Reflection 8 Project Based Learning

Project- based learning is the new cool thing when it comes to education. With all of the new technology with cell phones and apps, it is the new popular thing to do. Personally, I think that it is an effective way to teach students. I do not remember doing much of this growing up and coming through school. But from what I have read about this teaching method, it challenges the kids to learn the skills and then apply them to their hands on work. The more that the students do it, the better they will be at it. It will start to be engraved into their brains and it will be easy for them.

 

21centuryedtech.wordpress.com

Project based teaching style has benefits such as the concept of the students knowing the material and understanding the topic. The will no be able to memorize information. This is what comes down to actually learning the materials and being able to perform the tasks when it comes down to crunch time.

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/project-based-learning/11-tools-for-better-project-based-learning/

Another example of a benefit of using a project based teaching style is that students cannot simply memorize information to use it on this project. To actually create something pertaining to the subject they’re in, they must possess an innate understanding of the topic. This encourages further research on subjects, as well as guaranteeing the students retain the information instead of letting it simply float through one ear and out the other. This could be a problem though. All students are not the same, they learn in different ways, and they comprehend material at different speeds. This for example could be very frustrating and overwhelming to a student if they cannot comprehend the material correctly. This could lead to kids giving up and falling behind in the learning process. That is not something that you want to happen in your classroom. So if you chose to use this method then as a teacher, you have to be patient with your students and be there for them if they need help. Your job is to encourage them to do better so that they do not think that they are a failure!

www.schoolsthatwork.org

 

Smart Board Reflection

When smart boards came into our high school, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world! I thought that our school was better than everyone else’s school because we had smart boards and they didnt. Smart boards have their pros and cons. I seemed to really enjoy the smart boards because it was a good way for me to learn. I am a visual learner and the boards made class more interesting and a lot easier to pay attention in class. 

The pros of the smart board was what I stated before, it was fun, cool, interesting, and it caught the eye of the students which made them focus in a little bit more. Since technology is taking over the world with kids always on their phones, computers, iPads, this was the new cool technology to make school and the student have a connection. The cons of the boards is that they are expensive. The money for those comes right out of your tax money, so tax payers are not to fond of the idea. Another con is that the teachers do not know how to use them correctly so they are not getting all of the material that they need to teach to the students. Instead of teaching, they are trying to figure out how the board works.

lajoieward.wordpress.com

After listening to the guest speakers, and reading the articles from Justine, my view on smart boards changed a little bit. For example, the game we played with our guest speaker with the squishy ball was a very cool thing. It made class fun and it will make learning activities a lot more interesting for the students. Another article gave statistics about the boards, they stated that the students actually do learn less because teachers do not know how to use them properly. That can be a big problem in many cases. Kids are not learning enough, and that could cause problems between parents and the schools because they are the ones paying for the smart boards and their kids are not getting the proper education. But on the other hand, if teachers get educated correctly on the boards, the boards will be very successful in the learning industry because the kids will be getting the knowledge that is needed.

My final opinion is that I think smart boards should be used in math classes because you can do a lot of activities with different problems and games. I also think they should be used in science classes because they can do activities such as dissect animals like we had done with our guest speaker. With having the boards in other classes, it might just be a distraction and cause more harm than good

.www.ivci.com

 

Final Reflection

This semester flew by in this class! I guess its true , time flies when your having fun! I can remember specifically when we were making our about me pages in class. I didn’t know what I was getting into when I signed up for this class nor did I know what it was about, but I am so glad I took it.I had so much fun in this class and I will use the tools I learned for the rest of my life! WordPress is also an awesome thing that I learned. It is cool to have people read your blogs, and read other blogs. It is a great way to learn and interact with others. Justine, you were such an amazing teacher, made it very very enjoyable to come to class. Very understanding and very helpful. I am going to miss this class a lot.

A great thing that this class was a small class, not a lot of students, so it was easy to seek one on one help from Justine. It made it less confusing and you were not overwhelmed at all. It was also a great way to interact with your fellow classmates and that helped when it came down to working on projects. Not many classes at UGA allow you to do that. It was a very relaxing, calm atmosphere in the classroom which made it very enjoyable.

The two projects were great, I really enjoyed doing both of them. The stop animation was my favorite, I never thought I would be able to do such a thing! You could use that towards advertising which is a great thing to do with my major. The concept of it was so cool. I had no idea that stop animation was a bunch of pictures being taken. Final project was very hard, a lot to do in such a short time. There was so much that was needed to be done in this project. My group was excellent though. Could not have asked for a better group. It was awesome that we were given class time to work on them as well.

Learning about technology in the classroom, I officially agree with all of the technology. Technology now of days is neccessary in order for the students to learn because of how advanced everything is in the outside world. It is a great thing because it is interesting, which keeps it interesting for the students so that they pay attention in class and learn more. I am all about the technology in the classrooms and I do not think it is a problem at all!

Most importantly, Justine, I just wanted to thank you for such a great experience in your class. You are by far the nicest teacher that I have ever been around. The way you came to class everyday in a good mood, made it impossible for any of the students to be in a bad mood. I had trouble this year with my wordpress and you were very understanding and very helpful on everything. Always looked forward to coming to your class. You started every class with the things we had to do and a timeline for everything! That was very helpful and I really appreciate how much you cared about the class and about us as students. Thank you again very much!

 

 

 

LAD Final Thoughts

We had spent so much time together doing research and talking to people, that we had gathered so much information as a group. I thought that we taught the class very well about our topic, only problem was we ran out of time. I did not think that would be the case at all. We could have been a little bit smoother with some of our information, but that happens. It was a great presentation and put a lot of time and effort into this project. Thought all of us presented very well, loud, excellent eye contact, and most importantly we had everyones attention.

We had a great time together while doing this project. We not only taught the class about out topic, but while working together as a group, we learned a lot from each other. The topic of career paths for high school student-athletes was a great choice and I am so happy that we did it because not a lot of people know about everything that goes on. Everyone in the class was interested and asking questions so that was an awesome sign. As a group we learned a new applications such as Flipgrid and Vimeo. Jordan and I were talking after we had met to work on the project, the only downfall about this project was that it was so stressful to learn how to build a website, and to gather a lot of information. The time table and the amount of curriculum we needed throughout project made it even harder. But it was a great thing that Ms. Justine had showed us, Weebly! That made life so much easier because it gave you a template of an actual website! 

I had fun doing this project and learning about everything. Had a hard time with meeting with the groups sometimes because of how busy of a schedule that everyone has, but it worked out great and we got everything done. I think that there should be a couple class meetings that students actually learn more on how to use the websites such as putting videos and images on. Jordan and I spent about an hour trying to figure out how to put a video from youtube onto Weebly. It was something that had to do with compatibility. If we would have known more, it would have made it easier.

 

LAD

The transition to Weebly has been fairly smooth. It is definitely more user-friendly than Google site. For instance, moving images and inserting videos onto the site is not nearly as difficult. We can also add pages to the site more fluidly. I have not had too much trouble creating the website using Weebly. The one area where I think the website software could use improvement is with implementing text on the webpages. I don’t like their formatting/editing software toolbar. It’s kind of difficult to increase font size as well as to change fonts and to insert bullet points and numbered lists. The toolbar is not very responsive to clicks. You have to click the “increase font size” button a lot to increase the size of the font. I think it would be easier if they used a toolbar similar to Microsoft Word where you just utilize a drop bar to increase the size and manually type in the font size as well as the actual font.

We also found flipgrid to be very helpful for our assignment. It is a very simple and fairly easy to use application. The teacher/administrator creates short, concise questions on a grid. Then, after the questions are created for the grid, the teacher sends the students the grid through email, e-learning commons, or other forms of communication. The cool part about this app, is that students get to answer through video which be shared and viewed. After the students post their video responses to the questions on the grid, they can share them through their social networking sites – Twitter, Facebook, etc. and they can also “like” their classmates’ videos through flipgrid. We will use this application as an interactive tool for our assignments

We found that the tools we have learned to use have been very helpful because of the way that we can incorporate them into a learning experience in the classroom. Jordan, Morgan and I feel that the applications we used are great ones for the topic that we have chosen. Our topic is great information need to move forward in the next stage of your life.

 

 

Reflection LAD

Working with our group, we were very overwhelmed when we first received and viewed the rubric. We were thinking, how are we going to get this done. The first thing we did as a group wAs we sat down and come up with a plan on how we were going to get this done on time and with the correct information. we came up with an outline and started our website. we hope to get a lot of work done this weekend in order to get the project finished on time. this is one of the most stressful projects that we have ever done.  it is a lot of new things that we are trying to learn. a lot of preparation and a lot of stressful research. we are on the right track with everything so it should end up very well.

It has been quite challenging to develop site with no prior computer design experience. I have been experimenting with Google site and Weebly trying to figure out which one will be more applicable for our project and time constraints. I started using Google site and I worked off of their “family” template. At first, it wasn’t to bad. I was able to add and delete pictures relatively easy as well as change the sidebar subheads. However as i tried to change the headers and features near the bottom of the page. with that, I experienced some obstacles. I think the overall construct of Google site is not a very user- friendly and does not allow for much personalization. With that said, I believe that we are going to make the transition to Weebly. So I am going to play around with it the next couple days and see if it is a litter easier for individuals who haven’t had much experience with computer software.

Economics is the study of the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth. As a group we decided that economics is not simply a class from high school or college that you can leave in the dust upon the collection of a diploma. It turns out that the ideals learned in those tedious classes were, in fact, a guide to your financial success as an adult. Contemplating a way to convey the principles embodied by the rules of economics through interactive learning is a difficult thing to illustrate to students however. This is mainly because the hardest part about teaching these principles is that everyone’s economic tendencies vary based on an infinite number circumstances and conditions. However, the benefit of teaching such a financially and quantitative subject is that it deals with exact numbers. This is how we came up with the idea that professional athletes’ careers are based on one thing: money. Sure, occupational happiness is by far the most important factor in holding a job, but in the end, happiness doesn’t pay bills. By analyzing the cost-benefit relationships between opportunity costs, or choices, we can determine whether or not a potential professional athlete will be more successful in the long-run by taking a detour route through college or signing a contract out of high school. The hardest part about this project will be determining which variables are most important, but we will most likely stick to GPA, degrees taken, years played , and many other school/sport related numbers.

 

 

Stop Animation Reflection

 The stop animation experience was amazing. I really enjoyed working with my team, and it allowed us all to learn how use the technique and it also allowed us to become better friends and learn more about each other. It was a great experience all the way around. Walking into this project, I had no idea how stop animation worked and could not believe that we were able to make such a cool video. I had no experience with stop animation so it was time to learn. I learned how frustrating it could be at times by trying to get everything matched together, also I learned that you have to be very patient with this technique. It was really cool how stop animation was made by taking pictures. I had always thought that it was some kind of way of taking a video. 

 

        I think stop animation personally is a great way to teach people on how to do things. It is an educational way to educate the society on how to do the how to’s. It is a step by step process to be able to educate people on how to use certain things. Stop animation is very cool because it can be sped up and slowed down with different things to really show the effects of the video. For our case, it can be educational to people on how to use different things such as different apps on a mobile device. It will educate them on how to use the app fully in a very short amount of time. Another instance that a group in our class used was for recipes. Stop animation is a great thing to post recipes and for people to go on there and learn how to cook something short and quick! 

The way to making a stop animation is alot of preparation. You need to get all your materials and ideas ready before you can start the video. Your ideas are the most important part and then you can start the project. You need to take a bunch of pictures of every movement. The key to making it clear is having a good camera and having it on a tripod so that it is clear and steady. This allows it to become more smoothly and alot faster. After all pictures are taken, it is now time to put them into a video software such as iMovie ( what we used) you put all of the pictures together and you can change the duration and speed of each picture. With the video software you can add all of the photos together to amsh them up and make a stop animation and then you can add music to put the whole video together and get your final project! Stop animation is something that I would like to use in my future with me as a learner and as a teacher. I learned a bunch of great things from my classmates and it is something I would love to do again!

 

 

 

http://www.amazon.com

www.baldwinpl.org 

Reflection 6 Augmented Reality

 

The video taught me something that I had never learned before. Augmented reality. Augmented reality is s a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics orGPS data. This gave me a new perspective of many different things such as learning and teaching. By having this skill it opens up many different techniques for learning for the students and the  teachers. It gives teachers a new perspective on new ways to teach. With having new ways to teach, it helps develop the brain of students by learning in a different environment instead of learning the same way as in their other classrooms. This is a great thing and is going to be very effective.

Augmented reality (AR) has its perks, but just like everything else, it has its downfalls. AR is a spectacular tool for the learning aspect in life. It targets all different kinds of learners. It allows you to learn many different skills, and it allows you to be able to set goals with different activities such as learning goals. It is also a pro because you are able to work this app right off of your smartphone. It is quick, and it is easy. This will help people take strides in life and make significant leaps forward in the classroom. The con of this situation, as we talked to Jim through Skype, he explained how everything can be done right there through your smart phone. He took it into the perspective that everyone has a smartphone. That is not the case. This is the bad part of this idea. Not everyone in blessed to have a mobile device, let alone a smart phone.  Some people just are not capable to afford one. If you are able to afford one, some people just do not like the fact of having a smart phone. Some people just want a basic cellphone and do not want to deal with all the extra bells and whistles on it.

People are steered away from the idea of futuristic technology in everyday students learning, but they do not realize that it is used in their everyday life. I really enjoyed the football and baseball examples of augmented reality being used for the fans and officials of giving the stat lines and visually showing the yard lines of the games. This shows that augmented reality is indeed a reality that needs to be incorporated into the scholastic system in order to prepare students for what they will be working with on a daily basis in and outside of the classroom.

http://doit-mobile.com/augmented-reality/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality

Reflection 5. (Video and Article)

From these texts, it shows that kids are impacted and is a necessity to one’s school journey. Art is good for kids because it really brings out the creativity of each child and really lets the kids use their imagination and that helps the learning process and helps the brain develop. Art should be something that is offered at every school, especially in elementary schools. This would be an advantage to the kids in their future with brain development.

  The video provided also shows the great importance that art has in childrens everyday life. Like I stated earlier, it really allows kids to find who they are by being able to dig deep down in their brain and use their imagination. With not only using their imagination and using creativity, it also allows kids to use the skill of observation. They can observe their own work and find things out that they have never seen, or that they did not know that they were capable of doing. This observation skill is also used throughout the classroom because kids like to see other students ideas of work and it gives the students observing more ideas and allows the brain to grow with ideas and allows the students to build their creativity skill.

 “Media Literacy is Vital in the Age of the Image” was a reading that was enjoyable to read. I learned things that I did not know. I learned that the younger generations can learn is a better fashion due to the use and development of neurons. These neurons begin to age and not work as well the older we get and it becomes more difficult to learn new things. I was made more aware of electronic tools and uses of technology by how is grows the strengths of stimuli.

These articles and videos made connections with my personal likings and the way myself works. I myself prefers to learn through the visual techniques. When taking art classes while growing up, I have been very successful in doing so. I was able to see other work and was able to build my own ideas after seeing and growing my imagination. Taking art classes growing up could take credit for my imagination for todays day in age. It made my imagination expand greatly and it allows me to use it to this day. I can see it not only in the art aspects, but I can see it while writing papers and I can see it when thinking of new ideas in my everyday life. I dont like how school districts are cutting funds to their art programs. I dont think that this is the right thing to do because I dont think they see the importance that it has on children. It is a tool of developing the brain and helping children use the brain to come up with different ideas. These classes are setting kids up for success in their future.

www.sheknows.com

Horizon Report Reflection p 3-10

When it comes to my opinion of the trends listed in the report, I find the majority of them accurate. Tablet computing, mentioned as a “Near-term horizon,” can be seen everywhere, especially on the campus here at the University of Georgia. In classes where technology is allowed, a good percentage of students can be seen taking notes, responding to discussion boards, along with researching more into a topic on a tablet-like device (whether it be a kindle, nook, iPad, or another brand). In the case of “Mid-term horizon,” I believe gamification is becoming more of a trend, in particularly in the elementary school setting. Numerous websites can be found by today’s educators; these websites offer games applying to all subjects, age levels, and interests. I can remember observing my older brother playing online games, applying to his vocabulary terms for the week, when he was in elementary school. The educational gaming scene began to decline after he was promoted to middle school.

I feel like the challenges mentioned in the report are very relevant. I have personally witnessed challenge three: limited uptake of new technologies. Many of the professors I have encountered practice very traditional teaching method. For some, it was a stretch for them to show a power point to correspond with their lecture. One major challenge that results from the super traditional teaching method of some professors in the complete absence of technology. As a very technology-reliant culture, several of my peers have struggled with return to pen and paper after becoming accustomed to typing all of their notes. To resolve this constant struggle, professors will either have to accept the changes in society, and learn the means to operate the new technologies, or students should investigate their professors and discover whether their technological resources will be allowed in the classroom.

Of all the listed technologies to watch, I find the idea of wearable technology most interesting. The Google invention, “Project Glass,” sounds like something George Jetson would have used! Glasses activated by voice command would provide instant information right before your eyes. Also, the idea that these wearable devices can aid scientist in collecting data is beyond fascinating. Researchers could observe the life of one of their subjects from across the world. The mention that these “highly functional” items are becoming more, and more, available to consumers is absolutely mind-blowing.  

http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/04/technology/google-project-glass/index.htm

www.technobuffalo.com