My C4K #5 assignment was on Ella. Ella is in Ms. Carol Mclaughlin’s second grade class. She wrote a blog post titled “My Dogs”. In this post she talks about her two dogs, Max and Lulu. One day the dogs ran away and she could not find them. She thought the dogs were gone forever and she ran up to her Dad and told him they were lost. They searched all over but could not find Max and Lulu so they just went back home. When they arrived home Max and Lulu were waiting on Ella and her Dad.
My Response to Ella’s blog post was:
Hi Ella!
My name is Jamie Barbour and I am a college student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am learning how to blog to. You can see my blog here. I also have a dog. She is a yorkie and her name is Dixie. I don’t know what I would do if I lost her. I would be scared just like you. I am glad your dogs came home. I see you are in the second grade. Are you enjoying your second grade year? Are you learning lots of exciting new things? What is your favorite subject. I really enjoyed learning about you in your blog. Keep up the great work! And good luck with the rest of your 2nd Grade year!
Thanks so much,
Jamie Lynn Barbour
C4K #6
My C4K #6 assignment was on Izzy. Izzy is a 6th grader in Mr. Seyfert's class in Waukesha, Winsconsin. The blog assignment was to post about whether they would like to "hang out" with the main character from their novel. The novel she is reading is called Divergent by Veronica Roth. She wrote a blog post titled, "Wanna Hang Out?" In this assignment Izzy says:
I wouldn’t want to be friends with Tris because she tends to get into trouble a lot. One reason is that she went to visit her brother in Erudite without a Dauntless with her. Also I would be scared of her because she is super tough. She would probably attack me if I did something she didn’t like.(Izzy)
My response to Izzy's blog post was:
Hi Izzy!
My name is Jamie Lynn Barbour and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am majoring in elementary education. I am also writing a blog and you can find my blog here. How are you enjoying your 6th grade year? I hope you are learning lots of fun and exciting new things this year.
I have not read the novel Divergent yet, but I did go and read a summary of the novel by the author. It sounds like a really interesting book. I wish I would have been assigned this book to read in the 6th grade. I am definitely going to read this book now because your blog makes me want to learn more about it. Did you know they are making Divergent in to a movie? Kate Winslet will star in it.
You are doing great on your blog. Keep up the good work! I hope you enjoy the rest of your novel and the rest of your 6th grade year.
Thanks so much, Jamie Lynn Barbour
C4K #7
My C4K #7 assignment was on Kevin V and he is in Ms. Lentine's class. His assignment was to write a reflection blog about the autism documentary that the class watched called, "Wretches and Jabbers." Kevin wrote:
Now that I have seen the movie I have learned that there is a lot of people affected by autism before I thought it was just a few. Now that I know this I think it is incredible that people with autism are helping others with it.. I think that by them helping others they will not feel as outcast. It is good that they are able to type to communicate. Are they still going around to help people?
My response to Kevin V.'s blog was:
My name is Jamie Lynn Barbour and I am and I am a student at the University of South Alabama, in Mobile, Alabama. I am studying to be an elementary school teacher. I also have a blog and you can find it here. I have not watched this documentary yet so I have learned a little about it by reading yours and your teacher’s blog. Did you enjoy the documentary? Did it teach you some things that you did not know about autism? I also think it is great that people with autism are helping others with it. I hope you enjoy the rest of your school year. Keep up the great work on your blog.
C4K #8
My C4K #8 assignment was on Jared. He is an 8th grader in Mrs. Krebs class. He wrote a post about a religious illustration. This is what he said:
For our Religion class we had to find something Jesus said in the bible and make a drawing or edit a picture they found. I did the second one. I picked Luke chapter 15:7. Which says “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” What it means to me is that as long as you repent and be sorry God will be happy to have even more because you have made it. It is important to me because all of us are sinners but God will still forgive us and be joyful we made it. Prayer
Lord
Who save us from sin,
Please protect us and help us reach you in heaven,
We ask this through your son Jesus Christ.
My response to his post was:
Hi Jared!
My name is Jamie Lynn Barbour and I am a college student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am studying to be an elementary school teacher. I am writing a blog for class as well. You can find my blog here.
I love the illustration and scripture you chose to write about. I also really like the Prayer. And I agree with you that we must repent our sins and that God will still forgive us and be joyful we made it. He forgives everything because he is an Awesome God! Do you enjoy your religion class? I wish I would have attended a school that had a religion course. I love learning new things about religion. Are you having a great 8th grade year? I hope so. It looks like you must really like basketball from your blog layout. Do you play? Keep up the great work on your blog! I hope you continue to learn new things about Christ. Good luck the rest of your 8th grade year!
This first assignment is supposed to explain this cartoon. I am not exactly sure what this cartoon represents. On the left side the cartoon represents the Papermate pencil, which is inexpensive and breaks all the time. The cartoon itself is a drawing of an older, chubby, kind of geeky looking cartoon man in a suit, which does not make sense because if the pencil breaks often I would have drawn a skinnier, frailer looking man. On the right side the cartoon represents the Ticonderoga pencil which is more expensive and supposedly more hip. The cartoon itself is a skinnier, hipper looking teen in a t-shirt and pants. A 12 pack of Papermate pencils costs $2.49 at Office Max, which is 20 cents per pencil. An 8 pack of Ticonderoga pencils costs $2.99 at Office Max, which is 37 cents per pencil. This is a total difference of 17 cents. I just don't get what the cartoon is supposed to represent and I did not know there was such a difference in pencils. I buy what I like regardless of the price.
Why Were Your Kids Playing Games
In Mr. Spencer's post, Why Were Your Kids Playing Games he is being scolded by the principal for using a game to teach his lesson to his students. The principal had previously stated that there would be no games in school because of parent complaints. Mr. Spencer explained it as an advanced simulation, where the students were drawing products in a mock factory. Even though the students were applying several different skills and covering more than one subject the principal still considered it a game. Teachers are supposed to be focusing on rote memorization skills for a skills test. Memorization is not learning, it is simply memorizing temporarily for the purpose of a test. You learn by doing and that is what Mr. Spencer was trying to teach.
I also read another blog post of Mr. Spencer's called Avoid Social Networking. In this post the district office Human Resources officer is telling all teachers that they can no longer interact with students on social networking sites. Ms. Jackson one of the teachers at the meeting spoke up and said "best way to model appropriate adult behavior is to interact with kids and be a positive role model." She's a volunteer at her church but must give it up to avoid outside of school contact with children from school. One teacher is told to resign from coaching baseball because it was not a school team. Another was told to un-friend a long time family friend because her friend's child goes to her school. Another was told they could go to the grocery store but could not acknowledge any of the children from school. Basically this post is saying that teachers should avoid all contact with students outside of school because contact outside of school can be misconstrued as inappropriate behavior of an educator.
In some cases this is true. There are many instances in the United States of inappropriate interaction between teacher and student that is publicly displayed on the news every other week. Most of these cases are instances of inappropriate sexual behavior of teachers and students. One of these cases just made news locally at one of the high schools in Mobile County. Some people in the profession do not know how to draw the line between right and wrong. It disgusts me! It really does! But All teachers should not pay the consequences of the few minority who do not act in a professional manner. I think when it pertains to school, children should have access to their teacher. For instance, if a child is having problems with homework after school and can message the teacher through Facebook for help, I think that's great. I also think it's great if the student can watch lesson reviews on You Tube as well. I think having class blogs are great for students, teachers, and parents to be up to date on everything the students are doing in class. There are great ways social networking benefit the teacher-student relationship. I do however, understand why it is frowned upon. For those who can not draw the line between appropriate and inappropriate behavior of teacher-student relationships; they ruin it for the majority of all good educators who do know the difference and who are trying to make a difference.
Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff Please?
This post by Dr. Scott McLeod is a letter addressing Parents, Teachers, and Administrators asking them not to teach the students how to use social media or technology of any nature in the classroom. It warns of the dangers in allowing it such as cyber bullying, sexting, and sexual predators. Students need to learn how to use technology in this day in age. To ask that it not be allowed in school at all is just totally ridiculous to me. A school without computers or SMARTboards or any electronic devices is just not a school at all, in my opinion. It must be taught in school, however the dangers of using technology should also be taught in school. It is our responsibility as educators to teach the good and the bad of technology.
Dr. Scott McLeod is currently serving as the Director of Innovation for Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency 8 in Iowa. He is also an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. Dr. McLeod also is the Founding Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. He was also co-creator of the popular video series, Did You Know? (Shift Happens). Dr. Scott McLeod is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school leadership and technology issues.
I chose to do my Project #12 Book Trailer on Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet. It is a wonderful little book written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. I love all the Fancy Nancy series but particular this one because I read it to my daughter while I was pregnant and I read it to her now. I'm also partial to Fancy Nancy because she has hair just like me.
Mr. McClung has been teaching since the fall of 2009. He is an assistant principal at Leverett Elementary School in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Prior to becoming an assistant principal, he taught at McDonald Country, Missouri and Dardanelle, in Arkansas. At the end of each school year he writes a reflection blog post of what he has learned, his accomplishments, and his adventures.
One of those blog posts are from his 2011-2012 year, called "What I Learned this Year Volume 4." One of the topics in his year 4 reflection was worrying all year of what his peers thought of him as a teacher. He had never worried before about what his colleagues thought of his teaching style but for some reason it really go the best of him in his 4th year. His one rule for teaching is whether or not the his students are having fun learning from him. If they are having fun then he knows he is on the right path. So the lesson is always remember who you are teaching for, and you can never go wrong in how your teaching.
The second point Mr. McClung makes in this post is to "Challenge Yourself." He says that this past year he became to comfortable teaching the same thing for the third year in a row. He relied heavily on past lesson plans and activities instead of putting forth the effort to create new ones. If you become comfortable and lazy as a teacher you students will not want to go to class and they will not want to learn. Thankfully he got the opportunity to teach a different subject which means all new lesson plans. It will be a lot of work but as a teacher he is looking forward to it.
I think both points Mr. McClung makes are important lessons for teachers. It is important to always remember who you are teaching. Your job as a teacher is not to compete with your fellow teachers as to who's classroom is better or who teaches better. Your job is to teach to your students in the best way you know how. And to make learning fun for your students so they will want to go to school and want to go to your class. It is also extremely important not to become complacent in what you are teaching. If you are bored or lazy with what you are doing then more than likely your students are to. This is why so many kids hate school. If they do the same boring thing every day with the same boring class then they do not want to be there. Their learning process ceases to exist! Don't be complacent!
The next blog post I read was "What I Learned this Year" from 2010-2011. This was his first year teaching at the same school for more than a year. It was also his first year as a coach and a computer applications teacher. He says, "our decision making process should always be student centered and not centered around pleasing adults." Always remember you became a teacher for the kids not everyone else. Another lesson he learned in his third year was that sometimes other teachers are not excited for change in the classroom. Don't let what others think or feel about new techniques influence they way you feel about them. If your an optimist be an optimist take the new you learn and implement it in your classroom. Don't shy away of trying new things because your peers do not like it.
Another point he makes in this post is don't do the student's work for them. If they are having trouble with an assignment or project don't show them how to do it by doing it form them, talk or walk them through it. You can help them without doing the work for them. His last point in this blog post is do not get to comfortable. Your first year of teaching you are figuring everything out because everything is new. The next years are easier because you have done it all before so then it becomes a routine. Do not settle in to the routine of the same thing or your teaching becomes complacent. We all should take a moment and Reflect!
My second C4T assignment was on Frank Noschese’s blog, Action-Reaction.
Mr. Noschese has been a Physics Teacher at John Jay High School since 1998. He also was a Presidential Award winner for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching in New York in 2011. That is AWESOME!
VPython
I read and posted on his blog post titled, VPython Screencasts . VPython is a software program used in physics. These screencasts allow him to know which of his students understand their physics coding programs and which do not. This is a great way of keeping track of his students. Submissions will be made by students through Screencast-o-matic, which allows for web based uploads to You Tube and no download installation. It is also user friendly and Mr. Noschese has posted tutorial videos of good and bad example of screencasting to his blog for students to review.
Hi Mr. Noschese!
I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama and I was assigned to read your blog post. First let me start off by saying, "Congratulations on your Presidential Award"! That is AWESOME and says a lot about you as a teacher and a person. Your students are lucky to have you as an instructor.
I have never taken physics but I know it is hard so I think this screencasting project is a great way for you to keep track of whether or not your students understand the subject and the coding programs. This way you can help the ones who do not understand to well and are afraid to speak up. I also really enjoyed watching the tutorial videos on how to use Screencast-o-matic. It was thorough and easy to follow. I actually wish Dr. Strange would post some video tutorials for his class. I think it would help those students who are lost in our class as well.
Thanks for the information and I look forward to learning more about you through your blog.
Mr. Nochese has not put up a new blog post since the last one I commented on so I found an older one to comment on instead.
Keep It Simple Standards-Based Grading
I read and posted on his blog post titled, Keep It Simple Standards-Based Grading, or KISSBG as he calls it. He says if you are planning to switch to SBG, Standard Based Grading, keep it simple at least until you figure it out the first time around. He taught a section of conceptual chemistry which was new for him.He had planned to keep the same grading system as the teacher before him but when he went to grade the tests the point system was a mess. So he decided to switch to SBG. Here are his caveats:
A set of ~5 standards per unit. WHY: This seems to get at the right scope–not too granular, not too broad. Of course, some units had a few more standards, others a few less. Keep it simple. Each standard was graded binary YES/NO. WHY: Prevents point-grubbing from students. No need to deal with questions like, “Why did she get a 3 on that standard while I only got 2?” Either the student met the standard or they didn’t. Keep it simple. Standards that are YES cannot go back down. WHY: Prevents students from perceiving this new grading system as unfair. This can save you many headaches, frantic emails from students, and phone calls from parents. Keep it simple. Term grade = 50 + 50*(#YES/#TOTAL). WHY: No need to worry about conjunctive grading systems, decaying averages, or tiered standards. Kids can quickly and easily calculate their grade. Keep it simple. No student-initiated reassessments. WHY: This actually wasn’t my rule, but I was lucky if these students showed up to class in the first place. No one came to extra help or during a free period to reassess. So I just put the most missed standards on subsequent quizzes. It worked out fine and I didn’t have kids hounding me for reassessments when the term ended. Keep it simple.
He put the standards on a separate scoring sheet and placed a check mark or an X for each standard. His scoring sheet can be found here. He then transferred the grades into ActiveGrade. He stapled together the score sheet, the quiz, and the grade report so each student knew where they stood when the quizzes were returned. The best part about SBG according to Mr. Noschese is that it,“gives multiple chances to be successful, gives better feedback about what students can/cannot do, and forces the teacher to spiral the curriculum to enable reassessment.”
My response to Mr. Noschese's post:
It's me Jamie Barbour again. I'm one of Dr. Strange's EDM310 students at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed reading your version of Standard Based Grading. I like the idea of "Keeping It Simple" and the techniques you talked about in this post are ones I will definitely keep in mind for my classroom. I really like when teachers give back tests or quizzes with a score sheet and grade report. I like to know what I missed and where I stand in my classes. Thanks for the post.
I thanked him and left my Twitter address. I did not get a response back from Mr. Noschese on his blog but he thanked me on Twitter for my comments after I tweeted him a Thank You for his post.
In This is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2, Richard Miller discusses some changes that have been made in the way we communicate. He says that the greatest change in human communication, in human history, is happening now. We are living in that moment of change. We now have the capability of communicating instantly and globally. One of the incremental changes he discusses is that we now carry laptops with us everywhere we go. It is also possible to collaborate more with others around the world through the web. It is also easier to share documents that are print and visual with others through sites such as, Google Drive. I tunes U makes it easy to compose and publish recordings of lessons or lectures to make readily available to others. It is also a great source to share your ideas freely with others. The limits and restrictions of what we can do on-line are those that we place on ourselves. Dr. Miller looks at the future of composing on-line in Part 2. He says that people are starting to compose with the web. He also makes the argument of how the web has transformed reading and writing.
I think the ideas discussed by Dr. Miller are very interesting, but I did kind of feel lost. I do believe we are living in the time of the greatest change in human communication. I believe that 100% but I think some of the things he discusses are way over my head. I doubt very seriously that I will ever release "aggregated bots" in the web universe to compose anything. I think it is interesting but it is just a little too advanced for my liking.
And I get how the Internet has made communication with others around the world easier and better. The Internet has made things better for how we teach in our classrooms, especially by being able to research anything with the touch of a finger. But if I am speaking honestly I still like to read books. I have 20/20 vision but I can not sit at a computer, or be on a digital device for hours and hours reading. After a while I get a headache and the screen starts to blur and I have to take a break. I like to read things and highlight and make notes by what I am reading, and you can not always do that with an electronic device. I also cherish reading actual books to my baby. You can make physical books with pages that pop out or flip up, or have inserts where you can touch and feel different textures, and you can't do that on a screen. I get that we are in a digital revolution era, but I still think kids need access to books, and I still think kids need to learn how to physically write a letter and not just learn how to type or work a keyboard. I think electronic devices can be used to enhance our education not replace it. For instance, I am not a fan of this short writing that appears in text messages, on Facebook and on Twitter. That gets under my skin more than anything! I see so many kids who forget how to spell because they use short hand in its place. I love the Internet and I love electronic devices but I still love books and writing things out with my handwriting. I guess I am a little old school with a lot of new school.
Blog Post #12 by Carly Pugh
Carly's Blog Post #12 was about creating a blog post assignment of her own that she thinks Dr. Strange should assign for EDM310. Her assignment goes as follows:
At this point in the semester and everyone's journey as a future educator, we should all be thinking about our philosophies as teachers. We have watched some really great videos this semester and taken full advantage of YouTube. I would like for you to create a YouTube playlist with videos that: 1). describe the kind of teacher you would like to be 2).show ways you can motivate your students 3). offer tips on classroom management. 4). offer tutorials on programs you have learned about in this class that you like so much you would like to use (podcast, iPods, PLN's, etc.) 5). are on topics related to your field of study; for example, if you are going to be an English Teacher, include videos about Shakespeare, poetry, novels, things of that nature. 6). describe what a good teacher is and what a bad teacher is 7). ways to improve modern education as we know it 8). have been used in other blog posts from this semester. It could be a video you had to write about or one posted on the blog of a fellow classmate, teacher, or classroom's blog. 9). center around creativity. 10). advocate challenging, motivating, encouraging, and supporting students (but still maintaining professionalism) Your YouTube Playlist needs to be published, and needs to be titled with your name, and EDM310 Blogpost. You do not need to include all of these topics, but you need to include at least 5, and your playlist needs to have a MINIMUM of ten videos. I would then like you to explain how these videos describe your teaching philosophy and relate to things you have learned in this class. Also, what could you do with them in your teaching environment?(Carly Pugh Blog Post #12)
I think that Carly's idea for an assignment is great. I may would shorten the video list to 8 because this class is already time consuming enough. I think that You Tube provides a great source of inspiration to any future teacher and in other areas as well. I think using videos to illustrate the kind of teacher we want to be is a great example to others for what to expect from us as an educator. I think Carly's version of implementing multimedia in the classroom gives me a better understanding of what Dr. Miller was trying to illustrate in his videos. I like her version better. Thank you Carly Pugh for providing me with more inspiration! I will definitely be using You Tube videos to inspire the students in my classroom. I think it makes learning more fun. I really loved the Creativity to the Rescue video, and I have added it to my favorites and have embedded it in my blog below.
I also really liked the Six Questions for Every Day video. It really gets you thinking about those 6 questions and how you apply them in your daily life. And for continuous inspiration I have embedded it in my blog below.
EDM310 for Dummies and The Chipper Series
The Chipper Series is a video published starring Dr. Strange and one of his EDM310 students named Chipper. In this video various different scenarios are acted out. In the first scenario "Chipper's work wasn't late because the present is the future." Basically the student is telling Dr. Strange even though it looks like her work is not complete right now, it is complete in the future. The next lesson is "Chipper redefines procrastination." Chipper thinks that she can turn her work in late as long as she still gets it done but that is not how it works according to Dr. Strange, or according to anyone for that matter. The next lesson is "Chipper wants to be taught so she doesn't have to learn." Her complaint is she is paying all this money in tuition and Dr. Strange is not teaching. She is doing all the work. The next scenario is, "Chipper Drops Out of School." She drops out of school because she thinks Dr. Strange is not doing his job as a teacher. The next scene is "Chipper Opens Timeline Pilot School." In the Timeline Pilot School the student can pick what time they want to go to class and how much time they will spend on the class. In the next scene Chipper brings her student Amelia to see Dr. Strange. This is her first graduate and it only took a month. In the next scene Chipper's school is shut down by the FAA. She then asks for Dr. Strange's help in finding a new job because she got a teaching degree online. She gets fired from that job for never showing up to work. She holds various other jobs but is fired from them all. At the end of the video Chipper has a change of heart and decides to go back to school for education and most importantly she will no longer Procrastinate.
The most important lesson from the Chipper Series is Do Not Procrastinate. Every job requires you to start and end work at a certain time. You are also required to finish your work assignments in a timely manner because other people's work may depend on your individual tasks. Not being able to do your work on time will cause you to not be employable in the future.
EDM310 for Dummies is a video about two of Dr. Strange's EDM310 students who just completely hate his class. They do not understand anything that is going on in there. They discover EDM310 for Dummies and now understand the assignments and are able to get through the course. Basically this video is showing you that if you do not understand what is going on in the course there are resources that can help you and it does not cost you a thing. Even the lab is available to help you with your blog or if you have questions about the assignments. The staff is there to help you understand.
I have thought about the videos I would make for this course before I knew it would be an assignment. So the video that I would make or participate in would be a step by step tutorial of showing how you go through blogger and set up the blog and add gadgets and fix email buttons and so on. It is really hard in those first two weeks where we are all trying to follow along to what Dr. Strange is doing on the Smartboard and the computers are not fast enough to keep up with how fast he going through things. I felt completely lost every time I walked in the door and Dr. Strange was just zipping through stuff before I could even catch up to what he was talking about. Plus usually other students are asking me questions at the same time because he went to fast for us to see. I mean sometimes when you are used to teaching the same thing over and over you zip through it and do not realized this is a student's first time to ever be introduced to the material. I just think it would be really useful to have a tutorial with step by step screen shots of how to get through those first few days of learning about Blogger. So when we are at home and are trying to figure it out on our own we have a visual explanation and not just one on paper.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn
This video presented various distinguished educators coming together to discuss the need for change in the classroom. Classrooms need to change to meet the needs of the 21st Century student. Most schools ban social networking sites like Facebook, You Tube, and Twitter because it is not educational, but really they do have educational value and students should be granted access to them while in school for educational purposes.
I agree that our classrooms need to advance with technology. One reason why they do not advance technologically is because most of the larger school systems are too much in debt to afford the upgrades, so they ban the idea all together. Maybe if the salaries of the ones in charge of these large school systems took a pay cut for the betterment of the school district they are leading, then our children could be as technologically advanced as the world they are living in. I see no reason, whatsoever, why a superintendent of any school district should be making a 6 figure salary but they do. I think that fact right there answers a lot of questions about why schools are not advancing with the times.
Another reason why I think schools are not advancing with the world around them is because of liability. Right now parents, for the most part, have control over what their children do on the Internet. Many, many parents supervise what their children do on-line. Not all of them, but a lot of them do. If you allow a child to have access at school to what they can not have access to at home, then you are over stepping the boundaries of an educator. And I know that in these types of situations the schools get permission from the parents to post pictures or videos of their child, and there are parents who allow it, and that is great. But think for a minute, if something happens to that child and they can, in any way, link it to the online activities they participated in through school, then that school will carry the blame. And that is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I know the schools need to advance with the 21st century. I believe that they do 100%. I am just trying to look at the issue from both sides, as a parent and an educator. And luckily as an educator, I can teach my daughter the tools I have learned that she may not learn in school.
Scavenger Hunt 2.0
1. Edmondo is a social networking tool for teachers and students. This Twitter-like tool lets you create your own custom mini-communities for clubs, classes, parents, etc and push out assignments,updates, and reminders. I signed up for Edmondo and clicked the categories I wanted to receive updates about. Those categories include math, language arts, science, history, creative arts, professional development, and career and tech education. Now in my news feed I see people who post pertaining to those categories. I will definitely use this tool in my career as an educator to collaborate with other teachers about what they are teaching their students or to just get ideas about a certain subject. I will also use it so that parents are reminded if their child has an assignment, field trip, or test the next day. And just to give them updates about our class progress. I am really glad I found this site.
2. Animoto is likely the tool used to create the WEB 2.0 Presentation. It is a video integration tool that can be used in the classroom for presentations, parent meetings, projects, and more. You can get the Lite version for free and this will allow you to make 30 second videos. The Plus plan only costs $2.50 a month, which is on $30.00 a year. With this version you can make full length videos, with 30 different styles, and it is downloadable. The Pro plan allows you to do everything it is only $20.75 a month. The really nice thing amount Animoto is that as an educator you can apply for a free Animoto Plus account. Animoto for Educators. This is a pretty sweet deal and one that I will definitely be using in the future. Thanks for letting me know about the site.
3. Photo Peach is a free site that allows you to make slide shows and presentations with built in polls. It is very easy to use. And did I mention that it is FREE! You can upload the slides and presentations to your website, blog, or email to share with the world. You can also add captions, quizzes, and polls to the slides so if you want to test the students about what they learned from watching the slide, it is already built in. This is another video tool that will definitely come in handy in my classroom. Thanks again Dr. Strange for sharing these neat tools. Who knew learning could be so much fun!
A Personal Learning Network or PLN is the set of people and tools you can call upon for collaboration, consultation, help, or any other type of assistance throughout school and your career as a teacher. I created my PLN using Symbaloo. Symbaloo is a way to organize your PLN. I have been adding sources to my PLN through Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. I guess I have really been working on a PLN way before this class started. I just did not know what it was called. I have used Pinterest a great deal to pin lessons and study guides for the new core curriculum. I also use it to pin a lot of useful technology ideas because my cousin is the tech coordinator for the Mobile County Public School System, so I am always up to date on what’s new for the classroom. I am trying to expand in the twitter world but I am honestly not a huge fan of it. I also have a large teacher friend database through Facebook. It is a learning process and as I grow and learn as a teacher my PLN will expand.
I googled Mr. Randy Pausch while working on my first blog post assignment and I was very sad to learn that he passed away of pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008. In his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon titled "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" he asked top academics, "What wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?" This lecture was Pausch's lasting legacy to his three children. It became a viral sensation with over six million views and became a New York Times best-seller. I watched a summarized version of this last lecture, which was televised on the Oprah show, after our first blog post assignment because I wanted to hear more of what he had to say. Pausch summed it up by saying, "if you live your life properly, the dreams will come to you”.
For this assignment I watched the full lecture. The first section of his lecture was about his childhood dreams. One of the techniques Mr. Pausch discussed was a “head fake” or indirect learning. He learned this while trying to achieve his dreams of playing in the NFL. Although he never made it to the NFL he did gain the experience of playing the sport and trying to achieve that dream. Parents who sign their kids up to play football are not doing it just so they will learn the sport of football. They are also hoping their child will learn how to be and play on a team. They are hoping their child will also learn “teamwork, sportsmanship, perseverance”. These are things learned indirectly while learning to play team sports. We want our kids to have the experience of playing on a team.
I think learning to work on a team is extremely important in school, in your career, and in all aspects of your life. I will definitely teach my students the importance of group collaboration and working well with others. These are skills they need to learn early in life to use throughout the rest of their lives. It is so extremely important in life to learn to work with others. It is the other people in our lives that will help us reach our dreams.
In the second section of this lecture Mr. Pausch talks about enabling the dreams of others. One of his childhood dreams was to be an imagineer. He achieved that dream and worked on the production of Aladdin. He then decided to figure out a way to help others achieve this same dream. He created a class and curriculum in film animation and it still continues today. This is when he created his lasting legacy, Alice.
The third section of his lecture was called Lessons Learned. In this section he talks about the lessons he learned from his parents. He also mentions the other people in our lives that help us along our way: our Teachers, Our Mentors, Our Friends, and Our Colleagues. He listed the ways we can get people to help us: “Tell the truth; Be earnest; Apologize when you screw up; and Focus on others, not [on] yourself” because we cannot achieve our dreams alone.
In the end this whole entire lecture was for his children. So he could teach them how to live their lives so when he is gone they will know how. It really was a touching lecture for his children that impacted the world. Thank you Randy Pausch.
My first C4K Assignment was on Mikaila. She is in 3rd Grade. Her post was titled, "Things about my Animal". At the top of the page was a picture of the duck she had drawn named Wadder. This is her favorite stuffed animal and she wants to take it with her to travel the world. She wants to take him to "the tallest building in Boston" and to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. She also wants to take him to see the Statue of Liberty as well. She says that Wadder likes warm and sunny places and likes to do things with his many friends and his brother.
My comment to Mikaila's post was:
Hi Mikaila!
My name is Jamie Barbour and I am an elementary education major at the University of South Alabama. I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class and like you I am working on a blog for school too. I think your art work of Wadder is very creative. You are a talented little artist. Is this a stuffed animal that travels with you on your journeys or family vacations? I think it is a great idea to have a travel buddy. I used to take my stuffed frog with me everywhere I would go. I enjoyed reading about your duck and I look forward to reading more of your blog posts. Keep up the good work and keep your creativity flowing! Thanks again for sharing your story.
I also left her my name, email address, and blog URL.
C4K #2
My second C4K Assignment was on James, a 3rd Grade student in Ms. McKellar's class at Robbins Elementary School, in Prichard, Alabama. James' post was titled, "What I like to do by James." He is 10 years old and he is in Ms. Mckeller's 3rd Grade class. He says they have lots of fun. James says that sometimes she gives them a chance to go to football games. He really likes football a lot. James wants to go see Drew Brees play or watch a Redskin football game. He also enjoys music by Two Chainz and Lil Wayne.
My response to James' post was:
Hi James!
My name is Jamie Barbour and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I am also learning how to blog this year. Is this your first time to ever blog? I think blogging is a great way to tell people about yourself and what you are learning in school.
I enjoyed 3rd Grade a lot. My favorite teacher from elementary school was my 3rd Grade teacher, Mrs. Naylor. I think it is pretty cool that she gives you a chance to go to football games. I see you like Drew Brees. He is a great player! Do you want to be a quarter back as well? I bet you would probably be a great one.
You did a great job on your blog post. I really enjoyed reading about you. You are a very well-spoken young man. Keep up the good work!
I thanked him and left my name, email address, and blog URL but I did not get a response back.
C4K #3
My third assignment was on Kaitlynne. She lives in Aukland, New Zealand and goes to Pt England School. Kaitlynne is in Miss Lavakula's 5th Grade class, Room 13. Her blog was titled, "I am Kaitlynne". She said her name and said that this was her "very own blog".
My response to her post was:
Hi Kaitlynne!
My name is Jamie Barbour and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am learning to be a teacher. I also have a class blog, you can find it here. If you look to the left of your screen at your google map, you can see me viewing your blog as the red dot in the lower right section of the United States. I am visiting your blog from Mobile, Alabama. I see you are in year 5 of school. What are you learning this year in school? Are you having fun writing your class blog? I hope to be reading more about you on your blog in the future. Keep up the good work and have a great year 5.
I thanked her and left my name and email address but I did receive a response back.
C4K #4
My last C4K Assignment was on Faith. She is a 1st Grade student in Mrs. Vannoy's class. She wrote a blog post about her best friend Harper, who I think may be moving to a new school. She does not want her to go because she’s her BFF. Too Sweet! She also had a picture of her and Harper posted on her page.
My response to her blog was:
My name is Jamie Barbour and I am a college student at the University of South Alabama. I am a student just like you and I am also learning to blog. I see you are in the first grade; I loved my first grade teacher. Are you having a good year? Are you learning lots of fun and exciting new things? What is your favorite subject? I think you are a really sweet girl and I hope your best friend Harper does not move either. I hope you have a great first grade year! Keep up the good work on your blog. I look forward to learning more about you through your blog post.
I thanked her and left her my name, email address, and blog URL.
I plan on teaching kindergarten when I become a teacher. Since kids knowledge of computers will vary I will definitely start off by teaching them how to practice using a mouse. So I googled "mouse practice" and found this site MiniMouse. This is a site where children can choose which game they would like to play by clicking a picture. Then an animated activity will come up and they can click and drag on the screen where the arrow points to play the game. The instructions on what to do to the picture are below the animation screen on each activity. So this allows them to practice their reading skills as well. This is a cute little site.
I then googled "useful technology in kindergarten" and came across the 4teachers.org site. On this page a kindergarten teacher, Chris Gathers, describes another software program that he uses in his classroom. This program is called Kid Pix Studio Deluxe. I would definitely use this with my children. The site itself looks way cool and it makes me want to use it at age 31 so I know my little kindergarten children would love it. Mr. Gathers uses this software to teach his kids to use the following tools: "color, pencil, line, paint can, eraser, alphabet text, rubber stamps, moving van, and undo guy". With pencil children can learn how to write their name and edit their name with different fonts and colors. They can also learn how to save and print whatever activity they did that day. Another lesson Mr. Gathers teaches his students with this software is to draw shapes. He gets them to choose a bigger line to draw the shape. Once the shape is drawn he instructs them to use spray paint to fill in the shape with different colors and it also teaches them to stay in line with the shape. The undo guy let's them undo mistakes. These are lessons I would also teach my students.
You can also create little short animated movies on this site. Which is great to teach children how to make, record, and upload learning videos with animation. They can create their own lessons and let their fellow classmates learn from them. It looks like this site does a lot but I did not download the free trial yet, so I do not have full access to everything it has to offer. He has been teaching for 30 years and has seen the evolution of technology in the classroom. And if he thinks Kid Pix is great for his students, I think I will take his advice and use it for mine.
The last tool that I would like to use in my classroom is one that I have seen advertised on the Disney channel. Now that I am a mom, I watch Disney 24/7. This tool is called the ABC Mouse Early Learning Center. It is an online early learning academy created by Disney.
It has over 450 different lessons with over 3000 learning activities for kids to try. Kids can pick their lesson from the top picture bar in which ever subject they want to learn. In each subject there are activities to help them learn to read, do math, listen to music, record music, learn to count, learn their ABC's, and the list goes on and on. The side picture buttons are like virtual field trips. When clicking on these images the kids can take a trip to the zoo or the library or where ever they want to go. The white board guides the children step by step through which ever curriculum you choose to teach the children. You can choose one they have set up or pick one of your own for what best fits your students needs. This section also keeps up with each child's progress with the activities. You can access ABC Mouse Early Learning Center through any computer any where at any time. This tool is for ages 2-6 and can be used by teachers or parents. ABC Mouse will definitely be used in my classroom as well as, with my daughter. I can not wait to learn more about it when my daughter is of age to use it.
Wendy Drexler's video The Networked Student was very informative video about Connectivism. Connectivism is where learning occurs as a learning connection as part of social networking through many diverse learning connections and ties. The connection of course, is more important than the network. The teacher in this video encourages students to connect with others who can make their learning connection grow. This is called a Personal Learning Network. This is where you use a social bookmarking account to save URL's of sites you have visited and share them with others. So "why does the networked student need a teacher?" The teacher is the one to teach him or her about the network and how to use it and take advantage of the opportunities that networking provides.
I was curious as to what a Personal Learning Network or PLN was but now that I have watched Mrs. Drexler's video, I know. This will be something that is very useful to me as I continue my education and become a teacher. It will also help me in my career as a teacher. It is very helpful to get ideas and advice about teaching from the ones who are doing it now. I will need all the help I can get setting up and starting up my first classroom so I definitely intend on keeping up with the PLN I create for this class.
I am actually glad that all this work I am doing in EDM 310 will actually be knowledge that I can take with me and use further in my career. Teachers are always looking for new ideas and ways of doing things because I see a lot of my teacher friends pinning ideas and activities for their students on Pinterest. Pinterest will also be a big part of my PLN.
A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment
This video shows an example of a 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment or as we call it, PLN. This is a great example for me to go by. I have a lot more work to do on PLN after watching this video but I am glad I watched it because just reading the assignments about it in this class does not give me a good enough description of how to use Symbaloo. This video A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment by Mrs. Drexler's student gives me a better idea of how to use Symbaloo. It also gives me a better ideas of where I want my PLN to go. Thanks for the lesson and the video.
Mrs. Krissy Venosdale the author of the blog,Venspired, has taught for 11 years. She has been teaching gifted education for the past 4 years at the Hillsboro R-3 School District in Hillsboro, Missouri. She loves technology, science, space, and running with her dog Lucy. She also enjoys photography and traveling with her family. Mrs. Venosdale explains that her biggest hobby is talking and learning about education.
Mrs. Venosdale's post, If I Built a School was very interesting. She starts off by explaining this post as a Willy Wonka Moment, a chance to build her own school. I have not been a blog reader very long but this is definitely one of the most vividly entertaining posts I have ever read. Full of excitement for education; learning, teaching, and exploring. She really does depict a dream school in this post. A place where students were encouraged to explore their talents and differences while learning. I wish all children could go to a school like this. I really liked the "IdeaPaint" project. How great would it be for students to express their ideas about learning or what they would like to learn for everyone to see plus it is "Art in Motion". I also like the idea that Grade Levels would be rooms that students passed through based on readiness and ability rather than passing through based on age alone. It is so important that our children grasp and understand the concepts we are teaching them and move at a pace that is good for them based on their needs. And how fun would it be to have a tree in the Library? Awesome! This would definitely make kids want to read more. The idea I love the most is the 20% Time. A time period when teachers teach what they are most passionate about and students get to follow their passions. What a fun school this would be!
If I had a chance to build a school I would want mine to be just like Mrs. Venosdale's. I would want my students to come to a place of creativity and innovation. A place where they want to go instead of where they have to go. I would probably have a tree house in every classroom as a learning nook. I would also create a 10% Time where the students can teach their peers and their teachers about what they are passionate about. I would encourage and promote children to explore their talents, no matter what it is, because every child has a talent and they need to know that is unique and special to them. I would have all kinds of different fantastical setups where kids did not even know they were studying and learning while they were exploring the room. I think you learn more and remember more of what you learn if you are hands on and have a chance to figure things out for yourself. Yes, my school would be just like Mrs. Venosdale's. A place where children can learn and grow while expressing themselves in a fun and entertaining setting.
Wow! Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir video was amazing! I enjoyed watching it. I am glad Jennifer Chamber's shared this with the rest of us. It truly incredible that 185 complete strangers created such a work of art having never met in person to do it. This truly shows the power of technology. I think using the Internet in this way is a great idea. It brings people together from all around the world to express and explore their mutual talents and passions. I think this also shows how collaborative learning is a tool that needs to be taught and learned in classrooms every where. This video may also be a look in to what future classrooms may be like. Distant learning through technology. At least Whitacre's video shows it can be done. It shows that people from all walks of life can come together to create a masterpiece.
Teaching in the 21st Century
After watching Teaching in the 21st Century several times, I am still not real clear on what Kevin Roberts is trying to say. It seems like he is saying that if teachers can only teach students facts in the classroom then they will never learn or have the skill required to apply this knowledge in the real world. If this is the case then I agree with what Mr. Roberts is saying. Students have to learn somehow, through someone, how to apply what they have learned in their everyday life in the future. He also seems to be suggesting that students can learn just about anything and everything they want through technology. Sure you can learn a lot through technology but you can not learn everything. I think technology is great. I think it enhances every one's life in some way or another and I think we need it to teach our children to be prepared for the future but I do not think it needs to be the one to teach our children. I for one, would never want my child to learn through technology alone. I think it takes away human interaction with others and children need human interaction with other people besides their parents, especially at a young age.
All children are hands on learners. They use all 5 senses to learn about and explore their environments. They need to be able to touch and feel what they are learning about sometimes. You can not touch and feel the differences between hot and cold, or wet and dry through technology. Sure you can describe it and show a video that they can watch to demonstrate it but it is not allowing them to experience it for themselves. And tell me how technology is supposed to make your child be physically active? I mean sure they can watch a video to learn how to do an activity but that does not mean they are actually doing it and getting the daily exercise they need to even be a little bit healthy. I think technology is great and it is here to stay for sure, and it will, without a doubt be integral to our children's learning environment in the future. But teachers will never be obsolete in my opinion.
I am a new mom and while I was pregnant I learned and read and watched everything I could to prepare myself for the birth of my daughter and my role as her mother, but none of that prepared me for her birth. It was the once a month check-ups with my doctor that prepared me for her birth not what I read or watched because every birth is different, just like every child is different. And nothing I have read or watched or "googled" on a computer or device has taught me how to be a good mother, care giver, and provider for my daughter, that is something that is learned by trial and error and real life experience. I'm still learning and will continue to learn until my child is grown. I know giving birth or being a mother is not the same as teaching but it is the only example I have to explain that every child is different. They progress and learn different and need to be comforted differently and those things can not be learned or taught through technology alone. How can technology comfort a child? There's just no way.
Flipping the Classroom
Flipping the classroom allows students to have direct instructional videos from their teachers while at home to prepare them for the next day's lesson. This allows students to come to school with prepared questions and back ground knowledge on the content being taught. Flipping also allows the students the opportunity to re-watch the videos in preparation for tests. This project for flipping classrooms is called Fizz, and it was created by Dr. Lodge McCammon, who is a curriculum specialist at The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. According the videos Fizz is only being applied in Math classes.
I actually think Fizz is a great idea, especially in Math. Math can be difficult to understand for some students. I know it was really difficult for me. I had a Math tutor for middle and high school and I still struggled. I would take good notes and I asked questions to better understand but by the time I got home to complete my homework I would forget how to do it. The Math I was taking was way more advanced than when my parents were on school so they were no help either. I knew if I could see my teacher work the problem one more time I could remember how to do it and Fizz allows for this to happen. I would definitely use this in my classroom. I think Math is a subject you understand better with repetition and practice, so being able to go back and review the teacher work and teach the lessons multiple times allows more repetition and practice, which leads to a better Math student.
The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale
Podcasting allows for differentiation in the classroom. It also focuses on the higher levels of Blooms Taxonomy; Evaluation, Synthesis, and Analysis. Podcasting also allows students to explore their creativity. One of the really great benefits of podcasting is if a student is out sick before a test or an assignment is due they can see what they have missed or what they need to review for their assignment or exam through their teacher’s podcast. Podcasts allow for more project based learning in the classroom. They are also beneficial to parents who want to know what is going on in their child’s classroom.
I will definitely use this podcasting video in the future for my assignment in EDM310 and in my future classroom. I think podcasting can help with a student’s pronunciation and reading skills. It also makes learning more fun which is really important in today’s education environment. When learning is boring and monotone you do not retain the information being taught to you. Mr. Dale’s video also included links to the podcasting sites Garage Band and Audacity, which will help when making my own.
My first C4T assignment is on Mrs. Edna Sackson’s blog, http://whatedsaid.wordpress.com/. She has been a teacher in Australia for the past 30 years and this is the first year she has not had a class to teach. She now works with teachers more than students.
10 Ways to Create a Learning Culture
The first blog of hers I read was, 10 Ways to Create a Learning Culture. In this blog she reflects on all the things she used to think about teaching. She explained what she thought she knew about how her fist day would be and then what she now knew was true about the first day after experiencing it for 30 years. Here is Mrs. Sackson’s list of 10 Ways to Create a Learning Culture:
1. Ask about their expectations.
2. Create an essential agreement.
3. Know everyone’s story.
4. Arrange learning spaces to encourage collaboration.
5. Demonstrate that you value thinking.
6. Talk about learning.
7. Ensure they know that they own their learning.
8. Make sure you listen.
9. Show you’re a part of the learning community.
10. Laugh…
Here is my response to Mrs. Sackson’s post:
Hi Ms. Edna Sackson! My name is Jamie Barbour and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. This is my first education class so I am very eager to learn anything and everything I can from other educators to prepare me for my career in education. I plan to teach kindergarten or first grade because I love little children and their creativity and eagerness to learn when they first go to school. I really enjoyed reading your blog and how you compared the lists of the things "I Used to Think" and "Now I think" after your 30 years of experience. I especially like the idea of seating children in groups that promote and encourage collaboration among students. I believe we can sometimes understand and learn better from our peers than our teacher sometimes because it is less intimidating and we are not scared to make the wrong choice and be original. I also think it is really important to "know everyone's story". Sometimes we do not understand why or how some children progress and understand faster than others, but we do know that where they come from and what affects their environment can have on their ability to learn. Thanks so much for sharing this information. I look forward to reading more of your posts and using them in my class room one day.
Thanks, Jamie Lynn Barbour
http://barbourjamieedm310.blogspot.com/
jamielynnbarbour@gmail.com
Exploring Issues Blog by Edna Sackson
Mrs. Sackson’s Exploring Issues blog post is about using drama to “explore issues and deepen understanding in [the] classroom”. This is the same kind of drama used as in play acting but using it in this way is called the Playback style of theater, which is like on the spot improvisation. The key points Mrs. Sackson listed in her blog about the benefits of this type of teaching tool are:
• Collaborating in groups to explore issues and develop ideas.
• Using newspaper stories, articles and powerful images to stimulate thinking.
• Writing four sentence stories to encapsulate the big ideas.
• Considering social inequity from other perspectives.
• Empathising with others and portraying different aspects of their emotions.
• Using voices and bodies to express feelings and communicate ideas.
• Experimenting with symbolism and metaphor to invoke emotion and provoke thinking.
• Giving constructive feedback to peers on how to make their performances more effective.
• Reflecting individually and collaboratively to refine their techniques.
My response to Mrs. Sackson’s Exploring Issues Post was:
Hi Mrs. Sackson!
I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from the University of South Alabama. I love drama but I have never actually thought of using it in this way in the classroom with young children. I am working on my second undergraduate degree in elementary education and I am in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class this semester. I think that drama is a great way to encourage discussion in the classroom, especially for little ones because they are so physical in their learning and exploring new things. I think this allows them a chance to be more creative and innovative in the classroom and interact with their fellow students. I also think this is a great way for children to get to know each other better and find out what their peers find important in today’s world. Thanks for the post and I will definitely keep this in mind for my future students.
The Wolfram/Alpha search revealed that the population of India is 1.21 billion. The population of China is 1.35 billion, and the United States' population is 309 million people. So this data shows the differences in a their population size as the reason for the differences in IQ's between the three countries as referred to in the Did You Know 3.0 video by Dr. Strange. Also the reason why there would be more people in China speaking English than in America is because 318 million Chinese speaking Enghlish is more than the entire US population which is only 309 million people. I did several more Wolfram/Alpha searches with similar questions. I asked, "What age do children start school in China?" The search revealed children start at age 7 for primary school and age 12 for secondary school. I asked the same question for India and the data revealed that children start primary school at age 6 and secondary school at age 12. Again I asked the same question for the US and the search showed that children start primary school at age 6 and start secondary school at age 12.
Wolfram/Alpha Benefits in the Classroom
I really like the Wolfram/Alpha search engine and I will definitely use it in my classroom one day. I clicked on the Examples tab and went through the different subject categories and the possible searches that could be done. I found the math section really useful. When doing basic arithmetic you can input the numbers of a problem and it will give you the answer to the problem. It will also show your students where the answer is located on the real number line. This is especially helpful for young children when learning number placement. It is also great for showing students how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions. This is really useful because I found fractions to be very intimidating as a child. This site will show you step by step how to complete each function. Wolfram/Alpha also has little pop-up questions that appear on the bottom left of the screen and when you click on the box it will give you the answer to the question. I think this is a great way for students to learn new little facts about other subjects while searching for answers to their own questions.
Gary Hayes Social Media Counts
Mr. Gary Hayes is an award winning producer, director, author, and educator who created the blog www.personalizemedia.com. In his blog he created a social media count tab that keeps up with how many people are posting on social media sights such as facebook, pinterest, and twitter. It tallies what kind of device these posts are being made from. This count fluctuates every day down to the most current seconds. It also keeps up with how much information is being sent through mobile devices and games. It even includes data for how many papers are printed, and the data on recent films being made around the world on the "heritage" tab.
The social media count Mr. Gary Hayes provides is really amazing. I think this data gives insight in to what future classrooms may be like. And by this I mean that classrooms will be even more involved with social media and technology than what they already are. I really think it should be a requirement for all schools to focus on technology more than what they do now because it is our children's future. I think facebook and twitter is great for educational purposes and showing students what other children their age are doing and learning around the world but I do not think children should be using it for social purposes until their parents think it is age appropriate for them.
I learned a lot about Peer Editing after watching the assigned Peer Editing videos, slide, and reading Paige Ellis's blog. Let me be the fist to say that receiving constructive criticism is really hard. When I was an actor in plays constructive criticism was just standard, everyday practice. It was very difficult not to take it as a personal attack sometimes, especially when receiving it from my peers. After a while you just get used to it and learn who is trying to help you become better and who is just trying to tear you down. The most important thing to remember in Peer Editing is to stay positive. Constructive criticism is hard to take sometimes, especially when it is done so in a mean or offensive way. The first step in peer editing is to begin the criticism with compliments, pointing out the things they did well in their blog. The second step is to offer suggestions on ways your peer can make their blog better. And finally, make specific corrections to help make their blog better. Actually I would add a step four, end your editing on a positive note as well. This will reinforce the idea that you are only trying to help improve their writing.
I was assigned to read Samantha Wesson's Blog Assignment #2 for this post and I chose to give my constructive criticism publicly because I feel like if my suggestions were incorrect then maybe someone else, like Dr. Strange, could correct them. Sam's blog was written really well and my criticism was minor. Here is what I suggested:
Hi Samantha!
I really enjoyed reading your blog post assignment #2. I thought it was very thought provoking. You brought up some really great points about technology in our classrooms. I agree that we as teachers need to keep up with the newest of technologies so we can grow and learn as educators to be the best we can be for our students. Technology is now and will always be in our classrooms.
Overall I thought your blog post was written really well. I only noticed a few things that you could do to improve your blog and make it even better. Try to make your sentences a little shorter because long sentences can sometimes confuse the reader. Watch out for using the word "that" too much in your sentences. When I use "that" in a sentence I like to re-read the sentence out loud and see if "that" can be replaced with another word or just taken out altogether. In most cases it can be. And lastly I would try not to use contractions so much when writing. Most of my professors in the past have always told me to break down contractions when writing papers or when writing professionally because they are used mostly for informal everyday speech.
Like I said, you are doing a great job on your blog. Keep it up! And good luck on your future coaching career. My younger brother has been coaching for two years now and he really enjoys it!
Assistive Technologies
The Mountbatten Braille Writer is an advanced form of technology that allows blind children to participate in classroom activities, discussions, and group collaborations with fellow students. This machine can also send and receive information and data from computers. I would definitely use this in my classroom for my students who are seeing impaired and also for my students who are not. I think it is a great way to teach children who are not blind how to read braille and use their sense of touch to read. It is our job as teachers to teach our children how to read and reading braille counts. I would love how to do it myself. I also think sign language should be taught in classrooms so our children will be prepared to communicate with those who are hearing impaired. I only know how to sign a few words but I can sign the alphabet so I do know how to communicate with the deaf and have had to several times at my job. I plan to learn how to sign words so I can teach sign language to my daughter and we can communicate with each other before she knows how to speak.
After watching Teaching Math to the Blind I am really surprised to know that a device like the one Art Karshmer is helping to create does not already exist. I would think as advanced as our technology is in 2013 we would have the capability of teaching math to the blind. They should not be limited in their education or careers because of a handicap. The video on iPad Usage for the Blind was really insightful as well. I think it is great that the iPad is user friendly for the seeing impaired. I think it is unfortunate that it costs so much because if it offers something as great as this it should be more affordable. I would love to have iPads in my classroom for my students because I think they are a great teaching tool. They make learning fun! And now that I know how user friendly they are for the seeing impaired I will definitely try to have at least one to help me communicate better with all my students.
Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Ms. Vicki Davis is a teacher in Georgia who is teaching her students exactly what we are learning in EDM 310. Her Cool Cat Teacher blog just won an award for best teacher blog in the world which is saying a lot about her. She teaches her students through every form of technology there is. I hope to one day teach my students as much through and about technology as Ms. Davis and Dr. Strange. I am learning a lot through this course already and I am hoping to learn a lot more. I want to help my students teach themselves about technology because I think that is the only way to really learn it.
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My response to his post was:
