Blog Post # 10

An-Open-Letter-To-Educators This article by Morgan Bayda and the video by Dan Brown does has a lot of truth about universities and the way professors lecture. Morgan talks about how she felt cheated while attending college. I also have felt cheated while attending college. I know that some classes will be lecture based type classes, however professors should encourage students to express their opinions. I had this one professor who did not allow students to talk, especially among eachother. If we, the students didn't understand a particular math problem the professor would say you guys should already know this stuff, which made students afraid to ask questions because they didn't want to be embrassed in front of the class. I felt embrassed a couple of times because I would ask questions.

I enjoy my EDM 310 Class it allows me to engage in the learning process. In the beginning when I made mistakes about how to add the ATL Modifier and TITLE Modifier the process of doing the alt and title in every blog I learn quickly because of the hands on skills. The video by Dan Brown has some great points one in particular is professors losing sight of Education. Dan says that education is not about conforming to the world, but about the creativity, new ideas, and empowering students. I think that many professors don't realize that they must help to empower the learning of their students.

                                                                  

Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home

I enjoyed reading this post. It was funny and I notice the sarcasm. I believe that educators like Gertrude uses quotes like "It is what it is" as an excuse not to find a solution to solve the issues that occur. Educators often times already have a prejudgement attitude toward their students. For example how Gertrude talks about low income area students. If there is a problem educators should help to eliminate the problem, trying to justfiy the problems does not help anyone especially the students. If a child is writing, drawing, or sketching with a pencil I view this as an example of learning.

Summary Post C4T # 3

Post One posted on March 12, 2011. This article was titled It's all about People! The author J. Hardley talks about lesson plans and states that lesson plans can only go so far. Hardley states that teachers must be willing to change their lesson plans when it's not working for students. Hardley also stated that teachers wear many hats, such as therapists, musicians, and active learners.

I respond saying that "I thought this was an outstanding article" and all teachers should and need to adjust their lesson plans when students are not achieving what is being taught. I also said that teachers must find new ways to keep the interest of their students when lesson plans do not work, because there are many other ways to teach a class besides using lesson plans especially when teachers involve students in the activities.


Post Two was also by J. Hardley posted on March 20, 2011. This article was titled An Hour Of Silence. In this article Hardley explains how she used a techinque called "Quite Time" with her students, she got the idea when she homeschooled her own children. The concept of "Quite Time" is that Mrs. Hardley told her students to take a piece of paper and something to write or draw with and find a place anywhere in the school where they could be quite for an hour. The reason for this is to let the students minds relax and think whatever thoughts they had. The students really enjoyed the new activity. One student commented "I thought more thoughts than I knew I had. Another students commented "I kept changing my mind about what I thought the more time I spent thinking, I was able to see things from different sides. It was really interesting".

I respond saying "I like her idea of Quite Time". I told her that I can tell she teaches from her heart. I also said that her idea gives students the opportunity to express themselves and their minds freely. I said that students are busy changing classes, spending time with friends at recess it's like their little minds are racing like cars and this idea gives students a chance to unwind and relax without any distractions. I said that it's also great that she allow her students to choose what they want to write about or create.

Project # 12 Skype Interview

Blog Post # 9

Mr. McClung gave some great insight as to what he learned during his first year as a teacher. The first title is How to Read the Crowd. McClung talks about how he had observed that most teachers do not make their lessons student centered, and that teachers are more concern about the deliever of the content rather than the main aspect which is the students comprehension. I don't believe teachers can be successful in the classroom if they do not put the interest of the students first. Teachers should have the mindset that the main goal is what's best for the students not what's best for themselves.

Be Flexible: In this article McClung says that instructors like to plan the perfect lesson plan. I say there is no perfect lesson plan. McClung talked about how he tried to control things to much. I'm sure there will be days when the lesson taught will be a disater. McClung said he would beat himself up over lessons and activities that did not work, he goes on to say that he doesn't let it get to him anymore. As a future teacher I may have lessons and activites that don't go as well as I expected and when this happens I will view the sitituation as an opportunity to reevaluate myself and the material I taught.

Communicate: McClung talks about communication he describes communication as the best medicine. I agree without communication their is no relationship. Teachers can make communications helpful by giving advice about former students or situations. I want to be a teacher whose students know they can come and discuss issues they don't understand or need better clarity about.

Be Reasonable: I agree that some teachers do hold high expectations for students. McClung talks about how some teachers become upset with students when they fail. Teachers should never make a student feel like a failure. McClung says that teacher set students up for disappointment when a goal is not met. I can relate to this as a parent, but I do exactly what McClung suggested I tell my daughter that it's okay and that she will make it next time. This is what I would do with my students, if I don't I think students would not try as hard. Students need to hear that it okay if they did meet a particular goal or get the grade of an A or a B.

Don't Be Afraid Of Technology: McClung explains that adults view technology as a horrible computer that is taking over the world. I am an older adult and yes there is alot of new technology in our world today, but I am willing and eager to learn. I don't want to give up on something simply because I don't understand it. Technology has made life much easier.

Listen To Your Students: McClung is right, sometimes teachers are the only person who listens to students. Teachers truly don't know what's going on in students lives once they leave their classroom, that's why it's important that teachers open their ears and become active listeners to all of their students.

Never Stop Learning: McClung talks about how it's never to late to change the way we think, learn or even the style. I think that when we stop learning we stop living. Everyday of our lives is a learning experience. Teachers, students and parents should always know that learning is a never ending process. I too am looking forward to having a magical first year of teaching.

Summary Post C4K 4, 5, and 6

My post Comment For Kids Number Four is about a school picnic in Mrs. Lagitupu's class room 21 at Pt. England Reserve. The students had their annual picnic which consist of games like volleyball, football, and hola hoops. The students had an opportunity to play in the water and the sand on the beach. I replied to the students by saying what a great way to have a picnic and that they have an awesome blog and that their blog is well constructed.

My post Comment For Kids Number Five is about "Christchurch Earthquake" in New Zealand. Destiney is the student who wrote on her blog about the devasted earthquake. Destiney said that the magnitude of the earthquake was measured at 6.3, and is the worst earthquake since 1931. Destiney said that many had been rescued but many people remain trapped waiting to be rescued. I replied by telling Destiney that I am sorry that her country has experienced such a devasting lost, and that her country is in my prayers. I also told Destiney that people all over the world is praying for the country of New Zealand, and that I know that "Christchurch" will be restored back as the lovely place she describe it to be.

My post Comment For Kids Number Six is about a vidoe that I watched. Brandon is an instructor who teaches Drum lesson and had two students Dallas, and Lee in the video. Dallas plays the drums and has had about two lessons. I responded by telling Dallas that his beat sounds great and that he seems comfortable playing the drums. I also told Dallas that I would have thought that he had been playing the drums for at least three years.

Blog Post # 8

This is How we Dream Part 1
Richard Miller talks about how writing has change over the years and how writing has change as a culture.Miller recalls growing up as a small child surrounded by books in his home. He felt that everything was about books, he knew that he wanted a career that involves the use of books. Miller talks about how things has changed from pencil, paper and the library, he says now we have our laptops, and word processing capabilities. Miller talks about how easy it is to search information on the web, as well as the skills one can do for example he talks about collaborating technology using images to compose films. He using an example of how the election was  visually represented by each state and how  the voting records and patterns had changed in the past elections.
In Part 2 This is How we Dream Miller talks about how fast material and information changes. he talks about the visual reprentation of itunes and explains that as educators we must show ideas.  Produce alternate versions and push the ideas of creativity in our culture.
As a future teacher I will embrace this new technology with my students and find creative and fun ways to making learning an adventure so that my students can succeed.  When teachers have this type of attitude the students will cooperate and respect the teacher because they will know that their teacher is there to help improve their learning abilities.

EDM310 is Different
I enjoyed both of these videos. "The Chipper Series" sets a great example as to what can happen when one procrastinates and drops out of school. In EDM 310 for Dummies the video was hilarious. I have to say I felt overwhelm when I first started EDM 310, mainly because of the projects, but I now realize that the projects are not so overwhelming after all.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
This video represent teachers who feel there is a desperate need for change in how students of today learn. It's sad that education is ranked so low, yet we live in a society that knows if one wants the "American Dream" then education is definitely a big component. How can this happen if our students are not given the proper tools. Students nowadays are adapt to the world of technology so why not incorporate this technology in the schools. I agree with the educator who said that students need to do more than just memorize the material, they need to know how to find the information, validate, communicate, leverage, and collaborate. In order to improve the education of future students we must learn to change.

The video The Secret Power of Time is mainly about how Americans spend their time and how they value their time. For example, waiting for some people is viewed as a waste of time. Families are so busy that they don't value the time spent with familes and friends, familes don't have family meals at the table like they use too. This video describes what most people would do if they had an extra day of the week, it shows that most would do nothing differently from the other seven days.This video also talks about how students are digital rewired and how this can limit their involvement in learning in schools. It talked about future oriented kids which are those who are told about negative consenquences and don't do drugs, have sex and smoke and present oriented kids are those who know the consenquences but that knowledge does not change their behavior.
The video The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us talks about rewards and how this  motivates people when given a challenge. The video talks about three levels of rewards and found that people put more time and interesting in something when there is a deadline. The video talks about autonomy (self direct), mastery (becoming better at what they do) and  purpose ( person enjoys what they do).
In schools students are rewarded for good grades, and behavior. I think this incentives encourages students to want to do better. This motivate students and gives them a challange which is something most students need.

EDM 310 Smartboard Group Project

I think our group did a great job on the Smartboard Presentation. The results from the other group was as following: Everyone agreed that the group conveyed the lesson clearly, and that the lesson was esay to follow. The sound of the presentation was described as clear, good, and really good. The professional and knowledge of the material that our group presented were yes. As far as how to improve the presentation the suggestions were that the presentation could have been longer, added activity that involved the students more, and more information about the subject presented. The group said that the lesson was age appropriate and they said grades second to third which our group had originally said third grade. The group thought that the visuals aspects were helpful and that the smartboard was effective in the presentation of the lesson.

Blog Post # 7

This vidoe is such an inspirational speech. Randy's video brought tears to my eyes. Randy Pausch is a professor at Carnegie Mellow University who has found out that he has pancreatic cancer. Randy does a final lecture which he calls "Last Lecture". In his lecture he talks about achieving childhood dreams, and enabling the dreams of others.

Randy says that "brick walls are there for a reason". This quote gives me the courage and motaviation to work even harder. I have always struggle with school and has given up at times, but I see that Randy has not let the brick wall of cancer keep him down. Randy also gives some great advice about how to handle feedback, why leadership is important, the benefits of karma, gratitude, and finding the best in everyone. These are all componets of what a great teacher is and does.

Randy talks about enabling the dreams of others. I believe that as a future teacher it is our responsible to make sure that our students have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. I often find myself complaining about things that causes a distraction in my life. I have learned through Randy that experience is what one get when one don't get what they want.

The end of the video definently explain what Randy has done focusing on others instead of himself. His speech Last Lecture is not for himself, but for his wife, children, students and colleagues.

C4T # 2 Comment for Teachers

This post is by David Wees. The topic is with Clay Christenson about the shortcoming of math. This article talks about how the cirricular activities are designed to make students feel like failure. Clay states in his article about how a teacher on the first day of his statistics math class tells his students to look around the room, then the professor says half of you will not make it through my class.

I agree with the concept of merging the skills together. If this is done more often students would be more interesting in learning math and can succeed in math. Some teachers have the attitude you either know math or you don't which can frighten students.

My second post is by David Wees also. There is a picture of two glasses and two soda cans one sprite the other one coke. The sodas are poured into each glass,then a man takes a syringe and takes about one ounce of soda from each glass and mixes with the opposite glass. The question is Does these glasses end up with the same amount of each type of soda?
I responded with the answer yes. The glasses were the same, the ounces taken from the glasses were the same also. This is why I answer yes.

Project # 10 First Progress Report on PLN

I chose symballo.com I had never heard of this site prior to EDM 310. I think it's a great way to organize my personal sites as well as my educational sites. My educational sites includes Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, and for my personal site I have included items about health, exercise and leisure things I have done. I will continue to update my PLN.

Project # 11 Mom's Secret