Tuesday, March 5, 2013

C4T#2 Post and Comment Summary

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C4T#2 Comment#1
In her blog post 2013 Photo365 Project, Beth Still writes about how life gets in the way of her sticking to a Photo365 project. This year, she has decided to put her Photo365 project to good use by taking pictures of stuff she wants to clean out of the house. She has decided to remove one item a day and to take a photo of it. I commented on her post that life does seem to get in the way of being able to clean out the overstuffed closets and drawers. I also told her that one of my biggest issues is when I do clean out the stuff, it normally just takes up a new place and sits for a while before it actually finds its way out of the house. I asked how she manages to avoid this and how her project is going.

Beth replied and said she is managing to keep up with her project, but it isn't easy because there is so much to do. She mentions that a lot of what she wants to get rid of belongs to her family members, so she has to be "sneaky." She also mentions that she gives toys to her students for their children. I found that to be really thoughtful of her.


C4T#2 Comment#2
There was no new post by Beth since my first comment. I have looked back through some of her older posts and found some posts she wrote as a result of the Sandy Hook shooting. An interesting read is "Preparing for the Worst Case Scenario." But I was searching for a post that related to technology in the classroom to comment on and to use in this summary. And I found the perfect one titled "I Quit."

Beth teaches Social Studies at an alternative high school. She says her students are failing “because they can’t/don’t/won’t do their work.” She has decided to make the classroom student centered as opposed to teacher centered. In December, she stated that beginning in January, she will have her students make up individualized learning plans. She will provide a list of topics that students will select based on the focus of the class. She says the list of topics will be based on her state’s Social Studies standards. Beth will have students select a topic and formulate questions to help guide their research. She says this will also teach them to do informative and effective research. Beth will incorporate technology and have her students decide on a final project such as a video, slideshow, Wikipedia entry, and so on. Grading can be difficult for such projects, and she states she will work with students on a rubric.

Beth notes that all of her students need to work on their verbal and written skills. She hopes to get them in contact with experts that can provide insight to their chosen topic, much like a networked student plan.

I found this post to be interesting because it goes along with what we have been learning in EDM310, which is a networked, technology based, student centered classroom. I commented and told Beth that this concept is a focus in some of my classes and that lately I have heard and read a lot about the same type of techniques mentioned in her post. I am eager to hear about the progress. I asked her how it was working out for her students, and if she is enjoying the changes.

1 comment:

  1. These are all wonderful ideas, I like your all sharing comments, Thanks
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