As an innovator in the classroom, I am continually attempting to educationally challenge my students while making learning fun and interesting at the same time. I think that the techniques discussed in this course will be incredibly useful in both goals.
First, I can see several important uses for Image Blender. In writing classes, I could have students capture a photo. Then, I could have another student write about that image. Perhaps they could describe it, tell what happens next, or even do a creative piece of writing on it. Beyond that, with Image Blender, the students could take that image a step further and alter the photo in order to write about it. In poetry courses, students might be assigned a piece of poetry that they would need to fit an image to. They could do this any way that they wanted to. Beyond this, in working with seniors on their graduation projects, there are many possibilities for integrating photos into the final presentation. As a whole the possibilities of Image Blender are tremendous.
Clay-mation movies offer so many possibilities in my classroom. First, in my writing classes, they are an easy way to help students learn how to write a script and tell a story. Students might be asked to write a creative story and then tell it using a clay-mation movie. Beyond that, I could see the possibility of teaching poetry terms through the movies. Each group could be assigned a different poetry term and they could have to explain, or demonstrate, the term using a clay-mation movie. In my Shakespeare class, students could be asked to perform a play, act, or scene from a Shakespeare play using only clay characters. All of these projects help to extend the learning of the units being taught.
Creating movies has the greatest potential in my classroom immediately. I have always had some sort of video production/play project incorporated into my 10th grade English classes. However, all of those presentations involved the students performing an extra act to a play and me videotaping. There was no post-production work done on the projects. With the addition of iMovies, students could write, direct, and produce their own video presentations. It would add a great deal of flexibility and creativity to the projects. They would really only be limited by their own imaginations. Students could do the entire videotaped segments outside of class, do the post-production work in the computer lab, and then show their videos in class.
During lessons, videos give students the sense that he/ she is watching TV and most of the times videos provide great animation information on topics that strikes students
Doing that involves an increasing mastery of skills, knowledge, and ideas." (Robinson, p. 119) The mentioned idea can be used to motivate students to participate in the learning process. The same way young children learn playing with others, the older child can do it experimenting and prove their theories. As a teacher is easy to noticed the difference between a lesson that is pure theory, and the lesson that incorporates creative factors. Students present a better behavior during the lesson, participate, interact, formulate questions and get the answers working together without
Stiggins, R., & Chappuis, J. (2008). Enhancing Student Learning. Retrieved from July 2009 from, http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticlepf.aspx?articleid=1362.
Martin, K. (2000). Alternative Modes of Teaching and Learning. Received September 13, 2002 from Internet. http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/atmodes/to_delivery/discovery_learing.html.
Dweck also promotes that a lesson can be something that can something creative that its only purpose is to develop a growth mindset in students. These creative methods can be something so simple as playing a video and followed by class discussion to group discussion about their own thoughts/meanings or a simple game of “Memory” in order to engage students to learn in a fun
Photography is defined at the art or practice of taking and processing photographs. To understand photography is having insight or good judgment to know how to take the picture, but also edit it if need be. Does photography limit our understanding of the world? What some people haven’t realized is that photography is all around us, whether it is in the person’s mind to see it or not. While we see photography throughout our daily routine, people dismiss the small types of photography and focus on the bigger sceneries like other countries beautiful cities and landscapes. It’s true that in this day and age, most photographs we see have been altered in some way. When photographers use Photoshop to edit our photos, we use many different ways to make that image appealing to the eye. Although, photographers unless told to do so will not change an image into something totally absurd that takes away from being astatically pleasing. Images are a gateway to the insight of the rest of the world’s cultures landscapes, and architecture, and photography is the key aspect to it. Photography is a one way to see the world, but it is better if you go and travel around the world to see it. In order to see if photography actually limits our understanding, we have to first look at the positive side of photography.
I believe that culture, empathy and critical thinking can be incorporated into these subjects with the use of creative projects such as acting exercises, writings, discussions and stories. What project is chosen can depend on the age range, the environment of the classroom, and the preference of the school or the teacher, but I believe that there are projects that will accomplish the core learning objectives of the subject as well as incorporating multiple perspectives in a cognitive way.
Instead of teaching us how to do projects and essays, how to use the quadratic formula, how to understand the concept of war, teach us instead the art of persuasion. Teach us the ways of entertaining an audience, the dilemmas that the world faces. Teach us that there are an enormous amount of issues in the world and they come with an abundant amount of solutions. To learn how to engage an audience is to learn how to teach one.
Zuckerman, M. B. (2005, October 10). Classroom Revolution. U.S. News & World Report. p. 68. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Each year, as a new group of students enter my classroom, I will encourage them to be expressive of their imaginations in their favorite subjects, whether it will be art, literature, math or music. We all have rules and regulations to follow, and each student will know that there is no exception in the school or the classroom. Another goal in my classroom will be to keep the students excited about learning, not to treat school as a game or a social event, but to encourage a unique and fun atmosphere to learn.
We ignore the plain fact that students learn at different rates and in different ways” (3). Furthermore, teachers are the main source of knowledge in the classroom. When teaching, teachers determine almost everything that happens within their classroom. Including what information they have students learn, and how they pass on that information. However, over the years, it has been neglected that every student learns differently. Additionally, it needs to be remembered that it is the students who are learning. A school system is needed that can retain all students’ curiosity, individuality, and creativity. For instance, whether it is the amount of homework given, the type of test, the pace of teaching, or the style of notes required, students should not be confined to only one way of
Presentations were another key component to this class. We were asked to sign up and present problems that we had solved successfully and could share with the class. I liked how this was set up. It gave students an opportunity to share what they had discovered, which could be a different way than you had done the problem. By letting ...
First off, I will strive to present information in exciting and different ways. I will teach verbally, visually, and hands-on. This way of teaching increases the possibility of drawing all students’ attention, because each student has their preferred way of learning. I want to teach in this way because I understand why students lose interest in school; therefore, I want my class to be as interesting and fun as
Posing questions on materials covered and the quality of materials selected can create the desired environment for students to thrive. I want to inspire my students to think outside the box and to ask questions. Society needs thinkers not robots. The classroom plays an important part in aiding the growth of an individual. It is my duty as a teacher to impart knowledge because ideas have a way of changing lives. Examining and discussing ideas with students allows them to move to a new level of understanding, so that ultimately, they may be transformed.
Using videos in the classroom provides multiple avenues for learning. Not only do students learn by seeing, but this also helped students develop auditory skills to be able to listen. Because visual learners learn by seeing, I can use maps to help students better understand concepts in social studies or history. Seeing where the pioneers traveled as well as talking about the climate and harsh conditions will allow the students to make sense of how the people had to survive. Another way I can utilize my talents are making posters with eye-catching cartoon characters. This will provide an opportunity for me to be creative and draw, but also make the subjects more appealing for when the posters are hung in the classroom. Graphs will prove to be helpful in math because I can do an experience, but also mark the results using a chart to provide a visual. This will also provide lessons in visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. Graphic organizers will be used a lot to compare and contrast two stories. This will make it easier to see the differences and similarities. Using my graphic organizer as an example, students have an example of what their work should