Project Management

Working on the multiple projects for the past two months showed a lot of things about how our class works as a team.

#1: Focus on results and productivity and not the time clock

When we were handed a job some of us took the initiative to work outside of class time in order to get the job done. For the video tour of the school some members went to interview teachers during their lunch.

#2: Align people with the stuff they are good at

We were good at giving jobs to people that seemed good for those tasks and when we received a task we made sure to do our best at completing it to our full ability. For the video tour of the school I was in charge of making sure that the shot looked good and I also helped out with giving good ideas for filming.

#3: Align people with the projects they are passionate about

We tried to give our team members that they would enjoy doing. For example, Jason was in charge of editing the video, Gavin shot all the videos and Sami was used for to be the host of the tour because of his enthusiastic personality. 

#4: Put your best performers on your biggest opportunities

We decided to give Jason the role of editing the video (the biggest job in the entire group) because he has past experience with editing, he has the equipment and he seemed like the best person for the job.

#5: Find the balance between aggressive and realistic goals

Our group chose to stick to goals we knew we could accomplish. Unfortunately we didn’t finish in time to show the video at the grade 8 parent’s night but we worked around it and decided to work on the project for just the school website.

#6: Trust your people -- and let them know it

Our group was good at trusting each other. When someone had thoughts on the project they weren’t afraid to pitch their idea.

#7: Avoid blame (a.k.a. throwing people under the bus)

There wasn’t a lot of blame going around. Mostly people blamed students who were walking through the shot on why we took so long to tape our scenes.

#8: Foster innovation by killing projects the right way

When we came to the conclusion that we wouldn’t make the deadline for the grade 8 parent’s night we didn’t try to rush our work. Also we decided to drop the idea of one of the archery students posing with equipment because we couldn’t find somebody willing to do the job.

#9: Don't provide all the answers -- make your employees think

After a day of filming everyone knew what to do. There were very little questions being asked by our group members because everybody knew their responsibilities.

#10: Build consensus by letting people know "why"

When people in charge suggested we do something they always told us why so we could either critique their ideas or follow along.

Future Technologies: Tablet Computing

   Tablet computing is a portable wireless device that has access to almost all the features a normal PC would have. It is similar to a notebook computer that uses a touchscreen-operated LCD screen. It carries applications such as word processors to fun games like angry birds. Some may choose to use other accessories like docking stations, keyboards or styluses to make it easier. Examples of popular tablets are the iPad and Sony Tablet S.

   Tablets can be very beneficial to learning in the classrooms. Some teachers who have used tablets in their classrooms have said it allows them to spend more time on explaining the concept of what they are teaching rather than drawing figures on a chalkboard. Teachers are able to save their work as a PDF so students can access the material online instead of carrying a full notebook of pages. It is also easier for students to take notes on a tablet or simply record a lecture using an audio recorder app from the tablet (this technic is more commonly used in higher level education). Students can have textbooks as a PDF and other reference books, audio files and video resources. It is easy for the student to search educational topics on the internet. The LearnPad is a product used only for educational purposes. It allows teachers to lock out access to device settings, prevents accidental changes such as disabling the wi-fi connection and only allows students to access pre-approved applications and content. It has a secure web browser, with an 'on-device' white-list of approved websites, presents a full screen experience of any website and removes the URL bar, thus stopping the student navigating away from the specified site. Another great feature to this product is that it has a curriculum aligned content store.

   Some potential drawbacks or issues: is that students will get distracted with technology in class. Though the LearnPad is a great solution, some other products like iPads don't have an option to block certain things on the devices. Buying devices for the whole class will be expensive because you will need a tablet for each and every student. Another common problem is more directed at teachers. Not all adults are familar with technology and might have trouble figuring out how the device works.

   I think tablet computers would really help with our education today because of all its benefits. We already have some students and teachers who bring laptops and tablets to school so why not have one available for every student. I believe using tablets will speed up the learning process since our generation is surrounded by technology and I think most of students will be more interested in class and how they will be learning. We already know how to eliminate out the few problems that it has (LearnPad) and I don't see why we would hesitate to bring this future technology into the classrooms.

MLA Works Cited List

Biswas, Saroj. "TEACHING COURSES WITH TABLET PC: EXPERIENCE AND." Http://search.asee.org. American Society for Engineering Education, 2007. Web. <http://search.asee.org/search/fetch;jsessionid=4wb0crha3db4h?url=file%3A%2F%2Flocalhost%2FE%3A%2Fsearch%2Fconference%2F14%2FAC%25202007Full612.pdf&index=conference_papers&space=129746797203605791716676178&type=application%2Fpdf&charset=>.


"Tablet Computers in Education." Tablets in Education. Avantis Systems Limited, 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://learnpad.co/support/features/tablets-in-education.cfm>.


Hursh, Tony. "Tablet PCs for Classroom Use:Technology and Application." Tablet PCs for Classroom Use. Department of Educational Psychology, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://courses.education.illinois.edu/edpsy317/sp03/challenge-reports/hursh-tabletpc.html>.

Carmitchel, John. "What Is a Tablet PC." Intel. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/tech-tips-and-tricks/a-guide-to-tablet-pcs.html>.

Prezi Presentation: http://prezi.com/vo_ay5dwwb8n/tablet-computing/

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Innovation in Education: A Case Study

Matt Britland is for social media in classrooms. The article not only explains how schools use this for advertising colleges and universities, teachers also use this to connect with students in order to send them information on what they're teaching the students in class.
I think this is a good idea because many teachers already use social media in the classrooms and it makes it easier to connect with the students since we are the technology generation.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/2012/jul/26/social-media-teacher-guide

Jason Koebler gives examples of different ways teachers use cellphones in class. He uses Willyn Webb as an example and says that she allows students to use cellphones for a large amount of reasons: "to poll students in class and send homework reminder text messages to students and parents. Students also use a Google text-messaging service that allows them to look up a variety of facts."
I think this idea could have advantages and disadvantages at the same time. On one hand it would be helpful to look up facts with cellphones and use it for other things but at the same time many students would only use cellphones to text and it will distract them from the class. Overall I think it wouldn't hurt to use cellphones in class at Thomson because students will use them regardless and you might as well have it contribute to the learning process at the same time.
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2011/10/26/teachers-use-cell-phones-in-the-classroom

Susannah F. Locke shows us how games can help teach students. The New York Department of Education teamed up with the Institute of Play. Their game designer created video games that taught school material which included, "Codeworlds (math/English), Being, Space and Place (social studies/English), The Way Things Work (math/science), Sports for the Mind (game design), and Wellness (health/PE)"
I think this is a great idea to have at Thomson because a great number of students are familiar with video games and are probably more educated in that department than they are in school. I believe this would help them learn alot better.
http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-amp-gaming/article/2009-12/new-school-teaches-students-through-videogames

Minecraft

Joel Levin decided to divide his class into teams. Instead of letting them do what they want, he told them a story and gave them a task of making house made out of different materials. He set up the world before hand and gathered materials before hand so they wouldn't have to go off to look for them themselves.
In class we played Minecraft. My group mainly focused on building a shelter and crafting weapons. My job was to find wood and bring it back to the base in order for the others to make different objects out of it. They used the wood mostly for building houses. I spent the majority of my time in the woods looking for different supplies so I could bring them back for the rest of my group. I think this played to my strengths because I was new to the game and I didn't know much. When I mastered cutting down trees and hunting animals, that is what I mostly stuck to. With me gathering supplies and the rest of the group each having a different job, we were able to have good teamwork and the game ran smoothly.
This game bettered our teamwork skills by working towards the same goal. We all had to work together in order to build houses and find food. We all listened to our team leader (Jason) and followed his orders. Some of us worked in groups while others worked alone. This exercise will help us with future assignments. In the class we will have to work together or alone to complete different tasks but we will all be working towards to same goal to accomplish something. This is a great preview of what the class will be like during this semester.
Even though this was a good team building exercise, I noticed that I can improve on communicating more with my team instead out going out on my own. This will make out team stronger in the future.

The Enterprising Experience: Planning and Organizing an Event

LEARNING GOALS:

By the end of this lesson, my students will be able to … pick and plan an event in which they will make the event known by advertising and promoting. They will show enterprising skills by taking part in organizing the event.

CURRICULUM EXPECTATIONS:

List the overall and specific expectations this lesson will address. Overall Expectations By the end of this course, students will: • identify and describe the characteristics and contributions of an entrepreneur and the factors affecting successful entrepreneurship; • assess the attitudes and attributes possessed by an enterprising employee; • explain how enterprising employees react to situations of uncertainty and risk; • analyse the potential benefits of an employee’s enterprising attitudes and attributes to both the employee and the employer.

MINDS ON / HOOK:

How will you grab the student’s attention and get them focused (in the right mindset) to learn the material you will be addressing in this lesson? I will use an iTunes app that has the storyline of a girl running for a position in the school who comes up with the idea to throw a party to boost her popularity and out do her competitors. In the process she not only has to plan the party and handle other problems, she also has to find a way to make the party interest every social group in the school. Time Required:

ACTION:

What will you get the students to do?  (The activity?) My plan is to divide the class into different groups. There will be different social groups and the students acting as entrepreneurs will be asked to outline the planning of an event that interests all social groups. Each day the groups will rotate between different social groups and entrepreneurs so they will all get a chance to plan an event. The student will have to plan how they will catch the groups attention (advertising, presentation, etc). They will present their ideas at the end of the class. Time Required:

CONSOLIDATION:

How will you get the students to think about their learning?  How will you assess if you have met the expectations and goals of the lesson? Each student who is planning an event will have to talk to each group and understand what the groups are looking for. I will talk with each of the entrepreneur students planning an event to hear what they have in mind to interest every group. Time Required:

http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/business1112currb.pdf

Reflection: 12 Brain/Mind Learning Principles in Action

   Dr. Caine learned at a very young age what effective teaching looked like. A big part of effective teaching came from who was teaching the subject. She quickly realized that she responded to things like visuals and interesting stories most. This gave her the drive to pay attention and take the information from her teacher.
   She took this lesson with her when she started teaching herself. The results from her German class was successful and proved that making a subject interesting and fun gave the students a greater chance of learning the information more. She noticed simply lecturing and talking wasn't grabbing her students attention and the attempt was a failure.
   Dr. Caine said, " They looked at me blankly. They hardly remembered the names of the theorists; let alone what they had said. My course and hard work made no impact on their teaching"
   People don't react to lecturing, they need something to interest them and make them want to learn the material in order for them to remember the information. Dr. Caine's teaching at California State University wasn't nearly as effective as her teaching Reno, Nevada and New Orleans, Louisiana.