Animoto Video I Created

Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity

Ken Robinsons main foucs was the children are not able to be as creative as they one were able to. He said that "creativity is as important as literacy." As being literate is vital, so is creativity according to Ken Robinson. Through his humor and stories, we can learn from Ken that not everyone learns the same way. Some people have to move around to think. Some people can not just sit still in desks with a direct instruction lesson from the teacher, they have to explore and be active in order to learn.

Twitter in the Classroom

There were 3 ways that using Twitter in the classroom appealed to me:

1. I would use Twitter to allow parents to see what is going on in the classroom.

2.I would use Twitter to monitor students learning. My students would be able to tweet to me the stuff that they have learned, the difficulites that they may be having in class or on an assignment, or other information like tips they could share, or resources they have come across. This would replace a journal or a log.

3.I would use Twitter to have a scavenger hunt. I would have students find pictures, websites, or other online documents that relate to the topic that we are learning in class.

Although I am not very familiar with Twitter, I see how it could be a good tool for the classroom!

Inquiry-Based Learning

"Inquiry" - a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge -- seeing information by questioning.
The Key features in an Inquiry-Based lesson are questioning, searching for answers, and generatin knowldege.

Assure Model

I think that the Assure Model is a perfect guide for teacher to use from pre-lesson plan to post-lesson plan. Using this model, the teacher is guaranteed to create a well planned lesson for the students. He/She will also be able to go back and make improvements in their own lessons. I will be sure to use the Assure Model with creating and finishing my lesson plans.

Textbooks of the Future

This article foucuses on the choice between a standard textbook, or using a CD-ROM which has the textbook on it. Today, many students are given the choice of whether they would rather have the textbook on a disc, or have the traditional book. In today's world, I believe that many students would find it appealing to have their book on the computer. My sister who is transfering to a different college, now has the opportunity to get her book through an online program, where everything in the book will be the same, and she can also highlight information, and compare notes with other students, all over the computer. I believe this is a brilliant idea!

Connected Classroom YouTube Video

I must say that I totally agree with this video if the fact that we must prepare students for THEIR world. We must teach students the way in which they learn best, which in todays world usually revolves around some form of technology. Finally, I also agree that in order to connect to your students you must connect them to their world. In other words, we as teachers need to be up to date on the technology that our students are using, in order to make a connection with them.