Chapter 10: Going Beyond the Classroom

1. "Making connections with the world outside school addresses all these issues, and at the same time it usually helps the students appreciate and value school more than they did before." (page 175)

When teachers make connections to the student's personal world and the world outside school will help students learn things differently and make everything more personal to them.

2. I always liked it when a teacher would relate happening personally in my life or something that was happening in the school because it allowed me to visualize the lesson more clearly. Students sometimes become more interested in subjects if it can be related to themselves because it makes the lesson personal to them and they can see how the subject can be used in real life. This is a problem that students and teacher struggle with all the time.

Chapter 9: When Things Go Wrong

1. "Teenagers want to succeed in school, both socially and academically." (page 162)

Adolescent students want to do well in both academics and social standings.

2. Even though students may act like they do not want to be in school it is actually the only place they have to be socially successful with children their age constantly. Most teenagers view social success as high as academic success. If a teacher keeps the students involved in both areas the students are likely to succeed in school and stay in school

Chapter 8: Teaching Students Who Are Sill Learning English

1. "Finding out as much as possible about student' lives, both past and present, helps a teacher make important connections between things kids already know and what they will be learning in class. It's easier to remember new words and way if the build on or compare to experiences students already have." (page 147)

A teacher should learn as much as possible about a student that is knew to the school, country, English language or all of the above. This way the teacher can make the appropriate accommodations for them.

2. If a student is coming to the classroom with English as a second language the teacher needs to make the appropriate accommodations for that student. It isn't the student's fault that they do not know the English language as well as we might so the teacher should not punish the student for this fact. Maybe the teacher could set up times during a study hall or after school to help the student learn the language better and to help them with their homework. Showing that the teacher cares about the student's education and wants to help them learn will motivate the student to succeed.

Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material

1.) "If the teacher supports teenagers in proving their strength , ability, and independence through demanding intellectual action, kids can experience the adventure and excitement of an expedition into new territory." (page 123)

If a teacher supports students in their learning then the students are more likely to succeed.

2.) When a teacher starts off the year they should make their classroom a supportive environment. In doing this the students feel that if it takes them more time to learn complicated material it's okay. More complicated material definitely requires more time to comprehend and understand. I always hated it when teachers didn't provide an adamant amount of comprehension time for students because it made me feel pressured and flustered, thus resulting in poor comprehension and poor projects.

Chapter 6: Motivation and Boredom

1. "Vacations, school dances and other exciting events, or even great weather also reduce students' motivation to pay attention to homework, projects, tests, and other schoolwork." (page 110)

When exciting extra curricular activities or circumstances beyond the teacher's control happen students are going to be distracted.

2. When things like this happen the teacher should try and turn whatever is going on into a teachable moment. Try and include it into your lesson. Doing this will allow the students to concentrate on the subject for a brief while and get "their fix". This way the students will be able to get the jitters about the event out and the lesson will be able to go on with the lesson without many interruptions about the circumstance.

Chapter 5: Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Group

1. "Kids learn more when teachers ask open-ended questions, then allow time for students to think something through together, gather evidence, and challenge the views of others. They find it harder but more interesting, and it gives more room for them to contribute at different levels." (page 91)

Instead of asking questions that require a short basically non-descriptive answer, ask a question that allows the student to reflect on the question and come up with an answer. When teachers allow students to think the students come up with deep answers to the questions.

2. This method might be hard in a math class but this can be done easily in pretty much any other subject. It allows the students to reflect on their personal beliefs and come up with an answer. I personally felt more compelled to answer a question if I had some time to think about it, rather than quick fire. With quick fire questions I didn't want to feel stupid for saying the wrong thing so I didn't and still don't answer questions a lot in class.

Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Sccess

1. "Pressure from family can take various forms. Many students get more pressure to help out with child care, housework, or earnings than they do to excel at school. Others feel that their family's pressure has more to do with a parent's agenda than with the student's best interests." (page 76)

With some students home lives school is not considered that number one priority. Some parents may want their children to help take care of family matters before attempting to excel at school. Some parents might also have a set agenda for their kids without thinking or asking what the student wants.

2. All too often homework is considered to be a bottom task on a priority list. Some homes need the extra help of their children to help out with family matters. One thing that really erks me is the parents that set their kids goals without confronting the student. I had a friend in high school who was not allowed to do what they really wanted to do because their parents would not allow it. They ended up doing the activity anyways and lying to their parents about it. It think it's really sad that some students need to keep things from their family because the family is missing out on viewing or participating in what makes that student truly happy.

Chapter 3: Classroom Behavior

1."If student's are really learning, they will be asking questions all the time -- in a manner that can sometimes annoy the teacher. Remember to treat questioning as a legitimate form of respectful speech, not a classroom misdemeanor." (page 40)

Some teachers get very annoyed with a lot of questions from the students, however, when a student is truly learning there will be questions asked. If the teacher treats these questions in a positive manner instead of a negative, learning will happen.

2. This part I think is really important because it makes it known that questions are okay. More times than none I had a teacher that discouraged questions, thinking that if you truly understood the material you wouldn't need to ask questions. However, I think that if a question requires some thought or an in depth conversation then maybe the teacher could offer to stay after school and invite anyone who would like the answer to the question to come in after school.

Team Presentations

Our last group project was all about different technologies and how you can use them in a type II way.

This is the link to our class wiki and all of the presentations are really rich and useful. I really enjoyed the GoogleEarth one. I never knew you could do so much with it.


Team Presentation Wiki Page

Web 2.0 Creator

I picked Wes Fryer -- The Man Who Moves at the Speed of Creativity.

I chose Wes because I think a lot of his ideas are really neat. He is trying to connect the world of education through technology. He uses all sorts of video conferencing techniques to making his own podcast about his views on education and technology. Some of his posts are just recordings of other events, which is using technology in a very type one way. But sometimes he uses his ideas to explain things to interested teachers in a type II way. When he can in his blog posts he uses pictures of himself using the technology. This is find really helpful because not only is he tapping into the linguistic intelligence but he is also tapping into the visual intelligence. I think that is really neat. I would definitely say his specialty is teaching others about using technology in the classroom, especially digital conferencing.

My Contributions to the WebQuest Wikis

Contribution #1:

On this WebQuest site I edited the roles section. The person before had just listed the two obvious roles in the "press conference" and called it good. I went more in depth and explained how each student could be a part of both roles. That way not one student is working hard on one section then another.


Contribution #2:

Again on this site I edited the role section. This site didn't have anything under the role section. I felt that it needed something. This WebQuest idea I think would be good in a history or English class because after going over unit or novel students could create or apply for an award or scholarship. It would make them think about the different aspects that are needed in a person or idea that would make it worthy of world wide recognition.

Contribution #3:

I added the Four Houses of Hogwarts WebQuest. This webquest would probably be used more in the middle school level because it isn't an "intense" project but it gets the students to think about who they think they are and what they might believe in. It could be a good introductory lesson to a very soul searching topic like the Holocaust.

How to Help Someone Use a Computer

I always have to remember the small fact that "if it's not obvious to them, it's not obvious." When I explain computer things to my mom I am always getting frustrated because it seems very obvious to me what I am supposed to do and type but I have to remember that she doesn't have the same knowledge I do.

Another thing I do with my mom is take the keyboard or the mouse. It's an awful habit and I know I get angry when people do that to me. I have to remember that with computers and technology it takes doing the task not just merely reading the tutorial.

When my group is using the smartboard I have to remember to not hog the smartboard and just let the class do their thing.



Article: Agre, Phil. "How to help someone use a computer." . . . 19 September, 2008. .

Type I and Type II Technologies

The main difference between Type I and Type II is the ability to "hold their own". Type I technologies are there to assist the teacher and Type II are there to help teach the lesson.

Type I: White board, most posters, and powerpoint.
*Powerpoint: I put powerpoint here because if you do a powerpoint in the correct way the slides should not carry enough information for the student to learn all they need to know. Powerpoint slides are meant to be a guide to assist with the lesson.

Type II: Webquests, Wikispaces, iMovie




Maddux, Cleborne, D. LaMont Johnson. "Type II Applications of Technology in Education: New and Better Ways of Teaching and Learning." Computers in the School (2005): 5.

Copyright and Fair Use SR

Question 1: All teachers should definitely back up their work and important software. However, it is usually the job of the system's technology coordinator to have backups of the software on hand. But sometimes, teacher's do discover software they want to use but it isn't available through the school.

Question 3: The teacher should never have bought the five copies of the software without checking to see if the 4.0 software was backwards compatible. Plus, if the teacher was not willing to purchase 4.0 for all machines they should not but any at all. I think as far as technology goes in a classroom or computer lab in education it should be an all or nothing policy.

Question 6: I agree that the web is out there to be "mined" of it's resources. However, if the images/information is being regurgitated into another project it should be properly cited. If not, I think that is plagiarism.

Question 9: I did not even know what mp3.com was. I went to the site and checked it out. It looked legitimate enough but I could not find enough credentials to convince me. I just saw the while Napster scandal flash before me when I thought about that site.

Question 10: I honestly do not believe that most teachers adhere to the do not repost rule. Usually if someone finds something useful and has their own class wiki for example, most people will repost it. Although I hope to believe that most people would cite their source.

Question 12: I do not agree with the author. I do not think it is okay to use a taped show from t.v. for a student project. I would just feel guilty. I would do everything I could legally to help them.

Question 14: I was, and still am, confused as to why this is not permissible. If back-to-school night is not an admission event I do not see why showing Disney movies is not permissible. I might do some extra research on this question because I know it is done all the time across the nation.

Question 17: I agree, I think that if a sign or company has a public place in town then you should be able to post it online or in a project. If you think about it, it is free advertising for the company. I would not complain if I was the company. Besides, it allows to students to go out in the community and learn a little bit more about it that they might not have known before.

My MEL Experiences

Step 4. Part 2.

Student/Teacher Relationship:

My favorite teacher all throughout my public school days was Ms. St. Louis (now Mrs. Field). She was always willing to stay after school and help out students that needed extra help. She was also a teacher that had many options for one project/assignment. She understood that everyone learns differently and so they are going to explain their knowledge in different ways. She really inspired me to be a teacher and help students learn.

Avoid Rewards:

I had a teacher that used to give out little candies or school supplies (erasers, pencils, etc.) if you did a good job in class or if you participated. I do not see the harm in this kind of reward. It is encouraging students to learn. However, I do see the harm in handing out candy or points to students to reward them for stopping inappropriate behavior. If they are behaving badly the behavior should be dealt with in a productive manner instead of bribery.

Connections:

I was talking to my mother (a sixth grade teacher) about this subject and she told me that she often on Mondays asks students if they want to quickly share what they did that weekend. From their weekends my mother tries to connect the day's lesson to the story. If she cannot she tries to remember small details about a student that she can connect. Connecting the lesson to a student's life is a helpful tool because it allows them to personally connect to the lesson and it will help them remember the information on an exam or project. I think this is a great idea, especially with younger students. I remember my teachers pulling out little details all the time and relating it to class. These details would include: parent's professions, number of siblings, sports played, and pets.

Autonomy:

Letting students decide which way class is going to go is a good idea because it lets the students feel like they are semi in control of what is going on. It also holds the the students accountable for the work or participation that is done after the decision. The teacher can point out the the class made the decision for the certain topic or field trip so they need to stick with it. When my sophomore English class decided to read a certain novel over another and ended up not liking the book, the teacher pointed out that we chose to read it so it was the book that we were going to read. It really made us appreciate our decisions more and work harder.

Helping Students Succeed:

When a student is typically a very good student and is not a problem child in class, and they turn in a horrible assignment, I think it is the teacher's responsibility to find out why that student might have done poorly on the assignment. Maybe they were overly crammed with work that weekend, a family member just passed away, or they just do not understand the material. I remember I had a teacher once that when I had an assignment turned back that received a D+, refused to reteach me the material in a way I might understand it. This pattern continued with myself trying to reteach all the material from class and doing poorly on the assignments. My teacher called a meeting with my parents and claimed that I was not trying in class and was not participating. The problem was that they were moving so fast in class I could not keep up. It is the teacher's responsibility to make sure their students succeed. It is the student's right to learn.

MEL Websuest: Steps 1-3

1. Yes. The different learning styles and the information seem very plausible. I've had two different teachers that tried to incorporate as many learning styles as possible into their classrooms. These are the two teachers that I loved the most and learned the most from. These are also the two teachers who led me to become a teacher. They were the teachers that seemed like they cared the most about their job and wanted to be there for the students.

2/3. done: saved as a .pdf on my laptop





4. I really enjoyed learning about the different learning styles in the ways that they are meant to be taught. I thought that made a lot of sense to make a website that taught in the way that the styles are supposed to be taught.

5. I chose visual as my learning style. I chose this because that is how I learn to best and I would like to learn a little bit more on why it works best for me.


Step Two:
1/2. I chose iMovie. I really enjoy working with it and want to learn more about it. When I researched Comic Life it seemed very complicated to me. I don't foresee myself using Comic Life in my classroom. I might however use it as an option for a student to use for a project.


Step 3:
1. I chose Visual/iMovie as my number one. I completed my entry form and handed it in to Dr. Theresa on Friday, September 5, 2008. I was assigned to work with Kayla on my MEL project.

Chapter 1: Knowing Students Well

"Take ten minutes out of class to ask students to write down what they do in a typical day, from the time they wake up to when they go to sleep." pg. 12

1. Getting a brief schedule from your students is another good way to get to know them on a more human level. You can see how busy they are as an athlete or club goer, or if they just sit in front of the t.v. and play video games all day.

2. I liked this idea of a schedule because if a student came to me and said that they did not have time to do their homework because of soccer practice, I could pull out their schedule and check if they really are on the soccer team. I would also not do the schedule first thing in the school year. I would wait a couple weeks and wait for everything to settle down so the students can figure out which clubs they are going to be in and what not.

Chapter 2: Respect, Liking, Trust, and Fairness

1. "The teacher should fill out the same questionnaire and share his answers with the students. Let them laugh at him a little. There's nothing like laughing at a teacher." ~Lauraliz pg. 20

In this section of the chapter the students were explaining the questionnaire that the teacher had given them at the beginning of the year. The questionnaire was a tool for the teacher to sort of break the ice with the students, and also to get to know them as people. Lauraliz suggests that the teacher should fill one out too so that the students can get to know the teacher as well. Make the learning track two ways, not just one.


2. This passage jumped out at me because I had never thought of having myself fill out the questionnaire. Nor, have I ever had a teacher do it themselves. I think Lauraliz brings up a good point that teachers are people too and their students should get to know them as well. I think it would make the students and the teacher feel more comfortable with each other in the classroom.