Response to blog
I read the iLearn
Technology blog. I chose this blog at first because of the title and it sounded
like a good place for a first time blogger to go. I’ve never looked at a blog
before and the layout threw me off a little bit at first and then I realized I
can collapse the comment section, which made it much easier to navigate. I
loved that the second post I saw on there was about Pintrest. I was excited to
read about and see pictures of all the great projects that can be done with
students. I’m really into creative, fun and engaging activities and blogs like
this one make it easy for teachers to find activities and lessons. There is so
much information available and you can even search the blog to find exactly what
you’re looking for.
This blog is about
integrating technology into the classroom and my ideas about what that meant
before I read this blog are completely different now. When I thought about what
it meant to integrate technology into the classroom, I primarily thought about
hardware like iPads or netbooks. I’m really blown away by this concept of flip
teaching, where the student watches an instructional video at home and then
comes into school and practices in the classroom which cuts out a lot of time.
It is such an awesome idea because more students will do their homework, and
less time will be spent in class prepping everyone one what is supposed to be
done.
I love how easy this
blog is to read. In every post there are pictures and links that you can click
on and it will take you to the website you are reading about. It really is
amazing how the information is organized and displayed here. It is also very
easy to read because each post has sections that explain what it is, how to
integrate it into the classroom, and tips on how to use it in your classroom. I
will definitely be revisiting this blog and using the awesome resources it
describes.
Response to Giving Reluctant Students a Voice
I thought that Giving
Reluctant Students a Voice shows how students can contribute when given
more time and freedom in responding. When students have to respond right off
the bat, quickly in class, they are afraid of giving the wrong answer or how
they may sound in front of their peers. It’s difficult to think of a response
without having the time to write down your thoughts, I admit to doing this
sometimes in class but then I lose track of the class discussion. There are so
many advantages to class blogs or online forums where students can have the
time to organize their thoughts, edit their responses, and at the same time not
lose track of the discussion. There is also a level of separation that may make
students feel most comfortable because they are typing and not saying what they
think in front of the whole class. I think that on-line responses should be an
options for all students.
Standard of focus for the semester
This semester I am going to focus on Earth Sciences
for fourth grade. The SOL standard is as follows:
ES.4 The student will
investigate and understand the characteristics of the Earth and the solar
system. Key concepts include
a) position of the Earth in the solar system;
b) sun-Earth-moon relationships (seasons, tides, and
eclipses);
c) characteristics of the sun, planets and their moons,
comets, meteors, and asteroids; and
d) the history and contributions of the space program.
There are
many activities for different learning styles on this standard that are
accessible through the internet. NASA’s web site has a plethora of interactive
activities and games that can be used individually or in groups. For students
who learn more through hands on activities, there are lessons and activities on
NASA’s website, along with websites like Pintrest, which give you step-by-step
instructions on how to do an activity. If I wanted to, for example, teach my
students about the size and makeup of the planets relative to the sun, I could
use these online resources to teach them in a variety of ways.
For students who
are hands on learners, I could have them make each planet with different amounts
of clay. For students who are visual and auditory learners, I could have them
watch a video on YouTube about the size of the planets and the sun. For
students who are artistic and visual learners, I could have them search the web
for a scale of the planets in our solar system and have them draw them on paper.
Another great web resource for students exploring the size of our planets is
the website The Scale of the Universe 2 (http://htwins.net/scale2/?bordercolor=white).
There is an activity for every type of learner, we just have to find it, and
the internet is a wonderful tool for finding these resources.
Response to Digital Media* New Learners
of the 21st Century
The Quest to Learn
school is fascinating and creates an exciting learning environment for
students. The idea that learning can be fun because it is happening through games
is fantastic. I really liked what was said about tinkering and the power and
importance of play. The majority of learning that happens today is through memorization
and regurgitation, and all for an assessment. The skill of memorizing and
retaining facts is becoming less important as the skill of navigation and
finding facts becomes more realistically applicable to what’s happening in the
world today. Technology and communication is evolving and we need to evolve
with it. Problem solving skills and innovation are acquired by students in
schools like Quest to Learn and it’s inspiring that a student can take control
of and have passion for what they are doing in the classroom. Creating games
and using multi-media tools creates critical thinking skills and engaged
learning through hands on activities.
I liked what James Gee said about how games
are all just sets of problems, and how you have to learn certain information in
order to beat the game or move up to the
next level. This is an incredibly easy way to have kids become fully engaged in
what they are learning. One of the students from the school said that she liked
beating the games, and in order to win you have to study. Students are building
games themselves, so they are thinking critically, trying to solve multiple
problems at once, and having fun while doing it. Students are motivated because
they want to win and they want to become better. There is also a lot of
collaborative work, where students create stories and work together to create
animated videos that tell stories. It takes the basics of reading, writing, and
math to a new level of thinking and problem solving. It’s very, very cool.