Blog Post 16

I am an Elementary Education Major at the University of South Alabama. I imagine myself as a Kindergarten or First Grade Educator. As a Kindergarten or First Grade Teacher, I will be teaching all subject matter to my students in a school day. I want my classroom to be fun and inspiring for my students. I want my students to want to learn and become lifelong learners, and I want to be a positive role model for learning.

When I start teaching, I believe my classroom with different learning stations. These stations will include a reading station, computer station, and an art station. I think it is important that children have different opportunities to learn the required material. I think that with the different stations it will allow my students a chance to explore different techniques to learn the material. In the reading station, I will use as much technology as I can, to aid in the process of their learning. I will have several books that my students can read; there will be audio books, videos and podcasts of books. In my second station, it will include computers. I will educate my students the proper way to use computers to help them succeed in their education. I will have a class blog; it will be used as a tool to showcase their class work, and writings. I will also have educational websites located at the computer stations, so the students know which sites are safe for them to play on, as well as interactive programs that will be downloaded to the computer. The last station that I will have is an art station. It will be here that students can paint, color, draw, and make collages on the material that we are learning at that moment. For example if we are learning about adding, my students can paint some addition problems.

My method of my teaching will be a progressive style. I want my students to be able to experience and practice their learning rather than just memorizing the material that is being taught. So with my style in place I will use Project-Based Learning in the material being taught. With Project-Based Learning, I will be allowing my students to explore real world problems and challenges. With this way of learning, I hope to inspire my students to obtain a greater understanding of the material they are studying. I will incorporate in my teachings that my students will appreciate each other for our group projects and group learning activities. By allowing my students to work as a team or group, they have the ability to share their thoughts and ideas which increases their learning and communication skills. Secondly the participation in the learning process benefits all of the students in the group.

Blog 15

Assitive technologies that are available to us as teachers by Katlyn Lusker, Tarcela Kohn, and Jake Dukes

According to wikipedia.org, "assistive technology is a term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them." "Assistive technologies promote greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to, or changing methods of interacting with, the technology needed to accomplish such tasks." There is great diversity in today's classrooms. It's one of the most remarkable aspects of modern education. Students of all disabilities study in all classrooms from kindergarten up through college now, due to mainstreaming and inclusion policies. This benefits both disabled and non-disabled students. However, this can create challenges for teachers. Thankfully, teachers today can implement many new technologies to assist and aid students with disabilities, whether those students are in a traditional or online classroom (teachthought.com).

Screen Readers by: Tarcela Kohn
Some Assistive Technologies include: screen readers for the blind individuals, or screen magnifiers for low-vision can be used for the vision impaired. Screen readers are software programs that allow blind and visually impaired users to read text aloud that is displayed on the screen in word processor, web browser, e-mail programs or other applications. The user sends commands by pressing different keys on the keyboard which instructs the speech synthesizer to say and speak the text. The screen readers are available for personal computers that are running Linux, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems. Screen reader’s benefit the blind and vision impaired, but it could also be used for an individual with vision. This software can be used when traveling and an individual struggling to read text while leaning close to the computer screen.

Hearing Assistive Technology Systems (HATS)

Hearing assistive technology systems (HATS) are devices that help individuals with hearing impairments function better in their day-to-day communication situations. There are several types of assistive listening devices that are available for improving sound transmission for hearing loss. Some of these devices are found in the classroom, theaters, airports, and place of worship and then one-on-one conversations in a small setting or group. The ALD systems for the larger facilities include hearing loops, frequency-modulated (FM) systems, and infrared systems. I will be explaining the hearing loop system; it is a system that uses an electromagnetic energy to transmit sound. There are four parts to a hearing loop system: a sound source, such as a public address system, microphone, or home TV or telephone, an amplifier, a thin loop of wire that encircles a room or branches out of the carpeting and a receiver worn in the ears or as a headset. The sound that has been amplified travels through the loop and creates an electromagnetic field that is picked up by the receiver that is being worn.






Word Talk by: Katlyn Lusker

Word talk is also an assistive technology available to teachers. It is a free text-to-speech plugin developed and designed for use with all versions of Microsoft Word. Word talk is very beneficial for people with reading and writing difficulties. Having text reinforced by having it read out loud can be very useful. Children especially who have reading and writing difficulties, benefit when they have text read aloud to them. In schools this may be done by an assistant, however, assistants can be expensive, and their presence may be greatly needed somewhere else. Word talk has special features that include: speaking the text of a document and highlighting words as it goes, the voice and speed of the speech may be adjusted, the speech may be saved as an audio file, and a person is able to choose whether it speaks the entire document, a single paragraph, a sentence, or just a word (wordtalk.org).

Model me Going Places by: Jake Dukes

This is an application that can be used on any apple product such as an ipad, iphone, or itouch. This app is for kids that have autism. This app puts the kids in situations where they would have to choose what they do themselves. It puts the kids in social situations where kids with autism would have hard times dealing with. This app can make it where kids that suffer from social awkwardness make it easier for them to deal with being around people. In this app you decide what you say and do in the group of people or wherever you are at in the game. We feel like this is a good idea for kids and think that it would help them out going forward in life. It also tells you things that you should do at every particular place such as restaurants and playgrounds. This is a very useful app.

Blog Post #14

Teaching Channel

In the Teaching Channel, have students click on the videos link at the top right hand corner. Once the page has loaded, scroll down to topics; it will be on the left hand side. From here, click on Digital Literacy, there will be 48 different videos that your student can choose from, just have them pick five and have students summarize the videos. You will be able to find videos that are designed to help with lesson ideas and teaching practices that are designed for specific grade levels. I think that this website is a great resource to have. I have to give thanks to Mr. Tashbin, who taught EPY-355-701 at the University of South Alabama. As a student in his class, we were assigned to watch a few videos and write papers about the videos we watched. The videos are very helpful to a new teacher, and a new student in EDM310!

C4T #4

#1
For my first C4T #4 post, I had Educate the Governors by Beth Still. In this blog post of Beth Still she explained that she read a blog titled Tech and Trust written by Doug Johnson. The Tech and Trust post compares two different philosophies on how to manage students and their new high tech devices. One way that the Tech and Trust explains was a lock down method for the iPads if a student mishandles their learning utensil. This philosophy was apart of the LA Unified School District. The other way was to teach safe and responsible internet usage in all lessons. In this second philosophy, the students are allowed freedom to make mistakes. It is here that the mistakes are looked at teachable moments. This philosophy was part of New Canaan High School.

But just a few days before the post of Doug Johnson, Beth conversed with a colleague from her region. In the school, it had a 1:1 ratio of children to iPads, however, a colleague explained that if a students violates the policies that are set for their technologies and the students will have computer access revoked for 15 days. An of the reason for getting access revoked was leaving the device out; it was by a seven year old boy. Beth Still was upset, why are you going to give students devices to use for their education, but as soon as they make a mistake teachers are to take the device away, and it is the teacher’s responsibility to get other materials ready for the student until their access is granted.

Beth Still made very interesting points, for instance: What would be the consequence for Little Johnny if he forgot his textbook? Would Little Johnny be denied access to his book? No! What about if he left his crayons across the room, would Johnny lose his color time? No! So Beth’s question was “Why do some schools feel the need to punish the student by taking away the very tools they must have access to in order to learn?”Beth Still did make a great solution to burning question. Her solution would be to assign different internet access. If a student is not responsible, they would lose their full internet access and join a group with limited access to the internet. Once the student has proven themselves, they can be moved back to full internet access. I explained that in our public schools here in Mobile, AL, do not have iPads yet, but it has been debated and talked about heavily. I thought that this post was very interesting, because I liked her opinion on the topic. I especially like her solution for the students.

#2
For my second C4T #4 post, I had Beth Still. The post of Beth’s that I read and commented on was No Potty for You! In Beth’s post she discussed that while she was in her second semester of her second year of teaching, she had students that would constantly ask to go the bathroom. She thought that she would be smart and make a new bathroom rule. The rule was a limit of 3 passes to the bathroom each quarter. Beth Still was so proud; she went to her principal to share her new idea. Her principal guided her to the realization that it was not reasonable. Beth Still gave great advice to new teachers: “never make rules that are based on all action of a few, empower your students and pick your battles wisely. I explained that I was an Elementary Education Major and that the restroom passes probably would not work for me. In the Kindergarten class we have to set aside time to go as a class to the restroom, however, there are still a few that will ask in the class. But these are very young students, and there is no need to procrastinate with the issue. I also thanked Beth Still for the great advice.

PLN Project #2

My Personal Learning Network or PLN is a set of tools that I will be able to use for help, consultation, and other assistance. After learning the importance of a PLN in EDM310 with Dr. Strange, I have found that Symbaloo would be a perfect match for me. With Symbaloo, I am in control of the tiles that I feel is important for me as a teacher. The tiles that I found that will help grow my network is LinkedIn, facebook, Blogger, and Twitter. So I have added tiles of my accounts. This way I will always be able to get assistance from other teachers that I have subscribed to. I also think that it was important for me to put our class blog for EDM310 in my Symbaloo. My purpose for this discussion was because Dr. Strange is great at finding new technology and having his students experiment with it. Also, the class blog has a link of all students so I see how the technology can be used.

Now, the tiles that are white running down the right side of the Google Search tile are tiles that I can use in the process of making my lessons. The first is Pandora; it is a free app to listen to music. The reason I choose it was because there is different channels one being just for kids. I think that it is something great to use in the class if we are at centers. The second is Discovery Education; it is a resource that we learned about in EDM310 with Dr. Strange. The one thing that I like about the website is that they offer free resources for teachers. Next, is “r-t,” it is a Reading tutor tile. I really thought that it was a unique website because you can build a tutoring program for English readers and ESL readers. Since this EDM310 class is about teaching student how to become technology intelligent, I found a website that will use technology in a transformational kind of a learning experience. That website is Desire2Learn; it is here that you can find lessons and technology that can be used by students for a greater learning experience. The tile neoK12 has educational videos, lessons, quizzes, and games for every grade level and subject. The last two tiles are the Teaching Channel and Story Bird. Teaching Channel is a video library of teaching practices from other teachers and creative lessons. Story Bird is just what it says; it is a website where you can create, read, and share visual stories. I thought this would be a great tool to have I a classroom for beginning readers, and students that are writing short stories. There are many different activities I can use with this tile.

So my blue tiles on the right side of my Symbaloo, are tiles that I liked and did not want to forget about. Most of the blue tiles are tiles that my students will be able to use in the class for writing papers, and conducting research for instance the title with the squirrel, it is a website of flash cards. IXL is a website that, as a teacher, I can look up state standards for Math and Language Arts for each grade level. I also have a pencil and the notebook, with is a Paper Rater. It allows students and me the teacher to check spelling and grammar and helps with proofreading. The plus side it is a free website. I also have Skype, so I have interviews or guest speakers in the classroom even if they cannot be present. The last two tiles I have been for blogging. In EDM310 and seeing firsthand the outcome of teachers using a classroom blog, I want to use blogging in my future class. So I have education.weebly.com and edeblogs.com both websites are free to set up and use in the class. I still have empty tiles to use, but I cannot wait to find more resources for my Symbaloo and classroom.

Project 12B

Blog Post 13

Shane Koyczan: "To This Day ... for the bullied and beautiful," by: Tarcela Kohn

In this video by Shane Koyczan “To This Day… for the bullied and the beautiful,” he shares his own experiences in a beautiful poem. This video was very moving, funny, and relatable. The way he opens the floor with “I’ve been shot down so many times I get altitude sickness just from standing up for myself,” was just a part of his poetic journey in his video. Shane express that this is what we are told- “to stand for yourself, but it is hard to do if you don’t know who you are.” However, to do this, he explained that “we are expected to define ourselves at an early age, and if we don’t, others will do it for us.” Such as nerd, geek, and fatty just to name a few that Shane expressed.

Shane Koyczan goes on to explain his childhood. When Shane was a kid, he wanted to be a man, and he wanted to shave. However now that he is older, he does not want to shave as much. By the time he was eight, Shane had wanted to be a Marine Biologist and at nine, he saw the movie “Jaws,” and he said “No, thank you.” At ten years old, he was told that his parents did not want him, at 11 Shane just wanted to be alone, when he was 12 he wanted to die, at 13 he wanted to kill a kid, and at age 14 he was told to “seriously consider a career path.” Shane replied that he wanted to be a writer, and the response was “Choose something realistic.” So he answered “Professional wrestler,” again the response was “Don’t be stupid.” Shane explained a great point: “We were being told that we somehow must become what we are not, sacrificing what we are to inherit the masquerade of what we will be.” This statement was a beautiful analogy; and is true. We are dismissing children’s dreams, to tell them what they want to dream.

Shane said that “at the age of 15 poetry hit him like a boomerang; the one thing that he loved came back to him.” He remembers the first thing that he wrote “I hated myself for becoming the thing that I loathed: a bully.” This words from Shane: “Standing up for yourself doesn’t have to mean embracing violence,” are very positive and everyone can learn from his statement. Shane Koyczan, then delivers his poem of two kids, one a girl and the other him. The little girl was called names and made fun of only because she had a birthmark on her face. Shane expresses because he was adopted; he went to therapy and had a “personality made up of test and pills.” He was called a “popper,” and because of the cruelty he wanted to end his life and he tried to in the 10th grade. He explains that they are not the only kids that grow up this way being bullied , and that it still goes on today. Another great message that we can received from this video is “I want to tell them that all of this is just debris left over when we finally decide to smash all the things we thought we used to be, and if you can't see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror, look a little closer, stare a little longer, because there's something inside you that made you keep trying despite everyone who told you to quit. You built a cast around your broken heart and sign it yourself. You signed it, They were wrong."

This video would be worth sharing with students to stop bullying and to show kids that are bullied that they are wanted, and there is something special about them!

Shukla Bose’s “Teaching one child at a time” by Katlyn Lusker

In Shukla Bose’s video "Teaching one child at a time" she tells the story of her Parikrma Humanity Foundation that is growing more and more each day. This foundation brings hope to the Indian slums by “looking past the daunting statistics and focusing on treating each child as an individual.” Shukla Bose began her speech in this video by explaining what led to her forming a foundation. She explained that they first walked through the slums of India. Of course, they could not go to all of them, but they tried to cover as many as they could. As they walked through the slums, they tried to identify houses where children would never go to school. They were excited about doing something, to bring them education, and then the numbers finally hit them. She said, “they’re 200 million children between ages 4-14 that should be going to school, but do not, they’re 100 million children who go to school but cannot read, and 125 million who cannot do basic mathematics.” Mrs. Bose also said that one in four teachers in India do not go to school the entire academic year. They have absent teachers, and that is harmful to children's learning. These numbers are overwhelming! She said it is hard not to get worried and scared about them, but instead they should and they want to focus on taking one child at a time. To make sure that child completes the circle of life.

The first Parikrma school was started in a slum where there were 70,000 people living below the poverty line. In this first school, they had 165 children attend. After six years, 4 schools, 1 junior college, and 1,100 children from 28 slums and four orphanages have developed. English was taught, and they adopted one of the best curriculum's possible. The curriculum is tough, some believe it is too tough, but the children actually do very well. Through this foundation, they have also started many programs for the children’s parents, as well. Many of the parents want to learn, and after-school programs have been developed just for them. They have started all kinds of programs just to make sure the kids come to school. Mrs. Shukla Bose started this thinking she wanted to transform the world, however, now she believes she is the one who has been transformed by the impact the children have played in her life. I have learned a lot from Mrs. Bose. She is very inspiring. Her dedication and commitment to helping these children is so moving. “Educating our poor is more than just a number game.” Instead of trying to reach as many children as possible, it may work so much better to help one child at a time, to make sure that what they are being taught is working and it is effective. Many children go to school, but not all of them learn.

Alison Gopnik “What do Babies think?” By: Jake Dukes
In the video "What do Babies think" by Alison Gopnik, she explains how babies think and how they learn. She explains how babies think as if you were in a new place and you're just trying to learn your surroundings for the first time. In an experiment that Alison conducted, she used broccoli and goldfish crackers on a 18 month old child. The first thing she did was ask the baby which one they wanted and of course they wanted the crackers. The next time she did the same experiment but then switched it up. She tried to fool the baby by acting as if the the broccoli was yummy by eating and saying that it tasted good. Then she ate the goldfish and acted as if they were gross and said that it didn’t taste good. This didn’t fool the baby she again asked which one they would like, but the baby still went back to the goldfish. By this experiment she found out that babies already know at 18 months old that not all people like that same things. Alison says that as babies grow, they try to figure out how things work and how the world works. Another experiment she did was done on a five year old boy. This experiment involves a child putting shapes together in a particular order to make a light come on inside of a box. One of the sides of the box was already lit up, to show how it is works. After a couple of tries the kid was able to turn the light on in the other box by just placing the objects through a series of trials.

C4K #10

C4K #9
C4K #9 was Lorenzo from pt. England School in Auckland, NZ. The post that I commented on by Lorenzo was a video that he created called “Lorenzo School Day.” In the video there are three boys that go into a bathroom pull out a lighter and burn some paper. So I looked at the post before the video called “School.” In the post Lorenzo had talked about this one school day was like any other school day. But when the bell rang at 3 o’clock everyone in the school had “disappeared home asept Lorenzo, Jesse and Frankie. The three of them went to the boys bathroom, because Jesse had a lighter. Once in the bathroom, Lorenzo pulled out his homework that he forgot to turn in, and light it on fire. A parent walked past and saw them playing, told Mr. Marks their teacher, and they all three got “snap”. The next day they went to the Principal, and their parents were called.
I replied to Lorenzo about the video. I said that the video was very good. I was very impressed with the design of his video and how he incorporated the music. I explained to him that I have a hard time drawing people and you did a great job.
I figured that both the video and the post go hand in so I replied to his post called “School.” For his post I explained how he did a great job writing this story, and I hope it was just a fiction story. If it was a true story that I am glad there was no damage to his school and that he did not hurt himself or his friends. I will just take it as a fiction story and that he wrote it with great detail. I was captured from start to finish in his story.
C4K #10

For my last C4K assignment I had Brady who is in Mrs. Cassidy’s First Grade Class in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. On November 7, 2013 Brady colored a beautiful masterpiece in his Art Education Class they were creating are in Colours and Feelings. Brady called his art work “I Coloured Happy.” My reply to Brady was that I really enjoyed his art work. The image that he created of “coloured happy” really did make me happy looking at his art work and I expressed to Brady to keep up with the great art work!

The second post of Brady’s that I commented on was a video that he created named “Numbers.” In this video Brady counted from 10-20. While counting aloud he wrote each number. My reply to Brady was that I thought that he did a great job counting and writing from 10-20. I also told Brady that he had nice penmanship (handwriting) and to keep up the good work!

Blog 12

What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson by: Tarcela Kohn, Katlyn Lusker, and Jake Dukes

“How to Escape Education’s Death Valley”

In the TED Talks video; How to Escape Education’s Death Valley by Sir Ken Robinson, there was a lot of information that we found useful. Sir Ken Robinson started his video by saying that the No Child Left Behind is an irony, because approximately 60 percent of kids drop out of high school, and in the native community about 80 percent of the kids drop out. We were unaware that when a student drops out of school, it cost an enormous amount to clean up the damage. With this dropout crisis, it does not factor in the students that are disengaged, that don't enjoy school, and the students who do not benefit from school. Sir Ken Robinson stated “that this is the reason our education is going in the wrong direction.”

Sir Ken Robinson explained that there “were three principles on which human life flourishes, and it works hand in hand with the culture of education.” The first of the three principles that Sir Robinson explained that we learned was that all humans are different and diverse. Sir Robinson made a great analogy, he asked the audience members if they had kids, grandkids, or have seen kids. He then goes on to ask the parents of two or more children and makes a bet with the audience members that the children are different from each other. There is no way of confusing them with each other. “Education under the No Child Left Behind is based on not diversity but conformity.” One of the effects of the No Child Left Behind has been to narrow the focus on the STEM disciplines. Sir Ken Robinson said that the STEM discipline was very important; however, a real education has to give equal weight to the arts, humanities, physical education, and to the kids.

The second of the three principles was curiosity. Sir Ken Robinson explained that if you light the spark of a child’s curiosity, they will learn without any further assistance, very often. He continued by saying children are natural learners, and curiosity is the engine of achievement.

Lastly, we learned that teachers are the lifeblood of schools, but teaching is a creative profession. Sir Robinson stated that “to teach properly; it is not the delivery system that you just pass on received information. However, great teachers do pass on received information, but they are mentors who stimulate, provoke, and engage. We have also learned from Sir Ken Robinson that the role of a teacher is to facilitate learning, and that is it.



“Changing Education Programs”

There were so many things to learn from the video “Changing Education Paradigms” by Sir Ken Robinson. A few things we learned from Sir Ken Robinson were; “Every country on earth at the moment is reforming public education,” “The current system was designed and conceived for a different age,” “Kids now are living in the most stimulating period in the history of the earth and we because of this we need to make some changes,” and “We need to go in the opposite direction of school conformity and standardization.”

The first thing we learned from Sir Ken Robinson was “Every country on earth at the moment is reforming public education.” The two reasons for this are economic and cultural. This video asks the questions, “How do we educate our children to take their place in the economies of the 21st century?” and “How exactly do we do that when we cannot anticipate what the economy will look like at the end of next week?” We think these are two very important questions to ask ourselves, especially knowing how the economy has been going lately. We aren’t guaranteed anything, so these questions are valid. Sir Ken Robinson put it best when he said, “One big problem we are facing is that we are trying to meet the future with doing what we’ve done in the past.” People who went to school a long time ago were told that if you work hard, do well, and get a college degree, you would get a job. Kids now a days do not believe that, and they have every right not to. Sir Ken Robinson said, “You are better off having a degree, but it does not guarantee you a job anymore.”

The second thing we learned from Sir Ken Robinson, which is a continuation of our last point, was “The current system was designed and conceived for a different age.” Sir Ken Robinson explained this by saying, “Public Education, paid for from taxation, compulsory to everybody, and free at the point of delivery, was a revolutionary idea.” He also said many people group other people into two categories based on “Academic Ability.” He said those categories are the “academic or smart people” and the “non-academic or non-smart people.” This creates a problem because many brilliant people think they are not because they’ve been judged on this particular view of the mind. Public Education being made up of economic and intellectual categories has caused chaos in many peoples lives. Some have benefited from it, but most people have not.

The third thing we learned from Sir Ken Robinson was, “Kids now are living in the most stimulating period in the history of the earth and we because of this we need to make some changes.” Kids have so many distractions “from every platform” now that include computers, phones, advertising, and television. We agree with Sir Ken Robinson when he said, “Children get to school, and their teachers expect them to focus on ‘boring stuff’ for the most part.” We agree with this because we have witnessed this happen, and we can testify to this ourselves. In this video, Sir Ken Robinson continued by giving his views on ADHD and how lots of drugs to treat ADHD shut kids senses off, deadening them to what’s really happening. He said, “We are getting our children through education by anaesthetising them, but we should be doing the exact opposite.” We need to wake our children up to what is happening inside of themselves.

The fourth thing we learned from Sir Ken Robinson was “We need to go in the opposite direction of school conformity and standardization.” Children have basically always been put through school in “batches” according to their age, but is that really what’s important? Is that really what we want our students to think is the main thing they have in common with other students? One of the most impacting things we thought Sir Ken Robinson said was, “If you are interested in the model of Education, then you don’t start from the product line mentality.” Sir Ken Robinson believes we need to go in the opposite direction of school conformity and standardization, and that’s exactly what he meant by “Changing the Paradigm.” In order to make this change we must first, think differently about human capacity and get over the old conception of academic, non-academic because all it is is a myth and secondly, we have to recognize that greatest learning happens in groups, collaborations is the stuff of growth.

“How schools kill creativity”

In the TED talks video, “How schools kill creativity” by Sir Ken Robinson, we learned a lot about creativity. Sir Ken Robinson began by saying,“creativity now is actually just as important in education as literacy,and we should treat it with the same status.” He explains that as kids we are more creative because we are not scared to be wrong. As we grow up we are more likely to be less creative because we are frightened of being wrong. Sir Ken Robinson also said, “we are now running national education systems where mistakes are the worse thing you can make.” This results in educating people out of their creative capacities. One specific thing we really liked in this video was when Sir Ken Robinson quoted Pablo Picasso saying, “All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” Creativity is a good thing because it separates us from the rest of the people in our classes, making us unique. Sir Ken Robinson concluded his speech in this video by saying, “We need to see our creative capacities for the richness they are, and see our children for the hope that they are.” Our task as teachers should be to educate their whole being so they can face the future, and to help them make something of it.

Project #15

My project #15 is Our Five Senses. I will be teaching my student about the senses of touching, tasting, hearing, smelling and seeing. This lesson is designed for First Grade students, in the subjects of science, reading and writing. This lesson will be a week long lesson that include 21st century skills of collaboration, critical thinking,creativity and teamwork.

Blog Post #11

In this Blog post, we were to watch four videos. One was on Little Kids… Big Potential by Ms. Cassidy and the other three were interview 1, 2, and 3, with Ms. Cassidy by Dr. Strange. In the video Little Kids…Big Potential, Ms. Cassidy, included her students in the video to explain what they are learning with the use of technology in their classroom. After watching the videos I have learned that Ms. Cassidy is a first grade teacher from Canada. Ms. Cassidy said that she has not always used technology in her classroom. It was not until about ten years ago that she started her technology voyage with a classroom webpage. From there, she received great support from her Technical Coordinator in her school district that she expanded her technology to blogging, videoing, using Skype, using Wiki, and using Nintendo DS in the classroom as technology. Out of all of the techniques that Ms. Cassidy talked about in her classroom, the one that I liked the most was the webpage. I could see myself using a webpage in my class to link appropriate websites, learning material, and class blogs. This was my students would have access to our class website in the class and at home. So the students can share what they are learning at home with their parents and loved ones. The second use of technology that Ms. Cassidy used that I could see myself using in the classroom would be Skype. I feel that is necessary to a have a vast network of connections so that you can Skype with reputable people to learn from. In Ms. Cassidy’s video, she had Skype’d a Geologist, and the geologist was talking about rock with the students. My third use of technology that I would use would be blogging. At first I had my stipulations as to what grade level would be able to use the technology of blogging. Any grade level can, even in kindergarten we can upload our daily writing and put them on our blog. This way my students can see how their handwriting are improving and parents and loved one can leave messages for them. In first grade, like Ms. Cassidy did, allowing student to write sentences on their blogs. The fourth technology that I would use from Ms. Cassidy would be videoing. By allowing students to video what they have learned, it makes them revisit the information in a different way to teach it for the videos. The videos can be uploaded to the class blog, which is linked to our class website.

Ms. Cassidy and the other three were interview 1, 2, and 3,In the interviews Ms. Cassidy explained why she got involved in bring technology into her classroom. She said it all started when her classroom, about ten years ago, received five computers. With the five new computers she made a new center, however, the computers that were given to her class were unable to have programs downloaded to them. So Ms. Cassidy had to turn to technology to make her computers work in her classroom. So she made a class webpage. The webpage allowed the students to play learning activities that Ms. Cassidy approved of. From the webpage she created a blog account for her students; this ultimately changes that pencil and paper writing. Ms. Cassidy said that the blogs are seen by people from all over the world, and when her students see that, it gives them a bigger purpose to write. In the second interview video Ms. Cassidy talked about where people might want to start incorporating technology in their classroom. She said that if you enjoy videos, get a YouTube account and have you and your students create videos. I think that is great advice from Ms. Cassidy. In the third interview video, Ms. Cassidy was answering questions from Dr. Strange’s students. One question I thought that would benefit me in my classroom was, “How often she used blogging in her classroom?”Ms. Cassidy answered that it depends on the students and the class environment. She explained that last year her students blogged everyday when they had center time, however, this year she only blogs once a week with her students. I think that is something that is important to know is it is ok to change things around to fit your students needs, because every student is different as well as the classes. So just having the reassurance that it is ok for a little change in the classroom with technology.

C4K #8

C4K#5

In this assignment, I had the opportunity to read Carson's blog. This week he wrote service dogs and what the purpose of a service dog is. A service dog is to serve a person with a disability. Carson said, "he wonders how people with disabilities feel." In my reply to Carson was I think that a service dogs are a great thing. I explained that that many of my friends are former military personnel that got injured while serving our country. Now because they are disabled, a few have service dogs because of their disabilities. If you are concerned with how someone feels because of their disabilities, you can try it yourself. Maybe one weekend have you parents tape one arm down (try the are with the hand you write with) and do chores, play basketball, make popcorn, or better yet try to do homework. I expressed that he seemed to have a great personality, because he wanted to know what it felt like.
C4K #6
For this assignment, I had a student named Robert. Robert explained The Levels of the Forest. He started with the first area of the forest was. It was the sub floor. He then provides examples the sub floor. He then explains the second and third levels of as being the floor where the tree starts and the understory being the middle of the trees. Lastly, Robert explains the last level to the forest, which is called the canopy, and it is the top of the trees. Robert also states that the canopy is the least studied of all the levels. Robert finishes his post with a photo of the drawing he drew. However, it did not load properly and would not let me view it.In my response to Robert, I explained that I enjoyed reading his post about "The Levels of the Forest" It was nice to get a refresher from him about the different levels of the forest. Secondly, I did tell him that I was unable to see his masterpiece and I was looking forward to seeing his artwork.
C4K#7
My C4K#7 Student was Jonti. He attends Medbury School which is an independent school for boys. This school is located in New Zealand. Jonti is in year 5; I am guessing that is equivalent to the 4th grade here in the United States. Jonti's blog post was an action story, about "Running to the End." In Jonti's writing for a fifth year student wrote a very detailed story. Jonti wrote about the start of the race and how he got really muddy. "The mud was flying in my face and all over my clothes." After the start of the race he was in the fourth position, and Sam Dickie was running with each other. Then he started feeling "puffed" but he kept on running. My favorite part of Jonti's story was when he explained "Everyone was spreading out and I was on the last lap, I felt so puffed, but I kept on going. I finally got past the finish line."The reason I liked these two sentences was because that are relatable. Everyone has been at a point where they wanted to give up, but they kept on giving it the best that they could, and finished. In my reply to Jonti, I told him that I really enjoyed reading his action story and that he wrote in great detail, which made your story fun to read. I could visualize the events of the mud splashing all over the characters as they ran. As well as, the competition of the running event. I also told my favorite part of his story
C4K #8
My C4K in this week’s assignment was Kelty.

In her blog they were reading the book Out of My Mind. The assignment for Kelty’s blog post was to describe a problem that Melody experiences with her disability of cerebral palsy. Kelty explained that Melody had so many thoughts in her head, but she could not speak and communicate her thoughts. This frustrates and angers Melody. Kelty predicts that by the end of the book, Melody will be able find a way to communicate her thoughts and will be really smart and have many new friends. My reply to Kelty was that she had an interesting point of view. I really like opinion of Melody. Melody is unlike most people. Melody refuses to be defined by her disability “cerebral palsy.” I hope you will see just how brave Melody really is.

Interview Movie- Project #10

SMARTboard Project #12

C4T #3

Have You Contemplated Your Philosophy of Reading

I had the opportunity to read Annie Palmer’s blog “Breaking Education Barriers.” In her blog, she has asked three questions that have really made me think as an upcoming educator. One of her questions she has stated is “What is your philosophy of reading?” I would like to think that, as an Elementary Educator; I will develop good readers who are active in making connections, motivated, fluent and become lifelong readers. For Annie Palmer, her answer was “reading is not truly reading until the point that it becomes interactive. This interaction occurs between the reader and the text. At a very basic level, it goes beyond decoding words and reading fluently, two of the surfaces components of reading. We read to comprehend, the deeper component of reading. However, real reading goes beyond that. Real reading occurs when the reading becomes alive, when it becomes like a conversation and interaction between two entities, the person and the message that is being conveyed.” I agree with Annie Palmer when she says that reading should be active.

Her second and third question goes hand and hand. She asked, “Why do we read?” and “Why should it be integral part of everyone’s life?” Her answer: “because it changes lives, and it is where the magic of reading takes place.” Annie Palmer is right. People read to relax, for information, entertainment, and for soul searching. Reading is an essential part of who we are and how we as individuals live our lives.

My reply, I explained that as a student, my philosophy of reading is to develop good readers who are active in making connections, being motivated, fluent readers, and lifelong readers. As a student, my philosophy is changing as I am being introduced to new ideas and techniques. However, after reading her blog, I agree that I too want my students to come alive when they read.

Blog Post #10

What can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch?

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams was a great video assignment. Even if this video were not intended for the audience, but for his three young children. As a parent of two children, I admire his positive outlook on life. He was diagnosed with cancer, and was told that he had up to six months to live. I do not know if I could be so positive in his position. Although I can relate to Dr. Pausch, about a year ago, my doctor found two tumors on my thyroid. Since then I have been on medications to stop the growth of my tumors. This video has made me realize that if he could be so positive and happy then so could I.

Dr. Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. In his class, he included project based learning. The way he taught his students to learn was by disguising the lesson/skill into something else that was fun. He then went on to say that, “Most of what we learn, we learn indirectly, by watching someone, and working together as a team. I agree with Dr. Pausch’s statement, and I think that it is valuable for students to experience this type of learning in a class. Following the example from Dr. Pausch, by allowing his students to have the creative control in the assignments, they were able to create great pieces of work.

In this video, he explained many great things that I really think are important for me as a student majoring in Education to become an Educator, which I want to remember. One great phrase that Dr. Pausch said was “To teach students how to become self-reflective. If I could enlighten my students with the skills to look at who they are, where they want to go in life, and how to overcome their challenges, or “Brick Walls” that make us prove how badly we want it. It would be a way of encouraging my students to chase their dreams no matter how silly people might think they are if it inspires you, then dream big. Although, I think that his best advice is about critics. He said that “Critics are good, and you need to listen to it; if you are doing something wrong and someone is not correcting you that means they have given up on you.” I think that is very necessary to know, as a teacher; you are your student’s critics. They want to hear how they are doing. Even if it takes some elbow grease and extra time, Dr. Pausch said that “If you wait long enough, people will surprise and impress you.”

P.S. I have decided, I am a Tigger!

Project 14

In this lesson plan for project based learning, our fourth grade students will learn about the Solar System. This lesson plan includes the subjects: science, reading, writing, and art. Our group made this into a two week lesson plan. This project is intended for our students to grasp the concept of our Solar System including asteroids, meteors, and comets. They will create a science/art project to show their understanding of the information after one week of the lesson. On Friday of the first week, they will present their projects in front of the class. During the second week, they will write a descriptive paper titled "My Trip in Outer Space." Then they will peer edit their papers in small groups of four students. After peer editing each others work, each group will choose/vote one paper that they think is the best and should be read to the class. The next day, Thursday, the presenters will read their papers and then when our students are finished reading, everyone will hand in their paper. On Friday of the second week, our students will have a multiple choice/ short answer/ and matching test on the Solar System that is made up of about 10-15 questions. This lesson plan includes resources such as iCurio, YouTube, Smart-boards, and Mac laptops. The driving question for this lesson plan is, "How do we characterize and put into order the planets of our solar system?" This is the link to our site.

Blog Post #9

By: Katlyn Lusker, Tarcela Kohn, Jake Dukes, and Alex Hopson

"Back To the Future" by Brian Crosby

Brian Crosby is a teacher from Agnes Risley Elementary School in Sparks, Nevada. In his video Back To the Future, he explains that 90 percent of his students are second language learners. His students are at risk because they qualify for free lunch, meaning they are students of poverty. On the second day of school, Mr. Crosby gave his twenty-four students a survey to find out where they stood. After gathering the results he found out when they were asked "Which city do you live in?", only nine children gave the correct answer. When they were asked "What state do you live in?", twelve gave the correct answer. When they were asked "What country do you live in?", only three students answered correctly. When they were asked "What is your address?", only seven students were able to answer correctly. Mr. Crosby then poses the question, "Why such a disconnect for these students?"

"We do not want to have a narrow curriculum for these students, but these students have had a narrow curriculum since they were born." Mr. Crosby also said, "They haven't had the experiences and the inputs to build the schema for the world." One of our favorite quotes from this video was when Mr. Crosby said, "It's hard to be able to imagine what could be if you don't know anything about what is. And if it's hard to imagine, where does your creativity spark from? If you don't have a lot of imagination and creativity, where do you build your passion from?" Those few sentences are very powerful. They make you think deeper and you start to ask questions.

In this video, Mr. Crosby's students did a balloon project where they created "high hopes" cards and then they created a place to put all of the cards, their pictures, and cameras for filming the process. Once they created a place for all of these objects they tied it to a balloon. After the balloon went out of site they went back in their room and tracked the balloon. They were able to watch the balloon in real time. The students were also instructed to come in and write about what they saw, what they did, and then they swapped pictures with each other. It didn't even stop when it landed because they were in a learning network. They are tied into other students from across the world, and they started getting messages about how some students wanted their own teachers to do some of the same projects as they had done.

They would Skype different classes and the students from Mr. Crosby's class (that had already articulated these projects in writing) showed the other students exactly how to do them. Mr. Crosby said, "When you're working/ dealing with second language learners, articulating it in speech is a whole different ball game, and by practicing, they are reviewing the material, and most importantly they get to shine. They get to show off what they know."

By doing projects like these, language is at focus. They learn to read and write to learn- content, they use writing to clarify and share, they write to tell a story, they use creativity, they learn to give and receive feedback, they learn to articulate orally, they connect globally, they become aware globally, and they have an authentic audience.

Mr. Crosby says, "This is active learning. This is empowering students to become learners. Now we are empowering kids to learn on their own. To use a lot of these 21st century tools like; connecting, empowering, being active, including, motivating, and collaborating, allows them to do just that." We agree with Mr. Crosby that by using these tools, we are connecting students to the world. He said it best when he said, "We can't just keep racing kids through school, it can't be a race. We have to keep making sure that we are giving them opportunities to build schema for the world."

"Blended Learning Cycle" by Mr. Paul Andersen

The Blended Learning Cycle video was made by Paul Andersen. Mr. Andersen's video was actually a podcast to discuss and inform others about the "Blending Learning Cycle". Mr. Andersen explained that last year he presented at TED Talk on "Classroom Game Design" and how he turned his classroom into a video game. He said last year " was a great year, however, it strayed a little from what he knew about the power of the question in his science class." Mr. Andersen depicted an image that we found humorous. The image below, is from the "Blended Learning Cycle" video. It is from 19th century France, predicting what students will look like in the year 2000. We agree with Mr. Andersen, our classrooms do not look like this, however, our classrooms have changed tremendously.

Mr. Andersen made a great point, he had a great year, but the class strayed. So over his summer, he assessed himself and became more inspired about his classroom. He then explains what he found during his rethinking process. He came up with a way to incorporate "The Blending Learning Cycle" into his Science Class.

Mr. Andersen defined Blended Learning as taking compelling parts of online, mobile, and the classroom, then blend them together using technology in a positive way. The next part of the cycle are the 5e's: Engaging, Explore, Expand, Explain, and Evaluate.

When starting with "Engaging," you as the teacher want to engage the students with an opening question. Mr. Andersen explained it as the "hook." The second "e" is "Explore". After you have given the engaging question/opening question allow for the students to explore/investigate/inquire on their own with books, technology, etc. Next, is to "Expand." Here, Mr. Andersen uses videos or podcast. He says it allows to free up his time to assess his students. Now for the fourth "e," Mr. Andersen said his students "Explain" by elaboration with diagrams, reading, etc. Lastly, "Evaluation" was covered. Here Mr. Andersen assesses his student's understanding of the content. It is here that he will use a video or podcast that students can watch, so he is able to have individual time to ask questions to his students before his students have to take their Summary Quiz at the end of their lessons. Mr. Andersen then finishes his podcast by explaining that when you combine the Blended Learning and the Learning Cycle you get a "Blended Learning Cycle."

"Making Thinking Visible" by Mark Church

In the video Making Thinking Visible by Mark Church, Mr. Church has his students work in small groups to have a discussion about a video they had watched the day before, concerning the topic of early human beginnings and the origins of human society. In order for his students to capture the "heart" of what the unit was all about, he asked his students to talk about the "puzzles" in their small groups and to come up with a headline to capture what the "puzzle and challenge of the search for human origin" was all about.

One of Mr. Church's students asked her group, "How could we sum up everything that we have been talking about in one phrase?" We agree that through communication and collaboration, the thought process among these groups become visible. After discussing each groups headlines, Mr. Church then puts the headlines up on bulletin boards to be displayed. After two weeks more of the same unit and when the kids do a final project, Mr. Church is going to ask them "What's the headline now? How has the story changed? How has your thinking changed?"

This video was a great example of seeing thinking become visible. Communication and collaboration are some of the 21st century tools that we have been studying and to see children work and think together definitely proves that they are important tools needed all throughout life.

"Super Digital Citizen" - Building Comics by Sam Pane

The focus in the video "Super Digital Citizen- Building Comics by Sam Pane was "How to become a super digital citizen." Mr. Pane is a fifth grade teacher at Wilson Focus School in the Omaha Public School District in Nebraska. He teaches all curriculum's which include: reading, math, science, and social studies.

In this video, Mr. Pane asks his students "Who is really in charge of using the internet safely?" The video in this lesson is about how to be a good digital citizen and being able to evaluate when you go to websites, what kind of information they might be after. Mr. Pane brought up a quote from Spider-Man which was, "With great power comes great responsibility." He then asked his class, "What kind of power does the internet give us?" They had a class discussion and then they talked about what it means to be a digital citizen ("someone who chooses to act safely, responsibly, and respectfully, whenever they are online").

The project Mr. Pane gave his students was to build a comic showing safety, responsibility, and respect. They were to design a digital super hero that would step in, in order to save the day. The website that these students used is one that allows people to build their own super digital character. They were allowed to pick from three basic designs and then they were able to modify and customize it as much as they wanted. These students did their projects on Mac laptops.

Mr. Pane said, "Matching up with English, Language standards is a huge deal in this lesson because the students have to create their super digital citizen and then they have to actually take that and put them into a imagination situation." They are creating a narrative between themselves and their super hero. They also use pictures of themselves along with their super hero characters, which creates a sense of ownership for them. Mr. Pane said, "Building comics are a great way to do a visual presentation of learning and of text. We can also use this as a way to teach dialogue (text bubble)." When the students were finished creating their comic, they got up and walked to a different laptop to read someone else's comic. Then they had to determine if the person used examples of safety, respect, and responsibility. Mr. Pane said the bottom line is that "Students are going to be exposed online to all sorts of opportunities, and he wants his students to know that they're choices they will have to make, and that it's going to take a super digital citizen to make these choices."

We really liked this video because building comics is a great idea to use in classrooms. It used many of the 21st century skills including communication, creativity, collaboration, and it was also very engaging. The students looked like they really enjoyed this project and any project that promotes learning but is also fun at the same time, is always a great project.

Blog Post #8

Promethean Planet

I have found a resource that is similar to iCurio. The website I found was Promethean Planet; it is a free interactive community that is created by teacher for teachers. With Promethean Planet, there are many links that teachers can use on a daily basis to assist in the process of making lessons and bringing technology into the classroom. One link that I particularly found useful that iCurio did not have was a Blog and Forum tab at the top of the web page. Here teachers can communicate and open up their networks. If you are the new teacher, like I will be, this is an excellent way to talk to other teachers, and ask questions. The various methods in which you can talk about Products and Curriculum, News and Events, Blogging, Technical Support, and Special Interest Groups.

Evernote by Katlyn Lusker

In the video Dr. Lodge McCammon's Fizz- Flipping the Classroom, Dr. McCammon said, "Too much of the time, Education today looks like students in the classroom and teachers just lecturing to the students, which is inefficient, not engaging, and it is a one shot deal." He continued saying, "Then we send our students out of the classroom to apply their learning individually which is also not engaging." To meet the needs of all students we need to make drastic changes. In the video Why I Flipped My Classroom by Katie Gimbar, she explains the importance and effectiveness of flipping the classrooms. In flipping classrooms, students are able to pre-load content, getting information they will need for class. They are able to pause, rewind, and re-watch videos. They can also post any questions they have, which enables the teacher to plan and prepare answers specifically for the class time. This is a self-paced program so students are able to go back and review former topics or they can even work ahead. Because of this process, the whole classroom has now shifted. The students come to class with the information already and now the teacher is the center of the class. The teacher can now work with the different groups that are moving on their own pace. Ninety percent of the class time is now spent on application of content by flipping the classroom.

So, as more teachers move into blended environments that focus on anywhere/ anytime learning, the need for practical tools increases. But how can we and our students best save, share, and manage content? Evernote can help (About Evernote).

Evernote is available in both free and paid versions and at its most basic level, it is designed to help teachers and their students take notes and access those notes wherever they are and whenever they want. The notes can be simple or they can be complex, from simple text to notes containing images, video, and audio clips. They can be just about anything also including lectures, to-do lists, clips and text from websites, or even essay rough drafts. A great things about Evernote is that it can be installed as software on a desktop, used as a web-based tool accessible through a browser, and as a mobile app.

In my own classroom I would definitely use Evernote. I think this is a great resource for teachers and their students. I really like how students are able to go back and look at information whenever and wherever they would like. One of the reasons why I chose to explain and research Evernote is because it is a great organization tool. I am a very organized person and I am always looking for other great ways to organize as much as possible. I would use this resource as a way to provide my students with all kinds of information. They would be able to prepare for class and they would be able to review for tests. I think Evernote would be a very beneficial tool in classrooms.

Powerschool by Jake Dukes

Powerschool allows teachers to manage attendance, grades and show a class schedule for everyday of each week. It also allows your parents to check your progress in every class. Your parents would be able to access your grades, attendance and be notified if you weren’t showing up for class or you weren’t completing your work on time. Powerschool shows what your child is going to be doing everyday in class and what he/she should have done by a certain date. It also shows an online seating chart of who your child is sitting by and a picture of the student that your child is sitting by. On each assignment they(the student) turns in the parent will be able to see a comment by which the teacher is talking about your child's grade. Which I think will help the parents stay on top of their child's progress in school, which will benefit the student so they won’t get too far behind and your parents will know how you’ve been doing every step of the way in the classroom.

Project # 9 The Podcast

For our podcast we discussed topic #8. We discussed how we should connect technology to the curriculum and how we can teach for the future. We used the book "Teaching Digital Natives" by Marc Prensky and Mrs. Kathleen Morris's blog as sources.

C4T #2

This week I had Eva Buyuksimkesyan for my C4T. In her blog, she explained that she is thrilled to be presenting at the 4th Reform Symposium. The Reform Symposium will be held on October 11-13, 2013, it can be followed on Twitter @RSCON4 or on Pinterest. The Symposium is a free global conference; it will be featuring 100+ presentations, 10+ Keynotes, 4 Panels, Electric Violinist, etc. She said in her presentation she will talk about the “E-Project” that she started in her school. In my reply to Eva Buyuksimkesyan, I explained that I had never experienced a conference before, and I am now following the 4th Reform Symposium on Pinterest. I also wished her good luck on her presentation, and I hope to gain valuable information that I can use when become a teacher.

This is a link to Eva Buyuksimkesyan's abstract of the presentation.

Blog Post 7

Interviews with Anthony Capps summarized by Tarcela Kohn, Katlyn Lusker, Alex Hopson, and Jake Dukes
1) Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher

We have learned a lot by listening to Anthony Capps. In this video, Anthony Capps said “A lot of people when we think about Project Based Learning,; we think projects are what you do at the end of a lesson to show that you learned what you were supposed to learn. But now the goal of PBL and the shift that educators have to take is looking at PBL in a new way. That is, using PBL not only as a means to show that a student has achieved something but using it as a means to also get them to learn something.” We should get them excited about owning their own learning. We also have learned from listening to Anthony Capps in this video that the goal of a good project is “one that has an authentic audience so that the kids are rewarded for the work they do.” Good projects also “need to have student interest, it needs to be relevant to the kids lives.” Another goal of a good project is that it involves the community somehow. It should “show how it really relates to the real world experiences, and most importantly good projects should be driven by content.”

2) Project Based Learning Part 2: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher
In this video, Anthony Capps said, “Not everything is always going to go well.” During one of his favorite projects in which his class was studying different cultures, one of his student’s fathers did not like the fact they were studying Afghanistan culture. The student’s father had been deployed to Afghanistan, and he didn’t think it was appropriate. Although Mr. Capps did not necessarily agree, it it still important to remember to respect your students parents. Anthony Capps also said “With Project Based Learning, never limit your students by giving them exactly what you want them to do. Create an opportunity for them to go beyond what you want them to do, and they will.” You are going to get more than what you expected.

Anthony Capps said, “My students love projects because they are not trapped in worksheets and whenever he does give them a worksheet, they know it is meaningful, and they know it is to help them gauge where they are.” We learned that student choice is another big aspect of PBL. When you give students the opportunity to chose, then you also give them more ownership and pride and they really understand what they are saying and what they are arguing. “On the kids aspect, they are really proud of what they do and they know what they are doing and why they are doing it, and that is what PBL allows for.


3)iCurio
Out of all of these conversations with Anthony Capps, we think we learned the most about iCurio from him. iCurio is an online tool that allows students to safely search websites that have been pulled, (including websites, images, and videos) and others kinds of online media that have been pulled and filtered for educational use. We had no clue iCurio was filtered for educational use, and that is was designed for students to use safely. Another feature Anthony Capps discusses is that iCurio allows you to store content that students and teachers find valuable. “It also teaches virtual organization.” iCurio is kid friendly, created for student use, and it is safe. Anthony Capps said, “Any teacher that feels comfortable letting their students search the web, we think iCurio is the best way to go.” Students just log on and use it like a search engine. iCurio is also great for accessibility, it has a read along feature so almost anyone can use it.

4) Discovery Education
Before we listened to Anthony Capps explain what Discovery Education was, we were kind of clueless. We learned that Discovery Education takes students way beyond just pictures. It gives students videos from outside of you (the teacher) and it brings experts into the classroom via video. Discovery Education is used for “student searches so they can enrich their research experience and a teacher can also use it to bring different texts to life.”

5) The Anthony- Strange Tips for Teachers Part 1: By Tarcela Kohn

In this video, Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps discussed essential things that any new teacher should think about. Dr. Strange asked Anthony Capps “What are some of the most valuable things that you should prepare yourself to do as a teacher?” Dr. Stange continued by saying, “Teachers have to really be interested in learning themselves.” “If you are not a learner then you will not be a successful educator because what we have to do ourselves is constantly learn and model that behavior.” Anthony Capps agreed and said this also leads to another key thing any new teacher should think about. He continued by saying “Teaching is hard. Let your work become a fun experience for you.” Dr. Strange added “Teaching is a constant process; it never ends, but it can be very rewarding.” More essential things both Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange agreed on that new teachers should think about are: teachers need to be creative, flexible, and we can’t be committed to one particular way of doing something. We have to respond to events that we don’t expect. Also students should be engaged, and they should have a reflection process. Having an audience is perfect for reflection. Dr. Strange said, “Self evaluation is really important in the whole process of learning.” I think they’re a lot of great tips in this video. I’m glad that we were reminded that we cannot be committed to one particular way of doing something. I feel as if sometimes we forget not everything works out as planned, so having a plan B is always a good idea.

6) Don’t Teach Tech- Use It : By Katlyn Lusker
Like Anthony Capps, put it, “We are immersed in technology whether we want to be or not.” Technology is natural for all kids, it is there in their lives. Anthony Capps said “They will really enjoy the opportunity to be able to use technology to prove their learning or to learn.” Anthony Capps said “One of the things about technology is that you should not teach it, you should not have technology as something that is a list of things for you to get done in the day. Use it alongside with your teaching.” He also suggested that you chose one technology at a time to focus on. Most of the technology is free, so they’re many other advantages to using different forms of it. It lets students create, it is clean, it is shareable, and it is real. Anthony Capps said “Use technology to let it get your students excited about what they are doing. Use it to let them share what they are doing. And also do not expect perfection.” “Never teach technology, just introduce it smartly.” Mr. Capps said, “If you are worried about anything, do it yourself first.”

7) Additional Thoughts About Lessons: By Jake Dukes
In this video chat Anthony Capps is explaining the four ways to prepare for a school year. The four ways he would prepare for his class is daily, weekly, yearly and into units. One, is daily which means something that you do everyday in your class with your students, he tells about having a hook which catches your students attention while you're teaching your lecture. Second, is weekly which means to plan out the week of what you're going to be lecturing your students about but if you can’t do it all in a week stretch it out so the students will still be able to understand the lecture, don’t have a set time when things have to be due. Third, is teaching by units. When he says teaching by units he is referring to teach where you can have enough time to teach everything you need to in the time you are with the students. Finally, is year plan, the year plan is what you expect to teach the student throughout the year in your class, and what he or she should learn leaving the class.

Project #2

Personal Learning Network

Are you wondering what a Personal Learning Network is? That is perfectly fine, before this assignment I had never heard of what a Personal Learning Network or PLN was. Although PLN is a group of people that communicate and exchange information with one another, usually online. PLNs include different social networking sites such as: Facebook, Twitter, Wikis, and LinkedIn, just to name a few.

I watched the video PLN by Mr. Michael Fawcett who teaches in New Zealand. Mr. Fawcett gives his insight of PLN and what a positive outcome it has made on his class and himself. In the video he stated that twelve months ago, he did not have a PLN. He finally was introduced to PLN when he went to a teaching conference and a twitter account was set up to voice their comments and concerns. His connections were the few teachers that he had talked to during the conference, but as the weeks went by, he started adding more people that he did not know. These were teachers from all around the world giving tips, tools, websites, and feedbacks for his classroom. His Personal Learning Network has multiplied, and Mr. Fawcett said that because he had started his PLN "it made him grow as a Teacher." The one thing that I have learned from Mr. Fawcett is that you can never have too many connections, and his ending to his video was great!

Since Mr. Fawcett's ending of his video was so compelling I will have a PLN as an educator. I am choosing to use Symbaloo for project #2 as my Personal Learning Network. Symbaloo is a online service that you can organize all of your online life with little tiles, and it allows you to discover anything else. I figure with all of my bookmarks in one location I will be able to manage my contacts with other educators and students. I am still in the process of finding new tiles to fill in my Webmix Home Screen.