reusing lesson plans and losing his creativity. He says that because of his laziness his teaching began to suffer and in turn so did his students. He reminds us as educators we can’t fall into a routine of the same ole same ole or our teaching and students will pay the price.

I learned a lot from reading Mr. McClung’s blog post. He has made several great points and as a future educator I will now be on the lookout for. I think that it is important for us to remember we can always learn from those who have gone ahead of us and I think by Mr. McClung giving us a glimpse of his year we can learn from his mistakes.

Project 12

Project 10 - PLN Progress Report

PLN Progress Report

I’ve been working on my PLN more avidly since we watched the video a 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment a couple of weeks ago. I have worked on creating my own PLN using symbaloo, and I have really enjoyed learning how to use the site. Being an organized person to begin with I have really enjoyed that fact that I can set symbaloo as my home screen and have instant access to all of the sites I use all in one place.

I have also really enjoyed all following the list of people provided on twitter. I have had a twitter account for about 3 years and I never really used it much, but I am constantly checking it now. I have found so much information and great ideas for my future classroom. I have really come to understand that social media doesn’t have to just be about wasting time but that it can be really useful.

I will definitely continue to work on my PLN and develop it into something that can be used way after this class ends. I have learned so much and I plan to continue to learn how to continuously better myself and my future classroom.

C4T #2

In my C4T post 2 I was assigned to Mr. Anthony Capps, from Gulf Shores, Alabama. Mr. Capps teaches 3rd grade at Gulf Shores Elementary. Using his class blog, Third Grade with Mr. Capps, he is able to communicate with his students and their parents. In the first post I read, Mr. Capps informs the parents of the activities that took place that day. He is able to use his blog to inform them of the lesson’s that were taught, and how as a parent they can help their students continue to learn this information at home. Mr. Capps also uses his first post to inform parents of supplies that are needed within the classroom.

In my comment back to Mr. Capps I couldn’t help but express my amazement by the use of his blog. I guess it had never occurred to me that a blog would be a great way to communicate to and with parents. I noticed when leaving my comment several of his student’s parents had commented as well. What a concept!

In the second post I read of Mr. Capps he discusses the upcoming class spelling bee. In this post he gave several great ways to study for the spelling bee. First he said to write the words on note cards. Second he says you should separate the words into the words you know and the ones you don’t. These words can be separated by words you know the mean of and the ones you don’t, the words you can spell and the ones you can’t, etc. Third Mr. Capps says you need to practice, his advice was to start in front of a mirror and then move on to getting a friend or family member to quiz you. Lastly he says to try using the meaning of a word to help you remember how to spell it or by using other “like” words to help you remember how to spell it. He gives the example of telephone and teleport; both spelled using tele at the beginning.

In my comment back to Mr. Capps I once again couldn’t help but express my total amazement of the use of his blog. I was sure to tell him he had completely sold me on this concept and I will be using this as a form of communication with my future students and parents. I also told him thank you for sharing such great advice for learning to spell. I myself am a terrible speller and I was never given many ways of learning to spell aside from memorizing the word to pass the test.

Blog Assignment 7

The Networked Student

In the video, The Networked Studentby Wendy Drexler, Wendy addresses the concept of connectivism. She defines connectivism as the theory that learning occurs as a social network of many diverse connections and ties. Throughout this video she discusses how a student with no textbook and a teacher who doesn’t lecture can learn about psychology. Wendy says that by teaching the student to build a personal learning network the student will be able to take charge of his/her own learning.

I must admit at the beginning of this semester I would have thought this was an absurd concept, but after taking part in EDM310 I can see the benefits of this type of learning. By teaching students to find valid websites to gather information, to use their iPods to listen in on top professors around the world, and teaching students how to sift through and organize the massive amounts of information available students will be able to build their own textbook. The difference is this textbook the student has built will contain the most up to date information, and will be built on the students’ knowledge.

I think this is a great way for students to learn. I know I personally am more likely to retain the information I learned if I have to go out and find it. I can especially see this to be a very useful way of teaching for higher level students. I think the concept of connectivism learning is a great way to eliminate the burp back way of learning.

A 7th Grader’s Personal Learning Environment

In this video, A 7th Grader’s Personal Learning Environment, a 7th grader shares how her science class is taught using no paper. She tells how her PLE is all placed together neatly on her computer so she can easily access whatever information she needs. I personally think I can take a few notes from her. I do have my information bookmarked to my favorites bar, but after watching this video I will be checking into a way to have everything more neatly put together in one place. I will also be looking for the note taking program she is using. I currently use the old fashion way of writing it down on a sheet of paper, which from time to time get lost. In comparing my PLN to her PLE I would say this 7th grader probably has it together more than I do. I am generally a very organized person, but after watching this video I have realized I am not using the technology I have available to me to best benefit me.

Project 8

Blog Assignment 6

Randy Pausch - Last Lecture

In the video,Randy Pausch – Last Lecture, I was completely amazed by the enthusiasm Randy exhibited throughout the entire lecture. When I picture a man who is standing at deaths door I picture the opposite of Randy. I picture someone who is feeling sorry for themselves, sitting at home thinking of what could have been; yet, Randy takes this time to be an encourager, a helper, a friend, and most of all leave us with some outstanding advice. In my opinion this in itself is a huge testament to his character.

Throughout the lecture Randy provides educators, both present and future, with sound advice for enabling our students to go after their dreams. Randy reminds us that the fundamentals are important for anything you do in life. You can’t play football without first learning the rules and you can tell your students to chase their dreams without first teaching them how to do so. Therefore, as educators it is important for us to correct our students when their actions are less than satisfactory. Randy says it best when he says “if you’re screwing up and no one is telling you, then they have stopped caring.” I never want to be an educator who has stopped caring.

Randy also reminds us that even when we are ‘caring’ for our students the words we choose are so important. He tells the story of his professor telling him that he was arrogant and how that professor didn’t just say “you’re being a jerk,” but that the professor said “Randy it is such a shame people perceive you as being so arrogant, because it is going to limit what you can get accomplished in life.” The professor basically said “you’re being a jerk” but by choosing his words more wisely the comment wasn’t as harsh, and Randy was able to take those words to heart. I think it is extremely important as educators to remember that our words mold our students into what they grow up to be. It is our job to build them up and not break them down. I think that’s the point Randy is trying to make here and it’s a good lesson to learn.

Randy also says as educators we should never set the bar too low for our students. We should never underestimate their ability. Randy says we can do this by being positive, being willing to take risks and try new things, and by head fakes (indirect learning). It is our job as educators to enable our students and by saying you’ll never do better than this we are telling our students there is a limit to your ability. Truth is you are never too old to learn new things, or to get better at the things you already know how to do.

Randy says “experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted,” I think this is a vital concept for our students to understand. It is a proven fact that in life you will not always get what you want, but what you take away from not getting what you want is what changes a person’s life. The experience and knowledge gained can mold a student/teacher into something much greater than they ever thought possible. I think this is maybe one of the most important things we can teach our students, because at some point in life they will be faced with a situation that didn’t go the way they wanted. It’s at that point when they can give in and feel failure or they can take the things they’ve learned from that experience and grow.

The last piece of advice Randy gives educators is a list of things to do to get help from others: tell the truth, be earnest, apologize when you mess up, and focus on others not just yourself. I think this list is important because as an educator I think we tend to forget we are still learners as well and we still need feedback from others. I think as an educator you are at a great disadvantage if you forget you can learn from your students. It is your students you are reaching out too and your students who are learning from you and your students who will in turn mirror your actions.

Randy’s last lecture has most definitely changed my perspective on what being an educator includes. I will certainly strive to take the characteristics Randy mentions into my classroom. It is now part of my dream to enable others dreams.

Project 9a

C4K September Summary

In my first C4K post I comment on a post entitled “The buzz about Jobs.” This post was done by a 3rd grade class in Gulf Shores, Alabama. In this post the students discussed what they thought it took to have a productive community and listed several characteristics that productive community members should possess. The students did a wordle project that listed the jobs they thought were most important in the community.

In my comment back to the students in Mr. Capps 3rd grade class I told them what a great job they had done at summarizing the characteristics needed to be productive community members. I encouraged them to always remember these characteristics so that they too could be productive community members. I also told them thank you for valuing my future career as a teacher, since it was one of the careers listed within their wordle project.

In my second C4K post I commented on a post entitled “Homecoming Week.” This post was done by an eighth grader from Iowa. In this post the student discussed the events that would take place each day for homecoming. On Monday they would attend church, on Tuesday each class would dress in a different color, on Wednesday the high school students would play flag football and the Middle school students would wear fifty of the same thing on their clothes, on Thursday each grade level would dress up as a different animal, and on Friday the homecoming queen and king would be announced.

In my comment back to this student I told him how neat it I thought it was that his school in Iowa did the same thing my schools here in Alabama did for homecoming week. I told him how we would dress up as super heroes, in Hawaiian gear, or in school colors to get pumped for the homecoming game just like they were dressing up defiantly each day to get pumped up. I told him that I didn’t realize that dressing up for homecoming week was such a widespread event and wished him and his school a fantastic homecoming week.

Project 6