Final Reflection

Blog Post 5 Part 2

I am not ashamed to admit that before entering this classroom the my knowledge of  personal learning networks was a nihl. However I have begun to dabble my toes in the water with PLNs so to speak. It is very hard to ignore the many advantages they offer to my personally and to my future classroom. It will definitely be fun to continue to learn how to hone my skill at using them and a semester of college was not nearly adequate to perfect this art. However it has been a fun challenge no the less to try and use these tools to help prepare myself for the classroom. Heck, I even signed up for Pinterest the other day. Never though I would say that but things like that have a wealth of good ideas for all us to use. I will continue to use these things and stockpile different resources that I find in my journey. I use Twitter a whole lot but that is about my only dabble in the social media world. Maybe I will do more later on in life but that time is not now for me. As I stated in my first part I love using Symbaloo and I would recommend everyone check it out!

Blog Post 14

1. Giving far more school choices to families 

2. Using technology to improve teaching and learning 

3. Adopting a knowledge-based curriculum 

4. Starting education before a child is 5 years old.

Listed above is some of the things that Mr. Joel Klein thinks need to happen in our school. He brings his thoughts to the table for all of us to see in his article  Self-Discipline and High Standards Can Secure the Future of Public Schools. All of these are admirable goals and we should work our hardest as future teachers to bring this man's vision into a reality. The first one of his point I found to be pretty interesting for me. I went to a very small community and we had one local school in our area code. If you had our zip code you had that once choice outside of enrolling into a private school which was really a long drive. Luckily my our school was great and I could not imagine graduating from anywhere else. I am sure that is not the case for everyone however. I guess if you give more options then that would in turn promote competition between students to get into the best schools in the area. The next point is using technology to improve teaching and learning. This is a subject matter we have covered very frequently in our time in EDM 310. While a couple of months ago, I would probably of told you too much tech in a classroom would ultimately hinder or distract the students. Today I am thankfully singing a different tune. After observing and studying some local and global teachers this semester, I have become convinced that the biggest logical way to improve our classrooms is by the use of technology. We can through technology create a much more interactive, personal, and engaging classroom for our students that could never of happened even a decade ago. We have been given the unique opportunity to help push forward this new wave of teaching and I fully intend to be apart of this. So I fully agree with Klein on this count. Next he brings up that we should adopt a knowledge based curriculum. This is pretty straight forward and I agree with him. We need to be teaching kids in a way that truly pushes them intellectually. Not just having them memorize some vocabulary terms and follow that up with a true/false test. We need something A LOT more meaningful than that. We need to push them to develop skills and application that will better prepare them for the world ahead outside of the classroom. Next he thinks we should enroll kids into school before the age of five. I think we should start to prepare kids for learning at an early age sure. I would be curious to hear what I real life parent would think of this. On paper it sounds great and that is really the extent as to which I will speak on the topic.

The author made some great points that we can contemplate for the rest of our future teaching careers. I certainly look forward to implementing his ideas into my own classroom one day. 

Blog Post 13

For this week's assigned blog post the teacher will assign the whole class a series of videos to watch. After doing this you will write up your honest and first reaction to the material presented. The videos subject matter is that of first year teachers and the trials that presents. You will be in these people's shoes one day so be sure to take this seriously! Pay close attention to their schedule and how they operate their classroom. What are some things you like? What are some things you feel can be done better?




                                                            1. New Teacher Survival Guide
                                                                     2. If I Knew Then

1. This video details a teacher who is having a spot of trouble with her classroom. The students seem to get into trouble and act up during class time. On top of that the students in her classroom have a casual disinterest and do not really seem to care. This is kind of a weird thing to film and put online especially if it is an ongoing problem. Anyway the point of the video is some ways new teachers can manage their classrooms when behavior likes this presents itself. One thing is that teachers should always stick to a strict routine and never waver from it. I guess this lets them know what they have to do and gives them time to mentally prepare for the task. I do not think I fully agree with that. I think it pays to be spontaneous when teaching sometimes. I am not saying running into your classroom and yelling "Pop Quiz"! Just find ways to shake things up and I believe that will be a better way to keep things interesting and engaging. This is a great video to watch to really get a feel of what the first year of a teacher looks like and points out some things we may what to go ahead to prepare for.

2. This assigned video was really cool to me on a number of levels. The video takes a number of teachers and ask them to do something really funny. If you could right a letter to yourself on the first day you taught, what would you say? First off this video is filled to the brim with tons of advice that upcoming teachers can take heed of. They describe some of the trials and tribulations this dreaded first day can cause. It shows that like we all figure, the first day we teach is not going to be perfect. This video more than anythings is meant to be inspirational. Yes, you will make mistakes. No, you do not know everything when you graduate college. The teachers give their testimonies that you will constantly have to adapt and evolve while teaching. It made me feel better about my future first day.

Project 12B

C4Ta 4

Summary:Wesley Fyer does shows some really cool stuff for kids and adults to watch in his post Amazing Animated Space Films: Wanderers and New Horizons. As I hinted at above these videos would be an awesome addition to any teacher while covering the cosmic realm. The videos do an excellent job of making you ,the viewer, feel like you are just wandering through space and taking in the view.


Comment: Very cool videos! I love watching educational space videos and look forward to showing them in my classroom



Comment: I have never heard of Classkick until today. Thank you for keeping me informed!

Summary: The poster Wesley Fryer gives some of this thoughts on using technology in the classroom today in his post Using iPads in the Classroom? One of the ways he does this is by using a tool called Classkick. This is a collaborative programs that teachers and students can use in their classrooms. It helps teachers stay organized and helps teachers get feedback from students faster. For more than this brief synopsis head over to his site. 

Blog Post 12: Yesenia Lopez & Robert Weatherford

C4Ta 3

Summary: In the post 4 TIPS TO DEVELOP GREAT TEACHER LEADERS the author Vicki Davis gives some keen insight and points about some of the must do things for teachers. She says that teachers should always work to not only teach but inspire their students. This will give them hope and confidence that they can do anything if they set their minds to it. That was my favorite point from this blog post. 

Comment: These are some really helpful tips! I am a student and this is a very insightful. You make some really keen observations and deductions on some of the ways we should operate as teachers. I love your point about helping students see their value and worth. It is very important that our students feel hope and have confidence in themselves.

Summary: The author Vicki Davis gives another list on her blog. This particular one entitled 10 Ways to Stay Motivated at School. 
1. Solve By Moving Forward
2. Listen To Awesome Music
3. Be Stragtesic About Mornings
4. Top Off Your Tanks
5. Keep A Joy Journal
6. Let The Rough End Drag
7. Forgive and Move On
8. Work Towards Your Task
9. Enjoy the Moments
10. End Well

She explains each of these steps and why each of us should abide by them. Teaching is not always easy (or ever). But there are measures we can take that well help us get the most out our day and notice the small things that helps each day of teaching be a wonderful experience. 

Comment: Such an awesome post! I am sure that their are a lot of times teaching can be trying. It is really cool that you have habits in place that help make teaching be the best experience possible!

Blog Post 11

In Brian Crosby's video Back to the Future, he goes on to give his take on the disconnect students seem to have. It is a really cool video and he goes into some pretty heavy topics. The video is even more interesting because his microphone makes him sound like a robot. Also Back to the Future is also the title to one of my favorite movies. Back on topic h
e said that almost all of his students have trouble with what should be common knowledge. Some of the students had trouble naming the city they lived in. All most the whole class could not name what country they live in. That is kind of a startling observation that left me with a lot of questions. He said this is probably due to the narrow curriculum that most of these poverty stricken kids have been on since birth. Crosby sets a goal for himself to make the education these guys receive to more interesting and meaningful. This will in turn hopefully give them more enthusiasm for learning and their performance will be greatly improved. He ,like all most all the teachers we have studied this semester, has incorporated a wide range of technology into his classroom. All the students have a blog that they post on and he uses and interactive whiteboard. They do a lot of projects that help them acquire knowledge in a meaningful way. He incorporates a lot of real world elements which helps prepare them for the future. All in all Mr. Crosby seems to be another role model for us entering the teaching profession. We should also seek to make our classrooms more engaging and interesting.

In Blending Learning Cycle, Mr. Anderson explains to us what the namesake of his article means. You will find right away that his true gift is his use of acronyms. One of those is QUIVERS. What do those clever arranging of letters stand for you may be asking. Well let us break it down.

• QUestion - What is the question?
• Investigate - Let's try and investigate it.
• Video - Maybe we can find videos that relate.
• Elaborate - Explore it in further detail.
• Review - Let's check our understanding.
• Summary - Take a quiz.

This is a really good method to get students to really think about the content that is being delivered to them. 

Well being the superhero buff I am this watching Super Digital Citizen was a real treat. He relates the popular heroes to ways they can stay safe while on the internet. "With great power comes great responsibility." He uses this quote from the character Uncle Ben to really relate to the students that the internet is a wonderful tool but like everything should be used with caution. They even get to make their own superhero in class! If only you could see the jealousy coming from my face right now. They take these characters and place them in situations where the will have to practice internet safety. As Mr. Pane ,the teacher, says it gives them a greater sense of ownership of their decisions. The visual presentations these students put together were astounding. They really got the material that was brought before them because it was so engaging. 

In the video Project Based Learning, three teachers set out to take this way of teaching to the next level. How did they do this? Well all three worked together cooperatively and combined their courses to together to make a very effective learning experience. The subjects combined was history, language, and information. They say like we have been told before that this project based learning keeps kids engaged and thus learning is more meaningful. Seeing these three educators work together on such a level is really awesome. Another cool thing I observed was that the teachers are constantly looking for new ways to help improve their classrooms. 

In Roosevelt's Elementary's PBL Program we are once again showed a group of teachers that use PBL in their classrooms. They break down the method in a way that can be easily understood for those new to the concept. The students are put in situations were they will have to work together and solve problems for themselves. They are also doing a lot of public speaking and this helps them improve their communication making them better rounded students. As we have seen many times this teamster PBL seems to be an enjoyable tool for us to use in our future classroom. It has the seal of approval of many respected educators and the enjoyment the students seem to have cannot be ignored. 

Special Post

There were so many useful resources on Dr. Jacobs' site. That it was hard to choose my favorite six but somehow I managed. 

Newspaper Global Map:

This is a really fun tool that allows us to access newspapers from all over the world. This is a really cool because you can expose your students to the larger world. You can assign them all a country and have them read an article from there. You and the students can see how other countries perceive current world news. I get all my news from the British Broadcasting Corporation so this is taking that one step further. The students can look at it in the countries language or it will easily translate it to English. I saw this a couple of days ago when I was doing research on what resources I wanted to use. I got to read some cool stuff from other countries on the recent Supreme Court decision that I was very happy about.  So this is a very good tool just for an indiviual as well as a whole class. When grown ups ask my class if we ever read a newspaper we can say "From which country?" 

Interactive Solar System: 

This is by far the coolest resource I have looked at! I love all the sciences especially astronomy so this interactive solar system map is off the chain to me. The level of detail it has is incredible and could be an invaluable tool for teaching kids about the cosmos. It gives a great sense of scale and size of the planets. If you click on a planet it gives a wealth of fun info and facts. When you go to the site it shows where the planets are at this specific date! Tell me that is not the coolest thing to show kids (or Robert). It is labeled as being for middle and high school kids but I would show this to any age group. Seriously if you do not follow the links to any of the other resources I post, please look at this one. 

Mission US:

This is a valuable way to learn history for those who love it or hate it. I always enjoyed history so I will look forward to perusing through this further. This is a very interactive tool that is sure to fun for students of all ages. On the homepage you can choose from a few characters and you can go through missions to learn more about their place in time. They can play as a boy caught in the middle of the American Revolution, a runaway slave desperately trying to make her way to the North, and a Native American boy growing up on the Plains. These are great ways to immerse kids into the culture and time periods they choose. I played a little bit of one mission as Nat Wheeler the young revolutionary and it provided a wide variety of rich learning. 

Rubistar:

This is a tool that I have already put to great use while taking EDM 310. If you need help developing a rubric for your class, then this is the site for you. You have multiple templates to choose from and it has some for about every subject you can think of. So give this one a look if you have not already. 

Khan Academy: 

I cannot not say enough about how useful Khan Academy has been to me personally through the years. I am one of those that are shockingly not very good at math. So I am constantly looking for tools to help me get through whatever math is giving me trouble or just trying to become a better at it. This site is very popular and has received much love from the top philanthropists. Bill Gates has been a big advocate for Khan Academy. It offers many features such as tutoring, practice exercises, and a personalized dashboard for you to use. 

Visual Thesaurus:

Well this is is what your standard thesaurus would look like if it took steroids. You can search a platypus and it will give you a bunch of related terms to further research. This is a great tool for students who are having trouble with a word. They can type it in and get some more context of how that word is used. It will even pronounce it for you so will know if you are saying to correctly. This is a fun easy to use tool that would be great for any classroom. 

Blog Post 10

Today I will be giving my reaction to a few videos done by Kathy Cassidy. She covers a wide range of topics that we can definitely learn from.

In the first video Little Kids...Big Potential, we follow her class around and observe some of the tools they use on a daily basis. First up we see how much the students love to write on their class blog. They really seemed to enjoy when they got comments on their work from people they knew. Like what Anthony Capps said the other day, these kids really like to have the big brother and sister technology offers them. They think it is awesome that their mom, aunt, brother, and so on can see what they do on a daily basis during class. It makes them work harder knowing that this will be displayed on the web for all these people to see. It is also really cool that the parents and guardians have the privilege to stay up to date on their kid's school life. They also use Wiki to seek out information. The said they did not know what the word ritual meant so they went on this website and asked other people around the world to help them out. They got back a bunch of responses and some even gave them some of their rituals. Since they went through they did all this research, I feel confident they will very much retain the definitions. If you just wrote the definition of ritual on the board, they would have forgotten it by dinner that night.

Next we go to the first part of an interview with Ms. Cassidy conducted by Dr. Strange. They talk about some of the cool and interesting ways that technology has changed her classroom. She says that she has been using tech in her classroom for ten years. They started out with some brand of computer I have never heard of. I thought it was telling of her drive as a teacher when she sat out to make her class interesting by using these new devices. She did not just say "Yeah new stuff!" then let the things gather dust. She had the drive and the passion to learn some stuff she was unfamiliar with. She likes us ,when we first entered this class, had to work very hard to learn how to blog and make web pages. Another common thread I have noticed with all the kids in this video and others is that they really work hard when they know something is going on the blog. I very much look forward to doing a blog for my classroom. It seems to be to good of a tool to ignore.

Right of the bat in the second part of the interview, Cassidy said something that really hits home with me. She said she was unusual because she did not use social media much in her personal life but she knows that is not an option with her teaching job. I like her do not care for using social media in my personal life. I have never been interested in opening a Facebook or Instagram account. I like to talk and converse with people face to face. Having a personal connection is important to me. However, even I cannot not ignore the many perks using these tools could have on my classroom. I had a twitter account before entering EDM 310. I help run a website dedicated to keeping people up to date on the upcoming movie news and twitter really helps with that endeavor. So I guess I could take that same plan and apply it to a classroom. One of these days I will get off my high horse and open up some more social media accounts.

In part three she takes a few questions from some of Dr. Strange's students. The first student ask her how many times a week she has the kids blog. Her answer was that it really depends. Since her class at the time was smaller they just do it one or two times a week. So basically these kids blog as much as I do. What are they like eight years old? So give another point to students of today over me. Another student ask a question about concerns with cheating. I thought her answer was really awesome. She says that the classroom of today is going to more collaborative than it has been. We as teachers must be more creative in our assignments and how we go about giving grades.

I really enjoyed watching these videos and interviews. It shed some lights on things I have had questions on or never thought of.