Blog Post 12

Preschoolers
In Edm310 we are given the opportunity to come up with our own assignment. I love working with children, I even worked at a daycare my senior year of highschool. So my assignment today is talking about children in preschool and is it really important. The first thing to do is watch this video and write a 1-2 paragraph on agreeing is preschool important or not. The video talks about how preschool is important. I feel that children should have the opportunity to learn at the same levels. Although when you walk into an elementary classroom the students are not on the same level some are more advanced than others. I feel that preschools should be more focused on teaching students. The one I worked at was not that way so I would implement different learning activities in the classroom. I believe all children have potential to be great. I want all children to go into elementary school and have the basics down. I believe it all starts with a good foundation and support from teachers and parents. Preschool should be taken very serious because, that is where it all begins for education.

Project #9

Symbaloo
For my personal learning network I created a Symbaloo. Sybmaloo was very useful because it helped me with resources for different projects. This also helped with different tools and organization to help me remember education programs. The organization on Symbaloo was helpful because, I had all my important stuff at the top and my personal items at the bottom. I will continue to use Symbaloo when I am out of this class.

Blog Post 14

Teachers Know if you have Done the E-Reading
In the article Teachers Know if you have Done the E-Reading by David Streitfeld is a study done in Texas at Texas A&M. The study is to compare are students reading their textbooks for school. The program by CourseSmart allows teachers to see which one of their students who are being active in the course with the reading. CourseSmart has it set up where the teachers can see everything that is going on that the students are doing for the reading. For instance, the teacher can see if the student is taking notes, highlighting important passages or simply just not doing the reading. This is probably every teachers dream to monitor students but it can also be a downfall to students and teachers.
As a teacher I feel as if the CourseSmart program can be very beneficial to me and my classroom. I want to know how my students study habits are and were they could use some improvement to make them better students. CourseSmart can be deceiving because, the students can easily open something up and make it seem like they are learning. I do feel that if this in my classroom I will still test my students on the material there were assigned to read just to make sure they and understanding what is being taught in the classroom.I will also get my students opinions on how they like using the program also do they feel like it is benefiting them. I feel it is more for the secondary students.
As a college student now I feel that this is making students change how they study. A student like myself who is use to having a hard copy of the book and material so they make their own notes, highlight and underline what I feel is important. Also I feel like I am an independent learner who does not need someone to monitor what I choose to read, because it is on me if I do not read the assignment. The article also mentioned about students trying to trick the system. I know many students who would do this because they will think the assignment is irrelevant and would not be beneficial to the student and the program would be a waste. I feel that CourseSmart should only be used for certain subjects not all then the students might feel overwhelmed by the assignments.
Questions for the Teachers 1) What is your purpose for using CourseSmart? 2)Does this make your job easy? 3)How will you handle the students who do not do the reading assignments?
Questions for the Students 1)Do you see an improvement in your grades by reading? 2)Did this make you want to read in your other classes? 3)Which do you like the most a hard copy of the textbook or the online reading? My comment: I am very interested in the way technology is growing in today's society. I feel that sometimes technology is going to make some lazy with school work. I think the students are going to try to play the system.

Last C4T

Mike Prater
The teacher I was assigned was Mike Prater the name of his blog was " Growth Through Learning". The name of the first post I read was titled "Motivate Students to learn without rewards" describes how to keep your students motivated through learning. Prater made 3 points to keep students motivated. The first one is show genuine care for your students, by getting on a personal level with them. Next, demonstrate a constant excitement about personal learning, you have to be excited in order for your students to be excited. The last one is introduce appropriate challenges. Let your students know it is alright to take a challenge. My comment wars I introduced myself and told where I was from. I also mentioned how I enjoyed reading his blog post. I also said how teachers should get students more involved in learning.

The last post I read by Mike Prater is called "Loving the Unlovable Student". Mr.Prater was assigned a group of students who all had to re-take the Physical Science class he was teaching. At first he did not want a group of students who had to retake the class because he felt that they would not be interested kin the class. Prater wanted the "good" students the ones who were eager to learn. Instead of continuing to look at the situation as bad he made the best of it for himself and the students. At the end of the post Prater made a statement that I really like "teachers should never loose passion for their job". This is so true everyday I see teachers just going in the classroom and really liking what they do. My comment was I introduced myself and said where I was from. I also said how I enjoy reading all his blog post. I am a future teacher and you have had some great experiences in the teaching field. I admire the way you handle certain situations. I also mentioned how the position he was put in was just a helpful reminder to him to never loose sight of teaching and the passion for it.

Project #15

Blog Post 13

Back to the Future
In this TED talk Brian Crosby talks about his fourth grade class who are 2nd language students. Mr. Crosby wanted to get a feel for where his students where when they arrived in his classroom. One way he did this is by taking a survey. His first question was how many students know what city they lived in only 9 students knew. The next question was how many students knew what country they lived in only 3 knew this answer. Mr. Crosby wanted to know why the students where so disconnected with education, why where they so disconnected in life in general. Mr. Crosby realized not all students learn the same way, so he had to make a connection with the students. By Mr. Crosby teaching in a poor school system he wanted all his students to get the same advantage as other students. One science project the students did was the High Hopes with the hot air balloon. All the students have a laptop with a webcam, in the classrooms. The High Hopes project allowed a lot of hands on learning so the students could get a feel for what was going on in the real world. The students also followed their own hot air balloon and had to act as if they where the balloon. This helped with the learning process it meet all the needs such as auditory, visual,and kinesthetic. The students got to see how the hot air balloon works, this project helps with creating well rounded students. Crosby also reminded me that as a future teacher my job is to make learning fun, creative, and to also empower and motivate my students.
Blended Learning
I really enjoyed Mr. Andersen video on how he has his blended classroom set up for his AP Biology class. Mr. Andersen key points that he wanted to remember in teaching was to engage with the students, explore, and experiment. Mr. Andersen used an acronym called QUIVERS to set up his classroom. The Qu stood for questions he used that to introduce his topic to his students to get them thinking. The I stood for investigation this allowed the students to do research on the topic. The V stood for video and this was Mr. Andersen he made a video for the class on the topic so they could go back for reference on what the topic is in class. The E is for elaboration this is the personal assignment for the student to do reading and get a better understanding. The R is for review. Mr. Andersen meets in small groups with the students and talk to them to see their understanding on the topic. If they do not do good in review he makes the students do it all over again so they can understand the concept of the assignment. The last letter is S for summary this is where the students take a quiz on the topic. I would use this blended learning in my classroom because it is very organized and I feel as if it really helps the students get a better understanding of the topic. Also this type of learning allows the teacher to get more involved on a personal level with each student to see how they learn and comprehend assignments.

Progress on Final Project

My group: Justice League has decided to do the movie. We are doing a series of tips to help you stay on top of your work in EDM310. I think it will be an awesome video. Thankfully I feel like I have followed our upcoming advice! We will start recording on Tuesday! We also have been communicating a lot through email and text messaging. We also use Skype and Google Docs to come up with different ideas on how to create our projects.

Blog Post 11

First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class

Ms. Cassidy is really an inspiration to me. She has set the bar very high for education form here on out. She has really given me a different outlook on teaching just by watching these two videos. Ms. Cassidy's students really enjoy learning and all the fun technology they are using to learn.

Ms. Cassidy incorporated technology in the classroom very well. The many resources she used was first the Blog. I thought it was very neat that students who were only in the 1st grade had blogs. I would use blogs in my classroom also. I see that the students benefited from blogging because it is boosting up the students confidence level because, they really enjoyed when someone else commented something positive on their blog. The blogs are another great accessory to the classroom because the students are becoming better writers and are learning how to write and their wording is becoming better. Another great tool that I found very useful in the classroom that Ms. Cassidy's class used was the Wikis. The Wiki was a very creative tool to help the students learn how to look up information on the internet to help them get a better understanding of things. The students can also make their own Wiki to put on the internet. Ms. Cassidy's class did a Wiki video on the alphabets. By doing this it was helping the students learn how to work together in groups, think outside the box on how to make a creative video, and also interact with other students. What Ms. Cassidy is doing with her class is very amazing and shows you that technology should be used throughout the classroom.

The ways I could benefit from the techniques Ms. Cassidy used is that one she incorporated learning with the technology and also to continue to make learning fun. In my classroom I will use definitely use technology especially the blog. I also plan on teaching the second grade so using blogs will be helpful for the children. It is always nice for them to be able to get other view points besides mine. Another benefit from Ms. Cassidy is she made learning fun. She used the Nintendo DS in the classroom. By using the game she taught children how to problem solve to figure out the game and also to another fundamental the students learned was sharing. In the skype video with Dr. Strange, Ms. Cassidy said technology is a way of life. She mentioned how if people are not using technology in the classrooms and learning from it then they are "handicapping" themselves and the children. I have realized that you can not run or hide from technology it will continue to expand and it is here to be used for the better of society.

C4K for the month of March

Comments for Kids


My first student for the month is Matthew. Matthew is in Mrs. Miller 10th grade class in Baldwin County. The name of the post was called "Self Expression". Matthew expressed how when he listens to music it express how he feels without him having to put it into words. Matthew explained how the music he listens to he can always relate to the artist. My comment for Matthew was I introduced myself. I also told Matthew to keep the good work on blogging after reading a couple of his blogs. I also mentioned how I also use music to relate to different situations, it is my get away place.

My second student was Jacob. He is in the 5th grade Mrs. Goerand class in Iowa. Jacob talked about the 1st amendment, he goes to say how it would be different without it in society. Jacob describes how he would not be able to have freedom of speech, petition, or choose the religion he wanted to worship. My comment was that I agree with getting rid of the 1st amendment. I also said how it is very important how you live your life.

The next, student was Cole. Cole is in the 7th grade in Ms. Lentine class. Cole'a post was about energy in Vermont. Cole tells about how millions of dollars are used in the school systems for wind energy. Using wind energy cuts out on taxes for Vermont. My comment was told him how I agree with his blog post. I think it is a good idea especially if it is cutting down on taxes. The last thing I mentioned to Cole was to keep up the good work on his blogs and have a great school year.

The last, students blog I commented on this month was Potaua. Potaua is a year 8 student in Room 15. The post I commented on by Potaua was called "Surfing Dog". Potaua explains how he helped his dog overcome his fear of going into the sea. Potaua took it slow with his dog by getting him to like the water. Next, Potaua gave his dog some lessons on how to surf. Potaua dog did learn how to surf. The comment I left for Potaua was to keep up the good work. Potaua and his dog were both an interesting story on how anyone can overcome their fears. I also found it fascinating that he taught his dog how to surf.

C4T-Comment for Teacher #3

Comments for Teacher
The teacher I was assigned this month is Paige Bagget blog called the " Pondering Page". The post I read was about how do you go above and beyond. Bagget wants students to work on the 4C's- communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Bagget put a video up called " How do You go Above and Beyond". The video had two students who were to build a car to race in a competition. One student followed the directions and built his car and the other student used her imagination and thought of a different way to build her car. The second student decided to put wings on her car to make it go and it also won the race. I really enjoyed the video because, it really captured how students and people in general should think outside the box. The next post I commented on was a video called " A Blue Dog way to reach Louisiana children's". This video was about George Rodrigue and his blue dog organization. The organization is about helping students and also people in need and raising money. George started the organization for youth development in education through art. He used it to encourage them to do good and to have an open mind. I enjoyed watching the blue dog video and learning what Mr. Rodrigue has created. I really enjoyed Ms. Bagget's blogs and she loves art and also responded to one of my comments.

Blog 10

Adventures in Pencil Integration
The cartoon by John T. Spencer is a very clever illustration. I like the fact it is a spin off of "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC." In my opinion Mr. Spencer is talking about tools in the classroom. Yes, pencil and paper are a necessity in the classroom and has been used for a long time. As we all know in the education field technology is taking over. This is where Ticonderoga comes into play.
Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?
In Mr. Spencer blog Why Were Your Kids Playing Games, Mr. Spencer shares a story on how him and the principal where having a conversation about what was going on in the classroom. The principal wants the students to learn by memorizing everything and that is not really learning or helpful for the children. The principal is trying to make sure the students are passing standardized test and have "burp back" information. Mr. Spencer is incorporating games into learning so children can understand and retain the information.