Blog Assignment #11

The video Back to the Future, gives us a brief look into how technology, PLNs, and PBL enhanced his students' learning. Poverty is a major issue in some cities of our country, this takes a hindering on the education in those areas. The quality of education in these cities is much lower causing students to fall behind in various subjects and/or areas, and only getting worse from lack of addressing the issue. Getting students involved in their education, and motivated! In this video I have learned that there are going to be children from all walks of life in my classrooms, I must find a way to address the issue so they can have the quality education they deserve. In the video he develops a project for the class, with the students' help of course. In the end of the video he returns to the topic of a project the his students completed/presented. This project involved a can being crushed from an air pressure change.

Through their PLNs, built from their personal blogs, classes from other countries were able to watch, and gain interest in, the can crushing project. One class was so interested they wanted to conduct the experiment as well, but their teacher wasn't sure what to do. Mr. Crosby gave his students the opportunity to take the reigns and showcase what they learned by teaching the other class through a video lesson. This applied to many things the students needed such as review of the material, writing of speeches and practicing for articulation, showcasing complete understanding and application of pressure and its effects on certain objects. These students that were falling behind in below grade level knowledge, are now showcasing the application of what they are learning, and surpassing expectations. They communicate well with one another and the audience, and provide a new way to learn. The audience includes students and teachers from classrooms all over the world; they are reaching out to the world through education.

In the next video, Everything is a Remix, he opens with a very interesting picture that immediately drew me in, and that made me question how he was capturing his students' attention. I was not let down. He begins his year with an oil disk and a mirror and simply spins the disk. It does not sound like an attention grabber, until you realize it is almost 2 minutes later, and it is still spinning. This immediately raises questions, which is where he begins his learning process.
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He uses this as a sort of pathway for his lessons. He goes into detail of what exactly each step entails and how the students research apply what they learn. By engaging students immediately he gives the students the control of what will go on the classroom and what/how they will learn. Starting the year with this is a great ice breaker for teacher and student. Establishing a comfortable and thrilling environment for the students early is important. This also can give the teacher a general idea of where the students are academically and what their interests might be, for future reference.

This video was one of my favorites so far! It showcased how important and useful PBL can be. The students in this video created a comic of their own super hero saving the day, using technology. This project immediately peaked the students' interests because they got to have fun and actually create a personalized super hero. They also wrote a narrative about being a good digital citizen and using the internet safely, which practiced their writing skills. This is a real world issue that students need to be aware of, especially since classrooms are using technology and the internet more and more in the classroom. Creating these super heroes and narratives seems like just a fun activity, but the students end up covering very important tips and rules for using the internet. Some tips students discussed were to keep personal information private, and stopping online gossip. The wonderful thing about PBL is the ability to apply academic lessons to real world experiences.