Blog Assignment #11

In the video, Back to the Future, there were so many fun things that Brian Crosby allowed his students to do. They did so many fun, hands on projects that really allowed the students to learn something new and have fun at the same time. Brian said time and time again that the students were completely blown away with the projects. The balloon project was my favorite. It was such a creative idea to attach a camera to the balloon and watch the footage as the ballon floated higher and higher. This taught the students how pressure works. Overall, this video was very inspirational.

The next video was Blended Learning Cycle. This video actual broke down what blended learning was all about, and also what the learning cycle was. Paul Anderson explains that in a blended learning cycle there are a few steps to take. It is important to start class with a question, something that really hooks your students.You then let your students investigate the topic and experiment. Next, you show them a video that explains the topic a little more. You then move on to elaborations, reviewing, and finally a summary quiz. One thing I noticed by watching this video was that the blended learning cycle is a very organized way of teaching. I think I would definitely use this cycle, because I like to be very organized.

A video I really enjoyed was, Teaching Digital Citizenship. I think it is a great idea to teach students the responsibilities of going online, and becoming involved digitally. Students should know what types of precautions to take when online, and things they should avoid. I absolutely loved the fun project they did when they created their own super hero character. This allowed the kids to have fun while learning. They then gave their characters a real life situation, and created a story. The students were told to add in pictures of themselves, which allowed them to be more involved in the project and feel ownership. This activity was very fun and educational at the same time for the students. I would definitely do something like this in my future classroom.

The classroom in, Project Based Learning, was no or ordinary classroom. This classroom blended different subjects together, and had not one teacher, but three. This class inspires me in so many ways. I never thought blending different subjects together like this could be possible! Instead of getting feedback from one teacher, they get feedback from three. This allows the students to broaden their thinking skills, and get better and better at what they are doing. By blending these subjects together, time is opened up to perfect their work, and make it the best possible. I was completely amazed with this classroom. I was such a different, yet productive idea to blend subjects.

I have learned so many wonderful things about project based learning. A good example of a school who uses PBL is Roosevelt Elementary. This school truly strives to help their students learn as much as possible through project based learning. The teachers in this video pointed out lots of things such as the fact PBL helps with public speaking skills. If the students start presenting their projects to the class at a young age then they will be less afraid to speak in public as they get older. Students are also extremely excited to present their project to the class and show what they have created. PBL helps students apply real world situations in the classroom. The teachers in this video sound as if their main priority is to teach the students in the best possible way. Overall, I think PBL is great, and should definitely be used in the classroom form kindergarden on up.