Blog Post #15

After going back and reading my first blog post, I kind of feel like I was on the right track in the beginning, but I am closer to my destination now. I still want to teach first through third grade and I am still a huge fan of books and students reading. But, I am now aware of interactive ways for the students to read their book. SMART boards have the technology that allows you to read interactive books. Students can get quizzed throughout the book and help with reading comprehension. I love how students can play with books and see vivid details of what they’re reading and even brainstorm their own depictions of the story.
Critical thinking is still at the top of my list. After successfully completing EDM 310 I am a huge advocate for group work and critical thinking. Starting this out at a young age can help students in the long run. Many jobs involve collective involvement among coworkers. I believe that teachers of each grade level should collaborate together to effectively teach each student the same valuable lesson. This allows the great teachers to share their thoughts and ideas while the less creative or inexperienced teachers can get help gathering some ideas as well. This would help to find a happy medium with teaching.
When I wrote my first blog post, I had no idea how to work a SMARTboard. Thankfully, we played with them during the semester and I now know how to work one as well as do activities and a whole lesson plan on a SMARTboard. The most important thing I am taking from EDM310 is blogging and how important it is. I feel like blogging is a gateway technology. (: Once you start blogging, you open your mind to so much more! I love blogging. I have found so many useful tools for organizing, gathering information, and networking simply by blogging and exploring a little bit. I now know that the possibilities are ENDLESS!
Thank you Dr. Strange as well as all of your lab assistants. You have all made this class much more bearable than it is made out to be. There may be a lot of work involved, but I honestly feel like it has prepared me, or at least given me an idea, for how much work will be required when I actually become a teacher.

Project #13

"One and Done" did a fabulous job of collaborating on two projects in EDM 310 by using email, text messaging, and google docs to communicate ideas for the last few projects. We used these technologies to share our ideas and thoughts for the SmartBoard lesson as well as the final project, iBook. We did have to meet in order to film the SmartBoard lesson and to voice record a few things for the ibook. All in all, we learned a lot about communicating through other ways instead of meeting face to face. This was a great way for us to get used to using readily available technology as a convenience.

Blog Post 14

Teacher knows if you've done the E-reading
This article is very intriguing. I think it's a bit odd that some professors are so dependent on the E-book. Some students don't open their books through out the semester and do just fine while others highlight every thing they deem important. Every student is different. Luckily, one of the professors realized that grades should not be dependent on how much they open their book. Maybe, their class isn't challenging enough or maybe they take good notes in class. The article talks about a program that rates students on how often they read their E-book. This rating is reported to the professors which allows them to see how well each student is doing in the class in relation to how frequently they use their book.
I personally as a teacher would not use it to a high standard if at all. It would be nice to be able to track how often the students are reading, but I feel like the students could find kinks in the system. Like stated in the article, students could find equivalent excuses like "the dog ate my homework" to justify why they weren't reading as much as they should or why it looked as if they weren't. I personally don't use my books as often as I'm sure my professor would like, so I couldn't require my students to read their's more. I have to write things down to remember them, which doesn't help with the E-book unless they fixed the notepad tool. I like the tool that allows you to track how well each student is doing in comparison to how frequently they use their book.
I would not like this technology to be incorporated into any of my classes. Most of my classes don't even require a book. Plus, lectures typically don't come specifically from the assigned book. Therefore, reading the book isn't really the most important aspect of class. It's more about lecture notes and PowerPoints. If there was a tracker as to how frequently and how long you review chapter notes/PowerPoints and how soon before exams, that would be helpful for the teacher.
I would like to ask them: 1) Do you give a grade based on how frequently they use their E-Books or is it merely optional? 2) Would you change the technology from the book to your specific notes and PowerPoints since your classes are mostly virtual?

1)How do you learn best? (highlighting book, talking about concepts, writing down information, etc.) 2) Do you feel like the more you read the book the better you do on quizzes and in the course overall?
How do find that students do better by reading the book more frequently than those who use other methods of studying for tests?
Is this technology just to see who studies far before tests compared to those who cram the night before?

C4K April

Marisol
Marisol did a character development post. She listed a few characteristics of herself that made her different than others.

Sophie
Sophie is a 4th grader in Australia. She wrote a blog post about her Easter break adventures. She got to watch movies, easter egg hunt, play on a trampoline, see ducks, and even had a sleepover!

Final Report on PLN

My PLN is growing tremendously with the use of C4T's every other week. That alone has allowed me to explore great blogs with very useful information. Sometimes I will even find links to other useful blogs. There are so many ideas to explore and places to go from a single blog post.
I have organized my favorite blogs posted by others in a folder under bookmarks. This way I can access them very easily. I'm thinking about inputting them into an organization website so that I can store them in case I'm not specifically on my computer or need to switch computers all together. Twitter is still my favorite network. I have begun to follow many educational sites and people. Plus, it's easy to tweet directly from my phone! (:

Project 15

Blog Post #13

Brian Crosby's: Back to The Future

In his video, Mr. Crosby talks about how he has a class from 4th to 6th grade. Majority of his students are poverty students and "at risk" as he says. Most of them speak English as a second language. Over half of his students don't know what city, state, or even country they live in though most of them have lived there at least since kindergarten.
His class has 1:1 laptops as well as an interactive SMARTboard. They also have individual blogs that they are required to post in. One assignment is to do a specific experiment at home and blog about what specifically happened during your experiment. They will be asked questions like "why did the can crush?". The kids used wikis which I think is great! Especially since I have done my first wiki this year as a sophomore in college. I laughed when he referred to "explosions" and "butt" during lecture. That will definitely get 4th graders attention for the next 20 minutes like he said!

Paul Anderson: Blended Learning Cycle
First, Mr. Anderson using blended learning in his classroom to enforce the power of learning and the question. I liked how in his video he had a screen that said "Everything is a remix". This is so true because people pull in information from other's blogs, websites, and even lesson plans to accommodate their specific needs and wants. For instance, Mr. Anderson pulled information from an awesome blog by Ramsay Musallam who was one of the first Flipped Teachers. He also pulled information together from a personal trip to China, his own Masters project, Dr. Tae, and Daphne Koller. This proves that his ideas are a remix from others' ideas and suggestions.
There are eight components of his Blended Learning Cycle(Blended Learning): Mobile, Online, and Classroom. Then the learning cycle's five e's: engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. Once you blend all of these components, you have the blended learning cycle! He uses QUIVERS to carry out his cycle. Question Investigate Video Elaborate Review and Summary quiz. The students can not move on to the next letter or activity/assignment until they have successfully completed the task before them. It is a great way to engage the students in the current assignment and allow them to fully learn the material before moving on. Students, now days, aren't pushed hard enough to learn every aspect of the material before moving on to the next lesson. Therefore, students typically won't fully understand the complete range of information on tests and exams because they did not take the time to fully learn the basics that lead up to the more challenging or intricate information.
I personally think he is on the right track to teaching his students and keeping them fully involved in the learning cycle through blended learning. I would love to implement something along these lines in my future classroom!

Progress Report for the Final Project

One and Done's final project will be coming together this week. We have been working so well together over this whole semester. We are all learning how to put together a presentation together on an iBook. It is very exciting! We have solely been communicating through email, google docs, and text messaging. It shockingly works out very well for us.

C4T April

Ramsey Musallam: "5-in-5" Attempt at a MC hack
This blog post was all about multiple choice tests and a good way to make it challenging but not a trick. It is important for students to be able to scan through options and pick out the best choice. He is against multiple choice questions but he has improvised. Cycles of Learning has a great blog post about the quizzes he gave in order to track how well prepared the students were for each quiz as well as how they ranked amongst the other classes and classmates. This was performed in an AP Chemistry class.

Mr. Musallam has not posted anything current on his blog, so I chose his second to last posting. He spoke about lower Blooms in Basketball. He created a game that you can play in the classroom which still involves learning. Basically, he made single questioned sheets of paper which pertained to the lesson. The students would grab a problem (piece of paper) and solve the problem. Once they solved it, they could wad up the paper and shoot it into the bucket for a point of extra credit. He set up ground rules such as he will be roaming around blocking shots and you can shoot as many times, but each shot must be a new problem. This allows students to think critically while still having fun. I told him that it was a great idea to incorporate into class. I like the idea of students getting up and moving around in a controlled environment. It takes away from the monotony of lecture.

Blog Post #12

We did so many blog assignments in this class over the semester. I have learned a lot and can do so many more things than I could at the beginning of the semester. One thing I would think would be very beneficial for teachers is to explore different websites for teachers and the development of a strong guide to go by for new teachers or even teachers trying to learn more or further their career. We did something like this when we started our PLN. We got to explore different networks that linked lesson plans, guides, teachers, and other helpful tools to building up ones lesson plans and activities.
My blog post assignment, I believe, would be very helpful. Students going through EDM 310 are typically close (kind of) to graduating and pursuing their first job and hopefully career. That being said, I believe students should be required to first research schools in the area in which they wish to work. Encouraging students to choose a county or city other than Mobile. They should write a description of a specific school or counties pros and cons. Such as, do the schools have newer buildings, play facilities, is it a Regional school in conjunction with an elementary school, middle, or high school.
The next thing to look at would be demographics. Who lives there? Is it a young community, family oriented, or an older community. What is the racial/nationality demographic of the area? The school, county, or city Human Resources website would be very helpful for most of these questions.
What is the job outlook in this county/city? Are there a lot of pink slipped teachers? What is the income per capita? Are the schools in this county/city Title IX schools? If so, how many are?
Having to research a school before employment is a very good thing to do. I would suggest typing out the questions you wish to use and allow the students to fill in the details. A specific school (preferably one they wish to interview at and possibly work at in the future) would be a better topic rather than a whole city or county. It is good to research tools to help teachers once they are in a school teacher, but what about the steps leading up to employment? I firmly believe students should research the schools which they wish to begin employment at. Not to mention, it looks great during an interview if you know a little about the school issues as well as some strong points.
Once the research has been complete, they can move on to looking through websites to build a sort of portfolio of helpful websites. For instance, 101 websites for elementary teachers shows many different sites than have interactive activities for students, lessons for teachers, and many other useful tools for teachers. They can build a small list of websites that they may use later in their career and studies.

Blog Post #11

Little Kids… Big Potential

Mrs Cassidy's class uses a lot of technology. They have learned to use computers, skype, nintendo, and others. They can make videos, blogs, and radio scripts. They use their blogs to further their knowledge on how to write quality posts. One of the students said that her grammar actually improved after each post.
I love the high use of technology in such a low grade. Students should be able to comfortably use computers and smartboards as well as the technology that comes with it. Technology can help students learn so much more and help reinforce learning especially at a young age.

C4K March

Kyah
Kyah wrote a short story about going to the moon. Luke, the little boy in the story was actually the first kid on the moon! How cool! He went with his father. Kyah did a great job of being enthusiastic as well as descriptive of the trip. I said: "Kyah, I love your enthusiasm! This was a great illustration of going to the moon. I felt as though I was in the rocket with you both when you said you felt your stomach turning “101 different ways”. Keep up the great work!"

Erika
Erika read a story about a boy who was told that he couldn't accomplish his goals. So the student's assignment was to think of a way they would improve their home. She chose to basically make a laundry chute in her home. How neat! You would hook your laundry basket onto a rope or hook, then drop it down to the first floor! Very cool idea.

Neo
Neo is a Middle schooler in New Zealand. He first wrote a narrative about a surfing dog. He told the viewers about the family that lived by the beach. The young boy got a puppy and named him Wilson. Wilson would go to the beach and surf with the boy, Jack.

Riley B
Riley is an 8th grader who enjoys to wrestle. I told him about how there aren't many schools in Mobile that have wrestling teams. I also told him about how I like to cheer, it's my sport of choice.

C4T #3

Free Technology for Teachers: A Short Guide to Terms Commonly Used in Blogging
WOW! I would recommend Richard Byrne's blog to any and everyone! There are so many helpful pieces of information in his blog. In his most recent post, he recorded lingo commonly used in blogging. This terminology is especially helpful. It is somewhat like "Blogging Terminology for Dummies". He is also accepting any feedback on his short list that he's developed thus far. He plans on printing them in his handouts for his blogging workshop.


About.me now Supports Embedded Video and Audio
Richard Byrne's most recent post was about a website that allows people to upload strengths, weaknesses, and other virtuous information that could possibly help them get jobs. This website allows possible employers to scout out possible prospects for interviews. It also allows people to post their best work (videos/presentations) on their About.me page.

Blog Post #10

Adventures in Pencil Integration

I kind of took a different interpretation of Mr. Spencer's pencil artwork. I feel as though it may have been a way of saying that you don't have to buy the fanciest things in order to get the job done. Papermate pencils make break more than the Ticonderoga pencils, but they are inexpensive and work just fine. They may be of a lower quality but they still get the job done. Also, the higher end pencil could be considered technology. Technology versus old school, to be exact. Pencils versus technology. I believe that hits the nail right on the head.

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?"
It is very important to engage student's minds in the classroom. Though to some teachers and administrators, the main goal is to get those empty slates full of memorized information for the standardized tests at the end of the quarter. Soon to forget everything that was in the slate. Burp back education at it's finest.
Games should not be pulled from the curriculum. Any thing that allows the students to actively participate in a lesson or activity is great! When students actively participate they have better chances of remembering the knowledge and truly learning it. Not just learn it for the test and soon forget it. 10 Points on Pencils is another one of his blog posts that I read. I really like his view on pencils and new technology. He actually made me chuckle a bit in this post. I believe students should utilize whatever source of technology they choose in order to further their knowledge. Becoming more familiar with any item of technology is great. Students should become more familiar with these items in order to gain knowledge.

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
To say the very least, Dr. Scott McLeod is one of the leading experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues in the nation. His article about technology and what not to teach your kids has a lot of validity to it, in an opposite kind of way. His post has a valid argument of parent issues and concerns with technology. Though, many parents facilitate their children with cell phones, computers, and other electronic devices, they still have concerns about the use of the internet.
His post states many things that parents say like "they're probably looking at porn" or bring up the issue of cyber bullying. Technology is very important today in collaboration with education. The key to this is proper supervision.

Project #11 Green Screen

Project #14 SMART board basics

Project #12 My First Book Trailer

Blog Post #9

"At the Teacher's Desk"
I loved reading Mr. McClung's reflections of each new year of teaching. Of course, I chose to read his first account because the first year of teaching, or at any new job, you learn the greatest amount of information.
His first year teaching in an Elementary school, he learned that there is no such thing as a perfect lesson and the lesson you prepare and the lesson you present are never the same. He also touched on the subject of teachers losing focus on the most important things, the students. Lessons become more teacher focused and less student centered. It just goes to show you that people tend to get comfortable.
In his most recent blog post, year 4 reflection, he states two things: 1)you must please yourself, students, and superiors- don't worry about your peers. 2)Challenge yourself!
Like I stated earlier, teachers become comfortable in their own ways. This can really hurt your classroom. I'm not saying you can't reuse lesson plans but be sure to keep them interesting, creative, and up-to-date.

Blog Post #8

This is How We Dream
Technology allows us to visually see things that are occurring right now across the country. You no longer have to explore the world in order to view it. There are so many items shared online that are simply a click away. People compose and share things on the internet. They can share as little as text filled with valuable information to live streaming video of an adventure or documentary.
This allows us to explore our world in ways that were not available previously. Videos can be shared with millions of people. Statistics, graphs, or plots of information can be shown as they rapidly change. The amount of information you can find is phenomenal!
The world around us is rapidly changing. This allows us to actively participate in these changes. We can also, as educators, show and educate our students about how the world has developed into the technologically advanced world it has become.

Carly Pugh's Blog Post
Carly's idea of an assignment was an excellent idea for any grade level! It can be altered to accommodate different grade levels. What I love most about this is it allows students to be creative and use their own personal preferences. Even if the student is indecisive or unorganized, this assignment could work out perfectly for them. Youtube can be suitable for any age group as long as the student is monitored by an adult supervisor. That may be one issue with incorporating youtube videos off of the internet. All in all it is a fantastic way for students to show their individuality or even teachers to show what traits aspire them to be educators and what ideas or practices they would like to follow and incorporate into their own classrooms curriculum.
She comes so close to Dr. Miller's desire for multi-media in the classroom by incorporating student research to collectively bring together videos which they find useful to their personal needs or desires.

Chipper Series
I actually laughed a lot during this series! "I want you to teach me so I don't have to learn…. I'm doing all the work!". I love this. Students literally have the mentality that it is your job to force feed them information and basically wipe their butts for them as well.
Chipper wanted to change the definition of "procrastination" on Wikipedia so that she could turn in her work late and it still count. But there is a reason why a deadline must be met. You must have a reachable goal that still challenges you.
She then creates a school where the student is free to decide when they come to class, how long they stay in class, and how they interact in the classroom. To say the least, her school fails.

EDM310 For Dummies
This made me laugh! This basically tells you how to survive EDM 310 account. It shows the students at the beginning of the course when they are very frustrated with the course load and how unfamiliar they are with each of the different websites and programs associated with the class. "I feel like my 8 year old!"
Once the students worked through the class and became familiar with the different sites and programs they used in the class, they love them. This class introduced them to things they can incorporate into their education careers that are free and quite useful.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
Students have become so involved with technology outside of school but these specific methods are banned in schools. Students can not email, blog, instant message, or use social networking sites in most schools. This discourages student learning because it takes away from the students desires. It is less student focused which is a deterrent to student learning.
Student's jobs are not to weed out the wrong answer and produce us with the correct one. They will not be given a "vending machine" type test on their job. It is economically incorrect and inadequate. Scavenger Hunt
1. For my social media type tool I decided to use Edmodo. Edmodo is great for sharing resources with other teachers, students, and parents. It is a social networking site and is practically set up just like Facebook with a newsfeed and all. Instead of just statuses and pictures, you can post assignments, alerts, and even notes so everyone or just your parents can see. It is a very useful website and can be used for a plethora of educational ideas!

2. A tool i've never used before would be Smilebox. Smilebox allows you to take your pictures and form sldieshows, collages, scrapbooks, and more! You can make comics for your students, coloring sheets, and invitations. You can even add music!
3.My first poll : My Live Poll

C4T #2

iPads/iPods in PE – Practical Workflow with Edmodo

This PE teacher was using iPads and iPods in PE. You can stream assignments, videos, or pictures on phones or ipads with your classes. You can upload polls and quizzes as well. It is very useful not only in the classroom but also during PE or even sports.

"Hello, my name is Angela and I am a student at The University of South Alabama in EDM 310. I really enjoyed this blog post! It is really helpful to me and such a great tool to use in the classroom as well as in PE or with any sports. I am very eager to use this in my future classroom. Feel free to email me ang.vanvliet@gmail.com Thanks! Goodluck implementing this into your curriculum. I will be sure to keep up with your blog."

"Cricket Scoring on Ipad"
I know nothing about cricket. So I was kind of confused when I read this. I thought the scoring application was called "cricket". Instead, it is used for cricket. It allows you to organize everything dealing with the game: runs, strikes, manhattans, etc. I said: "Great post. I love seeing technology running into sports now days. It is awesome to be able to get immediate feedback after a game."