Open Educational Resources (OER) is a valuable tool that is available for teaching, learning, and research. This resource provides little or no cost (ideal for college students especially). All of the resources are reviewed and approved by professionals which makes it extremely beneficial and highly credible to any teacher who is trying to learn or research something new to spice up a lesson plan! I was able to skim through a great deal of resources using OER for my future lessons as a teacher. There is a great deal of Math & Social Studies quizzes, games, and even textbooks, as well as articles that will help ease me into teaching and making lesson plans. The first thing I realized about OER was how the articles, games, and quizzes can become a great way of transitioning from a lecture on a subject into giving students a chance to actually use this hands-on technology to deeply understand the subject matter that was taught by myself. I actually know a lot of teachers in Millcreek Township School District that look through Open Educational Resources before they make up their lesson plans.
I would reccomend OER to any future teacher and even to younger students who are trying to learn as much as they can about a subject matter of their desire. It is a great tool to have for the present and the future and I look forward to using Open Educational Resources when my teaching career begins. I'm happy that our class got a chance to check this online resource out.
Flipped Learning is a fairly new transformation in the educational system that has immensly benefited today's classroom. Flipped Learning, or Flipped Teaching, is a teaching method that uses computer or internet technology to maximize the classroom's learning. Flipped Learning gives students a better "do it yourself" or a better "hands on" way of learning and this allows teachers more freedom for classroom interactions, rather than constant lectures.
One positive outcome of Flipped Learning is that students are given an opportunity to become a creatively engaged learner and assimilate information with guided instruction and assistance from their teacher along the way. The hyperlink below is an article talking about positives of Flipped Learning and what can make a flipped learning environment successful.
The article states that; "a successful Flipped Learning environment personalizes the learning for EACH individual learner," which means that everyone learns in different ways. I believe that it is our job as future teachers to meet each students learning needs so that they can maximize their learning.
Another reason for a change in the educational system is to get away from the traditional system of learning. The traditional system of learning has been enact over the last 100 years and it has been more of a scheduled "skill & drill" and lecture period, than a productive learning environment. The type of learning now, still has a scheduled routine, but in the classroom students are now designated and engaged learners thanks to the Flipped Learning method. The Link below discusses more about traditional styles of teaching vs. the new Flipped Learning style: http://www.morrisflipsenglish.com/
There are some drawbacks of Flipped Learning and some questions that have yet to be answered. The biggest question tends to be if there is not enough technologyuse in the classroom (or in a school district) can you use flipped learning? The answer is yes, because there is a "Flipped Mindset" with Pillars for teachers to use. The Flipped Mindset enables creativity for teachers and at the end of the day there is still one common goal: help these students become engaged learners.
This embedded video is extremely interesting because it talks about some different methods that a teacher discusses about what kind of tools he uses in the "Flipped Classroom." Below are some of the important methods I was able to get from the video!
-Discusses "homeplay" YouTube video homework assignments
-Creates video's
-Makes/embeds video's in his powerpoint
-Group/Individual technology workshops
My future as a teacher really seems bright. I feel like I am almost technologically prepared to take on a Flipped Classroom. I do have some experience in teaching in front of a classroom and using the Flipped Learning method and I really feel comfortable with it. Flipped Learning is a very successful style of learning that students are really able to comprehend and is a source for them to reach their full potential. As a future teacher, we all need to better prepare ourselves for Flipped Learning and help these students learn to the best of their abilities.
These Last 3 Links Discuss Suggestions (and problems) for Flipping the Elementary, Middle School, and High School Classroom settings:
I really thought that this was a fantastic group project and I had a great experience working with my group members! I really enjoy working with groups during class projects because it developes the understanding of a concept that some people really can struggle with. That concept is teamwork and I think that teamwork is something that gets overlooked as we get older. My group members were great and it seemed like we all had our own unique role in the group. Maegan did a terriffic job presenting our material in front of the class, Brayden did a great job setting up Prezi and our presentation, and I did the research for the paper and presentation. I think that both the presentation and the paper went accordingly and I really enjoyed this project!
The only consideration I would like to make is that we practice presenting a little bit more. Presenting in front of a class has never really been my strongest attribute, but I realize that this needs improvement and I am determined to learn how to become a better public speaker. With that being said, the only way to become a good public speaker is by practicing in front of a classroom, so I hope that I will get another chance to redeem myself on a project in the future.
Here's a video on Classroom Management in the Middle School Setting!
My blog experience was pretty cool. I figured that it was going to be a little tougher than I thought it would be, which got me really excited about my future in teaching and working with lesson plans. I really enjoyed this project and I am pleased with the outcome. My project outline began with teaching a 6th grade Social Studies classroom intermediate and cardinal directions, an introduction on great lakes, and an introduction on the regions of the United States. I placed a practice quiz, an informative learning video, and a couple of independent works on my PowerPoint in order to make my lesson more hands on (method that we have learned is a more valuable learning for students). In this PowerPoint project, we were required to give whom we were teaching a daily lesson objective. The daily lesson objective is a great way to get ready for class because it gives students an idea about what they will be learning in class and most likely in the future.
Presenting my project to my peers was also a valuable experience. My peers were able to critique the things that I did well with and the things that I did poor with (very few). I also enjoyed my peers presentations and I thought that they were all unique and creative. All in all, it was a great experience and I am happy that we were given a chance to create a lesson objective and run with it!
Here's a video on a 6th Grade Social Studies classroom.
The teacher points out some great teaching methods that she does, Check it out!
I thought that this would be a funny picture to post because we all tend to be confused in your classroom sometime Mr. Smith!
The first blog that I decided to do was a basketball blog called The Basketball Jones. This is a very updated blog that gives recent basketball buzz, especially in the NBA. I love watching basketball and that is why I decided to choose this blog. Check out new photo's of the Brooklyn Nets new basketball arena!
The next blog that I decided to look at was an educational blog for younger students. I think that this blog is a great idea for a lesson plan to teach kids how to blog. Blogs can be used in the classroom for so many different and unique teaching styles that all-in-all will make class very enjoyable for the students!
