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OER

Open educational resources (OER) I can see being useful for teachers and for students but I also see a downfall in using it. OER can be useful for open textbooks which would reduce the cost of schooling. OER can also be useful because it is an alternative way for teachers to teach their students. If a student is struggling he or she can use the additional resource to help them learn the subject. The downfall of OER, in my opinion, is that teachers might relay more on the OER to teach the students than the teacher teaching the students themselves. Teachers could become more lazy.

Here are three links that could be useful to teachers and students:

http://archive.org/details/education#forum

http://oerconsortium.org/discipline-specific/

https://schoolforge.net/

                                                                                                              

My Believe Statement

          By doing this visual essay project I discoved that I am cable of doing things outside of my comfort zone. I learned how to use Photo Story and it was very easy and fun to use. I also learned how to upload a video to You Tube. I could not see me using a video in my classroom but I could create some type of video that my students could use outside of the class for an additional resource to help them learn the subject I'm teaching.

            Hi my name is Thomas Caldwell and I believe teachers should be friendly, fun, and not too strict.

                In ninth grade I had a math teacher named Miss Smith and she is the reason why I want to become a math teacher. She was friendly, fun, and not to strict. In my class she taught Algebra II and I passed it with 100%. She turned math class from being boring to fun.

                Miss Smith was friendly because she was nice to all her students and treated them all fairly. Her voice even sounded friendly and her appearance came off as friendly too. In return I and the other students treated her with respect. With her being a friendly teacher caused math class not to be boring.

                Miss Smith made math class fun believe it or not. Math class was not only fun but easy for me and most of the other students. As long as you did your homework you would get 100% on it. The tests were easy because there were bonus questions on the test; therefor I would get 100% or more most of the time on the test. The main reason why the class was fun is because we had a Christmas, Valentines, and Easter party. We would watch a movie and everyone would bring in food for the class to share. For Valentine’s Day we had food but also we gave everyone in the class including the teacher valentine cards. With math class being fun everyone enjoyed the class and did well in it.

                Miss Smith was also not too strict. Being not too strict created a comfortable environment to learning. I and the other students could ask her any question because she was an approachable teacher. Even though she was not a strict teacher she still had control of the classroom.

                Overall, Miss Smith was an amazing teacher because she was friendly, fun, and not too strict. Because of her I know how to make math class fun and not boring.

 

Top 10 Cool Tools for School

  1) http://carlyc11.blogspot.com/
  2) http://caitlingarden.blogspot.com/
  3) http://rlagnello.blogspot.com/
  4) http://leebob13.blogspot.com/
  5) http://karisadurfee.blogspot.com/
  6) http://bridgit-walters.blogspot.com/
  7) http://jw096719.blogspot.com/
  8) http://ladylancer.blogspot.com/
  9) http://kailamatlock.blogspot.com/
10) http://jonathangreer8.blogspot.com/

These made my top 10 list because I can either see myself using these tools in class or my students could use them outside of class. My top 2 are math sites so I can see myself using them since I am becoming a math teacher.

Cool Tool for School

This is website is amazing for those who struggle with math http://www.coolmath.com/. It covers pre-algebra, algebra, pre-calculus, and calculus. The website has lesson plans, math games, books that you can purchase to help you understand your math, online calculators (including a graphing calculator), and much more. The online graphing calculator I know is very useful if you don't know or forgot how to graph a function, especially if you don't have a graphing calculator. The website also gives successful tips on: how to be a successful student, how to study for a math test, and how to study for a math final exam. I couldn't really seeing myself using this in class but this website could be very helpful for those students outside of the classroom who are struggling.

Religion in Public Schools - An Issue in Education

            Religion is the belief in and worship of a higher power, such as a personal God or gods. Religion is all over the world and we can’t avoid it if you believe in it or not. Public schools frown upon teaching religion even though it is a big part in many people’s lives. Religion should be taught in public schools as an elective course.

            The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” This amendment allows people to believe in and exercise any religion they want whenever they want to. If a student wants to express his religion in school he or she is allowed but they are not allowed to be taught it in public schools. I believe that it is the parent’s job to teach their children about a specific religion not the teachers, but if students are willing to learn about the different religions around the world then there should be an elective course that they could take. To find out if students are interested in this type of course there could be a survey done to see how many students are interested in a multi religion elective course.

            By law students are allowed to pray and express their religious views in assignments but are not allowed to be taught about it. Students have the right to pray audibly or silently anywhere as long as it is not disruptive. They can read their Bibles or other scripters, say grace before meals, pray before tests, and discuss religion with other students who are willing to listen. Students are allowed to express their religious beliefs in the form of reports, homework, and artwork, and such expressions are constitutionally protected. Teachers must grade these assignments by ordinary academic standards and are not allowed to reject or correct them because of the religious view on them. The United States Supreme Court repeatedly said, “It might well be said that one’s education is not complete without a study of comparative religion, or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization.” When students are allowed to pray or express their religion through assignments and the U.S. Supreme Court said what they said, one’s education is incomplete without the study of religion, then why can’t their be an elective course to teach the different religions?

In my opinion I believe that there is no problem in allowing a religious course to be taught as an elective. I could see it be a problem if it was mandatory because not everyone believes in a personal God or gods. There is a law of separation of a church and state but that should not be a problem if the course is offered as an elective. If religion was taught as an elective it would have to be about all the religions therefore one religion would not be seen correct to the others. The objective of the course is not to convert any one to a certain religion but to teach students about the different religions and how they influenced history. Someone who agrees with me is BashfulEmil60 on debates.juggle.com, who says this about religion being taught in school, “I think it is important that people learn about all the religions of the world. As long as the course does not promote any religion as correct, or put down any religions, I do not think it would be a problem for anyone. It is simply a fact that people are different from each other, have different opinions and views, live in different cultures and, naturally, have different religions.”

All in all, religion should be taught in public schools as an elective course. Students are allowed to express their religion so why can’t they have the choice to take a religious course? Like I mentioned before have the students take a survey to see how many students are interested in learning about the different religions around the world and how they influenced history. I know I personally would have taken a class about religion if it was offered.

.  Here is a link to debates on “should courses regarding the world’s religions be allowed in public schools”:http://debates.juggle.com/should-courses-regarding-the-worlds-religions-be-allowed-in-public-schools. Here is a video on what could happen if students were forced to learn a religion:

Twitter

My first impression of Twitter is that it is easy to use and you can follow anyone you want. As a student or a teacher I could use Twitter as a way to interact with other students or teachers who share my passion of math. They could give me ideas on how to be a better teacher or ideas on lesson plans. I could also give them my feedback on what works and doesn't work in my class. https://twitter.com/#!/Thomas103598