Thursday, September 25, 2014

Blog Assignment #6

Conversations with Anthony Capps

In this video Project Based Learning Part 1, Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps had an engaging conversation about project based learning, and how it works. Dr. Strange asked Mr. Capps lots of great questions such as; How does it work, and is it effective? Mr. Capps stated that it is definitely effective. He says that students love doing it, it really helps them learn and become engaged in their work at the same time. Mr. Capps stated how his students critiqued each others work and did a very good job doing so. I liked the story that Mr. Capps talked about at the end of the video. This story was about the girl in his class named Gabrielle who proved that her answer was indeed correct when the students were going over their answers during class. She referred back to the text they were reading and clearly her answer was in the passage. This story was a great example of how students and teachers both are still learning.

The next video was Project Based Learning Part 2. In this video Anthony Capps starts off by talking about one of his favorite group projects he had his students do. This was a project on different types of cultures. Mr. Capps says that he had never been more proud of his students work before. He let his third graders explore different websites, and find their own information. He points out that a teacher should never limit their students to what type of work they should do in their projects. It is important for them to do their own thing, and learn from it. Mr. Capps states that students love doing group projects. The students give lots of feedback by talking about which idea they like best, or which idea they do not like. Mr. Capps states that one of his main goals is to give his students work that is meaningful. In other words, they can get something out of what they are working on. Also, he likes to give students assignments that let them choose the topic on their own. This lets students be more proud of their work. This interview definitely teaches me that project based learning is rewarding to students. They enjoy doing it, and also enjoy the outcome at the end.

In the video iCurio, Mr. Capps and Dr. Strange talk about what iCurio is. Until now I had never heard of iCurio. It is a search engine that is filtered for students to use to look up factual information including videos and audio. It also contains a storage folder for students and teachers to keep their work in. ICurio is a kid friendly site. The storage folder can be very beneficial if a student has to leave the room unexpectedly, or even just to take a break for researching. Overall, I think iCurio would be great for students to use in the classroom.

Group Projects

The next video is called Discovery Education. Discovery Education is a tool that students can use to help them understand a topic, even if their teacher doesn't know a whole lot about it. I previews videos of other professionals and educators that do know about the topic the child is interested in. Discovery Education is a great tool for students because it can help them learn beyond only what their teacher knows. Dr. Strange comments saying that students are too, "learner watchers." They learn from what they see, and take advantage of that.

The Anthony-Strange Tips for Teachers Part 1, was another video I watched. In this video Dr. Strange and Mr. Capps gave tips for teachers. Dr. Strange starts off the video by saying that as a teacher, one of the key factors is to be interested in learning also. Mr. Capps states that when you are teaching, the work you do should also be fun for yourself. You should learn new ways to teach, and be interested in learning those ways. One of my favorite tips given by Dr. Strange was that teachers have to be spontaneous, and ready for the unexpected. It is very true that something unexpected could happen and throw your whole lesson plan off while teaching. Therefore, teachers should be ready for anything. Another key tip was reflection. It's a good idea for a student to reflect over his or her work, and make corrections. Having a good audience can help with reflection. Overall, Mr. Capps and Dr. Strange gave some great points that I had never given much thought to until I watched this video.

In the video Use Tech Don't Teach It, Mr. Capps talks about how technology should not be taught in a classroom, it should be used by the students to learn on their own. He says that technology is no factor for his third graders. They are using iMovie with no problem, and he didn't have to teach them at all. The students find out how to use these technical programs on their own. Mr. Capps allows his students to use the program again and again to get the hang of how it works. He likes to allow them to use a tool one week and use a different one the next. The kids get very excited about using technology. Kids also make lots of mistakes. That's just what they do. It's a good thing as a teacher to go back and review those mistakes so they don't happen again. Overall, I can definitely see Mr. Capps's point on allowing kids to be involved with technology.

The last video was, Additional Thoughts About Lessons. Mr. Capps talks about how a lesson should be broken up into four key parts. The first part is the year. You should focus on the year you are teaching the lesson, and if it will work during that year. Next, he says that you should stretch a lesson out. You should not teach it all in one day, but stretch it over days or weeks. Then, you have to look at lessons by weeks. Are you going to get all you want done during that one week? Finally, you have to look at a lesson by day. How are you going to engage your students in your lesson for today? Do you have something to get them interested? You should do as much as you can to get your students engaged during your daily lesson. Mr. Capps states some great information about getting a lesson planed out.

Watching these videos of Anthony Capps's and Dr.Strange's conversations has been very beneficial to me. I have learned great tips for my future teaching skills. I have learned that project based learning is great for students. They learn so much more while doing these group projects. Also, technology is a key factor in the classroom today. Students are adapting more and more to using a computer everyday for learning. It's great that they are learning about this technology at such a young age. Mr. Capps also stated great ways to make out a lesson plan. Thank you Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps for making these great videos!

2 comments:

  1. Hey Amanda! These videos were very helpful to me as well. Hearing these things from someone who has been in our shoes makes it so much easier to understand!

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  2. "Also, technology is a key factor in the classroom today. Students are adapting more and more to using a computer everyday for learning." Great point to make.

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