Institutionalized Education... NOT for me or my students.

I really enjoyed Miss Bayda's opinionalized view on our current form of education and schooling; I feel she and Dan Brown could not be more correct. Until this current EDM class, and also my EDF class, I have been comofortable with my "schooling". I have always felt like I was not learning anything at my University, but as long as I was earning my A's and B's, I was okay with it. Thanks to a few teachers, and my wonderful PLN, I am now sickened by my university, as well as many others. I am tired of memorizing facts, and recalling them when it is test time.

Enjoy Dan Brown's Video on Institutionalized Education

I think the most valuable point that Mr. Brown made was that, as student we do not use our hundred dollar textbooks, because the facts and information are readily available online. This generation is one of media; we are done with textbooks! While learning online, you get animated objects, tutorials, how-to's, and visual images. It satisfies every style of learning whether it be linguistic, visual, audio, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and whatever else there is. I feel that it is up to us future teachers to take what we know about education and embed it into our elementary schools all the way up to 12th grade. WE have to make the difference and influence our students. They are the generation of change, and we are the ones to help them make that change. I do not feel that anytime soon education will change, but there is no doubt in my mind that my students will see it, and I want them to look back and say, "My kindergarten teacher started this."

Random post ... My sister is a cheerleader at Southern Mississippi and I miss her SO MUCH!! : (

ACCESS

This is a program that I really wish I would have known about in high school. This basically allows students to take online courses that they are interested in. For example, if a student wants to take Marine Biology and it is not offered at their school, or they want to take it a semester early, they can gain credit for the course by taking it online. It is very similar to online courses in college, except there are more guidelines and content. Students can take exam exemption courses as well as advanced placement courses. This site also provides website resources. For example, the Alabama Virtual Library can connect a student to any book on any subject. It also has an advanced placement test, as well as an exemption test.

I really like ACCESS because it is completely technology oriented. There are not textbooks, papers, or pencils. It really encourages distance learning, which is basically anything besides sitting in a classroom. Students are able to learn from teachers that are not available at their school. Many of the resources available through ACCESS are web-based. They are not articles or online books. They are websites that provide visual learning through stimulation effects. For different subjects it provides power points and digital media to enhance learning.

ALEX

ALEX stands for the Alabama Learning Exchange. It is a wonderful resource for teachers, students, and administrators. It basically lays out the curriculum, standards and guidelines for K-12 education in Alabama. This site has web links available for you providing information and useful tools. For students, they have websites for every subject possible. Students will find this useful for studying or doing a report. This website also provides teachers' lesson plans. This is a nice tool for parents to access to see what their children are doing in school. ALEX also explains in details what the curriculum guidelines are for every subject and every grade. I enjoyed the part of the website that contained tools for Professional Learning. It is important for teachers to continuously develop and better their teaching methods and educational growth. This provides tips and tricks to working with technology ( which is very useful!) It has a Special Education tab, library media tab, as well as a link that lists professional organizations.

A very interesting aspect of ALEX was its podcast library. It is called Gallery 360. You can search for different topics throughout the different subjects. Some of the findings are interviews with a person knowledgeable in the particular subject. Something that is helpful about the library is that it informs you of the standards and grade level that the podcast is aligned with. This way, teachers are able to hand pick what is appropriate for their class.

... And Your Dreams WILL Follow.

The Last Lecture

So, halfway through the lecture, and on until the end, I was extremely confused on the point of this lecture. It seemed like a man talking about his life and career, and I didn't understand why, so I am assuming not many others did either. So, I did some research, and it is tradition at Carnegie Mellon for a professor to present a "Last Lecture," when he or she has been diagnosed with or cancer, or some other reason, and is expected to die within a short period of time, so when I discovered this, I was able to understand a little better. So there is a little insight for you guys.

Well, I cried at the end. I cried a lot. This guy who I had no interest in at the beginning of the video, was really powerful to me as a young person. I am so surprised that I enjoyed this video so much, because ultimately I did not know this man, I care nothing about virtual reality, and I had no idea what his intentions were. I enjoyed his lecture so much, he expressed so many wonderful and touching ideas, that everyone can learn from. From this lecture, and I also did some extra research, it seems that Randy was a great person, and he lived a very fulfilled life. My sorrow goes out to his wife Jai, and his three beautiful children.

I love the "head fake" idea. This is a great theory to use in life as well as education. Children do not want to do what you want them to do, you know? It is a great thing to witness a child learning a task or an idea, when they had no idea they were learning. This is often called incidental teaching. I once worked with a teacher who was head over heels for this method of learning, and I often got to experience the positives that came from it. The students were in preschool, and it was almost like a light came from their eyes when they realized what difficult task they had accomplished that was simple in reality. When someone thinks they are working hard on an assignment or idea, and they realize that something wonderful has also come from it, it is a great feeling.

I also took to heart his idea of putting others before yourself. This is something we are taught as soon as our cognitive abilities allow us to understand it. Unfortunately, media and the 21st century embed the idea of self into our brain. I feel that as educators, WE are the ones who understand the idea, and also exhibit the idea. We certainly do not go into the profession for reasons of "self". We embrace it with the hope of touching the lives of others. This blog is not meant to talk about myself, but I do want to share that I understand his idea of leading a good life and putting others before yourself, and your dreams will come to you. I once volunteered a camp for special needs children and adults. I literally changed diapers and gave baths to utter strangers. Giving up our summer to perform tasks such as these do not sound like a good time to most people, but it was the BEST experience of my life. It was FULFILLING. If I never do anything else again in my life, I will know my life has been fulfilled because of that one summer. I lived for others, and got so much in return. My personality and outlook on life was deterred, and I realized my dream of becoming a special education teacher. So, when Mr. Pausch expressed this idea, it really hit home, and I hope that others will also embrace this.

I feel like I could blog for days about this lecture. He seemed like such a good hearted man who accomplished so much. He led an amazing life because he listened to the advice of others and always prioritized others before himself.


Thank you Mr. Randy for your words : )

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