The Internet

The next blog I read was by Steve Wheeler, called “Mind Technology”. This talked a lot about how much information the internet really does give us, which really is interesting if you do think about it. If you consider the amount of emails, articles, blog posts, and other things that you actually do read, you should begin wondering where you would be without the internet. I began thinking about where I would be without the internet. The internet is such a useful tool and I honestly think the majority of my generation would not pass college if the internet was taken away from them. Even if I had to go to the library to find a book, I’d probably be on the internet searching for what book to get. It really is crazy how much everyone does rely on the internet for the most basic things. Without the use of the internet, the amount of information we know now would be slowed down and we’d know less than half of the things that we know now.

Visual Literacy in Education

While reading the article “Life on the Screen: Visual Literacy in Education”, I definitely agreed with the majority of the points that they were trying to make. I think it is extremely important to add visuals into any presentation or lesson you have for a class. The chances of any student retaining information from a blank slide show with no pictures or colors are slim to none. It is really difficult to remember something that isn’t very memorable. I love the idea of taking art and music out of art classes and bringing them into English classes. I really feel that that would help students retain information and get to know the story on a whole new level. This could teach new forms of communication and creativity. I definitely agree with the idea of this article.

Five Senses

The next blog post I found was by Steven Wheeler. This blog post was about good ways for teachers to get through to students. He brought ideas to the table about how technology and the five senses could be used with technology. His idea includes having students point out and create more than just the five senses. You ask your students to create their own sense or what could be a sense, then you could have them create an icon, a picture or a drawing of what that sense is. They can use an assortment of different applications or programs in order to do this. Then they can create a poster and present it to the class. This is a great idea because then they can use their research skills, they can put their mind at work and be creative, and they are able to use presentation skills. I really like this idea and might use it in the classroom one day.

Purely Paperless

I found another blog this week called ‘Purely Paperless’ by Kate Peila which was truly amazing. It gives you tons of ideas on how to use certain iPad applications in the classroom. One post I read was about how the students did activities outside and took pictures of the projects and activities. The students then were able to use the bump app to share their pictures and videos with one another. The students were then able to create a video presentation of their work. I really think that this is a great technique because then the students are using creativity to create something and they do not have to go home and spend a million hours on it. They are able to work together to make the project complete and work off of each other’s ideas. It is definitely a great thing to take into consideration in the classroom.

http://www.purelypaperless.com/

Child Concentration

While scrolling down Pintrest’s newsfeed, I came across a blog post with the title “Foster Your Child’s Ability to Concentrate”. I found this really interesting because one of life’s greatest struggles is getting a child to focus on one task at a time.  What we do not know is that most of the time we break the children’s concentration by asking what they are doing or checking in on them. This is a very common mistake. If you put a project in front of a child, then they will often let their imagination take over. According to this person, she placed a project in front of the child and left the room. She did not ask her what she was making and she did not continuously check on her. She told the child to come find her when she was done. The child commonly can only focus for 12 minutes, but when this child was left alone, she focused for a full 45 minutes. This is really amazing and should be considered in the future for different projects or assignments. It definitely allows the children to be themselves and get more accomplished because they are putting their creativity to the test.

To read more about this, the link is: http://letslassothemoon.com/2013/06/01/foster-concentration/

Memorable Lessons

Questioning whether something that is taught is always learnt will always be something that will catch my eye. It is true that teaching is one of life’s greatest challenges because not all students learn the same. Some students learn from only hands on activities, some would rather be buried in a book, and others would rather watch what they are trying to learn. In the end, you need to figure out what the best way you can deliver the lessons without letting the students forget. Steve Wheeler often questions whether or not the curriculums in the current school systems are good, but he agrees that it is up to the teacher to make sure that the students are learning and retaining the information. Think back to your elementary years, do you really remember what you learned every day? The goal as a teacher is to make sure that your students do remember by creating memorable lessons. There are many ways you can do this. For example: you can give the children a topic and have them read on their own and present it, you could have them create something from their imagination when you say an educational word so that they could represent what they are talking about, and so many other things. You have to make it engaging for the student or else the lesson would be lost.

Blog to Follow

The blog I chose to follow is called "Learning with 'e's' by Steve Wheeler. I found this blog by searching 'education of technology blogs' on google. This blog caught my eye because the author enjoys keeping his readers updated on the thousands of questions that educators have to ask about technology. He takes his blog posts in numerous directions and supplies his readers with important informations and interesting opinions about the expansion of technology in the classroom and grading system. My favorite post was called "Digital Assignments: How Shall We Grade Them?". I found this really interesting because I often wondered about this as a student. As a student that puts a lot of clear effort into making power points and digital presentations look impressive, I often found myself feeling cheated of the people that put in less than half the effort into their work and received a similar grade. This post answered some of the questions. The writer explained that when doing a digital assignment, you have to grade each student on a strict rubric and make all of the instructions clear. The blog really interested me a lot.

Here is the link: http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/