Blog Post 5

1. After reading Krissy Venosdale's post, If I Built A School it opened my eyes to new ideas. Krissy Venosdale is a teacher who is very passionate about, well everything. She wants students to always have excitement and fun while learning in her classroom which is ideal for all teachers but most teachers are not this passionate about everything they do.
Once again, I can tell that Mrs. Venosdale is very passionate about this idea and would LOVE for it to happen to her. This school would be for the students not just an institution of learning. Everything from her Tree house Library to the lunchroom informal chats would be based around the students and their way of learning.The idea of how the classrooms are set up is also something I like.
For my school I would look into Mrs. Venosdale's idea of how classrooms are separated. I think this is an interesting idea but it also could create problems because there are no standards in place. I would make everything possible very hands on and lead/ teach by example rather than lectures in the classroom. I would focus on life skills not dates and information students will not remember or relate to. Students would be able to sign up for courses they are interested in and have a passion for rather than trying to teach them information they do not have a desire to learn.

2. Watching Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir I was simply amazed. I had no words on how this group of people could have and did complete this task. I subscribed to Eric's page on YouTube and watched about 6 videos about Virtual Choir or the Virtual Choir itself. This videos are simply amazing. My reaction to the video was shocked. I never even thought about how this could be done much less from 12 different countries and people that do not even know each other. I feel like if life had a song, This would be it.

3. It was interesting listening to the NPR interview of Eric Whitaker on making the Virtual Choir. To listen to the different voices separate and then together.

4. When I watched "Teaching in the 21st Century" by Kevin Roberts (John Strange version)it was pretty insightful. The title in itself is intriguing. I love that Prezi was used to create this presentation because it is already such an interactive presentation tool. Robert emphasizes the use of technology and all of the different sites that educators could use for resources. I agree with the video mostly. The slide that says "Teachers are not the main source of information, we are a filter" is very true in today's classroom. This presentation is accurate in the sense that teachers are there for questions but the way educators teach is being changed dramatically.

5. The flipped classroom videos were very informative and each one in its own way.
a. Katie Gimbar's video "Why I Flipped My Classroom" begins with introduction of herself and that she has been teaching math for 5 years and that is the reason why she flipped her classroom. She begins with the demonstration of how class time was not being used effectively in her classroom. This information would be very helpful in my classroom considering it is true. This is a great theory but i would like to see how the outcome was because I think this could only work on some subjects and grade levels.
The FAQ section was very helpful and answered many of my questions.
b. Dr. Lodge McCammon's video is more of teaching educators how to Flip a Classroom and the benefits but it is still fully effective in the lesson. This video is very similar to the previous video but more to the point.
c. Ms. Munafo's "Flipping the Classroom" is very busy on the slides. It is almost to busy to pay attention to everything. I like how she explains the definition and tips for flipping a classroom. She names the benefits of flipping so that parents and other educators can understand.