Blog Post 11: What can we learn from the teachers provided in this weeks list?

What did i learn from this week's teachers?

By: Noah Armstrong

1. Mr. Crosby seems to be an amazing Science teacher. He is taking a non-ideal group of students, most of which are learning English as their second language, and using technology to not only cover his Science criteria but also teach reading, writing, and oral skills through blogs and building a global learning network. he reinforces the need for technology in the new age of teaching by showing that it can really bring children to want to learn.

Mr. Crosby's Lecture 

2. Mr. Anderson has come up with a great new spin on the Scientific Process that he calls Qu.I.V.E.R.S. that is a great representation of blended learning that really brings technology into the classroom with his daily videos. This technique not only frees up some of his class time with a uniform lecture video but also makes sure that everyone is getting the same information. He then makes sure that his students understand the concepts they have researched in their text books before they attempt the quiz. I like this style because he uses technology but he doesn't just hand his students the concept on a silver platter but makes them read from an actual source and learn to pull out information, a skill that i think is dying with Google. 

Mr. Anderson's Blended learning video & His Blog

3.   Mark Church demonstrated one concept of project based learning quite well in this video that jumped out at me, and that is the concept of coming back to an aspect of the project at the end to show the change in it. He did this by making each group come up witha a headline that summed up the main idea of the project. this not only makes the students bring together their thoughts but also allows them to compare how their thinking has changed after finishing the unit.
Mr. Churches Video

4.Sam Pane addressed one of the main problems I have with the use of so much online learning in today's schools and it is that of online safety. I like how he used super heroes in his lesson to bring his students' attention in while actually using technology.
Sam Pane's video

5.This project based learning video brings forth a concept i have never really thought about. the ideo of combining classed to allow for more time but also teach two things at once. this chaneles the more substantial subjects like in this case History through the other tool and skill based classes like Literature and Computer Science. I think it is a wonderful idea but like in this video I'm sure that it would take a lot of work to bring to reality.
PBL video 

6. Roosevelt Elementary's PBL starts kids out young learning how to work together in a team as well as teaches them skills that are harder to master later on in life like public speaking and for that aspect it is a great system.
RES's PBL video

SmartBoard Project

blog post #10

What tools and techniques discussed in this weeks video interview could I use in my class room?

By: Noah Armstrong 

Well as far as people who Dr. Strange has shown us who use blogs and technology this week's was one that I actually found a good bit of insight. being a secondary education student I see a lot of the projects we do based more toward small children. Therefor, I sometimes have trouble seeing its application merit in a high school History classroom, but as I said this week was better.  

I found a few good ideas I think would transfer over well. I have been playing around with the idea of a biweekly blog post by my future students of around 500 words on a history topic that fallows what unit we are in and the sights mentioned that this teacher uses to find college classes to comment on her students blogs seems like a good idea to give some real world credibility to their work rather than just the idea of doing it for me as a teacher so they get the grade. 

The tool being used that caught my eye the most however, was not in the interview. It was in her class video where they were using Skype to talk to a geologist about rocks. I think if I could find a professor that would take some time out of their schedule to just field some questions by my students that might insight a true debate and actually get my students interested and taking sides on issues of history it could really be a turning point in the year.

 

Blog Post #9: "What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning?"

"What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning?"

By: Noah Armstrong 

Teachers- Teachers are how we learn anything as teachers. This isn't like the subjects that we as teachers plan to teach. In math or science or history there are facts that have been proven or recorded. In the art of teaching these facts we learn from the experimentation of ourselves and others. This is how we learn what works and what doesn't. 

From the videos we were assigned for this blog post I learned how to break down a project to make sure that it follows PBL (Project Based Learning) principles. The point is to engage the students and empower them to develop real life applicable skills as well as learn the coarse material, apposed to the traditional project that encourages the attitude of just doing something for the teacher or just to pass a test. 

Students- Students and their reaction to and performance in PBL is really the merit of PBL. You may not get it right the first time or at least not to your satisfaction. Like every new thing you introduce you may have to make some tweaks to your pet project to make it realistic or to get the exact results you want as far as preference and attitude.

Seeing the video of what motivates students and what they like as rewards was not only amusing but also informative. Some of the ideas for rewards like "classroom money" seemed like creative new approaches. To me it seems like a bit of bribery. The idea of edible rewards by the older student made me laugh because it sounds like something I would say. 

It surprised me that some of the smaller kids had some of the same motivations for doing well in school as I do. Elementary school aged children are already thinking of grades as ways to get into good colleges and provide for their families. 

This would be the smartest guy in class!

Project #9

Link To Project #9

Couldn't put the video on directly.

Blog Post #8: "What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?"

"What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?"

By: Noah Armstrong 

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture 

Source:http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/

     First of all let me start with how inspiring this man is. Anyone who can stand up in front of a group of people with that much confidence and energy when he has only months to live has my undivided attention. As far as what we can learn about teaching and learning from him it is hard to know where to start. Firstly teaching, I found his example of asking to take his sabbatical to Disney amazing in showing the importance of good communication. Two people can say the same thing and it can be perceived in completely different ways. This is critical to keep in mind when talking to students. They already feel intimidated by you to begin with. Why speak in a way that makes them even more intimidated and afraid when you can calmly figure out a solution. Secondly learning, Mr. Pausch's story of his old football coach riding him at practice is not only completely relate-able to me but also a good thing to remember when dealing with stress in the classroom as a student. If a teacher rides you to fix your mistakes or not make them the next time it is because they know you can do it not because they don't like you. On the other hand if they just let you keep on making mistakes they have given up on you and will ignore you.

Blog Post #7: "How Do We All Become Learners?"

Blog Post #7: "How Do We All Become Learners?"

By: Noah Armstrong 

1. What I Need To Do.
     As far as learning different approaches to teaching go, I think I am on the right track.This is my first education class in college. As my classes progress I'm positive that I will learn more teaching techniques to better reach a higher percentage of my future students.
    When it comes to the "Best Technology" (debatable with Apple products) I have some learning to do. I can do the basics but that doesn't seem to be enough anymore. This class (EDM 310) has become a resource that is teaching me more about technology than any class I have taken. However, I don't know how many schools actually have the resources to do half the things that are demonstrated in this class.  

2. What I Learned From These Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olqVcAYnA_o&feature=youtu.be   -How to make a QR Code-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iezQjGbTpm0&feature=youtu.be     -iPad Reading Center-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ophIZhNs2s4                                     -Poplet-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvgz8efzKLA&feature=youtu.be    -AVL-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS7DMH7FqXE&feature=youtu.be -Board Builder-

     The QR Code was helpful. I have always wondered how to do that and I'm sure I can find a way to incorporate it into a high school lesson plan. Using the iPad as a recorder sounds like a fast an efficient rethinking of the tapes I used in elementary school. Poplet is a neat little app for making webs. As a future high school teacher it could be used but it would have to be in a more in depth manner than in the video. AVL and Board builder are both things I have used in high school, so I really didn't get that much out of those videos.