Week 7 - Using Football Science to talking STEM Education

Being a high school football coach, and having played football in college, this article really caught my attention. Although I do not know a whole lot about science and will be the first to admit, I am far from an expert, this article still brings up some very interesting ideas. It goes in to detail about different ideas related to STEM and how football and can actually be studied to find out different scientific ideas. One of the topics is about a Woodpecker and the many reasons why woodpeckers do not get concussions. Many of these points were taking directly from football studies and related to science. Very interesting read!

"Using Football Science to talking STEM Education"
By: Ainissa Ramirez
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/football-science-tackles-stem-education-ainissa-ramirez

Week 7 - The 4 Apps Needed to Run a One iPad Classroom

This article talks about the use of the iPad in the classrooms. You do not have to have a 1:1 ratio of iPads. This article talks about some important points that can be useful in the classroom with only one iPad. It talks about transitioning through the lesson and the 4 apps used: Explain Everything, YouTube, Evernote, Penultimate. I do agree that the iPad can be very beneficial as a teacher and can create many different types of presentations for your classroom. It also makes differentiating the lessons much better and provides a variety of options for the students.


"The 4 Apps Needed to Run a One iPad Classroom"
By: Jeff Dunn
http://www.edudemic.com/4-apps-needed-run-one-ipad-classroom/

Week 6 - Social Media

Social media is a popular term used throughout our every day lives. It is everywhere around us and it is growing and expanding each and every day. Just like the "Social Media" video about the expanding of ice cream, social media is constantly changing and expanding. People are able to create their own forms of social media through blogs and wikis and much more. These ideas can then be easily transferred to others through the Internet and other sources. People can either relate to these posts or they can create new ones based on different ideas they may have. People can share thoughts in a matter of seconds and search the web for specifics tags on ideas they may want to research.

Social media is also becoming very popular and beneficial throughout schools. Students can create different social media links that would be helpful in their classroom. It is important for the teacher to lay the foundation and the guidelines at an early stage so the students are able to keep in school appropriate and follow the rules. Students can create, share and present their ideas using social media.


"Social Media in Plain English"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE

Week 6 - Presentation Tools

With the use of technology constantly growing, it is always difficult to find specific tools that can be beneficial in the classroom. There are always new apps coming out, or changing apps that affect both students and teachers. It is also difficult in a math classroom to find apps that may be beneficial for students, especially because a lot of math is done by hand with a pencil and paper. This article talks about 3 presentation tools that are becoming popular amongst teachers.

• Haiku Deck
• Projeqt
• Google Presentations

The article provides brief background knowledge of each of the presentation tools. All three provide different, unique features that can be beneficial for all types of presentations. I do like all three choices, and it is always good to change things up and present to the class in a different way. 

"3 Presentation Tools Teachers Are Now Using"
By: Katie Lepi
http://www.edudemic.com/presentation-tools-teachers/

Week 5 - Apps Improving Learning?

With the great deal of technology change coming to many different school districts, teacher and parents are wondering whether certain apps can really improve learning. My first instinct was, no. I always felt that it was how you, as the teacher, used each app specifically. The app, itself, was not just going to magically improve test scores or student learning.  However after some research I began to think about some ideas about apps and how they could actually help student learning.

There are many great apps available now for students. Just about anything now days, people can say "well there's an app for that". A recent study showed some of the following facts. Students that participated in an educational gaming app 3 times a week for about 5-10 minutes, showed improvement in their learning. Now there is not a lot of background information behind this but I would venture to say that the children did not just find an app of their choice and began to start playing the game. It was probably brought to their attention by their parents or teachers. Each of which, provided some type of scaffolding to guide their child or student to learn the concept and material.

"Can an App Really Improve Learning?"

By: Katie Lepi

http://www.edudemic.com/app-improve-learning/

Week 5 - Flipped Classroom

A flipped classroom is a classroom where the lesson is moved outside of the actually content setting. It gives the teacher more time for in-class activities and to be able to work more in depth with the students. Flipped classrooms are becoming more and more popular throughout many school districts. Some teachers are still struggling to figure out the benefits of a flipped classroom or the reasons behind changing their teaching style to reflect a flipped classroom.

The article talks about many great reasons why you should use a flipped classroom. The first idea that caught my attention was, "better student teacher interaction". I believe this is a very valid point, because I believe learning takes place when students are engaged and they interact with others. A lot of what people do after high school involves interacting with others, and if we as teachers are able to allow for practice at this at an early age then it can be very beneficial for their future. 

Another reason that caught my attention was, "instructional content is always available". Because it is a flipped classroom, the teacher lecture and notes happen outside of the classroom. This can be in the form of a video or other audio source. Students will follow the lessons at home and participate in class activities or practice problems throughout the class period. All of the video lessons would be available online for the students to view at any time. This would mean absent students could catch up much quicker and students are always able to go back and revisit and particular lesson if they did not understand it fully. 

"What is a Flipped Classroom?"

By: Katie Lepi

http://www.edudemic.com/what-is-a-flipped-classroom/

Week 4 - Studying through Text Messages

Technology is becoming more and more involved into the Education realm. There are many applications for smart phones that are being introduced to help remind or provide help for students. All kids, even adults now days never leave home without their cell phones. There was a good point in the beginning of the article about challenging one of your friends to wait 10 minutes to look at their phone after it rings from a text message. As easy as this may sound, people today, are constantly on their phones and looking at the messages right away when they hear the ring.

This can be translated directly to the education world. Teachers can provide students with many great apps that will help them be successful in their class. One of the applications was called "Study Boost". Study Boost is an app where students can study for a quiz or a test through text messages. The teacher could set up free accounts for their students and send them questions to help prepare them for an upcoming assessment. Students could also create their own questions they want to study for or that they may still be confused with.


"Studying Through Text Messages"
By: Richard Byrne
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/11/studying-through-text-messages.html#.UoD66xZ180M