Project 13

My group, Team YELL, used many technological tools to collaborate for projects 15 and 16. We used the programs Drop Box and Google Docs for videos and pictures. We emailed, text, Facebooked, group messaged to talk to one another. All of these programs were important for my group to finish projects 15 and 16 successfully.

Project 15:Reflection Video

Final Report on PLN

My PLN has continued to grow over the semester. I now have links to some of my favorite blogs that I have found. The blogs with the suggests and tools that I will use in my classroom one day. I now have my Pinterest board called "My Future Classroom" linked to my PLN. I think it will continue to grow even after this class is over.

Last C4T#4

C4T#4 I am following the blog, For the Love of Teaching, of Diane Dahl who is a second grade teacher in Texas. Her post was how to create a higher level of thinking in math. Since in math there is only one correct answer. Dahl encouraged students to articulate their thinking in writing. She tells them to use their thinking skills for a specific purpose like schema, inferences, predictions, comparisons, visualization, questioning, and more. Mrs. Dahl gives us an example of what a Math Thinking Stem would look like from her second grade students. She also give a link to her thinking stem guide.

My comment- I introduced myself to her. And I thanked her for the example and her link to her thinking stem guide. I explained to her how I never knew there was a name for that concept; and how I was glad she made a post about this. I told her that this post is a great tool for future teacher like me.

Post #2 Last post was about the Math Stem. Now, she is explaining the Reading Thinking Stem. She provides two different reading rubrics in her post. One is a basic reading rubric and the other connects reading and writing. These methods help with the child's critically thinking skills. She has downloads to help get started with the thinking stems.

My comment- I thanked her for the great tools that she has provided about thinking stems. It is a great lesson for child to use their critical thinking skills. I would highly recommend this blog for teachers.

Smartboard Project

Blog Post 13

Back to the Future

Brian Crosby’s video “Back to the Future” starts out by telling his audience about his fourth grade class and how most of the students don’t even know what country they live in at the beginning of the school year. He explains that he teaches students of poverty; and they do not have the schema of the world. Crosby wants his students to have creativity and concepts of thinking outside the box. Each student in Mr. Crosby’s classroom has a laptop with their own blog where they complete all their assignments. He explains that most assignments are connected like the “High Hopes Balloon Project”. The students used science, history, language arts, and technology with this project. Students use interactive experiments, then embed videos onto their blogs, and finally explain what and why things happen in the experiment on their blogs. Therefore, student and experts around the world see the blogs and leave comments for the students which make them active learners.



Mr. Crosby’s poverty students become active learners through technology. I like that he empowers students to be a learner, not just students that are capable of being taught. I think this is very important for any student at any level of education because learning is motivational, empowers your intelligence, and guarantees your success for your future. At the end of the video, he quotes a high school teacher, “the basics (education learning) need to be motivational…. and every student has the birthright to an education no matter what their home life is.” This is important to me because I believe that all children rich or poor deserve the best education that will prepare them for a successful future. I think Mr. Crosby does that in his classroom because he takes low income student and connects them to the schema of the world. Therefore, he is giving the students the best education with all the tools that are available to him.

A Vision of Students Today

This video, “A Vision of Students Today”, is a product of the Kansas State University. This video has no words just text. It starts off very slow in a university classroom with the writing on the walls that ironically say, “If these walls could talk… what would they say?” Then, it moves to the back of the desk which has written, “If students learn what they do…. what are they learning sitting here?” Of course, walls and desks cannot talk but students can. They asked the students, “ What is it like being a student today?” Many students had things to say like the size of their large classrooms, a small number of professors know the students names, buying hundreds of dollars in textbooks that they don’t even open, the price of the debt they will have when they complete college, the price of their technology tools, how offend they use technology, and so on.

This video really connects to me because I am a student in college. I have mutual feelings with the students in the video. And I feel their pain. In this class EDM 310, we are learning about the technology in our future classrooms and teaching students how to be successful with the technology tools. I think that the university should use some of those concepts that we are learning about. Most professors just lecture, half of the class shows up, and then the half of the ones that showed up are truly paying attention to the professor. I think universities need to use some of the active learning concepts that are out there for students and classrooms. At the end of the video, student held up signs that said things like war, ethics, poverty, inequality, and more. I don’t see how this really has anything to do with the question that they originally asked the students. However, I might have missed something, but I do not see how that fits into this topic that they originally chose.

Progress Report on the Final Project

Progress Report on the Final Project
I am in an awesome group named Team YELL. I have great group members who have all stepped up to do their parts. For the final project, we decided to do an IBook. I saw a rough draft of it this week and it is coming along great! We are still waiting to learn about one of the parts of the assignment, so that is still missing. However, I think it is coming along great. I must add again that luckily I have amazing group members.

Blog Post 12

Tools for Your Future Classroom

As we are coming to the end of EDM 310, make a list of all the "technology tools" that you will use in your future classroom. This can be programs that you liked, videos, blog pages, etc. Within the list put a link to it, and a description of why you liked it and why you would use it in your classroom.

1.Blogger- I enjoyed blogger. It was an easy program to set up and use. The teacher can have a classroom blog to inform parents of what their child is learning in class for the week, and view up coming events in the classroom or school. If a child is absent from school, the parents can easily get the assignment and the worksheets. If the parents have a question about something, they can leave a comment and the teacher can get back with them. Students can also have blogs. I have experienced in EDM 310 that students as young as first grade have had blogs. I think this is a great alternative to the same ole pencil and paper assignment.

2. David Wees's Blog- 21st Century Educator This blog post was about math apps you could use on a Smartboard or on an Ipad. I think this is a great tool to have because there are so many lessons that you could use the apps for. I think it is a fun way for students to get involved with learning.

3. Wordle- We used Wordle for our first project in EDM 310. I thought it was an interesting way to show all of your characteristics that you have as a person. You are able to design and create it the way you want. I think this would be a great project to do with your students on the first week of school to really get to know one and other in the classroom. You can even make the students create one on something or someone they learned about in class.

4. Prezi- A Prezi is a twist on a PowerPoint presentation. All of my educational career, I have seen and have been taught off of a PowerPoint presentation. So when EDM introduced us to a Prezi I was amazed at how cool and different it was. I liked how easy it was to use and to create. Also, I liked how it saved all of your Prezis on your account. So you don't have to save it to your junk-drive.

5. Diane Dahl's Blog- For the Love of Teaching In her blog post, Mrs. Dahl's talks about a thinking stem and how to make your students use a higher level of thinking. She gives examples on her page on how to do that in math and in other subjects. Diane Dalh's also gives a thinking stem guide which is a great tool for teachers to get their students thinking on a higher level. I think this will help students be successful in their futures.

C4K November Summary

C4K#8 This week I was assigned to Ms. Spencer's class in Alberta, Canada. The student's blog that I was assigned to was The Active Achiever. His name is Spencer and he enjoys dirt biking. His spelling was a little off from our English. But I assume this is because he is from Canada. His post was similar to a Prezi but it wasn't a Prezi. It had many pictures and information on it.

My comment to him explained who I was and why I was on his blog. I asked him what he used to create his post because it looked fun and interesting for students to use.

C4K#9 This week I was assigned to Mr. Selisker's class. The student's blog that I was assigned to was Jason R. He is a fourth grader who lives in California. His post was about James and the Giant Peach. He summarized the beginning of the story for his audience.

I commented on his post explaining who I was and why I was on his blog. I told him what a great job his was doing. And I asked him what was the assignment that he was given. So, I can use it in my future classroom.

C4K#10 This week I was assigned to Mr. Cometti's World History student named ibAshleyP. Her post was an informative post about Marie Antoinette. She had several pictures with links and sources. Her information was very detailed.

My comment to her explained who I was and why I was on her blog. I told him that I enjoyed her informative post on Marie Antoinette. Also, I learned a few things about her as well. I told her to keep up the good work.

Blog Post 11

Little Kids... Big Potential

Little Kids...Big Potential is a video created by Mrs. Cassidy's first grade class. They are teaching the world about how they use technology in their classrooms for learning. The student's use their blogs and other's blogs to learn about different subject topics. They say they like them because they get better at their writing every time they post something new. They use webpages and wikis to find and learn about things on the internet. The class even made their own wiki about the alphabet. They create and share videos about what they have learned in school. Skype is used by Mrs. Cassidy's class to talk to people educationally around the world. Each student uses their Nintendo DS to learn, problem solve, and practice sharing.

Skype with Mrs. Cassidy

In the February 2010, EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama was able to Skype with Mrs. Cassidy about technology and why she uses it in her classroom. She explains that she got involved with technology about ten years ago when she was given five computers in their classroom. She tells us about her support system she has with the technology and how her students love it. The technology that she uses in her classroom keeps growing and developing along with the technology.

I enjoyed these videos because it shows that elementary school students even as young as first grade can use technology to learn. I think that children blogging and using the internet to learn is a great tool for students. It will help them be successful in their futures. I liked Mrs. Cassidy's approach to technology because it is grade appropriate. Some of the other video that I have watched I did not really agree with for that reason. I thought they were too hard for students of elementary level but not Mrs. Cassidy's approach. Blogging in the classroom both from the teacher and the students is important because for one it is a great tool for the parents to see what their children are doing and learning about. I would definitely using blogging in my classroom. Secondly, like Mrs. Cassidy said it is a portfolio of the children's work they can always have. Skyping with experts is also a great tool for teaching your students because they can hear the testimony from someone personal experiences. Just like what Dr. Strange did for us on his Skype with Ms. Cassidy I really liked the Nintendo DS because the students were using so many developmental skills like learning, problem solving, and sharing which are all important for personal growth as a student and as a successful person. Plus out of all the technology for the classroom videos that I have watched for EDM 310, I have never heard of using a Nintendo DS in the classroom.

C4T November summary

C4T #3 I am following David Wees blog, DW 21st Century Educator. Wees is a mathematics teacher and learning specialist for technology at Stratford Hall. In his post, he gave his followers a list of math apps that he has collected over the years.

My comment to him explained who I was and what I was learning in EDM 310. I informed him how I think math is important for students at all ages in their educational journey. I told him that he provided his followers with a great teaching tool. And I thanked him for
that.

C4T #3 post #2 Mr. Wees post this week was about math activities for the measurement unit. He had some great ideas for students to interactively work and learn together. His activities were: "How long is a minute?", "What day of the week will your birthday be on next year?", "How many times will my heart beat in an hour?", "How long is a foot?", and "How heavy are things?". All of these activities have instructions for you to use.

I comment and told him that I liked the first activity the best. This activity is "How long is a minute?". You break your students into pairs, one student has a timer and the other person tells the person with the timer when to stop when they think it has been a minute. Then, they switch and collect the data. I like this activity because it is simple and sometimes a minute feels long and other times it feels short. So, I think it would be fun for the students.

Special Blog Post

The Next 30 Years?

\As USA Today celebrates their 30th anniversary, they interviewed some of the greatest visionaries. This article,"A World Where Grades Would be Left Behind", is about Sebastian Thrun who is Google's vice president and a professor at Stanford. The article discusses Thrun’s plan to revolutionize education in the next 30 years. Education will change by no more one size fits all classes, it will respond to you, and there will be no failing students will be about to take as much time as they need to master a skill or concept. The instruction will be free but there will be a fee for certifications and exams. He describes this as a different form of education that will be able to accommodate large crowds and will have low prices. He explains how things are already changing in education like the “flipped classroom”, curriculum built around game-playing, and how some online college education is as affordable as a cellphone bill.

I think some of Sebastian Thrun’s ideas are great like the instruction will be free and education will respond to you. I like those ideas because I am a college student. And my tuition at the university keeps going up and up and up. My tuition and other school related fees each semester are easily 5,000. This is my junior year so you can roughly see how much I have spent in my college education. But I disagree with one major plan of Thrun’s, I do not like the idea of there will be no failing and students can take as much time as they need to master a skill or concept. I think there should be some guide lines to this because students can decide to take up to as long as they want. In this case, tests and assignments will have to be changed due to cheating among students.And I think grades are important in education because if not all students would be "ranked" the same and we all know all students are different. I think Thrun’s form of education would be beneficial in many ways but it still has some issues that need to be worked out.

C4K Summary October

These are my summaries for C4K for the month of October

C4K #3 This week I was assigned Jakob from Mrs. Haggerty, Mrs. Braford, Mrs. Clevette, and Mrs. Mckenzie's class. In Jakob's blog he talks about his quality of life. He explains what quality of life was and then how he has quality of life at his school. He says he feels safe, secure, and comfortable at school. Jakob tells how his teachers are better, it is easier to get around the school, and how he gets a longer lunch break.

I commented on his post; and I explained who I was. I told him I thought he was doing an awesome job. I explained that I wanted to be a future and that hopefully I could use blogging in my classroom like he was doing.

C4K #4 This week I was assigned Mike G. Waltney's 10-12 grade fully online girls Episcopal School in Oregon. The post I read on global issues was about in-sourcing and outsourcing jobs. The explained the pros and cons of each side.

My comment for their post was I explained who I was and why I was on their blog. I complemented them for their post and told them what a good job they did. Also, I told them how I liked how they put their sources at the end of their post. So as a reader, you can check to make sure their sources are reliable.

C4K#5 This week I was assigned Slapshot. On his post, he explained who he was and how he was an innovative learner, who loves technology. Slapshot is in sixth grade at Hillcrest Elementary in BC, Canada. He loves playing and practicing hockey, and hanging with friends and family.

My comment for his post was that I explained who I was and why I was on his blog. I told him how I thought it was interesting that he had a blog, how he was an innovated learner, and he loved technology. I also told him to keep up the good work.

C4K#6 This week I was assigned to Mrs. Peterson's student named Henry. As normal, I explained who I was and why I was on his blog. His post was on the book The Outsiders. He had to do a characterization on the character Darry. Henry describes Darry, had a quote from him and his actions, and another character's point of view of him. In my comment, I explained what a great job he did. And that I thought this was a great alternative to the pen and paper assignment.

C4k#7 This week was a special edition, I was assigned to Dr. Paige Vitulli and Dr. Susan Santolli. Their post I commented on was National Gallery of Ireland. The post explained what the gallery had to offer like Irish and European paintings, sculptures, prints, and more. They talked about the artist they knew and didn't know and what they learning about each. In my comment, I explained who I was and why I was on their blog. I told them how I enjoyed their post and the pictures they posted.

Blog Post #10

I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga.

I am going to be completely honest I really did not understand this cartoon when I first looked at it. Then, I read the comments and Mr. Spencer explained it. The cartoon is mocking the old commercials about Mac vs. PC. I'm a Papermate is the cheaper and more of the economic purchase like a PC. But it might not be the best choice in the long run. I'm a Ticonderoga is representing a Mac. I think this is a very clever metaphor. And once I got it I enjoyed it. I think this metaphor is very realistic.

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?

This post is about Mr. Spencer getting called into the principal's office because the principal thought the children were not learning. While in the principal's office, the principal tells Mr. Spencer that he can not have the kids play games and he has to teach. Mr. Spencer explains that he was using advanced simulation with his students just like the doctors use in learning how to operate. Then, the principal says that they weren't in a hospital. They need to focus on having their students pass the memorization style tests so they need to practice those skills. Then, he suggested worksheets and algorithms to Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer's solution is " we'll create an algorithm factory and integrate it into our conflict-oriented reading and writing project (A.K.A The Factory Game).

I enjoyed this post I thought it was hilarious. Mr. Spencer made it sound like the principal was stuck in his old ways by using the slate-based learning. Mr. Spencer seems to try and think outside the box and have his students learn and have fun. It seems like this is important to him which is a good quality to have as a teacher. I really enjoy his writing style in his posts.

I chose to read Mr. Spencer's post Remembering Pencil Quests? . In this post, Mr. Spencer is in his sophomore year as a student and his teacher set him and his classmates on a pencil quest. The students seem to like the adventure that they got to go on with the pencil quest. Mr. Spencer explains that his teacher was the pioneer since they were doing something different. He tells us that how his students now are excited about their plogs and pen pal networks.

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?

Mr. Scott McLeod wears several "hats". He is the founder of UCEA Center of Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), host of the website, Dangerously Irrelevant, and director of Innovation at the Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency. Through his professions you can see that he favors technology.

McLeod's post makes fun of parents and educator that are technological illiterate. He favors technology in a classroom and at home. You can tell that he thinks that children with technology have a better chance of being successful over children that do not have experience with technology. When I was reading through the comments,I found that people thought that he was against technology.

Project #11

Smart Board Project#14

Book Trailer

Blog Post #9

Mr. Joe McClung's Teaching Reflections

For the post that I got to choose, I choose Mr. McClung's first year of teaching reflection. This post was done in May of 2009. It was his first year as an elementary teacher in Noel, Missouri. He described himself as a young and inexperienced teacher. But by the end of the year,he had grown and matured as a person and as a teacher. He describes lessons that he has learned as a teacher. McClung observed that a lot of teachers do not make lessons that are student centered. Teachers worry about the delivery and forget to check for student comprehension. He says, "No lesson is ever perfect. The lesson you teach and the one you plan are always different." In the beginning of the year, he felt like he was trying to control things too much. And he had to get over that. Next, he talked about communication. Communication is the best way to work things and issues out. Everyone needs to practice their communication skill, because everyone can get better at it. Fourth, he talks about reasonable expectations and goals for students. He reminds us to make sure you are reasonable with your expectations and goals. Since, they are children, and they are not perfect. Also, he warns teachers to not be afraid of technology. Technology is a teacher's friend not an enemy. He then stresses the importance of teachers listening to their students. By listening to your students, you build respect and a good relationship. Lastly, he tells his audience to never stop learning. Teacher except students to continue to learn and grow. So, teachers should also always continue to learn.

In the what Mr. McClung has learned Volume 4,he takes a completely different approach compared to the fist reflection. He explains that he really didn't learn as much this year as he had in others. He only reflected on two topics on this post. The first one was that he worried about how he was viewed as an educator by his peers. In previous years, he only cared about how his students and superiors viewed him. He explains how he had anxiety about what his peers may think. But he came to the conclusion that you can't change who you are as an educator based on what your peer think. He said now he only goes by one rule: "Are the kids having fun?" The next topic he talks about is that you need to challenge yourself as a teacher. He tells how he had taught the in the same school and subject for the past three years. And he had become comfortable in his teaching. He noticed that he started to use the same routine, used old lesson plans, and his creativity slowed down. He began to realize that if you become comfortable as a teacher, you get lazy and lesson plans will start to "suck". The consequence of that is that students then will not enjoy your class. Which has a bigger affect.

I think that Mr. McClung had a lot of important information in his reflections for new teachers and experienced teachers. I choose the first post because I will be a new teacher sooner than I will be an experienced teacher. I think he had some great advice in his first reflection. My favorite was when he said if things go wrong fix it with a smile. I really liked it because first year teachers need to realize that things are going to go wrong that's how we learn is from our mistakes. But once it goes wrong fix it and with a smile. I liked the first post better than his last reflection because I think it is more relatable for me than the last one. But they both had some great advice.

Project #10 My PLN

I have created my personal learning network, PLN, but it is just a start. It is not nearly finished, but I don't see how is could every be completely finished because it could always be changing and developing. I used Symbaloo for my PLN. It was easy to set up and change. Here is the start to my PLN. I put my personal things at the top and then, my educational things at the bottom.

Blog Post #8

This is How We Dream

This video by Richard Miller is done in two parts. Part 1 explains how writing has changed academically and culturally. Communication has also changed. It now can be done instantly and globally. Richard Miller explains how we use to write, work, research, and publish. We use to write and work with pens and paper, do research in libraries, and publish in print. Now we write and work with laptops and word processors, and do research on the web without even leaving our homes. If we have a question, we can find our answers in a matter of seconds by using the web.

In Part 2 of this video, he explains how we now work in a digital world. Things are composed with not only words but with visuals and sounds. Documents have images, videos, and audio clips. Research is being updated frequently and instantly unlike books and prints.

He says, “Ideas do not only belong to the individual, but ideas belong to the culture. We, as educators, should spread these ideas.” That was my favorite and most interesting thing I found that he said because teachers are suppose to teach their students about new or old and exciting ideas. I agree with the video that writing is changing; but it has been changing my whole generation. I think that schools should still teach students how a library works and the wonders that it holds. I know that you can find most things on the web. Teachers should also teach how to use the internet and good sources. But there is still history and culture in a library that cannot be found on the internet. I agree with Richard Miller that writing, work, research, and publishing is changing.

Carly Pugh

Carly Pugh's blog post was very impressive. I think she did a very good job on the assignment. Her assignment was to post about an assignment she thought Dr. Strange should have assigned his class to do. She went above and beyond the assignment. She explained the details of the assignment and how to do it. Then, she gave an example of her playlist like a good teacher would do. A playlist is a great and helpful tool for teachers and their classrooms. She applies Dr. Miller's writing process with multi-media. She uses links and Youtube for her different technology outlets. I think she did exactly what Dr. Miller was explaining in his videos.

The Chipper Series and EDM 310 for Dummies

These two video are very cute. Dr. Strange suggested these videos for us to watch at the beginning of semester. When I watched these videos back in August, I didn't find them as funny as I do now probably because I was more scared of the class then than I am now. Back then, I was worried that I would not be able to do anything that we were suppose to, but now I know that I can.

If I were to do a video, I think that the music and the message are the most important parts. The message is important because in education you want your audience to learn something in the video. And music because it gets the attention of your audience and keeps the attention of your audience so they can pay attention and really understand the message of your video. I remember when I was in class and the teacher brought in a video for us to watch. When a catchy little song comes on the whole class starts to pay attention and bobs their head to the beat. I think the music and the message of a video goes hand and hand.


Learn to Change, Change to Learn

In this video, Learn to Change, Change to Learn, it explains that there is a change in learning. 21st century learning is different because types of jobs are changing in the future. Students will need to know how to find information, collaborate, and problem solve, not just have knowledge.

Someone said, "This is the death of education, but the dawn of learning." I found this quote very interesting because I have heard someone say something very similar to this before. If this is true, school should change their curriculum and how they are testing students. Because this to me is saying that its not about the knowledge that you hold but it is the knowledge of the ability to find the answers and problem solve with it. I think they are right that learning is changing and the school should change with it. I hope to teach elementary school, but I do not think they should change it in elementary school because students still need to be taught the fundamentals of learning for several years. I think that method would be great for middle school students, high school students, and even college students.


Scavenger Hunt

Prezi- A prezi is a presentation and storytelling tool that uses a single canvas and not slides. You create a path that the prezi goes by. You can add images, powerpoints, videos, text, shapes, frames, and more. You can sign up for the free prezi, $4.92/monthly, or $13.25/monthly for the pro edition. They come with helpful videos to help you create and understand prezi. This is a great tool for teacher and students. I think is much more creative than a power point.

Animoto- Animoto is a site that lets you create videos using pictures, video clips, and music that you can share with everyone. For pricing, there is a free one that lets you make 30 second videos,there a Plus Plan for $2.50/month and a Pro Plan for $20.75/month which both offer different features. I think I will have to try one of these in my classroom in the future.

PollEverywhere- Poll Everywhere is a site set up for all types of polls. There are different types of plans and payments. There is a free access and then different category plans with subcategories for payments. The categories are Higher Education, K-12, One-time Use, and Business and Non-profit. Here is my first poll.

Project 9b Prezi

Less Than, Equal To, or Greater Than on Prezi

C4T #2 October

For the month of October I have received new teacher's blogs to follow to learn the importance of blogging in education.

The first week, I am assigned to Brian Crosby's blog, Learning is Messy. This post is about LAUSD and how it is considering to make art education a core subject. This is the actually article from Southern California Public radio: "The LA Unified school board will vote one a measure Tuesday that would make arts education a "core subject," prohibit further cuts to arts, and ultimately restore some money to arts programs." He says hopefully there is some form of common sense returning to the education system and hopefully it will become the norm for the United States.

I commented on this post explaining who I was and how I thought it was important also. I also hope that California will lead the way for other states.

The second post I was assigned to on his blog was a video in the Neno,Nevada of pilots launching and landing their body kites. Mr. Crosby and his wife saw this while they were on a walk. It had nothing really to do with education; but it was kind of cool to watch.

I commented on the post about the video. I said that would be fun to try and how beautiful the scenery looked, all the fall colors.

Blog Post 7

The School of Tomorrow

In Wendy Dexter’s high school students project, “The Network Student”. It explains that there is no textbooks, no lectures, and the course is done mostly online. The teacher practices “connectivism”, this is where the students use tools of technology to do their learning. The students create a learning network. They research on the topic of the course they use bookmarks if they like the site about the topic. They use blogs to write discussions and to get opinions about their topic. The students use their Ipods to get podcasts from some of the greatest professors on the topic. With all the tools of technology, the student organizes the information they have found to teach themselves and others.

"Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" The video explains that the teacher is there for being a learning architect, modeler, learning concierge, connecting learning incubator, network Sherpa, synthesizer, and change agent. The teacher teaches the student how to use this network to learn and to understand the topic. She offers guidance when they get stuck, how to ask for help respectfully from experts, how to find reliable and unreliable sources, how to become organized with their work, and most importantly maintain the information so they can solve the world’s problems in the 21st century.

I liked this video. I thought it was put together very nicely for high school students. Did I agree with the video? Well, I thought this method would be great for upper high school students and college students, but that is a lot to learn and to be responsible for as an elementary school student and even middle school student. I know as a child I would not have liked this method of learning. It is too independent for my liking. I think these skills are good to learn once you are older but not for younger students. Since I want to be an elementary teacher, I might start them out on a computer learning how to use it and how to do research on it. But complete learning on it I would say no.

My Blog VS. A 7th Graders Blog

"Welcome to My PLE" is a video done by a seventh grader explaining her science "personal learning environment". She showed us how she organizes her page for personal and learning use. She explains how and why she uses google docs, blogs, note taking, skype, and peer review. She likes how she has more freedom to do things how and when she wants to.

My PLE is similar to hers but also very different. I also use skype, blogs, and google docs for my EDM 310 class. Both of our classes are paperless and have to meet deadlines but we have our freedom to do it when and how we want to. I think her technology network is a little more advanced than mine is but that is okay. I am still building my PLE.

Project #8 Podcast Team YELL

Timeline

Kelsey's Journey

C4K #1 Summary September

I have the privilege to follow Mr. Anthony Capps's third grade classroom at Gulf Shores Elementary for the month of September.

This week I was assigned to the Language Arts section of the blog.
On this weeks post, students are asked to write a description about how they pictured Inez when her grandmother gave her some birthday money and when she looked at the price tag of the camera she wanted.

In my comment, I explained who I was and how I was creating a blog for my EDM 310 class to help me in my future classroom. I told them to keep up the good work. And that I looked forward to seeing their posts each week.

The week of September 24, I was assigned to his mathematics section of the blog and the fifth post. On this post, he breaks it down into four different subtopics. The first one is reflection were he explains how the math assessment he gives his students are different than what he and I use to take with pencils, paper, and math problems. His tests are very interactive and it tests several different aspects of math like counting and multiplying by tens and using money. The second one is notes were he talks about what he sees and how he collects data in the classroom on students strengths and weaknesses. The third is an announcement to the parents. Lastly is the thank you section were he thanks his students who helped in the classroom and what they did.

In my comment, I explained who I was again and how I really enjoyed the change in assessment he has made in his classroom. I liked how he had four different sections and pictures to show the parents what the students have been learning.

Blog Post #6

Randy Pausch's Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

This is the last lecture given by Randy Pausch. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. In this video, he talks about his childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and lessons he had learned. He explained that the United States landed on the moon when he was a child; so it made him fell as if all dreams were possible. In the video, he showed his childhood dreams and told about the importance of specific dreams. He told us what he learned from achieving and not achieving his goals. One thing he learned was when you do something bad and no one corrects you it is a bad thing, but when you do something bad and someone corrects you it means that they care. I think that is an important statement because it is true and some people do not think that way. It is also important for teachers to correct their students in the classroom and for students to use the advice to make themselves better. I believe that is how we learn by correcting our mistakes. Randy Pausch also explains about how he had setbacks for his childhood dream to be am Imagineer at Disney World, but was finally given the opportunity to work with them. When he was describing his struggles he said, “Brick walls are there for a reason, they let us prove how badly we want things and our dedication”. I think this a great quote to teach our classroom students because there will always be a brick walls and things in life do not come easy. Teachers should teach their students how to break through those walls and to never give up.

Then, he asks the audience a wonderful question, “How can you enable childhood dreams?” He doesn’t answers the question until the end in his lesson learned section. But he has says this, “it is easy to recognize someone’s childhood dreams when they tell you, when they don’t is when it gets difficult.” As a teacher, it is important to enable students’ dreams but you have to find out what they are first. He goes on to explain how he helped enable students’ dreams by creating a virtual world course and a master’s degree. He stressed the importance of millions of kids having fun while learning something hard. Which I think he stresses this because for one he is a professor and for another it is important for kids to have fun while learning something hard so they don’t struggle and give up.

Finally he talks about the lessons he has learned. He gave some really good advice for teachers and students in this section. Some of my favorites were helping other, learn for your students, tell them about having fun, never lose the child-like wonder, and loyalty is a two way street. Then, he tells you how to get people to help you. He says, “You can’t get there alone, tell the truth, be earnest, apologize when you need to, and focus on others.” He says these things are how you get people to help you, but I really think it is how be successful. If teachers teach those five things, I think students would be more successful.

I really enjoyed this video. He had a lot of life and joy for someone who only had a couple of months to live. I think he said a lot of great things for teachers, students, and just people in general. I thought it was a little long and I could have done without the virtual reality clip in there, but I understand that he was proud of the course and those students. I also really like the connections he used with people in his life like his students, co-works, bosses, his wife, and more. I thought it was a special touch.

Project 6.. This is my sentence

Blog Post #5

The Ischool Initiative

The Ischool Initiative and Zeitgeist Young Minds Entry are videos by Travis Allen who is now a college student. He asks the question, " Does technology belong in our schools?". He thinks that it can be a solution to our current education problems. Travis Allen explains the Ischool with the Itouch platform can help schools, students, teachers, and parents. Apple has already so many apps that can help students, teachers, and parents learn and stay in touch with another.

Travis Allen explains that Ischools can help the schools save money by cutting the cost of paper, pencils, and expensive copy machines. He says it can save up to at least $600 per student because there are so many apps that are free to use such as email, world wiki (maps), U.S. presidents, star walk (about the universe), formulae (formulas for math and science), scientific calculator, calendar, and Ihomework. And it will save the environment. "Rethink, retool, rebuild our education institute to better prepare our young for the digital world they were born into" is a powerful statement he used. I think that he has a great and helpful plan to help improve our schools. I think that the students are fascinated with the Apple products such as the Itouch and the Ipad why not let them use them for learning. By using these products, students, teachers, and parents are able to access learning information at anytime and they will always be connected.

Virtual Choir

Lux Aurumque by Eric Whitacre is a virtual choir that is shown on a YouTube video. It is amazing how talented these performers and the creators of this video are. There are 185 performers that have never seen or practiced with each other. It is just pure amazing what they can use the internet for. They are very talented and creative.


Teaching in the 21st Century

Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts converted to a video by Dr. Strange for our EDM 310 class is a video explains the changes that need to be made in the classroom to fit our change in technology. He explains that teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge, they are just a filter. And how do we teach our students to handle the new resources they have such as Google, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, Wiki, and more. Now students can find information on anything, anytime, and anywhere. So, we need to teach our students how to validate, synthesize, leverage, communicate, collaborate, and problem solve information they get off the internet.

I think Keven Roberts is right that the teacher is no longer the main source of knowledge in the classroom. This affects us because we will not only need to focus on facts, content, but now skill in our curriculum. Skills are now needed because it only takes moments for people to find facts and content on the internet. We now have to teach through Blooms Taxonomy like understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create with these skills. I think that these skills are important for our children to succeed in the future.

Why I Flipped My Classroom

Why I Flipped My Classroom by Katie Gimbar, Dr. Lodge McCammon's Fizz- Flipping the Classroom by Dr. Lodge McCammon, and Flipping the Classroom-4th grade STEM by Ms. Munafo are videos about classrooms being "flipped". Ms. Munafo, Dr. McCammon, and Ms. Gimbar explain that the direct instruction is to take place at home. The instruction is taught the night before the assignment is to be practiced in class. Students watch prerecorded videos on the lesson, practice, prepare questions and discussions for the teacher the next day. Ms. Gimbar tells us that she use to just teach to the middle group of students. And that approach was not effective. She spent 90% of their class time delivering and reviewing and only 10% on application. The rest of the application was to be done at home for homework. But once she flipped her classroom the statics flipped also. Dr. McCammon explains that there is currently to much lecturing in our classrooms and not enough engaging. He says lecture is inefficient, not engaging, and an one shot deal which makes application individual and not engaging. But, Fizz video lectures are efficient, viewed multiple times, and creates classroom time. This way the classroom can focus on differentiated instruction which is engaging.

I think this approach is very interesting to say the least. I think it is something different for the students and the teachers. This approach is not really a foreign concept for me. One of my college math classes was a "flipped class", we watched the lessons the night before the class, wrote down questions for the professor, and practiced. Then in the class the next day we did some more application. So, I think this could be used in the class because I have used this approach as a student. It also creates student responsibility which I think is a great thing for students at any age. It also helps if the students are absent, they are still able to watch the lessons and not fall behind.

Blog Post #4

How to Create a Podcast from Judy Scharf's "What is a Podcast?" is a video and post that explains what a podcast is. I chose this video because I have heard of a podcast before but have never used one. The post explains that it is a radio style talk show. It tells us that you can listen to it from your computer,MP3, or download. The video explains how to create a podcast, edit, and to put it on the internet. I found this video and post very informative for someone like me who has never used a podcast before.

Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale was a video on his blog where he explains the benefits of podcasting. In the video he tells how it is an effective way for teachers to interact with students outside of the classroom. He says podcasting are also a benefit to students because students are able to listen to assignments anywhere and anytime. By having students preform podcasts, teachers are allowing their students to use creativity and their communication skills. He also talks about the challenges that happen when students are absent for a period of time but with podcasts it can solve this problem in the classroom. Students and parents are able to get the assignments so they will not be too far behind.

I found this video very informational. I think that it is a great idea to have podcasts for students that are absent so that the parents and students are informed about the work and lessons that they have missed. I think that podcasts are a great way for teachers and students to be creative.


Langwitches' Flat Stanley Podcast was a post on her blog which was a podcast. She had her students read as a group the book Flat Stanley. I really loved this because you could hear all the student and their excitement they had for reading. I think by making this assignment a podcast the student have something new to look forward to. I liked reading as a group more than every other one where she had each student read their own line because this way it doesn't put pressure on one student.I really liked this activity for students.

Project #5 Presentation