Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Success

The students talk about being embarrassed when they do badly. That wasn't surprising to me at all. What did surprise me though, was that a few students said that they liked being praised in front of the class.

That some students like being praised in front of the class surprised me because I hated that in school. I had one teacher who would ask if you wanted to see or hear your test grade after he had graded our tests. If I thought I did well I always asked to see it. I didn't want the other students to know how well I as doing because kids are really mean to you if you are doing well in the class and they aren't. And if they aren't mean then they are begging you to let them cheat. I would have imagined that other students would feel the same way I did.

Chapter 3: Classroom Behavior

I think what surprised me the most was how much the students were frustrated by having substitutes in the classroom.

I think this surprised me because when I was in school a substitute meant we didn't have to do anything and that was good. I would think that instead of being frustrated by how little they are learning with the substitute that students would more enjoy not having to work. On the other hand, I can understand that if a substitute is in charge of the class for a long period of time it would start to feel pointless and frustrating.

Student Sample

This video is a reenactment of a scene from The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Students were asked to create a scene from the novel based on their own interpretation while staying true to the plot, characters and themes of the novel. This is the scene is where Dominique invites the press over to Howard's home to find evidence of her having an affair with him. This scene was chosen because it is a major turning point for the character. This is her announcing to Howard, herself and the world that she is ready to be happy with her life and that she no longer cares what anyone else thinks of her.

My contributions to the WebQuest wikis

I added two examples of Consensus building tasks to the Consensus Building page.
I added one example to the persuasion task page.

How to help someone use a computer

"Having convinced yourself of these things, you are more likely to follow some important rules: Find out what they're really trying to do. Is there another way to go about it?" It has always been helpful to me that when my approach to a problem doesn't work if someone shows me an easier and more effective way to accomplish the same thing. I liked this one because it involves looking at other possibilities when trying the same thing a hundred times doesn't work.
"First you have to tell yourself somethings: If it's not obvious to them, it's not obvious." This one was good too because I remember when I first started working with computers being told something was easy or obvious was frustrating. Especially because by the time I asked for help I was already frustrated.

I can use these when teaching about how to use Second Life both in general terms to a new user and to a teacher by remembering it is not obvious and it is often best to find another way to do it.

Agre, Phil. "How to help someone use a computer." 1996. 2009 Feb, 05. http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/how-to-help.html

Web 2.0 Educator

I picked Scott Walker the author of the blog "Technology Tips For All Teachers -TeacherTechBlog". His specialty seems to be technology. His blogs are about different technologies that can be effectively used in the classroom. There was a lot of good information here. In reading his blogs I learned some about glogs, about eInstruction Classroom Performance System and about saving Youtube videos to play in powerpoint. It seems that he uses a lot of different technologies in his classroom and is open to new possibilities.

Type I and Type II Technology

Type I technology is technology that students can use on their own with no help from a teacher. They are programs that help students repeatedly practice such skills as adding and subtracting, typing or colors and shapes. Type II technology is technology that is used by teachers to enhance their teaching. Examples include the use of power point, smart boards and graphing calculators that can be hooked up to be viewed by the whole class.

Maddux, Cleborne and D. LaMont Johnson. "Introduction". Type II Applications of Technology in Education: New and Better Ways of Teaching and Learning. The Hawthorn Press, Inc. 2005.