IBook Final Project

In my group we created an IBook that showcased all of our hard work over the past semester. We put some pictures on it from places we have traveled, as well as information about ourselves. Among other things, we posted our book trailers, sentence videos and passion videos. In our IBook we mentioned how we will use technology in our future classroom's from what we learned in EDM310!

Blog Post #15 Final Reflection Video!

C4K April

I looked at Toma's Blog and she and her classmates are learning about coordinates on a grid. She created her own coordinates challenge and posted it to her blog. I commented how I was impressed with her abiblty to create a coordinate challenge.

I read and commented on Ajani's Blog where she posted about her opinion on using chrome book.She said that she enjoyed learning about chrome book and she felt that she has become more experienced and quicker about using it. I mentioned that I also just started using Google chrome and have loved it!

Blog Post #13

Watch the TedTalk video and explain what can we learn from Angela Lee Puckworth's and her goal in motivating students.



Angela Lee Puckworth resigned from a very solid job in management consulting to be a 7th grade math teacher in a New York City Public school. She started noticing that the scores on test she would grade didn't resemble her students IQ scores. Her "smart" students weren't doing well. She felt that the material could easily be learned by practicing more and more problems and eventually the information would stick. After years of teaching 7th grade math she went on to graduate school for psychology. It was then that she realized that it wasn't IQ score's or standardized test scores that predict the success rates of individuals. It all boils down to grit. Mrs. Puckworth went on to explain her meaning of grit. Grit is having passion and perseverance for long term goals. She did a research study for predicting successors or failures of military cadets, spelling bee participants and rookie teachers in inner-city schools. The people in the study proved that those with stamina turn out to be successful in the end. Those who were "grittier" worked hard to make a goal a reality. She stated that the idea of "growth mindset" is a way to show students the development of the brain and its rate of change. If students see that their brains are developing then they won't feel that they are stuck in a failure because in the back of their minds they know they will learn from the mistakes and failures because it is a apart of growing up. Showing them the development of their brains will push students for motivation and drive to do what they think is best and hopefully will encourage them to strive to be successful, enabling their inner grit.

Blog Post #12

C4T#4

I read Kathleen Morris's Blog, she is a teacher at Primary Tech. She has filled her blog with tips and tricks for all types of teachers. Wither they be new to the education world or experienced veterans. She mentioned how she once feared that when she started having children and went on maternity leave she would get out of the "education loop." She said that with blogging networks and tools online it has helped her tremendously throughout maturity leave with her new baby! That was comforting to hear!< br />

I read Mrs. Morris's post about how it is crucial to keep the blogging as a focus point in the classroom. When she was a teacher in her classroom, she made sure to have at least 10 to 20 minutes of whole class blogging in order to keep her students on a daily routine of blogging. She also made a point to say that she makes sure the question the students topics they are journaling about are relevant to their daily lives and the about the events happening in the real world.

Project #12 B

Our group had so much fun! We took a video of us pretending to be a "mock-class". We were acting as if I was the teacher and my classmates acting as if they were real students in my class participating in our Smartboard lesson on counting money with coins.

Blog #11

Back to the future- Barrett Baker .
     In the TedTalk Video Mr. Brian Crosby discussed how he uses technology with his 4th, 5th and 6th grade students. He first mentioned how his students come from families where spanish is predominantly spoken in their homes, therefore, english is their second language. He said that because of the technology used in his class, he had noticed a significant improvement in students learning. His students are provided with individual laptops to use in class, as well as cameras and smartboard are used on a daily bases. The project he discussed was when the students learned about helium and its effects on balloons. The students got to witness a giant helium ballon fly into the sky with a GoPro camera attached to it. The camera gave live footage of the all the layers of the atmosphere the students had been learning about. The students went back into the classroom to share with their blogs what they had witnessed as the balloon sored into the sky while the footage was streaming live. Mrs. Crosby’s favorite tools are skype,wiki webpages, flicker, and web2.0. His students skyped another school in New Zealand to share a hands on science project involving the outcomes of various temperature pressures on a tin can. Mrs. Crosby’s main goal is to promote active learning. He is doing just that!

Mr. Paul Anderson Blended Learning Cycle-Josh Turnipseed
     One of the videos we were assigned to watch was Blended Learning Cycle. He talks about he how uses the blended learning cycle which is using online, mobile, and classroom learning. This takes place all in your classroom and allows students to engage, explore, explain, expand and evaluate. Mr. Anderson also uses an oiler's disk and puts it on a mirror where it can spin for a while. He uses that to describe his classroom, because the kids are like the disk. You can leave the room and it keeps continuing to spin and the students keep continuing to teach themselves as they collaborate with each other. He also gives up his acronym for his blended learning cycle called Q.U.I.V.E.R.S. Which stands for Questions, Investigation, Video, Elaboration, Review and Summary quiz. Anderson it all begins with a question, you want your kids to critically think. You want your kids to experiment and collaborate with one another, Mr. Anderson reviews with his students and with their data he can ask them in advance and detail questions making sure the students learned what they needed to know. He will give them a written quiz on it to grade them on their knowledge of the topic.

Mark Church Making Thinking Visible- Josh Turnipseed
     In the next video Making Thinking Visible. Mark Church has his students watch a video about early human beginnings and had them get into small groups to discuss the puzzles and had them create a headline to interpret the puzzles. Mr. Church then says he will have the students regroup at the end of the unit to collaborate again on another headline once they finish their project. They will compare their headlines from before and explain how they think differently and what they've learned. I think this is a great way for kids to critically think.


Building Comics- Claire Gill
     In this video, Sam Pane a fifth grade teacher in Omaha, Nebraska talks about teaching his class how to be good digital citizens. The term “good digital citizen” simply means knowing how and how not to use the internet appropriately and safely. In Mr. Pane’s class, he has his students separated into four people per table and when he asks them questions he first tells them to talk about it at their table. I think that is a really good idea, and I plan on remembering that tactic when I become a teacher, I think it helps them brainstorm together as a group. I think we can learn a number of things from Mr. Pane, but the most important thing he portrays in this video is to make sure your students know their internet safety rules.

Project Based Learning- Lauren Hidle
     In this video, three teachers collaborating together to incorporate project based learning in their classrooms. A history teacher, an English teacher, and an Information Processing teacher has the students use technology as a tool to deliver the content of history and english. They show that PBL allows the students to be more engaged and have a deeper thought process. One teacher says this has the students taking ownership over their own grades and projects. PBL allows the teachers and students to go above and beyond just the circurrlium.

Roosevelt Elementary PBL program-Lauren Hidle
     In this video, it was all about project based learning; what that meant for their school and how they applied that into their classrooms. What PBL means for Roosevelt Elementary is in depth learning, integrated thematic instructions, lessons that are based on “real-world” problems, research driven, and presentations. The school uses PBL within group settings or individual. These projects allows children to think for themselves. This will show that students will actually understand the subject at hand. They, also, focus on building the skill of public speaking at a young age. One teacher said, “The students answer to themselves, which is how the real business world is.” I thought that statement was so true, we should help build the skills of students coming together to solve a problem. This video has parents telling their opinions about the new way of learning and all the comments were positives. PBL for the students of Roosevelt Elementary School has increased their desire to learn.

C4K March

I commented on Faauiga's Ambury Farm Post, she was a Year 2 student from the Pt. England school when she made this post a few years ago. She drew a picture of her with a chicken from the farm. In a video she discussed how she would get the eggs that the chickens laid. I commented how I have many friends and neighbors with chickens and how they love to go out each morning to see how many eggs the chickens laid.

I had to pleasure of reading Phaezon's Blog he talked about his lessons in swimming adventures. He gets to go to the swimming pool for a class and the class is divided up into groups. He mentioned that he wants to improve on his rocket arms and his swim instructor will help him on that. I mentioned in my comment that I was on a swim team growing up and that freestyle is my favorite stroke to swim.

Nakita's blog was so fun to read! She has adorable illustrations all over her blog that added some unique traits to her page. She posted about an event that happens in her town called "Polyfest." From what I gathered, it is variations of community groups that come together on stage and perform a skit or dance that represents their culture. Her mom and aunt teach/coach her group that she is in. I commented that it would be fun to both be the audience and to be involved on stage.

Project #10

I interviewed the teacher I have been observing.
Mrs. Turner at Tanner Williams Elementary!

C4T #3

I read What Changes! by Denise Krebs. She moved from the corn fields of midwest USA to the Bahrain, a small island nation in the Middle East. Talk about a change! She teaches two kindergarden classes there and has 50 students. Mrs. Krebs explained the differences in teaching methods she has had to adapt to. She now uses sitting and behavior charts. I commented how she is an inspiration to teachers out there that want to teach all over the world, like myself. I think being an educator outside of the world you are accused to is exciting and eye-opening. Talk about a learning experience. It is a great example of how teachers aren't just teachers, they are learners also.

I was assigned to read and comment on Mrs. Krebs's blog again. This time she answered a few interview questions written to her by some of her blogging friends. She mentioned how life is different in Bahrain. So much so, that the days of the weekend are different. Friday and Saturday are considered the weekend in Bahrain! She answered the question "why do you blog" and she simply stated because she was a writer! She felt that it is another outlet in which she can write what she would in a journal but this time she can share it with the world. Blogging has allowed her to connect to other educators and it has built up her PLN I'm sure.

Blog #10 TED Talks with Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson spoke at this Ted Talk convention. He discussed is opinions on the world of education. His main thread of discussion is changing the education world through a revolution rather than a evolution. Robinson feels that it is strange that the way our education system is headed is prodomiditlmely going in the wrong direction. He compared it to fast food. All foods have been prepared at a conventional conformed way. He fears that education has joined the conformity and students are all learning the same way which isn't always beneficial, much like fast food isn't always beneficial. He states that life shouldn't be linear it should be organic. Our education system should parallel life and be organic! He stated that a college education is not for everyone. Some people benefit from a college education and some don't benefit from one. He is a big believer in choosing something that feeds your spirit and not diminish it. He used an example of a farmer to explain his theory, A farmer doesn't know what the weather will do in the long run and he can't predict the success rate of his crops. The farmer must customize the land for variations of weather in order for crop success. In comparison to thriving minds, Robinson feels that we need to have our education custom for each individual in order for us have success rather than frustrations. Sir Ken Robinsion knows it will take time and there will be trials and issues along the way for creating this education revolution but he planted a seed for whomever listened to his talk, including me!

Lesson Plan #3 President Timeline

For this lesson plan I will have my 5th grade students create a timeline for a previous President of the United States. They will create this timeline on TimeToast

President Timeline Lesson Plan

Project #12 SmartBoard Tutorial.

Part A- Individual SmartBoard Tutorial

Blog #9

Mrs. Cassidy is a "year one" teacher in Canada and is using technology all throughout her classroom structure. Her students have their own blogs that they use daily. This also serves as a showcase for students to see improvement in their writing skills. These blogs enable them to gain skills with the use of audio and video making on a computer. The students in her class love using their computers and electronic gadgets in school. Most students their age in other classrooms are told to "power down" their electronics at the beginning of class and take out their books and school supplies. Where as Mrs. Cassidy's students get to keep their gadgets turned on. A few questions that she addressed in her interview with Dr. Strange and his class was on the topic of if there was encouragement from other staff members in her school, if parents allowed it, and what she felt were the main benefits.

Mrs. Cassidy explained that most her the staff supported her in the use of having a technology based classroom but, not many of the teachers have hopped on the band wagon and converted to all technology. She also stated that over the years some Principals have been more supportive than others but most of them see the benefits her classroom receives and therefor continue to allow her methods. When it comes to privacy of her students, she sends home a form asking the parents permission for their children to access the internet. Mrs. Cassidy informs them that she will post students work, pictures, and first name. The parents of her students have enjoyed their child's blog because it keeps them updated as to what is going on in the classroom and it shows their child's improvement in writing skills.

I think I will love to have a blog in my classroom where the students can access the links I have posted to learning games and actives. It is working for her class and I will have to see if it works for mine. Mrs. Cassidy mentioned her love for twitter as a PLN because it keeps her connected to other people in the education world. It will be interesting to see how my PLN has evolved in just a few years after I graduate and become a teacher. Her interview can be found Here!

Project #9

C4T #2

I was assigned to read William Richardson's blog. This blog was so helpful and I will definitly add Mr. Richardson to my PLN. His blog was unique because he has gathered articles from writers, bloggers, and journalists all over and shared with his readers their opinions on different subject matters through the articles they have written. This blog is a great way to keep up with current events. I read several other posts of his that weren't assigned to me but they caught my attention. However, the first one I commented on was from a blogger named John Robb, discussing the use of technology and its rapidly growing success. Yet, he exposed the negative side effects of the technology boost decreasing jobs of many people all over the world! Basically, "robots" have become the method of getting things done. People are loosing their jobs because companies are "keeping up with the times" and no longer need human beings to get tasks done. Robots/Machines are considered faster, cheaper, and more efficient. Unemployment rates are increasing as technology takes over. This article William shared brought to my attention alarming facts of the further.

Secondly, I read Mr. Richardson's article he shared from Jennifer Finney Boylan discussing the new changes in the SAT. Apparently, the SAT has been altered to show more "accurate results of the students school grades" reflecting through their SAT scores. Boylan, Richardson, and myself included all agree that the SAT is unnecessary and is a "national scandal". It gets students worried for a test that in no way shape or form can accurately explain your successes as a student. I added in commented about the struggles I experienced with standardized test results.

Project #14 A to Z Book of Flags

A to Z Book of Flags Overview

A to Z Book of Flags Calendar

Blog #8 Education Tools

After typing in Google "education tools" I clicked on Edudemic which is amazing. It had 50 links to all sorts of tools that will be useful for me as a teacher. I immediately added the website to my favorites tools bar. I literally just kept scrolling down pages reading all of the options in this virtual world. I could have stayed and read all 50 links but it would have taken me days to read it all. It was very hard to pick my favorites. But I have narrowed it down to a few sites I know I will be using soon.

As a soon to be elementary education teacher, I need to remember first to keep children's intrests in mind. I found that using Creaza would be extremely beneficial for children because it is a program online where students can create cartoons and brainstorm with other classmates. This program will help children with computer skills, editing and programing videos, all while using their imaginations. Project based learning at its finest.

An easy and organized way of making flashcards and quizzes can be done using Quizlet. I can remember using Quizlet in school when our teacher asked us to make flashcards. Sometimes we would even get to make our own quizzes. Basically you get to pretend to be the teacher and have your book and notes out on your desk and create your own questions. The goal was to brainstorm and gather ideas about what you(as the student) would expect the teacher to put on the real test. This gets the student involved in looking up information, making sure they have the correct answers, and organizing them into a homemade quiz. Then they can exchange the quizzes with other classmates.

Some tools that would be benifial for me as the teacher would be MasteryConnect, this allows me to keep track of Common Core standards and make sure I am sticking to them. I can not wait to download Diigo! I am very old school when it comes to reading books on electronic devices. I can't quite make the leap to buying an Kindle or Nook. The reason being, is that I love to hold books in my hands, highlight, underline, and fold over page corners. But with Diigo, it allows me to do that with everything I read on the computer. Using this will allow me to make that leap into electronic reading.

The internet is filled to the rim with kids games. The major downside to online gaming in schools is that most do not educational. On the bright side there are several webistes that have games that are just educational games that foster learning with every subject in mind. I like Fun Brain, MangaHigh, and Kerproof. These websites cover all subjects and are not blocked on school computers.

I am so happy to have had this as a blog post assigment because this has reviled some of my worries about finding the right tools for my further classrooms. I can't wait to use these. I know that by the time I graduate there will be even more opportunities and tools to make it easier.

Blog #7 Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first pressed play on Randy Pausch's Last Lecture, but I am so happy I had the oppourntinty to watch it. Randy Pausch's Last lecture was so moving for me to it will be hard to boil down what I learned to one blog post! Mr. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and doctor's told him he had 6 months to live. But he didn't miss a beat! He went about his normal life doing what ever made him happy. He even said that he was not in denial by any means but he wanted his last few months on earth to be happy, fun, and not depressing. He exuded confidence throughout his entire lecture. He had the whole audience constantly laughing and they were intrigued with what he had to share. Pausch had lived a fun-filled, hard working, and interesting life. With his dedicated drive and passion he reached all of his childhood dreams.

Pausch worked with virtual creations with NASA and Disney World (among other amazing establishments) all thanks to achievements from his schooling at Carnegie Mellon University. He became a professor there and jumpstarted programs that involve technology and the use of virtual worlds in his classroom. As an learning teacher, just starting out in college, I held onto many tips and advice he had to say and can apply them to my future profession.

Randy mentions something called "head fakes" which I am assuming is a term he made up on his own and I love it! Head fakes are when children aren't aware that they are having fun while learning something really hard. Obviously children learn easier when they are having fun! Why is that we can sing every song we hear that plays on the radio? Because we learned the words because singing is fun. Essentially he created an exciting environment for students to learn technology through a fun, yet, effective way by allowing them to create their own videos games.

The first thing that caught my attention was his analogy of a brick wall. Several times he mentioned that brick walls are there to show us dedication in ourselves and to separate ourselves from others who don't care to reach their childhood dreams. When obstacles are thrown our way it makes us stronger and we come out of top, which puts us in a different spot than the other person trying to get on top. Perseverance always steps ahead.

Pausch presented a slide show of a list of tips to be successful and happy at the same time. A few of my favorites he mentioned, were to always apologize when you are in the wrong, show gratitude, don't complain just work harder, be earnest and trust people. These simple steps of life will guide you in the right direction and others will be willing to help you more! These tips are relatable to any age and will benefit anyone who abides by it. I WILL teach these to my future class. I think it will also be beneficial to have some of the ideas posted on the walls of my classroom to be a constant reminder.

I think my favorite thing Randy Pausch said throughout the entire lecture was "be good at something, it will make you valuable." As simple as that sounds, it just made me have a huge smile. We go through the motions of everyday life trying to find our way throughout this world, to figure out who we need to be in life, and what we can offer. All of those things just mentioned are possible in a learning environment. Being a teacher allows a world to open up to children for them to accomplish whatever they put their minds to. Once they find something they love, they will continue to grow bigger and stronger at it. This allows them to be valuable later in life and ultimately feel valuable in what they have worked so hard for.

C4KSummary for February

After reading Matthews Blog Post about PED's it got me thinking about the Hall of Fame and the use of performance enhancing drugs. Should the athletes that used PED's be accepted into the Hall of Fame? Absolutely not! It is cheating and in no way fair. If one player exudes natural talent and performs the same amount of winning touchdowns, goals, and points as a player that uses PED's as opposed to a non-user, he/she should not be invited into the Hall of Fame.

In Mrs. Caddy's class she asked her students to blog about what would they would do if someone gave them a million dollars. Alyssa stated that she would spend it on 400 front row tickets to an OneDirection Concert. She would also buy a signed poster of Harry Styles, which is one of the singers of boy band. Alyssa said she would then donate the rest of the money left over to charity. I thought her post was adorable and of course I agree with her!

Mrs. Bayer asked Abigail what her plans were for Valentines day. Being in fifth grade doesn't entail to much so she stated that she plans on going to the mall with her friends. I commented that we shared similar activities that and that I love going shopping with my friends.

I read @thathappykid135's blog which was about their opinion on if they like the beach, which he did not. He said it was too crowded and he and his family stayed too long in the sun and so he got sun poisoning by the end of the day. Opinions of the beach vary from person to person. Some can't get enough(like me), while other people want to stay away. Usually those that don't like the beach are fearful of what's lurking in the water, or just hate sand. Sometimes one bad beach experience can be the end of it!

Project #13 Lesson Plans

Ireland Myths and Legends Lesson Plan

Ireland Myths and Legends Calendar

Mobile Group Site

Blog #6 Personal Learning Network

Having Personal Learning Networks creates a system for yourself in which global interactions take place via technology. It allows educators to make connections with other educators. PLN's help establish communication networks where ideas, research, teaching methods, and learning tools can all come together in an organized way. It is very beneficial to have a go to place to gather your items in one location. In order to form you own PLN you must establish a platform of connections with other educators. They can help guide you in the direction of what needs to be done. All educators have been in the teaching world many years before the new incoming teachers, therefor, they have several tricks up their sleeves and can share their secrets. Establishing a PLN takes some time to get started and is a never ending process. You can NEVER stop learning,which in theory means, you can never stop making connections with others. There are people all over the world that have their platforms set up and growing and are there to help whomever they can.

As a learning educator, I am just now getting my feet on the floor and ready to step inside the learning door. I haven't technically started on establishing my PLN, but I am learning through this class how to do it. Thanks to @drjohnhadley and Anthony Capps, I can add them to my list of PLN people. Also, the two teachers that I am observing for my EPY315 class are amazing at what they do and will I definitely use them as my PLN teammates. Twitter has become a new tool for me. Before this class I didn't use my twitter account! Also, Pinterest will become a lifesaver in my near future as an educator. I can set up my own classroom board and gather ideas, share ideas, and create my own to add to the education boards. I love the idea of using Symbaloo, it is an organized dashboard for your personal computer and can be created with links and buttons in the order in which you want to see your links categorized. Rather than having several "tabs" across your computer search engine box, everything you could possibly need is on one virtual page. It resembles the way an iPhone is set up. Where you can gather several buttons and place them in the sections you desire. Personal learning network's create a positive community of teachers that want to help each other become better educators.

Project #8 Book Trailer

IF... By Sarah Perry

Project #7 My Sentence Videos

My Sentence Is...



My Passion Is...

Blog Post #5 Anthony Capps Interviews

Anothony Capp's is a project based learning, tech savy, third grade teacher in Baldwin County. He was once a student in EDM 310 so he has seen first hand the importance of this class in preparation for teaching in Baldwin County(a highly tech savy school for sure!) He went over several important points discussing project based learning and a couple of computer programs that have been beneficial for the setting of his class room.

Mr. Capp's stated in Project Based Learning that throughout PBL a positive outcome is that students "own their own learning." If a project has the student's interests form the get-go with a great hook, then the students will be driven to complete the task and the performance will be outstanding. Capp's feels that as a teacher you should NEVER underestimate your students. They will surprise you with their work performances in more ways than one. He gives the guidelines to what needs to be done and without hesitation his students outdo his expectations. He gets his students involved with collaborative work, which isn't always the easiest thing to get done, but it needs to be done in order for students to grow in working with peers. Capp's also felt that it is extremely crucial for reflection time in which you get your students to go back and revise their projects and peer edit their classmate's work. They see the positives and the negatives and can change what needs to be altered. I shall call this "reflection inspection." This method works out in favor for both the student and the teacher! It provides the students with immediate outcomes of what is wrong before they turn it in.

There are two computer programs discussed by Mr. Capp's that I had wished were around during my time as a student growing up. One is iCurio, this program is a type of search engine for students to safely browse the web for text, images, videos, graphs, etc. All of which is selected by a network of teachers. iCurio is designed for students to do research on whatever topic they are discussing in class and set up all of their findings in a virtual folder to go back and grab whenever they need it. Teachers, like Mr. Capps, adore this program because it takes off the stress of worrying what inappropriate website the kids will accidentally stumble upon. Plus, the teachers can add what ever articles they find to the virtual pool of information and then the students can all see what the teacher feels is important at that time for discussion. Discovery Education is a big part in Mr. Capp's classroom because this program offers more than just images. It offers visual explanation of topics via videos to clearly explain things rather (if not better) than a picture does.

Anthoney Capp's explained that technology doen't need to be taught all at once. Gradually incorporating different types of systems, gadgets, and programs needs to be done overtime! Througout the year you are to have accomplish a LONG list of standards that need to have been met throughout your time with your class. Each unit is to be asseblmed throughout a 6-8 week time frame. Each week you cover something that embellished the list of things taught the week before and so on. By the end of everyday you will see what was accomplished and continue on your weekly plan following what was done the day before. To be clear Mr. Capp's broke it down into those four layers: year, unit, week, and day.

What I gathered most from the series of interviews, was that teacher's are also learners. Mistake will be made, things won't run smoothly, and schedules will won't follow accordingly. But at the end of the day its obvious that Anthony Capp's loves want he is doing and passionately shaping the minds of today's youth one class at a time. I hope to do the same.

Project Presentation #3

Blog Post # 4 Asking Questions.

There are several methods to asking questions in the teaching world. I imagine it like Goldie Locks and the Three Bears. Some questions are too strong and overwhelm students, some questions are too weak and don't challenge the students minds and some question are just right for growth among your class. The problem with upper level students is that overtime they become accustom to just a nod of the head to the teacher's rhetorical questions. Rhetorical questions are great in a sense that it gets the child thinking(that is if they are even paying attention) but RQ's don't dig deep enough. When a child answers verbally then it provides reassurance that the material is being explained, absorbed, and applied.

Asking Questions to Improve Learning gives bullet by bullet techniques for proper question asking. A tip I learned was to pace your self throughout your lecture. If you load to many questions at one time then the children don't know which one to answer first and get caught up in the overload. Give them 5-10 seconds to respond and gather their thoughts, and then you can look for hands to call on. If a student answers incorrectly then correct the mistake. After correction, ask a follow-up question that enable the student to continue thinking on the subject. I think its obvious to say that most importantly, show interest in their answers, no interruptions! Who wants to answer questions when no one is paying attention?

Joanne Chesley compares open ended vs. closed ended questions in her video Asking better questions in the classroom. Closed ended questions are answered with a "yes" or "no".Nothing more nothing less.One that requires more thought and needs to be explained in more detail, would be an open ended question. This way the student challenges him/herself to think outside of the box. Open ended questions are intend for critical thinking.

I did some research on other strategies for ways to ask questions and stubbled upon Wait Time-Teachers Perspective which goes into more detail on the patience of lecture time. The idea of "wait time"(a.k.a thinking time) was a way for students to gather their thoughts after a teacher asked a more challenging, or open ended question. The teacher asks the questions then says "wait time" that way the students know to wait before raising hands. This period of quiet reflection benefits the children who usually are quiet/reserved to answer questions. It helps the students that are always first to raise hands to becoming a patient peer. At the end of wait time, the teacher then has the entire class's attention and can call on anyone for the answer because they have all had equal time to process it.

C4T # 1

As assigned, I was to read #WilliamChamberlain. William Chamberlain posted tips for note taking in a classroom setting. In How to Take Great Notes the narrator explains students need to spend majority of class time listening and absorbing information. Once the information is somewhat absorbed, start the note taking steps. Which are in question, answer, evidence order. Notetakers should take note(pun intended)that the main the purpose of taking lecture notes is not to write every single thing the teacher says. You spend all of your time and effort trying to cram all of the information and little to nothing is being absorbed. Then you go back and look at your notes and handwriting is sloppy, there isn't clear transition within notes, and there is too much writing on a page that its becomes a struggle to learn it!

After reading Mr. Chamberlain's most recent post I realized he is a great samaritan. He has provided a way for his students to become involved in a loaning program where they can choose a group or person that they feel is deserving of a it. The program is called Kiva. Mr. Chamberlain refers to the students group as TigerCorp. The class voted on three recipients. They chose a group from Peru, a man from Uganda, as well as a man from Armenia. The micro loans will set up a market stall, a poultry house and will go towards purchasing more pigs and cows. That's pretty amazing if you ask me.

Blog Post #3 Peer Editing

When it comes to peer editing the main purpose is to fix and adjust someone's written work to be at its potential. There are right and wrong ways of successful peer editing. According to Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial as the editor, I should complete the task by complimenting,suggesting, and correcting. As a peer editor, I would not necessarily comment on their blog pointing out every single flaw, instead I would complement/suggest different ways to improve what they have so far. I would generalize that perhaps the blogger should re-read what they have written for grammatical errors in my comment. Also, if they need me to re-read it for corrections I would be glad to do so. If there are more than several cosmetic flaws such as grammar, spelling, and typos I would most likely let them know through a private message or even tell them in class that a blog entry had typo mistakes.

There are several tips to properly peer edit. What is Peer Editing explained the cardinal rule for peer editing staying positive.Put yourselves in their shoes and think about the ways your peer editor helps you and mimic it for them in return. Avoid broad criticism, if you criticize too vaguely then the other person does not understand the direct message of what you are trying to infer. Therefor, they won't be able to change anything and they will have a confused outlook on your comment. A nice way to correct is through suggestions. If there is a giant issue with their work or it needs a little tweaking then offer an idea to fix it. As in the short video Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes no ones needs a "mean Margaret" or a "picky Paula", positive criticism goes a lot farther than negative criticism.

What WIll Teaching in the 21st Century be Like?

Professor Dancealot

In the video Professor Dancealot was to show the realization of how teaching can be a skewed at times. It took a simple idea of a dance class and turned it into a lecture type of environment. Dancing is something that takes practice, and repetition and can not be taught on a slideshow. By the end of semester, the students were clueless on how to do everything because they weren't "taught" how a dance class is normally taught. I agree that the ending results of a poorly taught class end in a result of poor grades by the students. There are several methods of teaching. Some things are better explained via power point, where as, some things are 100% necessary to be taught through physical explantations and not just visual.

Teaching in the 21st Century

Kevin Roberts puts into perspective how Teaching In the 21st Century is vastly different that what is was just 10 or 20 years ago. Technology has essentially taken over all aspects of life in the running world so it only makes sense that technology based learning is the way to handle some teaching aspects in a classroom setting. Roberts pointed out how even literally everyday questions can be answered on the internet. Such as "whats the best route home?" or "where should I get my car fixed?" or even "how should I vote for president?" Society now has information of all sorts at our fingertips. He states the the role of the teacher is evolving into something it wasn't seen as before. Roberts stated that they teachers are now just "filters" of information. Students can google anything (the answers are instant) and then the teachers can go more into depth on the subject matter. I agree on the fact that technology has become more second nature for the upcoming generations. However, the concepts of no pencils, papers, or books in a classroom for educating baffles me. Children know how to work an iPad better than a jig-saw puzzle! It will be intresting to see how the future tech-savy children will grow up into adulthood.

The Networked Student

After watching the video on The Networked Student I thought it was an intresting take on the "normal" learning environment. I even thought to myself if 21st Century School was a real school. The idea of it is that the student basically home-schools themselves. Through 2 online courses and one class meeting. They network their way through an online collaborative page. And share ideas and opinions on different material with other students who have tuned into to the online collaborative page. However, this student DOES have a teacher but her main purpose as his teacher is more along the lines of guideing him through networking,helping with difficult concepts, and filtering through the valid facts and figures he looks up on the web. I felt that a key part to the video at the very end where the narrator states that in the teacher's heart she hopes that her students will go on to make a difference in the world using the tools she taught him. He is right about that. I feel that (for the most part) teachers spend all of their time investing into their students lives just hoping that they will leave the classroom at the end of each day with a new thing they learned. No matter what type of teacher they are, they all want the same results.

Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

Vicky Davis is a public school computer teacher in rural Georgia.In Harness Your Students Digital Smarts it explains that her main thread of teaching ideals is individual learning. She asks her class to take it upon themselves to look up and research the questions they have. If they aren't sure of a definition of a word she said or a computer based question then the students will have to look it up themselves. She wants students to become independent learners and not necessarily rely on a teacher to spoon feed them answers. I think it is a great idea for older middle school to high school aged students. I feel that lower elementary students need a little bit more guidance on some aspects of the classroom. However, I think it is one of a teachers roles to implement technology into the younger age students so they will be prepared for the the higher computer learning classrooms.

Flipping the classroom

I think the idea of Flipping The Classroom is brilliant. I have heard of virtual classrooms before where students can watch videos of their teachers teaching lessons, but only for students that are very sick and have to take off from school. This video was the first time where I have seen it possible for all students. I honestly wish that this was used during my years in middle/high school. Especially with mathematics! Being able to watch a video of a math lesson, rewind parts, and being able to fast forward through other parts for each student would be very beneficial. Students can then work at their own pace and then ask all remaining questions necessary the following day is a win-win situation for both the student, the teacher, and the remaining classmates. The one draw back to this is if a student missed the lesson for that night then it could pose a problem. Despite that, this cuts down on classroom time for the teacher to go more into depth after the basic lesson was taught the night before. It serves as a template for making homework easier and more manageable for the student to complete it at home. A student watches the video and then the lesson is fresh in their brains to complete the homework assignment.