Finance mMOOC

Finance is something that everybody should know and practice on a day-to-day basis, yet most people have no clue where to even start or how finance applies to them.  I was in this group just a few years ago when I decided to sit down and figure it all out.  Now I want to share my knowledge of financial organization in a simple, straightforward Micro Massive Online Open Course (mMOOC) so others in my shoes can get their financial lives on track.

In my ‘Finance for Fools’ course my peers will master basic personal finance and financial organization by creating their own foundational framework for financial stability and participate in a collaborative Google Doc based Q&A forum.

Course Topic: Personal Financial Organization

I expect this course will attract young adults going through financial shifts in life.  College graduates, newlyweds, first-time parents, new homeowners, anybody starting a new job.  These lifecycle events encompass a lot of financial instability and change.  Having financial organizational skills in place and comfort with basic personal finance will allow for increased confidence in financial decisions early and a more enjoyable experience as they make these life transitions.  The desire to participate in this course will stem from the necessity to maintain financial stability during times of increased responsibility. Unlike simply researching financial concepts online, students will want to take this course in order to receive an interactive opportunity to work through their own personal finances. Throughout the course they will be able to individualize their learning experience by reflecting on their personal financial situation.

Upon completion of this course learners will have solid electronic and paper financial organizational systems in place to continue to build upon for the rest of their lives.  They will also have a fundamental understanding of responsible financial decision making, saving, and investing. To accomplish these goals they will have to employ meta-cognition, self-reflecting on current financial stability, spending habits, lifestyle, and financial means.  Each step of the way, they will have dedicated reflection time to understand their own personal finances as it relates to what they are learning and what new skills and knowledge they will be employing. As they come across new questions while they think about their current financial thinking, they will be able to participate in a collaborative Q&A forum to bounce these questions off others in similar situations.

Based on my research into a deeper understanding of how the learning domain of metacognition aids in learning and educational growth, I identified the features of self-reflection that allow a person to improve their approach and goal seeking actions.  Focusing on one’s metacognition can be especially helpful in dealing with financially planning. “Indicators of metacognitive skillfulness during task performance are systematically following a plan or deliberately changing that plan, monitoring and checking, note-taking, and time and resource management” (M.V.J. Veenman, 2012), all of which are critical parts in being responsible and aware of one’s financial decisions.  A period of self-reflection on spending, and living within your means is hard to do, yet essential to financial stability.  Starting early in life and constantly reflecting and thinking about your financial thinking, will “guide and control the execution of the task at hand.”(M.V.J. Veenman, 2012) Being secure in finances and taking time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t work with your personal spending and saving will help to “evaluate and interpret the outcome, and to learn from one’s course of action for future occasions” and will allow for more freedom and security in life. (M.V.J. Veenman, 2012)

Throughout the different modules, peers will make a home financial document filing system, an electronic document filing equivalent, and an account on an online financial aggregator/organizer.

Technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) are essential to making this course successful.  This course brings together the use of innovative financial technology and organization, traditional pedagogical knowledge (filing), and basic financial concepts (budgeting, saving, and basic investing) in order to give peers a complete foundational experience in financial organization.

This course will include an open forum for questions, answers, and discussions on different financial topics they are interested (via Google docs).  Peers will also collaborate and share their progress and ideas along they way so that they can benefit from each other’s experiences.

Course Outline:

For each Module the course audience will use various web-based sources to research the very basics of what the identified terminology and concepts are.  Directly after they complete basic research, they will be asked to post questions about their findings, or personal questions in regards to the new terms they are processes to an open Google Doc.  Each week, as the course facilitator I will go and answer the posted questions.  In addition each week a Google Form will be made that have the students rank the importance or relevance of the discussed topics.

Module 1: Basics of Personal Finance [2 weeks]

Research: Learn basic financial concepts and terms: assets, liabilities, equity, and budget.

Make: Use Popplet to create a budget cloud, organizing financial responsibilities and goals.  Contribute to weekly discussion Q & A, and complete Google ranking survey.

Module 2: Paper Filing [1 week]

Research: Paper filing storage options, what financial entities send you mail or bills. Purchase easy-access filing bins and storage tabs.

Make: Take your storage tabs and separate into categories and subcategories.  For example, under banking you might have a tab for your savings accounts, your checking accounts, and investment accounts.  Store files from each entity in the appropriate folder.  Under vehicles you might have a tab for each vehicle in the family with the purchase/lease documents, maintenance documents, registration/proof of insurance copies, etc. Contribute to weekly discussion Q & A, and complete Google ranking survey.

Module 3: Electronic Filing I: Electronic Documents [1 week]

Research:  What entities send you electronic documents? How to set up a secure/encrypted file on your computer?

Make: Create an electronic file system similar to that you made with the storage bins.  Download any online financial files such as banking statements, paystubs, credit card statements, etc.  You should look into what account you have that have electronic documentation available (likely nearly all of them). Contribute to weekly discussion Q & A, and complete Google ranking survey.

Module 4: Electronic Filing II: Online Aggregator [1 week]

Research: Learn about Mint.com, a popular easy to use online financial management and organization system.  Create a list of all financial institutions you interact with monetarily (banks, loan servicers, investment accounts, HSAs, credit card companies, etc.

Make: Establish a Mint account, and explore its features.  Download the Mint app. For any of these accounts that have available electronic tracking, set-up an account and add it to Mint.  Make a weekly plan in your schedule to review mint transactions. Contribute to weekly discussion Q & A, and complete Google ranking survey.

Module 5: Short Term Planning [1 week]

Research: Find out what an emergency fund is.  Do you have one?  Learn about easy ways to save money, and how much one normally should be saving.  Research credit card options, online banking options.

 Make: Think about your current financial situation and make savings goals.  Set up an automatic withdrawal from your paycheck to deposit into a savings account you don’t use. Contribute to weekly discussion Q & A, and complete Google ranking survey.

Module 6: Long Term Planning [1 week]

Research: What are stocks, bonds, mutual funds, brokers, 401(k), and IRAs?  Learn about the advantages of index funds and retirement goal funds.  Does your state have a way to save for children’s education? When do you want to be able to retire?  How much do you need to save?

Make: Make a retirement goals popplet.  Make a plan for contributing to a retirement account once you have established an emergency fund. Contribute to weekly discussion Q & A, and complete Google ranking survey.

REFERENCE

Personal Finance [Online Image]. (Allen Cleaver). Retrieved June 5, 2014 from https://www.flickr.com

Veenman, Marcel V.J. (2012). Metacognition in Science Education: Definitions, Constituents, and Their Intricate Relation with Cognition.  In A. Zohar & Y.J. Dori (Eds.), Metacognition in Science Education: Trends in Current Research (21-36). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Gardening Basics

This week, as I moved on with my gardening adventure, there were a few roadblocks, yet also some moment of true progress.  The first thing that I needed to do is educate myself on three important things; gardening tools needed, potting soil and in general soil quality and finally what types of plants and vegetables to grow.

First, I researched what materials and tools would I need not only to make a garden, but also to sustain a garden.  And considering all my husband and I had was an old leaky watering can, this was a big one.  Utilizing various YouTube videos that addressed which tools to buy, I was able to make my purchasing list.

Tools to Purchase

• Gardening gloves
• Long handled Cultivator
• Long handled rounded tip shovel
• Long handled spading fork
• Hose with hose rack
• Hedge sheers
• Hand held pruner
• Hand held transplanter
• Hand held cultivator
• Hand held shovel

As I watched the Basic Gardening Tips: Tools Needed For Gardening and the Gardening Tools Everyone Should Have videos a few important points were presented about shopping for gardening tools.  Two tips expressed multiple times were to spend a little more money on tools that a) put less strain on your body while gardening and b) have warranties.  Both because of the strain put on the human body while gardening as well as the strain put on the tools, both the above qualities of a gardening tool make for a more successful long term gardening experience.  Some sources that I found, I needed to watch with some skepticism because there were specific brand or product sales objectives.  In the Best Garden Tools You Need to Purchase also Best Garden Hose, although the presenter made valid points and suggestions, there was a strong emphasis on purchasing these tools at a specific store.  Overall videos and How To segments that keep the information and suggestions general were most helpful so I wasn’t concerned with all the different stores I could go to rather the type of equipment I needed.

The next piece to the puzzle was to research soil quality, both of the soil I have in the enclosed garden area as well as what potting soil to purchase for the raised beds I was going to make.  This was a tricky one, soil quality has been clearly emphasized as the most important aspect to a successful garden.  As I started to clear the garden area of the rubber bedding that was there from the previous owner, I noticed that I soil was going to need some work.  Right now because it has been pressed down, wet, and heat has been trapped down in the soil, it has too much of a clay like substance.  Through the various videos I have watched, I learned this is not the texture/consistency of soil I want.  The suggestions for correcting this type of soil, which I got from Basic Gardening Tips: How to Create Good Growing Soil among other sources, is to add some sand to make the soil more grainy and loose, and also some organic matter, or compost, to add nutrients.  In terms of the soil I needed to buy for the raised beds, most sources suggested standard grade topsoil with fertilizer.  One suggestion that was made was to create a soil mix that best supports seedlings.  This mix consists of 2 parts organic matter, 1 part vermiculite (a hydrous silicate mineral, which provides ample minerals to a seedling), and 1 part peat moss.

The last big component in the beginning and planning stages of the garden is to decide what vegetable and herbs to grow and if I will start from seeds or seedlings.  Much of the research that I did was split in terms of which is better to start a garden off with, though one video I watched made a good point: for new gardeners, sometimes seedlings are better to start out with because they are a little bit more stable and can within stand more irregular conditions.  Throughout the research I did to determine what to me was the most important aspect of the garden, what to grow, I discovered a few helpful criteria in making these decisions; what is easiest to grow and what is most cost effective to grow. In the video segment, What Vegetables Should I Grow in My Garden? Is it better to Grow or Buy?, I really liked thinking about not only what I wanted to grow, but also what is the best cost wise to grow.  Taking time to compare what something costs in the grocery store to buy versus the easy to grow that same product.  Leafy greens for example, are usually pretty expensive in the grocery store, especially if you plan to buy organic, whereas they are relatively easy to grow in a garden.  After a lot of thinking and research, I have decided on what to grow in my garden.

Grow List

Lettuces

• Kale
• Swiss Chard
• Red Tipped Leaf Lettuce

Herbs

• Parsley
• Basil

Vegetables/Root Vegetables

• Radishes
• Zucchini
• Red Bell Peppers

With all the planning set, the fun will begin.  Let’s just hope Mother Nature agrees with my plans!

 

REFERENCES

What Vegetables Should I Grow in My Garden? Is it better to Grow or Buy?.(2010, August 15).YouTube. Retrieved on June 6, 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOj3MPve5yw

What to Grow in your Vegetable Garden if you want to Juice.(2013, March 9). YouTube. Retrieved on June 6, 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd48K0jpUSo

Potting Soil. (2013, July 24). YouTube. Retrieved on June 6, 2014 from http://www.homedepot.com/c/potting_soil_HT_BG_OD

Basic Gardening Tips: How to Create Good Growing Soil.(Jan 20, 2008) YouTube. Retrieved on June 6, 2014 fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwnxK_gX-LQ

Basic Gardening Tips: Tools Needed For Gardening.(2008, January, 20). YouTube. Retrieved on June 6, 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnEe7k20acc

Gardening Tools Everyone Should Have.(2010, April 20). YouTube. Retrieved on June 5, 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-uKkwDz6AY

Best Garden Tools You Need to Purchase also Best Garden Hose. (2011, March 23). YouTube. Retrieved on June 5, 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmikUMy5adU

Mind Dump Tools for the Busy Teacher

This week’s assignment instantly caught my attention. As a teacher one of the skill that best aids in my daily successes and accomplishments is the ability to be organized.  With my personality and the nature of being a teacher, organization and dealing with the open loops of ideas, reminders and information that are always scrolling through one’s mind is essential.  The resources suggested this week that correspond to David Allen’s Getting Things Done framework provided the basis to not only organizing one’s scrolling lists, but also to assist in effective completing and managing these endless tasks.

The first comparison I did was between Evernote and Wunderlist, both apps have features that suit my specific needs.  The simple organization and “user friendly” set-up for Wunderlist for making a to-do list, organizing them and adding both reminder date sand due dates is great.  I prefer using this for more of my personal to-do list.  Having the ability to share these lists with my husband and/or colleagues is great.  Aspects of Evernote that I liked (more than similar features in Wunderlist) were the ability to drag and drop resources such as pictures and websites to a notebook to start collecting resources.  I see this being very useful in my classroom and tools that would be better suited to have my students use.  I then compared both of these resources to apps available through Google.  Features that were available with Evernote and Wunderlist, both have Google app equivalents.  Google Calendar has similar features to Wunderlist, including sharing functions as well as reminders and to do lists.  Some feature of Google Drive and Google Docs are similar Evernote, yet Evernote has slightly more uses for collaborative information collection.  As a continued project, I will be comparing the apps available through Google to features of Edmodo.

Researching to Reworking

This week I re-examined my lesson that used new and innovative technology, the Makey Makey, and incorporated the perspectives of a key learning domain, metacognition.  For centuries researches and educators have focused on what makes an effective lesson and the essential features within the learning process.  The idea of metacognition has long been thought of as a critical concept that aids in higher-level learning, and is a part of the paradigm shift that education is taking.  In my research this week, I read portions of an electronic book on metacognition in science education.  This reading reinforced the idea that metacognition is just one component in the educational strategies to create students with strong logic and reasoning skills, true innovators.

“First, it is interesting to note that in all the eight research-based chapters, the study of metacognition was not an end to itself. Rather, it was integrated into a study of the role and significance of other central and important constructs, such as self-regulation, the CDC (the Collaborative Diagnosis of Conception) strategy, literacy, teaching thinking strategies, motivation, and conceptual understanding.”(M.V.J. Veenman, 2012)

Within a well-developed educational model, a key component is creating an environment where the students have the opportunity and resources to self-reflect. “Metacognitive skills pertain to the acquired ability of monitoring, guiding, steering, and controlling one’s learning and problem-solving behavior.” (M.V.J. Veenman, 2012) The edits that have been made to my lesson now concentrate more on both metacognitive learning and the use of innovating technology.  By selecting the best of both worlds, the learning experience for my students will be increasingly enhanced.

This week as a part of the video we watched, TEDxBeaconStreet by Richard Culatta, Culatta spoke about how there is a large divide within the educational world.  The divide between teachers who “use technology to reimagine learning and those who simply use technology to digitize traditional learning practices” (Richard Culatta, 2013).  This statement was very powerful to hear.  Especially with this paricular assignment, this was my concern! Last week I struggled to develop an effective lesson where the Makey Makey would be a highlighted component and be helping to advance the educational experience and not simply replace a component that was already sufficient. Was I utilizing this piece of innovative technology to reimagine or simply digitize?

The lesson that I had originally created would be more of a summary lesson in which the students participate in a trivia style game to review and elaborate on essential content.  Using the Makey Makey, I created Pop Can Buzzers to help keep the game and competitive atmosphere more focus on learning.  Through the simple yet significant incorporation of this maker movement technology, the students are also being exposed to the world of possibility that technology and the maker movement can provide a learner in today’s world.

As I explored the vast information and research on various learning domains, I was most impacted and interested in the work that has been done in regards metacogintion. There is a “growing recognition of the potential value of metacognition for science learning.” (M.V.J. Veenman, 2012) Having a classroom and lessons focused on metacognition would have students becoming active stakeholders in their own education.   A focus where students are invested in not only their classroom experiences, but also what their learning process looks like.  Identifying how they are a unique learner and discovering how to harness that understanding to better support their educational growth.

While focusing on the resources I found on metacognitively refocusing learning, I recognized certain features of my original lesson plan design that could be improved to better capture the essence of metacognition and focused more on how innovative technology could support this transformation.  The needed adjustment became clear to me as I read about metacognition.  When a student begins to create his or her own learning and is put into the role of the creator rather than participant, he or she starts to think critically about his or her own learning process and success.

My original lesson where students were actively participating and collaborating to solve provided questions and problems, needed to be refocused on the students designing the activity on their own.  Identifying how and what key components to incorporate.

The timeline of this new lesson will be over a 2-3 day span, allowing for a day of instruction and guided preparation and 1-2 days for student innovation.  Within this redesigned lesson, the students will be introduced to the Makey Makey kit under the umbrella context of the entire marker movement.  A portion of the first day of the lesson will be spent showing the student the Pop Can Buzzers that were made and allowing them to experiment and play with the kits on their own.  Included in the introduction on the first day will be an overview of the Soundplant software and how it connects the Makey Makey hardware.

The students will then be given the task to utilize the Makey Makey buzzer function in a summary or review activity that they create.  The specific style, formatting, and set-up of their activity will be left to their own creation.  This format change will allow the students have more choice on how they interface with the material and force them to thinking more critically about what and how would be the best way to interact with the material, this directly supports their metacogintion and the development of their learning.  In addition to having a lead role in this activity, students will have to think about what worked best and why through means of a reflection.  Taking the time to self reflect and assess is a key factor in the learning process.

“Experiences concern on-lone feelings, judgments estimates and thoughts that people become aware of during task performance” (M.V.J. Veenman, 2012) and having to directly focus on these help to identify to the learner the process and connections they made with the material.  There will be many aspects that I will look for when examining the path the students took and the exploration they did with this task.

“Indicators of metacognitive skillfulness during task performance are systematically following a plan or deliberately changing that plan, monitoring and checking, note-taking, and time and resource management. These activities guide and control the execution of the task at hand. At the end of task performance, activities such as evaluating performance against the goal, recapitulating, and reflection on the learning process may be observed. The function of these activities is to evaluate and interpret the outcome, and to learn from one’s course of action for future occasions.” (M.V.J. Veenman, 2012)

A component of my lesson plan that I was also originally unsure about was developing this lesson around a summary activity rather than a inquiry or problem-based learning sequence.  After investigating the features of metacoginition, I was more assured that having this kind of an activity at the end of a teaching sequence is actually good.

“Finally, it is interesting to note an important relationship between the higher order skills of metacognition and the basic or factual skills that may be a part of a specific unit of instruction. Students typically learn metacognitive skills while they are involved in learning something else. If they are to do this successfully, it is extremely important that the learners have overlearned the prerequisite content knowledge for the subject matter topic being studied. If that prerequisite knowledge has not been mastered to a sufficient level of automaticity, then the working memory of the learner will be overwhelmed by the subject matter; and the result will be no time for metacognitive reflection.” (Teaching Thinking Skill, n.d.)

Through my reading this week it has become clear to me that metacognition can play a significant role in science education.  After a lot of working and reworking I felt explicitly incorporating metacognition into my lesson plan significantly enhanced the students’ experience with the technology, and I am much more confident in the Makey Makey’s role in creating and fostering innovative growth.

 

REFERENCE

Culatta, R. (2013, January 10). Reimagining Learning: Richard Culatta at TEDxBeaconStreet [Video file]. Retrieved from http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Reimagining-Learning-Richard-Cu.

Veenman, Marcel V.J. (2012). Metacognition in Science Education: Definitions, Constituents, and Their Intricate Relation with Cognition.  In A. Zohar & Y.J. Dori (Eds.), Metacognition in Science Education: Trends in Current Research (21-36). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Teaching Thinking Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://education.purduecal.edu/Vockell/EdPsyBook/Edpsy7/edpsy7_meta.htm

PLN Popplet

 

The source of one’s knowledge is a collaborative collection from innumerable different sources. With the enormous amount of information at our fingertips today having a PLN, a personal (or professional) learning network, is important. What sources and what people influence the information you are exposed to, and expose yourself to, and why? Having a PLN that provides shared experiences, collaborative thinking, and helpful resources is how teaching truly becomes a part of a social network. As I make my way through my CEP 810 course day-to-day, week-to-week my PLN is growing and my resources and perspectives are expanding.

The Purpose of Repurposing

For this week’s assignment I combined my exploration of my maker kit (Makey Makey) with the concept of repurposing items to be a part of a lesson or activity.  After a lot of thought as to what would work best for this assignment and an uninspiring trip to the locate resale shop, I changed my perspective.  I began to think of things that I have in my classroom or home that I could use in new and creative ways.  I was looking for an item that I could use to make interactive buzzers.  The creation that I made, with help from some repurposed pop cans, represents another step in my exploration of how I can infuse technology and aspects of creative innovation into my classroom.  In beginning to work with and understand my maker kit (and the maker movement in general), I immediately had an idea of how I could use this with my students.  Below is a link to a sample lesson plan/activity, accompanied by pictures and a How To/Informational video (at very bottom of this blog post) that includes the use of the Makey Makey kit and repurposed pop cans.

Sample Lesson Plan

Although this is not the most advanced usage of my Makey Makey, using technology like maker kits in small yet constructive ways within my classroom will help to infuse it into the normal routines of learning.  As students (and I) get more familiar with how to use these innovative technologies, we are opening ourselves up to a learning environment focused on trial and error and creative approach.  Studies in educational strategies and learning methods have always emphasized modeling to students.  By using my Makey Makey kit to enhance an activity we do in class, the students see how a technology-friendly classroom does not mean everything is going to change.  As summarized from this week’s reading, teaching with technology does not mean that the content knowledge and fundamentals are no longer valuable.  It is about “the importance of teacher creativity in repurposing technology tools for make them fit [sic] pedagogical and disciplinary-learning goals” (Mishra & the Deep-Play Research Group, 2012).  As educators we are not reinventing the wheel, but rather we are learning and exposing ourselves to all that technology in the classroom has to offer.  In creating lessons that utilize technology is it important to ask yourself, “What can technology do for your content and how best to do it?” (Mishra et. al., 2012)

To create a Makey Makey pop can buzzer system, one will need a standard Makey Makey kit, a computer, and four pop cans.  The first step in working with the Makey Makey is to use the USB connector provided in the kit and plug the board into your computer.  The board will light up as an assurance that it is functioning properly.  With one of the alligator clips provided, attach one end to any port on the bottom of the Makey board labeled “earth”.

The other end of this cable will need to be held by the person touching the pop cans to complete the circuit.  To make things easier, use a rubber band or bracelet to attach the opposite end of the “earth” cable to your body.

On the other side of the Makey board, you will need to carefully clip four different alligator clips to four of the keyboard switches.  These switches are along the left-hand side of the back of the Makey board and are labeled with letters.

Whichever letter you attach each alligator clip to will correspond to the letter on your keyboard that it will represent.  Be careful that the tips of the alligator clips attached to the board do not touch or the circuits will cross and the sounds will mix.  Once the alligator clips are proper attached to four different keyboard switches, attach the other end of each of the clips to the top rim of a pop can.

With that basic hardware set-up the Makey Makey pop can buzzer is ready for sound!  Using the Soundplant application (free) upload an MP3 file of your desired sound onto the keyboard keys that you are using on your Makey board.  For example, if one of your alligator clips is attached to the “w” switch on the back of your Makey board, then click on the “w” key in the Soundplant software interface and then click ”open file” towards the bottom right-hand side of your screen to upload an MP3 file to that letter.  This will assign a specific sound to each key on a keyboard.

Be sure to assign noises to the same letters that you have alligator clips attached to on your board.  Once this is all completed, this will allow each pop can to serve as a specific noise buzzer.

For those of us who are visual learners, here is a How To set-up video:

Reference:

Mishra, P., & The Deep-Play Research Group (2012). Rethinking Technology & Creativity in the 21st Century: Crayons are the Future. TechTrends, 56(5), 13-16.

‘Tis The Season… To Garden!

In week 2 of my CEP 810 course, we are beginning our Networked Learning Project, a project in which we get to teach ourselves something new…anything new.  The idea of getting to dedicate time to teaching myself something new, something that I have always been interested in and curious about, has always been one that I have dreamt about.  “If I ever just had the time to…(fill in the blank with numerous skills and talents I have always wanted to learn yet never had the time).”  Well here it is.  This project will serve as that amazing opportunity where I will get to teach myself something I have always wanted to know how to do, and in the process continue my studies on “learning about learning”.  I will take on the role of the student as YouTube videos and help forums, such as WikiHow, guide my learning.

This September will mark my husband’s and my first anniversary in our new house.  Even though we have already gotten to experience many wonders and joys of homeownership, this is our first summer in our house, which means it is our first experience with having a lawn and landscaping to care for.  The previous owners built a beautiful 10’ x 5’ enclosed area off our back patio where they used to let their dogs play.  Since the day we moved in, I have envisioned this area being a perfect place for a vegetable and herb garden.  As of now my gardening skills are, in a word, nonexistent, and this transformation from dog pen to vegetable garden is going to take some thoughtful planning, constructing, planting and the proper TLC.  So the task is set, I will use Do It Yourself or How To videos and forums to teach me how to build and grow a vegetable and herb garden in my back yard.

Throughout the process I will blog about my discoveries and progress, as well as supply photos and videos of the transformation.   My first step is to start finding resources on the “getting started” features of a project like this.  Looks like a trip to Home Depot is on the calendar for this week.

 

[embedphotoabove]

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/news_archive/2013/march/get_it_growing/Tips-for-starting-a-home-vegetable-garden-.htm

Wish me luck!

http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Vegetable-Garden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv1KLDPf8YY

 

The New Learner

Learning about Learning

This week the challenge was clear: examine different aspects of learning, quite literally to learn about learning.  This is not only is an essential component of my professional growth and development, but also a personal passion.  Similar to the ideas expressed by Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, my interests in the process of learning comes from a combination of my intense curiosity about the human brain and how it works as well as an instinctual drive as a teacher to have my students truly understand the material. Using the first three chapters in Bransford, J., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R.’s, How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school, I will address what learning is, how it looks in my classroom, and how learners make the shift from learning to understanding.  While referencing some specifics that have occurred within my high school science classroom, I will begin my Graduate coursework journey by exploring the very essence of education: the fundamentals of learning.

Click here for full analysis!

 

What is a Maker?

Remixing Education

What is a Maker?  As I began to investigate this week’s assignment, I was initially bombarded with the feeling that I was in over my head.  I had no clue what all of this was about.  A maker kit (“she wants me to buy a what?”), a Mozilla Popcorn remix, it felt as though I was transported to a foreign country and was immersed into a new language.  This sense of discomfort, of being thrown into the unknown, I now realize is instrumental in my personal growth as a student, as an educator, and as an individual.  It was the perfect introduction into the maker movement.  Reading through and intently watching this week’s selected portions, I was overwhelmed with a sense of content, wonderment, and most importantly curiosity.  What would this look like in my classroom?

The remix I made presents the features of individualized learning within a classroom.  Having a classroom and educational strategies that can reach your students on an individual level is essential to the maker movement and a shift in paradigm that is needed in classrooms today. As an educator I need to ask my students, “what makes you a maker? What does your individuality and ingenuity bring to the world of science education?”  As Dale Dougherty stated, “…you’re makers of your own world…” (Dougherty, 2011).  This in and of itself inspires and encourages such individuality, and can be an incredibly motivating concept when brought into my high school classroom.

To inspire this classroom and education paradigm shift we need to encourage our students to try.  Try just for the sake of trying.  We need to encourage them to play.

Dougherty stated,

“…essentially these are people that are playing with technology. Let me say that again: playing. They don’t necessarily know what they’re doing or why they’re doing it. They’re playing to discover what the technology can do, and probably to discover what they can do themselves, what their own capabilities are” (Dougherty, 2011).

So often in the classroom the dogmatic roles of “I am the teacher so I know all” and “you are the student so you listen and follow along”, can get in the way of students being comfortable enough to see what they can do, and discover what they can create.

Now, the question is, how do I make makers, how do I transform my students into makers?  Well, I believe the first step is providing opportunities to play, and to support the potential failures that will occur.  Elaborating off of Viegas’s perspective on failure, in order for people to trust themselves and allow themselves to experiment and tinker means they have to be okay with failure. However, this concept is much easier said than done.  I struggled with this concept this week in making my Mozilla Popcorn remix.  “I don’t know what I’m doing!”, “I can’t do this”, “How am I going to figure this out?”, and “Am I doing this right?” were all phrases I expressed in my moments of trial and error and in moments of failure with my experimentation.

After running into many road blocks, for example not knowing how or if it was even possible to “undo” a function, or why I could not get the exact portion of a song I liked, I was reminded of an essential theme within Ferguson’s Everything is a Remix videos. He said, “ no one starts out original…copying is how we learn, we can’t introduce anything new until we are fluent in the language of our domain and we do this through emulation.”  Ferguson’s Everything is a Remix (Ferguson, n.d.) This inspired me to explore of world of remixes, see what was out there, what styles I liked, what styles I didn’t like and ultimately aided in the success of making my very first remix.

Now that I have been enveloped into the maker movement, and have experienced this process from a learner’s perspective, it is to put this to use into my own classroom, wish me luck!

https://fidlerme.makes.org/popcorn/21ds

REFERENCES

Dougherty, D. (2011, January). Dale Dougherty: We are makers. TED: Ideas worth spreading. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.ted.com/talks/dale_dougherty_we_are_makers.html

Eyeo 2013 – Panel: Failing with Style. (2013, July).Vimeo. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from http://vimeo.com/70786269

Ferguson, K. (n.d.). Everything is a Remix. Everything is a Remix. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series/

REMIX REFERENCES

Images:

Classroom image #1 [Online Image]. (2010). Retrieved May 16, 2014 from http://api.ning.com/files/GTmK6lMASlt3wHJGmTd7b*jm-QK2neq*t9nhazmwWzziInBKaRE9MQtYL1GGJYrWLZRNYFD1VWOkTEYNt2*nVLectMTwxs60/GeorgeCapaccioinvestattentivesemicircleForestAvenueSchoolHudsonMar112010.jpg

Classroom image #2 [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16, 2014 from http://education-portal.com/cimages/multimages/16/reading_room.jpg

Classroom image #3 [Online Image]. (2013). Retrieved May 16, 2014 from http://www.libertyk12.org/galleries/2013-2014/OCT_MSPrideRally/photos/02_PR.jpg

Classroom image #4 [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16, 2014 from http://ecnurseryschool.com/perch/resources/image-story-time-1-w300h250.jpg

Concept of Learning image #5 [Online Image].(2013) Retrieved May 16, 2014 from http://cdno.gettingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Concept-of-Learning-Featured.jpg

Everyone is a genius image #6 [Online Image]. (2013). Retrieved May 16, 2014 from http://www.roundworldsquarepeg.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/everyone-is-a-genius.jpg

Gifs:

Winnie the Pooh [Online Gif]. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16, 2014 from http://media2.giphy.com/media/uzZh2psw4J3ri/giphy.gif

Cartoon Netwrok [Online Gif]. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16, 2014 from http://media3.giphy.com/media/6aI8ZFaoe89y0/giphy.gif

Steve Martin[Online Gif].(n.d.).Retrieved May 16, 2014 fromhttp://media1.giphy.com/media/lELRD773cY7Sg/giphy.gif

SpongeBob Square Pants [Online Gif]. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16, 2014 from http://media0.giphy.com/media/lKXEBR8m1jWso/giphy.gif

Video clip sound:

Adaptive Learning 7; Improving Individual Learning Performance. (2010, April 29). Video of Dr. Nish Sonwwalkar. YouTube. Retrieved May 15, 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_oIY_2m0T4&feature=youtube_gdata

Area-7-Individuality (lyrics). (2010, October 25). EternityTheory. YouTube. Retrieved May 15, 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W6Q10qHXP4&feature=youtube_gdata

Music:

MohamedIbrahim. (n.d.).Frederic chopin-nocturne in e-flat major, op.9 no.2. SoundCloud, Retrieved May 18, 2014 from http://soundcloud.com/mohamed-ibrahim-60/frederic-chopin-nocturne-in-e

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