Integrating Social Studies and the Arts

As the summer moves along, I am beginning another course in the Master of Arts in Teaching program at Meredith College.  During the next six weeks I will be learning about instruction using interdisciplinary experiences in teaching social studies and the arts.

So, in preparation for all that, here is what Kevin Spacey has to say about the arts...

Course Meta Reflection

       Looking back over my previous blog posts and relating the information there to what I have learned in this course on technology makes me realize that I have indeed learned quite a lot.  I have been introduced to many new tools that I can implement in my own classroom in the future and I have been able to work with those tools, developing useful skills and understanding of those websites, apps, and Web 2.0 tools.
       In my blogs I feel like I tried to share the ways I went about creating pages and sharing information through these new forms of technology.  Often times it is overwhelming to learn a new skill, and learning to navigate new technologies is almost like learning a new language.  I decided to use my blog to try and help others in their journey by providing step-by-step instructions of how to navigate these different tools.  In doing so, I was able to grow my own understanding of the tools and how to maneuver them as well as become more proficient at using these tools in an effective, creative, and engaging way.
       Of course, I learned about many more different new tools and strategies to use in the classroom over the semester than are posted here in my blog.  I feel like each post is representative of the things I found to be most useful, most engaging, and most inspiring for both teachers an students.  I know that I have been inspired to continue my own education in technology and to use my new discoveries to enhance my teaching in the classroom.
       Over this course I have moved from someone who used technology for social and research purposes but never truly saw myself using these technologies in the classroom.  Now that I have had experience using tools designed specifically for educators and seen them used effectively, I am encouraged and inspired to stretch past my own comforts and capabilities to find new tools and work within the realms of technology in my classroom.  As the world continues to move forward, it is our job as teachers to be leaders and motivators for our students to grab hold of the new inventions and discoveries being made and use them as tools to create a better future.


Our last assignment was to create a global classroom project.  Our group decided to work through a non-profit organization called Kids to Kids International.  While this project is not the most technologically advanced, it is still inspiring.  It allows students here in the United States to make connections to other children across the globe through the most basic forms of communication, pictures and words.  It is an opportunity for children to develop an understanding of what it means to be human, to be a student, and to be a leader in the world.
We were unable to show our full video in class so I have decided to post it here for any of you that are interested.

http://www.ktki.org/

“The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.” 
― T.H. White, The Once and Future King

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” 
― William Arthur Ward

“Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.” 
― Aristotle

“You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself.” 
― Galileo Galilei

“True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their
own.” 
― Nikos Kazantzakis

“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” 
― Albert Einstein

Animated Messages from fodey.com

Flipping The Classroom With FIZZ: Katie Gimbar & Dr. Lodge McCammon at T...

This TED talk with Dr. Lodge and Katie helps explain what it means to "Flip" a classroom, how it works, and what it does to create a more effective learning environment.

Last week, Dr. Lodge and Katie came to our classroom at Meredith College to discuss "Flipping the Classroom," answer many of our questions and talk about how this classroom model might look in an Elementary school classroom.

After watching several of Katie's videos on YouTube and hearing what she and Dr. Lodge had to say while sharing with our classroom, I am convinced that this model for teaching is far more effective than they traditional classroom model and offers more flexibility for what a teacher can do with their time in the classroom.  The biggest point made in the advocation for using the "Flipped Classroom" is that is opens up valuable class time for differentiated instruction and investigative activities.  Students will now be able to spend the majority of class time working with their peers to practice and implement they major concepts they have been introduced to with video lectures outside of class.

I do not believe that this classroom model will necessarily be easy to put into place.  It will take time and experience to create and upload videos that I can take pride and confidence in.  It may take time to convince parents, students, and administrators that this model works and will benefit both students and teachers in all subject areas and at any age.

As a pre-service teacher, I am excited to learn more about the different technologies out there that will allow me to teach smarter, not harder.  I believe that the "Flipped Classroom" is an effective teaching structure for combating many of the challenges teachers face in meeting the needs of each individual student.  I plan to take a course to learn more about putting the "Flipped Classroom" in place and am hopeful that I will be better prepared for teaching in today's ever changing world.

For more information and questions on how the "Flipped Classroom" works, you can find more of Katie's videos on YouTube.  Flipped Training

Glogster....?

This week we were asked to make and infographic about communication with parents, colleagues, and supervisors.  I decided to try out Glogster.  I made this decision because several of my fellow classmates had used the tools on Glogster for other presentations and I was curious to see how it worked.  I have to say, it was not my favorite.

As I was working on this project, I became very frustrated with the maneuvering of the site.  I felt as though I could not create the layout or design exactly to my own personal specifications.  I had a picture in my head of what I wanted this infographic to look like and I spent a vast amount of time trying to size the fonts and individual graphics on my page.  Still, it never turned out the way I had envisioned it.  I was only given the option of enlarging and stretching the text or set frame.  I had trouble placing each thing in the position I wanted it to be in and working through the overlapping of different ideas, graphics and pictures.

There were a few templates to choose from and that seemed to be the easiest way to procede. However, had I had the time, I would have created my page from scratch, placing in each graphic exactly as I wanted.

For those of you wanting to create a quick informational page, I suppose Glogster would be helpful.

I guess what I really felt is that there was little room for creativity and diversity in the layout and design of your page.

For those of you who have used Glogster before, what do you think?

Am I missing something?   Not using it right?

I would love to hear about how others have used this program and figure out how to create something more personalized and unique.