Monday, March 28, 2011

Teach Someone Something

This was a presentation I made for another class using some of the skills I've learned in EDM310. I taught my MA201 Fractional division. This was a challenge to me because I've always be best at math. Therefore, it was hard for me to break down numbers for those who couldn't understand. I know that this will definitely be a challenge for me as a teacher, but I am working on it. Since giving this presentation, I have shown a few classmates how to use google presentation. They all agreed that this was much easier than trying to convert Powerpoint of Apple's Keynote to a compatible form. Through this project I taught math to the class via google presentation, as well as teaching classmates to use this type of presentation.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Blog Post 9

I loved everything he said in his post! He made so many great points about the student teacher relationship. I shared with him how I currently tutor students around the city and one of the biggest issues I have seen is the student's frustration. So many times the students do not reach the classes set goal or expectations for things, and in return they feel dumb or like failures. This then kills their desire to learn at all. How sad...I would hate for any child to lose that desire at such a young age. I also admire his thoughts of having a relationship where students feel as though you care about them. I know there has always been controversy over what student teacher relationship is appropriate, however, I feel that allowing the student to feel like they can talk to you is perfectly okay. I liked the way he set up his post in a do and don't manner. It gives you a straight and easy way of using his tips. I can definitely see myself having a hard time trying not to be too controlling. I have always liked for things to go smoothly; however, I know that realistically this is not always the case. You just have to remember that you are doing this for the students and you must adapt to fit them. Overall, I really enjoyed reading his thoughts on his first year of teaching.

C4K March Summary

To start off I would like to reiterate the fact that I love C4K! It is definitely my favorite part of this course. I love to hear their thoughts and questions on things. Week 4 I commented on a fifth grades story about her cat. The nest week I commented on a sixth graders poll. She wanted to know what some of my "favorites" were. She also asked for suggestions on more "favorites" questions to ask. I told her maybe a favorite book or movie. My last comment fell on a teachers blog requesting her students to write on a second graders blog and give her their reaction. I very much enjoyed reading what students thought about other student's blogs.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Blog Post 8

This is How We Dream/Teach: The first video I watched began by talking about the traditional way of learning. It showed a library and books. It spoke of publishing paper copies and other traditional things. The speaker talked about the disvalue of these items by saying that one of his documents in now for sale on Amazon for only a few cents. Then he speaks of a new way for learning: Multimedia.

One great part of this multimedia is that it is never checked out and can therefore be shared always. He calls it "Sharing knowledge infinitely". How incredible! Now not only can we learn by sight, but we can learn by many other senses as well. Print, sound and visual learnings can all be combined into only one document.

The speaker gives a great quote when speaking on becoming a multimedia teacher. "This is the idea to push forward our learning. Why wouldn't we be on the front line for that?" What a great point! I feel that I am on the fast track to being able to teach multimedia. Then my students will also be able to use multimedia to its fullest.



I absolutely loved the EDM310 for Dummies video! I have felt exactly like this for most of the semester. As funny as it may sound, I think this book would actually make a fortune. This was such a great idea for a student video. I like the idea of creating videos to help future classes. Maybe even a video with step by step instructions on how to do some of the more tricky projects.



Learning to Change: While some of their arguments such as students collecting useful data from their cell phones, sms, facebook, and other social networks are a little extreme; I feel that they have a valid point. Right now I don't think students are using these things to learn. I am a college student and only recently started using these as educational tools. The key is teaching kids to make these things educational and useful. Why not revamp the status quo classroom? If we don't we will lose the coming generations.


The Secret Powers of Time/What Motivates Us: It is amazing how much influence time has on our daily lives. I know I for one am very guilty of at times letting time run my life. But how does time affect education? I think the way our system is currently set up creates such a deadline attitude for teachers which makes students in my opinion less likely to retain what they learn. I know from talking to current teachers that they say one of their biggest issues are time. They have so many standards they have to meet by a certain time that students miss some key ideas. In America, according to this video, a child drops out of school every 9 seconds. Wow! How sad! Maybe we should do something to try and help these kids.


Saturday, March 12, 2011

Smart Project




*Our Flipcam died, so we had to use my phone. This made the video a little dark and quiet. Sorry for the inconvenience.*

I must say after doing this project that I am no longer a huge Smartboard fan. I definitely see the advantages of interaction in the classroom, but the time put into making a good Smart lesson is exceptionally long. Once in the teaching field it would be hard to create lessons like this on a weekly or even daily bases. This is where sites such as smart exchange would be very beneficial.
We also had a few technical problems trying to set up the project which could create problems in the classroom. Overall, I feel our project went well other than those few things. I love the idea of Smart in the classroom. I'm just not sure how efficient it is.

Form

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHhxSmNLUG1mbTI0SkdJRWtuTUM0Y0E6MQ



Form results currently posted on my partner, Carol Perez's blog page. http://perezcaroledm310.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 7, 2011

Blog Post 7

In 2007, Randy Pausch gave a speech at Carnegie Mellon University. It was a lecture on achieving your childhood dreams. This became his final lecture. It is now a famous lecture that has been transformed into a book. At the beginning of his lecture, Pausch announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He had few months to live as his pancreatic cancer was quickly spreading.

Pausch did not come into this lecture gloomily. He took it as his last opportunity to really influence people. He wanted to teach people how to really live and get the most out of life. He began his lecture by remembering his childhood dreams. He talked about the obstacles that keep you from achieveing those dreams. He also discussed those who help make those dreams possible. It is not those who look past your mistakes and baby you, but those who stop you when you make mistakes and help you.

I saw a reoccurring theme of dreams. He viewed dreams as being attainable once we learn to overcome our "walls". He obviously had a deep passion for his students as he discusses his desire to help them discover their dreams, and then to fulfill them. He begins to discover his own dreams on his journey with his students. He wants them to live their lives to the fullest just as he did in his last days.

Randy Pausch's last lecture was extremely inspirational. He was not gloomy or down in his speech. HIs enthusiasm for life flowed throughout his words and manner. He wanted his students as well as his two young children that his speech was written for to live out their dreams. He lived the life in his last days that we should all strive to live everyday. He was such an inspiration and would have been a joy to have met. I feel that his last lecture will be one that will be remembered and passed down for generations to come.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

First PLN Report

For my PLN I chose to use the Symbaloo website. I have found that this is an easy and resourceful way to keep up with my different websites and learning tools. It also allows me to keep up with leisure sites such as Twitter and Facebook. I am still a little unsure as to all of the things that can be done to make my PLN its absolute best. Right now, I am still learning to maneuver around this network. I am sure in time I will become more fluent in the ways of Symbaloo. If anyone has any suggestions or comments on how to make my PLN more useful feel free to leave a comment.

Short Movie Project

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C4T Summary 3/6

I followed Ms Jenny She for the past two weeks. She was by far my favorite blog I've followed so far. Her first week's post was very inspirational. It was a video with a story about starfish and a child. I loved the thought of never giving up on a child. You never know what a difference you are making in the lives of others. I have heard the startfish story before, and it still gives me chills to read. As an future educator, I know there will be days when I will become flustered and want to give up, but the thought of making a difference in one child's life is enough to keep me going. Her second weeks post was a comical video about the release of the Ipad 2. I am amazed at how quickly Apple can release these new products. I would love to own one in order to use it to enhance my classroom.