Sunday, October 28, 2012
Project #10
So far my PLN (Personal Learning Network) is coming along pretty good. I have chosen to use Symbaloo to help me organize my PLN. I have many applications to help with presentations and social networks. I have included different tools that I use on a daily basis and a few that I will use more when I begin my teaching career. I still have much more to add. My PLN will provide me with much help in my future in school and after. My PLN will be very helpful in my future college career and even after I graduate and begin my career as a teacher.
Blog Post #9
What I've Learned This Year (2008-2009) by Mr. McClung
First things first, Mr. McClung seems to be an awesome teacher. He seems like a teacher that I would love to have when I was in school. In this blog post, Mr. McClung has finished up his first year of teaching and hits on some of the major points that he has taken away from that first year. He tells us, the readers, that not only does a teacher just teach the material, but the teacher also learns as well. He gets into the "meat" of his post by telling us what all he has learned from this year. A few stuck out to me and will be very valuable when I begin my teaching career.
He says to make sure to learn to read the audience. A lot of times in education, the teacher is more worried about the delivery of the information, and impressing superiors; but, one important thing to remember is that the lesson needs to be student centered. This is a great point. It seems so simple, but can totally change the classroom. When students are the center of your lesson plan, and not the delivery of the information, you will have a great classroom that is willing to learn.
Another point that Mr. McClung brings up is to be flexible. He says there are many times that as a teacher his lesson plans were "perfect," but he needed to remember that the students he is working with are not always perfect. At the beginning of the school year, Mr. McClung said that he was trying to control things too much, but at the end of the year learned to kind of "go with the flow." He realized that he couldn't control everything and needed to adapt to a situation whether than try to push through it. This is the part of the post where I said in my head "well, duh!" This seems so simple, but definitely something that I need to remember throughout my teaching career. Not only do teachers teach the students, but the students help to teach the teachers. We, as teachers, must remember to listen to our students. Sometimes we may be the only ones that listen to them. In order to build a healthy student-teacher relationship, there must be a respect between the two. The best way to build that respect is by listening to what the student's say and vice-versa.
What I Learned This Year- Volume 4 (2011-2012) by Mr. McClung
The very first thing that struck me about Mr. McClung after reading this post is that he has definitely grown as a teacher from year one to year four. He only hit on two major points in this post, but they were great points that he made.
The first point that he brought up was he as a teacher was struggling to find his identity with his peers. It was something that he never thought of before as a teacher, and it really messed him up as a teacher. It took him most of the school year to realize that he needed to stop worrying about what his peers thought about him. School is about the students, not peers, and Mr. McClung forgot that over the course of the year. The major point he is hitting on though, is that he forgot the reason he got to where he was as a teacher by following one rule: are the kids having fun? Mr. McClung, I'm sure, is not the only teacher to fall into this trap. I'm sure it is something that I will face whenever I get a teaching job and I need to remember that the focus does not need to be on my peers, but on my students.
Another point that he brought up in this post is that we, as teachers, need to challenge ourselves. He said that he had been teaching the same subject for the last three years, and had started relying on old lesson plans. This was a problem for Mr. McClung because it took away his creativity because of the ease of access to an already created lesson plan. A new opportunity came up for him to teach a new subject and he took that opportunity. He said he knows that it will be hard work, but it is a challenge he is willing to accept. The way you grow as a person is by overcoming challenges and Mr. McClung realized that. This lesson is the greatest of them all, in my opinion, because in order to improve as a teacher you must learn how to constantly grow and overcome different challenges.
He says to make sure to learn to read the audience. A lot of times in education, the teacher is more worried about the delivery of the information, and impressing superiors; but, one important thing to remember is that the lesson needs to be student centered. This is a great point. It seems so simple, but can totally change the classroom. When students are the center of your lesson plan, and not the delivery of the information, you will have a great classroom that is willing to learn.
Another point that Mr. McClung brings up is to be flexible. He says there are many times that as a teacher his lesson plans were "perfect," but he needed to remember that the students he is working with are not always perfect. At the beginning of the school year, Mr. McClung said that he was trying to control things too much, but at the end of the year learned to kind of "go with the flow." He realized that he couldn't control everything and needed to adapt to a situation whether than try to push through it. This is the part of the post where I said in my head "well, duh!" This seems so simple, but definitely something that I need to remember throughout my teaching career. Not only do teachers teach the students, but the students help to teach the teachers. We, as teachers, must remember to listen to our students. Sometimes we may be the only ones that listen to them. In order to build a healthy student-teacher relationship, there must be a respect between the two. The best way to build that respect is by listening to what the student's say and vice-versa.
What I Learned This Year- Volume 4 (2011-2012) by Mr. McClung
The very first thing that struck me about Mr. McClung after reading this post is that he has definitely grown as a teacher from year one to year four. He only hit on two major points in this post, but they were great points that he made.
The first point that he brought up was he as a teacher was struggling to find his identity with his peers. It was something that he never thought of before as a teacher, and it really messed him up as a teacher. It took him most of the school year to realize that he needed to stop worrying about what his peers thought about him. School is about the students, not peers, and Mr. McClung forgot that over the course of the year. The major point he is hitting on though, is that he forgot the reason he got to where he was as a teacher by following one rule: are the kids having fun? Mr. McClung, I'm sure, is not the only teacher to fall into this trap. I'm sure it is something that I will face whenever I get a teaching job and I need to remember that the focus does not need to be on my peers, but on my students.
Another point that he brought up in this post is that we, as teachers, need to challenge ourselves. He said that he had been teaching the same subject for the last three years, and had started relying on old lesson plans. This was a problem for Mr. McClung because it took away his creativity because of the ease of access to an already created lesson plan. A new opportunity came up for him to teach a new subject and he took that opportunity. He said he knows that it will be hard work, but it is a challenge he is willing to accept. The way you grow as a person is by overcoming challenges and Mr. McClung realized that. This lesson is the greatest of them all, in my opinion, because in order to improve as a teacher you must learn how to constantly grow and overcome different challenges.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Blog Post #8
This is How We Dream (Parts 1 and 2)
In these videos, Dr. Richard E. Miller, of Rutgers University, talks about how writing in the academy and our culture has changed. He says that this is the greatest change in human communication in human history. We now have the opportunity to communicate with each other instantly and globally. Dr. Miller states that we need to be engaged in the work of literacy now. He said that he grew up in a house filled with books, he wanted a career that involved working with books, and the end result was-a book. It was a print based document that was put in libraries, but now, like many other academic works, has ended up out of print and digitized.
We carry our laptops and use word processing instead of notebook paper. Our desk is now our work space. What has become possible with the use of our computers is that: we now can not only research our University libraries, but we have access to any library in the world located on the internet. Dr. Miller had the opportunity to write about the shootings at Virginia Tech, and he wrote his whole piece without stepping foot into a library. This speaks volumes of how much we have access to on the Internet. It is now possible to collaborate using technology. We not only have to use text, but we also can use images and/or video. Another change, is that we can now collaborate using different network technology and can compose with, not just text, images, video, or whatever else you find on the internet.
Dr. Miller states, that we are working in this digital environment right now. He show us how iTunes U is a great site to use for academic lectures and different kinds of information. He says that ideas do not belong to us individually, but as a culture, and we as educators must be in the business to share ideas freely. Not only can we look at the information given on the Internet, but we can get behind it and go further into research and see how it is put together. This way we can put alternative information together and share it globally. Sometimes this may be presented as a challenge, however Dr. Miller states: “The largest restriction we put is on ourselves”.
Comments for Carly
Carly's post and comments show readers that a teaching philosophy, or philosophy for any career, is extremely important. The only thing that is more important than the philosophy is the way that the teacher carries it out in his/her classroom each and every day. Creativity was an aspect that Carly included in her philosophy and her blog post clearly showed ways that she could carry out her philosophy to inspire her students to be creative with their assignments in her classroom. This desire for creativity shows exactly what Dr. Miller was searching for in his videos, linked in the section above. Carly showed ways to be creative through technology in her post, where the students' hard work on posters, papers, and /or science experiments don't just end up in a landfill, rather can be found through technology decades after the project was assigned. Carly did a great job incorporating Dr. Miller's views of the future classroom in her blog post.
The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies
The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies are both videos that encourage students to fight procrastination and get things done. This is an issue that I often struggle with on a daily basis. I work full-time and I go to school full-time, so I often struggle with time management. Every Sunday is spent doing homework and every Sunday I tell myself that I am going to get ahead on school work, but it hasn't gotten me anywhere. Here I am, another Sunday, spending my day working on school work and getting distracted by the urge to watch football (which is why nothing gets done on Saturday). I know that I am not the only person who struggles with procrastination and time management, so I can show these videos, and others, in my classroom to fight the urge to wait until the last minute to do assignments. I also really like the idea of previous students sending messages of encouragement to future students with tips on how to succeed in the class.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn
Learn to Change, Change to Learn is a video about how schools need to change. Education received the lowest ranking on the Department of Commerce's IT intensiveness list in 2008. This shows how education desperately needs to change and integrate more technology in the classroom. Schools in Mobile County are slowly beginning to integrate more technology into the classrooms. We live in an era where students would rather carry on a conversation through SMS messages and social programs, like Facebook and Twitter. I have learned that education, along with many other things, swing on a pendulum. Currently, our education system had a big emphasis on Reading and Math, both which are assessed through Standardized Testing.
Unfortunately, I do not think that the pendulum will swing away from standardized tests, which are an inaccurate way to assess students' knowledge because of all the pressure placed on them through administrators, parents, and school staff. The focus on standardized tests take away from teachers having time in the day to teach our students how to use new technology and show their knowledge through projects. The legislators making the laws for education need to have more education on effective teaching and change the education system to where students can really learn and show that they have learned through the use of technology.
Scavenger Hunt 2.0
I went to Discovery Education's WEB 2.0 for 2012 website and used links to create the following:
3 - Find a tool to make-your-own Comic strip. Create a comic. Post a picture of it in your blog.
5 - Find a tool to create a poll anywhere and at anytime. Create your first poll and post it here.
Scavenger Hunt 2.0
I went to Discovery Education's WEB 2.0 for 2012 website and used links to create the following:
3 - Find a tool to make-your-own Comic strip. Create a comic. Post a picture of it in your blog.
5 - Find a tool to create a poll anywhere and at anytime. Create your first poll and post it here.
C4T #2
Post 1
I was assigned to Ms. Lara's Blog for the 2nd C4T assignment. I commented on her blog post Reaching out into the Community, even in 4-K that was posted on February 7, 2012. The post discussed ways in which students in her 4-K class could give back to the community. She suggested holding a food or clothing drive for the class so the students can learn to give to the community at a young age. Young children can also choose a toy that they don't play with anymore to give to the community. Judging by the picture, the food drive held in her class over the 2011 holiday season was very successful.
In my comment, I agreed with the importance of giving back to the community. I told her that I have a 4-year-old niece who would benefit from this lesson. She, along with many 4-year-olds, have toys that they have grown out of and don't play with anymore. I suggested that we could ask her to choose one or two toys each month that don't get played with to give to a child who doesn't have many toys. Thinking about it now, Toy Story 3 could be a good, age appropriate video to show the class on donating toys. The toys can be donated to a day care or donated to a child who would play with the toys and take good care of them. I'm glad that Ms. Lara used her 4-K class to reach out the community and shared their success on her blog.
Post 2
Ms. Lara did not have any new posts on her blog since I commented for post 1. I scrolled down to a post that was used to thank EDM310 students, like myself, who have been commenting on her blog posts. Ms. Lara was an EDM310 student at South Alabama and said that she felt honored that Dr. Strange would choose her blog as a blog to be used for the C4T assignments.
In my comment, I told Ms. Lara that I am glad that she is using the information taught in the class in her preschool classroom. I can see how she uses her blog to keep parents and the community involved in her preschool classroom. I wrote that I would also feel honored if in the future my blog (that I will use to keep my students, their parents, and the community involved in the class) is chosen by Dr. Strange to be used as a blog for the C4T assignment. Her blog was a great example of how I can use blogging in my classroom.
I was assigned to Ms. Lara's Blog for the 2nd C4T assignment. I commented on her blog post Reaching out into the Community, even in 4-K that was posted on February 7, 2012. The post discussed ways in which students in her 4-K class could give back to the community. She suggested holding a food or clothing drive for the class so the students can learn to give to the community at a young age. Young children can also choose a toy that they don't play with anymore to give to the community. Judging by the picture, the food drive held in her class over the 2011 holiday season was very successful.In my comment, I agreed with the importance of giving back to the community. I told her that I have a 4-year-old niece who would benefit from this lesson. She, along with many 4-year-olds, have toys that they have grown out of and don't play with anymore. I suggested that we could ask her to choose one or two toys each month that don't get played with to give to a child who doesn't have many toys. Thinking about it now, Toy Story 3 could be a good, age appropriate video to show the class on donating toys. The toys can be donated to a day care or donated to a child who would play with the toys and take good care of them. I'm glad that Ms. Lara used her 4-K class to reach out the community and shared their success on her blog.
Post 2
Ms. Lara did not have any new posts on her blog since I commented for post 1. I scrolled down to a post that was used to thank EDM310 students, like myself, who have been commenting on her blog posts. Ms. Lara was an EDM310 student at South Alabama and said that she felt honored that Dr. Strange would choose her blog as a blog to be used for the C4T assignments.
In my comment, I told Ms. Lara that I am glad that she is using the information taught in the class in her preschool classroom. I can see how she uses her blog to keep parents and the community involved in her preschool classroom. I wrote that I would also feel honored if in the future my blog (that I will use to keep my students, their parents, and the community involved in the class) is chosen by Dr. Strange to be used as a blog for the C4T assignment. Her blog was a great example of how I can use blogging in my classroom.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
C4K Summary for the Month of September
C4K #1
For my first C4K I posted a comment for Juanma. In his post, he posted one of his favorite videos titled Crazy Frog- Underwater. I commented on the post and told him that I thought the video and music were great, and that I also liked the part where the robots were dancing. I then asked him what other types of music that he liked but he did not reply.
C4K #2
For my second C4K, I posted a comment for Atze, which is pronounced ahh-ts-uh. In his post he posted a picture of family artifacts that he had to do for class. He had a picture of his great Grandma’s old pill box, his Pake Atze’s Trumpet, his Gramps Hat, and the Plaatz. I commented on his post and said that I thought the picture was really cool, and I asked if he thought the trumpet still worked. I also asked him where he got his revolving map from on his blog. He commented back and said that he thinks the trumpet still works even though he doesn't know how to play it. He also said that he got the revolving map off of revolvermaps.com and that his future posts he would like to make would be about video games or sports.
For my first C4K I posted a comment for Juanma. In his post, he posted one of his favorite videos titled Crazy Frog- Underwater. I commented on the post and told him that I thought the video and music were great, and that I also liked the part where the robots were dancing. I then asked him what other types of music that he liked but he did not reply.
C4K #2
For my second C4K, I posted a comment for Atze, which is pronounced ahh-ts-uh. In his post he posted a picture of family artifacts that he had to do for class. He had a picture of his great Grandma’s old pill box, his Pake Atze’s Trumpet, his Gramps Hat, and the Plaatz. I commented on his post and said that I thought the picture was really cool, and I asked if he thought the trumpet still worked. I also asked him where he got his revolving map from on his blog. He commented back and said that he thinks the trumpet still works even though he doesn't know how to play it. He also said that he got the revolving map off of revolvermaps.com and that his future posts he would like to make would be about video games or sports.
Blog Post #7
The Networked Student By: Wendy Drexler
In this video, by Wendy Drexler, she gives us a glimpse of what education could be like in the very near future. In some cases, however, this is what the class is like, especially this EDM310 course. What exactly is a "networked student" though? First things first, lets break down what networking is and then we'll bring it all together in the end. Networking is when an individual links themselves to other individuals in some way. They could link themselves for different reasons, whether it be because they share common interests or for a service that they could use at a later date. In the video, they show a student in the 21st century whose teacher believes in the theory of connectivism. The teacher in this 21st century students class did not require the students to have a textbook and she rarely lectured. The teacher encouraged her students to make connections with others who could strengthen the learning process.
The 21st century teacher encourages students to develop their network of learning and acts as a tool to help the students develop that network. Information many find on the internet can be very useful, but most of the time there is a ton of "junk" that you have to wade through to get there. The teachers job in the 21st century classroom is to teach the students how to get through that "junk" and to gather the correct information. I believe, and I think the video reflects it, that if a person teaches themselves how to do something they will never forget it. The whole concept of this classroom is to eliminate "burp-back information" and when the students teach themselves they are eliminating that.
A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (PLE)
This short video is by a 7th grader who has created her personal learning environment. Remember that 21st century student that I was talking about earlier, well this is him/her. The student in the video has used many different resources to create her PLE between the use of blogs, skype, google, her science class's blog, and much more.
My PLN (Personal Learning Network) and her PLE are very different, but I did get some great ideas from her. She has everything stored under one app called symbaloo which is like a virtual corkboard where all of her favorite websites/blogs can be found. Everything she needs access to is just one click away. My PLN right now is just an assortment of tabs at the top of my browser which can make it difficult to find exactly what I am looking for. It is a little embarrassing that a 7th grader is more organized than me, but I have no doubt that the more I work on my PLN the better and more organized it will be!
- Connectivism- When learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties.
The 21st century teacher encourages students to develop their network of learning and acts as a tool to help the students develop that network. Information many find on the internet can be very useful, but most of the time there is a ton of "junk" that you have to wade through to get there. The teachers job in the 21st century classroom is to teach the students how to get through that "junk" and to gather the correct information. I believe, and I think the video reflects it, that if a person teaches themselves how to do something they will never forget it. The whole concept of this classroom is to eliminate "burp-back information" and when the students teach themselves they are eliminating that.
A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (PLE)
This short video is by a 7th grader who has created her personal learning environment. Remember that 21st century student that I was talking about earlier, well this is him/her. The student in the video has used many different resources to create her PLE between the use of blogs, skype, google, her science class's blog, and much more.
My PLN (Personal Learning Network) and her PLE are very different, but I did get some great ideas from her. She has everything stored under one app called symbaloo which is like a virtual corkboard where all of her favorite websites/blogs can be found. Everything she needs access to is just one click away. My PLN right now is just an assortment of tabs at the top of my browser which can make it difficult to find exactly what I am looking for. It is a little embarrassing that a 7th grader is more organized than me, but I have no doubt that the more I work on my PLN the better and more organized it will be!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Blog Post #6
Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
Dr. Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon professor, gives this last lecture after finding out that he is suffering from pancreatic cancer and is has 3-6 months to live. If you have not seen the video, I highly recommend that you watch it because it is such an inspirational video. The lecture received so much attention on YouTube, that Dr. Pausch co-authored a novel with the same theme of the lecture, titled The Last Lecture, that became a New York Times best-seller. He talks about his childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and how we can achieve our childhood dreams and/or enable the dreams of others. As a teacher, I can use these lessons in enabling the dreams of all of my students, one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching. One of my high school history teachers, Coach Donald, inspired me to become a history teacher, so I hope that I can have the same impact on my future students.
After discussing his football dreams, Dr. Pausch shifted focus to his dream of becoming a Disney Imagineer. He talked about meeting with two men: a Dean at the University of Virginia and Gene Block. He shared his dreams of taking a sabbatical and working with the Jon Snoddy and the Disney Imagineer team on an Aladdin Virtual Reality project. When he asked the Dean if he thought the sabbatical was a good idea, he responded saying "I have no idea if this is a good idea". When he asked Gene Block if the sabbatical was a good idea, he responded saying "Well, if you're asking me if it is a good idea, I don't have very much information. All I know is that one of my star faculty members is in my office and he's really excited, so tell me more". Both the Dean and Gene Block had the same response, "I don't know," but Gene Block's was said in a much better way. How can I use this knowledge in my classroom? Well, when I have a student who comes up to me and discusses his/her dreams, I should show interest in their dreams. If I don't know the answer to my students' questions, I should respond the way that Gene Block responded to Dr. Pausch. Because of Gene Block's positive response, Dr. Pausch was able to follow his dream of working with the Aladdin VR project. After the successful project, Dr. Pausch was offered his dream job of a Disney Imagineer, but he happily turned it down and became a professor.
Dr. Pausch and Don Marinelli created the Entertainment Technology Center, a master's program at Carnegie Mellon. The two were given full reins over this degree program and completely broke the norm of traditional education. Dr. Pausch and Dr. Marianelli created an entirely project based program at the University. They had the view that this was a master's level program and the students were educated enough to not be asked to read for their degree. There were no textbooks and no lectures; it was an entirely hands-on and field trip based degree program. The program has 5 written agreements promising to hire students because of their enrollment in the Carnegie Mellon ETC program. Again, Dr. Pausch uses the head fake teaching strategy in these master's-level students. The students think that they are learning how make movies and video games, but they are really learning how to program. Dr. Pausch, like the Mad Hatter, used the head fake strategy throughout his entire teaching career. It has obviously been a successful strategy, so it is a strategy that I will most certainly use in my history classroom by allowing students to learn something difficult through doing fun projects and activities.
The second lesson is to decide if you are a Tigger or an Eeyore. I will be a Tigger in my classroom and encourage all of my students to be Tiggers. I will encourage them to follow their dreams and never lose hope. The third lesson is never lose child-like wonder. This is important in the classroom as we are encouraging our students to go for their highest goals. We must have the child-like belief in them that they can do anything that they have ever dreamed of doing. The fourth lesson is to help others. It is obvious how I can use this lesson in my classroom. This is a lesson that I must teach by example by focusing on my students and ways that I can help them. I must also encourage them to help others through the examples that I set for them. The fifth lesson is loyalty is a two way street. We must be loyal to our students and expect them to be loyal to us. A classroom without trust and loyalty is a classroom where there will not be much progress. We must learn from each other, trust each other, help each other, and encourage each other to reach our dreams. The last lesson in the lecture is to get people to help you. We can not achieve our goals if we do not ask for help. This is another way that I will have to teach by example in my classroom. I can not expect my students to come to me for help if I do not ask for help myself.
Dr. Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon professor, gives this last lecture after finding out that he is suffering from pancreatic cancer and is has 3-6 months to live. If you have not seen the video, I highly recommend that you watch it because it is such an inspirational video. The lecture received so much attention on YouTube, that Dr. Pausch co-authored a novel with the same theme of the lecture, titled The Last Lecture, that became a New York Times best-seller. He talks about his childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and how we can achieve our childhood dreams and/or enable the dreams of others. As a teacher, I can use these lessons in enabling the dreams of all of my students, one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching. One of my high school history teachers, Coach Donald, inspired me to become a history teacher, so I hope that I can have the same impact on my future students.
As Randy Pausch discussed his dream of playing in the NFL, which didn't happen, he mentioned "head fake" teachings. My dreams are to teach history and coach football and baseball, so this section really stuck out to me. Coaches teach fundamentals of football and it is all about the fundamentals and techniques. He told a story about one of his football coaches, Coach Setliff, who taught them the power of enthusiasm by placing each player in a position that was completely the wrong position for them (placing all the short players in the receiver position) for one play. That one play gave Dr. Pausch the opportunity to succeed on the football field because the single play confused the opposing players. However, the teaching technique that I gained the most from in section of the video was the head fake, or learning through indirect experiences. Parents sign their children up for sports hoping that they will learn through their indirect experiences. The children, through their head fake learning, are taught teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership and perseverance. As a coach, I hope that my players will come out more with the head fake knowledge than the knowledge of plays and proper techniques.
After discussing his football dreams, Dr. Pausch shifted focus to his dream of becoming a Disney Imagineer. He talked about meeting with two men: a Dean at the University of Virginia and Gene Block. He shared his dreams of taking a sabbatical and working with the Jon Snoddy and the Disney Imagineer team on an Aladdin Virtual Reality project. When he asked the Dean if he thought the sabbatical was a good idea, he responded saying "I have no idea if this is a good idea". When he asked Gene Block if the sabbatical was a good idea, he responded saying "Well, if you're asking me if it is a good idea, I don't have very much information. All I know is that one of my star faculty members is in my office and he's really excited, so tell me more". Both the Dean and Gene Block had the same response, "I don't know," but Gene Block's was said in a much better way. How can I use this knowledge in my classroom? Well, when I have a student who comes up to me and discusses his/her dreams, I should show interest in their dreams. If I don't know the answer to my students' questions, I should respond the way that Gene Block responded to Dr. Pausch. Because of Gene Block's positive response, Dr. Pausch was able to follow his dream of working with the Aladdin VR project. After the successful project, Dr. Pausch was offered his dream job of a Disney Imagineer, but he happily turned it down and became a professor.
Dr. Pausch then talked about how to help others achieve their dreams. As teachers, we have a big impact in encouraging students to achieve their goals, even if their goal is unrealistic. Dr. Pausch told a story about one of his student's goals: to help create Star Wars movies. Dr. Pausch thought to himself that they probably won't make other Star Wars movies, but he did not tell the student what he thought about his unrealistic goal, but encouraged him to follow his dreams. Dr. Pausch, then, wanted to help other students with the dream of building virtual worlds. His college-level class taught students how to come up with creative ideas while working in a group with three other people. The students weren't graded on the project itself, but how the group worked together as a whole. Although I won't be teaching any virtual reality classes, I love the idea of not grading students on the actual project, but rather how they worked together with their assigned group. I believe that this goes back to head fake learning. Dr. Pausch wanted all of his students to succeed in their assignment, but was more concerned with their ability to work well with others. While the students were focused on creating a virtual reality, Dr. Pausch was focused on watching them work together with their classmates. Dr. Pausch taught the virtual reality course for about a decade.
Dr. Pausch and Don Marinelli created the Entertainment Technology Center, a master's program at Carnegie Mellon. The two were given full reins over this degree program and completely broke the norm of traditional education. Dr. Pausch and Dr. Marianelli created an entirely project based program at the University. They had the view that this was a master's level program and the students were educated enough to not be asked to read for their degree. There were no textbooks and no lectures; it was an entirely hands-on and field trip based degree program. The program has 5 written agreements promising to hire students because of their enrollment in the Carnegie Mellon ETC program. Again, Dr. Pausch uses the head fake teaching strategy in these master's-level students. The students think that they are learning how make movies and video games, but they are really learning how to program. Dr. Pausch, like the Mad Hatter, used the head fake strategy throughout his entire teaching career. It has obviously been a successful strategy, so it is a strategy that I will most certainly use in my history classroom by allowing students to learn something difficult through doing fun projects and activities.
In the last section of his lecture, Dr. Pausch shares his lessons learned, which I can apply in my classroom. The first lesson is the role of parents, mentors, and students. These people all have a role in our lives because we learn from them all. I have learned from my parents, my mentors/professors, my friends, and I hope that I will have the opportunity to learn from my students in my class. This is, yet again, another example of Dr. Pausch's head fake theory. We, the teachers, are under the impression that we are only teaching from the students. We are head faked because we not only teach our students, but we learn from them. I will learn from my students and I will encourage them to learn from the same people: their parents, their mentors/professors, their friends, and any other people that will walk into their lives.
The second lesson is to decide if you are a Tigger or an Eeyore. I will be a Tigger in my classroom and encourage all of my students to be Tiggers. I will encourage them to follow their dreams and never lose hope. The third lesson is never lose child-like wonder. This is important in the classroom as we are encouraging our students to go for their highest goals. We must have the child-like belief in them that they can do anything that they have ever dreamed of doing. The fourth lesson is to help others. It is obvious how I can use this lesson in my classroom. This is a lesson that I must teach by example by focusing on my students and ways that I can help them. I must also encourage them to help others through the examples that I set for them. The fifth lesson is loyalty is a two way street. We must be loyal to our students and expect them to be loyal to us. A classroom without trust and loyalty is a classroom where there will not be much progress. We must learn from each other, trust each other, help each other, and encourage each other to reach our dreams. The last lesson in the lecture is to get people to help you. We can not achieve our goals if we do not ask for help. This is another way that I will have to teach by example in my classroom. I can not expect my students to come to me for help if I do not ask for help myself.
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