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Throughout the time that I spend reading this book, I will be using twitter to share quotes, post questions I may have regarding what I'm reading about, and share connections I may have to the text as they come up. To share my reflections, I will be using the hashtag #edl630book. I'll be looking forward to collaborating with everyone and receiving feedback!
After watching Caine's Arcade, I couldn't resist sharing this video with my 4th grade class. My classroom full of 9 year olds appreciated this video so much that they ask me for it on a daily basis. I have started to use it as an incentive and I play it towards the end of the day when time permits. I feel very excited that my fourth graders look up to this child and that they were able to point out to me how this child uses Stephen Covey's 7 Habits in his life and I pointed out to myself that in addition to using the 7 Habits that we practice on my school campus, that he also uses Design Thinking AND the Seven Survival Skills that Tony Wagner talks about in his book, The Global Achievement Gap.
Caine is definitely modeling perseverance, patience, and self-motivation along with creativity and being innovative. When he was interviewed, in a different video that I also watched with my students, he was asked how come he didn't quit when he realized that months were coming and going and yet he had no customers? He was asked, "What were you thinking? What did you want to get out of this?" and, with a wide grin, he replied something to the effect of "to be happy!" Immediately my students and I made the connection to the other video, "Hackschooling makes me happy: Logan LaPlante" where Logan emphasizes the importance of being happy in life as he answers the question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" and he responds, "to be happy". My students are receiving the message of how important it is to be happy and make it a goal and that getting there will be a lot easier if you embrace Stephen Covey's 7 Habits, and I empower them with the Seven Survival Skills Tony Wagner outlines for us in this book The Global Achievement Gap. I am grateful that I watched this video so that I can share it with my students and they can see a real life situation where a kid, their own age, had a goal and for many months it was not fulfilled, but he remained calm throughout it all and eventually it happened. I guess the old "if you build it, they will come" is true!!! 20% Project-->To Discover What Else, Besides Smoothies, Can I Create Using the Magic Bullet Blender9/20/2014 It was not an easy task to decide on learning something that I have been putting off for a while. At first I couldn't think of anything. Then I remembered that since college I had been wanting to learn ballroom dancing. That's expensive, though, so I scratched that idea. I also thought of how much I've always wanted to learn to be graceful on ice. Ice-skating is just as expensive, if not more, than ballroom dancing. I have always wanted to learn how to play certain songs on a piano. I would need a piano for that, so that wasn't practical at all. This morning, I finally remembered that last Christmas my dad had given me a Magic Bullet blender and he was so excited about giving me something that he felt would be convenient for my busy schedule. I was excited too, however, I ended up placing it very nicely in a spot in my kitchen and I never even opened the box!!! I feel awful! But now I have this wonderful opportunity to explore it, get to know it, discover it, play with it and my dad will be so happy that I finally got the opportunity to use it. He's going to be thrilled when I tell him that it's part of my 20% project!
Authentic Questions: How is the Magic Bullet Blender different from a regular blender? What advantages does it have over a regular blender? Is the Magic Bullet easy to use? Can I use it to make something else other than smoothies? Is the Magic Bullet blender dish-washer safe? Is the Magic Bullet limited to only fruits and vegetables? Where can I find some tasty recipes to use with the Magic Bullet Blender? How can I keep track of of my successes and failures? What will a yummy smoothie taste like? Besides pre-washing my fruits and vegetables, will any other prep be necessary prior to using the Magic Bullet? Will the Magic Bullet blender require lots of maintenance? Do the fruits and vegetables have to be a specific size? Is there such a thing as a summer recipes vs. winter recipes using the Magic Bullet blender? Is it possible to create smoothie that will serve as a meal replacement? Can I mix the recipes and still end up with a successful blend of some sort? Can I create a few vegetarian smoothies, or other meals, with the Magic Bullet Blender? How much time will it take me on a daily basis to use the Magic Bullet? Will using the Magic Bullet blender be complicated or user-friendly? What safety precautions must I take while using the Magic Bullet blender? Do I need to be close to an outlet to plug it in, or does it have a battery? How many servings can I make using the Magic Bullet? What would a successful learning outcome look like? I know at first it will be time-consuming because I'll be getting to know the product. However, once I'm familiar with how to handle the Magic Bullet, a successful learning outcome will consist of being able to use it quickly and efficiently yielding yummy food or drinks that I find satisfying. I will have different family members try out my results as well and see how they like it. I will know I am successful if other family members also find it delicious enough to ask for more, or if they become interested in how I made it. Watching Logan LaPlante address his audience opened my eyes to what's really important in life: being happy and interacting with the world around you in a healthy way. Logan LaPlante has learned the key to success: happiness. He has learned how to make the most of his surroundings and how to make nature his classroom. I'm very impressed by his outlook in life. I hope he ends up being a teacher one day because he certainly has a lot to offer. Many students could benefit from having a teacher who takes advantage of their surroundings to learn as much as possible about what's already available. He sees a vast amount of possibilities and lots of potential all around him. I love how Logan LaPlante hacks school and is very confident that his non-traditional way of learning arouses his natural curiosity and what he chooses to be his "classroom" is actually an environment that is very conducive to learning. This is an amazing video that everyone should watch, not just educators.
Michael Wesch did an amazing job of illustrating the power of technology and how it allows us to be globally connected and organized so that we can empower ourselves, and others, to accomplish goals that help everyone so that we end up in a win-win situation. When you share your ideas with others, collect information without being limited to just what's immediately around you, collaborate and publish, then you are being a transparent learner and that benefits EVERYONE in such a way that we get more done globally. It seems that evolution has selected for us to contribute to each other in this way so that we can continue to grow as a species.
One of the parts of the video that stood out to me was when they showed the video of what the company Dove does in order to get its palm oil. I felt it was quite powerful that by creating that video of how the earth gets destroyed so that Dove can get one of its ingredients and then sharing it globally, Dove felt the pressure to sign that moratorium on rainforest deforestation after all the destruction it had already caused. But had it not been for that video that collected the necessary information and then shared it with others, Dove would still be getting away with destroying the Earth. The Green Peace group was organized enough to connect globally through the video that they collaborated on and finally published and as a result they were able to meet their goal of protecting the rainforest. In my classroom I plan on using an LMS called Haiku Learning to encourage my students to connect with each other, while they are at home, not just in the classroom and to share ideas that they can comment on respectfully. Of course I will model for them what I expect of them. I will teach them how to use that space to collaborate with each other and be transparent learners. As Dr.White discussed the Visitor/Resident Theory I kept thinking about where I fall in the continuum. I definitely don't think I'm a visitor because he described them as "leaving no trace" at all on-line. Dr. White says that visitors just peruse the internet looking to find what they need and then they leave without leaving a single trace. I have googled myself to see what comes up and I realize I HAVE left a trace. Starting off with Amazon and ending with my latest added account, Twitter. I first opened up an Amazon account back in 2006 when I realized I could buy books for as cheap as one cent! And then I had an Amazon Wish List. So as of 2006, I was already leaving a trace on-line. I remember a friend, back then, surprised me by giving me a book that I really wanted, for Christmas. I asked him how he knew that I had wanted that book, and he replied by saying that he googled my name and found out I had a wish list on Amazon.com and that gave him hints as to what would make a great Christmas present for me. I was REALLY surprised because I had created that Wish List with the intentions of only my family having access to it. I didn't realize back then that ANYONE who googled me was going to be able to read by Amazon.com wish list.
With that said, I really don't think I'm a visitor. However, I don't think I'm a full resident either. One of the reasons I wouldn't consider myself a full resident is because many times I get very frustrated with technology. I get frustrated that it takes me two hours to do something that takes someone else a few seconds to accomplish. I know that the more I practice it, the quicker it'll be, but in the meantime many "quick and easy" assignments are not proving to be so "quick and easy" for me because they involve navigating social networks that I'm not used to navigating at all. I can feel my brain restructuring as I'm exposed to all these new ways of completing assignments on-line, but yet, other people, like my parents, perceive me as being fluent in technology, but I'm not. It's a work in progress. I feel that someone who is a full resident wouldn't be struggling to keep up with all the different assignments that they have to complete. It would be second-nature to them. To conclude, I would say that on the continuum I am more on the "resident" side of the continuum than I am on the "visitor" side because I have been leaving a trace on the internet for about a decade now and due to the fact that I AM able to figure things out. I may struggle with figuring out how to do something new on-line, but I do know enough to be able to apply it to new situations and eventually figure out the new interface. I feel it is time-consuming to navigate through all these new sites and internet places, but I'm learning and making neural connections that will strengthen the more I practice this new way of communicating, collaborating, and learning. The Will Richardson essay, Why School, does an excellent job of clearly outlining how the New School Reform is more advantageous than the Old School reform. We no longer live in an age where information is limited and access to it is controlled. We have an abundance of information at our fingertips and now it isn't a matter of who knows more, but rather, how you use the knowledge that you have. Therefore the Old School Reform is no longer applicable to students who live in a world where instead of memorizing facts, they should be learning how to sift through an abundance of information and be able to determine reliable sources from unreliable ones. Students need to learn how to learn now that they can learn anything anywhere. Learning is no longer something that happens only within the confinements of the classroom. It happens everywhere.
Of the six unlearning/relearning ideas for educators, I could commit to the following: Share everything, Discover, don't deliver, the curriculum, and Be a master learner. I can commit to sharing everything because in my experience, sharing everything is a win-win for everyone involved. When I have shared my ideas with others, they are delighted to hear about it, then it triggers something else in their brain and they share that with me…the outcome is an even better idea than if we both would have kept our ideas to ourselves! We synergize creating a third idea that is better than both original ideas. I have discovered that when I create lessons in which students "discover" the curriculum, instead of me delivering the content, learning actually takes place! They are more likely to synthesize what they are leaning and make it applicable to their lives when they are allowed to discover as opposed to them just sitting passively and listening to me pour information into their brains. I have no trouble committing to being a master learner because I already consider myself a life-long learner. I am always thirsty for more. I can't NOT learn. I have to constantly stimulate my mind intellectually. Some of the unlearning/relearning ideas for educators that might be a struggle include: Talk to strangers, do real work for real audiences, and Transfer the power. I have no problem with going on-line and meeting, talking and learning from strangers, however, when it comes to my students, I feel it would be a struggle to teach them how to decide who it is safe to talk to and who they should stay away from. I don't know how to articulate that to them yet. No one taught me. To me it's just common sense. I just have good judgment and I would have to sit there and really think about how it is that I decide what strangers I decide are worth my time and which ones I have no time for. I feel that doing real work for real audiences has great benefits for all students, but I need to learn how to go about creating such meaningful assignments. Transferring the power: I feel I need lots of training in how to create such an environment where I'm more of a facilitator who just provides the students with the parameters for learning and they decide in which direction to go. I would struggle with this because I would need to know how to let go and let the students guide their own learning. I very much enjoyed reading Will Richardson's essay. Throughout the essay I felt that we were interacting and involved in a conversation. I definitely made many connections to this reading and it was very applicable to our field of work, especially during this transition period we are living in where we are going through a time portal leaving the past behind and moving forward towards an age of unlearning and relearning. |
CristalSpanish Immersion teacher at Riverview Language Academy. Archives
December 2014
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My Reflections
My thoughts and connections after watching videos and reading selections.