Blog Post #15 Final Reflection

Project #16

My group, San Francisco, consist of me (Briley Lovett), Emily Huff, Lauren Reid, and Emma Elwell. Our iBook is Peter Pan themed. It consist of individual blog post and projects and collaborative work with our group throughout the semester in EDM310.

C4T #4 Assignment

I was assigned to comment on Beth Still’s Blog post, Following My dreams . Mrs. Still’s blog post is about her pursuing her dreams. She is a teacher and has been working with technology with her students. Two of her students told her that she should help other teachers and students with technology. She then realized that her dream was to help teacher incorporate technology in their classrooms. She got offered a position of Instructional Technology Integration Specialist for Gering public School and will be starting in August.
On my comment to Mrs. Still, I started off introducing myself to her. I really enjoyed reading her blog post and found it very inspiring. I was impressed how she did not give up on her dream and kept on perusing it. I told her congrats on following her dream and I hope she loves it.

On my second blog post of Beth Still’s that I was assigned to comment on was Budding Artists Project . Mrs. Still’s blog post is about a project that helps her bond with her students. She created a very relaxed space outside of the classroom by listening to music, laughing, and joking to make it feel less like school. Mrs. Still says that she has enjoyed getting to know her students better and listening to the stories they shared. Each of the painting was hung up in the hallway of the school. She says it was incredible to see what the students came up with. This made the students feel like they have some ownership in their school.
On my comment to Mrs. Still’s blog post I told her I really loved hearing about this project and that I will also do a project like this with my future students. I feel like teachers should do more projects like this because it makes learning fun. Teachers should also want to get to know their students and creating a relaxed environment allows that to happen. I really enjoyed reading this blog post. I believe it will help me in the future.

Blog Post #13

Watch the TED video, What can adults learn from kids , by Adora Svitak. Write a blog post on what you learned from this lecture. This is assigned for all teachers.


My Post

Adora Svitak is only 17 years only and has been going around the United States to speak with adults and children as an advocate for literacy for a couple years now. In the video, What can adults learn from kids , really inspired me and just could not believe that she was only 17. The way she presented the information just amazed me. Adora talks about being called “childish”. For kids being called childish can occur frequently. Every time kids make irrational demands, have irresponsible behavior, or display any other signs of being normal American citizens; they are called “childish”. Adora’s example for adults is world wars, George Bush, and imperialism. Her example for kids is Ruby Bridges who ended segregation in the United States, Anne Frank who touched millions of people with her powerful account of the Hollocaust, and Charlie Simpson who recently raised 12,000 for Haiti on his bike. Those examples just prove that age has nothing to do with it.
Adora says that we should abolish this age discrimination word when it comes to criticizing behavior associated with irresponsibility and irrational thinking. Adults need to stop thinking it is impossible, cost too much, or will not benefit me. Kids do not think about those things. They are full of inspiration and hopeful thinking. Kids dream about perfection and to make anything become reality you have to dream about it first.
Kids already do a lot of learning from adults but adults should learn from kids. In a classroom, it should not be a teacher at the head of the class telling the students to do this and do that. The students should teach the teachers. Learning between grown ups and kids should be a collaborative thing, Kids have little or no say in the rules. The adults should take in account the wishes on the younger population. Kids grow up and become adults. The idea is that new generations grow and develop to become better than the past. No matter the place you are in life, it is imperative to create opportunities for children so they can grow and come up with new ideas. Adults need to listen and learn from kids and expect more from them. Kids are the new generations and the ones who will bring the word forward. For the kids to grow up and be successful the world needs opportunity for new ideas and leaders.

C4K Summary for April

I was assigned to comment on Ane’s blog post, Ane’s Setting . She is from New Zealand. Her blog post she is about Ane describing her bedroom. She describes the sunlight coming in through her curtains and waking her up. The ground outside full of leaves and how she was shivering she was so cold.
On my comment to Ane’s blog post, I started off introducing myself to her. I told her I enjoyed reading her blog post and that I could see and feel exactly what she was describing. I saw that she has been blogging for four years now which I found was amazing.

I was also assigned to comment on Rebekah’s blog post, Toy Story . She is also from New Zealand. Rebekahs blog post is about the move Toy Story. She says that she is excited to watch it tonight. She says she loves this move because when she and her cousin get together they pretend to be toys. She describes the move as one of the toys are jealous at the other toy because one boy likes the other toy the best.
On my comment to Rebekah’s blog post, I first started off introducing myself and telling her that I am from the United States. I saw on her blog that she has been blogging for four years now, which is awesome. I enjoyed reading this blog post because Toy Story is one of my favorite movies. I told her I like how she described the movie and then related it to her life.

Another student I was assigned to comment on is Hosea’s blog, My Butterfly Animation . His blog post is a video animation about a butterfly. Throughout the video, Hosea is explaining what is happing to the butterfly. The female butter fly lays an egg and out comes a caterpillar. Hosea explains the process of the caterpillar becoming a beautiful butterfly.
On my comment to Hosea, I started off introducing myself. I really enjoyed watching the video of butterfly animation that he did. I really liked how throughout the process on the caterpillar becoming a butterfly he talked and explained what was happening. I thought this blog post was very creative.

Blog Post #12

What assistive technologies are available to you as a teacher?

There are so many assistive technologies that are available to you as a teacher that can be very useful to you in your classroom. The first that I found was the Mountbatten Braille Writer. In the video, The Mountbatten – Assistive Technology for the Blind , would be very useful in the classroom. Using the Mountbatten brail allows for audio and tactile feedback. This machine is very advance. As the students brail the machine produces the brail while announcing what is being brailed. As the students brails it converts it into text and displays it onto a screen and allows teachers and students, who do not know brail, to be able to communicate. This machine can also save files, transfer files to a computer and receive files from a computer. Also allows blind students to be involved in the curriculum, receiving feedback from the teacher and participating in peer group projects.

In the video, Teaching Math to the Blind, the University of San Fransico have been working on solving this problem for blind students. Their idea was to build a device using small blocks that have brail and a visible number on the front. The students then place the blocks on the grid and can run their fingers back and forth across the problem. This allows the students to map into visual cortex with the two dimensional model of the mathematics problem. This allows the problem to be laid out just like site students would do. Everything on the device is in brail and text so that both students can read the problem. This device will help educate very young blind students into the basics of math. This will allow the blind students to have a foundation for later studies.

Project #12 Part B

Blog Post #11

What can we learn from these teachers??


Back to the Future by Brian Crosby
The video by Brian Crosby on Back to the Future is very interesting. Mr. Crosby teaches students that are secondary learners from fourth grade until sixth grade. On the second day of class, Mr. Crosby asked the students general questions that they should know the answers to like: What city do you live in? What state? What country? Over half of the students did not know the correct answers. Since theses students are secondary learners they have been taught a narrow curriculum since they were born. They do not have the same experiences as others. If the students are limited, it is hard for the students to imagine and if they can not do that where does your creativity spark from. All the students have their own blogs. The students do an activity where they are sending a balloon up in the air over 1000 feet. They students first have to do an experiment with a can to see how the air pressure changes and upload it to their blogs explaining what happened and why. The students then have to write a story about them being the balloon and taking the trip. They are telling about the trip from the beginning to the end. The students are starting to set goals for themselves and are building learning networks with blogging and skyping with people from all over the world. So then the students then write a high hope for their school, community, and the world and post it to their blogs. People from around the world were commenting on their blogs and the students came up with what if we let everyone send their own high hopes. The kids went out and started leaving comments on the people they usually blog with and the people they blog with. Many different people from around the world started sending high hopes. They burnt all of the world high hopes onto a cd and sent them up with theirs. A grad student came in the classroom and talked to the students about engineering and they learned how to build their own payload camera. All of the students contributed to making it. As the balloon rises the air pressure is going down, the balloon is expanding, and eventually the balloon bust. Since the students are still writing their stories about the trip as them being the balloon they had to imagine the balloon was them. The students now had all this schema to add to their stories. When it was over the students had to come in and write about what just happened but it did not stop just there. The students are now in a learning network. Another classroom wanted to know how to do the experience so the both of the classrooms skpyed each other. The students explained to one another how to do it.

Throughout the whole activity the students accomplished:
Language intense
Read/write to learn-content
Writing to clarify and share
Feedback
Articulate orally
Connect globally/aware globally
Authentic audience
Remember the science, high hopes art?

The students have to have active learning. The teachers need to empower students to be learners. They need to empower students to want to learn on their own, connect themselves to the worlds, and learning to collaborate in and out of the classroom. Mr. Crosby was told that he had a new student in his class but will probably never see her because she has cancer and will not be able to make it with her condition. Mr. Crosby sets up the computer so she can skype throughout the day and she can have a regular day in school like a normal kid. He says you can not keep racing kids through school. You have to make sure that we give the students the opportunities to build schema for the world.

Blending Learning Cycle
Mr. Paul Andersen teaches us about the blended learning cycle. Blended Learning is taking the components of online, mobile and classroom learning and blending them together in a classroom. The Learning Cycle starts with the five “E’s.” Start with an Engaging question, student then Explore that question, you then Explain the phenomenon, Expand upon that, and then you Evaluate. This a great way to present material and learn the material. When we put these two things together, we get the Blended Learning Cycle. His cycle in his science class for this year, which seemed to work great, was QUIVERS. First he started out with a really good driving QUestion; you have to have a good question to get the kids interested in the topic. The students will then Investigate on what you have presented to them. They then have a Video that has a lot of the direct instruction so that he doesn’t have to do all of the explaining; the students can watch this independently. Next they have Elaboration, this is where the teacher can give them reading on your subject and talk about what they have learned. The Review portion of this is where the teacher can meet with the students individually or in small groups to discuss and ask them questions to test their understanding; if they do not understand then they need to start over from the beginning. The students cannot move on to the Summary quiz until the teacher is sure they know what they are talking about. The summary quiz is made to test them on what they have learned from the IV and E portions of the QUIVERS cycle. I think this is a great way to get students more involved into classroom assignments because they won’t feel like this process of learning is basic like reading from the books and answering questions from what they have read.

Mark Church, Making Thinking Visible
Mark Church demonstrates the “Headlines” routine. This is where the students work in small groups and discuss a video from which they watched about the early human beginnings and the origins of human society. In their small groups, they come up with a headline to capture what the video is all about in one phrase. This causes the students to open up their minds and to really think about what they have watched and also to interpret what they think it is all about. Mr. Church said he would hang the phases up onto a board and come back to them a couple weeks later when they have learned more about the story. The students will be challenged to think if that is still their perspective of the story or not. I like this idea a lot, it opens up the students minds to think outside of the box and to discuss what they feel about something that they have read or watched.

Sam Pane 4th Grade
Sam Pane did a great job on teaching his students how to be a super digital citizen. He explained in the video how students are going to be exposed to all kinds of situations online and the students are incharge of knowing how to use the internet safely. Using the internet safely if very important for students to learn about since technology is such a big part of our world today. In his lesson about becoming a super digital citizen, the students created a comic hero online and they used dialogue to give safety tips. After the superheroes were created the students went around to their classmates computers to view their superheros and the safety tips they gave. The students were learning how to be smart and safe online when reading all the comicals. I loved the little girls example of being offered a free ipad online and all you have to do is submit your address. This is something that I have seen multiple times while using the internet. Young children may not realize that it is a scam so I think that it is extremely important to inform and direct them in the right direction when using the internet. Sam Pane taught a great lesson that really got the students involved and informed them how to become a super digital citizen. I would love to do a lesson similar to his in my future classroom so I could teach my students how to use the internet safely.

Project Based Learning
In the video by Dean Shareski, Project Based Learning, the teachers have combined 3 subjects together and incorporated project based learning. In the video he explained how research shows that integrated studies using projects increases students engagement and provides an opportunity for deeper understanding. I think that project based learning is a great way for students of all ages to learn because it makes them engaged and want to learn. In the video, he explained that incorporating technology into project based learning enhances and shares students learning in richer ways. I think technology is great because it will allow the students to have access to so many resources while doing their projects. When preparing and presenting projects it makes the students proud of their work because of the time and effort they have put into it. The students feel like they have ownership of their projects and appreciate them. When integrating subjects and using project based learning it allows you to provide your students with so many opportunities and teach them beyond the everyday curriculum. Project based learning is a great way for students to learn and push themselves to become better and better with each project they produce.

Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program
In Roosevelt’s Elementary PBL Program, Roosevelt School introduces project based learning and they explain that this when the learning is different in the classroom. This school describes PBL as in depth learning that has integrated thematic instruction. The lessons are based on real world problems and require students to research their topic. After a project based learning lesson is taught, it is then evaluated with a project and/or a presentation. Project based learning allows for the students to really think for themselves. Teachers collaborate on differents things to do PBL’s about. They like to teach PBL lessons that will have an impact on their students and really make them be engaged in learning. Project based learning gives the chance for students to use cooperative learning while they work in groups. Another thing that PBL’s bring to the table is public speaking. Since the student’s are being evaluated with a presentation it allows them to become comfortable in front of a classroom of their peers, presenting their work. Project based learning gives the students a sense of empowerment and they learn skills that they call apply in the real world. For example, how to conduct a presentation. Students can use this their whole lifetime. In my opinion, PBL is one of the most beneficial things to use in a classroom. It can offer so much for your students and really give them the guidance for a great education. Project based learning is a must in the classroom and I recommend every teacher at least try it!

Project #10

My interview movie is with Mrs. Parker.She is a Kindergarten teacher at Mary B. Austin. Our interview movie is about using technology in the classroom.

C4T #3 Assignment

On my first comment, I was assigned to comment on Royan Lee’s Blog, Selfies are Bad, Selfies are Good, and Why We Ruin Everything Cool . This blog post is about gathering around someones phone to assert your coolness which would be called selfies. He believes for a long time that we spend far too much energy over time-honored handwriting over youth culture like this. Mr. Lee ends with asking many questions and our opinion about selfies.
On my comment to Mr. Lee, I started off introducing myself to him. I really enjoyed reading about this blog post because selfies are big today. I told him I do believe when people jump into your pictures is rude especially in a professional environment. But I do also think that there is a time and place that is appropriate for people to make selfies.

On my second blog post of Mr. Lee’s blog post is called My Student’s Advise to Parents on Social Media. This blog post is Mr. Lee just giving some helpful advice to parents. He encourages to use the privacy settings properly and if there is an age limit you should use them. Don’t be too pushy and tell your child no to using technology because all their friends are using social media and you do not want them to feel left out. Nothing should be inappropriate and you should always respect their privacy and trust them.
On my comment to Mr. Lee, I told him I agree with the advice he gave. I believe one of the most important is that parents should encourage their children to use technology. Technology is expanding more and more everyday. Also, respecting your children with their privacy and trusting them is very much important too.

Project #15 Project Based Learning #3

My Lesson Plan

My lesson plan is called All about plants. It is made for a a third grade classroom and the students will be working in two to three groups. At the end the students will know how to identify and describe parts of a flowering plant, how to differentiate between types of plants, how to describe the needs of plants, and how to define the term photosynthesis. It is to be done for one hour for three to four days.

Blog Post #10

What can we learn from Sir Ken Ribinson?

I really enjoyed Sir Robinson’s lecture, Bring On the Learning Revolution! . I found this video very inspiring. He brought up many important points that really stood out to me. Mr. Robinson believes that there are two types of people in this world and they are those who do not enjoy doing what they do and those who love what they do. I found this also to be true. Education dilates people form their natural talents and human resources. Natural resources are berried deep and have to look for them and he says you have to create the circumstances. He also says that education is being reformed but is not good enough anymore and that a revolution in education needs to be transformed into something else.

The most important point that Mr. Robinson bring up in his lecture is about human talent. Human talent is about passion and what excited our spirit and energy. He says if you are doing something that you love that time take a different course. Which is true because if you are doing something that you are passionate about time is not an issue and one hour feels like five minutes. Because education does not feed our sprit, energy, or passion people are opting out. The system has to recognize that human flourishing is not a mechanical process but it is an organic process. The answer for the future is customizing the system to your circumstances and personalizing education to the people you are actually teaching and people create their own solutions with external support based on personalize curriculum.

C4K Summary for March

I was assigned to comment on Mamarel’s Blog Post . She is in 2nd grade and is from New Zealand. I could not find anything that Mamarel had posted on her blog yet but I found an interesting video of the students in her class. The video consisted of showing clips of the students doing an activity and then after one student would tell what they learned from that activity.
On my comment to Mamarel I started off introducing myself and telling her about myself. I told her that I have always been interested in visiting New Zealand. I told her I really enjoyed watching the video of her and her classmates. I liked how the video showed the different activities and then telling what they learn from it.

I was also assigned to comment on Moses blog post. This blog post is called My Bio Poem. He is also from New Zealand. This post he writes a poem about his self. He mentions a lot of things about his self like he likes to go to the movies and loves to go swimming. He loves cars and always dreams about them.
On my comment to Moses I started off introducing myself to him. I was surprised to see that he has been blogging for four years now. I told him that we were a lot alike. I am also scared of dogs and always have been. Also, that my favorite color is black too. Moses has many interesting blog post.

Project #12 Part A

Blog Assignment #9

Ms. Cassidy is a 2nd grade teacher and strongly believes in using technology in class rooms. In the first video and second video Ms. Cassidy teaches us many useful aspects of using technology in your classroom. She said that the principles never directly supported the use of technology so she pretty much did it on her own. In her classroom she uses blogger as her tool. All of her students have blogs and are required to comment on other students blog that they call blogging buddies. It is a writing, video, and audio lesson all in one. Ms. Cassidy brought up why would you want to write on paper when the students can write on blogs for people to see and comment on. It allows you to have an audience and makes writing more interesting. She mentions something called a cluster map which shows the people from around the world who looks or comments on their blogs. I found that very interesting. The students love using technology. Technology is part of the world now and they feel like they do not have to power down when they go to school. The parents also support the use of technology. They can look and see the progress of their students at any time. Ms. Cassidy believes that every teacher should be illiterate. Technology has changed so we have to too and it is not going away. You should use technology with what you are interested in. She believes that if you do not keep up with technology that you are handicapping your students and yourself and I agree with her.

In the third video is some of EDM310 students asking Ms. Cassidy some questions. She was asked how often she uses blog in her classroom. She says that it really depends on the year. Now in her classroom she has other adults to help her so she does not need a center for blogging. The students usually blog about once a week but the students are allowed to blog from home. Also, if the students get their work done they are allowed to then too. Ms. Cassidy was also asked since blogs are so accessible by the internet, do you fear the more cheating going on. She answered with no. She explains that the internet allows you to look at other peoples work and allows other people to look at your work and take that information and add to it. It is called collaborating. She also mentions that teachers should get more creative in the way they ask to present information so it is not possible to copy someone work. Another question she was asked was how does she protect the students from seeing or being exposed to things that shouldn’t from the internet. She teaches the students the places that they should and should not go to. Ms. Cassidy has a classroom web page of links to blogs and games for the students that they should go to. The students are not allowed to use their last names or post pictures. She encourages the students to stay positive. I really enjoyed watching theses three videos of Ms. Cassidy and her thoughts about using technology in the classroom.

Project #14

My Lesson Plan For this project, we had to create a lesson plan. This lesson plan is on the solar system and is for a 3rd grade level. This assignment is to be done in partners. In this lesson plan the students will be able to identify the planets in order, compose and type a descriptive paragraph on each planet, and insert pictures from the internet or scanner. This assignment allows you to get creative and work with partners.

Blog Post #8

The first learning and communication tool I found was The Teaching Channel . The teaching channel is an online resource for teachers that have endless resources. It offers lesson plans, common core resources, and videos for teachers. The site is very organized and easy to search. The browser is set up by subjects, grades, and topics. There is also a very useful tool that you can ask questions to other teachers or colleagues. The Teaching Channel will be a very useful tool for teachers to use in their classrooms.

Another learning and communication tool I found was Edmodo . Edmodo is similar to a social networking site. It reminded me a lot of Facebook. Edmodo is used for teachers, students, and parents and allows them to find resources, information, or to connect with people from around the world. For teachers in the classroom it allows them to post grades, assignments, test, discussion questions, and quizzes. It gives the teachers to track the progress or their students. It also allows the teacher and student to communicate easily. Edmodo seems more social to the students than school work so the students are excided about using this tool. I will definitely use Edmodo in my classroom.

C4T #2 Assignment

On my first comment I was assigned to comment on Lisa Thumann’s bog, Let’s Talk About Attrition Rates at Unconferences . Her blog is about her running many different useful conferences and has been helping since 2009. They believe that having only 50 percent of the registrants on a free event is a good turnout when they have many things to plan for like; enough space and food, free give-aways, and sponsors. There are always left over food that she hates to go to waste when they could have fed hungry families or donated equipments or supply to a local classroom. Lisa wants to have a plan to know how many people will actually show up.
On my comment to Ms. Thumann, I started off introducing myself. I gave her a suggestion that maybe she should start charging a fee so it would make more people to commit to coming. I also suggested making a facebook invite for the convention so you could have an idea of who is for sure attending.

My second blog post of Lisa Thumann’s that I was assigned to is Common Core Communities of Practice . Ms. Thumann starts off saying that their team has decided to form Common Core Communities of Practice and that we view learning and teaching as a process of collaboration, creativity, and sharing. The conferences will focus on improvement of practice and provide a collaboration onsite/virtual workspace for teachers. It will allow teachers to connect instructional practices and inspire creativity, gain in dept knowledge and take action steps to enhance teaching and learning.
On my comment to Ms. Thrumann’s blog, I started off introducing myself again. I really enjoyed reading about the Comment Communities of Practice. I told her that she is really inspiring how much she helps teachers. I also told her that now days technology is very useful in classrooms and to keep up the good work.

Project #9

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Project #13

Lesson Plan Created by group San Francisco for Project #13

For this project my group, San Francisco, created a lesson plan on the Solar System. This lesson plan was created for a 2nd grade classroom and will last for two hours a day for a week. It also covers the Alabama State Standards that are Science, Visual Arts, Technology, and Dance. By the end the students will understand how planets orbit around the sun, identify the colors and sizes of each planet and will have created a 3D model of their assigned planet with their group.

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.

Blog Assignment #3

In the video, “What is Peer Editing” and going over the slideshow, “Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial”, it explains how to make useful feedback to your peers. Peer editing means “working with someone your own age to help improve, revise, and edit his or her writing. There are three main steps in peer editing. The first step is compliments which means to tell the writer what you think they did well on. The second step is suggestions which means to give the author specific idea on how to make their writing better. The last step is to make corrections. Making corrections means checking for grammar, spelling and sentence structure. The most important rule is to make sure you stay positive throughout peer editing.

The second video is called “Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes”. I really enjoyed watching this video; it was more humorous. This video explains and gives many different examples of what not to do when peer reviewing. It is easy to make theses mistakes and need to be aware of them. You do not want to be negative, careless, or hateful. Peer reviewing is to be effective and helpful to you if it is giving in the right way.

Blog Assignment #2

1. In this scenario, Professor Dancealot is teaching the students different types of dances. The way he is teaching is by telling the students the steps of the dances and demonstrates how to do it. One student tries to get up and follow along but the professor tells him to sit down. The students are taking notes on what he is saying. When the exam comes along, the professor sets up a video camera and tells the students to find a partner and start demonstrating the different dances. All of the students were lost and did not know where to start. This is a great example of how not to teach. I do not agree with this way of teaching. You can not expect the students to learn anything from just telling them the information and having them recall it back to you. Having the students learn by actually doing the dance is the best method for them to learn.

2. Teaching in the 21st Century is a very instructional video. Roberts is trying to send a message that there are many different ways in teaching with technology and that teachers are not the only source in learning. Technology is growing rapidly and is changing the way we learn. It is giving the students many helpful opportunities to learn. Teachers can now post their lectures online for the students to see. It allows the students to be more independent. I believe I will use the technology in my classroom when I become a teacher. I really liked Roberts message and agree with him that there are many different ways to learn than just a book.

3. The Youtube video, Networked Student demonstrates a new way to learn. They are explaining why a student is taking an online class with no book but has all the resources. Throughout the video, I was wondering why the student even needs a teacher. The teacher is actually a really big help. The teacher is for to give the student guidance and help with any questions or problems he had. After watching this video, it made me realize that EDM310 is very similar to this. It gives us a way to work independently but still have some guidance.

4. In this video, Harness Your Students Digital Smarts I believe the thesis is that there are many different ways to teach your students and not everyone learns the same way. Technology is growing everyday. There are many ways to teach using technology. Group projects and being able to connect with other people from around the world keeps learning fun and interesting. I agree with her thoughts about working with technology. Teaching with technology gives you unlimited opportunities for different methods of teaching.

5. Flipping the classroom was very new to me; I have never head of it before. I believe that this method would be very good for most students. It would allow the students to be prepared and have questions for the lesson the next day. It will also be very useful for the students who are struggling with the lesson. I would definitely use this approach as a teacher. I believe it would be very useful for the students and the teacher.

Blog assignment #1

There are many things I have heard about EDM 310, both positive and negative. I have mostly heard that you have to be able to have time management and that you have to be able to spend about nine hours or more each week with the assignments. Hearing that mad me worried about this course. But I have also heard that this class teaches you a lot. Many people have told me that this class is worth it and that you get so much out of it. I am excited to see what this class will teach me.

My fear about this class would have to be that everything is online. I have never really done that well in online classes. I am not really good at dealing with technology. I seem to always have the most trouble with it. Another fear is having to give presentations and being in front of people. I know that we will be in groups so that helps a lot and I know that if I to be a teacher I will have to get over that fear.

EDM 310 is very different than any other courses that I have taken. I have taken a few online classes and so far in the class is going to be the most difficult. Most online classes, mainly you just have to answer a discussion question and take a quiz. This class you have to do many blogs and group work.

The most difficult challenge in this class will have to be the technology. Like I said earlier, I have never been that good with it. I know technology is expanding and is getting even more difficult so I know this class will be good for me.

For me to address this difficult challenge with technology, I believe the most important thing for me to do is to me calm and not get frustrated. When I can not figure something out with technology I usually get all stressed out and want to quit. I am just going to have to keep trying and ask for help if I need it. That is another thing I am not very good at.