College Comp I Class Blog

Welcome to our class blog. Here is where I will post assignments and where we will discuss and share ideas.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Videos to watch for Wednesday 10.1

Here is the MAN, Seth Godin, again on how to improve education.

As you watch this, do three things - First, keep a running list of the terms that are unfamiliar to you or that you have never heard of before.  Second, find two connections to what we have read so far in The Element.  Finally, what are two suggestions Godin posits in this video that you think could improve your education at LHS.




One more -

Salman Khan founder of The Khan Academy.

For this video, find two connections to what we have read in The Element so far.  Then imagine one class that you would like to see "flipped" to make it more effective.  How would "flipping" it make it more engaging and effective for you.

Note: Skahn gets a standing ovation from none other than Bill Gates.  Not bad.


26 comments:

  1. I like the comment someone put on his video about their autistic kids not understanding anything. After trying so much, they found his videos, and their kids could understand it. The kids was very excited about it. The family didn’t give up on their child, and now they know how to teach him. The family kind of inspired Kahn to make more videos.

    How are kids expected to find their passion, their perfect job, when we get treated all the same in school. I love the idea of flipping the classroom. We can actually go at our own pace. The teacher will see what we need help with and do some one on one. We will develop into our true selves and find where we belong.

    For me I think any science classes should be flipped. I learn the science stuff very slowly and ill ask a lot of questions. Having that one on one would help me out!

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  2. Take aways

    Salman Khan started out as an analyst at a hedge fund. He was obviously very smart so he tutored his cousins for a while. Eventually, he stumbled upon making YouTube videos to help teach his cousins. Little did he know these videos affected people around the world. He has made around 2,200 videos. Now, who in their right mind would want to make 2,200 videos about math and other boring subjects? Someone who is in their Element. I truly believe Khan has a passion for making these videos. His story would fit in with the others stories we read about in the Element.

    With self learning it can eliminate the social barrier in finding your Element. Students’ fears of failure in front of the classroom wouldn’t happen anymore because it’s an individual approach on learning. Everyone can move at their own pace. This can affect finding your Element. Hypothetically speaking, let’s say a student really struggled with math as a child, he was made fun of by his peers because he was stupid, and had no motivation to do math anymore. What if that kid was like Einstein but was so demoralized he stopped trying in math. If he would have been taught individually with the self learning program maybe he would have started to understand math, becoming the greatest mathematician of all times. I strongly believe students would get more out of school by self learning.


    Flipping

    I would probably chose to flip my math class. In math the teacher will teach it once at their own pace and then we are expected to do it. I’d rather get more time to discuss how to do it than just a quick 30 minute session and expect to master what we just learned.
    To add to this I really like his Khan Academy website. He says “We encourage you to experiment, we encourage you to fail, but we do accept mastery.” If a teacher made a website like that I think I would be able to actually master a math concept. I’d constantly be doing them so it’d be pretty much embedded into my brain. It might not work for other kids but for me I need to have repetition in order to grasp a concept.

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  4. Video 1:
    -It is built to make kids ready for the factory
    -We need to change the way we teach, teach creatively

    -I think we need to be able to have more creative classes and more intuitive and interactive classes

    Video 2:
    -We shouldn’t have a one size fits all teaching style
    -We should master before moving on

    Flipping:
    -I would like math flipped, so you can have a video to rewind and rehear the lecture, so I could possibly get it, and then go through problems in class.

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  5. Salman Khan

    Take Aways:

    Before Khan Academy, Salmon worked at a hedge fund. Kahn Academy started when Khans cousins were in need of some math help. He started to make a few videos to send to his cousins through YouTube since they didn't live nearby. He thought of his videos as nice to have and a supplement to anything his cousins needed help with. His cousins even said that they enjoyed him in videos over him being right next to them which sparked an idea to take what he had been doing to start Khan Academy. Unless someone is in their element doing something like making hundreds of youtube videos about math, they wouldn't have done what Khan did. Khan is clearly in his element when he is doing math. This is relatable to the Element because Khans story is similar to those that we have read so far.

    One huge takeaway from Khans speech was self learning and "Flipping" The classroom. In Khans speech he talked about learning at ones own pace instead of taking on the all too familiar "one size fits all" approach to education. Instead of moving at the same rate as the rest of the class, Kids can learn at their own pace and go over things that they don't understand without the feeling of embarrassment that is often associated with asking a question that may seem obvious to everyone else in the class. Khan said that his cousins liked to be able to pause and rewind on concepts without feeling embarrassed. This also saved them from the dreaded question of "Do you understand it now?" For example; A student is having trouble with a function in math class but is too embarrassed to ask about it due to the fact that all of his peers are understanding it. Instead of risking the chance of embarrassment, This student can look for supplements to understand that function such as Khan academy which offers a far more customized approach to teaching than public schools tend to do for students. I think that for the most part supplements like Khan academy are very beneficial to all students and will someday be the way education is provided to students. The majority of students want a customized experience that lets them find and develop their passions for jobs they will have in their futures.

    Flipping of the Classroom

    If I could flip only one class I would flip math in a heartbeat. In most of my math classes, The teacher will only go over the topic again if almost all of the class is struggling with the given topic. With Khan academy however, Students can work at their own pace and can work on the areas they need to work on. Additionally, Math is typically not the easiest class to study for. You can memorize all the math terms you want but terms and solving an actual problem are two very different things that take different approaches. To completely understand a concept in math, One often needs to practice. One also needs to attempt, fail and try again until they understand it. This is often done with example problems which are often not supplied by teachers in "study guides." I believe that programs like Khan academy would help with problems of all subjects a student might be struggling with.

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  6. Video 1:
    Take connections with the element.
    My first connection with the element is to not be afraid of failure. We have all been told that failure is bad. But in all reality its good to fail. It causes you to take different approaches towards things. It causes you to find yourself and what you really are good and not good at. So to be totally afraid of failure should not me engrained into our minds. Such as how he quotes in the video, "Successful people wake up every morning saying, ' this might not work'" Because of failure is how they are successful. The have experienced failure and have learned from it.
    Second connection is that we shouldn't be tested with the ACT. All it shows is what you knew when you took the test. Not what you actually retained from all of the schooling that you did. Instead we should base it off of how much kids know of something such as if they're better at math than they are at another subject. Like he said in the video, "...Instead of the ACT, we should demand enlightened people.."

    Two ways to improve Lincoln.
    One way is by allowing kids to get more one-on-one with the teacher. Whether it'd be during class or not.
    Second is by not pressuring so much on the ACT. but rather to have enlightened students who actually retain knowledge instead of knowing it long enough for the class then losing it.

    Video to reinvent education.
    First connection is how he used a kid learning to ride a bike to how we learn. We learn and then take an exam. No matter how well we did on it we moved onto the next part. Whether you aced it or just barely past.
    Second connection is how everything is connected. Such as how he shows the process in which you learn to do math. You start out with the simple addition math then slowly work your way up over time.

    I would like to see math class flipped. It would give you the one-on-one help you would need without having to wait for the teacher. You are able to go back and look at how they did something without having to ask the teacher multiple times. It would make it easier on the students and teachers as well. But if you do this, then the teachers aren't 100% doing what they were hired to do which is teach.

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  7. Flipped Class
    Algebra II needs to be flipped for me. I have a tough time understanding that class. If Mr. Froiland and I could have a one on one teacher/student time, I think that I would be able to understand the material better. I would be more interested in learning because I would be able to ask all of my question, as many of them as I wanted, and not worry about wasting the classes time and Froilands time. Haveing one on one time for a class would be great.
    Kahn Video. Mr. Kahn is a man who is in his element. He has mad over 2,000 videos on math and other subjects that would drive most people crazy. Not many people in the world would want to sit down and take time out of their day to do interactive tutorials on subjects that next to nobody likes. Only a person who is in their element would be willing to do that. Kahn also talks about failing, and how it isn't a bad thing. This is totally right. Failure is an essential ingredient in the recipe for success. We need to learn how to fail, and recover from that failure to become successful in our lives. Our lives will never go as planned. Failure is inevitable. It is our reaction to failure that will determine the paths that we take after high school.
    Two improvements that can be made to LHS.
    1. More one to one teaching. Students will learn better when just they and their teacher are alone and the teacher can really focus on the students needs.
    2. Put less stress on state tests. The ACT and MCA tests are reasons that kids can't sleep at night. Yes they can show to some extent how smart a kid is, but not all students are smart in the subjects that we put so much emphasis on. I can guarantee that there will be some damn good mechanics that come out of my class, and you can bet that they struggle in core classes and these tests. That doesn't determine how smart they are though. They will turn out to be polite, nice people and will continue to go on and live a nice life. Just because people struggle in math and science and literature and on the ACT doesn't mean that they are going to struggle in life, and I think that schools put to much emphasis on doing well in these subjects

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  8. Salman Khan started out working at a hedge fund. His cousins needed help in some classes and to help them he made videos and put them on youtube. People started watching and commenting on his videos. He then had and idea called Khan Academy which is where he puts up videos and kids can go on and watch them whenever. Khan is in his element in math but also I think with helping students out with school work.

    First connection was when he told us that we go through classes and even if we don't get the material we move on, and we end up like swiss cheese with a bunch of holes missing.

    Second connection was when he talked about learning at our own pace, not being rushed and master the subject before we move on.

    I think also that math class should be flipped. The teacher could help use with the problems in school while we learn the stuff outside of class. We can learn at our own pace and not be rushed to know and figure out the problems.

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  9. Video #1:
    Connections: -Instead of demanding good test scores and GPAs, demand enlightened human being who desire to make a difference.

    -Failure is, in fact, good. It helps you learn from your mistakes.

    2 improvements to help our education in Lincoln:

    -Teach kids more leadership skills in the classroom instead of how to do well on a standardized test. Education should be focused on developing people to lead, not people who can do well on the ACT.

    -No more memorizing, look up instead. Kids should want to have the incentive and desire to look up things in stead of memorizing things they don't care about in textbooks.

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  10. Video #2:

    Connections to the Element:

    -Master a subject before moving on. Otherwise, it will add "swiss cheese holes" in your foundation of knowledge on that subject that the rest of your education builds on.

    -All kids learned at different speeds and paces. Schools should learn how to help this issue in schools so all kids, whatever pace they learn at, get to understand the subject they are learning.


    "Flipping": I would love math class to be flipped. I have always have problems in math and would have a slower pace than all the other kids. If we had the class flipped, I think it would help kids with slower paces understand the subject at their own pace.

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  11. Salman Khan is definitely in his element. He is helping students understand subjects in a way that they never could before. Not only is he doing that, but he also is changing students' views on certain subjects. Some say that they now enjoy doing something that they hated before.

    I like when he says that we need to get rid of the "one size fits all" lecture in the classroom. It would be more beneficial to students if they could watch the lecture at their own pace at home, stop and replay if they needed to, and then discuss the material in class the next day. With Khan's system students will learn mastery. They can go over a certain subject over and over until they master it. They will not move on until they have mastered the previous course.

    I think that history classes should be flipped. It is so boring to go to a classroom, sit and take notes for an hour, then go home and study those notes for the test. We should take notes on the material at home, and when we come to class we should discuss the information in an interesting way.

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  12. 1
    Connections:
    The Industrial Economy is dead
    Grades can no longer measure a person's capabilities

    Improvements:
    School needs to be for problem solving, not training kids on how to be obedient.
    Homework should be done in class and lectures should be watched at home.

    Connections:
    Learning needs to be personalized
    Learning needs to be engaging

    Flipped:
    I would chose math class to be flipped because I grasp different concepts at different rates and being able to work at my own pace would improve my final overall understanding.

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  13. Video 1:
    Seth Godin said that value is created by connections. This relates to the Element because we need certain connections to keep moving forward in the world. It also relates to the idea of luck, it reminds me of how the person with the positive attitude found the money and bought coffee for a stranger. It turned out that this person later became a contact, so it shows how connections keep you moving in the right direction.

    Godin also tells us that we need to teach problem solving skills in the school system. Our world is innovating very fast, and saying that something is not possible these days is almost like lying because there is some way to make it work. We need to stop teaching kids to be obedient, and start teaching them to think outside the box so we create more problem solvers.
    Improve LHS:
    -One way to improve LHS is the idea of taking classes from other schools. We have a wide variety of classes at Lincoln for a small town, but if we tried this idea the world would be our oyster because we could have so many more opportunities.
    -Another way to improve Lincoln is to make kids more comfortable with asking questions, and asking the teacher for help. Many kids are too embarrassed to ask for help in front of the class, and end up never asking which can lead to not understanding things.

    Video 2:
    -We shouldn't have a one size fits all learning style. One way doesn't work for everyone in learning. Some students learn by listening, others hands on, and others through writing. Some teachers only teach one style which is hard for some to learn, they might still come out with a good grade in the class, but they might not have learned anything.
    -He also talks about how you can take a class from anywhere in the world over the internet. I think this would be a cool idea to try at LHS because we would have so many more learning opportunities that would help us when we get to college.

    If I were to flip a class right now I would flip math class. Sometimes some lessons are hard to comprehend, and if we could play back lessons that would be easier. Also if we could do homework in class, it would be nice to have the teachers help, which would make it easier to understand lessons.

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  14. Kahn has made over 2,200 videos. He is definitely in his element to be able to do this. An average person does not make that many educational youtube videos for fun unless they are in their element.
    I agree with the one size fits all segment of this video. In reality it would be more beneficial for students to be able to watch videos fast forward and rewind. With videos you can learn at your own pace.


    Flipping- I would like to flip math and watch these lectures at home. The next day in class the teacher can assign us in class home and we can ask our teacher questions that were not covered in the online lecture.

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  15. Salman Khan is a perfect example of someone who wasn't in his element to begin with, but eventually found it. He was an analyst at a Hedge fund but left to tutor kids around the world for a living.

    This relates a little more to what we talked about in class but it also relates to the book. He kept his options open, he didn’t turn down the extra work it took to make the videos. And it resulted in him making a worldwide organization. Which I think goes to prove “the harder you work, the luckier you get”.

    Math is the perfect example of a class that needs to be flipped. It builds off of basic things for every future lesson. So as Kahn said if you don’t understand one thing it is going to hurt even the best student in the future. It would allow the student to be exposed and tutored at their own pace and then get one on one teaching at school during class with the teacher as well as with peers. It would help me because I find that I don’t get to ask as many questions as I need because a few students understand it so the teacher just moves on.

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  16. Connections-
    Value is created by connections.
    This reminds me of connecting not collecting. We talked about how we take so many classes that teach us different thing. In reality we should be connecting everything together.
    Doing things that matter to us.
    In The Element, it talks about all these people who started out doing things that they weren't good at or weren't interested in. They got out of it and found what they were passionate about. Just because they weren't good at one thing doesn't mean they are stupid.

    Improvements-
    Enlightened human beings.
    He says this very nicely. No standardized tests. We can't be tested all the same on the same exact stuff because we are all different. How are we supposed to be an individual when we get treated the same.
    Technology.
    He pretty much said we waste our time in school because i reality we could get everything done in about three hours. We should be using the time better. Teaching us stuff that actually matters or will matter to us. There is change and we have to adjust to it. That's how it works.

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  17. Connection to the Element
    We need to teach kids to learn how to solve interesting problems and how to lead. Not how to do well on a test. When you grow up and get a job they’re not going to test you. They’re going to be looking at how well and how efficient you are at that job. You could know ace every test they give you but if you can’t do the job to their standards, you won’t have a job for very long.
    When Godin explains his theory on “This might not work.” It really relates to the Element. All of these people in the book have failed at one time. That’s why they’re great. Why are we teaching kids that it’s horrible to fail when it only leads to success? Or that you can only do things that are sure to work? From the next generations to come we need to tell our kids “This might not work” because it will lead to greater things in the future. Like he says “The only successful people are the ones that wake up in the morning saying this might not work.”

    Improve LHS
    “Value is created by connections and when we work with people we trust.” If teachers tried to make connections with students I think students would understand the curriculum better. When a teacher is unapproachable what student is going to take the time to ask questions? Not many. The value of our work could improve if teachers would try a little harder to connect with their students.
    “Everything worth memorizing is worth looking up.” So why do teachers continue to make us memorize dates in history, or the periodic table” Unless our field of work has to do with teaching history or being a scientist that doesn’t apply to most students. They can still teach the lessons but knowing every single date back until 1800s is irrelevant.

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  18. Video#1:
    Towards the beginning of the video Seth says that we have to help them do something that matters to them. This relates to The Element because when you are in your element, doing what you love, it matters to you. Another point he talks about is failure. Failure shouldn’t be shamed it should be encouraged. He says that kids should know that this problem wouldn’t work but try anyway. Don’t limit kids to just one solution, let them explore every option themselves.

    LHS:
    If I could make two suggestions to LHS my first would be to flip the classroom. Allow kids to learn at their own pace and in the comfort of their home. Allow class time for mentoring and asking questions. Bring homework back into the classroom so the teachers can help us and mentor us.
    My second would be to have more classes that can’t be measured by tests. The most creative classes, art for example, can’t really be measured by tests. Yet this type of class allows for kids’ creativity to blossom, it allows kids to explore their own creativity. In The Element Ken talks about how crossing between two subjects causes breakthroughs, why not allow kids to experience it?

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  19. Video #1
    I understood pretty much everything.

    Two Connections to Element:
    The jobs now are where people have to be creative and artistic and do what they like to do.
    A lot of people aren’t going to college anymore because they don’t find it useful to. They are finding the jobs they love and approaching it from a different way.

    2 Things that’ll improve LHS:
    We need to teach kids how to solve problems and lead not how to get a perfect test.
    We should watch the lectures at night from the best and brightest people in the world, then come in the classroom the next day and ask our questions and do the homework.

    Video #2
    Two Connections to the Element:
    Keep working hard and if you fail try again until you get it right then challenge yourself even more.
    Having teachers recognize students when they are excelling in a subject and when a student is falling behind, then doing something about it and helping the student or teaming up and have the other peer tutor them. It’s like the Recognition and Facilitating.

    One Class Flipped and Why:
    I would like to see chemistry flipped because then you would be able to study and learn the lesson you’ll be doing the next day. You will get prepared for it and when you walk into class you will already have an idea of what is going to happen. Then when you get to class you do the labs and ask the questions to the teacher and do the homework so they are able to help you out. The good thing is chemistry is already like this kind of but the videos you get at night review what you went over that day and not what will happen the next day.

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  20. Video 1:
    Godin talks about value comes from working with people we trust and doing something that matters to us. Working with good people and working on something that matters to you is basically like being in your element. He also talks about how a good ACT or SAT score is demanded when we should be demanding people who have a desire to make a difference.

    At LHS I think all tests should be open book. Godin says "anything worth memorizing is worth looking up". I completely agree with that statement. Why should we have to memorize things and get graded on what we memorize when we all have the power to look up the answer whenever we want?
    At school kids should be taught that it's okay to try something knew even if it might not work. We need to stop teaching kids to do the things they know will work and teach them to try things that might not work.

    Video 2:
    Salman Khan talks about how kids learn at different levels. Kids all learn at different paces. In the Element Robinson talks about how all kids have a different way of learning that works for them and thats sort of what Salman is saying. I like his comment comparing learning to ride a bike to school. If you can't ride a bike you're not going to try to ride a unicycle. So in school why do we start to learn different things when we didn't learn the first topic?
    I would flip my science classes because I don't understand science very well. It is usually my worst subject every year in school. I think flipping it would help me better understand it.

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  22. Video 1
    “Value is created by connections. Value is created when we work with people, we trust.” When we work with people we begin to trust them. In the Element it says you need to be working in an environment where you feel comfortable. If you can not trust or work with your co-workers/peers you will not feel comfortable or be in your element. “From the time you’re in first grade what you are graded on, what you are rewarded for is fowling instructions.” This needs to change. In the real world we need to be prepared to solve problems with quick critical thinking. We don’t need to be in a school system created over 100 years ago that prepares us to go work in the factories.
    We should improve our teachers and students to push themselves to be enlightened human beings who will push themselves to make a difference.

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  23. Video #1
    Two connections to the element:

    People are innovative when they are doing something with art or something that matters to them. This never happens when people are following specific instructions and can not be creative at all.

    School should be for mentoring instead of teaching us to memorize things. It is more important that we learn where are fears are and being taught how to befriend them, rather than memorizing something that we could look up.

    Two things that could improve LHS:

    Teachers should stop evaluating students on things that can only be measured, like that ACT. Instead teachers should start looking at how many students have a desire to go out into the world and make a difference.

    We should start teaching kids at a young age how to problem solve instead of memorizing things that they could look up. They need to also learn that it is ok to be wrong when trying to come up with an answer.

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  24. Video one
    People aren't innovative when they are suppose to follow certain instructions or rules, but when doing art or something they enjoy they tend to be innovative.

    In school there should be mentoring and learning together. Mentors help kids succeed and do well in school also in life.

    Two things LHS could improve:
    Teachers should treat us as adults and not give us busy work just because they have nothing planned.

    Teachers should also teach us at our pace, not the pace they feel the need to go.

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  25. Video #1- He talks about how value comes from doing something you love and working with good people. When you are doing something you love and are working with great people you are in your element.

    Video #2- Salman has made over 2,000 videos. If you are making this many videos I think you are in your element. I think one size fits all is true. It would be better for the students if they could control the videos on there own. They would be able to fast forward and rewind the video. They would be going at there own pace.

    Flipping- The one class that I would want to be flipped is science. I have a hard time understanding science. It is one of my worst classes. If this was flipped I think I would be able to understand it better.

    Improving LHS- I think that teachers should go at the pace that the students want. Some teachers go through it way to fast and we don't really learn anything. I also think that every test we take should be an open book test. We shouldn't be graded on how much we memorize. We can just look up the answer whenever we want.

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