Blog for this week -- Free write about your final project/ portfolio. How are you doing? Do you have any specific questions about either project? Please give me an update on your project.

I feel as though my final project is coming along little by little. The thing that helped me out the most was creating the lesson plan and getting feedback on it. I think that I had the main idea of the lesson plan correct, it is just some little things I need to focus on in creating my 2^nd lesson plan for the final project. Some of the things that I need to focus on in creating the 2^nd lesson plan would be to focus more on content rather than trying to have the whole lesson revolved around the technology. I need to use the technology as a tool rather than the main purpose of the lesson. This is important because it is not a class for technology, it is a History class that is using technology as a tool to better understand a certain lesson. I think that the easiest way to assess the students in their understanding of the lesson would be to create a rubric for the students that has a large portion based on content and a smaller portion of the rubric based on if their hit certain guidelines in creating their presentations. The question I have is besides the presentation that we need to make to the class, and the two lesson plans along with the narrative due the final day of class, is there anything else due for this project?

The portfolio project is something that I really need to focus on for the next few weeks. I think that once I get all of my assignments organized and categorized, the project will get done pretty quickly. I think that the toughest part is understanding what all of the categories mean and which assignments we have done as a class fall under these categories. I also need to work on creating a paragraph for each of the categories that explains what is encompassed under the specific standard, and how the attached assignments reflect the standard. The starting point is creating the paragraph and then seeing how each of the specific projects that we did in class relate to the standards.

How will you handle the reluctant learner? This week, we talked about the learner and learning styles. We addressed the fact that there are many different ways to reach students. For this week's blog, I want to give you a fictional situation. You are the teacher of an 8th grade English class. Your class is reading the novel "Huck Finn" by Mark Twain. You have a student named Renee in your class that has some significant challenges. She is living in her 3rd foster family in the past 4 years having been removed from her birth family because of severe neglect. She has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and is receiving speech and language services for a speech/language disorder where she has a difficult time processing what you are saying to her (receptive language). You do note that she has a significant strength in math. You have assigned the class the task of creating a keynote presentation that highlights the main events from each chapter. You have broken the class into groups of 3. Each group has 4 chapters they need to present. Their task is to find a picture online that could possibly illustrate an event or character in that chapter and to note the most important events of the chapter. When this project is complete, your hope is that you can put all of the chapters together and have a keynote summary of the text. Renee is working with a girl named Liz who is a straight A student and a boy name Josh who is the class clown. Renee is refusing to engage with the other members of the group. She says that the activity is "stupid" and she doesn't like the other two members of her group. What do you do? What action do you take to try to get Renee to engage?

The first thing that I would try to do is to figure out what is wrong with the lesson for the student. I would try to get her to tell me what is not working for her and why she doesn’t like it. If the student thinks that the activity is “stupid” then the teacher would need to fully explain the keynote application to show all of its features. With students like Renee, as the teacher you need to focus on how you present the information. Making the students feel like the work that they are doing isn’t actually work is key. While introducing the keynote presentation, you need to describe how neat all of the features are and how all of them can be used. Getting the student excited about using the keynote presentation is crucial because this is the hands on part of the activity. Also, the teacher can explain how this application can be applied to other activities. This is important because even though the student may not like the particular activity, they can become familiar with it so they can use it for other classes or use it for things that they have interest.

With group work activities, it is important to break up the class according the ability of the students in the class. Keeping all students involved and interested is clearly a difficult task. In this case, I would pull Liz aside and explain to her the situation with the group. She has a tougher task because the students in her group are not as focused as she is. I would ask her to do her best to get both members of the group involved. Sometimes students listen to peers better than they do their teacher. If the teacher and the some students are on the same page, the students can relay the message that the teacher is trying to get across to the students that are not involved with the lesson. In this case, Liz could act as the mediator to keep everyone in the group focused, participating, and engaged.

Often teachers have to set some ground rules for projects like these for students to simply get them done. If trying to talk it out with the student and mediation didn’t work then I would explain to the student that sometimes you have to do things that may not be your favorite activity. After putting in the effort to see where the student was coming from and I, as the teacher, was left with a negative response from the student, I would just have to leave it up to the student to participate. There is only so much a teacher can do to try individual students to focus. It is not fair to the other students in the classroom, who may have questions on the project, to spend all of the time on a student who thinks your activity is “stupid.” If trying to reason with them, reintroduce the lesson, and show how the lesson can be fun doesn’t work, then you need to move on and put the ball in the student’s court.

"Are online games helpful or harmful to education? Why do you feel this way? Find an article online about educational games that supports your argument. Provide a link for it in your blog and a response to the article."

I feel as though online video games, and video games in general, are harmful to education when they are not monitored and used in moderation. The problem with video games in general is that they can be so addicting. Recent news and research has shown youth suicide rates are increasing due to the game addiction. Playing video games can be like an addictive drug that the person cannot go without.

The other problem that is occurring throughout the country and throughout the world is the type of games that are being played. Research has shown that violent video games produce violent results in real life. Although this is study is highly debated on the validity of the topic, it is hard to argue some of the findings.

The other major problem with video games is the amount of time the children spend playing them. Studies have shown that, “About 90 percent of U.S. kids ages 8 to 16 play video games, and they spend about 13 hours a week doing so (more if you're a boy)” (CNN Health Magazine, 2009). With all of this time playing video games, children could really be spending their time doing something more productive; especially with the increase of obesity rates and decrease of academic standing.

The article that I have chosen focuses violent video games and the impact that they have on today’s youth. Experts have seen a correlation between the type of video game played and the behavior that follows. The study suggests that violent video games produce violent behaviors. According to Dr. L. Rowell Huesmann, who has been studying violence in media and behavior for more than 30 years, “The findings are "pretty good evidence" that violent video games do indeed cause aggressive behavior” (CNN Health Magazine, 2009). This is a scary finding because of the amount of video games played by the children can have an impact on their behavior, especially if the games are violent. The article also mentions how games can affect the emotions of children. “Also, he says, kids can become desensitized to violence. "When you're exposed to violence day in and day out, it loses its emotional impact on you," Huesmann said. "Once you're emotionally numb to violence, it's much easier to engage in violence" (CNN Health Magazine, 2009).

After reading the article and considering my experience with video games in general, I feel that online games are harmful to education. I’m not saying that I haven’t played video games and that I am totally against them. However, I feel that there are more productive activities that people can partake in. Sure, everyone needs to unwind and have fun once in awhile. My feelings are that video games should not be taken out of children’s homes, but violent ones should. Even if there is a chance that there is a connection between violence in virtual and real life it only makes sense to eliminate those specific games. As for video games in general, it is a part of our new technology world. With that being said, the use of these games should be used in moderation and monitored by parents.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/03/healthmag.violent.video.kids/

Your blog this week is a free write. My goal for this week is to simply check in with you and to see how you are doing. "Please let me know how you feel you are doing in the class so far. Is there anything that you are struggling with? Is there anything you would like to learn about that we haven't learned yet? What are some things that you have learned from this class? How are you planning to put these things to use in your teaching? Is there anything I can do as a teacher to better support your learning?"

I think that I am doing pretty well in the class so far. The toughest thing for me is managing my time. I get all of the assignments done on time but I feel as though I need to work the most on creating my website, along with the lesson plan and imove. My portaportal project has been going along pretty good and I think the sources I have for my final project will really help a lot. I’m not sure if its correct, but I have been putting examples of lesson plans on the section as well as the PEI’s. I need to continue work on creating my webpage as well.

I enjoy the way the class is going so far. My favorite project so far was the garage band project. I loved way that you can create your own songs with all of the different loops. I am glad that we went over this application in class because I have it on my laptop. Prior to taking the class, the only thing I knew to do with garage band was create ring tones. After figuring out how to work the program I have actually made a few songs after the class in my free time (but I probably should have been working on other homework….) I also am looking forward to getting my imove set up into place. Other than that, I think that the class is going pretty well.

Blog Response - Watch this video and go to the corresponding article. First, give your overall impressions of this model of learning. Be observant of how the technology is used as a tool in this kindergarten classroom. What different applications or devices were utilized? What were some ways you saw the teachers using technology with their students? How did this support learning?

I think that this model of learning is very productive and beneficial when it is implemented in lower level classrooms. I feel that allowing the kids to participate in hands on activities is the best way for them to learn and initially get excited about learning. Using technology, such as smart boards, is beneficial for the younger kids because it is hands on learning. Kids at this age are more intrigued by activities in the classroom where learning is fun. However, this applies to all age levels. The more interesting the learning environment, the more focused and excited the students will be about learning.

The one device that I am somewhat familiar with is the smart board used in the classroom. I like the way that the teacher allowed the children to become involved in their own learning. The smart board is also a good way to introduce the material being taught, and at the same time, bring technology into the classroom.

The teacher in the classroom interviewed had the student realize the difference of the “b” and “d” shape by having the student drag one on top of another. At the end of the activity, the student realized the difference between the two letters.

This method of bringing in technology to get the student to physically manipulate the letters on the smart board was beneficial. This activity really hit home with the student because it was a hands on activity. By bringing in technology into the classroom it helped the students who had different learning styles. The student who couldn’t grasp the concept of the two letters being different, could after the teacher brought in technology into the classroom. This supported the learning environment of the classroom because different students in the class have different learning styles. Technology helped certain students grasp the concepts that the teacher presented to the class. In this case, technology was a successful learning tool.

creativity in schools

Blog response: For your blog this week, please watch Sir Ken Robinson's lecture on "Are schools killing creativity?". Please write a response to this video. Do you agree or disagree with Sir Robinson? In the video, he makes some pretty serious statements such as "I feel creativity should be as important as literacy in today's schools." Do you agree or disagree with this statement. Why or why not? What have your experience with creativity been in the past? How do you express yourself?

After watching Ken Robinson’s proposal about schools killing the creativity, I agree with him to a certain extent. As he stated, schools pay far more attention to the core subjects, such as math and science and tend to leave the arts out of the mix. He referred to this as a “hierarchy” within the school system, where the core subjects were at the top, followed by humanities, and the arts left behind. As schools and educators within the schools, I believe that it is our job to prepare the children for jobs of the future. The problem is that no one knows what these jobs will be, so it makes more sense to focus on all of the subjects equality, rather than concentrating more on certain subjects that may be out of date by the time that these children are ready to enter the job market.

The quote, “I feel creativity should be as important as literacy in today’s schools,” can be argued both ways. I feel that all subjects and learning styles should be on the same level when it comes to schooling our children because we really have no idea what the job market will call for by the time these children will be ready to get jobs. Because we are training our students for jobs we don’t know exist, we should focus on presenting a wide range of materials and subject matter to the student, rather than the current narrow focus of math and science. I also agree that we need to encourage creativity. As Mr. Robinson states, some children cannot sit still and learn, then need to move to be able to think. Different children learn differently and have different learning styles that we as teachers need to pay attention to and honor.

A lot of my creativity experiences in the past align up with what is being talked about in the video. Art, plays, and drama were not offered on the same level as the core classes. A lot of kids chose not to be involved in these types of creative experience because they were not required or offered on the same level. I am a very active person, so I express myself through sports and physical activity. I agree with the quote by Robinson that, “You will never come up with anything original if you are not prepared to be wrong.” Originality is something that comes from creativity, and creativity needs to be focused on and implemented in schools and in educating the future.

ch 2 response

Blog Response - P. 22 in Cennamo, Ross and Ertmer.

"Reflect on your own experiences using technology for learning. What technologies were used when you were a student and how were they used? How were technology-related skills taught to you as a student? What was emphasized? What skills and knowledge to you already possess to help you meet the challenges of effectively integrating technology into instruction. How did you learn those skills?"

The earliest memory I have about technology in the school setting is going to computer class in elementary school for a special. We went there once a week to use the lab and become familiar with the computers. Usually we would go into the lab with a task from our teacher, like typing a story that we had written, or typing poetry. From what I can remember in elementary, the tasks that we did in the computer lab were not too in depth or rigorous. I think they were more in place to get us used to dealing with technology and to get us acquainted with some of the basic program on the computers at school.

Once we got to Jr. High, it was a totally different story. My 7^th grade year was the first year that the laptops were issued by the state to students. Now, the laptops were taking over what seemed to be all the classrooms. I feel like some teachers/subjects really tried to stretch the use of the laptops and technology, when it would have been more useful to do lessons and assignments the traditional way of teaching. On the same hand, we had teachers who didn’t make use of the laptops at all in the classroom setting. In these cases, the laptops were just a hassle to carry class to class.

The stuff that was taught to us as students was pretty much done by the teachers in the classroom. I can remember some of the teachers not knowing too much about what they were trying to teach us. One teacher I had frequently gave up, and had us put the laptops away because a student would ask a question regarding the laptops that he did not know and it made him mad. From the usage in Jr. High, the laptops were primarily used for word processing and for looking up information on the Internet for projects. I can remember doing a research project in my Spanish class in 8^th grade where we looked up information and played Spanish music from the Internet.

Now that I am in college, a lot of my computer usage is limited to word processing or looking up things on the Internet. I want to be able to learn more about computers and technology in general because I know it will only benefit me if I am able to integrate technology into my classroom when I am a teacher. I feel like the more I know about technology, the better off I will be because it seems that people are starting to use it more and more not only in schools, but in society.