Blog Post #10

What Can We Learn From Sir Ken Robinson?

Sir Ken Robinson's main point in his lecture was that we need to transform education instead of reforming it. He says our education system should not be based on linearity. It should be organic. And I cannot agree with him more. I wish that everyone has the mind frame that he has. He believes that every child has their own destiny. We should not prepare all students to follow the same path. The universe depends on a diversity of talent. Every student should have a personalized curriculum according to how he or she learns. The days of solely preparing all students to go to college should be gone because college is not for everyone. You have to do what you're passionate about and that does not always lead you to college. The one thing that stood out the most to me in this lecture was when he said, "When you're doing something you love an hour feels like five minutes. When you're doing something you don't love, 5 minutes feels like an hour." My biggest fear in life is choosing a career that I don't love because making the wrong decision affects your life forever. It is one of the most important choices anyone will ever make. So we as teachers should encourage students to do something they love, not to conform to what the world wants them to do.

BLOG POST #9

What Can We Learn From Mrs. Cassidy?

Mrs. Cassidy teaches first grade and requires her students to write blogs once or twice a week. This approach to teaching is a great way to keep parents updated on their child's progress in school without having to wait for a parent teacher conference. They get to see the strides they are making in writing and all the comments on their child's blog left by people all over the world.
I think blogging is one of the most basic techniques used in classrooms today and should be used by all teachers at this point. I actually just got introduced to blogging this semester in EDM 310 and now I see the many benefits of it. It's a great way for teachers to stay connected to their students at all times and to really understand what level their on because we all know it is impossible to be a successful teacher without reaching out to your students outside of the classroom. The most obvious impediment I might encounter is students having access to inappropriate things on the internet. Besides having blocks on all computers, I would simply explain to my students the dangers of going to sites that have not been approved by me or their parents. Also, I would never leave my students unattended on a computer. Just as I would watch them while taking a test to make sure that they are not cheating, I would watch them on the computer to make sure they are only on the sites that have been approved.
The benefits I may encounter by using Mrs. Cassidy's approach have already been stated. Basically, blogging is a way for the teacher (me) to stay connected to their students and for teachers and parents to keep track of the students' progress.

SMARTBOARD INSTRUCTION VIDEO

Blog Post #8

The learning tool that I found that I am interested in using with my future classes is Padlet. It is an online "wall" that allows students to instantly collaborate with their teachers and classmates. It's basically a way to make all assignments digital. Students can decorate their walls, embed videos, and post links. It makes every assignment fun. On their website they have an example of the teacher asking students to put the word "inspire" in a sentence. Each student then commented with a sentence and added their name to it. It's a fun way for students to collaborate with their classmates and also it makes grading and evaluating students so much easier for teachers. Padlet can also be accessed on any smart device including phones and tablets as well as laptops and PCs.
Mrs. Reuter, a teacher whose blog I was assigned to comment on, uses Padlet as an exit tool for her students. Before they leave each day they have to post what they learned, what they enjoyed, and what they didn't understand in class that day. It gives her a better understanding of what she needs to address the following class. I think that is a great idea to have an exit assignment. When I was in school we always had a "bell ringer" which was a warm up assignment for when we first came to class, but I never had a teacher use an exit assignment to assess our knowledge on a daily basis

Project #9