Blog Assignment #9

Group Pissarro
By: Kaley McDonald, Jordan Neely, and Brooklyn Rowland

Video One:
Back To The Future

Brian Crosby has been an upper elementary teacher for over thirty years. He is currently an elementary teacher at Agnes Risley Elementary School in Sparks, Nevada. He also facilitates Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education to teachers and administrators for six counties in northern Nevada. His students are known for their numerous service projects of which he is very zealous. He believes that students should actively learn through hands-on and minds-on experiences and projects while giving back to the world, community, and environment around them.

Brian's Back To The Future Video begins by explaining that his fourth grade students are poverty stricken and over 90% are second language learners, meaning they are students whose primary language is not English and they are learning English as their second language. A little background information about Brian's class: Class of one-to-one laptops, interactive white board, several digital cameras, and students have their own personal blogs. At the beginning of the school year he gave each student a survey with questions such as "What city do you live in?" and "What country do you live in?"

The results of the survey were astonishing. Most of his students were completely unaware of their surroundings and were trapped in their thinking because of narrowed curriculum. So, in light of the results, Brian generated the “High Hopes” High Altitude Balloon Project.

To begin the project, they started off reading and gathering information, like the layers of the atmosphere, in their Science textbooks, of which state standards requires. From the information gained by reading they then performed different activities and small experiments to show air elements like pressure change, hot air balloon effects, and more. They videoed each activity and embedded those videos into their blog along with a writing portion about what they did, how they did it, what happened as a result, and why. This type of learning goes beyond multiple choice quizzes and never ending reading curriculum.

Next, they began studying the history of balloons. Researching the world wide web discovering pictures, historical people, different types of balloons, several ways to assemble, lift, and fly them, whether to use hydrogen or helium, and so much more. Based on their research, they were required to collaborate and create a wiki webpage on specific topics about their project.

Students were then required to write a story about what the experience would be like to be the actual balloon on its journey through the atmosphere. They wrote about the whole trip from beginning to end from the perspective and point of view of the balloon. They have their own class Flickr account, which is an online photo management and sharing application. Using Flickr, the students illustrated their stories with pictures that they could take themselves or find online.

The time came to build the elements of the balloon that they were going to send into the stratosphere. With the help of college professors from University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), the students were able to send the balloon up over 100,000 feet with a camera inside in order to have the means to observe the journey with Google Maps.

Bringing the project to an end, and keeping a goal oriented mindset, the students each made trading cards that they named "strato-cards," keeping the theme of drifting into the stratosphere. Each card was designed with free online software. It contained a picture of the student, any picture of the process of sending the balloon up or returning, and a writing segment stating “high hopes” for their school, community, and the world. They laminated these, were able to scan them to place on their blogs, and they also were allowed to keep them and take them home. Their blogs were soon read by students around the world and "high hopes" began to spread like wildfire. These students inspired other students to blog about their "high hopes" and it became a social networking ripple effect. Students also began commenting on their projects saying things like, "I want to do those kinds of projects in class, but my teacher doesn't know how!" To solve that problem, Brian and his class began skyping with other classes around the globe and the students were able to share their projects and explain how to do each one. By doing this, the students were reviewing the material and articulating their work.

The “High Hopes” High Altitude Balloon Project aided in accomplishing many of the Common Core Standards. The Language Arts standards were met, such as reading and writing to learn based on the content, writing to clarify and share, writing to tell a story, creativity, feedback, articulating orally, gaining authentic audience, and connecting globally and making them aware globally. It also touched upon Science and History standards.

Near the closing of the video, Brian introduced the audience to a student of his, a girl named Celeste, who has leukemia and is not able to come to school on a daily basis. Through the use of technology, his students can effectively include Celeste in their classroom every day. The students created a five minute video project on the story of Celeste, how they interact with her, and how she learns in the process of inclusion.

We have learned from Brian Crosby that teachers can’t just keep racing kids through school, doing just enough to get them to the next level. It's not about a race or helping them to progress to the next achievement on the list, rather it's about empowering students to become learners. In order to empower students to become active learners we must use 21st century tools that are inspiring and motivating to help them connect, collaborate, and communicate. Narrowed curriculum and passive learning are dull, boring, out of date, and ineffective. It’s hard to inspire imagination and generate creativity with narrowed curriculum and if students don’t have imagination and creativity, it’s difficult to build passion. Teachers going beyond the comfort zone and thinking critically outside the box will result in their students doing the same and ultimately help them become active learners who are excited and passionate about education and life.


Video Two:
Mr. Paul Andersen, Blended Learning Cycle

Paul Andersen’s blog, Bozemanscience, was full of information that could be helpful to students who are taking AP or college level science courses. It is also helpful for teaching when needing an extra source to better explain a certain topic. Mr. Anderson has been teaching high school science for nineteen years and has been teaching science through YouTube the last three years. Currently, Mr. Andersen is a science teacher and technology specialist at Bozeman High School. On the homepage of his blog, he has different science classes listed, and when you click on the one of your choice, it shows each unit in that subject. You can choose which unit and topic you want to view and then there will be a video posted that is on that topic that he created. Also on his blog he has a “Journal” tab that contains videos and articles from different days.

In the video Blended Learning Cycle Paul Andersen starts his off by showing a picture, from around 1900, in France and they are predicting what a classroom will look like in the year 2000. Students are connected up to wires and books are being fed into a machine. “Blended learning” takes the concepts of mobile, online, and classroom learning and blends them together. Mr. Andersen also explains the “learning cycle” that is made up of the 5 E’s. The 5 E’s are engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. By combining “Blended Learning” and the “Learning Cycle” the “Blended Learning Cycle” is created. The acronym that Mr. Andersen uses is "quiver".

“QUIVER”:

QU- question: Teacher should make a good question for predictions that gets student’s attention. This should intrigue the student and make them want to find out information about the activity.
I- Investigation/inquiry: Teacher would let the students experiment and investigate the activity. This is when the students explain the data. They record what they are actually doing with the activity.
V- Video: One example of a video would be giving direct instructions by using podcasts. You can also show YouTube videos that explain the topic of investigation and give more information about it.
E- Elaboration: This involves reading and diagrams on the topic. This is when you go into more depth about the topic and get a better understanding. They can use their textbooks and the teacher will tell them certain sections to look over and what points they should be grasping from it.
R- Review: The teacher will individually meet with students to check understanding. The teacher pulls certain students or groups aside and checks their understanding by asking specific questions. They will not be allowed to go on to the summary quiz until they prove they have an understanding of the unit. Mr. Andersen states that he doesn’t believe you have learned something until you can actually explain it to someone else.
S- Summary quiz: This step tests the students on the previous steps. It is a timed quiz and it gives the students a few chances to take the quiz. It allows the students to test themselves to see if they have a good understanding.

After these steps are completed, Mr. Andersen gives an old fashion paper pencil unit test to see what they really know. He stated that these steps help him to feel more involved in the classroom. He said it all goes back to starting with a really good question and then doing the research to figure it out.

Video Three:
Making Thinking Visible

Mark Church has written a book entitled Making Thinking Visible. The Amazon advertisement for this book is a short video of Mark Church in his 6th grade classroom. He is conducting an activity with his students where they are creating a headline that depicts what they have learned about the start of the human race. They will display this headline and in two weeks, when they have completed the unit they will revisit the headlines and see how the story has changed. Although we have not read the book, we think there is a lot to be learned from Mark Church simply based on this 3 minute video.

He starts the class by saying that he has had the students think. Then think about how they extended their thinking. This says a lot about his teaching style. Church not only has his students connect with an idea but he has them think about how they can extend that thought process. He then has then work in groups to figure out how to take it a step further and but that whole process into a sentence that they will display. He is literally making their thoughts and thought process visible. Which in turn helps the students think deeper. Helping our students to think deeper, helps them to open their minds to things they haven't previously considered. We want to encourage and help to develop a deeper understanding and deeper thinking process in our students so that they can have an open mind in all life's situations.

As teachers it is our responsibility to prepare students for all the situations they will face in and out of our classroom. Helping them to develop a process of deeper thinking prepares our students for any and everything life could throw at them. It helps them have an open mind towards opinions that may differ from their own, to solve problems they are not familiar with and have an overall better understanding of the world around them. This is definitely something you can learn from Mark Church, even in just that simple 3 minute Amazon advertisement.

Blog Assignment #8

Jordan Neely- Poll Everywhere
I am interested in teaching grades 1st-3rd and I have found a tool for communicating and learning in the 21st century. Poll Everywhere is a website that allows the teacher to post a question in a “poll” form. There are three different payment plans offered for K-12 education: basic, premium, and institution-wide plan. The basic plan is free and offers 40 responses per poll, multiple choice and true/false polls, and open-ended polls with live word-cloud. The premium plan is $50 a year but offers so much more! It is very similar to the basic free plan but provides grading and attendance program as well. The institution-wide plan is $500 but allows for more responses per poll, shared polls among teachers, and allows for school-wide events.

How does this program work? You can ask your audience a question, your audience answers in real time using twitter, web browsers, or cell phones, and you can then see your responses live on the web in a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation. When making a poll you can choose what kind of question you want to ask. The options are multiple choice or you can let them respond freely with a written reply. As a teacher you would be able to control when the poll is started and stopped this way you can place time limits on questions. Another plus to this program is that you can allow only one response per device. So, if your students each have a computer or iPad, this program will only allow one vote from each device so that students can’t change their answer. If you do not have enough devices for each student and you have some students that have to share devices, you can turn that setting off to allow for multiple answers. As a teacher you will also be able to approve responses before letting them be seen on a public display. If you allow open-ended responses, you will want to go through and approve of some of the answers to be sure they are all appropriate.

As a class you will be able to watch votes be received in real-time. The two main ways that you would want to allow your students to respond to polls in a classroom setting would be to send in a “tweet” on twitter (depending on the grade level) or on a computer via the web. When responses start to come in, they are updated on an animated chart or a text wall, whichever agrees with your choice of poll type. There is a Pollev Presenter App that you can insert into your slideshows and it will work live in your presentation. You can customize your poll by changing the colors, images, and fonts. If you are using multiple-choice polls, you have the option to view it live as results come in or hold the results for the end of a lesson or a time of your choice. If you sign up for the premium plan, you can see what person voted for what option. The premium plan is probably going to be the ideal plan for a teacher. After a question is answered for your poll, you have the option to allow your audience to view the correct answer. As a teacher this is very helpful because when a large portion of your students get an answer incorrect, it can show you a better understanding on what topic you need to discuss in more detail. The website states “Educators will commonly use this feature as an ‘Entrance Ticket’ to begin a lesson with a clear picture of the current level of understanding”. Another great tool this program offers is the ability to score results according to people’s names or emails for the grade book. You can see how many questions they attempted and rank them by correctness and speed.

This tool can be used in the classroom in several ways. One aspect I really liked that they offer is that your poll results can be posted to a blog in chart form. You can do a class project and create a poll. You could send the link to the class poll to teachers all over and their results could be gathered and posted to your classroom blog so that everyone could view the results. This could be turned into a project based learning assignment. Have each student create a poll themselves using the basic free plan which allows up to 40 answers, then have them send their poll link to other class blogs from across the country that you as a teacher are familiar with. They can gather their results and post it on their personal blogs. They could write about what their predictions were and how the results turned out. I also like this tool for everyday use in the classroom. When trying to introduce younger students to technology in a slow way, you can have a poll every morning open that reads “Are you present in class today?” each student could select “yes” if they are present and the results could show up on your Smartboard. If the results read 100% correct, everyone would be present that day. This could also be turned into a morning math problem when people are absent. Another simple way this tool could be used is during presentations, you can ask questions to see if everyone is understanding the concepts and see what percentage of the class is confused based on answers to your poll questions. I enjoyed researching this tool because I know it could be useful and the students would enjoy it in class. You could do so many creative fun questions such as reading a story out loud and setting a poll to see how many students liked or disliked the book. The polls are so easy to create and it is easy for the students to select an answer.

I also found where this website allows you to post a poll directly to your blog by copying and pasting a code. Anyone who visits your blog can simply click an answer and you will be able to get the results. Example, please vote below:

Brooklyn Rowland- Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a site that teachers and students can use to help enrich the learning experience. Khan Academy is basically a site students can go to and receive extra practice on certain concepts that are provided by the teacher.

Teachers start by creating a class, I titled mine Math, then they invite students to this class using their email or Khan ID. The students can also join the class by using a code given to the teacher upon creation of the class. Once the students are part of the class they can start by completing practice worksheet and taking pretests on a number of topics. Khan automatically generated the first few for the class I created, such as, reading line charts, reading bar charts etc.. The students then complete the short tests as extra practice on that topic. When taking the test the site even offers them a scratch pad.

As a teacher you can then see the results of each child's work. This gives you a better understanding of what each child is struggling with individually as well as what they struggle with as a whole. You can then focus your lessons around these problems to help your students better understand.
I think this kind of site is an excellent tool to use in any classroom setting. It allows the teachers to give students extra work, a way to practice on their own time, and a way to gauge their knowledge. It also allows the students to focus on a particular topic they may have been struggling with. You could use this site with any grade level or subject and it be beneficial. I think that as educators we have a responsibility to try every outlet available to us. This site may not work in every classroom and in every subject, but it may work in just one. In my opinion, one is enough. If I can engage one more student by using this tool or any other for that matter, I think I have upheld my responsibility as a teacher. I want every student sitting in front of me, every year, to leave my classroom knowing they are the best they can be. If it takes hundreds of trial and errors on my part, and numerous late nights changing lesson plans because something did not work, then so be it. Teaching children and helping them understand and grow as people is my passion and I will use this tool, as well as all the others I can get my hands on to make sure it happens!

Kaley McDonald- Web 2.0 for 2013

As a future educator I desire for my students to acquire and retain knowledge and skills relevant to life in order for them to be successful. To do so, I believe incorporating technology in the classroom is beneficial as it seems to be the 21st century student's most desirable approach to learning. I'm an elementary education major and I'm open to teaching any grades K-6, and no matter what grade level I teach, I think technology can and should be incorporated in some way. So, what about those educators who are not so "tech-savvy" and who have difficulty adapting to the new age of learning? Web 2.0, created by Discovery Education, is a "personal assistant" for those hesitant to change because of fear of operation. It is an online tool used to help educators, as well as inform them of the newest technology tools, understand and utilize technology in the classroom. The tools include presentation, video, mobile, and community that connect educators with suggestions and explicit instruction of how to implement the tools.

The presentation tool explains that we should show instead of tell. Presentations are crucial and definitely a daily occurrence in the classroom, in that teachers present content and students present their knowledge of the content learned. But, how can we make presentations more engaging and beneficial? Web 2.0 suggests using presentation tools that are simple to use and easy to access such as SlideShare, 280 Slides, Prezi, and Picsviewr.

Video tools are also useful when creating and producing presentations. Animoto is one of the most popular education sites used. It is a video editing site that allows you to upload still photos and combine them with sound. Teachers and/or students could use it to digitally recreate historical events, create engaging speeches, make informational videos, and much more. Other video tools include Gizmoz, where you can animate an image or photo of yourself presenting in a video, and PhotoPeach, which involves creating slideshows with built in polls and quizzes.

Mobile tools are suggested to use apps that ultimately convert cell phones into teaching tools. Cell phones have many features that teachers and students can use in a positive educational way. Those features include Poll Everywhere, which Jordan Neely, one of my EDM 310 Pissarro group members, gives a full description of below, Jott.com, which allows you to set reminders, read, share, organize, and get voicemail as email and text by means of your voice, and Phone.io which offers free voicemail, conference calling, podcasting, and more.

Community tools are designed to help students communicate, collaborate, and share work. There are tons of community tools mentioned on Web 2.0 such as Edmodo, which is like a teacher designed twitter that can be used to organize students, classes, and clubs while delivering messages to each, Ning, which allows you to create your own social network, Yugma, which is a desktop sharing and collaboration tool, and so many more.

As a future teacher I would use Web 2.0 to stay informed of the latest technology available and as a tutorial site on how to use updated technology in order to evolve with my students and help them succeed and progress.

Project #9

C4T#2

The Spicy Learning Blog

September 16, 2013
"How We Share iPad Devices in Our Classroom"

Royan Lee discusses how difficult it can be to figure out a way to share iPad devices in the classroom. Since these tools are designed for personal and customizable use, sharing them can become a problem. One example that EDM 310 students can relate to is working on an iMovie project on a borrowed device and saving it to come back to work on later. The device you saved it on could be in use when you come back to work on it or could have accidentally been deleted. When allowing your students to share devices if you do not have the correct amount, you need to be aware of the problems that could occur. Just because we recognize that sharing devices could make problems arise, this doesn’t mean we should stop using them altogether. Instead, Royan states that we need to put our "problem-solving hats" on and figure out a solution that will work in the classroom. He suggests different approaches that he takes that seem to help in his 7th grade classes. Royan has two classes and about sixty students total. He only has 15 iPad devices. Each device has certain “Learning Partners” assigned to it and a passcode that only the assigned “Learning Partners” will know. The process of Royan picking the partners involves a form that each student will fill out. On this form each student will put their first and last name, the top three choices of people they believe they could partner with, and their homeroom teacher. The “Learning Partners” will also create a written 3-point agreement that addresses how to care and manage their device as partners. An example would be: 1. We agree to always know where our iPad is
2. Look after our files and projects on the iPad
3. Keep our iPad safe from harm
Then the partners would sign the bottom of the paper and hold each other accountable to the agreement. I enjoyed the insight that Royan Lee shared on his blog about sharing devices in the classroom. I can see where it would be a struggle but assigning certain devices to certain people who tend to work together, and having a passcode so that no other students can break into their device and mess with any of their work are some very good suggestions.

October 6, 2013
"Why You Should Keep Your Ringer On and Call Your Mother in the BYOD Classroom"

Royan Lee has an idea that we need to create an environment where cell phones in the classroom are the "norm", and if they make a noise, so what? He believe this will be the students to view their teacher as a "real person". I love the idea of becoming a "real person" in front of your students, especially with younger grades. You do need to be respected and viewed as teacher, but I think it is also neat for them to realize you are a real person too, just like their moms and dads. He said that teachers should be able to use their phones as reminders, timers, and an event reminder. I think it would be okay for teachers to use their phones as timers in the classroom, or maybe even keep a to-do list on them. In the world today, cell phones are everywhere! There is no need for a teacher to hide their cell phone in the classroom in my opinion, as long as they don't become a distraction in the learning process. The problems develops when a teacher is sitting on Facebook on their phone instead of teaching or stopping and texting someone in a lesson. If a "norm" is developed in the classroom that the teacher always has his/her cell phone out and uses it for small tasks, then it won't really be such a distraction anymore, it will be the "norm". I think sometimes too big of a deal is made out of cells phones. One teacher that I have a class with this semester uses her cell phone as a timer. If we have 5 minutes to do an in-class assignment, she will set the timer and it will make a silly duck noise when time is up. I think elementary students would enjoy something like that. "The Spicy Learning Blog" is a great blog to explore.

Project #13 Lesson Plan

Click the link below to view our Google Site:
Lesson Plan #1 created by Jordan Neely, Kaley McDonald, and Brooklyn Rowland

In this week long project-based lesson plan 5th grade students will be able to locate, label, and provide information about a state of their choosing. This project will include labeling states in iCurio digital assignments, creating their state with play dough, making a Prezi to present in class and place on their blog. Students will use digital tools and strategies to locate, collect, organize, evaluate, and synthesize information. This lesson will meet the English Language Arts Common Core Standards of Writing numbers 2, 6, and 7. The actual criteria that will be met is listed in our lesson plan which you can view by clicking the link above. Our driving question is to be sure the students understand where the 50 states are located and the main characteristics of each state that is assigned to them.

Blog Assignment #7

Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher
Anthony Capps is a third grade teacher at Gulf Shores Elementary School. He was also a professional lab assistant in EDM310. When Dr. Strange asked Anthony how to approach being a project based learning teacher, Anthony stated that his ideas on project-based learning are always evolving. Anthony says the goal now with project-based learning is a means to get students to learn something while doing it. Students are creating a project of some kind as they discover the knowledge of a topic. As a teacher, you have to create a project for the student to do that needs information. So the students have to learn certain information to create this particular project. Project-based learning is driven by content. As teachers, you are given content from the state, so we have to create a project that uses the content that the students are required to learn. One example of a project Anthony did with his class was have his third grade students write a letter to congress. This way he met writing standards, reading standards, and social study standards with one project. They talked about equality and used iCurio to find historic figures that demonstrated success. They could use this information to write to congress and state their opinion on if women should be allow to fight in open combat or not. This was interesting to them because each student knew of someone who was in the military and were able to have conversations at home that dealt with the specific learning topic. He had 28 kids but only sent in eight letters after reviewing. The students used peer review to decide on which eight of their peers’ letters was written with best quality to send to congress. In project based learning students have to be able to revise and reflect on their work.

Project Based Learning Part 2: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher
Another tells us in this video that some projects go very well, others do not go well. You have to respect the wishes of parents in your classroom when it comes to certain assignments. Sometimes you can give alternative projects. Anthony has given projects where the kids loved the assignment and the parents were impressed with the information gathered as well. Everything students do in the classroom is meaningful with project-based learning. The administration in the school knows that when students are engaged, they are learning. Anthony states to never limit your students. You should always create an opportunity for them to go beyond what you want them to do. Project-based learning involves a lot of planning and hard work. Even if the project as a whole comes out as unsuccessful, there was still learning in the process. Each and every student is a “learner” and when working with project-based learning, the student is engaging in learning. It’s that simple. Anthony gave an assignment where the students read a story and had to create a sequence chart. This chart had six spaces and the students had to tell six important scenes in the story, then they had to choose the three most important ones out of the six that gave the most detail about the story. Then they chose one scene that had the biggest effect on the stories outcome. They got to go online and create a comic strip to recreate the story as a comic. Sometimes things do not go as planned, and the printer wouldn’t work and they couldn’t print off the comics. He had a last minute change of plans and had to tell the students to write an essay instead and then paint a picture of the most important scene. Each student had different scenes because different points of the story stood out to them. They had watercolors and created stories. When students learn about project-based learning, they are excited to tell about it.

iCurio with Anthony
Anthony teaches in Baldwin County and the teachers there us iCurio. This online tool allows students to save research, images, and websites. Students and adults seem to have a hard time staying organized and iCurio helps to manage the struggle. iCurio allows the user to practice organization by using folders saved online. Once you are logged in, iCurio will save everything for you to come back at a later time. Inside the search engine of iCurio, the student and teacher both are taken to appropriate sites unlike what google could lead you to. When a lunch bell rings or there is an interruption in class, the user that is logged in can simply save their work and come back to it later. iCurio has a feature called “Timeline” so that you can search on certain criteria. The user can search for certain time periods, people, and events. It also has a directory with historical figures and you can choose the topic, gender, and race of whom you wish to search for. Anthony tells us it is useful for any grade level, as long as the teacher allows their students to search the web. One feature that is neat is the “read-out-loud” feature for students with disabilities.

Discovery Education with Anthony
Anthony stated, “If a pictures worth a thousand words and then a video is worth a million”. With discovery Ed you can find several video resources for science and social studies. This site offers great resources for teachers and students. One could be to research plants. This website will take the student beyond photographs and offer them videos to help them learn as well. Discovery Ed enriches the research experience because of all it has to offer. People will remember what they hear, remember more of what they see, but remember most by watching the process of something happen. The videos that Discovery Ed has will help students to learn by watching steps and processes of certain topics. Dr. Strange talked about how students nowadays listen and watch more than read and write. This is all dealing with project-based learning and allowing the students to do more hands on activities in order to learn for a lifetime instead of memorize for a moment.

Don’t Teach Tech- Use it
By: Jordan Neely
Technology shouldn’t be taught; it is natural for kids and everywhere in their lives. Kids are going to like to use technology to prove they are learning. Anthony used an example of Discovery Ed. The first week of school you could use Discovery Ed to teach your students a certain topic, the next week you can have the students use a video portion of iMovie to create a reflection or summary on a story you have read in class. Dr. Strange asked Anthony if his third graders have had any problem using iMovie or learning how to work it and he said absolutely not. They could use research tools and video tools to create a project requiring a movie component to it. Eventually the students will be able to combine all the skills they have learned. At first, you need to choose one technology at a time and focus on it. Make sure the students learn it and are able to use it to the best of their ability before introducing them to a new program or website. Using technology allows students to express themselves and has several benefits. Anthony mentioned that most programs are free and if they do cost it is normally only a one-time fee for membership. Technology doesn’t need supplies and doesn’t have to be cleaned up after, such as messes and spills. The tools that students will be learning in the classroom today will help them to learn the new tools that will be created in their futures. As a teacher, Anthony suggests you to scaffold the learning and let them use one tool at a time. They can share what they are doing with people from all over world and be excited about doing the work. As a teacher you cannot expect perfection, your students are going to make mistakes with their first research project. This is when you set aside a time for reflection to fix those mistakes and the next week those mistakes will be fixed and they will be ready to move a step ahead. The students will love being able to share what they have learned and accomplished while learning new tools. If you are worried about how a certain project is going to work out, do the project yourself first. If any questions arise in class, you will have already done the project and will hopefully be prepared to answer any questions. If neither of you know the answer to a question, this can teach the child problem solving skills and you can work together as a class to overcome the obstacle. In order to learn, questions must be asked.

An Additional Thought About Lessons
By: Kaley McDonald

How do we as teachers create an effective, successful lesson plan? Anthony explains in this video that developing a successful lesson requires four components. These components are year, unit, week, and daily plans that require the skills of time management and abundant planning to construct. The first, year plan, is to decipher how the lesson will fit into the year and making sure all the expected common core standards will be met and accomplished. Next is the unit plan. The unit plan can be formulated by asking and answering the question, "How will I unfold the unit so that it's relevant and all information and standards tie in together with the unit?" This concept involves beginning with an aspect and continuing to develop the material as time progresses so that by the end of a unit students should be able to accomplish the outcome expected. Next is the weekly plan, in that time must be managed in order to get everything that needs to be done, complete. This involves planning what will transpire through the week, what projects will be constructed, and assessing the student's accomplishments in the short time period of a five day week. The final component of the four, would be the daily plan. The daily plan affects how you deliver information to your students on a daily basis. Being flexible and observing what is working and what is not is key to daily planning, in that you'll know how to plan for the next day, and the next, and so forth. You must hook them, meaning you must obtain their attention with elements that interest them, keep them engaged while delivering content, and then offer entities afterwards to determine and record what they’ve learned for that day so you'll know where to begin the next day. All these components must be equally performed for the outcome of a successful lesson to transpire.

The Anthony-Strange Tips for Teachers Part 1
By:Brooklyn Rowland
Dr. Strange and his former student and current 3rd grade teacher, Anthony Capps create a list of tips in this video that could help teachers be at the top of their game.

Be a learner.

As educators it is important that we are willing to learn as much as we are willing to teach. The world around us is constantly changing, and advancing, and despite these changes we still need to prepare our students to be successful in the real world. The only way we can do this is by changing, advancing and learning with the world. We must move forward in order to help our students thrive. We must be life long learners!

Work and play are one in the same. Anthony brings up the fact that to be successful educators we have to take our work home. In order to be the best you can be for your students, no matter the grade level, you have to work outside the scope of 8 hour school days. You have to find a way to make what you do fun for you. Anthony says, "We are in the craft of teaching." and he is so right. Everyone has a hobby, something they like to do on the weekends and after work. As educators, teaching is our hobby! At least, it should be. Teaching is not something you just wake up and decide to do. Teaching is a calling. It is something you have to love to truly be good at it. We should all strive to be the best we can, and we can do that by loving our jobs!

Every classroom has a daily schedule. Without a schedule you could never fit all 7 subjects into your day. Your classroom has a routine and you stick to that routine. The only problem with that is that the school also has a schedule and routine and sometimes your classroom schedule and the school schedule do not coincide. What does this mean for us as teachers? We have to be prepared for ANYTHING. For a sudden assembly, a fire drill, no internet, computers are broken, anything. We have to be flexible. You have to be able to figure out how to get the concept across in another way. You have a plan and are prepared for your lesson but what if your plan does not work out? You have to be able to bounce back, think on your feet, and come up with something else and not let it ruffle your feathers. Teachers must be flexible.

One way to be a flexible teacher is to understand what the ultimate goal is for every lesson that you teach. When planning your lessons ask yourself, what is my goal? What do I want my students to understand? This way you have the most important aspect in the front of your mind and it is your focus. So if something does go wrong and your plan aren't quite panning out you can quickly find a way to bounce back and keep things moving in your classroom.

Dr. Strange and Anthony also mentioned presentations in the video. Anthony then takes it a step farther and says that reflection is important for your classroom. Presentations and reflection go hand in hand. Having your students present to an audience is a good way for them to reflect upon their work. They could self reflect and try to figure out before or after how they could make the project better for the specific audience. What would make it more interesting? They could all use audience critique to reflect on their work and their presenting skills. When students reflect on their work to make it better they are expanding their realm of learning. They are going beyond what you. as their teacher, can do for them.

The final tip discussed in the video is that you should engage your students. Anthony says you should have 100% of your students engaged at all times!

He also says that you can not leave any child behind, he is taking the phrase out of context to mean that you have to intrigue and engage EVERY student EVERY time. I think the most important job we have as educators is to make students want to learn. Children are not going to learn unless they want to. You can teach them something until you are blue in the face but if they don't have the desire to know the information, they won't. You have to make every lesson entertaining, intriguing and informational. When children have the desire to learn they will go above and beyond the classroom activities they will learn on their own. They will read, they will search the internet, they will succeed. Isn't that what we want? Do we not want every student that sits in our classrooms and takes our tests to be successful adults? If this isn't your goal you might want to rethink your profession. I want to inspire and motivate. One day I want to say, "You see that man/woman on the news? I taught him/her!" Our teachers shape who we are as learners, and as people. They make us we are. I don't know about any of you, but I want to make successful, caring, passionate and lifelong learners. Those are the kinds of people I want walking out of my classroom at the end of the year.

Teaching is my passion and what I truly believe I was born to do. I also believe this video to be very insightful and helpful to any future or even current teachers. We need to strive to make our world a better place and it all starts with our children. We as educators are responsible for molding young minds to be the future doctors, lawyers, teachers and leaders of our countries. The most important job in the world is the one that all of us strive to have.

C4K Summary for September

Emmi's Blog
Week 1, Emmi:
Emmi is in tenth grade at Baldwin County High School. She is writing a blog post under the concept of, "This I Believe". Her "This I Believe" statement is on how men should protect women. She told how she didn't like how her dad treated her and her mom and he didn't keep his promises to them. He also spends money on different women but when Emmi or her mom need something he tells them he doesn't have the money. I told her I am in complete agreement that men should protect women. A man being loving, caring, and helpful is very important to me as well. The way a man treats his wife says a lot about his character. I told her I am sorry to hear that she does not agree with how her dad treats her and her mom, but I am happy to hear she is learning from it. Personally, having my father in my life has been very important. I was blessed with a loving father and he has shown how a real man should act. Emmi sounds like a very strong girl and she is learning from her father what she would or wouldn't want in husband one day. I encouraged her to keep her chin up and stay strong! I even told her to maybe try talking to her father about what she believes in and they could work on their father/daughter relationship.

Kim's Blog

Week 2, Kim:
Kim attends school at Guatmala City and is in the 5th grade. She wrote a short story that kept me on my toes about a wolf, a little girl, and her grandmother. The beginning was shocking. The little girl is eaten by the wolf at the very beginning and the wolf takes her picnic basket that she is carrying. Inside of the picnic basket the wolf finds some food and the grandmothers address. When the wolf arrives at the grandmother's house, she is already expecting him and is standing their with a rifle in her hands! I do wonder how grandma knew to be expecting the wolf and not her granddaughter? She was already prepared to kill this wolf! The grandmother proceeds to shoot the wolf 3 times and then on her fourth shot, the wolf was dead. I told Kim that I am glad the wolf dies at the end and the grandmother is okay. Overall it was an action packed short story and I enjoyed reading it and getting to experience her imagination go wild.

Gloria's Blog
Week 3, Gloria:
Gloria attends Pt England School and is in Mrs. King's 7th grade class. She attended a workshop that taught her more about camera shots and filmmaking. The students got into groups and created their own video, her group name was GJMR Studio. It included the first name of all of her group members. They had one hour to film and edit a video with their group. The topic that they chose to revolve their video around was “Economy and Society”. Their main question for their video was “How did the world come to revolve around money?” I was glad to hear that this workshop taught her so much about the filming and camera shots. Her video included information on cleaning the environment and feeding the animals, which were great aspects that dealt with the environment and society. I noticed where she said families aren’t making money because they are too lazy to feed themselves. Prices are rising and money has overtaken our nation, and I agreed with her statement. We should all work as a team and stop being greedy. I enjoyed her video and information about the workshop she got to attend! Her group as a whole made some great points.

Ella’s Blog
Week 4, Ella:
Ella is in Mrs. Ripp’s 5th grade class in Madison, Wisconsin. Mrs. Ripp challenged her class to be completely silent for 20 minutes while they tried to solve two brainteasers with a partner. They could not speak or write during this activity. They were asked to explain in their blog how it felt, if it was frustrating, or if it was hard to communicate. The class read a book titled “Out of My Mind” and the main character had cerebral palsy and was unable to speak. The students were also asked to write about how it would feel to be this character and not be able to speak. Ella and her partner, Isabel had a lot of fun with this activity according to Ella. She said the first brainteaser was hard because it did not make sense to her so her and her partner did get frustrated. Ella and Isabel were able to complete the second brainteaser without a problem. Ella stated that she enjoyed this challenge and cannot wait until she gets to complete another one. She didn't answer all the questions that the teacher specifically asked her to include in her blog, but she seemed very enthusiastic about blogging and completing future challenges.

Project #2 PLN

PLN stands for "Personal Learning Network". A PLN allows you to have fast access to tools or people that could be of help to you. Symbaloo is one example of a PLN in which you can organize what you as an individual use online most often. This website allows you to add links such as social media websites, blogs, and any other type of informational website you visit most often. On my personal PLN to the far left I have links such as social media websites, youtube, pinterest, email links, google app links, and Prezi. In the top center I have links to my EDM310 blog, the EDM310 class blog, and blogger. The top right contains any teacher blogs that I have visited and enjoyed. I plan to add more as I comment on and visit more teacher blogs in the future. In the bottom right I have a link to google, the weather, an encyclopedia, and the University of South Alabama website. As I come across other interesting websites or blogs I will continue to add to my PLN. It has been fun adding to my PLN the stuff that is important to me and that I visit most often. This is a very convenient tool.

Project #8

Swimmy by Leo Lionni
In this story, Swimmy is with a group of red fish and he is the only black one. He is faster than all the other fish so when the mean tuna fish comes to eat the school of fish, Swimmy is able to get away. This leaves Swimmy to face the ocean alone, but he finds several new friends in the sea. He has to come up with a plan to help other fish conquer the ocean and face their fears.

Leo Lionni Books

Blog Assignment #6

When reading the article “The Right Way to Ask Questions” by Ben Johnson, he states that the most important question we should be asking is "What does a teacher asking questions of a class expect the class to learn from the questioning process?" Some teachers say that the reason questions must be asked is to see if the students understand what is being taught. Teachers often ask the common question, “Does everybody understand?” This question has became useless because it is said so often, even when teachers can look at a students facial expression and see the confusion written all over it. Sometimes when a student doesn’t understand, they do not know what questions to ask in order to have a better understanding so they remain silent. In order to truly ask questions that will really tell a teacher if students understand or not we have to be specific. Ben goes on to talk about the fact that students who don’t know answers to questions, will often tune out the smart kids who answer all the questions all of the time. They are perfectly fine with someone else volunteering an answer and them not have to attempt an answer themselves. If a student is not called on to answer a question, they are too busy thinking, “I’m glad she didn’t call on me” to really be thinking about the answer and to learn. One simple, effective approach to this is to ask a specific question and then pause for a few seconds. This way, no student knows who is going to be called on and they should all be brainstorming for an answer.

On the Teaching Reading website, their article on strategies for “Asking Questions to Improve Learning” , suggests that when planning your lesson you should go ahead and come up with specific questions. By doing this, you will already have few questions brainstormed for your exams or paper assignments. A few strategies to responding effectively include: do not interrupt students’ answers, develop responses that keep students thinking, always show interest in a students answer even if it is incorrect, wait for students to think and formulate responses. This website also gives you twelve objectives to “Why ask ‘open’ Questions?” It gives sample questions for each scenario.

Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom by Maryellen Welmer is very short and to the point. The first word of advice is to prepare questions. Maryellen states that for most of her career she spent time preparing content and not questions to use while teaching. Writing out a question in advance helps you to make sure it is clear enough for the students to understand. It helps you to plan things such as, when does the question need to be asked? This way it fits into your lessons and relates to concepts you are talking about right then. The second word of advice is to play with questions. Playing with the question in this sense is meaning to maybe leave the question unanswered for a little while. This way the students stay engaged in the topic and are continuing to think about what the answer could be. You as the teacher could write the question on the board and not discuss it until the period is over. The students could write down their ideas and share with the class their suggestions. The last word of advice is to preserve good questions; good questions can always be kept. It could also be good to write down and keep students questions that trigger the rest of the class to start thinking. It is important for teachers to ask good questions so that students can learn that questions are important and help us learn and to think critically.

In the video, Asking Better Questions in the Classroom by Joanne Chesley, she starts off by saying how lots of times teachers notice that students are unresponsive in the classroom. We fail to realize we are getting the responses that we ask for. When we are not detailed with the question, the students are not detailed with their answers. She tells the difference between an open and close-ended question. An open-ended question lets the student think more and come up with more information. This lets the student come up with a variety of responses and allows the student to think through the situation. A close-ended question can simply be answered with a yes or no response. Our goal as teachers should be the ask as many open-ended questions as possible in order to get the students interested and thinking about what their response could be if called on to answer.

Blog Assignment #5

iCurio and Discovery Ed

iCurio

What is icurio? This is a digital curriculum that focuses on the individual needs of the student.It removes barriers from learning and improves achievement. It also offers digital content for teaching grades k-12. What are some of the benefits? It allows teachers to discuss the needs of each student and gives students the tools needed to become independent learners. It also allows for flexibility for teachers to work with students individually. It helps to improve student engagement with a choice of resources such as videos, learning games, and images. How will I use iCurio? I will save time on lesson plans, have personalized student learning, have unlimited digital resources, and it will help me to help every student to learn in a unique way.

Discovery Ed

Discovery Education is a digital media service that offers virtual experiences, real time assessments, interactive texts, customizable curriculum, and state standard content. This site is committed to improving teaching and learning by transforming traditional classrooms into engaging digital learning environments. This site offers: free lesson plans, free teacher/parent resources, interactive textbooks, state standard content, images and clip art, an audio library of speeches, sound effects, educational songs, and videos. It is also has homework help for students to use. This website can help a teacher because it can be used for so many different activities in the classroom such as: Morning work, supporting resources, journaling, encyclopedia, current events, KWL charts, graphic organizers, and even more.

Project #7

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Assignment #4

I started off reading the Judy Scharf Podcast Collection. She begins by telling us exactly what a podcast actually is. She describes it as a “radio-style talk show”. Podcasts can include music, be listened to on the computer or MP3 player, and allow information to be shared with people via the Internet. The only materials you need is a computer, microphone, and software. The software for podcasting is free. On this website you are given a podcast grading sheet, topic suggestions, and tips to succeed. Some of Judy’s tips were making sure you spend enough time with the software to be comfortable with it, let students pick whom they want to work with and their own topics, and allow plenty of time to complete the project. Judy also provides a podcast rubric. When making my own podcasts, I could go by her rubric to be sure and include certain aspects in my project. At the bottom of the page, she gives you two examples of podcasts. They each have background music and follow a specific topic. I didn't know much about podcasts before reading this website and it helped to have a better understanding.

In the video, The Benefits of podcasting in the Classroom, Doug Saunders starts off by saying how podcasting is an effective way of interacting with students outside of the traditional classroom. Podcasting focuses on the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. A “Millenial” is referred to as a person who was born after the year of 1980. Anyone born after this year has always had technology affecting his or her life. Everything from cell phones, computers, and TVs have been a major part of life since then. Podcasting has also played a role. Podcasting allows for differentiation in the classroom. This allows you to record a lecture and the student can simply play it back and listen to it as a review. If a student is sick and has to miss class one day, that student could pull up lectures on a program such as iTunes as a podcast and they could listen to the lesson. Teachers also upload their podcasts on blogs for the classroom. Harry Dell came up with a lesson for his students to help create a podcast by allowing the students to be a character in a story while he is the narrator. Podcasting is good for parents as well because they can hear what is being said in the classroom and help their child if needed. In my future classroom, I think it would be very useful to use podcasting and uploading lectures and discussions to iTunes. This way if a student misses class or is just confused on a certain lesson, it is available for them to listen to again.

I read Podcasting with First Grade from Langwitches Blog. This was about a first grade class that was inspired to create a podcast of their own after listening a second grade’s class podcast story. This first grade class had been reading the book called Vacation under the Sun by Mary Pope Osborne. The idea that come about was to create a podcast that was interviewing the two main characters in the book. The teacher read them one chapter at a time and they discussed what they had read. As a class they decided what questions they were going to ask the main characters and what the answers where going to be. The students each got a chance to be the interviewer and to be one of the main characters actually answering the questions. This is a perfect way to help comprehend a story and to get the whole class involved. If a student was curious about anything in the book, it could be used as one of the interview questions and their imaginations could go wild. I love the idea of doing this in my classroom one day. The students love getting to hear themselves on the podcast and they think it is so cool that they are on the Internet doing it.

C4T#1

Krissy Venosdale's Blog

August 28, 2013
"Seven things I Know For Sure"

Krissy's blog post titled "Seven things I Know For Sure" was such an inspiring read. I agreed with all seven. She stated that Kids should love coming to school! When I become a teacher, I want my students to be so excited to enter my classroom and learn something new each day! Another one of her seven things was "Real learning can happen with a pile of dirt and a bucket of water". I agreed that real learning can happen with anything. Any hands-on activity is the best form of learning to me. It is an actual experience and it will help them to remember concepts and steps. Krissy also mentioned that mistakes are opportunities for learning. I can’t stand when students get made fun of for messing up or making mistakes. Every time a student messes up, they are able to learn and take a different route next time. Without mistakes and trial and error, this world would not be where it is today. I loved when Krissy said, "Another packet of worksheets is never a solution, unless for starting a campfire". This made me laugh and it is so true. Even as a kid I couldn't stand worksheets. They are just busy work thrown at the students and really don’t help with anything. Group projects, discussions, activities, videos, anything besides worksheets! We want learning to be fun and exciting and worksheets are everything but that! I enjoyed Krissy Venosdale's list of seven things she “knows for sure”. Her blog is very inspiring for a future teacher like me.

September 5, 2013
"A Mission To Learn"

I love the fact that Krissy Venosdale creates a mission statement each school year for herself. I like the statement she made when she wrote, “I’ll forever be open to the fact that someone else’s idea is more than likely far better then my own…” If everyone could have that mindset and be open to learning new concepts and trying tasks in new ways, there is no telling the differences that could be made. Krissy wrote about her passion speaking louder than her position. If you are trying to change something for a long-term goal, fixing it short-term will never work. In order to make a difference in life, your goal has got to be long-term. This way it can affect others in the future and it can truly make a difference. Krissy finished up her post talking about having a vision and it being worth the try to make it happen. If everyone went through with their visions of change, the school system and life itself would improve so much. We have to stop just visioning these ideas and put them to action. I loved Krissy Venosdale’s “A Mission to Learn” blog post and I hope that when I become a teacher in the future I can hold on tight to this mindset.

Blog Assignment #3

Peer Editing

From watching the videos What is Peer Editing? and Writing Peer Reviews Top 10 Mistakes, and viewing the slideshow: Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial I have learned several things about peer editing. In the slideshow and in the video, “What is Peer Editing,” they both pointed out that there are three steps: compliments, suggestions, and corrections. All three of these steps are important when trying to help a peer out. It is also important to stay positive and encourage your peer to do better and fix their mistakes. The humorous video that described different characteristics of peer editors had one example named “Pushy Paula”. This character stood out to me because it is a common problem when it comes to peer editing. It’s hard to help others when each of you think you are correct. It is important to make suggestions instead of demanding a person make changes to their work. Helping people can be frustrating because you both believe you are correct, but in reality one of you are wrong. We must always consider other people's advice and get other opinions before making a final decision. In the first video, it describes what peer editing is by stating "working with someone your own age to help revise and edit his or her writing”. Note the phrase "working with someone". Peer editing can be a group effort, including the author. This way everyone is working together in order to help out an individual peer.

Getting help from others is important. It helps the both of you to learn from your mistakes and get advice on how to fix things and improve your work. I think to a certain extent it is better to correct your peers publicly, this is the way I have chosen when helping my peers. This way, other students can look at your advice and it could maybe help them improve also. If you happen to be wrong, others will be able to give their opinions as well if you keep it out in the public. When doing it privately, you are only helping that one peer. When being put in the position of being the teacher and having to correct your student, I think it depends on the student. Some students get very discouraged and embarrassed when being told they have made mistakes. As a teacher you are just adding to their embarrassment by announcing in front of a class they have done something wrong. Considering the points listed in the video (compliments, suggestions, and corrections) is very important. Having a positive attitude while following these steps will help the process to go even better.

Blog Assignment #2

Pissarro:

Mr. Dancealot Video

The teaching strategies in the comical youtube video, “Professor Dancealot,” communicates what NOT to do for our future students. In the opening, Professor Dancealot introduces himself and the purpose of the class from a power point. Power points are an extremely useful method for teaching, but the Professor in the video actually reads what is on the power point. A teacher should be so informed of the subject he/she is teaching so that they are able to put in their own words what they’re trying to convey to their students and give concrete examples in the lecture. The purpose of a power point should be a visual of information for students to summarize in their own words in order to use that information and apply it to actual reality. The fact that he’s supposedly been teaching this class for 12 years and can’t remember the objectives of the class is quite humorous. While he’s going through the power point he does demonstrate the dance moves presented on the slides, but there is a large podium and desk right in front of him preventing the class from being able to see what he’s acting out. One student actually attempts to stand, watch the professor’s feet, and carry out the presented dance move, but the professor commands him back to his seat. He assumes every student understands what to do, so he proceeds to the next lesson without further explanation leaving the class to fend for themselves. His students were falling asleep, talking to their neighbors, and completely uninterested in what he was trying to teach during class time.

By the time this class reached the final exam, which was not paper/question based, but performing the actual dances they had studied about, they had done no dancing throughout the course and were completely clueless when he told them to begin. As a teacher, you have to teach in ways you think your students can best learn. Obviously, teaching dance moves from a power point but never actually allowing your students to practice them is not the ideal class. This concept can be used in an elementary classroom. Fire drills are a great example. If you just gave elementary students notes on what to do when there is a fire, it would be chaos. That is why schools have fire drills so the students can have practice and know what to expect. Another example would be something as obvious as teaching math. If you, as a teacher, stand up at the board and work out problems all day but never give the students the chance to work them out on their own and ask questions when they struggle, they are never going to learn the correct way of doing the math problem. You have to give the student the chance to practice on their own and figure out their own way of learning and working through concepts and problems.

When students are complaining about material more than actually learning and completing assignments, this should communicate to the teacher that something needs to be done differently for positive results to occur. There is always a way to get students “hands on,” involved, and up and moving in the classroom, especially in a dance class. Teachers must be willing to discover different learning styles and carry them out. Learning in different ways ultimately aids in students being engaged in what they’re doing and helps them to actually learn and remember the material for future use.

Jordan Neely:
"Harness your Students' Digital Smarts" Video
and "Edutopia" Website

In a small school in rural South Georgia, Vikki Davis uses technology to connect her students to the world. She blogs on the “Cool Cat Teacher” blog and it has over 6,000 readers. It recently won a reward for being one of the best teacher blogs. Vikki teaches full time. She believes every student can learn but she says certain students can’t learn to their best ability when all they have is paper and a pencil. She accomplishes the curricular but does it by seeing how her individual students best learn. She is comfortable with about every form of technology and is teaching her students to feel the same. If she gives them an unknown term, she expects them to look it up on google and do the research for themselves. She is teaching her students to be “thinkers”. Vikki uses a program in her classroom called “Open Sim”. This program lets students host a virtual world. The students taught themselves and each other how to work this program better. There is also a project called “Digi Teen”. This allows students to post about different topics for other teachers and students to look at it blog about it. There is also the “Flat Classroom Project” this lets students interact with other students all over the world. In January 2009, Vikki and some of her students traveled to the Middle East to attend the “Flat Classroom Project” conference. She believes the idea of empowering students to share with one another can create a better classroom.

The Edutopia website has a vision of new world learning. This website allows you to browse by grade, view blogs, and watch videos. It also has a section labeled “Classroom Guides”. This tab has all sorts of downloads with guidelines on different topics for teachers and parents. When clicking on the blog tab, it gives you different categories of blogs to explore. One of the blogs is titled “New-Teacher Support”. These blogs give advice about the first day of school, time management in the classroom, and resources to look at. This website has information for new teachers to use that can be helpful when starting a new school year. Edutopoia is really about project-based learning and helping to encourage teachers to use different teaching strategies in the classroom.

I loved the video and the website. Vikki Davis’s way of doing her classroom and using technology is great. The way she shows her students how to interact with students all over the world is so exciting. This way students can learn about new trends, new cultures, and new technology in general. Vikki seems very passionate about teaching and investing her time into her students by the way she took a group to the Middle East. She proves that she wants to best for her students and to help them view the world in different ways. This form of teaching and technology helps her to be able to do that. When Vikki stated that every student can learn but some can not learn with just a pencil and paper, that comment made me think. Teachers always talk about how every student learns differently. For some, technology may be the best way for them to learn certain concepts. Vikki Davis is very serious about helping her students learn in whatever way possible and she also seems to be a firm believer in that technology is changing classrooms for the good.

Kaley McDonald:
Teaching in the 21st Century

What does it mean to teach in the 21st century? Kevin Roberts is the Chief Executive Officer Worldwide for an advertising agency known as “Saatchi & Saatchi.” His Prezi presentation on Teaching in the 21st Century is very clear that the future of education is changing dramatically. Pencil and paper are now considered “old school,” while laptops and iPads in every classroom is becoming the norm. The world is constantly changing around us and with it, education. Students are no longer satisfied, if they even ever were, sitting still and quiet at their desks while completing in-class work sheets that relate to the topic of the day. Engaging students in current technology and information by teaching them how to use it properly and effectively has incredible results. Teaching them how to, in Roberts’ words, “remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.” If teachers are not open to endless possibilities that technology can administer, such as a ginormous variety of information through blog posts, twitter and facebook discussions, which betters student’s communication skills, Google searches, you tube videos, skyping with other students around the world to learn different cultures and ethnicities, constant current events at their fingertips, and so much more, their students are going to miss out on numerous opportunities to learn skills that are essential in applying to real life situations. Learning is not memorizing facts in a textbook to be able to record those temporary memorizations onto a written test. Learning is seeking and gaining useful knowledge and remembering said knowledge in order to, dare I say it, USE it. This relates to one of our EDM 310 mottos, which expresses, “No more burp-back education!” Roberts emphasizes that “Teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge, we are the filter.” Students have the means to search for anything they desire and at the press of a button it is instantaneously in front of them. Metaphorically speaking, the teacher’s job is to filter or reduce their search results from 144,000 to 12. Showing them the skills they need to communicate information, problem solving, collaborating with others, making sure the information found is valid, and so forth.

Curriculum should be centered on skills rather than facts and content. Teaching them also, the dangers of plagiarism, pirating, copyrights, and what to do when certain problems arise. Technology haters often bring up the fact and question of how to control misbehaving students who bring laptops, iPads, and cell phones to school. Roberts says, “The tools provide temptation, but they are not the source of negative behavior.” Students only lack creativity when you rob it from them. They should be challenged to get up out of their seats and learn in new ways using new tools, while the teacher monitors whether it is relevant, challenging, and engaging.

Another argument is that students should not need to be entertained constantly. Entertainment indeed should not be the goal, but rather, engagement should be the focus. Students get enough meaningless entertainment throughout their lifetime without us adding to the madness. Engaging students is the key to long-term skills that stick. It is the way in which we will provide students the opportunity and skill to learn and think for themselves. Just as another one of our EDM 310 mottos states, “never tell, always ask.” Meaning, never give a student the complete answer to a question. Instead, always answer with more questions in order to get their brain gears going without the teacher manually turning the crank. Being told information isn’t nearly as effective as searching and discovering it for yourself. Usually, the more difficult it is to achieve a goal, the more rewarding that goal will be. All of this begins and continues with the educators. Change is, say it with me, “GOOD.” Never stop learning in order to never stop teaching. The world and its information doesn’t stop, people do. Keep running the race and never give up!

Brooklyn Rowland:
The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler

What is a networked student? According to the YouTube video "The Networked Student" by Wendy Drexler, a networked student is one who utilizes the Internet to learn about a particular topic. This type of student doesn't just use the typical search engine though, this student has subscribed to blogs, uses google scholar and is in contact with other students and professionals that blog, write, lecture or work in the particular subject of interest. Being networked helps students to learn on their own. Subscribing to blogs and other websites and using an RSS feed and a PLN, a personal learning network, to stay organized, helps the student to stay up to date with any new information on any topic!

In this video, the question "Why does a networked student need a teacher?" is asked. Simply put, the teacher is the student’s guide. While there are no textbooks and lectures in a classroom based on networked learning, the teacher is still a necessary tool. A networked teacher guides the students through the creating of their PLN. The teacher also gets the students started in their networking by linking them with people he or she may already know. While the teacher doesn't actually teach the students about the topics of interest, she does teach them how to find that information!

I love the idea of being a networked teacher some day. I wish I could have been taught to be a networked student earlier in my schooling. I think it is very beneficial to the students. It promotes lifelong learning! And I believe wholeheartedly that we should all be lifelong learners!