Blog Post 16 Reflection

My reflection on my semester in EDM310.

C4T December

I absolutely love Lana's blog. I love her positive attitude, and her happy stories.
In Lana's first blog post I read and commented on called Five for Friday. They were celebrating Ribbon Week. The students wore socks to "Sock it to Drugs". She posted many pictures from the week. They also got to "dress like super hero's". She goes on to tell about the projects they do and what her son does for halloween. I really just enjoy reading her blog and seeing all of her ideas.

In her second Blog post for my C4T December, I'm Still Here, she explains how busy her life has been. She said her class is busy doing informative reports on animals, and now moving into their oral reports. She also showed a picture of a note one of her students wrote her. The note said that she made school fun. I think it's precious to see teacher proudly show off the support of their students. It is also a good pick me up for teachers to receive notes of encouragement.

Blog Post 14

Problems:
1. Giving more choices of schools to families.
2. Using technology to improve teaching and learning skills.
3. Adopting a knowledge-based curriculum
4. Starting education before a child is 5 years old.
5. Making teaching a more professionalized job.
6. Pick only the best teachers of their graduating classes.
7. Seniority
8. Establish a board to police the teaching profession.

Solutions:
1. Give the families more schools to pick from in their area.
2. Teaching technology skills to cater to their future needs in life.
3. Everything being knowledge-based will help with real life application.
4. Starting a child in the education process starts long before they turn 5 years old. They learn how to do basic every day activities. They are capable of so much before kindergarten.
5. Making your job as a teacher more than just a job. It is your career. People should view teaching just as any nurse, law, and medicine career. They are teaching the future of this country. It should not be taken lightly.
6. Picking only the best in the education graduating class would make things more competitive. It should be taken seriously, and only the true hearts of education should be teaching. By hiring any education major for the job might not always be the best choice. Having a heart and passion for teaching, and wanting a job for a pay check are two different things. It should be taken into consideration.
7. Seniority, this can we taken care of by the school board. Every teacher should be evaluated equally. If they are not doing their job, they do not deserve the job. Many charter schools are moving towards this movement today.
8. This goes along with the board making sure teachers are actually teaching, and not just watching movies. This board will keep everyone in check. It will keep the real task at hand at its correct standards.




Agree or Disagree:

I agree with the statement that there needs to be more options for families to send their children to. I have personal experience with this problem. I went to a tiny county school, but I wanted to go to a bigger county school They bigger school was known to be a top school, with a great education program. I think giving families the choice of which school to attend is a better option than making them go to a school that is lower on the education scale. I believe every child should have the best education possible, but some times It is not always the best option.

Using more technology in the classrooms. I do agree with this. In the century we are in today it is imperative to keep the students up to date with real world application. Technology is real world application in today's classrooms. They need to learn how to use computers for something other than social media. Many jobs require knowledge of excel, power point, and sometimes other more complicated applications.

Adopting a knowledge-based curriculum is important as well. Applying real-world application is important. Yes they need to be full of past knowledge, but they are living in today's world. They need to be capable of doing things for themselves.

I agree with starting a child in an education program before the age of 5. I was in school when I was 4 years old. I also know many people who started in k-3. A child's brain is really developing at this age. They soak up things like sponges. Children who start the education program early have said to have higher scores, and have better grades. Learning starts from day one.

I also agree that teaching should be a more professional job. Teachers hold the future in their hands. It's a big job, and they have big shoes to fill. Teaching should be viewed just like medicine, law, and nursing professions. Teaching is certainly not an easy task, not just anyone can do it. People should appreciate the teaching world more than they do.

Seniority, I strongly agree that this needs to be changed. One of my best friends just was hired at a charter school. They have no such rule as seniority. A ten year teacher is viewed and reviewed as a first year teacher. I believe this keeps everyone on check, and makes sure that every teacher is doing exactly what they are supposed to. I had many teachers in high school that were absolutely terrible, but they had seniority, they were overlooked. This is one of the major problems in the education department.

I think it would be a good idea to establish a board to police the teaching profession. It goes along with the seniority rule. It would keep everyone in check, and make sure everything is up to standards.

In conclusion, I agree with everything that was said by Joel Klein. There are so many problems with the way educators are viewed and education as a whole. It can all start with awareness and action. I believe that schools are aware of the problems that arise today. They just need a voice to take full control of the situations. As a future educator I vow to give my all, all the time. I do not want to be like those teachers in high school that have bad reputations of being "that teacher". This was a great assignment, probably my favorite article to read as well.

C4K November

Joey's Blog

In Joey's blog post he felt strongly about kidblog violating privacy, ruining friendships, and hurting others reputations. He believes that this reflection time is only showing everyone that they are monsters. He had a lot of feeling in this blog post. I was rather shocked by the way he wrote about this topic. He said, "I therefore representative of every young human being here declare independence to everything and anything related to Kid Blog and if it is said by anyone, us as children will have to boycott that person. We have the right to be free from this abomination, and we will." It was rather impressive how he showed his feelings through this post.



Titus's Blog

In Titus's blog post he wrote about falling into his favorite game, Minecraft. He did not have control over his own body. He was collecting bananas and ran into his friends Noelle, Sofia, and Daniel. As the story went on he continues to tell about their adventures. All of a sudden they summoned a wizard. They started running away from people in black suits. The story was said to be continued. He has incredible writing skills. It was such an interesting story.

Isaac's Blog

Isaac's blog post was about a suit he would invent. It was very descriptive and full of excitement. He talked about making the suit army colors. Your hand was actually a phone, so you could really mean "talk to the hand". Your back would have a camera so you could see what is chasing after you. There was a microwave in your chest all for bacon. He loves bacon. Over all it was a great post, and very entertaining to read.

Blog Post 13

Instructions:
How would you incorporate the arts into your elementary classroom using technology?
-Give examples that you would use in your future classroom.
-Keep your activities in your ideal age group.
-Show the Alabama Course of Study requirements for that particular grade level.

Keeping Arts in School

21st Century Technology, Art and Learning in the Classroom

I think it is very important to keep the arts in our classrooms. It is a part of our every day life. We take for granted the creative things in life. Most of your students will end up surprising you. Art is a way to clear their mind, keep them active, and make them think outside the box.
According to, Keeping Arts in School, Test results have proven that "Arts integrated learning increases test scores", says Carlos Cuesta. It is also stated that having the arts in the special education programs has a whole different level of engagement and focus with those special needs children. The arts is a way to keep the students engaged, keep them motivated. They have noticed that the attendance improves when they have the arts incorporated into their every day learning. Arts can be integrated into any subject.
In the video, 21st Century Technology, Art and Learning in the Classroom, They are given the opportunity every friday to get on the "chrome books" to look up a piece of art work. They then write how that art makes them feel. It gives them the freedom to chose what sparks their interest. It is not just what the teachers think they should write about. "Empowering students to drive their own learning" is what this teacher lives by.
The students have their own digital portfolio they can save all of their interest. Those chrome books are only a blank canvas, until they student becomes an artist using them effectively.

Project 12 Part B

Group 5
Project 12 Part B

Blog Post 12

C4T

C4T.2

In Finding My Way in Kindergarten Genius Hour by Denise Krebs, she talks about her experience in transition to a kindergarten class from junior high. She wondered how she would accomplish "genius hour" with them being so young. When the 7th and 8th graders were engaged and given a chance to learn they called that genius hour. She learned from her masters program that young children are so ready to learn and soak things up like sponges. She put their thinking skills to the test when they successfully made a little couch for their reading nook. One child even took it upon himself to make a little chair to match made out of left over bottles they had been collecting. This just goes to show the power of the mind, even in a young child.



C4T.1

Reading About Learning Brains and Metacognition by Denise Krebs.
"Metacognition is “thinking about thinking" says Krebs. She gained this knowledge in her masters program. She was taught that it was important to teach children to think about their thinking as they read.
She was reading blog post and happened upon this information.
"The second article gave questions students should be able to answer. like:
“What do you want to learn about?”
“What’s worth understanding deeply?”
“How do you respond to complex texts or digital media?”
“If I get out of your way this year, what will you be able to do?”
She stated after giving this information, "Students should not only be able to personally answer these questions, but they should be asked to answer these questions by teachers who care about their learning."
It is important to make your students thinkers. They learn so much by asking questions and really thinking things through.

Blog Post 11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

TedXDenverEd-Brian Crosby-Back to the Future

Brian Crosby shows in his TedX Talk that disadvantage students can achieve success just as any other student. They can use technology to keep these students engaged at all times. Every student has access to a laptop. They blog regularly, which keeps them connected to other students around the world. He also uses project based learning to establish the Balloon in space project. It's exciting when they are so willing to active in a project, and actually learn from it.



Blended Online Learning

In this video Paul Anderson goes on to tell how blended learning is ground for online learning, mobile learning, and classroom learning compiled into one. The Learning Cycle consist of the 5 E's, which are, engaged, expand, explain, and evaluate. He also stresses that questions are the key factor to any lesson being taught.
In his science class he uses the following six steps:
1. Question
2. Investigation/Inquiry
3. Video
4. Elaboration
5. Review
6. Summary Quiz
He uses the acronym QuIVERS in these steps.



Mark Church Demonstrates the "Headline" Routine

In Mark Church's Headline activity, he has all of his students watch a video for their introduction to their lesson. After the video they are supposed to brainstorm together in groups to create a "headline" for it. Students then can revise their headline at the end of the lesson to reflect what they have learned. He says this strategy works well with Project Based Learning.



Super Digital Citizen

In Sam Pane's class, he teaches his students about internet safety. He teaches them through an idea of being a "super digita citizen". They are super hero's, and are used in real world situational narratives. The students all create a comic book on their super hero helping them with internet safety. At the end of this project they were able to show their class as an audience, then discuss their work.



Project Based Learning

In this video, Dean Shareski shows how Canadian teachers are using PBL. Their journey of combing English, History, and Technology into one single subject. At fist they were coming in contact with problems, and teachers came to the conclusion that it could not work in a typical school day setting. Now the teachers prefer this PBL structure, and the students as well. They are able to participate in PBL assignments with themselves and interact with their classmates.



Roosevelt Elementary's Project Based Learning Program

Roosevelt Elementary shows in this video what project based learning is, and explains its benefits in this video.
They use real world application in all of their learning. PBL also allows students to work by themselves and with others. This builds their social skills and independence that they will use throughout life. This way no one is left out, the teachers differentiate instructions to engaged all their students intelligence levels. Roosevelt Elementary says that their students are motivated, engaged, and excited about all of their learning in project based learning. It just goes to show how well this strategy really works.

Project 12 Part A

C4K Summary for October

Gabriel 6th Grade's blog

In Gabriel's post on Play Makers he wrote about “the championship game” between the Rockwell Rams and Darpy bears. He was asked to answer a few questions. How did the author end the story? Was that a good way to end the story? He goes on to tell about the game and the rivalry of two boys, Ben McBain and Chase Braggs. Gabriel said it was a good way to end the story because he would have never expected the Ram's to be knocked out of the playoff's. He ended his post saying, “Finally, that was a great way to show readers that you don’t have to win, to have the true heart of a champion and to show you that winning isn’t everything”. Over all it was such a good post of his response to this book.



Lexi- Mrs. Ripp's Class Blog

Although it has grammatical errors, it was too adorable not to share.

"My grandparents are AWESOME they are wonderful people and i love them sooooo much there kind, sweet, gentle, and calm. NO cause the older I get the sooner i get to see my BEST FRIEND his name is JESUS. In the Bible it says that you used to be able to live until you were 1000 even but God said that was to long to see his children and so he decided we could live up to 120 years old.     And he loves us sooo much.  I think in the book “The fourteenth goldfish”  that the grandpa is going to sleep over and that the might  steel something in the house cause he has to talk to the police  officers cause he was naughty.  What do you think is going to happen in the book?  Why don’t you read along with us? Can you spread the word of God around to 10 people? Are you a believer?  Did you know god loves you??"

I politely told her to watch out for errors, but she wrote such a good post. It was very comical to read. It made my whole day getting to read Lexi's post.


Kaiya's Blog

In Kaiya's blog post she simply was introducing herself, and telling a little bit about her family. She is eight years old, has three sisters, and one foster brother. She is an animal lover. She has three dogs, Elsa, Emma, and another one she did not name. She also has fish, three cats, and horses. Kaiya goes on to say that she has a big messy house, but she loves her house. It was a good get to know her post.

Melaia's Blog

Melaia wrote her blog post about a sunhat. She wears a sunhat when it is a hot day outside, or when they go to the beach. It helps keep your skin dry, and also protects from sunburn, she explains. Melaia ends with if you wear no hat you will get in trouble from your mum or dad, but if we wear a hat you will not get burnt from the sun. She had a few grammatical errors I nicely pointed out. I also told her that her post was very informative because I love the beach, and I love my sunhat.

Blog Post #10

"Technology is here to stay!"
I think she has a very influential teaching style. She uses technology effectively throughout her classroom. She started a webpage that helps students stay focused on what the good sites are, and what will help them learn. The parent's are able to keep up with how their child is doing in the classroom all year round, instead of just parent teacher conferences. She moved into blogging a few years after playing with technology. She expressed that the students love blogging and making videos. They can show their parents when they are at home. They also can comment on other students blogs when they are home. The students have a way with technology that we do not. It is a part of their world. We grew up in different times. She stated that we are handicapping our students and ourselves if we do not let technology into our classrooms. It gives the students an audience, not just their peers, but around the world as well. They tend to do better when they know others will be looking at their post or work. Blogging also tells you how many people view your blog and shows a map of where they are located. They get excited to know someone from another country or state looks at their work. It keeps them engaged.
Every teacher needs to learn how to use technology. It is so much more than spreadsheets and a word document. There are so many ways to use this as a tool to help teacher collaborate on ideas. Using twitter as a teacher has been proven to help in so many ways. Creating your personal learning network is something you should start while in college. You will use and need those resources one day. Everyone need advise at some point, what a great way to get fresh ideas.
In the part three video Mrs. Cassidy was asked many questions by Dr. Strange's students via Skype. One student asked how many times a day or week do her students blog? She replied, they usually blog about once a week, sometimes twice. It also depends on the class size, and what they are covering. This is one of the things I would really like to incorporate into my classroom. I think the parents would find this very interesting. This blog is something that you could pull up and watch their child's progress, or look up later down the road when they want to just go back to when they were "little". It is a great way to keep parents more involved in their child's learning. I would also like to use the wiki she talked about as well. I think that is a very neat resource for my future students. Lastly, I want to use Skype conversations to help my curious students engaged in the subject they want to learn more about. Giving them the opportunity to ask real scientist or historians questions is a great way to keep them focused.

Links to the conversations between Dr. Strange and Mrs. Cassidy.


Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Blog Post #9

Teachers and students can teach us many things about project based learning. The teachers become students and students become teachers. Everyone is learning. In the links below we really learn the essentials of project based learning from both students and teachers from all over the country. They all have so many great ideas, I can not wait to use them in my future classroom.

7 Essentials for Project Based Learning

What every good project needs:
1: A need to know. Launch a entry event. For example start with a video of beautiful beaches and end with photos of closed beaches due to water contamination. It will spark students to discuss and interest students to why they do such things and if they have had any experience. Then the teacher will introduce the project.
2. A driving question. ex. "How can we reduce the number of days Foster's Beach is closed because of poor water quality?"
"A good driving question captures the heart of the project in clear, compelling language, which gives students a sense of purpose and challenge. The question should be provocative, open-ended, complex, and linked to the core of what you want students to learn."
3.Student voice and choice. The project needs to be meaningful to the students. It will keep them more engaged in their topic if they have an interest in what they are doing.
4. 21st century skills. "A project should give students opportunities to build such 21st century skills as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and the use of technology, which will serve them well in the workplace and life."
5.Inquiry and Innovation. "Students find project work more meaningful if they conduct real inquiry, which does not mean finding information in books or websites and pasting it onto a poster. In real inquiry, students follow a trail that begins with their own questions, leads to a search for resources and the discovery of answers, and often ultimately leads to generating new questions, testing ideas, and drawing their own conclusions. With real inquiry comes innovation—a new answer to a driving question, a new product, or an individually generated solution to a problem. The teacher does not ask students to simply reproduce teacher- or textbook-provided information in a pretty format."
6.Feedback and Revision. One of the most important thing the students need to learn is that most times your first attempt does not result in high quality work. It takes trial and error to make things perfect. This is real world application.
7.Publicly Present the project. It is good to have the students present their work to an audience. They seem to care more about quality when they know they have to present it to others. They are more likely to really research their topic so they know exactly what they are talking about.



Project Based Learning for Teachers

In this video you learn many things. These are a few key points that stood out to me:
-Collaboration, communication and critical thinking
-Students take charge of their own learning
-Albert Einstein said, "I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn."
-Always have a purpose
-Addressing an audience
-Crafting a driving question
-Identifying the learning standards
-Creating a rubric
-Brainstorming branching questions
-Meeting deadlines
-Focussing on the product
-Refining the end product



What Motivates You to do Good in School?

This video was a recording of many different students explaining what motivates them. Their answers were all good. Some were serious and others were funny. Everything they said can be looked at from a teachers point of few in a great way. Every teacher needs to hear what motivates their students. It will help everyone in the end. Here are a few examples:
-Receiving positive feedback from teachers.
-Wanting to do well in life. Have a good job to take care of a family.
-Thinking of their future careers.
-Incentive to do good to be able to do the extra things they like to do in their free time
-Classroom incentives, a chart that keeps up with their behavior throughout the day and rewarded at the end of the week.

High School Teachers meet the Challenges of Project Based Learning

These high school teachers become the learners of project based learning. It is a mental shift from regular style teaching, and takes brainstorming and collaboration. They have to figure out how they can apply their ideas to real world applications. Math and english are said to be the hardest subjects to use PBL. By giving the teachers the choice to make their own course in pbl helps them better understand the process, and how to use pbl in their classrooms. They learn how to use these tools where they fit most in subjects, and it will never be the same in every classroom. Project based learning is not only exciting for students, but also exciting for teachers as well.



Two boys and their Project for Project Based Learning

In this video two senior boys are explaining their project for project based learning. They chose to evaluate why water comes out of a ketchup bottle when you squeeze. Why did they choose this project? They LOVE ketchup. Giving students the power of choice is key to them learning through pbl. They said they spent about a week brainstorming ideas, and created a model of a solution for under the cap on the computer. After they created this model they used a wax printer to print their fix to the old age problem, water with ketchup is nasty. They were engaged in what they were learning, and seemed very proud of their end product. This is just another way that pbl sparks interest in all of its projects.

Project #14

This week, my EDM 310 group created a lesson plan for a 3rd grade English class! The lesson is to help the students better understand the main components of a story and use their imagination and creativity to create a story of their own. The lesson for this is in the Project Based Learning Format where the students will be put into groups in order to create a story using StoryBoardThat.com! Check out our Google Site to see the lesson plan, calendar, checklist, and rubrics for this project.

C4T#2

Wright's Room

#1
In her blog post The Mcdonalization of Education: the rise of Slow, Shelley Wright proves her point about education needing to be a slow process. Learning does not take five seconds. It takes time and practice. Many students today, I for one, need to review things over and over again until I fully understand. The rise of fast pace learning in this world is a major set back for all education. In her post she states, ""Unfortunately, our education system, at least in North America, has been deeply influenced by the “need for speed”, or what George Ritzer has termed “McDonaldization”. She is exactly right. Her blog post was very inspiring and full of little things I would never have thought of.

#2
Shelley Wright said it best in her article, "The Gift of Failure, "Nobody really knows what the world will look like 10 years from now. We’re preparing students for jobs that don’t exist, using technology that hasn’t been invented, to solve problems we don’t know about." We simply cannot learn things if we do not fail. Wright said we have one of two options, blame it on an external factor, or we can look inside our selves and figure out what we did wrong. It is important for students to fail, to figure out how to fix themselves, all because they need to learn what it feels like to accomplish something on their own. They do not need to rely on someone else to pick them back up. An A in a class is a goal, you may fail a few times getting there, but there is always room to improve. Shelley Wright also said, "I think if our students make it through school without ever failing, we’ve failed them. Badly. Because life involves a lot of figuring out how to do something a different way. It requires a lot of problem solving. And sometimes when things go wrong, it is other people’s fault, but getting stuck there isn’t going to help us. Instead, we need to learn, unlearn, and relearn". That being said, let your students learn from their mistakes. It only makes them better in the end.

Blog Post #8

The Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

What an inspiration! Randy Pausch is an unbelievable role model to look up to. His outlook on his situation and life is how we should all be. He's a very positive person. This video had a lot to offer, I learned a lot of different things. The one thing that stood out the most to me, which seems to be an ongoing theme to my learning here in EDM310. Being a teacher is not an easy job. It never will be easy, and it is not for everyone. We will always mess up, we will run into problems, and we will be setback in many things. "Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things." As teachers, we want nothing as badly as our students to succeed. Our job is to give it our all, even if it does not go as smoothly as we want them to.

When Pausch was telling his stories about working as a professor. He assigned his students a two week project. When they came back in two weeks, their projects were amazing. He called his mentor and asked what he should do. He replied, tell them that was good, but they can do better.You don't know where the bar should be, but you're doing them a dishonor by setting it somewhere. This can be applied to every day teaching as well. Do not set a standard because they will not go beyond that. Encourage them, make them be thinkers and doers. We humans are not meant to be alone, we are meant to help one another. I want to be the kind of teacher who truly helps my students become a better version of themselves.

Randy Pausch is such an inspirational person. For anyone who truly wants to better themselves, especially teachers and future teachers. He was lucky enough to have many people who inspired him, therefore he is returning the favor to his students, fellow Disney Imageers, and by posting this video. Throughout his life he never gave up on his childhood dreams. He is evidence that anything is possible if you give it your all. Even though he only lives to be 47 years old, he has left a lasting impression. I recommend this video for anyone and everyone. Teaching will not be easy, but it is worth it all to inspire the people in your life.

Implications and Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching and Learning

Part A

Technology has become essential to learning in todays modern world. Education is changing as a whole because of the use of technology. The classrooms today are completely different than they were when we were in grade school. Technology is an important part of todays society. Jobs require computer knowledge and some even further than just computers. Teaching in the 21st century constantly changes with the demands on technology in our lives. Our goal is to prepare our students to be able to do the things needed in todays world, and prepare them for jobs in their future.

According to Zobgy Analytics, I am one of those people that my cell phone does not leave my side. Many others fall into my habits as well. It is important to teach your students how to use them properly. It is no longer a problem to have tablets and cell phones in today's classrooms. It is a key factor in keeping students engaged in their learning. If they are engaged, they will learn more than they could ever dream. They question things, they broaden their horizons on those topics, which in turn makes them better learners. Bottom line is, technology is a part of our lives. We can not escape how it is constantly changing our lives for the better.


Part B

-Students can record themselves reading, helps with fluency and public speaking.

-Students can video record themselves to act out a part of history.

-Students can create iMovie presentations about books, movies, and art.

-Students can have a facetime chat with teachers or scientist all over the world.

-Students can record reflections to what they are learning in class.

You are not limited as a teacher or a student with having cameras in your classroom.

Project 9: Video Commentary

MW4
Group 5

Project #7: Four Movies Part Two

Blog Post #7 How Do We All Become Learners?

In How to Make An Audio QR Code, I learned it is actually a simple task. Students enjoy recording their voices and creating a code that anyone can scan and listen to them. It is as easy as recording your voice, create a URL, going to the QR code monkey website, clicking create code, and sharing with everyone. Anyone can download a QR scanner on any smart phone or tablet. It is also a free app, which is always good news. The video mentioned that the kids love when their parents can listen to what they did, and also leave notes and comments. It is always important to show off what they do.



In the Ipad Centers video, the teacher shows how her kindergarden class records themselves reading. They set the iPad at an upright position, and record themselves reading a page in their book. After reading a page, they go back and listen to it. They then follow along on the page to make sure they did not mess up on anything. This is a good example of how children can catch their own mistakes and learn from them. If they do mess up, they can record it again until they know they got it all right.


In the Polet as a Center video, the teacher is showing us how her kindergarden class uses this app on their iPads. It is a free app to download, and it is very helpful. The students chose from an assortment of books provided to do their project on. They take pictures of the pictures in the book and write a description for each picture. This helps with writing sentences, grammar, learning to be descriptive. For example, they used the book about veterinarians. She took a picture of the vet helping a bird, then wrote in her caption. The teacher looks over their final product and screenshots it. That way they can go back to it later and refresh their memory, or to show others what they have accomplished.

In the Alabama Virtual Library as a Kindergarden Center video, it shows you how the students use this tool. They are able to log in and start searching whatever topic they need to know more about. This is a great tool to use with children because it monitors what they are able to search, for their grade level, and keeps it simple. The usual activity has a word like transportation, under that word the teacher has several examples. As they search for those topics, Alabama Virtual Library provides them with images, videos, and even text that they can press audio to listen to the description. For their assignment, they take those words and draw a picture of it on paper. They search things all week and draw them. The the next week they take those pictures and write a sentence about each one. In this way, the teacher and the student know exactly what they learned. These objectives are to keep the students engaged, teach them research skills, and writing techniques.

Discovery Board Builder is such a great tool that I knew nothing about until this video. They use the Discovery Education website to do research on their topic, and to create their board. They are able to watch videos on the topic, see images, and facts. They create this presentation by choosing a background, titling the work, and add examples. They are then able to share with the class, teachers, and even family and friends. The children in videos Board Builder Oneand Board Builder Two show how excited the students are about their work they created themselves. It sparks fascination and builds passion for students of all ages. I can not wait to use this tool in my classroom.


In the video Using iMovie and Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarden, we are able to see how these media specialist use technology in their settings. Michelle Bennett explains about how kindergardeners use iMovie to make a book trailer, just as we college students did last week. She says it is unbelievable for five and six year olds to create their own iMovie by themselves. “You get the students started and once that is established the students take off and make it a project of their own”, says Bennett. They start out with their name and the title of the book, then that later turns into sentences for the images they have inserted. This is a great tool to teach your students and keep them engaged. She goes into how she can hardly get them to change subjects, or move on to something else. When you publish their work, as soon as they see it they want to edit it more all the time. They do not want to show it to anyone unless it is to their standards.
Elizabeth Davis goes into how she uses Alabama Virtual Library. It is free to anyone in the state of Alabama, and you can purchase a card at any local library. It is a great way to teach your students basic research skills. A great example is to type in “dog”, it pulls up images, encyclopedia text, really anything you need. She also gives her students a list of animals to look up each week. It gives them practice doing research. Davis also said that all of the students are eager and excited to do research on their own.


In We All Become Learners, Dr. Strange is interviewing with Elizabeth Davis, and Michelle Bennett. They explain how everyone is a learner and everyone is a teacher. Teachers teach students, students teach students, and students teach teachers. They were on the topic of using Padlet, another great free app, in class one day. She wanted to teach her students how to use this effectively so they could in return go show their teachers how to use it as well. She was trying to figure out how to take a picture on her macbook when a kindergarden student comes over to help. They knew all about how to do it. The student taught her how to take the picture and even insert it into padlet. We are all learners. The old saying, “You learn something new every day” is true to all situations, especially in education.

Project 13

My EDM 310 group designed a lesson using the Project Based Learning format. We decided to teach a third grade class about natural disasters. In order to teach the students about natural disasters, we created a project that engaged the students in the learning process through individual and group research as well explained the real world application of their activity. The project has the students use technology in order to describe a specific natural disaster, explain the cause and warning signs of the disaster, then create and demonstrate a safety plan. Here is our lesson plan, calendar, checklist, and two rubrics (group project and individual assessment) describing the project and how the students will be graded.


Links:

Lesson PlanGroup Project Rubric
Individual Effort Rubric
Checklist
Calendar

Project #8: Book Trailer

Blog Post #6

What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?

Anthony Capps is a very successful teacher in Baldwin County. It was a great learning opportunity to be able to have access to these videos. He has been exactly where we are, and has become a better teacher because of it. The statement that caught my attention most was stated by Capps, "Never limit your students, by giving them exactly what you want them to do. Create an opportunity for them to go beyond what you want them to do. They will do it." I learned throughout the series that kids will surprise you. They will teach you things, and you will teach them things. If you go into this profession thinking that you, the teacher, know it all. You are completely wrong. A lot of things covered in these videos I have, nor would have, ever thought of. He explained his different style of teaching, project based learning, and how it has changed his classroom. He told stories of his different projects he has give to his students. Some went great, but others turned out to be different than planned. He explained that a part of being a great teacher is being flexible. Things will not always go as planned, and that is okay. It is important to keep an open mind and go with the flow.

Using technology in the classroom is still a new concept for most of us. The most I used a computer for in my elementary classes were for AR reading test. We must not teach technology, but simply use it. The students have been growing up in a technology based society, they probably know more about things that we do. By giving them the opportunity to use these different types of technology in their projects, they improve their skills for use in the future. Capps said that we should scaffold the technology starting at the beginning of the school year. Do not expect things to be perfect. Let them use one tool at a time, and progress them with each project. They will remember how to use certain things to better their individual work.

Lastly, I learned how to be a teacher. Being a teacher is more than just going in, doing the minimum work, sending the students home, and your day is over. Being a teacher is being a learner. You constantly want to learn new things, or how to better yourself. You catch yourself talking with others about new ideas. You research different styles, and know how to tie it in to your ACCRS standards. You should love what you do. Be excited about seeing your students light up about things. You are changing their lives. Even if you do not feel like you make a difference, they are becoming a better person because of you. Keep the fire and excitement into teaching. Those are the teachers that make this world a better place.

Links to all of Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps videos:
1. Project Based Learning Part 1
2. Project Based Learning Part 2
3. iCurio
4. Discovery Education
5. The Anthony- Strange List of Tips for Teachers part 1
6. Don't Teach it. Use it.
7. Additional Thoughts About Lessons

Project 6: C4K Summary for September

C4K #1

Christopher's Blog @ PT England School

Christopher's blog post was about the book Goosebumps by R.L Stine. “My Book Review” by Christopher was posted on September fourth. In their blog post they were given a list of genres to categorize their books. He highlighted that Goosebumps was a fiction horror book. He rated the reading level as medium, and gave the book three stars. Christopher's review of the book was, "Jaskson Stander is every parents dream. He doesn't get into trouble he always does his home work and he never ever lies".

My comment was as follows.
Christopher,
Hi, my name is Coley Stephens. I am in the EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I have read a few of your blog post. I have also loved every single blog post, especially this one.
I used to love reading the Goose Bumps series whenever I was in middle school! I really wish we could have written book reviews like this when I was in school. It seems like it would help you remember it if you have to take a test on it, since you have to read so many during the school year. What did you like most about this book? R. L Stine really knows how to keep you on your toes with his books. I am usually hooked after the first two pages!
I hope you have a great day!



C4K #2

Grace's Blog

Grace's blog post about "The Elephant Whisperer Extract 3" The questions were not in her post but these were her answers:

"1. The elephants would feel very confused, annoyed and scared. They would also not feel free because they like to walk for miles and miles.

2. I think Laurence will feel bad, and when no-one was looking, he would let the elephants out the gate to walk free.

I looked up the book online to write my response. It seemed like a very interesting book to read, and I would like to use it in my class one day."


My comment:
My name is Coley, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am in a class called EDM310, where I’m learning all about blogs and other technology. I love the green font to this post. I have a few questions for you. What did you enjoy most about the book? If they had not escaped, do you think the outcome would be different? I think Lawrence had his work cut out for him, and he knew it, because he called them “notorious escape artist”. I love animals, so I wrote this book down to read during my Christmas break. I hope you have a great week!



C4K #3

Skylar's Blog

Skylar's blog post was titled, "My Groceries". He wrote the following:

"I just got home from school and my mom said ” I got you a couple of things at the store”.  I went in the kitchen and took a look in the bags, I saw two soft green peppers, three oranges, and some soap that had a picture of a crocodile on it. After I took the soap out my mom yelled ” I forgot, to buy some chocolate milk, sorry”.  I said that’s ok. So then I began to put everything away. And then my mom  asked me if I had any homework. I said yes and then I did it."

My comment:
Hi, Skylar, my name is Coley. I attend the University of South Alabama, and I am in a class called EDM310. We learn all about how to use blogs and technology effectively. I'm sure you are much better at it than most of us.
I am curious, what was the assignment exactly for your "My Groceries" post. Side note, oranges are my favorite fruit!
"So then I began to put everything away. And then my mom asked me if I had any homework. I said yes and then I did it". With these lines, you might want to go back and check your comma placement. I would hate for your teacher to read it and count off points.
Other than that one slight misunderstanding, your blog post was very comical. I really enjoyed reading it, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else you write about.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

If you want to visit my blog site, here is the link: My Class Blog EDM310

My Sentences

Project #3. Presentation.

Blog Post 5. PLN's What are They? 1

What are Personal Learning Networks (PLN)?
Personal Learning Networks seem to be the best way to connect with people and tools that you can use when you need help, someone to talk to, and collaboration for new ideas. Teaching in the 21st century you have to be up-to-date on all the technology children are using. Incorporating this into your every day classroom prepares them for the future. If the students are already ahead of our generation, how can we better ourselves to teach effectively? Through PLN's you can ask questions, find websites, blogs, and get help in a matter of seconds. As teachers it is important that we continue to learn.

In Vicki Davis's blog, Personal Learning Networks Are Virtual Lockers for Schoolkids she states, "A PLN becomes a student's virtual locker, and its content changes based on the student's current course work". She explains how her students use iGoogle to help organize their their research. "Constructing a PLN is the essential skill that moves my students into the driver's seat of their own learning.", Davis Says.

If teachers want to be effective in their classrooms creating their own PLN is the way to do just that. Using sites like Edutopia, Creating and PLN with Web 2.0 Tools, and Twitter to form your own personal learning network. It can link you with more people and new ideas. Everyone, teachers and students, can be thinkers and investigators.

How can they help you as a teacher? How are they formed?
There are many ways to form a personal learning network. Dr. Strange has said that Twitter is a very good source. He provided us with links to sites that help you organize those PLN's, Symbaloo and Netvibes, as well as a list of helpful educators and their twitter namesProject 6.

They can help you be a learner yourself, as well as teach your students to look farther than just what google has to offer. It can connect you and your students all over the world. They can make skype calls with scientist who can explain their questions, they can email professors to get more information, and they can even send a quick tweet and wait for a response. The students stay engaged and interested with all the different resources they now have access to.

Who will be the first additions to your PLN?
I have already created a twitter account, separate from my personal one, just for connections in the more professional education world. I have added Dr. Strange, Dr. Vitulli, EDM310 Staff Members, classmates, authors, Education Weekly, edu blogs, and many others. I have enjoyed looking through my TweetDeck at what people post. They usually have links and helpful hints. Although, I am just starting my PLN it has already been helpful. I am excited to add to my personal learning network, especially when I do need help or ideas in my higher education classes.

Project #15. Search Engines

Different Search Engines for Different things.

1. Bing -"Bing is a search engine that brings together the best of search and people in your social networks to help you spend less time searching and more time doing."

Bing is very similar to google. It is google's biggest competition. I use bing for their images and suggest other do too, and the way they connect things similar to you and what you've looked at before. They have a bing app you can download on your phone for quick and easy access as well. They partner with MSN, outlook.com, xbox, windows, office, and microsoft word.

2. Dogpile- "InfoSpace metasearch engine offering search of the general web, or images, audio, video and news. Also offers search of Yellow Pages and White Pages."

"The time-saving philosophy of metasearch is so important to us that it even inspired our name! In rugby, players come together and pile on top of one another. This is exactly what Dogpile’s metasearch technology does – it compiles all the best results in one easy-to-access place! And because every good team needs a loyal mascot, we adopted Arfie. You can find him any time on Dogpile, where he works as a retriever of sorts. When you search the Web on Dogpile, he’s quick to fetch the exact results you want when you want them."

3.WolframAlpha- "Wolfram|Alpha introduces a fundamentally new way to get knowledge and answers— not by searching the web, but by doing dynamic computations based on a vast collection of built-in data, algorithms, and methods."

This website is good at giving you just the information you need. It does not send you all over the web for answers. It gives you graphs and all the stats on everything you want to know.

4. Yahoo-"Yahoo is focused on making the world's daily habits inspiring and entertaining - whether you're searching the web, emailing friends, sharing photos with family, or simply checking the weather, sports scores or stock quotes."

Yahoo is mainly known for YahooMail and YahooNews. It is along the same lines as bing and google. They take pride in their news stories and keep their site up to date. I would see people using it more for mail and news rather than searching, but it does the same tasks that bing and google do.

5.Ixquick- "Ixquick search engine provides search results from over ten best search engines in full privacy. Search anonymously."

They advertise that you can search privately. It includes Advance Searches, and global searches. You can search for phone numbers with their International Phone Directory.

6.Duck Duck Go- "DuckDuckGo is a search engine driven by community – you're on the team! "We're not just servers and an algorithm. We're so much more."

Their slogan says, "Real Privacy, Smarter Search, Less Clutter". It is very organized and easy to read. It is less clutter just like the slogan says. I think this would be helpful when searching for a very specific thing.

7.AOL- "At AOL, we're in the business of making the Internet better -- period. Through innovation and creativity, we've raised the bar and set the standard for what we believe high quality content is on the Internet."

Aol has a lot of information just on their homepage alone. They keep you up to date with the weather, news going around the world, sports, and more. They are also used as a mail tool that works very well.

8.Ask- "Our mission is to get our millions of users across the globe the answers they need. We've been in the Q&A business for more than 17 years, and although Jeeves has since retired, we carry on his passion for serving our 100 million users with answers they can trust. Learn more about the Ask.com story."

Ask is a lot like google and bing, again. They pride themselves in the fact you can "ask" them anything. They will find you an answer very precise.

Blog Post 4. Questions.

Does anyone have any questions?
We have all heard this question over and over in classrooms. Not only in grade school, but also in our college classes as well. Do people really understand everything we just went over? Not a single question was asked about the topic. In Ben Johnson's article, Asking Better Questions, he proposes that sometimes the student are not even fully aware that they do not understand what is going on. Questions are a very important part of learning. If you never question things will you ever understand it? He also says that as teachers, we do not always know everything. We stand up in front of the class, give a lecture on a topic, and turn around and ask questions like we have never even heard of the material. Keeping the students on their toes with questions help them pay closer attention during that lecture. He also stated that when asking a class a question wait three seconds after, then call on someone to answer it. Their initial reaction is to think of the answer, because no one likes to be called on and not know what they are even talking about. It keeps them actively engaged, and helps the teacher know who understands and who is having problems.
In the video, Open Ended Questions , Andi Stix talks about why we should use open ended questions as teachers. If we ask open ended qquestions it provokes a higher level of thinking. For example, She uses "Describe in detail..." or "Generate a list...". Those starters make you think longer, and harder about the questions that are asked. Class discussions are an easy way to let students teach other students. Any subject you want to know more about open ended questions are the way to go.

Blog Post #3 Peer Reviews

In my duel enrollment english class, my senior year of high school, was the first time I had to do peer reviews. I was nervous about it at first, but it ended up helping me in the class. It was helpful to see someone else's point of view on what I could have done differently to spice up my papers. I think back now and wonder, why we never tried this starting at a young age. It has positive effects, if it is done correctly. A lot of times, kids these days get offended if a teacher points out what they do wrong. They take it as they are speaking down to them or calling them out. If we turned this around and started peer reviews from a young age, and teach it the correct way, it could really help the students as the paragraphs turn into thesis papers.

I learned from the video What is Peer Editing that the three best ways to write a peer review are: Compliments, Suggestions, and Corrections. The most effective way to help your peer is to stay positive. If your peer says something in a negative way it could really effect your writing. It is important to be kind, and use constructive criticism. You always have to think about how you would want to be talked to about your work. In the slideshow Peer Editing by Adriana Zardini, I learned what to compliment about someone's work. Tell them how much you liked the topic, you liked when they used the word _____. Give specific examples. Tell them your favorite part, or what made you laugh. Be genuine with your compliments, and always end on a positive note. The video Writing Peer Reviews Top 10 Mistakes by Tim Bedly is humorous to say the least. The peer review "bozos" really show how to not give a peer review. This video would be a very effective way to show a class how to peer review, because it has amazing examples. My favorite Jean the Generalizer, as taught in the prior videos and slides it is important to be specific with your comments and suggestions. Peer reviews really teach the students how constructive criticism can help them succeed in everything they do. Every teacher and parent wants their child to succeed, and I believe peer reviews are the tool.

Blog Post #2 What Will Teaching in the 21st Century be Like?

Mr. Dancealot
In "Mr. Dancealot" video, I believe the central message is that not everything can be taught on power point or on computers. Sometimes you need a hands on approach. If you do not get your students involved and actively thinking they will not remember it. You must do things yourself to really learn. The author makes the case for his conclusion by making it obvious that the class does not understand what is going on. They never actually got to dance, therefore they really do not know what to do. A person can not simply sit in a classroom, listen to a lecture, and actually retain the information, such as dancing. I do agree with his conclusion, that not everyone can sit through a class and retain that type of information. Everyone is different. Some need a hands on approach. If they are engaged in what they are learning they are more likely to actually remember it; not only for a test but for a long time.

"Teaching in the 21st Century" by Kevin Roberts

The Role of the Teacher
A. Teachers are no longer the main source of information.
1.Today students have access to all sorts of information through Google, Wikipedia, Facebook, etc.
B. Instead, teachers must facilitate learning. As Roberts says, "Teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge; we are the filter."
Building Skills
A. Teachers must teach students how to use information from sources.
1. Students need to be able to analyze, synthesize, and validate information.
B. Students need to learn and foster skills, not just facts and statements.
1. These skills will help students to solve real-life problems as well as communicate information and ideas in a group setting.
2. Students will able to use their creativity and expand their thinking in learning skills.
Using Technology to Become a Professional
A. Students can build technological skills and use their creativity by creating blogs, social media accounts.
1. These tools can connect students and teachers to each other on a global scale.
B. In addition, they must also learn of internet dangers such as plagiarism, pirating, and online bullying.
C. For students to become professionals, we must integrate the prevalent use of technology in today's society into the classroom. They must be given assignments that will help them build their skills with internet, technology, and critical thinking.
The "New" Teacher
A. Computers and tablets are a now essential school supply items just as paper and pencil once were and teachers must use them.
B. Teachers must create engaging lessons.
"Entertainment is passive. Engagement is active."
C. It is all up to the teacher to make sure that the classroom is making the most of the learning opportunities in the 21st century.


I must agree with the way Robert shows how teaching is changing. With society changing, what engages children also changes. It is hard to keep their attention with a simple "read the book", or lecture strategy. Looking up things on the internet should not be frowned upon. He is also correct in the sense that they need to learn how to tell if a source is valid or not. It will not only help them finding solutions to problems, but in every day life. It will affect my teaching skills in ways such as online activities. Less paper and clutter in classrooms. They can take test this way, and it will tally the results faster than having an assistant. I can see where this all is changing, and how it will eventually affect me and my classroom.

The Networked Student
In the video, the network "The Networked Student", by Wendy Drexler, Her proposition is that the most effective way for students to learn is by networking. It is all about connectivism. People can learn by being connected to sources that are all around them. She uses Google Scholar for research, Itunes U for podcast, and Delicious for bookmarking resources to use later. The teacher uses these tools to teach her students how effective they can be. Networking skills help keep the students engaged and thinking. I agree with Drexler in the sense that building connections help students to more sources than they probably ever knew existed. They can build so many ideas and propositions from all of the different networking sites.


Harness Your Students
In the video,"Harness Your Students", the teacher, Vicki Davis, has her classroom completely turned upside down. She states in the video her students should be thinkers and doers. She is connecting her class to cities and countries around the world. Her students are constantly engaged in learning different things from people all around the world. They are actively learning, but also teaching her how to do new things as well. I believe she sees the potential in all of her students. They in return see the potential in themselves. They are broadening their horizons in more ways than just doing research. I personally would have loved to take a class like this one in high school.

Who's Ahead In the Learning Race
In Dr. Strange's video "Who's Ahead in the Learning Race", Who's ahead in the learning race, it is evident that the children of Baldwin Country are ahead of college undergraduates and even graduate's at South Alabama. It is mind blowing that they can learn how to use their Ipad and Macbooks in less than two days. I got my macbook my junior year of high school, and I still to this day could not tell you what all it could do. I am constantly learning how to use this computer on a daily basis. I can use my Mac much better now that I have learned so much over the past few years. I hope to continue to learn new things so I can hopefully be fortunate enough to have Ipads or Macs in my classroom and use them effectively.


Flipping the Classroom
In "Flipping the Classroom", the main idea is to prepare the students in a more timely manor about subjects. By watching the lectures for the next day and following an outline while watching it will simply cut out "lecture time" in the classroom, and leave more room for explanation and practice. I believe it could have either a really positive effect or a really negative effect. I would be hesitant to try this in my classroom partly because in the public school system you never know what the families have access to. What if they did not have a computer, or somewhere with internet. It would put stress on the parent of finding time to find someone with a computer/internet. It would also make the child stressed about getting to school earlier because they did not have the right tools at home. I think lecturing in class is a good thing if you keep it interesting, it can have a positive effect. You could always record yourself and put up the lectures for those at home who still are having problems understanding. Then the parents could be more involved, and learn with their child as well.


Bringing the Locker Room into the Classrom
"Bring the Locker Room into the Classroom" by Craig Owens is very relatable. He simply notices the enthusiasm and skill it takes to make a team, a team. They use skills like asking questions to their teammates, and discussing options to better learn how to make the correct moves. I agree that this can be taken to the classroom. By simply making the class work like a team, learning becomes more effective. Talking things out, getting new ideas, helping one another in a positive way pushes for better results.