I used the Focus The Nation website to help me learn more about global warming and about the FTN project. One of the things which I did to learn something new about global warming was voting on the FTN website about which global warming issues I thought were most important and which ones I thought the government should focus on. I focused my attention on one issue called "invest in the clean energy revolution." This revolution is meant to provide low-cost climate stabilization tools that todays young people will need in the future. I liked this one because it focused on the young people of our future, which in my opinion are the most important people to focus on. This site taught me a lot about the different global warming solutions. Another thing I did to learn something about global warming was by reading the blog called "tree huggers." This blog focuses on the climate and enviornmental friendly lifestyles. I learned about doing small things that can all add up and help save the enviornment such as turning of the lights, not leaving your car running and buying clothes from thrift stores. Another fact which I learned from global warming from this exercise was about different "green" activities which teachers can incorprate in their classrooms such as produce an informative play, have students create a pro climate friendly calander and have students watch enviornmental movies.
By concentrating in health I feel that there is a lot that I can do to incorprate enviornmental health into my classroom. There are many lesson plans which I can create that focus on how pollution affects the health of our enviornment as well as what negative affects these pollutants can have on our health. Something I could do was have my students keep a log of all the things they do that affect the enviornment and never thought of such as how long they shower, do they turn lights off when they leave a room or how much they use their cars. I have taken an environmental health class for my major and I know that there are many activities and lessons that I will be able to bring into my classroom.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Web 2.0 Educator
I chose to read Wes Fryer's blog "moving at the speed of creativity" and found it to be pretty interesting. Fryer talks a lot about different types of advances in technology and helps to introduce people to these new technologies. He also talks about the different issues regarding the interenet such as how much privacy a child should have on the internet as well as how fast the internet is developing. I have to say that a lot of the topics whcih Fryer talked about we over my head. I am just learning how to blog and so half of the topics Fryer is talking about I have never heard of. Each blog that I read was more like an informative essay. I would have to say that my favorite blog by Fryer was when he was talking about the United States not pitting enough "effort" into school. I especially like the youtube video "Two Million Minutes." I agreed with a lot that was said in this blog. It seems like students now a days (including myself) take for granted all the opportunities they have to learn about technolgy and what they can accomplish with it. Other countries who have less opportunities seem to have students who are more eager to learn and use every opportunity possible obtain more knowledge. I can see how Fryer's blog is a helpful refrence for many people and he's nice enough to share his knowledge by answering readers questions.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Type I and Type II Technology
Type I and Type II uses are similar yet do have different qualities. Both are technologies used in the classroom, however a gap has risen between the two. Type I technology uses are the applications that help teachers use to continue teaching in ways they have done in years past. Type I uses are more traditional/passive and don't provide new ways of learning to students. When I was in middle school Type I uses seemed the be the only ones used. For example many of our classes used the overhead as a tool for us to take notes. Notes were written on projector sheets and it was a very dull way to learn. Another Type I use was when teachers use to use slide shows as a way to teach a lesson. Instead of having a video teachers would just go from slide to slide and narrate as they were doing it (thankfully this was before I was in school). One last example of a Type I technology use is video cassette tapes. Often times they didn't come in clear and are just an "outdated" way of teaching.
Type II technology uses are considered new and better ways of teaching. Type II uses are computer technology to help throughout students cognitive period. Type II use is supposed to make learning more interesting and fun for students. A type II piece of equipment example would be the laptops that are handed out to all the 7th and 8th graders in my town. They are allowed to do all their research on their own and type out computers on their personal laptops. The students say doing their homework is much easier and enjoyable now that they have the laptops. Another example of Type II technology is the graphing calculator. It is much more advanced than any past calculator and now students can do more on the calculator while actually learning more. One last example of Type II technology is PowerPoint. This allows teachers lessons to be more organized and easy for the students to learn/take notes. I find it much easier to take notes when my teachers uses power point than any other time.
Type II technology uses are considered new and better ways of teaching. Type II uses are computer technology to help throughout students cognitive period. Type II use is supposed to make learning more interesting and fun for students. A type II piece of equipment example would be the laptops that are handed out to all the 7th and 8th graders in my town. They are allowed to do all their research on their own and type out computers on their personal laptops. The students say doing their homework is much easier and enjoyable now that they have the laptops. Another example of Type II technology is the graphing calculator. It is much more advanced than any past calculator and now students can do more on the calculator while actually learning more. One last example of Type II technology is PowerPoint. This allows teachers lessons to be more organized and easy for the students to learn/take notes. I find it much easier to take notes when my teachers uses power point than any other time.
My MEL experiences
Student/Teacher relationships: When I was in the 7th grade I had a homeroom/english teacher who was able to really connect with every student in the class. She was a hard teacher yet still made it fun for us to be in class. As middle school students we no longer wanted to be treated as little kids and she treated us all as adults. Because she was treating us like adults she expected us to act like adults and it created a mutual feeling of respect. I looked forward to going to her class and loved the way she communicated with us.
Learning Styles: The learning styles that I enjoy the most are when we get to do hands on work in class. I hate when teachers simply lecture and expect us to take notes for an hour of class. In high school my geometry teacher Ms. Cheevers knew that math wasn't my strongest subject and so she gave us the choice of doing hands on projects such as creating diagrams so we could do group work and see first hand how different mathematical formulas worked. I was able to understand so much more about geometric shapes that way and it made the class that much more interesting to me.
Interest: I disliked many classes throughout high school. I felt as though some teachers just did not understand how to make class interesting and relate it to us students. Economics does not interest me one bit and my teacher in high school just played boring videos and had us write down notes class after class. I can't remember one thing that I learned in that class and I did my homework just so I could get a good grade. I didn't enjoy one thing we learned and feel as though my teacher could have put in a better effort to make it interesting. That's the most important part of a teachers job is to make a lesson interesting yet effective at the same time.
Helping students succeed: Chemistry was probably the hardest class I have ever taken. I would study for hours on end and still fail each and every test. I enjoyed doing the labs which we were assigned but when it came to taking the tests I just could not get a decent grade. I went to see my teacher, Mr Cole for help often and it just didn't seem to help. By the end of the semester I had a D+ in the class. My teacher pulled me aside and told me that he was going to give me a C for all the effort I had put it. He knew how hard I had worked all semester and that I really was trying to learn the information. It really made me feel that all my hard work had paid off and that my teacher really did want to see me do well and although my test scores were a D average the effort I put in for the class did not reflect the same score.
Hands On- One of my favorite classes in high school was photography. My teacher allowed us to go out and take our own pictures where ever we wanted. We weren't limited to what we took pictures of. What was even better was that we got to learn hands on how to develop our own photos. We were in the "black room" for just about all of class and each student put together their own photo album. It made us appreciate the pictures that we had taken because not only were they are own but we also developed them ourselves. I learned so much throughout that class and really gained an appreciation for photographers and it was all because the whole class was hands on.
Learning Styles: The learning styles that I enjoy the most are when we get to do hands on work in class. I hate when teachers simply lecture and expect us to take notes for an hour of class. In high school my geometry teacher Ms. Cheevers knew that math wasn't my strongest subject and so she gave us the choice of doing hands on projects such as creating diagrams so we could do group work and see first hand how different mathematical formulas worked. I was able to understand so much more about geometric shapes that way and it made the class that much more interesting to me.
Interest: I disliked many classes throughout high school. I felt as though some teachers just did not understand how to make class interesting and relate it to us students. Economics does not interest me one bit and my teacher in high school just played boring videos and had us write down notes class after class. I can't remember one thing that I learned in that class and I did my homework just so I could get a good grade. I didn't enjoy one thing we learned and feel as though my teacher could have put in a better effort to make it interesting. That's the most important part of a teachers job is to make a lesson interesting yet effective at the same time.
Helping students succeed: Chemistry was probably the hardest class I have ever taken. I would study for hours on end and still fail each and every test. I enjoyed doing the labs which we were assigned but when it came to taking the tests I just could not get a decent grade. I went to see my teacher, Mr Cole for help often and it just didn't seem to help. By the end of the semester I had a D+ in the class. My teacher pulled me aside and told me that he was going to give me a C for all the effort I had put it. He knew how hard I had worked all semester and that I really was trying to learn the information. It really made me feel that all my hard work had paid off and that my teacher really did want to see me do well and although my test scores were a D average the effort I put in for the class did not reflect the same score.
Hands On- One of my favorite classes in high school was photography. My teacher allowed us to go out and take our own pictures where ever we wanted. We weren't limited to what we took pictures of. What was even better was that we got to learn hands on how to develop our own photos. We were in the "black room" for just about all of class and each student put together their own photo album. It made us appreciate the pictures that we had taken because not only were they are own but we also developed them ourselves. I learned so much throughout that class and really gained an appreciation for photographers and it was all because the whole class was hands on.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Learning Styles Inventory
The results which I received from Learning Styles Inventory were very similar to the ones which I received in Dr. Grace's class. I found that my top two styles were social and physical. I like to work with other people in groups and take part in assignments that are hands on. In Dr. Grace's class I also found that I am a Naturalist.
Chapter 2: Respect, Liking, Trust and Fairness
Chapter 2: Respect, Liking, Trust and Fairness
The part in this chapter that I found to be the most interesting was the part that stated “should teachers like students?” One student stated it perfectly “It’s not as important for a teacher to like the students as it is for the students to think the teacher likes them. Students feel more comfortable and motivated in classes where they think the teacher likes them.” Teachers must treat students equally and as a teacher, even if you do have a problem with a student, it is important to not let that show while you are teaching them. The students in this chapter wanted to feel as though they were respected by the teachers even if the teacher may not like them. They felt that it is important for teachers to be fair to all students and treat them equally.
I agreed with many of the statements that these students had about their teachers. If a student feels as though their teacher does not like them they are going to be less likely to participate and do well in class. I also liked the list of qualities which the students expect of their teachers such as know your material, grade us fairly, don’t treat us like a little kid, care about what is going on with us etc. I thought these were all important factors to take into account when it comes to teaching. I feel that it might be hard to please all your students but at the same time every teacher should do the best job that they can to make it possible.
The part in this chapter that I found to be the most interesting was the part that stated “should teachers like students?” One student stated it perfectly “It’s not as important for a teacher to like the students as it is for the students to think the teacher likes them. Students feel more comfortable and motivated in classes where they think the teacher likes them.” Teachers must treat students equally and as a teacher, even if you do have a problem with a student, it is important to not let that show while you are teaching them. The students in this chapter wanted to feel as though they were respected by the teachers even if the teacher may not like them. They felt that it is important for teachers to be fair to all students and treat them equally.
I agreed with many of the statements that these students had about their teachers. If a student feels as though their teacher does not like them they are going to be less likely to participate and do well in class. I also liked the list of qualities which the students expect of their teachers such as know your material, grade us fairly, don’t treat us like a little kid, care about what is going on with us etc. I thought these were all important factors to take into account when it comes to teaching. I feel that it might be hard to please all your students but at the same time every teacher should do the best job that they can to make it possible.
Chapter 1: Knowing Students Well
Chapter 1: Knowing Students Well
In this chapter the students talked about having a balance with their teachers knowing them well enough to understand how they learn and what teaching techniques work for them, yet not so much that the teachers know everything in their personal life. The most important thing that teachers have to know is what teaching techniques work best for each of their students and how they can make learning interesting and effective. The students also talked about not being judged by their teachers no matter where they lived, what they wore or who their friends were. If a student feels like they are being wrongfully judged by their teacher than focusing and learning in class is going to be that much harder.
I already can tell that I am going to enjoy reading this book. It is very interesting to hear high scholar’s point of view on issues and they are easy to relate to because it wasn’t to long ago that I was one myself. I agree with everything the students said about wanting to have a balance with their teachers. I remember having a math teacher in middle school and although he was a very good teacher and a nice person he was always listening to student’s conversations and liked to know every bit of gossip going on in his students lives. I believe that there has to be a place where you the draw the line in knowing what is happening in a students life. Teachers are not suppose to be "friends" with their students but teachers and students should have respect for one another.
In this chapter the students talked about having a balance with their teachers knowing them well enough to understand how they learn and what teaching techniques work for them, yet not so much that the teachers know everything in their personal life. The most important thing that teachers have to know is what teaching techniques work best for each of their students and how they can make learning interesting and effective. The students also talked about not being judged by their teachers no matter where they lived, what they wore or who their friends were. If a student feels like they are being wrongfully judged by their teacher than focusing and learning in class is going to be that much harder.
I already can tell that I am going to enjoy reading this book. It is very interesting to hear high scholar’s point of view on issues and they are easy to relate to because it wasn’t to long ago that I was one myself. I agree with everything the students said about wanting to have a balance with their teachers. I remember having a math teacher in middle school and although he was a very good teacher and a nice person he was always listening to student’s conversations and liked to know every bit of gossip going on in his students lives. I believe that there has to be a place where you the draw the line in knowing what is happening in a students life. Teachers are not suppose to be "friends" with their students but teachers and students should have respect for one another.
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