Blog Post #5

If I Built a School

Krissy Venosdale wrote how she would build a school if she had the opportunity. She said the library would have a tree house with lights and the cafeteria would have be like a modern day coffee house with big sofas and comfy seats. She said she would end state testing, which I believe is a great idea.
If I built a school I would build a school for special education students. We have one here in Mobile, Agusta Evans, but to get in your IQ has to be pretty low. I wouldn't have any requirements for them to have to get into the school. Special needs is special needs in my eyes. All the doors would have wheelchair ramps and automatic open buttons. The walls would be filled with the students artwork and other things they make through-out the year. The cafeteria would be a big comfortable place for everyone to come in and join. I would have wheelchair swings on the playground and each student would have their own iPad. We would have movie Fridays for the students who earned all their points for the week, but we all know no-one would be left out. The state testing wouldn't exist because, as Dr. Strange says, all that is teaching the students is burp-back education. They would be taught things that they need to survive in everyday living. They would learn their telephone numbers and where they live and their birthday and who to call in case of an emergency. The children, would have nap times, because who doesn't get tired at 12:30 after lunch? I would start school later. I would start school at 8:30 and let the students out at 3ish. I've actually thought a lot about getting a business license and owning an after school care facility for these students. I think that would be a great idea!

Virtual Choir:
Eric Whitarce's video of the choir is truly astounding. I don't know if I've ever really seen anything like that, but I'm glad I have now. It's pretty amazing what technology can do these days and it's only progressing. I wounder how long it took him to get all those videos together and match pitches and everything? I would like to know that!

Teaching in the 21st Century
Watching Dr. Strange's version of Kevin Roberts Prezi of teaching in the 21st century was quite interesting. The main quote that stuck out to me was "Teachers are no the main source of information, we are the filters". Roberts tells us that there are many different online resources that could be used but we are here to help them LEARN how to really use them to their full potential. The presentation helps me realize that technology really is changing how people are learning. I'm learning new things in this EDM310 class that I couldn't learn with paper or pencil. I think it's a good thing, but then again students have a lot easier way of finding answers the "quick and dirty" route than to actually learn what they are supposed to be learning.

Flipping the Classroom
I'm not sure if the children I personally would be teaching would find this method of classroom effective as much as a "normal" student, but I think it's worth a try. The kids could get prepared for college classes this way. How we have to prepare before the class and know our material for lecture and the teachers answer our questions when we come in prepared. I like the idea of these techniques but then again how can you be sure the child watched the videos? How can you enforce the child to watch videos if the parent does not believe or have a computer? There is always a problem somewhere I suppose, but if it could run smoothly I think it would be a great learning tool!