Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Blog Assignment #13
My Teacher is an App
This article discusses cyber schooling and the online learning experiences. It details trends in American public high school education and some of the changes that are occurring within the profession. It also compares and contrasts traditional versus blended or completely online classrooms and schools.
I really enjoyed this article. I personally advocate blended classrooms and curriculums where students meet in person with a teacher on a regular basis, but the work for the class is predominantly online and learning is enhanced by technology. This article however made some strong arguments for why complete cyber schooling could be a better option. A lot of the points made sense and I personally feel that I would have thrived in attending a high school like that. I don't believe that all students can succeed this way though. While cyber school is an awesome concept, I believe some children will be better suited to learning in the traditional or blended educational environment. The article alluded to this point as well, but overall the verdict is still out as far as which system is the most effective. I look forward to seeing how the future of education develops as more and more of these cyber schools pop up and continue to develop.
This article discusses cyber schooling and the online learning experiences. It details trends in American public high school education and some of the changes that are occurring within the profession. It also compares and contrasts traditional versus blended or completely online classrooms and schools.
I really enjoyed this article. I personally advocate blended classrooms and curriculums where students meet in person with a teacher on a regular basis, but the work for the class is predominantly online and learning is enhanced by technology. This article however made some strong arguments for why complete cyber schooling could be a better option. A lot of the points made sense and I personally feel that I would have thrived in attending a high school like that. I don't believe that all students can succeed this way though. While cyber school is an awesome concept, I believe some children will be better suited to learning in the traditional or blended educational environment. The article alluded to this point as well, but overall the verdict is still out as far as which system is the most effective. I look forward to seeing how the future of education develops as more and more of these cyber schools pop up and continue to develop.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Blog Assignment #12
For this blog assignment, make a youtube music video playlist with a minimum of 5 videos that portray important life concepts or ideas you would like your students to learn, exhibit ideals pertaining to your teaching philosophy, or a mixture of the two. Write a blog post describing why you chose these particular songs and what you would like your students to learn from them.
The Songs I chose for this assignment (in no particular order of importance) are as follows:
1. The Black Eyed Peas: Where is the Love.
I chose this song because it highlights a lot of major social problems the world is currently facing. I believe it is important for students to realize these problems for two major reasons; the first so that they may identify with others going through similar struggles or to appreciate their situation in relation to others. The second reason I believe it is important for students to become familiar with these issues is so they can think about ways to improve them in the future.
2.Rage Against The Machine: Renegades of Funk
There is a saying that goes, "In order to move forward in the future, you must first learn from the past." I chose this song because I believe it is important for students to learn about influential figures throughout history that have affected the social construct of our world today. This song also portrays the idea that in order to have continual and lasting positive change we will need renegades to continue to push boundaries. I believe it is important for students to realize that they have the power to make lasting change in the world with the causes they support if they really dedicate themselves to it and this song is a positive reinforcer of that message.
3.Sick Puppies: Riptide
I chose this song because I like the message it portrays. It encourages everyone to follow their dreams and do what makes them happy regardless of extrinsic pressures. I believe it is important for students to follow their dreams and feel free to express themselves. It is also important for them to feel comfortable with their own personal development and growth which this song is a strong advocate for.
4.Jack Johnson: Cookie Jar
I chose this song because it sends the message that people need to accept responsibility be accountable for their actions. It also shows that if people don't do these things that blame just passes around and nothing gets accomplished. I believe this is an important ideal for students to learn that not only applies to school work and behavior, but also to future job and career environments. Employers and bosses look for people who are willing to take responsibility for their actions and be accountable for the work that they must do. This song promotes those concepts and I believe students can benefit from these practices.
5. Brett Dennen: Ain't No Reason
The final song of this playlist was chosen because it portray's the idea that there are some unfortunate things in the world that everyone has to deal with. It exemplifies that everyone has struggles and adversities that they must try to overcome. However it also portrays that there are some terrible circumstances and situations in the world that have yet to be conquered and changed. It shows that there are some socially devastating barriers that we have still yet to break, and that until we can overcome them, there will be some situations that everyone must simply endure and deal with to the best of their ability.
The Songs I chose for this assignment (in no particular order of importance) are as follows:
1. The Black Eyed Peas: Where is the Love.
I chose this song because it highlights a lot of major social problems the world is currently facing. I believe it is important for students to realize these problems for two major reasons; the first so that they may identify with others going through similar struggles or to appreciate their situation in relation to others. The second reason I believe it is important for students to become familiar with these issues is so they can think about ways to improve them in the future.
2.Rage Against The Machine: Renegades of Funk
There is a saying that goes, "In order to move forward in the future, you must first learn from the past." I chose this song because I believe it is important for students to learn about influential figures throughout history that have affected the social construct of our world today. This song also portrays the idea that in order to have continual and lasting positive change we will need renegades to continue to push boundaries. I believe it is important for students to realize that they have the power to make lasting change in the world with the causes they support if they really dedicate themselves to it and this song is a positive reinforcer of that message.
3.Sick Puppies: Riptide
I chose this song because I like the message it portrays. It encourages everyone to follow their dreams and do what makes them happy regardless of extrinsic pressures. I believe it is important for students to follow their dreams and feel free to express themselves. It is also important for them to feel comfortable with their own personal development and growth which this song is a strong advocate for.
4.Jack Johnson: Cookie Jar
I chose this song because it sends the message that people need to accept responsibility be accountable for their actions. It also shows that if people don't do these things that blame just passes around and nothing gets accomplished. I believe this is an important ideal for students to learn that not only applies to school work and behavior, but also to future job and career environments. Employers and bosses look for people who are willing to take responsibility for their actions and be accountable for the work that they must do. This song promotes those concepts and I believe students can benefit from these practices.
5. Brett Dennen: Ain't No Reason
The final song of this playlist was chosen because it portray's the idea that there are some unfortunate things in the world that everyone has to deal with. It exemplifies that everyone has struggles and adversities that they must try to overcome. However it also portrays that there are some terrible circumstances and situations in the world that have yet to be conquered and changed. It shows that there are some socially devastating barriers that we have still yet to break, and that until we can overcome them, there will be some situations that everyone must simply endure and deal with to the best of their ability.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Blog Assignment #11
Little Kids...Big Potential
In this video, students in Mrs. Cassidy's first grade class talk about how they use technology to help them learn. They detail what they like about the technologies that they use and the how it benefits them.
This was a really interesting video. It was really refreshing to see how the kids were interacting and learning with technology from such an early age. I'm actually a bit jealous that I didn't have that same kind of technological learning environment when I was a first grader because of how much fun it seemed they were having while learning so much. I definitely believe that getting involved in internet enhanced learning so early in their educational careers will pay exponential dividends in their continued development. It was also really cool to hear them talk about getting comments from edm 310 students. They seemed to really enjoy that and it feels good to have a small impact on their lives and know that they appreciate our comments. My favorite part of Mrs. Cassidy's curriculum however is incorporating Nintendo DS games into the school day. I remember the days when I used to get in trouble for playing video games in grade school when in reality I often learned more from playing them than what the teacher was lecturing on on any given day.
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Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy
In this video Dr. Strange interviews Mrs. Cassidy as she answers questions about her teaching methods and how she has incorporated technology into her classroom. I definitely plan on using blogs in my classroom. I want my students to be able to critically analyze health articles and write about them as well as be able to write health articles themselves based on the information I teach them as well as information they will gather from health videos, podcasts, and projects. I also plan on allowing them to use their own personal handheld devices for supplemental learning as there are vast excellent health related apps as well as new ones being developed each and every day. I believe this approach will benefit my students because it will make learning some difficult health concepts easier than with strictly traditional lecturing. I also believe it will help them to become more engaged in the learning process as well as retain more information as it will make concepts more tangible. The main concern as far as impediments go however is that with there can be some subjects, such as sex education, that certain people may be sensitive due to religious affiliations or personal moral conflicts. These may inhibit some of the media I would want to show to these students, but I believe alternative assignments could be issued for these special circumstances that would satisfy the curriculum by communicating with these students, their parents, and the school system so we are all on the same page.
In this video, students in Mrs. Cassidy's first grade class talk about how they use technology to help them learn. They detail what they like about the technologies that they use and the how it benefits them.
This was a really interesting video. It was really refreshing to see how the kids were interacting and learning with technology from such an early age. I'm actually a bit jealous that I didn't have that same kind of technological learning environment when I was a first grader because of how much fun it seemed they were having while learning so much. I definitely believe that getting involved in internet enhanced learning so early in their educational careers will pay exponential dividends in their continued development. It was also really cool to hear them talk about getting comments from edm 310 students. They seemed to really enjoy that and it feels good to have a small impact on their lives and know that they appreciate our comments. My favorite part of Mrs. Cassidy's curriculum however is incorporating Nintendo DS games into the school day. I remember the days when I used to get in trouble for playing video games in grade school when in reality I often learned more from playing them than what the teacher was lecturing on on any given day.
Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy
In this video Dr. Strange interviews Mrs. Cassidy as she answers questions about her teaching methods and how she has incorporated technology into her classroom. I definitely plan on using blogs in my classroom. I want my students to be able to critically analyze health articles and write about them as well as be able to write health articles themselves based on the information I teach them as well as information they will gather from health videos, podcasts, and projects. I also plan on allowing them to use their own personal handheld devices for supplemental learning as there are vast excellent health related apps as well as new ones being developed each and every day. I believe this approach will benefit my students because it will make learning some difficult health concepts easier than with strictly traditional lecturing. I also believe it will help them to become more engaged in the learning process as well as retain more information as it will make concepts more tangible. The main concern as far as impediments go however is that with there can be some subjects, such as sex education, that certain people may be sensitive due to religious affiliations or personal moral conflicts. These may inhibit some of the media I would want to show to these students, but I believe alternative assignments could be issued for these special circumstances that would satisfy the curriculum by communicating with these students, their parents, and the school system so we are all on the same page.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
C4T #3
Angela's latest post was about the ipad and how it is being used in the classroom. She talked about some practical applications of it and how teachers are incorporating it in various fields. I commented and told her that we have some ipads in the edm310 class and I told her that I enjoyed using them in school as well.
In her post from this week, Angela wrote about "Waiting for Superman," and why it's not necessarily a good thing. She described how waiting for something to come and reform education just isn't good enough and how we have the tools and ability to act now to initiate reform. I commented and agreed with her saying all we have to do now is suit up.
In her post from this week, Angela wrote about "Waiting for Superman," and why it's not necessarily a good thing. She described how waiting for something to come and reform education just isn't good enough and how we have the tools and ability to act now to initiate reform. I commented and agreed with her saying all we have to do now is suit up.
Blog Assignment #10
Do You Teach or Do You Educate?
This video aims to set a distinction between what it means to one who teaches, or one who educates. It opens with some dreadfully haunting and spiritualistic Indian style music accompanied by depressing background images as it flashes dull and drab dictionary descriptions of what it means to teach. The music takes a turn and becomes more upbeat however when the message shifts to descriptions of what it means to be an educator. The text and background images also become more lively until the video ultimately ends after flashing some quotes from Peter Brougham, Martin Luther King, and Socrates about educating.
The main idea of this video is to get people to think about their own philosophies and how they approach the classroom. It is designed to want to make you reflect upon your habits and what kind of model you want to represent. Do you want to simply be a teacher imparting knowledge and understanding on a seemingly shallow level while doing nothing more than pushing your students to understand your portrayed information on a surface level, or do you want to be an educator who instills deeper values, promotes imagination, innovation and inspiration, fosters personal growth and development, and opens up endless opportunities for your students? The choice is up to you.
Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home
In this post, a Mr. Tom Johnson chronicles a discussion with Gertrude, his school curriculum instructional interventionist about the dangers and negative effects that occur when children take home pencils. Tom argues that he finds nothing wrong with it and in fact encourages the behavior. Gertrude protests him by detailing some points about how standardized test scores are lowered because of this behavior and why she believes it is a problem. Tom rebuttals by describing to her a program which he has developed to help his students work with their parents to learn constructively by using the pencils and explains that test scores can't truly depict the breadth of learning and supplemental education that can come about by using the pencils.
John Spencer has a very interesting writing style. His posts always have subtle humor and sarcasm while making intelligent points and shedding light on the odd ways in which some people approach problems in the educational system, albeit I personally find them somewhat dry which can cause my attention to fade. In this post particularly, he references standardized testing and how educators can become too ingrained with the outcomes of the scores. He alludes to people who are dissatisfied with the outcomes blaming the shortcomings on irrelevant notions and labeling them as problems when in all actuality they could be solutions. Regardless of the problem however, the focus should be on finding these solutions rather than arguing over procedures and making sure students are being properly educated as opposed to just worrying about test scores.
This video aims to set a distinction between what it means to one who teaches, or one who educates. It opens with some dreadfully haunting and spiritualistic Indian style music accompanied by depressing background images as it flashes dull and drab dictionary descriptions of what it means to teach. The music takes a turn and becomes more upbeat however when the message shifts to descriptions of what it means to be an educator. The text and background images also become more lively until the video ultimately ends after flashing some quotes from Peter Brougham, Martin Luther King, and Socrates about educating.
The main idea of this video is to get people to think about their own philosophies and how they approach the classroom. It is designed to want to make you reflect upon your habits and what kind of model you want to represent. Do you want to simply be a teacher imparting knowledge and understanding on a seemingly shallow level while doing nothing more than pushing your students to understand your portrayed information on a surface level, or do you want to be an educator who instills deeper values, promotes imagination, innovation and inspiration, fosters personal growth and development, and opens up endless opportunities for your students? The choice is up to you.
Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home
In this post, a Mr. Tom Johnson chronicles a discussion with Gertrude, his school curriculum instructional interventionist about the dangers and negative effects that occur when children take home pencils. Tom argues that he finds nothing wrong with it and in fact encourages the behavior. Gertrude protests him by detailing some points about how standardized test scores are lowered because of this behavior and why she believes it is a problem. Tom rebuttals by describing to her a program which he has developed to help his students work with their parents to learn constructively by using the pencils and explains that test scores can't truly depict the breadth of learning and supplemental education that can come about by using the pencils.
John Spencer has a very interesting writing style. His posts always have subtle humor and sarcasm while making intelligent points and shedding light on the odd ways in which some people approach problems in the educational system, albeit I personally find them somewhat dry which can cause my attention to fade. In this post particularly, he references standardized testing and how educators can become too ingrained with the outcomes of the scores. He alludes to people who are dissatisfied with the outcomes blaming the shortcomings on irrelevant notions and labeling them as problems when in all actuality they could be solutions. Regardless of the problem however, the focus should be on finding these solutions rather than arguing over procedures and making sure students are being properly educated as opposed to just worrying about test scores.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Blog Assignment #9
At The Teacher's Desk: Joe McClung
In his 2008-2009 reflection, Mr. Joe McClung talks about his growth and development as a teacher and as a person from his first year of teaching. He conveys what he believes are important concepts for all teachers to remember, but are especially applicable to new teachers. These particular points of interest include: reading the crowd, being flexible, communicating efficiently, being flexible, embracing technology, listening to your students, and staying personally invested in the process of learning in your own life.
Mr. McClung's first reflection pertains to the mindset of the teacher. He talks about how easy it can be to fall into the trap of being too concerned about being assessed by superiors and losing focus on making sure your students comprehend what you're trying to teach them. His next three points go hand in hand as he talks about flexibility, communication, and being reasonable. He argues that in order to be effective, one must let their audience drive their instruction. He then goes on to talk about flexibility as it pertains to lesson planning. He describes how it would drive him crazy at first when his lessons weren't perfect, but he learns from this and conveys to us the thought that no lesson is ever perfect, so when things go wrong just go with it and try to make it better with a smile on your face as you do. He goes on to say that communication is the best medicine and way to resolve any issues as well as build rapport. In the same token, it is important to have reasonable expectations as he describes in his next point. He details how it is good to have high expectations for students, but reminds us that they are children who aren't perfect just as we aren't perfect as their instructors. In this regard, he says it is important to just keep encouraging them and be positive while working them to achieve the educational goals.
Mr. McClung's next point pertains to technology in education. Much like Dr. Strange and many of the sources for these blog posts have advocated, Mr. McClung urges the importance of integrating technology in the classroom as he encourages teachers to just "jump in head first" and embrace technology as our friend. He then goes on to talk about listening to students as he believes teachers don't know enough about their students. He believes that this aspect of teaching is vital in regards to cultivating good student-teacher relationships. He then closes his post by encouraging us to never stop learning. He argues that as teachers practically beg students to learn every day, its only right to continue to grow and develop as an educator yourself.
In his 2010-2011 reflection, Mr. McClung opens talking about the changes that have taken place in his career. These include being a head coach, coaching the cross country team, teaching a computer applications class, and teaching at the same school for more than one year.
After these opening statements, He gets right to the heart of the matter and expresses his first point of knowing who your boss is. He talks about being a people pleaser and how if one isn't careful it can become a distraction from the main objective, which is focusing on their students. While serving the administration is important, he argues that it is imperative for the decision making process to be student centered and not around pleasing adults. He then reminds us to not expect others to be as excited about a change as we may be as well as encourages us not to be fear being "Outsiders." He talks about his personality, being an optimist, and how pessimistic peers may try to rain on your parade or influence you negatively in any way. He also talks about being true to yourself and comfortable with your teaching methods and core values regardless of how others perceive you so as to be the most effective teacher you can be.
From there, Mr. McClung talks about "Not touching the keyboard." This, as he explains, means allowing the students to do the work themselves and not trying to take over their work for them. While they may struggle at first, he argues that this method will help them learn better and tackle concepts for the end game. He closes the post by telling us not to get comfortable as routines, while they can be effective, may foster apathy. Instead he encourages us to continually strive for new goals and add new activities to foster growth and motivation.
I really enjoyed reading these reflection posts by Mr. McClung. They were quite insightful and interesting as well as motivating and inspirational. The posts were also well written and I could tell how invested he is in his kids and career which is always refreshing. As an optimist, my favorite part about reading these is that they were written by another optimist. It made it really easy to connect with him and get a feel for where he was coming from and his mindset in the writing. It also made his points stick with me a little better as it seems we have a similar type of mindset when it comes to many of the topics he reflected upon. I was very pleased to see that he isn't complacent and always looks to challenge himself with new goals and experiences. I myself am the same way and always look to for new things to do, goals to add, and accomplishments to achieve. I believe these are especially important qualities to have as a teacher, especially in terms of personal development as Mr. McClung also discusses in these reflections. Overall the advice that Mr. McClung offers is excellent and applies not only to teachers, but to everyone in general. In summary, flexibility, communication, staying positive, and staying true to yourself and core values are crucial to being happy and successful in any profession. It is also important to continually look to improve, avoid complacency, and focus on the things of true importance over political agenda to have a truly fulfilling, satisfying, and rewarding life and career.
In his 2008-2009 reflection, Mr. Joe McClung talks about his growth and development as a teacher and as a person from his first year of teaching. He conveys what he believes are important concepts for all teachers to remember, but are especially applicable to new teachers. These particular points of interest include: reading the crowd, being flexible, communicating efficiently, being flexible, embracing technology, listening to your students, and staying personally invested in the process of learning in your own life.
Mr. McClung's first reflection pertains to the mindset of the teacher. He talks about how easy it can be to fall into the trap of being too concerned about being assessed by superiors and losing focus on making sure your students comprehend what you're trying to teach them. His next three points go hand in hand as he talks about flexibility, communication, and being reasonable. He argues that in order to be effective, one must let their audience drive their instruction. He then goes on to talk about flexibility as it pertains to lesson planning. He describes how it would drive him crazy at first when his lessons weren't perfect, but he learns from this and conveys to us the thought that no lesson is ever perfect, so when things go wrong just go with it and try to make it better with a smile on your face as you do. He goes on to say that communication is the best medicine and way to resolve any issues as well as build rapport. In the same token, it is important to have reasonable expectations as he describes in his next point. He details how it is good to have high expectations for students, but reminds us that they are children who aren't perfect just as we aren't perfect as their instructors. In this regard, he says it is important to just keep encouraging them and be positive while working them to achieve the educational goals.
Mr. McClung's next point pertains to technology in education. Much like Dr. Strange and many of the sources for these blog posts have advocated, Mr. McClung urges the importance of integrating technology in the classroom as he encourages teachers to just "jump in head first" and embrace technology as our friend. He then goes on to talk about listening to students as he believes teachers don't know enough about their students. He believes that this aspect of teaching is vital in regards to cultivating good student-teacher relationships. He then closes his post by encouraging us to never stop learning. He argues that as teachers practically beg students to learn every day, its only right to continue to grow and develop as an educator yourself.
In his 2010-2011 reflection, Mr. McClung opens talking about the changes that have taken place in his career. These include being a head coach, coaching the cross country team, teaching a computer applications class, and teaching at the same school for more than one year.
After these opening statements, He gets right to the heart of the matter and expresses his first point of knowing who your boss is. He talks about being a people pleaser and how if one isn't careful it can become a distraction from the main objective, which is focusing on their students. While serving the administration is important, he argues that it is imperative for the decision making process to be student centered and not around pleasing adults. He then reminds us to not expect others to be as excited about a change as we may be as well as encourages us not to be fear being "Outsiders." He talks about his personality, being an optimist, and how pessimistic peers may try to rain on your parade or influence you negatively in any way. He also talks about being true to yourself and comfortable with your teaching methods and core values regardless of how others perceive you so as to be the most effective teacher you can be.
From there, Mr. McClung talks about "Not touching the keyboard." This, as he explains, means allowing the students to do the work themselves and not trying to take over their work for them. While they may struggle at first, he argues that this method will help them learn better and tackle concepts for the end game. He closes the post by telling us not to get comfortable as routines, while they can be effective, may foster apathy. Instead he encourages us to continually strive for new goals and add new activities to foster growth and motivation.
I really enjoyed reading these reflection posts by Mr. McClung. They were quite insightful and interesting as well as motivating and inspirational. The posts were also well written and I could tell how invested he is in his kids and career which is always refreshing. As an optimist, my favorite part about reading these is that they were written by another optimist. It made it really easy to connect with him and get a feel for where he was coming from and his mindset in the writing. It also made his points stick with me a little better as it seems we have a similar type of mindset when it comes to many of the topics he reflected upon. I was very pleased to see that he isn't complacent and always looks to challenge himself with new goals and experiences. I myself am the same way and always look to for new things to do, goals to add, and accomplishments to achieve. I believe these are especially important qualities to have as a teacher, especially in terms of personal development as Mr. McClung also discusses in these reflections. Overall the advice that Mr. McClung offers is excellent and applies not only to teachers, but to everyone in general. In summary, flexibility, communication, staying positive, and staying true to yourself and core values are crucial to being happy and successful in any profession. It is also important to continually look to improve, avoid complacency, and focus on the things of true importance over political agenda to have a truly fulfilling, satisfying, and rewarding life and career.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Blog Assignment #8
This is how we dream:
In part one of this 2 part video series, Dr. Richard E. Miller discusses the changes that have been made in academic writing. He talks about how research has switched from reading print based materials in libraries to reading academic writings via the internet. He also details how the writing process has changed with the internet and use of the personal computer. He explains that he believes it is an incremental change and he shows examples of this with some of his personal work while talking about networking and using multimedia materials to enhance work.
In part 2, Dr. Miller talks about the accessibility of new materials and technologies that can are being used to create academic productions. He also talks about how we can get behind these technologies as he shares his hope of how use them to change the educational system. He believes this is the way to push ideas into culture and the only limitations are those that we place on ourselves.
This series was very interesting. I really liked the idea of getting behind the technology and using the internet and its widely various applications to create educational projects. As a hands on learner this appealed to me, especially because writing traditional papers gets boring and monotonous sometimes. I also really enjoyed the idea of the green classroom that attempts to unite humanities and the sciences. As art is one of my hobbies and health science my major, this idea really appeals to me. I can see the practical use of these technologies forming a positive crossover in both fields and look forward to a future where hopefully it will be a standard of the health science learning curriculum.
Blog Post #12 by Carly Pugh:
Carly's blog post was excellent! It is a great idea to make a playlist on youtube of videos for your students to watch and also a great idea to have students make their own playlists. I believe she demonstrated Dr. Miller's hopes for multi-media writing very well. The post was very well written, easy to follow, and the links provided make it interesting and entertaining. This post is also an excellent representation of how PLN's and social media can help enhance education and the learning experience for both teachers and students.
The Chipper Series:
In this video a student named Chipper gets frustrated with Dr. Strange's class. She doesn't like the amount of work that she has to put into it and she procrastinates and tries to find loopholes so she can do the bare minimum of work and still get by. After a while she decides the path she is on just doesn't satisfy her so she goes on a series of "adventures" doing odd jobs and trying to figure out her life. She fails miserably each time, but is ever optimistic moving on to the point in her life. Eventually she comes to realize that There are no shortcuts in life which is the main point of the video. Thankfully she has a mental cleansing and decides to go back to school and put forth the effort necessary to accomplish her goals.
Edm310 for Dummies:
In this video, the group is frustrated with the work that they have to do and all of the technologies they have to work with. They are relieved however when they discover the book, Edm for dummies, which helps them overcome their technological illiteracy's to become successful in the class. I think the primary message of this video is that this class can be conquered by anyone if they put the time and work into following the syllabus and getting help from the staff as needed.
I'm still not entirely sure what kind of video I'd like to create after watching these. I imagine doing something related to health either with drugs or exercise, but the flash of creativity and inspiration hasn't really hit me yet. Maybe I'll do something related to a student using their PLN to help a peer that has had some sort of accident, but as with most of my work I'm never really quite sure what I'll do until I actually start doing it.
Learn to change, change to learn:
In this video, various educators talk about what needs to be changed in education in the classroom. They discuss technology and how it can and should be used to enhance rather than hinder learning. They speak about how children are different today than they were when they were younger and how the current traditional educational structure doesn't make a good fit for them. They talk about social networking and all of the way kids learn today that don't happen within the walls of the school and they discuss why these things need to be changed.
This video, to me, served as a clean and concise representation of what many of our projects in edm310 have focused on trying to get us to realize. It reiterates what I believe are the main themes of the class that Dr. Strange is trying to teach us in that, 1. We need to use technology in our classrooms and in our curriculums to the best of our advantage and to get the most out of our students while promoting creativity. 2. While many people in the field of education realize this now, it is up to us as the future of education to really make a push concrete change and a universally accepted technologically based system. And 3. We need to be malleable, always accepting of change and the positive prospects it can bring.
In part one of this 2 part video series, Dr. Richard E. Miller discusses the changes that have been made in academic writing. He talks about how research has switched from reading print based materials in libraries to reading academic writings via the internet. He also details how the writing process has changed with the internet and use of the personal computer. He explains that he believes it is an incremental change and he shows examples of this with some of his personal work while talking about networking and using multimedia materials to enhance work.
In part 2, Dr. Miller talks about the accessibility of new materials and technologies that can are being used to create academic productions. He also talks about how we can get behind these technologies as he shares his hope of how use them to change the educational system. He believes this is the way to push ideas into culture and the only limitations are those that we place on ourselves.
This series was very interesting. I really liked the idea of getting behind the technology and using the internet and its widely various applications to create educational projects. As a hands on learner this appealed to me, especially because writing traditional papers gets boring and monotonous sometimes. I also really enjoyed the idea of the green classroom that attempts to unite humanities and the sciences. As art is one of my hobbies and health science my major, this idea really appeals to me. I can see the practical use of these technologies forming a positive crossover in both fields and look forward to a future where hopefully it will be a standard of the health science learning curriculum.
Blog Post #12 by Carly Pugh:
Carly's blog post was excellent! It is a great idea to make a playlist on youtube of videos for your students to watch and also a great idea to have students make their own playlists. I believe she demonstrated Dr. Miller's hopes for multi-media writing very well. The post was very well written, easy to follow, and the links provided make it interesting and entertaining. This post is also an excellent representation of how PLN's and social media can help enhance education and the learning experience for both teachers and students.
The Chipper Series:
In this video a student named Chipper gets frustrated with Dr. Strange's class. She doesn't like the amount of work that she has to put into it and she procrastinates and tries to find loopholes so she can do the bare minimum of work and still get by. After a while she decides the path she is on just doesn't satisfy her so she goes on a series of "adventures" doing odd jobs and trying to figure out her life. She fails miserably each time, but is ever optimistic moving on to the point in her life. Eventually she comes to realize that There are no shortcuts in life which is the main point of the video. Thankfully she has a mental cleansing and decides to go back to school and put forth the effort necessary to accomplish her goals.
Edm310 for Dummies:
In this video, the group is frustrated with the work that they have to do and all of the technologies they have to work with. They are relieved however when they discover the book, Edm for dummies, which helps them overcome their technological illiteracy's to become successful in the class. I think the primary message of this video is that this class can be conquered by anyone if they put the time and work into following the syllabus and getting help from the staff as needed.
I'm still not entirely sure what kind of video I'd like to create after watching these. I imagine doing something related to health either with drugs or exercise, but the flash of creativity and inspiration hasn't really hit me yet. Maybe I'll do something related to a student using their PLN to help a peer that has had some sort of accident, but as with most of my work I'm never really quite sure what I'll do until I actually start doing it.
Learn to change, change to learn:
In this video, various educators talk about what needs to be changed in education in the classroom. They discuss technology and how it can and should be used to enhance rather than hinder learning. They speak about how children are different today than they were when they were younger and how the current traditional educational structure doesn't make a good fit for them. They talk about social networking and all of the way kids learn today that don't happen within the walls of the school and they discuss why these things need to be changed.
This video, to me, served as a clean and concise representation of what many of our projects in edm310 have focused on trying to get us to realize. It reiterates what I believe are the main themes of the class that Dr. Strange is trying to teach us in that, 1. We need to use technology in our classrooms and in our curriculums to the best of our advantage and to get the most out of our students while promoting creativity. 2. While many people in the field of education realize this now, it is up to us as the future of education to really make a push concrete change and a universally accepted technologically based system. And 3. We need to be malleable, always accepting of change and the positive prospects it can bring.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Blog Assignment #7
Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
In this video, Randy Pausch talks about achieving your childhood dreams. He talked about the dreams he had growing up as a child of wanting to be in zero gravity, play in the NFL, write an article for the encyclopedia, become Captain Kirk, winning stuffed animals, and working as a Disney imagineer. Most of these he was able to accomplish and for the few that were impossible he was successful in doing something closely related. He details all of the things he gained chasing these dreams and all of the positive experiences along the way. Pausch also tells stories of his triumphs and struggles as progressed through his academic career. He relates every story to main points that he believes are essential to help getting through life. Pausch also alludes to what he calls "head fakes," which are points of hidden deeper meaning or understanding and life learning lessons.
My favorite part of the lecture was when Dr. Pausch was showing off the work of his students in the building virtual worlds class that he created. The projects were very interesting and entertaining. It's amazing to think how far virtual reality has come since then. I was really intrigued by his stories about teaching the class and it makes me wish I was able to take it.
I think it's awesome that virtual reality and tools such as second life can be used to teach. Watching this video made me think of an interesting way to teach holistic health to students. It would be interesting to take a class and assign each student a number of virtual avatars such as sims characters. These characters would live in a world thats physics mimic our own and all have various degrees of health problems and issues. The objective of the class would be to take the avatars and design healthful training and nutrition regimes to encourage the avatars to reach their optimum levels of health.
Overall I really enjoyed this presentation. Randy Pausch is an excellent speaker and amazing person. It's unfortunate that he had to leave the earth the way he did, but he made it a better place while he was here.
In this video, Randy Pausch talks about achieving your childhood dreams. He talked about the dreams he had growing up as a child of wanting to be in zero gravity, play in the NFL, write an article for the encyclopedia, become Captain Kirk, winning stuffed animals, and working as a Disney imagineer. Most of these he was able to accomplish and for the few that were impossible he was successful in doing something closely related. He details all of the things he gained chasing these dreams and all of the positive experiences along the way. Pausch also tells stories of his triumphs and struggles as progressed through his academic career. He relates every story to main points that he believes are essential to help getting through life. Pausch also alludes to what he calls "head fakes," which are points of hidden deeper meaning or understanding and life learning lessons.
My favorite part of the lecture was when Dr. Pausch was showing off the work of his students in the building virtual worlds class that he created. The projects were very interesting and entertaining. It's amazing to think how far virtual reality has come since then. I was really intrigued by his stories about teaching the class and it makes me wish I was able to take it.
I think it's awesome that virtual reality and tools such as second life can be used to teach. Watching this video made me think of an interesting way to teach holistic health to students. It would be interesting to take a class and assign each student a number of virtual avatars such as sims characters. These characters would live in a world thats physics mimic our own and all have various degrees of health problems and issues. The objective of the class would be to take the avatars and design healthful training and nutrition regimes to encourage the avatars to reach their optimum levels of health.
Overall I really enjoyed this presentation. Randy Pausch is an excellent speaker and amazing person. It's unfortunate that he had to leave the earth the way he did, but he made it a better place while he was here.
Project #10 Personal Learning Network
Since beginning Edm310 this semester, my PLN has vastly expanded. Many sites that I used to use purely for entertainment have become a major part of my learning experience. Youtube is an excellent example as it has been a very important source for many of my blog projects. While it is a great site to watch hilarious videos of people making fools of themselves, music videos, cartoons, and many other entertaining videos, there are many educational videos that have taught me a lot on various subjects. Blogger has also been an excellent resource. I really enjoy the C4T, C4C, and C4K assignments because it is interesting to read what other people have to say about the things they are passionate for. One of my favorite aspects about this class so far has been using twitter as an educational resource. I had already been familiar with tweeting as a social networking medium prior to taking this class and enjoyed it, but using it as a professional resource never really crossed my mind. The two aspects of Edm310 that I have unexpectedly enjoyed as well as expanded my PLN have been podcasting and the TED talks. I'm not a big fan of listening to speech's or lectures and most talk show programs tend to bore me fairly easily, but there have been some interesting videos and podcast to watch and listen to so far in this class. My favorite PLN resource however is Reddit.
Reddit is a blogging community where it's members post interesting and pertinent articles or self posts in specific categories. It is personalized in the sense that users can subscribe to the topics they like and block the ones that they don't. It has a great interface because all of the subjects you are interested in show up on the home page so you can just scroll down and explore the posts that catch your eye. You can also browse by the specific sub categories and either up vote or down vote posts based on if you liked it. It is a great PLN resource because it makes it very easy to jump into discussions on any topic and it's very organized. It also has its own mailing system for personal messages or general public comments. I use reddit to follow articles on science, technology, health, nutrition, fitness, psychology, sociology, and education. These categories that I follow barely scratch the surface of how many categories there are to follow as it truly is a website where everybody can find something they are interested in.
Reddit is a blogging community where it's members post interesting and pertinent articles or self posts in specific categories. It is personalized in the sense that users can subscribe to the topics they like and block the ones that they don't. It has a great interface because all of the subjects you are interested in show up on the home page so you can just scroll down and explore the posts that catch your eye. You can also browse by the specific sub categories and either up vote or down vote posts based on if you liked it. It is a great PLN resource because it makes it very easy to jump into discussions on any topic and it's very organized. It also has its own mailing system for personal messages or general public comments. I use reddit to follow articles on science, technology, health, nutrition, fitness, psychology, sociology, and education. These categories that I follow barely scratch the surface of how many categories there are to follow as it truly is a website where everybody can find something they are interested in.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Blog Assignment #6
The Networked Student
In this video by Wendy Drexler, the pros of the theory of connectivism are discussed. This theory suggests that students learn by building personal connections and learning networks to teach themselves. These networks can include connecting with bloggers, academic writers, and professors through a wide range of mediums such as skype, itunes university, rss feeds, google scholar, and numerous others. It also allows the student to explore and delve deeper into specific points of personal interest within the given subject as well as easily connect with other students to share and express ideas and opinions. This video: Welcome to my PLE by a 7th grade science student is a prime example of that. After watching it I'm honestly quite a bit jealous of her PLE. It was a good refresher and motivator to continue to grow and improve my own.
With this theory, the question of why networked students even need a teacher arises. While I like the idea of connectivism in education, I still believe it is important to have a teacher. While this teacher may not be traditional in the aspect of lecture and testing, having a teacher experienced in the subject matter can help supplement the learning of the networked students. The teacher could and should also be networked and be able to help the students build their personal networks. I also believe that while a lot can be learned by connectivism, the traditional classroom lecture should not be completely banished. In this video, the students met in class three days a week and had online work two days a week, but the teacher never lectured. While I like this set up, I personally would still like to have a traditional lecture at least one of those class days and if I were the teacher I would lecture one of those days.
With the way technology is ever evolving and improving, all educators and future educators must ask themselves if they are ready to be the teacher of a networked student. I personally embrace this educational challenge. I believe having network students will be beneficial for both me as the teacher and my students as it will be easier to grow and learn together cultivating a unique educational experience. Having this type of technology and teaching style makes it easier to connect with students on an individualized personal level and really get to know how they feel and what they think on various subjects as well as what really interests them. All in all I look forward to the future of education and seeing how connectivism can positively impact the learning of both teacher and student.
In this video by Wendy Drexler, the pros of the theory of connectivism are discussed. This theory suggests that students learn by building personal connections and learning networks to teach themselves. These networks can include connecting with bloggers, academic writers, and professors through a wide range of mediums such as skype, itunes university, rss feeds, google scholar, and numerous others. It also allows the student to explore and delve deeper into specific points of personal interest within the given subject as well as easily connect with other students to share and express ideas and opinions. This video: Welcome to my PLE by a 7th grade science student is a prime example of that. After watching it I'm honestly quite a bit jealous of her PLE. It was a good refresher and motivator to continue to grow and improve my own.
With this theory, the question of why networked students even need a teacher arises. While I like the idea of connectivism in education, I still believe it is important to have a teacher. While this teacher may not be traditional in the aspect of lecture and testing, having a teacher experienced in the subject matter can help supplement the learning of the networked students. The teacher could and should also be networked and be able to help the students build their personal networks. I also believe that while a lot can be learned by connectivism, the traditional classroom lecture should not be completely banished. In this video, the students met in class three days a week and had online work two days a week, but the teacher never lectured. While I like this set up, I personally would still like to have a traditional lecture at least one of those class days and if I were the teacher I would lecture one of those days.
With the way technology is ever evolving and improving, all educators and future educators must ask themselves if they are ready to be the teacher of a networked student. I personally embrace this educational challenge. I believe having network students will be beneficial for both me as the teacher and my students as it will be easier to grow and learn together cultivating a unique educational experience. Having this type of technology and teaching style makes it easier to connect with students on an individualized personal level and really get to know how they feel and what they think on various subjects as well as what really interests them. All in all I look forward to the future of education and seeing how connectivism can positively impact the learning of both teacher and student.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
C4T #2
In this C4T I commented on the blog of Jenny Luca. Both posts were "School's Out Friday," a series of videos that Jenny posts for humor and follows with some encouraging comments. The first video was of a high school math teacher using popular rap music to help his students learn calculus concepts. I commented to Jenny thanking her for posting it as it helped me remember some principles myself. She also wrote about the work she had been doing so far in the semester with planning various school functions and activities. She commented back saying she was pleased that I took something from it and happy she had finished some of her planning objectives.
The Second Video was of a marriage proposal seemingly gone awry. In her comments she seemed to enjoy the proposal so I sent her a link to a video of another impressive proposal. She also wrote that it was the end of the term in Victoria where she teaches and that she was now on holiday break and looking forward to getting some rest and relaxation. She also admitted that she has been slacking on her blog posts lately, but plans on finishing some things she was working on over the time off and in the weeks soon to come.
The Second Video was of a marriage proposal seemingly gone awry. In her comments she seemed to enjoy the proposal so I sent her a link to a video of another impressive proposal. She also wrote that it was the end of the term in Victoria where she teaches and that she was now on holiday break and looking forward to getting some rest and relaxation. She also admitted that she has been slacking on her blog posts lately, but plans on finishing some things she was working on over the time off and in the weeks soon to come.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Blog Assignment #5
Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please?
Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He founded CASTLE, the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. He is also a co-creator of the video series, "Did You Know?"
In this post, Dr. McLeod lists numerous ways technology can be used to help educate children and enhance their academic experience. When you first start reading the post, it seems as if he is against the notion of these technologies because its written with a pessimistic tone in descending broken text. This does a very good job of setting the stage for argument reversal in the end however when he makes his point that if parents, teachers, administrators, and board members don't allow the integration of technology into the curriculum, their children will be a step behind.
I agree with the overall message that Dr. McLeod is trying to convey in this post. While there are some bad things on the web that you want censor for kids, the internet and technology in general can be excellent tools for engaging children in the learning process. As anyone that spends anytime with children will realize, they thrive on being creative, innovative, and actively engaged in activities. Imagination is a driving force behind much of the psychological motivation in children and children are becoming more and more proficient in using technology at an early age these days as personal computers and smart gadgets become regular household and even personal items. When you think of it this way it seems silly, at least to me, to withhold technology from them in one of the most important aspects of their life. Instead of rejecting technology from curriculums, educators should embrace the tools available today to enhance the learning environment. While I don't believe there is anything wrong with pencil and paper work, the fact of the matter is it just isn't necessarily as stimulating to a child as a technology enhanced project could be. While children are young and still thrive on their imagination I believe it is important to nourish and stimulate it in the best and most effective ways possible. I believe technology can be used to achieve this purpose and educators should take advantage of this crucial phase of mental and psychological development.
More 'Simple Truth's of Life' Illustrations
The iSchool initiative (Mobile Learning)
In this video Travis Allen discusses how the ipod touch can benefit schools and students on an individual level as well as reform education across the board. He goes into detail on various apps that could aid teachers in numerous subjects as well as the positive economical effects of the initiative. He also advocates how the technology can benefit the community by holding both teachers and students accountable while simultaneously improving parental connections and administrative institutional unity.
I really enjoyed this presentation by Travis. I remember when the first iPod touches first came out. I and most of my class mates got them for Christmas or out birthday's in our junior year and almost everyone in my graduating class had one by our senior year. It annoyed many of our teachers to no end and often got us into trouble because our teachers wouldn't believe us when we told them they had real educational value when we used them in class. While that may have been a valid reason to disapprove of them when the first generation came out, I believe it is now an invalid reason. With all of the apps that have been created specifically for the purpose of education over the past few years it is impossible to deny the positive impact this technology can have on learning.
Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'
In this video, Eric Whitacre directs a virtual Choir through the use of webcams and composes all of the recordings into a beautiful, harmonic masterpiece. I love videos like this that combine the power and innovation of technology and the internet with creative skills and ideas of artists. As an artist myself I really enjoy and appreciate how the world of art has evolved because of technology. While I love traditional style art pieces in terms of drawing and painting, I also enjoy the newer aspects of digital art. I love being able to share, find, communicate, and collaborate with other artists through the internet. This video is a perfect example on how the internet and technology can be used to collaborate with other people on large scale projects. It's quite neat and unique and I love the idea that all of the people participating in the project have entirely different backgrounds, motivations, and paths of life, yet come together to produce this unified and amazingly well put together project. It is an excellent example of the human network becoming more global and interconnected. This is very promising also because it increases the field of talent you could find and work with for projects. As we journey further and further into a future filled with technological advances one can only dream of the future artistic ventures we will be able to pursue.
Teaching In the 21st Century
This video by Kevin Roberts raises a very important question. What is the role of teachers in this century? As the video alluded to, information is readily available and at the fingertips of students today. As a result, teachers are not necessarily the main conveyers of factual knowledge to their pupils anymore, but filters. I agree whole heartedly with this sentiment. Anyone can simply google a topic that they are interested in and be presented with an overwhelming wealth of knowledge. While this is definitely a positive thing, it has its problems as well. Because it is so easy to google information, it is equally as easy to come across false or misinterpreted information. For this reason it is imperative to teach critical reading and analysis as well as research skills. This way not only would a student be able to find and supplement their education with personal research, but they would learn the skills necessary to seek truth and debunk pseudoscientific research in all subject areas. I personally have been fortunate enough in my academic tenure to have multiple teachers and professors in both high school and college that thought and taught this as well. I can honestly say that developing critical reading and analysis skills because of these teachers has had the most profound impact on my learning than any factual information I've learned in a class. I'm a frequent reader of various scientific, psychological, sociological, medical, and health blogs. I cringe at the very thought of possibly accepting some of the things I've read on these blogs throughout the years as fact if I had not been taught these skills by my teachers. I realize the major impact these skills have had on my personal education and I plan on imparting them in my future students as well. After all, the answer to a question can always be found, but you have to know how to look if you want it to be correct.
To hear and see what other educators have to say about this and various other topics check out the new Teacher Wall and Education Nation!
Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He founded CASTLE, the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. He is also a co-creator of the video series, "Did You Know?"
In this post, Dr. McLeod lists numerous ways technology can be used to help educate children and enhance their academic experience. When you first start reading the post, it seems as if he is against the notion of these technologies because its written with a pessimistic tone in descending broken text. This does a very good job of setting the stage for argument reversal in the end however when he makes his point that if parents, teachers, administrators, and board members don't allow the integration of technology into the curriculum, their children will be a step behind.
I agree with the overall message that Dr. McLeod is trying to convey in this post. While there are some bad things on the web that you want censor for kids, the internet and technology in general can be excellent tools for engaging children in the learning process. As anyone that spends anytime with children will realize, they thrive on being creative, innovative, and actively engaged in activities. Imagination is a driving force behind much of the psychological motivation in children and children are becoming more and more proficient in using technology at an early age these days as personal computers and smart gadgets become regular household and even personal items. When you think of it this way it seems silly, at least to me, to withhold technology from them in one of the most important aspects of their life. Instead of rejecting technology from curriculums, educators should embrace the tools available today to enhance the learning environment. While I don't believe there is anything wrong with pencil and paper work, the fact of the matter is it just isn't necessarily as stimulating to a child as a technology enhanced project could be. While children are young and still thrive on their imagination I believe it is important to nourish and stimulate it in the best and most effective ways possible. I believe technology can be used to achieve this purpose and educators should take advantage of this crucial phase of mental and psychological development.
More 'Simple Truth's of Life' Illustrations
The iSchool initiative (Mobile Learning)
In this video Travis Allen discusses how the ipod touch can benefit schools and students on an individual level as well as reform education across the board. He goes into detail on various apps that could aid teachers in numerous subjects as well as the positive economical effects of the initiative. He also advocates how the technology can benefit the community by holding both teachers and students accountable while simultaneously improving parental connections and administrative institutional unity.
I really enjoyed this presentation by Travis. I remember when the first iPod touches first came out. I and most of my class mates got them for Christmas or out birthday's in our junior year and almost everyone in my graduating class had one by our senior year. It annoyed many of our teachers to no end and often got us into trouble because our teachers wouldn't believe us when we told them they had real educational value when we used them in class. While that may have been a valid reason to disapprove of them when the first generation came out, I believe it is now an invalid reason. With all of the apps that have been created specifically for the purpose of education over the past few years it is impossible to deny the positive impact this technology can have on learning.
Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'
In this video, Eric Whitacre directs a virtual Choir through the use of webcams and composes all of the recordings into a beautiful, harmonic masterpiece. I love videos like this that combine the power and innovation of technology and the internet with creative skills and ideas of artists. As an artist myself I really enjoy and appreciate how the world of art has evolved because of technology. While I love traditional style art pieces in terms of drawing and painting, I also enjoy the newer aspects of digital art. I love being able to share, find, communicate, and collaborate with other artists through the internet. This video is a perfect example on how the internet and technology can be used to collaborate with other people on large scale projects. It's quite neat and unique and I love the idea that all of the people participating in the project have entirely different backgrounds, motivations, and paths of life, yet come together to produce this unified and amazingly well put together project. It is an excellent example of the human network becoming more global and interconnected. This is very promising also because it increases the field of talent you could find and work with for projects. As we journey further and further into a future filled with technological advances one can only dream of the future artistic ventures we will be able to pursue.
Teaching In the 21st Century
This video by Kevin Roberts raises a very important question. What is the role of teachers in this century? As the video alluded to, information is readily available and at the fingertips of students today. As a result, teachers are not necessarily the main conveyers of factual knowledge to their pupils anymore, but filters. I agree whole heartedly with this sentiment. Anyone can simply google a topic that they are interested in and be presented with an overwhelming wealth of knowledge. While this is definitely a positive thing, it has its problems as well. Because it is so easy to google information, it is equally as easy to come across false or misinterpreted information. For this reason it is imperative to teach critical reading and analysis as well as research skills. This way not only would a student be able to find and supplement their education with personal research, but they would learn the skills necessary to seek truth and debunk pseudoscientific research in all subject areas. I personally have been fortunate enough in my academic tenure to have multiple teachers and professors in both high school and college that thought and taught this as well. I can honestly say that developing critical reading and analysis skills because of these teachers has had the most profound impact on my learning than any factual information I've learned in a class. I'm a frequent reader of various scientific, psychological, sociological, medical, and health blogs. I cringe at the very thought of possibly accepting some of the things I've read on these blogs throughout the years as fact if I had not been taught these skills by my teachers. I realize the major impact these skills have had on my personal education and I plan on imparting them in my future students as well. After all, the answer to a question can always be found, but you have to know how to look if you want it to be correct.
To hear and see what other educators have to say about this and various other topics check out the new Teacher Wall and Education Nation!
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