Blog Post #10

What can we Learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

In the video Little Kids... Big Potential, Mrs. Cassidy's students talk about why they like to blog. They like that people all over the world can read their blogs and leave comments. It is an online portfolio of their work that helps them become better writers. Mrs. Cassidy has told her students to be nice and positive when they blog. You do not want to hurt anyone's feelings. She has also given them tips to keep them safe (also discussed in Cassidy 13 Part 2& 3) on the internet. The students are not allowed to use their last names or post any pictures of themselves. The students are allowed to use the internet in their free time.
Mrs. Cassidy's students have also used Wikis where they will ask what a certain thing is and many people will give them answers. That sounds like a good way to do research or take a poll about something important to you. Her students take videos of what they have learned and are able to post them on their blogs. They also use Skype to communicate with the outside world.

Cassidy 13 Part 1

In the video Cassidy 13 Part 1, Mrs. Cassidy discussed how she started using technology in her classroom.
Her class was given five computers, which would be a center. However, she was unable to use them to benefit the students so she researched and made them usable with her students. She is always adding new things. To start her students blogging, she sent forms home for the parents to sign allowing the students to participate. Then the parents were also allowed to view their child's work online. The kids love to blog. Most children love anything that has to do with technology. The students blogs reflected their writing progress. Teaching today is so much different from when I was in school. Times have changed; technology has come a long way. It is important for teachers to continue to learn so that they can teach the students how to use these tools. It is a good idea to start developing an online network. Twitter is an excellent resource to use to start your PLN. Look for people interested in the same things as yourself. They can help point you in the right direction.

Cassidy 13 Part 2

In the video Cassidy 13 Part 2, Mrs. Cassidy answered the question: where should people start?
If you are interested in videos, use Youtube.
If you are interested in writing then blog. There are so many avenues you can choose depending on what you like to do.
Twitter may seem like it is not worth it from the start but it will get better overtime. People can leave you interesting links and answer your questions.

Cassidy 13 Part 3

In the video Cassidy 13 Part 3, Mrs. Cassidy answered questions from EDM 310 students. She was asked how often do you blog in the classroom? It depends on the number of students and computers available. If the class has rotation, where they go to different centers, then they can blog when they are in the Writing center. If there is a particular day where they all go to the computer lab then their blogging will be limited to that day. Some of the students chose to blog when they were at home also. Another question was how blogging can be used in PE? The teacher can post assignments and can let the students know if practice has changed. A student asked if Mrs. Cassidy had found that it was easier for students to cheat by looking at previous years' blogs. I liked her response, that students looking at past posts is like collaboration. The teacher will have to make assignments different or ask for something more so that students may look at past posts but they must add to it. Another concern was how do you keep the students safe in terms of what they look at on the internet? On Mrs. Cassidy's web page she has a list of links or games that the students are allowed to use. She talks to them about why other things are not good for them to look at. That is what the teacher is there for, to teach them what to do on the internet. I personally hope I get the chance to use blogs and other tools when I become a teacher. It is such a great way to help students with their writing, and creativity. It is also great for them to talk with students all over the world. That is a good way to know what it is like in other countries.

SMARTboard Project #12A

Using the SMARTboard Tools

Blog Post #9

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

7 Essentials for Project-Based Learning
According to John Larmer and John R. Mergendoller,"some 'projects' border on busywork and others involve meaningful inquiry that engages student's minds." The project will need to be personally meaningful, as a task that matters and that the students want to do well. It will also need to fulfill an educational purpose.
In order to have good meaningful projects, you will need theses 7 things:
1. Need to Know- Start with an 'entry event' that will engage the student's interest and initiate questions. The 'entry event' can be a video, a discussion, a field trip, a guest speaker, etc. Students will not be motivated simply by being told they will need to learn something because they may need it later.
2. A Driving Question- A good driving question is the heart of the project. It should be the center of what you want the students to learn.
3. Student Voice and Choice- Students are able to choose how they will research and present their projects. If they are allowed they can also choose the topic related to the driving question.
4. 21st Century Skills- Collaboration is central to the project. Through these projects students work together (collaboration and communication) and have to use critical thinking and technology to answer the question. They will need these skills later in life.
5. Inquiry and Innovation- Students find projects more meaningful if it is real life based. They follow a path that begins with the question and leads them to resources to help them answer the question. With inquiries comes new answers, new products, and solutions to problems.
6. Feedback and Revision- Students are able to give feedback to other student's work by using a rubric.
7. A Publicly Presented Product- If students know that there work will be on display, they are more likely to make sure it will be of more quality.

Project-Based Learning for Teachers (Video)
If you want your classroom to be more student-centered and make learning more fun then Project-Based Learning is the answer. PBL has students working over a period of time. They work to answer a driving question that is deep and requires students to complete an end product that can be shared with others.

Common Core State Standards is what the students will be learning. They will use Project-Based Learning to solve the problems; while meeting the standards and creating an authentic product through collaboration skills, communication skills, critical thinking skills, and career and life skills. There is so much technology for students to use. Some example are Power Points, Popplet, Google Docs, and PB works. In PBL, students take charge of their learning. PBL includes : having a purpose, addressing an audience, crafting a driving question, identifying learning standards, creating a rubric, grouping students, brainstorming, branching questions, meeting deadlines, focusing on the process, and refining the end product.According to Tony Vincent,"all this is done while the student's have a voice and a choice in their learning."



PBL- What Motivates Students Today?
This was a post by Suzanne Ball. She interviewed several students to find out what motivates them to do go in school. A teenage boy answered that he liked to be praised in front of the class when he does something good. He also likes to be rewarded with food when he does good. That sounds like most teens. Several of the young boys and girls interviewed wanted to do good in school so that they can go to college and one day raise families. Some rewards that work for them were different activities on different days, outside time, and school money to purchase things in the school store. One child liked to get 'brownie points' because it not only showed that they did good but that they put the effort in doing right.

Project-Based Learning in PE
This gives students the opportunity to create physical activities not only for themselves but also for younger students. It shows them the importance of physical activities in both daily life and in PE. It addresses Physical Ed. Standards listed by The National Association for Sport and Physical Ed. (NASPE).
 They are:
1. Student demonstrates competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities.
2. Student demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.
3. Student participates regularly in physical activity.
4. Student achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
5. Student exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.
6. Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.
The older students analyze the age of the younger students, any previous physical activities, demographic groupings, and motivation. This is a good example of collaborating.


Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in PBL
According to Mike Gorman (21 Century Ed. Tech.), there are ten sites that support digital classroom collaborations. They are:
1. Titan Pad- This site is great for quick collaborations and sharing documents. No email or sign in is needed.
2. Wall Wisher- Collaborations with virtual post-it notes.
3. Cork Board Me- This site is like Wall Wisher but it can also support a group's collective activities.
4. Google Docs- The best of online collaborations.
5. Microsoft Live- Online collaboration tool.
6. Today's Meet-This site allows you to run a back channel in the classroom and engage learning. It gives an isolated room where you can only see what you need to see.
7. Will You Type With Me- This is similar to Titan Pad. It also has the ability to import additional files along with Word. It includes PDF and HTML. It allows output with the files and to open Doc., Plain Text, and even Wordle. It has the ability to create QR Code, and  read only pages.
8. Linoit- An electronic classroom display board. It is visible on any computer screen anywhere. Create things in minutes using multi-colored post-it notes, pictures, drawings, web links, and videos. Kids can also contribute if they are given the URL.
9. Skype in Education- The ability to work together collaboratively. You can bring in experts from anywhere.
10. Screencast-O-Matic- This is a quick screen share site. There is no registration and nothing to install. It will work on Mac, Windows, and Linux. You are also able to control the mouse and keyboard from a remote area.

Project #14 Project Based Learning Plan #2

Project #14 Overview,Calendar,Rubric, and Checklist

In this lesson students will use simple adding, subtracting, and multiplication facts to plan a party. They will research information on the internet and plan a surprise party, make invitations, research the history of money, and pay for the party using play money. They will learn the importance of money while practicing simple math problems. The children will be placed in groups of 3-4 students. They will present their finished projects to the class and also post them on the class blog. Each group will keep a journal or a log of all pretend purchases and activities. 

Project 9 Book Discussion (Daughtry Group)

Blog Post #8

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

Mr. Pausch started his lecture by talking about his illness. He knew even though he had the best doctors that it was inevitable, that he was going to die. He said " We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." Wow! If only we all could look at our lives and truly do the best we can and not let anything bring us down. I learned that anything is possible. We should not give up. When you are learning and teachers are steadily correcting you, wanting your best, that means they believe in you. When they stop that means they have given up on you. Mr. Pausch said "Your critics are still telling you they love you and care." This is so true. I remember having teachers that pushed me to be the best I could be and gave me good advice. I am so glad that they never gave up on me, even when I felt like giving up.
   Mr. Pausch made some great points : "brick walls are there to keep you out, unless you want it bad enough and are willing to fight for what you want. They are there to stop the ones who really do not want it. They really show our dedication." There have been many times where things have not always gone as I planned or hoped and yes, I wanted to give up. In the end though, my passion for it was stronger and I stayed in the fight. He also made the point that it is important to remember how you say something. If you ask nicely you are more likely to get a positive response than if you talk with an attitude. If you start off with a negative comment or say it in a rude way chances are you will lose the attention of the person you are talking to even before you ask for what you want. Mr Pausch also said "the best way to teach somebody something is to make them think they are learning something else." Many times I have thought I was being taught one thing and have left learning something else.
     In one point of Mr. Pausch's lecture, he addressed the ladies that are romantically interested in a man; "When you are interested in someone romantically, ignore everything the guy says and go by what he does, how he acts." This advice can apply to any relationship with another person. We all say things when we are mad or things we do not mean. For the most part, you can tell by a person's actions how they really feel.
  Randy Pausch's Advice, We Should All Live By

How to Get People to Help You

1. Tell the truth.
2. Be earnest.
3. Apologize when you screw up.
4. Focus on others, not yourself. ( For those of you married or in a serious relationship, Mr. Pausch took the focus off himself and brought out a birthday cake for his wife. They all sang "Happy Birthday" to her. This was a very sweet gesture.)

*It is important to get a feedback loop. Whether it is a group of people or one individual the important thing is to listen to them. After you listen to them, you may want to apply what they have said.
* Always show gratitude.
* Don't complain; just work harder.
* Be good at something, it makes you valuable.
* Work hard...
* Find the best in EVERYBODY; no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it.
* Be prepared : "luck" is where prepared meets opportunity.
If you lead your life the right way, the dreams will come to you.
Randy Pausch's lecture was very informative. I enjoyed it. Most of all, I like that he used his last lecture to  leave great advice to his children.
Randy Pausch

C4Tp #4

Back to the Future Project: Life Cycle Snapshots in Target Language

In the blog post “Back to the Future Project: Life Cycle Snapshots in Target Language”, Ms. Tolisano discusses a teacher who had her students learn by creating a fake Facebook page. They were to create a fake person and show different stages of their lives. They were to post from birth to retirement. This gave the students the ability to show their creative side. They had to have snapshots and fake experiences. I think this is a great idea. Why not have the students learn by doing what most love to do?

Blogging as a Curation Platform

In Ms. Tolisano’s post “Blogging as a Curation Platform”, she discusses how content curation requires more than simply selecting information. It involves collecting,categorizing, commenting, and presenting the best information out there. This is how great blogging is done. By presenting the best information through blogging, we are able to make some great connections with others. You definitely want to use reliable sources when blogging. Nobody likes to be given misinformation. You want  to establish yourself as an expert by sharing quality information. This is a great way to set up your network. Find people that have the same interests, goals, and expectations.

There are some great tips to remember whenever you present information as a curator in blogging: 1. find and acquire

               2. select and filter

               3. group, organize, and arrange

               4. editorialize, contextualize, and annotate

               5. create, present, transform, and remix

               6. engage and customize

               7.  share

You do not want to simply copy and paste other people’s information. It is a good idea to post a little from their posts but then have a workable link so your readers can go to the author’s page and read the entire post. I think when presenting information to others, the main thing you want to do is make sure that the information is accurate and comes from a reliable source. Unfortunately, there is so much information on the web that is not reliable. You also do not want to take credit for something that is not yours.

Langwitches

C4Ta #2 Post

Getting to the Heart of Collaboration

Angela Maiers explains in the post “Getting to the Heart of Collaboration,” why collaboration is so important. People sometimes twist the meaning of collaboration to mean strictly cooperation, coordination, and communication. However the three parts of collaboration are: team, process, and purpose. She describes team as two or more people. Processes are those team members working together. Their purpose is working together toward shared goals. Just being able to come together and use technology does not fit the standards of a good collaboration. Everyone must work together toward the same goal. They must also know how to use this technology correctly. But they must also know how exactly they will work together. When you come together and work as a group you must share your ideas. People do much better collaborating than they do alone. Why? Because together, they are smarter. You can come up with innovative ways to solve problems and collectively solve the problem. I think back to my time in high school band. We would not have been a success if we did not all come together and work towards the same goals. Was it always easy? No, but it was always worth it.

Reflection on #Choose 2 Matter: Each student is a Masterpiece

    In Angela Maiers post “Reflection on #Choose 2 Matter: Each student is a Masterpiece,” she discussed a meeting at Esthervile Central High School in Northwest Iowa. There were over 1500 students, staff, and members of the community present. The speaker had everyone look at the person sitting next to them and tell them, “You are a masterpiece.” I love that! I can remember when I began Pascagoula High School Band my sophmore year,  my band director, Mr. Jerry Ball, had us all say “I am the most important person here.”  He wanted us all to believe we mattered; we were important. Many children do not believe they matter. When things go bad, they tend to give up and stop believing. Angela Maiers discussed some things we should tell ‘our children’:

1. Be brave.

2. You matter and can make a difference.

3. Your contributions to this world make it better.

4. You have the power to change the world.

5. Together we can make a difference.

    You never know what a student is going through. You may be the only one that shows the student that you care. As teachers, we need to keep that fire in each student burning. We need to help bring out the best in each student and show them we believe in them. We may be the torch that keeps their fires burning.

Angela Maiers

Why Do We Have to Learn History?

In a recent post by William Chamberlain, he asked the question, "Why Do We Have to Learn History?" We all should want to learn History to get a better understanding of where we came from, how we evolved, and in hope to not repeat our past mistakes. So many interesting things have happened throughout History. I think if you start by telling the children something that happened in History that was interesting, maybe it will grab their attention enough to keep them interested in other historical events. Maybe a good start would be "The Diary of Anne Frank". This is a first hand experience from a child's perspective. What better way to capture the students' attention than to tell a story of a child around their ages. If we can relate to the subject it makes it seem more real. However, only reading about History only gives us a small piece to what the people of any given time have gone through. In order to understand our mistakes in the past, we must study the past. We have to learn how to not go down that path again. We need to ask ourselves, How did we get to a place in this world where the world is at war? This did not happen just once. How can we feel so little for other human beings, that we would keep them as slaves or put them to death in gas chambers? If you do not fix the problem, guess what? It can and most likely will happen again. Everyone should look around them and see their loved ones, would you want anyone of them to be treated like others in the past? No, so we all need to do what it takes to make sure that it does not happen again. In order to do that we must study History and learn from our mistakes.
Also, look around you. Look at how far we have come and all that we have. Take America for example, look how far we have come. A lot of hard work, sweat, and tears build this country to be what it is today. We should know how we came about and what we started with to see how much can be achieved if we all work together. William Chamberlain

Project #13 Project Based Learning Lesson Plan

Project Based Learning


Members in our group (Daughtry) are: Corey Waldon, Erica Jeter, Chellyiss Nettles, and myself. Our lesson addresses the following in math for Alabama State Standards: multiplication and division using whole numbers and also solving word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities. This lesson is intended for students in the third grade. This lesson will last a week with a day to review and a test the following Monday.

Overview

Calendar

Checklist

Rubric

ALEX

Blog Post #7

Math Blaster

Mathblaster.com is a site that is completely safe for children. It has math games for kids to play or different math worksheets for teachers to provide for their students. Parents have to sign up for their children to access the page and conversations are monitored. There are resources for all grade levels. This would be fun for the students and it is something they can do in their free time and learn as well. The students can also chat with each other through a safe environment.

ixl.com

For this website you find the grade you need and it will give you a list of everything that grade learns in Math and Language Arts. This site keeps students engaged in interactive games and exercises but it also keeps teachers and parents involved. This site is equipped for all learning styles.

quia.com

Quia is short for Quintessential Instructional Archive. This site provides templates for creating online activities. It is also designed to help students with all learning styles. It helps teachers to create quizzes and helps grade them with computer assistance. Teachers can also get detailed reports on each student. It is a school wide network that allows effortless collaboration. Not only does it have over over 3 million activities in 300 categories, but you can make your own activities for your students. It allows the teacher to create their own web page to post assignments, schedules, calendars, contact information, and your favorite links.

I have enjoyed learning on all three websites. I think I may use each one of them in the future.

Project #8 Book Trailer

We Want a Pet by: Richard Hamilton

We Want a Pet Trailer

Blog Post #6

What did you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?

Project Based Learning
In the videos from Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange,
Project Based Learning, Part 1
Project Based Learning, Part 2 
I have learned that students and most parents love PBL. PBL creates opportunities for competition, pride, collaboration, and purpose. It also has been shown to have more students that want to share and reflect. Children learn best when you capture their attention and  get them engaged. Hand on projects can be fun for children.
I have learned that ICurio is a safe way for children to access information, graphs, videos, and pictures to create projects. The information has been pulled and filtered for the students' educational needs. It will also store the information for them. This helps students with organizing their own information into folders.
iCurio
Discovery Education helps add to your lectures by giving the students things to look at and learn from that goes along with the lesson. If they have things to look along with your lectures, they will most likely attain the information better than just lectures. Discovery Ed covers everything you will need for Science and Social Studies. It helps enrich the students' research skills.
Discovery Ed


In the Anthony-Strange List of Tips for Teachers, Don't Teach Tech Use It, and Additional Thoughts About Lessons videos, I learned that the five key things for teachers to remember are: works not separate from play, it takes hard work to teach, be flexible, get kids engaged, and reflect. Teachers learn in their free time. I also learned that the daily plan is just as important as the year plan, unit plan, or the week plan. Also For most people, collaboration is hard. I think the most important thing that I learned from Anthony Capps, is that we should never limit our students. We should create opportunities for them to be creative. We should get them excited about learning. We should get them to not only learn, but to create and discover new things.
Tips For Teachers, Part 1, Use Tech Don't Teach It, Additional Thoughts

My Passion Video

My Passion Is

My Sentence Video

My Sentence Is

Hyperlink Code< /a>

Blog Post #5 PLNs What Are They?

A PLN or Personal Learning Network, is the set of people and tools you can call upon for help, consultation, collaboration, or any other assistance you may need. This set of people and tools may change at any time. You may need someone or something completely different than you needed for previous work. This is very resourceful components for teachers who are constantly learning. As a teacher you may face something you know absolutely nothing about. That is where a PLN would come in handy. Maybe one of the people in your PLN is an expert about that subject. Your PLN is built as needed. Asking questions can lead you to the right people or tools. The internet would be the best tool for this. It will continue to change so you can always add to it. It can start with simple conversations from other professionals. One of the first people I would have for my own PLN would be my 6th grade teacher in Rhode Island. I have stayed in touch with her through Facebook. That would mean Facebook would be added as well. She has been in education for many years so having her in my PLN would be very beneficial to me. I would add professional educators that I may or may not know. Anyone that can teach me new things and benefit not only myself but my students would be an asset. In the video, Welcome to My PLE,a seventh grader talked about building a PLN. She mentioned that her class contacted professionals in Science to help with projects. The students were even able to use Twitter. Both of those sources would be great to add to your PLN. I am looking forward to building my own PLN. I can already think of a few people and tools I would add.

Project #15 Search Engines

Wolfram Alpha

 This is not necessarily a search engine like most of us are used to. It provides knowledge by computing answers. It does not depend on other search engines for knowledge, it's expert level knowledge comes strictly from them. It is best known for computing data and giving specific answers and analyzing data for every search. Wolfram Alpha will also show you exactly how they came about the answer. It also gives all sources and references used to answer the search. I would recommend this sight for anyone in school. Especially if they need help in Math.

Wolfram Alpha

Dogpile

Dogpile was ceated by Infospace and powered by Metasearch technology. It relies on all the top search engines such as Yahoo and Google for it's information. Dogpile looks at all the results, eliminates duplicates, and gives you the best answers for your search. This search engine is great for saving time if you search both Yahoo or Google. 

WebCrawler 

WebCrawler also uses the top web searches from both Yahoo and Google and other popular search engines. Like other search engines, it provides images, videos, and news. Because it uses multiple search engines for the answers, it gives a variety of answers. It is designed to know the intent of the user's question and give the best results. Overall this site worked for almost anything I was interested in.

WebCrawler

Duckduckgo

This search engine claims that it does not track you. This search engine was created to make results easier to find, This site does not collect or share any information on it's users. Overall this search engine was helpful. I think that children would be willing to use this simply because it is called Duckduckgo.

Duckduckgo

Ask

The search engine Ask, is very informative. It has questions of the day, which is mostly questions you would not think to ask. It gives you a chance to answer them and will tell you if your wrong, and what the correct answer is. This makes this fun and you can learn all kinds of things. Ask ranks in ComScore's top US websites when it comes to traffic. I have used this search engine many times. I would recommend it to anyone. 

Ask

Infospace

Infospace collects data from all the top search engines, such as Yahoo, Google, Bing, and Ask. This enables them to bring more information to the users. When every search engine brings different results, it can benefit the user to have it all at their fingertips. Dogpile and WebCrawler are all part of Infospace's search engines. This search engine would be good for anyone who has used individual search engines, and has come up empty.

Infospace

Intelius

Intelius is a search engine for anyone looking to find someone. If you are looking for a long lost friend or relative, this would be for you. Once you find the person you can choose to pay for records about this person. I'm not sure that I like this site because when I looked up myself, it showed a map to get to my house. In the world we live in, that is scary. 

Intelius

Job.com

This search engine helps a potential employee find a job in their field. It lists jobs available anywhere or you can choose a specific place. This search engine also lists the top places, jobs, and industries in the USA. This could help anyone when they are deciding which field to go in. This is very resourceful.

Job.com

Blog Post#4 Asking Questions: What Questions Do We Ask? How Do We Ask?

Questions are a major tool in the classroom. They are important for the students to be able to communicate with their teachers. When a teacher plans questions to ask the students, it is important to know what the goal of asking the question is. Are you looking for the exact answer or do you want them to be able to discuss their feelings? Questions are important to critical thinking skills, as well as being able to master core concepts. Both of which are key to their learning. It is never a good idea to ask a leading question. That involves leading a question in a way that it suggests it's own answer. This does not give students the chance to think for themselves. It is alright to ask a student that has just answered a question, why they feel that way. This too will get them thinking. Discussion questions are good opportunities to get the students thinking. However, never ask more then one question at a time. You do not want to lead away from the original question until the students have had a chance to answer it. You also do not want to confuse the class. Ask specific questions that have few answers. It is best not to ask important questions at the end of class because students know when the class ends. You may not get an appropriate answer.
Make sure to give the students enough time to answer and never interrupt the student while they are answering. Show that you are interested in their answers. There is not a 'stupid' question. That is how we learn the best, by asking questions.

Teaching Center

C4T#1P Project#6

And You Thought it Could Not Be Done: Blogging in Math
In the post “And You Thought it Could Not be Done: Blogging in Math”, Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano from Langwitches was surprised to see Math teachers blogging in what is primarily used for Language Arts teachers. I think this is a great idea for all teachers to Blog. It would be a good way for parents to keep up with what their children are learning and also get to know the teacher. It would be a fun way for the children to learn. Let’s face it, for most people math is not fun. Why not take a subject and make it fun to learn?

Langwitches.org.

Blogging as Pedagogy: Facilitate Learning
What is the meaning of the word PEDAGOGY? According to Wikipedia, it means, ”the art or science of teaching”. In the post, Blogging as Pedagogy: Facilitate Learning, Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano from Langwitches discusses the benefits of blogging in areas such as:Reading, Writing, Reflecting, and Sharing. By blogging, a teacher can enhance the techniques and strategies that they use in teaching a class. This applies to any subject area. Blogging can help in Reading and Writing by enhancing students’ skills, helping students be creative, and helping by giving students choices in how they share their creativity. This is just a few ways that blogging can help students with their Reading and Writing. By Reflecting, teachers can see what their strengths and weaknesses are, as well as their students' strengths and weaknesses. By sharing, students are able to share their work with others and respond to others’ posts. This helps with learning technolgy, which is a must for all students. I enjoyed this post because I hope that by the time I become a teacher, most, if not all schools will have blogging for their students. I know I have learned so much in a short time with blogging.

Langwitches.org

C4T#1 Project#4

Thinking Critical About Google


 In the post “Thinking Critical About Google” by John Spencer, he discusses what if big companies like Google forms how education is taught? Is one particular technology company becoming too big in the education field? The graphs that John Spencer posted also showed that women and minorities are the smallest groups that go into the technological fields. If men are the primary workers in this field than it would mean that men are determining how technology is used in our schools. I think that both women and minorities have the ability to achieve these jobs and with that they help educate our students with technology. The world we live in is much different than it used to be. If you work hard enough you can achieve anything. As for Google, I am happy that there are companies that are working hard to make the next big thing. Especially, when it will benefit the children we teach.

Education Rethink


Why Do Projects Work?


 In the post “Why Do Projects Work?, By John Spencer, he tells a story about his son making a Pokemon Wall. During the process of making this wall, his son made mistakes and shed tears. He even asked his dad when it would get easy. John Spencer told his son “ it would never get easy and that it’s ok”. His son pushed on and finished the wall. After a setback that I have faced this week, it was good to read this post. That same child taught me a lot by reading this post. Anything worth having is worth working for. I may not know what to do next but somehow I feel like it will work out. It may alter my plans as far as time is concerned but that will be ok too. John Spencer’s final statement in the post said, “I’m not sure what I need to do to make it work, but my son’s project is reminding me that there’s no magic formula and the answer can’t be found in taking shortcuts”. It would be good for all of us to remember this as we are in our last years of college. 

Education Rethink

Project #3

Blog Post #3

Peer Editing

        When editing a classmate's Blog it is important to remember that our Blogs will be edited too. When editing a peer's writings be respectful in how you choose to criticize their writings. Always start by looking for the good in the Blog and comment on that. If you start off good maybe they will be more willing to listen to your advice. Be careful how you say things and stay positive.
        You can give suggestions on how they could make something better without being mean. Be specific in the suggestions you make. You are trying to help the classmate be the best writer/blogger they can be.
When making suggestions look for word choice, details, organization, and make sure the main points stay on topic. Did the author use interesting words? Will they capture the reader's attention? Are the details catching your attention? Is the author clear in what they are trying to say? Does each idea stay with the topic? Does it make sense? Remember to stay positive and complement.
        Also, while correcting look for punctuation errors, grammatical errors, sentence structure, and spelling. When you are editing someone's Blog, make that your main priority. You would not want someone to rush through your post or be preoccupied with something else while correcting your Blog. Be fair and remember to remain positive.
     Peer Editing
Tutorial Peer Editing
Writing Peer Reviews

Blog Assignment #2

Mr. Dancelot

   In the movie clip "Mr. Dancelot" ,the teacher tries to teach his students how to dance but he does not let them get involved. It is harder to learn something without being able to participate. Also, it is more likely to stick with you if you learn by hands on. Just memorizing something may be an easier way to learn but it will not stick with you. If you are taught something, showed how to do it, and then are required to do it, it is more likely to stay with you. The students in Mr. Dancelot's class took notes but they could not see his feet while he was showing them how to dance, and he would not let the students practice the moves. When it came time for the final exam, the notes did not help the students. I agree that if students are properly showed something and made to do it themselves, then they are more likely to understand what they are learning. I can remember learning History, Language Arts, and Science while growing up. I even memorized a lot of the information but I had to relearn all of it recently to take my Praxis exams. Math is one subject where the more you do it the easy it becomes. I remembered how do do some Math problems just because I worked the problems out so much when I was in school.

Mr. Dancelot



Teaching in the 21st Century

    In the post by Kevin Roberts (made into a video by Dr. John Strange), Roberts thinks that teaching in the 21st Century has changed so much. A student can find any information on the internet. With this being the case, why would students need teachers? Students would need teachers to help them learn if the information is reliable, to help them problem solve, to interpret the information, and so much more. Teachers are not there just to give information. They do so much more. Most of the teachers I had in school cared whether or not I succeeded. They made me think for myself. They were there to cheer me on and encourage me when I needed it. You cannot get that from the internet. Roberts stated that "entertainment is using the creativity of others and engagement is using the creativity of the participant", that is a great way to look at it. You can use the computer to find out anything but that does not make you think for yourself. I do believe that computers have a place in education but teachers are still so important. Children still need that person cheering them on and holding them accountable for their actions. I think it is important for teachers to stay up to date with media outlets because they are great tools to help in teaching. However, I still believe that the teacher is still the best tool for learning.



The Networked Student  

In the video "The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler, you can see how much you can learn by online classes. However, you also see the importance of teachers. You can learn all kinds of information on the internet but you will still need a teacher to teach you how to process this information and what to do with it. There is so much false information on the internet and if you do not have someone to help you through it all, you will not know the truth. Teachers are there because they care and want their students to be the best they can be. It is important to have someone on your side. I have taken both online classes and classes in person. It is nice to have someone you can go to when you need help.

Networked Student

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts   

                                                                                             

The thesis in the video "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" by Vicki Davis is that every student can learn but children are limited by just paper and a pencil. After watching this video and seeing rural schools connecting to other schools around the world, I agree with that statement. In our current world technology is every where. You fall behind without it. There are so many possibilities to teach and learn with technology. By using computers, you give students a hands on learning environment. I have not met a child yet that does not like getting on computers. It makes learning fun for all. It also can benefit children that learn at a slower pace than the other children.                                                                                                                          

Flipping Your Classroom

In the video "Flipping Your Classroom", I learned about new ways in teaching. Back when I was in elementary and high school, the teachers wrote on chalk boards or overhead projectors.Teaching has come a long way since those days. I found the 'Flipping the Classroom'  approach to teaching very interesting. I like that the students could also learn at home and being able to move forward in lessons more quickly. However, there may be a problem for those students that do not have access or the means to watch these videos. If the equipment will be provided to every student, I would love to use this approach to teaching in my classroom. This may also get more parents involved in their children's education. 
Flipping the Classroom