Student Sample Reflections

If you had 10 more hours or 10 hundred dollars ($1,000), what would you do differently to improve/change your student sample?

I think this project would have been a lot easier for me to complete and would have been better done if I had more time. I live almost an hour away so it was easier for me to use friends from home to help me. The only problem with that was finding a time we could all meet, when we did meet we had a little over an hour to do all the filming. It was a short news clip but I could have used more time. Another thing is the fact that this lesson is designed for students to work in groups with their other classmates during class time. I did not have a classroom full of students to work with, well I did but they were an hour away and I work all the time. Also I didn't have class time to work on my student sample as my students would. I am giving them two class periods to work on their projects which I think will be the perfect amount of time for them to create a well designed news report.

Now that you've put yourself in your student's place and created this, what expectations of your future students have changed?

I have realized that there are some changes that need to be made on my rubric now that I have completed this student sample. One portion of the rubric was on music used in the video but little or no music is needed in a news report so I think I may want to take that portion out. They have two class periods to work on this so I think that is plenty enough time to complete the video and they can use out of school time to work on it as well.

How much fun did you / didn't you have and what did you learn about yourself through this process?

I had fun working with my friends to make the video. I did not have fun editing the video clips because I have decided that I really don't like windows movie maker, it just doesn't have much to offer and it doesn't really allow for your movie to look all that professional. I only used it because my time on campus is limited and I did not want to take out a mac and have any technical problems. But I have come to the conclusion through this project that I am going to purchase a mac next year. It has better software on it and as a teacher I will want one because all the schools purchase macs so it is a good idea to have one and get familiar with them because that's what my students will be using.

How to help someone use a computer...

I need to tell myself, "you've forgotten what it's like to be a beginner."
An important rule in using a computer is "never do something for someone that they are capable of doing for themselves."

Reading this web page reminds me of my mom. She never really knew how to use a computer until she married my stepfather who has a few in the house. I got really frustrated with her, and I never thought to myself that I was a beginner at one point on the computer, because I learned how to use a computer when I was young and it is just a natural thing now. I would always fix whatever problem my mom had on the computer for her without ever thinking to coach her through it.

From now on I need to be more patient when helping someone with a computer, or even when I'm getting help myself.

http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/how-to-help.html

Copyright and Fair Use LR

Well, it was hard to pick just one. In my personal opinion copyright laws are crazy, there are too many rules, vague rules that can be gotten around in some way. Copyright laws mostly have a lot to do with money, if money didn't exist then what would a copyright law even mean? Copying in general is hard to determine, because a lot of this world is constantly stemming from other thoughts and ideas and advancing in this way. But anyways, I chose number 17 to go into more depth about. This is the one about taking pictures of a street and posting them on the web. It states this is okay, which I agree with, but then there is a catch. The catch is that if is a landmark like a theme park in the picture then the owners of this facility can ask you to remove the picture from the web. Everything in this world is owned by someone or something, the road in the picture is owed by the town, so do they have the right to ask you to remove the picture if you distort the road in a way that they don't like. I just don't see where the line can be drawn in situations like these.

Copyright and Fair Use SR

2. This surprised me a bit because it is similar to taking the software and copying. But in this way the software is available for the whole school on the server. Doing this and copying the software seem very similar and I want to know where the line is drawn between the two.
4. I was really hoping this one would be false, which it is. It would seem ridiculous to allow schools to buy as much software they can afford and copy the rest. That would not be fair to other schools with money.
6. I agree with this one, it is the right way the software should be used. If the students do not have access to a certain software it seems plausible that the teacher should be able to extract certain things from the software for the students use.
9. This one really confused me because mp3. com seems similar to illegal software for downloading music. The only difference here is that they offer the choice to buy the music, but they still offer free music as well. It seems that as long as the site buys the music then it can share it with others for free?
10. This one threw me off a bit too, using the media in the classroom is fine. But once the teacher puts it in an e-mail to co-workers it's not? the only difference seems to be spreading it via person or via e-mail. Could the teacher print out copies of the lesson plan with the media and personally give it to others and have that be okay?
14. Once again I am confused by this one as well. Just because the PTA bought the movies and not the children then it cannot be shown? Does this apply to a day care as well?
15. A teacher purchased the videos themselves and wanted to compile them together in another movie cannot happen. But a website can provide the clips you want to use for free? HUH?
18. A person can copy PART of a song to use in their project to present from class? But a person cannot copy entire songs from a CD? What is the difference, copying is copying.

Fires: Chapter 10 - Going Beyond the Classroom

Not only is going outside of the classroom and school and good thing to incorporate into learning but bringing new people and objects into the classroom is a great idea as well. Field trips are always a good idea especially when they can relate to the subject matter in class. Guest speakers are a great idea too, as an English teacher that is something to seriously consider such as having writers come in to speak. Kids have their own interests and it is great when their interests can be used in the classroom to spark interest on a subject.

I went with the 7th grade at Mt. Blue to Titcomb Mtn today and it was really interesting to see the kids in that kind of environment. This field trip did not really have anything to do with what was being taught in their classes. I think it was more of a social experience, and I am beginning to learn that socializing is an important aspect that kids need to learn in order to succeed in some situations. Field trips like this are great for the kids to bond, and hopefully use these friendships in the classroom as well.

Fires: Chapter 9 - When Things Go Wrong

This chapter explained not only how students can get discouraged and give up but how teachers can as well. Students may start skipping school for different reasons. They may get some bad grades and just give up all together or they don't feel comfortable at school. No matter what the reason is teachers should recognize a students absences then find out why and try to help. Also as a teacher, even if a student is getting good grades it should not be okay for them to miss school all the time. Kids know they need to learn, and teachers responsibility is to make sure that this learning occurs within school as well. Teachers may want to give us as well, but there are things they can do within the classroom to avoid this. Mainly a teacher needs to focus on teaching and their goals, and not let a frustrating student or confrontation consume them.

I have an experience that I may have let bother me a little too much the other day when I was at Mt. Blue Middle School. One girl was sitting at the very front of the room and another in the way back, I quickly found out there was a reason to this. The girl in the front was turned sideways in her chair and constantly looking at the girl in the back (who I was sitting directly behind). They would make faces to each other and laugh all while the teacher was up front. The teacher didn't seem to notice, but I sure did and it was driving me nuts. I didn't want to say anything and interrupt class and I didn't feel comfortable telling student what to do with their teacher right there. So all class I let that get me very angry, so by the end of class I wasn't very happy and neither was I when I left school, I guess it just put me in a bad mood. I shouldn't have let a situation like that frustrate me so much, but I did, and in the future I will try to make a situation like that better without letting it make me mad.

Fires: Chapter 8 - Teaching Teenagers Who Are Still Learning English

This chapter focuses on students who may not be fluent in English, where it is their second language. The chapter explained how some students are uncomfortable with their English Language abilities and get frustrated when speaking to other students because they may laugh and just not understand them. Although speaking to other students may be the best way to learn the language in the first place. This is where the teacher needs to create an inviting environment where everyone is helpful of these students who are still on a path to learning. I saw all the ways a teacher should treat a student learning English similar to how the book has been telling how to treat students in general. A teacher needs to be patient with them, leave room for revision, and be there to encourage and help them.

One thing as a teacher that I do not want to do is discourage a student that is learning the language. One student explained how a teacher helped them to write their answers down, but at the same time gave him all the answers. I don't want to do that, I want to find another way for the student to complete the assignment without simply giving them the answer. That can be a slap in the face to the student where you are basically saying they can't do it themselves. Students learning English should be treated like any other student, they just may need a little more guidance than others.