Blog Post #6

"What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?"

I found it refreshing to hear from someone who has taken EDM 310 and is now using what he learned in his own classroom. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with projects and assignments so these videos served as a good reminder for me that what I am learning can be very beneficial to my teaching career. 

The first two videos ,"Project Based Learning Part 1" and "Project Based Learning Part 2," basically give some details to what project based learning is and how Anthony uses it in his class. He emphasizes that when creating projects make sure your projects meet required state content. Also, you can get valuable feedback if you listen to why your students did or did not like a project. Something that Anthony said that I found very significant was "Never limit your students by giving them exactly what you want them to do". He then goes on to explain that you should set requirements that the students should have in their finished products but give them some freedom to learn on their own.

ICurio is a tool I am not familiar with so the video was very informational to me. ICurio is a search engine that allows students to safely search the internet as well as store things in folders. It also has a data directory making it a great resource for students to use for projects.
Discovery Education is another tool that I am unfamiliar with but I plan on teaching in the Baldwin county school district so it is something I will research further. This tool brings experts into the classroom via video. This is a great way to enrich students research experience as well as help teachers make their lessons more enjoyable.

Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps give some great tips in the video "Strange List of Tips". Some of the tips were that you as a teacher have to be interested in learning yourself, you have to be flexible, and meaningful reflections are vital. Sometimes what you've planned doesn't work out so you need to be able to quickly move onto a back up plan.

I found myself agreeing with the majority of the things Anthony said in the video "Don''t Teach Tech- Use it". Don't teach technology but instead plan your projects in a way that incorporates new tools and resources for students to use. Give students a chance to explore different technologies while still meeting the state requirements.

I had never thought about a lesson in layers as Anthony explains in "Additional Thoughts". The first layer is your school year and how does your lesson fit in with your year. Does it cover all your standards that are required? The second layer is the unit size. How long do you need in order to cover everything that is required? The third layer is the weekly scale. Plan how you will cover everything for one week. The fourth layer is a daily plan. How do you deliver the lesson to your students and you need something to measure what they have learned. It is when the daily plans add up eventually to make your entire year.