Project # 14- PB-learning plan # 2 non-collaborative

Blog Post # 10-What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning from Randy Pausch?

What can we learn from this video-Randy Pausch-Last Lecture- Achieving Your Childhood Dreams?

First, it is important to understand what Randy was talking about.

•  that life is short and that you will not achieve everything you had hoped to achieve as a kid but you will get to experience all that you want to experience.
• It is important to reflect, as your ideas change and your thinking changes, and it is important to make realistic goals 
• That when people give you feedback it is a good thing because that means you haven’t been given up on. 
• That you can really be surprised when you wait and see the progress that has been made after time has passed.
• That it is important to start fulfilling your passions at a young age because these begin at a young age.
• That learning can be fun

What does this mean?

• That lifelong learning is important- it it not important how long it takes to learn something-it happens all life long
• creativity and passion must be harnessed at a young age.
• thinking always change as time passes and reflection is important.- every goal will not be achieved because goals change all the time.
• students will go beyond what the standards say must be learned if given the opportunity
• collaboration on projects can help students learn more than sitting through a lecture
• technology is only a tool that students can use to assist them in learning
• learning tasks must be interesting and fun for students to be effective

Randy Pausch did a wonderful presentation about this and he showed what students can do if you let them by talking about his students virtual world projects. I think we can learn from Randy Pausch that PBL is effective and a great way to teach students more than just what standards tell teachers we must teach the students.

Components of Project-Based Learning- from-http://pbl-wl.wikispaces.com/PBL+Essentials

PBL, PrBL-from- from-http://emergentmath.com/2012/05/24/isnt-problem-based-learning-easier-than-project-based-learning-and-10-other-myths-about-prbl-real-or-not-real/

Braque Group Collaborative Blog Post # 9- (Morgan Rushlow, Daniel LoVette and Samantha West)-"What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?"

students working on project together-from http://researchmotel.com/?p=273

Student working on Art project- from http://www.teachthought.com/?s=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.teachthought.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F10%2Fjose-kevo-12.jpg

seven C’s of 21st century learning- from http://education-2020.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Learning

Back To The Future

link to video-Back to the Future presentation

Brian Crosby’s presentation titled Back To The Future had us wanting to re-take the fourth grade all over again. His science class at Agnes Risley Elementary in Sparks, Nevada are doing project-based learning plans infused with technology. Mr. Crosby chooses to teach by the project-based method because his students were “disconnected” and he wanted to build passion in his classroom which consisted of mostly of at-risk students. Needless to say he had his work cut out for him. Mr. Crosby showed us two lessons. One was an experiment on air pressure where the students crushed a soda by just placing it in hot water. The second and biggest experiment the class, with the help of some local professors, built an hot-air balloon rigged with a parachute and cameras to document the entire project. Since no one in the Braque group are science majors, the technical terms and standards taught in these experiments will be spared. However, we do think what the class did post-experiment was the most important. Because the hot-air balloon experiment was well documented, the students were able to write about it. Not typed in an essay, not written with pencil and paper, but blogged about. Through this students were writing to clarify and share, and writing to tell a story in which they get feedback from an authentic audience. Sharing what they have learned in this way promotes creativity, inspiration, and therefore students are able to remember content better. Crosby’s class went further than just blogging. They made wiki pages, and skyped with other classrooms all around the world. Also, through the balloon project, they created “High Hopes,” which was a blog used to connect his class to other classes around the world in order to hear other students’ hopes and life goals. Brian Crosby uses this type of educating in an effort to “quit racing kids through school.” By this approach, maybe students will use the same tools to learn when they leave the classroom.

Blended Learning Cycle

link to video-Blended Learning Cycle

In the second video Mr. Paul Andersen showed us the blended learning cycle and how it works. We believe this could be the best way to teach your class. He combines the blended cycle which consist of online, mobile, and classroom time with the learning cycle which allows students to explore, explain, expand, and be more engaged. Together this makes an amazing combination. This cycle could give the students more opportunities to understand the information and give teachers more time to better explain things in the classroom. Mr. Andersen’s cycle starts with a question. As future teachers we want our students attention. If we start with a question that they really do not know the answer to; they will stay focused longer knowing at the end they will get their answer. The next part is investigate. This is a helpful section because this is when the students can get into groups and work up an hypothesis. After the students investigate there is the video section. Mr. Andersen makes podcasts for his students to view. We believe podcast are very helpful when it comes to time management. The students can watch the podcasts outside of class during down time. This gives them plenty of time in class to comment and share their thoughts  and concerns on the topic. Next, the students have to elaborate on what they have learned. The students can make charts or diagrams on what they believe will happen. Next come reviewing in which we think is the best part of the whole cycle. As future teachers and current students, we understand the importance of individual or group work with the teacher. This gives one on one time to answer any last minute questions that the students may have as well as gets them get ready for the summary quiz. The summary quiz is the last  part of information that can help them get ready for the big test. The blended learning cycle is something that we will incorporate into our classrooms. Mr. Andersen has created something that is both helpful for the teacher and to the students which is what makes a great learning environment.

“Making Thinking Visible”

links to videos-Making Thinking Visible
Making Thinking Visible-amazon videos

This video  discussed Mark Church, Ron Richhart and Karin Morrison’s book titled: “Making Thinking Visible”. The video discussed what it means to truly make thinking ‘visible’. According to the authors mentioned in this book, what it means to do this is to have students do something that shows progress. An example of this would be to have students put the work they have completed into a portfolio and later reflect back on how much more has been learned over a period of time in order to see how their thinking has changed about the topic being discussed. It can be astonishing to look back and see how much progress has been made after a long period of time, especially when reflecting on your own work.  In other words, making thinking ‘visible’means, at least in  the context of what this book is saying, means to be creative in your teaching strategies when teaching and let students create through being engaged in the learning process. The simplest way of doing this may be to have the students write down what something means to them now and then think back on the work later when the class comes back to it either in a project or a discussion about what should be changed about their original thought. In this video that is exactly what happened. A teacher told students to attach a thought as groups to a piece of paper, about a topic they were given to address and they would look back at it later on and think about what they think their thought should actually should be after some time of reflection. This is what Dr. Strange asks us to do with our work as students in EDM 310 and we believe this is a very important part of the learning process- reflection. Why is reflection so important? It not only helps students to improve but it also helps them to see how far they have come with their learning. We believe this is real authentic assessment and it shows much more of what was learned than a test can show. This is something that all educators in the 21st century must be ready to incorporate into their classrooms.

Braque Group(Morgan Rushlow and Daniel LoVette)'s Project #9 -Topic # 5-podcast video

C4T # 2 summary

For my C4T # 2 I had the wonderful pleasure of commenting on Jeff Utecht's blog. I found it very informative and very interesting to read. I was glad to have the chance to comment on his blog. Here's the link to his blog- 

http://www.thethinkingstick.com

comment 1-

Hi, I am Morgan Rushlow and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I thought this post was very interesting. I do believe digital technology will soon replace traditional textbooks and it will change education for the better. I believe it will open a new and exciting world for students.

Here's a link to my edm 310 student blog-  http://rushlowmorganedm310.blogspot.com

and my twitter address-https://twitter.com/morganrrushlow

comment 2- 

Hi, My name is Morgan Rushlow, and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I thought this is a very interesting thought that you have here, Jeff. I agree that education will change in the future. Could the reason be that this is scary to some is that there is uncertainty about how it will change things in education? Or could there be many reasons that this is scaring some? What changes will be coming down the road after these changes take place? Indeed many questions to ask from this thought- Very interesting.

here is a link to my EDM 310 student blog-

http://rushlowmorganedm310.blogspot.com

and my twitter page-

link to twitter.com

and here's the links to the posts I commented on.

http://www.thethinkingstick.com/connected-devices-supersede-textbooks/

http://www.thethinkingstick.com/moocs-starting-to-scare-universities-and-professors/

Blog Post 8-collaborative project - Braque Group ( Morgan Rushlow and Daniel LoVette)- 21st Century Learning and Communicating Tools

Screen presentation using skype/youtube- from-https://www.google.com/search

using computers-http://www.xavier.edu/ts/about/Connection-Center.cfm

students collaborating together using computers-from-https://www.google.com/search

Thoughts on Khan Academy and YouTube/education- By: Morgan Rushlow

Khan Academy is a wonderful place where students can watch videos anytime, anywhere, about educational topics and even practice the concepts within Khan Academy. Some teachers even use it in their classrooms to let students complete assignments and track progress on their learning. Also, there are new videos all the time on Khan Academy, which means updated information is always readily available. This is a plus because information must always be updated. It also lets students communicate with their classmates and teacher by way of instant message or through email.

YouTube/education is also a wonderful place where students get to watch videos anytime, anywhere, about educational topics and give their review quickly and easily. They can send their review/analysis of what they learned in the video in a comment, video, etc., or they can send it directly to their teacher by way of email/messaging. There is always new fresh updated content  being created  here  just like on Khan Academy.

Both are wonderful 21st century learning tools that provide students with a wealth of information and lots of possibility. There are many ways that these tools can be useful, such as: fast

and easy when finding information, and with students connecting with their classmates and teachers.  Videos can also be used from these tools to teach lessons in the classroom from a video projector. These are tools in which can be used to expand their learning beyond the classroom. Also, these are great tools to use no matter what subject you will teach, because there is content  available on any subject that you are looking for.

Experience them both here now-  http://www.khanacademy.org

http://www.youtube.com/t/education

Google Earth - By: Daniel LoVette

Through EDM310, I have discovered that Google provides a lot of useful technology tools. Email, Blogger, Drive, Google Plus, and many other great programs are at our disposal. As a future secondary geography teacher, the technology tool Google Earth will be very useful in this anticipated teaching situation. Geography is the study of earth’s inhabitants, features, and lands and Google Earth is able to explore each of these. With this tool, the average American student is able to take a look at anywhere in the world with the click of a button. From there, the possibilities for learning are great. Let’s say the topic of the week is Haiti. The student is able to see information about Haiti’s climate, human interaction, latitude and longitude coordinates, and even view areas that are subjected to widespread disasters such as the 2010 earthquake. Google has provided this 21st century learning tool and it should be used in the classroom. Students will be able to explore, create, and learn more from Google earth than a story or lecture any day.     

Try out Google Earth here!

Progress report # 1 on PLN

What am I doing for my PLN at this point? I am using twitter and google plus to connect with educators other professionals and am looking at different websites to add to my PLN and have found lots of stuff already. I think the PLN I will use is symbaloo. It has a very organized space to add things to and will be easy to navigate. I am really excited about using a PLN for the first time.  I think it is very important to connect with others because they can help you along the journey. 

Project # 13- Project- Based Learning Plan- collaborative Project- Braque Group- Morgan Rushlow and Daniel LoVette

Braque Group Project # 13- Project- Based Learning Plan


Created by Morgan Rushlow,and Daniel LoVette. this project based learning plan is intended for 9th - 12th grade. It covers contemporary issues that impact the global environment.

C4K september summary

here is a list of my comments for september-

C4K post 1-

Hi, Batman. I am Morgan Rushlow, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama taking EDM 310. I thought your  "This I Believe" post was wonderful. I thought it added to the credibility of your statement when you used personal experience to show that God is indeed real.  That shows you have proof of God's existence and why you believe God exists. Here's my EDM 310 blog link-    http://rushlowmorganedm310.blogspot.com

C4K post 2-Hi, Ye-Eun. My name is Morgan Rushlow, and I am a student in EDM 310 at the university of South Alabama. I thought this post was interesting. I think this post shows you are a courageous person because I thought it took a lot of courage to try to do something that is scary. I also thought it was interesting that after the experience you thought it was more fun than scary, which usually happens when you do something courageous. I think this post shows you will go far in life because courage will help you to reach all of your dreams. Here is a link to my EDM 310 student blog- http://rushlowmorganedm310.blogspot.com

C4K post 3-

HI, Turuhira. My name is Morgan Rushlow, and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I thought your video about Hexagonal Learning was interesting. I thought it showed a lot about how one piece of technology can be connected to another technological device. You and Sessalina obviously put a lot of thought in this. Here's a link to my EDM 310 student blog- http://rushlowmorganedm310.blogspot.com

C4K post 4- Hi, Michael. My name is Morgan Rushlow, and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I thought you had some really interesting thoughts here. Sounds like you had a really good experience with this. Have a wonderful day, and here is a link to my EDM 310 student blog-

http://rushlowmorganedm310.blogspot.com

and a list of the blog links to see them-


http://kidblog.org/MrsRippsClass/author/6da4a246-096f-4777-9960-2d9ed79098e6/

http://kidblog.org/english2ndBlock/author/aae94698-3c1a-4fff-ae92-596d673bb4ff/

http://kidblog.org/FlightoftheFifths/author/yeeun33594/

http://pesturuhiraw.blogspot.com

Blog Post 7- collaborative post- Braque group- Morgan Rushlow and Daniel LoVette

Morgan Rushlow's responses to videos-

videos 1-4

What can you learn from these conversations? Project-Based Learning is a fun way to get kids engaged in the learning process, and lets students express their creativity. Another thing to take away from these conversations is that learning can grow much faster and more meaningful way by doing hands-on projects and experiments than simply listening to lectures and regurgitating what a teacher said “burp-back education, as Dr. Strange calls it.”  There is a lot that goes into project-based learning and the planning of it that has to be considered. Anthony said it was hard work to do a project-based lesson but it was worth it and he had seen great results with it.

video 6- Don’t Teach Tech- Use It.

What can be taken away from the conversation in this video is that a teacher doesn’t have to know technology to use it in their classrooms- the students may already know how to use it, so the teacher must step back from teaching technology and just let students create using it. It is important to be a learner yourself, Anthony said. However, it is important for students to learn proper use of technology.

video 7- Additional Thoughts on Lessons-

What can be taken away from this conversation is that it is important to know how you will plan your lessons and understand what goes into each lesson plan and all the things that must be considered- yearly content standards, how students will be assessed, what type of lesson you will teach and how much time you want to spend on each topic. Anthony said a project-based lesson plan is 4 layers thick and has to consider the yearly standards, the coverage of the unit, the lesson for the week and what to cover each day. Anthony said you have to make sure you can cover all you want to cover when making the lesson plan.

PBL structure and aspects- from-https://www.google.com/search

PBL through digital media process- from-https://www.google.com/search

PBL process- from-https://www.google.com/search

Daniel LoVette's Responses to videos

Project Based Learning Projects 1 & 2 Experiences of a Third Grade Teacher

By: Braque Group

We really learned a lot from these two videos. From the first, we learned vital information on the overall goal of project based learning and how to approach it. The goal of any project based learning plan should obviously be to create a project. This project should have an authentic audience so the students should feel that their work is being noticed. Another way to do this is to involve the community. Once our students see that the content they are learning affects the immediate world around them they will see school work with a greater importance. The way we approach this goal is to realize that these project based learning plans are not created for an easier way to evaluate the student but for better means to get them to learn. Another approach is the ACCRS standards. These state standards are the focal point to base every classroom project around. We took note of the problem that Anthony faced when dealing with a student whose father would not allow him to do the project because of personal reasons. It seems as though Anthony calmly averted the problem by simply changing that particular student’s project. It is very important that teachers be flexible when problems arise and that was an excellent example.

#5 The Anthony - Strange List of Tips For Teachers Part. 1

By: Daniel LoVette

Although we learned a lot from everything on this list, there were a few main points that we perceived as very important. First, we as educators should never get a big head. There will always be more to learn and we should grow every single day. Not only should we learn more but we should want to always be learning. Second, Anthony said “work is not separate from play.” This means that even though teaching is hard work, our work does not stop at the last dismiss bell at the end of the day. We should enjoy researching new education techniques. And lastly, always be flexible and creative. If something does not work, don’t be afraid to change it. Be able to respond to events that are unexpected.