Blog Post #15 Final Reflection

This assignment required me to look back at my first blog post. I really enjoyed doing that. It showed me how much I have learned and now appreciate technology in the classroom. I learned how important it is to take a class like EDM 310 in order to be a great teacher. Many of my opinions and thoughts on my future classroom have remained the same, but now they are expanded. At first I knew a few things about the layout of my future classroom but now I feel that I know how to more effectively achieve them.
I have always wanted to teach the first or second grade. I am now open to teaching upper elementary. I would really enjoy teaching the older ones now that I am aware of all the technology that is available. I know that you can use technology with the younger ones but I feel that it would be more interesting with the older ones. I stated in my first blog post that I wanted colorful and engaging bulletin boards. Since this class I know how to research and find ideas. I have many websites to help with these in my PLN.
My first blog post only talked about typing stories, playing games, and engaging in blogs for my students. I am now eager to have my students to creat blogs not just engage in them. I will have my students create a PLN that they can use through out the year. I will have my students make book trailers and green screen movies. I am so excited about the technology that I know about now.
I hope to have a smartboard in my classroom for my students use and interact with. I have wanted to use icebreakers in my classroom from the beginning but now that I know how to use the smartboard I plan to incorporate it. I am thinking of having my students to each resaerch on the computer an icebreaker of their choice. We will put all of the icebreakers in a jar and draw one a day and the person that came up with that one will get to lead it.
If I could go back and change anything in my first blog post it would be simply and more technology. I still feel that the students need many hands on activities. In the first post the hands on activities didn't actually include technology but now they will. The activities can be making movies or podcasts. Projects like that are very much hands on learning. The students will learn from following directions and doing the work themselves. I would also change that I prefer lower elementary. I am now thinking that it might be very interesting to work with the older ones. My future class will definitely include technology in many ways. We will have a class blog and many things. I had originally stated that I hoped my classroom had at least one computer well now I hope for many more.


Part #2

Blog Post #14

Teacher Knows if You Have Done the E-Reading
Every teacher would love to be able to track if their students are actually doing the reading assignments. A few teachers at Texas A&M are testing out a new technology called Course Smart. This technology allows the teachers to track their students’ progress with digital textbooks. The teachers are able to see the students engagement indexes which shows the teacher how many times the book was opened and for how long. The students are quizzed to see how well they learned the information. This technology will track the students and be able to report back to the publisher. The publisher can then change things as they see fit.

I would love to have this type of technology as a teacher. I think that my students would be more willing to open their books and do their assignments if they knew they were being watched. I would like to have the students to be able to do quiz at the end of each chapter as well. I would hope that the technology could be able to record how long they stayed on each page also. I wouldn’t want the students to just open the book and leave the room while I am thinking they are completing their work.

As a student I would have mixed feelings about the technology. I would not like my teacher to spy on me. I would feel as if they didn’t trust me. If I can pass the test and do the work why should the teacher care how much time I spend looking at a book. On the other hand if I knew my teacher was watching and monitoring my reading then I would make sure that I did it. I wouldn’t want my teacher to think I didn’t care and was lazy.

If I were able to talk with the teachers in the article I would have a few questions.
Do you feel that the information recorded is accurate?
Do you give a grade according to the recorded information?
Since having this technology have the grades of the students improved?

If I interviewed the students I would ask them a few questions about their opinions.
How do you feel about the technology?
Does knowing that your teacher monitors your activity make you want to do a better job?
Are you honestly reading and studying when you have the book open?

My comment to this article would be that it should not determine if the student passes or not. I do not believe this technology would be something to invest in if it is expensive. The students can manipulate it very easily. I believe teachers need to communicate with the students and be aware if the students are reading. You can engage in open class room discussions to see if students are reading.

C4K Summary for April

C4K #9
Alex is from Mrs. Geldes fourth grade class in Nebraska. Alex’s post was titled “Snowy Day”. Alex woke up one morning to the smell of bacon. He hadn’t had bacon for a year. After breakfast Alex saw that it was snowing and decide to get dressed to go outside. His feet were freezing cold and stuck to the ground making him fall down.
My response to Alex
Hello Alex,
My name is Marie Allgood. I am an EDM 310 student at the University of South Alabama. I am studying to be a teacher. I loved your story. It was very interesting. I was excited to see what was going to happen at the end. I live in the south and we do not usually have snow. I would love to play in the snow one day. I think my favorite part was the bacon! I think I will have to cook bacon in the morning.

C4K #10
Liam is from Leopold Primary School in Victoria, Australia. He wrote about coming back from the two week break they had for Easter. Liam always tries to make his writing sound interesting. He tells about an Easter egg hunt in Leopold that included many fun activities. He saw many of his friends there and they decided to team up so that they could get more eggs. Liam ended up spending the night his friend’s house for a sleepover. The boys enjoyed playing on ipads, game stations, and watching movies. He played outside with his brother the next day after returning home.
My response to Liam
Hello Liam,
My name is Marie Allgood. I am an EDM 310 student at the University of South Alabama. I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I am very proud that you take the extra time to make your writing interesting. I read through your blog and you are doing a great job. Easter is one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy hunting eggs with my children. Sleepovers are a lot of fun. I love playing games on my ipad. It sounds like you had a great holiday vacation. I hope to read about many more of your adventures.

Project #13 Report on Collaboration

My partner and I chose to use google docs and text messages for our collaboration tools. We created a document to discuss when and where we would meet. We also discussed what our imovie would be about and consist of. After we filmed our movie we shared it with each other so that we could both edit the parts we thought need editing. Once we both agreed on the final movie we sent it to youtube from google docs. I feel this was the best way of communication for both of us.

Final Project #16

C4T #4 Summary

Post #1
Kelly Hines' blog Keeping Kids First talks about a pencil metaphor that someone created to describe how people embrace technology. Each part of the pencil represents the different ways people respond to technology. A few examples are the hangers-on, the wood, and the lead. The hangers-on know the lingo but just do not actually do anything to help. The wood are the people that would use technology if someone would give them the gear, set it up, train them, and keep it running. The lead represents the people that are the first to take on the technology.
My response to her post:
I introduced myself and told her I was from the University of South Alabama in EDM 310. I told her how interesting I thought her blog was. I have seen many metaphors but this one seemed the most accurate and interesting to me. Many times during my college years I have found myself at each stage. Well each stage except the lead stage. I told her that I was excited to follow her blog as I receive my degree and begin to teach.

Post #2
Kelly Hines has decided to take a fresh start this year with a new blog In the Trenches. There is an article about Techy Ice-breakers. It talks about how ice breakers are a great way to start a class and shouldn't be reserved for the first hour of anything. I went on to read the article at Educators Technology. It gave ten techy ice breakers for the twenty-first century teachers.
My response to her post:
I told Mrs. Hines that I love ice breakers and plan to use them in my classroom. Ice breakers can be used in the beginning of the school year to allow students to get comfortable with each other. They can be used all during the day and school year to get students motivated during lessons.

Final Report on PLN

My PLN has grew since the beginning of the semester. Symbaloo is my favorite place to organize my PLN. I love to color code my buttons. I use Symbaloo for my educational needs as well as my personal needs. Symbaloo is my homepage. I like that I can click on a button to get to my pages directly. It saves time so that you do not have to search for the page you want. I plan to continue with my PLN after this class and hope it continues to grow.

Project #15 Smartboard Instruction Part 2

Blog Post #13

Brian Crosby
Back to the Future by Brian Crosby was very interesting. The beginning of the video he tells how he asked his fourth grade students questions that they should have been able to answer. He asked them if they knew the city they lived in, only nine knew the answer. He asked them which state they lived in, twelve knew the answer. Three students knew the country they lived in. There were twenty-four students in this class. Ninety percent of the students had attended the school since kindergarten. The majority were second language learners and were at risk due to poverty. The students need to be able to answer these simple questions even with the factors they are faced. He decided he needed to make sure he did interesting and intriguing activities to insure that the students will actually learn. They students conducted an experiment with a balloon that had a gps enabled camera. The students were able to track it on Google. They were to write a story about the journal as if they were the balloon. They used many free internet sites to use in their stories.
Mr. Crosby stated that he was told he would have a new student that his class would never meet due to her having cancer. They just needed her on roll so that she would qualify for home study. He didn’t like the idea of not meeting her. He decided to use technology to be able to include her in the classroom. I imagine that was great therapy for her as well as learning experience for her and the other students. I am excited about the use of technology in the classrooms and can’t wait to have my own classroom.

Paul Anderson
Paul Anderson ‘s Blended Learning Cycle video was very interesting. He was talking about how he has mixed blended learning with the learning cycle to create his blended learning cycle. He says blended learning is using mobile, online, and classroom learning in the classroom. The learning cycle he uses includes the five E’s engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. He uses the acronym Quivers to explain how he comes up with the steps the students take. Qu is the intriguing question that the students are given. I is for the investigation/inquiry of the students as they form their own questions about how they think this works and why. V is for video. The students are given a formative video to watch after they have formed their own opinions. E is for elaboration. The students are to do more research on the topic to go beyond the facts in the video. R is review. The teacher takes the students individually and talks with them to see if they completely understand what is being taught. S is the summary quiz that the students will receive after the teacher feels that the students understand the concept. I really like his ideas and feel that I can and will use this in my future classroom. I hope that I can find a way to use it in other subjects besides just science.

Progress Report on Final Project

My group has decided on the movie. We will meet this Tuesday to discuss our ideas and plan everything out. We hope to record it by the end of the week so that we can both edit it. Once we have it edited and our pleased with it we will publish it. We hope to have it published by the middle of the next week.

Blog Post #12

Part #1 Create an Assignment
Watch You Can't Be My Teacher by Darren Cannell. Make a quality post stating your thoughts of the video. Do you think that you will be ready to be someone’s teacher?

Part #2 Do the Assignment
The video is short, cute, and to the point. I like how it is set up. I like that it is actually a child in the video. He is stating his feelings. He wants his teacher to be technologically literate. He wants to know that his teacher will know about the internet and internet safety. Students of all ages are very interested in the internet. We need to show them everything that is available to better their education. We do not need to be that teacher that is scared of the internet or the one that just simply over looks it because we did not have it in first grade. We owe it to our students to find the best possible way for them to learn. I believe today that includes technology. I hope to be technologically literate by the time I begin to teach. I will not know everything that is out there for my students but will continue to learn.

Blog Post #11

Ms. Cassidy is from Saskatchewan, Canada. I loved her video Little Kids…Big Potential. The video is about the students and shows how they enjoy learning. She has many computers, cameras, overheads, and other technology pieces for the students. They used many different types of media. They used the Nintendo ds to help with problem solving skills. They used the wiki for research. They were able to ask opinions of people from around the world for the wiki. The students seemed to really enjoy the blogging that they were doing. They talked about having family members comment on their blogs. Many students may have family and friends in different parts of the country or world and this can give them the opportunity to share their work with them. The website that she uses allows the students to see how many views their post receives. They are very excited to see how many people are interested in their work. The students are allowed to put their first names but not their last names for safety measures.

She teaches them to only post positive comments to each other.
Ms. Cassidy talks about in the Skype video that the students we are teaching today are born into technology. It is the only way that they know. They have never known anything except technology. We have to educate ourselves and transform our way of teaching to fit them. Technology is here to stay and we better get on board before we get left behind. The parents are also able to keep up with their child’s progress while viewing the blog.
There may be some parents that do not approve of their children on the blog or internet. This can be worked around hopefully. If the parents allow it you can have the students create a blog but set it to private so that no one will ever see it. The student will not have the page views or comments but maybe the parents and the teacher can comment so that the student will still have interaction and not feel left out.
Funding and technology availability may be an issue. If you can get at least around four computers it can be turned into a center activity. This way everyone will get a chance to work at the computers even if it’s not at the same time.

C4T #3 Summary

Post #1
Kathleen Morris has a blog named Primary Tech. Her blog has many inspiring post. The benefits of educational blogging was the first post that I read. She had a diagram summarizing nine major benefits to educational blogging. Social skills and confidence was the first benefit on the list. This is very important for every student to have in order to be successful. Internet safety is something everyone should be aware of. Literacy and math skills can easily be taught using a blog. Students that are homeschooled can use blogs for a great interaction tool. ICT skills are taught and used with blogging and this is something that every student should learn. Having a classroom community can help keep parents and students involved and interested. A blog offers an authentic audience for the students to have. The global connections that a blog can have can be one of the most interesting things a blog can offer a student.  

              My response to the teacher was:

Hello my name is Marie Allgood. I am an EDM 310 student at the University of South Alabama. I have been assigned to your blog. I will posting to my blog http://allgoodmarieedm310.blogspot.com about your blog on April 7^th. I am on my journey to become a teacher. Your blog is very informative to me. This is the first semester that I have been able to learn about educational blogging. I have never been one to blog but I am learning how interesting it is. Your blog post helps to see why I need to incorporate blogging into my classroom. I am very excited and eager to have my own classroom to begin blogging with.  I have my own children and have thought about helping them to create a blog since they do not do this in their classrooms. Thanks for taking time to keep a blog for others to enjoy.

Post #2

Kathleen Morris has been working on a project called Our World, Our Numbers Global Project. The students are in primary classes and are from three different continents and five countries. Students from all of the classes are collaborating and connecting with each other. The classes take turns with a “lead” mathematical topic. Through the blog post the students are teaching each other different math lessons. The parents and teachers are engaging in the blog posts. The students have the opportunity to learn though the eyes of others in different parts of the world. This project will conclude in mid May. I can’t wait to read about how it turns out.

My response to her was:

Hello my name is Marie Allgood. I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I have been assigned to your blog and I am so happy about it. I will be making my summary on your last two posts on April 7, 2013. Please feel free to view my comments at http://allgoodmarieedm310.blogspot.com. I really loved the global project. I can only imagine how amazed and excited the students are when they see they have new comments and post to read. I imagine the students are eager to learn new things so that they share it on their blog for others to learn. This idea seems to be a great way to get the students involved and eager to learn. I love that you have so many different classes working on this project instead of just two. The multiple continents make it very interesting to me also. I am very excited to follow this project and see how well it turns out.

 

C4K Summary for March

C4K #4
Somehow while posting my February C4K summary I posted number five instead of number four. I will post number four this time instead of number. I hope this is okay.
Bayleigh is in Ms. Vannoy’s first grade class. She had a real sweet and simple post about her family. She said she loves her family and they are sweet. She says they help her do stuff she can’t do.

My response to her was

Hello Bayleigh. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am going to be a teacher one day. I love my family very much also. I have a big family and we help each other all of the time. Do you have any brothers or sisters?
She replied that she has a brother.

 

C4K #6
Drew is in the 6^th grade from Waukesha, WI. His post was about a book he had read. He was to decide if he would be friends with the main character. He said he would be friends with the main character Matthias because he is someone you can rely on. He said Matthias was really adventurous and he liked that.

My response to him was

My name is Marie Allgood. I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am in college to become a teacher. It is very important to have a good friend that you can rely on and trust. I enjoy friends that are adventurous and make me laugh. I hope that you many friends that you can laugh with. I am so happy that I was able to read your blog. You are doing a great job, keep up the good work.

 

C4K #7
Eli is in Ms Lentine’s class. His post was about science fair background, William Kamkwamba. He feels that William wasn’t successful the first time because he didn’t have all of the needed parts or the engineering background. He says if he could change one thing it would be the houses. He would make them more efficient.

My response to him was

Hello Eli, my name is Marie Allgood. I am a college student at the University of South Alabama. I am studying to be a teacher. I am so happy that you have your own blog. I enjoyed your comments. Keep up the good work.

 

C4K #8
Atze is in Mrs. Krebs class in Western Iowa. Atze went to a presentation about a holocaust survivor named Philip Gans. Atze says we should all remember our past no matter what it is and learn from our mistakes.

My response was

Hello Atze my name is Marie Allgood. I am an EDM 310 student at the University of South Alabama. I am studying to be a teacher. I really enjoyed reading through your blog. I agree with many of your opinions throughout your blog. Everyone has a past rather it is pleasant or not. Our past helps to mold who we are. I hope you continue with your blog.

Project #14 SmartBoard Instruction Part 1

Blog Post #10

I’m a Papermate. I’m a Ticonderoga.

This is a very cute comic. As in many computer commercials the author is saying that papermate is cheaper but it breaks more often, while the Ticonderoga is more expensive. He is comparing the pc and the mac. He is saying cheaper isn’t always better in my opinion. We seem to buy the item that has the cheaper price. The Ticonderoga may seem to cost more upfront but will last longer in the long run.

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?

The principal in the dialogue is asking the teacher why the students were playing games, the principal feels that students should be only drilled and tested over and over with the material each week. He doesn’t care how the parents feel or if the students are so bored that they are not learning anything, playing meaningful games to learn is very effective. The game must have meaning to fit in this idea. The students must know the material in order to play the game correctly. If the students know that they will have a chance to play the game they are more likely to study and be prepared I have said this many times and will continue to say it but when students are having fun they are learning more.

Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please?

Scott McCleod is telling parents, teachers, administrators, and board members not to teach our students to use technology. He says do not teach them how to research information or to make videos. He states that pen and paper aren’t going anywhere. He is saying that kids do not need an audience. Mr. McCleod talks about them hooking up with predators online and how they cheat or share ideas.

 He is being sarcastic in my opinion. He is saying that we should not keep our children and students from learning to research the web. He is trying to show us just how we look to others as we seen. The internet and technology are very important and useful today. We can use social networks daily. I do not think that pen and paper will ever become extinct however I do believe that we should keep up with technology. Technology is growing and moving very fast. We need to realize that all knew things are not bad. We as humans have a fear of the unknown.

Project #11 Short Green Screen Movie

Project #12 Book Trailer

Blog Post #9

What I’ve Learned this Year (2008-2009)

This was Mr. McClung’s first year of teaching. He says an important decision he made this year was to be positive. When he first started teaching he was so worried about how his supervisors thought he did that he didn’t focus on teaching the students how they needed to be taught. He says that teachers come so focused on the delivery of a lesson that they forget to check for comprehension. Being flexible is another aspect he learned. Lesson plans do not have to be one hundred percent perfect. You must be able to adjust your lesson plans as you see fit depending on your students. If something is not working when you are teaching then change it. Each student learns different. Communication is very important in everyday life. He says you must have a good communication line with fellow teachers and students. He says being reasonable is important. We can set high expectations of our students but we need to be aware that sometimes some of them will not make them and that is okay. He says they are not perfect and neither are we. We should encourage them to do their best. Mr. McClung says do not be afraid of technology. Sometimes it takes a little effort to learn new technology but it is well worth it. If we don’t succeed the first time we shouldn’t give up we should just try again. Listening to your students is very important. He has the student’s complete end of the year surveys and one student said he knows his teacher cares for him because he listens to him. He says in order to build a good relationship with your students you have to take interest in their lives. The last thing on his list of things he learned is to never stop learning. Mr. McClung says we almost beg our students daily to learn and some still refuse to learn. We should continue to learn ourselves so that we can find a new way to spark their interest on learning.

 

I have a fear of not teaching my students in a way they need to be taught in fear that someone is watching over my shoulder. I can read aloud to students but if another adult is in the room I get very nervous. I worry sometimes too much about the delivery instead of sparking their interest. This is something I will get over but will need help with. I have children of my own so I know being flexible is very important when dealing with students. Each individual is different and they will respond and learn different. Lesson plans are a base in my opinion. They can be added to or adjusted as the teacher sees fit. The teacher will be able to determine very quickly if the students are learning. If they are not then something needs to be fixed at that moment. Setting high expectations of ourselves and students can be a good thing but we do need to understand that every student will not be able to meet them. Some students will go beyond our expectations and some will meet them as we planned. We should always encourage everyone regardless of how much of our expectations they are able to meet. Technology in the classroom is new to me as I am older going back to school. When I was in school we didn’t have that much technology. I am excited to learn about these new things but I do admit that I am scared that I might not catch on as fast. I have a feeling that my students will be able to help me. My two year old plays on my ipad everyday with no problems. Sometimes I think that kids these days are born with a technological brain. Listening to your students is very important. I worked in an elementary school and the children are very eager to tell you about their pets, parents, grandparents, favorite toys, and everything else. We should show an interest in them. They need to know that we care about them as a person not just the kid in the classroom. We do have to remember how to act in a professional way and not be too personal but we can have a relationship with our students. We should always be looking to learn new things. We benefit ourselves and our students when we learn new things. I think it would be a neat idea to have the students and the teacher to make a journal. Each Friday they would have to write one thing that they learn that week. I as a teacher would do the same thing. This might make the students eager to learn something so that they could put it in their journal. We could also share in small groups what we learned.   

 

Version 4 Post (2011-2012)
Mr. McClung has been writing reflective blog posts describing what he learned from teaching that year. The previous years he learned much more than he did this year. He only had two lessons that stuck out in his mind. Over the years he has never worried too much about what his fellow teachers thought about him or his teaching style. He usually only worries about what his students and supervisors thought. This year was different he was worried about what his peers thought about how he taught his students. This had an effect on his mood. He later realized that he can’t change himself to please others. He needs to stay true to his way of teaching. Making sure that his students are learning and enjoying learning that is the most important.

 We tend to worry too much about what others think. Sometimes we have great ideas and are scared to pursue them because of what others may think. As teachers we need to be able to be confident in what we know and just teach it. We learn how our students learn and we can make it enjoyable for them. Our students will learn much more when they are having fun.

Mr. McClung has been teaching in the same school and teaching the same subjects for three years. This year he was a bit more lazy. He used the same old lessons plans he had used each year. He didn’t put much thought into anything. He didn’t add any new things to the classroom. He had got comfortable in his class and felt it was okay as it was. The students were not assigned anything fun or interesting.

 Many teachers are guilty of being too comfortable in their lesson plans. They reuse lesson plans each year and change nothing. With sites such as pinterest we can always add something to our lesson plans. They always have many fun easy ideas that be incorporated into any classroom. Students talk to other students about what they did in class and if it was boring or fun. I hope that my students leave my classroom talking about how interesting my class is. I say this all the time but I believe it very much, students that have fun learn more.

 

Blog Post #8

Dr. Miller This is How We Dream

He talks about alternatives to paper and pen.  He discusses the ways that you can add audio and visual aspects to publications. We can research online and find many up to date resources to use. When you use the web you are searching globally. This brings the world together in the most wonderful way. This allows the students to have more and better resources on hand at all times. Students are more interested in watching and learning something when it is interesting. The students are allowed to use their imagination and creativity. Students that are not as creative are able to research ways to be creative. Some students can learn by just reading plain text but others learn better by having visual aids to watch and some need to hear things to learn. While using the web you are allowing each student to learn in his or her own way.

I have really enjoyed learning how teachers across the world are bogging with their class. This is collaboration to me. They are letting their students have contact with other students around the world. I believe collaboration like this is one way Dr. Miller is discussing.

I am willing to learn to write with multimedia but don’t feel that I am prepared just yet. I plan to use writing with multimedia in my classroom. If my students do not know how then we will research it and teach them how.

Carly Pugh’s Blog Post 12

Carly put a lot of thought into this.  As future teachers we should always put a lot of thought into everything that we do. I love the video playlist. This would be a great must have for future employers. They would see more about you than what they would learn from asking you a few questions.  The playlist would be a great tool to help you as you teach. It would be a great resource to look back to. This is a great way to use multimedia. I plan to have my students make an about me presentation.

Jamie Lynn Miller’s Project

Organization is a must. We must be organized with every assignment. When we are organized we most likely will not procrastinate. Procrastination is a huge problem for me. I usually wait until the last minute on things and then do not have time for errors. These videos shows how crazy we look when we are not organized and wait until the last minute.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

Technology is a mjor part of every students lives but we are not allowing them to have these things at school. I feel that in the world we live in today we need to allow the students to use these devices to learn. They are learning to explore the world with the devices. They can expand their learning environment. The school systems need to be updated. They need to be redesigned using techniques that would fit today’s world. Schools can teach students about different cultures and how they learn. I believe bringing in all types of diversity into your classroom will help students. They can see that everyone is different and learns different.

Justin Cometti’s Scavenger Hunt

Polleverywhere.com is a great free website to create polls. Anyone can sign up and create polls. This tool can be used with parents and students in your classroom. The parents can be sent an email with questions about how they feel the teacher and or their child is doing in the classroom. The students can answer polls that the teacher can use to see how much they are learning. I am excited to use this website many times and have added it to my symbaloo.

EDU 2.0 is a social media site for teachers. The teachers can share lesson plans, ideas, quizzes, videos, and much more. They can give advice to one another and ask for help if they need it. Sharing ideas among teachers is a must for me. I believe teachers should always share with other teachers things that work in their classroom. If something doesn’t work that can also be shared. This is a free site that is hosted in the cloud to be used anywhere.

Animoto is an easy to use video tool. You can choose the style and add captions. You can create thirty second videos for free. You can purchase plans that allow your videos to be longer. Video tools in the classroom are a must this day and time. We must use every available tool possible for our students. They are depending on us to receive the best education they can. Students are able to communicate with others across the world. They can learn from others through videos also. Multimedia will be used in my classroom.

  

C4K Summary for February

Detric
Detric wrote just a few sentences. He said he saw the birds gliding, a man taking a picture, and he saw ice cream.  I told him I imagine that the sails are very colorful.  I asked him his favorite ice cream flavor. I told him I think he was looking at a picture of the beach or a pier.

 Benniasia

Benniasia is eight years old.  She is in Ms Mckeller’s third grade class. She has six brothers. She has a dog and wants to be a dog modeler when she grows up so that she will have the best life. I couldn’t imagine have six brothers. I told her about our dog Ringo. I told her happy birthday since it was close to her birthday.

 Lukis

Lukis is a fifth grade student in Aukland, New Zealand. He made a netbook presentation about himself. I really enjoyed seeing his presentation. It was like our about me video. He likes pizza, sports, and music. I told him I like pizza and asked him his favorite toppings. I told him about the music I like also. I told him how much I enjoyed his presentation.

 Ameer

Ameer is from Miss Mac’s Outstanding Owls.  She likes Bugs Bunny.  She did research on him and found out many facts. She asked if we knew how old Looney Tunes were.  I told her about me being able to meet Bugs Bunny at Six Flags over Georgia.  I told her how nice he is and hope that she can meet him one day.

Project #8 Podcast

C4T #2 Post and Comment Summary

C4T#2 Comment #1

Amanda Ooten is a science teacher at Catholic High School in Ohio. The teacher was discussing how she has flipped her Honors Biology classroom. The students are adjusting very well. She is also an active member on her schools technology committee. She is hoping in the next two years for each student to have their own device.  Since they are a private school she is hoping to help find grants to help her school.
I commented to Amanda that I was still learning about the flipped classroom technique.  I believe that the flipped classroom will help the parents or caregivers help the students.  The caregivers are able to watch the lessons the students are assigned. Technology is a big deal in education these days and it would be great for every student to be able to have their own device.     

C4T#2 Comment #2
Mrs. Ooten talked about her flipped Honors Biology class.  When school started she went 100% with it.  The students in reality were struggling with the work.  A few weeks into the class she realized the students were overwhelmed.  She decided she needed to make it flipped 50% of the time since it is an honors class.  They still watched the videos and had discussions but at times she still lectures.  She has seen an increase in students emailing and coming before/after class to ask for help. I commented on how I liked her lecture time. She has the students in groups and the discuss and ask each other questions.  It is more of a whole class lecture. The students are very interactive with lectures. I really enjoyed her posts because she was willing to admit that she had to kind of do a trial and error.  She went into it full out and realized her students needs and worked with what helped them the best.

PLN Progress Report #1

I have started using Symbaloo and really enjoy how organized it is.  I have many tiles started and I am anxious to get more started.   I am using Pinterest and twitter on a daily basis.  Facebook also has a few educational pages I like to watch.  I am following many educational websites. I am really excited to continue to add to my PLN.   

 

Project #10 Finding the Right Tool

readwritethink.org
I found many websites to add to my PLN this week. I really enjoyed readwritethink.org. It offers help to the teacher, students, and the parents. The teacher can find lesson plans, print outs, interactive for the students, and many more useful tools. The teachers find strategy guides to help them teach different techniques. The website allows you to search by grade level, learning objectives, and theme. There is a section for parents and after school activities. The students can get extra practice and even play games to reinforce the lessons they learned. There are projects and activities for the students.
I really enjoyed this website. My degree will be in elementary education meaning that I will be placed in the grade level that is available. This website allows you to search for any grade level. Since my grade level will most likely change often I can continue to use this same website, as well as others, often. I plan on using the activities on this website for my son that is in the fourth grade.

Blog Post #6

The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler:
The video was about connectivism. I researched the definition on Wikipedia so that I could understand it a bit more. It is the theory of learning based on the premise that knowledge exists in the world rather than in the head of an individual. This is very true. There are countless amounts of information and ideas in the world. We can look on the internet to find out how to do anything. Technology has become a necessity in our everyday lives. We should all learn to have a social network for our own benefit.
I really enjoyed how the presentation was presented. The simple hand placed designs kept my attention. It was simple yet very informative. The students are learning how to explore useful websites and blogs. Blogs often give you opinions and you can ask them questions. Students are able to contact and sometimes Skype with actual scientists. Things of this nature can make students very interested and keep them motivated. The students are learning to use a learning network so that they will be able to teach themselves anything. They have the tools to find out anything they want to know. The teacher in this class is used for guidance. I like being able to explore and learn on my own but I am thankful that we still have someone to go to for that reassurance.

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)
This video presentation was great. As I was watching this I was thinking of how amazing it is that a 7th grader produced it. When I was in 7th grade I didn’t have a clue how to do anything of this nature. I want my students to be able to do this. I had always hoped to teach lower elementary but the more I learn of the possibilities I am thinking upper elementary. I am really excited about using all of the technology that I have learned in my classroom. I feel like I may be able to do more of it with older students. I would like to have my students create a PLN at the beginning of the year and I would grade them on how well organized and how often they use it. I am excited to see how my PLN continues to grow as this semester goes on.

Blog Post #5

If You Built a School
Krissy Venosdale is very passionate about teaching and her students. She wants her classroom to be the most exciting place her students ever visit. Could you imagine students being excited to return to school on a Monday? I imagine her students are. She wants her classroom to be like the world: busy, chaotic, and always in motion. She wants her students to remember their time together. I hope to bring this excitement and joy to my classroom.
If I was able to build a school it would be big and colorful. I also would like signs welcoming the students in. I would want every teacher to make the students feel welcome at all times. I would require creativity and technology in every lesson. Students could be creative while using technology or have a separate activity using some type of art. The students would be allowed to make serious suggestions on what they would like to learn. I think it would be a good idea to have the students have a chance to teach a lesson at least three times a year. I would hope to make my students want to be at school and learn.

Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir
This virtual choir was just pure brilliance. It is amazing that things of this nature can be achieved with the technology we have today. I would like to see this shared at every high school. There are so many possibilities with technology and each student needs to be aware of the possibilities.

Katie Gimbar on Flipped Classroom
The idea of flipping a classroom seems to be a great idea. I like how she focuses on each learning group. You will always have the three levels higher, middle, and struggling levels. The higher fast paced learners usually like to help teach the others. It is always a positive way for students to interact when they can help each other. In her flipped classroom she has the students engaged and actually working ninety percent of the class time while she is only lecturing for ten percent of the time. Students tend to get bored when a teacher lectures for too long.
The students are required to watch videos and take notes. This allows for the students to work at a pace that is right for them. If students do not watch the videos at home then they are allowed to make time during the day to watch them. Most students like to come to class prepared. If they are prepared they will be able to get in their groups to work collaboratively.

Dr. Lodge McCammon Dr. Lodge McCammon's FIZZ - Flipping the Classroom
Dr. McCammon states that we have to much lecture in the classroom. This is very true. Sitting in a classroom listening to someone is very boring and inefficient. We lecture the students and send them home to their no teacher parent. Most parents complain they can’t help their child with homework because they do not know how to do the work themselves. Having the videos would help the parents learn about what their child is learning. The students are able to work at their own pace and review the video again if they need to. This helps to create classroom time for the students to be hands on.

Ms. Munafo Flipping the Classroom - 4th Grade STEM
Ms Munafo expects students to watch the videos and fill out a form pertaining to the video. The students will watch the video and work a few problems. They will be able to ask questions and address problems they encountered while trying to work the problems. Some students may even come to class with ideas on how to help other students. I like the way this works. The students are able to get the lecture at home then going to school for the help. Most students today are getting bored during lecture at school and by the time they start their homework they have forgotten how to work it. The videos will be around for the students to review as needed.

Project #6 My Sentence

Blog Post #4

I loved the post Langwitches - Flat Stanley Podcast. I love the way she made the students choose a location and research it. The students were learning many different subjects at the same time. The students made their own Flat Stanley and mailed him to relatives or friends in the location they chose. The students were required to research many aspects of the location they chose. They had to decide how they arrived at the location. They had to decide what they did while they were there and how they came back home. They had to come up with things to do that were at that location. The students were creating an audio recording so they were required to think about the senses used while there also. I enjoyed reading about this project. This is something that I would like to do with my students. I feel that this would be very interesting to the students and when they are interested then they learn more.

Langwitches - Podcasting with 1st Grade was very interesting. I am eager to have my own classroom. I am excited that first graders are learning how to do these things. The students had watched podcast from a second grade class. They were amazed at all of the comments from around the world that it received. They were then eager to do one themselves. The teacher read them a book and the students had to act as if they were interviewing two of the main characters. The students were using many skills. They were listening, speaking, presenting, and using comprehension just to name a few. The students were more excited about hearing themselves on the web than anything. They wanted to listen to it over and over.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale was also very interesting. The students are able to be more creative in my opinion. Students today are aware of computers and the internet and things like this are normal for them. When I was a child we didn’t have things like this but kids today use computers on a daily basis. My children Skype often with my dad while he is away working in Canada. Podcasting makes it easy for parents to see what their child is learning in school. The students are usually very proud to show their parents what they do. This is a way that students can show everyone their work even if a parent or relative lives out of town. I definitely will be using podcasting in my future classroom.

C4T #1 Post and Comment

C4T #1 Comment #1
Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano’s blogersphere is called Langwitches. Learning in the Classroom Part 2 is the first post I read. She is teaching her students about collaborating, participating, communicating and creating. The students learned about Mike Fisher, a poet. The students were assigned a poem to illustrate. They were able to learn about skyping when they skyped with Mr. Fisher about their individual poems. They were given the opportunity to ask him detail questions about their poems so that they can fully understand what it means. While the students were asking questions other students were tweeting about the skype call. Some students were creating Google documents to share about the call. It was very interactive. The students were learning many techniques at one time.

I was very impressed that the students were figuring out how to use Skype. The students were learning to tweet and learning how to do it correctly. They were also opening, creating, and sharing documents. I am amazed at how technologically advanced they are. They are completing tasks that I am just now beginning to figure out.

C4T #1 Comment #2
The second post from Langwitches was Assessment in the Modern Classroom Part Three - Blog Writing. This post was explaining that she uses a rubric to grade the blog post that the students post. She still expects the students to have correct writing skills by using a traditional writing assessment. The students are to post pictures and the pictures must support the content of the post. The post must be fluid and detailed. The students are required to post to blogs and they are still at times expected to write in their paper based journals.

I hadn’t thought about using a rubric to grade a post but I feel that it is most likely the easiest way. I was excited to see that the students at times are still required to write in their paper based journal. I really like and enjoy technology but feel that students should be taught how to write and use writing skills.

Project # 5 - Google Presentation