Blog Post #14

What is "Understanding Science" and how can it be used as a educational resource? By Ronald Griffin

Understanding Science was started by the collaboration of the University of California at Berkeley, National Science Foundation, and a collection of scientists and teachers. This website was created to provide a free and fun understanding of science.

This program has three main resources; Understanding Science 101, For Teachers, and Resource Library.

The first resource Understanding Science offers that I would like to talk about is Understanding Science 101. This resource is a complete overview of science and why it is important to learn. It goes over the basic principles of science interactively giving simple and interesting examples along the way. I can see this resource being helpful on several fronts. The first is tutoring. If a student is having problems understanding scientific concepts or processes, this would be a perfect fit. The other application is motivation. Many students (including myself), have a hard time learning if they don't understand why the material is important and how it fits into everyday life. Understanding Science 101 succeeds in relating fundamental concepts to everyday life and why they are important to learn.

The second resource is titled For Teachers. This resource provides many great ideas for science teachers. Some of the ideas range from lesson plans to teaching tips. Another great thing about this resource is that it is categorized by grade level. A 10th grade teacher has their own unique set of conceptual tips from say a 6th grade teacher. A section titled Misconceptions about science gives teachers a great reference on common problems students run into when studying science, and it offers solutions to these problems. One core value of teaching is to always be a learner yourself, this resource allows teachers to learn about their students and ways to reach them.

The third resource is titled Resource Library. This resource offers pictures, video, and a huge amount of information on a variety of scientific topics. Teachers and students alike can use this to supplement education. Teachers can use the content for lesson plans or labs, and students can use it to deepen their understanding of science in an interactive interesting way.

Overall, this program can help scientific information seem easy to students, while providing a large resource to teachers. Sometimes science can be a subject that is deemed "difficult" to understand, and that's why it is extremely important for science teachers to be equipped with every tool possible to educate students. I am definitely adding Understanding Science to my list of resources I will use once I become a teacher. Doing this will add another notch onto my educational tool belt, and also give my students another avenue to explore great scientific content.

Project #2: PLN Final Report

Since my initial report on my PLN, I have made Symbaloo the homepage on my computer. I have added a number of titles to it making it a one stop page of resources for me. My Symbaloo is basically broken down into 3 categories; Educational, EDM310, and Personal. For the educational side of things I have added iCurio, Discovery Ed, Alabama Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education, Linkedin, Teachmeet, SAS Curriculum Pathway, Twitter, Symbaloo EDU, and Ted Talks. I have picked up most of these titles from assignments in EDM310, but have also gotten a few from different teacher blogs that I commented on. I feel like these are going to be the backbone of my PLN. They offer a wide range of resources for teaching, and also offer a lot of social opportunities to interact with other teachers. For the EDM310 portion I added YouTube, Blogger, and GMail. Several of the titles from the educational section also double in this section (Ted Talks, Twitter, iCurio, Discovery Ed). Having these titles together made it easier when doing assignments for the class. In the personal section I added Google, Weather (Symbaloo weather), eBay, Facebook, Translate (Symbaloo), Freep, Encyclopedia (Symbaloo), Netflix, and Yellow-Pages (Symbaloo). This has been a great section for regular everyday things I use/check, from an online news paper I read to checking the weather. Overall, Symbaloo has been a great addition for my PLN.

Project #12 Part B: Collaborative Lesson

C4K November

Faaao's "M Most Memorable Time At Pt England School !"

Faaao is a seventh grade student from Auckland, New Zealand. In this post, Faaao describes a memorable experience she had at Pt England School. The experience she talked about was a race. She described how fun the race was and how proud she was of herself for finishing.

My comment to Faaao

I told Faaao that races can be a great experience. I complemented her on how well she described her experience. I told her that a good use of descriptive words will hold the attention of the reader.

Skye Wrote a story about Big Bird too! By Skye

Skye is a second grader from New Zealand. Skye wrote a story about Big Bird and then read it for a short podcast. Skye said she feels good when she hugs Big Bird, and she hugs him everyday. She also said he is handsome and has a yellow body.

My comment to Sky

I told Skye she did a great job reading her story. I told her i used to watch Big Bird as a kid a long time ago. I also encouraged her to keep up the good work.

C4T Summary #4

Little Things that Make a Big Difference by Jeff Delp

Jeff Delp is a middle school principle in Arizona. In this post Jeff talked about the importance of encouragement. Jeff said that to encourage someone it doesn't always have to be a grand gesture, in fact it could be something as simple as a single word. Jeff used the examples of a simple "thank you" note, a piece of candy, and just telling someone they are "appreciated" to back up his concept of encouragement. Jeff's overall message reflected a great quote he cited by Albert Schweitzer; "At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."

My Comment to Jeff

I told Jeff I have a good understanding of encouragement vastly due to the teachings of my parents. I said I will make extensive efforts in my future teaching career to incorporate positive reinforcement in my classroom. I also told Jeff I thought there was a tight connection between positive reinforcement and motivation. I said I was always more motivated by teachers who encouraged me.

5 Things I Want My Daughter to Learn in School by Jeff Delp

In this post Jeff talks about stepping away from his school administrative position, and sliding on his parental shoes. Jeff lists five things he wants his daughter to get out of school. The five things Jeff lists are thinking, empathy, purpose, creativity, and difference making. Jeff said he wants his daughter to be able to critically think and be a problem solver. He wants her to have empathy for everyone she comes across because with each new person comes a new set of circumstances that has shaped them. He wants her schoolwork to have purpose and not be busy work. He wants school to build and mold creativity in her, and teach her how to be a difference maker. Jeff questions whether the current test taking centered education is able to provide these things that he wants for his daughter. He said it is definitely the part of parents to help their children be successful with these things, but if schools focused more on them as well it could only be a good thing.

My comment to Jeff

I told Jeff the five things he wants for his daughter are very important indeed. I said being able to critically think will put one way ahead in life than one who can't. I also said empathy and creativity are great supplements to critical thinking. I told him being able to develop these skills for children at home and at school would definitely be the best situation.

Blog #13

What can be learned from these videos?
By Ronald Griffin, Eric Merryman and Cameron Hall

Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education By Ronald Griffin

Several great things can be learned from the video Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education. In this video Salman talks in detail about Khan Academy, his created educational video series. The founding ideas for Khan Academy came from YouTube videos Salman made to help tutor his cousins. He received a lot of positive feedback on his videos from teachers and students alike, and soon realized he had the makings of a major educational breakthrough. Salman ran with the opportunity and founded Khan Academy, which serves as a great technological tool for classrooms around the world. It features over twenty two hundred educational videos, subject mastery content for students, and detailed feedback on student progress for teachers.

The first of two educational things that I would like to talk about from Salman’s Khan Academy is giving students a solid educational foundation. Khan Academy offers subject specific programs for students to work on that focus on mastery of that specific subject. Salman stresses that gaining mastery on each subject is the key to students having a solid educational foundation to move forward with. Salman made a great analogy of this concept to learning how to ride a bicycle. He said if a student can only ride a bicycle at eighty percent proficiency, then he or she isn’t going to be ready for a unicycle. The same concept is true of education, students must be proficient in fundamentals of a subject matter before moving on to more difficult areas of that subject. Having a higher level of mastery can be the difference between future failure in a subject and future success.

The other educational point that can be learned from this video is about humanizing the classroom. Salman points out that many people view humanizing the classroom as having a good teacher to student ratio, but he offers a different view. He thinks humanizing the classroom is more about student to valuable human time with teacher ratios. Khan Academy offers this alternative classroom humanization technique. This technique can be accomplished by assigning Khan Academy video lectures as homework and then doing subject mastery homework in the classroom. Doing this will free up teachers from lecture and allow them to spend valuable face to face time with individual students. Khan Academy also offers spreadsheets to teachers giving detailed progress for each individual student which helps them to delegate their time with the right students on the right topics. Also, parents can access this information to play an active role in their child’s education.

Salman’s Khan Academy is a great educational option for classrooms around the world, but maybe even more importantly it can connect classrooms from around the world. Students who have mastered certain concepts can help other students who are having trouble with those concepts. Ultimately, it serves as a major aid to teachers giving them more individualized or human face to face time with their students. At the end of the day, I learned that excellent tools such as Khan Academy can make one a much more effective teacher. These tools lighten the load on teachers and enable them to give the much needed individual attention to students that can help them better succeed.

Mae Jemison: Teach Arts and Sciences Together By Eric Merryman

Mae Jemison’s video “Teach Arts and Sciences Together” is her saying that, as the title suggests, art and science aren’t two separate subjects. That there is a common misconception between intuitive and analytical. How scientists are ingenious but not creative and how artists are ingenious but not analytical. Mae Jemison says that by separating these two into such dichotomy we force people into a choice of being either analytical but not creative or creative but not analytical. Why can’t we be both?

She also mentions that many scientific advancements came around due to creative thinking, such as fiber optics, compact discs, and flat screen televisions, to name a few. She says by cutting the link between art and science we stunt our growth and hinder further advancement. I agree with her that science and art can be and should be taught together, just as she quoted Einstein on how there is beauty in the mysteries of the universe and how that it is the source of all art and science.

I would say let’s also go further on this. Not only teach the arts and sciences together, but also other subject materials. The basis for her argument was about how subjects are one in the same, specifically art and science, but still there is room to grow. Language and the arts are already taught to be the same as language arts, but what about math and physical education? Many more subjects can be taught to compliment one another, since all subjects are connected with each other. Mae Jemison’s proposal is just the start and I hope educators will go further on it.

Shane Koyczan: To This Day...for the bullied and for the beautiful By Cameron Hall

I have learned a lot from Shane Koyczan’s video, To This Day… for the bullied and the beautiful. Shane Koyczan begins with talking about the popular quote, “Stand Up for Yourself” and how at some point we are all told that. He talks about how that directly relates with definition: we are expected to define ourselves and if we don’t someone will do it for us. Defining ourselves comes from three places: how we see ourselves, what others have for us (peers) and when we are asked what we want to be (parents/teachers). Agreeing with Shane, I think that unfair question confuses and discourages kids. In a way, I even think it can be a form of bullying from the people they are supposed to look up to. Sometimes as teachers and parents, we ask them what they want to be, but shoot down their answers because we do not like them. This affects their own dreams and what they feel like they can do.

“Standing up for yourself doesn’t have to mean embracing violence,” Shane says. I think this is a great thing we should tell our students. Outsmarting can go so much further than violence against another person. He says that we should teach our students and our children that standing up for themselves is being yourself and accepting yourself while making others do so as well.

Shane also talks about how bullying really affects us. The sticks and stones rhyme only goes so far. The way I see and interpret it, is that the words we are called stick with us forever and hurt like stone. They affect us later on in life: in our jobs, in our relationships, and mainly in all of our interactions. I think Shane’s main point in this is to tell us that we can not tell others how to feel especially when it comes to bullying. The sticks and stones rhyme ending with “...but words will never hurt me” is a prime example of this. We can say this a million times, but in reality they can cut us to the core. Instead of telling them how they should feel or how they should take it we should teach them on how to accept themselves and make others accept them. We should show them confidence and how to use that to block those titles others put upon us. “Get over it” is a phrase lacking understanding. We can not tell others how to feel, how to take things or even how they let it affect them because unless we are in their shoes, we can’t even begin to understand.

Shane’s video taught me that as a teacher, I need to understand a better approach when it comes to resolving bullying. Simply telling one how to feel or how they can let it affect them is not enough or the right way, in my opinion. As teachers, we have to promote acceptance. We have to show our students how to accept themselves and how to make others accept them by defining themselves before someone beats them to it. Our own definition of ourselves is what makes us who we are and defines the rest of our lives.

Project #15

Blog #12

What can be learned from Sir Ken Robinson?
By Ronald Griffin, Eric Merryman and Cameron Hall

How to Escape Death Valley by Ronald Griffin

Sir Ken Robinson goes over some great learning points in the video How to Escape Education’s Death Valley. Ken believes the educational system is broken in America and offers several reasons why. Ken’s first reason is the educational system is about conformity. He highlights the No Child Left Behind Act as an example of this. The No Child Left Behind Act focuses on conformity with testing, and Ken says this directly clashes with the human attribute of diversity. He says education should celebrate all the different kinds of talents and diversity each student brings to the table, and not just shove each student into the tight box of standardized testing.

The next reason Ken gave for the failed educational system is lack of curiosity. He rightly points out that if students’ curiosity could be better sparked, then learning would skyrocket. Tapping into the interests and talents of each student is a way to reach their curiosity. Curiosity then leads to self motivated learning, which can be one of the most effective forms of learning.

Ken defined the third reason as a lack of creativity. He says creativity is the reason humans are so diverse and interesting. If creativity isn’t used in education, we are all selling ourselves short. Ken says the top educational systems individualize learning and promote creativity among students. Creativity should never be overlooked. So many everyday situations hinge on creativity. For example, if one is half way done cooking dinner and realize they are missing an ingredient, creativity comes into play. They then have to use some creativity to replace the missing ingredient and still make the meal taste good. School is the perfect place to facilitate creative growth.

In the end, Ken relates the American educational system to Death Valley, CA. Both the educational system and Death Valley are not dead, rather dormant and with the proper nourishment they can be fruitful. Promoting individualized learning, creativity for both students and teachers, and curiosity is Ken’s formula to bettering a dormant educational system.

Changing Educational Paradigms By Eric Merryman

What we can learn from Sir Ken Robinson in the video “Changing Education Paradigms” is that the world has changed since when educational institutes were thought up and embedded into our lives. Now that the world has changed since then, so should education. We shouldn’t devalue what we see as non-academic, we shouldn’t lie to students saying that a college degree guarantees you a job, we shouldn’t separate our kids by all of these classifications we have them in right now. Sir Ken Robinson believes we should encourage our students, wake them up and excite them.

Sir Ken Robinson states that there is a consensus that there is an ADHD epidemic, but he believes that there is no epidemic. He states that we live in a world filled with distractions that are meant to distract us, and expect our kids to focus onto something that is boring. So boring in fact, that what we focus onto devalues our divergent thinking. Divergent thinking stated in the video is the ability to think of multiple possibilities for answers, whereas in school we are taught there is only one answer, that it is in the back of the book, and to not look, else we are deemed cheaters. Children in kindergarten are genius level divergent thinkers and as they grow older they become less of a divergent thinker. This is bad because it is an anesthetic experience, shutting our senses off. We need to have aesthetic ways of thinking, where our senses are at their peak, and by being a divergent thinker is a way of telling where we are having an aesthetic experience.

In the video he states that the current education paradigm is a myth, just that we are blind to seeing it that way. He says in the last part of the video that we must think differently about human capacity, and I agree. Education is not something that can be industrialized anymore, but should rather be more individualistic and personal.

The Importance of Creativity by Cameron Hall

In the Ted Talks video: How Schools Kill Creativity Ken Robinson talks about how creativity is lacking in our education systems throughout the world for both students and teachers. The first part, he talks about is that education is what is taking us into the future and a lot of people cannot grasp that. The second part he talks about is the unpredictability of education. How are we to teach our students preparing them for the future, when we as teachers do not even know what things are going to be like ourselves? I personally think this is one of the greatest questions we have to ask ourselves when we teach. The third part he talks about is our students capacity for innovation. I think this is mainly where their creativity has the biggest growing point. Robinson explains that schools can take away from the natural talent, innovation and creativity our students possess.

“Creativity is as important in our education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status.” Robinson says that students are not afraid of being wrong, but teachers can sometimes relate “wrong” to being creative. His statement is that wrong is not always bad. Wrong creates some type of originality. In my opinion, as adults we need that really just for growing pains. Robinson also says that we criticize and critique mistakes instead of building on them. In turn we are educating people out of their creative capacities. When we take the creativity out of our students at a young age, it is removed and typically never gained back as they grow older. We get “educated out of it,” Robinson says.

Robinson says we think about the world visually, kinestically, and sound. Intelligence is dynamic and covers all movements. Acknowledging multiple types of education is apart of the creativity we have as teachers. He says we need to pass that along to our students and cultivate creativity. In order to teach our students we need to rethink our teaching processes. Our education does not need to take away from the individuality, creativity, or originality each student possesses. Stripping our students of their natural talents is not the way to go. As teachers we need to build on those talents, influence originality and let our students be creative in their intelligence. We have to teach for the unpredictable future and by doing so create students and adults that can adapt to any and every situation they can encounter.

Blog #11

Technology and Teaching with Ms. Cassidy by Ronald Griffin

Ms. Cassidy is a first grade teacher from Canada, and she talks a lot about technology in education in the video Interview with Kathy Cassidy. So, how does a teacher approach getting technology in the classroom? According to Ms. Cassidy, a lot of it falls on the shoulders of the teacher. Ms. Cassidy got started implementing technology in her classroom from her own research and ideas. She said she had a technology coordinator at her school for support, but the bulk of the work she did herself. Working hard to get technology in the classroom is one thing, but to do in a way that is most beneficial to the students takes it to another level. After all, whats the point of having a computer in the class if it isn't utilized properly? This question is answered by Ms. Cassidy. She says to use technology in the proper way, teachers must understand technology themselves. If a teacher understands technology from an educational standpoint, then they will be well on their way to using it properly in the classroom. The road to successful technology in the classroom doesn't end here, rather it is only the beginning. Having a strong personal learning network can strengthen a teachers approach to technology in the classroom.

Ms. Cassidy spoke with conviction on how a personal learning network can help use technology in education. She said, as a teacher, one should use the things they connect with the best to find the proper advice. She said if a teacher is into writing than maybe they should use Blogger to connect with other teachers who favor writing. If a teacher has more interest in photos than try out Flicker to connect with other teachers through that. This starts the building process of their personal learning network. The take home message is, if one uses resources they are interested in themselves they will connect with other like minded individuals and be able to exchange ideas and better themselves as teachers. In the process, the teachers are being constant learners. Doesn't this concept sound somewhat familiar? This same concept is used when teaching students. A teacher should find the students' interests and tap into that in order to motivate and educate them. It is intriguing to see some concepts come full circle. The same concept is being used by a teacher to connect with their students and at the same time it's being used to implement something new like effective technological education. Having an effective personal learning network can allow for an influx of knowledge on how to approach using technology in the classroom.

There are several techniques Ms. Cassidy mentioned that I would consider using for my classroom. The first is the use of Blogger. I think the way Ms. Cassidy uses Blogger is great. She said she uses it as much as possible / applicable, and also uses it for the parents of the students. Having a class blog allows parents to see their child's work, as well as other children in the class. Important announcements can be put on the page and overall is a great way to keep parents connected to their child's education. Also, it allows a public forum for the students to share their knowledge and receive feedback.

Another great technique Ms. Cassidy uses that I would consider using myself is Skype. Being able to use Skype is a great resource, specifically with other classes. Using Skype for presentations of projects is a great way to involve other classrooms from anywhere. After the presentation, feedback can be given by other students and a general discussion could be held between the two classes. Skype can also be good for interviews with professionals in whatever course of study one is teaching. One drawback of using Skype can be its heavy reliance on the internet. If a whole period is scheduled around using Skype and the internet goes down then precious time can be wasted. Having a back up plan in these situations is crucial. Always being prepared is a responsibility teachers have, and by being prepared many problems can be averted.

Ms. Cassidy's interview was full of great advice. Staying in touch and up to date with technology and having a great personal learning network to tap into, is a great way to implement technology into the classroom. Using great techniques like Blogger and Skype can also help better eduction for students. The point that I feel has been steadily rising to the surface in the pool of educational knowledge time and again is always continue to learn. Whether one has been teaching for forty years or forty days, being a constant learner will allow them to successfully implement a plethora of educational tools into the classroom.

Project #12: Part A Smart Board Tools

Project #10: Interview Movie

C4K October Summary

Maya Pickle's Chapter 8-9 Out Of My Mind post

Maya is in Ms. Eppele's elementary school class out of British Columbia, Canada. Maya starts off by summarizing some qualities that service dogs have. Helping improve the lives of people with various disabilities including blindness and epilepsy, were some of the points Maya highlighted. Maya also spoke of jealousy and how she has learned from experiencing that emotion.

My comment to Maya

I complimented Maya on a great job of summarizing service dog qualities. I also told her it was a great thing that she learned from being jealous of her brother, because by feeling bad when it happened means she has a good conscience and ultimately that will help her in the long run.

Doctor Who's Decomposers of the Forest

Doctor Who is a student in Mrs. Mclean's class from Alberta, Canada. In this post, Doctor Who talks about Fungi, and their role in the plant cycle of the forest. Doctor Who's key points included fungus being a type of mold that grows in many places in the forest, and fungi being able to decompose dead organisms in the dirt. Doctor Who also included several pictures of fungi in the post.

My comment to Doctor Who

I commented on how intricate processes like that of fungi are so vital to our ecosystem. I also shared a link with Doctor Who on other affects of fungus, namely the Potato Blight of Ireland. I told Doctor Who scientific knowledge is a great asset to have in the grand scheme of how our world works.

King Remy's Christchurch rebuild

King Remy is a fifth grade student from Christchurch, New Zealand. In this post Remy writes about rebuilding ideas for Christchurch, New Zealand after an earthquake did significant damage. Remy's ideas included new buildings, new playgrounds and a water park, and a new stadium. He concludes his post by hoping any wish that the reader may have for rebuilding Christchurch comes true.

My comment to King Remy

The first thing I wrote to Remy was about his post structure. Remy did a great job separating his ideas into different paragraphs. He also included an introduction and conclusion, which made his writing very understandable. I also offered Remy some advice on capitalization. Several of Remy's sentences started with a word that was not capitalized, so I reminded him that the first word in a sentence should always be capitalized.

Quotes by Brandon

Brandon is a seventh grade student in Ms. Horst's class. For this post Brandon chose to write a quote. He said he liked quotes because it affords one the opportunity to learn more about the "personality" of people. Brandon chose the following quote; "survival is not a choice, it's a instinct"-Author Unknown.

My Comment to Brandon

In my comment to Brandon, I highlighted several great things about quotes. I first told him quotes can be a great motivator. Next, I told him how quotes can serve as inspiration. I wrapped up my comment talking about how amazing survival instinct is, and the amazing things people can do when it kicks in.

C4T Summary #3

I'm Skeptical of Anything Claiming to Create Geniuses by John Spencer

In this post, John writes about an article named "How a Radical New Teaching Method Can Unleash a Generation of Geniuses". In a nutshell, the article talks about a teacher in Mexico who adopted a project based learning style for his classroom and it produced very good test scores for the class. As the teacher gave up more and more control in his class, his students took more control over their own learning. One of his students did very well with this style of learning and finished first in the country on a standardized test. John points out several things he is skeptical about with the article. The first thing John disagrees with is the "radically new" concept of decentralized education systems being better than "top down" educational systems. John states this idea isn't new at all, in fact he relates them to connectivism and constructivism. John goes on to say these ideas are not new to teachers or schools. John didn't like the fact that the article didn't acknowledge the many schools in the United States that are doing the same kind of education, and have been for awhile. John also didn't like the term "generation of geniuses" in the article's title. He said the term has connotations of "being above others", and productive education shouldn't be about one student being above any other.

My Comment to John

I also read the article and shared many of the same thoughts as John. I find it remarkably frustrating when popular magazines decide what is "new" or "ground breaking", when in actuality it is not. John pointed out several schools had already implemented the style of learning the article talked about, and in my eyes that devalues the overall story of the article. The sad part is, the story is actually a very inspiring educational tale. I also thought the title of the article was poorly worded. In my opinion, education doesn't need to produce geniuses, rather well equipped, well rounded, productive citizens. Like John, I think the overall message that education should change is on point, but falsely claiming something to be new is off base.

Five Keys to Collaboration by John Spencer

In this post, John writes about five keys to collaboration. The first key is trust. He said true collaboration only comes if one trusts their group members. The second key is vulnerability. One has to put their own personal ideas out for the group and that can lead to feelings of vulnerability. John's third key is purpose. Having the same purpose and having the right purpose is important. The fourth key is conflict. John points out going through conflict with group members about details of the project can be a learning experience. John's final is key time and proximity. Spending the right amount of time face to face can help the finished product.

My comment to John

I started off by telling John I currently do a fair amount of collaboration in EDM310. I said I thought trust and vulnerability go hand in hand. The more one trusts their group members, the more likely they are to being vulnerable and sharing personal thoughts and ideas to better the project. I said conflict has the potential to help or hurt a collaboration. If group members are able to come together and work through conflicts, than the project can be great. If the group cannot work through conflict the project can fail. Truly being able to collaborate, sometimes requires sacrifices to be made. It's all about give and take. Willingness to sacrifice is a key ingredient to conflict resolution.