Morgan Bayda
Morgan Bayda's post "An Open Letter to Educators" (follow this link to see her post) offers some interesting food for thought about the current education system, specifically at the University level. She references a video by Dan Brown (above) and ponders the state of higher education today. I feel like my experiences with education at the University level are somewhat different than many people's because I am an English major. I am used to having an insane amount of assigned readings, and usually I am able to get through them. With that being said, I can also definitely respect the plight of people like Brown and Bayda. There are many incongruous aspects of the education system and the lives of students.
The education system of today is based on a framework from a time when information was very difficult to come across without having tons of money. This led to the rise of collegiate institutions which had affluent students spending their parent's money to learn information. Nowadays, it is true that information is much more easy to access. People spanning the globe are used to getting their information through the internet and it only makes sense that they will feel much more comfortable in an academic program that embraces the information age. The education system should update itself to these changes, and I think that it SLOWLY is. I feel at this point like EDM 310 itself (and the class the Bayda described herself, ECMP 355) serve as proof that education is evolving, if only at a snails pace (because classes as innovative as these are truly few and far between). I do not feel that I personally need these changes in order to avoid dropping out of college, but I understand why many are frustrated. Our society does not behave or learn the same ways it did 100 years ago, and the education system often behaves like a 100 year old grand-parent scolding its progeny about how easy they have things. I think that this information revolution is happening no matter what, and Education should evaluate where it stands. I am optimistic though, because I think that some type of education system will be around as long as people are.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Week 9: ALEX and ACCESS
ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange)
ALEX or The Alabama Learning Exchange (http://alex.state.al.us/index.php) provides a wonderful electronic database for educators. The website has received awards for achievement in digital education in 2008 and 2009. The thing I like the most about the website is that it is an open collaboration for teachers, administrators, and students state wide. I spent some time looking around the site, and found a ridiculous amount of information about virtually every subject that is being taught in schools. The ALEX website is something that I knew literally nothing about, but now that I have seen it I definitely think I could use it one day in my own classroom.
ALEX offers information on courses of study, lesson plans, a personal workspace, a search feature, links to other websites with pertinent information, and even a "treasury" of Pod Casts. All of these resources have information about any subject from science to health education. I took a more detailed look at some of the English language arts courses of study and lesson plans. I found that information and suggestions were available for every grade level K-12. The lesson plans were really amazing because they are created by actual teachers in the state of Alabama. I look at one in particular from Bibb County High School created by John Simmer. The lesson plan was designed for 11th grade students and dealt with Puritan writers and their views of God and the Devil. This lesson plan can be found here. I also listened to a Pod Cast interview of Alabamian Rick Bragg (found here). It was an exciting experience to realize that a database like this exists in our state. I can definitely see myself going back to it, if nothing else for all of the lesson plans, but somehow I think I will use it for many other things, including hopefully, the pod casts.
ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and
Students Statewide)
Students Statewide)
ACCESS distance learning (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide) can be found online here. The website claims that their vision is that: "The State of Alabama will provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve student achievement through distance learning." The website is similar to ALEX in that it provides a vast array of resources for students and educators. The ACCESS website is available to all public high school students in the state of Alabama. It provides links for test preps, Advanced Placement Courses, and various video conferencing instruction courses.
This website is also an exciting discovery similar to ALEX because I did not know it existed previous to this. I like it because it makes it obvious that because of technology no teacher has to feel alone in their classrooms. Resources like the ACCESS website allow teachers to connect and collaborate with other teachers. I am impressed that our state is making moves like this to try and improve our education system. Hopefully, it will continue to grow and accumulate information that will improve the quality of education for all students in the state of Alabama. Technology is definitely going to be part of the classrooms of tomorrow, and its refreshing to know that Alabama is making the necessary steps to include it in the education of its citizens.
This website is also an exciting discovery similar to ALEX because I did not know it existed previous to this. I like it because it makes it obvious that because of technology no teacher has to feel alone in their classrooms. Resources like the ACCESS website allow teachers to connect and collaborate with other teachers. I am impressed that our state is making moves like this to try and improve our education system. Hopefully, it will continue to grow and accumulate information that will improve the quality of education for all students in the state of Alabama. Technology is definitely going to be part of the classrooms of tomorrow, and its refreshing to know that Alabama is making the necessary steps to include it in the education of its citizens.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Comments for Kids Update
Week 5 comment for Kids: I commented this week on Isaac and Ellie's post found at http://priestsic5.blogspot.com/search/label/Ellie. They are nine and ten year old students from England. This blog was by far the most impressive student blog I have seen. The picture above was done by one of these students. The post I commented on, called "Bitten! By Isaac and Ellie," was very thoroughly done and I complemented them on their good work. It is mind numbing how talented these students are.Week 6: This week I commented on "TomJoe's" blog: http://pestomjoet.blogspot.com/. My comment read: "I am a student at the University of South Alabama and I was assigned to read your blog for one of my classes. This blog is very impressive, and I really liked this post about Phineas and Ferb. I have never seen the show, but your post definitely makes it seem funny enough to watch. Keep up the good work in school." This blog was a little bit more informal , but it was fun to read.
Week 7: http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?user_id=65078&blogger_id=299304. This week I commented on Staphons post about coral reefs. The post was very informative, and I complemented him on his work.
Week 8: http://temijuopelo.edublogs.org/2010/02/05/six-traits-organisation/#comment-56. This was a particularly interesting blog post for me to read, because I am also taking EH 401 (teaching composition). In EH 401 we discuss the sic-trait rubric for writing in great detail. My comment read : "I am a student at The University of South Alabama, and I was assigned to read your blog. This is an amazingly good post. I am studying to be an English teacher, and I am looking at the Six-Trait writing format in one of my classes. Organization is, in my opinion, the second most important part of good writing behind ideas. Your really seem to be understanding how to organize and shape your arguments using facts and smooth transitions. You are well on your way to becoming a very good writer. Keep up the good work, its worth it. Good writers like you are in short supply."
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Week 8: A Look at Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
This video is a truly remarkable and moving presentation by Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon University on September 18, 2007. His bravery and jovial nature in the face of terminal cancer is truly amazing. The video is unbelievably funny and is also quite stirring. In the video, Dr. Pausch talks about his childhood dreams, his life as a virtual reality creator, and his career as a professor. His honesty is quite palpable. Dr. Rausch's presentation manages to stay fresh and optimistic throughout. The video offers a good deal of food for thought for educators and people in general.
I really liked Rausch's description of everything he learned from his experiences in trying to become and NFL football player. His idea of 'head fakes' that indirectly teach traits through some other medium is spot on. More specifically, Rausch mentions that the long term lessons of football are not how to block and tackle, but rather the deeper values taught in football such as perseverance. He calls on teachers to look out for these 'head fakes' as potential ways to successfully impact students' lives. His point that "if nobody is criticizing you, they probably have given up on you" is definitely something I agree with and have used in my own coaching career with my own players.
Dr. Rausch also makes mention numerous times about figurative "brick walls" that people are bound to hit throughout their lives. He points out that brick walls are only in place to keep those who do not want something bad enough from getting it. He asserts that brick walls are merely a challenge and that the ultimate key is to keep going. This is also a value that I have attempted to infuse into the minds of students I have had the opportunity to instruct. Being able to teach values like this is probably one of the most special opportunities for educators, because lessons like these are not forgotten after the final exams are over, but stay with students for a lifetime.
Dr. Rausch's tales of his career in virtual reality and educating students about it is amazing. One of his lifelong goals was to work as an 'imaganineer' at Disney Land, a dream that he was eventually able to achieve. He also points out that as educators, one of our goals must be to help students achieve each of their own childhood dreams. I found this to be a very profound idea about the long term goal of teachers, and I think that this is definitely true. I would argue that everyone dreams of great thing during those years of childhood wonder, and teachers are definitely on the forefront of being able to help people achieve these dreams. It is a goal of mine to be a teacher that hopefully can do things that enable my students to one day achieve their dreams. Dr. Rausch was able to help many of his students accomplish their dreams, such as working on Star Wars films, and I can only hope to one day be able to tell stories like this about my own students one day.
I really liked Rausch's description of everything he learned from his experiences in trying to become and NFL football player. His idea of 'head fakes' that indirectly teach traits through some other medium is spot on. More specifically, Rausch mentions that the long term lessons of football are not how to block and tackle, but rather the deeper values taught in football such as perseverance. He calls on teachers to look out for these 'head fakes' as potential ways to successfully impact students' lives. His point that "if nobody is criticizing you, they probably have given up on you" is definitely something I agree with and have used in my own coaching career with my own players.
Dr. Rausch also makes mention numerous times about figurative "brick walls" that people are bound to hit throughout their lives. He points out that brick walls are only in place to keep those who do not want something bad enough from getting it. He asserts that brick walls are merely a challenge and that the ultimate key is to keep going. This is also a value that I have attempted to infuse into the minds of students I have had the opportunity to instruct. Being able to teach values like this is probably one of the most special opportunities for educators, because lessons like these are not forgotten after the final exams are over, but stay with students for a lifetime.
Dr. Rausch's tales of his career in virtual reality and educating students about it is amazing. One of his lifelong goals was to work as an 'imaganineer' at Disney Land, a dream that he was eventually able to achieve. He also points out that as educators, one of our goals must be to help students achieve each of their own childhood dreams. I found this to be a very profound idea about the long term goal of teachers, and I think that this is definitely true. I would argue that everyone dreams of great thing during those years of childhood wonder, and teachers are definitely on the forefront of being able to help people achieve these dreams. It is a goal of mine to be a teacher that hopefully can do things that enable my students to one day achieve their dreams. Dr. Rausch was able to help many of his students accomplish their dreams, such as working on Star Wars films, and I can only hope to one day be able to tell stories like this about my own students one day.
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