Week Two: Blog Question

Why is it important to include novelty in a lesson.

The world has become completely different in the past fifteen years. Teachers may feel students bore easily or have shorter attention spans. But children are growing up in different environments. Family units are unstable. Kids are surrounded by media. Their sleep deprivated. They get information from other sources and not just school. They spend a lot of time indoors. Their diet isn't the best either. I grew up kind-of sheltered. My parents had some problems but not severe. I was always athletically active and ate well with a low sodium diet. I only learned about drugs in health class and not the streets. These concepts have enhanced the use of novelty.

It is important to include novelty into your lesson for students to really remember information. New and unique techniques will help students actually know and recall information rather than memorize it. If you create a fun way to educate, students will retain information not because they need to but because it was a fun activity in the classroom.
Technology is probably the easiest way to educate students in an easy environment. As a high school student, I would have loved using technology in the classroom because its a new and unique way. Being unique allows students to remember it easier in the future.
We can use novelty by using humor, movement, multi-sensory instruction, quiz games and music. It's important to incorporate fun and these ways for students to react to material and remember it as well.


PS. My mom works as an assistant in the classroom in lower level classes. She's there to motivate students to do their work. At first, my mother thought students were lazy, as did the teachers. The teachers would ask why isn't your homework done, why aren't you getting sleep, what's holding you back? It wasn't until a student came up to my mother to vent. He doesn't do homework because he does not have a place to do it. He isn't getting enough sleep because he has no bed. What's holding him back is he's actually homeless. He doesn't have a desk or table to do homework. He goes to school to actually get some food and stay warm and seek comfort. He doesn't do well because he lacks everything I take advantage of and not many teachers know that kids have problems that are completely unrelated to schooling. My mother has heard things from their parents abuse them, their parents smoke weed or do much worst, and they fight and yell all the time. One kid whos parent was going through a heavy divorce came into school to talk about her son's grades. She responded, "I don't have time for my son. I have other problems like my divorce. My son can take care of himself," while he was in the room. Sometimes I think teachers don't know half the problem.

Week One: Blog Question

How do you define your intelligence? Do think your attitude towards your own learning would have changed, if you had taken part in the Stanford Universty experiment when you were in middle school? Explain Why?

The definition for intelligence is different for almost everyone. I believe intelligence is a result of learning something whether good or bad. It's a mental capability which involved the ability to comprehend, make decisions, learn, and form personality traits. You can apply intelligence but I believe it's not necessary.
I don't think my attitudes toward my learning would have changed if I had taken part in the Stanford University experiment in middle school. In middle school and high school, I had a strong attitude towards my academics. I think this may have been from the pressures made by my parents who wanted the best for me. I also needed amazing grades to stay in athletics. I thought of myself intelligent. If my grades were not above average, I would make myself work harder and focus more in that subject. I was self-determined. Sometimes, I don't think it's student's mindsets but actually just laziness. Students don't try hard enough in academics and they make excuses saying their too dumb. Over time, they believe they are dumb and therefore create the mindset of stupidity when really the problem is laziness.

Week Five: Reading Reflection

Listen to some examples of student created podcast from http://www.epnweb.org/ and reflect on the learning that took place to create it. Post to your blog and comment on two of you peer's.


I thought it was absolutely amazing how much information a fourth grade class could learn about Jamestown and with that information create their own stories of history that are fairly realistic. The technology didn't distract them but made them even more intrested and involved in their historical subjects and research. From the research they gathered on their ipods, tape recorders, notebooks, camcorders ,and cameras the teacher gave them a broad variety of podcast projects they can incorporate what they learned. I feel that since the teacher gave them so much liberty, students wanted to do their projects even more. It was flexible and was interesting making the Jamestown project into a talk show. Each project is then collaborated into an even bigger podcast and then put onto a website where anyone can download the podcast. The different voices gives more character to the project and people pay more attention to the different voices and characters than a lecture. Its always important to keep the attention of your classroom. If a lecture bores them, then podcasts are perfect for them to work with.
Later on, I listened to the podcast and the kids seemed absolutely entertained and ethusiastic talking and communicating with each other. They seemed to have different theories on Jamestown and they each discussed their own ideas and questioned each other to further explain their reasoning. It was extremely educational. The kids definately had fun with it.

Week Five: WBQ

Think about the last time you created something original (a song, video, literature, idea, etc.) Talk about the process and what you learned from it.


I feel original is a brand new idea and not in the sense of "Oh I wrote a paper," because really your teacher came up with the idea, you are just elaborating on that subject. I feel original is a totally unique idea. When you come across it, your like "Oh I wish i thought of that!"
The last time I created something original was decorating my bedroom wall. I hate staring at the same white walls dotted with little pushpin holes. I stare at my walls alot because they slant and overhang my desk and bed. So, to cover up the bland and trashed walls, I bought scrapbook paper from Michaels in an asortment of colors and began to tape them around the room as if it was wallpaper.
The first thing I discovered was that the tape wasn't strong enough to hold my scrapbook design. I had to make a second trip, this time to Staples, to buy heavy duty scrapbooking/poster tape. It seemed to do the job, but I later realized some papers fall so they need more tape then others.
I then used stickers to decorate where papers met. This not only holds them together but it made my mural look better. I used dots, flowers, and other unique stickers to scatter around the paper. After that I looked up black and white pictures from the internet. I went for an old hollywood theme which was inspired by my roommate's Marilyn Monroe painting. Currently some are falling because the tape again isn't strong enough so I bought glue sticks to glue them down but haven't got around to it.
Another difficulty i had to encounter was my darn corner. My corner seems to have a wall to itself thats so skinny but big enough that you can't use a scrapbook paper to cover it. I figure I may cut the scrapbook paper by using a ruler and scissors to cut excess paper that covers over the corner. I then will outline the edges with ribbon because some of the paper is not even or my wall is uneven.
Not only was I extremely proud of my work but my friends found it unique and wished they had that on their wall. It was extremely tiresome but well worth it. I now come home to a vibrant wall rather than a dull white wash.

Week Four: Reading Reflection

This week I would like you to explore for two hours and learn about one new Web 2.0 tool. You may want look at the the top rated sites on SEOmoz's Web 2.0 Awards , Web 2.0 Magazine: Top 100 Web 2.0 Sites, The Best Web 2.0 Sites - Computer Shopper. Sign-up, try it out, write a review (include how you would use it in a classroom), and post it on your blog and add it to the websites on the website page of our wiki.


Pandora is a web-based music streaming service. It works for both macs and pc's. It's an amazing tool to discover new music by typing in bands you already like. Not to mention, it costs NOTHING!! So it's free music radio. There's a children's privacy too which is nice for parents. Personal information is completely secure. I signed up when I was younger, and I never heard from them again until this assignment.
As far as I know you cannot download the songs; but I'm sure you can use limewire for that. I didn't like how you can't skip back to the previous track. Theres tons of advertisements too! When I typed in a band too, there would be a song that may meet the criteria of the band that i would never think of and couldnt stand!
I'm not sure how this tool can be used for education purposes. It's more for entertainment so perhaps just to listen to during classes. If were studying a time period which includes Beethoven and were trying to find other music similiar this might be helpful. Perhaps there might even be music in present day that is alot like Beethovens.
Overall, Pandora is nice for occasional listening when you're sick of all your stuff and trying to explore newer music. However, I found it sometimes incovenient and frustrating when I found a song and couldn't listen to it again.


http://www.pandora.com/

Week Four: WBQ

How is the course going so far? What has been most valuable? What are your concerns or fears? What would you like to see more (or less) of?


This has to be my favorite class because I find it extremely useful for my future. We have learned things I could never figure out on my own such as blogs, podcasts, and other 2.00 tools which I can incorporate into my lesson plans. I feel as if now I truly have the tools and knowledge to teach students, reach out to them, tend to their every needs and disabilities, and have fun at the same time with them.
What has been the most valuable in this class is setting up and tagging all these websites that will help my students with research, homework, and classroom activities. The blog has been extremely helpful and the networking so that everyone can see each other’s ideas and no one is left out. It’s important to me that everyone works together and branches off each other’s idea. The blogs are a way of classroom communication and it’s extremely easy to see what my students are thinking, what their struggling with, and what else their looking for.
Another thing I found extremely useful is the websites where you can find primary source documents. My favorite subject is history so having that information to help me not only with my classes but just for fun is very handy. My high school teachers used several primary source documents and they have influenced my lesson ideas so having these websites will gather information for my students to read and analyze. I also love the documentaries for students. I sometimes find myself watching them because their so interesting and I wish my teacher assigned homework like this instead of always reading and writing.
My concerns for this class is the time we may have to put in for our projects. I’m not sure how lengthy this project will be or other details such as in-class time, topics, finding information, ect. I’m still not as good as I want to be using sites that we have worked on. Another concern is the microphone we may need for podcasting. I have a macbook so I have a built in microphone but I don’t know how well it works or how to plug it in. Another fear is how am I going to be able to incorporate everything I learned into lesson plans for high school students. By the time I’m teaching will everyone have the technology to follow with my projects?
I would like to see more websites with tools to use as research such as videos, primary sources, and other formats to help teach history. I’m not sure what else I should look for cause I would never think of any of these tools to use for teaching. This has been a pleasant shock and I’ve learned so much from this class that I’m sure I will be using in my classroom in the future.

Week Three: Reading Reflection

How might you use the letters in a humanities class? What has your experience with primary sources been? Can students be historians?


By using the letters in humanities class you can teach your students the evolution of culture and people's minds and the way they thought an developed over time. They’re interacting with people from foreign nations. They’re bound to learn something. You can learn all about their society, their government, their way of life, culture, religion, perspectives, language, and the way they socialize. These differences can broaden their views on social and economic issues. Not only that but this generation can bridge peace between nations in the future.
My experience with primary sources is definitely better than most. I took AP European and American History, which deals with Document Based Questions (DBQs). These timed essays must incorporate not only background information but primary source documents that are included in a packet. My history teachers also pulled out background information from excerpts of books, the Internet, or their family history and personal experiences as well. Primary sources got my head out of all the boring factual textbooks and helped me learn a lot more about that time period. I also retained more information using primary source documents during tests because it was like reading a diary or a letter and not just a paragraph of historical knowledge.
Students can indeed be historians. By using these primary source documents, students can get excited. They’re rediscovering history. It’s like reading someone else’s thoughts and getting in the minds of important historical figurines that were living in that time period. They can learn what was acceptable, their customs, and the way they lived, worked, and socialized.