Blog Assignment #10

            In the video Little Kids…Big Potential, students are discussing what type of technology is used in their first grade classroom with their teacher Mrs. Cassidy. From this video, I can tell these students are totally engaged in technology. Mrs. Cassidy has a blog that her students post to. This allows her students to become better writers and see what people outside of the classroom think of their writing. Another form of technology used in her classroom was the Wiki. When students needed to learn about a certain topic, they used Wiki. Videos were another tool used to learn and teach in Mrs. Cassidy’s classroom. And the one thing they all used that I thought was a little out of the box was their Nintendo gaming systems called DS. These are usually used for playing games for fun, but Mrs. Cassidy has transformed the DS’s into another way of teaching.

            One of the things I would love to use in my classroom is the classroom blog. Before EDM 310, I really did not know a lot about blogs and how great of a resource they are. I would like to use an online class blog as a portfolio for my students. In Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1, she discusses how the class blog allows her students to be in tuned with technology and the blog is used for the betterment of writing skills. Because this blog would be on the worldwide web, the only problem I would run into is if some parents wouldn't want their children to be exposed that greatly. To deal with this issue, I would put emphasis on the fact that the class blog will be strictly for educational purposes and no full names of their children will ever be posted on the blog. Some of the positives this could bring to my classroom-better writing skills, another way to show off work, memories that will be online forever and a sense of unity in my classroom. Students will be able to see how their classmates write and I think this will make them excited to be in class with each other.  

Project #6- C4K Summary for March

Mrs. Maslowski's Moments- Arturo

         In Arturo's post, Plan Testing, he discusses how he felt about Plan Testing. He starts off by giving his opinion of it and then going on to say how he took the test and how he could have improved. Arturo says he only ready the first paragraph of each passage and then went on to answer the questions because there was only 20 minutes allotted for reading. To improve, he will read the questions first and then go back to the passage next time he is tested. He goes on to tell us tips about the test. Some of his tips include skip the question if you are taking too much time on it, remember to bring your wooden pencils because mechanical ones are not allowed, arrive early to find your class and not to make the mistakes he made. 

         When responding to Arturo's post, I first stated how I am not a huge fan of standardized test either, because I read slow and do not like to rush. I took his advice to heart because I pride myself on being on time and well prepared. And lastly, I too have only read the first paragraph of passages and tried to answer the questions, and it did not go well. I wanted to be able to empathize with him on this particular part.

Mrs. Maslowski's Moments- Josh 

         In Josh's post Job Shadowing, he states that he was allowed to choose a different option from the other students. He went to a racetrack. Here at the racetrack, he saw tons. The students were taken into a VIP room where it cost $50,000 to rent. Josh then proceeds into the calling room, He talks about the cubicles where the business men are working. Josh states being a businessman can sometimes be hard because you can be rejected when trying to sell tickets. He closes his blog with saying he learned a lot from the trip. 

         In my comment to Josh's post, I stated how much I used to love going job shadowing. I used to have so much fun. I reiterated to him for big events like races, there is usually a lot of behind the scenes stuff that must be done. I also stated that I had never been to a racetrack and I was oh so glad he learned a lot from his trip.

Mrs. L's Awesome Students- Pearce 

          Pearce's post 3 paragraph book essay was exactly that. He wrote three paragraphs about his book- Alex Rider: Eagle Strike. In the first paragraph he discussed the logistics of the book-tittle, author, important characters and why he chose this book. Moving on to the middle paragraph, Pearce then gives a plot summary of the main points of his book. Finally, the last paragraph depicts his opinion on the book and more general information, like how the book is actually British. 

         In my discussion with Pearce, I praised him for telling me right off the bat the tittle of the book and author, post organization, and a solid plot summary. I also stated that it is important to give your opinion of the book. I thought 3 paragraph book essay was an overall great post. 

Blog Assignment #9

When reading Seven Essentials forProject Based Learning, I learned how important the process of students thinking is versus the final project being the focus of an activity. Two things are needed in a GOOD project- an educational purpose and meaning for the students. Students should feel some kind of ownership to their projects; this will help motivate them to dive deep into a particular project. I really enjoyed the 21^st century portion of this article. While collaborating students were able to use online presentation tools, task organizers and pod casts to think critically. These tools are essential to project based learning. The last thing I took away from this article was there is a big difference in project based learning now days versus your poster boards used to make science projects.

In the video Project BasedLearning for Teachers, I was taught students should be working over a period of time to answer a big question. These questions will need critical thinking to be answered. Common core standards are the meat of the projects. How students learn these certain standards should be personalized with projects because these projects will allow students’ to be the forefront in decision making. Technology is huge in PBL, we all know this. With project based learning, students can learn collaboration, critical thinking, and life skills.

          While watching PBL: Whatmotivates students today, I learned how important motivation is in school for students. Things like future life goals, weekend events like baseball games, and being praised publicly are some of the things that may motivate students to do well in school. I have learned free time, school supplies and candy are great rewards and these things alone can be used as motivation for students. ProjectBased Learning in PE really opens my eyes to PBL being in every subject! I would have never thought you could do projects in PE, but the fitness program is an excellent example. It once again follows the guidelines of a project. Creating a fitness plan covers the state standards that must be taught and is very relative to everyday life of high school students. This particular blog post goes to show how versatile project based learning can be. It can be used in any subject and for any common core standard. High School Teachers Meet the Challenges of PBL Implementation really embodies the word innovation to me. Changing for the better and looking at what you have been doing for years and trying to change that to keep up with the 21^st century is what these teachers and administrators are trying to do in this video. I learned that having PBL is to help engage students in classrooms. I like this video because it somewhat delves into what the teachers must do to go all the way with project based learning. Teachers are the ones who have to CREATE these projects in order for students to become more engaged and motivated about learning. Using PBL can sometimes be hard in English and math but it is all about showing the students what they are learning in the classrooms can relate to the world outside school walls. 

Project #9 Video Book Commentary

Blog Assignment #8

            Listening to Randy Pausch speak during his last lecture has had a profound experience and impact on the way that I view the education process. In the first few minutes of the video, after he explains his terminal illness, he told a story about his old football coach that opened my eyes. One rough day after his coach had been riding him all day long, telling him what he was doing wrong and just generally giving a young Randy a hard time, one of the assistant coaches informed Randy that the coach was doing him a favor. “When you’re screwing up and nobody’s saying anything to you anymore, that means they've gave up.”  That taught me a valuable lesson about teaching, that I cannot be scared to point out the faults and sugarcoat things for my students. Covering up their mistakes cannot allow them to learn and grow. As such, I realize that it is my duty as an educator to not only learn from my own mistakes, but to also recognize that my true love for teaching should show through how much effort I put into showing students the correct way and not giving up on them when they make mistakes. Later on Randy talks about how ‘brick walls’ are there to prove how bad we want something.

Persistence is key in success, a phrase easily used to describe everything you need to know about teaching and learning as a whole. Referencing the brick wall statement, basically obstacles are there to deter those who are unwilling to work hard to achieve the goals they have set forth. Randy learned this lesson while pursuing a partnership with Disney’s Imagineering project, a top-secret project that Disney was working on that would provide the perfect platform for his virtual reality experience to come in handy. After running into problems with the Dean for the program, he found a Dean over another department who would actually be responsible for his project, thus allowing the project to flourish.

Sometime beyond his experience at Disney, Randy started teaching a class called Building Virtual Worlds, a class that would challenge the students to VR projects every two weeks with three other students as partners. Upon presentation of the first project, Mr. Pausch was blown away. He had never seen or imagined the creative genius that was lurking within the students’ potential. Upon speaking with his mentor, he was advised to tell his students that they had done ‘pretty good’ but that he believe they could do better. The class went on to raise the bar for their projects every time after that statement. That was such a powerful lesson for me about teaching. You should always push your students to do better and perform better because once you allow them to settle, they will be wasting their potential. I now see why this video became such an internet sensation. The final lecture of Randy Pausch completely changed the way I view becoming an educator and taught me lessons that would save my future students from not achieving as much as they could. On top of that, I learned how to become a better educator, someone who could someday inspire students to become great individuals of enormous success.

C4T Summary - For the Love of Learning

Post 1- Whom is the Alberta Government for

         This heart of Whom is the Alberta Government for is the shameful performance of a leader in the province of Alberta, Canada. The citizens are taxed at the same rate regardless of income without any guarantee as to where the money will be used in the community. This causes the education and health systems to fail miserably, as the author says “Cutting expenditures while ignoring revenues is like building a house with only a saw”. Furthermore, Mr. Prentice prioritizes the needs of the few wealthy and privileged over the needs of the many hard working middle class Albertans. While this causes some disconcertment amidst the masses, the experienced leader of Alberta manages to sway the votes of the people regardless of the policies he fails to uphold to protect the citizens. Another focus of Joe Bower’s post is coming from the perspective of the teachers of Alberta, being that the author is an Albertan. According to the Bower, teachers have failed to receive any raises or rise in benefits in three years. Perhaps the bigger problem is that along with no promotion incentives, the provincial government also cut 14.5 million from the education even with an increase of 11,000 students this year. In conclusion, the author wraps up the post by stating the hard truth: Albertans need to get their political wits together. Without a united front voting for a different government, one dedicated to the well-being of the patrons of Alberta, the people will always suffer the consequences versus those with affluence.

            The depressing status of the Albertan government provides insight into what it feels like to live under a ruler that is not for the people. With that being said, much of the economic tension between the hard working middle class and the wealthy of the province stem from the lower class’ inability to see through the deception of Jim Prentice. Unfortunately, the decline of the education system coupled with the higher tax against the workers of Alberta provide for an increasingly difficult platform to motivate change in the government. 

Post 2- There is a better way Alberta 

                There is a better way Alberta outlines the true issues the Albertan citizens have with their elected official, Jim Prentice. By cutting spending on the public working sector and lowering taxes for the more wealthy members of the society, Mr. Prentice has successfully wedged a gap between the citizen classes. The situation has steadily become worse; lotteries have to be held just to decide which students get to continue in school. When it comes to the healthcare system, the hospitals are working over capacity every day since Prentice refuses to use the little revenue left to build more hospitals and healthcare facilities, as well as roads and schools. The video finishes the article with a ray of hope, stating that stability of the situation can occur if Albertans vote for a progressive income tax, raise the corporate taxes slightly, and keep an eye on royalties increase so they may be used properly.

               I liked this article for several reasons. The first reason is that the author chose to use an animated video that makes it easier for everyone to understand the issues the Albertans face in the future. Another is that it was made obvious where the holes in the economy were instead of just using a scapegoat like Jim Prentice does in everyday life. Perhaps the most important reason I liked this article was for its optimism. Even though the future of Alberta looks bleak if changes are not implemented soon, the author behind the video obviously believes that the situation can be rectified, giving hope to all concerned citizens of Alberta.