Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Blog Post #10
BRING ON THE LEARNING BY SIR KEN ROBINSON
In this intriguing video, Mr. Robinson talked about education in a new light. He began the video in reference to Al Gore and his talk on human resources and used that to redirect the audience to his point, not on the crisis of natural resources, but on human resources. He said that we as a society made a poor use of talents, and went on to separate the types of people that we have around today. He said one type of person is one that enjoys life, and the other type is the one that endures life. Mr. Robinson talked about how with the people who enjoyed life, it was not something that they could change, because in the real sense, it was an integral part of their identity, and not just another thing they did. He went on to follow his thought on human resources, and correlated them back to the natural resources.
He said that they were alike in the sense that in order to find them, you have to dig deep in order to bring them toward the surface. I agree with this because many a times, people have so much hidden deep within themselves, that needs the activation from an outside source to bring that specific talent to the surface. Our mind and body work using a survival of the fittest mentality, in that, when we are faced with an issue, we think of ways to combat that issue and find balance. In that attempt to find balance, sometimes new parts or talents that we possess come to light. With the main issue being the crisis of human resources, Mr. Robinson formulated a solution to it. He said that to bring about a reform would be of no use, because all that would do, would be to improve a broken model. He said that what was needed was not an EVOLUTION, but a REVOLUTION, in order to bring about a transformation.
Mr. Robinson made a personal reference to his daughter after he did an impromptu survey of the audience. He asked how many of them were under 25 years of age. No one raised their hand. Then he asked how many of them wore wrist watches, and most of the auditorium raised their hands. He explained that the reason most of them still wore a wrist watch was out of habit, and due to the fact that they grew up in a time where the time was only accessible if on the wrist. Now, we have so much technology, that a wrist watch to anyone under 25, is practically unheard of. His daughter had said that she did not have a wrist watch because it was a single function device. In our day and time, our cell phones, and pretty much everywhere we look, has the time somehow accessible for us. On the computer, in class, at the stop light, there are visual signs telling you information, while providing the time.
Mr. Robinson referred to education as a linear approach in our society today. That we are so concerned with college and getting kids there. He said that college is not for everyone, and some do not need to go in right after high school. He made a reference to a man who wanted to be a firefighter from grade school. This boy was ridiculed by a teacher that told him that he was wasting his life wanting to spend his life doing that. That same boy, ended up saving the life of that teacher, along with his wife, when they had a car wreck, and that just shows the irony of life. He stated that communities depend on the diversity of talent, which in turn reconstitutes the sense of ability and intelligence. Mr. Robinson went on to compare fast food to education. He said that they were both standardized, and depleting to us a whole. In order to move forward, Mr. Robinson was proposing, instead of an industrial model of education centered on linearity and conformity, an agricultural model of education, which is not mechanical, but rather unpredictable. He said creating an educational system in that sense would force educators to create the right conditions in order for growth, to better equip the organic natural way of things. He said that life is organic, and we create it as we go on. The last statement is what struck me most from this video. He said that we should tread safely on the dreams of children. I totally understand that, because we as educators can sometimes make or break the hopes and dreams of the students that we come across over the years. This video was very informative and I hope to someday inspire the students that I come across.
In this intriguing video, Mr. Robinson talked about education in a new light. He began the video in reference to Al Gore and his talk on human resources and used that to redirect the audience to his point, not on the crisis of natural resources, but on human resources. He said that we as a society made a poor use of talents, and went on to separate the types of people that we have around today. He said one type of person is one that enjoys life, and the other type is the one that endures life. Mr. Robinson talked about how with the people who enjoyed life, it was not something that they could change, because in the real sense, it was an integral part of their identity, and not just another thing they did. He went on to follow his thought on human resources, and correlated them back to the natural resources.
He said that they were alike in the sense that in order to find them, you have to dig deep in order to bring them toward the surface. I agree with this because many a times, people have so much hidden deep within themselves, that needs the activation from an outside source to bring that specific talent to the surface. Our mind and body work using a survival of the fittest mentality, in that, when we are faced with an issue, we think of ways to combat that issue and find balance. In that attempt to find balance, sometimes new parts or talents that we possess come to light. With the main issue being the crisis of human resources, Mr. Robinson formulated a solution to it. He said that to bring about a reform would be of no use, because all that would do, would be to improve a broken model. He said that what was needed was not an EVOLUTION, but a REVOLUTION, in order to bring about a transformation.
Mr. Robinson made a personal reference to his daughter after he did an impromptu survey of the audience. He asked how many of them were under 25 years of age. No one raised their hand. Then he asked how many of them wore wrist watches, and most of the auditorium raised their hands. He explained that the reason most of them still wore a wrist watch was out of habit, and due to the fact that they grew up in a time where the time was only accessible if on the wrist. Now, we have so much technology, that a wrist watch to anyone under 25, is practically unheard of. His daughter had said that she did not have a wrist watch because it was a single function device. In our day and time, our cell phones, and pretty much everywhere we look, has the time somehow accessible for us. On the computer, in class, at the stop light, there are visual signs telling you information, while providing the time.
Mr. Robinson referred to education as a linear approach in our society today. That we are so concerned with college and getting kids there. He said that college is not for everyone, and some do not need to go in right after high school. He made a reference to a man who wanted to be a firefighter from grade school. This boy was ridiculed by a teacher that told him that he was wasting his life wanting to spend his life doing that. That same boy, ended up saving the life of that teacher, along with his wife, when they had a car wreck, and that just shows the irony of life. He stated that communities depend on the diversity of talent, which in turn reconstitutes the sense of ability and intelligence. Mr. Robinson went on to compare fast food to education. He said that they were both standardized, and depleting to us a whole. In order to move forward, Mr. Robinson was proposing, instead of an industrial model of education centered on linearity and conformity, an agricultural model of education, which is not mechanical, but rather unpredictable. He said creating an educational system in that sense would force educators to create the right conditions in order for growth, to better equip the organic natural way of things. He said that life is organic, and we create it as we go on. The last statement is what struck me most from this video. He said that we should tread safely on the dreams of children. I totally understand that, because we as educators can sometimes make or break the hopes and dreams of the students that we come across over the years. This video was very informative and I hope to someday inspire the students that I come across.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Blog Post #9
First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class
Kathy Cassidy is a First Grade teacher. She uses technology in the classroom that is so integrated into her classroom plan that it is so natural. The students are very involved and connected in her room, and they enjoy learning using this method. The students get to use resources such as blogs, Skype, Wiki, electronic games, SMARTboards, and webpages. The students seemed excited and proud of their blogs because, not only were they able to do it, but they were able to see the different things that others like, family, and friends, posted in response to their various accomplishments.
The students have an excuse to get on the computer, and they are doing productive work. It made it fun for the students because the experience did not end in the classroom, but was extended to the household setting as well. This kind of reminds me of the Randy Pausch lecture. He said there are many things that we learn while attempting to accomplish something else. In the same token, these kids getting on the computer and writing and doing all that they do, enables them to be better at grammar and writing skills, without the tedious approach.
In my future classroom, I definitely hope to use the SMARTboard and blogs in order to get the children motivated to learn. There might be an issue with some student's parents wanting to do more for their child in order for the project to look better, and so I may implement little incentives for the children to be happy and content with their personal progress, rather than relying on the sole help of their parents. The benefits of this approach is endless because when kids have a drive to learn, and they do not even feel the burden of it, the progress and possibilities are endless.
Kathy Cassidy is a First Grade teacher. She uses technology in the classroom that is so integrated into her classroom plan that it is so natural. The students are very involved and connected in her room, and they enjoy learning using this method. The students get to use resources such as blogs, Skype, Wiki, electronic games, SMARTboards, and webpages. The students seemed excited and proud of their blogs because, not only were they able to do it, but they were able to see the different things that others like, family, and friends, posted in response to their various accomplishments.
The students have an excuse to get on the computer, and they are doing productive work. It made it fun for the students because the experience did not end in the classroom, but was extended to the household setting as well. This kind of reminds me of the Randy Pausch lecture. He said there are many things that we learn while attempting to accomplish something else. In the same token, these kids getting on the computer and writing and doing all that they do, enables them to be better at grammar and writing skills, without the tedious approach.
In my future classroom, I definitely hope to use the SMARTboard and blogs in order to get the children motivated to learn. There might be an issue with some student's parents wanting to do more for their child in order for the project to look better, and so I may implement little incentives for the children to be happy and content with their personal progress, rather than relying on the sole help of their parents. The benefits of this approach is endless because when kids have a drive to learn, and they do not even feel the burden of it, the progress and possibilities are endless.
C4T#3 Mr. Sowash
THE ELECTRIC EDUCATOR by John R Sowash
Free Plagiarism Checker for the Classroom
In this article, Mr. Sowash went into detail about Turnitin.com and another site called dustballcom. These websites are available to check up work of students who are suspected of cheating/plagiarizing their work. He talked about the availability in the case of suspicion. He went on to say that it had a way to vindicate some people, but also was very useful in calling out some people who were in the wrong. My thoughts: I was very happy to see this post because there is nothing better than hard work of a student that pays off, in my opinion. Students need to learn more, to become better for the future generations to come. A lesson learned creates a more direct path to success. However, those lessons have to be learned, not just stories of other people. People tend to work harder for something when it is all they have left. It is so easy to pick up someone's work, but it takes real courage to stand and work hard for where one wants to get. I really like this avenue in order to hold people accountable for their actions because life is all about how we utilize resources, while honoring ourselves in the long run. Though there are always ways around things like this, it is a great start in the right direction. It should be harder to break the rules.
2013 miGoogle Conference Wrap Up
Mr. Sowash talked about the success of a conference that he helped to set up at Brighton High School in Michigan. There was a workshop on the tools and teaching styles of Google. He talked about "dot-connectors", and not "dot-collectors". He was referring to the fact that people learn, but if one is not able to connect the dots,and see the bigger picture, then they are not going to be able to be of much use to those around them. My thoughts: This conference is a great way for us to get a good start on touching the younger generation. The biggest part for me was the idea of not only data collection, but application. This is important no matter what someone does in the long run. Especially teaching, this is important in order for us to be able to take all the topics we have done, and learned about, and apply it to the classroom effectively. A common theme that revolves around society is relevance. If a student, worker, or educator cannot bring relevance to whatever they are bringing to the table, then it becomes something that may be valuable, but not favored, thus leading to failure. It important to keep that in mind as educators and even in our future job settings.
Google Doesn't Care About Grades or Test Scores
Mr. Sowash presented an article by google. It stated that they were no longer looking at the transcript of their applicants because they no longer saw a correlation between the grades of students and their prospective performance in the workplace, unless the person had been out of school for a while. He went on to briefly comment on it. My post: Hi. My name is Martavious Stewart from the University of South Alabama's EDM 310 class. I really enjoyed reading this article. I have noticed that over the years, that sometimes the book smart people, cannot connect the book knowledge to any experience worth hiring for. As bad as that sounds, grades do not equate skill. Some people may just be B students, but when it comes to performance, they can smoke out anyone in their field. I like this article, because so many places look at the grades, and this limits the immense potential that others bring to the table. As a future educator, this is a great lesson for me to keep in mind. A lot of times teachers love the students who do well in class, and see them as having the best potential, but it is about time that that notion changed.
Free Plagiarism Checker for the Classroom
In this article, Mr. Sowash went into detail about Turnitin.com and another site called dustballcom. These websites are available to check up work of students who are suspected of cheating/plagiarizing their work. He talked about the availability in the case of suspicion. He went on to say that it had a way to vindicate some people, but also was very useful in calling out some people who were in the wrong. My thoughts: I was very happy to see this post because there is nothing better than hard work of a student that pays off, in my opinion. Students need to learn more, to become better for the future generations to come. A lesson learned creates a more direct path to success. However, those lessons have to be learned, not just stories of other people. People tend to work harder for something when it is all they have left. It is so easy to pick up someone's work, but it takes real courage to stand and work hard for where one wants to get. I really like this avenue in order to hold people accountable for their actions because life is all about how we utilize resources, while honoring ourselves in the long run. Though there are always ways around things like this, it is a great start in the right direction. It should be harder to break the rules.
Mr. Sowash talked about the success of a conference that he helped to set up at Brighton High School in Michigan. There was a workshop on the tools and teaching styles of Google. He talked about "dot-connectors", and not "dot-collectors". He was referring to the fact that people learn, but if one is not able to connect the dots,and see the bigger picture, then they are not going to be able to be of much use to those around them. My thoughts: This conference is a great way for us to get a good start on touching the younger generation. The biggest part for me was the idea of not only data collection, but application. This is important no matter what someone does in the long run. Especially teaching, this is important in order for us to be able to take all the topics we have done, and learned about, and apply it to the classroom effectively. A common theme that revolves around society is relevance. If a student, worker, or educator cannot bring relevance to whatever they are bringing to the table, then it becomes something that may be valuable, but not favored, thus leading to failure. It important to keep that in mind as educators and even in our future job settings.
Mr. Sowash presented an article by google. It stated that they were no longer looking at the transcript of their applicants because they no longer saw a correlation between the grades of students and their prospective performance in the workplace, unless the person had been out of school for a while. He went on to briefly comment on it. My post: Hi. My name is Martavious Stewart from the University of South Alabama's EDM 310 class. I really enjoyed reading this article. I have noticed that over the years, that sometimes the book smart people, cannot connect the book knowledge to any experience worth hiring for. As bad as that sounds, grades do not equate skill. Some people may just be B students, but when it comes to performance, they can smoke out anyone in their field. I like this article, because so many places look at the grades, and this limits the immense potential that others bring to the table. As a future educator, this is a great lesson for me to keep in mind. A lot of times teachers love the students who do well in class, and see them as having the best potential, but it is about time that that notion changed.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
C4T#2 Post #2 Sumary
IS STOCKING LIBRARY SHELVES WITH NONFICTION CONTENT A WASTE OF MONEY? by Bill Ferriter
The article about nonfiction content was very intriguing. It was an argument over the importance of nonfiction books in libraries. It was not an attack on the occupation of the librarians, but it is all about the resources or better yet, lack of resources available in the schools, and libraries. Ferriter spoke on the lack of time available for the students to get into the topics that interested them. It was not an argument of whether or not the topics were needed, but more or less the availability of the articles and the interest the students had to the topics available for study.
“KNOWING SOMEONE” IN SOCIAL SPACES IS COMPLICATED by Bill Ferriter
People are always interacting on the internet. People have so many places that they interact with people. They learn and teach others. There is Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest to name a few. Ferriter was referring to the fact that people act differently depending on where they are. A person who follows One Direction is a major fan, may sound different from a nursing student on the class site. One cannot fully understand who a person is, unless they see someone interact in more than one place. A person on Twitter, may not act the same on Twitter. Knowing a person in more than one place will give a person a more holistic view of a person. That was the main point of the article, and I agree with that stand. My blogger lingo, may not be the same way I talk on Facebook, because it is a different audience.
The article about nonfiction content was very intriguing. It was an argument over the importance of nonfiction books in libraries. It was not an attack on the occupation of the librarians, but it is all about the resources or better yet, lack of resources available in the schools, and libraries. Ferriter spoke on the lack of time available for the students to get into the topics that interested them. It was not an argument of whether or not the topics were needed, but more or less the availability of the articles and the interest the students had to the topics available for study.
“KNOWING SOMEONE” IN SOCIAL SPACES IS COMPLICATED by Bill Ferriter
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Blog Post #8
The best way to involve yourself in educational learning is to find great educational tools.
Some tools for the 21st century learning would be Flipping the Classroom, Teaching Channel, and Discovery ED.
I can infer that Flipping the Classroom is a great tool to use for educators.
This tool is for a teacher to give students the application outside of class to better them and give brief information before the class period.
Flipping the Classroom makes sure all kids are engaged and is centered around the teacher.
Things that children can do with Flipping the Classroom is stay at a self pace, work ahead, and post questions. The benefits I get from the Application are tremendously helpful.
I chose Flipping the Classroom because it can better students for a class.
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Teaching Channels is also a great tool for educators to use.
Teaching channels is used for thousand of educators who regularly watch videos of effective teaching.
This tool can also offer other educators insight and support for teaching.
This tool can be found at Teaching Channels. org.
This tool can help educators gain more and learn better ways of educating.
The idea that I get from the tool is that it enhances my thought process of teaching.
Some tools for the 21st century learning would be Flipping the Classroom, Teaching Channel, and Discovery ED.
I can infer that Flipping the Classroom is a great tool to use for educators.
This tool is for a teacher to give students the application outside of class to better them and give brief information before the class period.
Flipping the Classroom makes sure all kids are engaged and is centered around the teacher.
Things that children can do with Flipping the Classroom is stay at a self pace, work ahead, and post questions. The benefits I get from the Application are tremendously helpful.
I chose Flipping the Classroom because it can better students for a class.
_0.png "ctl.utexas.edu")
Teaching channels is used for thousand of educators who regularly watch videos of effective teaching.
This tool can also offer other educators insight and support for teaching.
This tool can be found at Teaching Channels. org.
This tool can help educators gain more and learn better ways of educating.
The idea that I get from the tool is that it enhances my thought process of teaching.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Blog Post #7
What can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch?
The lecture given by Randy Pausch, Last Lecture, was one that encompassed three main highlights that led up to the main point, on how to lead one's life. He touched on his childhood dreams, enabling others' dreams, and ended with lessons learned. This lecture was not only significant due to the past obstacles that Randy faced, but also his current obstacle of living life with the end near in sight. He revealed that he had ten (10) tumors in his liver and less than a year left to live. That sad account did not hinder his enthusiasm and passion.
There were many valuable stories that Randy shared, but when it comes to education, he seemed to give us the "head fake". He taught about education, but in a way that was very easy to understand and yet, nonetheless valuable.
Randy started out discussing brick walls. He said that they let us prove how badly we want something. He also spoke on the importance of fundamentals. Being an instructor, Randy was very familiar with being under authority and having authority over students as well. He was told, when you screw up, and people no longer say anything anymore, it means that they have given up on you. He also taught that approach when speaking to people is important. When he wanted to work for Disney Imagineering, the college Dean and the other Dean said the same thing, but one of them had a better approach. That is what made all the difference in his inner respect for the men.
While teaching his class, he had the students rate one another. An important lesson for educators is to get someone to become self-reflective. When they can see it, it makes all the difference. Another lesson for educators was that setting a bar for the students, does the students great disservice. The students went above and beyond what he as a professor could imagine, and it had him confused on the way forward for a little bit. His class could not have reached the heights that they had reached if he had limited their imagination and thinking. Mind you, fundamentals get one a clearer understanding, and foundation, but it should not stop there. Also having headed the program for about ten (10) years, Randy was not fully happy leaving it in the hands of another person. Another lesson for teaching is, to hand it over to someone who is better, if the opportunity arises.
When it comes to learning Randy taught important lessons for reflection. He said to never lose the child-like wonder inside of you. He also pointed out that it's okay to be wrong when you are learning new things, but it is not okay when you refuse to own up to your mistakes. He said to apologize when you screw up. He also pointed out that you cannot get anywhere alone, so learn to help others. This lecture was quite powerful, and all of the information was meaningful. There is not anything that I would really say that I disagree with, since this is Randy Pausch's story, and life lessons that he took away from all of his experiences. In all truth, life is all about those brick walls that make us fight harder for our dreams.
The lecture given by Randy Pausch, Last Lecture, was one that encompassed three main highlights that led up to the main point, on how to lead one's life. He touched on his childhood dreams, enabling others' dreams, and ended with lessons learned. This lecture was not only significant due to the past obstacles that Randy faced, but also his current obstacle of living life with the end near in sight. He revealed that he had ten (10) tumors in his liver and less than a year left to live. That sad account did not hinder his enthusiasm and passion.
There were many valuable stories that Randy shared, but when it comes to education, he seemed to give us the "head fake". He taught about education, but in a way that was very easy to understand and yet, nonetheless valuable.
Randy started out discussing brick walls. He said that they let us prove how badly we want something. He also spoke on the importance of fundamentals. Being an instructor, Randy was very familiar with being under authority and having authority over students as well. He was told, when you screw up, and people no longer say anything anymore, it means that they have given up on you. He also taught that approach when speaking to people is important. When he wanted to work for Disney Imagineering, the college Dean and the other Dean said the same thing, but one of them had a better approach. That is what made all the difference in his inner respect for the men.
C4T #2 post #1 and C4K Summary
SHOULD WE DISCARD THE NOTION OF THE CLASSROOM? - The Tempered Radical By Bill Ferriter
This blog post challenges the normal classroom setting. Bill first goes into comparing engagement and empowerment. To be simplified, he classifies engagement as a buy-in and then he classifies empowerment as ownership. The statistics from this post were baffling. It was appalling to see the amount of people who found standardized testing to be ineffective and even harmful. 77 percent of people had that notion. 60 percent of people did not agree with the notion that a teacher's score is their students' score. That basically means that one cannot blame a teacher for the failures or the low test scores of their students. This somewhat has to do with the drive of the students and the socioeconomic status, and the societal notion of education, and cannot be solely blamed on the teaching received. Bill also goes into talent and hard-work, and how the talent of an individual means nothing if it is not used correctly. A big topic in this post was technology and education. He stated that "technology is not a learning outcome, but a tool." teachers are spending so much teaching students how to use technology, but not teaching them how to utilize to the best potential while further enabling the society around themselves. Even with all this technology available, it is not being of the best help that it can be, due to the box that it has been placed into in our society. This post seemed to place a lot of responsibilities on the shoulder of the educators. It argued that good teaching can help to fix "bullying, foul language, and wasted time," to mention a few. The educators, according to this post, spend even out of their personal funds, at least $100, for supplies in their classrooms. This shows that teachers want things done, and some are willing to send out of pocket to make it happen. A very good point that was brought up, was when Bill brought a new thing to light of understanding the learning outcome. Many slide shows and textbooks incorporate that in now, because at the end of it all, the goal and outcome may still be unclear. Bill suggests building a bridge between the old and new in order to carry this generation of technology to greater heights.
Bill talked about the standard for education and teaching, so I challenged that notion a little bit. To say that standardized testing has gotten a lot, is one thing. But to say that it is not needed, is another thing altogether. In my opinion having a standard is very important. There no way to measure progress without a yardstick. Of course thinking outside the box and going against the norm is important for us as the society to see things in a different light, but there will always be those people out there. There has to be a baseline in order for students to reach that empowerment that Bill Ferriter is referring to.
C4K Summary In the poem Kylie teacher assigned them assignments on to pick a color.
The children had to write a poem about a color of there choice.
The teacher informed them to give details on the color.
Kylie also had to give a visual picture of the color.
Kylie had to really pick a color of interest.
I inferred that it was engaging to assign kids a color to choose from.
Colors can be very essential to a humans eyesight.
I gave Kylie an example of the color I would have used.
I really gave important detail about the color.
Bill talked about the standard for education and teaching, so I challenged that notion a little bit. To say that standardized testing has gotten a lot, is one thing. But to say that it is not needed, is another thing altogether. In my opinion having a standard is very important. There no way to measure progress without a yardstick. Of course thinking outside the box and going against the norm is important for us as the society to see things in a different light, but there will always be those people out there. There has to be a baseline in order for students to reach that empowerment that Bill Ferriter is referring to.
C4K Summary In the poem Kylie teacher assigned them assignments on to pick a color.
The children had to write a poem about a color of there choice.
The teacher informed them to give details on the color.
Kylie also had to give a visual picture of the color.
Kylie had to really pick a color of interest.
I inferred that it was engaging to assign kids a color to choose from.
Colors can be very essential to a humans eyesight.
I gave Kylie an example of the color I would have used.
I really gave important detail about the color.
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