Blog Post 13

Just imagine what the brain can do when it's connected and plugged in!!!

Back to the Future

Brian Crosby is a teacher at Agnes Risley Elementary School. In this video he started out by talking about his students. In his class 90% of his students are 2nd language learners that are at risk. On the second day of school he asked questions to find out the how much information they knew. He asked very basic questions and this is what he found out. Most of the students didn't know what city, state, and country they lived in. The didn't even know their address or phone number. Mr. Crosby knew that he had to teach them in a way that would be fun and interesting to their age group. He started out by showing us how he used the balloon project to teach the required curriculum, while also making the lesson fun and interesting. After they had read the lesson and participated in the projects, the students took a 25 question test. The learning didn't stop here. Now the students had to embed the videos of their projects into their blogs and explain what had happened and why. The learning didn't even stop here. Now the students used other tools available to go even farther. They were now creating their very own wiki and writing stories on Flicker. Their assignment for Flicker was to write a story as if they were the balloon and what happened from that view point. Mr. Crosby started with "in the box" learning and made it an "out of the box" experience. But the learning still continued on.  Next, they used free online tools to create book covers and stratas cards. These students were not only learning but they were excited about what they were learning. Not only were these students excited but other students who had learned about what they were doing also got excited. They even wanted their class to do these same activities. Students from Thailand, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and England were all commenting on their blogs. How exciting is that? But yet the lesson was STILL not over. The students were able to view from an attached camera what it looked like from the balloon. They also could track the balloon as it traveled into the earth's atmosphere. They used Google Map to monitor the balloons speed, altitude, and location.  Do you think the lesson is over yet??? NO, the students Skyped with students from New Zealand who had read about their experiences from their blogs. Through the skype interview the students were able to show off their knowledge they had gained. Mr. Crosby said in the video he wanted to empower the students to be learners, not someone to be taught. I believe that Mr. Crosby has succeeded. 

At the end he shared a story about a little girl that was added to his classroom. Unfortunately, she had leukemia and could not actually attend class. Mr. Crosby showed how Celest was able to interact with the students and be included into the classroom through technology. 

WOW!!! This is the type of learning that every student would LOVE to have. This is the type of learning that every student deserves. Mr. Crosby is a dynamic teacher who has a passion for teaching and kids. I find it amazing that these students went from not knowing basic information to being able to use technology to create blogs and write about their experiences. It goes to show that we don't give our kids enough credit. They will learn, if we will only teach them in a way that is fun, interesting, and inviting. I know that these students will take this learning experience throughout their entire life. It may even spark an interest in becoming a future teacher. I really can't say enough about this lesson. It makes me wonder that if every student got this type of education in every grade from kindergarten through twelfth grade, what kind of people would we be creating. I believe that we would be living in a much different world than we are today. A much better world. So once again I have to ask why isn't this happening? Where is the passion in teaching? How do we find or get it? Teachers like Mr. Crosby and Ms. Cassidy inspire me to create classrooms that motivate and excite the students. But what happens when I actually get into the classroom? There is so much technology that is free for the using, if we will only take advantage of it. But teaching is so much more than applying technology in the classroom. You have to have that passion for teaching and believing that you are making a difference. It also means fighting so that all students have access to quality teaching and the necessary tools. Thanks, Mr. Crosby, for showing me how to be a teacher that excites and motivates.  I look forward to applying your teaching methods in my own class one day. 

A Vision of Students Today

In this video it starts by videoing a empty classroom. As the camera moves around the room, it focuses on things written on the walls and chairs. Each time it asks a question that really makes you think about how 21st century students are dealing with the outdated teaching methods provided to them today. One of the questions asked was "If walls could talk, what would they say?". Although the walls and desks can't talk the students can. Later in the video the room is full of students and each one has something they want to share. They talk about how they spend their time. Almost every student was using technology in some way. They were emailing, texting, and face booking, They talked about how they used their computers during class but not for school stuff.


This video shows just how bad schools and professor are out of touch with the 21st century student. At the beginning of this class I would have been surprised by this a little. After Edm310 I can see that students today have a hard time with the outdated teaching methods provided in schools when their brains have been exposed to a whole new way of learning. As so often stated, the times have changed and we need to be changing with them. Students no longer want to learn by the old form of teaching, but very few people really seem to be interested in what the students have to say. Unfortunately, this creates a losing situation for all parties involved.

As a university president or professor, I would have to say that I need to seriously consider getting on track with the 21st century. College is a student's last chance to learn the importance of technology before getting out into the world. Especially in a world where the knowledge of technology can have a huge impact. It can make a huge difference when it comes to the job market, employment, and salary. It also reflects on us as an institution. When we are producing students who can't compete with the world, we appear to the world as failures. I have to admit that I believe that our country, government, and schools are failing the majority of our students. We are not providing them with an adequate education to compete with the world. Clearly our emphasis is not on education. It would be my job to take every opportunity to educate those who make the decisions for our schools on the true condition of our education system. It would also be my responsibility to make sure that I listened to my students and provided a learning experience that taught, as well as, excited them to learn.