Blog Post #15: Final Reflection

Blog Assignment # 10

Do You Teach or Do You Educate?

In the video, “Do You Teach or Do You Educate?,” it gives the many different definitions of the words teach and educate. The main ones that stood out to me were the definition of educator as being a mentor or an advisor. I want to be there for my students as mush as I can and help them along their educational journey.

I first knew that I wanted to be an education major when I was in about eleventh grade. I was never really a big fan of school when I was a student, but I had this one great teacher or “educator”; she was amazing. I would go to school just so that I could go to her class. She was my eleventh grade French teacher and everyone loved her just as much as I did. She would have something fun for us to do every day, whether it was doing a presentation in front of the class or watching a video to help us better understand the language. Ever since taking that class I knew that I wanted to become an educator and try and be someone like her and have my students want to come to class everyday and learn something new.

Don’t Let Them Take Pencils Home

In the blog post “Don’t Let Them Take Pencils Home, Mr. Johnson tells a story about a teacher who lets his students take home pencils. One of the specialists at the school informed him that she had just read an article stating that students who take home pencils score lower on standardized testing and she wants him not to allow them to take the pencils home anymore. The teacher doesn’t like this and instead of just listening to her, he decides to find a solution to this problem. His solution was to give students ideas on how to use the pencils at home in a beneficial way.

I completely agree with this teacher. We shouldn’t just listen to these research studies and follow exactly what they tell us to do. We should come up with solutions for the problems!

Blog Assignment # 13

My Teacher is an App

In the article written by Stephanie Banchero and Stephanie Simon entitled My Teacher is An App, which was published by the Wall Street Journal, online K-12 school is discussed. There are many people who are for it and many who are against it. Those in favor of having online schooling like the idea of how it will save the school districts money. Those who are against it say that it is not a good idea to have the student educate themselves and it wouldn’t be a good educational experience for them if they are just sitting at home and have it at their own discretion if they want to go to school that day or not.

In my opinion, I think it’s a great idea, maybe not to have all of the student’s classes online but some or most of them. When I was in high school I wasn’t a big fan of school at all, but I liked the social aspect of school and being able to see my friends on a daily basis and having the ability to ask my teachers a question face-to-face if need be. I think that having a blend of online and in class school is the best idea and that it could save the school districts money also.

Blog Assignment # 14

       

       Jose Picardo's blog is full of useful tips on how to use technology in the classroom. He has so many wonderful ideas that I plan on using in my future classroom. In the video, titled "Top Ten Tips For Using Technology in the Classroom", he gives ten tips on different types of technology that can be used. These tips include things in which I am familiar with and things that I have never used before, but plan on learning how to use. 

      Some of the things that Mr. Picardo included that I am familiar with is the use of music, how to properly use a SmartBoard, creating a podcast, using a blog, and using social networks. Other things such as using Wikis, using gadgets such as phones and gadgets, and creating interactive online exercises. One of the things that I would like to learn more about is how to use a Wiki. Mr. Picardo said that by using a Wiki, as teachers, we could use it to showcase our students works and achievements. A Wiki is a website that you can create that is used to share information that can be edited and used collaboratively with other people in the online community. An example of using this could be if you wanted to know about the different traditions or holidays in the different countries, you could ask questions and people from all over the world are able to answer. I have always enjoyed learning how to use different types of technology, so I look forward to learning about all of these things. 

Final Report on PLN

       For the past semester I have been working on creating my PLN or personal learning network using Symbaloo. Symbaloo is a website that allows you to put all of the websites that you use all in one place. All you have to do is click on one of the tiles and it will bring you to the website. In my PLN I have included tiles for the teacher's blogs that I was assigned to for my C4Ts as well as websites that Dr. Strange suggested that we use such as Screenr, which allows you to record your computer screen, or Delicious, which is another website that allows you to compile websites and then share them with others. I have also included other websites that I use most often, for example the website for my online classes and my universities' main website. Along with all of the websites mentioned, in my PLN I have also included all of the social networking sites that I am a member of. In the organization of the tiles, I did it in such a way that the websites that I use most often are in the top left corner, the social network and tools suggested by Dr. Strange are in the top right corner, and other websites that I use on a regular basis are on the bottom. I have really enjoyed creating my PLN this semester and I look forward to using in in the future.

Project #16