“What Did You Do in School Yesterday, Today, and Three Years Ago?” – K12 Online Conference

I decided to watch the video the video “What Did You Do in School Yesterday, Today, and Three Years Ago?” by H Songhai because the title really interested me. I remember being a little kid and coming home everyday and being asked the same question..What did you learn at school today? and the answer was always nothing. The thing is that there is always something you learn, but like H Songhai said in his video we just don’t have many ways to document it.

Songhai said that everywhere in the world everyone is using gadgets, like cell phones and MP3 players, but nobody is using them for the right reasons. Nobody is using them to document places they’ve seen, people they’ve met, or things they have learned. To document the things that we are learning every single day we need to start making digital records. For instance if you blog, save links, and bookmark sites your work and research will never go away. H Songhai made a comment that you can teach a class with tons of paper, but where does that paper end up, it usually ends up in the garbage by the end of class, but with a blog the work you have created will be saved forever. Using all of the gadgets everyday student’s now have may even allow some student’s to graduate. By taking photographs of the lessons, or recording lessons, they have information to fall back on and it will never be lost.

At the conclusion of his video he gave off a list of programs on the computer that every teacher should have knowledge of. Here is a few:

• Delicious
• Skype
• Wikis
• Twitter
• Google Notebook
• Google Book Search                                

I think this presentation was able to open up my eyes to using many programs to help student’s succeed. He made a lot of points throughout his presentation, while also backing them up with a lot of facts which added a bunch of reality. I think this is a video everyone should watch this video to see just how important their cell phones, or other gadgets can be in helping them succeed in the future. It was a great video.

Games in Education – K12 Online Conference

The first video I chose to watch was one on games in Education. The video was done by Sylvia Martinez.The description of this video from the site is: It sounds like a simple idea– kids don’t like school… kids like games, so if we sneak some educational content into games, won’t everyone benefit? This session will explore what’s right and wrong about this idea, and how educators can discern the difference between the hype and the promise. I believe that although some of the promise has been oversold, there is much to learn from exploring the educational promise of games in the classroom.

To watch this video for yourself, here is the link: Games in Education by Sylvia Martinez

After watching the video I was aware that there are some games that are really good and great for educating, while others aren’t so good. Sylvia stated a quote from Freud and it said “Play is a child’s work.” In order from young kids to learn there has to be some play involved. Sylvia also stated the fact that 99% of school games don’t actually allow students to learn. I had no idea that that was the fact. Another problem with games is that if you are going to involve a game in your teaching you have to make sure that you have enough time in your unit to use it. Playing a game once will not have any impact, it needs to be continuously used. Another thing she said was that children should make their own games ” They need to control the computer, not the other way around.” This video was very well put together with facts, and images, and she kept you hooked throughout the whole video, not just the first while. After watching this video I know that I am now going to think twice before I bring a game into the classroom as a teacher, they need to be fully examined in order to see what exactly they will teach, and then they can be brought into the classroom.

Google maps

For my google map project I decided to make it of all the different places or things I would one day like to see. It doesn’t have a lot of places yet, I will continue adding onto it, but for now here it is.

View Larger Map

Four pictures that tell a story!!

These are four of the pictuers I chose that have shaped me into the person I am today. The first picture was taken on my school trip to Italy. Being able to go somewhere else in the world allowed me to see how other people have to live their lives and it made my opinions on a lot of things change. The second picture was taken on my grad day when I was getting my diploma. Being able to graduate was on of the best things that has ever happen to me. The third picture is of the university because this place is now allowing my dreams to come true and I couldn’t be happier. Lastly the fourth picture is a picture of all my girlfriends. I couldn’t imagine what my life would have been without all of them along side me all throughout elementary and high school.

Cell phones: Better off with them or better off without them?

In English class last week we ended up getting a little bit off topic and discussed cell phones for almost the whole class. It was a bit related to class because we were talking about persuasion essays, but it was interesting to see how easy it was to venture off of the topic. The first comment brought up during class was that cell phones are not needed and are not important. This one guy in class stated that he has never owned one and he never will. He said that he did not need something that would allow everyone to constantly bother him, but this statement was later reacted to with another classmate pointing out that you can just shut the thing off if you don’t want people to bother you; it’s as simple as that. The class then continued on arguing about the pros and cons of cell phones. We came up with the fact that cell phones are good in case you get in an accident, you get stranded somewhere, you need to keep in touch with family back home, and also if you need quick access to someone or information from the web. The cons that were than stated were that people are starting to spend so much time on their cell phone and they aren’t focusing on the people standing right in front of them. It was interesting to see all of these different views on this piece of technology, and I have to admit that I do have a cell phone and couldn’t imagine my life without it. Now that I am in University, and my boyfriend is working there is limited amounts of time for us to get together or talk, so text messaging has become a huge part of our relationship. However; I think that there are appropriate times to use cell phones and that is not when you are around other people, or you are in class or a lecture. There is no reason your cell phone should end up ringing and disturbing everyone around you. If you have a cell phone it is yours and nobody else wants to have to deal with it. I think we just need to start realizing when to and when not to use them rather than the question of are we better off with them or without them. I would like to hear your views on cell phones? Do you think they are a great piece of technology, or do you think we need to start moving away from them?

Roughrider Mastercard Video

For my ECMP class we had to make a mastercard commercial. For this video I decided to make my video on the Roughriders winning the Grey Cup because I LOVE the Roughriders.  I hope you guys all check out my video.

TEAM: Together Everyone Achieve’s More

This week was my second week of my field experience and while I was sitting in the classroom I noticed the quote in my title on the wall. I think that this is a really power full quote because a lot of children in elementary schools don’t want to get help, they think they can do everything all on their own. Student’s need to start realizing that by asking for help they aren’t giving in, they are becoming a person that believes that getting help is going to help them. Teachers are there in the classroom to teach a bunch of individuals some certain lessons, but they are also there to help everyone as a team. This is why group work is encouraged in school’s. This group work allows student’s to work together and achieve a greatness they may never have been able to acheive on their own.  I know that I wouldn’t have been able to go through all my years of elementary and high school if I didn’t have supporters working with me to help me achieve my goals. I am also realizing that in University it is ok to get help from others and work together to achieve more, just like that quote stated.

Link from my previous post!

The blog I referenced to in my previous post was one that is a few months old and was done by a university student. The name of this post was You Can’t Make Me Drink The Kool Aid Part One.

Blogging, what is that about?

This past week I have been looking at a few peoples blog sites and I came across a site that was created by a university student. This person blogged about how teachers are starting to make their students use blogging sites. This person felt that professors shouldn’t have the ability to mark their student’s on using something unnecessary to learning. He talked about how some people are happy to hear the news about assignments done online because they spend most of their time on the computer anyways, but others are terrified of the fact that this is happening. After reading this blog I felt that it did in a way relate to myself. When I found out I was going to have to blog I was actually a bit terrified of having to blog and take a class online. I was worried I wasn’t going to stay caught up, and I probably would have reconsidered taking the class if I knew what it entailed. Although this is true, now that I am in the class there is no way I would get out of this class. I think a lot of people, along with me, are worried about blogging because they are starting something they aren’t familiar with. I do realize that some people aren’t going to like blogging even after trying it out, but I would recommend to anyone to start blogging.  It’s not as hard as it seems and it can also be really fun. I mean if you are someone that is generally shy; it can be a good way for you to voice your opinions without people knowing exactly who you are. After reading this persons blog I totally agreed with everything he said; however, I feel that before people get really worried about blogging they should at least try it out and yes some teachers are going to require you to do it no questions asked and if you don’t like it you are just going to have to suck it up. You have to look on the bright side, it’s only for a while and who knows by the end maybe you will have a totally different view on blogging, just like I did.  

Learning, What it’s all about

When I think about learning school’s come to mind. Although as I have grown up I realize that learning happens everywhere and it’s not only school based. The most important lessons you are going to learn happen outside of school. Aside from school lessons you have to learn about being a person that is part of society.

I personally am up for learning anytime and anyplace, however; I will admit that learning does frustrate me sometimes. I know a lot of people don’t like sitting and listening to the lectures from teachers all the time, but I personally find it refreshing to know that the person that is teaching me actually knows what they are talking about. I do; however, know that there are some teachers that just ramble on and make no sense sometimes and this does more harm than good. This is why I like the teachers that promote discussions among the class and teachers that relate the lessons to related aspects of life. I had a teacher in high school that had a great way of relating things to certain parts of the class, and when the test came those things were still somewhere in the room, so that helped a lot. This teacher also moved the desks around so that everyone could see everyone and discussions could be easily started.

In order to learn I generally need to be by myself in a very quiet environment. I also like to have a visual object to look at like a text book or examples that will help me understand. I’m also a fan of getting help from a friend, but this only happens when I know the person I’m talking to will not confuse me more than I was already.

When I think about learning outside of the school environment a lot of things come to mind. Learning branches off into things such as learning how to do well at a job you’re working at, and even just how to behave. When you were little you started learning about the behaviors you could have and the ones you couldn’t and you remembered them because you knew they were important. I am also realizing that communication is key. I’m “learning” that you can’t be scared to voice your opinions and ask for help. I was always the shy person and I am now seeing that isn’t going to get me anywhere in life. I have a lot of knowledge to gain from the world around me and I believe that I have a lot of knowledge that I can share with others and I need to tell people about it and not leave it bottled up inside, because that’s not going to help anybody.

My learning network used to be a lot larger when I was in high school because there I felt like I was close with my teachers and they were always there for help and I actually knew the other people in my class and could ask for help. Now that I’m in high school it is a lot different. I don’t know a lot of people that are taking the same classes as me and it’s more difficult to get help. Although this is true I still do try to get help whenever I need it and if that fails I just have to take more time out of my day to try and make sense of what I am learning.