Blog Post #5

         Krissy Venosdale is an awe inspiring gifted education teacher from Missouri. She uses her blog entitled Venspired to reflect upon herself and those who inspire her. In a particular post she tells about her dream school. One where students and learning live harmoniously together. Where the students don't have to fit the certain criteria to be considered gifted. If I got the chance to build my own school, the first thing I would do is remove ALL standardized testing. in the current world, everyone learns in their own ways at their own pace. We cannot expect students to pass the tests if we as teachers cannot effectively teach everyone everything. Meaning, in most scenarios, teachers don't have the time to spend individually with every student making sure that everyone has all of the LO's embedded into their heads. Some kids are DIFFERENT, and that isn't a bad thing! The next thing I would do is immediately incorporate the best technology available. The students would begin building their PLN's from the start of their education.


Virtual Choir
       Jennifer Chamber's posted a video of Eric Whitacre's breathtaking Virtual Choir! I have followed this amazing, ever growing choir. This particular choir piece is entitled, "Lux Aurumque." 185 voices from 12 different countries singing together via Skype. What an amazing innovation Whitacre has made using the world wide web! He is currently producing his newest and largest choir. I would love to be part of his virtual masterpiece!

21st Century Teaching
     The first thing I noticed about this video is the music. As a band student, and music fanatic, I was mesmerized by the track behind the video. I watched it a few times.
       Teaching in the 21st century shouldn't be too hard. Most of my classmates and I were the start of the technological age. As long as we use the technologies we use such as blogging, (tumblr, blogger, etc) social networks, (Twitter, facebook, linkedin, Skype, etc) Educational connectivity, (PLNs) we will be effective teachers. These sites provide us with an instant and endless source of knowledge and lesson possibilities. Bloom's taxonomy has been blown wide open with the possibilities. Create has a different meaning today than it did 15 years ago. It used to just mean to put something together. Now creating something is making something that no one has seen, or expanding upon a concept already around.

Flipped Classroom
           I could definitely see myself using the flipped classroom approach. And simply because, class time becomes a precious commodity to teachers in a tight schedule. More students learn by hands on experiences in my opinion. I love the idea of the lesson being at home and the assignment being in class. What a great way to check the understanding of the students. I really think I will try the flipped classroom as a teacher!