In this video, Mr. Brian Crosby from Agnes Risley Elementary School taught me about raising student involvement to increase knowledge on subject matter. In his classroom, students utilize computers, digital cameras, and many other technologies. The students even had their own blogs that allow them to think out of the box. In a class assignment about balloons, he found a way to incorporate many approaches to subject matter into his lesson plan. The students were very involved throughout the entire research assignment about balloons. They even were able to light tissue paper on fire and watch it float! I have not even done anything that cool in my elementary years. Mr. Crosby also explains how the students are very excited from blogging. They enjoy seeing how people take the time to read their blogs. The students even knew how to embed codes, cut and paste pictures, and use technology like Skype to their advantage. One of my favorite things from the video was the idea of asking students to list their high hopes for things in the lives, their communities, and in the world. Overall, I feel that this video taught me to encourage students to use technology to their advantage and try to make their "high hopes" come true.
Blended Learning Cycle
In the video Blended Learning Cycle, Paul Anderson talks about his teaching style. He introduces the Blended Learning Cycle by explaining that it is a blend of Mobile, Classroom, and Online. One one of thinking of how to incorporate these ideas together is through the 5 E's: Evaluate, Explore, Engage, Expand and Explain. Another one of the main points that Anderson focuses on is the acronym "Quivers": QUestion, Investigation, Videos, Elaboration, Review, and Summary quiz. I really like this concept because it seems very thorough and seems to give students a better understanding. One thing that Mr. Anderson taught me is that I should always remember that each individual student is different and they all learn at a different pace.
Headlines (Making Thinking Visible)
In Mark Church's video Headlines from the book Making Thinking Visible, he suggests that we ask students their opinion about a topic that they don't know much about then once you have finished the lesson, ask them again what they think and see how their ideas have changed. The headlines that students make with their ideas allows them to also see how their ideas have changed as well. From this video I learned how vulnerable the minds of students are. I knew that children's minds are very delicate prior to watching this video; however, this video made me more aware. It is important that we are filling the brains of our students with positivity, encouragement, and accuracy which they can build from.
Super Digital Citizen
In this video, I learned about teaching digital citizenship. This basically means being able to go to a website and knowing what kind of information it offers or requires. The video was an in depth discussion of how to use the internet safely. For an assignment, the students were asked to create a comic of a superhero that saves the day and helps with keeping citizens safe on the internet.
Project Based Learning
Project Based Learning was very similar to many videos we have watched in the past about PBL. This just added to our understanding of the difficulties that come with learning how to incorporate PBL into your classroom. This is especially true for veteran teachers who have become adjusted to their teaching styles without it and are now trying to change all of their tactics. I do however think it's rather important to try and include different subjects under a single project. This way the students isn't just learning a subject but instead how it ties into to everything else as well.
Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program
Roosevelt's Elementary PBL was mostly about a small community and the group of kids in this Elementary school and just how project based learning affects them as a whole and individually. It focused less on the actual process of PBL but the outcome of it. Students are becoming more engaged in their community and in their classroom. They're becoming excited about learning and proud to show what they have learned to their community. The best part about PBL in my opinion is how it relates to real world problems. It gets kids active in places like their community, the classroom, and sometimes they even have an affect on students in other parts of the world. Students are taught how to work collaborate together, how to speak in public, and how to research a subject to learn about it on their own. Project Based Learning gives the students self motivation and a sense of ownership in their learning environment. It is empowering for them and I believe this is the best environment we can provide for our students.
Wonderful post!
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