Where I'm From

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I am from hidden caves, from  and rolling hills.
I am from the house in the middle of nowhere.


I am from colorful trees, and pink sunsets.
I am from evening guitar jams, honesty, from Mongi and Pap, to card games with Murrays.


I am from taking in stray animals and stray kids.
From go-cart racing and exploring uncharted forests.


I am from Bible thumping Churchgoers.
I'm from rambunctious law-breakers, black berries and I am from the land of "too many potatoes."


From the POW camps in Korea, the backwoods cabin, and endless space.
I am from stories past down from old to young, time and time again.

Student Interest Survey

We were asked to find a Student Interest Survey that revolved around our subject area. My subject area is Art, which kind of gave me difficulties in finding a decent survey. However, The Student Art Interest Survey was probably the best.

Luis Moll Entrance Pass

In Luis Moll’s research, he discovered that  even in areas where there are presumed “cultural deficits,” when students are deemed unintelligent or unteachable because they are from a different culture, there is often times what is called “culture capital.” Culture capital is basically a surplus of vast wealth of knowledge in a given community of these underclass students.

Moll did his research in Tuscon, Arizona with Mexican-American students. He looked in the community for evidence of specific areas in which the community possessed a vast amount of knowledge. Once he discovered what the community truly excelled at, he encouraged teachers to include those subjects into the curriculum. The result was obvious to the teachers. Class participation and interest improved when the teachers included things that the students were interested in, and their culture emphasized.

Even though this study was done in Arizona, the actions taken by Moll and the teachers in Tuscon could be applied anywhere else. Foxfire did similar work in Alabama. As long as the students are interested in the curriculum I think that the students would be much more likely to excel.

What is a Mountaineer?

     Is our way of life here in the great state of West Virginia unique? In a word, yes. As was stated in the video we watched, we are the only state totally engulfed in the Appalachian mountains. This, as well as a history of attempted exploitation of our regions resources and citizens, has made our state a strong, proud, united, and rebellious area.
    Another thing that makes our state so unique is the "power of nature." Not many states enjoy the unique priveledge of being able to go "out of doors" and truly be in the middle of no where. Our idea of enjoying the outdoors isn't going to a crowded park, we can literally be entirely alone almost anytime we wish to be.
    

Smartboards: Do They Have Brains?

With the growing popularity of the use of “Smartboards” in public schools, one can only wonder, why?

Do these boards give more detailed instruction than the teacher? No. Do they explain things in a language that students can understand? No. Are they like little portable audio textbooks that deliver information to students in a funky cool cartoon voice to engage their curiosity and make them more eager to learn? No. Can they be used to travel back in time and right the wrongs of various historical figures to make this, the world we live in, a more pleasant and peaceful place to exist in? No.

Well, what do they do?

“You can use a projector to project things on them.” said Martin Queeblesac, a teacher at Westwood Middle School in some little hick town in Oklahoma.

“Can’t you do that with a projector screen?” asked curious naysayer Devlin Croupe.

“But you can draw big circles on different things to draw students’ attention to specific details that are important with the Smartboard.” countered Queeblesac.

“But can’t you just stop for a second and use a laser pointer or something to do the same thing?” questioned Croupe.

“Well, yes. However, with a smart board you can do interactive games and things and have students actually walk up and write things on the smart board, which is certainly more impressive than just using it as a projector screen.” stated Queeblesac haughtily.

“Isn’t there a computer lab in your school you can visit to accomplish all the interactive stuff you want to do and a chalkboard/whiteboard in the classroom for them to write on?” Croupe slyly queried.

“Yes, but, it takes a lot of effort to get all the kids to line up and walk down the hall and back.” Queeblesac replied.

“So you are saying that Smartboards are worth, what like $1000, of taxpayer money just because you’re too lazy to walk down the hall?” demanded Croupe who by now is become very angry and red in the face.

“To state simply, they are much much more than $1000, and yes, they are worth every penny of taxpayer money. In fact, I think every schoolroom should have at least three per student just to prove the point.” Queeblesac smartly replied.

“You arrogant pig! I hope these boards drastically improve and their capabilities soon advance to the point that they make your job irrelevant and THEY teach the class!” screamed Croupe.

Okay, so, sorry for all the gibberish, but I enjoyed it. To answer simply, no, I don’t feel Smartboards are worth the money. Have a good break!

Rubric

Criteria	Accomplished (3)	Developing (2)	Beginning (1)	Score and Comments
Introduction	Engagingly describes a compelling question or problem.	A question or problem is described.	The purpose of the WebQuest.	2. There was a question stated; however, the description of what the problem was and how to be solved was a little too open ended.
Task	Task is doable, engaging, and is connected to learning in the real world. It elicits thinking that goes beyond mere comprehension.	The task is doable and elicits higher order thinking but is not relevant to student lives.	Task requires simply comprehending or retelling of information found on web pages and answering factual questions.	3. I thought you did a great job of giving a very doable task that students will enjoy.
Process Checklist	Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know exactly what to do next.	Some directions are given, but there is missing information. Students might be confused.	Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task.	2. The directions are given, but you could be more specific on how the groups will be broken up rather than just leaving it as “choose one of the two groups.”
Resources	There is a clear and meaningful connection between all the information needed for students to accomplish the task.	There is some connection between the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don’t add anything new.	Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task.	3. The students have all the info. they need to have.
Evaluation	Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria includes qualitative as well as quantitative descriptions.	Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors.	Criteria for successes are not described.	3. Criteria for success was clearly stated and were descriptive enough.
Visual Appeal	Appropriate and thematic graphic elements are used to make visual connections that contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships.	Graphic elements sometimes, but not always, contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships.	Color is garish and/or typographic variations are overused and legibility suffers. Background interferes with the readability.	3. I thought the smiley- faces were a nice touch.
Navigation	Navigation is seamless. It is always clear to the learner what all the pieces are and how to get to them.	There are a few places where the learner can get lost and not know where to go next.	There aer more than 5 broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	3. Navigation is clear to the learner. 19/21 total.

Picassohead