Blog Assignment # 16 (Final Reflection)

Final Reflection

When I graduate, I will be teaching high school history. As a teacher I will use Project Based Learning (PBL) in my classroom. I believe PBL is the best way to teach students because it not only promotes independent thinking but also creativity. By using PBL students will be engaged and excited about learning. Also, by using PBL, students will learn problem solving skills instead of burp back education.

Not only will I Teach PBL, but I will also use many other tools in my classroom. Using technology tools will enhance my students' projects and learning experiences. Some of these tools include iPads, E-readers, laptops, smartboards, Blogger, iCurio, and Podcasts.

I will use iPads in my classroom because they have all the tools that a desktop computer has, but can be carried around by students. This allows students to have endless knowledge at their fingertips. I will also use E-readers in my classroom because they allow students to have all their books on one device as well as take notes directly on the E-reader. I also want to use them because it is cheaper for the school and the students to download books than it is to buy a hard copy book.

I will also be using Blogger in my classroom. Blogger allows students to set up an post on their own blog page. I think this is an important tool because it allows students to have their ideas and projects seen and heard from people around the world. iCurio will also be a tool I use in my classroom because it allows students to safely research online without me having to look over their shoulder.

I believe on of the most important tool I will use in my classroom is a Smartboard. Smartboards allow teachers to have interactive activities on the board. Smartboards also givesstudents access to the internet, where they can play videos. Smartboards can even allow Facetime chats with professionals from all over the world.

My classroom will be a place students cannot wait to get to. It will be a place where they can express their opinions, be encouraged to ask questions, and be able to share their work with people all over the world. Students will not leave my class with only historical dates memorized, instead they will leave my class with skills they will use for the rest of their life.

What I would Change From the Start of the Semester

In my first blog post I wrote about what my dream school would look like. Reading it now it makes me laugh. I said in Blog Assignment #1 that it would be important to have comfortable chairs for the students to sit, because then they would be more focused. I now know it is not the chairs that keep the students focused but the way in which a teacher teaches. I still agree that I want my students to know that "no matter what their grade is, they all have something to offer that the world can benefit from". I believe as educators we should encourage students dreams-not tear them down. I would add to this post that I want my students to understand that sometimes the questions we ask are more important than the answers. After taking EDM 310 I realize that in school students are not taught or even encouraged to ask questions. In my classroom this will change! In my first blog post I said "I would have the students share their questions and answers with the class". I now believe "Why stop witt just the class when the students can have their own blog page and share their questions and answers with the world.?"

In my first blog post under "tools" I would use I will admit that I purposely left out using Smartboards. To be honest, I had never used a Smartboard until EDM310 and thought they were just a more complicated version of a dry erase board. I now see how wrong I was and using a Smartboard is now one of the tools I look forward to using the most when I start teaching. I still agree with what I wrote for The Role Students will play in my first blog post. I stated that "Students would play the leading roll in my classroom, and I would act as their guide." The students would be able to let their creativity, and imagination loose, and I would encourage and support them.



Final Reflection video

Blog Assignment # 15 (Collaborative)

iCurio

In this video Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange talk about iCurio. ICurio is an online tool that allows students to safely search websites and use other online media. Another great feature that iCurio offers is it allows students to store information that they find interesting into folders and to also create new folders. By allowing students to add to and create folders it gives students responsibility and organization skills. These are skills that students will be able to use for the rest of their life. The feature I thought would be the most useful to teachers is that iCurio has the ability to read text to students with disabilities. This feature will be a great help to teachers who have a student with a disability, because they will not have to read the text to the students themselves.

Discovery Education

In this video Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange talk about the online search tool called Discovery Education. Discovery Education is an online search tool that does not just offer pictures but also video’s of experts giving information on the topic. Anthony Capps stated that Discovery Education does not take the place of reading but helps to enhance it. I agree with what Dr. Strange said “students should not just be consumers of technology but also producers of it”. I think this is a great statement because students should not be satisfied with using the technology they are given but rather the students should want to create and contribute to technology, which allows them to have their voice and ideas heard.

Don't Teach Technology -Use It

In this video Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange talk about the use of technology in classrooms. I agree with the statement Anthony Capps made in the beginning of this video when he said “it does not matter if you like technology or not you are surrounded by it”. Everywhere you look there's technology and it is at our fingertips at all times with smartphones, tablets, and laptops. The most important thing I learned from this video is a teacher should not teach technology but should do it. A teacher can do this by designing projects that starts off with just an introduction to technology, then the teacher continuously designs projects that allows students to build their skills and combine the tools they are learning. I think this is a great idea because it allows students to use critical thinking skills and problem solving skills, which they will use the rest of their life. There are many advantages to using PBL and technology. One advantage is it is cheaper because it is a one time purchase and teachers do not have to keep buying supplies for projects. With PBL and technology students can be engaged with projects all year long. I thought this video was very helpful because now I know that in my classroom I should not teach technology but use it.

Maggie Adkinsson


In the video iCurio I watched as Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange discuss iCurio. I learned so much about the iCurio and it’s features. Although I had previously looked at it before, I never realized what a great tool it was. I think it is great that it enables students to use the internet while preventing inappropriate material from appearing in their search results. Not only does it provide safe search engines, but iCurio also allows teacher and students to save information in folders to come back to later. I thought this was great! So many times when working on a project I print a numerous amount of unnecessary information because I do not want to lose it after I leave that particular website. Not only is this a great way to be environmentally friendly, but it encourages organization for both me and my future students. I am very impressed with the capabilities iCurio has to offer and will definitely being using this in my class!

In the video Discovery Ed Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange discussed Discovery Ed. Discovery Ed is a website that offers a variety of tools to assist in teaching particular subjects, such as science and social studies. It offers pictures, videos, and much more to reiterate the subject being taught. One feature that I like about Discovery Ed is that it allows students to listen to an expert in a given field. As a future teacher I understand that I will not be able to answer every question they have, but with Discovery Ed I will be able to point them in the right direction and let them find out from someone who does know the answer. I think this is a great tool to enhance and personalize their learning! I think The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers Part 1 is a great video for anyone who is considering or even on their way to being a teacher. Anthony Capps provides some very great insight to what his life is like as a third grade teacher. Always reading books, always learning new things, and working more than just the school day. Many people think that teaching is one of the easiest jobs, but that is far from the truth. There is so much more to it than just standing at the front of a room talking. There are lesson plans, parent meetings, and so much more that a teacher does not because it is easy, or because teaching pays a lot of money. They do it because they are passionate about teaching children.

Kaylee Diegan

What can I learn from conversations with Anthony Capps?

I really enjoy listening to Anthony Capp’s ideas and advice. Knowing that he once was a student in EDM310, as I am today, gives me hope that I can grow from this class and apply my knowledge in my Project Based Learning Classroom. Earlier in the semester, I chose to do one of my posts on iCurio. I think iCurio is a great tool for students and teachers. In the video about iCurio, Capps discusses how safe it is and how it can be used for any grade level. Like Dr. Strange, I tend to misplace my notes. This tool can prevent that problem! Students can upload their files into certain folders, search under restricted sites and save their information quickly. This video taught me how to allow my students to search the internet without coming across inappropriate sites. This is really important to me, as a teacher and a parent. Discovery Education is another tool to be used in the classroom. This allows students to enter key words they are searching for. Like iCurio, this also allows students to search for information without seeing inappropriate websites. I think this would be a great tool for students in elementary school. It seems to be harder to know exactly what to type in the search engine when you are younger. Searching for key words can help students quickly find what they need. I hope to use both tools in my classroom! The third video I watched was Additional Thought About Lessons. Anthony discusses four “layers” to his teaching strategy. He says there is the curriculum based off of the year, the unit, the week and the day. He compares this theory to a Russian nested doll. It is important to prepare your projects and teachings in all four of these time frames. I agree with Anthony on this! My biggest fear about using Project Based Learning in my classroom is time management. This strategy helped me realize how I need to plan the curriculum. I think this strategy could really help! I love how Dr. Strange is surprised by many of the information Anthony gives him. This really proves that teachers can learn from students. I enjoyed all of the videos I watched on conversations between Dr. Strange and Anthony!

Blog Assignment # 14

Can a History Classroom Benefit From PBL and Technology?

Instructions

Students are to watch the video Technology in Our Schools: The Social Studies and History Class. After students watch the video, they will write a blog post answering the question "Can a history classroom benefit from PBL and Technology"?

My Post

I thought this was a great video to watch! This video helped me see how much a history class (or any class) can benefit from PBL and technology. The video states "Technology provides students with a platform to show their creativity. Students are engaged and take ownership of their learning". This video also gives great suggestions of ways to use technology and PBL in not only a history class, but other classes as well. One tip the video gives is to use FaceTime for video conferences, because this can help connect your students to people all over the world. I think this is a great idea for a history class because it allows the class to talk to an expert in whatever historical event they might be studying. When I begin teaching I will defiantly use this suggestion, because it will give my students a chance to ask questions to someone who specializes in a particular field. The second suggestion this video gives is to have students make blog posts and podcasts. When students make podcasts and blog posts they are able to share their ideas and work with people from all over the world, which answers the question most history students ask- "who cares and why do I need to know this"? The video also mentions using Google Earth because it allows your students to travel all over the world while still in the classroom. I have never thought about using Google Earth before I watched this video. However, I will be using it when I begin teaching. When I was in history class I loved to look at the pictures and always wished the textbook had more. With Google Earth my students will be able to see the historical sites and locations we will be learning about. Why should my students be limited to just reading about these exciting places when I have the technology to take them on a virtual tour? I found this video to be very helpful in giving me ideas for projects and tools to use in my history classroom. PBL and technology can help students who do not like history become more engaged and excited about coming to class and learning about history.
 

C4T # 4

Get Started Using Screencast In PE.

Mrs. Hamada post Get Started Using Screencast In PE gave readers different tools and apps that can be used to give feedback to PE students or players. Mrs. Hamada makes a great point that when you are teaching a PE class or Coaching a sports team feedback is very important but sometimes very difficult. Some examples she give of why feedback is difficult for PE teachers and Coaches is the noise level in a gym or field. Another reason feedback could be difficult is because most of the time the teacher or the coach is not standing right beside the student or player and may have to yell across a field. Screencasts make feedback for teachers and coaches easier because "Screencast is a movie on your computer screen that you make to explain or share something with someone else". One of the tools Mrs. Hamada suggested was Coach's Eye. Coach's Eye is an app that can be use to take video of students or players and then play it back to them. This is a great tool because it allows the coach or teacher to either pull the student to the side and show them the video of what they are doing correct or incorrect. As a Softball coach I think this is a very useful tool. One thing that makes this tool so helpful to coaches and teachers is that the app allows you to slow the video down. Being able to slow the video down is one of the main reasons I will be using this app when the softball season starts. I will use this tool to help me coach hitting to my softball players because when a player is hitting everything happens so fast that it is hard for them to visualize what they are doing wrong. With Coach's Eye I will be able to video them hitting and then play it back for them in slow motion so they can see and understand what they are doing wrong. I left Mrs. Hamada a comment telling her who I am and that I enjoyed her post. I also commented that I would be using Coach's Eye and could not wait for the softball season to start so I could use the app on my players and get their responses.

Twitter Challenge For PE Teachers


In this post Mr. Hamada explains that she did not understand what the big deal about Twitter was at first. However her husband was so attached to it that she decided to give it a try. Mrs. Hamada points out how she was going to use Twitter Professionally. First she wanted to find out about some hash-tags and see how she should use them. The next thing she did was follow PE teachers. The third thing she did was to find out what people were up to in their PE departments in other International and regular schools. Mrs. Hamada talks about the amazing people she has met and connected with that would have never of happened without Twitter. She then challenges the reader to get into Twitter. I wrote a comment about how much I enjoyed reading her post. I also explained that at first I also did not see the big deal with Twitter but the more I used it the more I got hooked.

Project # 15

Civil Rights Supreme Court Cases that Shaped America

Grade:
11-12

Overview

Students will use the Internet to research Civil Rights Court Cases and Amendments. Students will be put into groups and assigned a Civil Rights Court Case and work together to gather information from books, websites, and newspaper articles. Students will make a video reenacting events related to their court case. Students will also make a PowerPoint presentation using Google docs covering the main points of the court case and the outcome. After videos and PowerPoint presentation are finished the groups will present both to the class. Students will then upload both PowerPoint presentations and videos into their personal blog page.

Entry Event

The teacher will show a PowerPoint presentation on a Civil Rights Court Case that was not assigned to a group. The Presentation should also be an example of what the students Presentations should look like.

Duration

This project should take no longer than 5 days (keep in mind this project is for high school students)

Content Standards

SS(12)United States Government

2. Analyze purposes, organization, functions, and principles of the constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

SS(12)United States Government

3. Explain how the federal system of the United States divides power between national and state governments, including areas of taxation, revenue distribution, federal grants, distribution of entitlements, regulation of interstate commerce, and enforcement of contracts.

Local/National Standards

NSS-C.9-12.1

How does the Government established by the constitution Embody the purposes, values and principles of American Democracy?

How does power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution?

What is the place of law in American Constitutional system?

How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation?

Materials Needed

Put students into groups
Go over rules of working in a group
Assign Supreme Court Cases to groups

Technology Resources Needed

Computers
Presentation Software
Digital Projector
Video recording device

Day 1

Introduce project by explaining the role of U.S Supreme Court to students. The teacher will then put students into assigned groups and explain rules of working in groups. Teachers will also give groups their assigned Supreme Court Case.

Day 2 and 3

Students will spend 2 days in the library using the computers and books for research and work on their PowerPoint presentation

Day 4 and 5

Students will present their PowerPoint and videos to the class. Students will upload both PowerPoint and video to their blog (each group should not take more than 5 minutes for their presentation)

Reenactments and videos should be done by groups outside of class for homework

21st Century Competencies

Collaboration
Communication
Critical thinking
Creativity and Innovation

Formative Assessment

Blog post
Rough Drafts
Notes
Check list

Summative Assessment

Oral Presentation, with rubric
written Products, with rubric
Performance
Peer Evaluation

Reflection Methods

Blog Post
whole-class Discussion

C4T # 3

Mr. Robbo-The PE Geek

Top Apps For PE Teachers.Part 26

I enjoyed reading this post. This blog gave great app ideas for PE teachers and coaches. My favorite app that he talks about is called SwipeStats. SwipeStats is an app that lets coaches, PE teachers, students, and players to keep statistical information. This app can also be used by anyone who might want to keep track of their favorite pro athlete's statistical information. I commented on the post that, as a softball coach, I think this would be a great app to use to keep track of my player's statistical information.

Another app that was mentioned in this post was called Jade of Spades. In this app, the user picks a card out of a deck, and on the card is a physical activity that the user has to complete as quickly as possible. The app allows the user to choose a half deck or a full deck. By allowing users to users to choose a half deck the user can work their way up to a full deck which is a longer exercise program.

Motion Tennis-An Amazing Air Play App.

This post is about a motion tennis app. This app allows the user to pair with Apple TV or other AirPlay devices. This app turns you iPhone into a virtual tennis racquet that allows the user to play tennis using their iPhone. This is an amazing app that shows how much iPhones and apps are truly capable of.

Blog Assignment # 13 (Collaborative)

Shukla Bose: Teaching One Child at a Time

I enjoyed the video “Teaching One Child at a Time”. In this video, Shukla Bose talks about how she started the Parkrma Humanity Foundation. This foundation helps the children in India who live in the slums get an education. Bose started by going to the slums and identifying houses where the children who would never go to school lived. She would then talk to the parents about sending their children to school. The parents wanted their children to go to school, because they wanted their children to have a better life, but the parents still had to be convinced that change was possible. The Parkrma Humanity Foundation started with one school that was located on the top of the building and had 165 children. The Foundation grew to four schools and a junior college, which all became successful because the schools taught the best curriculum possibly. They even taught English to get the students ready for a globalized world. I think it is great that the children are not just being taught basic skills but also skills that will help them have a better future. The main reason the schools became successful is that the schools and teachers operated under the idea of "one child at a time", which means they would educate students through school and into college by focusing on treating each child as an individual. I believe more schools should operate under this idea, because not every child learns the same or at the same speed. This idea means students are more likely to understand the material taught rather than just being passed along to the next grade.

Kaylee Diegan

Are you thankful for the education girls AND boys are given in our country? You should be! I know that I am after watching the TED video on Kakenya Ntaiya! I highly recommend everyone watch this video!

As a child growing up in Kenya, Kakenya Ntaiya was not promised an education past twelve years old. Her father was away working most of the time, and when he was home he was selling the crops her mother had worked on all year and drinking with his friends at a local bar. Her mother, her siblings and herself were to do exactly what her father demanded or the mother would be abused. She was arranged a husband to marry once she became a woman. When she was thirteen she was mutilated as a female, like the all of the other girls her age. Since her mother was denied an education, she emphasized how important an education was. Ntaiya told her father that she would go through with the “celebration” of becoming a woman if she could continue her education. He agreed.

Little did she know how her world would change! She went to high school in Kenya then received a scholarship to college in the United States. She went around to all of the men and collected enough money for her plane ticket to America. Once she got here, her eyes were opened to: SNOW, rights, laws and many other things that had been stolen from her back home. After receiving her Master’s, Ntaiya went back to Kenya to repay the community for helping her receive her education. She started an all girls school and not only kept 125 girls from being sexually mutilated, but helped them transform into educated young ladies with chance at life!

It is so important to realize how lucky we are to have our education handed to us. For me, it was known that I would attend school all the way through college. But, for others it’s not that simple. It’s amazing what you can do if you really want something and fight for it. In another TED video Sugata Mitra emphasized how amazing it is to see what children can do if you give them certain atmospheres and tools. Once she made it to America, all it took for Ntaiya to be successful was an opportunity. We should teach our students to be motivated like she was and not just expect things to be given to you. We are truly lucky to live in this country and be given the education opportunities that we have

Maggie Adkisson

In the video "To This Day" ... for the bullied and beautiful Shane Koyczan raises his voice against bullying in a poem. As a child he was picked on and torn down everyday because of his weight. This video was made to raise awareness, put a stop to the cruelty, and most of all give hope to those who feel different and alone.

With his combination of words, music, and pictures the audience is sucked into the lives of the different characters. Feeling their pain with every word. Watching the constant insults break them down. Allowing the names to define them, because after hearing it for so long they are no longer able to see themselves as anything else. Watching this video is like watching a train wreck waiting to happen. It is dark and depressing, but you just cannot take your eyes off of it. My words alone cannot even begin to explain what a nerve hitting masterpiece Shane Koyczan has created. I believe it is only appropriate to share a couple verses.

she was eight years old
our first day of grade three
when she got called ugly
we both got moved to the back of the class
so we would stop get bombarded by spit balls
but the school halls were a battleground
where we found ourselves outnumbered day after wretched day
we used to stay inside for recess
because outside was worse
outside we’d have to rehearse running away
or learn to stay still like statues giving no clues that we were there
in grade five they taped a sign to her desk
that read beware of dog

to this day
despite a loving husband
she doesn’t think she’s beautiful
because of a birthmark
that takes up a little less than half of her face
kids used to say she looks like a wrong answer
that someone tried to erase
but couldn’t quite get the job done
and they’ll never understand
that she’s raising two kids
whose definition of beauty
begins with the word mom
because they see her heart
before they see her skin
that she’s only ever always been amazing

People says "kids are cruel" like it is an excuse not to stop bullying. That bullying is okay because it is coming from a child. We ignore how badly the bullied child's feelings are hurt and what the possible repercussions could be. This teacher just moved them to the back of the class hoping they will become invisible. Unfortunately, time and time again we have learned that ignoring the problem does not work. That is why we have kids bringing guns to schools to kill other students, harming their own bodies so that they can feel a moment of relief, and overdosing on pain killers just to get away from reality. By leaving them alone, without support and trying to make the them invisible we are doing nothing, but helping to create their own personal tragedy. We need everyone, not just children, to come to a realization of how their words and deeds can affect others. On his project website he says, "Schools and families are in desperate need of proper tools to confront this problem. We can give them a starting point… A message that will have a far reaching and long lasting effect in confronting bullying". His original video has received over 9,000,000,000 views on Youtube. I believe that we had found a plausible solution. If we could show our students something like this video, we could teach them what their words can do to others. Everyone has compassion and I think when they realize the outcomes a change will be made.

Project # 14

The Face of History

Duration: 4-6 hours

Subject: Social Studies

Overview:

Students will learn about local history, using technology and creativity. Students are to use the internet to research local historical sites. The students should focus on the Civil Rights Movement and the Civil War. After the students finish researching they will visit the historical sites and take pictures of the sites they visit. Students will visit and take pictures of at least four historical sites, and then students will put the pictures into a PowerPoint presentation made in Google docs. After the students PowerPoint presentations are finished they will present the presentation to the class, then they will upload their presentation to their blog.
Driving Question:

What are the historical significances of the locations around the students?

Content Standards:

SS(10) United States History to 1877

• 10. Describe how the course, character, and effects of the Civil War influenced the United States

SS(11) United States History from 1877 to the present

• 2. Describe social and political origins, accomplishments, and limitations of progressivism. • 12. Trace events of the Modern Civil Rights Movement from past-World War II to 1970 that resulted in social and economic changes, including the Montgomery bus boycott, the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, the march on Washington, and the Freedom Rides.

Local/National standards:

NSS-USH 5-12.5

• Understand the causes of the Civil War • Understand the course and characters of the Civil War and its effects on the American people

NSS-USH 5-12.9

• Understand the struggle for racial and gender equality and the extension of Civil liberties

21st century competencies to be taught and assessed

• Communication (Oral Presentation) • Critical thinking • Creativity and innovation
Entry Event:

Teachers will talk about local history and also show video of mobile’s history.

Formative Assessments:

• Journal/ learning log • Blog post • Rough Drafts • Notes • Check list

Summative Assessments:

• Written products with rubric • Oral presentation with rubric • Peer evaluation

Resources Needed

• Digital camera or any device that can take pictures. For example smart phones or tablets • Computers • Individual and class blog page

Reflection Methods

• Blog post • Whole class discussion • Group discussion

Assumptions:

• Some students might need help with research or PowerPoint. If students have problems with research then peer tutoring is an option. Students who finish early can help students who need help. Teachers should also have after school tutorial available for those students who need it.

• Many students might choose the same historical sites. Teachers should encourage students to find sites that most of their classmates might over look.

Part one

Teacher will introduce videos and lecture on local areas. Teachers will have a class discussion and point out key dates, facts, and people. The teacher will then give the project instructions and go over them with the class.

Part two

Teacher will give students five days to gather photos and visit locations. The pictures and locations are to be taken and visited outside of class.

Part Three

Students will have two days in the computer lab to create PowerPoint in Google docs. Students will then upload to their blog page.

Part four

Students will present PowerPoint to the class. Each students Presentation should take no longer than 3 minutes.

Blog Assignment # 12 (Collaborative)

What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson?

Changing Education Paradigms

In the video Changing Education Paradigms Sir Ken Robinson he asked two questions. The first is "How do we educate our children to take their place in the economies of the 21st century, given that we cannot anticipate what the economy will look like at the end of the next week?" The second question he asks is "How does a country educate children to also have cultural identity while also being part of globalization"? I enjoyed this video very much. It shows how public education became what it is today. "The current system was designed and conceived for a different age. It was conceived in the intellectual culture of the enlightenment and in economic circumstance of Industrial Revolution." The current system divides students into the academic and non academic categories, which makes many brilliant people believe that they are not smart. I believe this is very true. If a student does not make good grades the stdent often believes that means the student is not smart. If a student is discouraged they begin to shutdown and do not want to go to school. Sir Ken Robinson makes a great point that the school system needs to get away from standardization and go to divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is the essential capacity for creativity and to see multiple answers-not just one. I think this is a great idea because divergent thinking teaches students to use their minds and their creativity rather than just using their memorization. Sir Ken Robinson also gives a great example of how the public education system is failing. In his example, 1500 kindergarteners were given a test to measure divergent thinking. 98% of those students scored in the Genius level. The same test was given the the same children when they were 8-10 years old, and again at age 13-15. The results were that the scores continuously deteriorated. I was amazed by the results of the test. It shows that as children get further along in their education their divergent thinking skills begin to suffer. This is because they have been taught that there is only one correct answer. This video opened my eyes to the problems of how students are being taught in the education system. I think any person that is wanting to become a teacher should watch this video.

Kaylee Diegan
I really enjoyed Sir Ken Robinson's video How To Escape Education's Death Valley. He discusses learning in America and how even though we put enough money and time into teaching, it's not the most successful way of allowing our students to learn. I was literally laughing out loud when Robinson was discussing ADHD (not because I think the diagnosis is funny for any child to have, I just couldn't agree more). He says that he knows it exists, but that just because a child is hyperactive doesn't mean they should be put on medicine to be calm. I agree with him: any child that you make sit in a classroom for hours at a time is going to get bored and lose concentration! With that being said, why don't we make the students' learning exciting and try not to let them get bored? Another analogy he used was curiosity being like the engine of a jeep. I learned that curiosity is so important for the teacher to possess as well as the students. Students can thrive off of curiosity and therefore willingly learn more. I never thought about it, but learning and education are two different things. Robinson says you can talk about education without talking about learning. Just because a teacher is in a classroom "teaching", does NOT mean the students are learning. We've been talking about standardized tests in a lot of my classes lately. There is a time and place for standardized tests. They should not be used on a daily basis; just for diagnostics. I agree with this for many reasons, but especially because not all students are good at taking tests. So, just because a student doesn't do well on a standardized tests means they don't understand something? FALSE. At the end of the video Robinson describes what he means in his title by "death valley". Death Valley is a desert by his house that nothing grows on. It doesn't get any rain, therefore it has no grass, trees, flowers, etc. But, when it did rain, flowers grew! Death Valley is like our students' learning. If we don't teach them anything and give them a learning atmosphere, then they won't learn anything. If we do, then they will grow in their education and learn. I can't wait to have a classroom and try to apply the things I've learned in EDM310 from people's blogs and videos to my own students!

Maggie Adkisson

Ken Robinson is an author and educator. He led the British government's 1998 advisory committee on creative and cultural education, and was knighted for his work. We can learn so much from Sir Ken Robinson in his 2006 TED talk on The Importance of Creativity. Although he talks on a variety of points, one in particular caught my attention. He said, There isn't an education system on the planet that teaches dance everyday to children the way we teach them mathematics. Why? Why not? I think this is rather important. I think math is very important, but so is dance. Children dance all the time if they're allowed to, we all do. We all have bodies, don't we? Did I miss a meeting? Truthfully, what happens is, as children grow up, we start to educate them progressively from the waist up. And then we focus on their heads. And slightly to one side. After hearing this, I began thinking of all the schools I attended throughout my life. That is twelve schools to be exact. I came to the conclusion that not one of them encouraged me to get up and dance, do something creative, or anything else outside of academics. I thought why is this? Who decided that math, science, and English were the most important subjects? I later learned that our educational system was made to suite the needs of the industrial revolution. A time when people were focused on manufacturing. Public schools began preparing students for jobs by focusing on math, science, and other subjects that were deemed important. Likewise, little time was spent letting students use their creativity in art, drama, or music. Society did not care at this point in time if you could paint or do something extraordinary with your creativity. They wanted someone to be able to work machines and understand how to fix them.

Even today, our education system remains much the same as it was during this time. Students spend minimal time in classes such as art, drama, and other creative thinking based classes. Sir Ken Robinson is absolutely correct when he says that schools are killing out creativity. As young children we probably look like this little boy a lot, or at least I did. Covered in head to toe in whatever I was doing. Most time it was dirt.

Then we start going to school, where teachers only want one answer. The textbook, burp back answer. It does not matter if you see a color as being salmon, but if a teacher says it is pink then you are supposed to see it as pink as well. We tell children they are wrong, when in fact they could very well be right. Who is to say their perception is wrong? Instead of accepting their ideas, we break them, and turn them into robots by teaching them only to see what we want them to see. I learned from Sir Ken Robinson that we need to stop this negative stigma of being wrong, and let children discover and learn through their own eyes. Allowing them to keep their creativity and imagination.

Project #13

Project # 13

Project based learning lesson plan

A Day In The Life Of Worker Ants

Duration : 225 to 250 minutes

Subject: English, Science

Grade Level: 3rd

Project Idea Summary:

Students are to do online research about worker ants. Students are to use the research they found online to create a short story, and illustrate it about if they were the worker ant for a day. They are to write about what they would do, what problems they might encounter, and how they would solve those problems.

Students are to then get into groups and read over each others stories. Each student would get and give feed back from their group members and also give feed back to their group members. Students would then revise their stories and illustrate them. All the stories would then be made into a book called A Day In The Life Of Worker Ants. A podcast would then be made of the book with each students reading their story. The podcast would then be posted on the class blog page. The teacher would then teach students how to upload the Podcast to each students personal blog page.

Content Standards:

ELA(3) 9. Compose narrative text using an introductory paragraph, specific time frames, clear sequencing of events and conclusions.

TC2(3-5) 8. Collect information from a variety of digital sources.

ELA2010(3) 24. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear events sequences.

21st Century Competencies To Be Taught and Assessed:

Collaboration

Communication

Critical Thinking

Creativity and innovation

Entry Events

Show Youtube video about worker ants

Formative Assessments (during the project )

Rough Drafts

Summative Assessment (end of the project)

Written products by using rubric

Oral Presentation by using rubric

Resources Needed

Class blog page

Computers with internet access

pen, paper, crayons, and markers

Computers with microphone

Reflection Methods

Group discussion

Whole class discussion

Writing in daily journal

Assumptions

Some students might have problems using computers for research and uploading the podcast to their blog page. If this problem happens teachers should have time put aside to work with those students having problems individually on the computers.