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This is a little dark, and the language isn't english, but it is still funny! (At least I think it is....) 

This video has been kicking around the educational technology world for the last couple of months posted to several “geeky” websites. It’s not even that much of a video, just written words and some background music. The point the video is making is quite clear…it’s a changing world, and are we preparing our students for the future? 

Its eight minutes. (Which with the help of technology I figured out works out to 0.56% of your day)

I plucked this from an article the edutopia website . I think it is a brilliant analogy as to where we need to be going in schools…

“In discussing the need for hands-on science learning, Nichols asked us to imagine parents at the dinner table asking their young son or daughter that age-old question “What did you learn in school today?” The child shrugs, as children often do, and says, “We learned to play basketball.” The parents then ask, “How did you do that?” The child answers, “Well, we sat in the gym and the teacher passed out these books, and we turned to chapter one, about passing the basketball, and we learned there are three types of passes: the bounce pass, the chest pass, and the one-handed pass.”

“OK,” parents would say, wanting to know more, “what happened next?” The child continues, “We read the next chapter about dribbling. And another chapter on shooting. We learned there’s the set shot, the bank shot, and the jump shot.” After a few minutes of this recitation, the parents, increasingly exasperated, challenge their child: “But did the teacher ever give you a basketball and let you go on the court and play?” “No,” the child says with a sigh. “We just read the book until the bell rang.”

Nichols said that no parent in America would stand for this, for sports to be taught to their children only through reading and through memorizing basketball terminology. Sports require observing oneself performing and watching others perform. Coaches and athletes routinely make use of videotape analysis of games to improve performance. Yet millions of parents settle for science, mathematics, history, and many other subjects taught through rote memorization of vocabulary from textbooks, and students never get a chance to actively perform real science or conduct authentic historical study.”

By Milton Chen, executive director of The George Lucas Educational Foundation..”…

It got me to think about other subjects such as Drama,  Art and Computers, and how students create or re-create a performance for feedback, analysis, and personal gratification. I think about students attitude towards these subjects and the effort they put into them and how they never fail to remind me that it is time to go to the lab, or its time to do art. And why is it that if a student isn’t very good at playing an instrument or at drawing and colouring we just chalk it up to “oh well, that kid is never going to be an artist!”  But if someone struggles in Algebra or Geometry or Grammar we worry beyond belief, have in-service days on improving our assessment and evaluation, and say things like “we need to get back to basics”. I think some serious adjustments need to made to the organization and structure of the school in order to prepare our students for the future.

The Outsiders Novel Study questions and vocabulary are finally posted!!!! As a Student in my Language Arts group, you task is to set up a blog with responses to ALL of the questions and assignments. Instructions to set up your school e-mail and the blog are posted here for your use!

How to set up your Weblog

How to set up your school e-mail. (See Mr. Mc. for your password!)

In an attempt to get my class blogging, podcasting, viewing, representing and generally using the digital tools that are available to them, I have been doing a lot of reading, and have come to one simple conclusion. I cannot expect students to learn in digital ways unless I am teaching in digital ways. Therefore, I need to be more digital in my everyday life. If I expect students to be using web 2.0, then I need to be using web 2.0.

I have blogged before. I have a few good posts on my other blog which I will try to “bring over” to this blog. I haven’t decided if I will try to keep both of them up.

I will also use this blog as a teaching tool. I will try to bring my other classroom blog over to this site.

Students will notice The Outsiders Novel Study Guide will be in place and I will be posting links to their own blogs very shortly! I am looking forward to seeing everyone in the blogosphere!

Wow, what a project it was…. for full details visit the “official” blog of the project.

www.papalms.edublogs.org

This link takes us to an interesting article on how students communicate….

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryRSS.cfm?ArticleID=6297

I will eventually add this as a link. This is a great little application for kids to explore some of the concepts involved in force and motion. Users must manipulate the variables to keep the roller coaster on the track! Enjoy

http://www.funderstanding.com/k12/coaster/

Students in grade 7 and 8 began to explore the high tech treasure hunt game called Geo-caching on Friday March 31st. The grade 7 and 8 girls began during their outdoor phys ed. period, and the boys will do the same during theirs. The students used a hand held GPS unit to look for a hidden “cache”. Inside each cache is a small notepad for the student to record the time they visited, plus some various small “prizes” the students could trade for. There were a few “minor” glitches but overall the kids (and adults) enjoyed the beautiful spring morning and a good walk through the neighborhood.

These two science sites are part of my Teaching for Understanding course I am taking. Interesting and perhaps even useful in the classroom.

http://www.fearofphysics.com/index1.html

http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/frog/Frog2/

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