Thursday, September 11, 2008
Web 2.0 Educator
The edublogger that I chose is the E-Learning Queen, Susan Smith Nash. She seems to have many areas of expertise including a B.S. in Geology as well as an M.A. and a Ph.D in English. She has worked with technology in the fields of education since the 90's. I believe that Nash is all about pushing for technological advancements in the classroom. She gives TONS of great examples of different programs and websites to use. She is definitely a source to find sites to tag on delicious. I think that she really knows what she is doing and seems to be very learned in her thinking. Her blog is very clear about what certain programs are for and how to use them. I like all of the ideas that she has about bringing these programs into the classroom to further the instructions of the teacher.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Type I and Type II Technology
Type I and Type II applications are very different approaches to using technology in the classroom. Type I is when technology is used to teach a lesson in much the same way it has been taught over time. Type II is when technology is used to enhance the lesson by using exciting technological methods.
Ways to use Type I:
1. Instructing students to read an article online.
2. Using the computer as an encyclopedia.
3. Using a computer to write a research paper.
Ways to use Type II:
1. Instructing students to upload their own article onto the web.
2. Having students play history games online to see how difficult tasks were in history.
3. Assisting students in making their own web pages instead of writing a research paper.
Ways to use Type I:
1. Instructing students to read an article online.
2. Using the computer as an encyclopedia.
3. Using a computer to write a research paper.
Ways to use Type II:
1. Instructing students to upload their own article onto the web.
2. Having students play history games online to see how difficult tasks were in history.
3. Assisting students in making their own web pages instead of writing a research paper.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
My MEL Experiences
• Student/ Teacher Relationships: One of my favorite teachers was my freshman health teacher, Mr. Chandler. He always made classes fun and light, which is especially important when you are dealing with subjects like eating disorders. The most fun that we had would definitely be during our sex ed. unit, which was an awkward set of classes for many students. He cleared the air and let everyone know that his classroom was a safe place and no one needed to talk about anything they weren’t comfortable with, and that all students should treat classmates with respect in regards to comfort levels.
• Helping Students Succeed: My senior year, I had to take a month off because I had to have my gallbladder removed. It surprised me how quickly I fell behind. There were many teachers who did not give me a single deadline when I returned to school, which bothered me. One of my teachers, Mrs. Porter, my English teacher, handed me a novel that the class read in an entire month and told me to have it read in one week and have to take-home test handed in on her desk in a week. I voiced my concerns about not having enough time to complete that and the normal work-load in one week. She quickly told me that she had been watching me for my entire high school career and had nothing but faith in me and the fact that I could get it all done. In fact, I did get it all done. Apparently she was right.
• Hands On: I had one high school U.S. Foreign Affairs teacher named Ms. O’Brian. As far as most of the classes went, there was not anything that could be taught using hands on methods. When we began our unit on Japanese-American Relations following the bombing of Hiroshima, many students voiced the fact that Asia was a boring continent. I too felt this way, as I find European history much more fascinating. Ms. O’Brian had lived for an entire school year in Japan and promised that she could change our minds. At the beginning of one of the classes, she came in and told us to stand up. She started class by teaching us tai chi. It was really fun and we learned that Japan wasn’t as boring as we thought. For every class for the rest of the year, we started the class off with tai chi.
• Learning Styles: My sophomore Western Civ teacher Mrs. Brewer was an absolutely insane woman. She normally had no set pattern for her classes, and it seemed that she decided what she was going to teach as she was teaching it. She is probably one of the few teachers that taught to the multiple intelligences. She thoroughly enjoyed taking students outside to learn, mixing group and individual work, playing music from different time periods to compare and contrast, doing fun games to learn new material, and so much more. She retired my junior year and we were all sad to see her go, but it was good to know that we got what we heard had been the best teaching year of her life.
• Autonomy: My sophomore English teacher used to give us calendars every month that had 12 boxes. There were three rows of four, and each box containing a different project. We had to pick one project from each row. One project usually consisted of writing, and two more creative choices. It was quite refreshing to finally have tons of choices to further learning outside of the classroom. I enjoyed this especially because I was tired of the run of the mill poster projects. When students are given options, it makes them feel as they are directing their own education.
• Helping Students Succeed: My senior year, I had to take a month off because I had to have my gallbladder removed. It surprised me how quickly I fell behind. There were many teachers who did not give me a single deadline when I returned to school, which bothered me. One of my teachers, Mrs. Porter, my English teacher, handed me a novel that the class read in an entire month and told me to have it read in one week and have to take-home test handed in on her desk in a week. I voiced my concerns about not having enough time to complete that and the normal work-load in one week. She quickly told me that she had been watching me for my entire high school career and had nothing but faith in me and the fact that I could get it all done. In fact, I did get it all done. Apparently she was right.
• Hands On: I had one high school U.S. Foreign Affairs teacher named Ms. O’Brian. As far as most of the classes went, there was not anything that could be taught using hands on methods. When we began our unit on Japanese-American Relations following the bombing of Hiroshima, many students voiced the fact that Asia was a boring continent. I too felt this way, as I find European history much more fascinating. Ms. O’Brian had lived for an entire school year in Japan and promised that she could change our minds. At the beginning of one of the classes, she came in and told us to stand up. She started class by teaching us tai chi. It was really fun and we learned that Japan wasn’t as boring as we thought. For every class for the rest of the year, we started the class off with tai chi.
• Learning Styles: My sophomore Western Civ teacher Mrs. Brewer was an absolutely insane woman. She normally had no set pattern for her classes, and it seemed that she decided what she was going to teach as she was teaching it. She is probably one of the few teachers that taught to the multiple intelligences. She thoroughly enjoyed taking students outside to learn, mixing group and individual work, playing music from different time periods to compare and contrast, doing fun games to learn new material, and so much more. She retired my junior year and we were all sad to see her go, but it was good to know that we got what we heard had been the best teaching year of her life.
• Autonomy: My sophomore English teacher used to give us calendars every month that had 12 boxes. There were three rows of four, and each box containing a different project. We had to pick one project from each row. One project usually consisted of writing, and two more creative choices. It was quite refreshing to finally have tons of choices to further learning outside of the classroom. I enjoyed this especially because I was tired of the run of the mill poster projects. When students are given options, it makes them feel as they are directing their own education.
Chapter 2 Respect, Liking, Trust and Fairness
I really enjoyed the content in chapter 2 because it dealt with one of my fears about teaching. I want my students to like me but I don't want to overstep boundaries, and I want to see me as someone they can trust, yet still see me as an authority figure. I was impressed by the statement made by a student named Vance, "Some teachers start to fill a void that maybe isn't being addressed a home. Teachers are our de facto parents for the seven or so hours you're with them" (32). I was kind of shocked by this statement. I have never really thought of teachers in that light. I had one teacher that was like another mother to me, but it was never a void that she filled because I have two loving parents.
I guess I have never had to think about a void being filled by a teacher simply because I have never had that sort of void. I hope that if I ever has a student who has a void that needs filling, that I can work to fill it. I hope that I can connect deeply with all of my students, but that those that have few others in their life can feel comfortable enough to come to me with their concerns and problems. I understand how some teacher in my life would definitely be better at void filling than others, and after reading this chapter, I hope to emulate some of their qualities in my teaching.
I guess I have never had to think about a void being filled by a teacher simply because I have never had that sort of void. I hope that if I ever has a student who has a void that needs filling, that I can work to fill it. I hope that I can connect deeply with all of my students, but that those that have few others in their life can feel comfortable enough to come to me with their concerns and problems. I understand how some teacher in my life would definitely be better at void filling than others, and after reading this chapter, I hope to emulate some of their qualities in my teaching.
Chapter 1 Knowing Students Well
In the first chapter, a lot of parts stuck out, but one in particular jumped out more. "Sometimes we know what other people don't know and we can explain to them. Javier" (3). This statement jumped out at me particularly because I experienced this often in my school. There seemed to be certain teachers that had a difficult time reaching certain students, but I or another student better understood the way that student learned and could teach it using different words.
This jumped out at me mostly because even though it was something that I faced throughout school, it is not something that I have been thinking about while becoming a teacher. I feel as though it is something to be aware of. I remember getting in trouble when trying to explain something to another student, and I feel that if a student is understanding a concept better when explained by a student, that it shouldn't be a cause for discipline, but rather a cause for praise.
This jumped out at me mostly because even though it was something that I faced throughout school, it is not something that I have been thinking about while becoming a teacher. I feel as though it is something to be aware of. I remember getting in trouble when trying to explain something to another student, and I feel that if a student is understanding a concept better when explained by a student, that it shouldn't be a cause for discipline, but rather a cause for praise.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Overview of Learning Styles
The learning styles outlined in the overview were very plausible. It gave good examples of dialogue to use with each set of intelligences. I found it helpful because the different examples could all be used in one lesson and showed that time consuming activities were not always necessary. With the use of the examples, the multiple intelligences were made less intimidating by introducing everyday ways to deal with the different learning aspects of each intelligence.
Learning Style Inventory Results
Style Scores
Visual: 15
Social: 17
Physical: 11
Aural: 15
Verbal: 16
Solitary: 8
Logical: 8
All of these scores seem plausible because the results seem to match the strengths that I know I have. I am impressed that they all match so well to the test that we took with Dr. Grace this morning. I found that the graph was a tad bit confusing, although I believe that it effectively conveyed the concentration of my MIs.
http://learning-styles-online.com/inventory/
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