Blog Post #12

What can We Learn from Sir Ken Robinson?

“The real role of leadership in education … is not and should not be command and control. The real role of leadership is climate control, creating a climate of possibility.”

                                                                                    ~ Ken Robinson

 Changing Education Paradigms

By: Amanda Weller, Briann Smith, Heather Smith, and Lisa Smith

In the video, Changing Education Paradigms Ken Robinson says that, “Every country on earth, at the moment, is reforming public education.” The first of many reasons is economics. People are attempting to work out the struggling question because we can't determine what the economy will look like in a few days. They're wondering

how to educate their children to take place in the economics of the 21st century. The second reason has to deal with cultural identity. Ken Robinson challenges the way children are being educated in his video. He talks about the way that we're educating our children. The system of education currently going on was designed for a different age. Mr. Robinson talks about how children are brought into ADHD because they're getting distracted by "boring stuff." He talks about how children are being medicated when teachers should be waking them up. Ken doesn't believe that students should be medicated. He believes that we should be changing education and doing away with standardized testing. Ken mentioned that standardized testing was designed for a different age. Children think differently than they did years ago. So many things have changed, but not education. The school system should constantly create creativity and acknowledge all kinds of learning.

How to Escape Education's Death Valley

By: Heather Smith, Briann Smith, Amanda Weller, and Lisa Smith

Mr. Robinson talks about the irony of “No Child Left Behind”. He said that this initiative actually leaves millions of children behind, how ironic is this? In some parts of the country, 60 percent of kids drop out of high school, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. What it doesn't count are all the kids who are in school but being disengaged from it, who don't enjoy it, who don't get any real benefit from it. And the reason is not that we're not spending enough money. America spends more money on education than most other countries, class sizes are smaller than in many countries, and there are hundreds of initiatives every year to try and improve education. The trouble is, it's all going in the wrong direction.There are three principles on which human life flourishes, and they are contradicted by the culture of education under which most teachers have to labor and most students have to endure.

1. Human beings are naturally different and diverse:

Education under No

Child Left Behind (NCLB) is not based on diversity, it’s based on conformity. One of the effects of NCLB has been to narrow the focus onto the so-called STEM disciplines- such as Math and Science. Mr. Robinson was not saying that they are not important, just that “they are necessary but they’re not sufficient”. He believes a real education has to give equal access to the arts, humanities, and physical education. Mr. Robinson taught me that children prosper best with a broad curriculum that celebrates their various talents, not just a small range of talents. Take the arts, for instance, this is not just important because it improves children’s math scores, but it is important because it speaks to parts of children’s being that are otherwise untouched.

2. Curiosity:

If you can light a spark of curiosity in a child, they will learn without any further assistance. Children are natural learners, and curiosity is the engine of achievement. Mr. Robinson said that one of the effects of the current American culture has been to de-professionalize teachers. He said there is no system in the world or any school in the country that is better than its teachers. Can we get an AMEN? (Sorry- we HAD to add that!) Teachers are the lifeblood of the SUCCESS of schools. But teaching is a creative profession. It’s not a delivery system- you’re not there just to pass on received information. Great teachers not only deliver information, but they also mentor, stimulate, provoke, and engage students. At the end of the day, education is about LEARNING! If there’s no learning, there’s no education! And what, might you ask, is the role of a teacher? To FACILITATE LEARNING!!! Mr. Robinson also taught me that part of the problem is the dominant culture of education has come to focus on not teaching and learning, but testing. Testing is important, as he stated, but there is a place and time for everything. Standardized tests should not be the dominant culture of education. They should help, they should be diagnostic, and they should SUPPORT learning- they should NOT OBSTRUCT IT!!!

3. Human life is inherently creative:

We create our lives through this restless process of imagining alternatives and possibilities, and what one of the roles of education is to awaken and develop these powers of creativity. Mr. Robinson has taught me that instead of developing creativity, instead we have a culture of standardization. It doesn’t have to be this way, though. He used the example of Finland and how well the students do in math, science, and reading. He said the reason that Finland’s system works is simple: they do NOT obsess about “those” disciplines (math, science, reading)- they have a broad approach to education.

Mr. Robinson also taught us that all high-performing systems in the world currently do what is apparently inevident to the systems in America- they:

1. Individualize teaching and learning:They recognize that it’s students who are learning and the system has to engage them, their curiosity, their individuality, and their creativity.

2. Attribute a very high status to the teaching profession:They recognize that you can’t improve education if you don’t pick great people to teach and if you don’t keep giving them constant support and professional development. Investing in professional development is not a COST, it’s an INVESTMENT!

3. Devolve responsibility to the school level for getting the job done:Mr. Robinson said there is a big difference between going into a mode of command and control in education- this was probably the most influential part to me because if you think about it: it is teachers and students in a classroom, not a committee of legislature, it should be the teachers discretion to make the environment enriching and plausible!

The point Mr. Robinson was trying to make is very clear: education is not a mechanical system. It’s a human system. IT’S ABOUT PEOPLE!!! People who do or do not want to learn. Is school boring? Is it irrelevant? Is it at odds with someone’s life outside of school? These are the reasons for drop-outs. These are the trends of America. There are conditions under which people thrive, and conditions under which they don’t. It’s that PLAIN and SIMPLE! He said that we are all organic creatures and the culture of the school is absolutely essential. Right beneath the surface are these seeds of possibility, waiting for the right conditions to come about, and with organic systems, if the conditions are right, life is inevitable. It happens all the time. You take an area, a school, a district, and change the conditions, give people a different sense of possibility, a different set of expectations, a broader range of opportunities, you cherish and value the relationships between teachers and learners, you offer people the discretion to be creative and to innovate what they do- and schools that were once bereft spring to LIFE.

According to Robinson, Great leaders know this! The real role of leadership in education- on the national, state, and school levels- is not and should not COMMAND and CONTROL. The real role of leadership in education is CLIMATE CONTROL, creating a climate of POSSIBILITY! And if you do that, people will rise to it and achieve things that you completely did not anticipate and couldn’t have expected.

Mr. Robinson

ended with a magnificent quote from Benjamin Franklin: “There are three sorts of people in this world: those who are immovable, those who are moveable, and those who move.” What does this mean? There are those who just don’t get it or don’t want to, those who see the need for change and are prepared to listen, and those who make things happen. If you encourage more people- that would be a MOVEMENT. If the movement is strong enough- that’s, in the best sense of the word, a REVOLUTION. And that’s what we NEED!






The Importance of Creativity
By:Briann Smith, Heather Smith, Amanda Weller, and Lisa Smith

In Ken Robinson's TED Talk, he gives an entertaining and inspirational speech on creating an education system that nurtures creativity instead of undermining the power of it. He begins his speech by describing the three themes that were running through the conference which are the extraordinary evidence of human creativity and the variety and range of it and how it has put us in a place where we do not know what’s

going to happen in the future. The third theme was that children have extraordinary capacities especially for innovation.  He says that he has interest in education and that he believes that everyone else does as well. Robinson says, this is partly because education is meant to take us into the unforeseen future. He says that all children have talent and that adults squander them. Robinson believes that now creativity is just as important as literacy is and that it should be treated with the same status. Through several funny stories involving children, he explains that children naturally take chances on things. They are not fearful of being wrong and they just go for it. He then explains that as adults most children lose this fearlessness and they become frightened of being wrong. Robinson then told the story of the conversation he had with Gillian Lynne,the choreographer of “Cats”. When she was a student in the 1930s, her teacher believed that she had a learning disorder because she kept fidgeting in class. Her mother to her to a specialist and instead of putting her on medication. The doctor saw that she was destined to be a dancer and defining moment put her on the path of dance. Robinson believes that the only hope for the future is to adopt a new conception of human ecology,one in which we start to reconstitute our conception of the richness of human capacity.  He says that our education system has mined our minds our minds in the way that we strip-mine the earth for a commodity. Robinson explains that this will not serve us and we have to rethink the fundamental principles on which we are educating our children. He ends his speech by saying that we have to appreciate our creative capabilities for the richness they are and see our children for the hope they are. Robinson says that our task is to educate their whole being so that they will be prepared for the future. As future educators, it will be our job to teach children and prepare them for the world. As we learned from Ken Robinson, it is important that we cultivate our students imagination and creativity in the classroom and encourage them  to go for their dreams and goals no matter what. The children are our future and it is our job to prepare them and make sure that they are ready for it academically as well as creatively!

Bring On the Education Revolution

By: Lisa Smith, Briann Smith, Heather Smith, and Amanda Weller

Sir Ken Robinson begins his speech talking about how human resources are depleting stating that we make very poor use of our talents.  He references two types of people, the ones who divide the world into two groups and those who do not.  He adds that many people endure their jobs/profession rather than enjoying it. Education dislocates many people from their own personal talents.  We must personalize education to fit our individual students so that personal dreams can still be accomplished.  Our classrooms will be full of a diversity of talent and it is up to us as teachers to put each and every talent our students bring to the table to good use.  They must flourish in order to succeed. Robinson

talks about how the education system is geared more towards conformity, like a fast food or manufacturing company.  We must ask the question, does this feed the spirit, and if the answer is no, we should look for a better option.  We must move from the manufacturing industrial way to the agricultural way.  The agricultural way has human flourishing and ways of creating conditions under which the students will flourish.Sir Ken Robinson ends this video with a poem by W.B. Yeats and it was so touching that we felt compelled to share it first in this blog post. Robinson referred to “Children spread their dreams under our feet and we should tread softly.”  Our group found this quote to be one that we remember when we start our own classrooms.  Please see the following poem titled He Wishes For Cloths Of Heaven.

He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven

By: William Butler Yeats

He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven                    

HAD I the heavens' embroidered cloths,  

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet

But I, being poor, have only my dreams

I have spread my dreams under your feet

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Project #15 Project Based Learning Plan

A "Cay" ribbean Island Study

I have created a Google site for my students that includes the project calendar, project overview, project essentials check list, and other resources.

Blog Post #11

Ms. Cassidy's Approach to the Use of Technology in the Classroom

In the video, First Graders in Ms.Cassidy's Class,

Ms.Cassidy's first graders from Moose Jaw, Canada, show how they use blogs, classroom webpage, Wikis, video, Skype, and Ninedto DS to share, collaborate, and learn in their classroom. The video was very entertaining and the children did a fantastic job in putting it together. It was great to see first graders using different types of technolgy in their everyday classroom routines. A lot of the technology tools and resources that the students used, I did not use until I was in highshool or got into college. They students seemed to enjoy using the technology and feel comfortable with it. This video is a great example of how even first graders are mature enough and able to use technology effectively in the classroom. When I become a teacher, I would love for my class to use the technology tools and resources that Ms.Cassidy's class uses. The video is inspiring and helpful to me as a future teacher.

In the first part of the video, Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1, Ms. Cassidy and Dr. Strange discuss the use of technology in the classroom. The video starts off with Dr.Strange asking Ms. Cassidy how she first got involved technology. She got involved with technology about ten years ago, because she was given five Sunway computers, that had all of the features except programs on them. She started her technology journey by, learning how to make webpages and blogging etc. Through federal funding, she was able to get professional development and take time off to work on things. She has had a class blog for about five years and just a few years ago she started doing the video. She explains how she is always adding new things and that she is always trying to push the envelope. She has tremendous support from the school division's technology coordinator and he helps her when she has questions or ideas about new things. All of the schools in the division send home a form with all of the students, notifying the parents that their student's work will be put on the internet. To protect her students identity online,  Ms.Cassidy only uses the student's first name and she does not match the student's name with a picture. She says that the class blog is a on portfolio for the student's work. The parents love the fact that they can go online and see their student's progress and their work. She says that the students love using the technology in the classroom. Ms.Cassidy firmly believes that using technology in the classroom is great and fudmental in  today's world for the students.

                   

In the second video, Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 2, Ms.Cassidy says that she doesn't really use technology in her personal life, but she says that people should use technology for the different things that interests them. Some examples would be to blog if you like to write, use Flicker if the they like photography and so on. Dr. Strange talked about the use of Twitter and how he was able to network and meet people with in the Educational field. Ms. Cassidy says that twitter is a great way to network and communicate with people in the same fields. She said that through Twitter she found about resources and tools that she would not have known about , if it had not been Twitter. She thinks that educators should share resources and network and she believes that Twitter is a great easy way to accomplish that.

In the final video, Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 3, Dr. Strange's University of South Alabama students got the opportunity to ask Ms. Cassidy questions. Some of the questions that the students asked were about her class blog and how the students write their personal blogs. In her class her students blog about once a week and they blog all togther in the school's computer lab. In previous years she let the students blog in a center. Another question was about how to stop students from using someone else's material from previous years. Her answer was that the internet allows the students  to get information from one another and she views this as collaboration not as cheating. She says that it is a shift going in the way students complete their work because of the internet. She says that she approached technology as a way to help her students and find resources and different types of technology to use in the classroom. In the closing part of the video, she showed her backyard which was filled with snow, in the part of Canda where she lives the snow lasts until March or April. 

I thought the interviews and videos from Ms. Cassidy were great and  very informative. It was amazing to me that she

started out not really knowing anything about technology or how she could use it in her classroom. Today, she has a class blog and her students blog, create videos, and use Wikis.This shows how teachers should envolve and try new things that can bebefit them, but importanlty benefit their students. I got tons of great ideas on what I can involve in my future classroom. In my classroom, I will have a class blog and allow my students to blog and create videos for different projects. I am sure that I will some parents who might not feel comfortable with their child's work online, but I would assure them that their safety and well being will always be a top prority. In all of the work that my student's post online, I will check it to make sure it is appropriate and only their first name will be provided. The benefits of having a class blog will be great, because the students will have the skills of writing a blog post, and using the internet. A class blog will also provide the parents with a portfolio of their child's work and they can see their progress and get update to date information all in one place. Ms. Cassidy is a great role model on how teachers can learn and use technology resources and tools in the classroom. 

C4T #3 Blog Post

Comments for Teachers:

I have enjoyed reading Elvira Deyamport's blog, Language Journeys. She is a Gifted Education teacher for second to six graders. She has a specialist degree in Reading Instruction, a master's in Gifted Education, and a dual bachelor's in Elementary Education and Spanish.  Her philosophy revolves around using technology to expose and connect her students to a variety of people, places, and authentic learning experiences. 

C4T Post Summary #1:

In the first post that I read from Elvira Deyamport's blog, Language Journeys, she described her experience with using the technology of Podcasts to do a Science research project with her students. In her blog she talked about her district's enrichment program and how she got the opportunity to teach in it. She

said that she loved teaching this program because it gives her a time to test out some methods amd projects that she would normally not get to try during the school year. One of the new things that she learned about was Podcasts. Elvira then to the information about Podcasts and shared this with her students. The students would use the Podcasts to do interviews with scientists. She had her students research about careers in Science and the summarized their information and complied interviwe questions as they were researching. The students final product included a podcast of their interview, theme music, and media. She said that the students enjoyed creating the Podcasts and listening to their voices. Elvira said that the best part was seeing their reactions as they listened to their final products and that this tool was great at capturing her students personalities.

My Comment:

Hi Elvira,

My name is Briann Smith and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I’m majoring in Elementary Education and I’m currently taking the EDM 310 class with Dr. Strange. In the EDM310 class we are learning about the different types of technology and resources that are being used in the classrooms today. I really enjoyed reading your blog post on the Podcasts. A few weeks ago in EDM310, we learned about Podcasts and we created some too. It was great to see how a teacher introduced the technology of Podcasts in a lesson and assignment for the students. I loved how you incorporated a hands-on activity like making Podcasts with a Science lesson. When I become a teacher I definitely want to incorporate the use of technology in my classroom and allow my students to create projects using it. I enjoyed listening to your student’s Podcasts. They did a fantastic job! I look forward to your future posts.

C4T Post Summary #2:

In the second blog post that I read from Elvira Deyamport's blog, Language Journeys, she talks about the beginning of her school year. In her post she has started the school year off with the All About Me Unit,

but she wanted to add a new spin on it. She says that every year the teachers are expected to keep records of inventories their students take, which include interest, multiple intelligences, as well as expression style inventories. Every year she explains the purpose of these inventories and their role in learning in the classroom. However, she felt that over the years they normally complete them, discuss the results, and them store them away to collect dust. This year, she wanted to make a change and use the information as a reference point for her students as she prepares them to individualize their learning. As a activity, she had her students completer a puzzle piece or a puzzle to show how all the pieces fit together. The puzzle for 2nd and 3rd graders included: Preferred Multiple Intelligence(s), Interests, and Goals for the class. The puzzle piece for 4th through 6th grade included: Preferred Multiple Intelligence(s), Preferred Expression Style(s), Interests, Goals for the class, and Career Goal(s).

My Comment:

Hi Elvira,

My name is Briann Smith and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I’m majoring in Elementary education and I’m currently taking the EDM 310 class with Dr. Strange. I also have a blog, that I post to for my class. When I read your post on the puzzles and puzzle pieces, I thought it was a great idea to use in the classroom. I agree with you, most inventory records about students are completed then put away. The puzzle pieces are fun for the students to make and they also provide the required inventory information. I will definetly use this idea for my students when I become a teacher. I really enjoyed reading your blog and I look forward to reading your future posts!

Project #10: Interview Movie

The Use of Technology in the Classroom

“We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.”                                                                                                

                                                                                                       – David Warlick  

Special Thanks to Dr.Fregeau

Project #12

October:C4K Summary Post

“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.”

~Angela Schwindt

C4K #5: Read...Read...Read

I think that the dad ordered that dog so meledey can have a partner to play with and help her. it is going to be crazy hard for the mom and dad to deal with all the people in the house and i fell bad for ollie the gold fish. i reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy like this book i give it almost five stars dun dun dun dum it is awesomeeeeee! pleze give me a comment or else!!

My Comment:

Hi Brendan,

My name is Briann Smith and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I have a blog for my class too. I agree, Brendan. I think Melody’s dad got the dog to help and guide her. Butterscotch really helped Melody a lot. What other jobs do dogs do for people? What are some things you can do to help when you see a service dog? What themes or big ideas do you think that Sharon Draper is trying to get you to think about as you read the chapters? I can tell that you really enjoyed reading the book. You did a good job on your blog post and keep up the good work!

C4K #6: My Week at School
We hade buddies today. I saw grandma and grandpa did a comet on here. We went on a nature trail. I am liking school it is fun. Do you know how to leave a comet on kid blog? I am doing good on class dojo. We hade seating arrangements. We did mystery Skype.

My Comment:
Hi Josh, My name is Briann Smith and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed reading your blog post about your week at school. I have a blog that I post to for my class as well. That is great that your grandparents made a comment on your blog. I bet you had a lot of fun on the nature trail! The mystery Skype sounds like it was exciting. Keep up the good work Josh and always do your best!



C4K #7: Maui and the Sun

Maui and the Sun

One day Maui was angry at the sun because it was too fast and it was always dark. Maui and his brother

did not get time to fish and hunt. Maui said he was going to catch the sun. Maui’s brothers laughed they were making ropes out of flax. They went to hide in a hole. The sun came out and Maui said, “Now.” They threw the ropes at the sun and it was trapped. The sun fought the ropes and it was tired. Maui let the sun go and it went slowly over the sky.

My Comment:

Hi Kefu, My name is Briann Smith and I Am a student at the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed reading your blog post about the story of Maui and the Sun. The story was very exciting and interesting! I liked the picture that you included in your story. I also liked how you used good punctuation, speech marks, and a conclusion in the story. You did a good job Kefu and keep up the good work!

C4K #8: Out of My Mind
One of the lessons that you can learn from ‘Out of my Mind’ is to not be prejudiced. So many people disregard Melody and ignore her, and don’t even want to know her name. She is a good person who can’t help that she can’t walk or talk, but people just don’t realize that. Prejudice doesn’t just happen to people with disabilities of some kind, but it happens a lot all over the world. 

An example of prejudice against Melody in this book is when Dr. Hugely is testing her, he assumes that sice she has cerebral palsy, she isn’ t smart. He doesn’t even think that she might not be able to pick up the blocks when he asks her to. A lesson that goes with not being prejudiced is to look past a person’s appearance and see their personality! A saying that goes with that is to not judge a book by its cover. That means that even though someone may look different, they might be a good person inside. For example, people walking by Melody shouldn’t just look at her and only see her disability, but they should look beyond that and see the person she is inside. Another lesson to learn from this story  is to not be insensitive to other people’s feelings. For example, Dr. Hugely doesn’t even think about Melody being right there when he talks to Melody’s mother about her lesson with him, and he just goes ahead and insults her. Everyone, even people with cerebral palsy  have feelings! One more lesson to be learned from this is that even the people you least suspect to be fun to be around or to be smart or good at sports may just be really good at it! Every person is really good at something, just it may not be the same thing you are really good at. In Melody’s case she really smart about plants and animals, but everyone else may not be interested in that, and they think she isn’t smart just because she is smart at different things then they are.  I thought that ‘The Hunger Games’ had a really boring cover and I didn’t want to read it for so long, but I am glad I finally did!


My Comment:
Hi Kirstin, My name is Briann Smith and I Am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I have a blog for my class as well. I really enjoyed reading your blog post on “Out of my Mind”. It seems like you learned a lot from the story. I completely agree with you. I think that people should look past a person’s appearance and see their personality. You gave great examples of lessons that people can learn about not passing judgements on others. Have you ever judged someone, before you got to know them? Kirstin you wrote a great post and keep up the good work!

Blog Post #10

What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?

I had previously heard of Professor Randy Pausch and his story before I was given this blog assignment and I knew the great impact that he had made on so many people’s lives. When I first saw his last lecture, I thought that he was brave and very inspiring. I remember thinking how amazing and strong he was for never giving up! It was refreshing to watch his video on his last lecture again. His story is

amazing and his life lessons and advice are valuable and can be applied to all aspects of life. In his last lecture, Pausch begins his lecture by explaining to the audience in McConomy Auditorium that he has three-to-six months to live because of pancreatic cancer. Despite his terminal cancer diagnosis, Pausch is lively and strong. In his moving presentation, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about the lessons that he had learned through the journey of life and gave his advice on achieving personal and career goals. He presented his advice and life lessons through  telling about different times In his life. He talked about his own childhood dreams of becoming Captain Kurt, winning stuff animals, and being a Disney Imagineer. His speech included how he achieved his dreams and how you can achieve yours and enable the dreams of others. Randy Pausch’s lecture was inspiring and motivating! I learned so much from it as a student and as a future educator.

In Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture, I took away so many things about learning and teaching. Pausch said that he was glad

that he became a professor and that this allowed him to enable the dreams of others. Being an educator allows you to enable and encourage  the dreams of students. In his speech,I also learned the power of using hands-on activities for students. In one of the assignment that Randy Pausch assigned to his students, they blew him away with the outstanding work that they did on their projects. Another thing that I learned about teaching and learning is to never underestimate the power and ability of your students. Pausch also talked about the importance of sharing the student’s work with others. In his speech he also talked about the importance of creating a sense of excitement with the students and allowing the students to create excitement for others. I learned several of others things such as having fun, make the learning experience fun for the students. The video was entertaining and Randy Pausch was an amazing person who impacted so many people.

Project #14

Lesson Plan #2

"Persuade Me" Essay

In this lesson plan 3rd grade students will learn about and create their own Persuasive Essays.

Here is a link to my website:

https://sites.google.com/site/theeducationalave/