Elephants in the Classroom

Will Richardson, in his article “9 Elephants in the (Class)room That Should Unsettle Us”, said some things that should wake us up as future teachers. The “elephants” that he listed in our classroom are things that we all know to be true, but none of us want to acknowledge because we simply do not know what to do to fix it.

One of the elephants that really caught my attention was number 4, which states, “we know that we’re not assessing many of the things that really matter for future success.” I think this is pretty unnerving because there seems to be nothing that I can do about it. When I become a teacher, I have to assess my students in the way that the standards tell me to, not in the way that I truly believe is effective. If the teachers aren’t happy about it, the students aren’t happy about it, and the administration isn’t happy about it, then who is? And if the answer is no one, why do we keep doing it? I think that we need to start focusing on assessing our students in ways that will benefit them for the rest of their lives, not just until they get into a good college with their scores.

Another elephant that caught my attention was “We know that grades, not learning, are the outcomes that students and parents are most interested in”. This statement is 100% accurate, and I don’t know a single parent or student, including myself, that could disagree with it. From the day we start school, we learn that getting good grades is important. When you are sent to school, your parents say, “Get good grades!”, not, “Learn something importan

 

t!”, and that is because we all want to say we got good grades, to get into that good school, and to receive that letter telling us that we made the Dean’s List. But what happens to that letter when we graduate, go off to find a job, and don’t remember anything that we have been learning for the last 18+ years? We need to start caring about what we are learning and how we can become more engaged and invested in our education rather than our grades because then we will be more successful in our lives.

I am going to be a teacher some day, and when I am, I want to help my students. I want to prepare them for the real world. I want to show them just how exciting being a lifelong learner can be. I do not want to drill into their brains that assessments and grades are what define them because it isn’t true. They need someone to cheer them on and help them find whatever it is that makes things click, and I hope that I can be that person for my students.

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Kayla

Learning Progress

As this semester comes to an end, I can’t help but to reflect and realize how thankful I am that I was required to take this course. To be completely honest, I was dreading it with all that I have. I heard that we had to blog, tweet, and be creative with technology, and all of those things scared me to death. I don’t know how to blog, I don’t like to tweet, and I am neither creative or tech-savvy, so this course was basically my nightmare. I am so happy to report, though, that not only has it not been a nightmare, but it has been a Godsend. I have learned so much about myself, and I can’t wait to continue doing so.

My Independent Learning Project was fantastic. I loved everything about it. I loved that I did it on my own time, that there were no rules, and that it was something that I chose to do, not something that I was assigned to do. Although it was difficult to find time, tools, and space to cook in the dorms, I had to become creative, and I was mostly successful in doing that! I am proud to say that I have improved as a chef, and I have learned more about cooking in one semester than I have in 21 years of living. The ILP is something that pushed me outside of my comfort zone, provided me with challenges, and then rewarded me with a feeling of confidence that I have never truly experienced as a learner. I was forced to be dedicated, and it paid off in a great way.

My role has a learner has completely changed throughout this course. I used to get on Sakai, check my assignments, and robotically go through the emotions of completing an assignment, turning it in, checking for the grade, and then repeating the entire process over again. In this course, I have learned how to learn again. I have learned how to be excited about what is to come because it is a mystery, and I have to learn as I go. I have taken so much away from the information that we have gone through, and I have learned a lot about ways to excite my students, engage them in technology, and show them new ways to express themselves in the classroom. I definitely think that allowing some freedom within learning is the most effective teaching strategy that I have experienced thus far. I want to teach my students how to think, not what to think, and letting them be creative and learn on their own is a great way to do that.

Thanks for reading,

Kayla

Digital Story

Learning is something interesting to me. I had a very hard time trying to come up with metaphors that described my learning experiences, but in the end, I am glad that I was able to explore all of the comparisons there are. I hope that when I compare my learning experiences to different, fun experiences in my life, my students will be more excited to embark on their journey.

I made my digital story with Animoto, and I had a great time! I used a different site first, which gave me a terrible time. I created an entire video that took me about 45 minutes, got to the end of the process, and then was given the memo that I could not used my finished product unless I paid for it or added a credit card so that when my free trial was up, the site could charge me!

Overall, I had a really great time creating this story because it allowed me to reminisce and create something that was very near and dear to my heart. I wanted it to be special, and that is what happened! I loved that I could add pictures from years ago and apply them to my learning experiences and my life as a student/future educator.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

https://animoto.com/play/u29VQHkdXb6V9c2we0fCLg

-Kayla

Independent Learning Project Finale

(Sorry to anyone who has viewed this post before. Somehow all of my content got deleted.)

So the day has come, we have finally finished up our Independent Learning Projects! When I say finally, I do not mean it to sound like I dreaded this assignment at all, because that is the opposite of the truth. When I say finally, I mean finally I get to see how I have progressed! This has been a learning experience that I will never forget, and I could not wait to make my final meal so that I could see if I had gotten any better at being a College Dorm Chef!

It will not come as a surprise to any of my readers when I say that I decided to make pasta for my final meal! It was fantastic. I have been primarily focusing on Chicken Alfredo and Shrimp Alfredo because that is my favorite kind of pasta, so I thought that I should step outside of my comfort zone a little bit and make Chicken Parmesan, which is something that requires a little bit more work, in my opinion. I loved the process, though, because the end product was so delicious!

I made breaded chicken breasts that I cut into smaller chunks after they were fully cooked. I cooked penne in boiling, salted water, and then I made a chunky tomato sauce that had tomato puree, tomato sauce, and sun-dried tomatoes. I added the chicken and the noodles into the sauce, and then I seasoned it all with a lot of salt and pepper, some Italian seasoning, and finally, lots and lots of melty, Mozzarella cheese! To go along with this tasty dish, I made a few garlic bread sticks that fit perfectly with the Italian vibe that I cannot get enough of.

I have had a blast cooking meals for my ILP. At first, I thought it would be really easy to accomplish this task. Cooking for homework sounded a lot better than the papers, forums, and tests that I am used to, but it truly was a difficult task getting myself to get into the kitchen. It is hard to tell yourself you need to go out and buy ingredients, see if the kitchen is free, and then muster up some pans instead of just going through a drive thru and saving time and money. It was worth it, though. I learned that if I commit myself to something that I enjoy, I will be so proud of myself when I finally accomplish my goal. This class has pushed me outside of my comfort zone in just about every realm and format of learning, and I would not change that for anything because I have learned that I am capable, and I can do whatever I want to put my mind to, and that is exactly why I will allow my students to do an ILP in my future classroom someday.

Thanks for reading!

Kayla

Visual Creation

I had a really good time creating my visual tool this week. I think it is a good skill to be able to create a visual for people to see when reading information or learning about something new. I decided to work with the Canva tool because the reviews that discussed it were all amazing! I was scared to create a visual tool because every time that I have tried to create anything using technology, it ends up looking awful and amateur. Canva looked simpler to use than the other options, so if I am being honest, that is why I decided to work with it!

Canva did a great job of explaining exactly how to use its tools. The only downside of this site was that a lot of the options require a membership or a payment to be used, but there are still plenty of options that are free! When I got to the site, there was a 23 second tutorial that explained exactly how to complete each step. My favorite part about the site was that you can choose the overall reason for creating your tool, so I chose education, and then I was given TONS of options of visuals that I could customize such as posters, art for a YouTube channel, a blog cover, a logo, and so much more. I chose to create a header for a Twitter page, and it was so much fun to do.

My idea for a Twitter header came about when I thought about the idea of creating a technology-based cookbook. My Independent Learning Project has not only helped me with my cooking skills, but it has made me more passionate about cooking than I ever have been! In my house, we have about 40 cookbooks, binders of family recipes, notecards and written recipes from friends and family, and printed out recipes that were found on blogs and Pinterest. It is a complete mess trying to find any specific recipe, so most of the time I don’t even bother. Instead, I pull out my phone, search for the food I am interested in cooking, screenshot it, and then get cooking! Because of this, I realized that so many people use the internet to find recipes these days, so it would be a good idea to make a Twitter page filled with my favorite recipes. I could just go to my page whenever I wanted to cook, and find anything that I was looking for!

I think that ideas like mine, a Twitter page for recipes, are becoming really popular these days because of how fast technology is growing and how much we are relying on it for everything that we do. People are going to the internet to find EVERYTHING, and when they see an appealing visual, they are going to be more likely to click on that link, remember what they saw, and use the information. The same goes for the classroom. Students will remember what sparked their interest, and using visuals is going to help do that. I plan to use visuals, colors, logos, art, and every other visual design that I can get my hands on so that my students are engaged and excited about what they are learning.

Thanks for reading,

Kayla

 

 

 

Podcasts and Digital Stories in the Classroom

I have to admit that I have never had any interest in podcasts before this week. I have heard of a lot of people listening to them on long drives, but to me that just sounded boring! I thought that listening to someone talk would put me right to sleep, but I did not know how many different options there are when it comes to podcasts and the variety of genres that are available to listen to.

The first podcast I listened to was #edchat radio which was about education, as you can see from the title! It was definitely interesting, but it kind of felt like I was in a class listening to a lecture. I enjoyed the tips that were given and I would definitely recommend this podcast to other educators or future educators, but I would definitely prefer to listen to a more exciting podcast, which is why I loved the crime-filled ones!

When I went to iTunes to try and find a podcast that I could listen to while I was driving, I clicked on “Top Podcasts”. The number one podcast was called Felonious Florida, and it was about the murder of a bar owner and two women that were with him in Florida and the murder of a mother and her child in the back of their car. What made this podcast so scary was that the murderers were never found, which means that they could still be out walking among us. I was so interested in this podcast, so I looked at a few of them that were related to it. I listened to two more that were about crime and murder, and each one was just as intriguing as the last. I have now found myself to be searching through crime podcasts and reading up on them because I am so interested in hearing about them!

I think that using podcasts and digital stories in the classroom is a great idea. I had much more fun exploring these than I thought I would, and I know that my students would too. Podcasts and digital stories provide a new way of learning information. Students are used to PowerPoints and lectures, so having a new way to learn would be exciting for them. There are a few disadvantages to using these tools in the classroom, though. I think digital stories are fun, but sometimes they veer away from the point at hand. If someone is skilled with technology, it is probably a lot easier to find the right words, visuals, music, editing software, etc. to present their point, but for the people who do not know how to manipulate technology with ease, it will be difficult to be as thorough as they should be when presenting information through a digital story. When I use podcasts in my classroom someday, I hope to find powerful and engaging examples to present to my students. The goal is for them to be stimulated and to want to learn, and I think that if I do my research well enough, podcasts and digital stories will be the perfect way to motivate them.

Thanks for reading,

Kayla

ILP: Easter Weekend

It is Easter Sunday, and like every other holiday, my family celebrated in a great way: by feasting. We started our cooking process for our meal today last night around 5:00 pm. We marinated our pork loin for 14 hours so that it would be ready to cook today! My dad and I woke up at 7:00 am this morning in order to prepare the pork, ham, and sausage. We took the pork out of the marinade, and started wrapping it in bacon. It took quite a bit of work to find strips of bacon that were long enough to wrap around the meat, but with a large amount of toothpicks, the job was complete. Next, we prepared the ham and sausage by seasoning them with my dad’s secret combination of spices. Finally, we placed all three pieces of meat on the smoker, and allowed them to cook for 4 hours.

After the meat was placed, we left it alone and began preparing the rest of our meal. Because we planned to eat with our relatives at noon, we decided to go for a brunch theme. My mom and I created two egg bakes that were composed of eggs, bacon, sausage,  cheese, and hash browns. These were really easy to make because all of the ingredients were combined and baked. We took the bakes out about two minutes before they were done, added more cheese, and then placed them back into the oven to finish baking. While those were cooking, I prepared some bacon, sausage links, smokey sausages,  potatoes that were seasoned with salt and pepper, some scrambled eggs with cheese, and toast with butter. Next, we began making the dessert options.

What is a feast with no dessert? It is not considered a feast! In order to satisfy our guests’ sweet tooth, we decided to bake chocolate chip cookies from scratch, which were amazing because we used chunks of a real milk chocolate bar rather than the pre-packaged chocolate chips. The taste is so much better, let me tell you! Next, my grandma and I made rice krispie treats, which are probably the easiest treat to ever make! All that we had to do was melt butter, add marshmallows until they are melted as well, and then mix in rice krispie cereal, and finally, pour the mixture into a pan, spread them out, and then cut them when they are cooled. Our last dessert option was a large pan of caramel rolls! My mom and I prepared the dough for these before we went to bed last night, so that they were risen and ready to bake this morning! We created a delicious caramel sauce with butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and orange zest, and poured it in the bottom of a glass pan. We placed the rolls next to each other on top of the caramel sauce, baked them, and then flipped them over onto tinfoil. The result was so pretty and delicious!

Overall, we had a great Easter meal, and I had a blast cooking with my family! This year’s Easter meal was very small in comparison to previous years because we usually go all out for every holiday, but I am glad that we still got to cook a lot of fun food for our family!

Thanks for reading,

Kayla

 

 

I’m an Internet Addict

Paul Miller is a brave soul. Giving up the internet? For an entire year? That sounds like an impossible task to accomplish, especially for me. When I think about having to lose all technology, I feel like the kids in the experiment mentioned in Katrina Schwartz’s article, “What Happens When Teens Try to Disconnect from Tech for Three Days“, which is decapitated. Losing our smartphones and apps feels like we are losing a major part of our bodies. I admit, I have tried to give up social media for a few days, but I have never successfully given it up for more than two! Does that make me an addict? I would say so, but in my defense, the main reason that I am on the internet so often is for homework. I am not in a single class that doesn’t rely on internet usage for homework, research, tests, etc. Because I am mostly using the internet for academics, I would say that I use it mindfully. When it comes to social media, though, I have some work to do.

I would say that, as I discussed in my last blog about digital citizenship, I try to use social media in a way that will protect my identity and only post things that I do not mind the world seeing, but I do admit that I need to limit my usage of social media. I check my accounts and newsfeed multiple times an hour. Even as I am sitting here writing this blog, I have stopped to check my Instagram at least twice. I HAVE A PROBLEM! I think that is why following in Paul Miller’s foot steps sounds so appealing, and terrifying, to me. I think that it would definitely change my everyday life in a good way considering all of the ways that being addicted to my phone and the internet is changing me, which are discussed in this interesting video that I found:

When I think of all the times that I have lacked attentiveness due to technology, I can list at least ten instances that occur everyday. One of these would be while I am communicating with others. It has become all too easy to nod and agree when someone is talking to me instead of actually listening to what they are saying. Technology is definitely interfering with our personal relationships. We need to stop multitasking and allow ourselves to live in the moment before we wake up one day and realize that so many great moments of our lives are already gone.

With our smartphones glued to our hands at all times, we are completely disengaged with what is going on around us. The more that we rely on social media for interaction, the more we lose real social skills, which are essential for a healthy lifestyle in today’s society. We can all learn something from Paul Miller. We should take the time to disconnect and reenter the real world. I think that we will all be thankful that we did, and so will the people around us.

Thanks for reading,

Kayla

Independent Learning Project

This week I decided to do something a little bit different. Recently, I was able to start a new job at EJ’s BBQ restaurant, which I am sure is very familiar to everyone in Chadron. The owner asked me if I would be willing to work in the kitchen a few days a week because they were short on kitchen staff. Reluctantly, I said yes, but I was not looking forward to it at all. I had never worked in or even seen a restaurant kitchen, and I had no desire to, but luckily, I loved it!

My job mostly consisted of dropping things into the fryer. I had to make chicken strips, mozzarella sticks, pickles, onion rings, Texas toothpicks, spicy chicken patties, indian tacos, and taco salads. The fryer was fun because it was easy, but I really wanted to try working on the line and helping prepare the great food that so many of us have gotten to enjoy.

Because I was new, I did not get to do anything too high-profile, but I did get to make the most popular item at the restaurant: macaroni and cheese. Now, this might seem extremely simple because I am sure that every person has made it from a box at one point in their lives, but this is different, I promise. Imagine the biggest pot you have ever seen in a kitchen. Now triple that, and that is the size of pot I had to fill with macaroni noodles! The best part, though, was the cheese sauce, which was also in an insanely giant pot. To make the cheese sauce, the chef started with 4 sticks of butter. Yes, you read that right. 4. Sticks. After the butter has melted, he added 4 cups of flour, and mixed the two together in order to form a roux. He added milk to this roux, and 5 different kinds of cheeses in amounts that he did not measure, but he did tell me that the more cheese, the better. When the milk sauce thickened and the cheese melted, the most glorious, golden cheese sauce was poured over the noodles. To finish the masterpiece, the chef seasoned the macaroni and cheese with A LOT of salt and some pepper, and the famous mac n cheese was ready to be enjoyed.

Be sure to tune in next week to see what I make for Easter dinner!

Thank you for reading!

Kayla

 

Activism in Technology: Slacktivism?

Did you know that, according to Google, the definition of slactivism is actions performed via the internet in support of political or social cause but regarded as requiring little time or involvement? So, does this mean that using the internet to be an activist means you are not really doing enough? I disagree.

As a 21-year-old, I am in my prime years of social media use. I check social media daily, and I participate in likes, posts, tweets, shares, direct messages, and anything else that is involved with the various avenues of social media. Because I am active on these sites, I see a lot of activism that is happening daily. Every time that I scroll through my Twitter feed, I see at least one tweet from someone who is encouraging change or trying to promote their opinions on an important matter. According to Alexis Manrodt in her article “The New Face of Teen Activism”, 2 of 5 adults engage in social issues online. I think that this generation has done a great job of showing the difference they can make by using the internet, and it should inspire all of us to do the same!

Students at New Trier High School are wearing these T-shirts today. They’re taking part in #nationalwalkout day in honor of victims of gun violence. @nbcchicago pic.twitter.com/EDgHzRCzGR

— Sandra Torres (@SandraTorresNBC) March 14, 2018

When I saw tweets like the one above encouraging students everywhere to participate in the national walk out on March 14 to put an end to gun violence, I realized just how effective simple posts can be. I guarantee that there was at least one student who read a tweet, got excited about the cause, and walked out of their school on March 14. I think that many activists that are using social media as their platform have been wildly successful in recruiting a team to support the causes that they are standing up to or for. For example, one of the teens who was a nominee for the Teen Activism Award has used a Twitter account to spread awareness about mental illness and to help those who are going through it.  I believe that this is the way we should use activism on our accounts, not to argue or insult, but to encourage and spread awareness about something meaningful.

“At the end of the day, tell yourself gently: ‘I love you. You did the best you could today, and even if you didn’t accomplish all you had planned, I love you anyway.’” – Unknown

— F&A (@freeandabove) March 22, 2018

Although I have not participated in digital activism, I do realize the positive impact that it could have on our society. There have been times when I have signed a petition for things that matter to me, and I will continue to do this. I think that it is my duty to step up my digital activism game by spreading awareness to those who follow me on my social media. I often find myself reading something that I agree with, but choosing not to share it with others because I feel as though I do not know enough information about the topic to defend my opinion. I hope to take more time to read up on important issues so that I can use the technology available to me to make a change and inspire the others to do the same. To conclude, I do not think of digital activism as slacktivism, I think of it as a way to spread awareness quicker than ever before, which is inspiring millions of social media users to make the change that they are all capable of making.

Thanks for reading!

Kayla