Blog Post #10

Little Kids...Big Potential
In this video the kids let us know how much they love blogging. The kids tell us how much it helps improve their work. As the kid at the beginning says, always say nice things, because you do not want to hurt anyones feelings. My mom has always told me basically the same thing, do not say anything if you cannot say anything nice. That is a good point for not only students, but for teachers as well. I am sure as a teacher, I will encounter something along those lines. When you are teaching kids you never know what will come out of their mouth when they are talking.


Interviewing with Mrs. Cassidy
I watched all three videos just like Dr. Strange had asked us to do. Mrs. Cassidy has been involved with technology for a while now, and she is even involved with her First Graders! We have learned that technology is very effective and is what our EDM 310 class is based on. I know that Mrs. Cassidy mentions many forms of technology in her interviews including: Blogging, Twitter, Skype, and SMARTboards. Blogging has became very powerful and exciting thing for kids. SMARTboards engage students, especially when you are doing active learning. The kids today love to get involved, and they love it even more if it has technology involved. When I entered this EDM 310 class, I had never blogged before. I have learned that I actually like it, and it helps me network with teachers, future teachers, students, and even people in the pageant world. It has helped my writing, and I hope it continues to get better. Mrs. Cassidy has done an outstanding job with her first grade students by introducing them to technology. The earlier they learn how to use technology is better for them, because technology is only going to get more advanced.

C4T #3

Mr. Eric Langhorst had been to a workshop named the 2014 Mount Vernon Missouri Teacher Workshop. He posted a few pictures from it to his blog. He impressed me with pictures, it would mean a lot to any history teacher. He said he had posted over 750 pictures to Flickr from this workshop. I told him I would hopefully be able to find them, that way I can see more of his experience through his pictures. A lot of these pictures I told him remind me of the American Village in Montevallo, Alabama. We went there on a field trip in 5th grade, and I absolutely loved it. This picture is just one of the ones from his page.

Project #12A Mastering SMARTboard tools!

Project #6 C4K summary

McKenzie J- In McKenzie's blog post she talks about the main character from The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. She answers the question, Could you be friends with the main character or not? why or why not?

Cali J- In Cali's blog she wrote a question, Who was the best volleyball player in 2012? I guessed her answer A. Savannah Voelzke. That name to me sounded sporty, and I thought it would be a great guess. Also, there was two other kids who had said A and she responded after that, and said yes that was the correct answer.

Claire- In Claire's blog post she was writing about herself. She describes how many family members she has, how many pets, and what her favorite book series are. I commented back telling Claire that I enjoyed getting to learn about her and her family. I also let her know that when I was growing up Harry Potter was something I was interested in for a little bit. I told her good luck with her reading and writing.

Sateki- In Sateki's Blog he talks about the Argo Amphibious ATV. He gives interesting facts like when the first one was made, and why it was given that name. I said that It was very interesting. I would like to ride in one of these since it does go on land and in water. I think that this reminds me of the place in Missouri called Come Ride the Ducks. I told him where I am from, people would enjoy this because you do not have to stop riding just because of water or deep water holes. Keep up the interesting blog posts.

Blog Post #9 What can Teachers and Students teach us about Project Based learning?

Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning It was after I read and watched these blog post that I realized what can come off as busy work to students. They will then feel disconnected with this project and it will not engage them. I know by printing out certain guidelines, it makes them not be able to use their imagination and creativity to be different. As a teacher you always want them to use their creativity. They should be able to make their own decisions about how they want to do their work or projects. I have learned that Project Based Learning focuses on 7 main concepts: 1. The Need to Know, which is used to engage the students. It would be the entry event, which could be done in many ways. 2. The Driving Question, is something that will be a clear purpose and challenge to the students. 3. Student voice and choice, you always want to make sure your students always have the ability to voice their opinion and choice. This is a way to be unique. 4. 21st Century Skills, which is what they will being to college and into the work force. This includes how they use critical thinking. 5. Inquiry and Innovation, which helps the kids with questions and how they should follow their ideas. They may use the internet and other resources. This will help their project be meaningful and be remembered. 6. Feedback and revision, which is what helps to make the project even better. I know that this could come from them, a classmate, any teachers, mentors, or anyone else who they feel would help them edit their work before presenting the work. 7. Publicly presented product, this is the final step of presenting their work. If they know they have to present it in front of either their class or the student body, they tend to work a little harder. As a teacher you always want to give them an Audience. I have learned a lot of great tips for the PBL projects and how to make my students look more presentable. I want to teach my kids how to think outside the box and be abstract. I now know, that it is very possible to engage students more effectively with a the PBL steps, verses having to give strict guidelines and only certain topics.

Project Based Learning for Teachers This video was very helpful to me, because it seems to have a lot of information for questions teachers or future teachers may have. It tells you exactly what common core is, and it tells you exactly what Project based Learning is. They show you what skills it takes. They explain exactly how technology plays a roll for both students and teachers. I believe what it said about PBL helps kids take charge of their learning. I enjoyed this video a lot.

PBL- High School Math This video was very important to me because it showed how they had a 5 year transition for the school. They showed how the teachers were actually getting to make their class by using Project Based Learning. I believe it would have been difficult at first, but I think I would eventually get it. Project Based Learning they said had already made a impact on test scores. They were hoping to get even higher after all of the classes were switched over. They have saw a change in students who were not normally engaged in class, who were now engaged and participating. Their 15% increase in students passing their High School Proficiency Exam in Reading was a good sign that it was working, and also the 18% increase in Algebra 2. I believe that that as a teacher would make me extremely happy, and I would make sure to be the best teacher I could be. I always say to my self, you may be the best thing they see all day, always be very nice and concerned about your students.

What Motivates Students? The kids in this video are very realistic. We all have been told since we were little, you can do anything you set your mind to, but there are things you have to do to get there. I really enjoyed the rewards part of the video. The little boy who talked about the clip chart and having class money, is what gives me an idea for my future classroom. I like the idea of having a different theme for each day to engage your kids. Let's be honest kids get bored and zone out really quick, they need something fun that will entertain them while they are learning.

Two Students solve the problem of watery Ketchup by Designing a new Cap This video is pretty cool, considering I eat ketchup on a lot of things. It is very interesting that these two boys worked together for a year, started with sixty designs and narrowed it down to thirty. They have even figured out how much it would cost the companies to switch to this kind of cap. They worked as a team, formatted it, and then printed it to test. I wish that I could think of some kind of project like this to be able to do. I appreciate Johnathan and Tyler doing this because hopefully the ketchup companies will eventually convert to a new lid.

C4K #6

My C4K was Claire, and her post was about her and her family. I have learned there are 7 people in her family. She has a brother, a sister, a dog, and a fish. She is apart of the ACT class, which is meant for the gifted students. She enjoys reading and one of her favorite series if Harry Potter.

I said I enjoyed learning about Claire and her family. I have more of a smaller family, but I have two dogs. I want to learn more about her third grade class. I also let Claire know that when I was her age, one of my favorite series was Harry Potter.

Implications and Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching and Learning

Part A
I know that 87% of people say that their phone never leaves their side. I know a lot of people will think that is not a good thing. When I think about that much percent is attached to their phone, it makes me think about my future students. I know that it means most of my students will have smart phone. I know that their can be a lot of distractions with phones like games, but also this technology we think may be a problem can also be a good thing. Smart phones can also have a lot of learning project possible ideas for a teacher.

It is my job to make sure that these smart phones are use in a productive way. An example of this in my classroom would be that, I can use twitter for my class to make quiz questions or for like a bell ringer. I could also use Facebook as a tool for a poll on what they think the correct answer is. This are both two different things that I could use. I know teachers that use both in their classroom right now, and it works out really well for them.

Part B
I know that by using the smart phones that students have, is using this tool that the school system did not have to pay for. A lot of students parents have given them a smart phone, and it is like carrying around a small computer. They can do almost anything on it, that they could with a computer. These cameras that are in the smart phones can come into use during class on many occasions. They could either video the lecture of you talking, take pictures of their homework assignments, and also record their self or each other to know how they need to make changes to a presentation. They could use different applications and websites to learn all about the lesson you are teaching. I feel like that the list could go on, and I could implement any kind of technology in my lesson plans.

Blog Post #8

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

I thought that this video made me realize a lot. He is such an inspiration. He still will have an impact on students or anyone else who watches this video. I think by him rambling in the beginning of his lecture of his childhood dreams, helps makes everyone realize how many he accomplished, which I thought the Zero Gravity thing was pretty awesome to say you have done. I heard many things that stood out to me. The comment he made about being a teacher was what hit home. I have always been told this, Being a teacher is not for everyone. It will never be an easy job. It is that about the "brick walls are there, for us to prove how bad we want things." My mom has always told me something similar, "God puts us through things to make us want it even more."

I believe that the whole thing about the project he made his students do for two weeks, and telling them they were good but could be better helps students work better. I think that students do their best, but they always could use some criticizing to make their work better. I think that we future educators could use this in our future classrooms or even on our work in all of our classes. We are humans we make mistakes, and we are not meant to be stranded alone, we need people there to help us up when we fall. We need someone there to make us better always.

I believe that with him being an inspiration not only to me, but others as well it will help open our eyes on life. I know that he had a lot of people inspire him. If anyone feels the need to watch someone to maybe better their self or know someone else who needs to watch his video inspire them to watch it. I know that with this being his last lecture, he left an amazing last impression on people. I highly recommend this video to anyone. It will help you not to give up on your dreams, he has not given up on any of his dreams in the 47 years of his life. Do not let anyone crush your dreams, you make them want to see you fall, but you succeed and make them wish they were you.

C4T #2

Mr. Burke Quantum Process

This blog post from Mr. Burke showed how even though he had to leave class early, he challenged his class to record each other and finish the problem. I watched the video that he shared of the class. This video showed us how much the class works together to figure out the answer. This video showed what students want to step up to the plate and learn more to do better in their classes. My comment on this blog post was that I feel that the whole video thing was a good thing. I think that if the class does this often you find out who the kids are that actually want to be there, and that want to better their learning skills. This kind of learning and recording their self will help them out in the long run because they can go back and watch it. It helps them see their mistakes they have made while working out a problem.


Mr. Burke Back to Blogging with my best class ever

He works with discussion of their work. He also makes sure that they have good reasoning for their answers and how they figured it out. He records them that way he can watch it and so can they. It helps some of them take notes that way they can better their self in his class. As you watch the video you can see that some students are not as involved as others in the class. I believe that if I was a student in this class, it would make me want to be involved with this. I think that this is an awesome idea as a teacher. It may have turned into a 80 minute discussion, but their was a reason that it went that long. I think that more teachers need to help students be engaged like this with anything they are teaching.

Blog Post #7

How do we all become learners?


!. I feel like that I am learning more everyday so that I can be prepared to teach my students how to use all this technology. My strengths are: I catch on easily, patience with people, and I love teaching new things. My Weakness are: I get stressed out with things needing to be done, procrastination, and getting distracted by having ADD. Over the next couple years have to accept the fact that classes will be more technology based. I know that twitter can be used for quiz questions, bonus, or extra credit questions like a friend of mine does teaching history at Montevallo High School.


2. I learned from these videos that children learn early on how to use technology. I have also learned how easy it is for children to learn how to make QR notes, how to make poppets, how to make and share Board Building, and they know how to use iMovie for different things for class. As teachers you can create centers using these different things. This videos show you that kids learn way faster than any college students. I know we did not grow up with technologies that they have access to now days. Children are now always going to have to use technology in their classes as they grow up and in their personal lives.