Final Exam

Today, we had a group final. I had the pleasure of working with Patrick and Kira- I got lucky - they rock. We were to create 2 activities incorporating 21st century technology and our three disciplines - Math, Science, and History. It is usually difficult to do a project that involves more than one subject matter but we really put our head together and created two awesome activities that could actually be used in a school setting. Our topic was renewable resources where one activity involved creating a Wind Farm and discussing all that goes with it. The 2nd was to create an advertisement for a solar power car using a wiki. I like the fact that we worked in groups of three. I think that amount of people works best in a group effort. Overall, we were successful and met all the requirements given by our professor.

Nick Donofrio

I haven't attended a forum where I listened to a profound speaker in a while. Overall, I grade this experience with a B-. Like anything, there was the good and the bad. It started off with two gentleman (there names escape me) touting our upcoming speaker, letting us know why he is so important and why he is speaking to us today. I see the importance of this, but because it was premeditated, it just seemed strange. Anywho, Nick Donofrio is definitely a compelling speaker. He had my attention right from the get go. He did not try to be too funny and did not blow me away with mumbo jumbo that I would not understand. He stated why he was here, what his intentions were, and what he was going to talk about in the upcoming hours. In the beginning, I was all ramped up with excitement and inquiry but found myself feeling rather disappointed when I left the auditorium. He talked about how we as a people need to be able to change as quickly as the world around us - which seemingly is not the case today. He talked about many things, many ideas such as the ever growing world of technology, globalization, and the VALUE of innovation. The thing that bothered me was that he never gave specifics. He said we as teachers need to teach out of the box. That sounds GREAT. That is what many of us want to do. That is what many of us are taught to do- BUT how should we go about it. I know how I want to change the classroom but I am one of many. I can't change the curriculum. I can't change the structure of our school system. I don't want to be a person that says I CAN'T but these are major topics that need to be addressed by a larger authority. I didn't expect him to have the answers to everything but if you are going to give a talk, I felt it a necessity to give the answers to the questions that you pose. Also, I felt that his answers skated around many of the questions asked by the audience. I am sure it is difficult to answer questions on the spot but I just found that his answers left me unfulfilled. Overall, I am definitely glad I went because I learned a whole lot and thought about things I never would have if I hadn't gone.