C4K Summary for February

My first student I was assigned to comment on their blog was Jordan. His blog post was called My Sleepover Jordan talks about what all him and his cousin did during their sleepover. He first talks about them setting up the PS4. They mainly played video games all night. He explains what kind of games him and his cousin played, how many and who won. The first game they played is called Manchester United and he won the first game but the second game his cousin won. Grid2 is the second game they played which is a car game. Jordan won the first again and his cousin won the second. They then decided to play another game called Need 4 Speed. They ended up playing all night until six in the morning then decided to get some rest.
On my comment to Jordan, I started off introducing myself to him. I talked a little about the new PS4 and the new features. Then I told him how I was surprised how he could stay up all night playing video games because at that age I was always the first to go to sleep at a sleepover and every time I had a sleepover with my cousins they would always end up pulling a prank on me.

The second students blog post I was assigned to is Tucker. His blog post is called About Me Survey . The survey is about you. Some examples of the survey are: What is your favorite food?, What do you like better cats or dogs?, How old are you?, Whats your favorite number?, etc.
I also commented on another post of Tuckers called Why I Like Using Technology . On the post Tucker just says that he likes using technology because he can play games like Clash Of Clans, talk to your friends and play games with them.
On tuckers blog, the first post was a survey. I really enjoyed taking the survey and liked the fact that it was not long. It was a simple about you survey.
On my comment to Tuckers second blog post. I explain to him how awesome technology is and how it is changing and growing everyday. I told him I also liked to use technology to play games and talk to friends. I told him how crazy it is that you can play game with your friends without actually having to be in the same location as them.

The third student I was assigned to was Jordan again. His blog post is called My Football Training . He explains what he did during his football training. They started off doing speed work for about an hour. Then they decided to have a match and had five teams. He explains how the first game they played they won and he even scored two points. The second game they were winning until half time then the pinks came back and beat them. So the final game is the finals and Jordans team ended up winning.
On my comment to Jordan, I started off telling him that I could not believe they did speed work for an hour. I would have been so worn out after that, then having to play three games. But hard work pays off and it is more enjoyable with your friends. They have a game on Sunday so I told him good luck!

My last student I was assigned to was Gillian. Her blog post is called A link to blog about Disney Cruise . Gillian talks about a blog she found about rule of the teens of the Disney Cruise ship. The blog gave a look at the clubs on the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. She also mentions that she was on the rule of teens when she went on the Disney Magic. There was also a pool, nightclub, and a coffee shop just for teens which allows them to make new friends.
I really enjoyed this blog post because I love going on cruises. I told her that I would love to go on a Disney one. And I agreed with her that the different events that cruises have allows you to make many new friends from around the world.

Blog Post #7

The video Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams , was very inspirational to me. Randy shares many past experiences and how he became who is he today. He starts off telling us about his childhood dreams and how he strived to achieve them.

Randy taught me a lot about learning that I did not know. One of the points he points out is there is a brick wall for a reason. When people hit the brick wall, they tend to think that is the time to give up but they are wrong. Hitting a brick wall gives us a chance to show how badly we want something and how hard we will work for it. The people who give up and quit are the ones who do not want it so badly. This point really gave me motivation. I never realized that once you hit the brick wall that it is not the end but that it just means if you really want something that badly you will have to keep working for it no matter what obstacles come your way. Randy also talks about what to do when people make you angry or disappoint you. He said do not yell at the person that if you wait long enough people will almost always surprise you or impress you. That point really got me thinking.

Randy also taught me about teaching. He describes head fake learning or indirect learning which is not just learning how to play but knowing the skills it teaches you. The example he uses is him describing his childhood dream of becoming a NFL football player. He said he notices that it was not just learning how to play football but gaining the more important skills like sportsmanship, leadership, loyalty, perseverance, etc. Head fake learning is everywhere. This made me think about how this applies to students in schools. Students go to school for academics but they are learning so much more important skills like friendship, team work, responsibility, and many more. Randy also talks about setting the bar. His example was that he gave the students two weeks to work on virtual reality. He also allowed the students to pick what they wanted to do it on which I think is an important aspect because it allows the students to pick something they are interested in and be creative with it. Randy said that the performance was so good that they would get an A if they had to do this all semester. So he talks to another professor and he tells him to go in the classroom and say that was pretty good but I know you can do better. This allows the students to work harder and exceed their expectations.

I really enjoyed watching this video of Randy Pausch. It really gave me a better understanding of things and to not give up when things get tough. The video was a real inspiration to me and I know will help me in the future.

Project #8

Blog Assignment #6

Personal learning network, or PLN’s, is a global tool for people to interact and connect with each other. This is a useful tool for teachers. It gives teachers an opportunity to communicate with each other from all around the world. The personal learning network allows different educators to support and share many ideas. We were given two websites to create our own PLN. I chose Symbaloo . I really like how it was set up. It allowed me to put all the main sites that I use like Twitter, Facebook, class blog, Pinterest, Youtube, google drive and many other useful tools that I use on a daily bases. It makes all the tiles organized and easy to find. I can already tell I will be using this tool very much and I would highly recommend it to other people, not just teachers.

A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment
Building Your PLN- A Primer for Anyone
Michael Fawcett Discusses his PLN

Blog Post Assignment #5

In the video, Project Based Learning Part 1 and Project Based Learning Part 2, Anthony Capps is discussing his experience with project based learning in his third grade class with Dr. Strange. I really liked the point that Mr. Capps made about letting the student learn the content through the project and that the students will feel the satisfaction from learning on their own. I believe that is true because learning from yourself makes you want to learn more. I also liked how he explained how he created one project using many different subjects. Mr. Capps explains what student choice is. He says, “When you give the students the opportunity to choose it gives the students more ownership or pride.” It allows the students to be proud of what they are doing and why they are doing it.

In the video, iCurio, Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange are explaining what iCurio is. iCurio is a search engine for children that is educational. Many different educational tools are pulled to this search engine. It allows students and teachers to store information that they find useful. This allows you to stay organized online and is easy to find. There are many different features that allow you to search different criteria. This search engine is made for any grade levels.

In the video, Discovery Education, is another video with Anthony Capp and Dr. Strange. Discovery education is a useful tool for project based learning. It allows students and teachers to research any educational information. Anthony Capp explains discovery information as to bring different text to life. Having visuals with students allows them to retain a lot more information.

In the video, The Anthony – Strange Tips for Teachers Part 1, is about five key tips for new teachers. The first tip is that as a teacher you have to be interested in learning yourself. It allows you to be a successful educator because we have to constantly learn yourself. The second tip is that teaching is hard but as teachers you have learn in your free time. You have to make teaching fun and exciting. The third tip for a successful teacher is you have to be able to be flexible and make changes. Getting kids engaged is the fourth tip. You have to make sure you do not leave any kids behind. There are many different ways to keep the students motivated and involved. The last tip is reflection. An audience leads to reflection.

In the video, Use Technology Don’t Teach It!, Anthony Capps explains that you can not teach technology. He says to use it as a scaffold for assignments. You want to use the technology in lessons for the students to understand and each week adding on another task for technology. It allows the students to express themselves and be able to reflect their own work.

In the video, An Additional Thought About Lessons, is with Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps. A lesson is about four layers think. The first is the year and how the lesson fits in the year. The second is a unit which means what you will know at the end of the unit. The third is how you advise your day to complete that unit. The fourth is the daily lesson and then you have something to measure what the students actually learned that day.

C4T #1 Assignment

I was assigned to comment on Dorothy Burt’s blog, Manaiakalani. The first blog post I commented on was called 6 Years of Film Festivals. This blog post is about the Manaiakalani film festival. She explains how the film festival has expanded to two theaters over the 12 hours. About 3000 children visited throughout the day from different schools. She posted a video of some of the show from that night. The video had a few clips of different students on stage that were showcasing parts of movies.

On my comment to Mrs. Burt, I started off introducing myself and telling her about EDM310. I told her I was amazed at how many kids come to festival. I was very impressed at how many kids have the confidence to stand on stage in front of that many people. It looked like the children had a lot of fun. I told her to keep up the good work with the film festival.

The second blog post that I commented on Mrs. Burt was called Google Video. This video is about Google. This video explains all the pros of having google and using it effectively. It allows the students to collaborate with their peers, teachers, and adults. It has also improved literacy. She says that students who have access to the internet can manage their own learning and to be the best they can be. Google has made a difference to opportunities that they will have in the future.

On my comment, I told her that I completely agree with the video. Technology has come so far and is improving everyday. Allowing the students to use computers in classrooms helps the students learn how to manage their own learning. It allows the students to better themselves and be the best they can be.

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Assignment #4

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher? The first article is called, The Right Way to Ask Questions in the classroom by Ben Johnson. His opening question is, have you ever thought about how silly we teachers can be. He explains that teachers are the ones teaching and giving your information then turns around and starts asking questions like they do not know anything they were just teaching. I have never really thought about how silly that really seems. He then starts to explain the certain groups of students who answer the questions. The smart kids are the group of students who answer questions weather they are right or wrong. The students who are not as smart or the ones who do not care are perfectly fine with letting the smart kids answer. The teacher may think that the student who answers will help the rest of the students learn but he says most likely two-thirds of the class will be not paying attention. He also explains that when a teacher calls on a students and ask a question that the rest of the students that were not call on do not worry about the question or answer because they were not called on. I do believe that is true because it has happen to me several times. The best effective approach to asking questions is to ask the question then pause for a couple of seconds then call on a student. This allows the student to think about the answer before a student is called on.

Asking Questions to Improve Learning explains the strategies for asking questions and how to respond effectively. When planning questions you have to keep in mind your goals and aim for specific questions. When you are planning for your lesson make sure you make a note where you will ask questions. Try to avoid asking leading questions because it discourages students to think on their own. It is good to ask a mix of different types of questions. When you ask a question make sure you wait 5-10 seconds for the students to think about the question. Weather the student is right or wrong; make sure you are interested in what the student is saying. If the student is wrong, ask the student a follow up question to lead the student to the right answer.

The third article is Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom by Maryellen Weimer. Throughout this article, she explains three ways to ask better questions. The first way is to prepare questions. When you are preparing for thee questions you are going to ask you have to think to yourself is this question important? And when should I ask this question? The second way to ask better questions is to play with questions, which means leaving the question unanswered for a while and using strategies to make the student think about the answer. The third is to preserve good questions. It will be effective it you write down the questions the students ask so you can revise the question and the content.

The YouTube video, Asking Better Questions in the Classroom by Dr. Chesley explains opening and closing questions. Close ending questions can be answered with usually one word like yes or no. Open ending questions are questions that the student has to think more about what the answer is. It allows the student to provide more information and come up with a variety of responses.

This YouTube video is called Questioning Styles and Strategies. This video is taking place in a fifth grade classroom. The teacher goes over the four comprehension points which are mastery, interpersonal, understanding and self-expressive. He asks the students what does Terabithia look think. He then tells the students to turn to their neighbor and see what they put too. He calls on a random student and then asks that student to call on another student. He then asks if any student has any other additional information to add. I really liked this strategy because it gives the chance for all the students to get involved.