PYthagorean Theorem Podcast

The Abominal Snowman going after my friend Amy while we were on a ski trip in Colorado!  Watch out Amy!!

Visuals in the Classroom

No matter what the subject, visuals should always be a must in the classroom.  When teaching a class full of kids you are bound to have students with a variety of learning styles.  By providing visuals to go along with any type of lecture you are now helping out those students who are visual learners.  Also, having a lesson done with multiple modalities will help all students to learn better and to retain, regardless of their learning styles.  Visuals can also be a way to help draw kids into the lesson.  Let's take math for instance...when teaching pythagorean theorem I might find as many pictures of triangles being used in the real world.  Students could then go through and determine if those triangles are right triangles.  By seeing the concept being used in the real world, students will be more connected to it.

In a blog by Susie Boss, http://www.edutopia.org/visuals-math-curriculum, she discusses the importance of visuals in the classroom.  She also links to a blog by Dan Meyer, http://blog.mrmeyer.com/, who has created an entire blog dedicated to using visuals in the classroom.  Dan's blog in more about giving examples of visuals he has used in his math classroom.  With most of his posts, there are a great deal of comments and converstations about the different examples posted.

TEDxPhilly – Chris Lehmann

I really enjoyed watching this video, and a lot of what he says is similar to what I think about education.  School is not just about learning certain facts, but it really is about preparing for the real world.  You are right...you may never need to solve a 5 step equation...but if we tell our students that the real reason they are learning how to solve a 5 step equation is because it teaches them how to combine and apply concepts then students may be more willing to put forth effort.  I try to be honest with my students, when they ask why I give homework...I tell them I give it to them for two reasons:  1) to reinforce the lesson taught that day.  I strongly believe that you need to practice math in order to fully retain the skills.  2) I tell my students that completing homework assignments teaches you how to organize your time wisely.  It teaches you how to be productive and work with a schedule. 

Being in school shouldn't be boring, but until we can get all teachers, students and administrators on board, it will be difficult to truely advance education beyond the "assembly line" type education system we have now.  There will definitely be times where you have to sit down and have a "boring" class.  Students do need to learn to take notes, students do need to learn to listen to someone and take in information.  But, if we can add in meaningful lessons that connect learning to the real world, then I think we will be more likely to "hook" kids on the education process.

“Digital Learning Series.” : Project Based Learning: Explained.

I watched the video explaining project based learning.  Since math is the subject I teach, I always form my opinions based on this subject.  I really think something like this would be difficult to do on a regular basis in a math classroom.  With math, before you can apply your skills you need to learn all of the foundation skills leading up to a specific topic.  For example...If I were teaching my students about Pythagorean Theorem...I can't just have my kids go out and build a deck.  There are so many concepts that lead up to the pythagorean theorem that need to be taught in the classroom, and all of these skills need to be practiced.  I could see a PBL experience done maybe twice a year where you find something that encorporates a good amount of what you taught up to that point and has you apply those skills/concepts.

While I think this is a very difficult thing to do in math, I think that in classes like history, science, and even english classes this would be a very useful tool for students to use.  Students could research and learn about a specific part of the unit and then come back and teach the rest of their classmates what they have learned. 

Can podcasts enhance/support your classroom instruction? What are the benefits and barriers?

Based on my own learning experiences and my experiences working with the special education population, I don't know how effective podcasts would be when teaching a math concept.  I could see using one that involved both video and audio as a recap of a lesson already taught so that students could go watch it to see step by step how to solve what ever type of problems were being taught in class.  Often times students do not take down accurate notes, so having a podcast available to students would definitely be helpful for them to see the problems being worked through again as they sit down to do their homework.

When teaching at a higher level general education class room or honors classroom for math, I could see using a podcast for a flipped lesson as working for the students.  These students are typically going to be able to take more out of an online lesson and apply later in class or re-teach it to someone else.

Podcast: Mobile Reach #35 – School Is Out, But The Learning Does Not End

This podcast summarized several apps that can be installed on different mobile devices running IOS and android.  Each of the apps discussed promote some type of learning for students to keep students engaged with learning through the summer.  The majority of apps presented were games that are aimed at younger children, while some of the apps were geared more towards traveling that usually occurs during summer vacation.  These apps were not directly related to school curriculum, but does keep children engaged...for example, one app was about birds in North America.  A person can look up different birds, make notes and answers questions.  Other apps involved just basic travel information...such as Google Maps, and Trivot - an app that organizes all of your travel schedules when you book online.  I found it interesting, yet odd that they included these apps in a podcast about summer learning.

I really don't think that I could use too many podcasts for my own professional learning.  I much prefer sitting face to face with someone and being able to have discussions with the presenter or people around me.  This particular podcast was purely auditory and I found myself easily distracted while listening to it. 

The Nuts & Bolts of 21st Century Teaching

When reading this blog post I found myself wishing I had a teacher like this when I was in school sitting in a history class listening to the teacher lecture on who knows what, when and where.  History was not my best subject...maybe because I just didn't study enough...or at all.  Why didn't I study though?  I thought it was boring...I tried to get into the assigned readings out of the text book, but my mind just wandered onto other things, like dinner, swim practice, the cute boy who sat behind me in math class.  Now that information is so easily accessible to everyone, the way we learn no longer has to be pure lecture based or teacher centered. 

I do have some concerns with this though.  While this seemed like an amazing project for the students to complete, it seems that the amount of time they spent on this one topic was much longer than what would have traditionally have been spent.  It seems that school districts and states feel that the way we are going to make our kids smarter is to just increase the amount we have to teach them each year.  Spending a great deal of time on a project like this is great if your curriculum is small enough to allow for it.  My next concern is how do you make sure your students are hitting the targeted state standards?  I know that the teacher can lend a hand in leading kids in the right direction, but finding that balance will definitely be difficult to master.

I really would like to find ways like this to teach my students, and see if it really helps them.  I teach math to students with learning disabilities and processing deficits.  I feel that with math, you need to teach process.  Math has a specific process that must be followed.  If you don't teach the basic methods early on, students will not be successful with higher levels of math.  I have seen teachers try to use a more student centered "discovery" method of teaching in my school.  To be honest, the majority of the students who have come out of this class have struggled the following year with the next level of math.  These students were not taught process.

I believe that we need to teach our students to be more critical and independent thinkers, and this method of teaching is how we can get them there.  It won't be easy, but once students and teachers are used to this style, I think we will see improvements.

Digital Media* New Learners of the 21st Century

Watching this video, the thing that caught my attention the most was the first program - the Digital Youth Network.  This program seemed to open up opportunities to youth that might not ever have had the chance to experience.  I liked how this program opened up their doors to anyone and provided necessary materials for students to use and play with.  One of my biggest concerns with using technology is the ability for all students to have equal access to it.  The school I work in has a good amount of technology that teachers can take advantage of with their students, but there are schools that have so much more, and schools that have so much less. 

Programs like the DYN are a great way to tap into students interests and passions on a subject outside of the typical school day.  It helps to provide youth with a direction for their future and an opportunity to explore different options that they may never have even considered.