This I Believe Video Reflection

I enjoyed doing this project. I love making videos, I started doing them in high school for computer and design classes and have continued doing them just for fun. I prefer to use iMovie because it is totally user friendly and it has a lot of cool features. Unfortunately I do not have a Mac, I have a Dell and Windows Movie Maker is now my friend.

I used garage band to record my verbal essay and I then uploaded my essay into movie maker. I had some issues with movie maker referencing the files and videos I was using but once I got those worked out I was up and running. I have only ever uploaded two videos to youtube.com, so that’s all still pretty new to me but I am figuring it all out. I haven’t gone public with either one yet but soon enough I will have a viral video. I just know it. ;)

The content of my essay and video are my true feelings about how influential teachers can be in students’ lives. I believe that as educators we can greatly impact our student’s lives. And not just in the moment but for years and years to come!

The part that I didn’t enjoy was the part where my computer would not recognize my video and Windows Movie Maker would not upload it. It was even more frustrating when one time I would open my project and it would work and the next time it wouldn’t.

Overall I thought this project was unique and fun.  As an educator I plan to incorporate these types of elements into my professional blog and curriculum.

Questionaire

OER - Open Educational Resources



I am excited about the opportunities that Open Educational Resources (OER) will bring to the table. I find them very interesting and informative. I like how they can be used by both teachers and students. The wealth of information that is out there is/can be a bit overwhelming.  No matter what you are looking for I would have to think that there is a resource dealing with just that.  There are many different sites that have OERs and OERs that cover just about everything.

 

As a learner I will use these resources to help me study.  I found sites that you can group up withothers studying the same content and ask each other questions.  I can see myself using these sites to look up and adapt lesson plans for class assignments here at Edinboro.  The sites that offer textbooks and resources like that could potentially keep students from having to purchase books.

As a teacher I know I will use OERs to plan lessons and gather information.  The fact that a lot of sites with open resources have tried, tested and approved the materials is a big bonus.  I am in awe of the amount of information and the wide range of topics that the sites I looked at covered.  The sharing of resources from one educator to another just makes sense.  I am annoyed by educators who think their material should only be used by them.  If you got something good…share it!

I think these resources can benefit students by lumping similar content together.  It will allow them to view different resources that are related to each other without having to do a new google search every time.  Research will be made easier.



 

I can see real benefits to Open Educational Resources.  While most of them are online school districts and even teaming groups can benefit from this same principal of sharing information.  Making “what works well” available to the masses will only benefit schools, teachers and students.  Teachers have a huge opportunity to make a difference, and not just in their own classroom.

I am excited to use/benefit from Open Educational Resources!

Some of the neat and useful sites I found are:

http://www.oerglue.com/

http://openstudy.com/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/71348644/The-Why-and-How-of-Open-Education-v1-5-With-lessons-from-the-openSE-and-openED-Projects

 

I believe...

I believe a good teachers can make a difference in the lives of their students…

          For some students, their teachers can play a major role in where their lives take them. Their teachers can either catapult them into a successful life or cause them to fall into one of the many ruts along the way.
I was a student that many teachers didn’t look forward to having in class. As my parents would say “Lee wasn’t a bad kid…he was just busy.” Throughout middle school I was the student who gave gray hairs and caused teachers to long for the end of the day. I was never in my seat and I always wanted to be in the middle of everything. The way I see it my teachers had a choice to make. They could either look at my energy as a negative and write me off as a problem kid, which a select few definitely did, or they could try to harness my energy and turn it into a desire for learning. Fortunately for me I had far more teachers who cared about me and wanted to see me succeed.
           
          My teachers gave me a chance. They cared about me enough to make sure that I had every opportunity possible to succeed. They saw me as a kid with potential rather than an energetic kid they had to deal with. Because I had teachers who were willing to give me a chance, I became the student and the person I am today.
           
          A teacher can drastically change their students futures. We have to realize that our influence on students goes far beyond the classroom. Whether we realize it or not, the students in our classrooms rely on us to be there for them. For some students we may be the only stable adult figure in their lives, and if we write them off as everyone else has then they have no one left. If we always judge a book by its cover then we miss out on everything that book has to offer. The same goes for our students. We have to dig deep into the lives of our students in order to find the potential that lies within.
           
          We are not just teaching content to our students, we are molding lives and creating futures. One teacher can changes the lives of many students. All we have to do is give our students a chance.

 

Here's something worth fighting for!

KONY 2012

There has been a viral explosion of KONY 2012.  Children are being abducted and forced to fight, mutilate, and kill!  Joseph Kony has been orchestrating this for years and it is time for it to end.  The US govt has finally gotten involved and the end is in sight.  It is important that these atrocities are stopped and never started again!  Kony is still on the loose and it is time to see him captured and stopped.  The way we can help is by backing the cause, by spreading the word and by making it common knowledge of who Kony is and what he is doing.

Project AK-47

There are other groups who are fighting for the same cause!  One great one is Project AK-47.  Check it out!  And if you want to...get involved!

Lee Bob's top 10

1 :  http://karisadurfee.blogspot.com/

2 :  http://angelasedu183.blogspot.com/

3 :  http://carlyc11.blogspot.com/

4 :  http://caitlingarden.blogspot.com/

5 :  http://steelers01.blogspot.com/

6 :  http://caitlingarden.blogspot.com/

7 :  http://jonathangreer8.blogspot.com/

8 :  http://jw096719.blogspot.com/

9 :  http://rlagnello.blogspot.com/

10 :  http://sasyouregonnahearit.blogspot.com/

^  My top ten  ^

Cool Tool for School

This website is basically spark notes on steroids!  It is a bank of online study guides ranging from literature, to SAT prep to biology and algebra.  Every topic has an different tabs for: Intro, Summary, Themes, Quotes, Characters, Analysis, Questions, Photos, Quizzes and Best of the Web.  You can study for a test, research a paper, take a quiz, look at pics and so much more.

The site is awesomely designed and pretty easy to navigate.  You just select a genre, narrow down your search, and go!  If you are interested and want to know more you can take a Shmoop Tour.

The two main reasons I picked this site were:
1.  It has a large wealth of information and resources as well as links to related topics.
2.  It was cool looking.

If I am going to be spending any amount of time on a website it better be helpful and not a killer to look at.  I don't know how many times I ignore web pages because they are bland and all words.  You give me a picture or two and you can count me it.  Yes I was that kid who hated the books without pictures.

I think this site can be helpful to all ages of students as well as teachers.  I can see myself encouraging my students to look at the quiz questions on SHMOOP to prepare for a bonus quiz the next day.

All I have to say is that it is a pretty sweet site and I think you should pick my blog as your number one Cool Tool for School!

Thanks all!!