Education of Philosophy Video

The link below takes you to a YouTube video of a visually enhanced narrative describing some of the most important aspects of my educational philosophy.

click here to view my education of philosophy video

Energy Consumption Project - Results

My main goal for this project was to figure out how much extra fuel I was burning in the evenings when I turned my heat up to 70 degrees from 60.  I wanted to do this project because my landlord charges me a base rate for rent, and I was curious if my habit of keeping my house tropical was making him dip into is emergency savings.

After collecting the data in excel, I crunched the numbers and displayed the results in a powerpoint document which I then presented in a YouTube video.

Bottom line, I've concluded that my landlord is paying roughly $244.13 per month, instead of $228.75 per month if I were to keep it at a constant 60.  This is a 6.3% cost increase per month.

Evaluation of my Youtube presentation:

Pros:

• seemed to know what I was talking about
• fairly good body control
• good eye contact with the camera
• explanations where mostly clear
• rebounded well after being distracted
• was able to complete lengthy presentation within 10 minute time limit

Cons:

• said umm too many times.
• lost my train of thought when someone came to the door
• recording was too quiet

Links:  Excel spreadsheet of data, PowerPoint file, Matlab code for creating all graphs, and YouTube presentation.

Tools for the Mind

review of the article by Mary Barns:

The question in this article asks "Why are schools using computers primarily to teach low-level skills when technology has the potential to deepen students learning?"

Originally, computers where thought to serve as "mind tools" to take students to a higher level of educational.  Lately, some schools are taking a second look at the potential for computers being a valable instructional tool.  The author argues that teachers aren't being trained properly for enhancing student learning technologically, and that districts aren't making the neccesary accomidations for full capitalization of classroom technology.

read the full article

The Educator's Guide to the Read/Write Web

review of the article by Will Richardson:

In the past, the Internet was a place to find information, not any longer.  Today, the Internet is not only a place where people can find specific information through complex search engines, but a place people can publish and broadcast their own ideas.  

One of the "new" tools being used by teachers and students is the Weblog, or blog.  Teachers are having students use a blog as a way to draw on critical thinking, reading, and writing.  Teachers are also using blogs to build classroom resource portals, promoting the growth of online learning communities.  Using blogs, both teachers and students can create interactive portfolio's that then can accessed worldwide. 

full review

Energy Conservation Project

Since moving into my one bedroom house back in August, I've wondered how efficient the heating system would be. Last year, I lived in a double-wide trailer and ended up spending thousands to heat the place over the winter.

Even though I am paying a base rate for rent, am I going to send my landlord to the poorhouse if I keep the temperature around 70 degrees for those few hours in the evening I am home, or should I keep the temperature at a constant 60 degrees and live a little uncomfortable?

My question now is, how much more fuel will it take to heat my little cottage 70 instead of 60 degrees?

I could try researching and save myself some time, but to really get some definitive answers I'm going to need to gather some data. To get some worthwhile data, I'm going to need to set my thermostat at different temperatures and study how long the furnace remains on for each thermostat setting.

To get accurate data when comparing fuel consumption (time the furnace is on) for different thermostat settings:

• Outside temperature should be similar 
• Data should be taken after the house has had a chance to "equalize" to the inside temperature of study
• To get a true feel for the diesel consumption, I will need to monitor the furnace for several hours to determine if their may be any patterns, or to get a more accurate average fuel consumption per unit time

Let the data collection begin...

Knowing Your School's Technology Culture

Project:   Understanding Thorne Bay’s Technology Culture

Project Description: You are an anthropologist whose mission is to understand the technology culture of your school. 

I am blessed to work in a district that offers free Macintosh laptops to every student and teacher.  Even though they are Macs, I am pleased to have a portable computer at work considering I teach in three different classrooms.  I currently teach a middle school technology class and the class just flies by because everyone is having so much fun.  We are currently working on the school sports poster.  We are doing the design in Pages while using Photoshop to create the advertisements.

for full article

Listening to the Natives - article reflection

Listening to the Natives 

by Marc Prensky

Overview of Article. This article explains why the author feels the school systems are stuck in the 20th century. As teachers have entered the 21st century, they are still relying on past teaching techniques rather than adapting to new ideas. Students now speak technology, fluent in the digital language of computers, video games, portable communication devises, and most of all the internet; students are digital natives.

How can older teachers incorporate new digital techniques that would better serve the students? Teachers could involve the students in designing class material, teaching strategies, and learning what technology equipment the classroom may need.

read full review

Futuring reflection

How would you “grade” or assess Fox Becomes a Better Person, and School Train?

Both presentations are excellent. Obviously, both assignments were given great thought and effort.

As far as grading them, I'm not really sure without knowing what the requirements of the assignment is. If I had created the assignment myself, I would probably have a rubric to access their work.

I would probably give both assignments high marks due to effort; School Train has many effects while Fox Becomes a Better Person incorporates both technology and culture together.

for full article