Final Reflections
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Sunday, November 30, 2014
C4T summary
The first teacher that I commented on was Ms. She. In her blog called You Got Snapped, she talked about how one of her students snapped a picture of her during the inquiry learning time that they have. She was telling the students how to leave a comment on other student’s blog post when her student showed her the picture she had taken of Ms. She. Ms. She looked at the photo and thought it was a great one and gave the student a compliment. Ms. She had only given the student some guidance and the student went off on her own and took such a great picture. The student had taken the opportunity to be creative and not just do what everyone else was doing. The student was demonstrating what Ms. She had been trying to teach them.
I told Ms. She that I found her story to be very inspirational. Her students feel free to do those things because of her encouraging them to explore. I told her that I could tell that she was a great educator because of the reaction from her student. I informed her that she seemed to be the type to be easy for her students to approach. I let her know that teacher really do play a big part in their students’ lives. I urged her to keep making a difference.
The second teacher that I commented on was Royan Lee. His blog post called Compassion Over Empathy. Royan is arguing that compassion is better than empathy. He believes that empathy only lets you include the people who you like or have feelings for. Compassion includes everyone that’s what makes it so much better. You are not just picking and choosing who you would like to help. Everyone gets helped the same. Equity is best achieved by showing compassion to everyone.
My response was that I did not really pay attention to the deference between the two that much, but I was able to see why he said that after reading his post. I told him that compassion is the one that I would put to be the better in my point of view. I informed him that I could see how more people could benefit from showing compassion. No one would get left out.
Final Part Blog Post 5
My Personal Learning Network
In blog post five we were asked to create a personal learning network. My network started off with symbaloo. All the websites that I visit on a regular basis are in one place. I have a twitter account that I have made good use of by following Dr. Strange and Dr. Vitulli and many others. I have also located the EDM310 staff and started following them. I found some of the C4T teachers that I could reference if I have any educational questions. Those teachers are Cathy Jo Nelson and Royan Lee. All the the C4K teachers have been very helpful. The teachers that we watched videos on throughout the class has also been very enlightening. They have taught me so much already and answered a lot of the questions that I had about teaching before entering this class. I added Paul Anderson to my twitter account as well. He introduced to us the blended learning cycle. My personal learning network will never stop growing. I know that I have all these people for a good start.
In blog post five we were asked to create a personal learning network. My network started off with symbaloo. All the websites that I visit on a regular basis are in one place. I have a twitter account that I have made good use of by following Dr. Strange and Dr. Vitulli and many others. I have also located the EDM310 staff and started following them. I found some of the C4T teachers that I could reference if I have any educational questions. Those teachers are Cathy Jo Nelson and Royan Lee. All the the C4K teachers have been very helpful. The teachers that we watched videos on throughout the class has also been very enlightening. They have taught me so much already and answered a lot of the questions that I had about teaching before entering this class. I added Paul Anderson to my twitter account as well. He introduced to us the blended learning cycle. My personal learning network will never stop growing. I know that I have all these people for a good start.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Blog Post 14
Teaching our children can be a profession
Joel Klein brought up some interesting points in his article Teaching our children can be a profession.
Klein started with stating that better training is needing for those people that want to be teachers. The solution would be to have the teachers trained better. I feel like Klein is right with this statement. Therefore, I do agree with him. Teachers should be trained better in my opinion so that once they start teaching they will be ready for the challenges that they may face. Too many teachers are being taught one thing and when the start teaching in the classroom, it's taught a different way than they have been taught.
Then Klein goes on to state that there needs to be a better approach to recruiting teachers. Klein's approach to solving this issue is to choose from the top third of college graduates to insure we are getting the best. While I can say that this sounds like a good idea, I can’t say that I agree with this solution. Just because a person is in the top percent of the graduating class, it does not mean that they are more capable of teaching than all of the other people who are graduating. I have seen some really intelligent teachers that are not effective with teaching students. These are just my personal opinions to the matter.
Next, he states that we need change on how we reward the teachers. Teachers should be rewarded on what they have accomplished and not seniority. I can agree with Klein on this matter because teachers should be rewarded as to their abilities. In my opinion, keeping teachers because of seniority has been a huge part of the problem in our school systems.
Lastly, he states that having seniority is an issue as well. The solution would be to get rid of just those teachers that are not performing like they should and not just keep them because they have seniority. I do agree with this solution because it should be like every other job when it comes to letting someone go. They usually let go of the weakest performing person. In my personal opinion, if we started getting rid of teachers using that method, it would force teachers to step up and do a better job. That would eliminate the problem of having so many underperforming teachers.
Most of the issues the Klein brought up does make perfectly good sense. I believe that their need to be a start somewhere and what better way than this to start. I do feel a great part of the problem lies in what these teachers are being taught in college. I also feel as if more training time is needed in the classroom of the school system to give becoming teachers a better idea of the standards that is being taught. I still say that overall teaching should be a profession, therefore, most of the problems that we have with ineffective teachers could be solved.
Joel Klein brought up some interesting points in his article Teaching our children can be a profession.
Klein started with stating that better training is needing for those people that want to be teachers. The solution would be to have the teachers trained better. I feel like Klein is right with this statement. Therefore, I do agree with him. Teachers should be trained better in my opinion so that once they start teaching they will be ready for the challenges that they may face. Too many teachers are being taught one thing and when the start teaching in the classroom, it's taught a different way than they have been taught.
Then Klein goes on to state that there needs to be a better approach to recruiting teachers. Klein's approach to solving this issue is to choose from the top third of college graduates to insure we are getting the best. While I can say that this sounds like a good idea, I can’t say that I agree with this solution. Just because a person is in the top percent of the graduating class, it does not mean that they are more capable of teaching than all of the other people who are graduating. I have seen some really intelligent teachers that are not effective with teaching students. These are just my personal opinions to the matter.
Next, he states that we need change on how we reward the teachers. Teachers should be rewarded on what they have accomplished and not seniority. I can agree with Klein on this matter because teachers should be rewarded as to their abilities. In my opinion, keeping teachers because of seniority has been a huge part of the problem in our school systems.
Lastly, he states that having seniority is an issue as well. The solution would be to get rid of just those teachers that are not performing like they should and not just keep them because they have seniority. I do agree with this solution because it should be like every other job when it comes to letting someone go. They usually let go of the weakest performing person. In my personal opinion, if we started getting rid of teachers using that method, it would force teachers to step up and do a better job. That would eliminate the problem of having so many underperforming teachers.
Most of the issues the Klein brought up does make perfectly good sense. I believe that their need to be a start somewhere and what better way than this to start. I do feel a great part of the problem lies in what these teachers are being taught in college. I also feel as if more training time is needed in the classroom of the school system to give becoming teachers a better idea of the standards that is being taught. I still say that overall teaching should be a profession, therefore, most of the problems that we have with ineffective teachers could be solved.
C4K Summary
The first person that I commented on was Kai in Ms. Horst's 5-1 class in Canada. In kai's blog called writing, she talks about how she loves to play her favorite game called verbs in space. Then she goes on to talk about her goal in writing which is to learn all the words that she can to help her understand better. The last thing Kai talked about was that she feel like she is getting better with writing and that's why she writes things down.
My response that I said to Kai was that I loved that fact that she was getting better with her writing skills. I also told her that her favorite game called verbs in space sounded like it was educational and fun. I informed her that my goals where the same as hers as far as learning all the words that I could. I encouraged her to keep trying really hard and that she would get better. I asked her what are some of the things that she liked to write about?
The second person that I commented on was Hannah. In Hannah’s blog called print making, she talked about the steps to making print artwork. She goes through each step to give us a good idea on what to do if we wanted to create the art for ourselves.
My response was that I thought that her artwork was wonderful. I told her that I have created a lot of artwork but I have not made print art before. I told her that her steps to making print art was great and that people would be able to follow her directions. I also let her know that when I was her age I loved to do artwork and that my favorite art to do was drawing people. I asked her what was her favorite type of art to create?
The last person that I commented on was Cole. In Cole's blog called in the realm of writing, he talks about how he did not enjoy writing that much. He wrote that he dreaded writing and he procrastinated until the last minute. It took a lot to get him motivated about writing. That has all changed for him over the first quarter. He talked about the types of stories that he wrote about and he was ecstatic to be writing so much because his skills were improving. He also talked about the sacred writing time that he had in class and that I helped him get better with his writing. Cole hoped to have another productive quarter and learn new vocabulary.
My response to Cole was that he did a fantastic job writing his blog post. I told him that I could tell that he had learned a lot since the beginning of the school year. I informed him that he did a great job using the vocabulary that he learned in his blog post. I told him that I hated to write when I was a child, but now I’m in school to be a Language Arts teacher. I assured him that his writing skills will only get better with practice. I asked him what type of stories did he like to write about? I also told him to keep up the good work.
My response that I said to Kai was that I loved that fact that she was getting better with her writing skills. I also told her that her favorite game called verbs in space sounded like it was educational and fun. I informed her that my goals where the same as hers as far as learning all the words that I could. I encouraged her to keep trying really hard and that she would get better. I asked her what are some of the things that she liked to write about?
The second person that I commented on was Hannah. In Hannah’s blog called print making, she talked about the steps to making print artwork. She goes through each step to give us a good idea on what to do if we wanted to create the art for ourselves.
My response was that I thought that her artwork was wonderful. I told her that I have created a lot of artwork but I have not made print art before. I told her that her steps to making print art was great and that people would be able to follow her directions. I also let her know that when I was her age I loved to do artwork and that my favorite art to do was drawing people. I asked her what was her favorite type of art to create?
The last person that I commented on was Cole. In Cole's blog called in the realm of writing, he talks about how he did not enjoy writing that much. He wrote that he dreaded writing and he procrastinated until the last minute. It took a lot to get him motivated about writing. That has all changed for him over the first quarter. He talked about the types of stories that he wrote about and he was ecstatic to be writing so much because his skills were improving. He also talked about the sacred writing time that he had in class and that I helped him get better with his writing. Cole hoped to have another productive quarter and learn new vocabulary.
My response to Cole was that he did a fantastic job writing his blog post. I told him that I could tell that he had learned a lot since the beginning of the school year. I informed him that he did a great job using the vocabulary that he learned in his blog post. I told him that I hated to write when I was a child, but now I’m in school to be a Language Arts teacher. I assured him that his writing skills will only get better with practice. I asked him what type of stories did he like to write about? I also told him to keep up the good work.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Blog Post 13
Dr. Strange has done a great job of asking important questions that we need to be aware of as aspiring teachers. The one that I would add would have to be classroom management.
What can we learn about managing a classroom from these videos?
Classroom Management - Meet Mr. Hester
Top 10 Proven Classroom Management Tips for Teachers
Classroom Management (Secondary)
Answer the question in a post that adheres to the standards found in the ACCRS and in Writing A Quality Blog Post.
In the video Classroom Management-Meet Mr. Hester, we are able to get some great insight as to how he establishes control of the classroom from the beginning of the semester and is able to maintain it throughout the semester. Mr. Hester starts by shaking the student’s hands at the door leading into the classroom. That is saying that he cares about the students enough to take the time out to do that for them. Another way to gain and keep control that he brings up is to always stick to your word. If a student is told that they will get punished for misbehaving, then that is what needs to happen. Don't just punish them sometimes. Classroom management has a lot to do with giving respect to receive respect. The students have to be treated with a level of respect for them to respond with respect. Mr. Hester also talks about how every students must be treated the same. If that does not happen, it will cause complications in the classroom between the students. Mr. Hester makes it a practice to tell the kids that they are worthy of a good education and that they will go to college.
Top 10 Proven Classroom Management Tips for Teachers is a great video to show us, as aspiring teacher, how to manage a classroom. The first tip is to start the semester being tough and then lighten up over time. The second tip is to be fair to each student. The third tip is to always be ready for distractions. The fourth step is to instill high expectations. In the fifth step, incentivize good behavior. The sixth step is to be sure to over plan the lesson to keep the students involved the whole class. The seventh step is to have a good disciplinary plan to keep the order. The eight step is to focus on relationships with the students. The ninth step is to be careful about confrontation in the classroom. The tenth and final step is to always be patient with the students. All of tips are very helpful to a teacher being in control and the classroom being a great learning environment. Teaching is very important but there has to be some type of control.
In the last video Classroom Management (Secondary), Kelly Woodson gives us some tips on how to manage a classroom properly. She treats all her students the same. She does not hug on her students, instead she motivates them with encouraging words. She is very firm but at the same time she keeps it fair. Kelly also tries not to call on the same person to do what she needs done. She will randomly call on different people to mix it up. Her students are very aware of her expectations. To help the students have a great learning environment, Kelly keeps a firm structure and lesson plan. As a result, her students really appreciate her as teacher and has nothing but good things to say about her.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
C4T Summary
Jeff Utecht is the name of the teacher that I left a comment for on his blog post. In Jeff's blog called Learning @ Learning 2 he talked about the conferences that he hosted and how he changed the way that the conferences operated. He lets the teachers work together in groups like the students would do in project based learning. This way of operating the conferences gave the teachers a better understanding of the material than they would have gotten form just listening to people speak. Jeff is changing the way that his conferences are being held and it’s working out for the better.
I responded to Jeff's post by letting him know that he was doing a wonderful job with the way that he was conducting his conferences. I told him that I understood how the teachers could learn and get more out of the conferences by working together in small groups. I also told him about the class that I was taking and we have been learning all about project based learning. I encouraged him to keep up the good work with the conferences that he has been preparing.
In Jeff's next post called Online Learning Research, Jeff talks about the good online research from the bad. He also talks about how online learning can promote a deeper understanding of learning. He believes that learning should be taught through a community and not through a teacher. Jeff would like to get more classes involved with this way of learning.
I responded to Jeff by letting him know that his post was very educational and correct. I told him that it is hard for some people to see that learning through a community is the best way of learning. I brought up the class that we are taking now. I informed him that I have never had a class where I learned so much. Also, in the class, we were learning all about project based learning which is the same thing that he was referring to in his blog post. I ended with telling him that I hope everyone gets to learn from the same type of learning that I have in the class that I’m taking now.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Blog Post 11
What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?
In all of these videos, we are getting some great information from teaching and learning through project based learning. In the first video Back to the Future by Brian Crosby, he shared with us his journey of teaching children that were second language students. Upon taking a survey on the second day of school, he found out that most of them did not have the basic skills that are needed to make it in the world. Brian took the kids and started teaching them through project based learning and the results were truly amazing. His students were blogging and experimenting to learn. They even did a really creative project where they had to pretend like they were a balloon. The project was immensely successful and taught the students a lot. They were not just sitting behind a desk with a pencil and a piece of paper. Brian's teaching us that project based learning is the best way to teach a class. Brian goes on to state, “The student are fired up about learning." The way that the students enjoy learning shows us that project based learning is what they prefer as well. The connections and publicity that the students received were amazing. It created huge responses from their leaning network of other students wanting to do some of the same fun and educational thing that they were doing in Brian’s classroom. This video is just one of the many that shows us what we can learn about teaching and learning from teachers.
In the second video Blended Learning Cycle by Paul Anderson, we see the styles of learning come together which are blended learning and the learning cycle. Upon putting the two together, he was able to create his own acronym called QUIVER. Paul goes on to show us the importance of starting with a really good opening question which happens to be the meaning of the first two letters in QUIVER. The question has to be intriguing to the students to make them want to learn more about the given topic. The "I" stands for investigation/ inquiry. You have to allow the students the time to do their own investigating. The "V" stands for video. The students get the chance to watch a video on the subject matter. The "E" stands for elaboration. That's where the time needs to be taken out for elaborating more on the subject matter to give the students a clear understanding. The “R” stands for Review. The review process is where the teacher finds out by meeting with the students if they are understanding or not. The last letter "S" stands for summary. In this step, a summary quiz will be given. Paul gave some really helpful information in his video that will help us as aspiring teachers. The driving question is always the most important step to a successful project.
In the third video Making Thinking Visible featuring Mark Church, his class is using project based learning to invoke a deeper understanding of what they are studying. They are given a question about what they have already learned so far. They are told to come up with a headline for the topic. We learn from Mark that Project based learning is the best way to get all the students involved and excited about learning. The students all seemed to be very focused and excited to learn.
In the fourth video Sam Pane 4th Grade, Sam's students are taught how to be safe on the internet by building their own super hero. Sam taught us the importance of keeping the students safe while they are doing online actives. He comes up with a really neat project for his students that has to do with them creating their own comics. Through the comics, the students are taught how to be a good digital citizen. At the end of the project, the students are able to share what they have created. This video is another wonderful example of the power of project based learning.
The fifth video called Project Based Learning by Dean Shareski, shows us about project based learning on a different spectrum. The students are in an extended class and they are leaning through project based learning. Throughout the day they switch around to the three different teachers that they have in the classroom and they are learning different subjects that are all blended together. These teachers are showing us that benefits of project based learning given the time frame that they are allotted to teach these kids. The students are motivated about learning and are able to cover so much more material. The students definitely respond well to this type of learning. It forces them to want to do better on the projects.
In the last video Roosevelt Elementary’s PBL Program, we are able to see from these teachers that project based learning is making a huge impact on the students. The students are not just doing enough to get by. They are actually learning in detail about the subject matter. One of the reasons that they are taking a liking to this learning is because they get to make their own choices. The students are also getting the experience of real world skills that will be taken with them. All these projects the students are doing has a little bit of every subject mixed in to one. Also in this video the parents are excited that their children are comprehending and learning so much. All of these videos have project based learning as the main learning point.
In all of these videos, we are getting some great information from teaching and learning through project based learning. In the first video Back to the Future by Brian Crosby, he shared with us his journey of teaching children that were second language students. Upon taking a survey on the second day of school, he found out that most of them did not have the basic skills that are needed to make it in the world. Brian took the kids and started teaching them through project based learning and the results were truly amazing. His students were blogging and experimenting to learn. They even did a really creative project where they had to pretend like they were a balloon. The project was immensely successful and taught the students a lot. They were not just sitting behind a desk with a pencil and a piece of paper. Brian's teaching us that project based learning is the best way to teach a class. Brian goes on to state, “The student are fired up about learning." The way that the students enjoy learning shows us that project based learning is what they prefer as well. The connections and publicity that the students received were amazing. It created huge responses from their leaning network of other students wanting to do some of the same fun and educational thing that they were doing in Brian’s classroom. This video is just one of the many that shows us what we can learn about teaching and learning from teachers.
In the second video Blended Learning Cycle by Paul Anderson, we see the styles of learning come together which are blended learning and the learning cycle. Upon putting the two together, he was able to create his own acronym called QUIVER. Paul goes on to show us the importance of starting with a really good opening question which happens to be the meaning of the first two letters in QUIVER. The question has to be intriguing to the students to make them want to learn more about the given topic. The "I" stands for investigation/ inquiry. You have to allow the students the time to do their own investigating. The "V" stands for video. The students get the chance to watch a video on the subject matter. The "E" stands for elaboration. That's where the time needs to be taken out for elaborating more on the subject matter to give the students a clear understanding. The “R” stands for Review. The review process is where the teacher finds out by meeting with the students if they are understanding or not. The last letter "S" stands for summary. In this step, a summary quiz will be given. Paul gave some really helpful information in his video that will help us as aspiring teachers. The driving question is always the most important step to a successful project.
In the third video Making Thinking Visible featuring Mark Church, his class is using project based learning to invoke a deeper understanding of what they are studying. They are given a question about what they have already learned so far. They are told to come up with a headline for the topic. We learn from Mark that Project based learning is the best way to get all the students involved and excited about learning. The students all seemed to be very focused and excited to learn.
In the fourth video Sam Pane 4th Grade, Sam's students are taught how to be safe on the internet by building their own super hero. Sam taught us the importance of keeping the students safe while they are doing online actives. He comes up with a really neat project for his students that has to do with them creating their own comics. Through the comics, the students are taught how to be a good digital citizen. At the end of the project, the students are able to share what they have created. This video is another wonderful example of the power of project based learning.
The fifth video called Project Based Learning by Dean Shareski, shows us about project based learning on a different spectrum. The students are in an extended class and they are leaning through project based learning. Throughout the day they switch around to the three different teachers that they have in the classroom and they are learning different subjects that are all blended together. These teachers are showing us that benefits of project based learning given the time frame that they are allotted to teach these kids. The students are motivated about learning and are able to cover so much more material. The students definitely respond well to this type of learning. It forces them to want to do better on the projects.
In the last video Roosevelt Elementary’s PBL Program, we are able to see from these teachers that project based learning is making a huge impact on the students. The students are not just doing enough to get by. They are actually learning in detail about the subject matter. One of the reasons that they are taking a liking to this learning is because they get to make their own choices. The students are also getting the experience of real world skills that will be taken with them. All these projects the students are doing has a little bit of every subject mixed in to one. Also in this video the parents are excited that their children are comprehending and learning so much. All of these videos have project based learning as the main learning point.
Project 14
Get to Know Others
This project was completed by Ashton Dykes, Ashley Stacey, and Shira Bell.
Lesson Plan
Weekly plan
Group Rubric
Individual Rubric
This project was completed by Ashton Dykes, Ashley Stacey, and Shira Bell.
Lesson Plan
Weekly plan
Group Rubric
Individual Rubric
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Blog Post 10
What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?
Mrs. Cassidy has some great ways that she is incorporating technology in her classroom. In the video Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1, she states all the different things that she has her students doing in her class. Mrs. Cassidy is using blogging in her classroom. It is fun for the students and it's a great way for the parents to be able to see how their child is progressing in her class. Another way, that I found pretty interesting, was the use of the Nintendo Ds. It helps the students learn how to share and it can be an educational device as well. She also takes advantage of using Skype with her class to let them interview people from all over the world. Mrs. Cassidy is using all these different forms of technology in her classroom to make the learning experience better for her students.
Once I become a teacher, I would first start with setting up a class blog because that interest me the most. In the Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 2, she says, "Start using technology in the classroom with what interest you the most." That's what I would be doing with the blogging. I’m also a really big fan of Skype. I would use that in my class as well. I never seen anyone use the Nintendo Ds in the classroom but I thought it was something different and unique to use. I would most likely use that system or I would find something similar to use. I would try to use as much as I could to help my students want to learn. There could be some challenges to face as far as keeping the students safe while using the technology, but I would make sure that I let my students know about the dangers of going to places that are not encouraged. I would also let them know as Mrs. Cassidy states, "Only use your first name when blogging."
There are many benefits to using technology in the classroom. The first benefit is one that we are taking advantage of right now in EDM310 which is Skyping. All these videos are provided by Dr. Strange skyping with other people from around the world. These teachers are teaching us things from miles away so that’s why I'm sure that my students will learn a whole lot by using this tool. Another benefit that comes from using these tools are that the students are getting the chance to learn and get familiar with the technology that they will need when they enter the work force. It’s teaching them lifelong skills. Also, the parents get to be involved with their child learning process from home. The students are getting the chance to work together and help each other grow by the comments that they leave on each other’s blog. There are so many great benefits to using technology in the classroom and that's what makes it worthwhile for the students and the teachers.
Mrs. Cassidy has some great ways that she is incorporating technology in her classroom. In the video Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1, she states all the different things that she has her students doing in her class. Mrs. Cassidy is using blogging in her classroom. It is fun for the students and it's a great way for the parents to be able to see how their child is progressing in her class. Another way, that I found pretty interesting, was the use of the Nintendo Ds. It helps the students learn how to share and it can be an educational device as well. She also takes advantage of using Skype with her class to let them interview people from all over the world. Mrs. Cassidy is using all these different forms of technology in her classroom to make the learning experience better for her students.
Once I become a teacher, I would first start with setting up a class blog because that interest me the most. In the Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 2, she says, "Start using technology in the classroom with what interest you the most." That's what I would be doing with the blogging. I’m also a really big fan of Skype. I would use that in my class as well. I never seen anyone use the Nintendo Ds in the classroom but I thought it was something different and unique to use. I would most likely use that system or I would find something similar to use. I would try to use as much as I could to help my students want to learn. There could be some challenges to face as far as keeping the students safe while using the technology, but I would make sure that I let my students know about the dangers of going to places that are not encouraged. I would also let them know as Mrs. Cassidy states, "Only use your first name when blogging."
There are many benefits to using technology in the classroom. The first benefit is one that we are taking advantage of right now in EDM310 which is Skyping. All these videos are provided by Dr. Strange skyping with other people from around the world. These teachers are teaching us things from miles away so that’s why I'm sure that my students will learn a whole lot by using this tool. Another benefit that comes from using these tools are that the students are getting the chance to learn and get familiar with the technology that they will need when they enter the work force. It’s teaching them lifelong skills. Also, the parents get to be involved with their child learning process from home. The students are getting the chance to work together and help each other grow by the comments that they leave on each other’s blog. There are so many great benefits to using technology in the classroom and that's what makes it worthwhile for the students and the teachers.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
C4K Summary #3
The first student that I got to comment on was Addison in Mrs. Tharp's class. In Addison's blog called School Changes, he talks about how there needs to be some changes in the classroom. He thought that videos should be added to the classroom to help them visualize what the teacher is teaching on and that way they would be able to understand better. Addison also talked about if there were videos in his science class, he would be able to see the different shapes and color of the cells that they are talking about. He likes the idea of learning through watching videos. He also brought up the fact that some teachers don't have screens to show a video and they should have a fundraiser to help all the teachers get the screens.
I told Addison that I thought that he made a good point in his blog about being able to visualize things better through videos. I agreed with him because watching a video to see what something is like is better than having to guess. I let him know that one of my teachers wanted me to read a book and then he let us watch the video of the book. I was able to get a better picture of what the book was about. I thought that his fundraiser idea was really good because it would help every class get a screen to watch videos. I concluded with asking him what class did he want to see use more videos?
The second student that I commented on was Nayellib in Miss Jacklin's class. In Nayellib's blog called My Favorite Abuelita, she talks about her favorite grandmother. Her grandmother always know what to do to make her happy. Her grandmother is her mom's mother. Her grandmother is from Peru and she like to make clothing for Nayellib when she has the time. She goes on to say how she started to call her grandmother abuela. She also let us know that her abuela doesn't like American food.
I told her that she made a wonderful post about her grandmother and that I could tell that she liked spending time with her. I told her that my grandmother that was my favorite was my mom's mother as well. I let her know that I called my grandmother Madear and that she was the best grandmother I could have ever hoped to have. The thing that I liked doing the most as a child was going to my grandmother's house and I still like to go to her house now. I let Nayellib know that my favorite thing to do when I went to her house was to help with her garden. I would pick the vegetables and she would cook a good dinner. I concluded by asking her what was her favorite thing to do with her grandmother?
The last child that I got to comment on was Matiu in Miss Garden class. In Matiu's blog called Creative Spring Writing, he talks about how he had to come up with a sentence to add to the sentence that the class picked as the favorite. It was a part of a creative writing exercise that the class was doing. The sentence was about an oak tree in the chilly spring air. Matiu came up with a sentence where he talked about the feelings that he got by being under the oak tree in the spring air. He also brought up that he could see the children playing in the sand.
I told Matiu that he did a great job with the creative sentence that he had to come up with for the writing that they were doing. His sentence made me feel like I was there in the spring air. I also told him that spring was a good time of year. I let him know that when I was his age I loved creative writing and I still do to this day. I asked him what his favorite season of the year was? I concluded with telling him to keep up the good work.
I told Addison that I thought that he made a good point in his blog about being able to visualize things better through videos. I agreed with him because watching a video to see what something is like is better than having to guess. I let him know that one of my teachers wanted me to read a book and then he let us watch the video of the book. I was able to get a better picture of what the book was about. I thought that his fundraiser idea was really good because it would help every class get a screen to watch videos. I concluded with asking him what class did he want to see use more videos?
The second student that I commented on was Nayellib in Miss Jacklin's class. In Nayellib's blog called My Favorite Abuelita, she talks about her favorite grandmother. Her grandmother always know what to do to make her happy. Her grandmother is her mom's mother. Her grandmother is from Peru and she like to make clothing for Nayellib when she has the time. She goes on to say how she started to call her grandmother abuela. She also let us know that her abuela doesn't like American food.
I told her that she made a wonderful post about her grandmother and that I could tell that she liked spending time with her. I told her that my grandmother that was my favorite was my mom's mother as well. I let her know that I called my grandmother Madear and that she was the best grandmother I could have ever hoped to have. The thing that I liked doing the most as a child was going to my grandmother's house and I still like to go to her house now. I let Nayellib know that my favorite thing to do when I went to her house was to help with her garden. I would pick the vegetables and she would cook a good dinner. I concluded by asking her what was her favorite thing to do with her grandmother?
The last child that I got to comment on was Matiu in Miss Garden class. In Matiu's blog called Creative Spring Writing, he talks about how he had to come up with a sentence to add to the sentence that the class picked as the favorite. It was a part of a creative writing exercise that the class was doing. The sentence was about an oak tree in the chilly spring air. Matiu came up with a sentence where he talked about the feelings that he got by being under the oak tree in the spring air. He also brought up that he could see the children playing in the sand.
I told Matiu that he did a great job with the creative sentence that he had to come up with for the writing that they were doing. His sentence made me feel like I was there in the spring air. I also told him that spring was a good time of year. I let him know that when I was his age I loved creative writing and I still do to this day. I asked him what his favorite season of the year was? I concluded with telling him to keep up the good work.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Blog Post 9
What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us about Project Based learning?
Seven Essential for Project Based Learning are things that need to be done in order to truly keep the students involved when starting a project. It's based around presenting project material to a students in a way that invites the student in and makes them want to learn. Teachers can show us the correct steps to take to make a project a meaningful and successful one for the teachers and the students. The students produce high quality work when they have a chance to work collaboratively and are able to give each other feedback. Students have the opportunity to create anything if the teachers come up with great projects. The steps that were provided show us a great example of how to produce great work.
In Tony Vincent's video Project Based Learning for Teachers, we are able to see the all the positive effects that can come from project based learning. We see how the teachers are not having to teach the old fashion way. The teachers are also able to benefit by providing students with a driving question and being able to see that the students are thinking on a deeper level. The students are learning by state standards. Also, the students feel like they have the control to create. The results are better work and students wanting to learn. This video is a wonderful way to get people to see how teachers and students thrive from project based learning.
In the video PBL-High School Math, project based learning is the way that all the teachers in Sammamish High School are going to be teaching. It has proven to be difficult to incorporate in some subjects, but it has its benefits for the students and the teachers. The students really liked the collaborative way of learning and it motivated them to want to learn. Also, the students are seeing that the skills that they are receiving are lifelong skills. The teachers are actually getting to work together collaboratively to create new lesson plans for this way of learning. They are experiencing what it is like firsthand because they are working with other colleagues to help them create. Although the school has seen some increase, it has not been proven to be because of project based learning as of yet.
In the video What Motivates Students, we get a good picture of what the students feel that is the reason behind them working hard to get good grades in school. The teachers are the reason that the students like to do well in school because of the rewards that they get motives them. Also, almost all of the students answered it was because they were trying to have a secured future in whatever they would like to be. In this video we can see that teachers play a big part in their students’ lives. We, as aspiring teachers, can see that we are the step to helping children succeed with the skills that we teach them in the classroom.
In the video Two Students Solve the problem of Watery Ketchup by Designing a New Cap, these two students amaze us with the cap that they came up with. They were in a class that allowed them to explore and create for the whole year. Just by being in that class, these students were able to really put their skills together and solve a problem. That is the whole point of project based learning. The student are able to show us that what we as teachers allow them to experiment with, the results can truly be astonishing.
Seven Essential for Project Based Learning are things that need to be done in order to truly keep the students involved when starting a project. It's based around presenting project material to a students in a way that invites the student in and makes them want to learn. Teachers can show us the correct steps to take to make a project a meaningful and successful one for the teachers and the students. The students produce high quality work when they have a chance to work collaboratively and are able to give each other feedback. Students have the opportunity to create anything if the teachers come up with great projects. The steps that were provided show us a great example of how to produce great work.
In Tony Vincent's video Project Based Learning for Teachers, we are able to see the all the positive effects that can come from project based learning. We see how the teachers are not having to teach the old fashion way. The teachers are also able to benefit by providing students with a driving question and being able to see that the students are thinking on a deeper level. The students are learning by state standards. Also, the students feel like they have the control to create. The results are better work and students wanting to learn. This video is a wonderful way to get people to see how teachers and students thrive from project based learning.
In the video PBL-High School Math, project based learning is the way that all the teachers in Sammamish High School are going to be teaching. It has proven to be difficult to incorporate in some subjects, but it has its benefits for the students and the teachers. The students really liked the collaborative way of learning and it motivated them to want to learn. Also, the students are seeing that the skills that they are receiving are lifelong skills. The teachers are actually getting to work together collaboratively to create new lesson plans for this way of learning. They are experiencing what it is like firsthand because they are working with other colleagues to help them create. Although the school has seen some increase, it has not been proven to be because of project based learning as of yet.
In the video What Motivates Students, we get a good picture of what the students feel that is the reason behind them working hard to get good grades in school. The teachers are the reason that the students like to do well in school because of the rewards that they get motives them. Also, almost all of the students answered it was because they were trying to have a secured future in whatever they would like to be. In this video we can see that teachers play a big part in their students’ lives. We, as aspiring teachers, can see that we are the step to helping children succeed with the skills that we teach them in the classroom.
In the video Two Students Solve the problem of Watery Ketchup by Designing a New Cap, these two students amaze us with the cap that they came up with. They were in a class that allowed them to explore and create for the whole year. Just by being in that class, these students were able to really put their skills together and solve a problem. That is the whole point of project based learning. The student are able to show us that what we as teachers allow them to experiment with, the results can truly be astonishing.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Implications and Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching and Learning
Upon reading what Dr. Strange posted, I was shocked to see that 87% of people that their smartphones never leave their sides in the EDM310 classes. I also saw the 80% says that the phone never leaves their side. I know that I am included in those numbers because my phone never leaves my side. At one point, there was very little technology in the classrooms. By looking at the chart that was provided, it can be seen form 2010 until now how the numbers have climbed over the past several years. These numbers really raise the bar for education. Most of the students have their smartphones with them in class now. They have answers at the click of a button and technology is only getting more advanced. The education standards had to be raised to actually challenge the students.
The schools and teachers are being challenged as well because they have to find things that don't bore the students. The numbers on the chart are only getting higher as the days and years go on. It forces us to get with technology or get left behind. These young people from 18-24 are way more advanced than ever before. Most of them say that they can’t live without the phones and the numbers on the chart confirms that. This chart makes a person wonder what it will be like in the next ten years.
Assuming that most of my students will have smartphone or tablets with a camera, the ideas that I have are to have them create something using one of those devises. My English students would have to do a book trailer on a book of their chose that meets the 9th-12 grade reading standards. I would also have them work together collaboratively in small groups to come up with a presentation that requires them to film themselves. The Alabama College and Career Ready Standards would be the main focus because now teaching and learning is being shifted to project based learning.
Upon reading what Dr. Strange posted, I was shocked to see that 87% of people that their smartphones never leave their sides in the EDM310 classes. I also saw the 80% says that the phone never leaves their side. I know that I am included in those numbers because my phone never leaves my side. At one point, there was very little technology in the classrooms. By looking at the chart that was provided, it can be seen form 2010 until now how the numbers have climbed over the past several years. These numbers really raise the bar for education. Most of the students have their smartphones with them in class now. They have answers at the click of a button and technology is only getting more advanced. The education standards had to be raised to actually challenge the students.
The schools and teachers are being challenged as well because they have to find things that don't bore the students. The numbers on the chart are only getting higher as the days and years go on. It forces us to get with technology or get left behind. These young people from 18-24 are way more advanced than ever before. Most of them say that they can’t live without the phones and the numbers on the chart confirms that. This chart makes a person wonder what it will be like in the next ten years.
Assuming that most of my students will have smartphone or tablets with a camera, the ideas that I have are to have them create something using one of those devises. My English students would have to do a book trailer on a book of their chose that meets the 9th-12 grade reading standards. I would also have them work together collaboratively in small groups to come up with a presentation that requires them to film themselves. The Alabama College and Career Ready Standards would be the main focus because now teaching and learning is being shifted to project based learning.
C4T#2 Summary
Cathy Jo Nelson is the teacher that I was assigned to comment on. Her first blog that I commented on was about the Somewhat Virtual Book Club (SWVBC). In the blog, Cathy wrote about the virtual book club that had been started within the last few years and she explained all the things that they had planned for the club. Cathy was inviting anyone who wanted to be in the club to join. The SWVBC is an online book club where students and teachers can chat together about books that they have read. The students could chat with people from all over the country about what they got out of the book that they read. Also, during the online meetings, they had a sessions where they got to meet the author of the book that was read and ask them all the questions that they would like. Each month a different school would host the meetings that they would have. Right now, the club has just started out within the last few years and they are trying to get more students to join the fun.
I told Cathy that I thought that the book club was a wonderful idea for the students. The students are not just reading but they are also getting the chance to chat with other from all over about the book they read. I told her that this type of program actually encourages the students to want to read. Also, people read books all the time but it's not often that they get to meet the person that wrote the book. I let Cathy know that she was doing a great job with the program and to keep up the great work.
The second post that Cathy made was about Celebrating Teen Reading Week. Teen reading week is one week where the students can have fun by taking part in games and contest that are set up in the library of the school. The whole object of the program is to get students to really be interested in reading. One of the games that are played is to guess the number of book that are in the whole library and the closest guess wins a prize. They also have a game called "strip" tease where the student draws from a jar that has a quote from a book on it. If they are able to guess the title of the book, then they win a prize. There are many other games that the students could play to keep them learning as well.
I responded to Cathy's post by letting her know that I thought that the program was a great way to get student interested in reading. The games that they played for the students make it seem like the students are just having fun, but they are actually learning at the same time. I told her that the game that I thought was the most interesting is called "strip" tease because the student had to have read the book to know the title. I also told her that more kids should be interested in reading and this program is a wonderful way for them to get involved. I asked Cathy if this program had been going on for years or if it was new. I explained that I did not have fun programs like this one when I was in grade school and I told her to keep up the great work with teen reading week.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Blog Post 8
What Can We Learn about Teaching and Learning from Randy Pausch?
In the video Randy Pausch's last lecture, we are able to learn so much from Randy. He is definitely a brilliant guy with a lot of useful information to provide. Randy talks about his childhood dreams and provides us with a list of everything that he wanted to accomplish as a child. Most of those childhood dreams were accomplished or perused in some kind of way. Randy taught us a really good lesson at the beginning of his lecture when he said, "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." This lesson shows us that we should always press on even when things don't go our ways because there is still something that's being taken away from all the attempts and that is experience. Randy also talks about head fake learning. Head fake learning is considered to be learning one thing when really you are learning something else that is way more valuable. He goes on to say that parents should look out for this type of learning and push their children to take part in it.
The part of the video that I found to very educational was when he talked about enabling childhood dreams. A really good way to be able to do that is to become a teacher. As aspiring teachers, we should want to make a difference in a child's life. Randy wanted to change and touch the lives of his students during his time at Carnegie Mellon so much that he started a class where the students were free to create almost anything that they wanted. He put the students into groups and used project based learning to get the students working together collaboratively. He did not put a limit to what the students could do with the projects. When the students came to class with their finished projects, he was truly amazed. It surpassed anything that he thought they could do. Their work was so good until he had to ask what should he do and he was given the instructions to basically tell them that the work was good but also challenge then to do better. With very little instructions, the students were able to explore, learn, and have fun. Those are the main goals of project based learning.
Randy wanted to take the program a step further, so he and Don created the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC). It was a two years program for a master's degree. Randy's approach to this program was learning without using books. That meant that it was all project based learning. Although the ETC was great, Randy wanted more people to be able to be reached so he started working on Alice. Alice is a program where students are able to have fun while learning how to create. It teaches us that students can learn difficult things through fun and entertaining programs. Millions have downloaded this program and it's continuing to spread.
Randy brought us some really useful information as to how students should be taught and he also instructed us never to give up on them. Everyone needs somebody to help them. There is a lot that we can learn from students as well. Randy says, "Brick walls let us show our dedication." We have to keep trying to reach our goals even when it looks like it's a dead end.
In the video Randy Pausch's last lecture, we are able to learn so much from Randy. He is definitely a brilliant guy with a lot of useful information to provide. Randy talks about his childhood dreams and provides us with a list of everything that he wanted to accomplish as a child. Most of those childhood dreams were accomplished or perused in some kind of way. Randy taught us a really good lesson at the beginning of his lecture when he said, "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." This lesson shows us that we should always press on even when things don't go our ways because there is still something that's being taken away from all the attempts and that is experience. Randy also talks about head fake learning. Head fake learning is considered to be learning one thing when really you are learning something else that is way more valuable. He goes on to say that parents should look out for this type of learning and push their children to take part in it.
The part of the video that I found to very educational was when he talked about enabling childhood dreams. A really good way to be able to do that is to become a teacher. As aspiring teachers, we should want to make a difference in a child's life. Randy wanted to change and touch the lives of his students during his time at Carnegie Mellon so much that he started a class where the students were free to create almost anything that they wanted. He put the students into groups and used project based learning to get the students working together collaboratively. He did not put a limit to what the students could do with the projects. When the students came to class with their finished projects, he was truly amazed. It surpassed anything that he thought they could do. Their work was so good until he had to ask what should he do and he was given the instructions to basically tell them that the work was good but also challenge then to do better. With very little instructions, the students were able to explore, learn, and have fun. Those are the main goals of project based learning.
Randy wanted to take the program a step further, so he and Don created the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC). It was a two years program for a master's degree. Randy's approach to this program was learning without using books. That meant that it was all project based learning. Although the ETC was great, Randy wanted more people to be able to be reached so he started working on Alice. Alice is a program where students are able to have fun while learning how to create. It teaches us that students can learn difficult things through fun and entertaining programs. Millions have downloaded this program and it's continuing to spread.
Randy brought us some really useful information as to how students should be taught and he also instructed us never to give up on them. Everyone needs somebody to help them. There is a lot that we can learn from students as well. Randy says, "Brick walls let us show our dedication." We have to keep trying to reach our goals even when it looks like it's a dead end.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Blog Post 7
How Do We All Become Learners?
I would say that according to the way that technology is in schools today, my strengths are being able to communicate well with others and I'm very thorough when I'm teaching someone something new. Also, I have been told that I'm very patient while working with people as well. On the other hand, I could stand to learn more about the technology that is being used in the classroom such as computers. I have basic knowledge but I do feel like I need to learn more on that subject. Also, I need to figure out ways to be more creative. I tend to stick by the books and that's not going to be a good thing for me the way that learning is changing. I need to think outside the box for this new way of teaching students through project based learning.
How to make an Audio QR Code by Michele Bennett is a wonderful video telling us all about what QR codes are. An audio QR code is a way of recording information with a computer. It's like the old style tape recorders but with new age technology. The QR codes are recorded on the computer through a website called recordmp3.org. Books can be recorded and turned into a QR code that can be scanned by a barcode scanner on a phone and it will play back what was recorded. The teachers typically record books so that the student can scan and listen to the teacher reading. It's a great way for students to be able to access what the teacher read to them as many times as they would like.
The iPad Reading Center is a great new way to let the student hear what they have read and check for mistakes that they may have made. The student usually picks a book and read it into the iPad reading center and it will record what they read. Then they are able to play it back to see how they did with their reading.
Poplet as a Center is another great video that shows how the student uses the free app poplet. Poplet allows the student to create a web about a certain subject or topic. The students are able to put in a book title and tell all about that book by adding a web of circles around the topic that was put in the middle. When it's done, they have created a web to let them know what the book was about. All of the information that is found to create the web can be stored so that the student can look at it later.
Alabama Virtual Library and Kindergarten Students is a video that is very educational. The students, through the AVL, are able to research plenty of information and see picture and play audio as well. The teacher will then get the student to draw a picture of what they have researched. After they draw the picture, then they go back in and write a sentence on what they have learned. The student has gained the knowledge of how to research and complete an activity. It's a great way to get them to be comfortable with researching things.
In Mrs. Shirley's 1st grade Class: How to use a Board in DE for a Project Based Lesson, the students are able to use discovery Ed to build a board. It allows them to customize their board. They are able to pick a subject and list the facts about that subject. All of the images and videos can be found on DE as well.
Students Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in kindergarten was educational as well. In the video, Michele Bennett tells us that the students are putting together iMovies and they are excited as they create them. The students are only in kindergarten that's what makes it so fascinating. The students get so skilled that eventually they are able to tell the teacher how to work the program. Elizabeth informs us that the AVL is a great way for the students to be taught basic knowledge. With this program, the students are really excited to learn.
We all become learners is another video to sum the fact that we are all still learners. The teachers are teaching the students and the students are teaching the teachers as well. This shows us that the students are taking in what the technology that is being taught and that's why we should continue to implement technology in the classrooms.
I would say that according to the way that technology is in schools today, my strengths are being able to communicate well with others and I'm very thorough when I'm teaching someone something new. Also, I have been told that I'm very patient while working with people as well. On the other hand, I could stand to learn more about the technology that is being used in the classroom such as computers. I have basic knowledge but I do feel like I need to learn more on that subject. Also, I need to figure out ways to be more creative. I tend to stick by the books and that's not going to be a good thing for me the way that learning is changing. I need to think outside the box for this new way of teaching students through project based learning.
How to make an Audio QR Code by Michele Bennett is a wonderful video telling us all about what QR codes are. An audio QR code is a way of recording information with a computer. It's like the old style tape recorders but with new age technology. The QR codes are recorded on the computer through a website called recordmp3.org. Books can be recorded and turned into a QR code that can be scanned by a barcode scanner on a phone and it will play back what was recorded. The teachers typically record books so that the student can scan and listen to the teacher reading. It's a great way for students to be able to access what the teacher read to them as many times as they would like.
The iPad Reading Center is a great new way to let the student hear what they have read and check for mistakes that they may have made. The student usually picks a book and read it into the iPad reading center and it will record what they read. Then they are able to play it back to see how they did with their reading.
Poplet as a Center is another great video that shows how the student uses the free app poplet. Poplet allows the student to create a web about a certain subject or topic. The students are able to put in a book title and tell all about that book by adding a web of circles around the topic that was put in the middle. When it's done, they have created a web to let them know what the book was about. All of the information that is found to create the web can be stored so that the student can look at it later.
Alabama Virtual Library and Kindergarten Students is a video that is very educational. The students, through the AVL, are able to research plenty of information and see picture and play audio as well. The teacher will then get the student to draw a picture of what they have researched. After they draw the picture, then they go back in and write a sentence on what they have learned. The student has gained the knowledge of how to research and complete an activity. It's a great way to get them to be comfortable with researching things.
In Mrs. Shirley's 1st grade Class: How to use a Board in DE for a Project Based Lesson, the students are able to use discovery Ed to build a board. It allows them to customize their board. They are able to pick a subject and list the facts about that subject. All of the images and videos can be found on DE as well.
Students Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in kindergarten was educational as well. In the video, Michele Bennett tells us that the students are putting together iMovies and they are excited as they create them. The students are only in kindergarten that's what makes it so fascinating. The students get so skilled that eventually they are able to tell the teacher how to work the program. Elizabeth informs us that the AVL is a great way for the students to be taught basic knowledge. With this program, the students are really excited to learn.
We all become learners is another video to sum the fact that we are all still learners. The teachers are teaching the students and the students are teaching the teachers as well. This shows us that the students are taking in what the technology that is being taught and that's why we should continue to implement technology in the classrooms.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Saturday, September 27, 2014
C4K Summary
The first student that I was assigned to was, Flora, a year eight student that attends Pt England in Auckland, NZ. Flora's blog post was about a book called Venus Bay. She had read the book and was giving us a summary of what she had read. She thought that the book was a great book for kids. She also gave some good idea of what the characters were like in the book.
I commented that she did a great job on telling us about the book Venus Bay. I informed her that it was not a book that I had not read but it did sound like it was a great one for kids to read. I told Flora all about how, when I was here age, I loved to read books. Also that I would read them for fun. At the end of the post I asked her if she liked to read books for fun as well.
The second student that I had was Kaitlin in Ms. Horst's 5-1 class. Kaitlin's blog was about problem solving and being a mathematician. She wrote down some steps that a person should go through to solve any math problem that they may have. With a math problem, you should always understand the question. A plan needs to be made to solve it. The work needs to be done. The work should be doubled checked and explained at the end.
I wrote back that I thought she had done a great job on listing the steps to problem solving. Her chart was very helpful as to the steps to follow. I agreed with her that without going through the correct process, it would be hard to do anything. I told her that when I was her age I had a kite and I did not follow the steps to putting it together correctly. When I was done, it would not fly. Also I asked if she had something that wouldn't work for her because she did not followed the steps.
My third student was Erika in Mr. Salsich's class. In Erika's blog she wrote about being very excited that she was going to have a sleepover with her best friend Alex this weekend. She talked about all the fun things that she had planned to do with her friend. She also talked about where she had met her best friend as well. Erika felt very lucky to have a good friend like Alex.
I wrote her back that her sleepover sounded very exciting and that she did a great job on listing what she planned to do for that weekend. The way that she talked about the sleepover made me want to have one myself. It also reminded me of the sleepovers that I used to have when I was a kid. I told her, when I was her age, I would plan what I was going to do with my friends for the next time as soon as one sleepover ended. I asked her if she does the same.
I commented that she did a great job on telling us about the book Venus Bay. I informed her that it was not a book that I had not read but it did sound like it was a great one for kids to read. I told Flora all about how, when I was here age, I loved to read books. Also that I would read them for fun. At the end of the post I asked her if she liked to read books for fun as well.
The second student that I had was Kaitlin in Ms. Horst's 5-1 class. Kaitlin's blog was about problem solving and being a mathematician. She wrote down some steps that a person should go through to solve any math problem that they may have. With a math problem, you should always understand the question. A plan needs to be made to solve it. The work needs to be done. The work should be doubled checked and explained at the end.
I wrote back that I thought she had done a great job on listing the steps to problem solving. Her chart was very helpful as to the steps to follow. I agreed with her that without going through the correct process, it would be hard to do anything. I told her that when I was her age I had a kite and I did not follow the steps to putting it together correctly. When I was done, it would not fly. Also I asked if she had something that wouldn't work for her because she did not followed the steps.
My third student was Erika in Mr. Salsich's class. In Erika's blog she wrote about being very excited that she was going to have a sleepover with her best friend Alex this weekend. She talked about all the fun things that she had planned to do with her friend. She also talked about where she had met her best friend as well. Erika felt very lucky to have a good friend like Alex.
I wrote her back that her sleepover sounded very exciting and that she did a great job on listing what she planned to do for that weekend. The way that she talked about the sleepover made me want to have one myself. It also reminded me of the sleepovers that I used to have when I was a kid. I told her, when I was her age, I would plan what I was going to do with my friends for the next time as soon as one sleepover ended. I asked her if she does the same.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Blog Post 6
What I learned from Anthony Capps
Anthony Capps shared some wonderful information in his video Project Based Learning Part 1. Project based learning is a different form of teaching the students to learn required material from the ACCRS. Anthony says, "It not only means that students achieved something, but it's a way to get them to learn something as well." The projects need to engage the students so that the student will be interested in what they are learning. They learn more that way and they will enjoy the process also. Project based learning should be used to get the student to really thinking about what they are learning. Also, always allow the student time to revise and reflect. It is the most important step after students complete their work.
Anthony’s video Project Based Learning Part 2 is just as informative as the first one. Anthony says, "Never limit your students in project based learning by telling them what to do. Always create the opportunity for them to go beyond what you want them to do." As teachers, we never want to set limitations on what the students should be learning. The students are capable of just about anything. Therefore, it is imperative that we as teachers come up with meaningful content in the student’s projects.
He also introduces two programs that I had never heard of before that are called iCurio and Discovery Ed. With iCurio, students are free to search a controlled website that only allows safe and education content. Not only can they search, they can store their findings. This program also offers the student a directory. With the directory, they can search historical figures and it's great for any grade level. Discovery Ed is a program where student can see a professional video along with the picture that comes up in the search. The videos contain experts in what they are trying to find. It's a great tool for students to further their studies without just seeing pictures.
Not only did Anthony tell about Project Based Learning, he and Dr. Strange also gave five Tips for Teachers. The first one is to remember that there will always be something new to learn, so get interested in it. Second, your free time will be your learning time. Third, have a goal in mind when you start teaching. Fourth, be creative while working with the class to keep the all the students interested. The fifth and final tip is to always have reflection time for students to see and correct their mistakes.
Use Tech Don't Teach It is another one of the helpful videos that Anthony supplied. It tells us as aspiring teachers to not just show the students how to work the technology. Give them a chance to play with it first and explore for themselves. Then, once you feel that the students are ready to progress forward, make the assignments a little more in depth. After all, Anthony says, "Technology should not be taught."
Anthony Capps shared some wonderful information in his video Project Based Learning Part 1. Project based learning is a different form of teaching the students to learn required material from the ACCRS. Anthony says, "It not only means that students achieved something, but it's a way to get them to learn something as well." The projects need to engage the students so that the student will be interested in what they are learning. They learn more that way and they will enjoy the process also. Project based learning should be used to get the student to really thinking about what they are learning. Also, always allow the student time to revise and reflect. It is the most important step after students complete their work.
Anthony’s video Project Based Learning Part 2 is just as informative as the first one. Anthony says, "Never limit your students in project based learning by telling them what to do. Always create the opportunity for them to go beyond what you want them to do." As teachers, we never want to set limitations on what the students should be learning. The students are capable of just about anything. Therefore, it is imperative that we as teachers come up with meaningful content in the student’s projects.
He also introduces two programs that I had never heard of before that are called iCurio and Discovery Ed. With iCurio, students are free to search a controlled website that only allows safe and education content. Not only can they search, they can store their findings. This program also offers the student a directory. With the directory, they can search historical figures and it's great for any grade level. Discovery Ed is a program where student can see a professional video along with the picture that comes up in the search. The videos contain experts in what they are trying to find. It's a great tool for students to further their studies without just seeing pictures.
Not only did Anthony tell about Project Based Learning, he and Dr. Strange also gave five Tips for Teachers. The first one is to remember that there will always be something new to learn, so get interested in it. Second, your free time will be your learning time. Third, have a goal in mind when you start teaching. Fourth, be creative while working with the class to keep the all the students interested. The fifth and final tip is to always have reflection time for students to see and correct their mistakes.
Use Tech Don't Teach It is another one of the helpful videos that Anthony supplied. It tells us as aspiring teachers to not just show the students how to work the technology. Give them a chance to play with it first and explore for themselves. Then, once you feel that the students are ready to progress forward, make the assignments a little more in depth. After all, Anthony says, "Technology should not be taught."
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Blog Post 5
PLN’s What are they?
A personal learning Network (PLN) is a combination of people and tools to help you with any inquiries you may have. It’s like a huge support system to help you succeed with your journey of being an educator. You can collaborate and consult with others for anything that you may need. A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment is a good video for what a PLN actually looks like. All the people and tools that is needed for success is located in one handy spot. You are able to set up and connect with whoever you may like.
PLN’s can help you as a teacher in many different ways. You can chat with other teachers from around the world and get some great ideas on different ways of teaching the classroom. They also help with you being able to attend teacher conferences without having to leave where you are. The video where Michael Fawcett Discusses his PLN gives us some insight as to how teachers can benefit from having PLN’s. I know that I would be able to benefit from a PLN in many different ways as well after watching this video. A PLN will definitely help me in my journey to be an aspiring and game changing educator.
PLN’s are formed by an area of subject matter that speaks to you that you may have questions about. You set out on a quest to answer any questions that you may have concerning that matter. You can start with popular network sites like twitter and facebook. From those you just want to keep digging, searching, and chatting to get to find what it is that you are looking to receive.
I can create my own PLN by starting my search for things that interest me. I can start by following and asking questions to teachers to get a better insight to what I wish to know. There is also a website where I can store all my findings and keep all my information in one spot on the website called symbaloo.
The first person have already added to my PLN is Dr. Strange. I will also add some of my other teachers that I have had and some from around the world. I will also start using a new site to me which is called delicious. I look forward to using my PLN to expand my horizons.
A personal learning Network (PLN) is a combination of people and tools to help you with any inquiries you may have. It’s like a huge support system to help you succeed with your journey of being an educator. You can collaborate and consult with others for anything that you may need. A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment is a good video for what a PLN actually looks like. All the people and tools that is needed for success is located in one handy spot. You are able to set up and connect with whoever you may like.
PLN’s can help you as a teacher in many different ways. You can chat with other teachers from around the world and get some great ideas on different ways of teaching the classroom. They also help with you being able to attend teacher conferences without having to leave where you are. The video where Michael Fawcett Discusses his PLN gives us some insight as to how teachers can benefit from having PLN’s. I know that I would be able to benefit from a PLN in many different ways as well after watching this video. A PLN will definitely help me in my journey to be an aspiring and game changing educator.
PLN’s are formed by an area of subject matter that speaks to you that you may have questions about. You set out on a quest to answer any questions that you may have concerning that matter. You can start with popular network sites like twitter and facebook. From those you just want to keep digging, searching, and chatting to get to find what it is that you are looking to receive.
I can create my own PLN by starting my search for things that interest me. I can start by following and asking questions to teachers to get a better insight to what I wish to know. There is also a website where I can store all my findings and keep all my information in one spot on the website called symbaloo.
The first person have already added to my PLN is Dr. Strange. I will also add some of my other teachers that I have had and some from around the world. I will also start using a new site to me which is called delicious. I look forward to using my PLN to expand my horizons.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Search Engines
1. Wolframalpha is a search engine that definitly have noticeable differences. When you search it allows you to put in numbers. It's like a calculator and search engine combined. Also, I'm not used to seeing charts when you answer is delivered. I noticed when I wanted to search for a picture it did not bring up more than one picture at a time and you need to be very specific as to what you are looking to find.
2.Bing has some useful points. I saw that bing has a lot of the information that you would find on other popular search engines. Bing also has a neat feature of being able to earn reward points for your searches. You do have to be a member to earn those points, but I thought it was an interesting program.
3. Infospace is not the most visually attractive site, but it gets the job done. I found several responses to the question that I put into the search bar. It does take the most popular responses and displays them first.
4. Ask has its own theme to it. It has a question and answer portion that most other sites don't have. You can even go to questions and answers in your community. It seems to give you factual information, but a lot of Ask deals with you finding out answers from other people.
5. Duckduckgo is site where you have to look around for the right answer. It don't seem to bring up the right answers as the top search. Another thing that I noticed is that this site don't bring up several different pages to search through. It's all on one page. It not a site that I could see myself using.
6. Blekko seems like a pretty good search engine. It brings up different categories when you search. Also I liked the side categories that it gives you on each topic that you search.
7. Yahoo is a good search engine in my opinion. I liked the fact everything can be done from the home page. Yahoo has a range of options versus some of the other sites that I have explored. It also has where you can ask others questions and get fast answers. I like the email feature with yahoo as well.
8. Zoo.com had some useful information. I liked the fact that you could type in one subject and then click on a tab to get different views of that same topic. The set up was visually attractive. It also gave the local weather and showed a list for the most common searches.
Summary Blog C4T
Bill Genereux is the teacher that I was assigned and he had a very legitimate complaint in his first post which was Pineapples Don't Have Sleeves. His 6th grade daughter was sent home with a practice test on reading comprehension skills. One of the questions was setup to where she had to pick the answer that best summed up what the story was talking about. The question was worded so wrong that his daughter could not answer it, and when Bill looked at the question he could barely come up with the correct answer. I even gave the question a shot and I could not determine what the right answer was. Bill was upset that the teacher had sent home the practice test worded to difficult for his daughter to answer. His main concerns was that teachers, and the author of the story, should be getting the questions down to a form where the sixth graders could understand them and that the wording should be correct coming from an educator. In my comment to Bill, I agreed with what he said about the teacher and the author needs to be aware of the content that they are sending home to the students. Even if it was a practice test it should be a good example of what is to come on the real test.
Inspire Her Mind was the second post that Bill wrote about in response to a Verizon commercial that he had seen. The video's message was showing us that we don't need to stifle a girls mind by always telling them what to do instead of them getting a hands on approach. Bill felt like because the girls are being pushed away from getting a hands on approach with building things that it would shy them away from wanting to learn about math and science. Being that Bill has a daughter in the sixth grade, he felt that the video was a good eye-opener for people. Bill is doing all that he can to keep his daughter intrigued with math and science. I complimented Bill on his efforts with his daughter. I did agree with him because I do see where not letting the children be free to explore will cause them to hate those subjects. Keep the child's mind open for any future endeavors they may want to pursue.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Blog Post 4
What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?
Asking questions to a class may seem like a no-brainer thing to do, but that's not the case. A teacher can ask questions all day long and still not obtain any usable feedback as to whether the class is really understanding the material. That's why it's important for teachers to know how to ask questions and that's where The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom by Ben Johnson becomes essential information for teachers. Questions that are asked to the class need to be asked the right way. That consist of asking open ended questions and also asking questions that after a few seconds if no one answers the teacher will call on someone to answer. That's the most effective way to get the class to really thinking about the material at hand.
I found the video by Andi Stix about asking Open Ended Questions to be helpful also. Her video is not just about asking open ended questions, it's about asking a question in a way that students will be challenged to dig deep and really think about the question they're about to answer. As aspiring teachers, this is a tactic that we will need to familiarize ourselves with to better understand what the students actually know. Don't just throw out questions that don't support any real feedback. Make every answer count by asking the right questions.
Asking questions to a class may seem like a no-brainer thing to do, but that's not the case. A teacher can ask questions all day long and still not obtain any usable feedback as to whether the class is really understanding the material. That's why it's important for teachers to know how to ask questions and that's where The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom by Ben Johnson becomes essential information for teachers. Questions that are asked to the class need to be asked the right way. That consist of asking open ended questions and also asking questions that after a few seconds if no one answers the teacher will call on someone to answer. That's the most effective way to get the class to really thinking about the material at hand.
I found the video by Andi Stix about asking Open Ended Questions to be helpful also. Her video is not just about asking open ended questions, it's about asking a question in a way that students will be challenged to dig deep and really think about the question they're about to answer. As aspiring teachers, this is a tactic that we will need to familiarize ourselves with to better understand what the students actually know. Don't just throw out questions that don't support any real feedback. Make every answer count by asking the right questions.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Blog Post 3
How can you provide meaningful feedback to your peers?
Peer editing can be a difficult task especially if you are like me. I'm not in the business of hurting anyone's feelings, but I do believe that you can be critical of someone else's work in a positive way. When editing, you really don't want to come across as being mean. Also, the videos What is Peer Editing? and Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial is very useful when trying to learn how to edit. I have only had a little practice with peer editing before watching these videos and so far, from what I have learned, I'v been doing it wrong. These videos do a great job with letting us know that we need to compliment first and then make a suggestion as to what the person did wrong and how they could improve it. Lastly, check for corrections. I think that if these steps are followed, then the feedback will be positive and the goals that we set out to achieve will be accomplished.
Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes really makes us think about our peer editing because it deals with several different types of incorrect editing approaches. Sometimes, as peer editors, we don't think about the way that we tell a person that their work is not up to par. It may come off as being mean or overly critical. In that case, the people that we are editing shut down and there is nothing else that we can say to them because we hurt their feelings. With peer editing, the main that we have to remember is to treat people as we would like to be treated. Also, we need to consider that this class is a learning experience for us all.
As aspiring teachers, we should have some knowledge of how to talk to people in a way that will make them want to improve. These videos, if truly considered, will be a learning tool for us all.
Peer editing can be a difficult task especially if you are like me. I'm not in the business of hurting anyone's feelings, but I do believe that you can be critical of someone else's work in a positive way. When editing, you really don't want to come across as being mean. Also, the videos What is Peer Editing? and Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial is very useful when trying to learn how to edit. I have only had a little practice with peer editing before watching these videos and so far, from what I have learned, I'v been doing it wrong. These videos do a great job with letting us know that we need to compliment first and then make a suggestion as to what the person did wrong and how they could improve it. Lastly, check for corrections. I think that if these steps are followed, then the feedback will be positive and the goals that we set out to achieve will be accomplished.
Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes really makes us think about our peer editing because it deals with several different types of incorrect editing approaches. Sometimes, as peer editors, we don't think about the way that we tell a person that their work is not up to par. It may come off as being mean or overly critical. In that case, the people that we are editing shut down and there is nothing else that we can say to them because we hurt their feelings. With peer editing, the main that we have to remember is to treat people as we would like to be treated. Also, we need to consider that this class is a learning experience for us all.
As aspiring teachers, we should have some knowledge of how to talk to people in a way that will make them want to improve. These videos, if truly considered, will be a learning tool for us all.
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