I do agree with Ken Robinson that schools kill creativity. The curriculum to graduate a public school is pretty much the same and it doesn't take into account people's strenghts and weaknesses or special talents, or what do they have going in their life. In high school I was the captain of the track team and I was the best long distance runner in school. Yet to graduate I still had to take a gym class each semester, which I felt was something good for someone who has a problem with his/her weight, and I felt it was unnecessary for someone like me. I had to run more than ten miles everysingle day. And one semester I was told to do weight lifting. The gym teacher ended up having a fight with my coach after he made us do squats and leg exercises the day of the race. People had a choice of saying no and getting a poor grade, or did the exercise and then were unable to run competitively later on in the race. I myself had to run the 800 meter run, the 1600, and later on I was to tired to run the 3200.
Like Ken Robinson says students each have different skills and talents. The girl he spoke of that ended up going to balley school and becoming successfull in like would likely never go to college, maybe even not graduate high school if the doctor did not suggest she goes to a dance school. Schools have a flat curriculum, and the only difference might be that smart students will take college level classes, and not so smart students take basic skills classes that will have them pass high school, but will not get them through college. Everyone has to pass English, math, and taking 4 years of gym is necessary. Schools do not take into account that someone might not be able to write well, but can excell in math and vice versa. And a top athlete might not need to take a gym class that will end up hurting his performance in the race. I do think that schols leave little room for innovation and creativity, and that schould change.
Monday, February 28, 2011
21st Century skills Week # 6
I myself are a supporter of encorporating 21st century skills into the teaching curriculum. In today's world you simply cannot compete if you cannot do such a simple thing as use a computer, for example. The difference between being able to use it and not is all the difference between being employed and not. Two years ago my mother newer even turned on a computer, never mind use it. Now in her job, (she works for a chemical company) she has to use it to do shipping or ordering. She uses internet and since she has trouble with her english, she found a website that translates English to Polish. She has a job, and these days it is hard to find one. Just to think that two years ago she could not type, she could not use the internet, I had to teach her everything from scratch, even how to turn on a computer.
The article "21st Century Skills, Will Our Students be Prepared," states that our life is transformed by technology, putting pressure on students to constantly change, and adapt. I myself found the use of technology necessary to get good grades in school. I went beyond just finding links with practice tests and assignments. For my organic chemistry class, which I have retaken, I found website that offers unlimited practice problems involving interpreting spectrum analysis of different compound. After two hours and fifty problems down the road I was able to solve every problem on the intermediate level. I aced the exam and got half the points on the test from interpreting organic spectra which killed me when I took it previously. I studied much harder previously, but only had access to a few problems from the book which I more memorized than was able to learn to interpret them.
In the articel called "The Latest Doomed Pedagogical FAD" The author is concerned about 21st century skills, because his personal experience wasn't a good one. He got a good grade despite learning nothing. My guess is that his group did all the work, and he was too preoccupied with his love life to put his head in the game, but since it was a group project he passed. I think that even with a group project everyone in the group has to do an assigned part, and be responsible for a specific part of the project. If one person in the group does all of the work then working cooperatively with others certainly does't work. It has to be enforced in a smart way in which even if it is a group project, everyone will get his own grade, or situations like this one will take place.
Finally I would like to say that article "Critical Thinking, You need Knowledge" does not give a good comparison to the situation that takes place today. The experiment in which students bake cookies to learn math, is not the same as teaching them to use a computer to do chemistry problems. I believe that in today's world 21st century skills and knowing them are a must, and I believe that they are a key to the future.
The article "21st Century Skills, Will Our Students be Prepared," states that our life is transformed by technology, putting pressure on students to constantly change, and adapt. I myself found the use of technology necessary to get good grades in school. I went beyond just finding links with practice tests and assignments. For my organic chemistry class, which I have retaken, I found website that offers unlimited practice problems involving interpreting spectrum analysis of different compound. After two hours and fifty problems down the road I was able to solve every problem on the intermediate level. I aced the exam and got half the points on the test from interpreting organic spectra which killed me when I took it previously. I studied much harder previously, but only had access to a few problems from the book which I more memorized than was able to learn to interpret them.
In the articel called "The Latest Doomed Pedagogical FAD" The author is concerned about 21st century skills, because his personal experience wasn't a good one. He got a good grade despite learning nothing. My guess is that his group did all the work, and he was too preoccupied with his love life to put his head in the game, but since it was a group project he passed. I think that even with a group project everyone in the group has to do an assigned part, and be responsible for a specific part of the project. If one person in the group does all of the work then working cooperatively with others certainly does't work. It has to be enforced in a smart way in which even if it is a group project, everyone will get his own grade, or situations like this one will take place.
Finally I would like to say that article "Critical Thinking, You need Knowledge" does not give a good comparison to the situation that takes place today. The experiment in which students bake cookies to learn math, is not the same as teaching them to use a computer to do chemistry problems. I believe that in today's world 21st century skills and knowing them are a must, and I believe that they are a key to the future.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Week Five Back to School Presentation
Hello everyone. I have spend all day trying to figure out how to do this presentation. It is not as hard, but it was hard recording it in a quiet place. I should have recorded it at home. In the library it is hard to find a place where you have some quiet, and where at the same time you can be the only one talking. I like this power point presentation with the option of recording your own voice and then the option of posting it on the internet. Every weak I find it a little easier to do these assignments. It seams that slideshare page is down so it took me forever to find an alternate page where I can publish my presentation. If you have trouble try brainshark.com. That is where I posted my presentation.
Belw is a link to my presentation:
My Classroom
Belw is a link to my presentation:
Mr stanislawski s_classroom
View more presentations from stanislawsm1
My Classroom
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Mr. Marcin's Classroom
Here is my power point presentation. Hope it works. If not my presentation is under this link.
Mr. Marcin's Classroom
Mr. Marcin's Classroom
Back to School Night
My back to school presentation focuses on keeping up to date with technology in the modern world. In school today you need to have access to a laptop with a wireless internet access. You need to be able to have access to other gadgets like a data cube for storing data. You have to be able to use it not only to get information, but to exchange with others, use chat rooms to work on assignments. Post your own documents online so that others can download them and use them. Technology always changes. Few years ago no one heard of Twitter. Now there are a few big companies up there. Facebook, Google, everyone knows these and people use them everyday. What will come out big few years from now? Maybe Groupon will be the next facebook.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Curriculum
Grade 12
Content Statement: The use of technology and digital tools requires knowledge and appropriate use of operations and related applications.
CPI: 8.1.12.A.3 Participate in online courses, learning communities, social networks, or virtual worlds and recognize them as resources for lifelong learning.
I have chosen this grade and CPI, because first of all I am hoping to be working with seniors in high school, and because I feel that they can learn a lot online. I do know that there is a lot of information out there and if students do not have access to it, they are at a huge loss vs. those who know how to work with technology. Also working together they will be able to help each other, every student being good at doing one kind of problem that the other cannot do and vice versa. When I started college I would have the teacher do a few chemistry problems on the board and assign some problems from the book. That was however, not near enough to get through the class with a good grade. To pass this subject you need a lot more than a few problems that you end up memorizing. Chemistry is about being able to solve millions of problems that you cannot just memorize. However with the internet students now have access to archives of old exams. They have websites that they can use to solve unlimited number of problems and have the computer program tell them right away if they are right or wrong. Having access to technology is simply a must, because those students who don't use it will be at a huge disadvantage to those who do.
Content Statement: The use of technology and digital tools requires knowledge and appropriate use of operations and related applications.
CPI: 8.1.12.A.3 Participate in online courses, learning communities, social networks, or virtual worlds and recognize them as resources for lifelong learning.
I have chosen this grade and CPI, because first of all I am hoping to be working with seniors in high school, and because I feel that they can learn a lot online. I do know that there is a lot of information out there and if students do not have access to it, they are at a huge loss vs. those who know how to work with technology. Also working together they will be able to help each other, every student being good at doing one kind of problem that the other cannot do and vice versa. When I started college I would have the teacher do a few chemistry problems on the board and assign some problems from the book. That was however, not near enough to get through the class with a good grade. To pass this subject you need a lot more than a few problems that you end up memorizing. Chemistry is about being able to solve millions of problems that you cannot just memorize. However with the internet students now have access to archives of old exams. They have websites that they can use to solve unlimited number of problems and have the computer program tell them right away if they are right or wrong. Having access to technology is simply a must, because those students who don't use it will be at a huge disadvantage to those who do.
Technology and Teaching
Technology is an important tool in the learning process. Today's students don't want to learn from somebody that speaks in a monotone voice and stands with a piece of chalk in front of a classroom. Students these days have access to vast resources of information that the previous generation didn't have. To keep up with their students teachers must keep up with the ever changing technology.
When I become a teacher I know that I will have keep up to date with technology. I will create my own web site and will allow students to have access to practice problems, old tests, and have links to web sites that can be useful. Practice problems would not necessarily need to be printed. I would allow the students to solve the problem on the computer and then the program would allow students to see whether they are right or wrong, what mistakes they made.
Like in the video, Integration of 21st Century Skills; Hygrology I would require each student to use a laptop with access to the internet. Science is very much dependant on technology, and the two are interdependant on each other. Being a science major, simple things like creating your own blog, web page, or power point documents is nothing like working with half a million dollars machine during analysis of substances. If you plan on getting a degree in science having a laptop and using it to learn is a must.
When I become a teacher I certainly would look for a school that would have access to newest technology. I would have no choice, because I feel that if I don't keep up I will end up like the teacher in the video, which after 30 years of teaching finds herself relying on students on help with technology. These days either you keep up or you are Darwind out of the race.
Marcin
When I become a teacher I know that I will have keep up to date with technology. I will create my own web site and will allow students to have access to practice problems, old tests, and have links to web sites that can be useful. Practice problems would not necessarily need to be printed. I would allow the students to solve the problem on the computer and then the program would allow students to see whether they are right or wrong, what mistakes they made.
Like in the video, Integration of 21st Century Skills; Hygrology I would require each student to use a laptop with access to the internet. Science is very much dependant on technology, and the two are interdependant on each other. Being a science major, simple things like creating your own blog, web page, or power point documents is nothing like working with half a million dollars machine during analysis of substances. If you plan on getting a degree in science having a laptop and using it to learn is a must.
When I become a teacher I certainly would look for a school that would have access to newest technology. I would have no choice, because I feel that if I don't keep up I will end up like the teacher in the video, which after 30 years of teaching finds herself relying on students on help with technology. These days either you keep up or you are Darwind out of the race.
Marcin
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