Project 16

Blog Post 5 Part B

     This blog is a continuation of Blog Post 5.  Blog Post 5 is about PLN's.  A PLN is a personal learning network.  Personal learning networks are a great way to connect anywhere and with anyone around the world over the internet through things such as social media.  I started my PLN by using Twitter. I created an account and followed professors from the University of South Alabama and even followed world wide known educators. Over this semester my PLN has grown. The more it has grown, the most I have become interested and educated. I have continued to follow educators and educational cooperations. I have become very inspired and interested by reading their tweets. Even though my time in EDM is almost over, I know I will continue to expand my PLN experiences and educational ideas.

Blog Post 16

Final Reflection Video

Project 12 Part B

Blog Post 13

What Did I Leave Out?

     For this blog post we were assigned to create an assignment for our class that we didn't cover or learn about this semester. Throughout this class, I learned a lot about project-based learning and how to be a successful teacher using technology, but I did not learn how to be a successful teacher without using technology. I believe that using technology is great and is a first choice, but not all counties and school systems can afford a lot of technology. I chose to create a blog post assignment about learning how to be a successful teacher without technology. This assignment is to watch the video Teach Teachers How to Create Magic by Christopher Emdin. Once the video is viewed, respond to the followed questions in a blog post. 

                                  1. Have you discovered how to use magic?

                                  2. How will this magic help you in your classroom one day?

My response to the above assignment:

     Christopher Emdin opens the TEDtalk by telling a story for the audience to imagine in their minds. He automatically drew me into the video with his voice and stage presence. Emdin asks the question of why we educate by using and studying old texts that are written by people who are dead. He then goes on to talk about stressing over lesson plans. He states that no matter how prepared we are they may not be right for the classroom. He inspires and shares that the magic is creating a classroom atmosphere where our lessons as educators should tell a story. The magic is creating a classroom of students that are drawn into the lesson by a simple movement that speaks a thousand words. Capturing our students by our words is what we should strive for in the classroom. We should be expressive and interactive which will draw them in. This will help me one day as an educator because I will not be so depended on using technology to drawing my student's attention. I have learned the magic of using my voice and simple movements to get their attention. While technology is a great tool to use in the classroom, it is my job to teach students. 

Project 6 C4K 3

     The first comments for kids that I did for this assignment was by Ian.  Ian's blog is called English Project: Survivors. Ian wrote this blog to share about a book he read and did an English project for. The book was called Survivors and is written by Erin Hunter. Ian lists the main characters of the book with the main story line. He describes the book to have some suspense and drama. He thought that this book was great and recommends it to everyone. I commented, "Hello Ian! Thanks for sharing and recommending this book. I will have to check it out. Keep reading and look forward to hearing about more books that you read. Great post!"
     The second blog I read was by Deneed. Deneed's blog is called My Bucket Lost. Deneed shares in this blog that her goals in life are to go to high school and then go to college. She is not sure what career she wants to pursue yet, but she has time to figure that out. I commented, "Hi Deneen! I am currently in college and I am going to school to be come a teacher.  Have a bucket list and goals you want to meet in your lifetime is great! Going to high school and college so that you can get a job that you love and that will provide for you sounds awesome! I would love to learn more about what kind of job you want and what you want to do after high school. Happy blogging!"
     The third and final blog that I read for this assignment was by Rico.  Rico's blog does not have a title, but was posted on Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Rico's blog is all about a piece of art that he drew with his aunt. The art is a drawing of a wolf. He is very talented and should continue to draw because he will only get better. I was very impressed with is talent and look forward to seeing more of his work. I commented, "Hello Rico! Wow, you are a very talented artist. I was automatically drawn to your blog because my brother is a very talented drawer as well. I like your wolf and you should definitely continue drawing. I look forward to seeing more of your posts and drawings. Happy blogging!"

Blog Post 12

C4T #3

     A Creative Solution to the Homework Wars. This blog is about homework. Mr. Spencer shares with us that he used to be against homework. As he continued in his career of being teacher he learned the importance of homework if it is done correctly. He gives five ways that he has found for homework to work and be successful with his students. He changed the outlook on homework for his students and parents. Homework became a success and became fun for his students. I commented, "Hi Mr. Spencer. I am currently in college in plans to become a teacher one day.  As a former grade school student I was always against homework and never understood the point. Now that I am an adult and in college I see the importance. I really enjoyed reading this blog and the five ways that helped make homework work for you and your students. My favorite approach would have to be the show and tell approach. This has definitely given me a differently outlook on how homework should be handled in the classroom. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to keeping up with your posts."
For my third comments for teachers assignment, I was assigned to a teacher's blog named John Spencer. John Spencer is a great teacher to learn from. He is inspriring and shares his mistakes and experiences for the readers to learn from. The first post that I read by him was
     The second blog that I read by John Spencer was Why I Do the Same Student Projects Over Again. In this blog Mr. Spencer shares that he used to think that teachers should shred and throw away their lesson plans at the end of the year and start fresh. He wrote this post to explain that his way of thinking was wrong. He learned that we should not throw away past lesson plans or projects, but use them to modify and make the next years better. We should use our past ideas and activities to our advantages. This post was very inspiring and good to learn as a future teacher. I commented, "Hello Mr. Spencer. I am in college and going to school to become a teacher. Thank you again for sharing your blogs and experiences. They are very educating and encouraging to me as a future teacher. I like all of the different projects that you use in your classroom. I totally agree with the fact of not throwing out last years work, but instead modify it to make it better. I do not think we should just throw out lesson plans or projects, but use it to make ourselves better. Thank you for your inspiring and experienced posts!"

Blog Post 11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

1. Back to the Future by Brian Cosby
     In this speech, Brian Cosby is speaking about a class that he once taught. He shares about a time that he asked his students questions like, "What is your address?", "What state do you live in?", "What country do you live in?", etc. When he asked his students these questions, surprisingly, so many of them did not know the answers. Cosby also knew that he had students in his class that were mostly second language learners. He began to get his students engaged about science through using technology. His student were using project based learning with technology through blog posts and as he called, "High Hopes" projects. Cosby gave a lot of new ideas and thoughts that made me think. He pushed the thought that we can not create passion with creativity. I learned that there are no limitations when it comes to teaching and there are definitely no limitations when it comes to learning. The learning atmosphere and opportunities that he allowed for his students were incredible and I hope I can be a teacher that allows my students to grow and learn.

2. Blended Learning Cycle by Paul Andersen
     Paul Andersen is an A&P biology teacher. He is a teacher that likes to create acronyms for his students to help them remember what they have learned. In this video he uses an euler's disk and spins it on the table. The disk will spin for a long time without stopping and starting again. He uses these acronyms to get his students attention. He then tells teachers to as a question. Make the students' minds wonder and be curious. He calls these questions, investigations, videos, elaborations, reviews, and summary quizzes, "Quivers." He shows the importance of incorporating all of these into daily plans for the classroom. I learned from Paul Andersen that it is okay to use other sources from around the world to incorporate learning into my classroom. Yes, I need to be creative and teach according to my students' needs, but I can use other sources to help me be more successful. I also learned that incorporating quivers, as he calls them, helps my students to learn on a better level. It also helps me to see and know how much they truly absorb and learn. 

3. Making Thinking Visible by Mark Church
     Mark Church and his students in this video created a banner that in a few words described what they already know about human origins at the beginning of class. He allowed them to hang their banners at the front of class and discuss what they know. At the end of class, after they had learned more about the human origins, he allowed them to write another statement on their banner. I like this method of teaching a lot. I learned that teaching with this type of method the students realize they have learned a lot of new information about the topic within a short amount of time. It caused some of them to want to change what they had wrote on their banner at the beginning of class. It is a great way for students to realize that they can always be a learner and that they do not always know everything about everything. 

4. Building Comics by Sam Pane
     Sam Pane in this video is teaching his students how to be safe with and on the internet. Pane has his students create a Digital Citizen Superhero. He wants his students to be a good technology citizen. He wants to teach them to take care and to take pride in what they do. Pane does a great job incorporating other subjects into this one subject. He incorporates language arts into technology. He allows them to do peer reviewing through comics. The students are so engaged and it all seems so fun. I have learned how important it is to create students with good digital citizenship. I want to create this in my classroom one day. I also hope to do fun things such as comics with technology with my students. 

5&6. Project Based Learning by Dean Shareski and Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program 
      Videos five and six are about Project Based Learning. Project Based Learning is a great way to combine learning math, science, language arts, and history all into one place. It is also using technology which is automatically a great way to get students engaged today. In this video, a school in Canada combines these subjects for their students. The teachers quickly realized that their students were understanding and learning so much more because it was joined together. I feel like through these two videos I have expanded my knowledge about Project Based Learning. Over this semester, I have viewed a lot of videos about Project Based Learning. However, I continue to see and learn the importance of it. It keeps the students engaged and brings learning to a whole new level. I cannot wait to incorporate it into my classroom one day.