Marissa Tarrio

Blog reviews
Blog 1: http://www.edutopia.org/

The first blog article I choose to read and review was The Flipped Classroom: Pros and Cons
by Mary Beth Hertz (Edutopia).
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/flipped-classroom-pro-and-con-mary-beth-hertz
The reason behind choosing this blog was that after learning about flipped lessons I see a
lot of value in them and this blog directly talks about the pros and cons of a flipped lesson and
was able to give me some more insight on the subject.
The article started off by explaining what a flipped lesson is a mixture of direct
instruction and constructivism with the teacher acting as a guide on the side. The article spoke
about what a flipped lesson also lacks. Things such as how it is very easy for a teacher to create a
video for students to watch that doesnt effectively teach the lesson or relate to the standards.
Another con that this blog made me realize about a flipped lesson is that if a student watches the
video and thinks they understand the material but is actually doing the problems incorrectly then
they have no guidance to correct their mistakes then the students will be reinforcing bad habits. A
positive that can counteract this con is that if used correctly, a flipped lesson can give a personal
and individualized learning experience to students. It can also allow students to learn at their own
pace by taking the work home and being able to get a head start at home or school. To avoid any
problem, you must be giving the students the same opportunity to learn and trying to instruct
each individual when you have more time in class is how I see this issue getting solved. I believe
that within this blog it did bring up the problem of how a flipped classroom may not be the best
learning environment for every student. Really there is only one way to change this issue. When
thinking of a solution to this problem, I thought about how not all students have access to the

same technology at home. The main reason I believe this blog was so important is because it
directly talks about why all these things matter.
The main reason we talk about things such as flipping a classroom and how to
differentiate in a classroom is because it makes teachers think about how they are reaching
students. It allows students to think on their practice and directly reflect and change anything that
they find is not working. I think this is such an important topic of discussion for teachers and
specially to make sure the learning is revolved around the needs of the students, not the needs of
the teachers. This blog post brought up many questions in my mind. Some of the questions I
thought about are: Are teachers always doing the best they can to make learning student
centered? Do teachers reflect and update their learning practices and strategies often enough?
This post challenged my beliefs as an educator I like to think that teachers everywhere
are teaching because they want what is best for their students. Yet when reading this blog, I
realized that some teachers do not always have the best intentions and are not always looking for
the best ways to teach and educate their students.
Blog 2:
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/capturing-the-spark-engagement-andteaching/2016/03/need_teacher_engagement.html
Author: David Cohen
The reason I first selected this blog article was because the name really caught my
attention. We Need Teacher Engagement Too is written by David Cohen and I think this is a
captivating article for any past, current, or soon to be educator because we want to think that
most people are engaged in the educating of their students, yet that is not always the case.

This article was very interesting as the author talked about how he would most likely be
getting rid of a book in his curriculum that he had used for years. The reason behind his thoughts
about this were because although for years he found value in the book, he questioned if students
would learn more from a teacher who was learning alongside them. The teacher also talks about
how students need to feel a spark about learning just as teachers should feel a spark about
teaching and these two sparks are not completely separate. David Cohen speaks upon how his
school is very flexible and understanding about the changing and improving of curriculum for
students benefit, nut not every school is like that. He understands that he cannot plan every
lesson for the year on his own with no consideration of the common core standards and he
doesnt expect that. He solely expects his school to allow him to change things to best benefit his
students. Cohen also talks about how even though he feels this way, he still views collaboration
as a circumstance for him and his students to thrive and learn more than they could on their own.
Lastly the article spoke upon how both students and educators alike will burnout if they do not
feel the spark in what they are doing. If we can get teachers to feel inspired to educate, then
students will follow in those footsteps.
When reading this article, I had a question come into my head of: Is it benefiting
students to all read the same classic books at certain ages/grades?. It made me think back to my
middle school days and how I always knew that when I got into eighth grade I would read How
To Kill a Mockingbird just as every class did before me. Knowing that other classes liked this
book got me excited but I also had already heard so much from other students in grades above
me that I feel looking back I was not able to form my own opinions. I think that if my teacher
would have created new projects every year to go along with the book and not the same project
each year I may have learned more than I did. In fact, I would almost say that my learning of

the book was just a regurgitation of other students thoughts and ideas. I think this directly relates
back to the article and how this could have been an issue of my teacher losing his spark to teach.
Blog 3:
Author: Will Richardson
Title: 9 Elephants in the (Class)room That Should Unsettle Us.
http://willrichardson.com/9-elephants-classroom-unsettle-us/#
Within this article, it was clear that the learning that goes on in a classroom today is vey
unsettling due to the fact that it is not everything that we want for our students. There is much
more we could be doing for them. The article also brought up nine unsettling things that go on in
a classroom on a regular basis that we would rather ignore than admit happen. Heres a recap of
those nine things that I hope to never have happen in my own classroom, which is the reason
behind choosing this article. Below is a list of the nine topics and I elaborated more on the topics
I found most unsettling.
1. We know that most of our students will forget most of the content that they learn in
school.
This is incredibly true, I remember growing up taking classes and working for countless
hours to memorize the answers for the tests and then forgetting the information an hour
later. I never was actually learning the information but just regurgitating information back
onto a page. This makes me wonder what factors into learning in this way. Could it be
that students are always competing to be the best? This question was raised in my head.
2. We know that most of our students are bored and disengaged in school.

I find disengagement to be more dependent upon the teacher. If a teacher is willing to

make a lesson plan engaging than students will want to learn. So, are teachers truly doing
all they can to ask students how they would enjoy learning new material?
3. We know that deep, lasting learning requires conditions that schools and classrooms
simply were not built for.
This relates back to the fact that schools are not built in a way or environment that
promotes learning. I highly believe that sitting in one classroom for hours of a day can
crush creativity and get tedious. Students should be able to explore learning environments
and see which one best fits their needs.
4. We know that were not assessing many of the things that really matter for future
success.
Not only are students today rarely being assessed on things that matter to their future, but
they are also not being assessed in a proper form, and often not on the correct material. I
so wish in school that I took classes that assessed whether or not I could pay taxes, pay a
mortgage, or other real world activities. Instead I worried about memorizing precalculus
equations that I will never use again. Also today I find that educators are too often to
assess learning in the most convenient way, a paper. If a student if being graded on their
writing abilities then a paper is the most logical method, yet this is not the case if a
student is supposed to be being assessed on if the read a book. Instead an educator could
offer multiple methods to show the learning and the student could pick the method that
best fits his/her learning style.

5. We know that grades, not learning, are the outcomes that students and parents are
most interested in.
6. We know that curriculum is just a guess.
7. We know that separating learning into discrete subjects and time blocks is not the best
way to prepare kids for the real world.
8. We know (I think) that the system of education as currently constructed is not
adequately preparing kids for what follows if and when they graduate.
9. And finally, we know that learning that sticks is usually learned informally, that
explicit knowledge accounts for very little of our success in most professions.
After reading this article I realized that I felt very strongly towards many of these issues
and related to the blog on a personal level. It is my hope that one day I can work to avoid
these things in my own classroom. One thing that I learned about myself from reading
this blog is that I really feel there should always be options available to students. The
more options, the better the learning opportunities for students, even if it means more
work for the teacher.
Blog 4:
Author: Jean Montano
Title: TopHat
Article Title: 6 Pros & Cons of Technology in Your Classroom
Article Link: http://blog.tophat.com/6-pros-cons-using-technology-classroom/
Throughout this semester the EDU 110 course has successfully taught me how to
look at the pros of implementing technology into the classroom. We have reviewed tools
and blogs and their impact on students. We have also looked at some cons of ineffective

implementation. This is why I have decided to look at a blog that also allows readers to
see both sides and to form their own opinion of if and how they should implement
technology into the classroom.
Here are the six pros of integrating technology into a classroom that TopHat talks
about:
1. Using technology in the classroom allows you to experiment more in pedagogy.
I see this pro applying to teachers more than students. While students have grown up
in the digital age, it is important for educators to try to make the lessons relevant to
their students.
2. There are countless resources for enhancing education and making learning
more fun and effective.
Since the internet is a source with endless resources, there are always ways to
make learning more interesting. You can even just use the technology to find
new projects or ways to formally or summative assess the students. Have them
make an online poster or write a play instead of just assigning a paper.
3. Technology can automate a lot of your tedious tasks.
Technology has endless resources that can also make grading easier for the
teacher. In the work of a teacher, grading is the worst part. I personally feel like
all the time teachers spend grading could be more beneficial by using that time
to think of solutions for how to make lessons more engaging and how to reach
all the different types of learners along with the different pace of learners.
4. Your class has instant access to information that can supplement their learning
experience.
Instant access to a huge database with technology allows us access to more
information than would be possible for a teacher to teach all on their own. This

also can be a good lesson for students to learn that not every source is reliable
and to not trust everything they read online.
5. Students can learn life skills through technology.
Without technology and apps, I wouldnt know how to do half of my adulting and
life skills, so if we give students access to the apps sooner they can be more
successful longer. I personally rely on apps to budget and to pay bills, I can only
imagine how implementing these same apps into a classroom setting would be
beneficial to real life skills for students.
6. We live in a digital world.

More and more today students and teachers are being shoved into a world that
revolves and relies on digital media and technology. Some of these are unnecessary
and not used for learning but if we can take these same platforms and twist them to be
used in a positive light, imagine the number of students who can be touched.
As for the cons in the article, they are things such as how technology can be a distraction.
This is very true for students of today because as their options are increasing so is the number of
students who are being overstimulated. Next is the con that students could lose social
connections. I see this becoming more and more true in classrooms that I visit, students do not
know how to voice their opinions and interact in a face to face setting because they are so used to
being able to hide behind a screen. Also with technology, lesson planning becomes more arduous
for educators and requires more planning.
Overall I see this article as very beneficial for any teacher who is looking to implement
technology successfully into their classroom. It gives you many pros to think about and some
cons to keep in mind and try to come up with solutions to avoid the cons. In my mind this article
raised the question of: Will I be able to successfully integrate technology in my own

classroom?. After taking this class and reading many sources on how to do such, I feel confident
in my abilities.
Here is the comment I made: Hi Jean, I am Marissa Tarrio and am currently studying
education at the University of New England. This post was passionate and open-minded. I love
that you allow the reader to form their own opinion on technology integration. Also I find it very
important to keep in mind that technology if used correctly should not just replace an analog
tool.
Blog 5: http://edutech4teachers.edublogs.org
Author: Jamie Forshey
Edutech for Teachers
This blog has a lot of rich and valuable information scattered throughout it. Its main purpose is to
shed light on integrating technology into the classroom. When I first looked at the home page I
noticed it said November 10th on the side with a new tool next to it. The tool is called Snappy
Words, which is actually really cool. The whole idea of snappy words is to have students become
more word conscientious or develop a stronger word interest by using this tool to virtually look
up a word's meaning. Not only does this tool allow you to type in whatever word you want, but
expands in a web format into different parts, such as, synonyms, antonyms, alternative words,
parts of speech and more! If I were to use this tool in my classroom I would use it for lessons
based on learning about a dictionary and thesaurus and how they are used. This tool is also great
for students to use for their own writing pieces. It is all about getting students to spice up their
writing and enhance their writing and reading skills. One great thing about this tool is that it is
completely free and there are no limitations on how many searches you put in. The web that it

creates for you after searching the word you want is perfect for students because it is virtual and
color coordinated with a given key. Dictionaries can be very boring for students and can lose
their interests right off the back, which is not something we want them to do. This tool saves the
day because it is more kid friendly and engages students attentions way better than an old
dictionary could. If you keep scrolling down, the author gives you other links and additional
tools that could be used in the classroom. One of the tools recommended is Thinglink, which is
one of the tools we mentioned in class.
Blog 6: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2013/10/bring-common-core-alivetellagami
Author: Kriscia Cabral
Bring Common Core Alive with Tellagami
This blog is great because it highlights the importance of students getting involved with
discussions around standards and what the purpose is surrounding their learning. Students should
know what they are learning as well as knowing why they are learning it. Tellagami is the app
the author talks about because it allows students to engage in sharing what they know. The
wonderful thing about Tellagami is how endless the possibilities are for students using it. You
can use this tool for project sharing with an additional feature for students who many feel
apprehensive about recording their voices or talking about it. Tellagami allows students to let
their "Gami" do the talking from a pre-recording. I believe it is so important for students to get
the chance to present their knowledge and explain what they know because all students should be
given voice. Students should feel safe enough and respected by their peers to present their
learning. This blog mentions an amazing use for implementing Tellagami into students learning

which is for fluency purposes. Fluency is extremely important for students to practice, because
with fluency comes an easier time with comprehension. The app lets teachers record students
voices as they read so that they can listen back on their voices and self-assess their fluency and
motivate them to keep working on it. Teachers can model fluency while performing read alouds,
but when students can actually listen to their own voices and fluency levels it will help them see
what they need to work on. Teachers can record students voices throughout the year and show
students how far they have come! Students will most likely love this and love listening to their
reading improvements.