Blog Post #14

For this blog post, Dr. Strange assigned us to make our own assignment. I think this was one of the hardest assignment thus far for me. I didn't know where to start but I came across this video on YouTube called Teaching Kids Real Math with Computers by Conrad Wolfrman. Watch the video and summarize it. Do you agree with teaching kids with computers for math? Why or Why not?

Conrad feels we have a real problem with how we teach math to students. He believes that we should use computers instead of students counting on their hands to solve problems. He ask the question "Why Teach Math?". we should teach math to students for technical jobs, use in everyday life, statistics, counting money, etc. Wolfrman talks about four step he feels is needed.

Step 1: Posing the right questions-which means people ask the wrong questions and in return get the wrong answer
Step 2: Real world----> math formulation- which means take the questions being ask and turn it into math formulation
Step 3: Computation----> which is a mathematics form of approach
Step 4: Math formulation----> real world- which means to turn it back to the real world

If teachers focus more on computation than the students can focus 10 times harder on the posing the right question, math formulation and the real world. Wolfrman believes that it's faster to use computer to compute math problems that students using their hands to do the work. He wants to make math more practical and more conceptual. Students will gain much more knowledge of the concept being taught. They will gain more experiences, greater quality of learning, and really feel it with math being taught using the computers.
I thought this video was good because Conrad explains a lot about how computer can benefit in the classroom teaching math. I agree with using computers for math in the classroom, however, I wouldn't want my students to rely on it. I want them to understand other ways to solve problems. I would incorporate the use of computer and do math assignment on there but for tests will be done by hand. When I was in school we use computer but not a lot with math. My teacher wanted us to understand the concept being taught without the computer doing everything for us. I want students to think critically before making a decision on solving a problem.

Final PLN Report

I really enjoyed using Symbaloo for my resources. I have added math games online and different social media tiles. I will be constantly still using symbaloo when I leave EDM310. I'm looking forward to sharing my knowledge with my future students.

Project #12 Part B Smartboard

History Presentation for Smartboard

Last C4K Summary for November

C4K#1
Chloe

Chloe is in Mr. Barks and Mrs. Nua class at Pt England School in Auckland, NZ. She did a Movie Planner creation on a storyboard. She created four different drawings. It showed the person trying to make a shot and missing it. It was a great picture.

My comment was that I enjoyed your storyboard creation. I like the picture you drew of him. The only suggestion I have for your post is to make sure your storyboard is scan correctly before you post. It was hard to read backwards but I understood it. Overall keep up the good work!!!!

C4K#2
Miriam
This is a special C4K post about a beautiful girl name Miriam who is in the sixth grade. In Miriam latest post about Canon in D Major, Piano and Violin Duet with her sister name Sarah, she expresses her love for music. Miriam stated that Canon in D major by Johan Pachelbell, happens to be one of her favorite duets. She gave details on when the song was composed. Canon in D major was Pachelbell's famous piece. She explains that when playing a duet, both players have to listen to each other in order to play the piece well. Her and Sarah always have trouble with who's going to be in charge. Miriam is glad that in the end Sarah and her succeeded in working together well.

I commented and stated that I love the duet! I have never heard this song before at a wedding. Sarah and her did a Great Job on the duets. I feel that I should have played this song at my wedding. The song makes me think of comfort and relaxation the great outdoors. O was very emotional listening to the piece. Miriam and Sarah did a wonderful job!!!

Last C4T

C4T

My teacher name was Ms. Andrea Kerr. She posted about being at her daughter competitive cheer practice. She stated she had some down time and decide to do a Halloween Freebie color worksheet for her students. They are working on complex numbers. They were to color the body parts that correspond with the correct answer.

My comment was that I just love your idea about complex numbers. I would have never thought to make a Halloween Frankenstein color worksheet. great way to get the students more involve with mathematics. GREAT JOB!!!


C4T#2

Mrs. Kerr talks about how her class is Evaluating Polynomial this week using a matchbox creation. She comes up with a creative way for a little “note taking” and examples for evaluating polynomial functions. she provides the students with a worksheet on how to create a matchbox. She calls it “Arts and Crafts with Mrs. Kerr” when the class do foldables or coloring pages or just any activity that requires some sort of utensil. Mrs. Kerr gives in details on how she divide the students up into group and the instructions on how to create the matchbox.

My comment was that polynomials are my favorite math problems to do. I would have never thought to make a matchbox to create a problem for the students to solve. It amaze me how we can incorporate "Arts and Crafts" into education. I will definitely be using this method in my classroom. Thanks for sharing!!!

Blog Post #13

What can we learn from these TED talks?

Kynyetta Barren
Shukla Bose: Teaching One Child at a Time

In this video, Teaching One Child at a Time, Shukla Bose talks about how she started the Parkrma Humanity Foundation. The foundation helps the children in India who live in the slums get an education. She went to the slums to identify houses where children lived who would never get to go to school. Bose then began talking to parents about getting their children into school. Shukla didn’t want to play the number game anymore, she made an effort to make a change. She wanted to provide the children of India with a better education. The foundation started a school with about 165 children. The foundation built more schools and even a junior college. Bose speaks about three myths that are believed in India. The first myth is that no one in the slums can speak English. that myth is not true, Bose showed a video to the audience of two children speaking English. the second myth was that parents do not like their children going to school. That’s totally wrong. Shukla stated that parents are very supportive and want their children going to school. The last myth was that children who lived in the slums did not integrate with other children who do not live in the slums. Once again, Bose presented a video of a girl that was given an opportunity to go to a camp with other students that didn’t live in the slums. The children were excited to make friends with the other children who didn’t live in the slums. The reason the schools became successful is that the schools and teachers operated under the idea, “one child at a time”, which means they would educate students focusing on treating each child as an individual. The idea of the Parikrma Humanity Foundation is to educate children and prepare them for the real world. Shukla stated at the end of her presentation, “what is in the building is not important, all that matters is what the children are learning.” This statement is so true! We learn that we can make a difference in any child’s life with education. Just by taking one step at a time to accomplish something so big for children of the future.We want our children with the best education possible. It’s very heartwarming to listen to what she did for the children of India.

Author:Kristie Bell
In Kakenya Ntaiya’s video A girl who demanded school she tells the inspirational story about her educational journey. Kakenya made a deal with her father about undergoing the traditional Maasai rite of passage if he would let her go to high school. In the Maasai culture the boys grow up to be warriors and the girls will be mothers. At five years old, Kakenya found out her parents had already arranged her marriage for her. She was expected to a perfect woman so that she could become a perfect wife one day. However, Kakenya’s mother was denied an education and she always wanted better for her children, so she pushed Kakenya and her siblings to get an education. Kakenya’s mother wanted a better life for her children than the one she was living. The case was very different with her father who would abuse her mother and kakenya’s mom could not question him because she was merely a woman. Kakenya’s dream was to become a teacher when she went to school and so she worked hard. As she was approaching high school she told her father she would only go through the Maasai ceremony if he let her continue school. He accepted because he did not want dishonor brought to his family. Kakenya went as far to apply for college and was accepted to a women’s college in Leesburg, Virginia. She needed the support of the village because even though she had a scholarship she had to raise money for her plane ticket. The village felt it was a wasted opportunity on a girl and should have been given to a boy instead. However, she was able to work with her village elders and she arrived in America. Kakenya said she was overwhelmed with enjoyment, but she also learned that what they did to her body during the ceremony in Kenya did was against the law. It is called female mutilation and many more girls in Kenya are at risk undergoing this. She learned that she had a right to her body and a right to an education. She also learned that her mom had a right to own property and did not deserve to be abused because she was a woman. Kakenya’s journey to America was a culture shock and a new eye opener for this young woman. It made her so angry when she discovered the news that she wanted to do something about this. She returned to Kenya and said she wanted to give back to the community. The people of the community and kakenya came up with a school for girls. The Kakenya Center for Excellence was established in 2009 with 32 students. The school is just for girls and it focuses on academics, leadership and female empowerment, as well as life skills. Kakenya also works with donors to provide scholarships for those who cannot afford tuition.

What can we learn from these TED talks?

We can learn so much from Kakenya’s inspirational story. First of all, her story should remind us of how blessed we truly are to live in the land of opportunity and to be able to have the option of earning a degree. We also have public education school system where children can get an education at no cost to their parents. So many of us take education for granted and many people drop out from high school before they even receive their diploma. This young woman wanted nothing more than to have a chance at receiving an education. She was able to fulfill her goals and dreams of becoming a teacher. Not only did she become a teacher, but she also became a wonderful role model to her home community. Kakenya is an absolute blessing to the young ladies that attend her school in Africa. She teaches us to follow our dreams and never give up even if it is not an easy journey. She is an outstanding example of what a teacher should be. We need to reach out and help our students to be successful in all that they do. Kakenya’s story was remarkable and it will always serve as a reminder to me.

Author:Autumn Sprouse
For this blog, I chose to watch Charles Leadbeater's video Education Innovation in the Slums. Charles Leadbeater is a British author who writes on topics such as innovation and creativity. Leadbeater has advised many companies, cities, and even governments around the world on innovation strategy. He has written many popular books and continues to express his knowledge on education.
Leadbeater decided to start off in Monkey Hill, Rio in one of the biggest slums in the country. There he met a boy who dropped out of school at the age of fourteen, started working in a business to make money, and the age of sixteen was completely running that business and hired over 1,000 people to work for him. By the time he would reach 24, he would be expected to be dead. Living in the slums means a high death rate of AIDS and the life expectancy is low. Out of a room full of kids, over half of them do not have parents, and the other half only has one parent because of this AIDS outbreak. Luckily, this same boy met a guy in Rio who had installed the first computers in classrooms for the children in Rio. Leadbeater says with education and technology, there is a chance for hope. This video also showed the computers that Sugata Mitra showed in his video from the beginning in this year. Leadbeater showed a room full of students learning on computers and how they are reinventing the slums, just like what is happening around the country. Leadbeater says that we need more reinventions to improve our schools. Our schools may look the same from the outside, but from the inside we need to push forward to new technology. He also says we need to encourage our students more. Students are not going to want to further their education if we are not their backbone.
This video taught me so much about the slums and the education there. I'm so glad that people like Charles Leadbeater had the chance to go over there and make a difference to people to who are less fortunate. Leadbeater had many great ideas to bring to Rio, and to classrooms today around the world.

Turning Trash into Toys for Learning: By Arvind Gupta

Author: Douglas R. Jarvis Jr.

    Arvind Gupta takes us on a marvelous journey in his talk about using things we normally would simply toss away in order to provide interactive teaching tools for children. He provides examples of using rubber tubing and match sticks to create countless mathematical shapes that could be used to teach angles, geometry, engineering and so many other lessons. He shows us how to create pumps from bicycle tubes and straws and generators from batteries, magnets, and paperclips. His ingenuity is a prime example that even the poorest school system can find ways to provide children with hands on learning tools. We get so bogged down in worrying about how to afford fancy classroom supplies. However, what  really matters is teaching your students in a way that captivates them. By using these inexpensive methods, you can allow students to have hands on interaction and really see why the science or math involved creates the desired effect. We can all learn from this method of education. Face it, many school systems are going to be reluctant or unwilling to provide us money for projects. As teachers, we can use Mr. Gupta’s ideas to turn our trash into toys built by our students.

    It has been proven time after time that people learn best from practical experience. Yet, so many teachers continue to take the learning out of the students hands and force them to endure tedious and non-motivating lectures. Imagine listening to a lecture on shapes in your geometry class; now instead use, the rubber tubing and match sticks and let your students build the shapes and explore the strengths and weaknesses of each shape while you discuss the lesson. The student is intrigued because he wants to learn how to make the more interesting ones and captivated when he gets to play with his creation. Learning can be fun, it does not have to be a chore. We all know what it is like to be watching the clock praying for the bell. So lets all fight against that and create classrooms that our students don’t want to leave. We don't have to have a lot of money, just the desire and drive to learn how to maximize the resources we have.

Blog Post #12

What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson?

The Importance of Creativity
In Sir Ken Robinson video, The Importance of Creativity, he speaks at a conference about how education is killing creativity. He believes that creativity is as important as literacy. A lot of teachers just want the students to get the work done, pass a test, or do a project. Creativity should be encouraged in everything you do in the classroom. Ken tells us that “Education is meant to take you into a future that you can’t grasp.” What he meant by this was no matter how much we learn we will never catch up to all the new advancements that are being made. He states that children in this generation are frightened of being wrong and we are the cause of that. It’s the reason that schools kills creativity. We agree that children are scared of being wrong. We are scared of being wrong with the work we do for classes. Since we have taken EDM310 we feel that creativity is very important because it open your mind up to different things that are being used in the classrooms. As Ken Robinson’s stated, “If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.” We believe that education and school are getting too caught up in the basics of teaching. Of course math, reading, writing, history are important but what about the skills children can show and use outside of a regular classroom settings. As educators, we can incorporate creativity into our lesson plans and promote students to use their creative minds! We could use smart boards, blogs, building projects, etc. Creativity involves breaking out of an established pattern in order to look at things in a different way. In our classroom we want our students to be creative and express themselves through art.

Kristie Bell
Changing Education Paradigms
In Ken Robinson’s video Changing Education Paradigms he discusses how every country on the earth is reforming public education. We need to know how to educate our children to take their place in the 21st century economies. We need to educate our children so they have a cultural identity. Today, most children believe that just because you have a college degree does not mean you will be guaranteed a job, which is absolutely correct. The problem with our current learning system is that it was designed for a different age period. We must raise education standards because we are in the 21st century. Ken Robinson feels that our students cannot focus because we have so many technological tools, but they are not being put to use. Instead, teachers are using the same boring lesson plan that consists of lecturing. He states “ We are getting our children through education by anaesthetising them.” We are basically putting them to sleep because of boredom when we should be waking them up to what is inside themselves. Schools are made up of standardization and we need to move in the opposite direction from this. Schools need to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of creativity.
What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson?
We can learn so much from this inspirational man. Our students need to focus on being creative thinkers and unfortunately our education system only educates to be good workers. In our classrooms we will cultivate our students’ interest and energy. Ken Robinson teaches you not to educate students out of their creativity. We want to create unlimited possibilities in our classrooms and acknowledge each student’s talents. Mr. Robinson points out the importance of acknowledging your student’s talents because so many feel that if their talent does not fit into the education system’s classification then they are not considered intelligent. Our students should be unleashing their talents and discovering their culture identity in the world. Sir Ken Robinson really gave us a new outlook and his words could not be more true. We need to truly rethink our school systems and make our students feel alive again.

How to Escape Education’s Death Valley

By Douglas R. Jarvis Jr.

    Sir Ken Robinson delivered a wonderful commentary on education at a TED Talk in April of 2013. He discussed the irony of the legislation we call “no child left behind”. So what is ironic about this legislation? The dropout rate in some of our states approaches 60% and in Native American communities, it can grow as high as 80% ! So the irony is that we have created a system that leaves the majority of our children behind. Sir Robinson believes that we must first recognize that each child is an individual. No one method of teaching will ever be able to reach the learning personalities of every student. America has tried to standardize education to the degree that teachers struggle to be able to use their own creativity to develop lessons that inspire and capture the curiosity of a student. Sir Robinson made the point that children are naturally curious and it is quite an accomplishment to extinguish that. So why do we bogg down in standardized testing and allowing a room full of politicians to decide the best way for children to learn? Is it not the teacher and the school that facilitate learning? I completely agree with this assessment. To really change the dropout rate in this country, we have to return the teacher’s power to decide how to best reach his/her students. We need to allow the administrators in the schools to determine the effectiveness of the method a teacher may choose to use because they too are educators. As teachers, we must take this responsibility very seriously and not just try to teach information. We must encourage, counsel, advise , and be involved with the well being of each of our students. I believe every child has a gift and that it is our job to help him find it.  Not every child is meant for the University but, that does not mean he can not be successful. Vocations provide the backbone of our nation and we are reaching a dangerous deficit of skilled workers in this country. Last year, I attended Alabama Community College System Governor’s Breakfast in Montgomery, Alabama as an ambassador from Bishop State. Dr Bentley expressed his concern that six million skilled jobs are unfilled in this country due to the lack of qualified workers. The kids are dropping out because they are discouraged and being treated as second class because they are not scholastically gifted. That is a crime!  while I am proud of those gifted students as well we simply can not turn our back on a student because he can not score a 30 on the ACT.  When we as teachers take the time to encourage our students and let them feel proud of themselves we give fuel to the student to keep fighting. So lets all find a way to reach our students and remember they are different but, they all deserve our best.  Death Valley is the driest place in the U.S. Life is very scarce there and yet a few years ago with a rain system dropping seven inches of moisture onto the desert floor, flowers bloomed and blanketed a desert in green. This is a beautiful metaphor for our education system. If we rain support, creativity, and encouragement on our students we can cut the dropout rate and help every student blossom. SEE THE DIFFERENCE!

Project #15

This lesson plan addresses a presentation about the life of a mathematicians for students in the ninth grade. A period of two weeks is needed for preparation. Students will do this project individual. They can present their project by google presentation, prezi, you tube, or any other tool listed in the instructions. Students will be required to present their presentation to the class, parents, and principal.

Project Overview
Project Calendar
Rubric
List of Mathematicians

Blog Post #11

There's only one word to describes Ms.Cassidy's Little Kids Big Potential class is WOW!! I never thought that students that young could know so much. I was shocked to see such young students using technology better than me. I know that's a shame to say but it's true. When I was in elementary school, we didn't have a lot of technology available. I was taught with "burp back education." Those students were using computers, iPads, nintendos DS game, and skype. I thought that was really neat how she incorporated video games into her classroom.

In the skype interview with Dr. Strange, Kathy Cassidy's (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) approach to technology was amazing. She makes education more interesting for her students through technology with the start of five computers. I like the idea of how she use skype in her classroom to communicate with other classes around the world. I think this would be a great tool to use in a math classes. I found it very interesting how we can learn from other students around the world. To understand their way of learning and how they are taught. The idea to use visual aide vs. paper and pencils. Since using paper and pencils are not appealing to students, I think that having video games, ipads and laptops are great ideas.

Another idea that I would use is a class blog. The reason is so that parents, students, and teachers can communicate. Students and parents can have access to their class work. Students can check for assignment for class, homework assignment, and tests or quizzes. It's good for students to communicate with fellow classmates if they are having problems with math. They can teach each other through the class blog. They can work on their writing skills and math problems. Parents could even help their child with school work as well. I think having a blog site for math students would be great. I'm excited to see what other technology can be used for math.

Project #12 Part A Smartboard

Project #10 Interview Movie

C4T#3

C4T

In Michael Edlavitch Hooda Math Blog, was about a game called Hooda Escape Ice Cream Shop. It's a puzzle game that will have the students using their math and reasoning skills. students will have to think critically and watch for clues. It uses CCSS Math content: generalize place value understanding fro multi-digit whole number and converting rational number to a decimal using long division. If you have a sweet tooth like me, Try some Hooda Escape Ice Cream Shop, if you dare.

I comment that I really like a game that challenges your students mind and math skills. I love how you have to explore and find the clues to escape the shop. I will definitely takes this knowledge with me when I become a math teacher.

Post#2
Edlavitch provides another great post on Hooda Math. He talks about a conference that was in Las Vegas and thanks all of the people who came and visit his booth. He has provided a list of games and the Common Core State Standards that's associated with the games for all grade levels. I found it to be very interesting.

My comment was that I love how the games are set up for students of all grade levels. Great job on providing which CCSS is associate with the grade level. I really admired the Hooda Escape Ice Cream game. It was very interesting. I like how students can interact with technology and its a great reinforce for teachers as well.

C4K Summary for October

C4K

Gabrielle
The Art of Compromise by Gabrielle, she talks about the controversial debate over the Affordable Care Act. The Democrats and Republicans have strong opinions, but no action has been taken to agree on legislation need to keep our national government open. That "We The People" need to put congress in time-out to achieve our goal which is to reopen the federal government. We must emphasize the importance of our government reopening because a closed government sends a message to the world: that we are too divided to reach our goals. Congress to compromise in order to reopen our federal government.

I comment that I agreed with her about our government. The government definitely needs to get together and compromise on our future. We need to stand our ground and let Congress know how we feel about the government shut down. It's great to see your thoughts about our government. I love her example of compromise using the barbie dolls. Compromise can't always fix the problem but it's a start. Great post!!!

C4K#2
Delilah
I had a student name Delilah in Mrs. Hartooni class. Delilah wrote a post about her science history. She described her past science teachers and what she learn from them. Delilah talks about what she has learned such as life cycles, food chains, and recycling. In a past teacher class, she had made a projects on storms and volcanoes. She had left that school before she was able to finish those projects. She is very excited to be in Mrs. Hartooni class. They have an project on gummy bears, to see what happen when you put them in water for a period of time.

I commented that I like the post. It's great to hear of your past learning experiences and what great teacher you had. I'm not a fan of science but I love to learn about the life cycles and how it works. Although, she didn't have a title for her post, I knew what she was expression to her audience.

C4K#3
Amily
Amily is a student in Mr. So 2nd grade class. She wrote about her Hero which is her mom. She talks about how her mom fix her lunch everyday for school. Her mom is always their for her when she gets hurt. She feels that her mom is like a real super hero in her life and she can;t live without her.

I comment saying that I really love her post. It's funny because me and her have the same hero as in my mom is my hero. She has been their for me as well. My mom taught me to be a leader and not a follower. I suggested a few errors in her writing and that she should keep up the good work.

C4K#4
Brady V.

Brady V. is a student in Mrs.Geldes 4th grade class in Nebraska. He had good interesting facts about the Boston Red Sox in his blog post. The Boston Red Sox were created in 1934 and had their first game on April 20 1934. In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series. He was hoping for them to win another World Series game.

My response was that I enjoyed his post for sharing those interesting facts about the Boston Red Sox. I'm not a huge baseball fan but I would love to go to a game some day just to say I have experiences it and to see the Green Monster they have. I made a few suggestion about his post with spacing after a period and word choice. Overall, GREAT JOB!!!