Blog Post 7

Project Based Learning Part 1 and 2 Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher-Jamie Baxter

Our group had different opinions on the videos. Jamie thinks the first video interview with Anthony Capps about Project Based Learning was a great example of a project that can be used in the classroom. The project Anthony instructed with his third grade class was to write letters to the congress about if women should be able to serve in the armed forces. The students had to critique each other’s work and choose 8 letters out of the 28 letters written to send.

Jamie thinks editing and critiquing classmates work is a great way to teach students what not to do when writing a letter. The students will see the mistakes their classmates made, and they will not make those same mistakes on the next project.

We all agree that project based learning is an effective way of learning. This project shows how students get excited about the letters, and what kind of responses they received. Choosing the 8 letters got them to think critically and be non-bias.

iCurio-Jamie Baxter

Our group has different opinions on this iCurio interview as well. The iCurio Video with Anthony Capps was about what iCurio can provide to the students and the teachers.

It explains that iCurio is used by students as a safe search engine. Students can search and explore the material in iCurio, which is pulled from the internet and monitored for student use. The material also follows the standards for all the different states, so the teacher can make material available from whichever state is applicable. The children will then learn according to those standards. Anthony explained, students can save what they find when researching and start organizing their resources online with folders.

Teachers can find sources, and specifically make them available to students. It is also an organizational tool for teachers as well.

Jamie thinks this is a wonderful tool for the children. The children will learn from searching and exploring along with getting organized through iCurio, which is a very important aspect to their future. Teachers will not have to worry about the students searching and finding something inappropriate because iCurio is monitored and edited for student use.


Dissent-Thomas Leytham

As I sit here in New York City, I see a society that is much different from that of the South. The city is constantly moving in the form of taxis, peoples, and rodents. All of the buildings reach for the clouds above, blocking out much of the sun. The city’s air is a smoggy mixture of taxi, bus, and subway exhaust. No one who lives here actually drives because there is no need for it. There are peddlers on every corner, an innumerous amount of restaurants, and some of the most extravagant plazas I have ever seen. The people are quite different in many ways, and I must say that I miss the passive aggressive southern charm of the dear Southern people that New Yorkers just don’t seem to grasp.

However, though our societies have many differences there are still common place values that we hold dear. We all strive to work hard and better ourselves. We do our best to fit in with the people around us. We hold our families dear and will protect them.

My dissent has this similar feel. My group and I do not have such differing opinions as a whole, but I do differ on how I feel about specific aspects of this blog post.

First, I must state that I quite like the Anthony Capps videos. They were quite informative and interesting. I thought that Dr. Strange and Mr. Capps did a very good job with explaining project based learning (PBL) and icurio. I very much liked Capps’ examples of PBL especially the Afghanistan culture example.

So why would I write a dissent then? Simply put, this is more directed at the blog assignment and not at my feelings for the videos. We were asked to explain what could be learned from all of these videos. The basic concepts of all of the videos were definitely exemplified and definitely could be learned thanks to them.

However, I found that I already knew much of the information that was presented to me. I knew and understood the concepts of PBL. I have a project that illustrates my knowledge of it, and it remains within the same consistency of these videos. Though, I wish I had these videos when I began learning about PBL. I liked the direct examples of actual learning that had occurred through utilizing PBL. I think it would be more beneficial to have linked it with my project where I was actually learning about PBL, rather than having me summarize it. The same could be said about the icurio video.

So although it is not as different as a dissent could be, I still consider this to be an interesting discrepancy that I had with Dr. Strange as well as my group. And I felt that it should be asserted. If you were to go through my PBL presentation and my icurio presentation, you would gather the same information these videos present. So, I feel this post should be about something else, and the videos should be justly linked to the projects that they are connected to.

Don’t Teach Tech- Use It- Thomas Leytham

This video does a good job explaining how to properly utilize technology in the classroom to make for better learning experiences. Honestly, the title says it all. Don’t just teach technology, utilize it.

As my dissent describes, I find that for many of these videos, there are better places for them to be placed. And this video falls in the same category. I believe it should have connected either with blog post 2 or blog post 3

Blog post 2 is discussing utilizing technology and it could be effectively placed there. Blog post 3 discusses podcasts, and there were many points that stated not to teach podcasting but to teach through podcasting. Though, I believe post 3 needs a facelift completely, and I’m unsure this video will be as applicable there after that occurs. (Read my blog post 3 to see my opinion about this.)

I wish I had more to add about this video. But since I already understood the information, I was a little bored and didn’t learn anything personally.

Additional thoughts about lessons- Jamie Baxter

Anthony Capps did an excellent job when explaining lesson plans in four layers. The first layer is thinking about the entire year, and how your lessons will be sufficient. He explains, the teacher needs to think of goals and concepts the students should learn throughout the year. These concepts can be broken down into units, which is the second layer he described. This will allow teachers to plan the lesson over a course of time, and not expect the students to know everything in one day. The teacher can start with one aspect the first day, and by the end of the unit the students will know everything the teacher is trying to teach in that unit. The third layer is the teacher’s plan for a week. The teacher needs to figure out what the students need to learn each week, and make sure everything is covered within that week. The fourth layer is the lesson plan for each day of the week. This has all the details that are being taught that day. This could include activities for the students and the questions the teacher wants to ask the students. All of these layers are equally important when a teacher plans her lessons.

I find this explanation about lesson planning very important and useful. When you break it into these layers, it makes it easier to adjust your lessons to be more efficient for your students. It will also be easier to make sure you cover everything you want to in the school year. I am going to use this when I start making my lesson plans in my classroom.