Wow. It has been a while! The past few weeks have been spent focusing on field experience. This past week was spent researching field-based learning and creating a multimedia presentation giving an investigative report of field-based learning. Some of the multimedia that I used for the presentation are Powtoon, Voki, and Camtasia. 

Field-based learning takes the students out of the classroom and allows them to learn by doing. There are many great benefits to field-based learning. Field-based learning is pretty common today with activities such as field trips. Although many teachers implement some type of field-based learning for their class, it is not used nearly enough. Budgets, chaperones, and transportation are some of the main conflicts faced with field-based learning. 

​Here is my multimedia presentation of field-based learning!

I think field-based learning is really important. I know that is it more work for the teachers, but I think it is worth it. I had never made a multimedia presentation until this past summer. I am still not super great at it, but I have definitely learned some things. This presentation did not take near as long as the very first presentation I have made. I really like Powtoon. It is really easy to use once you get the hang of it and I think students will find it really engaging. I did use Camtasia to edit the video. I have never used Camtasia before and it was kind of difficult at first. It had a lot of editing options and it was a little overwhelming. Each assignment in this class has challenged me, but I have enjoyed them. 

This week in ED 307 I completed a group Wiki project on Marc Prensky's book titled Teaching Digital Natives. A wiki is a hypertext tool that allows for easy collaboration. The wiki that was created consisted of summaries of each chapter in Teaching Digital Natives. I had the opportunity of working with two other girls in the class and I believe we created a great wiki together. 

Teaching Digital Natives was published in 2010, but is still very relevant today. It focused on the Partnering Pedagogy, which is the philosophy that both the teacher and student must partner together for learning to occur. The book is very informative and provides many great examples that are sure to help teachers. Marc Prensky uses this book to teach teachers how to use partnering and the partnering pedagogy in the classroom to enhance all forms of learning. 

I really enjoyed this assignment of summarizes the entire textbook. I would not have learned as much as I did about partnering without this assignment. I had a great wiki group. When there is group work, you never know if you are going to be in a group with slackers or not, and I can honestly say my group had no slackers! I enjoyed being able to collaborate with my peers. 

Teaching Digital Natives by Marc Prensky is a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and exploring all the concepts of a partnering pedagogy. I agreed with everything Prensky presented in the text. There does need to be changes in the way children are taught today. We know that the world is changing, so why are we still teaching children like it is not? Change is not easy. Changing to a more partnering education takes teachers out of their comfort zones. Using the knowledge that I have gained in this course, I plan on incorporating many of the partnering practices. 

This week in ED 307 I learned about Constructivism. Constructivism is a learning theory that suggests learning takes place through experiences. For this module, I created a Zentation presentation on Constructivism. I described constructivism, theorists behind constructivism, the differences between constructivism and traditional teaching and learning, the PAR model of learning, and a scenario of me using the PAR model to teach a topic. I provided the Zentation presentation below. 

I have heard about the Constructivist theory since my first class at Athens State. I had actually never heard of the PAR Model until this lesson. I found it really interesting and I think it is a great guide for writing lesson plans. Zentation was very easy to use. I had trouble getting my video to upload to YouTube from my laptop, so I had to record the video on my laptop on my iPhone and upload using my data. Luckily, it worked. Zentation mirrors Tegrity, except Zentation is free. I think Zentation is great for a flipped classroom or even for when a teacher misses school. If the teacher knows they are going to miss school ahead of time, they can prepare a Zentation presentation and have the substitute show the video to the class. 

This week in ED 307 I learned about Module 2: The Flipped Classroom. A flipped classroom involves the lesson being taught outside of the classroom. The time in the classroom will be spent on activities and discussions. The main goal of a flipped classroom is to enhance student learning and achievement. Class time is spent on student understanding rather than on lecture. I made a video explaining what a flipped classroom is and the benefits of a flipped classroom. 

Flipped classrooms are becoming more and more popular today. There are many benefits for both students and teachers. 

The first time I heard of the flipped classroom strategy was in high school. I never was actually taught using the flipped classroom approach, but I had a teacher explain how she was going to try it the next school year. 
I think flipped classroom is a great strategy. I do not think it should be used for every single lesson, but I am excited to try it out! Before this module, when I thought of a flipped classroom I thought of students watching a video lecture at home. Although this is very common, I learned that there are many other ways students can view a lesson. There are class discussion boards, interactive assignments, animated videos, etc. I do not think I would like having a completely flipped classroom. If I feel like the traditional classroom setting will better benefit the students than a flipped approach, I will do that. I want to always use strategies and approaches for the benefit of my students. 

This week in ED 307 we studied 21st century skills. We read and explored the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the report Are They Really Ready to Work? The assignment for this week included making an infographic which I included down below. This is the first infographic I have ever created, but I really enjoyed doing so. I know it is not the best, but practice makes perfect! 

​We live in such a digital age. As a future educator, I feel as if I must be one step ahead. Whether students grow up to be workplace ready falls on the educators. Some of the critical skills that employers believe to be essential in the workplace are listed in my infographic. Educators need to be very familiar with 21st century skills as technology is ever evolving. Partnership for 21st Century Skills encourages educators, as well as districts and states, to infuse technology into education.