Blog Post # 16: Final Reflection

Final Reflection

C4T #4

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus

In this post, Tyler Rice started out his thoughts with a Mark Twain Quote. He wrote about how we as people do not really experience any longer, but we instead are taught about experiences. I found this post to be very thought provoking and interesting. I made me look at the world from a different view point. 

Impacting Students a Book at a Time

Here Annie Palmer writes about the importance of reading. She wrote how children sometimes do not have an interest in books and you have to engage them any way you can. I agree with her, I believe reading is one of the most important things for students to learn. 

Blog Post # 5 Part 2

Personal Learning Networks

Before starting this semester I would have had no idea what a PLN was or how to acquire one. Throughout EDM310 I have learned quite a bit concerning this. On our weekly checklists I have been keeping up with my C4K and C4Ts. These have been the most useful in expanding my PLN. After I comment on these blogs, I always add them to my PLN by subscribing to their blogs. I keep up with what they do week to week and go back and read more of their posts. I have found this to be a really good connection with others around me that are interested in the same things as I am.  Twitter is also a great way to expand your PLN. After following all of the EDM310 staff, and some other teachers as well, I have been able to keep track of them too. These types of social networks are an easy and great way to expand your Personal Learning Network. I have also found some great tools I can use while doing my EDM310 assignments. Dr. Strange's checklists have led me to a bunch of great sites that I cannot only use now, but also in my classroom when I become a teacher. 

Project 6: C4K #8

Caelin

In this post, Caelin had some poems she had written posted. I introduced myself and explained how much I liked her poetry. She did a very good job and I can appreciate her work because I know how hard writing poetry can be. 

Brendan

Brendan talked about a unique way of printmaking. I introduced myself and commented on how much fun it seemed. He seemed to enjoy learning about this subject. 

Katy

In her post, Katy wrote about her first and second quarter in school while also incorporating her vocabulary words at the same time. I thought she did an excellent job and her writing was really good. I enjoyed reading her post. 

Blog Post #14: Teaching Can Be a Profession by Joel Klein

In this article by Joel Klein, he picks the number one thing he would have about education. He said it was not an easy question because there are so many things that need to be changed, but he would start with this: to professionalize teaching, making it well-respected like being a lawyer or doctor. Klein then goes on to discuss all the problems he see in education and why it isn't considered a well-respected profession.

Problems

1. Teachers need better training

2. Seniority distraction

Here is how Klein addresses these problems:

• Teachers need better academic training
• Only hire the top third of our graduates
• National teacher examination
• Supervised internship of from one to three years
•  Merit-based career ladders

I believe that teacher's do need better academic training. Joel Klein said that pretty much anyone with a degree can teach. Sadly this is true. If trained our future teachers better, they would have lasting affects on our children and future generations. 

When it comes to the selection process of hiring teachers, we should only be hiring the very best. We want our country to flourish, so we need our children to have the best education possible. If we only hired from the top third of the graduating class, it would help insure this. 

Furthermore, Albert Shanker proposed a national teacher examination. This would show schools who was best suited to teach and who should be hired. Other professions have entry exams like the one Shanker would incorporate. 

 Another idea Shanker had that Klein writes about is having our prospective teachers complete a supervised internship from one to three years. This would cut down on the hiring of incompetent teachers.

Lastly, teachers should be rewarded based on merit, not seniority. As I'm sure many can attest to, there are teachers out there who have been teaching for years, but are not necessarily the best for our students.  

I agree with what Joel Klein had to say. If schools and colleges took this changes to heart we would have a much better public school system for our children to attend. Many believe the going into education as a career is easy. I simply do not agree with this. Teacher's are unappreciated even though we trust them to educate our children property. When we start treating teachers as professionals, changes will begin to take affect. 

Blog Post #13: What Did I Leave Out?

Research in what ways technology is utilized for special education students. Formulate your answer and include links that show from where your information came. 

Technology is used daily in special education classrooms in the majority of schools. These students are able to learn successfully through these assistive techniques. Students with certain types of disabilities have certain types of technologies that teachers use in their classrooms. These types of things take learning to the next level for students. 

Students with mild cognitive disabilities in Reading, Writing, and Math use interactive storybooks and software with text-to-speech capability, word prediction software, and graphing software. These types of things have been proven to help them have a better learning experience.

For the students that have sensory disabilities like blindness or vision problems, there are converters for text-to-braille, screen readers, and magnification control panels to help them. If a student is hearing impaired there are amplification devices available for teacher's to use. 

There are other things like iPads, iPhones, tablets, and computers that different apps can be downloaded onto to depending on what the student needs. These apps have been specialized to target certain disabilities for students. Teachers are able to use these for teaching in the classroom. 

With the use of technology growing in our schools, the greater amount of students it is affecting. This has opened doors for many students, and given them opportunities that they never had in the past. Many do not embrace the use of technology, rather they hold on to what is familiar for them. People need to see the use of these things as helpful and seize onto them. 

Project #12: SMARTboard Instruction Part B

Our SMARTboard lesson plan was created by Jessica Harris and Lauren Lee.

Project # 10 Interview Movie

Blog Post #12

Assistive Technology for Educators Presentation created by Lauren Lee and Jessica Harris

C4T #3 Summary

Let's Talk Chromebooks

Beth Still is the author of a blog named Nebraska Change Agent. In the first post I commented on she wrote about Chromebooks and how she was researching them. I commented and told her all that I knew of them and wished her luck in her research.

For Lilly

In the second post that I commented on for Beth, she wrote about how a colleague of hers received devastating news. Her young daughter was diagnosed with cancer. I commented my sincere apology and wrote about how great it is to see so many people responding to her post. It brought her learning community together.

Project 14: Project Based Learning Plan 2

My group and I did our lesson plan based on Science and Language Arts. We did a lesson plan, group rubric, individual rubric, and calendar.

Blog Post # 11

Embed of My TEDx Talk 

In this video Brian Crosby tells us all about the projects he uses in his class and how he incorporates project based learning. A really exciting project he did that I could see myself using in the future was with balloons. His students attached a GPS to a balloon and they were able to track its progress using Google Maps. I think children will find projects like this exciting and intriguing and be more interested in the outcome. Using things like this keeps students more engaged. 

Blended Learning Cycle

Paul Anderson uses something called the blended learning cycle for his students. This uses online, mobile, and classroom learning to teach students. The learning cycle has five main components called the five E's. They are explore, expand, explain, engage, and evaluate. Paul Anderson also came up with an acronym for this cycle called Q.U.I.V.E.R.S. This stands for Question, Investigate/Inquiry, Video, Elaboration, Review, Summary quiz. I believe that if we used things like this in the classroom our students would not only learn more, but do better in school overall. 

Making Thinking Visible

In this video we watched about him he tells us about a project he had his sixth graders complete. This project was about early human beginnings. He had the students watch a video on this and they had to make a headline that summarized what they had learned. This is a much better idea than having students watch a video and then write an essay which is what a lot of my teachers throughout the years made me do. This type of assignment makes the students critical think and in the process they are really getting to know the material. 

Super Digital Citizen 

The teacher Sam Pane talks to his fifth grade class about how to be a good digital citizen and the correct way to use the internet. For the most part this was to tell the students how to act responsibly on the internet. They got to make digital superheros and then put them in real life situations. This kind of project not only teaches a good point, but also shows the students how to relate this to their lives right now. I think students would learn a good deal from this. 

Project Based Learning

This video is between three different teachers and how they changed things to make their classroom more Project Based Learning friendly. They gave students a project, and allowed them to complete it. After this they showed them how to make the project even better and the students were able to take pride in their work. More class time was allotted to allow students to work on their projects. The majority of the students liked how this project was done and were interested in doing more like it in the future. 

Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program

Here we see how teachers are changing some things so they can teach their students things that they will be able to use in real life. I think this will help prepare the students for their futures and help them in the long run. Being able to relate topics in school to their daily lives will help the children later. 

Blog Post #10

First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class 
In this video clip the 1st graders talk about some of the different uses technology has in their classroom. They all seemed to enjoy having their own blogs and said that it helped their writing to improve. They also have a class website that you can go and explore. It had learning tools on it as well. Another really great use of technology was how they used Skype to talk to experts in certain areas. I would use this in my future classroom. I believe it would really helps students learn more about the subject if they were able to interact with an actual person instead of just reading it in a textbook.

Part 1
In the first part of the interview, Ms. Cassidy talks about how she utilizes technology in her classroom. Her class was given computers and she used them as a computer center in her room. She also created a class blog for her students and parents. I would definietly consider this idea when I become an educator.It would be so helpful for the students and parents to be able to see everything we are doing during the day. I could put the homework assignments online as well so the parents could access it easier.

Part 2 
This part of the interview was a lot shorter than the other parts. Here Ms. Cassidy talks about how she uses technology in her classroom and for her students, but she does not really use it for her personal life. She says this probably makes her a little unusual than most. She did get a facebook though because she needed it to access some sites.

Part 3
In the section the EDM 310 students were able to ask Ms. Cassidy questions. One student brought up a good point that I've always wondered about when it comes to blogging. Do you think students cheat more when using the blogs? I have always thought that this would be the case if students were using blogs a lot in class. Ms. Cassidy explained that with so much being collaborative, students really aren't able to cheat. This made sense after I thought more about it and I completely agreed with Ms. Cassidy's answer. Overall the question and answer session was a great way for those EDM 310 students to learn, but I learned a lot from their questions as well.

Project #12 SMARTboard Part A

Mastering SMARTboard Tools

Project 6: C4K #4 October

C4K #4

In this post India wrote how she does not like erasers that leave red smudges. I agreed with her and explained how I usually try to stick with pens.

C4K #5
Tommy wrote about whether football was too dangerous for kids. He believes that if you wear the correct gear and follow the right medical advice, like icing sore muscles, you will be fine to play. I agreed with him. I also told him that it is super important to be aware and know what your doing on the field. This will help eliminate injuries as well.

C4k #6
Daisy talked about all the important rules to go by when creating a password for an online site. My advice for her was that she could always take a simple password and make it more complex by adding numbers and capital letters.


C4k #7
In this post Steven made a slide presentation about harakeke. It is all about how to weave flax and how to make different things out of the material. It was a very informative presentation and I enjoyed looking at his work.

Blog Post #9

Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning

I found this article very accurate and helpful when it  comes to project-based learning. Students will be more interested and engaged in the classroom if you follow this method.The seven parts to this article are as follows: a need to know, driving question, student voice and choice, 21st century skills, inquiry and innovation, feedback and revision, and a publically presented project. I strongly believe if all educators followed this advice in their own classrooms, students would be getting a lot more out of school than by going the tradtional route. As the author said, students need to be motivated by learning something meaningful to their lives. 

Project-Based Learning for Teachers

This video reiterated what I saw in the first resource I viewed. Students need to be learning something that will help them prepare for life after school. Memorizing something just to pass a test is not going to benefit our students in the long run. Through PBL our students will be learning critical things that they can relate to real world issues.

Project-Based Learning and Physical Education

In this article, Andrew Miller writes about how he believes using PBL in physical education will help show the value of PE while students are also learning about PE. He also writes about how educators "steal" ideas from each other and recycle them. I think if we see something that's working for our students we should take advantage of it. He then uses the seven things that are essential to PBL that I wrote about earlier.

Project Based Learning in PE

This school allowed their high school students to use PBL to create different PE fitness programs for their middle school students. The students worked together to complete these and learned why living a healthy life is important. They followed the National Standards(NASPE) when creating these programs. This PBL could be used for all high schoolers to promote physical education.

Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning

This article discussed how PBL is becoming increasingly popular and then gave the readers ten sites they could utilize as tools in the field of PBL. I knew what a couple of the sites were previously but I had to research the other ones. One that we have used in class that I have found very helpful was Wall Wisher. This allows you to post sticky note type messages. These resources could be used in numerous ways.  

Implications and Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching and Learning

Part A

Embracing the Use of Technology
After reading the data that this survey, I was a little astounded, but then I realized that I am probably close to the same way. Smartphones have been introduced to society and they are not going anywhere. I know of many who disapprove of people always on their phone and most schools and some jobs ban people frombeing on their phone while they are there. I can see where smartphones can be a distraction, but I think if they were embraced more and incorporated they could prove to be very useful.
We already have children using technology in the schools and we are telling them what a useful tool it can be. Instead of banning all smartphones, why not get students using them to better their education? The same can go for the work place as well. We need to have our students ready for the future careers. If the influence of technology keeps growing at the rate it is now, then we need to make sure our students are prepared for these careers!

Part B

Smartphones and Technology in the Classroom

Videoing and recording can be a huge resource that educators could utilize in the classroom. Students can record themselves reading and use that to help themselves practice. This could go for many subjects as well. Different kinds of projects could be carried out with the use of video. You could have more students working in groups and meeting virtually for discussions and things of that nature. I know when I was in school, we would get our phone taken from us if any staff member caught sight of it. Instead of this rule keeping students off their phones and paying more attention in class, it caused the opposite effect. The majority of them would hide it under the table, or take exsessive bathroom trips so they could use it there. I believe if we stopped having the mindset of it being something bad, and tried to incorporate it more in the classroom we would have a better outcome. 

C4T #2 Summary

Taking to the Streets

In this post Will Richardson wrote about how good it felt to be able to stand up for something. When there is an issue or problem, we have to search and see if theres enough people and determination to change this. I commented on his post and said that I agreed with him and that one of the most difficult things to do in order to get something changed is to get awareness about the issue.

A New Sense of Reading

For this post Will Richardson put a short article by Mia Zamora into his blog and then used it in his writing as well. They both wrote about how reading has changed immensely with the intergration of technology. People do not have to just sit down with a book any longer, we have social media, blogs, and other things like that now. It is our job as educators to learn how to utilize this new way so that we are able to pass it on to future generations. 

Blog Post #8

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

Randy Pausch received news that he had brain cancer and had about three to six months to live. I know if I received this kind of news I would be devastated, but Pausch understood that he could do nothing about it and chose to make the best of his situation. This lecture was titled, "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", and in it he talked about his dreams as a child and everything he learned along the way as he was trying to achieve them. This video is very inspirational and teaches us a lot about teaching and learning. 

When it comes to teaching, Pausch says it is important to be enthusiastic. This give your students confidence. When I reflect on some of my past teachers, I find that the best ones all had this trait. People respond better to someone who is enthusiastic about what they are trying to convey to you. He also speaks about the importance of teaching the fundamentals, or the basics. He had a humorous memory he shared about his football coach when he was a boy and how he learned the fundamentals about the sport before he ever touched the ball. His coach really worked him hard and Pausch appreciated this. He said, “When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you.” He saw the value in what his coach was doing for him and his team through his coaching methods. 

Pausch states that learning usually occurs indirectly. This happens when someone is learning from something, but they do not realized that they are learning. Throughout his lecture Randy Pausch talked about the brick walls in life. He said these are the different adversities we have in our life when we are trying to accomplish something. He taught me how important it is to try your best with whatever life throws at you. No matter what happens, you will gain something from it all. 

Project #9: Video Book Commentary

Group 9 Video Book Commentary

Blog Post #7

QR Code
In this video I learned how to make an audio QR code. The website used was record mp3. It is a great tool to use as a pre-reading before going to reading or used it for rereading things. It was especially successful when students listened to their own voice. It is important to not start talking as soon as you hit record. After you record yourself you click save recording and the computer generates a URL. Then students go to qrcode-monkey and put in the URL and this site will give you a QR code.  

Ginger Tuck- iPad Center
In this video I learned how helpful it is having students record themselves reading, then they go back and listen to themselves read and follow along. This is an easy way for them to see any mistakes they made and how to fix them. I think this could be specifically helpful for children who are first learning to read. 

Poplet with Ginger Tuck
This is a free app that can be downloaded to your iPad. The students put the main idea of what their book is about in the middle of their web. They then can take pictures to put on their web and write about the pictures. This helps them practice their reading, and also their writing skills.

AVL and Kindergarden Students
On this app, students first learn how to make a login and how to actually get to the search engine they need. The teacher gives them words to choose from and the students type it into the search engine. After this the students watch and listen to all there is about this search and fill out their worksheet. 

Tammy Shirley Discovery Education Board Builder Moon Project

This video is all about building a board on Discovery Education. They have a username and password to login and then they can go through the steps of creating a board. After they have the board created they begin typing the information they have learned about the specific subject they have looked up. Discovery Education also allows users to get pictures to attach to their board. 

Students Sharing Board Builders #1

These students are sharing information they collected on their board after taking a virtual field trip to glacier national park in Alaska. The two boys have a lot of facts that they learned. They were also able to upload photos and show you where they got their images on Safari. 

Students Sharing Board Builders #2 

This video was similar to the last one except they created a project and explained their PBL they had made. These 3 girls were able to collect information like vocabulary words by using Word Hippo. They also used Safari and Google to save photos for their PBL.

Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten

Dr. Strange, Mrs. Bennett, and Mrs. Davis were all three in this video. The first part of this video talks about how well the kindergartners are at using iMovie to do different things in the classroom. This is the same iMovie program that college students and other adults use. The kindergartners make trailers for the books they have learned in class. The second part of this video is about Alabama Virtual Library. This is a great way to teach students basic research. This program brings up information and images about whatever the student typed in. This website is completely free and easy to use.    

We All Become Learners

This video was also between Dr. Strange, Mrs. Bennett, and Mrs. Davis. Here they are speaking about how using a device changes the dynamics of learning. Everyone is teaching each other so everyone is the learner. The more the teachers are learning and teaching their students, the more the learning field grows. After you give the students these technologies they are able to take it and learn more from it than the teacher knew in the beginning. Through this method everyone becomes learners. 

Watching these videos showed me that I have a lot to learn before becoming a great teacher, and that I will be forever learning and teaching new things. I think some of the strengths I possess are that I get along great with children and can really connect with them. I am patient and put in a lot of hard work on the tasks I face. Some weaknesses I have is that I'm not always the best at understanding new technological things. It is sometimes difficult for me to get the hang of new things at first. I have learned that the best way to counteract this is to get a head start and practice with whatever it is I have to know. The more I work at something the easier it is for me to understand it. 

Project #7 Part B

Video to Class

Video to Parents

Project #13

This is my groups Lesson Plan for 3rd grade Science.
Lesson Plan
Rubric
Calendar

Project #8: Book Trailer

The Rainbow Fish

C4K Summary for September

C4K #1

Sela
Sela's post was entitled Sports I Enjoy Playing and it was a presentation she made about all of the athletics she likes. Her favorites were NFL football and Rugby. She explained what each one was and certain details about both. Her favorite team for NFL football is the Pittsburgh Steelers and her favorite Rugby team is the Waikato Chiefs. Since I am unfamiliar about Rugby I asked her a question about the sport.

C4K #2

India
India's post was about the singer Chris Brown and his new album that was coming out. Since I am familiar with this artist it was easy for me to comment about the subject. It even got me interested so I went and bought the album and added it to my phone.  

C4K #3

Caleb
Caleb wrote about how his school had a no backpack rule. He did not agree with this decision and felt that his school could take other steps to ensure safety instead of having a no backpack rule. I commented and said how I understood his point and that I would have a hard time carrying all of my things without a backpack too. 

Blog Post 6

Project Based Learning: Part 1 and Part 2

In the videos concerning Public Based Learning Anthony Capp spoke about how he had his class write letters to send to Congressmen. This is just one example of how we can use project based learning. The students voted and decided to send off only a certain number of letters and when they got responses back they were super excited. Anthony Capp seems to really care about his students and being a great educator. He and Dr. Strange gave me many ideas that I can incorporate into my classroom one day, and the idea of PBL will definitely be one of them.

iCurio

I had never heard of iCurio but I really liked the things it allowed you to do. It opens the door for children to be able to go and search for factual information that they can learn from. Anthony talked about how it has been a transition for him to start using technology such as drives and folders to store things. iCurio can help you store and organize your things and keep them very accessible for you.

 Discovery Education

This tool gives students a visual component to the text they are studying. It not only helps keep them engaged, but it helps them retain information as well. I feel like this could be a great resource for teachers to use in the classroom. Anthony commented on how he is not an expert on all things and he is constantly learning new things along with his students. Discovery Education can be used to bring experts into the classroom for the students.

The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers Part 1

Dr. Strange and Anthony Capp teamed up in this video to give us some tips for when we are educators. A few things they talked about really stood out to me. As Dr. Strange is always telling us, it is important that we as educators want to learn ourselves. This is going to be a huge part of our job one day. How can we expect our students to learn new things if we ourselves do not like doing the same thing? Also, it is important that we are flexible and creative. Sometimes things just do not work out the way we planned. We need to be able to overcome this obstacle and still make sure our students are getting what we need them to learn. Finally I really feel that keeping our students engaged during class time is extremely important. There are ways that teachers can make things interesting and more appealing to our students. Our children need to stay together, learning, not leaving anyone behind.

Don't Teach Tech - Use It

Anthony Capp talks about the importance of technology and how we should not teach it, but instead allow the students to use it and learn from it. Students years younger than me are easily picking up on new programs and learning all the ways it works. They are learning by physical use of the technologies instead of someone giving them step by step instructions.

Project 3: Presentation PBL

Project Based Learning

Project 7: My Sentence/My Passion

My Sentence

My Passion

Blog Post 5: Part 1

PLNs, What Are They?
Before using the resources Dr. Strange gave me, and researching it on my own, I would have had no idea what a PLN was. PLN stands for Personal Learning Network and it is the people and tools that you consult about whatever it is you are interested in. I found Karl Fisch’s My Personal Learning Network in Action very helpful. Here Fisch writes about how using his PLN helped him have more understanding on a topic. The way he organized his work showed me that being apart of a PLN could really benefit me. Dr. Strange talked about how PLNs are like a stream in his work Developing A Personal Learning Network. I think that is an interesting way to view this. These resources are collective and so many people are contributing to it, I have a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips. I think we should all take advantage of this, and even contribute also. Since I have dedicated myself to being a life time learner, I will have my own ideas and knowledge to put out there for others use to further their education.

Creating My PLN
When I begin creating my own PLN there will be lots of people I can connect with in the education world. Since I've been working in schools, I will be adding the teachers I've met to my PLN. I share interests with them and I know their ideas and information could really help me when I begin my career. Also I think it would be a great idea to add Dr. Strange to this list. I've only been in EDM310 a little over a month and already I have learned so much. He really knows how to use technology to help teach people. Connecting with these people will lead me to others, and eventually my PLN will grow and I'll have a community of people that share the same ideas and goals as I do.

Project #15: Search Engines

Below are a list of 8 different search engines that I found and also tried out. I also provided the link to them so that you can also try them for your self.

1. WOW.com This search engine has a very simple look to it and is easy to use. When I typed something into the search bar it gave me many pages to go through and the options of web, images, or videos. It also included  related searches list on the right hand side. This was easy to use, but not very complex.

2. Aol.com While this search engine offered more options it was still a pretty simple set up. I typed in the same word I did in the other engines, and it gave me about the same amount of sites to go to. It did give me a small biological search results that some of the other engines did not.

3. Yahoo.com This engine gave me tons of settings, options, along with recent news. It would be a good search engine if you wanted to see how your search was connected in current events.

4. Ask.com  This site not only gave me many options and settings, but it was more set up for Q&A. It would be a place to search when you had a specific question you wanted answered.

5. WolframAlpha.com After using this engine to search different things I came to the conclusion that its results were very scientific. Instead of giving me different websites to visit, it gives me various information and facts for what I searched. This would be a good place to go if you were gathering facts and technical data about something.

6. Webcrawler.com This was very similar to some of the other search engines in the way that it was simple, easy to navigate, and set up with the same options as most search engines. It was lacking some of the short cuts that other more well known websites have.

7. Info.com This engine's results were a collaboration of other search engines results. If you wanted to be get a lot of different websites through different engines this would be the place to look.

8. Bing.com Bing is unique in the way it sets up its cover page. You can drag your mouse over parts of the pictures and get randoms trivia and facts from them. When searching on this engine I found that the results and information I got back was more in depth than other engines. It would be a good place to search for any kind of information you needed.

C4T#1

I got to enjoy reading the blog Get Organized! by Frank Buck. The first post I read was named Happy 10th Birthday, Blog! This so happened to be the first post I read as well as the last post Frank will be putting on this blog. August 30th marked the tenth year since Frank began this blog. Not only did he celebrate this, but he also wrote about the pros of having a blog. There are multiple uses for blogs, whether they be for businesses, schools, etc. He also tells how simple keeping a blog is and how it will actually make your life easier. Blogs keep all their information on them and are super easy to go back and edit if the author finds the need to. He also list ten very good reasons why people should blog, and I agree with every single one! The more I learn in my class EDM310, the more I'm seeing technology in a new light. Blogs can be so versatile, why not make them work to our advantage? When I left my comment I made sure to let him know how much I enjoyed reading his latest post and that I definitely agreed with his points about the pros of blogging.

The second post I read by Frank Buck was titled Better Choices, and It's Easy. He described how helpful electronic to-do lists can be. This is something you can use that will assist you in keeping everything you have to do in order and make sure you get it done on time. His advice was to give the things on the list a due date so that you would have order to all the many things you needed to accomplish. I left a comment explaining what a great idea I thought this was. Sure, I've made plenty of lists of the things I needed to do, but I probably lost every single list before I ever completed the tasks. By having an electronic to-do list I can keep it right on my phone, and I know I'll always keep up with that device. I got one of the lists he suggested and have been trying it out. So far it seems to be a great idea and keeping me up to date on the many things in my schedule!

Blog Post 4: Asking Questions

How to Ask Questions the Right Way
As an educator, there are always different techniques you can incorporate in your teaching style. This past week I began familiarizing myself with ways teachers can ask their students questions. At a glance this would seem like a simple topic, but there is actually more to it than one would think. Ben Johnson wrote an article for the website edutopia called "The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom" and went into detail on how teachers need to learn to ask questions in a way that will better their students. I found this article very helpful in the research of my topic. He broke down the types of students you would meet in a classroom and explained ways to best ask questions so that it would benefit all, not just a few select kids who like answering in class. The most effective approach to use when asking questions is to ask the question, pause three seconds, and then call on someone for the answer. This gives all the students in the class a chance to think about what answer they will have to give if they are the ones called on. This will minimize having the same students over and over again always answering while also putting a little more pressure on the other students to think as well.

As my research went on I found a common thread among many of my sources: open versus closed questions. Children learn at different rates and in many different ways. As a teacher I need to train myself to ask my students questions that will involve them formulating an explanatory response instead of just a yes or no. According to Dr. John V. Richardson Jr., an open question takes more than a word or short phrase to answer. It requires more information to get to the answer. A closed question is the opposite. It is a simple, short explanation that satisfies the question being asked. (Open versus Closed Ended Questions. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2014.).

We want our students to be intrigued in class, absorbing as much information as possible. Asking questions that will help them stay tuned in during class discussions is only a small part that we as teachers need to do. All students need to be participating as well as gaining knowledge in the classroom.

Blog Post 3: Peer Editing

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

Peer editing is more than just telling someone what is wrong with their work. There are certain steps to take in order to provide meaningful feedback that will help the writer edit his/her work. After watching the video What is Peer Editing? I learned that not only do you critique other's work, but you are critiquing your peers. This means it is someone your own age. For many it is always easier to correct someone younger than you because the older person usually as more knowledge and experience, but when it is someone around the same age as you it can be more difficult. This video along with the slideshow Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial I learned that there are three main steps to follow when peer editing: compliments, suggestions, and corrections. For compliments you should find something you like about your peer's work and compliment it. For me this is usually the easy part. When you make a suggestion about someone's work you are simply giving them ideas about how they can better their writing. Corrections are the step where you show your peer where they have made grammatical errors and others writing mistakes. No matter what step you are on it is very important that you always stay positive. No one likes hearing what is wrong with their work, especially if the editor is negative.

The video Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes is a funny video starring younger children teaching about how to peer edit correctly. They give many examples of how not to peer edit. While watching it made me laugh a few times, it was also very eye opening. The students acted out different scenarios and their reactions really showed me how peer editing can be difficult at times. I took away a lot of good information from this video because it was from the student's point of view and helped me understand their individual struggles.

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

Mr. Dancealot
I believe the central message of the movie Mr. Dancealot is in order for students to learn, they have to have the chance to practice and try it for their selves. In this movie the instructor showed the students images of what to do, and sort of showed them the movements, but they were not able to try it for themselves. When exam day came they were quite confused about how to do the dances. The same is true for anything you try to learn. I agree with the author’s message. You need to be able to put into practice the things instructors tell and show you so that you can learn how to do them as well. Sure, we can memorize things and know them for our tests, but have we truly learned anything? Probably not. In order for us to learn and actually have knowledge about something we need to be able to actively do what we are taught.

Teaching in the 21st Century
In the movie Teaching in the 21st Century, Kevin Roberts tells us how to have a new outlook on the way we educate our children. With the world changing around us, the people are forced to do the same. Educators need to find new ways to teach, and the internet can be used as a tool to teach children. We do not have to treat it like it is something bad. Everything can have something negative about it; the way we choose to use it to our advantage makes all the difference. In the past, teachers are expected to have all the knowledge and be able to impart it to the students, but in this movie Robert explains how educators need to learn how to become filters for the students, allowing them to find answers for themselves with the guidance of their instructor. I know from experience that when I was in school I memorized a lot of facts. The teacher would give us the information and we were expected to know it for the essay, test, or whatever the assignment asked for. This is not teaching us any kind of skills. Roberts explains how students need to be taught skills so that they can apply them to real world issues. One example he used was how to fix your car. This does not necessarily apply to the students now, but one day it might. By teaching them how to problem solve and think for themselves, students will be better prepared for what comes later. Children need to be able to go and look for the answers and apply that to whatever they need to. I feel that Robert's approach to teaching will help children not only learn more, but do better as adults. They will be able to apply the skills they were taught to all parts of life.

The Networked Student
The Networked Student shows us what it is like being a 21st century student. The main character took a class that asked for him to utilize all his resources. That included connecting with a network of people in order to learn from each other. At the very end of the movie a simple question was asked; "Why does a networked student even need a teacher?" With all of the many different resources we have as students it is easy to see how some people could think there is no need for a teacher, but that is not correct. The teacher is needed for guidance. He or she will be the one to help you know what information to use and what to discard. Just because we have all the information at our fingertips doesn't mean we know how to navigate through all of it. That is why we still need teachers.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
This movie shows a very good example of not only the advantage of using technology in the classroom but also how with a little guidance students can learn to harness technology and use it to teach others. At one point the instructor in the movie told us how she did not teach her students how to terraform. They took what the teacher gave them and used it to learn more then turned around and taught her something. Just by her being there to give a little guidance the students were able to flourish.

Who's Ahead in the Learning Race?
If I was asked this question before watching this movie my answer would have been different than the one I will give after watching this movie. It would seem that the third graders were definitely ahead in the learning race. They had their Mac Books for only two days and could probably do more than I can now. It's embarrassing to admit, but at first I was one of those students who complained about Macs being difficult to use and hard to figure out, but after I took the time to explore I could navigate on one pretty well. The younger children seem more eager to learn using their computers, whereas the graduates and undergraduates see it more as a chore. As an undergraduate I usually have the mindset of how I have to use technology, instead of I get to use technology when it involves my education. With the advances in technology, society is changing the ways we do things in order to to take advantage of these advances. All students, including myself, need to utilize these resources and use them to our better education.

Flipping the Classroom
The phrase “flipping the classroom” is new to me. I had never heard of it before watching this movie. I could see this approach really working in the classroom for both the students and teacher. It would give students the chance to get ahead and be more prepared for the lessons in the classroom. On the other hand teachers would be given more time in the classroom during the day and able to help more students. He or she would be able to give the students more instruction while also giving more attention to the students who need extra help. I would be more than willing to use this technique in my classroom one day in the future.

Blog Post 1

I had not heard any comments about EDM310 until last semester. A few of my classmates were telling me how hard they found this class and how it was so time consuming. That definitely scared me a little bit because I knew I would be enrolled in EDM310 in the Fall of 2014.

The fears I have for this class is that I will get behind in my weekly projects or that I will not dedicate enough time to my work in order to make a good grade. I realize that this class is going to take up a lot of my time and that intimidates me some.

Things that I have heard and have experienced so far in EDM310 tell me that this class will be different from any class I have ever taken in quite a few ways. It will be up to me to take the lead in my education. In high school and even classes I have taken in college, there has been a similar teaching style in all; memorizing the information that I will need to make a good grade on the test. From what I can tell so far, EDM310 is completely different. In this class, I will be required to learn by actually doing. I will learn through projects and assignments that will have me actively doing what I need to know.

The most difficult thing I see myself having trouble with in this semester is making sure I put aside enough time to do all of my work efficiently each week. I am very busy with school and work that I easily forget about homework and assignments until the last minute. Although I am working on correcting it, I can definitely be a procrastinator. I believe the best way to correct this is to simply stop waiting for the deadline to approach to start my work. I need to learn to plan ahead and set aside time to do the work that I need to accomplish.

The only question I have about this class is how I will know when I need to go to the computer lab for assistance. I'm sure there will be many times that I have questions, but how will I know when I need help from the lab? I guess the best way to address this question will be to ask someone either in the class or who has taken the class and see if they have any insight on my particular issue.

Practice Post

Outline:
1. Jessica Harris
2. Help children
3. Speak clearly, patient, helpful
4. Reading, swimming, traveler

My name is Jessica Harris, and I am twenty years old. I currently live in Mobile, Alabama, but in the past I have lived in different states around the country. I have lived in Florida, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Arizona, and Maryland. I have always loved being around children and have wanted to be an elementary teacher since I was young. Other interest of mine include reading, animals, swimming, and traveling. Since I am going to school, the only one I really get to enjoy often is reading. I am attending USA because it is a great school and tuition is not completely outrageous. It also helps that I live close to the school.

I was adopted when I was thirteen years old and all together I have eight siblings. This includes adopted and biological. I have one younger sister and seven older sisters and brothers. I share a home with my parents and younger sister.

I want to enter the field of education so that I can help children learn and grow. The world needs more passionate educators that can help make a difference for our children.

I believe an educator's work in todays time entails preparing children for adulthood by teaching them skills they can carry with them through life. Children are always absorbing new information into their minds and they need to be in an environment that will support healthy learning. It is also important to be very patient. As educator's we need to understand that children learn at different rates and in different ways. They need a patient and helpful teacher who can adapt their teaching styles for each child.

One of my main passions in life is children. I love being around them, taking care of them, and helping them learn. I teach a bible class at my church for three and four year olds. Not only is this giving me good experience for when I am an educator, it also allows me to do something I enjoy. Although this is a lot of fun, I need to get better at planning my time and making sure my activities fit into my time slot.


In general I enjoy being around people and being able to help them. I'm good at listening to people, especially children, and helping with any problem they have.