FINAL REFLECTION

PROJECT 16

Project # 13 Report on Collaboration

The September Group collaborated using Google +.  Voice, video chat and screen share were available in the Hangouts feature. Progress on the assignment was viewed , changes discussed and modifications were made.  The Smart Board presentation assigned for Project 15 was available for viewing by group members and suggested changes were made.  The Hangouts feature allows interactive collaboration for all members of a group. Videos were viewed that had been edited for Project 16.  Dropbox was also used for sharing pictures and videos with group members.  Group members also used email and text message to communicate and share information.

Project 15 Smart Board Presentation

Final report on PLN

FINAL PLN REPORT

My PLN has not really changed since I posted it before.  I have added a few people from Twitter but not many.  I have added a few new website that I have discovered in doing research for other classes.  I am sure when I begin teaching I will add much much more to my PLN .  I'm glad I learned about the existence of it in this class.

PROGRESS REPORT ON PROJECT # 16

Option C
Either as an individual or a 2 or 3 person person group, create a video of 1-2 minutes that can be used as a part of the fund raising effort surrounding the University of South Alabama’s 50th anniversary. Details of the contest (which  has a prize of 2 iPads for the winning group  - or one iPad if done individually  - 3 IPad minis if done as a 3 person group)   will be available on the EDM310 Class Blog by noon Tuesday  November 11, 2012.



My group and I chose Option C of Project # 16. We have already met and took photographs to use in our presentation. We are planning and communicating well and will have a wonderful presentation for this class as well as a competitive presentation for the University fund raiser upon completion.

BLOG POST # 13

Back To The Future

This video is about active and collaborative learning in and out of the classroom. Mr. Crosby teaches fourth, fifth, and sixth graders and many of them are learning a second language. He tries to build schema within his students by building on their experiences. He has a laptop for every student and all of the students have blogs. One of the experiences with his classroom was an activity where they sent a balloon up in the sky over a thousand feet high. The class met objectives for science, history, and language arts with this activity. They received live application and wrote reflections of the experience and posted pictures. The students wrote hopes for their school, community, and the world and posted it on their blog. This activity allowed them to build their learning network also. They were empowered and motivated to succeed. One of Mr. Crosby's students has leukemia and he used the Skype social network to include her in the class. The little girl was really happy about being included in the class. Mr. Crosby chose great activities for his class that allowed his students to participate in their learning. I believe so many teachers teach to prepare students to pass test and think very little about motivating them to learn. Motivating students to learn is a big accomplishment for a teacher because it is not always easily done. When motivation does occur, students learn... it's as simple as that! School is more interesting when students are motivated to learn using activities rather than listening to someone talk to them and asking for "burp back" information from their students. I hope to someday be one of those teachers that motivate by including activities that are fun while learning is taking place in the classroom.
A Vision of Students Today
This video discusses characteristics of students today. It discusses what their lives are like, what they will be like, what they will become and what they need to learn.  The video illustrated what students think about education. Students want to know what they learn will help them, and why they have to pay for an expensive book that they will never use. They want to know why their teachers are so boring when teaching. Technology is the focus of the average student today.  They spend time social networking, so why shouldn't teachers take advantage of that?
I can understand what the students are saying in the video. While in school you learn "stuff" you will never use and it does seem like a great waste of time. The world changed and I do think some of the teachers stood still during the changed and it missed them.  I want to motivate as a teacher and I want my students to enjoy learning.  While some teachers did change with the times, they are the ones students learn the most from and continue to use what they've learned long after they have left their classrooms.

C4K Summary for November

C4K # 10  Colton's Blog
http://quezadacolton-honorsenglish.blogspot.com/

 Colton writes on his blog about a friend called Melinda relating to the poem called the "Caged Bird." He writes his friend has a secret that she cannot tell anyone because she does not have any friends  She's afraid of what people will think of her if they find out.  She keeps to herself and does not really  fit into a big crowd just as the "caged bird" did in the poem.

Colton was able to relate to the poem because of a real life experience he has with his friend Melinda. He captured exactly how she feels regarding having a secret and not being able to tell anyone. His post was short and on point.  Melinda has a good friend in Colton.


Patrick O's Blog       C4K #9

Patrick is declaring his support of Mitt Romney on his blog post. He states he is voting for Romney in their class elections because he is going to create more jobs,give more taxes to the poor and some to the government. He states Obama is good to vote for too, but he doesn't feel like voting for him. He also said he has been a Republican allhis life but he has been a democrat too. He included a website link on his blog if you are a kid and want to see how student in other schools voted. He provided details on information regarding how Romney will give 40% taxes to the poor,and Obama will raise taxes and give 40% to the government. He also said 40% will go to build bridges and roads, and 20% to the poor.He also predicted Romney to win with 1% more than Obama. His last comment was that he thought Romney's down side was the fact that he was getting rid of PBS.

I responded by saying hello and that I enjoyed reading his blog post. He seems to have some pretty definite views on who he is voting for and why. That's good because he should make up his own mind based on the facts he researched. I told him to stick to his guns! I commented that I believe my political views to be personal and private but that I have the utmost respect for people who actively voice their opinions on a public forum. I also commented that the PBS station will survive no matter who is in the President's office. It's a good and valuable resource for children and good things always survive. Keep blogging!!!!


   C4K #8        Allison's Blog

Allison and her family went on a family vacation. They did not fly, they went in a car. Allison had to share the back seats with her 3 brothers. She was not happy because they were cramped with all their stuff in the car. It was a long trip and Allison was not very patient. Allison was asleep when the trip started and woke up three hours into the drive. They ate at Apple Bees in Nashville, Tenn.and afterwards Allison got sick. They weren't going to stop but they all were tired and ended up stopping at a rest stop to sleep. They were in Atlanta Georgia when they stopped to rest. They arrived at Kissimmee, Florida around 4:00 pm that same day. They were in Florida for 5 days and her parents left them at the hotel to go buy groceries. They went to Universal Studios,SeaWorld, Cocco Beach and to a cool restaurant with a floor that looked like a basketball court. While at see world she had a chance to see the Shamu Whale show. She and her family drove by the Kennedy Space Center but did not go in because it was a 2 hour tour and she and her brothers did not want to spend that much time in the space center. They went to several theme parks, took walking tours and did some shopping. They all had fun.Then it was time to go home and the road trip started all over again. They left one day early because there was news of a storm coming and they did not want to be in it and so they left early that Saturday morning.They stopped at rest stop in Kansas to sleep. They drove all day Sunday and arrived home on Monday morning. Allison never said where she lived in her blog. Allison enjoyed her vacation with her family. They went many places that I have visited in Florida and I could visualize them as she talked about them in her blog. She mentioned swimming in Cocco Beach and I have done that. She mentioned going to Universal Studios and I have been there several times and she mentioned the Kennedy Space Center. She did not go there and yes it is a long tour, but is very interesting. I think she would have enjoyed it. She had a well written blog, with some misspelled words. I told her about using MS Word to type her blog post in so she could take advantage of the spell check feature and that would help. Allison wrote a detailed blog and as a reader, I felt as if I were on the vacation with them and in the car with them on the way to Florida.

C4T # 4

C4T # 4

FOR THE lOVE OF LEARNING...Daddy I want Book Bucks

Joe Bower wrote a blog where he discussed pros and cons of schools using reading incentive programs. On his blog he posted a comment from a concerned parent discussing her views on why she thought the incentive programs have a negative effect on children and their reading habits. The parent stated her daughter Kayla had a healthy attitude towards reading and loved being read to. She thought reading was fun. The parent is not okay with the fact that a program called Book Bucks is competing for her daughter's motivation with incentives such as toys.She talked about the two kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic and how they are inversely related. She feels is you grow someones intrinsic motivation their extrinsic motivation withers away and vice versa. Her daughter Kayla is already interested in reading and there is now evidence that Book Bucks is having a negative effect on Kayla's reading interest. One night while reading to Kayla , after the book was over, Kayla stated she wanted a Book Buck for reading because she gets them at school and can buy toys. That did not make her mom a happy camper! Motivation matters to the parent. There is a big difference between wanting to read a book because the characters are cool and you can't wait to turn the page versus wanting to read a book because you can't wait to get your hands on a rewards or get out of punishment. The parent recognizes that the schools have the best intentions for the students but thinks it's clear that they have a problem. If the school's incentive plan undermines a child's intrinsic desire to go on reading for the sake of reading, what should a parent do?

My Response: There are positives to using incentives and there are dangers as well. Bribing our students to read sends a message that reading is not something you do unless you are getting rewarded to do so. Make reading fun by associating it with fun. Continue to model reading to your child. I think we should read for engagement rather than extrinsic reward. It's a concern for me that reading for pleasure and the knowledge we gain is not enough. Our schools have decided that our children won't read unless they are rewarded. Unfortunately there are some homes where reading is not modeled and there is no shared reading time. In this case, Book Bucks might be the only way to encourage a child to read early on. I don't like reading incentive programs personally. Children should know that being a good reader has nothing to do with how many points or levels they reach. Having said this, I will not discount the incentive programs because I know that for some children, reading to earn a toy , ice cream party or pizza might be the motivation needed that will one day make them readers for a lifetime.

C4K #8

 C4K #8        Allison's Blog

Allison and her family went on a family vacation. They did not fly, they went in a car. Allison had to share the back seats with her 3 brothers. She was not happy because they were cramped with all their stuff in the car. It was a long trip and Allison was not very patient. Allison was asleep when the trip started and woke up three hours into the drive. They ate at Apple Bees in Nashville, Tenn.and afterwards Allison got sick. They weren't going to stop but they all were tired and ended up stopping at a rest stop to sleep. They were in Atlanta Georgia when they stopped to rest. They arrived at Kissimmee, Florida around 4:00 pm that same day. They were in Florida for 5 days and her parents left them at the hotel to go buy groceries. They went to Universal Studios,SeaWorld, Cocco Beach and to a cool restaurant with a floor that looked like a basketball court. While at see world she had a chance to see the Shamu Whale show. She and her family drove by the Kennedy Space Center but did not go in because it was a 2 hour tour and she and her brothers did not want to spend that much time in the space center. They went to several theme parks, took walking tours and did some shopping. They all had fun.Then it was time to go home and the road trip started all over again. They left one day early because there was news of a storm coming and they did not want to be in it and so they left early that Saturday morning.They stopped at rest stop in Kansas to sleep. They drove all day Sunday and arrived home on Monday morning. Allison never said where she lived in her blog. Allison enjoyed her vacation with her family. They went many places that I have visited in Florida and I could visualize them as she talked about them in her blog. She mentioned swimming in Cocco Beach and I have done that. She mentioned going to Universal Studios and I have been there several times and she mentioned the Kennedy Space Center. She did not go there and yes it is a long tour, but is very interesting. I think she would have enjoyed it. She had a well written blog, with some misspelled words. I told her about using MS Word to type her blog post in so she could take advantage of the spell check feature and that would help. Allison wrote a detailed blog and as a reader, I felt as if I were on the vacation with them and in the car with them on the way to Florida.

Special Assignment : A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind

A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind
by Mary Beth Marklein    view article

Sebastian Thurn

Sebastian Thurn is one of Google's Vice President's and an education research professor. He is founder of the company called UDACITY. His vision is to transform education so that learning is fun and free to all. He wants to see education respond to you. He would do away with grades and thinks grades are a failure of the education system. This type of education system would allow students to learn at their own pace and take all the time they need to learn the skill. He doesn't want to take over the traditional system but explains it as a change to the way we learn, not an end to our learning. I think it would be fun to learn using games as a base for learning new skills. 

This strategy would require a new type of teaching for teachers and more training. Learning based on games might cause a problem like getting behind but if it has been researched and well planned, that kind of problem can be taken care of. Group collaboration on projects as the article talks about would probably work very well. The article also suggested opportunities to have instructors all over the world. That would be a great opportunity for students taking online classes...so many different points of view and so many different ideas.  That's an opportunity that comes along once in a lifetime. 

 It's a challenge sometimes to make learning activities fun.  It is a real challenge to make learning free most of the time. I don't know anyone who has a solution for making learning free. Where will the money come from? I am also unable to vision education and learning without structure. Learning can be fun but structure is needed to make that happen. When structure is absent from learning there is complete confusion and disorder!  On the other hand, Mr. Thurn's vision might accommodate education that fits individual ways of learning.

We need changes in educating our children and other ways of evaluating their learning are needed as well. Test are not always good ways to determine if a student is learning.  Some students are just not good test takers. Does passing tests mean you are going to succeed in life?  I think not!  Let's teach our students to succeed in life rather than just pass a test.  Mr. Thurn stated "Failure is not an option."  That's not reality.  Reality is, that failure happens to many people a lot of the time. Those failures should not keep us down but in fact should be a spring board to doing better. We learn from our failures. Mr. Thurn's vision may be a good one for our future, but I don't think it's a good one right now.  I don't think we're ready for it at this time.     

Project # 14 Smart Board demonstration

C4K #7

Dr. Vitulli and Santoli: Eyes on Ireland

Drs. Vitulli and Santoli are attending a conference in Ireland. They have met people from places such as Chile, Italy, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and many other states in the United States.
 I read the blog post titled Now for the Conference.   The conference addresses more than traditional K-12 or higher education. Sessions also deals with different types of adult education like entrepreneurship and technical vocational training. Some of the presentations or as long as 90 minutes and some as short as 30 minutes.
Each day there is a different keynote presenter.
Monday the presenter was Dr. Cynthia Northington-Purdie, a psychologist and life coach with William Patterson University.  The presentation title was Evolution of Academic Integrity.  She talked about the concepts of cheating and plagerism being concrete and unambiguous.  She talked on the premise that we should consider if evolution of technology and information should cause us to rethink our concept of academic integrity.
I am sure this was an interesting conversation between conference attendees.  I believe we should take a look at how technology and the streams of information on the internet affect academic integrity. There is so much information available on someone's opinion , factual information and others just plain untrue stuff. Sometimes it's hard to tell which is which.The only real way to know is to research and research information to determine what is true and then read for content understanding and summarize including pertinent information. So where do you draw the line between summarizing and using pertinent content information in your writing?   Just my thoughts.
On Tuesday the keynote presenter was Dr. Richard Cooper, Director of Disability Services at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Dr. Cooper talked about how different some people perceive, process, and communicate information and what that means for their learning and instruction.  He shared information from his website: www.learningdifferences.com. The information on his website is applicable to students and adults.  He spoke a great deal about visual perceptions, processing and communicating.  Dr. Cooper prefers speaking about learning differently people rather than people  having learning disabilities.
I visited Dr. Cooper's website and found really good resources for use in all classrooms.  His website including resource information on  topics such as: Testing Anxiety, Professional Development, Alternative Math When Nothing Else Seems To Work, Characteristics of Learning Differences and many more.  It's full of good information. I especially like " If I Learn Differently, Why Shouldn't I Study Differently?"resource.  It makes sense that we teach to visual learners and auditory learners because this is how the students learn.  It also makes perfect sense that if students learn differently , why should we not modify the way we have them study for test differently. That makes perfect sense to me and I don't know why it had not been considered sooner.'  I am adding Dr. Cooper's website to my PLN because I know I will go back to it many times for many different reasons , one of those reasons being I saw myself in some of his descriptions.
I really  enjoyed reading the blog and I am glad it was assigned to me.

project 11

C4K SUMMARY October

C4K #3

Noah's Blog

Noah  stated he was a procrastinator in the worst way. He would find everything else to do rather than do what he knew he needed to do. Procrastination caused him to be stressed time and time again. Noah seemed to be turning over a new leaf with the new project he was assigned. He assured his new group members that he planned to get an early start and make wise use of his time. Noah learned he should take the amount of time he thinks it will take to complete a project and double it.
I am not a procrastinator but I must deal with a lot of procrastinators in my everyday life. I don't like it. Procrastinators usually wait until crunch time and want their emergency to complete a task to become my emergency and that's not fair. I don't like being all stressed out because a task has been put off until the last minute. I think Noah has found procrastinating to be something he does not want to continue and will begin to use his time more efficiently.  

 US HISTORY RESEARCH SEMINAR  Class Blog

The US History Research Seminar Class Blog US HISTORY RESEARCH SEMINAR is one full of information. In the class EDM310, we blog constantly on different subjects. While it is not always interesting or fun to read, nevertheless we do it. I often wonder why so many Blog assignments are needed to show Blog application. Blogging is about much more than just commenting about a specific subject. The USRS Blog is about perfecting your writing skills and comprehending all you read. I don't find the writing part to be that big of a challenge. I must admit that it is not always easy to comprehend everything I hear or read every time. I sometimes read or listen to videos two or three times before I truly understand what the blogger is trying to say. The USRS Blog site has very specific expectations for their bloggers. That's good and it helps to organize the information provided. Some of the expectations for the blog are: using good writing skills, being creative, and writing thoughtful reflections. This is exactly what we are challenged to do in the EDM310 class.

C4K#4    Jacmor954

I commented on jacmor954's blog post. He created a story called Dynamite Man vs Titanium Guy (Part I).  It is a story about 2 warriors who were friends but are no longer and have now come to battle one another. The battle took place in New Jersey.  During their battle Dynamite threw TNT and Titanium Guy flew away and came back knocking out Dynamite Man.  Dynamite Man ran very fast like a roadrunner. He got tired and they both fell off a cliff.  That was the end of part one.    

Jacmor954 wrote a great story . He has a vivid imagination and is very creative.  He added lots of detail to his story making it more interesting. I could imagine how the characters looked  from his description. I think he put a lot of time in writing his story.  He had a lot of misspelled words and punctuation was bad. He used caps throughout his sentence too.  Of course , I did not tell him this.  I did end my comments by saying I hope he wrote more someday about his story.

C4K #5  Oscar's Blog

Oscar is a 4th grade student in the UK.  This is his first blog.  It was short and to the point.  His grammar and punctuation were very good.  Oscar's role model is Mo Farah.  I told him my role models were my parents because they made sure my sister and I had  great educations.  I asked him to please tell me  more about  Mo Farah in his next blog.  

C4K #6  Sydney's Blog
Sydney is a student helping his class with their blog this year.  He seems to be very excited and wants his readers to get to know him.  He provided information about his favorite thing to do on the weekend, favorite tv show, movie, book, song, holiday and subject in school.  He likes Math, hanging out with his family on the weekend, and he loves Christmas to name a few of his favorite things. Sydney's blog was well written and organized.  

I enjoyed reading Sydney's blog and like his format for allowing people to know a bit about him.  I like it so well that I used the same format to share information about myself.  I shared Christmas as my favorite holiday, NCIS and Law and Order as my favorite tv shows, Language Arts as my favorite subject in school and my parents as my favorite people.  I complimented Sydney on a very well written and organized  blog.
   
C4K #7

Dr. Vitulli and Santoli: Eyes on Ireland

Drs. Vitulli and Santoli are attending a conference in Ireland. They have met people from places such as Chile, Italy, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and many other states in the United States.
 I read the blog post titled Now for the Conference.   The conference addresses more than traditional K-12 or higher education. Sessions also deals with different types of adult education like entrepreneurship and technical vocational training. Some of the presentations or as long as 90 minutes and some as short as 30 minutes.
Each day there is a different keynote presenter.
Monday the presenter was Dr. Cynthia Northington-Purdie, a psychologist and life coach with William Patterson University.  The presentation title was Evolution of Academic Integrity.  She talked about the concepts of cheating and plagerism being concrete and unambiguous.  She talked on the premise that we should consider if evolution of technology and information should cause us to rethink our concept of academic integrity.
I am sure this was an interesting conversation between conference attendees.  I believe we should take a look at how technology and the streams of information on the internet affect academic integrity. There is so much information available on someone's opinion , factual information and others just plain untrue stuff. Sometimes it's hard to tell which is which.The only real way to know is to research and research information to determine what is true and then read for content understanding and summarize including pertinent information. So where do you draw the line between summarizing and using pertinent content information in your writing?   Just my thoughts.
On Tuesday the keynote presenter was Dr. Richard Cooper, Director of Disability Services at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Dr. Cooper talked about how different some people perceive, process, and communicate information and what that means for their learning and instruction.  He shared information from his website: www.learningdifferences.com. The information on his website is applicable to students and adults.  He spoke a great deal about visual perceptions, processing and communicating.  Dr. Cooper prefers speaking about learning differently people rather than people  having learning disabilities.
I visited Dr. Cooper's website and found really good resources for use in all classrooms.  His website including resource information on  topics such as: Testing Anxiety, Professional Development, Alternative Math When Nothing Else Seems To Work, Characteristics of Learning Differences and many more.  It's full of good information. I especially like " If I Learn Differently, Why Shouldn't I Study Differently?"resource.  It makes sense that we teach to visual learners and auditory learners because this is how the students learn.  It also makes perfect sense that if students learn differently , why should we not modify the way we have them study for test differently. That makes perfect sense to me and I don't know why it had not been considered sooner.'  I am adding Dr. Cooper's website to my PLN because I know I will go back to it many times for many different reasons , one of those reasons being I saw myself in some of his descriptions.
I really  enjoyed reading the blog and I am glad it was assigned to me.

Dr. Vitulli and Santoli: Eyes on Ireland C4K #8  C4K #8      

C4K #8  Allison's Blog

Allison and her family went on a family vacation. They did not fly, they went in a car. Allison had to share the back seats with her 3 brothers. She was not happy because they were cramped with all their stuff in the car. It was a long trip and Allison was not very patient. Allison was asleep when the trip started and woke up three hours into the drive. They ate at Apple Bees in Nashville, Tenn.and afterwards Allison got sick. They weren't going to stop but they all were tired and ended up stopping at a rest stop to sleep. They were in Atlanta Georgia when they stopped to rest. They arrived at Kissimmee, Florida around 4:00 pm that same day. They were in Florida for 5 days and her parents left them at the hotel to go buy groceries. They went to Universal Studios,SeaWorld, Cocco Beach and to a cool restaurant with a floor that looked like a basketball court. While at see world she had a chance to see the Shamu Whale show. She and her family drove by the Kennedy Space Center but did not go in because it was a 2 hour tour and she and her brothers did not want to spend that much time in the space center. They went to several theme parks, took walking tours and did some shopping. They all had fun.Then it was time to go home and the road trip started all over again. They left one day early because there was news of a storm coming and they did not want to be in it and so they left early that Saturday morning.They stopped at rest stop in Kansas to sleep. They drove all day Sunday and arrived home on Monday morning. Allison never said where she lived in her blog. Allison enjoyed her vacation with her family. They went many places that I have visited in Florida and I could visualize them as she talked about them in her blog. She mentioned swimming in Cocco Beach and I have done that. She mentioned going to Universal Studios and I have been there several times and she mentioned the Kennedy Space Center. She did not go there and yes it is a long tour, but is very interesting. I think she would have enjoyed it. She had a well written blog, with some misspelled words. I told her about using MS Word to type her blog post in so she could take advantage of the spell check feature and that would help. Allison wrote a detailed blog and as a reader, I felt as if I were on the vacation with them and in the car with them on the way to Florida.

C4K # 6

Sydney's Blog

Sydney is a student helping his class with their blog this year.  He seems to be very excited and wants his readers to get to know him.  He provided information about his favorite thing to do on the weekend, favorite tv show, movie, book, song, holiday and subject in school.  He likes Math, hanging out with his family on the weekend, and he loves Christmas to name a few of his favorite things. Sydney's blog was well written and organized.  

I enjoyed reading Sydney's blog and like his format for allowing people to know a bit about him.  I like it so well that I used the same format to share information about myself.  I shared Christmas as my favorite holiday, NCIS and Law and Order as my favorite tv shows, Language Arts as my favorite subject in school and my parents as my favorite people.  I complimented Sydney on a very well written and organized  blog.  

C4T #3

Jennifer's blog

C4T # 3

Jennifer Brokofs Building A Culture of Wonder: Inquiry in Primary Education

 This is a great blog post.  It's probably the most interesting one I've read since enrolling in this class.  Jennifer feels children are born inquisitive.  They are always asking ''why?". As young children, they enter school asking "why" to almost everything.  As teachers we should make time and space in our classroom for their wondering. They need to know it's okay to ask questions and we want them to do so in classrooms. Jennifer wanted to encourage this wonder in her classroom and came up with the great idea of  the Wonder Wall, the Wonder Words, the Wonder Center, and  Wonder of the Week. 
The Wonder wall is a place where group questions can be shared, encouraged and recorded.
The Wonder of the Week is a place to post questions for discussion and initiate thinking.
The Wonder Words are used as sentence starters and encourage a sense of wonder.
The Wonder Center is a collection of objects to fit in with current classroom units. 
The Wonder Center  is a place where thinking can be recorded in Wonder Journals, Wonder cards, sentence starters and Science notebooks. 

 This idea sounds a lot  like one Dr. Strange told us about seeing in Andy Capps classroom.

This blog is full of ideas to use in the classroom.  I am so excited about the many uses of the Wonder Wall.  I believe children will become excited too and want to participate. This idea will not take a great deal of effort to do with young children because of the natural curiosity they already have and bring to class with them.  I commented to Jennifer that I was also adding her blog to my PLN as she is a good resource and I look forward to reading more of her blog post.

 Using the Picture Word Inductive Model to Connect Math to the World

This is a powerful approach for teaching and learning in Language Arts. Photographs provide amazing opportunities to look into a different place,culture and experience and then connect that to the learning in those subject areas. Jennifer believes it can be used to support teaching and learning in Mathematics. Teachers and students try to connect the math in classrooms to math in the world and this may be a way to do so. The photographs provide a window in to the world and this window can be opened to mathematics.

This can be a great learning tool. For example, if a 1st grader saw a picture of a market, math is everywhere. There is math in the street, the produce, the shapes, the people and everywhere. If you look at the picture through a math "window" a teacher can see several math outcomes that can be explored. Student could discuss why we want to know this type of information. It's all in the way that you look at the photograph. Great idea that would simplify concepts for some students.

Project # 12 Book Trailer The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

C4K #5

C4K #5
Oscar's Blog

Oscar is a 4th grade student in the UK.  This is his first blog.  It was short and to the point.  His grammar and punctuation were very good.  Oscar's role model is Mo Farah.  I told him my role models were my parents because they made sure my sister and I had  great educations.  I asked him to please tell me  more about  Mo Farah in his next blog.  

C4K #4

C4K Summary

Noah's Blog

Noah was a procrastinator in the worst way. He would find everything else to do rather than do what he knew he needed to do. Procrastination caused him to be stressed time and time again.  Noah seemed to be turning over a new leaf with the new project he was assigned. He assured his new group members that he planned to get an early start and make wise use of his time. Noah learned he should take the amount of time he thinks it will take to complete a project and double it.
I am not a procrastinator but I must deal with a lot of procrastinators in my everyday life. I don't like it. Procrastinators usually wait until crunch time and want their emergency to complete a task to become your emergency and that's not fair. I don't like being all stressed out because a task has been put off until the last minute.


 US HISTORY RESEARCH SEMINAR  Class Blog

The US History Research Seminar Class Blog US HISTORY RESEARCH SEMINAR is one full of information. In the class EDM310, we blog constantly on different subjects. While it is not always interesting or fun to read, nevertheless we do it. I often wonder why so many Blog assignments are needed to show Blog application. Blogging is about much more than just commenting about a specific subject. The USRS Blog is about perfecting your writing skills and comprehending all you read. I don't find the writing part to be that big of a challenge. I must admit that it is not always easy to comprehend everything I hear or read every time. I sometimes read or listen to videos two or three times before I truly understand what the blogger is trying to say. The USRS Blog site has very specific expectations for their bloggers. That's good and it helps to organize the information provided. Some of the expectations for the blog are: using good writing skills, being creative, and writing thoughtful reflections. This is exactly what we are challenged to do in the EDM310 class.

C4K
Oscar's Blog

Oscar is a 4th grade student in the UK.  This is his first blog.  It was short and to the point.  His grammar and punctuation were very good.  Oscar's role model is Mo Farah.  I told him my role models were my parents because they made sure my sister and I had  great educations.  I asked him to please tell me  more about  Mo Farah in his next blog.  

Blog Post # 12

1. Watch the slide presentation: Using the Nintendo Wii in the Classroom by Roy Z.Gonzalez Torres.

2. Write a one paragraph post in which you discuss the uses, if it's useful for all students, interesting facts and how it can be used in the ESL classroom.  Follow the requirements in Writing A Quality Blog Post.

3. Research educational games that may be used with the Wii system. In a one paragraph post provide names , product features and age level of five games appropriate for use in the classroom. Provide a link to the website(s)you use for research in your blog post.

4.  Write a two paragraph discussion on How Technology Facilitates Learning.

 Using the Wii System in the Classroom
The Wii game is suitable for all ages. The system engages students and can be used with large and small groups. The Wii can be used for teaching students the arts, physical education, English as a second language,science, geography and other topics in creative ways. The games are useful for all students including ESL and special education students. In the ESL classroom, the games promote discovery and art skills as well as psycho motor skills and exercising. There are other games that support math skills, science, history and fiction. Many of the games promote identification, memorization ,analysis, visualization and problem solving skills.  Two benefits of using the Wii system in the classroom are encouraging students to use the web as a research tool for personal interest and more than one student can play a game at one time depending on the kind of game used.

Educational Games for Wii
There are many games available for the Wii system. The The Educational Wii Games 2012 has many games and information regarding each game on the site. Sesame Street Educational Games are for preschool age children.  There are two games in this series and both games adapt to a child's reading level making it unique and challenging. My Word Coach Educational Games  focus on improving vocabulary. Whether you are adult or child level there are great challenges to either know or learn the meanings of words. The Cosmic Family Educational Wii Game  is a unique way for children to have their turn on the Wii that is not overwhelming to them.  This game is appropriate for ages 4 to 8 years old.  The Endless Ocean Educational Wii  game is appropriate for ages 10 years and older. Players of this game interact with a huge variety of under sea life.  The Science Papa Educational Wii game is for kids and adults. This game has a number of different experiments and fun learning games for aspiring scientists or simply people who want to expand their knowledge in areas of chemistry, physics, biology and fossils.  The Wii system is a wonderful classroom tool for incorporating technology into a routine day of learning.

How Technology Facilitates Learning
In the past, the role of technology was to deliver lessons to students, just as trucks deliver groceries to super markets. If you deliver groceries, people will eat .  If you deliver instruction, students will learn.  Not necessarily!  In the 1980's mainframe computers were used to deliver drill and practice and simple tutorials for teaching students lessons. When microcomputers were introduced in the classrooms, the natural inclination was to do the same thing with them. Later in the 1980's educators began to perceive the importance of computers as productivity tools. Word processing, databases, and spread sheets emerged enabling businesses to become more productive. It was at this point that students began using word processors to write with.

If schools are to encourage meaningful learning, then the ways we use technologies in school must change from technology-as-teacher to technology-as-partner in the learning process. If technologies are used to encourage meaningful learning, then they will not be used as delivery vehicles. Technologies should be used as engagers and facilitators of thinking.  Why does technology encourage meaningful learning?  It is because technology requires users to think and reason. Students do not learn from teachers or technology. Students learn from thinking about what they are doing or what they did, thinking about what they believe,  thinking about what others have done or what they believe, thinking about thinking processes they use, just thinking and reasoning. Thinking mediates learning. Using technologies as tools to learn with requires learners representing what they know...teaching the computers. Using different tools requires learners to express what they know in different ways.

Blog Post # 11

Little Kids...Big Potential

Kathy Cassidy's class has learned to blog to communicate with other classes, teachers, learning institutions, family, friends and other classes within their school.They are so proud of themselves that they brag about their comments from family members and people they don't know. They receive feedback that builds confidence and helps their writing skills. This is immediate gratification for the students compared to having a picture put on the walls outside their classroom to never hear comments about how great they are or to be put on their refrigerator for a while and then put in a drawer somewhere. Children are little people with the same feelings and emotions as adults. They need to hear that they are doing something well or that they have done something pleasing to you. Their blog is like having an online journal to look at for as long as they want to. They have learned not to post unpleasant things online and they remember to not say anything if they can't say something nice. Some people will develop courage to say things online that they would never say to a person face to face. We have all heard about or read about "cyber bully" cases that have lead to deaths of some students all because of ugly hurtful things said to them or about them on the internet. Ms. Cassidy is teaching her students well about internet safety. They have also learned not to use their last name, just their first. That's good because we never know who is a predator on the internet looking for innocent children to hurt. These tips are not meant to scare them but to keep them safe. There are some bad people in this world just waiting for the opportunity to take a child's innocence from them. The students learn to compare their blog information to other blogs of students their age and grade. That's a great way for them to improve their blogs and the information they put on them. They learn to enhance their blogs even at this young age. They make videos, and are able to Skype with other classrooms and their learning is not limited to textbooks. These children are not limited and can be whoever they choose to be. That's a wonderful thing!

Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy

I like the fact that Ms. Cassidy merged technology into her curriculum so that the students learn skills needed to continue life long learning. In an interview with Dr. Strange, Ms. Cassidy talked about how long she had used technology in her classroom, how she came up with the idea and how the parents responded to their children using technology in school. Ms. Cassidy started using computers in her class 5 years ago with 5 computers.  She didn't have much software installed on them and wanted to install more but was told she could not. She researched the internet to find all sorts of ideas to use in her classroom using web pages. She began by simply adding web pages and then on to blogging. She eventually kept finding other information to add and continued to do so. The students enjoyed it and embraced the idea of using technology in the classroom. I look forward to the opportunity to incorporate technology and the arts into my curriculum. I believe that if a students knows why they are learning a specific skill and how it will be of value to them in life it helps them to learn that skill and retain the information. Technology can enhance this type of learning and allow the students to relate to what they have learned.

C4K #3

C4K#3    Jacmor954

I commented on jacmor954's blog post. He created a story called Dynamite Man vs Titanium Guy (Part I).  It is a story about 2 warriors who were friends but are no longer and have now come to battle one another. The battle took place in New Jersey.  During their battle Dynamite threw TNT and Titanium Guy flew away and came back knocking out Dynamite Man.  Dynamite Man ran very fast like a roadrunner. He got tired and they both fell off a cliff.  That was the end of part one.    

Jacmor954 wrote a great story . He has a vivid imagination and is very creative.  He added lots of detail to his story making it more interesting. I could imagine how the characters looked  from his description. I think he put a lot of time in writing his story.  He had a lot of misspelled words and punctuation was bad. He used caps throughout his sentence too.  Of course , I did not tell him this.  I did end my comments by saying I hope he wrote more someday about his story.

Project # 8 September Group Podcast

LIGHTING THEIR FIRES BY RAFE ESQUITH

An Interview about The Fifth Inning

Blog Post # 10

I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga. Mr. Spencer's cartoon brought back memories. I knew right away that the titles were two types of pencils. I have used both types as a child and when I need a pencil now, I can probably find one in my home office. My initial thought was the cartoon was about pencils. I thought that strange since our class is on the uses of technology in our society. I began to read comments left about the cartoon and the light bulb went on. This cartoon was not about the pencils...but a metaphor for computers, how we use them and exactly what they are. Mr. Spencer explained it to be a mock of the "I'm a Mac" and "I'm a PC" commercial. The Papermate is less costly than the Ticonderoga thus, the PC is less costly than the Mac. The old saying about "you get what you pay for" rings true in this case. The PC may not be the best PC in terms of performance and ease of use performing certain functions, but that does not mean it's a bad buy. The Mac on the other hand in my opinion is the "Mercedes Benz" of computers. I own a Toshiba and an iPad and I prefer to work on my Ipad because of its ease of operation. I can't do all of the activities I would like to on my iPad such as "green screen movies" so my next purchase will be a Mercedes Benz. I mean a Mac!

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games? This post is pretty funny. The principal wanted to see Mr.Steven in his office. He had concerns about Mr. Steven's class playing games in his class. Mr. Steven's talked about the strategy of using advanced simulation as one of his teaching techniques and further expounded on how physicians use the simulation strategy to learn to operate. The principal was not happy with that explanation and reminded Mr. Steven that he needed to follow the state based methods of learning. The principal was obviously "old school" because he stressed Mr. Steven focusing on memorizing information so they can pass the test. He suggested Mr.Steven use another old school method of worksheets and algorithm information to help his students. Mr. Stevens found a solution... another game, called the "The Factory Game" including algorithm into a Conflict Oriented Reading and Writing Project. This was great solution to the problem and funny too. I'm sure the principal was still not a happy camper but the solution satisfied his request and Mr. Stevens kept the fun in the activity for his class. I don't know that as a first or second year teacher I would have the guts to challenge my principal the way Mr. Stevens did, but I would like to think that I would.

  Remember Pencil Quests? Mr. Stevens talks about one of his junior year teachers and the scavenger hunt ("Pencil Quest") she took them on. Instead of looking for different items, the students were looking for specific pages of materials to read. The students had a map with locations marked on it. The teacher said the quest was called a "moving textbook" and the students had to finish the quest. He remembered this activity because it was one that was different and more exciting than other assignments he had done while in school. He still uses the pencil quest activity in his classroom.

 One of our EDM 310 class projects a few weeks ago had a scavenger hunt activity where we went to different sites locating specific items. The pencil quest activity reminded me of our assignment. It was interesting and broke routine of reviewing videos and reading blogs for an assignment.

 Mr. Stevens was telling us not to throw away all of our pencils because they are still useful. The writing in books are still captivating for some people.  Some old techniques are still relevant and technology being all the rage now is not the end all to everything. Ibooks are still written words, maybe not written with a pencil, but still written .

  Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?

The blog post by Scott McLeod called Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?looked strange to me as I opened the blog post. At first I thought my web page did not load correctly and so I reloaded it. I loaded the same way a second time. In this post the parents and teachers are asked to not teach their children to use computers, write on line or anything related. He digs at people who think the internet is bad and tells everyone not to teach their children because he is teaching his children and wants to see who will be more successful later in life. This post is full of snide remarks.

 Mr. McLeod mentions students taught the correct use of computers kills will have an advantage in life. He pokes fun at parents and school board members that believe the internet is evil. His thoughts on the subject really peaks my interest. The students should be taught internet skills. I've never had a class on using the internet and I am self taught. I am of the generation that did not grow up using computers, iphones,ebooks, etc. My young friends taught me to use Facebook, Skype, and Facetime. When you teach yourself sometimes you learn the wrong way and in this class, I have learned the right way to do some things I learned on my own as well as many new things. The material I have learned has many benefits to my professional life and to my personal life too.

 Scott is fervent about using technology in the classroom. He has received many awards centered around technology leadership as stated on his blog. He has a continuous challenge to introduce schools to technology in the classroom. His career has been focused on helping school integrate technology into the schools. Mr. McLeod is also a blogger.

Project # 9a TimeToast

My Journey

Project #9b TimeToast

NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE UNITED STATES

PROJECT # 10 Symbaloo First Progress Report

Project #10 First Progress Report

I am using Symbaloo as my personal PLN.  I have included social networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. These social network sites keep me current on all types of information. This PLN helps me to connect to people with the same interest as I have. I really like using The Learning Network because it covers so many topics.  There is a wealth of information on that website that would be useful to anyone interested in education.  You just have to choose which item to view first. 

My PLN is being updated continuously. I have created additional tabs for  travel, news, and educational information. My PLN will help me in my personal life as well as my professional life. I am enjoying using my PLN and my husband likes it so well he has created one on his laptop too.

Blog Post # 9

What I've Learned This Year by Mr. Joe McClung

The blog post  What I've Learned This Year (2008-2009), written by Joe McClung reflected on his first year of teaching.  Mr. McClung shared many of his first year experiences. He mentioned that teachers sometimes forget to check if their students are actually comprehending information and focus too much on how it is delivered. A student's comprehension of information should be priority for all teachers.

Mr. McClung stated  lessons don't always go the way you plan and that's okay. I believe lessons are planned to guide you while teaching. I also believe that as a guide, if you need to modify that guide based on the need or needs of the students, that's what you do. He also made the point that we should not be afraid to use technology in our classrooms and if we are not comfortable with computers we need to try anyway. I agree with that statement.  Teachers should be willing to try any and everything to reach their students. Our students today grow up with technology and would not be uncomfortable using it in the classroom. It's what they know!  Material presented using technology would motivate students showing little or no interest in class, but we'll never know if we don't try.

 Mr. McClung stated at the end of his post that we should never stop learning.  I certainly agree with that statement.  Learning does not have an age limit and I am living witness to that. I am probably the oldest student in my class and yes, it is a struggle sometimes to keep up and understand new information, but I try and I keep on trying because I am determined! Once I get it... I've got it and that's the attitude we must have when trying to reach all of our students.  Don't give up on them when they are trying and don't let them give up.  We are there to encourage learning and that should be our focus.


What I Learned This Year (2010-2011)

What I Learned This Year was Mr. McClung's third year blog entry.  Joe stated we should center our decisions around the student and not around pleasing other adults. He is simply saying it is okay to want to make adults happy, but our main focus is the student. I like pleasing people. It makes me feel good but that can cause situations where you neglect what's important for something that's really not important at all. I must always be alert so those situations don't occur. Teachers must also be aware of circumstances and situations that are not student centered and stay away from what or who causes that type of situation. Mr. McClung said he stayed away from faculty and other staff and he spent most of his time with his students. This made him an outsider but he was happy with himself as a teacher.

 He reminded us not to get too comfortable because teachers can get into a routine after they have been in a school for many years. I think routines make students stagnate and change keeps students growing.  Joe did not become one of the "boys" at school.  He remained the person he knew himself to be and it was not important what others thought about him. I want to keep my students interested in learning and encourage that inner drive to do so and that will require change...constant change. I don't like routine and I become bored with routine, so why would I think students are not bored with routine? As a teacher, I will make every effort to remember to always center my decisions around my students and to be passionate in my role as their teacher. Joe's personal reflections on his real world experiences have allowed me insight into what I should expect in the classroom and the school environment as a whole.

Blog Post # 8

This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2

The videos This Is How We Dream Part 1 This Is How We Dream Part 2 are very good. The technology made them a little hard to follow. Richard Miller is brilliant and exciting. Mr. Miller discusses changes we work with today on our laptops.  We work in groups to produce Youtube products and that is another change in place today. The technological environment is ever changing and multimedia allows us to see these changes currently and the future changes also. We are kept abreast of what lies ahead through this type of technology. Technology that can tell which city is happiest in real time makes you think about how grand technology really is. I am more motivated than ever to learn even more technology because it is the way of the future and a major part of our lives. I will be prepared to use multimedia. I need to use it a lot more to become comfortable with it, but that will come in time. I really want to use the new tools in my classroom someday. Multimedia writing has so many benefits for teachers and our students. The students will learn as they grow up with new technology. We are able to do everything right away when using multimedia. There is no lag time and this is important. It allows for wise use of time in a society that moves really fast or does everything in a hurry. I enjoyed watching the video. Richard Miller has great ideas and after viewing this video , everyone should be aware of how our world is changing and how to prepare for it. The synthesizing of Science and Humanities is an idea I never thought about putting together and it is a good one. We need to do more thinking outside the box.

The Chipper Series
EDM 310 For Dummies

These videos were really fun to watch.The acting was good and the point made very clear. The over all message was EDM 310 is not meant to be big, bad, and scary. The class can be fun and there are many resources to help you. The Chipper Series is about reaching your goals no matter the obstacles before you. I would like to create a video about including art in science units in the classroom. Art inspires creativity and we need lots of creativity in our classrooms to engage students.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

The video Learn to Change, Change to Learn made great arguments that I agree with. All of the educators argue the classrooms are completely outdated. Students hate school because of boredom. If learning was fun children would not mind coming to school. A great way to make learning fun is to encourage creativity. Technology is already a major part of a student's life with phones,texting,Twitter,Facebook, video games, and watching YouTube, so why not use it in the classroom. As students ,the tools they already use would become more than just a social media ,and teachers would be able to assist more with problem solving.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0

I used Polls.io to create this poll.

How many students use a form of technology at home?

0%

laptop computer

0%

iPad

0%

cell phone

0%

desktop computer

0 total votes

 My Space
There are many uses for social platforms in the classroom. Teachers are able to post bulletins for students, announcements and group meeting dates and times as a way for students to stay in touch with one another. Social platforms such as My Space empower students. Empowerment happens when students create interactive media like podcasts. This helps to encourage development within students. Web based calendars are another part of the social platform that can be a great way to help students gain some of the planning skills that educators often see lacking. Social platforms help to build communities around topics of interest. This in turn builds more interest and learning around the topics created by students. Other benefits include student participation and innovation.

Wikis

The video WEB 2.0 Tools for the Classroom is very informative and filled with uses for using the Wiki tool. I have never used this tool and did not know it existed until now. A Wiki is a web page that can be viewed and modified by anybody with a web browser and internet access. Wiki can be used as a discussion medium, and mail system and a collaboration tool. Wikis are able to incorporate sounds, movies and pictures. They are a simple tool for creating multimedia presentations and simple digital stories.

C4T#2 Summary

C4#2
Flipped Coach, Jason Hahnstadt has found many technical apps to make his job easier.  The most recent one "Coach Notes".  Coach Hahnstadt seems to like this app over the others he's tried.  Using this app allows him to communicate information to students and co-workers in a timely fashion. The application frees up time to allocate to other important things. Classroom time is valuable and its always nice when you don't have to spend it lecturing.

The use of classroom technology is definitely making it easier for you to control your teaching time. Technology such as pod casting and video's are benefits to students and teachers.  One advantage for students is the students have a chance to review information early and over and over if they need to and for the teachers, more application time to practice the information is allowed. The apps available to help with this process are incredible. My preference is Drop Box. I like the versatility of this app.  Video's are automatically accessed on all Ipads.  Students can upload anything from documents to video.  I think this is a neat feature. 


The videos on flipping your classrooms are a great way to get your point across.  I would like to use a flipped classroom as a teaching tool because of the time I can engage students.  I do not look forward to spending most of my time lecturing to a class. The students can learn at their own pace, allowing me time to spend with the students who need more one on one assistance and allowing effective remediation through technology are all reasons for using the flipped classroom approach.

The Flipped Coach made Youtube videos in about 15 minutes using his Ipad and his co-teacher for demonstrating test for their fitness program.  He recorded instructions for the test and once class started he was able to show the videos with examples of each test to be performed. He was able to do this the morning of his class.  Great use of technology in the classroom to enhance instruction.

C4K #2

C4K #2

Eric's teacher, Mr. Marks divided his class into girls and boys groups. He told them to start running and Eric got really tired.  He started to sweat and the class was told to start walking around the basketball court.  Everyone was really tired.  Eric did not win first place but he still had fun.  

I told Eric it was good he had fun and I was sorry he was tired but he would feel better after he rested.  I also told Eric I enjoyed reading his post. 

Eric wrote his blog post about his brother Conner's birthday.  His brother was turning 11 years old.  Eric was excited about the gifts Conner received and he describe the food they were having for the birthday dinner.  He also talked about going to McDonald's for Conner's birthday too.

I said hello to Eric and wished his brother a Happy Birthday.  I commented  I was sure he had a great birthday and it was very thoughtful of Eric to write on his blog about his birthday. I told Eric the food he talked about sounds great. I asked if he and Conner ate a lot of the food? I told Eric I have  never had Pavola and asked what is it made of?  Conner got a lot of neat presents and I told Eric I knew his present to him will be a good one too. I told him to have fun at McDonald's!

C4K Summary for September

C4K #1

Today, Sept 21st  was Jordan’s last day of basketball.  He was so sad because he loves basketball. He learned lots of new skills and hated to see it end. learning new skills.  His friend Frank had a birthday on that same day and he would be 10 years old.  He did not have a present for Frank but he did wish Frank a happy birthday.  On that day it was very cold as Jordan and his classmates walked to the basketball court.  It was so cold his trainer asked the class to do a warm up exercise before playing basketball. Jordan said it was so cold there was ice on the grass. Jordan seemed very proud of himself having got the ball in the basket on the first try. When the game was over so did their fun.  They waved goodbye to each other.
 I told Jordan my name, where I live and  that I am a student in college.  I told Jordan I enjoyed reading his post and that he expressed himself very well.  I commented that I was glad the coach did a warm up exercise for them because it was so cold out on the basketball court.  Jordan’s friend Frank had a birthday on the last day of their basketball class and Jordan did not have a gift for him.  He wished him a happy birthday because that was important to him.  I told Jordan it was very nice to wish a happy birthday to Frank and that birthday wishes always made me smile.  I told Jordan I hope he will continue to post so I can hear all about what is going on in his class.

Today, I read a story Jordan wrote called The Passenger.   His story was is about a bus ride home , a mean barking dog that everyone was afraid of called Buster and a talking fish sitting on the seat beside him.  Some imagination...don't you think?  The story was very good and funny.  I was impressed.  There were some misspelled words, but not many.  I did not comment on the misspelled words. Jordan's story was full of imagination and creativity.  I also noticed he included  two hyperlinks in his story.  I commented on the new skill and told him I liked his story very much. His writing improved a great deal since the first post  I commented on .  There were a lot less errors and his sentences were more organized.     

Blog Post # 7

The Networked Student

Teachers are great people to have in networking programs as stated in the videoThe Networked Student. There is a grave need for teachers to be technologically literate so they are able to teach students to their full potential. If teachers don't understand technology, how can they teach our students to use it? Our world revolves around technology and teachers must understand it or our world will never catch up with the rest of the world. Networking is very important for teachers. It is a source that can actually make the lives of teachers and students easier. Networking allows teachers numerous opportunities to increase the learning of their students. Networking apps allow students the opportunity to form a close relationship with their teachers and other students. It provides many sources for research and exploring different cultures. I like to believe networking is a source that can bridge the gap between the arts and the academics of students. There are endless opportunities to hear ideas about specific subjects from so many people. Sources are available to learn what's happening today and keep our students current on new developments. Teachers can meet with parents as often as needed using a networking medium. This promotes good parent teacher relationships and that's good for the students.

The 7th grader in the video is truly impressive. I'm sure this student was trained prior to using the Symbaloo application and not left to figure it out on her own. Her teacher has done an excellent job engaging her in learning. I hope to be able to use Symbaloo as well as she does by the end of this class. I am just starting my PLN and there is no comparison at this time to what she has done.