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

Week 4 - Trim Recess?

Should schools cut recess time to allow for more instructional time? That is the main questions many school districts are trying to answer for future plans. I believe that recess is a vital part in developing different social aspects of children. They are able to interact with other students and "play" or run around to get exercise for approximately 30 minutes. By cutting this time, students would lose the face to face interaction time, which is beneficial for future jobs and schools. I believe that recess is also very beneficial in developing the entire child. Students are given enough time throughout the day for instructional time, so I feel it is very vital for them to be active and develop many positive social habits.

Maybe it should be a question of are the teachers using the appropriate instructional time wisely? Especially at a young age, I believe that the instructional time should be less than that at the middle school or high school. Students should be developing many positive social skills at this point in their life, still getting a good balance of instructional time.


"Trim Recess? Some Schools Hold on to Child's Play"
By: Eric Westervelt
http://www.npr.org/2013/11/07/243713419/trim-recess-some-schools-hold-on-to-childs-play?ft=1&f=1013

Week 3 - 9 Strategies for Motivating Students in Mathematics

When I saw the title of this article, I immediately began to think about many things. This article fit my content and fit some of my teacher strategies very well. This seems to always be a constant struggle in my classroom as well. Students are always asking me, "Why are we learning this?" or "When am I ever going to use this again?". I sometimes can think of a clever answer on the fly, but there are any other times where I cannot give them the answer they are looking for and struggle to get some of my students motivated to learn the different material.

The first strategy that I thought could be very helpful within my own classroom was being able to present a challenge. Many of the students in my class are very competitive and play sports. Also, for the most part, every student wants to pass and do well in school. Being able to present a challenging task will hopefully motivate these students to be successful. This will allow them to think more critically and take different approaches to the problem, in turn, maybe being able to discover new ideas.

Another idea I became interested in, was being able to use "recreational math". This means providing the students with different mathematical games and activities. Now, at the high school level this may be a little more challenging but there are any great study tools as games and great activities to get the students motivated.

Finally, the last strategy that I became most interested in was being able to tell a pertinent story. Students always seem to be interested in the background information and where the idea comes from. Being able to tell a useful story about the material or giving great real world examples can really motivate the students. If they are able to see interesting facts about the topic and how it can be used in the real world then it will get them thinking more about the material.

9 Strategies for Motivating Students in Mathematics
By: Alfred Posamentier
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/9-strategies-motivating-students-mathematics-alfred-posamentier

RSS Feed- 3 Apps for PDF Scanner

It is always difficult in a math setting to figure out different ways to get the students involved or find problems that would be beneficial for the students. Most of the time you can come across a couple different worksheets that may be beneficial but have some random questions throughout the worksheet that do not relate to the material being covered. Or sometimes you find a great worksheet but cannot use it because you cannot figure out a way to give it to your students. After reading this article about 3 apps that are beneficial to making any document a PDF, I found it much easier to get what I wanted.

Some teachers may already have this opportunity at their leisure by having a document scanner in their classrooms. However, if not, there are now 3 apps that can basically act as a mobile document scanner. The three apps are "TinyScan", "CamScanner", and "Scanner Pro". These apps can take any document and turn it into a PDF file or can be used to create or edit any document and then scan it in. Another interesting fact about these scanners, is that you can simply take a photo of students work or a problem on the board and scan that in so the students can have it.

Edudemic
By: Katie Lepi
http://www.edudemic.com/mobile-pdf-creation/

Week 2 - Twitter

Twitter is a type of social media that allows users to post their thoughts and ideas in 140 words or less. I believe this can be a very beneficial tool if used correctly. I am also a very big fan of the word limitation. No one really wants to search through different blogs and read content after content. Twitter is a great way to get the point across in very few words. It is also beneficial because if someone may be interested in a certain topic or "tweet"they can either "retweet" based on what was originally said or look up more tweets to satisfy their needs. This can be a very beneficial tool for educators. As long as they stick to certain guidelines and are all following the same people and providing the same hashtags then it could really create a lot of discussions. People can view different ideas based on specific hashtags which helps to sort all the many thoughts out.

One downfall about Twitter is the idea that people tend to put ALL of their thoughts, rather than just key ideas. Based on the article, a good example was that people are Tweeting things like "I'm eating pickles", or "Really tired today". This does not do any good in the educator realm or really in life. People are just posting random thoughts rather than ideas that may be beneficial to others. This may also be a distracting tool for some, as some students or teachers may be following inappropriate people or ideas and some students may get caught up in all of the "drama" rather than learning based on what others tweeted.


Educause Learning Initiative
7 Things You Should Know about Twitter
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7027.pdf

RSS Feed - Edudemic

This week I am staying with the focus of technology in the classroom. I discovered an interesting article from "Edudemic". This article talks about the use of technology and smartphones in the classroom and some positive ways teachers can incorporate those devices into the classroom setting. The three main ideas that people are using with their smartphones are texting, social networking, and playing games. The article gives a great deal of examples where teachers can use these different ideas to their advantage and create many great classroom activities.

The first idea I thought was pretty interesting was the idea of having teachers allow the students 1 hour after school that is open for them to text the teacher with any questions from the homework or anything school related. This could be any time throughout the evening where the teacher is prepared to receive classroom help messages from their students. Now, I look at this in a couple different ways. I really believe that this could answer some smaller confusion problems between the teacher and student and could help eliminate going over so many homework problems the next day in class and getting right to actually learning new material. At the same time, I do not know how all teachers feel about giving their number out to the students and finding another hour of their day to sit down and help students with their math homework outside of all of the work they do at the school.

The second idea that came to my attention was the part about games. When we all think of playing games, it usually is not beneficial and just for the students own good. However, the article brought up a good point about making the classroom a little more competitive. Try to get students to succeed and compete against others, in a positive way, to make themselves better and the rest of their classmates better. This would prepare the students to give it their all and work to their full potential to try and compete with the people around them.

Edudemic
"3 Simple Ways to Start Using Smartphones in the Classroom"
By: Katie Lepi
http://www.edudemic.com/using-smartphones-classroom/

Week 1 - Creative Commons Video

After watching the video and reading the article on Creative Commons, I thought that the video put a nice twist on presenting the information which was easier to understand. They provided many great examples and gave the background information on how the Creative Commons got introduced and developed. Creative Commons acts as a partner to the copyright laws and allows individuals to use specific items and idea from the internet or other sources. It allows people to get "creative" with their work and incorporate the ideas of others into their own documents or ideas. Although there are still many legal copyright laws out there, Creative Commons is used to allow people to take the work of others, that may not be copy written or legal documents, and use them based on their own ideas or findings. The ideas of the Creative Commons are very beneficial for educators as they are able to quickly see what can be shared and offered to their students. Teachers do not always want to worry about the copyright laws and make sure that they are "legally" sharing information to their students. Being able to use the ideas of the Creative Commons makes it easier for teacher to provide students with a wealth of knowledge and allow them, in turn, to share out the same information to others.

RSS Feed - Edutopia

As I was looking through the website, "Edutopia", throughout my feed, I came across an interesting article dealing with iPads. This caught my attention right away because the current district I teach at (Fraser), currently has a 1 to 1 ratio of iPads with all of their students at the middle and high school level. As I was reading through the article, the main idea of the article was dealing with technology and the specific changes the iPad will bring to schools. The main thing was that teachers need to understand that it is a big change and there is a lot that goes in to the iPad distribution. Teachers need to understand that the pacing will slow down within the lessons and they need to be able to embrace the change. Not everything is always going to go as planned with technology, so the time needed to adjust to this idea may be some time but in the end it will result in positive changes for all. Finally, with the distribution of the iPad it will provide teachers with a great deal of creativity within their lessons and provide many opportunities for teachers to collaborate more based on positives and negatives that may have happened throughout any given lesson. Although content may be different, there are a lot of similar things that can be done and shared with the use of the iPad that will be beneficial for all teachers.