Blog Post 6

I learned a great amount of information by watching the videos with Dr.Strange and Anthony Capps. The first two videos Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher and Project Based Learning Part 2: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher, I learned how important project based learning is in the classroom. Dr.Strange and Anthony Capps discuss different reasons why project based learning should be included while teaching. It gets the students excited about learning because they are creating something. It also interest the students and if the students are interested they are willing to learn more about it and will also be engaged in learning. Anthony said, "It never limits students", "It lets them go beyond". This will lead to the students taking pride in their work and they will become more confident to succeed. I do believe that project based learning is a key factor in a classroom. The students will retain more and remember more of the information they are learning in the long run. Like Dr.Strange says, "No burp back information" and that is exactly what project based learning is.

The two learning tools,iCurio and Discovery Education Dr.Strange and Anthony Capps discussed will be helpful when students need to do research. They described the search engine iCurio as a safe search engine for students. This particular website is also good for keeping not only students, but teachers organized as well. The search engine iCurio provides different files to store information, cookies and websites. This would be extremely helpful if the information just so happens to get lost. Anthony Capps best describes Discovery Education as "it brings text to life" and is great for research science and social studies related. Both of these search engines are great for students and teachers to learn.

The six key tips for teachers Dr.Strange and Anthony Capps made in their video, The Anthony-Strange List of Tips for Teachers Part 1 hit on positive points. I believe these tips are going to be helpful when I become a teacher and I will use them in my classroom when I become a teacher.
1. Interested in learning yourself.
2. Teaching is hard, but exciting.
3. Got to be flexible, pretty much a Plan B.
4. Start with a goal.
5. Engage your students.
6. Reflect/self evaluation.

The video Don't Teach Tech-Use It, Dr.Strange and Anthony Capps talk about why it is important that teachers should use technology in a classroom. They made some valid points in their video. Such as, technology is part of students lives and they need to know how to use it. It is also a fun way for students to learn. I agree with Dr.Strange and Anthony Capps as discussed in the video, technology is a great way for students to learn.

Anthony Capps said a Lesson is four layers thick in his video, Additional Thoughts About Lessons.
First Layer: The year
Second Layer: The Unit
Third Layer: The Week
Fourth Layer: The Day

Project 8 Book Trailer

Why Is Blue Dog Blue?

C4K Summary for September

I read Tyla-Marie's Blog. She made up a game called Dandy Shandy. She said the game is like "Piggy in the Middle" and "Dodge-ball".

I commented
Tyla-Marie,
I am a college student from the United States, I am taking a technology class at University at South Alabama. I enjoyed reading about the game you made up, it is very creative. I like how you incorporated dodge ball and "piggy in the middle". In the United States we call it monkey in the middle, it is the same game and has the same rules.

I read Grayson's Blog. In his post he talked about what they did in art class to celebrate Dot Day. He described all the different art project they did in class to represent dots for Dot Day.

I commented
I am a college student attending the University of South Alabama. I have also celebrated Dot Day in my art class. I blew up a balloon and did a paper mache. Once the balloon was dry I added paint. I painted the balloon black with white stripes around it. The final product was a big dot, in honor of Dot Day.

I read Christina's Blog. In her post she provided different YouTube videos that she enjoyed, they were all about cats.

I commented
Christina,
I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am currently enrolled in a technology class there. I enjoyed your blog post. I watched the videos that you provided in your blog post. I see that you like cats, is that your favorite animal? My favorite animal is an Owl!

Blog Post 5

In Developing A Personal Learning Network in EDM310 it describes a Personal Learning Network (PLN) as a place, person, organization, or activity that enables one to learn. PLN's can help me as a teacher in the future to connect with not only my students but other professionals around me. There are several ways to create a PLN such as: blogs, Twitter, Facebook, social gatherings, etc. I am connected to Twitter and Blogger and I follow professionals and other students. I want to connect with them so I can advance my learning. The video How to Start a PLN explains how to start your own personal PLN.



Personal Learning Network has advantages for everyone around the world. In Steve Anderson's video What My PLN Means to ME he explains why having a PLN is necessary. It helps teachers grow as educators in the fact that he or she is connecting with so many people beyond the school. It helps educators learn from other educators, so they can teach their students. I do believe that having a Personal Learning Network is important for everyone. Furthermore, we as teachers, educators and people in general can learn outside of our desks by taking it to a different level.

Project #3 Presentation

My Sentence Videos

My Sentence Is...



My Passion Is...

Blog Post 4

It is very important that teachers ask students questions in the classroom. When the teacher asks a question to the class it will keep them on their toes thinking about what was asked. When the right questions are being asked it can improve the students learning Asking Questions to Improve Learning, while challenging them at the same time. In the video Asking better questions in classroom she explains the difference between closed ended questions and open ended questions. Closed ended questions are questions that can be answered yes or no. Where as open ended questions are left open so the student can explain his/her answer. I honestly believe both types of questions are effective in the classroom.

In Ben Johnson's article The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom he stated, "As teachers, we need to come to grips with the fact that we really do not know everything, and there is no reason to assume that the students know nothing." I agree with him, we as educators and future educators do not know everything and are far from being a "know it all." Everyone has to ask questions in order to learn. Whether you are a teacher or a student it is perfectly fine to ask questions, that is how we learn. We were not born to know everything, we are all learners and the best way to do so is ask questions!

Project 15

1.WolfranAlpha is used for Educational purposes. It had an enormous amount of information on one topic when I typed something in. For example, when I typed in dog it gave me information on their organs. The diameter of a dogs eye ball is 0.83 inches and the brain weighs about 4.8 oz. It provided all the information someone could want to know. This website seems like it would be used for science purposes. I enjoyed reading the extra information about a dog that I did not know.
2.Dogpile reminded me of Google, but with a different title. It gives different places someone can search such as: Web, Images, Video, News, Local, Shopping, and White Pages.
3.Duck Duck Go gives different options other than websites. When I typed in the word water it gave me different types and pictures of water. It also gave me videos about water. This website has good, useful information.
4.Bing is more news related. It also has different historical aspects.
5.Yippy is research oriented. When I typed in the search engine it gave me different options to search from such as: Clouds, Sources, Sites, and Time. Each option has information underneath it. It is great for research.
6.Yahoo is good for emailing, news, finance, weather, etc. Yahoo gives tons of options.
7.Kid Rex is GREAT for children. It is a website that is safe for children to search. It is very adorable and welcoming to children. I will use this website in the future for my students.
8.GoGoGooligans is also safe for children and teens. It is an educational website. It will be great for children and teens to use in school.

C4T #1 (Post 1 and 2)

I was assigned Ben Jones.
In his blog post Bring your own ideas. He was discussing BYOD (bring your own device) classes. He also believes these types of classes will fail in the near future He is teaching a BYOD class, not by choice. I replied with; I am new to the BYOD program, the first time I heard about this program was when I read your blog and the two links you provided. I feel that if teachers approach the BYOD program in a positive way others opinions about it might change. But i do agree with Gary Stagers anti BYOD dissection article when he said, “Cell phones are not computers! They may both contain microprocessors and batteries, but as of today, their functionality is quite different.” Most everyone these days are attached to their cellphone and if a cellphone is allowed in the classroom as a “device”, more than likely the student will not be working on the assignment they are supposed to be working on. However, I think it is awesome that you are teaching a BYOD class. You are learning as are your students, and that could be a good or bad thing. What it comes down to is the teacher being constructive and the students actually wanting to learn.

In his blog post Weathering the Storm of Education, he was discussing how teaching is difficult and can be traumatic. He also states that we as people should surround ourselves with professionals. I replied with; Teaching can and will be difficult at times. However, as educators we must not give up! Students will look up to us as teachers and educators. If we as teachers gave up because it was too difficult, imagine how that would make you look as a professional, not a good one. As an educator there will be good days and there will be bad days, so yes teaching can be “traumatic”. That is why we became teachers in the first place! We will be there to help not only students out but help our fellow educators as well. I believe everyone should surround themselves with good people and professionalism.

Blog post 3

By watching What is Peer Editing? and reading the slideshow Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial I learned a great amount on peer editing. I did not realize how taking a positive approach on editing ones paper can be so helpful towards my peers. Adriana Zardini said in her slideshow(slide 5), "Think about how you would feel if someone were telling you what needed to be improved in your own writing..." I agree one hundred percent with that! I now know how to approach someone when I have to edit their paper. The video and slideshow were helpful with learning how to take peer editing step by step.

The humorous video Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes was very adorable. The video has shown me different ways to not edit someones paper. The video kept my attention while I was learning new information about peer editing. The video could also be shown in an Elementary classroom to help students understand on what not to do when it comes to peer editing. Always be a constructive critic!