Blog Post #7

(Collaborative Assignment)

What can you learn from conversations with Anthony Capps? (#1-4)

While watching Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd grade teacher,Anthony tells us about his teaching experiences he recently has had. He is a third grade teacher in a Baldwin county Elementary school located in Gulf Shores. Dr. Strange asked Anthony how he approached project based learning in his 3rd grade class and what it involved. Anthony said that project based learning is constantly evolving; he mentioned that he uses PBL as a method of teaching. Most teachers will use projects at the end of a teaching unit to sum up or clarify that the students are comprehending what is being taught. But Anthony thinks that you should always use PBL as a method in which you learn. PBL is not only a way of showing the students that they own their own learning experience but it excited them because they are creating something as they discover the knowledge. Also, he stated that you have to create a project that uses all of the content that the students need to know and will be able to use during their assignment. He says that the goal to a good project is one that has an authentic audience; this makes the kids feel rewarded for the work that they do. Another goal is to make it relatable to the students interest, and, also, its a great idea to involve your community. When Anthony creates a project they all have to meet the state standards, for an example, one project included the students writing letters to our congressman; this allows for the language, history, and writing standards to be met all in one project.

Anthony also talks about ICurio and how he has used this tool in his 3rd grade class. He states that the students are able to log in and use it as a search engine. He allows students to store content that they think are valuable and it also allows the teachers to store what they think is valuable. This allows the students and teachers to have total organization online. You can add things and create your own folders with websites, audio, videos, and images; it's a great way to teach virtual organization. It is very useful and safe for students because only what the teacher allows will be on the ICurio site, so it is very child friendly. Also the students can save any work they are currently working on, so if the bell rings and its lunch time they can safely save everything they are working on and come back to it at a later time.

"A picture is worth a 1000 words and a video must be worth a million." -Anthony Capps

Whatever text article you can give a child if you give it with visual then they will retain a lot more information. You always should use an illustration when teaching and Discovery Ed is the perfect place to get it from. The students can also use Discovery Ed to find pictures and article on specific class related topics. Anthony uses Discovery Ed to bring certain text to life. The students are listener watchers, which means they listen and watch more today than they read or write. Dr. Strange states that: our goal as a teacher is to convert people as more than consumer of these products into users of these products or even better producers.

m "The Anthony-Strange List of Tips for Teachers Part 1"

This was a very interesting conversation to listen to. I feel like this list will become very helpful in my future teaching career. Dr. Strange and Anthony create a list of 5 different key issues that new teachers need to consider. First, teachers must be interested in learning. I feel that this idea is very important. In the past I have had teachers who had no interest in their subject or learning more about it. These were always the teachers I disliked. They made learning miserable and boring. The other teachers I have had were always looking for more or new information. Even teachers who had earned a PhD in their field were always eager to go look something up if a student asked them a question they did not know the answer to. The second point that Anthony and Dr. Strange made was that teachers need to be flexible. I know this point will become very useful to myself and other future teachers. In 11th and 12th grade I taught a 2nd-3rd and 3rd-4th grade Sunday School class. Because I only had 2-3 students I had to be very creative when coming up with lessons and projects. In addition, many weeks I would only have 1 student come. This made things even more challenging. This experience really makes me agree with this part of the list. The 3rd issue on the list is that teaching is hard work. This is very true. As a student I really can only imagine the work involved in making lessons, making homework, quizzes, and tests, grading these, and engaging students, and helping any student who might need a little extra explanation. Dr. Strange and Anthony also say that teaching is rewarding. From my brief experience teaching a small Sunday School class or teaching a young Girl Scout troop a new skill, this fact is very true; why else would so many people devote their lives to teaching. All new teachers should know this so that they know what they are getting into. The 4th issue is begin any plan with an end, meaning that always know what you want the end result to be. Again, flexibility is key here. The last issue is the get students engaged. Anthony says that the goal should be 100% engagement. This may seem like a very high, unlikely number, but like Anthony mentions "no child left behind". Why teach to the whole class if you only expect half to be interested and listening. I will always keep this goal in mind while teaching. Anthony and Dr. Strange share an extra 6th issue towards the end of the video that I think is very interesting. Sharing the final product with others. Having an audience makes many students want to do better and excites them. It also provides a way for students to reflect, the 6th issue on the list. Reflecting is very important. After a project is done many students want to simply relax, have fun, and not think about the topic anymore. This, however, is not a good idea. Dr. Strange and Anthony are very right to add this onto the list. I think that all of these issues are very important and I will keep them in mind and implement them when I begin my teaching career, as I believe all other future teachers should do!

#6)Title of Video: Don't Teach Tech- Use It

Link: Anthony Capps

By: Kayla Szymanski

Using technology in the classroom can be one of the best approaches in the 21 century. Technology is all around our students and they use it everyday, it comes completely natural to them. A great way to incorporate technology is to introduce these tools that are available like ICurio and Discovery Ed. Anthony explains how you can use technology weekly in your classroom. The first week of class he introduces the students to their new research tools. The following week they will then be assigned a research topic, for the research part they can use ICurio. Next they will have to research for a video that relates to their topic which can be done threw Discovery Ed. The final week Anthony explains how the students are then given a research project that may requires a movie component to it. There are many technologic tools that you can use in your classroom, and these are just two example of how Anthony Capps introduces them to his 3rd graders. The benefits of using technology is that it is completely free and the students get to create and design their projects in a unique manor. Sometimes there will be a one time fee for these technological tools. But what you have to remember is that when using technology the daily classroom supplies is no longer needed. This is a great way to ensure that your students will never run out of the materials during their learning process. Also it saves time in the classroom because it is clean. Anthony mentions how you don't have to clean up markers and spills, technology is the new way of learning.

#7) Additional Thought About Lessons
Written By: Haley Marrs

This brief video is a wonderful learning tool for future teachers. This conversation features Anthony Capps discussing the four layers of teaching lessons. He makes a nice humorous point when saying "if it's anymore than four layers I'm just going to cry". The four layers are broken down as follows:

- Yearly: When planning our lessons for the year Anthony recommends drawing out a map. We have to ask ourselves "Are you going to cover all of your content standards?"
- Unit: Learning should be stretched out to be taught over the course of the appropriate unit size. By the end of the unit students should be able to master the standards taught. A question to ask yourself is "Have you devised unit projects in a meaningful way that is connected throughout the unit?"
- Weekly: Units should be planned by weeks. Each week should require a learning goal to meet your course standards. "How can you cover material needed in one week?" Will your goal be met?
- Daily: Weeks should be planned by day. Daily lessons should focus on ways to deliver content to students in a way that will keep them engaged. It is important to measure learning each day so you know where to begin the next day.

I find it interesting that Anthony says each layer of learning is equally as important. He suggests that all layers must be done successfully to finish a lesson.