This past week in my EDUC 4P27 course, I was asked to explore and learn about the different online learning environments that have been created for students. I must say I was really surprised with what I found.
As I was looking on the High Tech High website, I searched through the High Tech Middle North County projects and was impressed in what this school has accomplished with it's students. The first project I looked at was the Dr. Seuss Project. First of all, I love Dr. Seuss so I absolutely fell in love with this idea! Students were asked to write their own story based on the writing elements that were used in Dr.Seuss' books. Then the students were asked to use a multimedia tool to create an interactive story. I watched videos that students had created and their stories were inspiring and very Seuss-like. This project demonstrated various forms of 21st literacies, such as critical (writing a story and making it Seuss-like), and technological (use of multimedia). Click here to watch one of the videos I really enjoyed, presented by Emily.
Another fascinating project I found was entitled "In My Life." Students were asked to reflect and determine what events in their lives do they think made a significant impact. The students had to express why this event is important and why it may be valuable to tell others. Students displayed their events in a timeline that was displayed in chronological order. After, students presented their personal narrative to their classmates. This project was really interesting because it focuses on character education, a 21st century literacy that is not often seen in the classroom. Whether because it is hard to include, or there's no time, most teachers do not often focus on building a child's character as much as they do building them as a life-long learner. Both of these should be of equal and vital importance in the teacher's agenda. There are various learning styles that benefit different students in the classroom so the idea of having a visual, written and spoken element to this project gives every student the chance to excel. A group and an individual form of work was displayed as seen in the photos below.
As I was looking on the High Tech High website, I searched through the High Tech Middle North County projects and was impressed in what this school has accomplished with it's students. The first project I looked at was the Dr. Seuss Project. First of all, I love Dr. Seuss so I absolutely fell in love with this idea! Students were asked to write their own story based on the writing elements that were used in Dr.Seuss' books. Then the students were asked to use a multimedia tool to create an interactive story. I watched videos that students had created and their stories were inspiring and very Seuss-like. This project demonstrated various forms of 21st literacies, such as critical (writing a story and making it Seuss-like), and technological (use of multimedia). Click here to watch one of the videos I really enjoyed, presented by Emily.
Another fascinating project I found was entitled "In My Life." Students were asked to reflect and determine what events in their lives do they think made a significant impact. The students had to express why this event is important and why it may be valuable to tell others. Students displayed their events in a timeline that was displayed in chronological order. After, students presented their personal narrative to their classmates. This project was really interesting because it focuses on character education, a 21st century literacy that is not often seen in the classroom. Whether because it is hard to include, or there's no time, most teachers do not often focus on building a child's character as much as they do building them as a life-long learner. Both of these should be of equal and vital importance in the teacher's agenda. There are various learning styles that benefit different students in the classroom so the idea of having a visual, written and spoken element to this project gives every student the chance to excel. A group and an individual form of work was displayed as seen in the photos below.
Looking at these projects got me thinking, these kids are really enjoying what they are doing. As I continued to do my course readings, I found out why. These teachers have adapted project-based learning in their classroom. The Buck Institute of Education simply state that project-based learning is "an effective and enjoyable way to learn." Project-based learning allows students the opportunity to be active and passionate about their learning because it is giving them real-life experiences. By using project-based learning, students can build on their confidence, show responsibility, and work collaboratively with their classmates. Project-based learning is an experience that requires critical thinking, communication and creative ideas. The teachers at North County Middle School have displayed project-based learning in their classroom which is providing their students with an education that allows them to thrive.
As I read about project-based learning and looked through the various projects students have been given on High Tech High, I found myself thinking about a TED talk I have watched previously. Grant Lichtman presented a talk on March 22, 2013 entitled "What 60 Schools Can Tell Us About Teaching 21st Century Skills". Grant proposed a lot of interesting ideas however, we cannot expect them to be applied within our schools anytime soon because as Grant said, "institutional change is really hard" (Grant Lichtman, 2013). Our education system has a long way to go and we will get there gradually with small steps. The goal of schools are to be adaptive, dynamic and creative. Project-based learning is a good step towards this goal. While Grant Lichtman discussed an ideal school that our society will hopefully achieve one day in the future, there are other ways to make effective and successful changes to our education system.
As I read about project-based learning and looked through the various projects students have been given on High Tech High, I found myself thinking about a TED talk I have watched previously. Grant Lichtman presented a talk on March 22, 2013 entitled "What 60 Schools Can Tell Us About Teaching 21st Century Skills". Grant proposed a lot of interesting ideas however, we cannot expect them to be applied within our schools anytime soon because as Grant said, "institutional change is really hard" (Grant Lichtman, 2013). Our education system has a long way to go and we will get there gradually with small steps. The goal of schools are to be adaptive, dynamic and creative. Project-based learning is a good step towards this goal. While Grant Lichtman discussed an ideal school that our society will hopefully achieve one day in the future, there are other ways to make effective and successful changes to our education system.
The following TED talk was given by Salman Khan who achieved in making an effective and successful change in the classroom. He discusses his concept of creating a flip classroom using technology. This is a really interesting idea that I hope to see in a classroom one day! Salman Khan's idea is to provide students with academic videos that they watch online at home. This gives students the opportunity to watch, pause, replay the videos as often as they want in order to grasp the knowledge they need to learn. This allows education to be a self-paced journey. This way students can use class time to interact with their teacher and their peers. Teachers have successfully used technology to humanize the classroom (Salman Khan, 2011). Salman Khan has achieved this concept with his creation of Khan Academy, an entire curriculum available online through educational videos.
As much as I like to hope for an ideal classroom as Grant Lichtman has described, it is not an easy goal to achieve. It will take much more than just me to develop and implement a 21st century education . But this doesn't mean that I can't try. I do believe that changes can be made gradually to accomplish this goal. The use of project-based learning and technology allows teachers to provide educational experiences worthy of creating 21st century learners. I will strive to create a classroom that is as adaptive, dynamic, and creative as the students whose presence will fill it.
I hope you enjoyed reading about what I have learned in my course and how I will take it forward with me in my hopes to becoming a future educator. Thank you for reading my blog!
I hope you enjoyed reading about what I have learned in my course and how I will take it forward with me in my hopes to becoming a future educator. Thank you for reading my blog!