Hi everyone!

I hope everyone is having a great week!  It is nearing an end thank God, I am ready for the weekend and a little break...

I am keeping busy tonight however studying for my music theory exam tomorrow.  I am by no means a music major, obviously I am an Education major, however at Otterbein you have to take integrative courses to get the "liberal arts" education.  Otterbein says that it broadens your horizons, or something like that I guess.  Anyways, the class is not too terribly bad, I do enjoy listening to the music and our professor is great!  She is new to Otterbein and its nice to see a new face and experience a professor from a different University.

Friday I have a math quiz in the morning and then I will be working at night!  Looking forward to making some money so I can pay the bills! haha.  The perks of being somewhat of an adult.  :)

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

Ryan :)

Happy Monday everyone,

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be done with this day, currently curled up in my bed trying to stay warm, as it is freezing outside and the remnants of Hurricane Sandy are heading our direction.  The wind is picking up and blowing the garbage cans every which way.  Needless to say I am ready for this storm to pass, but the bad news is, it is supposed to last all week long.  So I guess we all better get used to it!

Today was a pretty productive day I'd say.  My classes went well and I feel like I got a lot accomplished in terms of homework and projects that are upcoming!  I just need to focus like this more and I will be able to get things done with ease, instead of waiting till the last minute and being rushed.  So I am going to try to be more like this.... FOCUSED.

On a lighter note, my birthday is coming up pretty quickly!  November 11 is coming up surprisingly fast!  I am beyond excited because I am turning 21!  Finally legal to have a drink with my parents at dinners!  haha!  I'm not sure what I am going to do the night of my bday, but hopefully something fun and exciting!  It is something I am definitely looking forward to in the next couple weeks!

Anyways, I hope everyone has a good tuesday! :) Stay warm!

Ryan :)

Pros and Cons of Flipping in the Classroom

Pros
- Students will be able to learn at their own pace.
-Students are able to help one another on challenging tasks.
-Flipped classroom allows for time for actual student to teacher work to occur in the classroom instead of a lecture during class students can do activities.
-Less behavior problems (studies have shown).
-Teachers are better able to notice a moment of struggle with students and is able to tend to it right away.

Cons
-What if the students are not watching the videos?
-Some children do not have internet access at home.
-Systems of tracking can develop.

I cannot really think of any more cons, Flipping if done the right way can be a very good way to run your classroom.  You must make sure that the students are staying involved in watching your lectures, because if they are not, then they will most definitely be behind in the classroom activities that you present to them.

Ryan :)

Hello Everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend!  I worked all weekend at the New Albany Tennis Center, it was good, I enjoy teaching tennis and working with kids so if you put both together then I'm bound to have a good time!

Last thursday I completed my teacher tools video presentation for my Ed Tech class.  I use the Xtranormal site to make an animated video explaining how to use my favorite teacher tool website.  I was very happy with how easy it was to make the video.  It only took me about 20 minutes to make the video, edit it, and publish it!  Overall I was pleased with the experience.  I will definitely use this site in the future to present directions to my future classes.

I am now drowning in homework, trying to finish everything else up before the week starts.  The next couple of weeks are going to be super busy, it seems I just have a lot of projects due around the same time, which is unfortunate, however I am going to try my best to get all of it done!

Have a good week everyone!

Ryan :)

Happy (almost) Friday everyone!

I have had a busy and stressful week but I am looking forward to having a day or two off to just relax and take a second to gather my thoughts and basically re-organize my brain.

I got a surprise visit in my field placement today from Diane Ross, my Middle Childhood Methods professor, who I absolutely adore and am learning an ample amount of useful information from!  She was there to check in on me and make sure that I am on track with all of the projects that we have whose deadlines are fast approaching.  I really appreciate her willing/caring attitude, it is definitely refreshing to have a professor that actually cares about you as a person!

Tonight I am having a best friend hangout/homework night!  Cooking dinner and then watching a movie and catching up on some homework and preparing for my math quiz tomorrow!  I am very excited to get out of my house and enjoy the beautiful weather and to cook a nice meal to enjoy!

Hope everyone has a good and productive Friday!

Ryan :)

I am currently in the process of getting all caught up on my homework.  I had a death in the family this week and have been out of commission for the past couple of days and I am amazed at how much my homework can just pile up. 

I also hate missing class, because I always feel like I am missing something super important (and most of the time I am) so it is definitely a hassle, but family surely comes first in my big picture of life.  

I hope everyone is having a good week, how about that nice weather?  It has been a great week to get outside and exercise and have fun in the sun... We might want to soak it up because I think it is supposed to be cold next week again :( 

Tomorrow is Thursday and that is one day closer to the weekend!  

Have a good rest of the week everyone :) 

Ryan