In the classroom, I know that students are learning when they can do the problems on their own. Also when students can use the previous information to think through something new without help then I know that they have learned something. But there are those times when the student has learned the information but is unsure if they are correct, so I know that if the student is confident in their answers then they have really learned the information. However, online it is a little harder to know whether the student has actually learned the information. By having students write summaries or blogs about what they have learned could be a way to know whether they have learned the information. For some online courses students could have someone else do the work or help them with the work and the teacher wouldn’t know. But I think by being in contact with students through a messenger or through email might be a good way to evaluate whether they have learned. For instance, if the teacher has contact through messenger then the teacher could ask random questions and expect an answer right then and see if the student can answer the question. You can think of it as a pop quiz.

Why can I not write anything? I read the blogs and I read the articles but yet my mind can not formulate any opinions on the subjects that I am reading about. It gets so frustrating. I read things over an over again but yet I still can not think of things to write.

http://clarkaldrich.blogspot.com/2008/10/in-sim-do-you-let-players-limp-along.html

This article talks about sims and how they sometimes limp along in games and relate that to the students in the classroom. I believe that this article actually describes behaviorism. One part of the article talks about people wanting to change but they do not know how. People are conditioned to do things and once they learn how to do it a certain way they can not do it another way. We do not know how to change and even if we do then we do not fully change. The part of us that we are trying to change will always be a part of us.

I think that behaviorism and operant conditioning are very closely related. Both theories are based on Pavlov’s dogs and the ringing of the bell. Behavior is all around us, it is in everything that we do. We do things to get a response whether it is good or bad. For instance, in the classroom, if we do good work and get bad grades then we continue to do good work. If we can get rewarded for turning work in late we will turn it in late every time. It’s human nature to do things because we like the way it makes us feel or because it has to be done.

I played the Last Outpost game and found that it was quite frustrating but addicting. It’s a game that you really have to pay attention to, if you don’t then you might get killed by a cottontail rabbit. I was trying to find food and so I thought I could eat the rabbit but the rabbit almost had me for dinner. I think the game helps with coordination and memorization. It also helps with typing skills because you have to be quick with the commands and spells if you want to survive and get around the world.

There is a purpose for the teacher’s pet. I know that most teachers do not like to have a teacher’s pet because they do not want to seem like they are playing favorites with that student. However, I think that there are times that we do need to have that teacher’s pet. The role that they play is helper. If the teacher needs to step out of the room then he/she knows that there is someone that they can put in charge for a couple minutes, or whenever there is a substitute teacher, then the teacher’s pet can inform the substitute of what has been going on in the class and what kinds of things that they have been going over.

Yes, I think there is more than one role for students. Students are learners as well as teachers. They can also be the “know-it-all”, the “class clown”, and the “teacher’s pet”. Each student plays their own part in the classroom, and there is a purpose for each. If we didn’t have these roles, how boring would that be. These types of roles motivate others, and keeps learning fun (for the most part). Students learn from the teacher as well as learning from other students. I know that some times it is easier to understand some things when it comes from a peer. Also students are teachers. Teachers learn from students and those students who help other students are teachers.

What can I say about the know it all? To a teacher and peer the know it all can be a little annoying and aggravating at times but they do hold a purpose in the classroom. Going through I was always and still am the one who wants the know it all to answer the question so I didn’t have to. However, there were those times that I wanted to be the one to answer before the know it all, just to prove that I did know something. So I think that the role of a know it all is to motivate others. And then there are the times where other students want the know it all to be wrong just so that they can point out the fact that they were wrong. With that I think that the know it all serves the role of the conversation/debate starter. In math when there are wrong answers then there is normally a discussion about why and how it is wrong and what can be done to correct the problem.

In the classroom there are those students who like to sit in the back of the class and then those who sit in the front of the class. In the classroom we are more likely to call on those who sit in the back because they are the least likely to be paying attention. Maybe in an online environment if there is a student who does not participate or just gets by with doing the minimum then maybe we could ask those students questions in a chat or send them a message or comment asking them to explain their responses in more detail. You could also have them respond to someone who is a front row student. Those in the front statistically do more than other students.

In our society we always learn from one another. Students learn from teachers and teachers learn from students. I learn from my students everyday. It may not be about what I am teaching them at the moment but I learn. I’ve learned about cars and dirt bikes and sports and video games. There was one day that I was helping a student in reading and we were answering fact and opinion questions and one had to deal with elephants. I asked her what she knew about elephants and she told me a fact that I had never heard before. Did you know that the ears of an African Elephant are in the shape of Africa?