Blog Post 11

After watching Back to the Future I was flabbergasted that Brian Crosby's students had no idea what city, state, and country they lived in or their phone numbers or addresses. Children should know these kinds of things, it is important in every day life. However, I do like that Brian let his students do hands on activities. I also like how each students has their own blog. The science project he talked about in this video amazed me. Brian's students were engaged in this project and it did not just stop when they released the balloon into the air. They wrote stories as if they were the balloon. I really liked that idea. It lets the students use their imagination, be creative, and think outside the box. The class then shared their ideas around the world. Brian's students learned how to collaborate with other students and they were also motivated to learn. I also like how Brian got a new student who had leukemia and she could not come to school, and he and his students still included her in class everyday via Skype. I assume not many teachers would have done that. I hope to get my students motivated and involved like Brian did.

After watching Blended Learning Cycle I learned more about what blended learning is. In the video Paul talked about the 5 e's: engage, explore, experiment, explain, and evaluate. His students do the 5 e's online, mobile, and in the classroom. Students need to be "hooked" by a good question to get their minds wondering and it will help them want to learn. It is amazing to see what students can come up with.

Making Thinking Visible it shows how students not only working in small groups but also using their imagination to come up with a headline. The students have to come up with a headline about a video they watched in class Early Human Beginnings. The students were able to use their creativity to come up with something. The headlines were then displayed on the class bulletin board. After a couple weeks into the lesson, students will be asked "What is the headline now?". I believe this is great!

I loved watching Sam Pane 4th Grade Super Digital Citizen. In the video Sam is talking to his students about how to be safe online. The students create a superhero and they make a comic story up with different examples of how to be safe while on the internet. After the students were done with their stories they got to read the other students stories and get feedback. For example, one of the students superheros stopped gossiping online. This was a great way of blending writing, reading, creativity, and how to stay safe.

After watching Project Based Learning I was kind of amazed how the teachers were blending different subjects. I have never heard of that before. I am interested to see if teachers will do this in the near future, as it will help students learn.

After watching Roosevelt Elementary PBL Program I learned that it is a great way to get the students involved and it is a great way to learn. PBL allows students think on their own and make decisions. They learn how to solve real world problems, which is wonderful. It also teaches students how to work in groups. In the video it talked about students learning public speaking in kindergarten. I think that is awesome because I know I was not taught that growing up and when I got to college I was terrified to take it. I have heard of a lot of people not going to college because they are scared of that class. So it is great children are learning about it at a young age, so they will not be scared in the future.