Blog Post #12

As someone who is slightly obsessed with things being in their proper order, I cannot believe I am doing this.
No, really.

But I was laying around being completely unproductive in my pajamas eating wheaties when I decided I should probably do Blog Post #10 as it was currently unfinished due to my overflow of inspiration and creativity and genius, due to my ever-present and overwhelming A.D.D. The thought struck me that I could not resist.  I had been looking over the blog posts left for the semester a couple of days prior to this, and noticed that this Blog Post, #12, was one that was completely of my own design! You can imagine my fit of joy followed by a fit of self-loathing for being so darned indecisive. But, I digress.
I was inspired to add random but somehow related videos to Blog Post #10, and found such an array of enticing and inspiring choices that I could not pick just a couple and simply had to share them.  You're welcome.  :D
So, here is my assignment.  I won't take all day getting to it. For this assignment, we are to brainstorm an assignment that we feel is a good enough idea that Dr. Strange himself should have assigned it.  The things we have done and learned this semester have been wonderful, but as we are learning in this class, with technology, there is always more!  I like being able to think for myself, and would definitely let my own students do this.
The instructions for my assignment that I believe Dr. Strange should have suggested are as follows:
At this point in the semester and everyone's journey as a future educator, we should all be thinking about our philosophies as teachers.  We have watched some really great videos this semester and taken full advantage of YouTube.  I would like for you to create a YouTube playlist with videos that:
1). describe the kind of teacher you would like to be
2).show ways you can motivate your students
3). offer tips on classroom management.
4). offer tutorials on programs you have learned about in this class that you like so much you would like to use (podcast, iPods, PLN's, etc.)
5). are on topics related to your field of study; for example, if you are going to be an English Teacher, include videos about Shakespeare, poetry, novels, things of that nature.
6). describe what a good teacher is and what a bad teacher is
7). ways to improve modern education as we know it
8). have been used in other blog posts from this semester.  It could be a video you had to write about or one posted on the blog of a fellow classmate, teacher, or classroom's blog.
9). center around creativity.
10). advocate challenging, motivating, encouraging, and supporting students (but still maintaining professionalism)
Your YouTube Playlist needs to be published, and needs to be titled with your name, and EDM310 Blogpost.  You do not need to include all of these topics, but you need to include at least 5, and your playlist needs to have a MINIMUM of ten videos.  I would then like you to explain how these videos describe your teaching philosophy and relate to things you have learned in this class.  Also, what could you do with them in your teaching environment?


I even created my own playlist because good teachers teach by example. :)
In my playlist, there a few that are inspirational because, in a perfect classroom students actually have to think.    I want them to feel that inspiration, and know where to find it, what to do with it.  For example, what things inspire us most?  What things have come out of small sources of inspiration?
  I know this sounds a little too simple, but the video Think Different explains how those who dared to try new things, embrace new ideas, use their voice, etc. have made a difference and changed history.  I know it's a long shot, but someone needs to push kids and make them think, what if they were the next Steve Jobs or Einstein or Arnold Schwartzenegger the Governator, even?  You don't have to think big, just think different.
I believe the next few selections are about diversity, acceptance, inclusion, celebrating differences, and empathy.  Because, in the words of old school Sesame Street, we all sing with the same voice, the same song!   Though we may not notice our similarities, do we not all share our hope for humanity and invested interest in the common good?  To sum this up perfectly watch the super short video titled, disability means possibility.  I think this would be a great video to show to your class and then ask them to write briefly about how they could change their perception or their peers' perception of people who are different from us.
The next few videos are on creativity. This is very important to me because, by my very nature, I am a writer. I soak in new things and search for more new things constantly to talk about or write about.  The video Creativity to the Rescue examines what would happen if children were allowed to think about how the world around them could be and should be and not explicitly told this.  I would love to have an English classroom where students were encouraged to imagine themselves as characters and their own lives as autobiographies or bestsellers and think outside the box about what major plot point could happen next.  The assignment I am dying to give my students would be to re-imagine and re-write the ending of a famous story or novel.  Think of the possibilities!
This is what our students deserve!
I also added videos with tips on student teaching and that satire the daily activities in the classroom.  Who doesn't want to be prepared for what hoops and hurdles lie looming ahead?
Even with all the obstacles and red tape, I think that I can make my classroom entertaining.  Although I am the stereotypical English teacher in love with all things Jane Austen, obsessed with Victorian and also American literature, I am also creative at finding ways to make these things interesting.  The only way to accomplish this is to reach them on levels they know and understand.  The traditional practices of assigning readings and essays and book reports are in the past. Allowing them to find their own resources, form their own opinions, read educational blogs on related topics, and write in their own blog, would be much more effective, I believe.  Also, videos, podcasts, audio books, and things like that would also be great projects.  I just want everyone to love Mr. Darcy and Little Dorrit and Tom Sawyer as much as I do.  I also added videos on my favorite writers, like Charles Dickens and F. Scott Fitzgerald and many others.
 Visuals are a great help, in my opinion. Not everyone loves to read as much as I and some others do, maybe it takes getting them interested in the story and the characters, and then the words that paint that picture.  Modern technology can assist in the education and growth of our youth, and there is more out there available than videos.  I think they could be very useful when combined with blogs and podcasts and other things.Videos alone are  not an answer to our problems, but they can make us think: what other seemingly simple things can we employ to help us?  To keep the attention of our digital learners?

After spilling all of my thoughts, I leave you with this: