Thursday, April 30, 2015
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Blog Post #5 Part B
What can I say? Wow. It has been such an interesting and fulfilling semester in this class. I have gained so much knowledge and experience in just 15 short weeks. As I look back on the first part to this blog post, I realize how much more skilled I have become in organizing and utilizing my PLN. I use my personalized Symbaloo everyday to maneuver through my PLN. I rarely use the search bar to find crucial websites to my network such as Twitter and Alex, even my Google drives and Sakai online courses. Even though it has taken me some time and dedication to organize and build my PLN, I can find resources, save important information, and share ideas more easily than I have ever be able to before. I have added all of my C4T blogs to my PLN as well. I have found videos, programs, and websites through those teacher blogs that I have actually incorporated into this class. For example, I found this great website called Sway from Denise Krause's blog. My group is using Sway for our final project 16 presentation. Sway is a simple and unique way to create clean presentations for work, school, or for fun. Not only have I benefited from the content of these teachers blogs, but also by following them on Twitter. I have been able to be actively involved in educational conversations with these teachers through Twitter. One assignment during this semester, required our group to answer the question, "what is the new role of the teacher?". Using Twitter, I was able to get immediate feedback from other educators who had joined the conversation:
.png "Corinne Shirley")
I plan to use Twitter more and more frequently so that I can find and learn more about my content area, build meaningful professional relationships, and grow my PLN. I believe in a PLN because it makes your life easier as an educator. By putting forth the time and effort to cultivate your PLN, you can save yourself frustration in the classroom. Through my PLN, I have gained confidence, experience, and support through peers and experienced teachers that will carry on far into my future classrooms.
C4T for April
For my final C4T, I was assigned to comment on Ms. Ferguson's blog. I commented on her most recent post, "Infowhelm and Information Fluency." In this blog post, Ms. Ferguson shares a video that gives mind blowing information about the overflow of information and technology in today's society. Ms. Ferguson was truly astonished at the exponential growth of our world's digital output.
I honestly didn't realize how much information and digital output. In 2009, we had reached 500 exabytes of digital output, that's 13 stacks of books that could reach from Earth, all the way to Pluto!
In my comment, I introduced myself to Ms. Ferguson. She had many comments from previous EDM310 students here at South Alabama. I explained to her that I could not believe that our digital output had increased by 10,000% in the last six years! I also told her that we had been discussing our technological uses and advantages in EDM310 frequently this semester and that I have learned a lot about how I can utilize this technology in my future classroom.
This was my comment to her blog post:
This is the video in Ms. Ferguson's post about infowhelm and today's digital output.
I honestly didn't realize how much information and digital output. In 2009, we had reached 500 exabytes of digital output, that's 13 stacks of books that could reach from Earth, all the way to Pluto!
In my comment, I introduced myself to Ms. Ferguson. She had many comments from previous EDM310 students here at South Alabama. I explained to her that I could not believe that our digital output had increased by 10,000% in the last six years! I also told her that we had been discussing our technological uses and advantages in EDM310 frequently this semester and that I have learned a lot about how I can utilize this technology in my future classroom.
This was my comment to her blog post:
"Ms. Ferguson,
I am another student from the University of South Alabama in EDM310. This video completely astounded me. I knew our digital output was very large, but an increase of 10,000% in the last six years is unimaginable. I agree with this video. With the outstanding amount of information made available to students 24/7, our job as educators should be that of a tour guide. Asking questions, using appropriate sources, and finding the best answers are all apart of what makes a great 21st century educator. We talk a lot about this in our EDM310 class. If you would like to see some of the things we have learned and created this semester, please feel free to take a look at my blog. Happy blogging! I hope to hear from you soon."
This is the video in Ms. Ferguson's post about infowhelm and today's digital output.
C4K for April
I was assigned to comment on Kyah's blog for one of my last C4K. Kyah is a student in Mr. Webbauro's class in New Zealand. I left a comment on her blog post about the Weetbix Triathlon which Kyah and her classmates her apart of on the first of April. She included a great video in her post which showed the highlights from their participation in the triathlon. Kyah's blog was also very well organized and had a lot of information and resources. She also had a animated dog on her side bar that was very tempting to play with. In my comment, I told Kyah about the puppy I just brought home, and how much fun I have had taking care of him.
This is my comment to Kyah:
weet -bix2015 kyah jayden caro from Myles Webb on Vimeo.
This is the video Kyah shared of her participating in the triathlon.
For my final C4K, I was assigned to comment on Jinlay's blog in Mr. Gardner's class. Jinlay had an interesting blog post entitled "Lunch For My Teacher". This post was full of descriptive language and was also very fun and creative. Jinlay created a "recipe" of what would be a great lunch for her teacher. Instead of a lunch for her teacher, Jinlay made her teacher apart of the recipe...literally!
She received some comments from skeptical readers but I thought her post was entertaining.
In my comment I introduced myself, the class, and our school. I asked her how she came up with her lunch recipe and if maybe the teacher had given her too much homework and that's how he became apart of her revenge lunch. It was not to be taken seriously at all, I actually thought it was a creative way for her to use descriptive language and create her own recipe.
This was Jinlay's recipe:
This is my comment to Kyah:
"Kyah,
Hello, my name is Corinne Shirley and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I really like your blog! I enjoyed playing with your little virtual puppy, Baxter. I have a real puppy at home, and his name is Bailor. He looks a lot like Baxter. It looks like you and your classmates had a load of fun at the triathlon. Was it exhausting? Did you just run, or did you have to do other physical activities? I have been in a few Color Me Rad runs, but never a triathlon. I hope to participate in one some day. If you want to check out my blog you, you can just visit by clicking here. I loved your video! Keep posting and happy blogging.
-Corinne Shirley"
weet -bix2015 kyah jayden caro from Myles Webb on Vimeo.
This is the video Kyah shared of her participating in the triathlon.
For my final C4K, I was assigned to comment on Jinlay's blog in Mr. Gardner's class. Jinlay had an interesting blog post entitled "Lunch For My Teacher". This post was full of descriptive language and was also very fun and creative. Jinlay created a "recipe" of what would be a great lunch for her teacher. Instead of a lunch for her teacher, Jinlay made her teacher apart of the recipe...literally!
She received some comments from skeptical readers but I thought her post was entertaining.
In my comment I introduced myself, the class, and our school. I asked her how she came up with her lunch recipe and if maybe the teacher had given her too much homework and that's how he became apart of her revenge lunch. It was not to be taken seriously at all, I actually thought it was a creative way for her to use descriptive language and create her own recipe.
This was Jinlay's recipe:
"Salad: Seaweed with Saliva.
Soup: Gushed out Eyeballs soup With blood All over!!!.
Main Cours: A 10 Feet long Sandwich With Mr.Gardner’s Feet In It.
Drinks: A Blood Thirsty Drink With Mr.Gardner’s Eyeballs On The Side!!.
Dessert: A Jelly Mold Of Mr.Gardner’s Butt!!!!.
Funny Comment: WAIT A MINUTE HOW COULD MR.GARDNER EAT MY FOOD F HE’S ON MY FOOD!!!!!!!!!!
#.#<OH NOO!)"
This was my comment to her silly recipe:
"Hello Jinlay, my name is Corinne Shirley and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I am here to leave a comment on your blog post. This sounds like an interesting lunch! How did you come up with this recipe? Did your teacher give you a lot of homework to make you mad so you made him apart of your lunch meal? This is such a great and funny post. You should check out my blog sometime: Corinne Shirley EDM310. Happy blogging! Keep up the good work."
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Blog Post #14
For this week's blog post, we were assigned to read an article by Joel Klein entitled "Teaching Our Children Can Be a Profession". This article discusses many of the major problems within our public schools, and also the radical changes it would take to solve these problems.
Problem: Many teachers have been hired simply because they have a college degree.
Solution: Recruit teachers who graduated in the top third of their class
I totally agree that this problem exist in public schools across the nation. I think the solution presented for this problem is ideal but not entirely realistic. I also believe that many people stray away from the idea of teaching because it does not pay as well as other jobs that these third-top-of-their-class recruits could have. I believe that many teachers today are also apart of that mentioned "top third" and still do not get paid well or respected for their hard work and dedication. This is a real problem but the proposed solution is not obtainable. My solution to this problem would be to increase the average salary of a teacher, and then those teachers who graduated in the top third of their class won't have to be recruited, they will come willingly.
Problem: Teachers who have had more experience than new teachers will always be chosen first, simply because of seniority.
Solution: To make teaching a profession by treating all teachers as equals, and allowing teachers to earn their levels of achievement.
This problem was evident even to me as a student in high school. I believe that the solution to this problem is a real and applicable solution. According to Klein, teachers would develop a "formal set of peer relationships" as well as a "national teaching exam" that gives teachers the opportunity to earn their raises and achievements through "knowledge-based"testing, similar to entry exams for doctors and lawyers. This accompanied with a "one to three year internship" as Klein mentions, would also help to recreate teaching as a profession.
Problem: Teaching has not been treated or respected as if it is a profession, even by educators themselves.
Solution: Teachers will have a self established board to "police the profession" by making standards and "providing mechanisms to remove incompetent teachers".
I agree that this is also a problem in our nation. I also agree with the solution that teachers should have a self established board because not only would this board be able to remove incapable teachers, but would create a more professional atmosphere for teaching's reputation. I think that teachers would also feel more empowered to speak out about their opinions toward state standards, and public school policies because they would know that they have someone in their corner to vouch for them and to give respect and support.
I really enjoyed this article because I feel relieved that there are other people speaking out and sharing their opinions about the problems in our nations public school system and what solutions are going to benefit not only students, but teachers as well. Happy, motivated teachers excite, engage and encourage happy students.
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Problem: Many teachers have been hired simply because they have a college degree.
Solution: Recruit teachers who graduated in the top third of their class
I totally agree that this problem exist in public schools across the nation. I think the solution presented for this problem is ideal but not entirely realistic. I also believe that many people stray away from the idea of teaching because it does not pay as well as other jobs that these third-top-of-their-class recruits could have. I believe that many teachers today are also apart of that mentioned "top third" and still do not get paid well or respected for their hard work and dedication. This is a real problem but the proposed solution is not obtainable. My solution to this problem would be to increase the average salary of a teacher, and then those teachers who graduated in the top third of their class won't have to be recruited, they will come willingly.
Problem: Teachers who have had more experience than new teachers will always be chosen first, simply because of seniority.
Solution: To make teaching a profession by treating all teachers as equals, and allowing teachers to earn their levels of achievement.
This problem was evident even to me as a student in high school. I believe that the solution to this problem is a real and applicable solution. According to Klein, teachers would develop a "formal set of peer relationships" as well as a "national teaching exam" that gives teachers the opportunity to earn their raises and achievements through "knowledge-based"testing, similar to entry exams for doctors and lawyers. This accompanied with a "one to three year internship" as Klein mentions, would also help to recreate teaching as a profession.
Problem: Teaching has not been treated or respected as if it is a profession, even by educators themselves.
Solution: Teachers will have a self established board to "police the profession" by making standards and "providing mechanisms to remove incompetent teachers".
I agree that this is also a problem in our nation. I also agree with the solution that teachers should have a self established board because not only would this board be able to remove incapable teachers, but would create a more professional atmosphere for teaching's reputation. I think that teachers would also feel more empowered to speak out about their opinions toward state standards, and public school policies because they would know that they have someone in their corner to vouch for them and to give respect and support.
I really enjoyed this article because I feel relieved that there are other people speaking out and sharing their opinions about the problems in our nations public school system and what solutions are going to benefit not only students, but teachers as well. Happy, motivated teachers excite, engage and encourage happy students.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Technology and Teaching: My Philosophy
In EDM310, I have learned so much about technology and how it can be used in the classroom to create, engage, connect, and even at times, amaze students and educators. My philosophy for teaching and technology is that as a future educator, I cannot be a good teacher and ignore the digital age that we live in. Technology coexists with learning and teaching. Technology gives students and teachers the ability to learn more, and open our minds even greater than before because any information that we need to know can now be found at the click of a button. Why would we not want to take advantage of that wonderful tool? By having such incredible access to facts, concepts, and real life information, educators can now focus on the "why" and "how" rather than just "who" and "when". Asking in depth questions, incorporating creativity, and building real-world skills is apart of being able to efficiently use technology in the classroom. In my opinion, educators would be doing a disservice to their students if they chose to not incorporate technology into their classrooms and lesson plans. I will take away so much valuable information away from EDM310, and all of the technological tools I have gained will carry on into every classroom and student's mind that I have.
This video is a glance into a future classroom. Look at all the opportunities education has with continuing and growing technology!
This video is a glance into a future classroom. Look at all the opportunities education has with continuing and growing technology!
Blog Post #13: What Did I Leave Out?
I think every student throughout any school should have the opportunity to learn at their level, be engaged and excited through the learning process, as well as retain all the concepts and skills they learn throughout the school year. I believe that it is important to consider all types of students when we reach for these education goals, whether it be special education, remedial students, and even gifted students. My focus for this blog post is about how educators can challenge and excite their gifted students, in a way that does not isolate them from the rest of the class.
I believe that challenging gifted students is very important because I was considered a gifted student through out my education. I always made great grades, and answered all the questions in class that other students did not want to. I would always complete my work early, and even have my homework completed in class as well. I would become a distraction to other students, as I would try to find some form of entertainment by chatting away with my friends, who unfortunately were not finished with their class work. I became frustrated often when I would get in trouble for talking, even though I knew I was a good student. This continued on until after high school. Now that I am in college, I can say that this is the first time in my career as a student that I have ever felt challenged and excited about the knew things I am learning. I am now able to share my ideas, stretch my creative muscles, and not feel uncomfortable with my good grades or my excitement to learn.
I have found some great videos that help identify gifted students, myths about gifted students, and different ways to challenge your gifted students in the classroom. In the video, Characteristic of Gifted Students, Betsy Weigle shares her own personal experiences with some of her gifted students. Weigle gives tips and characteristics that helped her identify her own gifted students such as enjoying adult conversation, large vocabularies, and sometimes even social awkwardness. She even spoke of an instance where she had to pull one of her gifted students aside because that student was "bragging" about her intelligence to other students. Once Weigle pulled her to the side to explain to her how her behavior made other classmates feel, that student was able to change her attitude and help encourage other students to learn and achieve their goals.
Another video that was absolutely awesome in exposing myths and truths about gifted learners was a student-created video called Top 10 Myths in Gifted Education. These students came together to help destroy the myths that teachers, parents, counselors, principals, and board members have about gifted students. I loved this video because the message conveyed came straight from gifted students and the struggles they deal with through stereotypes. It really is a testament to how create and important these gifted students are.
The last video entitled Six Ways to Meet Bright and Gifted Kids' Needs Without Much Extra Work, is such a simple and effective way for teachers to help their gifted students. Marty Nemko discusses very effective strategies for getting gifted students excited and challenged in the midst of remedial students. I think this video is important for all teachers to have as a tool to refer to when dealing with learning diversities in the classroom. As an educator, I will never have the "ideal" classroom, and I will always be accommodating to every students' needs in my class. This is why these simple approaches, such as dividing students into groups by ability, having students suggest alternate assignments, and letting gifted students be a "roving assistant" to other struggling classmates, can be so effective and such an easy to fix problems for teachers.
I feel extremely passionate about not only getting remedial students the help they need, but also challenging gifted students to receive the education that will benefit their future. "Begin to believe in gifted students. Just begin!"
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Another video that was absolutely awesome in exposing myths and truths about gifted learners was a student-created video called Top 10 Myths in Gifted Education. These students came together to help destroy the myths that teachers, parents, counselors, principals, and board members have about gifted students. I loved this video because the message conveyed came straight from gifted students and the struggles they deal with through stereotypes. It really is a testament to how create and important these gifted students are.
The last video entitled Six Ways to Meet Bright and Gifted Kids' Needs Without Much Extra Work, is such a simple and effective way for teachers to help their gifted students. Marty Nemko discusses very effective strategies for getting gifted students excited and challenged in the midst of remedial students. I think this video is important for all teachers to have as a tool to refer to when dealing with learning diversities in the classroom. As an educator, I will never have the "ideal" classroom, and I will always be accommodating to every students' needs in my class. This is why these simple approaches, such as dividing students into groups by ability, having students suggest alternate assignments, and letting gifted students be a "roving assistant" to other struggling classmates, can be so effective and such an easy to fix problems for teachers.
I feel extremely passionate about not only getting remedial students the help they need, but also challenging gifted students to receive the education that will benefit their future. "Begin to believe in gifted students. Just begin!"
Sunday, April 12, 2015
C4T #3 Summary
Diane Krause was the teacher that I was assigned to for my #3 C4T. I enjoyed looking through he blog posts because she really had a lot of great technological tools, advice and experience that really go hand-in-hand with the things that we have been learning in EDM310.
The first blog post I commented on talked a lot about different websites and online tools. Mrs. Krause had several links to websites such as Computer Science Unplugged and Cord.org for Flappy Bird that are used for getting students excited about creating and using puzzles, coding, science, and technology in the classroom. I was really impressed with all of her resources. In my comment, I introduced myself and told her that her blog would make a great addition to my PLN (personal learning network). She had already mentioned the great advantages of using Symbaloo as a PLN organizer and I told her that I had already incorporated Symbaloo as my primary PLN organizer. I also mentioned how intimidating it could be using technology in the classroom, especially with younger children, but that her blog was very resourceful and had great websites that could help any teacher feel confident with technology in their classroom.
Her second blog post that I commented on was about the presentation program called Sway. Sway is a moder and simple way for students to present and share research and information. Mrs. Krause even shared some students' work using Sway, where they created a presentation about Newton's Laws and sports. Mrs. Krause compared using Sway to Gloster, Prezi, and OneNote all in one. The kid's presentations were really clean and moved so smoothly. So, I decided to go to the Sway website myself and see how it all works. I was really impressed. In my comment to this blog post, I told her how much I really liked Sway and all of its features, and how I would love to incorporate this tool into our big Project #16 lesson plan. In both of my comments I left her a link to my blog, and let Mrs. Krause know that I really enjoyed her blog, and I would love to share resources and tools with her anytime.
This video shows us how creatively Sway can be used.
Blog Post #12
Our group decided to collectively create a google slides presentation that shows several types of assistive technologies for the deaf, blind, and other disabilities in students that need more attention in the classroom. We researched more assistive technologies after watching Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child is Learning on the Ipad, Ipad Usage for the Blind and other videos assigned to us for this week's blog post.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Project #14 Lesson Plan
For project 14, I found a great lesson plan on ALEX that is based on Alabama prehistoric Indian tribes. Students use technology to learn about Paleo, Archaic, and Woodland tribes and create their own music parody video based on their findings in their student journal and Venn Diagram.
Lesson Plan
Rubric
Venn Diagram and Podcast Sheet
Here is a link of a music parody video for this lesson plan that was done by students in Mrs. Reeces
4th grade Alabama History class.
Lesson Plan
Rubric
Venn Diagram and Podcast Sheet
Here is a link of a music parody video for this lesson plan that was done by students in Mrs. Reeces
4th grade Alabama History class.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Blog Post #11
This week we watched several videos on project based learning that can help future educators see the benefits and excitement involving this type of learning.
In the first video, Brian Crosby discusses his ELL class at a Denver TEDx talk and the hot-air balloon science project that really got his whole classroom excited about using technology through project based learning. Crosby's class used wikis, blogs, and skype to interact with students across the globe to send their "high hopes" up with their air balloon after doing several in class experiments on what to expect from the balloon's journey. The class tracked the balloon on google during its flight into the air and also attached a camera to record the experiences of the balloon. Crosby also had his students write a narrative story about the balloon's journey from the perspective of the balloon. He was able to get his students excited about learning, all while incorporating writing and reading skills, science and physics, and also helping the students to sharpen their language skills through verbal communication via skype. This is a great example for how project based learning can get students excited about learning, but also how project based learning can create more meaningful and lasting learning experiences that relate to real world situations. The use of technology through this experiment shows how easily it is to share ideas and stay to connected to others, which in turn makes students more prideful and responsible for their work.
In the second video, Paul Anderson talks about the concept of blended learning. Blended learning combines the compelling parts of "classroom, online, and mobile learning in a powerful and useful way." Andersen uses an acronym "QUIVERS" which first starts with an engaging Question, then Investigating/Inquiry, then Video to incorporate technology and keep their attention, followed by Elaboration on the subject, Review of what was learned,then finishing with a Summary quiz. I think this is a great approach to a blended classroom because it incorporates each aspect of learning and also gives teachers a solid guideline to follow for every subject/problem. This way, students can use the guideline QUIVERS for their own purposes, maybe even asking their own questions, finding their own resources, and challenges others to learn new information.
The third video featured Mark Church and how his students worked in groups to create a headline that represented the mystery of the human origin. The kids were able to discuss and focus on what they interpreted to be the main idea around human beginnings. They were also able to share their headlines with the class and had a group discussion about how their headline related to the mystery of human beginnings. I really like Mark Church's approach to group work, it allows for in depth discussion and connection between students and their ideas.
The fourth video was by far my favorite approach to using technology and project based learning in the classroom. Sam Pane teaches his 5th grade class how to be a good digital citizen by using the internet wisely and carefully. He starts his lesson with a hook or an interesting question from Spider-man, "With great power, comes great responsibility." He then asks his class what kind of power does the internet give them. The students share their ideas and are then instructed to create their own digital super hero and comic strip that shows their digital hero saving the day by giving safe internet use instructions. The students were not only able to create their own customized super hero, but were also able to put themselves into the comic as the victim of an internet hazard. I loved his approach because Pane was not only able to engage and get his students interested in what they were learning, but he was teaching them how to use the internet safely by using technology that showcased his students individual creativity. His lesson plan incorporates all aspects of technology and project based learning all while keeping his students engaged and open for class discussion and sharing.
The fifth video shows us a blended Canadian classroom where three teachers teaching Literature, History, and Technology Processing, combine their efforts to give their students a more meaningful and project based learning experience. The students receive three credits for this one class but are able to have the time length of three classes combined. This allows the students and the teachers more time to look their projects and concepts on a more in-depth level. Students are able to perfect their work by putting more time into what they have created which almost always gives the students a sense of pride within their work. This learning approach has teachers and students motivated to go further into their studies and projects. Although unconventional, I feel like this learning style should be more widely practiced here in America.
The last video features Roosevelt Elementary School and how they have fully embraced project based learning. This school has really focused on helping their community through project based learning. The students are collaborating on these projects and are becoming familiar with public speaking by presenting their projects and ideas. These projects are solving real-life problems in a real-life way, just like you would in the professional world. What I really liked about this video is that the students, teachers, parents, and really the whole community was able to come together to be supportive of this new learning approach at Roosevelt. It is so awesome to see other people excited about project based learning, not just the students. These students are changing their community through their learning experience! What an incredible opportunity for students, parents, and teachers alike.
I find it inspiring to see other schools from all over the country and even the world that are incorporating project based learning through technology. It seems overwhelming at times trying to make sense of all these projects and making them meet core standards. It gives me encouragement to know that there are other educators who are passionate about enriching students' learning experiences as much as I am. We can learn and be inspired by all of these stories in our quest to know and conquer project based learning in the classroom!
In the first video, Brian Crosby discusses his ELL class at a Denver TEDx talk and the hot-air balloon science project that really got his whole classroom excited about using technology through project based learning. Crosby's class used wikis, blogs, and skype to interact with students across the globe to send their "high hopes" up with their air balloon after doing several in class experiments on what to expect from the balloon's journey. The class tracked the balloon on google during its flight into the air and also attached a camera to record the experiences of the balloon. Crosby also had his students write a narrative story about the balloon's journey from the perspective of the balloon. He was able to get his students excited about learning, all while incorporating writing and reading skills, science and physics, and also helping the students to sharpen their language skills through verbal communication via skype. This is a great example for how project based learning can get students excited about learning, but also how project based learning can create more meaningful and lasting learning experiences that relate to real world situations. The use of technology through this experiment shows how easily it is to share ideas and stay to connected to others, which in turn makes students more prideful and responsible for their work.
In the second video, Paul Anderson talks about the concept of blended learning. Blended learning combines the compelling parts of "classroom, online, and mobile learning in a powerful and useful way." Andersen uses an acronym "QUIVERS" which first starts with an engaging Question, then Investigating/Inquiry, then Video to incorporate technology and keep their attention, followed by Elaboration on the subject, Review of what was learned,then finishing with a Summary quiz. I think this is a great approach to a blended classroom because it incorporates each aspect of learning and also gives teachers a solid guideline to follow for every subject/problem. This way, students can use the guideline QUIVERS for their own purposes, maybe even asking their own questions, finding their own resources, and challenges others to learn new information.
The third video featured Mark Church and how his students worked in groups to create a headline that represented the mystery of the human origin. The kids were able to discuss and focus on what they interpreted to be the main idea around human beginnings. They were also able to share their headlines with the class and had a group discussion about how their headline related to the mystery of human beginnings. I really like Mark Church's approach to group work, it allows for in depth discussion and connection between students and their ideas.
The fourth video was by far my favorite approach to using technology and project based learning in the classroom. Sam Pane teaches his 5th grade class how to be a good digital citizen by using the internet wisely and carefully. He starts his lesson with a hook or an interesting question from Spider-man, "With great power, comes great responsibility." He then asks his class what kind of power does the internet give them. The students share their ideas and are then instructed to create their own digital super hero and comic strip that shows their digital hero saving the day by giving safe internet use instructions. The students were not only able to create their own customized super hero, but were also able to put themselves into the comic as the victim of an internet hazard. I loved his approach because Pane was not only able to engage and get his students interested in what they were learning, but he was teaching them how to use the internet safely by using technology that showcased his students individual creativity. His lesson plan incorporates all aspects of technology and project based learning all while keeping his students engaged and open for class discussion and sharing.
 |
Students in Sam Pane's class creating their Super Digital Citizen.
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The fifth video shows us a blended Canadian classroom where three teachers teaching Literature, History, and Technology Processing, combine their efforts to give their students a more meaningful and project based learning experience. The students receive three credits for this one class but are able to have the time length of three classes combined. This allows the students and the teachers more time to look their projects and concepts on a more in-depth level. Students are able to perfect their work by putting more time into what they have created which almost always gives the students a sense of pride within their work. This learning approach has teachers and students motivated to go further into their studies and projects. Although unconventional, I feel like this learning style should be more widely practiced here in America.
The last video features Roosevelt Elementary School and how they have fully embraced project based learning. This school has really focused on helping their community through project based learning. The students are collaborating on these projects and are becoming familiar with public speaking by presenting their projects and ideas. These projects are solving real-life problems in a real-life way, just like you would in the professional world. What I really liked about this video is that the students, teachers, parents, and really the whole community was able to come together to be supportive of this new learning approach at Roosevelt. It is so awesome to see other people excited about project based learning, not just the students. These students are changing their community through their learning experience! What an incredible opportunity for students, parents, and teachers alike.
I find it inspiring to see other schools from all over the country and even the world that are incorporating project based learning through technology. It seems overwhelming at times trying to make sense of all these projects and making them meet core standards. It gives me encouragement to know that there are other educators who are passionate about enriching students' learning experiences as much as I am. We can learn and be inspired by all of these stories in our quest to know and conquer project based learning in the classroom!
Sunday, March 29, 2015
C4K #7 and Summary
For my C4K for weeks five, six, and seven, I had a little more trouble than I had before in my past C4K. Not only did I include my week four C4K in my last summary, but I also had problems with a few of my author's blog posts. Nevertheless, I chose a few students from Mrs. Maslowski class blog that had some really great posts!
For my week five C4K, I chose to comment on Ariel's blog post that described her experience job shadowing at Saint Joseph Hospital near her home. Ariel wants to be a nurse one day and she was very excited to blog about her experience. Ariel said that she spent a lot of time with a cardiac nurse, seeing how they knew what drugs to administer to patients and even what technology is involved in keeping the hospital organized and functioning. I enjoyed reading about her experience at Saint Joseph hospital. In my comment, I introduced myself and told her that when I first started college, I was going to school to one day become an orthodontist. I asked Ariel if she was interested in any specific type of nursing, like cardiac, neonatal, or orthopedic nursing. I left a link to my blog and I am still waiting to hear from her.
For my week six C4K, I chose to comment on Melissa's blog post which was about her feelings toward standardized testing. As a future teacher, I am very passionate about the effects and outcomes of standardized testing so I was interested to see her opinion on the subject. Melissa feels very strongly that standardized testing does not determine your success as a student, or as a person in general. She had great word choice, as well as impeccable grammar and spelling throughout her post. Melissa stated that she had not been nervous during her standardized test, but that other people do get nervous during exams. I replied and told Melissa that I have extreme test anxiety and that it has really hindered my confidence and performance in the past. It was nice to see a student's view on standardized testing and it felt really great to hear an opinion that was so passionate and honest, like hers. What I loved about this post is that Melissa proudly stated her talents and knew that a test that existed on a simple piece of paper did not define her abilities and her intelligence.
For week six C4K, I commented on Jack's blog post about hitting a "dinger". I wasn't really sure
what a "dinger" was, but his context clues led me to believe that a "dinger" is similar to hitting a home run. Jack's post was very confident but he still needed some more information about baseball. In my comment, I let him know that he should add more information about "dingers" and the sport, just so his readers could get a better understanding of his post. Hopefully Jack will be able to add more details so it will give his post more length and more understanding by the reader.
I always enjoy C4K, because I am constantly amazed at the student's opinions and ideas in their post. I can't wait to see what my future students will write about and surprise me with in my future class blog.
For my week five C4K, I chose to comment on Ariel's blog post that described her experience job shadowing at Saint Joseph Hospital near her home. Ariel wants to be a nurse one day and she was very excited to blog about her experience. Ariel said that she spent a lot of time with a cardiac nurse, seeing how they knew what drugs to administer to patients and even what technology is involved in keeping the hospital organized and functioning. I enjoyed reading about her experience at Saint Joseph hospital. In my comment, I introduced myself and told her that when I first started college, I was going to school to one day become an orthodontist. I asked Ariel if she was interested in any specific type of nursing, like cardiac, neonatal, or orthopedic nursing. I left a link to my blog and I am still waiting to hear from her.
For my week six C4K, I chose to comment on Melissa's blog post which was about her feelings toward standardized testing. As a future teacher, I am very passionate about the effects and outcomes of standardized testing so I was interested to see her opinion on the subject. Melissa feels very strongly that standardized testing does not determine your success as a student, or as a person in general. She had great word choice, as well as impeccable grammar and spelling throughout her post. Melissa stated that she had not been nervous during her standardized test, but that other people do get nervous during exams. I replied and told Melissa that I have extreme test anxiety and that it has really hindered my confidence and performance in the past. It was nice to see a student's view on standardized testing and it felt really great to hear an opinion that was so passionate and honest, like hers. What I loved about this post is that Melissa proudly stated her talents and knew that a test that existed on a simple piece of paper did not define her abilities and her intelligence.
For week six C4K, I commented on Jack's blog post about hitting a "dinger". I wasn't really sure
what a "dinger" was, but his context clues led me to believe that a "dinger" is similar to hitting a home run. Jack's post was very confident but he still needed some more information about baseball. In my comment, I let him know that he should add more information about "dingers" and the sport, just so his readers could get a better understanding of his post. Hopefully Jack will be able to add more details so it will give his post more length and more understanding by the reader.
I always enjoy C4K, because I am constantly amazed at the student's opinions and ideas in their post. I can't wait to see what my future students will write about and surprise me with in my future class blog.
Blog Post #10
This week we watched a three-part conversation between Dr. Strange and Kathy Cassidy discussing the benefits of using technology in the classroom and what techniques Mrs. Cassidy finds successful in her classroom. Mrs. Cassidy is a firm believer in teachers being technologically literate. She believes that "technology is here to stay" and that as teachers, we would be doing a disservice to our students by not using technology to collaborate on ideas, problems, and solve real world issues. One technique of Mrs. Cassidys that I would love to use in my future classroom is orchestrating a class blog. She believes that a class blog gives students the opportunity to broadcast their work. When students post any work online, it is made available to parents, peers, and other audiences for viewing. This not only increases the pride in the student's work, but also inspires the student to be able to see and know that there are other people reading what they have written or created. The student then becomes empowered to learn and find the right answers, rather than feeling limited by a teachers red grading pen. What I love about this technique is the fact that student's parents can go online at any time and view their child's progress. Instead of waiting for a meeting or a classroom visit to see their children's work, parents can take just a few seconds out of their day to go online, even at work, and see the amazing things that are happening in the classroom. Mrs. Cassidy even went so far as to send home a form that parents must sign giving consent for the students to post their work online, also including different ways that their child's identity will be protected. I feel like this is a great way to engage parents and students with technology, and now that I have been very dedicated to my class blog in EDM310, I can lead my future class blog with confidence. Not every teacher has the confidence to use technology in the classroom. Mrs. Cassidy believes that best way to feel confident about using technology and beginning to incorporate using it regularly is to find something that you are interested in and plug into it. Whether you are into taking pictures, watching videos, writing, reading or any other medium, there is an opportunity to get involved technologically. I think that many educators feel that technology is only useful for certain subjects such as social studies and science. I think it is our challenge to incorporate using technology in all subjects, even math and physical education. Mrs. Cassidy is a great example of teachers who indulge in using technology in an effective way in the classroom. We need many more teachers like Mrs. Cassidy who can rise to the occasion of teaching and engaging our students through technology.
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Sunday, March 22, 2015
Friday, March 20, 2015
Blog Post #9
This week, we were faced with the question, "what can teachers and students teach us about project based learning?" At first I thought that this question had an obvious answer. The more I researched my response to this question, the more I actually did learn about project based learning from students and teachers alike.
One of the most important concepts to project based learning, I learned from reading Seven Essentials to Project-Based Learning. This article shows us how important it is to have a driving question when undertaking a project based learning approach. The goal is to not just give students "a packet of papers" that represents a poster-board project that simply showcases what the students learned. The objective of project based learning to present a problem, let the students decide their driving question, and then solve that driving question by whatever means they choose. Then, teachers are able to see the hard work, creativity, and conceptual learning that is involved in the student's learning process. Students are then in control of their learning, are able to make corrections and revisions, and can be prideful when they present their work to people of the community. This gives the students the ability to see worth and accomplishment in their work. As mentioned in the video Project-Based Learning for Teachers, students are more successful when they have a purpose, address an audience, craft a driving question, are able to identify learning standards, create rubrics, brainstorm in groups, and meet deadlines.
I also believe that project based learning is a two way street of communication between students and teachers. Students that feel comfortable giving feedback to their teachers about what they would like to learn and create can greatly improve and motivate students in the success of project based learning in the classroom. According to students in the video What Motivates Students Today, students enjoy opportunities to be spontaneous and unconventional in the classroom. Children are motivated to learn when they are able to take pride in their work by being rewarded or even by being complimented and acknowledged for their accomplishments. Students also said that they enjoyed being outside, as well as being active in the classroom, rather than sitting at their desk all day.
Sammamish High School in IL is making a complete switch to project based learning throughout the school. From the information provided in the video, they have been making this switch a 3-5 year process as faculty and staff collaborate on how to incorporate project based learned into every subject area. From teachers at Sammamish High School, we can empower ourselves as educators by following their example to make the switch to project based learning, and to also collaborate on ideas with our fellow educators! I think that sometimes we forget that we are a community of learners and that we all face problems and stubborn points of view. Teachers must stick together, to brainstorm, and to encourage each other to think outside of the box when it comes to lesson plans, rubrics, and projects. We are our best asset!
Even though it is difficult to incorporate project based learning to certain subject areas, especially math and English, but it can be done! Several teachers and engineers at Aviation High School combines their effort to create a math project that enables students to create a wing-like structure out of the materials of their choosing, while staying within the dimensional constraints. This gives students the freedom to be creative, all why encouraging real-life math problems that involve geometry, weight distribution, physics, and careful calculations. We can learn from these educators that with collaboration hard work, any subject area can participate in the compelling world of project based learning.
These guys used technology to solve a real life and real annoying ketchup problem through project-based learning. Check it out!
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Sunday, March 15, 2015
C4T Summary
I had the absolute privilege of interacting with such an awesome teacher as Denise Krebs, for my C4T. From just viewing her blog, I knew I would be able to connect with her easily. Denise is currently living in the Middle East teaching kindergarten ELL (English language learners) students. Her first post that I chose comment on, talked about her concept of genius hour where she lets her students choose what they will learn and how to present, create or inspire what they have learned. Denise shares that it was very different from the 7th and 8th grade genius hours that she was used to participating in, but it still did not disappoint. I absolutely loved the concept of genius hour and tried to tell her so by leaving a comment on her blog post. Unfortunately, she hadn't posted in a while so she turned disabled the comments section of her blog. Nevertheless, I sent her an email and introduced myself and told her how fascinated I was with genius hour. I let her know that I couldn't comment on her blog but that I wanted to still tell her how inspiring it was to me that her students were creating things they wanted to create with materials they had chosen, all why learning a second language! I sent her a link to my blog in the email and I actually received a reply from Mrs. Krebs! These were her kind words in her reply:
I was tickled to get a reply and better yet, she was kind enough to go take a look at my blog! It was a moment where I felt proud and excited about my teaching career. I was even more excited when I was able to comment on her most recent post of just about a week ago. Not only was is great to see Mrs. Krebs posting again, but it was another post about genius hour! This time, Mrs. Krebs was reaching out to other teachers through twitter, asking them about their experiences with genius hour and about how they differentiate each genius hour. She even posted some of the Q&As from the #geniushour conversation that really appealed to her. I enjoyed the continuing conversation about genius hour, and hope that I can use this concept in my future classroom. This time. I was able to leave her a comment on her post. I let her know how great it was to see her posting again and that I was thrilled to receive her email. I told her that I would soon be digging around twitter for her genius hour hashtag and couldn't wait to see what resources that would bring about for my personal learning network. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with Mrs. Krebs and following her progress with her students in the Middle East. She is a great inspiration to add to my personal learning network. I will definitely be returning to her blog to see what the next genius hour will bring!"Hello,and welcome to being a connected educator. So much lies in store for you! I just went to your blog. I loved this: "She strived to show compassion, to inspire creativity, and to give hope to all of her students." And your passion to "embrace continual learning." Awesome! I can relate so much!
It's not your computer that didn't allow you to post a comment on my blog! I have it set to stop the conversation after a few months. I'm not sure it's really necessary, but I wanted to be sure not to get spam comments on old posts that I wasn't keeping up with anymore. I need to post again!
I also have a couple other blogs that get more regular attention these busy days in kindergarten! http://krebs.edublogs.org (class blog) and http://krebsfollow.org (My husband and I try to update this one, but we're falling behind there too!)
Anyway, best wishes to you as you grow in all you are learning in EDM310 and all your classes."
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Blog Post #8
This week we were asked to view the very last lecture given by Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch who inspired millions of people through his career and through simply accomplishing his life dreams. What an inspiration! Even though Randy died from cancer at an early age, he was still able to complete his life goals, teach and inspire learning and creativity around the world, and have fun while doing all of it. In his last lecture, Randy's light and kind heart as well as his passion for learning and growing is such an example to teachers and students alike. As a future educator, I can really take a lot from Randy Pausch's life and attitude towards his dreams.
In his last lecture, Randy tells story after story of how he achieved or came close to achieving all of his major life goals and dreams. Randy continuously refers to "brick walls" that hindered him from his dreams. He explains that these "brick walls" are only there to "keep out the people who don't want it as bad as you do." They are not meant to stop you, but to decipher who is deserving and who is not. "Brick walls" can be people, situations, teachers, parents, students, schools, documents, and anything else that can cause a problem on your journey to success, As a student and a teacher, we will all encounter these "brick walls". Randy tells us that this is the time to push harder in our education, or in our teaching methods, a break through will happen if you push through that brick wall. How do you push through that brick wall? Randy believes this take consistency. "Stick around long enough and people (situations) will surprise you; you will see someone's (something's) good side." This is so fundamental to us as educators. If we continue to invest and push through our frustrations with students or even parents, we will see a change. Our students will surprise us. We will accomplish our intentions! How do you keep from becoming frustrated while pushing through "brick walls"? Randy has an answer to that questions too: have FUN! Have fun while teaching your students! Let your students have fun while they are learning. Randy says that kids can learn difficult concepts if they are having fun. This helps both you and your students become learners, which creates such a productive atmosphere that can facilitate knocking down those "brick walls". Randy also gives great advice on how we can become better learners. He says that if we listen to criticism, apologize when we are wrong, always work hard, and always do the right thing, we cannot fail! Randy Pausch's life is a true testament to all this wonderful advice. Not only does his life experiences give us a guideline to be better learners and teachers, but to be better than who were yesterday, and even better than the person we will be tomorrow.
In his last lecture, Randy tells story after story of how he achieved or came close to achieving all of his major life goals and dreams. Randy continuously refers to "brick walls" that hindered him from his dreams. He explains that these "brick walls" are only there to "keep out the people who don't want it as bad as you do." They are not meant to stop you, but to decipher who is deserving and who is not. "Brick walls" can be people, situations, teachers, parents, students, schools, documents, and anything else that can cause a problem on your journey to success, As a student and a teacher, we will all encounter these "brick walls". Randy tells us that this is the time to push harder in our education, or in our teaching methods, a break through will happen if you push through that brick wall. How do you push through that brick wall? Randy believes this take consistency. "Stick around long enough and people (situations) will surprise you; you will see someone's (something's) good side." This is so fundamental to us as educators. If we continue to invest and push through our frustrations with students or even parents, we will see a change. Our students will surprise us. We will accomplish our intentions! How do you keep from becoming frustrated while pushing through "brick walls"? Randy has an answer to that questions too: have FUN! Have fun while teaching your students! Let your students have fun while they are learning. Randy says that kids can learn difficult concepts if they are having fun. This helps both you and your students become learners, which creates such a productive atmosphere that can facilitate knocking down those "brick walls". Randy also gives great advice on how we can become better learners. He says that if we listen to criticism, apologize when we are wrong, always work hard, and always do the right thing, we cannot fail! Randy Pausch's life is a true testament to all this wonderful advice. Not only does his life experiences give us a guideline to be better learners and teachers, but to be better than who were yesterday, and even better than the person we will be tomorrow.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
C4K #4 and C4K February Summaries
I look forward to my C4K every week because I love getting the chance to interact with different students from all over the country and also getting that sneak peak of what they are learning in their classrooms.
My first C4K was for Chaise in Mr. Boylen's 7th grade Literature class. He was giving a summary of a book he had just finished reading called I Funny: A Middle School Story by James Paterson. Chaise explained that I Funny was about a kid named Jamie who is in a wheel chair and left to live with his aunt and uncle after his parents die in a car crash. Jamie is apparently a cool and funny kid who tells great jokes, but still continues to get bullied at school. In my comment to Chaise about his book summary, I told him that the cover of the book made it look funny, but that his summary made the book sound some what sad. I told him I knew how Jamie must have felt not having his parents because my Mom died last year. I also asked Chaise if he had ever been bullied before and what could he do prevent bullying at his school. He had some errors, such as punctuation and capitalization, but I gave him guidance on how to correct his mistakes. I haven't heard from Chaise yet but he had quite a few comments on his blog so I assume that his classmates really like his posts.
My second C4K was for Kaleb who is in Mr. Boylen's 8th grade Language Arts class. I think Kaleb's post was my favorite C4K so far, because Kaleb and his friends Tim and Hunter put together an iMovie production of their "verb" parody to "Ice Ice Baby." I think they had some issues with their sound during the recording process, but regardless it was still awesome to be able to see their faces and be apart of what they are learning in the classroom. I told Kaleb that his video was really cool to watch and that I had noticed that he and his friends had used iMovie to make the video. I also asked him if he liked using iMovie and what kind of presentations/videos he had created before using iMovie. I know we have used iMovie in EDM310 and its really great to be able to see it being used in other classrooms all around the country.
\My third C4K was for Miranda in Ms. Leatherwood's 8th grade Language Arts class. For some reason, I am having trouble finding Miranda's post that I had commented on. Her post was called, "The Fear That I Faced" which was a story about her first day at a new school. Miranda told about how nervous and scared she was to enter into a new school without her friends. She used a lot of descriptive language, used metaphors, and gave plenty of emotion in her blog post. In the end, Miranda said that she really liked her new school because it challenged her more than her old school. She said she also liked her new school because she could really be herself instead of "trying to fit in". I told Miranda that I really enjoyed her post and that it is always better to stand out and be yourself than to try to "fit in" with the crowd. I also told Miranda that I too knew what it felt like to be the "new kid" at school because I had to go to a new school when I was her age. I think Miranda is a really great writer and should definitely keep up her blog posting.
My Final C4K was for Alyssa in Mrs. Maslowski's 10th grade class. I believe that Alyssa and her classmates were celebrating Black History Month by learning about a famous/influential African American and posting a summary about their chosen person in their blogs. Alyssa chose to talk about Jacki Robinson. Alyssa made a connection with Jackie Robinson because she plays softball and he paved the way for African Americans to have the right to play Major League Baseball. Alyssa said that she chose to celebrate Jackie Robinson's accomplishments because he had gone through so much persecution to be able to play a sport that we all love. I told Alyssa that I like the picture of Jackie Robinson that she used and that I also played softball when I was about her age. I asked her what her favorite position to play was and how long she had been playing. She did not have any errors in her post, so I complimented her on her good work.
In all of my comments, I left a link to my blog and introduced myself as a student of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I really enjoy reading these kids blogs and seeing how technology has been used in various classrooms in different ages and states. C4K truly inspires me to get my future classroom motivated to create a class blog!
My first C4K was for Chaise in Mr. Boylen's 7th grade Literature class. He was giving a summary of a book he had just finished reading called I Funny: A Middle School Story by James Paterson. Chaise explained that I Funny was about a kid named Jamie who is in a wheel chair and left to live with his aunt and uncle after his parents die in a car crash. Jamie is apparently a cool and funny kid who tells great jokes, but still continues to get bullied at school. In my comment to Chaise about his book summary, I told him that the cover of the book made it look funny, but that his summary made the book sound some what sad. I told him I knew how Jamie must have felt not having his parents because my Mom died last year. I also asked Chaise if he had ever been bullied before and what could he do prevent bullying at his school. He had some errors, such as punctuation and capitalization, but I gave him guidance on how to correct his mistakes. I haven't heard from Chaise yet but he had quite a few comments on his blog so I assume that his classmates really like his posts.
My second C4K was for Kaleb who is in Mr. Boylen's 8th grade Language Arts class. I think Kaleb's post was my favorite C4K so far, because Kaleb and his friends Tim and Hunter put together an iMovie production of their "verb" parody to "Ice Ice Baby." I think they had some issues with their sound during the recording process, but regardless it was still awesome to be able to see their faces and be apart of what they are learning in the classroom. I told Kaleb that his video was really cool to watch and that I had noticed that he and his friends had used iMovie to make the video. I also asked him if he liked using iMovie and what kind of presentations/videos he had created before using iMovie. I know we have used iMovie in EDM310 and its really great to be able to see it being used in other classrooms all around the country.
\My third C4K was for Miranda in Ms. Leatherwood's 8th grade Language Arts class. For some reason, I am having trouble finding Miranda's post that I had commented on. Her post was called, "The Fear That I Faced" which was a story about her first day at a new school. Miranda told about how nervous and scared she was to enter into a new school without her friends. She used a lot of descriptive language, used metaphors, and gave plenty of emotion in her blog post. In the end, Miranda said that she really liked her new school because it challenged her more than her old school. She said she also liked her new school because she could really be herself instead of "trying to fit in". I told Miranda that I really enjoyed her post and that it is always better to stand out and be yourself than to try to "fit in" with the crowd. I also told Miranda that I too knew what it felt like to be the "new kid" at school because I had to go to a new school when I was her age. I think Miranda is a really great writer and should definitely keep up her blog posting.
My Final C4K was for Alyssa in Mrs. Maslowski's 10th grade class. I believe that Alyssa and her classmates were celebrating Black History Month by learning about a famous/influential African American and posting a summary about their chosen person in their blogs. Alyssa chose to talk about Jacki Robinson. Alyssa made a connection with Jackie Robinson because she plays softball and he paved the way for African Americans to have the right to play Major League Baseball. Alyssa said that she chose to celebrate Jackie Robinson's accomplishments because he had gone through so much persecution to be able to play a sport that we all love. I told Alyssa that I like the picture of Jackie Robinson that she used and that I also played softball when I was about her age. I asked her what her favorite position to play was and how long she had been playing. She did not have any errors in her post, so I complimented her on her good work.
In all of my comments, I left a link to my blog and introduced myself as a student of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I really enjoy reading these kids blogs and seeing how technology has been used in various classrooms in different ages and states. C4K truly inspires me to get my future classroom motivated to create a class blog!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Blog Post #7
1. Watching these videos this week has opened my eyes and mind even more to using technology as a tool for instruction in the classroom. I believed that I will have to continue to learn and use various different types of technology. This includes different softwares, programs, devices, search engines, and much more. In order to get the most use out of this technology, I must know not only how they work, but how well they flourish in a classroom setting. Some type of technology might not be suitable for a kindergarten class, and some technology might not be suitable for high school classroom. We as teachers must always be continual learners, but we are the device through which students master their learning experiences so we must also be well versed in technology. I think that being able to see first hand how a teachers applies technology to project based lesson plans will be crucial to my future classroom as well. Being able to see the advantages and even participate in these technology driven projects will not only encourage me to use them in my own future classes, but to also learn what does/did/has/ or hasn't worked for other teachers and their students.
2. I learned about how valuable and easy it is to use the Alabama Virtual Library, as well as iMovie from watching Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten. Dr. Strange has an exciting conversation about how these tools have really helped and encouraged kindergarten students in both Daphne and Gulf Shores Elementary schools. Both Mrs, Bennett and Mrs. Davis were very excited to share their experiences with this technology in kindergarten classes. I honestly couldn't believe that these young students were using so much technology on a weekly basis!
In their continued conversation video We All Become Learners, Mrs. Bennett tells about how thrilling it was to have her students teach her how to use some of the technology in their school. She tells of how more and more teachers are turning to their own students to learn how to navigate new tools, websites, and other technological advancements in Gulf Shores Elementary. She states that it is much easier to teach when everyone is learning, because there are no barriers and learning has the potential to become limitless.
In the videos iPads in the Classroom and Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology in Education, we can see how new technology is not only useful and convenient for all teachers, but can also engage students in exciting and hands on learning processes. Students get excited about new technology and enjoy using it. I have learned that when students become excited about using technology and about learning, they are more likely to retain what they learn and are able to use it in real-world application. Technology offers a wider variety of resources and opens the students minds to real-world application of the information they find and the technology they are using to find it. Not only are students more engaged and excited about learning, but teachers are also able to give more instruction in class, have less classroom disturbances (such as behavioral problems), and can answer more problem-solving questions in class. This type of learning experience also resolves the resentment that students often feel towards homework, which could potentially motivate any student to push forward in their academic career (completing high school and even college).
Overall, I can say with my experience from this class and the knowledge I've gained through my PLN, that technology in the classroom will never be a disadvantage, not to our teachers, and definitely not to our students. The sky is the limit when we have limitless access to limitless information.
Check out this video on YouTube. I would love to have a classroom full of technology one day!
2. I learned about how valuable and easy it is to use the Alabama Virtual Library, as well as iMovie from watching Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten. Dr. Strange has an exciting conversation about how these tools have really helped and encouraged kindergarten students in both Daphne and Gulf Shores Elementary schools. Both Mrs, Bennett and Mrs. Davis were very excited to share their experiences with this technology in kindergarten classes. I honestly couldn't believe that these young students were using so much technology on a weekly basis!
In their continued conversation video We All Become Learners, Mrs. Bennett tells about how thrilling it was to have her students teach her how to use some of the technology in their school. She tells of how more and more teachers are turning to their own students to learn how to navigate new tools, websites, and other technological advancements in Gulf Shores Elementary. She states that it is much easier to teach when everyone is learning, because there are no barriers and learning has the potential to become limitless.
In the videos iPads in the Classroom and Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology in Education, we can see how new technology is not only useful and convenient for all teachers, but can also engage students in exciting and hands on learning processes. Students get excited about new technology and enjoy using it. I have learned that when students become excited about using technology and about learning, they are more likely to retain what they learn and are able to use it in real-world application. Technology offers a wider variety of resources and opens the students minds to real-world application of the information they find and the technology they are using to find it. Not only are students more engaged and excited about learning, but teachers are also able to give more instruction in class, have less classroom disturbances (such as behavioral problems), and can answer more problem-solving questions in class. This type of learning experience also resolves the resentment that students often feel towards homework, which could potentially motivate any student to push forward in their academic career (completing high school and even college).
Overall, I can say with my experience from this class and the knowledge I've gained through my PLN, that technology in the classroom will never be a disadvantage, not to our teachers, and definitely not to our students. The sky is the limit when we have limitless access to limitless information.
Check out this video on YouTube. I would love to have a classroom full of technology one day!
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Project #8 Book Trailer
I really enjoyed this project. This is such a creative and entertaining way to get kids excited about reading!
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Blog Post #6
What I love most about this class is that I am continually learning and continually discovering that I truly love the things I'm learning about. This was most prominent to me in this weeks blog assignment. After watching the interview videos with Anthony Capps, a third grade teacher at Gulf Shores Elementary, I have been able to see EDM310 content applied and been successful through Anthony Capps's classroom recollections. The biggest thing I will take away from these videos is that teaching really is about learning. Anthony explains that when you interest your students in project based learning, you are not the expert on the information they are looking for. However, you are the expert on how they FIND this information. Allowing them to make choices in their learning experience, giving them the ability to choose what they learn and how to interpret what they learn is an amazing learning experience for you and your students. This gives your students the ability to go above and beyond what you thought you wanted for them, and also teaches you, as an educator, something completely new or gives you a newly found perspective. I think that in itself is the joy of project based learning: facilitating your students learning experience so that everyone can learn and everyone can improve together. I also learned that it is important to have a project/lesson plan that builds upon itself and covers all that you need to in that given school year. Anthony also explains that this might not always go according to plan and that you must be willing to improvise and be fluid with your students needs and wants. This is why reflection and peer critiquing is essential. This allows you as a teacher to make changes based on what your students are driven to accomplish, where they think they might need improvement, and how they can do better next time. Lastly, this also supports the method of allowing your students to present their projects to a valuable audience. Not only does this technique inspire more creativity and pride in your student's work, but allows for reflection and the ability to see how much your children have learned, what they can improve on, and how it relates to or differs from their classmates work.
Here are the links to these awesome videos featuring Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange:
Project Based Learning Part 1
Project Based Learning Part 2
iCurio with Anthony
Discovery Ed
Tips for Teachers
Use Tech Don't Teach It
Additional Thoughts
Here are the links to these awesome videos featuring Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange:
Project Based Learning Part 1
Project Based Learning Part 2
iCurio with Anthony
Discovery Ed
Tips for Teachers
Use Tech Don't Teach It
Additional Thoughts
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
Blog Post #5
This week we are learning and discussing how to create and take advantage of PLNs (personal learning networks). I wasn't quite sure what a PLN was, and honestly it took me a couple of days of digging through sources and websites to really get a grasp on how advantageous personal learning networks can be. A PLN is a set of websites, blogs, tools, videos and relationships in your content area that can provide information, answers, questions, guidance, advice, opinions, and also a sense of community. PLNs promote continual learning and help you to find resources and information quickly. PLNs require dedication and time, especially if you want to get the most relevant and useful information out of them. PLNs are not just about "taking". It is important to also contribute to your PLN, because even in those moments of sharing with others, you too can learn something new.
PLNs can help future educators by providing real time and real life information. The more you add and cultivate your PLN, the more sources and information you can accumulate to create engaging assignments for your students, as well as keep your classroom constantly moving and flowing. Not only do PLNs benefit your students, but they also can save valuable time for teachers. Giving encouragement, seeing progression, building a community, and offering insight are all things that educators can greatly benefit from in their PLNs.
PLNs are formed by connection. The easiest way for me to start was to go to twitter and find pages and people that interested me and were related to my content area. I began to add people on twitter. I began to dig through their tweets and retweets, which led me to videos, blogs, websites, and podcasts that interested me. Not only were these videos, blogs, and websites interesting, but they provided valuable and usable information to me that I can potentially use in my future classroom. On top of that, most of the information I found came from educators, like myself, all over the globe! I can create a virtual relationship with them through following their posts and asking questions when I am in need. Twitter was a great place for me to start my PLN. My first addition to my PLN was my teacher that I was assigned to for C4T, Dr. Dean Shareski. I honestly enjoyed his blog and his ideas about technology and teaching. I have already favorited many of his tweets and enjoy many of his videos (@shareski). Then I began to follow the teachers and pages that Dr. Strange had suggested, which led to more wonderful suggestions by twitter on other related topics that I could follow. I've found several websites and resources that I love. One of these websites is The Lie of Community at budtheteacher.com. I found myself listening to a 30 minute podcast on how beneficial PLNs can be, and how to get the most use out of them. I also found and followed EdTech Talk, which is "collaborative open webcasting community" about educational technology. I also added several search engines, shared drives, news related sites, shopping sites, email accounts, and other resources for finding information.
How can so much information be organized and easily accessible? Simple! I used Symbaloo. This website helps you to organize your PLN through a homescreen full of tiles that contain links to websites, blogs, emails, accounts, and resources. You can access any site without ever having to type the address into the search bar! You can move the tiles, separate similar tiles by webmixes, and customize your viewing settings to your liking.
I can say that Symbaloo has helped me to become more organized and use my time much more efficiently. I've learned so much from this week's blog post assignment and I cannot wait to continue growing and cultivating my PLN for my future classroom.
PLNs can help future educators by providing real time and real life information. The more you add and cultivate your PLN, the more sources and information you can accumulate to create engaging assignments for your students, as well as keep your classroom constantly moving and flowing. Not only do PLNs benefit your students, but they also can save valuable time for teachers. Giving encouragement, seeing progression, building a community, and offering insight are all things that educators can greatly benefit from in their PLNs.
PLNs are formed by connection. The easiest way for me to start was to go to twitter and find pages and people that interested me and were related to my content area. I began to add people on twitter. I began to dig through their tweets and retweets, which led me to videos, blogs, websites, and podcasts that interested me. Not only were these videos, blogs, and websites interesting, but they provided valuable and usable information to me that I can potentially use in my future classroom. On top of that, most of the information I found came from educators, like myself, all over the globe! I can create a virtual relationship with them through following their posts and asking questions when I am in need. Twitter was a great place for me to start my PLN. My first addition to my PLN was my teacher that I was assigned to for C4T, Dr. Dean Shareski. I honestly enjoyed his blog and his ideas about technology and teaching. I have already favorited many of his tweets and enjoy many of his videos (@shareski). Then I began to follow the teachers and pages that Dr. Strange had suggested, which led to more wonderful suggestions by twitter on other related topics that I could follow. I've found several websites and resources that I love. One of these websites is The Lie of Community at budtheteacher.com. I found myself listening to a 30 minute podcast on how beneficial PLNs can be, and how to get the most use out of them. I also found and followed EdTech Talk, which is "collaborative open webcasting community" about educational technology. I also added several search engines, shared drives, news related sites, shopping sites, email accounts, and other resources for finding information.
How can so much information be organized and easily accessible? Simple! I used Symbaloo. This website helps you to organize your PLN through a homescreen full of tiles that contain links to websites, blogs, emails, accounts, and resources. You can access any site without ever having to type the address into the search bar! You can move the tiles, separate similar tiles by webmixes, and customize your viewing settings to your liking.
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| This is my Symbaloo. You can also make your Symbaloo your homepage. |
Click here if you would like to hear the podcast with David Cormier about the importance of PLNs and community. This can also be found on the budtheteacher.com website link I posted in the above paragraph.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Project #15: Search Engine Evaluation
1. Bing
Bing is a search engine that helps to better define or better expand what you are searching for. It gives suggestions and different topics that are related to what you are looking for. For example, I typed into the search bar "technology in the classroom" and similar to Google, it gives you the option to define your search through images, web, videos, maps, news, and more. What I really like about Bing is that this search engine helps you to narrow down or broaden your search possibilities. I clicked on each tab (images, web, videos, maps, news, and more) after I typed in "technology in the classroom" and Bing gave me suggestions like "integrating technology in the classroom", "using technology in the classroom", and "New Tech 2014". Bing also has a "Related Topics" list on the right side of the screen that seems very useful for finding many sources for research through different mediums. This search engine is very easy to navigate and provides plenty of visual stimulation, making it user friendly. I also really enjoyed using Bing because it provides current and up-to-date news on its' home page, as well as an awesome home page picture that changes. Overall, Bing would be great for researching a topic that requires you to have different viewpoints, different mediums, and would be able to give a "down the rabbit hole" possibility for whatever topic you may choose. I found this search engine very useful for finding images, videos, and news. I would recommend this search engine be used for a science project or a current issues project.
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| This is the home page for Bing. The transparent box gives facts about the photo in the background. At the bottom of the screen, you will see current news stories. |
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| This is the results page for "technology in the classroom" under the tab "videos". |
This search engine is completely new to me for I have never used it before. At first, I had difficulty navigating WolframAlpha because, unlike Google or Bing, this search engine is used to find and help explain calculations, theories, and definitions. What I really liked about this search engine is how it gives you a simple and organized explanation for the material you are looking for. WolframAlpha has a feature that allows you to view examples of the topic you are searching. I typed in several questions like, "how do you find the area of a circle?","what is an allegory?', "how to ride a bike?" and these were among the most successful for which I found answers for. When I clicked on "examples", it showed me how the topic I was searching for related to measurements, charts, science, dates & time, people in history, step-by-step solutions, and countless others. I found this search engine extremely useful for finding calculated answers and definitions that pertain to complex ideas and theories. Great for math homework!
3. DuckDuckGo
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| This is the "Examples" page where you can find more detailed information related to your topic. |
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| These were some of my results for when I searched for the circumference of a circle. |
The first thing I noticed about this search engine was the tutorial that was offered as you first enter the site. It was nice to have a preview of how to navigate this site. This search engine is really for personal use and lets you customize your searching experience based on your location, style, and wants. This search engine offers many features such as a stopwatch for working out, music selections, a dictionary, a weather update feature and many more features that can be customized to your specific likes and dislikes. For this search engine, I searched for "award winning pie recipes".
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| My results for "award winning pie recipes". |
Ask.com is a website and search engine that I have used before. This search engine is used to ask questions. There is even a forum for popular questions and answers that are commonly asked on this website. You can type in a word and "ask" will provide popular questions that have been associated with that word. This website would be useful for everyday questions, as well as difficult questions in literature, critical thinking questions, and problem solving questions. This website is very useful for anyone at any level, not just students or professors.
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| This is the homepage of Ask.com. Here you can see the questions of the day, which gives viewers an idea of what kind of information Ask,com can provide. |
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| This is the Q&A forum for Ask.com. |
5. Mahalo
This search engine offers a combination of Google and Ask features. This website features editors that sift through all the incoming information to give its users a higher quality of relevance to the information they are trying to find. Mahalo features intimate and personal answers to questions about health, fitness, emotions, human relationships, music, food, and much more. This would be the perfect search engine for any college student who needs to compile personal information and tips for a healthy life style, emotionally and physically. This is a great tool that can be widely used for personal blogs, as well as advice columns.
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| Mahalo offers a wide variety of tips and advice for the everyday user. |
6. Yippy
This search engine was the most unique to me. Yippy has been around since about 2000, originally known as Clutsy. Yippy uses "clouds" to help better define your search into more specific areas. Yippy also combines other search engine's results to give you complied answers to find what you are looking for. These "clouds" contain similar results together so that you can sift through the aspects of your topic, choosing what information you want to view and avoiding the information you find unnecessary. This would be useful if you are trying to find information on a specific author about his or her accomplishments and famous writings, rather than personal or biographical information.
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| To the left, you can see how Yippy has divided the results for the Empire State Building into "clouds". |
7. Webopedia
I feel as if I will definitely be using this website for this class, as well as my future courses. This search engine is designed to help people navigate the ins and out' of the tech-savvy world. Webopedia allows it's users to find information about their technology by defining commonly used vocabulary and giving tips on how to successfully use software, programs, graphics, networks. operating systems and much more. I feel like this website is a very important tool for navigating technology in the world today, and I am very thankful to have found such a commodity as a resource. I will definitely be using this for all my technological needs in this class, and even when I am a teacher with my own students.
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
I chose this search engine last because it is basically the big daddy of all search engines! It doesn't necessarily work in the conventional way like Google or Bing, but the Internet Archive has the ability to allow us to view web pages from as early as 1996! I had no idea that this information was available to us! I wish I had done more research about search engines before this class because I could have been so much more successful in my research as a student in my earlier years. The Internet Archive is more than a valuable place for free information. This archive allows us to see how technology has changed overtime and gives us access to information and digital artifacts that have been long gone. This search engine gives you the ability to browse the history of the internet. I did a search for google.com and my results informed that google.com has been saved 48,399 times between today and November 11th, 1998. The archive can even show us how politicians used the internet to campaign back in the late nineties. Even better than that, the archive allows us to reach into the past and view old movies, cartoons, speeches, and so much more that cannot be made available to us through any other search engine! This is definitely a fantastic tool that I will use in my future classroom.
.png "Corinne Shirley") |
| The "wayback machine" on the archive's website that allows us to view internet campaigning from 1996. |
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