Reflection 6.2

The way student's learn at my school site seems to differ class to class.  I have observed some classes in which the students respond very well to the teachers style of lecture.  And other students learn better by breaking into individual groups and performing hands on tasks.  The idea that there is on on way to learn and teach is a bit absurd.  Teachers themselves teach in different varieties of ways and so should be the learning aspect of it.  A good observation I have made is that the good teachers have a great balance of discipline and "friendliness".  One in particular disciplines in a great way that does not affect the way in which the students are drawn to her nice and caring personality.  It is a delicate balance.

Finals thoughts...

Just wanted to share with everybody my final thoughts on this class and the theorist I wrote my paper about.  The theorist I had was Carl Rogers.  the basics of his theory are that we are all naturally good people.  As good people, we want to make the best of ourselves and develop a good healthy life.  His client centered theory involved a humanistic approach in which he created a support role to the patient so that the patient could develop their process for recovery.  The patient has all the tools within them to overcome any problem and is to be guided to that solution.  In regards to being a "good" person, it all stems from the experiences that start as young children.

It was a bit confusing at first, but, after reading over it began to make sense.  He also had a very interesting point in that he compared this desire to be the best we can to other biological entities, such as plants and animals.  It was great reading about it all.

Balance in Life

Having a good balance in life in general is a great thing.  In schools and in the workplace, there tends to be a delicate balance in having fun freedom and a structure plan or routine.  After reading more of Dewey's book, I understand where he is coming from and his ideas about progressive style schools and the removal of regimented schedules and activities.  There is not one fix for all classrooms and even more so when it comes to the individual students.  Balance is key to the success of students and to the success of the teacher.  The freedom Dewey talks about is much needed for a student to feel as if they have creative control on what they are doing.  But, the ability to make that choice and the skills they use come from the controlled environment that we set in classrooms and the guidance they are giving to learn particular subject matter.  Without one the other suffers.

John Dewey: Experience & Education

Reading these chapters did make me think about all the educational environments I have been in.  I attending K-3 back east in New Jersey and do remember what that was like.  I felt those classrooms were similar to my experiences here in California.  I think I can safely assume that it was more traditional learning environment.
What sticks out to me is that during my 1st grade year we would have our chairs around the room for a portion of the day, as we finished our assignments in our workbooks we would take the next chair and wait for our "appointment" with our teacher.  She would grade our mini-assignments on the spot and we would get a green check for right answers and a red check for wrong answers.  That was what I used to at my elementary school in New Jersey.  That was back in about 1988 and it was normal.
From my perspective, it worked well.  I can see where others who may have been struggling with material would not agree.
The point I am trying to make is that, I needed that type of learning along with more hands on learning that I started getting as my education progressed.  At CSU Fresno, my drafting design classes had about 15-30 minutes of lecture, then about 3 hours of studio time to draft and design.  The same style of teaching will not work in all subject matter and/or for all students.

I mentioned last week that I was in the process of setting up about five K-2nd grade classes with their chromebooks.  These chromebooks have touch screen capabilities and the school felt it would be a great addition for the younger students.  This past Thursday I had the pleasure of deploying these into a 2nd grade classroom so that the students could use them during a Google Hangout.

What I found to be interesting was the capacity that young children have to transfer their knowledge into different areas or when using new technology.  The point of giving out the touch screen chromebooks for this particular Google Hangout was that it was a "Where in the world are we" activity in which the two participating classrooms guess where in the world the other is.  The benefit of using the chromebooks was that the students were able to open the slides document I created and with the use of an extension that was downloaded, they were able to mark on the screen without effecting the document.  After narrowing down a one of the many maps, they easily cleared all their markings and went on to the next map.

I gave very minimal instruction on the use of the chromebooks and right away all students started digging in.  It was awesome hearing them collaborate with each other and help each other without having to ask.  When one figured out how to change the color of the pen to mark the screen they quickly traded that information to learn something in return.  Hands on learning is cool!

Week 2 - Reflection

I have had quite a bit going on in my personal and professional life over the last two weeks.  Week 2's reflection goes into my feelings towards the technology process I am going through at my workplace.  I have a stack of 75 Chromebooks waiting for my in my office/class and and realizing how much more difficult it would be to set them up and distribute if I didn't have a plan ready to do so.
What helped my process out was doing some research on what item was going to be purchased in the first place.  Chromebooks do make it a bit easier because they just turn on and connect to internet and you are set.  It was my first time going through this process and felt that it has gone smooth (so far).  I hope the process continues to go smoothly.

First post

After creating a blog for the first time while in my ET705 class at Fresno Pacific University, I have decided to create a new one that deals with my new position as the Technology Coordinator at Le Grand Elementary School in Le Grand, CA.  Thank you in advance to all who may come across my blog and take the time to read my posts.