- Television Shows Added to the Performance Task of this wiki.
- Television Shows Added another WebQuest to this wiki.
- Good Business Added the Role to this wiki
Friday, March 28, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
FITB Ch. 10
One of the last pages of the last chapter gives us a great worksheet to use for students to learn outside of the classroom. Using this worksheet will help any student get a better understanding of any subject.
Personally I have not had a lot of teachers try to get us to learn outside of the classroom besides doing homework. The only time I can remember doing so is for a report on Dodge Vipers in 7th grade I called up car dealerships and talked to salesman who had actually driven one. I think it is always important for students to talk to experts in certain fields to get a deeper understanding of something that a usual textbook or article could never tell them. Besides, it is never a bad thing to just go out and expand your knowledge by talking to people.
Personally I have not had a lot of teachers try to get us to learn outside of the classroom besides doing homework. The only time I can remember doing so is for a report on Dodge Vipers in 7th grade I called up car dealerships and talked to salesman who had actually driven one. I think it is always important for students to talk to experts in certain fields to get a deeper understanding of something that a usual textbook or article could never tell them. Besides, it is never a bad thing to just go out and expand your knowledge by talking to people.
FITB Ch. 9
At some point in every teachers career they will have a classroom where things start to go wrong (usually this does not take too long). In this chapter on page 169 it gives you some recommendations if you do happen to lose control of the classroom.
This chapter will really help any teacher when they feel like giving up altogether on the class activity due to numerous different reasons. One thing that really stuck out out in this subsection was the idea that we as teachers should not feel afraid to apologize to a student. Another great idea listed in this chapter was the idea that in no way should we judge our teaching on how well we are liked by the student body. In all reality it seems that the teachers that students hate are the best teachers while on the other hand if a teacher is really liked it turns out they may not be the best teacher.
This chapter will really help any teacher when they feel like giving up altogether on the class activity due to numerous different reasons. One thing that really stuck out out in this subsection was the idea that we as teachers should not feel afraid to apologize to a student. Another great idea listed in this chapter was the idea that in no way should we judge our teaching on how well we are liked by the student body. In all reality it seems that the teachers that students hate are the best teachers while on the other hand if a teacher is really liked it turns out they may not be the best teacher.
FITB Ch. 8
Right at the beginning of this chapter is a great chart that lists every subject and then what English-language learners might talk about.
It is very interesting to see how we can connect where they are from and how much they understand about our culture to there own culture. The one I liked the best is from reading and writing where tehy might want to hear stories and legends that "everyone knows". I have always been interested in shared beliefs in different cultures. Not everyone knows that almost every culture has a bogeyman or tooth fairy. They just give them different names and change the attributes of them for each culture.
It is very interesting to see how we can connect where they are from and how much they understand about our culture to there own culture. The one I liked the best is from reading and writing where tehy might want to hear stories and legends that "everyone knows". I have always been interested in shared beliefs in different cultures. Not everyone knows that almost every culture has a bogeyman or tooth fairy. They just give them different names and change the attributes of them for each culture.
FITB Ch. 7
The most important part of this chapter was on page 139 where the students made a list on how they feel teachers could help them read difficult academic material. There are ten tips on the page and each deals with a slightly different approach to helping the kids understand the difficult material.
I am pretty sure that at some point everyone has had problems reading the words out of the book. We may be exceptional at reading but just may not be very good at reading new words out of the textbook. This proves more true in science and history classes where the words are long, difficult and make no sense. Just recently while under my mentor teacher we had the kids read aloud about the Middle East and each student had problems reading aloud some of the names and locations because they are different than our own culture's.
I am pretty sure that at some point everyone has had problems reading the words out of the book. We may be exceptional at reading but just may not be very good at reading new words out of the textbook. This proves more true in science and history classes where the words are long, difficult and make no sense. Just recently while under my mentor teacher we had the kids read aloud about the Middle East and each student had problems reading aloud some of the names and locations because they are different than our own culture's.
FITB Ch. 6
Probably the most important chapter in the book, we learn about motivation. While I thoroughly enjoyed this entire chapter it was hard to narrow down only one aspect that really hit me harder than the others. To me the most important part was what motivates kids.
In this little subsection of the chapter we learn what keeps kids motivated to stay in school and to do well in school. To me, this could be the most important aspect of teaching in high school. Keeping them motivated and making them actually want to be in school is the only way they are actually going to learn anything in your classroom. There is no doubt that I will use the lessons in this chapter in the real world.
In this little subsection of the chapter we learn what keeps kids motivated to stay in school and to do well in school. To me, this could be the most important aspect of teaching in high school. Keeping them motivated and making them actually want to be in school is the only way they are actually going to learn anything in your classroom. There is no doubt that I will use the lessons in this chapter in the real world.
FITB Ch. 5
What I really liked about this chapter was the idea of asking open ended questions to the class. By doing this the student is required to think a little more and to show evidence.
While sometimes questions asked to the class only require one short answer it is far better for the understanding of the subject that the teacher ask open ended questions to the entire class. Questions like: "Why do you think they did that?" or "How do you feel about this?" will work much better for understanding than asking what the exact answer is to something.
While sometimes questions asked to the class only require one short answer it is far better for the understanding of the subject that the teacher ask open ended questions to the entire class. Questions like: "Why do you think they did that?" or "How do you feel about this?" will work much better for understanding than asking what the exact answer is to something.
FITB Ch. 4
One thing that really struck me in this chapter is towards the end the students are talking about being embarrassed in front of others by praise and criticism. While this might be normal for most high schoolers what really struck me as odd is that each of the three responses listed all contradict each other.
The odd thing is that the first person hates being praised because that no cool, the second person really doesn't care while the third student loves getting praised in the classroom. Only the last two contributers mention being criticized and they both did not like it for different reasons. The first one does not like criticism because it makes her feel bad, while the second student does not like it because other people will think she is dumb. It is always interesting to see how high schoolers can agree with something for completely opposite reasons.
The odd thing is that the first person hates being praised because that no cool, the second person really doesn't care while the third student loves getting praised in the classroom. Only the last two contributers mention being criticized and they both did not like it for different reasons. The first one does not like criticism because it makes her feel bad, while the second student does not like it because other people will think she is dumb. It is always interesting to see how high schoolers can agree with something for completely opposite reasons.
FITB Ch. 3
To me the most interesting thing in the chapter was the chart on page 42 that shows how when a teenager feels like something, what they are apt to to and then how a teacher could change that feeling. Some of the problems listed are: anxiety, boredom, being unseen, restless, insecure and upset.
This chart could in really handy one day if we are trying to figure out why a certain student is acting the way they are. This would be even more important if the student who is acting out has never done this behavior before. If one of our brightest students is starting to pass notes, play on the laptop, or socializing then we know we have step up the lesson a little bit for them because they are becoming bored. This chart could be a great resource for any teacher who needs help in classroom management.
This chart could in really handy one day if we are trying to figure out why a certain student is acting the way they are. This would be even more important if the student who is acting out has never done this behavior before. If one of our brightest students is starting to pass notes, play on the laptop, or socializing then we know we have step up the lesson a little bit for them because they are becoming bored. This chart could be a great resource for any teacher who needs help in classroom management.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Creativity Exercises
To exercise my left brain I completed a sudoku puzzle from the paper. This was the first item I did of the assignment and I really felt it kind of wake me up. When you have to sit down and do some deep problem solving it really does wake you up almost as good as any cup of coffee minus the jitters and crash.
For the right side of the brain I attempted to do a bunch of the puzzles listed on the site. After numerous attempts I came to the conclusion that I was either too tired or just not creative enough to complete barely any of them. I do not feel any more creative after attempting these puzzles, rather I feel quite the opposite. I almost feel defeated from the puzzles.
To cheer myself up from the multiple puzzle failures I read most of one of my Farside books. I believe the choice of material was very important because of rather than doing something that would simply make me laugh I chose the Farside because they are quite an intelligent cartoon. One has to think outside the box to understand them. Reading the Farside could be a combination of humor and right brain thinking.
For something inspirational I went back to my bookmarks on my computer from almost four years ago to an article from ESPN.com that spoke about game seven of the 2004 ALCS. Every once in a while I go back to that article to relive one of the greatest experiences in my life: the Red Sox winning the World Series. The article was released the day of game seven and gives me chills every time I read it. With only one day until pitchers and catchers report, I felt it was time to hype myself up for another Red Sox season.
For the right side of the brain I attempted to do a bunch of the puzzles listed on the site. After numerous attempts I came to the conclusion that I was either too tired or just not creative enough to complete barely any of them. I do not feel any more creative after attempting these puzzles, rather I feel quite the opposite. I almost feel defeated from the puzzles.
To cheer myself up from the multiple puzzle failures I read most of one of my Farside books. I believe the choice of material was very important because of rather than doing something that would simply make me laugh I chose the Farside because they are quite an intelligent cartoon. One has to think outside the box to understand them. Reading the Farside could be a combination of humor and right brain thinking.
For something inspirational I went back to my bookmarks on my computer from almost four years ago to an article from ESPN.com that spoke about game seven of the 2004 ALCS. Every once in a while I go back to that article to relive one of the greatest experiences in my life: the Red Sox winning the World Series. The article was released the day of game seven and gives me chills every time I read it. With only one day until pitchers and catchers report, I felt it was time to hype myself up for another Red Sox season.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
How to help someone use a computer
"By the time they ask you for help, they've probably tried several things. As a result, their computer might be in a strange state. This is natural."
When I was first starting to learn the ways of the computer I would get lost in it from messing around with all of the programs and items. For me at least, half the fun of getting lost was trying to find your way back to where you started. The same idea can happen when trying to fix something yourself rather than getting help from someone more knowledgeable. It's probably because their too stubborn or think that they're skills are better than they really are (like me). It should probably be stated in any technology class that they should not be afraid to ask questions or ask the teacher to slow down so they can keep up. It would probably also be recomended to the students that they CAN do more harm by trying to fix the problem themselves.
"Don't take the keyboard. Let them do all the typing, even if it's slower that way, and even if you have to point them to every key they need to type. That's the only way they're going to learn from the interaction."
I am a very strong believer in the fact that everyone learns better by doing than following. You can point them to where you want them to go, but one should never actually do it for them. This is even more true when it comes to technology in the classroom. I think though that the problems that are listed on that page are slowly going to dwindle away because we are dealing with more and more digital natives.
We will be able to use most of this information because we are mostly digital immigrants and have not been using the technology for all of our lives so it is important that we do the best job possible at teaching this new information.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8821695360431543253
When I was first starting to learn the ways of the computer I would get lost in it from messing around with all of the programs and items. For me at least, half the fun of getting lost was trying to find your way back to where you started. The same idea can happen when trying to fix something yourself rather than getting help from someone more knowledgeable. It's probably because their too stubborn or think that they're skills are better than they really are (like me). It should probably be stated in any technology class that they should not be afraid to ask questions or ask the teacher to slow down so they can keep up. It would probably also be recomended to the students that they CAN do more harm by trying to fix the problem themselves.
"Don't take the keyboard. Let them do all the typing, even if it's slower that way, and even if you have to point them to every key they need to type. That's the only way they're going to learn from the interaction."
I am a very strong believer in the fact that everyone learns better by doing than following. You can point them to where you want them to go, but one should never actually do it for them. This is even more true when it comes to technology in the classroom. I think though that the problems that are listed on that page are slowly going to dwindle away because we are dealing with more and more digital natives.
We will be able to use most of this information because we are mostly digital immigrants and have not been using the technology for all of our lives so it is important that we do the best job possible at teaching this new information.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8821695360431543253
Monday, February 11, 2008
other blogs
Type I and II definitions and examples:
http://joeltypesofteachnology.blogspot.com/
5 MEL examples:
http://joelmel08.blogspot.com/
Thanks,
http://joeltypesofteachnology.blogspot.com/
5 MEL examples:
http://joelmel08.blogspot.com/
Thanks,
Friday, February 1, 2008
Focus The Nation
To learn more about global warming I decided to watch Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth". I chose this film because I was always curious about it and wanted to see what all the hype was about. After viewing it though I will say that it may go down as history simply as one of the best PowerPoint presentation ever given. Though that's not to say I didn't learn anything.
1. That if the ice caps did melt off then 100 million people would have to find new homes.
2. Global warming is almost inevitable, the most we can do is simply delay it. We cannot rebuild the ozone, but at least we can slow the damage.
3. I also learned that humans as a whole are going to have to adapt in many and different ways if we have any chance in making a difference. It is not enough that either a small percentage are making big strides or that a large percentage are making little strides in the right direction. We need everyone to pull their own weight.
For how to help with global warming in the classroom I would show the impact it has had throughout history: changes in migration patters, ocean currents,etc. It would be interesting and fun to see how somethings as small as changes in ocean currents can effect so much. If the Atlantic current moves farther south, ships would have to change their courses, using more fuel. Animals would change their migration routes. Temperatures in northern Americas and Europe would lower. Yes, global warming will make the northern land areas much colder. I would probably try to show my student the most practical ways to help make a difference. I do not expect any of my students to go out and change the world individually, but as a whole, with enough common sense and information, maybe then they could make a difference. I believe that in the future, this topic is going to pop up more and more and it will be our jobs as teachers to help the next generation as much as possible.
1. That if the ice caps did melt off then 100 million people would have to find new homes.
2. Global warming is almost inevitable, the most we can do is simply delay it. We cannot rebuild the ozone, but at least we can slow the damage.
3. I also learned that humans as a whole are going to have to adapt in many and different ways if we have any chance in making a difference. It is not enough that either a small percentage are making big strides or that a large percentage are making little strides in the right direction. We need everyone to pull their own weight.
For how to help with global warming in the classroom I would show the impact it has had throughout history: changes in migration patters, ocean currents,etc. It would be interesting and fun to see how somethings as small as changes in ocean currents can effect so much. If the Atlantic current moves farther south, ships would have to change their courses, using more fuel. Animals would change their migration routes. Temperatures in northern Americas and Europe would lower. Yes, global warming will make the northern land areas much colder. I would probably try to show my student the most practical ways to help make a difference. I do not expect any of my students to go out and change the world individually, but as a whole, with enough common sense and information, maybe then they could make a difference. I believe that in the future, this topic is going to pop up more and more and it will be our jobs as teachers to help the next generation as much as possible.
WEB 2.0 Educator
I chose to do Wes Fryer, the man moving at the speed of creativity. His specialty his always being at the forefront of anything and everything that is creative learning. He believes that we are in the most exciting age of earth history for anyone with ideas because at this point in human history, one merely needs to make a blog, or podcast from their living room and they can share it with anyone and everyone across the world. A few of his blogs are just notes he took down in a conference or a meeting. While his presence at the meeting may not be immediately felt, once he blogs about it he really tries to reinforce the ideas that were presented. In one of his blogs he was learning more about the FOSS science curriculum. In the presentation, they said that when a school picks up FOSS there should be one kit per teacher. I will try to explain what FOSS is from my limited researching, FOSS is a tool used from K-8, with a hands-on style of learning. unfortunately the only way to see what it actually does is to have an account with FOSSweb. But from snooping around i discovered that there is a FOSS activity for almost every area of sciences in every grade level. In Fryer's blog they show how they traced out a mountain with topographic map from Google earth then, for each contour line cut out a piece of foam, stacked them on top of each other and build a 3-D map.
In another blog Fryer writes about how we should not be discouraged from using mobile phones for learning. I thought that this idea was amazing. Usually when you want to adapt something from real life, you make sure that everyone has access to it. We started using computers when almost everyone had one. Now we use podcasts because of the convenience. When you think about it, why haven't been using mobile phones in the classroom. We know that every kid has one, and even if they didn't it would not be hard for the school to get a rental track phone to rent, much like how schools loan out calculators in math class. Doing this would be help the kids participate and interact, which is the most important things for learning according to Fryer.
In another blog Fryer writes about how we should not be discouraged from using mobile phones for learning. I thought that this idea was amazing. Usually when you want to adapt something from real life, you make sure that everyone has access to it. We started using computers when almost everyone had one. Now we use podcasts because of the convenience. When you think about it, why haven't been using mobile phones in the classroom. We know that every kid has one, and even if they didn't it would not be hard for the school to get a rental track phone to rent, much like how schools loan out calculators in math class. Doing this would be help the kids participate and interact, which is the most important things for learning according to Fryer.
Friday, January 25, 2008
MEL Graph
The scores are out of 20 for each style. A score of 20 indicates you use that style often.Style Scores
Visual 10
Social 19
Physical 11
Aural 4
Verbal 11
Solitary 12
Logical 12
I would say that this graph does represent me quite well, I am usually a pretty outgoing guy and like the company of others rather than being alone. though, every once in a while just spending time alone is all I want. I would have assumed that the Verbal category would have been higher, almost matching that of the Social. One would assume that the two categories would go hand in hand on most graphs. Courtesy of www.learning-styles-online.com for use of the graph.
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 2
I really did not want to use something from the first page, it makes it look like I did not look through the rest of the chapter but I just have to say that what Alexis said about the difference between respect and liking really hit the nail on the head for the entire chapter.
Alexis goes on to say how a track coach would tell them to do 50 laps, after the kids complained he would drop the number. Even though all the kids liked the coach they never won an event. Later the school hired a new coach who would add to the laps if they complained, none of the kids liked him but they won all of the meets. It is kind of funny how the kids could hate him for so long and then realize at the very end that what he was doing was for the best. I believe this happens to most teachers, they want to push the kids as far as they can because they know it is for the best, yet they know that if they push too hard the kids will rebel against them. The message I received out of this chapter was that you have to find a middle ground to work with.
Alexis goes on to say how a track coach would tell them to do 50 laps, after the kids complained he would drop the number. Even though all the kids liked the coach they never won an event. Later the school hired a new coach who would add to the laps if they complained, none of the kids liked him but they won all of the meets. It is kind of funny how the kids could hate him for so long and then realize at the very end that what he was doing was for the best. I believe this happens to most teachers, they want to push the kids as far as they can because they know it is for the best, yet they know that if they push too hard the kids will rebel against them. The message I received out of this chapter was that you have to find a middle ground to work with.
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 1
The first thing that jumped out at me and really made me think was how each student not only knew something but that they know how to do something that not everybody does. I was really impressed that Pedro could draw the Aztec calendar; this is something I would love to be able to do and have not really heard of anyone being able to draw from scratch.
Having the kids list what they can do outside of the classroom could prove immensely important with trying to relate to them and help them understand certain material. If you can’t relate some of the classroom material for them but still want to utilize their unique talents you could try and help them use their talents in other areas. If Jae Yoon knows how to play the guitar, you can try and find other students that you know play instruments to see if they would want to create a band together. It is always interesting to me to look beyond the cover of someone and find out some secret talent or skill that they know that could or should be shared. Out of all the skills listed, the only one that I could perform to par would be swimming.
Having the kids list what they can do outside of the classroom could prove immensely important with trying to relate to them and help them understand certain material. If you can’t relate some of the classroom material for them but still want to utilize their unique talents you could try and help them use their talents in other areas. If Jae Yoon knows how to play the guitar, you can try and find other students that you know play instruments to see if they would want to create a band together. It is always interesting to me to look beyond the cover of someone and find out some secret talent or skill that they know that could or should be shared. Out of all the skills listed, the only one that I could perform to par would be swimming.
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