Online Education (coursera)

Online education is a part of the education field not everyone agrees with.  However if online education is free, this would be something only a small fraction of the people in the world would complain about.   www.coursera.com has over five million courses that are absolutely free, along with having them be given by some of the top countries in the world along with their professors.  Though some people may argue this is not the best form of education one can receive, most of us can see how websites such as these give opportunities to people with complicated situations.

I personally believe that online education is the future for the education system.  Especially since many times in school teachers are lecturing for most of the time, this does not have to be done repetitively.  Lectures should be given by the “best” professors and students should learn from those professors.  Education should be a place where students can digest the content and actually utilize all of the people that are gathered up and being interested in the topic.  Online education would not be replacing schools, but it will be changing the purpose of having everyone gather together.  During this precious time of having a group of people who are interested in the same thing, professors and teachers should use this opportunity to have students learn from each other and help each other to learn.

 Coursera does a wonderful job with allowing this to happen.  It gives the facts and the knowledge to students individually.  Once the facts and the knowledge is obtained the students can start to work on more of the fun things, such as analyzing or using their creativity.  Schools should start to weave online education more into the curriculum having students to learn independently.  Having students learn to be able to gain information on their own, and becoming confident to figure out problems that they come across.

This is a great TED talk that talks about this: http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_koller_what_we_re_learning_from_online_education.html?quote=1807

Technology & Pedagogy

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhHP3jSZHVffdGlUTDU1dWU4V3N4b0o5T1hQalctZVE&usp=drive_web#gid=0

I chose this lesson plan, because I thought it was a humorous way to describe gravity.  Physics is the field I am studying in and I have often felt that teaching lessons that are humorous makes the assignments that much better.  The way that this lesson is constructed it gives a good simple way of discovering newton’s laws, while being able to see how it is applied to real life.  I would try to have most the lessons that I teach to be something that can be seen throughout life and relatable.

One of the biggest problems with this lesson plan is that it did not allow much for student centered learning.  It is mainly a lecture where students only listen to the teacher, and there was not much room for interactions.  Since gravity is something that we all experience I felt as though there should be more of a discussion within this lesson.  There also should have been a worksheet that was attached with the lecture; the students would need some time to grapple what they just listened to by solving problems on their own.

The video that was shown within the lesson is a great way for the visual learners to come to understand the concept of gravity.  Also with this video, if they were to watch it for homework they can watch the lecture again if they missed anything.  If the website had created some kind of game to go along with the lesson that would have made the lesson perfect, for the more active learners to understand the concept being taught. 

Physics terminology and smartphones

If you talk to the average high school student about physics, most of them will have an experience that is not very pleasant.  They will talk about how confusing it was.  However I believe one of the most confusing things about physics are not actually the concepts of physics, but the terminology of physics.  Not having the basics of understanding of the terminology makes the whole subject extremely difficult.  However with the internet being in most of our pockets things like terminology can be discovered in an instant.  From website like, http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/glossary.htm, students can easily understand what the teacher is actually trying to teach.

Especially since physics uses many words such as: work, energy, power, etc.  Many students think they understand the terminology, but physics terms like this are used in a very specific kind of way that is crucial to understand.  Many teachers view technology such as smart phones to be an enemy against the teacher, but it can be something that can be a powerful ally that has great benefits in assisting the teacher, if it is used correctly.  Instead of having the teacher go over all of these words and print out multiple papers for the students to learn the words, teachers should utilize students to teach themselves through technology and it is so easy now with the access of the internet.

Of course there are many flaws to this kind of statement for young students to be independent learners and to allow students to use their smart phones.  However with the right kind of learning environment and if the teachers are comfortable, teachers should start to see how helpful things like smartphones can be in the classroom instead of seeing it as something that is distracting and harmful to education.  I think the reason many teachers would not like this is because they do not trust their students to be using technology is the best way, but I hope that is something that can soon change, and we can all start to feel how exciting learning really is.   

Physics and the Ipad

This week I was talking to a teacher who is in charge of the science department in his high school.  When I was talking to him about physic teachers, he told me that none of the physics teachers in his school use textbooks in their classrooms.  He told me instead of buying textbooks they bought I-pads for each students, which was quite close to how much the textbooks would have cost anyway.

I was shocked when I heard about this.  After talking to him for some time I realized what an extraordinary idea it was to use I-pads instead of textbooks.  Many times in schools, kids are very confused and dread physics.  However by using the I-pad, you can make physics something that is totally relevant and interesting.  With the apps that the I-pads have, you can text video footage of different things, and be able to derive formulas out of real life experiences.  Such as shooting a basketball, playing bowling, pushing a chair, etc.  This creates physics to be something that is easy to grasp and understand.  Physics becomes something that is very real and something that is happening all around us.  With the use of the I-pad you can calculate velocity, measure displacement, and be able to see real results very easily.

I know when I first came to learn physics it was very difficult to understand and comprehend, but after watching some videos upon how physics can be taught with technology it looks extremely fun and tangible.   I hope when I become a teacher, I can use something like the I-pad to be able to make physics something that is more real than ever before.  It is amazing how powerful and inspiring technology can be if it is used in the right way.

If you have time please watch this video, and see what I am talking about:
http://www.vernier.com/products/software/video-physics/

 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vernier-video-physics/id389784247?mt=8

History of Technology in Physics

Calculator: Let's focus on something only a human can do

source: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/05/computers-antiq.html