Blog Liability

So as I was reading through the text this week, I got part way into Chapter 3 and came across the section on Blog Safety. "Regardless of how you start using Weblogs with students, make sure that students, parents, and even administrators are clear about the expectations and the reasoning behind it." This is part of the reason why I love education programs like EdLine, where everything is part of the school district itself, which helps alleviate potential issues with having students use an outside blog, whether writing or reading. I think it is a little sad at how much issue there is today with liabilities versus when I was in school.

No More Text Books!

When I first began teaching, I had a very similar experience that this individual had with Chemistry. I had my experience with Physics, of course. I noticed that I used the book quite a bit in my first year. Then, I began to veer away from it in my second year -- so much so, that students and parents voiced some concerns on whether or not we should continue to have students purchase it. (This was at a private school.) By the time I started my third year, I told the students to keep the book at home and can count on one hand how many times I had the students use it. It's good to see that this appears to be a viable method, as I feel the students get more out of other resoucres than the text book.

"Without a textbook, I can create curriculum that engages students by relating science to their everyday lives." as quoted from Geoff Ruth.

http://www.edutopia.org/teaching-without-text

Our Students Know More Than Us!

I remember when I was in high school -- it was a major accomplishment if you could correct, respectfully of course, a teacher. Maybe it was a math teacher who made an arithmetic error, or a history teacher who accidentally twisted up some information from the past. Regardless, it didn't happen often.

This week, as I read through the text book, I got to page 7, just under "Social Learning." The first sentence caught me by surprise -- even though I already knew it. "Today's schools are faced with a difficult dilemma that pits a student boy that has grown up immersed in technology against a teaching faculty that is less agile with the tools of the trade." (Will Richardson) Yep -- it's true. I grew up with some of the technology. I'm only 26, so I am in the era of when video games exploded from a simple 20 minutes of fun, then you're board to vast online virtual worlds with millions of players across the continent playing with you. But I also was taught, and because it took some time for technology to get to where it was, to go outside! I suppose you could say I might very well be the last of the social butterfly generation! Back in the days of, "Meet at Jimmy's house at 7:30pm," you had to be at Jimmy's by 7:30pm, and if anything happened on your way there, there was no cell phone to tell him that you'd be late.

So when I read this line from Richardson, it took me a little by surprise. My students know more than I do about the virtual world. Not that I am ignorant of it, but they are far more immersed in it than I am. They know more tricks and tools than I do.

I suppose that's why I chose this major -- to make myself a better teacher and to be able to keep up with my students. Honestly, in 10 years, all that we learn now will be far outdated and replaced by something far more superior that we can't even imagine it yet, I hope that courses like this will give me the ability to keep up with the constantly changing world wide web.

Women In Science

I really liked the article linked below...

http://readwrite.com/2013/06/21/meet-the-women-of-nasas-2013-astronaut-class?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29#awesm=~o9Da40tHlYwOvN

It is about the women who are in training to be an astronaut. What is particularly nice about it is that these women had jobs previously in science and engineering and applied for the program. What is great about this is that they are women who could have just as easily as grown up down the road from us. In the AP Physics class, female students are far and few between. One year, I had a class of 12 boys and 2 girls -- certainly an unbalanced ratio. Articles like these are great leisurely reading material in the sciences that will help encourage young girls to pursue the Math and Sciences; a field that some young girls feel for one reason or another, probably from some wildly absurd stereotype, they can't perform well in -- but are at absolutely no disadvantage to their male counterparts.

Summer Classes

I never took summer classes when I was an undergrad, but I always wanted to. By the time I wanted to do so, and could afford to live on campus for the whole year, I couldn't take any summer classes because all of mine were too high level and not offered in the summer. But now, I have this class :)

I got a slow start on things, but that will change now that I'm getting the hang of things. I like the idea of only working a half day (summer school) then coming home and going at this at a leasurly pace.

Hopefully this will turn out to be a good semester!