The Tide is Turning

This power point presentation was created to encourage educators to use the power of pull to help students reach their maximum potential. It is a reflection on the book, The Power of Pull, How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion (Hagel, Seely, & Davison, 2010).Click on the link to view: The Tide is Turning Unfortunately, none of the sounds or animations in the PowerPoint now work. If anyone knows a better way to share a PowerPoint please let me know.

Did You Know 3.0

Voki

How great is this. I created this avatar for free. You can add your own voice which I will do next time. I added this to my class website. They are going to love this! I can edit and change what it says whenever I want. LOVE IT!

I Teach, Therefore You Learn... or do you?

I Teach, Therefore You learn…or do you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AWYIit1uNk

      Just as the beginning of the video shows, our world is changing so fast. We do not live the way we used to. So many things have changed about the way we live, yet has much changed about the way we teach? Unfortunately not, so many of us still teach the way we were taught. How can that be? Can you imagine any other segment of our society doing it the way it was? Would you go to a grocery store that didn’t have scanners and things were rung up on an old cash register? Would you go to a doctor that was not up on the current uses of technology in surgery? Think about having a gall bladder removed then versus now. Why is it then that our schools seem to be stuck in a day gone by? “It might be time to reconsider the way we teach”      ( Picardo, 2009).

     This video cries out for change. Our children are living in a different world than we did. Although they share a passion for many of the same things, the way they experience it is vastly different from our own. Information is available to them  any time about anything. They are used to getting what they want when they want it whether it be music, sports, books, news, or information. They communicate by text, Face book, Twitter, and Skype. They create blogs and videos to share content…but not in school.

     In school most students still write in journals or notebook paper. Desks are still lined in rows and students participate individually rather than collaboratively. Teachers still act like they are the storehouses of knowledge and they must pass it on to their students. Stop! We must stop! We need to teach our students with the tools they need not only for school, but for life. We must teach them how to think, collaborate, create, challenge, and  innovate. “Teachers must change or face the threat of becoming obsolete” (Picardo, 2009). This video is a cry for that change.

Picardo, J. (2009, February 28). I teach, therefore you learn…or do you?[Video podcast]. 

     Retrieved from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AWYIit1uNk

I teach, therefore you learn... or do you?

Does this work from the iPad

Thinking of writing a proposal to get iPads for my room. I was just testing to make sure it worked. This would be great for my kids!

Electronic Books

Do you think this might create incentive to read? I am sure there is an option to have it read to you or to read it on your own. Absolutely amazing! Okay I need 24 I Pads or Kindles for my room. Anyone game?

Moving Tales' Pedlar Lady iPad & iPhone App

Aurasma Demo

Do you Teach or Do you Educate?

How do we teach our students twenty first century skills

The more I study and the more I read, the more I realize I am not preparing them for their future. Oh sure I make sure that they master the standards the state says they must and I do it in a fun and engaging way. The majority of my students learn and grow. Many learn life skills like owning their own behavior and being responsible for their own learning. By most measures I am a successful teacher, why then do I feel like I am falling so short? My students who live in poverty are not keeping pace with what the world is offering. They don't know about wikis or blogs, most don't even have the internet at home yet to check web pages or email. If they don't learn it at school where will they? How will they? A restlessness within my heart has taken hold since starting this master's program. Things have to change. I have to find out how to make a difference.

A Vision of K-12 Students Today