Blog Post #16 Final Reflection

Part 1

After going back and rereading my first blog post, I must say I have come a long way. At first, I was very apprehensive about being introduced to new technology tools. I am glad that Dr. Strange required us to use and learn about, how to use these tools. When I was in school, teachers used the chalkboard, overhead projectors and a television on a cart. Now, technology can be used to teach, on a variety of devices. In EDM 310, Dr. Strange has challenged us to use, discuss and demonstrate the many available technology tools.

After rereading my blog post, I still want the same things for my school. I want to teach second grade. I still want my school to be fun, warm, caring, and an engaging learning environment. In my first post, I just listed some technology tools that I wanted to use. Now, I know specific tools I want to use. I still want to use the Smartboard, iPad, desktop computers and laptops. Now, I want to have at least one Mac computer. This class has introduced me to the wonderful world of using a Mac computer. I would like to incorporate blogging, podcasts, Skype, iCurio, Padlet, Google Docs, and iMovie. In my first post, I was not aware of these great interactive tools, for the classroom.

Also, I want to use project-based learning. Project-based learning can help me to teach students difficult concepts. I like that it is a hands-on approach to learning. Students will be able to work in groups to explore relevant problems, issues and questions. Project-based learning helps introduce students in creating presentations and sharing, what they have learned.



In schools today, technology plays such an important role. Technology is constantly changing. I must be technology literate, in order to be an effective teacher. By taking EDM 310, I have learned so much. I have learned about many different technology tools. I will take all of this new knowledge with me, in my continuing education, and my future teaching career.



Part 2

Blog Post 15

With today’s technologies helping special needs students achieve so much more than in the past. The assistive technologies allow students with disabilities to participate in the learning activities and curriculum. In the video, Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing impaired Children we see students learning using assistive technologies. The students read a book that uses words like “Zoom” to describe the sound a boat makes. This allows hearing impaired students to imagine what a boat really sounds like. We also see a blind student reading a book written in Braille. These are only two of the more simple assistive technologies available. These simple tools allow students to interact with their classmates and learning environment. With the ever advancing technology world we as teachers should always stay knowledgeable on the tools available to us. Also to ensure that the student is receiving the best possible learning experience a thorough assessment of the student’s abilities should be done to know where they are struggling.

The video about the MountBatton, we learn about a system that is used to help enhance learning for the visually impaired. This system allows students to write Braille and hear what they are writing as they are typing it. This allows students to learn Braille while also staying involved in the classroom discussions and group work. Another way to enhance a student that has learning disabilities to participate in class is to teach the other students how to work with the student. For example, a visually impaired student may be more willing to participate in peer reviews if they know their paper will be read by a peer and not the teacher. So teaching the other students how to read basic Braille may help strengthen the learning environment. When planning lesson plans involving these assistive tools it is important to combine multiple tools to allow the student a single tool will not meet all the needs of your student. While researching assistive tools we found the website EnablingDevices which is a website that sells devices for all disabilities. This site is a very good site to have. It shows you what tools are out there and what tools you could need for your students with disabilities. The most important aspect of helping a student with disabilities achieve their goal is to work together, with the students parents and other administrators to guarantee that your student is achieving their goals.

Learning mathematics can be tough for anyone, but for blind students, it can be a challenging task, in learning math. In the video, Teaching Math to the Blind, Professor Art Karshmer, who is a professor at University of San Francisco School of Management, introduces a tool he has created for blind students. This tool uses blocks and a grid. His device lays out simple math problems to more advanced math problems using small blocks. On the front, there is braille and visible numbers. In the video, he demonstrates that the blind student will use a barcode scanner, on the blocks. The device reads the number back to the student. The student places the block on the grid to set up the math problem. The math problem is laid out on the touch bed. Professor Art Karshmer shows how the problem is laid out the way a sighted person would put it on paper. A blind person can rub their finger across the problem and read it. Now, a blind student is able to work on a two-dimensional problem. By using this program, it will help educate young blind students. It can cover areas like: basic Math and the beginning Algebra.

After watching Professor Art Karshmer video, we did further research on math tools for blind students. We found information on a blind woman named Sheila Schneider. She majored in sculpture at the School of Art Design. Under the supervision of Deana McDonagh, a professor of Industrial Design. Sheila Schneider has created six small hand held sculptures that have mathematical equations written in Braille. The math equations will be written in Nemeth Code, a form of Braille used with math and scientific symbols. This tool will be used to help students with visual impairments that will help them to learn math. It is great that there are assistive technology available for the blind.

It is great that there are assistive technology available for the blind. In the video, iPad usage for the blind Wesley Majerus who is an Access Specialist for the National Federation for the Blind. In the video, Mr. Majerus demonstrations how blind people can use different apps with an iPad. The iPad has a voiceover that tells him, which programs he is opening. The voiceover helps him to navigate around the home screen. There is an app that can read a book aloud. He expresses that it is very liberating to buy and read books. This tool, is a great assistive technology device that can help blind people.

C4T#4

For my C4T, I was assigned to read Mrs. Kathleen Morris blog , her latest post was titled Looking Back, Looking Forward She is going, on Maternity leave. She is packing up things, in her classroom. She is deciding what to take and what to throw away. She has been at the same school for a ten years. She is trying to put 9 1/2 years of resources into two to three storage bins. The first thing she is disposing of is worksheets. She feels that hands-on,collaborative opened task have a bigger impact on students than a worksheet. Mrs. Morris offers other reflections on what is important now and in the future. Resources and Ideas are always available to use: She can use Twitter, blog and other online tools to help her come up with ideas. Also, she has her professional learning network(PLN). She points out that digital resources do not take up space.She uses Google Docs. A lot of her work for her classroom is on her computer or in a cloud.

Hello Mrs. Morris, I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I commented on another blog post of yours. I like the idea of getting rid of worksheets. I remember in school; I always got worksheets. After I finished, I would be bored and forget about the topic. As a future educator, I want to use technology than using worksheets with my students.

For my C4T, I was assigned to read Mrs. Kathleen Morris blog , Her latest post was titled "Blogging and the Literacy Curriculum" In the this article, Mrs. Morris discusses that blogging should be a prioritized and planned. Also, she feels blogging needs to be integrated. Mrs. Morris emphasizes the importance of students being able to use a variety of tools and media. Mrs. Morris states that blogging can be used to teach reading, writing, speaking and listening. Her approach is spending ten to 20 minutes a day, on her literacy block on whole class blogging. Her students rotate reading each other blog and posting comments. By doing this, the students' are practicing the literacy goal. Also, her students' student's blogs were used as a digital portfolio. Mrs. Morris encourages teachers to integrate blogging into their literacy curriculum to help their students to learn.

Hello Mrs. Morris, My name is Shernaye James. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am in a class called EMD 310. We use blogging with all of our assignments. I agree, that it is important to include blogging, in the classroom. I think it is a great way to help keep students engaged.

Blog Post 14 What Did I Leave Out?

During this semester, there have been blog assignments about finding websites that are great educational resources. I am a Elementary/Special Education Major; I like finding great websites. I was able to find a lot of resources for Elementary. But, it was not easy for me to find resources for Special Education. I would like to find more online resources for Special Education. For my assignment, students will compile a list of the best websites or tools for Special Education.

Directions

1. Students will compile a list of resources relating to special education and technology.

2. Students will compile their list by using Google Docs.

3. Students will create a Google Presentation.

4. Students will choose the best four resources found.

5. Students will write a description of the website or tool they found.

6. Students will include a link to the websites, they found.



As a future educator, it is important that I find resources that help all of my students. It is great to find a variety of websites that can help teachers. By doing this project, it may introduce new websites.

Final Report PLN Project#2

For my Personal Learning Network, I have continued to use Symbaloo. I have continued to add my teacher blogs. I added the website Ted Talks. I have found Symbaloo a very easy and organized website to use. I have set Symbaloo, as my homepage. I like that I don’t have to type each website. Now, I can just go to a website with the click of a button. I liked having all the websites; I visit on one page. I like that I have the option of adding other useful websites that I will continue to find. After EDM 310, I will still continue to use Symbaloo.

Blog Post#13

Kakenya Ntaiya: A girl who demanded school is an amazing and empowering video to watch. When she was five years old, she found out she was engaged to be married. Her mother was denied an education. So, she wanted her children to receive an education. Her father was a policeman. Her father was hardly ever around. When her father returned things changed. Her mother grew crops, took care of the cows and goats. Her father would sell the cows, and went drinking, with his friends. Since, her mother was a woman, women could not own property. So, her father got everything by default. If her mother, ever questioned her father, she would be beaten and abused. In her county, there is a rite of passage ceremony for young girls. Kakenya Ntaiya made a deal with her father; she would undergo the rite of passage female circumcision, if he lets her finish high school. Kakenya describes the horror of the circumcision ritual, at thirteen. She explains that many girls die from this mutilation. This was very heartbreaking to hear, that so many girls are going through this. After her circumcision, she went to high school. It was very heartbreaking to hear this story.

After finishing high school, Kakenya wants to further her education. Kakenya meets a young man, from her village who has been to a University in America. He has nice clothes, shoes and is very happy. She applied and was accepted at a college, in Virginia. Her whole village, supported her trip to America. She made a promise to the men who sponsored her trip, that she would come back and help her village. While she was in America, she learns that it is illegal, how her mother, other women and herself were treated. She keeps her promise and works with village elders to build a school for girls, in Kenya. This school has saved 125 girls from being mutilated, beaten and being married at 12. With a college education, she returned to her village and negotiated for a school to be built for girls. It was amazing, seeing this one woman’s strength and determination to make a better place for girls, in her country. Written by: Shernaye James

In this video Shane Koyczan talks about how we are given titles and then asked what we wanted to be when we grow up. Shane talks about his experience as a kid and how he was asked what he wanted to be and then as he said what he wanted to be he was told what not to be. He was being told to accept the identity that others would give him, because they were "silly" in the eyes of others. Shane talks about his experience of becoming a bully due to the way society expected him to become. In this video Shane recites his poem "To This Day" accompanied by a video that went right along with his poem. This poem was inspirational and absolutely true. This poem brings to life the damages that are done daily from bullying and the affects of those we trust simply saying "kids will be cruel" and never actually doing anything about the bullying. This poem is one that could be used over and over again to really show the affects of bullying with words and pictures. Shane's poem is humorous and haunting but does a wonderful job bringing forward the ever growing problem of bullying. Written by: Jacquelyne Mckiernan

C4K Summary for November

Paris's Blog

For my first C4K, I was assigned to Mr. Marks sixth grade class, in Auckland, New Zealand. My first C4K student name is Paris. His post was about a MIHI, that he created. I told Paris, that I liked the Mihi he created, I did not know what a Mihi was, so I looked it up. I learned something new. I have included a link to my blog.

Kaya's Blog

For my second C4K, I was assigned to Mrs. Jenny's She class, Little Voices, Little Scholars 2nd grade Pt England School, in Auckland, New Zealand. My second C4K student name is Kayla. Her post was Kaya Tell Us Why We need to Use the Crossing In the video, Kaya explained the importance of having a crosswalk. I told her, that I enjoyed watching her video, on the importance of having a crosswalk. I told her, I had a crosswalk at school too.

SmartBoard Project #12 Part B

Blog Post #12

In the video, Changing education paradigms Ken Robinson talks about the changes being made around the world in public education. He explains how there are two reasons for these changes. The first being economics and the second being cultural. He asks how we educate our children to take our place in the economy. He also asks how we educate our children so that they have a source of cultural identity. He starts his explanation by saying we are trying to meet the future by doing what they did in the past. I really agree with this quote, and think it is a very strong and representational quote of today’s society. This type of thinking is alienating many kids who do not understand why they need to be in school, because the education system was created for a different generation.

Robinson believes there are two types of education abilities which are economic and intellectual. The academic are considered the smart people who go on to get higher education degrees and the intellectual are the non-smart people, who struggled in school or could not afford to go on to get higher education and who are judged for it. Robinson states how he thinks this has caused chaos. Robinson goes on to say that the non-smart people have had to suffer the ADHD “epidemic.” He believes that we are penalizing our students with drugs because they are distracted by all the technologies of today. He states how we are getting our children through education by anaesthetizing them, or deadening their senses. I really liked what Robinson says when he states that we “should not be putting our students to sleep, we should be waking them up.” This is a great statement, because many students are bored and uninterested in school today.

Robinson explains how school’s today are similar to a factory line, and if we want our students to succeed we need to change from the factory line mentality. Robinson ends his lecture talking about divergent learning and shows a study that was done on a group of students starting in kindergarten through 9th or 10th grade. This study showed how the students’ ability for divergent thinking or creativity deteriorates as the students grow and go through school. He explains how the students’ have gone through years of school being told there is only one answer and that collaboration is bad. Robinson ends saying that in order to change the way our students learn we must think differently about human capacity and not split education into sections. I really liked the final quote he uses “Great learning happens in groups.” This quote goes right along with project based learning, and collaboration in groups. Jacquelyne Mckiernan

In the video, How to escape education’s death valley Ken Robinson talks about . He makes a comment that who ever thought of the title “No child left behind” understood irony because the program left millions of children behind. The United States spends more on education that other countries but yet still has a 60% dropout rate. He believes that America is going in the wrong direction. He talks about 3 principles for education. The first is that humans are naturally different and diverse. He talks about how no two kids are alike. He goes on to say that 10% of children in America are diagnosed with some time of ADD. He says that most children are not suffering from a physiological condition, they are suffering from childhood. Children learn best when the curriculum is broad and can celebrate their different talents that just one. The second priciple is curiosity. When a child’s curiosity is sparked, they will go and learn themselves with no push. He goes on and says that children are natural learners. Curiosity is the engine in education. He says that the main point of education is learning. He talks about how you can be doing something but not be engaged in it. He applies that theory to teachers. Someone can be participating in the act teaching but no real teaching going on. The third principle is the human life is creative. We create our own lives. One of the points of education is to awake the power of creativity. He talks about how Finland has high test scores and such. He says that the reason they do is because they individualize teaching and learning. By doing this, they don’t have a dropout rate. They realize that you have to spark student interest and support the teachers. He says that education is not in the government, it’s in the classroom. Teachers know what needs to be done. Education is a human system not a mechanical one. The schools should not be command and control, but should be climate control. If you change the climate or atmosphere, possibilities are endless. Savanah Moore

I really enjoyed watching Sir Ken Robinson’s video titled, The Importance of Creativity. Sir Ken Robinson talk is about why creativity is important. He is very funny and engaging. He started his speech by saying that students starting kindergarten this year will retire in 2065. Robinson explains that, we do not know what the world would look like the in next five years, but we are to educate and prepare students for the future. He shares that creativity should be treated the same as literacy. He had a great quote, “If you are not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original.” He speaks about today in education; we are stigmatizing mistakes. In the education system, a mistake is the worst thing you can do. Robinson explains, that the education system has the same hierarchy of subjects, Mathematics and Languages, Humanities and then the Arts. Under the Arts, there is another hierarchy Art and Music are given a higher status than Drama and Dance. In schools, there is not a class that teaches dance everyday to students, like Math is taught to students. During his talk, Mr. Robinson included a quote from Picasso, “ All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” Robinson says that educator’s task is to educate the whole being so, that they can face the future.

I really liked Sir Ken Robinson’s story of Gillian, who became a dancer because ADHD had not been invented yet. The school wrote her parents because they thought she had a learning disability. Gillian went to see a specialist. The specialist turned the radio on, and the girl began to dance. She was a dancer. The specialist recommendation was to take her to a dance school. It turned out that he was right. She found other people just like her; people who could not sit still. She became a ballet dancer and a professional choreographer. Today, in schools too many children are mislabeled. I really enjoyed watching Sir Ken Robinson’s video. I learned that the arts should be held in the same hierarchy of content areas. It is important to create an education system that nurtures creativity not destroy it. Shernaye James

Project#15 Project Based Learning Plan#3

For my lesson plan assignment, I created a social studies lesson plan. The lesson plan is for the fifth grade. The students will learn about Early American Explorers. The lesson starts with students writing about what they know about explorers . The assignment for this lesson plan is a group assignment. The students will create a Prezi about Early American Explorers. Students will create a drawing of their explorer. The timeline for this project is 120 minutes a day for one week. On Friday, students will do a presentation on their Early American Explorer. Here is a link to my googlesite

Blog Post 11

I watched the videos, First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class and Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy. Ms. Cassidy is a first-grade teacher in Moose Jaw, Canada. Ms. Cassidy explains how her student's use technology, in the classroom. After watching these videos, I want to use this type of learning, in my classroom. I like that she is introducing blogging to first graders. In EDM 310, it is my first time blogging. However, these first graders look like professionals at blogging. The students blog regularly. The students use blogs, wikis, webpages, Skype and Nintendo DS to learn, in their classroom. I liked that Ms. Cassidy, was provided with just five computers ten years earlier, and she used them to begin her technology journey. A tool Ms. Cassidy uses is Skype. Ms. Cassidy uses Skype to allow her students to communicate with classroom, experts and with different people from around the world. As a future educator, I would use blogging. I think that this is a great tool to use. It can help my students with their writing skills. By getting students involved in blogging, it can help engage students with their learning. Furthermore, it can introduce students to technology; they may not otherwise get. By using Ms. Cassidy's technology strategy, I cannot think of any problems occurring. As a future educator, I hope to use this information, in my classroom.

Smartboard Project #12 Part A

C4K Summary for October

Brenden's Blog

For my first C4K, I was assigned to Mrs. Eppele fourth and fifth grade class, in British Columbia,Canada. My first C4K student name is Brenden C. Pickle. His post was about a story he read. It was a story about a family who gets a new dog. Brenden wrote about how the family and their goldfish named Ollie will adjust to the new dog. He stated, that he liked the book and he gave it almost five stars. I told Brenden, that I am glad that you liked the book you read. Now, I am curious, about how everything turns out, with their new dog. I have included a link to my blog.

NightHawk02 For my second C4k, I was assigned to Mrs. Mclean sixth grade class, in Alberta, Canada. My second C4K student name is NightHawk02. Her post was about explaining the differences between producers, consumers and decomposers. She included pictures for producers, consumers and decomposers. She provided links for each picture. I told her, that I have a blog for my class too. I told her she did a great job in explaining the differences between producers, consumers and decomposers. Also, that I liked that she included pictures of producers, consumers and decomposers.

Monty's Blog For my third C4K, I was assigned to Mr. Warren Grieve 5th grade Medbury School for Boys, in Christchurch,New Zealand. My third C4k student name is Monty. Monty latest post was about a Proboscis Monkey. He gave details describing a Proboscis Monkey. Some of the facts given were that they live on one island called Borneo. The Proboscis Monkey survives on leaves, unripe fruit and seeds. He provided a picture and links to the resources he used. I told Monty, he did a great job describing a Proboscis Monkey.

Ethan's Blog For my fourth C4K, I was assigned to Mrs. Horst 7th grade Language Arts in Oakville Ontario, Canada. My fourth C4k student name is Ethan. Ethan lasted post was titled,"Out of My Mind". He discussed a book; he read titled, "Out of My Mind". He discusses a character named Melody. Melody has cerebral palsy. Ethan writes that this book is fiction. He provides examples for his reasoning. I told Ethan, he did a good job providing some information from the book he read. Also, I told him, to remember to check his spelling and punctuation.

C4T#3

Post 1

For my third C4T, I was assigned to read Jeff Delp's blog, Moles out of Moutains. His latest post, was titled Blogging with Postach.io. Mr.Delp introduced a tool he found called Postach.io. Postach.io allows writers to publish their blog posts directly from Evernote. Writers can write their blog post in Evernote, then add a published tag. The post will appear on your personal Postach.io, as it appears in Evernote. Mr. Delp was looking for a tool, that is simple and helps him to focus on his writing. Mr. Delp, showed how he is using Postach.io. He has another blog titled, The Opposite Way.

Hello, my name is Shernaye James. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am taking a class called EDM 310. It is web-based. We blog regularly. So, it is great, when I am introduced to new tools. So, I will add this to my list of tools. I like that it is a simple tool to use. I have included a link to my blog.

Post 2

For my third C4T, I was assigned to read Jeff Delp's blog, Moles out of Moutains. His latest post, is titled The Educator’s “Do and Don’t” List Mr. Delp discusses an article he read; that inspired him to create his own to do list.

Some of the do's are:

1. Know your students and work diligently to make connections, 2. Have high expectations, and a provide a high level of support, 3.Give students choice, and a voice, Take time to thank others, and show appreciation (colleagues and students).

Some of things from his don't list included:

1.Stop learning, 2.Underestimate your power to make a difference–make the most of your moments 3. Forget to smile.

My response was I enjoyed reading your post. As a future educator, I liked the idea of creating a do and don't list. I hope to create my own, in the future.

Project#10: Interview Movie

I interviewed Mrs. Jennifer Howard for my Project#10 teacher interview. She tells us how she uses technology in her second grade classroom.

Project #14 Project Based Learning Plan #2

For my lesson plan assignment, I created a science lesson plan. The lesson plan is for the fourth grade. The students will learn about volcanoes. The lesson starts with an introduction about volcanoes. The assignment for this lesson plan is a group assignment. The students will create a Prezi about volcanoes. The timeline for this project is sixty minutes a day for one week. On Thursday, students will do a presentation on volcanoes. On Friday, students will complete a test, on volcanoes.

Blog Post #10

In 2007, Dr. Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor gave his last lecture. I really enjoyed watching his lecture. Randy Pausch, "Last Lecture" was very inspirational. It was sad, funny and thought-provoking. He was upbeat and energetic even though he knew he had a few months to live. Randy Pausch has pancreatic cancer. In his lecture, he addressed things that he would not talk about. These things were: his family, cancer, spirituality and religion. During this lecture, he focused on three topics. These three topics are: Childhood Dreams, Enabling the dreams of others and Lessons Learned: how you can achieve your dreams or enable the dream of others. The last lecture is about achieving your childhood dreams.

Randy talked about his childhood dreams. Some of those dreams were: being in zero gravity, playing in the NFL and being a Disney Imagineer. His dreams of playing in the NFL, and being Captain Kirk were dreams; he did not get to do. However, most of his dreams did come true. There were many valuable life lessons that were given throughout Dr. Pausch's lecture. The two topics that stood out for me was bricks walls and accepting criticism.



I like his quote “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” This was just a simple and powerful statement to me. Brick walls being obstacles that will appear, in my life. Some of these obstacles may be big or small. But, if I really want something bad enough, I will find a way to overcome the wall. I have to work harder to overcome the brick walls, that come my way.

Another quote that stood out to me was "When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care." I learned that criticism can be very beneficial. For a long time, it was hard for me to accept criticism. I just thought it was someone being mean. But, looking back, they were just trying to help me. As a future educator, I welcome criticism. It is very important to hear what other people have to say about us so, that we can improve ourselves. There are some great things I learned about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch. As a future educator, it is important that I encourage my students with positive criticism. Also, it is important that I do not give up on my students.

Randy Pausch lecture made me look at my life and value my time here on Earth. Sadly, on July 25, 2008, Randy Pausch passed away from pancreatic cancer. I was inspired by watching this lecture; I will carry these insights and use them as a future educator. Also, I will apply them to my life. I will continue to pursue my goals with great determination and continue, until I accomplish my goals.

Blog Post #9

Brian Crosby’s video TEDxDenver Ed is a really great video. I loved his presentation on the students. Seeing how excited the students were with the balloon experiment and watching them continue to grow in excitement as the project grew. The students began with a small synthetic audience, and then as there blogs gained notice their audience grew and grew. I loved how Mr.Crosby allowed his student to grow as self-learners and encouraged them to want to learn on their own. Mr.Crosby also provided his students with the chance to talk to students around the world. The balloon project became so widespread that the students’ blogs were being viewed by hundreds of students, teachers, and even some scientists who were amazed by the work these young students were doing. One class in New Zealand wanted to do the balloon experiment but their teacher did not know how to do it. So the students in Mr.Crosby’s class studied the language and skyped the students in New Zealand and presented the experiment to them. This gave the students the chance to learn and to shine because these other students were looking up to them and their work. Mr. Crosby included a student name Celeste. She was undergoing chemo. Mr. Crosby used Skype. So, Celeste is now included into everyday learning. Brian Crosby is a great example of a 21st century teacher. He uses every kind of technology available to him and his students to enhance their learning. Mr. Crosby showed how encouraging the students to want to learn can promote higher level learning and provide students who have been labeled because of their home life the chance to succeed.

In the Blended Learning Cycle video, Paul Andersen explains his methods on blended learning. He breaks it down into 6 parts: Question, Investigation, Video, Elaboration, Review, and Summary Quiz. In Question, Mr. Andersen poses a question to interest the students. He uses Euler's Disk as an example for his class. When the disk is spun on a mirror, it continues to spin until stopped. This grabs the students attention and they want to know why it does that. In Investigation, you experiment and see what happens. Mr. Andersen gives his students the Euler's disk and tells them to spin it on other surfaces to see what happens. In Video, Mr. Andersen has podcasted the instructions so that the students can do it independently instead of in a whole group lecture. Elaboration is where the students get into explaining why the disk spins the way it does. It involves the physics, making graphs, etc. In review, Mr. Andersen meets with small groups to ask questions and answer questions to make sure they understand the material. The last step is the Summary Quiz. Each student takes the quiz to see how much they learned. If they don’t understand then they go back and go through all the parts again.

In the video, Making Thinking Visible, it features sixth- grade teacher Mark Church. He teaches at the International School Amsterdam. He had his students work in groups, to discuss a video, from the previous day. The topic was The Early Human Beginnings the Origins of Human Society. The students work in groups and come up with a headline, from what they had been learning about. The students headlines were then hung on the bulletin board. Later on, when the students are doing their final project. After finishing their final project, students were told to think about what their headline is now. The students are to decide whether their thinking has changed. I like students working in small groups because I feel it helps keep students engaged. Personally, I like working in groups, because you can hear the thoughts of someone else. They can maybe better verbalize what you are trying to say. Furthermore, working in groups can help give you a better understanding of a topic. I like being able to reflect on my work, which I did not have in school. I feel that encouraging students to reflect is great thing to teach to your students. Visible Thinking is a research-based approach to teaching thinking; it develops students’ thinking and communicates the idea more effectively. Also, at the same time deepens their understanding of the topics they are studying. Visible Thinking is based on different practices such as thinking routines, small sets of questions, students sharing their ideas, having a discussion and reflecting. After watching this video,we agree with Mr. Church’s approach to teaching and learning. Watching this video encourages us as future teachers to experiment with other types of learning.

Written by: Jacquelyne McKiernan, Savanah Moore, Shernaye James

Blog Post #8

My group and I found many different educational tools that could be very useful. Some of the resources we found are Learnzillion, WatchKnowLearn, neok12, Diigo, and TeacherTube. These are just a few of the many resources available to teachers in the 21st century.

LearnZillion is a website that provides high-quality instructional videos for grades 3-9. The lessons centered around Common Core standards in Math. LearnZillion provides assessment and progress reporting. Teachers can select a lesson for students to review and track their student’s progress, on the topic. LearnZillion is a free site. Teachers need to sign up first. You can search by grade level, topic, or standard. The way LearnZillion will be used, is by assigning videos for students to watch. After watching the assigned video, students will complete practice activities and quizzes. The benefits are: students can practice and review videos to help them understand the content, that they are learning. LearnZillion is great because it helps in providing high-quality instructional content, for each individual student’s needs. Written by: Shernaye James

Diigo is a site that I found through one of my C4T assignments. I had never heard of it before but after it was mentioned in the post I decided to look into it. Diigo is a site that allows you to save information and share articles. With Diigo you and those you shared the article with are able to highlight and put notes on articles, allowing communication right there on the article. This site also allows you to create groups. The groups could be organized by grade level, subject or certain staff members. When you share an article with the group only they are able to view and comment on the article. The articles are saved and stored until they are needed. Diigo is great for when you find teaching resources and would like to share them, and with it being free it could be possible to create a class account that the students are able to use for group projects. Written by: Jacquelyne McKiernan

TeacherTube is a great website I use at work. At most schools, youtube is blocked when using the internet, so when teachers wanted to show their class a video about what they were learning they couldn’t! Teachertube was created so that teachers could enhance their students learning by showing them videos about the things they are learning on a safe website. It contains tons of educational videos that are appropriate for the classroom. At work, I use Teachertube when tutoring kids. Sometimes hearing the information another way in a video, helps the student understand better. Teachertube is also useful for me! The way kids are taught to do math is completely different from the way I was taught so it is useful for me to go on there and learn the new methods of learning! Written by: Savanah Moore

Podcast Project #9

C4T #2

For my second C4T, I was assigned to read Mrs. Vicki Davis’s blog, Cool Cat Teacher. In her latest post, she discussed the different tools, that can be used with the file hosting service called Dropbox. She gave a link to the tool, Sort my box , which can be used to help with organizing Dropbox. Mrs. Davis provided a link, to an app, called Dropvox. It is an app, that lets you record voice memos, to Dropbox. Also, links were provided to the 20 Tools That will Supercharge Your Dropbox. The final link provided was to Dropbox Forms. This program creates a form where data goes into your Dropbox.

Hello Mrs. Davis, My name is Shernaye James. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. My major is Elementary/Special Education. I really enjoyed your Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 9/18/2103 post. I liked the links you provided. Also, I learned about extra tools that can be used with Drop Box. I had never heard of Sort My Box. Also, I did not know that there was Voice Memos app. These are great tools that I can use in my teaching field.

Mrs. Davis second post, Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 09/27/2013 . She posted information about an app called Educators App. In this app, it helps coverts teacher’s classroom website into an Android or Apple App .

Thank you for the great post! I like finding out about new apps. I especially like the educational apps that I can use in the classroom.

Blog Post #7

In the video, Project Based Learning Part 1 Anthony Capps discusses his use of Project based learning in his 3rd grade class. Anthony gives a really good point when he says that the projects should not be just in class. He explains that they should involve a real audience and include the community; this encourages the students to do better work and to really care about their project. Anthony also talks about using project based learning as a teaching tool rather than just an accessory to your lesson. He gives an example of having his students write letters to the governor Jo Bonner about women fighting in combat. This project was content driven and met reading, writing and social studies standards. The project also was community driven and the students were able to learn information from their community. I really enjoyed listening to Anthony Capps talk about his experiences in a classroom, and it is really neat to see what we learn in EDM310 in a classroom.

In the second half of Project Based Learning, Anthony discussed how not all projects have a great outcome. Anthony gives an example of how his class was studying Afghanistan and learning about the culture. Anthony explains how one of his parents who had served in Afghanistan did not want their child to do the project, and they wanted to keep their child sheltered from that culture. This example is really important because it shows how that not all projects are going to be an absolute success, Anthony's students learned a lot from this project and they had excellent reviews. I really loved when Anthony said "create an opportunity for your students to go beyond what you expect." I think this is a great quote to live by when it comes to creating activities for your students, allowing them to learn and go above and beyond is a great way to motivate them for higher learning.

In this video title iCurio, Anthony Capps moves on from his discussion of Project Based Learning to iCurio. Anthony explains how he uses iCurio to help his students become organized and teach them virtual organization, and to keep track of all of their notes and information. I really enjoyed learning more about iCurio, Anthony explains how iCurio is very kid friendly and blocks out sites that are inappropriate for kids. I found the historical figures feature to be very interesting, and how you can search with categories. I feel this could be very useful in my future classroom, when my students need to do a research project or assignment.

In the video, Discovery Education we learn about the site Discovery Education. In this video, Anthony uses the quote "If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth a million" I agree with this quote, and also in the use of Discovery Ed. I really liked Anthony's example with studying plants and using Discovery Ed to enhance the study and viewing pictures and videos about the plants

Written by: Shernaye James, Jacquelyne Mckiernan, Savanah Moore

In the video, The Anthony - Strange Tips for Teachers Part 1 Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps give tips to future educators. These tips covered key topics, that any new teacher should think about. The first thing that Dr. Strange and Anthony suggested, is to really be interested, in learning yourself. Anthony says that work, is not separate from play, in teaching. He says teachers learn the craft of teaching, in their free time. Another tip that was suggested, is to be flexible. Anthony emphasizes the importance of keeping students engaged. He encourages the listener, to have a goal of 100 percent engagement. Anthony also says that it is important, to include information the students care about. Lastly, Anthony discusses the importance of reflection, revising and sharing. As a future educator, these are great tips to use and remember.

Written by: Shernaye James

I really agree with everything Anthony said in the video Use Tech Don't Teach It. Gradually adding in the technology and focusing on one specific tool at a time is a great way to help the students understand how to use them. Anthony uses the term scaffolding as a way to describe how he uses technology and introduces it into his classroom. This means that he adds on each week, he uses the example of starting with a research tools, and then having them use the video tool and by week three his students were able to do research videos where they are recording the information that they researched. I really enjoyed watching this video and learning from Anthony about different ways to use technology.

Written by: Jacquelyne McKiernan

In the video, Additional Thought About Lessons Anthony made some very good points on how there are four tiers in lesson planning; the school year, the unit, weekly, and daily. You start with everything you need to cover in the whole school year. Then you break it down into units, which would be about 6 weeks long. By the end of the unit the students should be able to do X in that subject. When looking at your unit, you should divide the lessons into weeks. For example if our unit is plants, week one may be all about what is in the dirt and what needs to be in the dirt for something to grow, week two could be focusing on the roots, week three could focus on the stem and leaves, and so on. At the end of the unit the students should know all about plants; how they work, what they need to survive, etc. Your weeks then need to be divided into days.The days to week act just like the weeks to unit. On Friday, your students should know X about that subject. If we continue with the plant unit, in week three the students should know all about stems and leaves and their functions. So Monday the students should learn where the stem and leaves are on the plant, Tuesday they can learn why the stem is important, etc. On Friday, the students should know all about stems and leaves. My biggest fear about teaching is not having enough time to cover all of the material well enough that the kids understand it, but I think that this tier lesson plan idea will help.

Written by: Savanah Moore

Project #13 Project Based Learning Plan #1

For our collaborative assignment, Jacquelyne McKiernan, Savanah Moore and I created a lesson plan for second grade students. The tile of our lesson plan is Hurricane Charting. The lesson plan lasts for a week. Here is a copy of our lesson plan. The lesson plan starts off with a video, about Hurricanes. The main assignment is a group assignment. The students are to create a Hurricane Tracking Chart. The duration of this activity, is 30 to 60 minutes a day, for one week. On Friday, students will do a presentation, on their tracking charts. After presentations are done, students will take a test, on the material and a fun weather related movie. Also, we created a website for our lesson plan.

PLN Project #2

Before taking EDM310, I was familiar with a few sites like: Twitter, Facebook, Google and Pinterest. By taking this class, I have been given many new tools to use and keep, for future reference. I have been using Symbaloo and it is turning out well. I now have set Symbaloo, as my homepage. Symbaloo has links to websites, that I visit daily. I have links to Edm 310 blog, my blog, and my C4T blogs. I like that it puts, everything in one place.

C4K Summary For September

Michelle's Blog

My first C4K student name was Michelle. Her essay was titled, “This I Believe.” She plays softball. She wrote about believing, in teamwork. She describes being a left fielder. One day, she missed the ball but, her teammate helped her. In addition, she describes her teammates encouragement. I told her, I agree that teamwork, is a great way to help a person succeed. Also, I told her, I liked how, she used baseball, as example, Lastly, I told her, I think people sometimes forget, that every teammate, has a specific role to play, on the team. Michelle provided an audio recording, of her reading her essay.

Ale's Blog

My second C4K student name was Ale. He is a fifth grade student. His post was titled, “Broken Foot.” He wrote about playing a game, of soccer at P.E. While at P.E., he hurt his foot. At the time, he thought he just sprained his ankle. However, later it was confirmed; his foot was broken. I told him, that I enjoyed reading his essay. Also, I told him, I hope his foot gets better.

Taliali

My third C4K student is Taliauli. She is a student at PT Elementary. Her post is on, things she has learned this week. She has learned some new things, in math. So, she created a picture titled "Things I Learned This Week." I told her, she had a nice post, I like her weekly reflection. Also, I said it is great that you learned new things in Math. Keep up the good work!

Lauren's Blog

My fourth C4K student is Lauren. She is a student, at Mike Gwaltney School for Girls (High School). She wrote an essay titled, "The American Dream." She discussed the American Dream created by our forefathers. She discussed that we are leaders, in our own right. Lauren ponders, what is the real American Dream? Lastly, she discusses that being a leader is "The New American Dream". I told her, I enjoyed reading her post. I told her, she was a very good writer. I told her, that I liked her perspective, on the American Dream, her ideas were very clear and to the point. The history of the American Dream, is great to read about. I told her, to Keep up the Good Work.

Project #8

Blog Post #6

I read the article, Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, by Maryellen Weimer. After reading this article , it made me think about the kind of questions, I want to ask my students. Before reading this article, I did not think about how important good questions are. Maryellen Weimer pointed out that good questions make students think. Good questions encourage students to participate and think about their questions and answers. She recommended three actions; that can help improve teacher questioning.

1. Prepare Questions- Some teachers come to class without prepared questions. Their questions are, whatever comes to their mind, at the time. So, it is important to come to class with prepared questions. It is important that these questions are clear and make your students think.

2. Play with Questions- Playing with the question means leaving the question unanswered, and using strategies that help encourage students, to think about the question. Then, answer the question later.

3. Preserve Good Questions- It is okay to save good questions. Sometimes, students ask good questions. Those questions can be used, in other classes, to help students create more good questions.

I watched the video, Questioning Styles and Strategies, it featured Dr. Harvey Silver and a fifth grade class. The students responded to the comprehension menu questions.

A comprehension menu was prepared that consisted of four questions for each learning style. These learning styles are: Mastery, Interpersonal, Understanding and Self-Expressive.

In the video, there were many techniques demonstrated that will help keep students engaged. Also, these techniques will help students continue to expand their thinking. These techniques are:

1. Technique Provisional Writing and Cueing

2. Think Pair Share

3. Random Calling

4. Surveying

5. Student Calling

6. Value Feedback

7. Extending

8. Wait Time

9. Learning Log

10. Clarifying

11. Physical Representation

As a future teacher, it is important that I develop effective questioning practices. Good questions can help students understand and learn information. I think that it is important for me to ask good questions so, that my students can see the importance of asking good questions. Also, good questions will help to keep my students engaged. My students can see that questions help us to think and questions help us to learn. Good questioning can set students on a great path to asking more great questions.

Blog Post #5

iCurio

iCurio is a digital curriculum resource for all K-12 curriculum. It provides great content for personalized learning. The resources are designed around the state and Common Core Standards. The information is designed to help students learn in their own way. iCurio gives teachers more time and flexibility to create engaging lessons that fits their student's individual needs. iCurio will help with my instruction, by helping me find lesson plans that will fit the individual needs of my students. Also, these lesson plans will help to keep my students engaged.

Project #7 My Sentence Is...

Project #7 My Passion Is...

Project # 3 Presentation