We Day!

We are all young at heart and for some of us it shows in the things we choose to do. This year I decided to volunteer at the first ever We Day California as a Senior Crowd Pumper. What does it mean to be a Crowd Pumper you ask? Well, it is a high energy, over enthusiastic position who’s purpose is to not only to pump up the thousands of youth in the venue through excessive cheering and dancing but also to be a Free The Children (FTC) ambassador. FTC is an international charity and educational partner, working both domestically and internationally to empower and enable youth to be agents of change, co-founded by brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger. Through their holistic and sustainable development model called Adopt a Village, they work to remove barriers to education and to empower communities to break the cycle of poverty. It’s a pretty powerful movement if you ask me and one that I am proud to personally support. I am thrilled to be a part of this amazing day of youth empowerment through action and change. 



http://www.weday.com/we-day-events/we-day-cities/california/

Go Go Gadget Teacher

21st century Teacher = Master of Technology

Today's teacher must be a master of many trades. They must be technology savvy and up to date on popular trends.  The students of this generation move fast, and educators must be have an action plan. When educators begin to look at learning through the eyes of their students, they might begin to see that there is never a thing as too much technology.

In today's society, we are surrounded by gadgets. Tablets, ipods and netbooks have become common jargon in the hallways, and yet some schools and classrooms refuse to allow students to use them in the classroom.  However,  in Chawanakee Ca, a small 1:1 high school is allowing their students to do just that!

Mr Jon Corippo is the technology guru for the school. He believes that all students are a vessel to be filled with infinite technical knowledge.  His motto "Creating is more important than memorizing" is evident in the fact that he helps run a 1:1 high school. A 1:1 school means that there is one computer for very student. The school allows all students to use electronics, and has decriminalized the act of using technology during school hours. As long as a student asks permission, they may listen to their ipod, or have their cell phone out on their desk!

As our students become more technology driven, we too as educators must mirror that drive in our classrooms. We must  begin to create learning environments that foster appropriate use of technology. We must harness the use of social media networks as a means to reach our students.  It is our job to create divergent independent thinkers, and fill our students tool box with useful technology!

Collaborate. Communicate. Create.

Tonight we had a guest speaker via Google hang-out. Dr. Mike Vellmert, the Director of technology for the Rio school district in Oxnard, Ca. I was moved and inspired by his words of wisdom and what he said really resonated with my teaching philosophy and personal educational pedagogy.

Dr. Vellmert pontificated that  our role as educators is to step out of the box and ask ourselves what it is that we need to do for our students.  He described education as a jungle, and explained how some students can get caught up in the system.  He also mentioned that being an educator is a calling, not a profession because as an educator, you never really reach a professional level because an effective educator knows that there is always more to learn.

As educators, we must be innovative in our instruction because we are responsible for  preparing students for 21 Century jobs. The fact of the matter is that 65% of our students will be working in jobs that do not even exist yet! This means that as educators we must foreshadow the trends of what might be expected from the work force of the future. We must teach students the 3 C's of the future: Collaborate. Communicate. Create.

Project Based Learning (PBL) is one way to help students refine their 3 C's skills.  When teachers use projects as a basis for learning the students learn holistically how to collaborate, communicate and create. In Science, my 8th graders are currently working on constructing a model roller coaster for marbles using card stock and scotch tape . Working in teams of 4-6 members, this engineering project will teach my students about motion, velocity and momentum while challenging them to think critically. 

 Students working on constructing a paper roller coaster use collaboration
communication and creativity.

Set my life to music!

http://animoto.com/play/gO45ti0qrcQQ4chCXaExuQ

Edu-sleuthing. Seek and you shall find!

Today began like any other Friday. I woke up with a sunny disposition, kissed my two daughters, hugged my husband and grabbed my coffee before I ran out of the door.  

On my drive to work, as I gazed up at the morning sky, sprinkled with drops of sparkling sunlight peaking through dark clouds filled with the rains of Fall, I began to ponder about the infinite amount of information that is available on the internet.  The sky is the limit when it comes to educational software to enhance learning experiences for students, and it seems like every day, someone develops a fresh and exciting way to integrate education and technology. 

When I arrived at my beloved destination, where I am a first year 8th grade Math and Science teacher, I decided to go on-line to do some edu-sleuthing. Edu-sleuthing is the action of conducting on-line research of a specific topic or content standard to help enhance lesson plans increase student engagement and foster dynamic learning outcomes.  As we are learning in technology class, there are a myriad of educational sites that offer free access to the latest and greatest innovations in education. 

So, there I was, edu-sleuthing using Google, and the thought occurred to me to look up my blog, Meranology, in the search field. I wasn't sure what I was going to find, if anything, but I was curious.  I must admit, I was presently surprised to find my blog staring me in the face! 

That is when it hit me! My "A-haa" moment. That is when I realized the fascination with the internet and technology, and why billions of people are drawn to blog, or screen-cast, or podcast. It's because we all have our own unique personalities and opinions and using the internet, combined with the latest technology, we are given the opportunity to voice our individual opinions in an open forum.  We are no longer dependent on traditional media to get our point across when all we need is a laptop and a microphone.  

Excitedly, I sent a text to a fellow classmate to alert them of my findings. I must say, I think they were impressed to find out that they too, are now a published author of an internet blog that can be accessed by millions of people through Google search. 

We joked for a minute about being part of the Matrix, and agreed that AnotherAndrewSchwab is Morphius. Metaphorically speaking then, that makes me a version of Neo, someone at the precipice, just beginning to open my eyes to the interconnectedness of endless possibilities.  A newly published blogger, who is excited to share my thoughts with the world.  

Hear ye...hear ye... Listen up!!

In classrooms all across the country, there are teachers standing in front of the classroom giving their lectures to students who would rather be anywhere else but in class.  What if there was a way for these students to receive information from the daily lecture, while being  outside the classroom? Is it possible for students to be engaged in learning while sitting on the beach in Santa Cruz on a sunny Friday afternoon?

The answer is yes!!! The era of pod-casting is here and is revolutionizing the way that information is being sent and received. Pod-casting, in layman's terms, is broadcasting over the internet.  Pod-casting is simple and harmless. All you need is a basic microphone, an audio recording program such as Audacity, and a hosting site like archive.org.

Pod-casting is an excellent way to get students involved in the Socratic method of learning through discussion.     Through pod-casting, students can take your lecture on the go. They can tune in to a pod-cast how to find the square root of 64, and listen to ways in which to solve variable expressions.

I think that pod-casting is an excellent teaching tool for working with ELL students. When you bring pod-casting into the classroom, you open the door to individual learning by allowing the students to literally speak their mind!

Thinking Factories For the Future

Gamification in the classroom. 
Is it possible to create a learning atmosphere based on gaming as a pedagogical strategy? 
 In the article http://www.scribd.com/doc/97223668/Case-Study-in-Gamification a Math teacher reflects on her challenges and triumphs of bringing gaming into the classroom as a teaching tool. Her belief is that the role of the teacher is to facilitate students in learning experiences. Gamification is an innovation on the rise. I think it is a great way to teach as well as keep students engaged with material while having fun.  
According to the article, you don't have to be a gamer to incorporate gaming in your classroom, all it takes is a little bit of imagination and a lot of time and patience to set up your game.  When using gamification as a learning tool, the options are limitless, and the more creative you are, the more creative the learning outcomes may be.  Gamification allows multiple users to to participate in producing knowledge.