Open Education

In the article 7 Things You Should Know About Open Education, open education is a new thing that uses open education resources. Open educational resources (OER) are any resources available at little or no cost that can be used for teaching, learning, or research.  These resources make it easier for students to access the material.  The resources also help the students learn.  They can be in the forms of quizzes, tests, textbooks, course readings, and games.  All the resources open up for more options with the school subjects. This makes education much more widespread than ever imagined.  There always are downfalls when it comes to new and upcoming things.  The downfalls of the open education resources are sometimes they don't stay current, sometimes the standards are different, like if one resources was done by an university as compared to an individual, and many people need to be adapted to how to make an open educational resource.  A lot of people think they are, but they really aren't. 

I'm honestly not sure if this is what I'm supposed to do for this project, so I'm going to wing it.  I looked up 3 resources off of the website.  This website is really confusing at first, but I finally got the hang of it.  As I was on here I decided to look up just the basics.  First I typed in English and found this.  This was a resource for Visual Culture in English.  There are some essays and interviews about the visual culture. 

Next I typed in mathematics. Here this shows videos on how to model mathematics.  I like this a lot because the videos show different grade levels.  This way I could use this to help me in the future.  I am planning on going to only teach elementary children, but this could still help me as a teacher understand how to do the math. 

The last one I looked at was History.  History is my favorite subject, well only World War II.  I found a U.S. History site.  This is set up like Moodle.  that's what my high school used to keep all things in order.  Here this sets up a lesson plan.  The whole lesson  plan is set up.  This is a really easy way for children to follow along with what is going on in class.  I love this idea. 

Going away from that website, I'm looking for three other resources that can help children expand their horizons for exploration of education. 

The first one I came across is a worksheet.  This worksheet is for adoption for a textbook to a certain course of your choice.  It helps figure out how to incorporate the book into lesson plans, activities, etc.  This would be really helpful for any teacher trying to incorporate new things into what and how they want to teach.  Things like this are super helpful.  I plan on using this. 

Another website I cam across is 10 Open Education Resources You May Not Know But You Should. On this website I clicked on SmartHistory.  This is a free and open multimedia website that demonstrates how very heavy, pricey, and obsolete the traditional art history textbook is. 

  

One I came across is the Hewlet Foundation.  This website goes over what an open educational resource is. 

The Education Program invests in organizations that:

• Develop OER for K-12 and community colleges, expand OER networks, and develop guidelines and tools for the field
• Promote policies or strategies creating funds and incentives, or provide communications and technical assistance to policymakers, that will advance greater access to learning through OER
• Research and evaluate the impact of OER on teaching and learning
• Develop innovative OER models

The Program's OER investments will focus primarily on supporting:

• The infrastructure needed to sustain a well-functioning open educational ecosystem
• Demonstration projects that strengthen student access to deeper learning in K-12 and community colleges  

I recently came across this website in my SEDU 183 class, well actually, my teacher Mr. Marc Smith came across it and showed it to the class. This website is the Teaching Channel. Here this website shows tons of different videos on tips to teaching. I for one love this website. I watched a few videos about Kindergarten classrooms because we all know those are very hard to handle.  The teachers in these videos knew exactly how to handle the classrooms.

 

 

 

On a side note...I went to watch an observation in a second grade classroom, and these videos would have been really helpful to the teacher.  She didn't have a lot of control over the classroom and the children weren't really focused. On most all of the videos I have watched, the children seem like they want to learn and listen. That's something that I never saw in the classroom I observed.

 

 

 While I was on this website I watched five different videos. I watched three on the common core and then I watched two more on Kindergarten through second grade.  I picked that section because I'm really hoping to be a teacher within those grades. I love children and I want to be able to be the best role model in their lives.

 

Here's a list of the video's I watched and hopefully they help someone out in the near or far future. :)

These first three are the ones dealing with the common core. The first video shows how to enhance children's note taking skills. In the video it shows the teacher using Post-It notes to keep the children's thoughts in order. That's a wonderful thing to do because I know when I read I barely remember what I read, let alone if I had a question about it. This helps the children remember what they had questions and/or comments on in the story.

 

This next video shows that children will count in different ways, but they should still get the same answer. Some ways of counting were more effective than others, but all in turn they got them right, and if they didn't the teacher would help them to figure out a better counting strategy. The teacher showed the students what she wanted them to do and then she let them go do it on their own. She went around and made sure that everything was going well. She also evaluated them but she didn't do it in a noticable way.

 

This video was my favorite. This kindergarten teacher has such control over her classroom, to me it's unbelievable considering the second grade classroom I observed was ridiculous. This counting system is such a good idea. It incorporates a visual which all young children need. In the video, one child points out that the number will always be the same, and he was right. The teacher really got their minds working. I really liked this video!

 

These next two videos I watched are not part of the common core. They are just from the Kindergarten through second grade category. The first one I watched because it was only a minute long, but then I realized that it was a very helpful video. This related to me a lot because I observed that second grade classroom. This is a second grade teacher who uses "College Talk" in her classroom. Using bigger words over and over again for children helps them understand it better. They will develop a bigger vocabulary earlier than most students in that area. This was a great idea.

 

This last video was a video about antique show and tell. I liked this because it got children thinking about different things. It's not always about this day and age. We have to learn about history of things, and I liked how this video portrayed that.

 

I really liked these videos like I stated before. I am going to show a lot of teachers this website because I believe it can be very helpful to many upcoming teacher and current teacher.  It could also be helpful for parents if their child is struggling in school.  I'm sure there will be a video on how to make your child a more successful student.  I know I would want to watch it if my child were struggling with a subject.  Well that's all I really have for now. Listed below are where I got the pictures from. I hope you enjoyed this really long blog post!

 

SOURCES!!!!

• "Future of Education Summit: 6 Non Verbal Methods to Gain Control of Your Classroom." Future of Education Summit: 6 Non Verbal Methods to Gain Control of Your Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. http://futureofeducationsummit.blogspot.com/2012/07/6-non-verbal-methods-to-gain-control-of.html.

• "Talk to Us!Your Feedback Will Be Kept Private." Videos, Common Core Resources And Lesson Plans For Teachers: Teaching Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. https://www.teachingchannel.org/.



This picture pretty much sums up the Flipped Classroom. This picture is a part of a larger picture here at Bigger Picture.

Flipped Learning

Is when the teacher creates a video of herself or himself to give the children before the next day of class. The student is then supposed to watch the video and know how to do the work for the next day. The student will then get more one on one time with the teeacher, as he or she will have already had a chance to understand the new lesson plans.

 

 

Positive Outcomes

This gives the children a new way to learn.

On his website http://gettingsmart.com/cms/blog/2012/10/flipped-classroom-classroom-redesign-yields-positive-results/, it is stated that "In a flipped school’s learning design, students attend class, not to simply listen to a lecture, but to work on assignments, projects and activities directly with a teacher, and have access to his/her expertise and immediate feedback. Because of its learning design, students are able to move in and out of independent work, group work, teacher guided and skill building activities."

It also decreases the failure rates of some classrooms.

According to the article The Flipped Classroom: Pro and Con, the argument also goes that since students watch most teacher lectures at home and are receiving instruction as homework, they can spend class time working through any gaps or misunderstandings around the content with the teacher acting as "guide on the side."

 

Negative Outcomes

Written in the article There Is No Such Thing As THE Flipped Class, there is a valid point as to why this doesn't work.  "The Flipped Classroom" evokes images of students glued to their computers, frantically taking notes at home, coming to class, banging out worksheets, taking tests online until they "pass" an objective, unlocking the next task, lather, rinse, repeat.

One of my main points is addressed in this article where not all children have access to the model for it to really work. This is very true.  The town or city that wants to start the Flipped Classroom will have to better understand that every child will need access to this video no matter what.

 

This book here represents why the Flip is a good idea. Here it states that students need their teachers present to answer questions or to provide help if they get stuck on an assignment; they don’t need their teachers present to listen to a lecture or review content.

 

I personally think that Flipped Classrooms would be a good idea for middle school and high school students.  I do not however think that it would be a good idea for elementary. For one thing, not all elementary homes have internet.  We had talked about the poverty lines in the world.  If you are below the poverty line, I highly doubt you have internet.  That being said, many middle school and high school children would be able to go to a local library and look up the information or the videos to watch.  Another bad thing about this, is I feel as if it takes away from what the teacher has to offer.  I know that he or she will be showing the skills on the video, but that would be completely different if he or she were trying to teach an entire classroom full of students.  If students are like me, I have questions during the assignment, and if my teacher isn't available to talk with right away, I become distracted, and I forget my question.

 

I believe this program would not be an effective way for the children I am going to teach to learn.  I am going to teach early childhood education, and I do not plan on using this technique.  Children at that age need hands on activities.

 

 

 

I added this video because it is in fact Election Day.  I myself followed the election, well as I would like to say, I didn't follow it. I researched on the topics I had in mind.  The important ones to me.  This video is a great video if you need to know how the votes are counted.  I never knew some of the stuff off of this video. I am excited to find out who wins tonight. I know who I voted for, but that doesn't mean that that is the person I am. If that makes any sense.  Basically I am saying it is not right to judge someone on who they voted for.  We are all Americans and we need to start acting like that.  This video is a great one for today.  It should be showed in elementary school because yes even then children need to learn about the presidents and what they do for our country.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Experiencing Group

My group and I researched a new upcoming idea called Whole Brain Teaching.  It was difficult to find information about because it was so new.  I ended up learning a lot about this upcoming technique, and I definitely plan to use it when I become a teacher.

Whole Brain Teaching is made up of seven different things:
1. Class-Yes
2. Rules
3. Scoreboard
4. Teach-Okay
5. Switch
6. Hands-Eyes
7. Mirror

I learned that Whole Brain Teaching is exactly what it sounds like. It uses the entire brain.  This teaching method makes the students interactive with objects, partners, and the teacher. It constantly keeps them involved. We wrote this Research Paper on Whole Brain Teaching it explains all of the seven points that develops whole brain teaching.

I cannot wait to use these teaching strategies in my classroom. It will keep the students focused on the task at hand, and continue to make them want to behave. Hence the scoreboard game.  This is a brand new teaching idea that I think will start changing things for the better. Many more children will be engaged in all the classroom activities.

PowerPoint (Ungh)

PowerPoint isn't easy to use. I found it really difficult to construct a lesson plan that targets preschoolers.

1. They wouldn't be able to really go up to the board and click on the items that needed to be.
2. It takes away from them learning how to write the numbers. 

I tried to teach them the numbers five through ten by using the PowerPoint. I used bright colors so they would stay engaged in the learning experience.  I also used RED as the STOP slide, and GREEN as the RIGHT slide. This way it would engage them with the right and wrong.  

I don't think it would be easy to have preschoolers follow a lesson plan on PowerPoint.  They need the hands on activities.  

This project was easy to present, but I wasn't presenting it in front of a group of three or four year olds.  That would have been more difficult. 

The other projects in the class have helped me learn how to use technology in the classroom.  I'm not sure how I will use it with preschoolers, but I'm sure there will be a new way. 


Off topic because that's how my mind always in, I really enjoy football. My favorite team is the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I love watching them play, but I will also watch any other team too.  I spend all day Sundays watching football. 

Another fun topic about me is I absolutely LOVE giraffes! I recently found a website called Little Giraffes. There are so many things you can buy, but the only problem is they are so expensive.  I have loved giraffes ever since I was a baby.  My first stuffed animal was a giraffe with a rattle in it. I wish I had enough money to buy the things on this website. It would be so nice. 

Another fun fact about me is that I love zoos.  That could from me having an obsession with giraffes, but I really love zoo animals.  I am going to love fieldtrips are going to be my favorite, as long as we are going to the zoo.  

Two More for the Roll

Interests?

Your probably wondering why I picked Taylor Swift's website and Perez Hilton's blog. I have always been a celebrity follower, but recently I have just picked out a few that I like. 


Taylor Swift has been an idol of mine since she came to the spotlight. She is such a well-rounded individual, and I love how she doesn't care to continue to write songs about her ex's. I wish I could get the message through to some of mine, but since I can't do it, I always just play her songs. I love her new song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." She is top of the charts again.

As for Perez Hilton, he follows celebrities lives too, but he also follows the news. This one article new Oreo Candy Corn Cookies is awesome. I love candy corn.  I can not wait until these come out because I'm probably going to buy a lot of them. 

I want to incorporate music when I become a teacher. Obviously I'm not going to play break-up songs in class, but went I was in elementary school the teacher would always play piano music when we were taking tests. I would really like to do that. It helped me, so hopefully it will help my students. 

My Beliefs about Technology and Learning

Which way is better for children to learn?

1. Hands-on activities
                 OR
2. Electronic devices

In my own experiences with hands-on activities compared to electronic devices, I have always done better with hands-on activities.  I am realizing that with the new technology coming up, I'm going to have to try to use technology in the classroom.  I definitely want to continue hand-eye coordination though. I am lucky enough to get to grow up with the technology. I went through elementary school where we would go to the computer lab, now we all have our own computers.  In elementary schools today, they have carts that carry around laptops, iPads, and iPods. Now technology has not taken away from the children's learning abilities, unless it is used too much.  Children still need to know how to write their names, and by write I do not mean print, I mean cursive. 

Digressing- I had a friend in high school who couldn't write to save his life.  On the SAT there is a spot where you have to write a paragraph.  It took him tenn minutes to write it.  He forgot how to do some letters in cursive. He forgot how to write his name in cursive. This is not a good sign. You have to be able to write your name on checks, and many important documents in your lifetime.


I do not believe it hinders our ability to learn, but I believe technology should be limited in the classroom. :) I know I will limit it. It has to be used in order for children to grow because once they get to the real world they won't be up to date with the technology.