Blog Post#6: The Power of Play in Learning

Gonna have to go with "Play" again!  Cannot emphasize this enough in my classroom.  I like this article because it makes reference to adults:

"Adults who are deprived of play are often rigid, inflexible and closed to trying out new options. Play is an active process that reshapes our rigid views of the world." ~The Power of Play in Learning

By Tina Barseghian January 4, 2012

Of course we always talk about children having fun, increasing retention and motivation through enjoying the process.  But what about adults??  I teach at a University.  Lecture is a part of secondary education life, can't be avoided.  For me an ideal lesson provides fundamentals, give the English building blocks, then incorporate a fun activity to reinforce the day's lesson.  Play never goes out of style.  That's why hobbies and leisurely activities are so important to us, part of a healthy and well balanced lifestyle.

Screencast: How to TED Talk

This is my first screencast!!  Who knew a two minute video would take daayyyzzzzz to make.  Props to movie makers er'where.  #EDUC932

http://youtu.be/8otoUi-UN3E?hd=1

Hotel Management & Culinary Arts 2016 Fall Syllabus

Here is my first Piktochart syllabus for this upcoming semester.  Not gonna lie, it was a struggle. #EDUC932

Did my hour of coding, 6yr olds have nothing on me.  Validation!

Google Form, Observing Small Groups

Thanks #EDUC932 for teaching me yet another handy tool to use in my classroom.  Small group work, games, and discussions are a part of everyday instruction in ESL.  Evaluating them hasn't been very scientific.  This Google Form will hopefully be a quick and organized way to track student progress and give better feedback to my kiddos.

Blog Post #5: Beyond Laptops

I'm loving this one!  I read three articles: #3 9 Essential Skills Kids Should Learn, #7 Three Ideas for 21st-Century Global Curriculum, and #24 Bloom's Digital Taxonomy.  They all looked at essentially the same issue from different angels: adaptive learning in our perpetually changing world.  Number 3, our 9 Essentials, wants to throw all tradition out the window, called it "unschooling."  I commend the efforts towards self learning and problem solving but as an educator I don't quite agree that all is broken.  Number 7 gives us three great ideas:  Adapt to Learners, Rethink Learning Spaces, and Leverage the Role of Play.  Awesome!  Our ever evolving technological world insists we become more adaptable to be successful educators, learning spaces can make or break a classroom, and play is a key component in retention and self motivation.  This article also gives handy little strategies for each idea.  The last one, number 24, took the old and helps bring it up to date.  This is a wonderful approach to incorporating new thinking into traditional design.  The breakdown of lower order and higher order thinking are still relevant, thinking and collaborating will never be obsolete even with the ever rapidly changing technological world.  All three articles address the need for adaptive learning and creative thinking, but number 7 spoke to me the most.  Specifically play!  It ain't good learnin' if it ain't fun. 

Pick ME!! Interview Presentation

As an associate ESL professor in Hotel Management & Culinary Arts my main semester focus is preparing students to interview in international hotels.  We have worked on interviews and menu preparation separately in the past.  This Prezi has wrapped them up nicely.  I plan to share it with my colleagues and hopefully work it into our syllabus for next semester.

 http://prezi.com/gvzbckqcpojt/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share