Spreadsheets

I view spreadsheets as an opportunity to organize information and present clear outcomes quickly and efficiently.  In my high school art classes, I would use a spreadsheet project to show relationships, solve problems, and estimate.

During the time I spent in my high school art classes, the thing most of my peers and I struggled with was time management.  Procrastination was the name of the game almost everyday leading up until the final due date.  I had to learn my lesson the hard way time and time again after having received a less than perfect grade and feedback on the picture I had stayed up all night attempting to finish.  This approach only ever produced more work in the long run and was definitely not worth it.

At the tenth grade level and above, I would have the class participate in grading past work by both students who had spent the amount of time needed to successfully finish an assignment, and those who had not.  Comparing the finished pictures side by side to see the difference working in class can make.  After having discussed and graded the images presented, I would have the students enter the grades given with the amount of hours spent into a spreadsheet clearly displaying the outcomes of poor time management. 

A spreadsheet like this one will do a number of things; show the relationship between hours spent on a project to the success and grade given, allow students to plan ahead and solve issues of time constraints, and estimate their ability to accomplish tasks given to achieve the results they desire.

Realm of Creativity or Succubus of Dread

Daydreaming about the classroom I will one day teach in is one of my favorite pastimes.  Envisioning day to day activities/assignments and thinking about the inspirational lectures/lessons I will be sure to give is exciting.  Having to sit down, seriously contemplate and make a plan in order to establish the classroom environment that I want is, however, difficult.

It is easy to get lost in the daydream of a perfect classroom, but it is not so easy to create it.  This is where the dividing line lies amongst teachers; the ones that are able to construct a realm of creativity vs. the ones that produce a succubus of dread.  All the planning in the world will not prepare me for the first day/week/month/year and all the things that will be thrown my way, but having a clear vision of the outcomes I desire will help certainly help a great deal.

Creative Technologies - Augmented Reality Visualization Tool

The model of the Augmented Reality Visualization Tool would be useful in my high school art classroom.  Having the ability to simulate a visual representation of any object would be benefitial when teaching.

When presenting new material to class regarding historical works of art, this type of augmented reality would give the students an opportunity to get up close and personal with each piece.  Allowing students to interact intimately with the techniques and concepts used on artwork would provide a better understanding of them.  This interaction could spark new ideas and ways of thinking, while committing the important details of the works to memory.  As the students become more familiar with the technology, the possibilities are endless.

Everything Worth Knowing - Schema

In the book "Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse OR Your First Year of Teaching," schema is defined as "collections of experience and knowledge about how to react, interpret, or operate in an environment."  Basically, it's all relative.

The methods of measuring student intelligence generally involve some type of test questioning their knowledge base of the subject matter presented to them.  These methods aren't necessarily accurate, though.  As the book explains, students knowing or not knowing something is not directly related to their level of smartness or dumbness.  

Each student will enter the same situation with their own experiences guiding their interpretation of it.  Some experiences allow one student to excel in certain situations while others will struggle.  This is not a division of intelligence, but rather of circumstance.

The Future of Education - Similarities & Differences

The predictions made in the videos made in 1987 about the classrooms of the future have both accurate and inaccurate aspects.  The first similarity I noticed was their depiction of a conference call.  In the video, the teacher is able to update a student that is missing school on the assignment and project expected of him.  Later, that same student stays in video contact with his classmate while working on their project together.  This type of predicted technology came true with the development of our modern day "Skype" and "FaceTime" applications.  I have yet to see practical use, such as the ones displayed in the video, in the classrooms of today, but am confident we are not far from it.

The voice recognition, voice synthesis, and artificial intelligence presented in the videoes are not unlike what we have manufactured today either.  The electronic devices the student uses to research the topic at hand look a little different from what we've got, but the concept is close.  The technology recognizes and obeys the commands given by the student the way that our modern day "Siri" does.  The predictions made in the videos are not far off, and our technology only continues to advance.

In the future, I predict that there will be entire classrooms of holographic students and teachers, and mobile device technology will be permanently attached to each individual person.  The benefits will come from instantaneous information available even faster than it already is now.

Mathis Netiquette - High School

The networking etiquette implemented at a high school level should error on the side of a student's adolescent behavior, but incorporate preparation for that student's adult maturity.

When you approach a conversation with a person or group of people in cyberspace, you should do so with the same level of courtesy you would face-to-face.  It is easy to hide safely behind the computer screen, but the things you type can be as harmful as words spoken.  Furthermore, the protocol and dialect will differ from email to email, chatroom to chatroom, etc. just as the interaction and vernacular changes depending on the person/people you are having a discussion with in person. 

When you attempt to host or participate in a discussion, you should do so with a certain level of respect and patience because responses and other posts take time to both read and write.  Presenting your own typed explanation of the opinions and points that are important to you takes an amount of intelligence and knowledge base of the topic.  You should pay close attention to the content of your writing, utilizing correct spelling, grammar and puncuation.  Furthermore, if you notice an error in someone else's writing, notify them politely, or even privately, and grace them with forgiveness.

I believe that proper networking etiquette comes from when you conduct yourself online just as you would in person, or even better.

About Me Blog: Katie Mathis

I grew up in a town much smaller than the city of Boise, where I reside now.  I was born and raised in Blackfoot, Idaho and only moved away a few months after graduating high school to attend college.  Growing up, it was just me and my mother the majority of the time, so it isn't any wonder that I am following in her footsteps.

My mom has taught her whole life; beginning as an elementary teacher, spending some time as an administrator, and going strong teaching at the junior high level. With her as my main caregiver, I noticed and later appreciated aspects of her profession.  What I noticed most as a kid was how convenient her work schedule seemed to be; she went to work when I went to school, she came home when I got home, and whenever I had a break/vacation from school she had a break/vacation from work.  When I got a little bit older, the thing I noticed most was that she was ready and willing to helping me with every aspect of my school work.  She seemed to know the ins and outs much better than I did.  Now, as a young adult, there is no doubt in my mind that teaching is exactly what I want to do.

With those ideas in mind as I entered high school, I then discovered the subject I was most interested in teaching.  My art classes were structered in a way I had never experienced before; art was no longer a joke, it was no longer a passive pastime, but rather an intricate learned skill with many components.  Over the course of my high school career, I gained artistic talents beyond what I thought I'd had, as well as a first hand account of witnessing a successful artist and teacher.  It was then I came to conclusion that a combining art with teaching would be the perfect fit.

I grew up in what some would consider a small town and have moved to what I would consider a big city.  I don't know where I will end up or which area I would rather teach in, but I do know that I will figure it out eventually.