The article is from the following link: http://www.edutopia.org/neuroscience-brain-based-learning-myth-busting.
This article addresses how many games that say "brain-based proof" or "will improve brain power" are false and using marketing ploys to sell a product. The point that the article makes is that neuroscience is in its infancy in truly understanding how the brain works. Game marketers will use clever "testimonials" to try and sell the product. Often, the public is duped into buying the product because of the marketing schemes.
The article continues on by debunking certain myths that exist about the brain. Some of these include the myth that we only use a small percentage of brains and that there are left and right brain thinkers. These myths have been perpetuated by people not fully understanding the research of scientists and handing down misinformation.
The important thing that I -- as an educator -- must do is to keep up-to-date on the ever-changing understandings of the way the human brain learns. It is imperative that teachers constantly read articles and books about the newest information on how learners learn in order to help all of our students grow to their greatest potential. Not following the latest research will harm our students. We cannot neglect new research. That is why staying subrsribed to RSS feeds to sources like Edutopia is so important. With the wealth of information out there, RSS feeds will help me -- and other educators -- sift through all of the information to find what we need to grow professionally. As a result, our students will grow as well.
Bernard, Sarah. "Neuro Myths: Separating Fact and Fiction in Brain-Based Learning." No Date. Web, Edutopia. 26 June 2011. <http://www.edutopia.org/neuroscience-brain-based-learning-myth-busting>.
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Sunday, June 26, 2011
Week 2, Blog 2: Telepresence Robots
The article is from the following link: http://www.readwriteweb.com/biz/2011/06/telepresence-robots-future-of-going-to-the-office.php#more.
Although a shorter article, this article has many implications for technology, the classroom, and beyond. The article is about how the web has changed the way we work and how people have the ability now to work from their home. Websites offer the ability to have teleconferences and work with colleagues half-way around the world. However, the article notes that the physical presence lacking from the person half-way around the world changes the aura of the meeting.
Now a company is working on designing a robot that will contain the image of the person remoting in and will occupy an actual physical presence at the meeting. The robots, it is predicted, will cost around $15,000.
This is very interesting. Our ability to communicate in real time half-way across the globe is amazing. Having the ability to teleconference with colleagues is an advantageous aspect of the internet. As a teacher, I have not yet taken advantage of the telecommunicating with other groups. I know that I should be doing that, but I just haven't had the time yet to begin the actual process.
With the invention of the robot acting like a physical presence, this has many interesting points. First, it allows for an actual physical presence and that changes the dynamic of the meeting (or the classroom). The fear here is that in the future, will one person be teaching multiple classrooms and beaming the lesson in through the robot? Will robots end up being in control of the classroom? Will students be able to lie in bed and telecommunicate to digital schools? I can see all of these happening within decades. Is this a good thing? I'm not exactly sure. There is no doubt that technology has made a positive impact on the way we teach and communicate. However, robots taking place of humans being is something that this new generation will have to deal with. It will be interesting to see what the future holds. The stuff of science fiction movies is fast approaching...
Titlow, John P. "Are Telepresence Robots the Future of Going to the Office?" 24 June 2011. Web, ReadWriteWeb. 26 June 2011. <http://www.readwriteweb.com/biz/2011/06/telepresence-robots-future-of-going-to-the-office.php#more>.
Although a shorter article, this article has many implications for technology, the classroom, and beyond. The article is about how the web has changed the way we work and how people have the ability now to work from their home. Websites offer the ability to have teleconferences and work with colleagues half-way around the world. However, the article notes that the physical presence lacking from the person half-way around the world changes the aura of the meeting.
Now a company is working on designing a robot that will contain the image of the person remoting in and will occupy an actual physical presence at the meeting. The robots, it is predicted, will cost around $15,000.
This is very interesting. Our ability to communicate in real time half-way across the globe is amazing. Having the ability to teleconference with colleagues is an advantageous aspect of the internet. As a teacher, I have not yet taken advantage of the telecommunicating with other groups. I know that I should be doing that, but I just haven't had the time yet to begin the actual process.
With the invention of the robot acting like a physical presence, this has many interesting points. First, it allows for an actual physical presence and that changes the dynamic of the meeting (or the classroom). The fear here is that in the future, will one person be teaching multiple classrooms and beaming the lesson in through the robot? Will robots end up being in control of the classroom? Will students be able to lie in bed and telecommunicate to digital schools? I can see all of these happening within decades. Is this a good thing? I'm not exactly sure. There is no doubt that technology has made a positive impact on the way we teach and communicate. However, robots taking place of humans being is something that this new generation will have to deal with. It will be interesting to see what the future holds. The stuff of science fiction movies is fast approaching...
Titlow, John P. "Are Telepresence Robots the Future of Going to the Office?" 24 June 2011. Web, ReadWriteWeb. 26 June 2011. <http://www.readwriteweb.com/biz/2011/06/telepresence-robots-future-of-going-to-the-office.php#more>.
Week 2; Blog 1: Understanding How the Brain Thinks
The article is from the link: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/understanding-how-the-brain-thinks-judy-willis-md
This very informative article is about how the brain works and how we, as educators, must do our best to help our students' brains work to their highest potential. According to Judy Wills, MD (the author of the article), our educational system -- and those of other countries as well -- focus specifically on too many facts and neglect the higher order thinking skills that are needed.
Instead of helping students see connections between information and facts, new insights and concepts, the educational system tries to cram every little detail into the minds of children. This rote learning complimented the factory-styled school system set up to educate the soon-to-be factory workers in the early 20th Century.
As a result of this, students are not developing the neural connections that are needed to develop higher-level thinking skills in the higher brain area. As a result, the brain prunes those deeper-level connections out and students are not able to develop into their fullest potential. Instead of being able to think and construct new informaiton, analyze and synthesize, prioritize and deduce, students are stuck in a very basic learning landscape and never attain what they could be.
This article is something that really stuck with me. As a teacher, I do my best to relate information that they are learning to stuff that they have learned in their past, past lessons, or even other classes. The more connections that they can make, the more students can see the overall concepts and ideas. From there, they can begin to develop their higher-level thinking skills and become better thinkers. Furthermore, the needed connections for higher-level thinking skills will not be pruned by the brain, but instead will be further developed.
In English, I try to have students see the relationship between stories that they have read with real life issues. As we continue to delve further into our readings, I have students see the connections between the current readings and their past readings. Comparison and contrast essays often help students to recognize the connections between things much better.
In World History, I force students to see patterns that are found within all the human societies that we have studied. That way they can see how different areas of the world are connected. Instead of seeing things in isolation, I try to help students see the connectivity between various issues that we have studied. I also urge students to bring in issues that they've heard / read about and connect them to the topics that we study. In doing so, they start to develop the ability to perceive connections. Their higher-level thinking neurons are being strengthened and will avoid being pruned.
The ideas in this article are ideas that I try to instill within my classroom. I often explain to students the way we think. This article illustrates many important concepts that I must continue to develop within my classroom.
Willis, Judy, MD. "PD Summer: Understanding How the Brain Thinks" (part 1 of 4). 13 June 2011. Web, Edutopia. 26 June 2011. <http://www.edutopia.org/blog/understanding-how-the-brain-thinks-judy-willis-md>.
This very informative article is about how the brain works and how we, as educators, must do our best to help our students' brains work to their highest potential. According to Judy Wills, MD (the author of the article), our educational system -- and those of other countries as well -- focus specifically on too many facts and neglect the higher order thinking skills that are needed.
Instead of helping students see connections between information and facts, new insights and concepts, the educational system tries to cram every little detail into the minds of children. This rote learning complimented the factory-styled school system set up to educate the soon-to-be factory workers in the early 20th Century.
As a result of this, students are not developing the neural connections that are needed to develop higher-level thinking skills in the higher brain area. As a result, the brain prunes those deeper-level connections out and students are not able to develop into their fullest potential. Instead of being able to think and construct new informaiton, analyze and synthesize, prioritize and deduce, students are stuck in a very basic learning landscape and never attain what they could be.
This article is something that really stuck with me. As a teacher, I do my best to relate information that they are learning to stuff that they have learned in their past, past lessons, or even other classes. The more connections that they can make, the more students can see the overall concepts and ideas. From there, they can begin to develop their higher-level thinking skills and become better thinkers. Furthermore, the needed connections for higher-level thinking skills will not be pruned by the brain, but instead will be further developed.
In English, I try to have students see the relationship between stories that they have read with real life issues. As we continue to delve further into our readings, I have students see the connections between the current readings and their past readings. Comparison and contrast essays often help students to recognize the connections between things much better.
In World History, I force students to see patterns that are found within all the human societies that we have studied. That way they can see how different areas of the world are connected. Instead of seeing things in isolation, I try to help students see the connectivity between various issues that we have studied. I also urge students to bring in issues that they've heard / read about and connect them to the topics that we study. In doing so, they start to develop the ability to perceive connections. Their higher-level thinking neurons are being strengthened and will avoid being pruned.
The ideas in this article are ideas that I try to instill within my classroom. I often explain to students the way we think. This article illustrates many important concepts that I must continue to develop within my classroom.
Willis, Judy, MD. "PD Summer: Understanding How the Brain Thinks" (part 1 of 4). 13 June 2011. Web, Edutopia. 26 June 2011. <http://www.edutopia.org/blog/understanding-how-the-brain-thinks-judy-willis-md>.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Week 1, Blog 3 - If Technology Motivates Students, Let's Use It!
Here is the article's link: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/motivating-students-technology
This article discusses how teachers cannot just give up if students are unmotivated and bored by the learning. Insisting that much of education today is still caught up in the 1950s style of education with books, lecture, and overheads, the author points out that students are basically alienated from this kind of learning.
Instead of continuing with this kind of education that continues to fail at motivating students, he argues that the educational system must begin making serious changes that will embrace the kind of lifestyle of the students. This includes using their phones, iPods, iPads, digital media, wikis, blogs, and so on. If this happens, Chen (the author), maintains that students will no longer be unmotivated, but will instead be using the educational tools of the 21st Century.
He also notes that some teachers are averse to this kind of philosophy. To refute the naysayers of technology usage, the author states that when television came out, forward thinkers created a program called Sesame Street. People back in the 1960s originally said that television could not be used to teach the youth (who were the ones who first embraced television). Obviously, those detractors were proven to be wrong in their thinking. Likewise, he contends that those that say that modern technology will inhibit educational growth will be proven wrong in the future.
I agree with the fact that it is very important to keep students motivated in the classroom. We, as teachers, must continue to find ways to motivate students. However, we also have to teach them to motivate themselves. Intrinsic motivation is key for all people, and if we -- as teachers -- can teach them to develop their intrinsic motivation, then we have won part of the battle.
In regards to the incorporation of technology into the classroom, there is no doubt that it is very vital. I often have students do discussion board responses. The one drawback, however, is that the technology often is slower / fails to work and valuable time is lost. I wish that every student had their own laptop. If they did, then they could bring it in and connect to the internet online. From there, a ton of innovating assignments / learning activities could be presented that would enable students to develop in a multitude of capacities.
Chen, Milton. "If Technology Motivates Students, Let's Use It!" 16 Sep. 2010. Web, Edutopia. 20 June 2011. < http://www.edutopia.org/blog/motivating-students-technology>.
This article discusses how teachers cannot just give up if students are unmotivated and bored by the learning. Insisting that much of education today is still caught up in the 1950s style of education with books, lecture, and overheads, the author points out that students are basically alienated from this kind of learning.
Instead of continuing with this kind of education that continues to fail at motivating students, he argues that the educational system must begin making serious changes that will embrace the kind of lifestyle of the students. This includes using their phones, iPods, iPads, digital media, wikis, blogs, and so on. If this happens, Chen (the author), maintains that students will no longer be unmotivated, but will instead be using the educational tools of the 21st Century.
He also notes that some teachers are averse to this kind of philosophy. To refute the naysayers of technology usage, the author states that when television came out, forward thinkers created a program called Sesame Street. People back in the 1960s originally said that television could not be used to teach the youth (who were the ones who first embraced television). Obviously, those detractors were proven to be wrong in their thinking. Likewise, he contends that those that say that modern technology will inhibit educational growth will be proven wrong in the future.
I agree with the fact that it is very important to keep students motivated in the classroom. We, as teachers, must continue to find ways to motivate students. However, we also have to teach them to motivate themselves. Intrinsic motivation is key for all people, and if we -- as teachers -- can teach them to develop their intrinsic motivation, then we have won part of the battle.
In regards to the incorporation of technology into the classroom, there is no doubt that it is very vital. I often have students do discussion board responses. The one drawback, however, is that the technology often is slower / fails to work and valuable time is lost. I wish that every student had their own laptop. If they did, then they could bring it in and connect to the internet online. From there, a ton of innovating assignments / learning activities could be presented that would enable students to develop in a multitude of capacities.
Chen, Milton. "If Technology Motivates Students, Let's Use It!" 16 Sep. 2010. Web, Edutopia. 20 June 2011. < http://www.edutopia.org/blog/motivating-students-technology>.
Week 1, Blog 2: MiniMonos: Linking Kids' Virtual World and Real World Action
Here is the article's link: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/minimonos_linking_kids_virtual_world_and_real_worl.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29&utm_content=Google+Reader.
This article discusses how there are social networking / interacting sites for children under 13, since so many of the interactive / social networking users online are youths. The site talks about MiniMonos, which is a site originating in New Zealand. This site allows kids to do interactive actions that may seem like games, but in actuality is teaching students about the environment, cause / effect, and sustainability. By having students play the interactive games, the young children are learning about very important environmental and educational concepts that they need to know about as the earth's environmental future is in need of dynamic solutions.
By starting children off young, sites like these are teaching students numerous things. This includes environmental issues, but it also includes social networking and technology skills. The more interactive these activities are, the better it is for the children. It is important, however, to note that children need to understand that the computer website is a game and that real-life issues persist and cannot be "turned off" like a computer game can be. After playing the game, the responsible parent / adult needs to show the child the real-world application of the ideas / concepts that were found in the game. Plus, taking the child to the zoo, parks, and other important environmental places will further embedden within the child the various concepts found on the interactive site. Overall, if all of these -- the virtual and real world activities -- are combined, the young children will certainly grow and develop important understandings about this world.
Watters, Audrey. "MiniMonos: Linking Kids' Virtual World and Real World Action." 19 June 2011. Web, ReadWriteWeb. 20 June 2011. <http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/minimonos_linking_kids_virtual_world_and_real_worl.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29&utm_content=Google+Reader>.
This article discusses how there are social networking / interacting sites for children under 13, since so many of the interactive / social networking users online are youths. The site talks about MiniMonos, which is a site originating in New Zealand. This site allows kids to do interactive actions that may seem like games, but in actuality is teaching students about the environment, cause / effect, and sustainability. By having students play the interactive games, the young children are learning about very important environmental and educational concepts that they need to know about as the earth's environmental future is in need of dynamic solutions.
By starting children off young, sites like these are teaching students numerous things. This includes environmental issues, but it also includes social networking and technology skills. The more interactive these activities are, the better it is for the children. It is important, however, to note that children need to understand that the computer website is a game and that real-life issues persist and cannot be "turned off" like a computer game can be. After playing the game, the responsible parent / adult needs to show the child the real-world application of the ideas / concepts that were found in the game. Plus, taking the child to the zoo, parks, and other important environmental places will further embedden within the child the various concepts found on the interactive site. Overall, if all of these -- the virtual and real world activities -- are combined, the young children will certainly grow and develop important understandings about this world.
Watters, Audrey. "MiniMonos: Linking Kids' Virtual World and Real World Action." 19 June 2011. Web, ReadWriteWeb. 20 June 2011. <http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/minimonos_linking_kids_virtual_world_and_real_worl.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29&utm_content=Google+Reader>.
Week 1, Blog 1: Avatars Teach Teens About Self-Image
Here is the link to the article: http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-self-image-avatars.
This article was very interesting. It talked about how a New York middle school health class had students learn about self-image through the creation of avatars. (Avatars are images that people can create to represent their persona in the digital world). Students first watched a video on how the media creates the idea of "beauty" and manipulates the masses into seemingly impossible ideas of "perfection."
Afterwards, students began creating their digital, 3-D avatars. As they were doing this, the teacher had the students digitally discuss the implications of beauty and the media. According to the article, the teacher pointed out that because of the digital discussion that was taking place, students had much to say that would not have necessarily been said during an actual classroom discussion. She noted that there were very deep, well-articulated points that students made throughout their discsussions.
This is a very interesting article because of several reasons. First, students are using technology in a variety of ways. Their creation of an alter-ego allows them to see how ideas of beauty are implanted within their minds by the social media. Afterwards, the digital conversation that ensues allows very deep, probing questions to be addressed by the students. They have to critically think about major issues and then communicate those issues as well with others in a safe, online environment.
The one thing that I would recommend with this learning activity is to have a follow-up overall classroom discussion -- kind of like a Socratic Circle. I like the idea of having students blog about the issues and respond to each other. But I also believe that classroom discussion and gaining discussion / interpersonal skills is also needed. If the follow-up discussion (led by students) is included with the overall learning activity, then this is an awesome learning experience for the students -- and the teachers.
Boss, Suzie. "Avatars Teach Teens About Self-Image." 27 May 2009. Web Edutopia, 20 June 2011. <http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-self-image-avatars>.
This article was very interesting. It talked about how a New York middle school health class had students learn about self-image through the creation of avatars. (Avatars are images that people can create to represent their persona in the digital world). Students first watched a video on how the media creates the idea of "beauty" and manipulates the masses into seemingly impossible ideas of "perfection."
Afterwards, students began creating their digital, 3-D avatars. As they were doing this, the teacher had the students digitally discuss the implications of beauty and the media. According to the article, the teacher pointed out that because of the digital discussion that was taking place, students had much to say that would not have necessarily been said during an actual classroom discussion. She noted that there were very deep, well-articulated points that students made throughout their discsussions.
This is a very interesting article because of several reasons. First, students are using technology in a variety of ways. Their creation of an alter-ego allows them to see how ideas of beauty are implanted within their minds by the social media. Afterwards, the digital conversation that ensues allows very deep, probing questions to be addressed by the students. They have to critically think about major issues and then communicate those issues as well with others in a safe, online environment.
The one thing that I would recommend with this learning activity is to have a follow-up overall classroom discussion -- kind of like a Socratic Circle. I like the idea of having students blog about the issues and respond to each other. But I also believe that classroom discussion and gaining discussion / interpersonal skills is also needed. If the follow-up discussion (led by students) is included with the overall learning activity, then this is an awesome learning experience for the students -- and the teachers.
Boss, Suzie. "Avatars Teach Teens About Self-Image." 27 May 2009. Web Edutopia, 20 June 2011. <http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-self-image-avatars>.
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