Man I was sooooo disappointed that I wasn't able to go to the CR2.0 LIVE education this upcoming weekend! :(
Of course, I found out about it a week and a half before and I tried to get funding for my flight and hotel, but alas, it was to no avail! Oh well.... I am working on setting up an event here in Texas, or even better, here in Killeen! Killeen ISD is already on the cutting edge of making engaging lessons, and the administration and school board are behind innovative teachers who want to bring education into the 21st century.... and I am one! So I believe that we will be able to do this.
But I really wanted to present the outstanding way my students are using wikispaces as a social network to share learning and to organize learning. they are doing a great job, and they have taught me a lot... see their work here.
http://sraburden.wikispaces.com
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
A New Way to Do School!
So the question is: Can Web 2.0 REALLY impact learning in the 21st Century? I believe it can. Today's students are not the same as I was when I grew up. Sure, they're flesh and blood, but things have changed. Look at some of their work here. When you get there, scroll down to student links on the navigation bar.
I am a purist, admittedly. As a REAL Mexican I don't warm my tortillas in the microwave, gringo style! No, I have to heat up a comal (or a reasonable facsimile) and heat one side lightly, pressing it down intermittently so a few bubbles form, then turn it over and let really big bubbles form, cooking the inside to perfection and turning once more to finish the first side. Mmmmm! Nowhere near the same as microwaved tortillas, are they? All you Mexican heritage folks know what I'm talking about! So what's that got to do with Web 2.0 and education? Well, the question is, aren't they still tortillas? Don't they still feed us? Aren't they a little more convenient that way? Do tortillas have be cooked the old-fashioned way to be tortillas? Heck, our grandmothers would never have even bought them at the grocery store either, but would have made them from scratch! Our generation has modernized a bit from that, so why can't our kids go a little beyond us?
This incredible generation with the world at their fingertips and access to the vast, ever-changing accumulation of information at the click of a mouse, the download of a video, and access through smart phones, iPods, . How dare they be bored in a paper and pencil world! Well, they'll just have to get over it, we say. We're not changing our method of teaching... they have to change to what we know to be right and good. And while we can bemoan the fact that today's electronic age has impacted students' view of learning, that doesn't change a thing! Since when did railing against it change its ultimate consequences? And when did spitting into the wind somehow defy it? HA! My bad, that was LOL!
Let's face it, people, and by people, I don't just refer to educators, but to society at large. We're going to have to face the fact that our students need more from us in the way of technology, access to the internet and the myriad of sources and types of Web 2.0 programming in order to access choices about how they will show us they have learned! Frankly, that means money! Furthermore, statesmen at every level, that also means changing how we measure what they have learned. Businessmen and women, doesn't this really mean that we can turn out students who are more ready than ever to face the real world? This gives them more authentic work to do that is in itself more part of the development of our people resources! Here's a view at some of my students' work: sraburden.wikisapces.com. We will be using our Spanish in an authentic way by spoeaking with studnts from other countries very soon! I'll keep you posted!
So in schools we need to be about the business of developing character and leadership, by teaching social skills, interpersonal skills and public speaking skills, while effectively managing their ethical use of the internet in useful ways, and not just whiling away the hours on purely social or play time. It's fine to listen to music while you work and to have some pics of your friends and socialize, but in the grand scheme of things, we want to lead our students to be productive, successful people who can translate their fluency in their native, technical tongue into powerful solutions for everyday living.
I am a purist, admittedly. As a REAL Mexican I don't warm my tortillas in the microwave, gringo style! No, I have to heat up a comal (or a reasonable facsimile) and heat one side lightly, pressing it down intermittently so a few bubbles form, then turn it over and let really big bubbles form, cooking the inside to perfection and turning once more to finish the first side. Mmmmm! Nowhere near the same as microwaved tortillas, are they? All you Mexican heritage folks know what I'm talking about! So what's that got to do with Web 2.0 and education? Well, the question is, aren't they still tortillas? Don't they still feed us? Aren't they a little more convenient that way? Do tortillas have be cooked the old-fashioned way to be tortillas? Heck, our grandmothers would never have even bought them at the grocery store either, but would have made them from scratch! Our generation has modernized a bit from that, so why can't our kids go a little beyond us?
This incredible generation with the world at their fingertips and access to the vast, ever-changing accumulation of information at the click of a mouse, the download of a video, and access through smart phones, iPods, . How dare they be bored in a paper and pencil world! Well, they'll just have to get over it, we say. We're not changing our method of teaching... they have to change to what we know to be right and good. And while we can bemoan the fact that today's electronic age has impacted students' view of learning, that doesn't change a thing! Since when did railing against it change its ultimate consequences? And when did spitting into the wind somehow defy it? HA! My bad, that was LOL!
Let's face it, people, and by people, I don't just refer to educators, but to society at large. We're going to have to face the fact that our students need more from us in the way of technology, access to the internet and the myriad of sources and types of Web 2.0 programming in order to access choices about how they will show us they have learned! Frankly, that means money! Furthermore, statesmen at every level, that also means changing how we measure what they have learned. Businessmen and women, doesn't this really mean that we can turn out students who are more ready than ever to face the real world? This gives them more authentic work to do that is in itself more part of the development of our people resources! Here's a view at some of my students' work: sraburden.wikisapces.com. We will be using our Spanish in an authentic way by spoeaking with studnts from other countries very soon! I'll keep you posted!
So in schools we need to be about the business of developing character and leadership, by teaching social skills, interpersonal skills and public speaking skills, while effectively managing their ethical use of the internet in useful ways, and not just whiling away the hours on purely social or play time. It's fine to listen to music while you work and to have some pics of your friends and socialize, but in the grand scheme of things, we want to lead our students to be productive, successful people who can translate their fluency in their native, technical tongue into powerful solutions for everyday living.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Welcome to Sra. Burden's Blog!
Hola a todos, y bienvenidos!
I teach 8th grade students in Texas and we are learning to make wikispaces! We are using our Spanish in action and having fun while we do it... so come check out our wikispace at sraburden.wikispaces.com.
I am looking for classroom projects that will help students learn Spanish in an interesting way, so keep an eye out for cool ideas and send them our way!
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