Monday, May 17, 2010
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Geometry Class up date
Improving in leaps and bounds, my geometry students are doing so much better. I could not be more proud to the work they have accomplished. They are really starting to understand the concepts we have been going over. It is really amazing to see their face light up when they get the right answer. There is this one student I have that I thought was going to give me a hard time throughout the semester. After failing his first test, his mother franticly called me explaining to me that her son has had trouble in math for years and needs to pass this semester in order to graduate. Pleading with me, she asked how she could help and what we could do to get him to understand. We decided to set up a few times to meet and we printed out every online resource we could find. It seemed as though he would never get it. Then one day in class I asked a question and being a wise guy, he made some joking remark that he thought was the wrong answer, but it turned out to be the right answer to the question. When I told him he was right, it was like watching a deer stare into the head light. He was speechless for the first time and did not know what to do. Since then, his test scores have risen from failing terribly to passing with a strong B. I could hardly believe myself. It was amazing and for the first time, I actually felt like someone was actually learning something in my classroom. It was so cool!
This week, we changed things up a bit. The books we have are really quite terrible. They take a full page to explain something so simple and hardly give enough information on the important thing. The last pages in our work book were all about sketching and graphing. So instead of sitting inside and drawing on the white board, we went outside and everyone took a piece to chalk and we sketched different shapes in the parking lot. Although they are high school students, they managed to get chalk all over themselves. We had a really good time! I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to teach this class. They have been wonderful.
This week, we changed things up a bit. The books we have are really quite terrible. They take a full page to explain something so simple and hardly give enough information on the important thing. The last pages in our work book were all about sketching and graphing. So instead of sitting inside and drawing on the white board, we went outside and everyone took a piece to chalk and we sketched different shapes in the parking lot. Although they are high school students, they managed to get chalk all over themselves. We had a really good time! I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to teach this class. They have been wonderful.
Over the semester, I have had the privilege of taking a service learning class. My class has required me to do twenty hours of service at a place called Pomona Valley Workshop also known as PVW. PVW provides a safe working environment for adults with developmental disabilities. Next Monday will be my last day of service, and I can truly say I will miss all of the people I met very much. They have shown me so much over the past few months. I have to realize that we, the able bodied are really the ones with the handicap. We are able to do so many things, yet we hold our self back and do not do them. We take for granted everything we have. For example, I was talking to one the disabled gentlemen at the workshop and was telling me about how fascinated he was with this difficult high level mathematics called Algebra. For a man who is only able to count to one hundred, Algebra was a huge deal. In his world, Algebra is something so complex and intricate, yet for us, it something that the average high school student can do. We could care less about it, but to him it was far beyond anything he could ever grasp. It made me see just how lucky I am. I am blessed with a mind and a body that is capable for doing many great things that surpass Algebra if I only try. Seeing these amazing people has inspired me to try harder and do better in the areas I need to improve upon. I really enjoyed getting to know the individuals at PVW and hope to continue my friendship with them.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
grandpa
old people are really funny! my grandpa thinks he went to the moon in a home made rocket ship. this is going to come in handy for the copy right project :)
Monday, November 10, 2008
Living in the technology age, we have resource we need right at our finger tips. We can find just about anything online or from our cell phone. Just the other day I showed a friend that they can use Google straight from their cell phone to find something and they thought I was just the most technologically advanced person they had ever met which was flattering, but I could not help but wonder how did they not know you could do that? In today’s day and age we can get a little behind in what is out there in technology. Stuck in the Stone Age, most of our education is based on the tecneces that teachers have been using for dozens years. We can be ignorant of what technology can do and how it should be used in the classroom. Yet some teachers choose to believe that it is not worth having in the classroom so when their students use it to cheat, they are naturally furious. But after reading David Thornburg’s idea on cheating I think I have come to the conclusion that cheating by using technology may not always be wrong.
Growing up we learned that cheating was wrong and that we should never take part in it at all. Although I agree that cheating in most cases is wrong, I do understand why we as students do it. We do it because it is easy. According to Thornburg, “In short, the Internet is not at fault. The problem comes from asking questions for which the Internet provides a ready answer.” We can find an answer without even having to think about it which gets us nowhere. As teacher, we should not just ask the question so we can get just a simple book answer, but ask a question that we can get a thought out real answer about. If all we do is ask kids to remember useless facts than they should be allowed to cheat, because the chances of students memorizing the material for themselves is slim to none. If they just need to know it to pass a test, than they should just cheat. But, if we want students to actually get what they are learning then we need to ask them questions that make them think about what they know about the subject and maybe it will make them want to learn more about the subject. Therefore, we should promote ideas not memorization.
Technology is good, but it has to be used in the right way. Kids really can get something out of technology, we just have to show them how to properly use it. This week, I have been reading a book by Seymour Papert and his thoughts on technology and children. Published in the 1980’s the book was a little out dated, but the idea was still very applicable today. “In particular, the goal was to enable children to discover geometric knowledge on their own. The computer was to serve as a powerful tool with which the children could formulate algorithms to create certain patterns and test these algorithms. The point here is that children program the computer, that the children are in control of what they do. In most educational situations where children come into contact with computers – i. e. programmed instruction, computer aided instruction – the relationship is reversed: The computer programs the child.”( Reichert, Raimond) Instead, Papert believes that the child should program the computer not the computer programming the child. We should allow kids to explore what they can do with the computer instead of what they computer can do for them. Instead of just using it to give them fact, they can use it to give them ideas and answers. So instead of using the internet to cheat, they can use it to learn. Over the course of this semester, I have learned how the computer and the internet and technology can be useful. Going into this class I had a preconceived idea of how technology could only pull our world apart instead of make it better. If you have ever seen the movie Wall-e, you could say that may ideas of where we were headed was similar to what was in the movie. But now I see how technology can be used in a better way, a smarter way. We can use it to do so many great things when it is applied correctly to our lives.
Sorry I know this is super late! I totally forgot!
Growing up we learned that cheating was wrong and that we should never take part in it at all. Although I agree that cheating in most cases is wrong, I do understand why we as students do it. We do it because it is easy. According to Thornburg, “In short, the Internet is not at fault. The problem comes from asking questions for which the Internet provides a ready answer.” We can find an answer without even having to think about it which gets us nowhere. As teacher, we should not just ask the question so we can get just a simple book answer, but ask a question that we can get a thought out real answer about. If all we do is ask kids to remember useless facts than they should be allowed to cheat, because the chances of students memorizing the material for themselves is slim to none. If they just need to know it to pass a test, than they should just cheat. But, if we want students to actually get what they are learning then we need to ask them questions that make them think about what they know about the subject and maybe it will make them want to learn more about the subject. Therefore, we should promote ideas not memorization.
Technology is good, but it has to be used in the right way. Kids really can get something out of technology, we just have to show them how to properly use it. This week, I have been reading a book by Seymour Papert and his thoughts on technology and children. Published in the 1980’s the book was a little out dated, but the idea was still very applicable today. “In particular, the goal was to enable children to discover geometric knowledge on their own. The computer was to serve as a powerful tool with which the children could formulate algorithms to create certain patterns and test these algorithms. The point here is that children program the computer, that the children are in control of what they do. In most educational situations where children come into contact with computers – i. e. programmed instruction, computer aided instruction – the relationship is reversed: The computer programs the child.”( Reichert, Raimond) Instead, Papert believes that the child should program the computer not the computer programming the child. We should allow kids to explore what they can do with the computer instead of what they computer can do for them. Instead of just using it to give them fact, they can use it to give them ideas and answers. So instead of using the internet to cheat, they can use it to learn. Over the course of this semester, I have learned how the computer and the internet and technology can be useful. Going into this class I had a preconceived idea of how technology could only pull our world apart instead of make it better. If you have ever seen the movie Wall-e, you could say that may ideas of where we were headed was similar to what was in the movie. But now I see how technology can be used in a better way, a smarter way. We can use it to do so many great things when it is applied correctly to our lives.
Sorry I know this is super late! I totally forgot!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The Web
I have to say that the article “The Semantic Web” went way over my technological comprehension. If this is the future to the world as we know it I hope I can catch up with it. It is amazing to see just how much the Semantic Wed can do and how many daily tasks it will eliminate. There are so many possibilities with it. It can search, share, collaborate, send, and tag better than anything we are used to. It is changing the world and it is only in its primitive state.
Although I do not understand the Semantic Wed very well, I do see how it will play a large role in education. From what I understand, the Semantic Wed will provide a way to not only find things, but to find them in a smarter way. Instead of searching through endless pages on Google, the software agent will give us all the facts and none of the extra fluffy words. The will benefit education because instead of students attempting to find a trustworthy website to get their information, they can easily find credible facts. Also, it will eliminate the possibility of children accidentally going on site for Elmo the porn star instead of Elmo from Sesame Street.
In addition to searching better, agents can share data with one another. They can send information back and forth to help the user find what they are looking for. For example, say I am looking for a movie to go to with my friends. We can all look up the movie and movie reviews with on Semantic Wed and then our agents can share our findings with each other. It is simple, quick and easy. (I don’t understand it, but I sure if I did it would be simple, quick and easy).
The world around us is always changing and I am excited and a bit nervous to see what new gadget is coming next. I truly am a foreigner to technology, but I am learning and although this stuff can be a bit daunting I am enjoying getting to know this new world that we are transforming into.
Although I do not understand the Semantic Wed very well, I do see how it will play a large role in education. From what I understand, the Semantic Wed will provide a way to not only find things, but to find them in a smarter way. Instead of searching through endless pages on Google, the software agent will give us all the facts and none of the extra fluffy words. The will benefit education because instead of students attempting to find a trustworthy website to get their information, they can easily find credible facts. Also, it will eliminate the possibility of children accidentally going on site for Elmo the porn star instead of Elmo from Sesame Street.
In addition to searching better, agents can share data with one another. They can send information back and forth to help the user find what they are looking for. For example, say I am looking for a movie to go to with my friends. We can all look up the movie and movie reviews with on Semantic Wed and then our agents can share our findings with each other. It is simple, quick and easy. (I don’t understand it, but I sure if I did it would be simple, quick and easy).
The world around us is always changing and I am excited and a bit nervous to see what new gadget is coming next. I truly am a foreigner to technology, but I am learning and although this stuff can be a bit daunting I am enjoying getting to know this new world that we are transforming into.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Oops I forgot to post this last night
Social networks are one of the most popular ways to communicate with other people. In the last couple years I finally got into the whole social network thing. I was not planning to get one, until a few years ago a friend of mine came over and said that she was going to make me MySpace whether I liked it or not. Since then, I have really enjoyed having one. It is fun to keep in touch with people and to see their photos because I do not often get to see friends from out of town. Also, it has been a good way to find old friends from high school. You can see what everyone is up to and how they are doing and it’s just a lot of fun.
In our ever changing world, it is likely that social networks will change too. It is likely, that they will become even more popular which will connect billions and billions of people together. Also, I think that instead of typing messages, we will be able to leave a recorded message using a camera. Likewise, networks will also be able to talk to one another live over the internet making it faster and easier to talk to one another. Although the future is unclear on how far networks will change in the next 10 years, the point is it will change. Soon enough the way we do thinks now in our high tech world will seem like something out of the Stone Age. It is amazing to think just how fast we have come, and just how far we may go.
In our ever changing world, it is likely that social networks will change too. It is likely, that they will become even more popular which will connect billions and billions of people together. Also, I think that instead of typing messages, we will be able to leave a recorded message using a camera. Likewise, networks will also be able to talk to one another live over the internet making it faster and easier to talk to one another. Although the future is unclear on how far networks will change in the next 10 years, the point is it will change. Soon enough the way we do thinks now in our high tech world will seem like something out of the Stone Age. It is amazing to think just how fast we have come, and just how far we may go.
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