Hey, I am back on Blogger for a new and exciting Literacy Class for the sping 2013 semester...I hope to learn a great deal in this class how to best help children learn how to read!
Karen
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Thursday, May 13, 2010
MY WEBSITE
My website is now offially completed. It was a new experience for me and I will try and create better sites in the future. Please take a look at it at
http://kwillie.weebly.com
Karen
http://kwillie.weebly.com
Karen
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Chris O'Neil's web 2.0
This was very enlightening for me. I realize now that I am still using the old internet where it is just the site and me interacting! :):) With web 2.0 many people can inteact with a site or the internet. This is a great idea. I was not aware that flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia were of the web 2.0 variety. I am aware of all 3, but I have only used Wikipedia on a regular basis. I was in a school system and one of the teahcers was skeptical of wikipedia becaus of the fact anyone could add information and that he/she felt it was not a reliable source? I have always found that the information I have gotten has been accurate. I like the idea of my students creating a wiki and being able to add new information and that I can see the old and new version and keep track of their progress.
In the classroom wikipedia I would use as a research site, and that is east enough to understand. Chris said that a blog was 2.o and very interactive. He said it would be used for writing, discussion, editing, current events, etc. I think this is true, but because I have never had a blog and I am learning the thought of using a blog with my students right now scares me because I am not sure what I am doing!!!!!!! He mentioned that having a blog would creater higher levels of discusssion! WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tell me how the computer blog can do this. On a human level some people hate to write, think, type wheter on paper, in class or on a blog. Help me understand this connection.
I think it would be beneficial for me to use a blog as a teacher because if for nothing else it would cut down on lugging home paperwork!!!!!!!!!:):):)
DELICIOUS.COM this is a great idea of bookmarking sites on the web. A class can accumulate quite a collection and have different categories depending on what they are studying. It could alsmost be a weekly activity. Let's say every monday is bookmark day and each student has to find a site to book mark, and talk about it to the class and how it relates to the current topic! I am learning so much!
I hope I can learn and understand all of this so I can better serve my students.
In the classroom wikipedia I would use as a research site, and that is east enough to understand. Chris said that a blog was 2.o and very interactive. He said it would be used for writing, discussion, editing, current events, etc. I think this is true, but because I have never had a blog and I am learning the thought of using a blog with my students right now scares me because I am not sure what I am doing!!!!!!! He mentioned that having a blog would creater higher levels of discusssion! WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tell me how the computer blog can do this. On a human level some people hate to write, think, type wheter on paper, in class or on a blog. Help me understand this connection.
I think it would be beneficial for me to use a blog as a teacher because if for nothing else it would cut down on lugging home paperwork!!!!!!!!!:):):)
DELICIOUS.COM this is a great idea of bookmarking sites on the web. A class can accumulate quite a collection and have different categories depending on what they are studying. It could alsmost be a weekly activity. Let's say every monday is bookmark day and each student has to find a site to book mark, and talk about it to the class and how it relates to the current topic! I am learning so much!
I hope I can learn and understand all of this so I can better serve my students.
ABC-Kindergarten/Kids-computer games
I must admit that at 40 some of these online games were fun! :):) I think they are a great teaching tool. These would be great to use for a whole group lesson and for extra practice and it is done in a fun manner. I like all the sound effects the games make and the vivid colors.
I looked at several different ones like "How Many Fish". Put alphabet in order I thought was great besides the obvious point of the game, it works on hand-eye coordination by taking the correct letter and dropping it into the correct box. All of these games help with fine motor skills of the use of the mouse.
Connecting the dots game. I like this one especially because I can remember them well from my own education and I liked to be surprised at what picture I was making. I think I like the old fashion paper version better because I could color it with crayons and I still think crayons are more fun than using a pait brush or pencil on a computer. I think of the computer as a great tool and not to replace all the old fashioned ways of doing things.
I must say that I think all of these games are so amazing and with the intenet there are so many option instantly that a teacher could not possibly do. I think it lends itself well to fostering creativity because children can pick and choose what they want.
I just hope that the computer does not take the place of actually doing an activity. For example ther is the game 100 snowballs see what you can build. If possible take the children out into the snow and actaully do it!!!! I do not want to become soooo dependent on the computer that I loose sight of all the options and I as a teacher need to remind and show my students that there are several ways of completing a task and the computer is just one way! Does this make sense? I do not want the computer to replace me the human teacher!
I looked at several different ones like "How Many Fish". Put alphabet in order I thought was great besides the obvious point of the game, it works on hand-eye coordination by taking the correct letter and dropping it into the correct box. All of these games help with fine motor skills of the use of the mouse.
Connecting the dots game. I like this one especially because I can remember them well from my own education and I liked to be surprised at what picture I was making. I think I like the old fashion paper version better because I could color it with crayons and I still think crayons are more fun than using a pait brush or pencil on a computer. I think of the computer as a great tool and not to replace all the old fashioned ways of doing things.
I must say that I think all of these games are so amazing and with the intenet there are so many option instantly that a teacher could not possibly do. I think it lends itself well to fostering creativity because children can pick and choose what they want.
I just hope that the computer does not take the place of actually doing an activity. For example ther is the game 100 snowballs see what you can build. If possible take the children out into the snow and actaully do it!!!! I do not want to become soooo dependent on the computer that I loose sight of all the options and I as a teacher need to remind and show my students that there are several ways of completing a task and the computer is just one way! Does this make sense? I do not want the computer to replace me the human teacher!
Sir Ken Robinson/Creative Speaking-1 page reflection
Karen Williams One page blog entry-Sir Ken Robinson and Creative Speaking Part One
To me, this video is what is wrong in our modern society across the board and is probably a direct product of the industrial revolution that created the current model of education. I agree with what he said and I think he is correct in every facet of his argument, but we as a society are too bogged down in politics and bureaucracy. For all intense purposes the Industrial revolution (in the United States) ended by the beginning of WWI (1914). And 100 years later our educational system looks similar. Do we have 100 years? I guess I am tired of politicians, reporters, public speakers, just talking and telling us that education needs reformed. Maybe this has already been done and I am totally ignorant, but I wish I could see a person or a company go out on a limb and create an environment solely based on Sir Robinson’s idea of cultivating individual creativity. The school can take away all the tests, all the politics and see what happens!
Sir Robinson states that the human imagination is what makes us uniquely human and what has been the catalyst for all human innovation and ingenuity. When I heard these words men like Edison, the Wright Brothers, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, came to mind. The thing that stuck me when I thought of that is that all of these men created their inventions without having a great deal of formal education. “In school, the young Edison's mind often wandered, and his teacher, the Reverend Engle, was overheard calling him "addled". This ended Edison's three months of official schooling. Edison recalled later, "My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint."(WIKIPEDIA) Edison’s mother home schooled him. Honestly I think to curb the squashing of creativity we may have to go to a mass movement of home schooling types of situations.
I have a friend who has homeschooled her 6 children and they are all very smart, well-rounded and their creativity and exposure to all things is one of her major priorities. The small group setting does not hurt either. This same friend of mine has created her own school (business). It is a school for special needs children and teachers go to the children’s homes. I think she is on the right track for the future of education. It needs to be decentralized and in smaller groups. But as districts keep growing this does not seem likely.
Sir Robinson mentions that we are having a crisis of human resources and that in CA, 3. 2 billion was spent on education and 9 billion on the penal system. He finds it hard to believe that 3 times more criminals are born than college bound individuals. He makes the argument that it is part of a system of bad choices and bad circumstances (whether fault of their own or not). Basically his point is that business are seeing that getting it right the first time is better than having to clean up the mess later. The same holds true for education I guess. Help teach and keep children in school and crime would be diminished. But why are businesses and anyone seeing this now? Is it too much common sense to think that things should HAVE ALWAYS been done right the first time? Cutting corners anywhere at any time will always come back to haunt in the end! JJ
I agree with his closing that creativity should be as important as literacy and math. As a teacher I need to be very creative myself (even in the face of teaching to a test). I think allowing students to create their own learning or projects could be one way to promote and foster creativity and give ownership to the student and the learning is more meaningful. I LOVE the quote he states at the end, “The problem is not that we aim to high and fail, but that we aim too low and succeed.” To me, this is very profound statement. I think in all aspects of our society this is true. As an educator, I must not allow this to be a norm in my classroom.”!!!!!!!!!!!1
To me, this video is what is wrong in our modern society across the board and is probably a direct product of the industrial revolution that created the current model of education. I agree with what he said and I think he is correct in every facet of his argument, but we as a society are too bogged down in politics and bureaucracy. For all intense purposes the Industrial revolution (in the United States) ended by the beginning of WWI (1914). And 100 years later our educational system looks similar. Do we have 100 years? I guess I am tired of politicians, reporters, public speakers, just talking and telling us that education needs reformed. Maybe this has already been done and I am totally ignorant, but I wish I could see a person or a company go out on a limb and create an environment solely based on Sir Robinson’s idea of cultivating individual creativity. The school can take away all the tests, all the politics and see what happens!
Sir Robinson states that the human imagination is what makes us uniquely human and what has been the catalyst for all human innovation and ingenuity. When I heard these words men like Edison, the Wright Brothers, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, came to mind. The thing that stuck me when I thought of that is that all of these men created their inventions without having a great deal of formal education. “In school, the young Edison's mind often wandered, and his teacher, the Reverend Engle, was overheard calling him "addled". This ended Edison's three months of official schooling. Edison recalled later, "My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint."(WIKIPEDIA) Edison’s mother home schooled him. Honestly I think to curb the squashing of creativity we may have to go to a mass movement of home schooling types of situations.
I have a friend who has homeschooled her 6 children and they are all very smart, well-rounded and their creativity and exposure to all things is one of her major priorities. The small group setting does not hurt either. This same friend of mine has created her own school (business). It is a school for special needs children and teachers go to the children’s homes. I think she is on the right track for the future of education. It needs to be decentralized and in smaller groups. But as districts keep growing this does not seem likely.
Sir Robinson mentions that we are having a crisis of human resources and that in CA, 3. 2 billion was spent on education and 9 billion on the penal system. He finds it hard to believe that 3 times more criminals are born than college bound individuals. He makes the argument that it is part of a system of bad choices and bad circumstances (whether fault of their own or not). Basically his point is that business are seeing that getting it right the first time is better than having to clean up the mess later. The same holds true for education I guess. Help teach and keep children in school and crime would be diminished. But why are businesses and anyone seeing this now? Is it too much common sense to think that things should HAVE ALWAYS been done right the first time? Cutting corners anywhere at any time will always come back to haunt in the end! JJ
I agree with his closing that creativity should be as important as literacy and math. As a teacher I need to be very creative myself (even in the face of teaching to a test). I think allowing students to create their own learning or projects could be one way to promote and foster creativity and give ownership to the student and the learning is more meaningful. I LOVE the quote he states at the end, “The problem is not that we aim to high and fail, but that we aim too low and succeed.” To me, this is very profound statement. I think in all aspects of our society this is true. As an educator, I must not allow this to be a norm in my classroom.”!!!!!!!!!!!1
Michael Specter-The danger of Science Denial
I watched the Michael Specter video and I thought is was very enlightening. I found him to be very knowledable and passionate about sciences, the science as a process and that we should not be afraid of it. I think we are not afraid of science per se, but at least in my opinion, it is the politics behind the science. somedisease is eradicated in the US, lets say measless and I think that is the example he gave, that we think it is not a problem anymore it is over and done with. Well it is not. I think we he says is that we need to always be vigilant and never stop growing, learning, questioning, experimenting and doing it over and over until we get it right. AND THAT IS SCIENCE! If this is science isn't LIFE science?? Is this too deep to think about?
As a teacher I hope I did in the past and will in the future, create an atmosphere where ideas, experiements. thoughts and everything can be re-tried until it is done correctly. I remember in my subbing days and wathcing Bill Nye the Science Guy! I think he is amazing. I would like to take some of his ideas and some of Specter's positive energy and recreate that in my classroom. I think both men are talking about hands on learning and that is what makes anything more exciting and in turn is retaining as real learning, not just facts...do not get me wrong for facts are important, but take them and apply them.
As a teacher I hope I did in the past and will in the future, create an atmosphere where ideas, experiements. thoughts and everything can be re-tried until it is done correctly. I remember in my subbing days and wathcing Bill Nye the Science Guy! I think he is amazing. I would like to take some of his ideas and some of Specter's positive energy and recreate that in my classroom. I think both men are talking about hands on learning and that is what makes anything more exciting and in turn is retaining as real learning, not just facts...do not get me wrong for facts are important, but take them and apply them.
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