Day 4

Today we were given free time in between breakfast and lunch. I decided to go down to the main dock with my tube and relax in the sun for a while. While I was relaxing in my tube, the other group, that was being led by the intern Tom, was coming down to the main dock to canoe. Most of these kids have never experienced canoeing before so I was actually glad I was able to observe the lesson. Watching them get into the boats reminded me how important it is to reach out to our students and help them succeed in the many tasks that they may not have the confidence to do.

After lunch, we spent a few hours with Rob working on team building skills. I enjoyed the games we played in the field because they can easily be brought into your classroom. The last three activities are easily my favorite because they really showed me how important it is to rely on other people in a time of need. The first activity we had to be blind folded. I was already skeptical of this activity once he told us we had to be blind folded because being in the dark scares me. However, not only were we blind folded, but we had to arrange ourselves in order of our birthdays. Of course, I am the last person in line with my November 15th birthday. Luckily, I had Matt in front of me who I greatly appreciated because he very calmly talked me through everything that I needed to know and be aware of. That activity was such an amazing activity and I had tons of fun doing it because it showed me how much I needed to slow down and appreciate my other senses beside my vision.

The second activity we did was the spider activity. Looking back, I have to agree that we did a fabulous job with communication and listening to one another. We all allowed each other to have their say in the situation and we valued each others' opinions. That is one of the most important things when completing that activity. They last activity was also a lot of fun because it was a lot of problem solving incorporated with physical strength. Creating a solution to get all ten people passed all three "islands" took a lot of time and effort in our part. Just like the other activities, we listened to one another and showed that we all truly cared about completing the task that was given to us. Reflecting on our team building time, I am extremely proud of how well we worked with one another and trusted one each others' opinions. I think it is important to have those characteristics when entering a teaching job in a school because it is beneficial to the students for the teachers to be communicating and working together. Taking some of the things we learned today and incorporating them into the classroom will help build a strong bond and "family" in the classroom, and giving the students a sense of family and community is always helpful.

Day 3

Today we explored Ferd's Bog and then hiked up Black Bear Mountain. I have never seen or visited a bog before and I was excited because I was able to read about one in Adirondack Green by Jon Slade. Before I even left to go to the Bog I knew that I would have a little bit of a challenge because I easily get grossed out by certain things. It is not because I don't want to do it, but sometimes it just freaks me out. Needless to say, I was nervous about going to the Bog because I was unsure of what we were going to encounter. After spending time at the Bog, I started opening up and trying new things. I was able to take a net and fish for small critters with Karl out in the Bog. It was very exciting to actually be stepping into a wet, mushy and squishy surface. Unfortunately, Karl and I couldn't find any critters, such as frogs or salamanders in the water. It made me sad. While I was busy looking for critters, Kathy was out exploring the bog and found a spider that had a white sack attached to her. I was actually able to look at the spider (briefly) and see that she in fact had a white sack attached to her. That was a huge step for me due to the fact that I am deathly afraid of spiders.

After we left the bog, we hiked up Black Bear mountain. I have always enjoyed hiking, and today it was absolutely amazing.  I have never had the chance to hike in the Adirondack mountains and the forest is just so different to what I would normally see. There are tons of different plants and flowers that I learned today that I have never even seen before. Some of that may have been due to the fact that I never slowed down and took the time to explore it like I am now. I am thoroughly enjoying taking the time to explore the forest and use the different identification tools to figure out what type of tree/flower/bug we found. We found three different caterpillars today and we were only able to identify one of them because the other two were not in the book we had. Being able to hold that caterpillar and look through the book to figure out the name of it made me feel like there was this completely new world out there that I have been missing all my life. I am truly proud of myself for the baby steps I took today. I feel that it is important to experience these things before entering a classroom because these are the types of encounters and explorations and findings that we will expect and hope that our students will experience.

I am also happy to announce that we finally made it onto the lake today. First we were kayaking and then Cherith and I decided to give a new tubes a try. I haven't kayaked in a long time, so it was exciting to try it in a new place, especially up here! Floating in our tubes was relaxing and it was definitely what I needed because I felt very much relaxed afterward. I am overly excited about the new experiences that I have encountered so far because I feel that I am growing as a person. It is exciting to see where I started in the beginning of the week and where I am ending up. There is one full day left and I am ready to make the best of it!

Day 2

Today we were able to leave the peninsula and go to a couple of the museums that are close by. The first museum that we went to was the Wildlife Center. Here you could learn about the different wildlife that live in the Adirondack mountains. It was interesting because I was learning a lot about the different fish that live in the lakes up here. I am not very familiar with fish because I didn't go fishing that much as a child. It was nice to see the different types of fish as well as read about them.

After we explored the Wildlife Center, we ventured over to the Adirondack Museum where it tells us about more of the history behind everything. This was such an amazing experience because I enjoy learning about the history and the story behind things. Seeing all the old fashion horse and buggies and the house models really sparked an interest to me. It was also nice to go into the logging house because Courtney and I are doing our project on tree identification. We were able to learn so cool facts about trees that we didn't know before.

When given the chance to explore these museums one should always take it because I believe that you learn best when you explore. I am still patiently waiting to get out onto the water in my tube, however, the weather has not been that cooperative. I really want to experience as much as possible while I am up here so I can take it away with me and pass it along to friends who may be interested in coming up to the Adirondacks. 

Overall, today has been a great day because I am walking away with more knowledge than when I started. The museums were great and they were a lot of fun! Now it just needs to stop raining! =]

Day 1

Today was our first full day at Camp Pine Knot. Due to the weather, we decided to take our hike right after breakfast. So I put on pants and grabbed my rain jacket and I was ready for our fist hike. We were able to get a tour of the House Boat where Mrs. Durant used to stay during black fly season. I thought it was a lot nicer than some of the cabins in the camp. While we were leaving, I decided to walk around the outside of the house than the inside. While walking, I saw a huge spider and had to turn around and find a different route off of the House Boat. That was my first encounter with nature. During our hike, Courtney and I decided to try our hardest to identify different trees in the forest. The first tree that we identified a tree was a Beech tree, but that was relativity easy. Our second attempt at identifying a tree was not as successful. We originally identified a White Pine tree as a Pitch Pine tree, where Beth then had to give us the news that it was very unlikely that we had found a Pitch Pine tree. The rest of the hike was a success and we were able to see the Kirby house, where I would eventually like to stay one week in the summer time on a vacation trip.

The second huge encounter with nature today was with the flies. Once we got to the Kirby house, there were tons of flies. They were all over Courtney and I. Thankfully, we had long pants and jackets on so I imagine that we were able to survive the experience without any bug bites, so that's a plus! I was just in shock because I have never seen that many flies in one particular area.

I would like the rain to stop because I am patiently waiting to grab my tube and sunbath on the lake. It looks so peaceful and I'm ready to relax in this wonderful place!

Technology in the Classroom

I have always been one of the people who have sworn up and down that I will never get a MAC computer. I always found them annoying. Even after taking EDU 315 in my undergraduate years, I never thought I would consider buying a MAC. After Wednesdays class, I may have slightly changed my mind towards someday buying one. After going through the computer and learning the different functions it offers, I was blown away. I just recently bought a new laptop last semester; however, it does not have all the functions that a MAC has. I thoroughly enjoyed playing around with Photo Booth. This program is awesome and I would love to have it on my laptop.

            Young children love to take pictures because they feel special when doing it. Instead of having to have a bunch of cameras, students could just go to the computer lab and take pictures of themselves. The program also offers a recording option where they can record a video. Some students are still shy about getting up in front of a class and explaining something. The student can record themselves explaining his or her project or writing sample. This way they are still getting practice with speaking about it but it makes it a little bit more informal because they are talking to the computer screen. This can even be used as a practicing device for students to practice speaking before doing so in front of the class. This way they would have a chance to view themselves and make any changes if necessary. This is great software for the students to use in the classroom because it is easy to use and a lot of fun. Technology is becoming such a huge part of today’s educational curriculum; however, some schools do not have the proper funding for it.

            Another program we explored in class on Wednesday was Xtranormal. This is a website that allows anyone to make video clips with whatever they want in it. The characters could be anyone from robots to small furry bears. They also have a variety of different voices that you may give your characters, along with the setting. All you have to do is pick the items that you want to be in your video and then you just type up the dialogue for each character.  To create an account is free, but it may require a few bucks here or there if you want to use certain items. I believe this would be a great tool to use in the classroom because it is easy to use and it does not cost any money for them to make an account. In every grade, teachers push their students hard to create stories during their free writing time. The schools that I have spent the most time in usually have the students type their stories when they are done writing it. I think it would be a great idea for the students to actually create small video clips that represent their story. I think that this would give the students a great incentive to write stories because they will have the opportunity to turn their story into a live video clip that they can bring home to show their family. This will help students with their typing skills along with taking their story and turning it into something far away from the usual requirements during writing time.

June 2009: Arthur Benjamin’s Formula for Changing Math Education Blog Post

June 2009: Arthur Benjamin’s Formula for Changing Math Education

            Before even watching this video, I was intrigued with the subject of it because I was one of those students who enjoyed math. I never questioned my teachers about the material; I sat there and gladly learned and enjoyed math and calculus. However, even though I had no problems, it did not mean my fellow classmates did not. Most students hate math, and that is because they just don’t understand it. When entering college, my originally major was adolescent math education. I already had over 20 credits in college math from high school and I was excited to continue. Needless to say, I transferred colleges and changed my major to childhood education, which I am beyond happy with. Looking back on my education, I realized that even though I learned years of college algebra, trig, and calculus, I never really learned much about statistics and probability. Actually, I didn’t really learn anything about it.

            I have to agree with Arthur because learning about statistics and probability is important for our nation. I liked his reference of switching to analog to digital. We are in a new era and with all of today’s economy, it is important to learn the fundamental basics of statistics and probability because it gives you a chance to step out into the world ahead of the game. I feel one of the reasons most students hate math is because they do not understand why they need to know this. With the education system moving more towards a business like model, it will be easier to explain to students why they need to know statistics and probability over calculus. I feel students will feel more excited about learning it because it is something that will help them once they finish school.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/arthur_benjamin_s_formula_for_changing_math_education.html

May 2010: Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the Learning Revolution! Blog Post

May 2010: Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the Learning Revolution!

            In the beginning of this talk, he briefly mentions Al Gore and his talk on the climate crisis, which is largely due to global warming. Ken continues to talk about a second climate crisis; however, it does not have to do with natural resources, but human resources. He is simply stating that we are making poor use of our talents. Later on in the talk, he compares natural talents to natural resources. Both are hidden away and to find them you need to dig deep. I think that this is an awesome comparison because I find it true.  He believes that Education should surface these talents and help people find what they love best, but it does not. Most of the time Education pushes away this natural talents, or in some cases prevents people from finding them. I also really liked his idea that there are two types of people: some who love what they do and some who hate what they do. Later in the video, he goes to say that if you are doing something you love, an hour goes by fast; if you do not love what you do, an hour seems like an hour.  I agree 100% with this statement because I love to teach and to me the day goes by fast, but some people do not like their job and complain that their day goes on forever.

            The education system today needs to change their direction because it is turning everything into one big competition. Parents are fighting for land to ensure their children attend the best schools in the area. Teachers are competing within schools and between schools to get the best grades. Instead of creating competition, why not work together and focus all of their attention to the students. I know that there is this unsaid competition going on within schools and for a new teacher about to enter this field, I am nervous because I do not want to stray away from my own principles. I believe it is important to encourage students to be whatever they want to be. Growing up, our teachers told us that we could be anything we wanted to be, and I believed them. Sixteen years later, I am still doing what makes me happy, becoming a teacher. The brief story about the fireman made me sad because I think it is terrible for anyone to say that someone cannot be whatever they want to be. As a teacher, it is important for us to encourage our student’s dreams and desires and teach them how to pursue their dreams in a creative and individualistic way.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html