Food for Thought: What do 21st Century Students Need?

I came across this video and found it extremely insightful, especially for the content of this class.  If we can incoporate the technology that students know, love, and live by into the classroom, education will reach an entire new level.  Take a few moments to watch the video and ask yourself are you teaching in the 21st century or are you stuck in the past?   It is time we bridge the technology gap in the classroom.

Reaching New Creative Heights: Are you a "Pro-Creative" Teacher?

Tonight we had a whole class meeting in which we focused on the topic of creativity in the classroom.  I really enjoyed the "warm-up" question that Dr. Smirnova asked the class, "What is creativity to you?"  Take a minute to reflect on it right now.  It is a very powerful question.  The way we define creativity says a lot about who we are and most certainly plays a very large role in the type of educator you are.  To me, creativity means thinking outside of the box.  When you are creative you do old tasks in new innovative ways.  You think about  subject matter from an original, unique, personalized perspective, and create a new way of thinking or doing something.  When you are creative, you cannot be rigid and single minded.  You cannot think that there  is only one right way to do or learn something.  When you are creative you explore, inquire, and probe until a complete fresh and original outcomes occurs. Thinking from a teacher's perspective, I want my students to be creative.  I want my students to explore and inquire to reach their own conclusions.  I want my students to make the material their very own.  

Next, we watched a video by Sir Ken Robinson called , "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"  This video was very fascinating to watch.  One quote that really stuck out to me was, "Creativity now is as important in education as literacy is and we should treat it with the same status."  In the American Education system we do not place a high appraisal on creativity.  We teach in a linear, standard driven, hierarchical fashion.  I believe, that we need to uphold these standards, but we also need to reappraise and place more value on creativity-"creating original ideas that have VALUE."

Another part of the video that was particularly interesting, was the story about a young girl who was struggling in school. This girl created disturbances in class and could not focus.  She was taken to see a specialist to find out what was "wrong" with her.  It was discovered that the girl had a incredible talent for dance and went on to become a very successful dancer.  If her dancing skills had not been discovered, she would have been classified as LD and would not have been able to develop and share her talents with the world.  Robinson stated, "This girl is not sick.  She is a dancer."  The definition of intelligence is very fluid and driven be the culture and society that we live in.  Who are we to place a higher value on one type of intelligence/ability over another?

As teachers, we have the huge responsibility to provide as many opportunities as we can to draw out and develop a students natural abilities.  We must realize that learning is process that occurs in different ways in every unique student we teach.  We cannot  be a force that stifles creativity, instead we must developed and draw it out.

 I am reminded of a quote by the late Dan Rather, "The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth'." Teachers must act as guides for their students, showing them the path, imparting new information, and driving them to explore and inquire.  A great teacher pushes and inspires students to reach new creative heights. Pro-Creative is the way to be!

Please watch the video below and reflect upon it.   It is 20 minutes well spent! : )

Make a follow up quiz for your digital story!

                                                                           

Above is the quiz I created using www.quizrevolution.com  It is very simple and easy to use.  You are able to pick the format of the quiz (multiple choice, true/false etc.) and create your own questions on the content you are testing.  It is a great tool for both teachers and students to use.  It offers teachers a quick and easy form of assessment after watching something like a digital story. You are able to keep track of right and wrong answer statistics so you can identify what you may have to go over again with your students.  Please take the quiz below to see how much you have learned about Shea Stadium, then make your own quiz!
                              

Let's get creative! Make your own digital story!

Above is the video that I created using iMovie software on my Mac.  I tried to use Windows Movie Maker and Microsoft Photostory 3, but neither would work on my Mac.

 I chose to do  my story on the history of Shea Stadium.  Growing up I went to Shea countless of times with my family and friends and it became like a second home to me.  Creating the digital story was a lot of fun and gave me practice working with a variety of different media.  My biggest struggle with this assignment was trying to find a movie maker that was compatible with my computer.

After creating the digital story,  I can really see how valuable a project like this can be.  A student can use the web to find information, pictures, and videos on any topic and compile a story about it of their very own. Creating a digital story, narrating it and putting music to it, allows the student to put their own creative touches on it.  Instead of just writing an essay on a topic, creating a digital story takes it one step beyond.  An assignment like this would benefit the diverse needs of learners.

In the future, I will definitely use digital story making in my classroom.

A Week in Review: Internet Safety!

Internet Safety Newsletter

Above it the Internet Safety Newsletter I created using LetterPop.  Creating the newsletter, working with my classmates on the webquest, and our whole class meeting this week on internet safety was very insightful.  As an adult, who has grown up with the internet, I am very familiar with all the hazards and  online predators that exist.  However, young children and parents who do not have much experience with the internet may not know some of the basic information they need to keep themselves safe.  Children these days are highly involved on the internet from facebook to youtube to twitter, they have a way to connect, share and meet people instantly.   This comes with a double edged sword.  They are able to share and get ideas on any subject and research information on their next school project.  However, they are also able to chat with strangers, who may not be who they say they are, send and receive pictures, and are exposed to inappropriate information.  Cyberbullying is a topic that has researched the forefront of discussion.  Children are made fun and bullied all across the internet and this has led to student suicides.

Clearly ground rules have to be set so that students can enjoy the great benefits that the world wide web has to offer.  Parents ,who may not be internet savy, need to get involved and keep track of what their children are doing.  This may be as simple as keeping the computer in a neutral family room and blocking off certain sites.  Teachers should use the vast amount of information that the internet has to offer in their classroom and they should also teach their students that what is said online is very transparent can be seen by anyone.  The internet is an amazing tool and can remain safe if certain guidelines are set.

After working with Team TechSavy on the internet safety webquest, it was nice to see the different perspectives that we had on the subject.  Some of the group members focused on the positives of the internet and others more on the negatives.  After collaborating, I think the group has reached a balance.  We are aware of the dangers, but we know there are measures that can be taken to make the internet a safe place. We created a powerpoint presentation using google docs.  I focused on the dangers of spam, or internet junk mail.  Lauren and Granger focused on internet chartroom safety and Ashley focused on proper internet etiquette.  Together we cover all of the major issues a teacher, student and parent should know about internet safety.  We collaborated well together and planned out our assigned roles with a meeting on WizIQ.  Check out Team TechSavy's presentation:  Team TechSavy's Internet Safety PowerPoint.

Our whole group online class meeting on Monday night was very insightful as well.  Each group shared their powerpoint presentations on web safety and what they had learned from the webquest.  I feel that our class has a very good handle on internet safety and will be able to implement technology very effectively in their  classrooms.  Next week we are working on the topic of collaborative learning vs. cooperative learning.  I am very excited to learn more about this topic.  I feel that my team members and I have worked well together this semester.  We have found ways to collaborate and support one another with assignments, even though we all have such different schedules.

Wondersay Texts! Oh so fun!

Below is a short wondersay word text that I created.  This is a tool that can be used in powerpoints and other types of media presentations to catch the attention of your students and spice up the old lesson a bit. You can make one yourself using the link below! : )



made on Wondersay - Animate text with style

Your digital footprints will follow you wherever you go, so make sure they are classy ones!

Below is a video I made using youtube search stories that tracks my digital footprints, to date. After creating my video and reflecting upon the assignment, I reached some interesting conclusions.  It is important to know that everything that you do on the internet is available to anyone that is online.  Therefore,  DO NOT post, write or send anything that can compromise your job or reputation.  Things always have a way of resurfacing on the internet, no matter how air tight you think your privacy settings may be.  Tell your students they should never do something online that they would not want their mother to see.  


On a positive note, this assignment allowed me to see the marks that I have left on the digital world and the connections that I have made that would not have been possible without the internet. On twitter, I follow some amazing educators from all around the world, where I get cutting edge information and sources about education.


So the moral of the story is:  Your digital footprints will follow you wherever you go, so make sure they are classy ones!


   You and your students can create your own digital footprint story using: youtube/searchstories