"The low-cost, high impact way to change education "

In the video above, a teacher named Michelle Blanchet talks on TEDxLausanne regarding how to highly impact education in a low cost way. She mentions several key components of education and uses a puzzle as an analogy. These key components are policy, business, skills framework, learning spaces, assessments, curriculum, and teacher training. In this video, she focuses on teachers because improving their efficiency is  low cost.

One thing I really liked about her message was her emphasis on creativity. She shared one of her experiences at a teacher workshop where another teacher was speaking about how to be more creative. However, the presentation was not creative per se because it was a straight lecture using a PowerPoint presentation. What her belief  is teachers should be creative in teaching so their students can also be creative while learning.

I personally feel that over the last two years my school has also moved in the direction of creativity which Ms. Blanchet is an advocate for. English presentations are no longer prepared with a PowerPoint slide show and reading off of it. Instead, teachers must keep  the classrooms attention with interesting activities. (The more original the better!) Also in history, new ideas which incorporate technology are integrated into the classroom. For example, online forum discussions, such as a class on Google Groups regarding political matters, or studying for a test as a class with the use of Kahoot!

Ms. Blanchet's point regarding the need for more creativity in the classroom improves teachers efficiency and is a direction where all school districts around the nation should be moving towards. This is a low cost method and at the same time has a very high impact.

Happy leap day and thanks for reading this four year exclusive post on February 29th!!!

A great study tool for anybody in Chemistry

This year I'm taking AP Chemistry in school and it is considered by many as one of the most difficult AP courses out there. Yesterday, I took the hardest test in chemistry all year regarding acids and bases. Sometimes, I can study for hours and hours by reading the textbook over and over again but still I struggle to understand the concepts.  I found a great non-profit website created by a high school teacher named Ken MacGillivray which provides free practice problems to assist me in my studies.

What chemistry topics are covered by the website?

The website covers most of the chemistry topics found on the AP exam. For example, there were acid base equilibrium questions which I utilized for my test yesterday. The syllabus is really actually based off the College Board.

Layout of the Webpage

For Chapter 14 regarding Acid Bases, it provides organized formula sheets to assist with memorization and also provides multiple practice quizzes and test.

Why Mr. Mac's website?

This website is great because it provides practice problems. I have found the practice problems that relate to my studies in school. It covers most of the topics on the test and provides practice without excessive redundancy. My favorite part about this website is that for every practice quiz or test, an answer key is provided. Also for several selected questions, there is work shown to provide the solution to the problem. Sometimes just looking at the answer key does not help me understand where I made a mistake so being able to see every step is a great benefit.

Above is an example of work shown in an answer key.

Low Cost Educational Resources online don't have to be a corporation

This website is evidence that low or non- profit cost of education is easier than ever to share or acquire through the internet. This specific website is intended for this teacher's classroom, however, with the internet anybody can share great resources for free. A website with a simple interface is totally fine as long as it is helpful and reliable. With the internet, you don't need corporation funding to help many people.

URL if you are interested!

http://ap.kmacgill.com/

The Low Cost Educational Power of Movies

There has been a boom in the usage of technological resources this year at my school. The majority of my teachers set up Google Classrooms, and now most of my projects include some use of technology. Recently, both my English and History teachers assigned a movie project. Basically, I have to watch movies for both classes and complete a project pertaining to the movies. yay! In English, I am watching 2001: A Space Odyssey and in History I am watching Selma (2014).

Many may think of movies as a way to relax and rest after a long day of work or a form of entertainment. However, we must not miss the opportunity that education may bring. Teachers in schools are not just assigning movies for fun, they know for a fact that movies are a great educational resource for students who may be more of a visual learner or simply not a fan of reading.

So, if a teacher assigns a movie, it's obviously something that is not  just watched  in a carefree manner. Many movies are based upon sociopolitical/historical context and taking notes on these subjects is a great way to enrich one's knowledge. The best part about a movie is that it provides a visual perception that is (hopefully) accurate to historical context. In a simple book with no visuals, sometimes misperceptions could arise (not that there aren't pros as well to a simple book).

The movie Selma (2014) is a great example of learning about historical events. This movie is based upon a voting rights march in 1965 for African Americans from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama. The movie provides a great depiction of the historical march.

Movies are great, and now so is accessing them. With advanced technology and the internet, they have become a much cheaper resource. My preferred method of watching a movie is borrowing it from the public library within my county. Many libraries around the nation now offer not just a variety of books, but also a wide variety of films to be checked out free of charge. My library even offers to buy you the resource,free of charge if it is not available within their system. If a library cannot be accessed or if the resource is not within the library, you can also use moderately priced online services such as Netflix. Instead of buying two movies, I simply used my local library system and watched the movies for free. 

Movies are a great educational resource which provide a visual learning experience that is exciting and educational. Many teachers today are now assigning and using movies to educate their students. Not only is the experience fun and educational, there are now many ways to watch a movie at a very low cost at home.

CK-12 for free online learning!

Have you ever been bored while reading a dull textbook? CK-12 is here to change that, by providing an online textbook which isn't dull at all! While the website still teaches via text, it utilizes many additional interactive resources which a paperback textbook simply cannot. CK-12 is completely free of charge and does not require an account to access its bountiful content. However, if students or teachers do decide to create an account, they can access additional content which help in organizing content.

CK-12’s vast variety of content is what makes it such a spectacular online resource. From kindergarten to high school to higher education resources, CK-12 provides an interactive method of learning. This is a great resource for me to utilize because I am a visual learner. There are many people who are visual learners and CK-12 is perfect for those people because it utilizes quizzes, flashcards, simulations, videos, and many other methods to help students visualize a concept. In the spirit of CK-12 and visual learning, let’s proceed to several examples of the free online resource with some personal screenshots I took!

Currently, I am taking Calculus and we are learning about derivatives. I can easily find CK-12’s calculus section located at http://www.ck12.org/student/ . In the calculus section, there are a variety of topics. I chose Derivatives and Application of Derivatives. Instead of just providing a textbook-like explanation to me, CK-12 provides an interactive experience as well. In this section, an explanation of derivatives, an interactive visual aid, and a real world application article is provided!

Above are the options provided for this section by CK-12.

Above: The interactive visual aid of derivatives.

In addition to just content covered by core classes in school, CK-12 also provides resources for special interests. I am very interested in meteorology and I hope to be a meteorologist someday! Currently, meteorology is not provided by my school, however, CK-12 does offer some cool information.

So after all the snow the Mid-Atlantic received this past week, I decided to do a little research on Blizzards. CK-12 provides even more types of resources for Blizzards! It provided me with simple reading, flashcards, a study guide, a quiz and even critical thinking!

CK-12 is a superb online resource for those who need to study for a class or just for personal interest! With its wide variety of contents,you are almost certain that you will find something interesting to learn about in a fun, exciting manner.

Enjoy!

Google Classroom for better Integration

In recent years, most schools have improved their technology in order to provide their students with more resources to study from. In a previous post, it was mentioned that schools began incorporating Google Nexus tablets and Chromebooks into the classrooms. Buying Android devices and Chrome OS computers are the initial steps to providing students with a better technological experience in the classroom. How can we integrate these new electronic devices better in a classroom environment? Also, if a school has 2,000 students, should every student receive a personal device? The trending Google Classroom is where schools can find perfect integration at a low cost.

Google Classroom solves many financial issues schools encounter when attempting to integrate technology into the classroom. Instead of providing a personal device for every student, schools can now encourage “bringing your own device” with the aid of Google Classroom. This is possible because Google Classroom is supported across a wide variety of platforms. From Chromebooks to iPhones to Androids, all a student needs is a web browser with internet access. Schools can now buy a limited number of devices for students who cannot afford their own.

So why should a school choose Google Classroom besides being able to keep costs low?

A school should choose Google Classroom because of its fabulous integration between teachers and students. Google Classroom utilizes key Google products such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive and Calendar. Within these products, students can communicate with their peers or the teacher while working on an assignment simultaneously. The teacher also has the ability to assign work outside of class, provide critique such as the classic red pen on paper, and issue grades. All of these features are available to mobile and desktop devices. My favorite Google Classroom feature is named the push notifications on my phone, I receive a notification when a new assignment is posted. This feature really helps students like me keep track of when assignments are due.

Classroom organizes all assignments teachers post within a week into a calendar.

Above is an example of a returned assignment with teacher corrections. Another great feature of Classroom is when a student can make corrections and then  resubmit the assignment to the teacher for a new grade.

Google Classroom can be described as an organizer, a student teacher communicator or even a virtual CLASSROOM! It is cost effective and integrates very well in an academic environment. Instead of having to physically return assignments, students and teachers now have the ability to interact from their homes. Having electronic devices in a classroom is important, but the method in which they are integrated is key to educational success.

Make learning or studying for a test fun again!

Most people that have gone through those tough stressful years of high school or college know studying for a big exam is not the most exciting thing to do. However, what if the process in doing so could be fun, or even competitive? This is where Kahoot! can present itself.  Kahoot! is a free online learning platform most commonly used by teachers and students, and is very effective within the classroom by simply using the competitive nature of humans.

So, what is the objective and how do I play Kahoot!?

The objective is to win or get on the big screen! I am sure  you're wondering, “what is the big screen?” Kahoot!, it is  typically used and  most effective in a classroom sized environment. Many people can join a single game and compete in a trivial game with others that is  created by either a teacher or another student for free. Questions appear one at a time on a big screen in front of the classroom where it is visible to all players with several multiple choice selections. While a timer counts down on the screen the users select an answer with their electronic devices. Those players who answer correctly receive points while players that give incorrect answer gain no points. However, the game is not just about answering correctly- it is also how quickly you can answer the questions. The  quicker you answer a question, the more points you receive! After each question a leaderboard with the top five scoring players appears. After all of the questions  are completed, the winner and the top five players appear on the screen in front of the room. Everyone wants bragging rights to appear on the big screen, but that is not the most important aspect of Kahoot!. Kahoot! also provides detailed statistics to the game creator regarding the questions the players were more confident in  answering as opposed to those  questions players were not. It is so specific that every single player’s performance for every single question is viewable to the game creator. This allows educators to be very specific in which topics should be covered more precisely.

So how can I use Kahoot!?

­­First of all, a teacher or a student can create a Kahoot! game by signing up for an account for free on www.getkahoot.com. In a Kahoot! game the maker of the game creates both the questions and the answers. It’s almost like a classic Jeopardy! game but much more simple. The answers are typically in multiple choice format and, once the game is created, the maker then invites users to join by providing them with a code. The game is supported by desktops via a web browser or application via the Google Play Store or Apple App Store for Android and iOS. The fact that Kahoot! is supported by so many devices and that an entire class can easily access a single game at a time encourages the positive educational usage of smartphones often found within the classroom. If the phones are going to be a temptation, why not make good use of them educationally?

So all in all, what is the benefit of Kahoot!?

The benefit of Kahoot! is to create a fun and competitive environment for students to prepare or study for exams and to aid educators regarding the progress of the students. Based on very experienced usage of this technological tool, the big screen leaderboard is very encouraging for everybody and helps students to stay engaged. Also, students can use their electronic devices in the classroom, in a fun, educational manner, rather than utilizing a of the distractions found on the internet. The students have fun when playing this game and, in turn, the answers become very genuine. With Kahoot!, teachers possess the ability to give a formative assessment without worrying about lack of effort. Not only is the data more accurate than ever, Kahoot! helps teachers tabulate results easily for each and every student.

“Throw away thy books!”

That’s what the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121 to 180 AD) wrote in his “Meditations” (167 AD).  His advice couldn't be more appropriate and valid today than it was back then, for one reason, which Marcus Aurelius couldn't have possibly envisioned at the time.

Going online gives you access to vast knowledge resources which didn't exist until a short time ago.  Today via online, the world is at your fingertips, or if you prefer, you can talk with Siri or Cortana, your personal digital assistant, to bring you to different sites to look for lectures, books, movies, games, what-have-you.

Yes, why not replace textbooks for learning with online access to the same materials, which, by the way, can be kept up to date much easier that way, all at greatly reduced cost, not to mention the convenience.

Actually, your entire studies can be done online nowadays instead of having to go to a physical location and sit down in a classroom, making sure being on time, having test anxieties and then having to follow the curriculum.  Online lets you work, study, have fun (learning should be fun!) from wherever you happen to be, in your home, in a park under a tree, or with friends who are interested in the same matter.

Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate Degrees can be obtained this way.  They may not have the show-off value of a Harvard, Princeton, MIT or such, institutions which have easy name and value recognition, but they should receive even higher recognition because the online learner did not get kindergarten-like attention and support to do his/her studies, but did so with self determination and dogged persistence, qualities which bode well for people who are going to accomplish things. 

All that is needed to make the online option work are three preconditions, which, by the way, will be helpful in whichever way one is going to pursue learning:  (1) Be able to read and write a language well. (2) Have the motivation and the drive to learn and strive to do whatever it takes to learn.  That’s truly the most important!  (3) Sufficient computer knowledge to make the computer do the legwork of searching, finding, reading, repeating, contacting and communicating with teachers, co-students, friends, the rest of the world, printing out when necessary, and more.  That’s all.  It’s as easy, or as hard, as that.

Paper is becoming a thing of the past, for museums to show how humans in one stage of their development used to store and handle knowledge and information.  The present and future will be almost entirely paperless, making it far easier to carry with you, paperless being easier to access and utilize from anywhere at any time at the right time for you.  Thank you, Marcus Aurelius;  Electronically available to all, via online, a fairer, fuller life ahead!