Blog Post #G Chapter 8

Blog Post #G is for Chapter 8


When I was in high school, I had decided to go to summer school but not because I was behind in classes but because I wanted to stay ahead of the game. I had always had a tough time with math, I decided that summer (which was May and June) I was going to take extra math classes and have a tutor. In my classroom, because there was a lot students the teacher couldn't get to all of us would do something similar to a "pencast." It is pretty much a "digital version" of the your notes and has audio. Making it somehow like you where there again re-acting the lesson. This would really help because sometime getting home and having a snack and maybe a nap and when I wake up I would forget how my teacher would do the assignment but I had my pencast on my computer and I would remember how to do it again. This was really helpful not only to me but to other students.

Flickr Credit given to: The Daring Liberian 

Wanna check out a pencast <-------- Click me! ( YouTube Credit is given to Greg Summer)


I really like the idea of teachers sharing information through social media nowadays . If you really think about it, how many parents still go through the child's backpack now? Unless there is a sticker on the child's shirt saying "don't forget tomorrow is picture day," or something like that. Parents have a lot on their mind. But because the world now runs on texting, emailing, or just getting on Facebook, teachers should use this to their advantage and possibly create a Facebook, and have parents check it for any important dates like picture day, the Christmas party or not forgetting there is practice even though it's raining. You know something like this could help a lot of parents stay ahead of the game. I'm pretty sure if I was a parent this would really helpful because kids will throw their backpacks and parents would not think twice to check it and see if they have report cards or their practice schedule.

Flickr credit given : melenita2012

 When I got to college I didn't need to take my sciences till I was a sophomore. I had to take biology and chemistry at the same. ( I know worst mistake ever) But anyway, my professors knew that these subjects were hard for students and the fact that everyone learns differently too. But they did ask feedback from their students and the students did tell the professors that way that the majority learned was watching tutorials on YouTube about certain subjects, but the majority were on science classes. so my professor did have their own YouTube videos about the material we had learned in class. This really helped me and other students because we could watch it over and over again until it stuck in our mind, I know it did for me. I also liked that sometimes they would have students on their YouTube videos sometimes teaching some material, I felt related to that person and for some reason it made sense. 

Flicker credit to: NASA Goddard Photo and Video

Think you're Social Media savy.... well test it out !

Kahoot!

Flickr credit:  IDI at NTNU

Resources: 

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Mandiberg, M. (2012). The social media reader. New York: New York University Press.

Social Media. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from https://www.rmmcanada.com/social-media-.html

DIGITAL BLOG POST #E chapter 7

As a student being in the classroom, sometimes it can be boring. The teachers monotone voice. Like the guy from eye commercial, I know Ben Stein is just acting but that’s how I describe it. Sometimes being in the classroom for a long period of time just makes everything boring and really uninteresting.So what happens is the student leaves and goes home and start playing a game on their phone. Students are learning and not even realizing it. There are so many educational apps for tablets and smart phones. I really like when people are playing an app called “Trivia Crack.” It’s a really fun game, where it involves a lot of different categories from art to history to science, well you get it. But  everyone is playing this and not realizing that it is an education game. Im shocked and surprised that people are getting into. Another learning is called “Duolingo,” what this app is a language educational app. It has different ways of making you understand the language you want to learn.

Ben Stein Photo Credit from: Kat Ruddy 

When I was in elementary school, had we this part of the day where we were placed in certain group and we would go together to rotation. What this meant was that depending the day we either had to go to computer lab, reading cornering, the learning table, or wherever the teacher wanted us to go. For the rest of us the exciting part was being able to go to the computer lab where we got to play “games.” They were educational, needless to say they were games and we got to have a learning break for at least 30 to 45mins. Growing up with these games, I feel had differently made a difference for me. Learning about states with Carmen Santiago, going on educational adventures with the ClueFinders, or learning how to survive in the West with the Oregon Trail people. There were so many games and they each possessed something to learn from. Whether it was math, vocabulary, critical thinking. I loved buying these games and actually using them at home.

                                                                                 photo credit: Vivith Bharath

When our classroom got to go on fieldtrips, we got to go to Imaginarium Science Center.

This place was amazing! I loved the simulations they had. It was all about hands and interacting. It was amazing, to see all the different types of computer generated conflicted choices and goals they give a student. I really like the weather box simulator. What happens is, you are presented with a city and this city has a different environment and you have to protect it from the severe weather. You are given a computer simulator to see if you protected the city well enough if not they actually show you what you could've done instead.

I've made a Trivia game on Kahoot! PLease try it out and see if you guess it right!


Resources:

https://www.flickr.com/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_ClueFinders

http://i-sci.org/

Digital Blog Post #F Chapter 10

It's really amazing to see how Google has come from, first it was just an internet search box but now its a variety of things. It can create blogs, documents, and now it has Google translate. I believe teachers should use this to their advantage especially if they have students that english is not their first language. It’s free and can be download on your phone or used right on the computer. Yes, we all know there are language dictionaries but having the google translater right in the classroom can benefit the teacher and the students. Students can now have the translator handy on their phone or on their computer, while reading an article in a different language or if they see something on the news and didn't understand what it meant or what was going they can go to this app and figure it out.

There are so many tools we can use in the classroom as a teacher. We have come such a long way from where we started. We started out with chalk and blackboard to white erasable boards to now high tech boards with “wireless” markers to write with. We can use all the items we have in our classroom and transform them and have them advance to have students participate with these tools. Like back when I was a kid some odd years we would use paper, pens, and pencils. Now students have the advantage of using tablets schools provide for them, instead of wasting so much paper we can use the tablets and create our ideas right in front of us with color and bring it somehow to life. This I feel would keep the student’s mind involved in what they are doing.

Creative Credit from Flicker: IntelFreePress

    Spanish is my first language, but when I was in kindergarten I was learning english as a “second” language. It was really hard and I really got frustrated because I wanted to say something but I felt like I was saying it wrong so I practiced my english a lot. I went from Kindergarten to ESOL to ESOL mixed with moving into first grade, then being able to be in the first grade without having my ESOL teachers help me. I had finally “mastered” speaking and learning the english language. But my parents...? That was a completely different story. My dad was a construction worker so he had to pick up on the language really fast and was able to, kinda broken but got it. My mom was a housewife so she didn’t really understand a lot when people would try to talk to her. So what she did was buy herself an electronic speller and dictionary. It was the most greatest device I had ever seen. If she wanted to say a word in english she would write it in spanish and it would translate it in english, thus she was learning words of the english language. I really believe that teachers should use these devices in their classroom. I feel if I had this in my Italian speaking class, I’m pretty sure I would’ve picked up the words my teacher would throw at us. It’s so confusing with trying to say a sentence or even communicate with the teacher. There are usually games on the younger kids version and it makes it fun and get themselves involved with this.

Creative Credit provided by Flicker: Premshree Pillai

I did make a fun short game on Zahoot, please click the following link to have access to it!
It's called "Guess My Language!"

DIGITAL BLOG POST #C chapter 3

Lesson plans, oh lesson  plans. They are tricky little pieces of paper to write out for. I know there are many teachers that would to teach random subjects. But because of the lesson they do not get off track. I like that teachers can have their students involved with the process of having a lesson plan. Like asking the students to make a lesson and see their ideas and their points of view on the class and where they are. I believe this would want students to become more involved and actually get them excited because maybe their teacher took into consideration their feedback and now are getting their lesson taught in a different way. I seriously think this could open doors and possibly a lot of windows for teachers and students. They could possibly see eye to eye on their subjects now.

I for one have never agreed with standardized testing. Why should one student be compared to another? Just because you have two students of the same age, level,  and in the same subject it does not mean that they will both will have the same test score. One student could do better than the student right next him. After having to take the FCAT till I was in the 10th grade was just mortifying for me. I couldn’t stand the fact that I had to take it in order to pass to another grade level. I felt ashamed and embarrassed because I felt like I had to prove myself to the state, my professors, and for my school. Talk about no pressure there. It was already bad enough that I had to study for different materials and pass, now I had to try to pass this exam without a study guide. Thanks but no thanks, you can keep your standardizing tests.

I really like how the book goes into full on mode details about the student rubrics. I was having a bit of a tough time with understand how to write rubrics so this was a great insider on how teachers should write theirs out and according to the assignment the professor is giving. It’s about having the student or the whole class guidelines and how you would you want the assignment done. I didn’t think rubrics were a “big deal” I would take my professor’s word on whether or not I did well, but then again I know there would be people out there wanting to against the teachers word and fight for a “better” grade.

Image Credit: Dan Morelle

Digital Blog Post #B Chapter 2

Blog B

Visual Learning pretty much supports the idea of projecting information. No matter if it's through software programs, videos, or graphics. This is pretty much how I felt like I would learn certain subjects. I honestly don't know if I would've made it through my difficult classes without visual learning. I know I'm not the only one like this. Everyone is different when it comes to learning. I'm a student currently at FSW. I did my Associates Degree, but I was having a tough time with my science classes like microbiology and chemistry. No matter how hard I studied the material or the study guide I couldn't understand it. So I started watching videos on youtube. Watching these videos as other students were explaining the material, some how made more sense to me. Seeing it in a different way made a huge difference to me.

There are so many different techniques for a student to learn whether its in a group, alone, or a tutor. I can consider myself to be diverse with this. I can work well with others, or sometimes i prefer to work alone. But working with a teacher or tutor I felt there was so much pressure to understand the concept they are trying to help you with. You either had to learn it right away or you were considered “slow.” I’ve always this fear with teachers or tutors that I had to pick it up real quick. Then I met my math tutor my sophomore year, and he made me see tutors in a different light. He was really understanding that I couldn’t pick things up super fast, he understood I like taking my time to understand and learn the concept. I no longer have this fear of tutors or coming up to my professors.

Image credit to: BitStripes

By definition creativity means “the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.” I really like this definition, but people now and days have different ideas about what creativity means. It can mean someone is gifted with being able to build or sculpit masterpieces. To me is can mean the person themselves are just gifted with some type of gift, if that makes sense. Some are meant to paint while others have a natural act for being able to read plays beautifully. I feel that everyone can use their talents for some greater good. People that can paint, they could possibly teach an art class to people that need an outlet of their everyday lives. People can inspire others with their reading of William Shakespeare's plays. You can not just “define” creativity.