Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A light bulb moment
I had a 'light bulb' moment when I saw this video and had to share it. This video is a great picture of the type of teacher I want to be. I want to be the musical stairs, not the plain stairs or the escalator. I don't want the students to take the easy way, nor do I want to teach the easy way (the escalator). I don't want to be the hard, boring teacher teaching things the same old way (the original stairs). I want to challenge and engage my students by presenting the same old things in new and creative ways (the musical stairs).
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How did you stumble across this!? The connection you made is awesome, and of course, I totally agree! Let's think of a fun-theory way to teach equivalent fractions. Maybe we can engage them at the lunch tables? Possibly incorporate their lunch menu... I wish we had time to just "play" with concepts with the kids. Like, 20 minutes or so just to explore academic ideas and strategies for teaching them.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of "light bulb" moments... Our brains probably just "glowed" a bunch having thought about these stairs and their academic application! Thanks for helping me to get my glow on ;-)
ReplyDeleteAh.. Thank you both! What a great group we have!
ReplyDeleteThis was wonderful! I couldn't agree more with your post, students don't need the same old way of teaching or the easy way out. They need a creative and engaging way; a way that will cause them to use their brains and think critically.
ReplyDeleteI'm also secretly wishing we had musical stairs at USA!
I think that this is a wonderful example of how students learn. If you can find ways in your classroom to make things fun and interesting you will be able to grab the attention of the students much better. Students have imaginations that run wild and unless you are willing to do neat projects and make it enjoyable for students they are not necessarily going to "be there" in the classroom. This is such a neat idea and really gives the prospective on the importance of imagination in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI loved the video. It shows plain stairs that tranform into musical stairs. No one really uses the plain stairs when there was the escalator. Like the plain stairs,we the people tranform from being students to teachers or what career choices we have made. If Dina Tillman becomes a teacher like she said, then the students are really lucky to have her.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this one before. I think that creativity is a great way to inspire "improvement" on many levels. And there's no doubt in my mind that we are perfectly capable of such "light bulb" moments here in the U.S. as well, however, there are too many limiting factors here that prevent these types of innovations. Something like this would be met with hostility surrounding liability, possibility of injury, insurance responsibility, building code, etc...
ReplyDeleteI think that with our current way of doing things under the constraints that we have willingly placed on ourselves, our "light bulb" moments will be limited strictly to the arts and to the internet.
Anthony, make time. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great video! Some things I do not ever expect to see. I definitely haven't seen it all. The "fun theory" to make musical stairs was great and I will probably take the stairs more often now. I cannot wait to start losing more calories. I like Anthony's "light bulb" idea since I would love to come up with ways to make History more interesting for my students.
ReplyDeleteYou made a great connection between the video and your goals as a teacher. Using technology, imagination, and the various other tools that are available for teachers, no teacher should be dull or boring. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteCorrection! Dina's "light bulb" moment.
ReplyDeleteI was laughing so hard at this video because it was so amazing! The connection that was made is outstanding! As an educator, I want to be interesting and exiting while getting the job done! One of the best ways to do that (in my opinion) is to incorporate the arts. Dr. Baggett really gave me an appreciation for using the arts in the classroom, and I am excited to put some of her guidelines into practice! Great video! I was also excited to see an interesting way to promote fitness. Another thing I believe American children need to learn to value.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with Anthony. The video is awesome and the connection you made with it is so true. Lets open up imagination in teaching and in our life and career. Sometimes as teachers it's easy to get caught up in the same everyday routine and you can use so many things to add imagination and fun into learning and in my opinion that's what you did here. It's this type of learning that we hang on to forever and always remember and not just "burp back"!
ReplyDeleteI like this video. We need to be creative in the classroom and teach the old things with new ideas and make learning fun!
ReplyDeleteI have to say I have been watching The Fun Theory videos for a while, but I have never made as great a connection as you have! My new education classes have made me realize how passionate I am about becoming a teacher engaging and challenging as the musical stairs video you shared. Thank you for giving me such a great connection to the teacher I want to become! This truly made me smile!
ReplyDeletenow imagine if everyone chose the stairs. How would the society be health wise. that would be one way to take a step forward to moving in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great video! I watched it with my 12 year old and his first comment was "Cool"! Wouldn't it be great if we could have all of our students come away with that thought!If we could just spark that light in our students so they see the fun in learning - imagine what the future could hold! I guess that is our challenge as teachers - to make that "Aha" moment happen for all of our students!
ReplyDeleteDana Tillman is an alumni of the University of South Alabama Elementary Education program. She's a Libra (if you care about astrology, so that means she's very kind, impartial, and sensitive, etc). She has two children of elementary age.
ReplyDeleteThe site is sponsored by Volkswagen, which makes sense to me since Beetle Bugs are the funnest cars. And I'm speaking from personal experience. The video was posted on TheFunTheory.com by Rolighetsteorin. Whoever that is either has a wonderful imagination for creating user names or has a very difficult surname to pronounce. I salute Rolighetsteorin for the wonderful video.
As for my personal response to the video, I have to say I thought the idea of a musical set of stairs to be delightful. It makes me think of an episode of The Magic Schoolbus. That was a great show and it really highlighted the point of Dina's post which was the notion of increasing the fun factor to get better results. It's a proven fact that having fun while doing a task makes it more enjoyable and sometimes it completely makes a student forget they are doing work. If a teacher can capture the spirit of those that made this video, I'm sure that teacher will have much success in the classroom in reaching the minds of students.
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ReplyDeleteCheck! God or goodness is on our side! Punishment became my play time today. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe post was written by Dina Tillman, an elementary education major at USA, and posted on the EDM310 alumni blog. The Fun Theory is a project sponsored by Volkswagen.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea! I love the use of this as inspiration for teachers. We should all strive to bring fun into our classroom so that our students aren't trying to get out of work by taking the elevator or do the work just to get a grade. I hope that as teachers we can create in our students a self motivated love of learning and exploring by making all subjects fun.
That is great!!! This is exactly the type of things I think more teachers need to actually do in classrooms. Things such as this would surely help with so many students who have a hard time focusing and actually paying attention.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great video! I watched this with some of the youth that I work with at my church and they all loved it. "If they would make all stairs into a piano I would take them all day!" was what one of them said while we were watching it. He was so excited when he told me this, I wish that he had a teacher with the same outlook as Dina. I think it's a great idea to find new and more interesting ways to engage students in a subject. If we can make an otherwise boring subject into something fun then maybe students will find a love for a subject that if taught the old fashion way would have just bored them.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great idea! The idea is also a perfect example of getting the majority of people to do things they wouldn't normally choose to do voluntarily. For instance, most people choose the escalator over stairs because it's easier, but now the stairs are more fun so more people chose the stairs. In this example, "boring" methods of learning are the stairs without the music and "fun, more favorable," learning is the musical stairs. It's a great example! I'll be sure to keep the same type of out-of-the-box thinking like Dina Tillman has when coming up with lesson plans.
ReplyDeleteI had an "ah hah" moment when I watched this. Teachers need to incorporate more fun into their lessons. A change in pace may prompt students to embrace their own creative ideas.
ReplyDeleteThis is the coolest video i have ever seen! I have to admit though, I didn't necessarily interpret it educationally. I know that's my major and I know that's why we're all here but I didn't think of it in terms of teaching until I read Dina's post. I, on the other hand, thought "what a fun way to burn more calories!" I always choose the stairs over an escalator or elevator and I always park farther away than closer unless I'm short on time! How great would it be for our obese country if there were musical stairs to climb up and trampoline sidewalks and rope swings to climb up or swing on from destination to destination! I know some of this is far fetched but hey it could happen! Maybe in the year 2050?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, on the education side of it, I will aspire to be this creative and innovative for my students till retirement! The End! Consider me INSPIRED in more ways than one!
What an inspiring idea! If teachers were able to apply "fun theory" to all sorts of lessons children would get excited about learning. Children require new things to stimulate their minds and peak their interest. This video serves as an excellent metaphor that brings home the concept of encouragement to change behavior.
ReplyDeleteIn this example they made an everyday physical activity fun and had a huge turn around between stairs and escalator. Now what if teachers used this methods in their everyday classes. I feel that making learning fun is one of many great ways to keep students interested and motivated in learning.
ReplyDeleteDina, thanks for posting! I've replayed the video three times now. I appreciate your comparison and agree that learning can and should be fun! In fact, I'll bet if we interviewed the minds behind the concept and creation of the musical stairs, we'd find out that they had innovative teachers who inspired them to think outside the box and never stop asking the question, "Can we...?" I've enjoyed several other videos from thefuntheory.com. Everyone should check out the video for Coca-Cola Happiness Machine. Maybe we could lobby for one at South. Thanks again, Dina. It's been...well, FUN!
ReplyDeleteJessica Sanders
ReplyDeleteI am a music lover. I think that this post was great, and it also stimulated the different people's imagination. Living in a society that is obese and in bad health conditions, this could change the word!I believe if exercise and other physical activities were this fun, more people would live healthier and longer lives!
What an amazing video!! How great is it to kill two birds with one stone. You are getting people to exercise by taking the stairs and improving their appreciation for music. It is really great to see people thinking outside of the box in order to solve a problem or test a theory. I hope to be able to incorporate this same thinking when I become a teacher. Just imagine, if I could have musical stairs I wouldn't get much else done in my life!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!!! This video gives us as teachers the concept that when we incorporate something different and interesting students are more eager to learn. This video also shows that teaching students is not all about the chalk, the chalkboard, or the smartboard. This video is definitely about imagination.
ReplyDeleteDina Tillman is a student at the USA majoring in Elementary Education. Volkswagen sponsors the Fun Theory website. This post was published on the University of South Alabama’s EDM 310 Alumni Blog.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw this video, I could not stop smiling! This is one of the most interesting incentives I’ve seen to get people more active. I also loved how Dina tied the musical stairs in with teaching. It would be so wonderful if all teachers were willing to try creative things in order to get their students to want to learn.
Dana Tillman is an alumni of the University of South Alabama Elementary Education program. This video was sponsored by Volkswagen on TheFunTheory.com. I absolutely loved this video! At first, it was a little ridiculous to me that people would only take the stairs once they were transformed into piano keys. Then I got to thinking how just a little bit of creativity can change the whole learning process for children. If I can make learning fun and a hands-on experience, how much more will they be open to learning and enjoying it?! That's an awesome thought! I definitely will not forget this video and it's lesson it taught me!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great idea! Incorporating something fun into something that is useful or necessary obviously makes people more interested in doing it. As teachers, we should also strive to bring creativity and fun into the classroom to keep our students engaged.
ReplyDeleteDina Tillman is a student at the University of South Alabama majoring in Elementary Education. The Fun Theory website is sponsored by Volkswagen and this post was published on Thefuntheory.com.
ReplyDeleteThis video was a great way to show how a little creativity can go a long way. I also want to be the kind of teacher who imports arts and creativity into my classroom in hopes of getting my kids excited about learning!
I thought this was an excellent idea on the part of VW, but I was surprised and impressed with Dana's thoughts on the video. I don't think I would have come up with anything like that...I was so caught up in the novelty of stairs as piano keys. Dayna, thank you for posting the video! You are going to make a great teacher!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great video! I think this shows that no matter how much people don’t want to do certain things, we can always find a way to make it more interesting to promote what we are trying to get people to do. After watching this I began to believe you could make any subject matter entertaining as an educator. There are countless ways to make something that is just another day in the classroom more interesting by being more creative in how you teach it. The idea of teaching in a way that learning and completing a task are more entertaining and creative will be a big part of my role as an educator.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I have seen this before and I really enjoyed it, partially because I like playing the piano myself and partially because it is just such an innovative and ingenious way to have people use the stairs rather than the elevator. The wonderful thing is... I bet these peple are not even thinking about the excercise they are getting and should be getting... they look to preoccupied by the fun they are having!
ReplyDeleteDina Tillman is a college student at the University of South Alabama. She is majoring in Elementary Education. The video was published on The Fun Theory web site and is sponsored by Volkswagen.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great video! I love how they changed the stairs into musical stairs in order to get people to use them. It looks like so much fun!
Dina, you made an interesting analogy in regards to teaching and the stairs. So many times teachers get complacent in their teaching always doing and teaching the same old way and never taking a step out of the box to try something new. I think that teaching requires innovation and imagination. I too want to be one of those teachers, striving to teach children in new and different ways so that I can keep them interested in the learning process and give them access to knowledge and understanding.
I love this concept. I would take the escalator before I would take the stairs but if I ran across those stairs, the escalator would not be an option. Great way to get people involved also give us future teachers ideas about getting our students involved. Thanks Dina!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis video is amazing! The majority of people took the musical stairs because they were fun, not paying any attention to the fact they were burning more calories. Our society could use more "musical stairs." This idea can also be used in our classrooms, and thank you Dina for making the connection. Children are more engaged in fun activities, and learn without realizing it. Years from now, those things they learned in a creative way are what they are going to remember (besides things drilled in their heads year after year). I believe incorporating the arts into the classrooms is one of the best ways to make this happen. I am inspired!
ReplyDeleteThis video is pretty cool! I like the idea of making the plain stairs fun so people would start using them. Everyone was taking the easy way with the escalator but when the stair were turned into "musical stairs" they started using them instead. It is the same way with teaching and learning. Most teachers take the easy way and it is boring for the students. But when a teacher decides to make things fun, it is also fun for the students and they learn better.
ReplyDeleteI think the video shows that if you are creative then it draws people to it. The stairs were boring and reminded them of how they needed to exercise and but when they were made over in to something fun and creative they forgot about the exercise part and took the stairs and enjoyed making music with their feet. If you change something that is boring into something fun people will take notice.
ReplyDeleteThe video shows a great example of doing something creative to get people do something they might not normally or even dislike doing. I think that the musical stairs is what every person should strive to be. No one should be content do things the same way and should always seek ways of improving themselves. On the education side the more creative our teachers are the more students will enjoy the classes and the more they will succeed. You can't expect someone to learn something if you cannot get excited about it yourself.
ReplyDelete-Nickolas Sullivan of Dr. Strange's EDM310 class My class blog
This is a very good video! I am in complete agreement with your post. Teachers need to challenge and engage their students in their learning. If teachers do not challenge their students, then they will never learn how to deal with the struggles that life may bring them.
ReplyDeleteI think it a very good idea to get students to think outside the box to a more vreative way of learning. This video was very interesting. when I first looked at it I was like, "What are they doing?" But the idea of the video in the end really grabbed my attention! EDM is so far my favorite class. Its the most creative class I have had in all of my three years of collage.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this video. It makes a wonderful point. We are always looking for the easy way out when we don't want to do something. This just goes to show how our ways of teaching are in desperate need of change. This is a great source of encouragement!
ReplyDeleteWOW! That video was amazing and thats a really creative idea. I totally see how this "light bulb moment" could have an effect on my life as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this is an excellent example of how Technology can be used in the correct way to help the human race become better people. No doubt the stairs are better for a person to walk up instead of being lazy and taking the elevator. Not to say that taking the Escalator makes you lazy but this is in fact a real example of how technology can be used to make us better instead of lazier.
ReplyDeleteI love this video! It is a great example of how things can change for the better if you make it a little fun. I definitely think it would work in any learning environment. We don't need to choose the easy way or the traditional boring way, we need to make things a little more fun and engaging for students. Great!!
ReplyDeleteThis video is great! Fantastic theory. It is so true that fun make anything better, or as shown here, helping make smarter decisions like taking stairs. I know that I've had teachers in the past that made it easier to learn by making it fun. If any of my math teachers did that, I wouldn't hate math.
ReplyDeleteI was so excited when I saw this! Not only was it just fun to watch, it was useful. It shows what can happen and how people can so positively respond to something when people take the time to make it fun. Even people that seemed completely zoned out or even in a hurry before, or even just using the escalator because everyone else was, decided to take the stairs because they were curious, it was exciting, and it was different. Who would want to take the boring escalator, even if faster or simpler, when they could make their day so much brighter and actually get something out of going up the stairs other than just more exercise?
ReplyDeleteThis video was great! Personally, I'd be the one spending hours just jumping around on the stairs.
ReplyDeleteI can't agree with you more. The teachers that people usually hate are the ones who are boring and just try to beat the material into your head. The ones that are fun are the ones who incorporate jokes, art, music, hands on activities, etc in their lessons. They look to interest the students not just force them to learn something so they can spit back out on a piece of paper which will just get thrown away anyway. Why be the easy escalator or the boring and possibly even the intimidating stairs, if you can find some way to be the musical stairs.
Great video. We could all learn a lot from it. Think about the kid in the classroom, who is not motivated. Maybe if the teacher added a little flavor to the assignment, you might reach that kid. If not he may be the one, who otherwise would fall through the cracks. I mean once those stairs were turned into piano keys everyone(except the old lady)switched from the escalator to the stairs.This video can teach us all a leason.
ReplyDeleteCool Video. I think it is very creative and if used in the proper manner can be a step up in todays society. This can work real well in a classroom, by making it fun for the students to want to learn instead of thinking they have to.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute video, it definitely brought a smile to my face! I love the way Dina interpreted this as well, doing things the non-traditional way can be a great tool to use as a teacher. Keeping children's interest alive is key in turning material into things that will stick with them longer than the length of class. I hope to be that type of teacher as well! Thanks for sharing the video.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty fun! I hope to be able to do things like this in my classroom. The material that needs to be covered, but designed in a whole new way. This is one of those days in class where it feels like you're just playing around, but you're actually learning a lot.
ReplyDeleteThis was truly an amazing video to watch. The way people lit up when they discovered the stairs were "musically" activated was priceless. I want to incorporate the same thing in my classroom, I want my students to have that moment where they light up when they learn something in a different way, rather than the same old "learn from book technique."
ReplyDeleteThis video should be watched by all teachers. It can teach so much to everyone. I honestly believe people learn more, and benefit more if they are taught in a more "creative" way. Yes, teaching from a book is helpful to some people, but statistics show that for a lot of people, their focus becomes distracted after reading in black and white. I honestly believe that if more creative "hands-on" type teaching was incorporated into classrooms, rather than "book teaching" then students would learn better, and would be more focused and eager to come to class and their grades would significantly improve.
I enjoyed watching this video, and I bookmarked it as well.
Tillman attends the University of South Alabama studying Elementary Education.
ReplyDeleteThe Fun Theory was published at thefuntheory.com and was sponsored by Volkswagen.
I thought this was a great and inspiring post showing the desire of creativity and playful behavior even through people who may otherwise had chosen an alternate route before the addition.
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ReplyDeleteThis video was amazing. It's completely drives home the practicality of making boring things interesting. I really enjoyed this video and post. I think that it can have great influence on the education field. People in general, but especially kids, learn more about things they think are fun or interesting. Therefore, I think that making the classroom a vibrant, fun learning environment is crucial to affective learning. It far surpasses the burp back education in schools now.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing that video on you tube a while ago but I still love it!
ReplyDeleteThis just goes to show how lazy people are not to mention how bored people get(young and old. I agree with most of the comments. I feel that we should do whatever it takes to keep the students interested and amused by what they are learning. This way they not only enjoy it but retain more.
ReplyDelete