Blog Fourteen

When I first read the instructions for Blog 14, my mind went in a million directions. I can write on this, or I can write on that! With each idea that can to mind, I hit a dead end.. So I quickly realized I would have to choose the one thing I was most passionate about and write on it. My specialty is elementary education, but my main focus is sixth grade and the only thing I want to share with my students is creativity. Though you cannot teach one to be creative, you can inspire them to be. I want to be that inspiration for my students, each year.

Instructions: Watch and summarize the video How to be Creative and tell of at least one way you will express creativity in your classroom.

Summary: This video starts out with a very good point, people aren't born creative, its a process. 1. How do I do this? Most people fail with this step because they are unsure of where the beginning point is. We must be willing to "chase down ideas" and we must also understand that not all of our ideas are going to lead somewhere. That is probably the biggest setback of being creative, too many people are scared to make mistakes, so they get too comfortable where they are.

2. Develop your own ideas and tools People: now days are just lazy! No one wants to put any effort forth. No one wants to come just with new ideas, so they find others. Most of the time, other people's ideas aren't what is best for you, only YOU know what that is. 3. Do the work: Understanding how to work is the key to sharing your creativity. 4. Keep at it: You are going to fail, you are going to fail many times, but it is when you fail and get back up to try again that your creativity is shown!

Creativity: Creativity is the selling point now days. We have too many individuals walking around with diplomas in hand, so the question is "How do you get the first look with an interview for a new job?" or "How do you get noticed about all the others?" By being creative, by going over the top to achieve your goals, but we have too many that are nervous about doing so because they are scared of making mistakes. In my classroom, it is going to be taught that making mistakes is okay. A child cannot be unwilling to move into a space in which they are unsure of because they are afraid of messing up, because they will stay this way their whole life. One of the many reasons I want to teach sixth grade is because those students are in a crucial era of learning, and with the right guidance they can be pointed in the right direction.

I believe that every student has the ability to be creative but it is forced out of them by others. They are expected to be perfect, or they are too filled with the ideas of others that they don't have room for their own. There will be projects in my classroom that allow for each student to think for his/her self. There will be questions asked in my classroom that force my students to think outside the box. I want each of my students to reach their full potential and achieve goals they have set for themselves and they only way for them to do this is by being creative.

Project 12 Part B

For Project 12 Part B, our group taught a lesson on money for second grade. Using features offered by the smartboard, such as object animation and infinite cloner, we were able to present a lesson plan that would allow our students to meet the core standard and also keep their attention through this technological feature! A smartboard is something I plan to use in my own classroom, along with many other areas of technology I have learned about in EDM.

Instead of meeting face to face, our group prepared for this project by sharing links and comments on a shared Google Docs. Google Docs is a freeware web-based office suite offered by Google within its Google Drive service. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating with other users live.

Final PLN Report

Looking back over this past semester, I am completely amazing at all of the technology I have learned to use, some of which I had no idea of before EDM. These past few months have no doubt been an uphill climb, but here I am finally at the top of this mountain! At the beginning of the semester, when I thought of my PLN I mainly referred to websites that have aided my learning, but I have come to realize that teachers and past students in EDM 310 have been my biggest aid! Each teacher that was assigned to me, through C4T, was very helpful, but I would have to say that Mr. Rice's blog, Wisdom Begins with Wonder has helped me an unbelievable amount! From each of his post, I take something valuable! It is through Blogger that I was able to connect with these teachers/students so I would have to say that it was been the most valuable website in my PLN. I was also introduced to websites such as icurio and Discovery ED that will be of great value to my future students. My PLN has been managed through Symbaloo, which is an awesome website that allows quick access to anything I find useful! Overall, I would definitely say my PLN has increased by a lot since the beginning of the semester. A round of applause to EDM and Dr. Strange for introducing me to these websites/teachers and allowing my to expand my PLN. Even though this has been a hard semester, and each week has been full of work, at the end I am nothing but thankful for every bit of what I have learned and I know my future students will be just as grateful for having a teacher that is technologically literate!

November C4T

For my last C4T in EDM, I was able to read Mr. Rice's blog. In his first post, Mr. Rice talked about asking his students questions that would allow them to think. He used a famous quote from Socrates that says “I cannot teach anyone anything; I can only make them think.” He says that it is his goal, this year, to improve and expand his use of questions. In my comment to this post, I told Mr. Rice about a video I previously watched this semester about asking the "right questions" Opened ended questions allow students to put on their thinking caps, while close ended questions call for simple "yes" or "no" answer.

For Mr. Rice's second post that I was to comment on, he wrote on how having one on one conversations with his students was important to him. He stated that he sat down with each of his students, asking them what they did not understand and what they needed help with. I thought this was absolutely wonderful! I believe that most important thing for a teacher to have is a trusting relationship with their students and having one on one conversations with students is what builds these relationships. Once an educator has gained the trust of his/her students, many doors not have the possibility of being opened!

C4K November Summary

For the first week of November, I read Ms. Ariana's Blog. Ariana is a fifth grader at Pt England School in New Zealand. In the Post that I read, Arianna wrote about a girl who works on a sheep farm. She even used a picture from a sheep farm to add to her story! I told her that working on a sheep farm sounded fun, but it also sounded like a lot of work too!

For my very last C4K in my EDM310 career, weird to say, I was assigned a class blog, Team One Rock Stars. "I can write" was the title of the post assigned to me, and in the post Loseti shares an experience of writing her name in the sand at the river and shared a picture of her doing so. I told Loseti about my experiences at the beach and witting my name in the sand there!

Blog Thirteen

Hilary Thames
Mae Jemison: Teach Arts and Sciences Together
It’s funny to think that in this video, Teahch Arts and Sciences Together, this speech given by Mrs. Mae Jemison was over ten years ago because every bit of what she had to say goes along with what is happening in today’s time as well. We as educators tend to have an attitude of , just as Jemison mentions, “whatever happens, happens.” and she used a great quote from Lewis Carrol, “If you don’t much care where you want to get, then it doesn’t much matter which way you go” that sums up this attitude. That’s the problem with today’s education system, we have too many not caring about what happens , or which way they get there. With this quote, Jamison begins to speak on her topic of revitalizing arts and sciences.

Our generation has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. From the shift of the farming age to industrial age, the preceding generations, our generation has taking a leap into an information age. We want all the information we can obtain and we want it now! Just think about it, two to three seconds tops to pull up the news on your smartphone.. Students in the school systems are, just as this generation, thriving for knowledge and with closed minds they are not allowed access to all that an open minded person is. Creativity is the key to opening our students minds and stressing arts and sciences pushed open the doors of each student’s mind. With subjects, such as math and history, a student’s mind is not allowed fully opened opportunities, they simply call for a student to memorize and recall facts and equations.

However, arts and sciences gives way for students to place thinking caps on their heads and being to be creative and think for themselves. Jemison uses another great quote from Albert Einstein, “ The most beautiful thing we can experience the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science,” to further this idea. When children begin to experience mystery, their eyes are opened to a whole new world.

Brantley Spillman
Blog Post #13
Video #5 Kakenya Ntaiya
A Girl Who Demanded School
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers/bios/kakenya-ntaiya/
Ken Robinson 10 favorite Ted Talks
I recommend this video to everyone. Ms. Ntaiya’s determination and personal experiences were truly inspiring to me. Hearing her life’s story from her own mouth made more of an impact than if I had simply read her story. I will give technology props for giving me that opportunity. In addition, if I could choose to work with another teacher’s class “collaboratively” with my own class, this would be my pick
Ms. Ntaiya is a native of Kenya who rose against traditional values and found true joy in learning. Her background triggered memories of when I lived with a student from Kenya, from Uganda, and from Angola. All four of us were housed at the same time in a single college dorm room. I was only 19 years old from a small town in southern Georgia. I immediately respected the “African” culture. Each of their stories made me realize what privilege and freedoms I had been raised with, even with my working class parents.
Fortunately, Ms. Ntaiya was able to leave her hometown to pursue more education in America. Her determination was single-minded. One example is when she spoke of undergoing the tradition of “genital mutilation” (female circumcision) so as to return to her local school. With any society or culture, there will be people who want change and/or equality for local traditions or status quos. However, like most situations, it is easier said than done.
I believe this video was, by far, the most touching for me to watch this semester. Although, I have said this before after watching Randy Pausch’s last lecture, I stand corrected. I hope my children have this determination when attacking obstacles in their lives. When teaching students how to appreciate their own freedoms and applying determination to obstacles, interviews/lectures of firsthand experiences, like this, can offer a strong learning impact that I can appreciate technology offers. Although, for an even larger impact, it would be amazing to have Ms. Ntaiya come to speak in my classroom so as my students can ask questions and generate meaningful discussion.
As a spoiled culture, we should learn from stories of this nature. Life is short, fight for what you believe. In the end, we can only hope people remember what footprints we leave behind. Ms Ntaiya has left an influential footprint for both her own culture and ours, here in America. She will be remembered as a hero for not only women, but for every individual that has challenged the norm in any way.

Haley Smith Video #8
When I was looking to see what video I wanted, my attention immediately turned to number eight, Shane Koyczan’s video “To This Day...for the Bullied and Beautiful”. Bullying is something that has always been there but lately, the bully victims and bully numbers have grown. This video not only covered bullying; it also covered goals and future aspirations that all of us have or have had at one time.
We are asked constantly as kids and even now as adults in college what we wanted or want to be when we “grow up”. Something that Koyczan mentioned is that it is an unfair question. The reason is it presupposes that we can’t be what we already are. Why couldn’t I just stay Haley growing up and there wasn’t anymore to that. Why do we always have to think of something to become. Another issue with this question is that so often we don’t give the people that ask us the answer they want. If a teacher asked us, we are told “be more realistic” or “that is a stupid answer” or even “you won’t ever become that”. In order to please everyone around us in what we want to be, we have to become someone we are not. The way that Shane put it was we must sacrifice what we are to inherit the masquerade of what we will be. Our dreams are something that are so important to us but there are some people that will easily drop our dreams and dismiss them like they are the worst possible thing on earth. Why are our dreams to easy to dismiss? Why do our dreams get called silly or foolish or impossible? In a way, the way that our dreams and goals and hopes are treated, it is bullying. Calling someone stupid due to a dream of being an astronaut is mean and selfish. There is nothing nice about tearing down someone’s dreams. < br /> Bullying is something that can be found everywhere. Public school or private school both have issues with bullying. Everyone knows the saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”. That is WRONG! Words hurt more than anything. Bones and bruises heal, but words are stuck to your being until you decide it is time to let go. Even then, the remains are still buried in your body and mind. Each school has an arsenal of nicknames that only get bigger and bigger: stupid, spaz, dork. Kids are being called all sorts of names daily at school. I loved what Shane said about beauty. He said “If you don’t see anything beautiful about yourself, get a new mirror. Stare a little longer because there is something inside you that made you keep going despite everyone trying to tell you to quit. Put a cast on your broken heart, sign it, and say ‘THEY WERE WRONG’.” In school we always cheer for the underdog. The one that isn’t so great at basketball or football. When one of those people makes the winning basket or the winning touchdown, we cheer and go crazy because the tried their hardest. Why do we cheer the underdog on? We can relate to him or her. We see ourselves in them. We are more than a car abandoned sitting on empty. We are people. We must not judge ourselves by the pain we suffer but by the beauty in us.

Blog Twelve

Hilary Thames: How Schools Kill Creativity

Creativity is something that I am going to stress on a high level to my students. I believe, just as Mr. Robinson, that it is just as important as any core subject. So when I received the opportunity to watch his video How Schools Kill Creativity, of course I jumped right on it! Mr. Robinson spoke on the way that the education system as it is today attempts to corral children into conformity, making the argument that all children are born with creativity but it is “educated” out of them. He says that creativity comes from the absence of fear of being wrong, however, the school systems of today make being wrong the one of the worst things you can do as a student.

In my classroom I am going to promote creativity by not discouraging children after a wrong answer, but encouraging them to find the correct answer. Mr. Robinson stressed the point that the children in school today will not retire until 2065. He also mentioned that we, as educators, don’t know what is going to come about in the next five years, much less the next fifty. This is why I am going to promote creativity in my classroom. We look at University professors as the ones who “ won the education game” however, when we do not know where education is going how can that be determined. The times are beginning to change more rapidly with each year and we need creative students who are not conformed to the usual restrictions of education to help pioneer this coming change. As Mr. Robinson said, the amount of students to graduate in the next thirty years will be the highest number of students to graduate since the beginning of education making degrees nearly worthless and jobs almost impossible to find.

Therefore, I am going to encourage children to come up with new ideas, and not just have them bound by the answers the textbook tells us is correct. New creations come from things that were either not thought of or previously looked down upon. Allowing my students to think outside the box will open their realm of thinking beyond what the school system wants them to know and into the leaders of innovation in the society of tomorrow.

Brantley Spillman: Ken Robinson: Changing Education Paradigms http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson??????
Ken Robinson is a speaker, author, and educational advisor for the Arts. Mr. Robinson petitions in favor of the Arts to non-profit organizations, government departments, and various educational programs throughout the country.
While watching Ken Robinson’s lecture, “Changing Education Paradigms”…
My initial assessment of Sir Robinson’s video was, “how cool is that written cartoon that writes key points of his lecture on a white board!?”
Mr. Robinson opens his lecture by stating that everyone agrees that, “there is a problem with our current educational system”. He further states that, “every culture wants to educate their children so that they have a sense of cultural identity.” However, Mr. Robinson believes that by taking this approach, we are trying to embrace a future in education that correlates with what our cultures have done in the past. He doesn’t explicitly say this approach is wrong but I am assuming he does not agree with this approach.

His argument is that millions of kids are alienated while using this approach. Specifically, modern education is creating survivors. I am not sure Mr. Robinson offers many suggestions to change these approaches. His suggestions, specifically, ask for educators and parents to stop giving difficult/distractable children ADHD drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin, to gain conformism but, instead, we should let these children embrace the Arts, dispose of grade levels, and have them work in groups. Honestly, his suggestions remind me of communism: it looks great on paper, but does it really work when implemented. I find two problems with this discussion:
1) What if you are a child who does not respond or learn well using the Arts? Are you tossed aside for me being math-minded? How is this not just swinging the exclusive learning pendulum the other direction?
2) I am not sure if he was arguing that ADHD is not real? A figment of exhausted educators and parents who just haven’t tapped into that child’s innate need for the Arts? I am not arguing that American culture doesn’t love a good pill to fix something that could be fixed by lifestyle change but I challenge him to stand in front of a set of parents that have found some relief and normalcy by putting their child on these medications. I believe his argument is idealistic and too simplistic.
I did, however, like how he compared the current school layout to that of a factory setting. I had never realized or even tried to compare a classroom to a factory before this lecture: bells that start/end tasks, task-designated rooms, product-oriented projects. I do agree with Mr. Robinson that our current educational system has issues. There should be some value and freedom to commend a student on their learning process rather than the end point. However, I feel it is easy to point out problems, but very difficult to find solutions. Correct me if I am wrong, but I did not hear any solutions in his talk. I only heard complaints about the educational system that seems to have gotten him where he is today: a big-time lobbyist for arts in the educational system. Maybe he should admit that the system did do something right for him and how can we expand on that?

Overall, I appreciated hearing his argument. I can appreciate the problem with our current educational system in that 'certain students' are never given the opportunity to thrive. Obviously, we, as educators, have the difficult task to reach these students in some way. If technology offers a means to gain these students' attention, then I am all for it. If the Arts program offers a means to gain these students' attention, then, again, I am all for it.

Haley Smith:How to escape education's death valley
I really enjoyed watching this video because it focused on the “No Child Left Behind” Act that was put in place in schools all across America. American schools are such a beneficial program because there is more money, smaller class sizes, and the schools are always trying to improve. If that is the case, then why is the dropout rate in America 60%? There are three points that Ken Robinson made that causes American schools to be so unsuccessful. The first reason was that humans are naturally diverse. The example that he gave of this is that if a couple has two children, the two children are completely opposite without ever learning anything. No Child Left Behind is based solely on conformity, not diversity. A child that exceeds in arts, humanities, and physical education isn’t going to get the right attention that a student that exceeds in math and english. The artsy student is going to fail in the eyes of the state because he or she can’t pass the standardized test. Robinson made a point that there is an “epidemic” of American students diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. All “ADD” is is a childhood. Kids aren’t going to sit still especially if they aren’t engaged. Teachers should give students a broad curriculum that focuses on each talent not just a small range of them. The arts are important because it speaks to a part of a child’s mind that is untouched.
The second point is humans are naturally curious. If a teacher sparks curiosity, a student will learn. Children are natural learners. Teachers are the life flow of successful schools. Teaching is a creative profession not a delivery system. You can’t expect to use burp back education. You have to mentor, stimulate, promote, and engage students. Make them want to learn. Teaching and learning must go together. You can be engaged in the task of teaching but if students aren’t learning, then you as a teacher aren’t achieving. The teachers role is to facilitate learning. We must get out of the routine, and we must use our powers of creativity and imagination to do what we have to do.
The final point is that humans are naturally creative. As teachers we must awaken the powers of creativity in our students. Instead of doing that, we have a system of standardization. The issue with that is that tests are only on specific criteria rather than all talents. If someone is having trouble because they aren’t good at math but awesome at soccer, they are defined by their failure at math. In a sense, we “leave him or her behind”. Education isn’t a mechanical system; it is a human system. Every student that drops out has a unique reason for doing so. We need to create a movement that turns into a revolution in education.

Project 15

Project #10

Lisa McNeill is a sixth grade teacher at W.S. Harlan Elementary School in Florala, Alabama. In this interview Mrs. McNeill answered questions about technology in the classroom and ways she incorporated project based learning in her classroom.

Project Twelve Part A

This project is to demonstrate tools used when working with a SMARTboard.
-Turn on a SMARTboard
-Calibrate the SMARTboard
-Work with text
-Work with objects
-Use object animation to hide and reveal feedback
-Use the Infinite Cloner and work with digital ink
-Save items added in ink layer to a separate file
-Use multimedia objects