I will start this blog out just to say that this week has been crazy, in a bad way:( I was not able to attend class last Thursday because my back-up fell through and we had home basketball games (6 to be exact), our senior athlete recognition, and our dedication event for our new scoreboards. It was a long evening to say the least... did not leave the gym until after 10:30 and did not arrive home until 11:15... would have been better off going to class;) Thinking that I had made it through one of the crazier weeks at school, I wen to school Friday morning tired and glad that I did not have any major things scheduled for the day. At about 10:30 I received the call from my mom to let me know that I dad had just been in a serious car accident... so in my car I went to see what was going on with my dad. A totaled car, broken arm that will require surgery, broken teeth that busted through a bottom lip and lots of bruises later we are wrapping our heads around my dad's wreck and thinking how we will help him through. So, now at 8:56 pm on Sunday evening I am finally taking some time to review what was covered in class and doing my blog responses. Life happens.
In response to the motivation video I have several different thoughts that are going through my head... how do we motivate students, how do we motivate staff, how do we motivate some families, how does this message apply to my school? In my mind, this ties back to authentic work for students. I believe that if you provide authentic opportunities for students to learn, they will take much more away from the experience and achieve more than we expect. In regards to our staff, I loved the example of the 24 hours to work on whatever they want. I know I have a long list of things I would like to do if I had a blocked out chunk of time to work on a special project. It is exciting just to think about it. This was a good message and a great reminder for what motivates.
I am completely impressed with the Khan academy. I do believe that I have seen one of our science teachers use these videos, but I wonder if they are fully aware of the number of videos available to them. This is a link that I will add to our school web page for a resource for our teachers as well as use it for my own refresher courses. The concept and idea of flipping the classroom is great, and he did a great job selling the idea. We have one teacher working "flipping" her classroom and this initial steps have gone well.
Each class I come to and the more I delve into the topic of technology and education I get a little more excited. I am feeling empowered to influence my school, and am happy to report that we are having more and more conversations and taking more steps to using technology as a resource, not a replacement for our teachers, and finding ways to make the classes come alive for our students. It is a lot to digest...
Im sorry you had such a bad ending to your week last week!
ReplyDeleteIn your post you said,
"I know I have a long list of things I would like to do if I had a blocked out chunk of time to work on a special project. It is exciting just to think about it. This was a good message and a great reminder for what motivates."
Isn't that the truth! I loved the message as well. I shared it with some friends and it led to some good discussion. A little innovation goes a long way and doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg--just good people engaged in good work.
So sorry to hear about your dad but I am glad that he is ok. Perhaps the teachers would look at the Khan academy info. if they had their 24 block of time to actually stop and delve into it? If they are like all of the teachers out there, I'm sure they have many things on their "some day I'd like to explore XXXX" list. My list grows bigger and bigger every day.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about providing authentic learning opportunities to the students. I would love to talk with you about the teacher you have who is "flipping" their room. I have read tons from people around the country but would love to be able to actually talk with someone one-on-one about the pros and cons.
ReplyDelete