Project #16

Smartboard Project

This is Team Grammar's Smartboard video project. We have used smartboard and smartnotebook in order to teach a lesson from the project based learning lesson plan we created.

Team Grammar Smartboard Project

Blog Post #16

Final Reflection

This is my video reflection of my time in EDM 310. I've really learned a lot about technology that I will use in the future. Thank You!

C4K #3

Comments for Kids

This is my last post for C4K and  I can honestly say that it has been awesome to view blogs from all over. Below I have summarized the blogs I have posted on for the month of April.

In The Best Sport, Kyle H. of Mrs. L's 7th grade class talked about his favorite sport golf. He said that you can't get injured playing golf unless you are doing something crazy. He also said that even though he isn't the best at golf, he still plays every chance he gets. I think it's great that he still plays even though he may not be the best at it. I commented on his post and asked what his favorite part of golf was, but I'm still waiting on a reply.

 In Helping Fit In, Sulaman talks about what he would do if an undercover cop came to school. He said he would help the cop fit in by telling him where to go and what to do. He also would help the cop by telling him how to dress and who to socialize with. I expressed that I thought it would be cool if an undercover cop came to my school. Then I asked him if he thought it would be cool to have an undercover cop as a friend, but I have not heard back yet.

In My Easter Basketball Tournament 2015, Bethany created an IMovie about a basketball tournament she attended. It was very well put together and contained pictures from her event along with captions that explained them. I thought it was better than what I could have put together at that age. I asked her for some tips on creating IMovies, but I have not heard back from her.

Blog Post #13

What Did I Leave Out?

For this blog post, I will create a Blog Post Assignment that could be used by people who are Secondary Language Arts majors like myself. 

Theatrical Trailer

This blog post is to be done collaboratively. Your group will pick a book to turn into a movie trailer. The trailer must be appropriate for all audiences. You will IMovie along with Google Slides to create this trailer. If you do not have a Mac or Ipad, you can try to find an application that will allow you to create a movie trailer on your laptop or you can use one of the Macs in the lab. Remember to be as creative as possible! Along with your trailer, you must provide a summary of the book, a script for your trailer, and a list of "critic reviews" for your trailer. Upload your trailer to YouTube and then post it on your blog along with the other required materials. Below are some links to help you get started.

Make a Movie Trailer- DIY

Creating a Movie Trailer

How to Make a Movie Trailer on Windows Movie Maker

Blog Post #12

What assistive technologies are available to you as a teacher?

In this post, I have inserted a short presentation on Google Slides about assistive technologies. Assistive technologies are very important for the classroom because they allow students with disabilities and who struggle with learning to get the most out of each lesson. I have only discussed a few options in my presentation, but there are many more that are amazing for the classroom.

Here are some more links to visit on Assistive Technology:

• Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impaired Children
• The Mountbatten
• IPad Usage for the Blind
• 50 Must See Blogs for Special Education Teachers

C4T #3

Comments for Teachers

The blog I had to post on for this C4T was Connected Principles. Below I have a summary of what I learned from their posts and the comments I left for the blog.

     In For a Million Dollars, You Could at Least..., Tom Martellone discusses the winner of a million dollar global teaching award. He was excited that someone from Maine where he started his teaching career managed to receive this prestigious award and give it to her school. However, he was disappointed by her attitude towards the current public school system. He expressed the importance that upcoming educators should be excited to make a difference in the lives of children. He urges young educators to not waiver under the pressure of the changes to school curriculum and to push forward with their passion for teaching. My comment for his post expressed the concern over the stresses of the new curriculum being put in place. I asked him what some good ideas were to encourage future educators to keep pushing on through the stress and to keep in mind their passion for teaching. So far, I have not gotten a response.

     Teacher Interview Questions that Work was the second post I read on Connected Principles. This post by SBlankenship covered a series of probing questions that principles could ask potential teachers they were thinking of hiring. He expresses that its important to ask deep questions in order to understand the candidates teaching style and their motivation for teaching. I found these questions to be very helpful in preparing future educators for possible questions they may face and to be helpful in trying to discover my own teaching style and motivations. I expressed how useful I thought these questions were and the author wrote back that my comment made his day. Through this post, he was hoping to have aspiring teachers think about and reflect on each question. Here's something he said that I thought was great: "Remember, a reflective practitioner always questions their own pedagogy."

     

     

Blog Post #11

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

In this post, I will discuss some of the things I've learned from other teachers that will be important in the future of my career as an educator. I enjoyed each video I watched, and I have taken a lot from what these educators have done in their classrooms.

The first video I watched was by Brian Crosby (Back to the Future) from Agnes Risley Elementary School in Sparks, Nevada. His classroom consists of 90% second language learners and students of poverty. In order to get his students engaged, he uses technology and project based learning. Through one project, he managed to meet several requirements such as: read/write to learn content, writing to clarify and share, creativity, feedback, articulating orally, connectivity and awareness globally, authentic audience, and "science stuff". This project had his students connecting with others around the world and building a personal learning network. They got to show off what they knew through Skyping with others. They shared information through creating wikis and blog posts. They were actively learning. I learned from this teacher and his techniques that it is important to get students fired up about the material in order for them to be engaged. Through doing projects and sharing with others around the world, it is possible for students to achieve so much more than what they are capable of. I think that it is also very important to incorporate this type of teaching in the classroom because it helps students of all learning styles.

The next video (Blended Learning Cycle) I watched was by Mr. Paul Andersen, a high school AP Biology teacher in Bozeman, Montana. His teaching style is an online, mobile, and classroom learning blended style. Basically, his students use technology and regular classroom learning in order to get the most out of a lesson. His teaching also includes the five E's which are engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. I learned that every lesson needs to start with a really good question that gets the students' attention. Then, students must investigate the question. In Andersen's classroom, they are then shown a video that goes into further instruction on the subject. After that they have reading to do in order to elaborate. He then sits with them one on one and asks them in depth questions that review what they learned. Finally, they have a summary quiz. I think that I will incorporate something like this in my classrooms because it's very efficient. The students grade themselves and that allows the teacher to have more free time to answer questions. It also allows the educator to ask probing questions.

In (Making Thinking Visible) by Mark Church, he talks about a project he does with his students that allows them to critically think and collaborate. He put them into small groups in which they had to create a headline that captures the search of early human beginnings and what it is about. He expressed that the good thing about this was that after they covered more of the unit, they would go back to these headlines and change them to incorporate what they learned. What I took away from this activity was that it's important to get students thinking about the lesson before you go into more depth. It also gives students the chance to reflect on what they originally thought and revise their work to fit the information they obtained.

(Sam Pane 4th Grade) was probably my favorite out of all the videos I watched. In this video, he was teaching his students internet safety and how to be a good digital citizen. He let them discuss what it was to be a good digital citizen in small groups before he asked for ideas. I think this is a good method because instead of lecturing to them about what it means to be a good digital citizen, he let them think about it critically first. He did the same for what some of the dangers of the internet are. My favorite part was when he let them make a superhero character and a comic strip to express what they learned about internet safety. This allowed them to create a visual representation of heir learning which I think is better than doing book work. The students were really engaged and enjoyed this project. To me, this proved that learning can be fun.

Dean Shareski's video (Project Based Learning) showed a classroom that put together information processing, English, and History. They managed to create engaged learners and deeper understanding in those learners. They used technology to bring the content to life rather than just using lecture and text books. There's constant feedback and this blended classroom allows them to go deeper into the material and take longer with the students. I think that it would be great if more schools had classes that were blended. It would really allow students and teachers more time to get the material across.

The final video I watched was about (Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program). I learned from this program that the students go through in depth learning with real-world problems with project based learning. The projects are research based which allows them to do learning on their own. The students gain public speaking skills at a young age which will help them in the future. The students have a choice and therefore have a sense of power over the project. The community is involved and the students are involved in the community. Most importantly, there is student engagement which is the goal for every teacher.

C4K #2

    

 My first comment was on a post that a fourth grade student did about life on the Oregon Trail. He talked about how his family would survive. He said his brother would get lost, his baby brother would get sick, his mom would make food, and he and his dad would find clean water. He also described how they would build new houses and banks to start a better life. I think his post was very good at describing what he thought would happen to his family on the Oregon Trail. However, I wish he would have explained the Oregon Trail briefly. I left a question about how he would find food for his mom to make, but I'm still waiting for a response. If you would like to see his original post or maybe see some more of his work, here is Dante J's Blog.

My second comment was on a post a student did about job shadowing. He said that it was going alright, but that he was having trouble with getting in contact with places to job shadow. He also gave his opinion on job shadowing, which was that he thought it was a waste of time. He just didn't see the purpose of it. However, he decided he was going to keep trying so that he didn't fail English. I commented about my experience with observing classrooms so he could see that it's not a waste of time. I explained that valuable experience can come from it, and that it can even help you decide a future career. I hope he gets some great opportunities to job shadow! If you would like to read his blog, here is Jesus's Blog.

My final comment was on a post by a seventh grade student about a book called The One by Kiera Cass. She explained that this was one book in a series about a girl named America Singer who was living in a castle and trying to decide whether to be with a prince or a guard. She described it as a mix between The Bachelor and The Hunger Games. There's action, mystery, and romance! I really liked her post because it seemed like she was really excited to talk about the book. Her description was great and she really made me want to read it. I made sure to share with her that reading is one of my favorite hobbies. I also shared a series that I've read that might interest her. If you want to read her post, here is Peyton H.'s Blog.

Blog Post #10

What Can We Learn From Mrs. Cassidy?

First Graders in Mrs. Cassidy's Class

Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1

Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 2

Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 3

      In the videos I've listed above, I learned the ways Mrs. Cassidy uses technology in her first grade classroom.  She first started incorporating technology into the classroom when she received 5 computers for her classroom. She started her learning by creating a webpage for her classroom that her students could go to in order to see announcements and find links she shared for research or educational games. She then expanded to blogging which she uses to show her students progress in all areas especially writing. Now, her students use wikis, video, Skype, and Nintendo DS on top of the webpage and blog. She also has a Twitter that she uses to build her Personal Learning Network and  to collaborate with other professionals. 

     Mrs. Cassidy is a great example for those who aren't sure about using technology in the classroom. She makes the case for technology by expressing that the children are really engaged and that teachers should be changing along with how our society is changing. Now that technology is so prevalent in our everyday lives, it is important to use it to our advantage as teachers. The students have fun with it and get to collaborate with other students and professionals from all over the world, and the parents can get online and see their child's progress throughout the year. For those who don't know where to start with technology, she suggests starting with what you are interested in. For example, I love writing, so a great place for me to start would be with blogging which I have already done. Information from all over is readily available at our fingertips if we would just give it a chance.

     I plan on becoming a secondary language arts teacher, so I think that blogging would benefit my students. They could improve their grammar, reading, and writing each day just by creating blog posts to fit the standards I've given them. Then, they could peer edit through commenting on their classmates' blogs. I know I used to have to journal entries at the beginning of my language arts classes, so blogging could easily take the place of that at the beginning of each class. Also, Skype would be effective in my classroom as a way to talk to professionals in the literature realm and maybe even some authors. I think that would really get my students engaged in what they are learning. However, there could also be some problems with changing to technology in the classroom. The school I'm at may not have the funds for computers or the resources necessary. There may not be support from the administration. Unfortunately, it would also be hard to monitor what my high school students were really doing on the computers. I believe I could overcome these impediments if I can get the support and funds from others who believe that the dynamic of education should be changing to one that revolves around technology. In regards to trusting my students to do as they are supposed to, I guess it's just something I would have to figure out over time as it happens.

     

Project #13 Project Based Learning Plan #1

Romeo and Juliet: A Modern Twist

By: Team Grammar

Students will read the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In order to check their understanding of the plot and main themes of the play, they will act out a scene from the play. However, they must put their own modern twist on the scene and try to interpret it in a way that people could understand today. They will be separated into groups and video themselves acting out the scenes using IMovie. On an individual basis, each student will create a script for their group which they will be graded on. Each group will then pick the script they think is best to use. This project is meant to engage students and get them to collaborate, communicate, and think critically. Below you can find links to the project planner, individual and group rubrics, and project calendar.

PBL Project Planner (By: Rebekah Linton)

PBL Individual Rubric (By: Randy Rayford)

PBL Group Rubric (By: Boston Morgan)

PBL Project Calendar (By: Alexander Wells)

Project #9 Video Book Commentary

Video Book Commentary

By: Team Grammar

Blog Post # 9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning?

In order to answer this question, I was required to watch a few videos and read some articles based around project based learning (PBL). I even did some research on my own to answer this question. I found that PBL is something more teachers should implement in order for students to get the most out of their learning experience. It allows them to be creative and take their learning into their own hands. This creates a classroom environment full of engaged students. I definitely will take the research I have done for this blog post and apply it to my teaching.

To begin with, I will talk about the video What motivates students?. This video was helpful in giving some insight into what motivates students and the type of rewards they enjoy. It's important for a teacher to know this in order to get students engaged in their learning and to motivate them to do their best. One student said that he found praise from the teacher to be motivating. A few students were motivated by the fact that they had to do well in school in order to achieve their dreams and goals. I think that PBL could make a difference in how these students learn by letting them do something fun and creative. This could make it easier for them to do well in school and maybe even motivate them to find a new chance to learn in every experience. 

For those who don't know much about PBL, Project Based Learning for Teachers is a great overview of what it is. I learned that PBL allows students to take control of their own learning by doing research to answer a driving question. The driving question has to involve critical thinking skills and has to allow students to create a product to share with others. According to this video, students learn collaboration skills, communication skills, critical thinking skills, and career and life skills from project based learning. All of these skills are essential to be successful after they graduate and enter the "real world". Basically, PBL is preparing students with the skills they need to function as a part of society.

Of course it's a good idea to look at what project based learning is not in order to understand what it is. I did my own research and came across What Project Based Learning Isn't. I learned from this video that a lot of teachers think they are implementing PBL, but they are really implementing project oriented learning. Project oriented learning is not the same as project based learning. Project oriented learning involves the teacher going through the semester lecturing, giving assignments, or even showing movies on the material they are covering. Then, they assign a project for the students to do at the end of the semester that requires them to use what they learned over the semester. This is different because the students weren't really taking control of their own learning throughout the semester. They were taught the material and then did a project based on what they were taught instead of doing their own research. I think this is very important for teachers to recognize so that they can make sure they are actually implementing PBL.

I know I was a little confused on what exactly goes on in project based learning until I read the article Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning. This article helped me recognize the essentials of a good PBL plan.

These are the seven essentials every teacher should abide by:

• A Need to Know- This is like a hook. This is what you should use to get the students interested.
• A Driving Question- This needs to be a complex question that involves critical thinking and should guide the project. Students should be able to answer this question with their project.
• Student Voice and Choice- This means that students should be able to have choices in their project in order to make it meaningful for them.
• 21st Century Skills- This project should build on skills such as collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.
• Inquiry and Innovation- Students should be able to start creating their own questions and innovative answers to these new questions.
• Feedback and Revision- Students should use rubrics and peer feedback to revise their work. It's important for them to realize that something great doesn't just happen the first time.
• A Publicly Presented Product- Students should present their work to an audience in order to care
• more about the quality of their project.

 

Finally, I read an article about an invention created by two high school students through PBL. Two Students Solve the Problem of Watery Ketchup by Designing a New Cap was a project created through the Project Lead the Way Program. The students had to start with something that was relevant to them. They typically use the phrase "it really bugs me when" to start off this project. So, high school seniors Tyler Richards and Jonathan Thompson decided to do a project based on a mutual love of ketchup. They were bothered by the watery ketchup that first comes out of the ketchup bottle. So they looked for patents that could solve the problem, but couldn't find any that helped. That forced them to come up with their own innovative design to solve the problem. After sketching out the design, they brought it to life using a 3-D printer. They found this project to be enjoyable because it was something that was meaningful to them which is an essential to a PBL plan. I think teachers can truly see the effects PBL has on students through this example.

Blog Post #8

What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning from Randy Pausch?

For this blog post, I was required to watch Randy Pausch Last Lecture and answer the question above. This video was quite long, but I really enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Pausch had a lot of things to say that are applicable to people of all ages. I feel that everyone could learn from what Pausch has to say.

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”

This quote was something Pausch said in his lecture that really stuck out to me. There are a lot of brick walls that keep people from accomplishing what they really want to do, and often times they let those walls become an excuse. It's important for us to keep pushing past those brick walls in order to achieve our dreams. We just have to keep trying until we make it past those brick walls and that means that we constantly have to learn and grow. We have to learn from our mistakes and try to do things differently each time we fail. This is an important concept for educators to teach their students in order for their students to achieve their goals and dreams. If students learn from a young age that anything is possible even when it seems impossible, they will be more likely to keep pushing past those brick walls. Of course, people also have to want it badly enough to keep going. The only way people will achieve their goals is if they work hard. That's why it's also important to instill a good work ethic in students and teach them that they can only achieve their goals if they want it badly enough. 

"Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress."

The second thing Pausch said that made an impact on me as a future educator was this quote. We live in a very fast paced culture where we want everything now. We don't want to wait for people to do what we want them to do. I feel like we are quick to get angry or frustrated when people aren't meeting are expectations. What Pausch said really made me think. We need  to slow down a bit and allow people the time to surprise and impress us. Educators especially should keep this in mind when working with students. Sometimes students just need a little more time on something in order to unlock their full potential.  I know I will take a step back when I'm frustrated with my students, and wait for them to meet or even exceed my expectations. Sometimes people just need a little more time than we are willing to give.

 To summarize the main points of his entire lecture, I just want to include the last few things he said  at the end of the video that could have an impact on you.

"Brick walls let us show our dedication."

"Don't bail; the best gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap."

"Get a feedback loop; and listen to it!"

"Show gratitude."

"Don't complain; just work harder."

Four Movies Part 2

To the parents...

To the students...

Blog Post #7

     For this blog post, I was required to watch several videos about what technology is starting to look like in the classroom. A question was posed afterwards about what I need to do in order to prepare for my career as a teacher that I have answered below.

What are the things that you believe you will need to know and do to prepare for your career as a teacher before you graduate that will enable and support your ability to use technology effectively as a component of your classroom instruction and to foster student participation and learning?

     To prepare for my career as a teacher, I think I will have to learn a lot more about technology and practice what I learn every day. I've never been very good with technology because there is so much you can do with it and I just never wanted to take the time to learn about it. There are several apps and tools that will be beneficial to learn in order to enhance learning in the classroom. For example, iMovie could be very useful in my classroom since I plan on being an English teacher. They could use this tool to create book trailers and short movies to show that they comprehend what they read instead of just taking a quiz. It could also help with grading because I could have them take tests online that automatically give them feedback. Clearly, I have a lot to learn about technology before I graduate, but I am willing to learn more if it will help my students learn in the classroom.

Here are the links to the videos I had to watch for this post. I have also included summaries of each and what I have learned from them.

Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten

     In this video, I learned about what children in kindergarten are doing in classrooms with iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library. With iMovie, the children can take a book that they read in class and create a book trailer in which they reflect on the book. This helps them to be more engaged with the book and make a project that they are proud to take complete ownership of. It is also a great source to start fostering the necessary skill of editing. The Alabama Virtual Library is a free tool that can be used to teach students how to research. It is safe and can be used to practice searching each week. It pulls up the best articles for whatever topic they are doing research on. I can see myself using both of these technologies in the classroom.

We All Become Learners

     This video had to do with how technology changes the dynamic of learning in the classroom. Everyone becomes a learner when technology is involved because the teachers are teaching students and students are teaching the teachers. For example, there was an app called Padlet that was described in the video. It is used by the teachers and students to post questions and answers. The teacher was trying to figure out how to take a picture and a student ended up showing her how to do it correctly. Clearly, technology provides the chance for everyone to learn rather than have the teacher teaching and the students learning.

iPads in the Classroom

     This video was a newscast about the way iPads are being used in the classroom. One teacher said that iPads provide the opportunity to take a virtual field trip. For students in special education, there is a tool called iconverse that allows them to communicate via touching buttons. In a physics classroom, students can build coasters with an app on the iPad. Another use of the iPad is the ability to take tests or take pictures of writing assessments and get automatic feedback. Technology provides students and teachers with many ways to access information, converse with professionals, provide accommodations, and to create new and inventive assignments. As more and more schools adopt technology as an enhancement to learning, it is important for educators to learn how to use this technology effectively and to their benefit.

Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology in Education

     I learned ten of the many reasons to use technology in education from this video. Students love it because it allows them to be creative. It engages the four components of learning which are active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and professional development. It makes life easier for teachers because they don't have to spend as much time grading or teaching in the classroom, and they can focus more time on the questions students have. It improves test scores. It helps students with low attention spans because it's constantly changing and there are several online games that aid in learning. Students can learn from the experts. It encourages homework. Over time it saves money. Finally, technology can remove obstacles to learning by allowing several types of learning styles in the classroom.

C4K #1

Comments for Kids #1

Below, I have written summaries of the blogs I have visited that were written by kids. I also have left comments on their blog posts which I have also summarized.

Winter Weather Goes Bad

This blog post was by Dante in Mrs. Weil's fourth grade class. He talked about how happy he was that it was winter until it got to cold to play outside. Instead of going outside, he played some video games and ate. He then decided that he was ready for winter to be over because he was bored. I agreed with him that it was time for winter to be over. I told him that we would have 6 more weeks of it because the groundhog saw his shadow. I then asked him what he likes to do in the snow, but I have not gotten a response back.

JJ Watt in the Pro Bowl

This post was by Brandon in Ms. Leatherwood's language arts class. Brandon talked about J.J. Watt and Pro Bowl 2015. For people not familiar with the Pro Bowl, he explained what it is and why the teams competing in the Super Bowl are not allowed to play. He also informed readers that J.J. Watt was a captain of one of the teams and that he is Brandon's favorite player. I thought his post was very informative because he made the Pro Bowl easy to understand for someone who doesn't know anything about football.I asked him who his favorite NFL or College team was and he responded by saying that he focuses on individual players more than teams. However, he did say that if he had to choose his favorite NFL and College team, it would have to be the San Diego Chargers and the Florida Gators. 

All the Wrong Questions: When Did You See Her Last? Book 2 (Part 2)

This post was by Ava in the Hartman/Centeno Readers & Authors blog. She gave a summary of a Lemony Snicket book that she was reading. It was about two characters, Lemony Snicket and Moxie, who were trying to investigate what happened to another character named Cleo. She was very descriptive and left me wanting to know what happens in part 3. She also gave her opinion about Snicket's mentor Theodora. She talked about what she would do differently if she was Theodora. I told her that it was a very well-written post and asked her what skills she thought were important for an investigator to have. I haven't gotten a response yet.

Black History Month

This post was by Alysa in Mrs. Maslowski's class. Alysa had to choose an inspiring person to talk about for Black History Month. She chose Gabrielle Union who is an actress in movies such as "Bring It On" and "Bad Boys II". She said that Union was inspiring for the work she does in the community and for giving back to the world. She also said that watching Union in movies and on television makes her want to do more in her personal life. I didn't know anything about Gabrielle Union, but Alysa's post made me want to research her to see what she has done. Alysa could have been more descriptive about how Union is an inspiration, but overall I thought it was a good post.

Blog Post #6

What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?

This blog post covers a series of videos between Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps who is a 3rd Grade teacher in Baldwin County. I have watched each one and written a summary for each one about what I learned. 

Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher

In this video, I got the chance to really learn what project based learning is all about. I learned that it is used to get children to take control of their own learning and have fun with it. Anthony Capps also talks about four main components to project based learning that make it successful. There has to be an authentic audience, student interest, involvement with the community, and it should be driven by content standards. As an example, he talked about a project he did with his class that required them to write letters to a congressman about whether women should serve in open combat or not. This gave them the chance to research historical women and use it to argue for which side they chose. They were able to make it their own and because it was relevant, they were interested. They then had the opportunity to revise and reflect on their work and they even got to choose which letters went to the congressman. I think his example was very enlightening on how effective this type of learning can be on students.

Project Based Learning Part 2: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher

This video was a continuation of Project Based Learning Part 1. In this video, I learned that it is best to create opportunities for students to have some freedom to go beyond what you want. Capps gave an example of a project he did where the students had to write a narrative script as a child in Afghanistan. His class went beyond his expectations because he gave them freedom to write it from any point of view. Because the students had the opportunity to choose, they had more ownership of their work which is very important to learning. I learned from this video that the more students are engaged, the more they are learning. Projects like these also take a lot of planning and work, but Capps also points out that it is okay if something goes wrong. You just have to readjust the project to cover the content you want the students to learn.

ICurio 

This video taught me about a very helpful tool called ICurio. Basically, it is a search engine that allows students to safely search the web for audio, video, and texts. It has kid friendly buttons, a storage capacity for students, and can be used by any grade level. It also has a read aloud feature for students to use if necessary. I think this tool will be very useful in my classroom in the future. It is a lot easier to use technology in the classroom if you have tools like these that can filter what students have access to.

Discovery Education

Discovery Education is a tool that can be used along with project based learning in order to enhance learning. It combines textual and visual elements in order to create a learning experience that uses more than one method to help a child learn. It brings the text to life and also brings experts into the classroom. This tool can help enrich research for the projects a teacher implements in the classroom. I learned from this video that it turns students into listener-watchers which can aid in comprehension of the material that is being covered.

The Anthony-Strange list of Tips for Teachers Part 1

This video gave me a list of tips for teachers created by Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange. The first one covered was that you have to be interested in learning yourself. Teachers are life-long learners and it can be very difficult to teach unless teachers are constantly learning too. The second tip was that work is not separate from play when you're a teacher. Teachers are learning how to teach in their free time. The third tip was that surprises always happen in the classroom, so it is important to be flexible. There is no way to predict what will happen, so teachers should always start with the end in mind. It's okay to change the schedule just as long as the students master the content at the end of the day. The fourth tip is to get students engaged. Teachers can only get students to learn if the students are engaged. Project based learning can really help with this. The final tip was to reflect and share work. Teachers should always reflect on their work in order to make it better the next time and it helps to share work with other teachers in order to get valuable feedback

Don't Teach Tech- Use It

This video was helpful on describing how to use technology in the classroom. Capps suggests that teachers should build on the use of technology each week. Teachers should focus on one part of the technology at a time and then add new things to it each week. This makes it easier for students to learn and it doesn't require taking a lot of time out of class to teach it. Capps also says that it is helpful for teachers to do the project themselves first so they know what kind of questions the students might ask. The video also describes the effect technology can have in the classroom. It's clean, shareable, and allows students to express themselves.Working with technology can also help teach problem solving to students. Teachers can figure out the kinks in the technology with their students.

Additional Thoughts About Lessons

In this video, I learned that lesson planning is four layers thick. First, teachers should think about how it fits in the year. Does it cover content standards? Then, they should devise it into unit projects. This unit is stretched from the time period of 6-8 weeks. Then teachers should figure out how they can get everything done for that unit each week. Finally, teachers should look at the daily schedule. They need to think about how they will deliver the content to the students and how they will measure what they learn. These four components should be used for each one lesson.

C4T #2

For this week's post for comments for teachers, I was assigned Joey Feith. I read a couple of posts from his blog which were very interesting. I have written a summary of what he said in each post. I have also included my opinions and comments I sent to him. If you want to read the actual posts, I have included a link to the post in the subheadings for each paragraph. Enjoy!

How I Teach

Joey Feith creates a post on his blog each week that highlights a physical education teacher. He typically asks the educator a series of questions about themselves and their teaching. He also provides links to get in contact with that teacher. This week he picked Osama Abujafar who is a physical education teacher in Dubai. He asked Osama about what resources he can't live without, what his classes look like, what the most unique thing about his teaching is, and what the best advice he ever received is. I think these are very important questions to ask other educators in order to get new ideas. This post is a great example of educators communicating with each other from all over the world to share ideas. I shared my opinion of this tactic with him and also asked him about his process for choosing a new educator each week. So far I haven't heard from him, but I included a link to my blog in case he wanted to get in contact with me.

The #PhysEd Calender

This post was about a tool Feith created in order to keep up with all the events and chats that were going on in his Twitter feed. His tool is called the #PhysEd Calendar which is a public Google Calendar that allows physical education teachers to keep up with professional development opportunities. He also included information about the calendar, adding events to the calendar, and subscribing to the calendar. I think this idea could be used for teachers of all subjects around the world. This calendar would be a great way to build your PLN also. It seems like it will be really easy to use and it helps for those who don't have time to search for all the interesting events happening on Twitter. I made sure to inform him that I was working on building my PLN and that something like this could help me with organization even though I'm not planning to teach physical education.

My Sentence Videos

My Sentence Is...

My Passion Is...

Project #15

Search Engines

For this project, I was required to search eight different search engines that do different things. I will review each one of them and include a link so you can try them as well.

1. Blinkx : Blinkx is a search engine for videos. You type in what you are searching for, and it pulls videos from all over the web in order to provide the most results for your search. It's very easy to use and has a simple layout. This website is most useful for entertaining videos. It has educational videos that could be used in the classroom, but the search has to be very specific and it doesn't always come up with what you are looking for. I recommend it for personal entertainment, but I'm not sure if I would use it for research or in the classroom.
2. eHow : eHow is a search engine for finding step-by-step instructions on how to do things. You can type what you are looking for into the search engine or you can look under the various categories if you don't know exactly what you're looking for. It also gives you what's trending on the home page. It gives you results from what people have posted on the site.When you pick an article, a question box pops up that asks if you want to talk to someone who is an expert in what you are trying to do. It is a great resource for people who want to learn how to do things by themselves. 
3. Freebooksearch : Freebooksearch.net is a search engine for books. You simply type in the title or author and it loads various sites where you can get the book from. You can do a simple, advanced, extended, or audiobook search. It gives sites that you can get the book from for free or it gives sites that you can buy it from. It is very useful if you are trying to find a book quickly and see if it is offered for free. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys reading or is trying to find a book for class. Teachers could also use it to find free books for the class.
4.  Monster : Monster.com is a search engine that allows you to look for jobs or that allows employers to add jobs. You can also join the website and post your resume for employers to see. You just type in the type of job you are looking for, any skills or keywords, and your location. It then sorts through several jobs to provide you with the ones closest to your search results. The website also provides articles and resources that can help you with your job search and interviews. I recommend it to everyone because it gives you the best results for your search and is very easy to navigate.
5. Newslookup : Newslookup.com is a search engine for looking up articles and headlines. The main page gives you the top headlines for the day and also lists several categories you can look under if you don't know what you are looking for specifically. When you type something into the search engine, it gives you the most recent articles in your results. From there, it has several options to narrow down the search results. It is very useful for anyone who is interested in current events or needs the most recent articles for an assignment. I recommend it to anyone because it is a great way to keep up with the news and get a wide variety of articles on a subject.
6. WebMD : WebMD is a search engine for medical information. You can search symptoms, doctors, news, medications, etc. Pretty much anything related to the medical field is available for you to search on this engine. It gives overviews of diseases along with their symptoms and treatments. This can be very helpful to anyone who is trying to go into the medical field or anyone who just wants to learn more about all kinds of medical information. I recommend this to people doing research, but I don't recommend it as a way to diagnose yourself. You can easily misdiagnose yourself on this site because there are so many diseases that have similar symptoms.
7. WolframAlpha : WolframAlpha is a computational knowledge engine. You type in what you want to learn or compute and it gives you the most accurate and reliable information it can find. It gives you a small amount of information, but it tells you what you need to know without all of the other random stuff that comes with most search engines. I think it is a very good engine to use for help in school. I recommend it to students and teachers mainly since it is a really good resource for learning.
8. Zoo Search : Zoo Search (also called Metacrawler) is a metasearch engine. Basically, it takes results from several different search engines which gives you a wide variety of sites to get information from. The first sites it gives you are the top sites on the web. It also has side tabs that can narrow your search results by categories (images, videos, news). It is easy to use, but there is an overload of information. I only recommend it for entertainment use. I wouldn't use it when doing research.

Blog Assignment #5

In this blog post, I will discuss  what PLNs are, how they can help teachers, how they are formed, how I can create my own PLN, and who will be my first additions to my PLN. I used a variety of sources from the assignment to assist me in learning about PLNs which I will include at the bottom. 

What are PLNs?

PLNs (Personal Learning Networks) are online communities that allow you to get in contact with people from all over the world in order to get advice, share ideas, and learn.

How can they help you as a teacher?

PLNs can help teachers get in contact with each other and collaborate. They're a great way to get new teaching strategies, ideas for lessons and activities, and feedback. They can also help with learning in the classroom. PLNs can help students keep up with what's new in the world and help them collect and organize information that is necessary for each lesson. They get to enhance their learning through a network where they can get information and feedback from professionals. PLNs give students freedom to learn in a way that is creative and unique to their learning style.

How are they formed?

PLNs are formed by finding information, people, and conversations on the internet about subjects you are interested in. You then form a page that receives a feed from all of the sites and people that you are following and conversing with in order to learn more about what you are interested. You can follow blogs, podcasts, Twitter conversations, Youtube channels, etc. PLNs are all about researching and collaborating with others from around the world who share your interests.

How can you create your own PLN?

I can create my own PLN through identifying subjects that interest me and through finding people who share those interests. I can also find other educators who inspire me and who I may want to collaborate with or ask questions. The important thing is that I constantly do research and keep growing my PLN. The people and sites I involve in my PLN are important for the future because they can be helpful resources and contacts. Once I have figured that out, I can use a site such as Symbaloo to help organize my information in one place.

Who will be the first additions to your PLN?

The first additions to my PLN will be educators who I find inspiring and educators who are in the field I want to go into. I will also add people who are interested in the time periods of WWI and WWII, DIY projects, and creative writing. Dr. Strange provides a great list I will use to get started at Developing a Personal Learning Network in EDM310.

Sources

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment

Michael Fawcett Discusses his PLN

Personal Learning Networks

Creating a PLN with Web 2.0 Tools

Blog Assignment #4

Outline

 In this post, we were asked to do research about the question above. I used my research to explain the importance of questions and a few guidelines to follow when creating questions. I wrote that it is important to plan the questions we should ask, come up with different styles that invoke deeper thinking, and keep the questions we create. I have included a few sources at the bottom that can be helpful, including one that I didn't use in this post.

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?

     In order to be an effective teacher, it is important that we ask questions that will provoke critical thinking and problem solving skills. It is not enough to ask close-ended questions that merely require a yes or no answer because that doesn't get students engaged in the lesson. We want students to really think about the topic we are covering so that they can improve their learning and understanding. I have found some guidelines from my research about questions that I think could be very useful. 

     First of all, it is vital that we plan out what questions we are going to ask and when. Maryellen Weimer wrote "When you write out a question, you can make it clearer"(Three Ways to Ask Better Questions). Often times, instructors will ask questions that students don't understand which results in a silent classroom and time wasted. Planning ahead can help to make sure that instructors are asking questions that will improve understanding of the material and could even result in students participating in class discussion. Instead of just asking a random mix of questions that are unclear or close-ended, we can ask thought-provoking questions that will get the students truly engaged. 

     Secondly, it is important to come up with a mix of questions that will result in critical thinking. Students won't get anything out of the lesson if the instructor only asks yes or no questions. In the video Questioning Styles and Strategies, Dr. Harvey Silver gives examples of different questioning styles that accompany different learning styles. Each questioning style furthers the students' understanding of the material and keeps them engaged. He also uses a random pattern to call on students and asks questions about their answers that forces them to think more about their answers. These two techniques help to engage students and get every student to answer rather than a select few.

     If a teacher has good questions, but notices that his or her students are responding with short, simple answers, there are some techniques that he or she can employ to make them more open-ended. Andi Stix gives teachers a few ideas to enhance their questions. By adding "for what reasons", "in what ways", "describe in details", "explain", and "generate a list of" to the beginning of the questions, instructors can create a deeper meaning to them. For example, Stix asked "For what reasons did the American Revolution begin?" (Open Ended Questions). This helps students think of the various reasons the American Revolution began and to really dig inside their brains rather than just asking "why?". 

     Finally, instructors should keep the questions that they ask that seem to be the best or most thought provoking. This can be useful in the future so that they can tweak the questions to make them even better. Old questions can also be used as guidelines for future questions or can be referenced back to for class discussions. Teachers can also pass those questions along to other teachers who may need ideas for ways to create more critical thinkers. 

     These guidelines can really help instructors and future educators to really think about the importance of questions. Questions guide the discussion and enhance the material.In order to create critical thinkers and problem solvers, teachers have to ask questions that guide that type of thinking. Hopefully, students will begin to ask instructors more thought provoking questions.

Sources

Open Ended Questions

Questioning Styles and Strategies

Three Ways to Ask Better Questions

Asking More Effective Questions

     

C4T #1

        I was assigned Dr. Jerrid Kruse for my first comments for teachers (C4T) assignment. I enjoyed reading his blog posts and I even got some interesting ideas from them which I will summarize. I will also include a link to his blog which I hope you will take advantage of. I believe he has some interesting things to say!

https://educatech.wordpress.com/

C4T #1, Comment 1

         In his post "Planning vs Reacting", Dr. Kruse talks about how unsettling it is for him to carefully plan out everything for his classes. With such a busy schedule, he finds it hard to plan ahead when there is no way to predict what will happen in the classroom. He believes great teachers are those who can react rather than plan. He then talks about how programs should be preparing future educators to react rather than plan. While he thinks planning is an important part of the process, he also thinks that teachers should be prepared for situations in which it is not always possible to follow a schedule.

         I had never thought about teaching in that way. I always thought that teaching involved a  lot of planning with little room for change. Dr. Kruse's post really made me think about how there is no way to predict what will happen in class each day. Therefore, it is important to know how to react and adjust to situations. I agree with what he is saying about teaching future educators to react rather than focusing on planning. I would love to hear his ideas on ways to prepare future educators on how to react.

C4T #1, Comment 2

          In the second post I read "How I Spend My Fridays", Dr. Kruse talks about how he uses teaching in a sixth grade classroom to teach his students who are going to be educators. He spends the entire day in a sixth grade classroom and allows a group of his students to come in to the classroom at different times in order to watch him teach. Later in the semester, he allows his students to come up with lesson plans and teach his sixth grade class. The students get the chance to observe his teaching style, and he gets the chance to observe them and give them feedback. He believes this is a great way to interact with his students and give them valuable experience for the future.

         I agree with this teaching method wholeheartedly. It is extremely important to gain experience with teaching and creating lesson plans when becoming a future educator. What's great is that they get the chance to watch him and get ideas for their own teaching. He can also get some ideas for his teaching from his students. I think it is great that the students and the teacher get to give each other feedback. However, I am curious to know what his sixth grade students think. I wonder if they enjoy the opportunity to be taught by different people and experience different teaching styles.

Blog Assignment #3

Peer Editing

A useful technique to help students improve their writing is to have fellow classmates edit it. This is commonly known as peer editing. The best approach to this system is to make sure students are giving constructive criticism rather than destructive criticism. In fact, the first thing they should do is give compliments regarding their partner's work. It is very important to stay positive in order for students to feel comfortable sharing their work. Then, they can move into providing suggestions and corrections for their partners to improve on. This process ensures that students get the feedback they need in a way that also lets them get involved with their classmates.

I think peer editing is important because it allows students to see mistakes that they wouldn't normally have seen before.They may think it sounds good while they are writing it, but they could miss a lot of common mistakes. It also gives them a chance to learn how to receive constructive criticism. Students will have to face criticism as they graduate and move into the "real world." So, it is important for educators to not only teach them how to give constructive criticism, but to also teach them how to take it from others. I know I will try to give my fellow classmates in EDM 310 as much constructive feedback as possible. In order for my peer editing to be successful, I will compliment them at the beginning of my comment, provide a few suggestions for how they can improve, and give them a compliment at the end. Hopefully, I can also improve on how I take criticism from my fellow classmates.

Sources

What is Peer Editing?

Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial

Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes

Blog Assignment #2

In this blog post, I will respond to several videos in order to depict what teaching in the 21st Century will be like.

Mr. Dancealot

I believe the central message of this video is that not every lesson can be taught by lecturing and having students take notes. Students need to be engaged in order to truly comprehend the skills they are trying to learn. The author of this video makes the case for this conclusion by creating a scenario in which students are learning how to dance in a dance class that requires them to stay seated and listen to lecture. This resulted in the students being confused and not being able to follow through with the skills that were learned. I agree with the author's conclusion because not every lesson can be taught by lecture. Sometimes students need to be hands-on with a lesson in order to truly learn.

Teaching in the 21st Century

Kevin Roberts, the author of this presentation, makes the case that teaching in the 21st Century means that students should be engaged in learning by using technology to assist them in problem-solving and other useful skills. He suggests that teachers should be there to guide the students in how to effectively use technology and filter the knowledge they gain from it. He argues this by showing us that students can find information anywhere at anytime through social media sites, websites, and search engines. Therefore, there is no need for a teacher to stand in front of them and hand them the information when it will not be handed to them in the real world. He also argues that teachers should be instructing students by posing questions about skills that are very much needed in the adult world. How will a student learn how to change a tire? I feel that Roberts is making an accurate assumption of how teaching will be changing as technology becomes more advanced. Every day education is changing to include technology more and more. This will affect me as a future educator in that I need to keep up with how technology is changing in order to suit my students' learning needs.

The Networked Student

This video describes a learning situation in which the student learns on his/her own by using technology to research the subject. The student uses a variety of websites, videos, and blogs to further his/her knowledge of the subject and then shares it with others from all over the world. I see this as a beneficial teaching technique to create individuals rather than spoon-feeding the information. It also gives students a chance to be creative and learn by pulling from several learning techniques. The video also poses the question "Why does the networked student even need a teacher? To which they respond by describing how teachers are still involved in the learning process as mediators and guides for the students. The teacher is still necessary in order to make sure the student gets help when needed. I believe networking is needed in order to create more active students and it is realistic for how the real world works.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

The thesis of this video is that students can not always learn from a piece of paper and a pencil. Sometimes it is necessary to implement technology in order to empower the students to be engaged in the lesson. The benefits to them using this technology is that it allows for a customized learning experience, it makes them be active learners, and it helps prepare them for an ever-changing job market. My reaction to this argument is that it can be very beneficial and technology is always changing so the earlier students can harness these skills, the better. My only issue with this is the fact that not all school systems have the materials to enforce these new teaching styles.

Who's Ahead in the Learning Race?

From the results depicted in this video, I have come to the conclusion that those in the elementary school systems are ahead in the learning race. They have the opportunity to use new technologies to assist in learning that those in undergraduate and graduate school did not have when they were young. It is clearly a benefit to start the young off with technology to assist them in their learning so that they can shape technology in the future. I know I am pretty behind in the learning race when it comes to technology because I never got the chance to learn all the functions of technology. If I had gotten the chance to start at a young age, I believe I would do better in all my endeavors. 

Flipping the Classroom

The concept in this video is very new to me. I've never heard of "flipping the classroom" until now. I think this approach could be useful to me as a teacher because the students get the chance to experience the material before they get in the classroom. That way the time spent in class will be focused on questions they have and intellectual discussion on the subject. It also gives them a chance to research the information further at home.

Test

Test

Blog Assignment #1

In this blog post, I will talk about what I thought of EDM310 before I got to the class, my possible struggles for this class, a similar experience I've had to this class, and how I can address my struggles and fears for EDM310.

All I knew when I signed up for EDM310 was that it was required for my major. I had no idea what it was going to be like and I hadn't heard anything about it from fellow students. I knew it had to do with technology in the classroom, but I didn't really know what kind of class it would turn out to be. As I figured out what all was to be expected of me in this class, I was overwhelmed. I am not good with technology at all. I get frustrated with technology very quickly and give up on it. So, I'm not really that excited to tackle the assignments we have to complete. I already feel stressed and like I won't be able to keep up with everyone else. The most difficult part of the class for me will probably be trying to maintain patience while dealing with using technology in ways I've never had to. The best way for me to deal with that will probably be to just ask for help. Instead of giving up, I will try to get help when I'm confused or don't understand exactly what I'm supposed to do.

However, I had a class that was a lot like EDM310 in high school. It involved learning about the different ways to use technology and it was very hands on. We even had partners for each section so that we could figure it out with the help of another person. I ended up getting a good grade in that class, so hopefully I will manage to do the same in this class. I don't really have any other questions about EDM310 at this moment, but I'm sure I will later on this semester. I will just have to make sure to ask instead of just trying to do everything by myself.