Sunday, September 28, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
C4K Summary for September
C4K Summary: September
C4K Post #1: 9/15/14
I commented on Grace's Blog from Auckland, NZ. The post that I commented on was about a "Immersion Assembly" held at her school. She explains how it was fun for her, her classmates, and her teachers. During this assembly, there are different "Teams" and each team shows a movie (play/skit) to a certain topic. Her team's topic was "Sound." She explains that her favorite performance was Team 5. Also, her favorite part of the assembly was to get to see her friends.
In my comment I left on this post, I first introduced myself and why I was commenting on her blog. I said how awesome it was to read someone's blog from Auckland, NZ considering I have never been out of the States. In my comment I also mentioned her grammatical errors, but in a positive way. I wanted to make sure I could offer my suggestions to help her recognize her errors when she is writing. I suggested that she re-read her blog post two or three times before publishing it, so she could self correct as best as she could. I ended with encouragement and telling her that her post about the "Immersion Assembly" was very interesting and a great way to unify the classes at their school. Lastly, I closed by giving her best wishes for her new school term and I also provided her with the links to our class blog and my blog.
C4K Post #2: 9/18/14
This C4K comment is under moderation, therefore it does not show to the public yet.
I commented on Javon's Blog. He is a student that lives in Virginina and is in 8th grade with his teacher Madame Thomas.
In my comment, I made compliments to him about what he wrote. He wrote the sentence "love everyday, every minutes, every second." I thanked him for sharing such a positive quote on his blog. I went on to tell Javon that people really need to read something like this everyday to help motivate them to do their best in everything they do that day. I also told Javon that it was great of him to share such positivity on his blog post. It really caught my eye when I read this and I was thinking "wow I need to remember this everyday." I think that a sentence so small can make the world of difference, especially coming from a young child.
C4K Post #3: 9/23/14
This C4K comment is under moderation, therefore it also did not show up to the public yet. I commented on Chase M's Blog. His blog was about comparing working hard to achieve certain goals verses having talent. He explains that people who have to work hard to achieve their goals, in turn appreciate what they do more. On the other hand, Chase M explains that people who have the natural talent tend to throw away their success because they didn't have to work hard to achieve their goal.
In my comment, I complimented him on his blog post and related back to what he wrote about. He used very good format for contrasting his two paragraphs. I told him that I agreed with him in the fact that people who work hard to achieve their goals are more appreciative of their success, rather than thinking you have the talent and would waste it. I gave him the link to my personal blog for this class and told him he should check it out sometime. I also gave him the link to our class blog, so maybe he will visit it. Overall, the comment I left was very uplifting to him and recognizing his own handwork that he put into this blog post.
Blog Post 6
Conversations with Anthony Capps
From the first two videos, Project Based Learning Part 1 and Project Based Learning Part 2, I learned a lot about what project based learning is like in the classroom. I like how Anthony says, with project-based learning never limit your students on what they can and can't do on the project. This way they will have the freedom to go above and beyond and learn the most they can about that certain topic. Project-based learning is not just a way to evaluate what the student has learned, but a way that the students actually learn through these projects. The more time students will put in to projects, the more they will learn from them and overall benefit from them. The important thing about the projects is not how "fancy" they look, but rather the content and effort they put into learning about the topic of the projects. Also I learned from these conversations that good work does not go unnoticed. Anthony talks about a parent's night where some of his students projects were shown. I think that is so great for parents and faculty to admire all the hard work students put in to learning and how beneficial project based learning is. My favorite quote from Anthony is "When students are engaged, their learning." The children have more ownership when you let them take over their own project and that is something we as teachers need to remember so we are not limiting our students.
In the video, iCurio, Anthony explains that iCurio is an online tool that allows students to search for all kinds of text, video, audio, and more media. This site also allows you to store any resources that you want to keep and organize for later use.
From the video, Discovery Ed Anthony, I learned about what Discovery Ed was and what to use it for. For instance, it is great for Social Studies and Sciences to bring visuals to the classroom. Students will learn more when they can see and watch something rather from just reading a text or article. Learning visually is always more engaging for students.
From the video, Anthony-Strange Tips for Teachers, all of the tips were great. Some of the tips include: being a learner, a hard worker, being flexible, and reflecting. Also, I really agree with Anthony when he talks about "making teaching fun" because teaching is a constant and rewarding job that continues for us even outside of the classroom. Also, improvising and being flexible with everything we do in the classroom, will benefit everyone. Everything may not go as planned and that's okay!
Photo By: Technology in the Classroom
In the video, Use Tech Don't Teach It, I agree 100%. In the classroom, we should use the technology in a way where I (teacher) don't necessarily have to show the students step by step how to do something. But instead, start from the beginning with more basic projects so they will learn and grow on their own. This way, students are learning how to use the technology tools by engaging hands-on. As we know, in the 21st century, kids will most likely be teaching us something new on iMovie that we know nothing about. Also, using technology to "share" is a major benefit for everyone in the classroom. Students also have the chance to reflect on their work, for instance, with a video they can re-watch and improve.
Overall, throughout all of these video conversations with Anthonony, he really has great points on making learning fun, effective, creative, and overall engaging for the students. Watching these videos really gave me a perspective on how these issues are like in the classroom, given all of his examples from his 3rd grade classroom. I enjoyed learning from his perspective and taking in everything that was discussed between Anthony and Dr. Strange!
From the first two videos, Project Based Learning Part 1 and Project Based Learning Part 2, I learned a lot about what project based learning is like in the classroom. I like how Anthony says, with project-based learning never limit your students on what they can and can't do on the project. This way they will have the freedom to go above and beyond and learn the most they can about that certain topic. Project-based learning is not just a way to evaluate what the student has learned, but a way that the students actually learn through these projects. The more time students will put in to projects, the more they will learn from them and overall benefit from them. The important thing about the projects is not how "fancy" they look, but rather the content and effort they put into learning about the topic of the projects. Also I learned from these conversations that good work does not go unnoticed. Anthony talks about a parent's night where some of his students projects were shown. I think that is so great for parents and faculty to admire all the hard work students put in to learning and how beneficial project based learning is. My favorite quote from Anthony is "When students are engaged, their learning." The children have more ownership when you let them take over their own project and that is something we as teachers need to remember so we are not limiting our students.
In the video, iCurio, Anthony explains that iCurio is an online tool that allows students to search for all kinds of text, video, audio, and more media. This site also allows you to store any resources that you want to keep and organize for later use.
From the video, Discovery Ed Anthony, I learned about what Discovery Ed was and what to use it for. For instance, it is great for Social Studies and Sciences to bring visuals to the classroom. Students will learn more when they can see and watch something rather from just reading a text or article. Learning visually is always more engaging for students.
From the video, Anthony-Strange Tips for Teachers, all of the tips were great. Some of the tips include: being a learner, a hard worker, being flexible, and reflecting. Also, I really agree with Anthony when he talks about "making teaching fun" because teaching is a constant and rewarding job that continues for us even outside of the classroom. Also, improvising and being flexible with everything we do in the classroom, will benefit everyone. Everything may not go as planned and that's okay!
Photo By: Technology in the Classroom
In the video, Use Tech Don't Teach It, I agree 100%. In the classroom, we should use the technology in a way where I (teacher) don't necessarily have to show the students step by step how to do something. But instead, start from the beginning with more basic projects so they will learn and grow on their own. This way, students are learning how to use the technology tools by engaging hands-on. As we know, in the 21st century, kids will most likely be teaching us something new on iMovie that we know nothing about. Also, using technology to "share" is a major benefit for everyone in the classroom. Students also have the chance to reflect on their work, for instance, with a video they can re-watch and improve.
Overall, throughout all of these video conversations with Anthonony, he really has great points on making learning fun, effective, creative, and overall engaging for the students. Watching these videos really gave me a perspective on how these issues are like in the classroom, given all of his examples from his 3rd grade classroom. I enjoyed learning from his perspective and taking in everything that was discussed between Anthony and Dr. Strange!
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Blog Post 5
Photo by: Learning More About ICT
What are Personal Learning Networks?
I've learned through this assignment that a PLN is a Personal Learning Network that consists of many different contacts and tools to help assist you in anyway they can. These contacts don't just appear overnight, it takes time to build up a good base of people and tools. These contacts are for you to use to collaborate and consult with those people for whatever you need help with. The tools on your PLN are collected as you grow your network based on the many sites you use.
Personal Learning Networks can most definitely help me as a teacher. If I need to collaborate with another educator, I will have contacts from my PLN to use to do that. According to The Fischbowl: Mt Personal Learning Network in Action article, Karl Fisch explains how it is so important for our students to learn how to collaborate with others and to do assignments on the web so they can experience having a wider audience. I think that when I'm a teacher, helping my students create a PLN will benefit them, so in turn I will have to have my own PLN and be very familiar with how my own network is built.
PNL's are formed throughout your educational career. To start forming your PLN, create an account in which to organize all of your information. For me, I made an account with Symbaloo that collects all of my tools and contacts into one place on the web. This account is alway available to me wherever I go as long as I have internet. This website is a great way to helping first time PLN creators keep track of what all connections they have and also to keep all of your sources in one place. Your PLN continues to grow throughout your years in education and it could possibly never stop growing.
As far as my first additions to my PLN, I think that would be the EDM 310 staff. I feel like those contacts will be more than happy to collaborate on certain ideas or be available for any help they can provide if I ask. I also think that adding contacts from where I have commented on teachers blogs would be beneficial to me throughout my career. I think that having a diverse group of contacts will provide me with many people I can work with.
Also, aside from contacts for my PLN I would add the major websites that I visit daily. Some of which include: Blogger, Twitter, YouTube, Gmail, Skype, Google, Delicious, Moodle, and more. I think it is important to research all of the source websites that Symbaloo has to offer to help grow my network in my years to come as not only a student but as an educator.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Project 4 C4T Summary
C4T#1 Post #1 Summary
On this post, I commented on Sandi's blog Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes. The post was about the book "Tap the Magic Tree" by: Christie Matheson. This book is about the many processes that an apple tree undergoes in the different seasons. Her post also includes several different activities for in the classroom that could go along with this book. I learned from the post that the book is very interactive with students because of the books "magical process" that the apple tree undergoes, in which the children can tap, blow, and rub the book pages.
I then commented on her blog post Book Report: Tap the Magic Tree. In my comment I left to Sandi, I introduced who I was and how I found out about her blog, which was through this class. I explained how I was assigned to comment on her blog for my assignment for the next 2 weeks. I told her that I enjoyed reading her post about "Tap the Magic Tree" because the book was new to me and seemed like a good book for young children. I thanked her for including sources for activities that go along with the book because I could possibly need them one day. Lastly, I also complimented Sandi on how organized her blog is and how it made me want to read more on her blog. Her blog is very neat, organized, and easy to find everything.
C4T#1 Post #2 Summary
On this second post, I commented on Sand's blog post Tree Block Alphabet. This post was about turning tree branches into an alphabet learning tool for young children. It consists of a few easy steps: finding good tree branches t cut down, cutting the branches into circular blocks, sanding the blocks, and then writing capital letters on one side and lower case on the other.
In my comment I left for Sandi, I started out with a personal encouragement for her to show my support to her in her time on the picket line at her school. In my comment, I also expressed how I love this project and how I will hopefully use this creative learning tool in my own classroom to help my students with the alphabet in a fun way. I also thanked Sandi for sharing her creative ideas through her blog because I've enjoyed reading about new things to take to the classroom that are fun and new to me. Lastly, I shared my blog link and our class blog link with her to encourage Sandi to view them, and also my summary post that I am creating and publishing on 9/14/14.
![Image of the book]()
Photo by: Tree Block Alphabet
Second photo by: Tap the Magic Tree
On this post, I commented on Sandi's blog Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes. The post was about the book "Tap the Magic Tree" by: Christie Matheson. This book is about the many processes that an apple tree undergoes in the different seasons. Her post also includes several different activities for in the classroom that could go along with this book. I learned from the post that the book is very interactive with students because of the books "magical process" that the apple tree undergoes, in which the children can tap, blow, and rub the book pages.
I then commented on her blog post Book Report: Tap the Magic Tree. In my comment I left to Sandi, I introduced who I was and how I found out about her blog, which was through this class. I explained how I was assigned to comment on her blog for my assignment for the next 2 weeks. I told her that I enjoyed reading her post about "Tap the Magic Tree" because the book was new to me and seemed like a good book for young children. I thanked her for including sources for activities that go along with the book because I could possibly need them one day. Lastly, I also complimented Sandi on how organized her blog is and how it made me want to read more on her blog. Her blog is very neat, organized, and easy to find everything.
C4T#1 Post #2 Summary
On this second post, I commented on Sand's blog post Tree Block Alphabet. This post was about turning tree branches into an alphabet learning tool for young children. It consists of a few easy steps: finding good tree branches t cut down, cutting the branches into circular blocks, sanding the blocks, and then writing capital letters on one side and lower case on the other.
In my comment I left for Sandi, I started out with a personal encouragement for her to show my support to her in her time on the picket line at her school. In my comment, I also expressed how I love this project and how I will hopefully use this creative learning tool in my own classroom to help my students with the alphabet in a fun way. I also thanked Sandi for sharing her creative ideas through her blog because I've enjoyed reading about new things to take to the classroom that are fun and new to me. Lastly, I shared my blog link and our class blog link with her to encourage Sandi to view them, and also my summary post that I am creating and publishing on 9/14/14.
Second photo by: Tap the Magic Tree
Project 15
Exploring Different Search Engines
WolframAlpha
This search engine, WolframAlpha, is new to me. From my research I did, it would be most useful for mathematics, science, and units of measure. This search engine would be great for helping you with statistic values or if you simply wanted to know more about something. I think that this would be a helpful website for any computing knowledge that you want to know. I have never been on this website until now, but I will most definitely use it in the future.
Bing
This is a common search engine that most people are familiar with and it is very similar to Google. Aside from Google, I think that Bing is a useful search engine for everyday information. I think that it is not the most useful for specific things, but it is beneficial for more common information that you might need. I have used Bing, and the layout is user friendly because all that is displayed is a background picture and the tool bar where you enter in what you want to search. Easy and to the point is what I like about it.
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
This is a search engine used for educational purposes and it is populated by the U.S. Department of Education. I have never heard of this site before, but when I was researching different search engines I found it and it is full of beneficial tools. For instance, it provides access to educational journal articles, books, research synthesis' and more. I think this search engine would be useful for searching certain topics you want to become more educated about and to find education articles.
Yahoo
This is a well known search engine that provides information on anything and everything. This search engine is very user friendly. It is easy to use because the search box is in plain view and it searches in every category. I would recommend using this search engine for basic information, questions, or certain topics you want to know more information about.
RefSeek
This search engine is great for students and researchers. It provides academic sources from the web, books, academic journals, encyclopedias, documents, and more. You will see these items listen under "directory." When you search a single time it searches through one billion sources to find the best information to match your search. This search engine would be best to use when writing papers or doing research for class when you have a topic you need to gain more academic knowledge on. The site is very user friendly and through my own research it told me everything I needed to know about the search engine and what its purpose is.
WOW
This search engine is "enhanced" by Google, so it uses about the same searching techniques that Google does. I would not use this website for educational purposes because it does not have many viewers from what I researched. it is more of a broad searcher and the results may not always be accurate. I would use this search engine for basic questions I have or looking up something that is not very complicated. For instance, I may use this website to look up something I already am informed about, but search it to see what their sources say.
Dictionary
This search engine is very popular because we all like to know the definitions to words we are using. This engine is especially good for looking up the meaning of words and also access the thesaurus. This site is very user-friendly because it is set up in a simple way. This site is most useful when writing a paper or other documents that require you know in detail what a specific definition is.
Ask
This search engine is mostly used to gain more knowledge or something you are searching, but in my opinion, it isn't academically credible. I say this because If I am researching for a certain topic I do not use this search engine. I think that it is user friendly and it does have answers to questions, but you never know if they are accurate. On this site, you simply type in a question and it gives you many different sources that provides you with answers but they may not always all be the same. Most of the information is probably correct, but I have a hard time trusting this engine because of the way it displays its information.
Blog Post 4
Photo By: Article: Lead Me On
Asking Questions: What do we ask? How do we ask it?
The driving question that I will be discussing is "What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?" I think there are many different ways that this question could be answered and I don't think there is a wrong answer either. I believe that asking students questions is the main way students stay engaged in any activity they are doing. As teachers, we need to base our questions off of how we think they will best benefit our students understand the material being asked. With every classroom students are different and as teachers we will have to use our own judgment call as to how our students will benefit from them. A point, that Ben Johnson makes in the article The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom, is that we as teachers ask the question "Do you understand?" and if no one answers we assume all the students understand. In actuality, Ben Johnson points out that if the student really doesn't understand he/she will not know they don't understand. In other words, there is no way they can answer a question they know nothing about or don't understand. As teachers, I think we should take the time to make sure our questions are not so vague in order to get good responses from the students.
In the article, Asking Questions to Improve Learning, it mentions that as teachers we should avoid asking "leading questions." I think that this is so true because a leading question gives the student a sort of hint to the answer, so they are not fully thinking critically on their own like they should be. Also, as teachers we should let the students fully answer and not interrupt or fill in what they are leaving out while they are still developing their own answer. To further answer the question "What do we ask" According to the article Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, we need to prepare our questions ahead of time. I think that this is a great suggestion. Not all teachers remember to do this, but while planning the lesson it is best to jot down potential critical questions that will better the lesson or activity. This way the teacher will be ready to ask questions that will benefit the students and help them to stay engaged.
Lastly, to look at "How do we ask the questions?" According to the video Questioning Styles and Strategies, teachers should ask in a self-expressive way to get the students attention or use an extended questioning method to further students thinking. There are many ways that teachers ask questions to students. If we (the teachers) take the time to value our questions and really think about how we ask them, then the students will benefit greater than listening and not comprehending questions being asked.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Blog Post 3
Source: Photo by 6 Traits Resources
How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?
Peer editing is something that is very useful in and out of the classroom. It is a way for peers to share their positive feedback with one another on their work, and then improve from the constructive criticism. Then main point that stuck out to me in these videos on peer editing is being positive when giving feedback. I know from experience, when someone is rude about a mistake you made it makes the feedback process discouraging. I 100% agree with peer editing and being positive while also addressing the issues in their piece of writing. The 3 sources were all about peer editing and what the purpose of giving meaningful feedback entails. All of the three sources mentioned the 3 most important steps in peer editing. The slideshow by Adriana Zardini, describes the steps and they include having positive compliments, suggestions, and corrections. These steps to follow are super easy to remember and if you say in your head "Did I leave a compliment?" "Did I suggest?" "Did I correct?" then you will create a quality editing response that will in turn help your peer improve in that piece of writing.
In the funny video, by Tim Bedley, it gives examples of students peer editing and "Whatever William" really stuck out to me. I've had an experience like this where the peer I was editing didn't say anything while we were supposed to be discussing their work. "Whatever William" just said yeah, ok, i don't know, etc. instead of engaging himself in the peer editing process. So don't be a "Whatever William!" Instead, during the peer editing process you want to be engaged with your peer so you both can bounce positive feedback off of each others ideas. "Pushy Patty" is a great example, from the video by Tim Bedley, about how not to be too strong willed while peer editing. No one wants to be pushed around during the editing process and each person should share their own ideas and work together to make the piece of writing better. Although, you don't want to be a "Pushy Patty" you do need to be willing to say your concerns with the problems in their work. These sources emphasize to not be afraid to correct your peer, but do it in a positive way. As long as you always go back to compliment, suggest, and correct you will always be on the right track when editing with peers. So the next time you find yourself being a "Whatever William" or "Pushy Patty" just take a step back and redirect your efforts in a positive way to provide them with meaningful feedback they can use!
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