Wednesday, November 26, 2014

C4T #4 Summary

I loved this C4T!
I picked Lana Gerin she is a 5th grade teacher in Georgia.


A dog laying down looking very tired

Short and sweet
She posted about their "Sock it to Drugs" day! Which is a great thing to start teaching early for children. They also had a "Dress like your hero" day. The rest of her blog was about how long and tiring her week was. She had a long week at work and she was just tired.



I'm Stil Here!
In this blog Lana talked about how she hasn't posted in a while but she is very busy with school and her class is finishing up with their book project. One of her students gave her a note that was so sweet the note said that she never thought she would enjoy going to school as much as she does. Lana is working very hard with her teaching and doing a great job!


Lana's Blog border

Blog post #5 part B

Since I started EDM310 I have found different ways to learn more and how to grow my PLN.

I have found a few things that work great for me.
1.Symbaloo
2.Twitter
3.Facebook
4.Pearltrees

We already know how to use Symbaloo, twitter and Facebook so the one I really want to talk about is a new one that I found called Pearltree.
So pearltree is probably my new favorite PLN because it is so easy to use and I can put anything and everything I need in one area. I haven't been using it for very long but I love how it works.
It has a search engine on it where you can look at other peoples pearltree accounts and add their things onto your page. It is really cool.
I can make different collections for different subjects so everything is nice and neat.
I have enjoyed this website and I think it is a good one for students to use.
Screenshot of my homepage on Pearl Tree

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

C4K Summary November

I really enjoy doing the C4K's because I know that the kids get excited when they see someone post on their blogs.

Adeobe
In this post he talked about a thing that he does in his classroom called a mystery Skype. Which sounded pretty cool to me and so he explained what the was in his post. A mystery Skype is when you Skype someone from another Country or state and try give each other clues to find out where the other person is. Sounds pretty cool to me! I commented on his blog and told him who I was and why I commented and told him how cool the mystery Skype is.


Cowboy boot by Garrett

Garrett
Garrett is in an art class that blogs everything they make which is awesome! He made a really cool cowboy boot and I told him how much I loved art also and that he did a really good job and to keep on working hard at it. I also told him who I was and why I was commenting.
painting by Clarie

Claire
Claire was one of my favorite C4K's because I feel as if I could connect with her through her blog and she was a very good writer. She talked about how she felt at the beginning of the semester verses the end. She is feeling much better and the end, she isn't as scared. She also talked about art, she likes to paint! I don't know why but my last two C4K's have been about art which is my favorite thing. I guess I felt like that connected us a little.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Blog Post #14

There are a ton of problems with the way that school runs now and days. I feel like it has the ability to be much better. Some of the things that Joel Klein talked about in his article had a lot of to do with the way that teachers are treated.
1.Pick from the best.
2.Seniority distraction.

The way the Joel Klein answered these questions.
1.Do not hire just anyone for the job. Make sure that they will love what they do and try their hardest to make the students learn.
2.Do not fire the last hired.

My view on these questions are very close to Joel Klein's.
1. Pick from the best.
Trying to find the right teacher for the job can be a rough and long trail. When you do find the it is a perfect match. I feel like the search for new teachers does need to be a longer process and make sure we have the right person for the job. Like Joel Klein said "we've let virtually anyone with a college degree become a teacher." Yeah that needs to stop happening. We need to see that they are qualified for this job because these children are our future. 2. Seniority distraction
I think that you shouldn't just fire someone because they have been their the longest. I feel like you look at the progress of a teacher and you see if they are up to do the job well and right. I think that it is unfair to fire a teacher because they haven't been on staff very long.

Joel Klein hugging a teacher and smiling

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Blog Post #13

Art has been taken out of a lot of the schools around the Country. Do you think art is important in a students life and their education.
Watch these videos and write what your opinion is to the question "Do you think art is important in the classroom".


1.Creativity takes Courage.
2.A.R.T. in the classroom
3.Arts Intergated Classroom

After watching these videos and really understanding how much art is not in the classroom anymore made me to believe that we as a Country need to change that. I love art and never really new how much until I got into college. In these videos you can see different ways of putting art into your classroom and how easy it will be. When you have a student doing something that they enjoy doing they will try harder to do better. Art is a fun and inspiring way to teach in your classroom.
I don't really understand why art and music are the first things to go when there is a budget cut. Art is what makes me, me. Children will never know how creative they are or how talented they are until you give them the tools to find those things for themselves.
The last one was about a History teacher I do believe and he used art to show them a lesson in history but to also make it stick. Because those children will look at that painting and remember who that person was and what they did. Art has a way of helping you focus and finding a passion inside of someone and the school system is taking that away for students. Unless you get a great teacher that is going to go out of their way for their students and make a lesson with art incorporated in it.
I can't wait to be the best teacher I can be and show these children the things that will help them get through life with a smile on their face and art has helped me do just that.

Glass blowing pieces I made

These are two of the things I made in Glass Blowing at The University of South Alabama.

Project #12 part B

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Blog post #12

iPads
iPad sitting on top of some books
iPads or tablets are a great way to use assistive technology because of all the apps they have available. One of my favorite apps was iCommunicate it allows students to design their own storyboards, flash cards and more. Another one is myHomework it lets students get their homework and everything for their classes together in one app. It is very easy to use and works great. The last one I want to talk about is Dragon Dictation. It is an easy voice recognition app that allows you to speak and see what you have said in text. It is 5 times faster than just typing on a keyboard.
~Sources~
iCommunicate
myHomework
Dragon Dictation
Research by Kaitlyn McLarty

Smartboard
The SmartBoard was created by research. Inventors used projectors, the white board, computers, and computer applications to create the SmartBoard. This combination and interactiveness created the ability to “touch control computer applications.” (wikipedia). Students with physical handicaps can use the SmartBoard as an assistive tool because it oprerates with the touch of the finger, or a stick. Math, Science, English, and searching the web for helpful information on school assignments are at the students request with just a touch on the white interactive board.
Work Cited
Wiki
Research by: Edna Montgomery

Digital Pen Teachers use digital pens to record the notes they take. They will take the notes then they will Digital Pen upload the notes to the computer to show to their students on a smartboard or projector. The digital pen can be a great resourse for students because they can put their notes on the computer and organize them. It can be especial helpful for students with disabilties because they can record the teacher talking then can be uploaded to the computer and converted to notes. the digital pen is slightly bigger than a stylus but very easy to use. Some particular pens require a certain type of paper but it is not that expensive.WikiPedia Another type of digital pen was made by Leap Frog. It allows the kid to slide the pen over the word and it will read it to the kid so they can repeat it.
Researched By: Heather Trawick

Electronic Worksheets
I chose to do "Electronic Worksheets". MathPad and MathPad Plus are websites that a teacher can use to make his or her own worksheets for students that might have ADHD or might need help refining their motor skills. The Mathpad version is for grades K-2 and it helps them with borrowing and adding. The Mathpadplus version is for grades 3-5 and it helps them with decimals, fractions, and word problems. Both of these electronic worksheets will read the problem to students. Students can use headphones when using these worksheets so that they do no distract other students.
Mathpad

Research by Jessica Mayo.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Project #10

C4T #3 Summary.

Matt Gomez

Matt Gomez is a kindergarden teacher and seems like a really cool teacher. I learned a few things from him that I might use in my classroom.

Classroom Terrarium
Matt Gomez's terrarium
This post has not popped up yet on his blog. In this blog post he talked about a terrarium that he bought for his classroom and how he let the kids watch the insects and small animals interact with each other and learn about their environment. I posted on his blog post and explained who I was and why I was commenting. I really did enjoy his blog and I hope that one day I could have a terrarium in my classroom one day. I probably wont spend as much money as he did on his though.

iPod Listening Center Setup
Matt Gomez's Listening Center
In this post he talked about how to make an iPod listening center. He is really trying to explain how to convert CD recording to an iPod. I didn't know how to do this and so it helped me and it was very easily explained. When I become a teacher and have my own classroom this would be something that I would like to use.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Blog post #11

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

Back To the Future
In this video I learned about different ways of learning and how to teach for your students and personal. He talks about different ways of teaching, he does a lot of hands on things with his students and kinda lets them teach them self like Dr.Strange does for his classroom. I like this video because he is vey excited for his students and what they are learning.
He talked about how his students use blogs and a flicker account for the lass room. I think that is pretty cool because it is the same stuff we are doing now.

Blended Learning Styles
Screenshot of Pauls video
In this video Paul talks about the Blended learning cycle and I like this video because I feel like I can relate to what he saying. He talks about what blended learning looks like. The three steps are 1.Online 2.Mobile 3.Classroom and then he talks about his 5 E's in the learning cycle. 1.Engage 2.Explore 3.Explain 4.Expand 5.Evaluate. He puts all of those together in his classroom to make a blended learning cycle. That might have to be put on the list of things to try in my classroom.

Sam Pane 4th Grade
Sam Pane seems like such an amazing teacher. He is very hands on with the children and knows what they like. He gets them very interested so they will work harder. In this video I learned that there are a lot of different ways to use technology in a classroom. The way he was using those super heros to make comic books about online safety was a great idea.

Project Based Learning.
I like this video because I feel like that is something I can do with my classroom. I think it is more about blending classes rather than pbl. I plan on teaching 3rd grade so I have the same students all day so this really only works for 6th and up. They took three different subject and put them in the same classroom with three different teacher. This way they can use the information from each class in the others and they can also have more time for questions. I think it is a wonderful idea.

Roosevelt Elementary's PBL program
Screenshot of the video
I loved this video because I will 100% be using PBL in my classroom. I know it might be hard on the teachers sometimes but the way that the students catch on and show you that they know something is great. I am not a huge fan of the standardized test I think that doesn't show someones knowledge. But if you put a task in front of them and tell them to figure it out then you will see more about their knowledge. Great video and amazing teachers.