Keeping Students Engaged and Excited in Their Education

Schools can do a better job by keeping students engaged and excited about their education. Ways that schools can make learning fun are they they can find new ways to teach. Most teachers just teacher the same old, boring way. They stand infront of the class and talk for 45 minutes straight. If once in awhile you have the students teacher the class for a change might be a fun way.

Another idea that I have about how to keep students engaged is the scenery around them. Next year we will have the Ipads so location is no problem. On a nice day why not take the class outside to sit on the picnic benches for class. Or the library on really hot days since its cool in there. The classrooms all look the same so changing it up sometimes will regain the students attention.

Sinally, since we will have Ipads in the hands of every student why not put them to good use. Fun, educational websites are always good. Like Edmodo. If a teacher wants to give a project let it be something that includes the topic and something that the kid wants to do. I know from experience that the most fun projects I had this past year have been the ones that I got to choose what I wanted it to be about. Many projects that are simple and creative are always good because they are like a breather for students. After weeks and weeks of hard studying and lots of work fun little projects are nice.

This is my last blog post for my Web 2.0 class. I will definitely continue blogging on whatever I want because it is a place to share what ever I want. This is a good example of what a nice change is. All of my oher finals for freshman year I will sit in the room for one and a half hours using a scantron sheet and my hand will hurt from writing so much. For this class's final I had to answer a few questions and write this blog. What a fun final! Plus I don't have to go to school to take it!

Apps for the Ipads

I think that kids should be able to put what they want on their Ipads. If a teacher wants their students to have a special app for their class than they should be able to. I can see where teachers would think thats students would use games and things like that. When students are in their study period and they don't have any homework what are they going to do. I know that I always play games on my Ipod touch. If there was some way that during class the teachers could see all the apps being run by students during the class. So that they would be able to control what they use in class but that the students would be able to have the things that they want to have on their Ipad. There may be problems with some students but I think that most of the students can be trusted.

Common Sense

This website its the nail right on the head i think. The common sense website is a great way for parents and students to become informed about their school surroundings. It gives parents the knowledge on the technology advancements around the world. Also it tells them exactly what goes on in schools so no matter what their children tell them they really know what happens with their children in school. It also is a reliable source for kids to see and know what is around them.

BHS Expectations for Student Learning for Next Year

When the punishing of students adults can be really harsh. The kids maybe follow what their parents did. The adults punishing the kids might have done the same things as the students and they are trying to help prevent that from happening to the students. Instead of suspending them from school you could talk to them and explain what they did wrong why it was wrong. Whe some kids think of suspension thaey just think of it as time off from school and not a time to think about what they did.


After reading the Burlington High School Technology/ Network Acceptable Use Policy seems to be a really good way to know for next year that all of the new technologies and equipment will be protected from any harm. I think that there will still be some problems with students not following the rules because there are always a few that don't listen.

Take a Seat: 5 Office Chair Alternatives

In schools there are hard orange, red, and blue hard plastic chairs. They are so uncomfortable and after awhile they start to kill your back. Every once in awhile you get a tan colored chair that is connected to the desk. Those are the absolute worst. They are slightly tipped back not like a normal chair. They are not at a 90 degree angle but they are not far enought to be a recliner type of chair. My desk in history is one of the tan one and I have to keep moving, then I get up in the end of class my back hurts so much that I feel like I can't walk.

A great investment for the school to make would be that the chairs should be gotten rid of. The 5 Office Chair Alternatives are:  

"The Saddle and Pony Saddle seats, part of Humanscale’s award-winning Freedom seating line, are the most comfortable and versatile stools ever made. The original Saddle and the more compact Pony Saddle accommodate comfortable seating in countless applications. These stools encourage you to sit in a saddle posture, which lowers the thighs, opens up the hips and puts the spine into a healthy lordotic curve. The stools are ideal for shorter term sitting—or even for getting your feet up off the ground by using it as an ottoman."


"The Variable balans^® is the perfect instrument for the work at a desk – for children and adults. Runners and kneepads promote an open and dynamic sitting position that keeps your spine in its natural curvature and improves breathing. The chair gives your body the freedom to find its own equilibrium which keeps your back and abdominal muscles working. While tension in back and shoulders is prevented, this ‘active sitting’ improves circulation and oxygen levels; thus concentration and creativity during your work."

"Alternately sitting and standing. Always on the move. That is the secret of the "muvman". Thanks to the patented flexzone® technology the "muvman" gives you support whenever you need it. And freedom of movement when you want it. That is comfortable. That is healthy. That is sitting as it ought to be."

There are two more options and I will tell you more tomorrow because you will want to hear about them.

The Cafeteria Food

The Food Revolution that Jamie Oliver is creating is such a good idea because students are eating horrible food that the schools are providing. All the food that the schools are getting is processed and made with nasty cheap scarps that they can sell for really cheap. They only care about is the money that they make. They use cheap stuff and sell it making and that is how they make a profit.

The schools teach their students how to be healthy and then they send them off to lunch where they eat junk. What Jamie Oliver is trying to do is that he wants schools to continue teaching about being healthy and then follow through with the lesson at lunch time.

Goal 5: Reflect, Step Back, Act

Goal number 5 asks us to reflect on your best and worst lesson this week or last semester then share this reflection and to read comments on the blog and respond to some of the questions and struggles of others in our community!

Yesterday I had a track meet. I was placed into the 800 meter race which I was nervous about running since it would be my first time. So, my worst lesson was that as I was at the starting line my coach goes "just run but not to fast and not to slow and don't go to fast on your first lap and then go faster on the second lap."

The best lesson was in Geometry class we normally are all completely lost and have no idea what is going on. For the past few days we have been learning about circles and how to use the sin, tan, and cos buttons on the calculator. I so happy because I actually understand it. That is the best school lesson that I have learned especially in that class.

Goal 4: Leave It Behind - Stress

We were asked to create a list you can leave your stress behind and not carry it around with you into the classroom.

• Take a hot shower that morning
• Eat
• Get a good night sleep the night before
• Talk to your friends
• Study so you don't have to worry about tests
• Pay attention in classes

Goal 3: What do you believe about learning?

Goal number three wants us to make a bullet list of what you believe regarding how you and others learn and to answer the question how would you redesign school and classes to best meet the needs of high school students?


Everyone learns better in different ways like:

• Environments
• Comfortable around teachers
• Technology
• How much they slept the night before
• Testing skills
• Oral teachings
• Visual teachings
• How quickly the student can learn

Having teachers who can work well with their students and teach visually and orally to everyone so that all that they can learn the most in that time period.

Goal 2: Re-Evaluate your values

Goal number two is about helping someone look at something by how much effort you put into your project or into an assignment. You should see that progress made, the learning achieved, and the the work put into it.

Today I got back a quiz that I got a B on (85%). Rather than being mad at myself I looked at it that I did really good because I studied hard, payed attention in class , and saw how much math I know and understand now.

Those were the short term goals that we were given. We were also given long term goals to accomplish.

The long tern goal for Goal 2 was in what ways could you help students re-evaluate the way that you look at things and in what ways can we have them look at the with more reflection?

The way we can do that is maybe by teachers staying for extra help so that they understand all of the concepts that they will be tested on. Also maybe pop-quizes could be removed because maybe a student needs extra help but the teacher wasn't available to re-teach what is needed.

Goal 1: Be a Beam

In class we are doing a challenge where  you have to post 30 blogs each time with a goal to do something good. Today I have to help someone that is stressed or having trouble conquering something.

What I did is that one of my friends was dealing with stupid teen drama and I helped her see that everything is fine. It all ended up being a misunderstanding with one of them and got upset because she thought that rumors were being spread about her. She blamed everything on my friend who then got upset. I helped her realize that there is so much stuff going around that is not true and that there is nothing she has to worry about.

Osama Bin Laden

On Twitter there are categorizes that are trending and the number one slot belongs to #osama. What a shocker!

I went on and clicked to view all the posts people wrote. I have to say that there are some pretty funny posts. My favorite is from kielbeze who said "They buried Bin Laden at sea? They did that to Megatron at the end of Transformers and we saw how that worked out" I can't stop laughing after reading this. It's a good thing that people can still, after the whole scene that just happened.

I think that there are good and bad reasons for the death. Good being that he is gone! And that we won't have to worry about protecting everyone from his ideas. Its bad because now the people in his army are going to want to attack us even more.

Should Facebook be Blocked at Schools?

In schools, Facebook and other sites like that are blocked.  At Lunch time though you can't go on also. I don't know what I would do in my study and at lunch time. If I dont have any homework to do in study I use my Itouch to play games and go on Facebook. I would feel so empty.

Adults who don't really understand what Facebook is just thinnk of it as a waste of time. It is a fun way to talk to your friends out of school. For adults they can go onto Facebook and maybe see that their friends from college or even high school are using it.

Next year when everyone in BHS will have a way to get on to Facebook, through their Ipads, there will be the thought to block it but I think that the school shpuld start out not blocking it and to see what happens. If many kids are now paying attention and are on Facebook. Then something should be done. School comes before Facebook. It will definitely be a challenge for some people no to go on but that is where the trust should be placed on students. They need to learn what is right and sometimes if they do the wrong thing then they can see how far the limit can be pushed.

Ipads

In class we have been able to play around on the Ipads and really have fun. I have found some really fun Apps that are also educational and will helps in the years that we are 1:1. The best one was called My HomeworkNOW & School Alerts and it allows you to have an agenda and a calender of important projects and school work.

I really like all the Apps because people who make them know that kids don't want to use boring Apps. That is why there are no such thing as a boring and not fun educational app or educational game. Epecialy when you get to use the Ipads. Ipads make learning fun!

There is an App for that

Next Burlington High School will becoming a 1:1 school. Since every student will an IPad top bring with them to every class. Usually the school gives very student an agenda. because of the fact that the school is giving us the IPads they will not be giving us any agendas. I think that there are many good apps that can be used in place of the agenda. I found an app called My HomeworkNOW & School Alerts. It is an app that acts like an agenda. It tells you if you have a delay or if you don't have school. If you type in the due dates of projects and homework then it will give you reminders. It's seems really helpful cause sometimes I can't read my hand writing.

Pictures of What I See Everyday at School



This is the cafeteria where i have lunch everyday with my friends. Since we don't have that many classes with each other, lunch time is when we get to talk. 



This is where my lockers is, in the history hall. Every morning I go to my locker, at the end of the day, and before lunch. It has so much stuff in it because I need so many things for classes. 

This is hallway "A" or the red hallway. I have to walk up the whole hallway at least 3 times a day. It is crazy.  It is such s good workout!

This is the lower library where I spend my study periods doing homework.  Or  I'm in the upper library because of the computers. 

This is the famous statue at Burlington High school. After school if you need to meet up with some one that is the "landmark" you go to.

This is the rubber gym. I took a picture of it because this is where most of the freshman gym classes are. So much fun! aldo because for the whole winter track season everyone on the team would go to the gym sit down and Coach Lev would give us a speech.



This is my Web 2.0 room. By far my favorite class. We get to blog and test out some different sites. We go to the library for achange of scenery and it's just a fun class all around.

Everyday during the track seasons the team goes to finish our workout. The equipment is great because it is so nice and everyone know the rules of the equipment.

This is the Mac lab in the library. I love to go there and use the computers because of how new they are and because its so much fun it play around on the Macs.

 

13 Things You Shouldn't Tell Your Facebook Friends

The things you should keep secret from your Facebook are

1. Your birth date and place
2. Your Mother's Maiden Name
3. Your Home Address
4. Your Long Trips Away From Home
5. Your Short Trips Away From Home
6. Your Inappropriate Photos
7. Confessionals
8. Your Phone Number
9. Your Vacation Countdown
10. Your Child's Name
11. Your 'Risky' Behavior
12. The Layout Of Your Home
13. Your Profile On Public Search

You should keep your birth date and place of where you were born secret because if there is someone trying to steal you identity or something like that. They could trace you. You should keep your home address a secret because giving out that is another way someone can track where you are going.You should keep your mother's maiden name secret because that information  is personal and is too much information that people don't need. You should keep when your going away on long and short vacations just incase someone that you are friends with on Facebook if they want to break into your house. Telling them how long you will be away gives them a time frame to break in. Also a vacation countdown tells the people when you will be leaving so when the house will be empty.

You should not put any innappropriate photos of you because now colleges are looking at profiles of the kids that are applying to the schools, to know what their other hobbies are and if they will be out of control. Your phone number is never a good thing to publish because you don't want strange poeple to get a hold of you and be able to put you in bad situations.

The Possible New Schedule

Some of the teachers at Burlington High School have proposed a new schedule for next year. We would Have the same schedule on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (first, second, third, fourth, Lunch, fifth, six and seventh) with no long period and each class only lasting around 35 minutes. But on Tuesday there would be four long periods (first, second, third, and fourth)  each having about 86 minutes. On Thursday we would only have three long periods (fifth, sixth, and seventh) at about 86 minutes also. The great thing about Thursday would be that we would have a start time at around nine o'clock.

I personally would love to have a late start every Thursday because you have lasted the worst part of the week (Monday Tuesday Wednesday) and deserve a break and a little extra time to sleep. When the sophomores had MCAS school didn't start until nine o'clock. It was so nice because we had extra time to sleep and it was just a good refreshment to catch up on some sleep. It was onlty because of the MCAS but everyione else in the school loved that extra sleeping time and they didn't event have to take a test.

More of My Project Online

Another project from my english class is the book Little Brother that I told you about. How we are reading and then blogging about it as our homework every night and that is what we are getting graded on. Well, I forgot to say that the reason why were are reading this book is not only because it is a good book but because you can read the whole thing online as a digital copy.

Obviously another class is my Web 2.0 class. That is why I started this blog. We look at new websites and basically explore the internet for things that teacher might be able to use to improve their lessons. I so far have really enjoyed this class because who doesn't like to explore the internet and write little bits about the topic.

I can't wait until next year when all the students will have Ipads and we will be able to include the internet and different things into the teacher's lesson plans that we were never able to do. I'm so excited.

Projects that Involve the Internet

In my English our teacher is out for a few weeks. When he said that we would be working on a project while he was gone. We are doing an independent book report project. Our homework for every night is that after we read we have to blog about what we read and then comment on other people's blogs. We have just started but so far everything is going great. To make the blogging easier the book that I'm reading "Little Brother" is really good.

Another project that included the Internet was also in my English class. If you haven't figured out, my English teacher is loves technology so that is why all of out projects include the Internet. The project we did was based off of the book "Lord of the Flies". We were grouped up into about 3 people, 2 writers and 1 artist. The thing was that we were all from different schools. We used google docs to complete the project. My group wrote more than 3,500 words in out conversation that didnt include the 800 words that our paper was. Everyone in the around 34 groups wrote and paper which we will turn into a magazine. The artists in each group designed the pages. I am so excited to see the finished magazine.

In preperation for the Mid-years we had I recieved a packet for each class that had tonas and tons of questions that I needed to answer. For my Biology class I had over 100 questions to answer. I needed to answer them in a place where I would never lose them. The answer was in a Google Docs. The only bad thing that about google Docs are that they dont show you how many pages you write. I wrote around 17 pages of all Biology question. I hated that! I also did that for social studies. It was sucha big help in preparing for all of those tests.