View & Respond – #LookUp

Language Arts/Writing classes will work on (7.SL.1) & (7.SL.5) common core speaking/listening standards today. I put together a view & respond about a viral video called, Look Up. As the year comes to an end and summer is almost upon us, I thought this video had the right kind of message. If you haven’t seen the video, below, the overall message is to get off social media and enjoy life. The students had a very deep discussion. The overall response was that this was a nice message for multiple reasons, but it won’t make a big difference. However, a good portion of students did say it would make them think before diving into social media and possibly miss out on the real world around them. I can accept that – small possible change is better than no changing at all…

View & Respond – What Most Schools Don’t Teach [Short Film]

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Today, the class will work on (7.SL.1) & (7.SL.5) common core speaking/listening standards with this view & respond about teaching kids how to code on computers. From Fox News, “NEW YORK – Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter creator Jack Dorsey are among the tech luminaries appearing in a new video promoting the teaching and learning of computer coding in schools.” I literally decided to implement this view and respond about 30 minutes ago. I knew I downloaded this video for a reason, and today that reason will hopefully come to fruition. I can remember in the early 1990’s when I learned how to type. I thought it was the coolest thing. I had no idea of how it would help me later on in life. I now type around 65 to 70 words a minute. It’s not earth shattering, but it’s a good skill to have. I also taught myself how to build very modest websites by learning how to code in my early 20’s. That too was a very good skill to have. I’m hoping that I reach a good portion of students so that I may spark their interest in something that will be a very good skill to have in the future, coding. Some of the students are already interested in this because they have told me to visit their websites that they put together in Computer Class, and that is soooo awesome!