Blog Post Seven- Randy Pausch

Dr. Randy Pausch, a deceased professor at Carnegie Mellon University who passed away after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, truly lived to teach others. In his final lecture, Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, explains how he accomplished his childhood dreams, and strongly believed that others can as well, as long as you strive to achieve them. Randy forced his dreams to become a reality, which is why influencing others to accomplish childhood dreams was his mission in life.





Randy explains that teachers need to trick their students in order for students to learn, which is a process he calls "Head Faking". Project and group-based learning are great ways to do this because students learn life lessons, such as teamwork and responsibility. Students may believe that they are completing an assignment in order to receive a grade, but the more important lessons being taught are those the teacher doesn't assign. Head faking truly allows students, and even teachers, to learn without realizing it!



Randy also discussed a concept known as brick walls, which is a concept used to show the desire we have to achieve our goals. I have definitely learned from the brick walls that I have hit in my life, and I believe that I will hit many more in the future, both professionally, as a teacher, and personally. A brick wall is symbolic for anything that forces us to change paths, but with faith and perseverance, we can climb these walls and overcome any challenge. The brick wall simply shows people the determination and desire in which they either have about something or don't. This is a great way to teach students about overcoming challenges, and I will use this technique in my personal life and in my classroom.


Creativity is the key to allowing students to learn anything, and Randy absolutely believed this. He allowed his students to make mistakes and did not set standards for projects, which taught students about life. Once students are in the "real world", they are not going to have people explaining what to do, so if teachers allow students to make mistakes, the learning process will be very effective and efficient. Granting students the ability to make mistakes and be creative is a great way to teach and learn!


Randy Pausch is a true inspiration to me, and I have learned many things about teaching and learning, but also about life in general. Dr. Pausch did not allow his terminal cancer to take over his life, but instead he used his time on earth to make an impact on peoples' lives. I will definitely remember the lessons that I have learned from Dr. Randy Pausch and I will incorporate these lessons into my personal and professional life.

Comments for Kids Summaries for February

On February 5, 2014, Jerry blogged about his first experience with gymnastic. Jerry seemed to have loved gymnastics and he explains how he had to take off his shoes and use a mat for cushion. After gymnastics, the class had to stretch their muscles. I responded on February 9. I told Jerry about how I did gymnastics for almost ten years and that he should pursue the sport if he really enjoyed it.

On February 5, 2014, Seth blogged about what he would  do if trapped in a department store for a night. I feel like Seth and I would get along great because he said that he would eat candy until he feels sick. He said that he would eat and then rest, and once he felt better, he  would eat more candy. On February 16,  I told him that he should have explained what store he was stuck in and what type of candy he would eat. I told him that I would have chosen to eat Ressee's Peanut Butter Cups!

On February 21, 2014, Luis from Ms. Ruiz's class blogged about the need for privacy versus the need for socialization. He explained that he loves having privacy, but too much will cause him to be bored. Likewise, he says that he loves hanging out with his friends, but he needs some alone time occasionally. I explained to Luis how I feel like I need alone time as well, but I do like having a great time with my friends. Luis does not understand that the proper noun "I" needs to be capitalized, so I informed him that proper nouns must be capitalized in order to have correct grammar. Overall, I really enjoyed exploring Luis's blog!

On February 24. 2014, Kylie from Mrs. Miller's class explained that her class had to read a book and either choose five songs that have a similar theme or create a presentation using pictures, poems, or quotes that explain the theme of the book. Kylie chose to make a presentation using Google Docs, and she says that this helped here learn the theme of the book better. Kylie was not very specific in her blog post, so I explained how she could explain more about the book she read and the presentation she created next time.

"Where the Wild Things Are" Book Trailer

Blog Post 6- Personal Learning Networks

What is a Personal Learning Network, or PLN, and how can these resources be useful for us, as teachers, in the classroom?  If you can use a resource or a person for assistance, consider this tool or resource a PLN, but these resources or consistently changing which means we need to be consistently learning. A PLN can be formed simply by using social media, such as Twitter, or by finding professional resources, such as blogs. A Personal Learning Network is very useful for beginning a career in education because I can form relationships with those who are more wise than I am. The best part about Personal Learning Networks is that they are extremely EASY!
My education professors at the University of South Alabama are extremely knowledgeable, so they will be a part of my PLN. I have connected with my EDM 310 professor (Dr. John Hadley Strange), along with my EDU 301 professor (Dr. Paige Vitulli), on twitter and I know they will be great resources for me to gain insight to the teaching field. I have recently connected with a kindergarten teacher in Vermont (Sharon Davison), who I believe will become a mentor to me while on my journey to become an educator. While doing observations at St. Luke's Episcopal School, I gained a great relationship with Cara Dube who will be another mentor of mine on my journey. What is so exciting about my Personal Learning Network is that as I meet new professors, I will be able to add them to my network.
As I stated before, Twitter is a great resource for creating a Personal Learning Network, but there are so many other resources as well! For instance, Education Possible is a wonderful board on Pinterest that provides teachers with unusual resources that are great for the classroom. Another board on Pinterest is Education To The Core where we can "find ideas for effective and efficient teaching practices" to use in our classrooms.
There are a variety of useful websites on the internet that are useful when creating Personal Learning Networks, but the exciting aspect of these networks is that they are always changing and improving. As teachers, we need to realize that we will be lifelong learners and prepare for the journey ahead!

My Sentence/ My Passion

This is My Sentence

This is My Passion

Blog Post 5- Anthony Capps

Dr. John Strange, a professor at the University of South Alabama, interviews a former student, Anthony Caps, who is currently teaching third grade in Gulf Shores, Alabama. In part one, Anthony describes how projects aren't a means to show that you have learned the material, but it's a way to actually learn the material, and students become excited to learn. The project needs to interest students and teach the students the material in which is needed to know. Many projects can cover many topics that the Alabama College and Career Ready standards. During the second part of the interview, Anthony explains that not every parent will agree with the projects that you are assigning his or her child, which teachers need to respect. The parents are giving their children to teachers for the school year, but, ultimately, the children and parents need to be respected.


In another interview between Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps, iCurio, which a tool to assist children with searching the internet by narrowing down related and appropriate websites, is discussed. Along with searching the internet, iCurio allows students to go learn how to be virtually organized, simply by saving important documents and delete the files if necessary. When searching for sources, iCurio allows the student to search by specific criteria, which is very useful when searching for specific information. iCurio, as Anthony and Dr. Strange discuss, is a very safe tool for children to work on projects at individual paces.

Discovery Ed is a resource that allows students to learn information through the use of visual examples. This resource is fabulous for students and teachers to use, because most children, and even adults, learn by doing an activity or watching an activity take place. Discovery Ed provides students with visual examples in order for them to remember information.

Anthony provides those who are considering entering the teaching field with some helpful advice with strange tips for teachers.  I agree with Anthony when he says that teachers have to want to teach and have a desire to learn, because if the teacher has no passion, the students won't have any passion neither. Although teaching is a very rewarding career, Anthony does not ignore the fact that teaching is very hard work, but the teacher has the opportunity to make this hard work enjoyable. Students learn whatever the teacher teaches them, so it is our job, as new teachers, to learn how to efficiently instruct our students.

Technology consumes our everyday life, whether we are checking the weather on the internet, or reconnecting with old friends through social media. Anthony emphasizes in his video "don't teach tech-use it" that teachers need to use technology in the classroom instead of simply teaching students how to use it. In Anthony's classroom, he allows his students to use one new technology at a time, so the students will slowly become more proficient when using different technologies.  Teachers need to understand that children will make mistakes when learning new skills, but that students will learn from the mistakes.

In order to become an exceptional teacher, Anthony describes additional thoughts for lessons, where he explains that teachers need to be able to plan lessons ahead of time and learn how to efficiently teach. The key to doing this is first, planning lessons for weeks at a time, then entertaining and incorporating the students throughout the day in order to complete every lesson. Anthony emphasizes the many factors that one must possess in order to be an efficient teacher, which I will certainly use once in the classroom.

Project #3 Presentation- Project Based Learning and Alabama College & Career Ready Standards

Comments for Teachers- Post Number One

C4T#1-Comment One

Lisa Thumann, the author of blogs on thumannresources.com, has been studying to improve the Common Core, which is the standards in which schools must follow to provide a clear understanding on what students are required to learn. Thumann and her team at SGEI have founded "Common Core Communities of Practice", where they perform conferences for teachers to learn how to enhance the learning process. I believe that teaching with technology is very important and I explain to her my beliefs.

"There are so many ways to teach with technology, and I believe that teachers have a responsibility to teach those ways. I believe that every teacher should believe that teaching means collaborating, celebrating, and sharing. I look forward to learning more about the success and learnings of this project!"

I hope that Lisa and her team at SGEI will find much success by providing teachers with this resource.


C4T#1-Comment Two

Lisa Thumann has raised another interesting question while attempting to raise the attrition rates at UNconfrences. Lisa assists in organizing free conferences, which takes much time and planning, and after many years, she has become annoyed with the low attrition rates at these conferences. For instance, people must sign up for the conference, but not every registrant actually attends, and she explains that once, only 25% of people who signed up actually attended. This is frustrating because this causes unnecessary stress to Lisa and her crew. She never knows how much food to order and how big or small the venue needs to be because the number of registrants rarely equal the number of people in attendance. I provided Lisa with my opinion as to what she should do in order to resolve this issue.

 "You have raised great questions, Lisa. I sense your frustration and agree that we MUST figure out a way to solve this issue. Charging a nonrefundable fee sounds like a great idea, but what is not as many people want to register because of the fee? I definitely believe that you must overwhelm your registrants with emails and reminders, that way the event is frequently on their minds. If you do run out of food for a free event, that is okay. Besides, the event is free so food is simply an added bonus to the knowledge they are receiving."

I understand why Lisa becomes annoyed with this issue and I hope that she will resolve this issue.

Blog Post 4- Asking Questions

                     

ASKING QUESTIONS

 What do we need to know about asking questions in order to be an effective teacher? In order to properly insist knowledge upon our students, as teachers we should be required to answer this question properly. It is very important to learn not only what questions to ask and when to ask them but how to ask questions in order to become an effective teacher. Many resources are available in order to learn how to properly ask questions to a class, but the same lesson can be learned from every blog, website, or video- teachers need to know how to properly ask questions in order to properly teach students. Ben Johnson, along with The Teaching Center at Washington University in St. Louis, has discovered to correct way to teach a classroom by simply knowing how to challenge students.


Ben Johnson explains to key to successfully questioning students in his blog "The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom", along with informing readers what teachers are doing incorrectly when asking questions. Johnson explains that teachers need to realize the specific types of students in classrooms, such as the ones who are smart, the ones who do not think they are smart, and the students who do not care. Certain teachers believe that in order to obtain full participation from a class, a question must be directed to the entire class while some teachers believe that a specific student needs to be asked a specific question. Johnson informs readers that the key to asking questions in the correct way, we, as teachers, need to combine these two techniques. For instance, instead of asking one individual a question or asking the class as a whole a question, teachers must ask the entire class a question, wait for each student to have the opportunity to consider what the answer may be, then call on an individual to answer the question. This approach engages the students as a whole, because the students know that someone must answer the question.

The Teaching Center at Washington University in St. Louis instructs teachers how to ask questions to improve learn, both in the classroom and beyond the walls of school. The Teaching Center explains how asking questions in the correct way will ultimately teach students how to learn outside of school. In order to properly ask questions, teachers need to prepare the questions, know the objective of the question, and respond effectively to the students' answers. Questions should be clear and simple, rather than complex. For instance, only one question should be asked at a time, giving the students the opportunity to critically think about one topic. Once a reply is given, without interruption by the teacher, a follow up question should be asked in order to engage and test the students and we, as teachers, need to respond on a way that keeps the students thinking. As teachers, we need to ask a variety of questions and remember that it is very important to be interested in what the students have to say, whether the answer is correct or incorrect. The Teaching Center encourages teachers to learn how to ask questions because "active learning extends beyond the classroom" and it is a teacher's responsibility to encourage students to use these techniques "to asses what they have learned, to develop their thinking skills, and to study for exams".

In order to teach a classroom, teachers must ask questions and engage students. If students are not engaged, they will daydream and not learn. As a teacher, we must be responsible for teaching students how to learn and that begins by knowing how to ask, challenge, and engage our students.