Sunday, March 24, 2013

Blog Post #9

Reflections on Reflections
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Reflection Nebula

This week we were sent to Mr. Joe McClung's blog posts reflecting on what he has learned during each of his four years of teaching.
1st Year(08-09) 2nd Year(09-10) 3rd Year(10-11) 4th Year(11-12)I decided to review Mr. McClung's first year reflection as well as his fourth year reflection.

In his very first reflection, Mr. McClung's main topics include keeping the focus on making sure he's helping his students and changing a few human tendancies. He points out that he learned to switch his focus from worrying about what his superiors were going to think, to making sure he didn’t lose touch with the important people, his students. It’s the kids that matter. We are only human and therefore cannot be perfect. Mr. McClung learned that if a lesson or activity didn’t go how he originally planned it, don’t fret and try to carry on and make the situation better. Since we are human and make mistakes, there will most likely be “we have a failure to communicate” moments with fellow teachers and administrators. Mr. McClung points out that communication is a key tool for building good relationships with other teachers. He also states that you have to remember reality when it comes to setting goals and expectations for students. It’s great to have faith and want your students to succeed, but by having expectations that are impossible to achieve you may, unintentionally, send the wrong message. Mr. McClung also includes a reflection on not letting technology frighten you. As with all skills, it takes practice. He also writes that we need to listen to our students. You can’t really expect to teach/have an impact on someone’s life without knowing at least a little about them. Lastly he reminds readers that if we expect our students to learn and want to learn more, we as teachers must also continue to learn.
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Though his fourth reflection contains fewer topics, the message is very similar. Again he reflects on keeping the focus on students. He believes that as long as he makes sure that students are having fun and learning, the need to please his fellow teachers shouldn’t get in the way. I think his last point in the fourth reflection is probably one of the most important messages to all teachers; don’t get too stuck in the same routine. This was his third year teaching the same subject and he found that relying too heavily on past lessons made his current ones ineffective.

I feel that every topic Mr. McClung brought up in his reflections is one to remember. I especially like his reminders to keep the focus on your students. I mean what is the point of a teacher who cares more about what his/her peers think about their work over if she’s actually conveying lessons and knowledge to students? We are here to help educate future generations. If that means leaving my technology comfort zone in order to benefit my students I’m all for it. Mr. McClung’s reflection on never ceasing to learn is one I always agreed with. There are new discoveries every minute of the day, and thanks to technology it’s much easier to find these. We live in a time when learning new knowledge can be achieved in a matter of seconds thanks to the internet. So why stop learning? Our knowledge and understanding is changing constantly with time. Therefore, we as teachers will also have to expand our own knowledge and understanding if we wish to be successful.

Project #12



Book Trailer for Jan Brett's Town Mouse Country Mouse

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Blog Post #7

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Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Dr. Randy Pausch was quite an inspiration and for anyone unaware of his story I urge you to take a few minutes to find a few videos and do a little research. He is just one of the many people who were taken too soon. However, he still lives on thanks to his family, friends, students who share his message still.

In Dr. Pausch's Last Lecture he discusses several methods he used while teaching and the lessons he learned while finding these methods. A few that stuck out the most to me included:
-Having fun
-Refusing to give up
-Teaching indirectly
Having fun was, in my opinion, one of the most important points made by Dr. Pausch in his lecture. I think some of the greatest moments in my educational journey have been in classes with teachers/professors who knew how to make class fun and interesting. I hope to create a classroom where learning is fun, not boring or pointless to students. It breaks my heart to listen to my younger family members' answers when I ask what they're learning about in school and they say "nothing." I only wish to be the teacher who's students can't wait to tell their parents what they've learned, and how much fun they have in the process.

In many of our assignments the method of indirect learning keeps reappearing. Dr. Pausch gives an example of how playing football, or any team sport, is "head fake" learning. Players are learning the sport, sure, but they're also learning other lessons that they may not be aware of. I think this is a great method that all teachers should practice. Indirect learning pairs well with having fun. We learn from experience and by using indirect learning and fun students can learn multiple skills and lessons and not even be aware. It's great to know you'd not only be teaching them whatever subject you teach, but also skills they can use the rest of their lives.

Dr. Pausch speaks about many of the brick walls he faced while trying to fulfill his dreams. Life's brick walls are only there to keep out the people who don't truly want whatever is behind them. Dr. Pausch's message of never giving up is one that I will definitely be using in my classroom: for myself and my students. There will definitely be plenty of days when I want to walk away from my students. There will surely be days when the world seems to be against me. But I must remember that these obstacles are simply lifes brick walls and it's just making sure I'm giving 100%. I believe the never give up attitude e Dr. Pausch conveyed should be shared with more students. Too many students simply stop in their educational journey because life places a few brick walls in front of them. These students need teachers who are willing to help them find the right tools to knock those walls down, brick by brick.

Dr. Pausch's Last Lecture is filled with so much love and wisdom. It's impossible to watch and not be moved. It should continue to be shared so that he can continue to be an inspiration for future generations.

PLN Progress Report

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I'm not sure it's been clear until now, but I've been creating a Personal Learning Network my entire life. However, I've only just begun to utilize all the connections and tools since taking this class. I've had a Twitter and Pinterest account for several years now, but have just started using them to expand my PLN on a more professional level. After adding many of the teachers introduced in EDM 310 materials to my newsfeed, I've already found several more educators to add just from their retweets. It's definitely a work in progress, but my PLN is growing and will continue to grow.

C4K Summary For February

C4K #1
http://wpteach.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/comment.pngMy first C4K was for Bethany's blog for her IB world history class. Her post was about the historical fiction book she chose for a project. She chose Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer. She wrote a brief description about the book and she hoped to get an insight into the life of a young Princess Elizabeth. Here is the comment I left for her: "Hey Bethany, My name is Paula McKinney and I’m a student from EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. The Tudors are, in my opinion, one of the most interesting families in European history. Historical fiction is a great way to learn about events and people throughout history. However, because it is fictional be sure to do other research in order to see where the facts end and the author’s creativity takes over. Overall, great job! I’m very interested in seeing what you learn. Sincerely, Paula McKinney."

C4K #2
My second C4K was for Carlos. Carlos is a student in Mr. Sapia's class and hates homework. He makes the point in his post that homework can be frustrating if you have problems and have no way to ask a teacher for help. Here is the comment I left- "Hi Carlos, I’m a college student at the University of South Alabama studying to become a science teacher. Homework is usually given to help students to further their understanding of what they’ve learned in class that day. I would have to agree with you that it can be frustrating to be stuck on a problem and have no way to ask your teacher for assistance. However, we are very lucky to live in a world where technology is so available to us. Have you ever tried to email a teacher with a question about a homework assignment? It’s much easier to get in touch with teachers after school thanks to technology. But even if you’re unable to contact them, I’m certain that they will understand if you ask for help the next time you are in class. Great post!"

C4K #3
For my third C4K assignment I commented on Jennifer's blog. Jennifer is a 6 year student in Auckland, New Zealand. I commented on her story about Waitangi Day, a holiday in New Zealand celebrated much like our Fourth of July. "Hi Jennifer, my name is Paula and I'm a college student in the United States. I really like the colorful pictures throughout your blog. I'm not sure what Waitangi Day is but it sounds exciting. Continue the great work!"

C4K #4
My last C4K assignment was for Tammy Jo. She is a 10th grader in Mrs. Martin's English class. The blog post I commented on was about self expression. In it Tammy wrote about how she expresses her feelings through singing. I commented saying:"Hi Tammy Jo. I'm a  student at South Alabama and was assigned your blog to comment on. I too prefer to use music to express my feelings. Music has always helped me express how I'm feeling when my own voice and words seemed to fail. I played the clarinet for 10 years and I'm still amazed at the affect music has on my emotions. Why do you think music has so much influence on our emotions? Great post and keep up the good work."

Project #8