C4K Summary #2

For the first week of October, I was assigned Ben Pickle's blog. In this post, Ben wrote about service dogs, which I'm sure was a very interesting topic for the kids because I found it quite interesting myself! Ben stated that service dogs were very important because they "help peolple who need help," which I agreed with. Service dogs are VERY important to their owners, because the owners' lives sometimes depend on them. Ben also points out that siblings are sometimes jealous of each other, because each want their parents undivided attention, which is a point I also agreed with!

In the second week of October, I was assigned to read Zach's blog. In his post, Zach explained his activities that day. He watched a little television and played with his legos. The he had to eat dinner and go to bed, because he had school the next day. It was interesting to hear what his day had consisted of, because I could compare it to what my day consisted of when I was his age!

Quasia's blog was my third week of October and in her post she wrote about her sisters and even shared a picture of them! I though this blog was so sweet! I really liked Quasia's post because I felt that I was able to get to know her a little more personally because she talked about something that she loved, her sister, and I really enjoyed reading it! Also, I could connect with her, because I too have a sister that I am close with!

This week for the c4k assignment, I read a post by jacquelineg15 and this was easily my favorite post that I have read yet! She picked a very interesting topic, "The Dangerous Lack of Standardization in Our Criminal System and the Man Whose Life Is on the Line Because of It", and I was VERY impressed with her writing skills and points! She even shared a graph that backed her point of view on the mentally unstable in relation to the death sentence and prison. I agreed with her points and I very well enjoyed reading her post!

Blog Eleven

I know I cannot be the only person who does this, but watching videos like Little Kids... Big Potential gets me so excited about being in a classroom! I mean, how adorable are these kids and their readiness to learn!? Watching how Mrs. Cassidy incorporates technology in her curriculum was very helpful to me, and it even gave me ideas to try with my future classroom. I love that she did not limit her students' use of technology because of their age. Kids are much more capable of using technology than they are give then credit for. Mrs. Cassidy also made some very interesting point in the Skype Interview with Dr. Strange about technology being "apart of kids' worlds." This statement is so very true! Kids, now days, are brought up in a technological world, they love it! Watching these first graders breeze through the use of Skype or Blogger made me ashamed because I am a soon to be educator and I don't know it well enough to do some of the things that came so easy to them. Although, thanks to EDM 310, I have become MUCH more "technologically literate."

One of the techniques the Mrs. Cassidy talked about, that I will be incorporating into my curriculum is blogging. I see how much blogging has helped in this semester in EDM and how excited it has made me about learning more about technology and ways to use it in my own classroom and i could only only hope to pass that same excitement on to my students! I also see how it has affected students, like Mrs. Cassidy's first graders, and I want my students to have the same opportunity. Students get excited when they know more people are reading their work, and that is something pencil and paper does not offer. Another great thing about blogging it that students are made to think for themselves! When posting blogs, you start with a blank screen and from there the student is allowed to take the topic wherever they choose! They are given more room for creative thinking using blogs. However, blogging will NOT be the only way technology is used in my classroom!

Having technology in a classroom can be very expensive! The would be on impediment that might be encountered, especially for a low income school. Not all schools are as privileged as others. While some schools have a computer per each student, other schools, like the school I work for, have one computer per class. However, if I was faced with the problem have not having the money but for one computer I would be forced to find a way around, over or through this "brick wall" because I believe having technology in the classroom is VERY important.

C4T Summary #2

For this C4T I was assigned Mrs. Jenny She's blog Jenny'sLearningJourney . After reading her blog posts, I was inspired to become a better person/teacher! In her first blog, Mrs. Jenny wrote about being "snapped." As she was working with another student, Tatiana shouted "You've been snapped!" Such a simple thing, yet so very powerful from Mrs. She's perspective! She gave little Tatiana the guidance, and Tatiana created her own show! How amazing is that!? I hope to one day have as much impact on my students as Mrs. She has had on her class!

Mrs. She's next post was very short, but had such a powerful message! "The happiest people don’t have everything, they just make the best of everything." Along with beautiful photographs of different types of flowers, Mrs. She writes about a photographer she knows who doesn't have the best camera there is out there, but he makes the best with what he has. Although these flower photographs are captured with the camera on his phone, they are just as beautiful as the ones captured with expensive cameras!

Project Fourteen: Lesson Plans

My Lesson Plans can also be accessed using this link through Google Sites!

Blog Ten

"What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?"

I leave my computer opened to allow Randy Pausch's Last Lecture to load, head to the refrigerator to grab a drink and the first thing I noticed when I return is the length of the video, so I began to think "Great, an hour to sit and watch a boring lecture. This should be real fun!" I hope you picked up on the intended sarcasm.. But, within the first few seconds Paush grabbed my attention and never let go. Seriously! What I was expecting from this video was NOTHING like what I received from it. From Dr. Strange's question, "What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?", I was looking for a video full of teaching methods and maybe a few learning techniques as well. But what I got from this was SO MUCH MORE! Randy Pausch is just an ordinary guy who is taking advantages of "the cards dealt to him."

Within the first few minutes of his speech, Pausch declares what he will not be speaking on, which included cancer, his wife and kids, and religion, but what he will be talking about is his childhood dreams. There was SO MUCH to take in from this! One thing we could take from it was that when pursuing your dreams, there are always going to be brick walls. "The brink walls are not there to keep us out, the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something." I couldn't have said it any better!

Again, we must LEARN not to give up, but to find a way around, over,or through those brick walls. We can also TEACH others by how we react to these brick walls in our lives. What do your actions to setbacks say about you? How are you TEACHING others, your students to respond to their brick walls?

On the first day of kindergarten Mrs. Adams went around the classroom asking students what they wanted to be when they grew up, and my response to her question was a teacher. It has always been my dream to be in a classroom full of students, teaching, helping them prepare for their bright futures, and making sure each student knows their full potential. Like Pausch, I have encountered many, many brick walls but I had to LEARN to find my way around them and continue on the path to my dream and I can only hope that I have TAUGHT others to do the same.

Blog Nine

by Brantley Spillman, Haley Smith, Hilary Thames
Video 1 – “Back to the Future” by Brian Crosby (educator 4-6)
Video 2 – “Blended Learning Cycle” by Paul Anderson (high school biology)
Video 3 – “Making Thinking Visible” by Mark Church (Grade 6)

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?
As future educators, we are continuously learning new methods and techniques that can improve our classrooms. The following video summaries introduce three important features of an effective classroom: technology learning tools, application based teaching, and project based learning. Each of these new approaches attempts to provide opportunities that will equalize the learning experience for all types of children and their various circumstances. Specifically, all children should have the capability and opportunity to use, understand and excel in all areas of education by using these learning strategies.

“Back to the Future” by Brian Crosby
In the first video, Brian Crosby explains a project that he constructed using technology in his fourth grade class. This video taught us that learning is more than reading from a textbook, reviewing notes, and assessing students. The steps that Mr. Crosby used were not reading a book, although it did involve reading...
His students read the book, did small experiments, posted videos to a blog, learned the history of 'ballooning', made a Wiki page, uploaded pictures to Flickr, wrote “High Hopes,” turned them into trading cards, asked others to send “High Hopes”, brought in visitors, released the balloon into space, tracked it, and then shared the experiments with classes around the world through Skype.

This project was all about active learning by using technology. He used several 21st century tools, such as Skype, blogs, Wikipedia, Flickr, etc. The best part about these tools is that they were all free. The final thing that we learned through this video is that learning includes everyone, no matter the circumstances. For example, Celeste was a little girl that had leukemia. She wasn't allowed to come to school very often, due to her condition. However, Mr. Crosby made it possible for her to be a part of the classroom via her computer. It was in this way that she was given the opportunity to learn with students regardless of her circumstances. Mr. Crosby indicated that learning does not have to be boring. He suggested that teaching with technology brought a sense of eagerness to his students. We hope, by embracing and implementing this kind of student eagerness into our own styles of teaching, we can also maintain student interest during the discussion of a learning topic. As educators, if we are unwilling to embrace such learning tools, then we are not only hurting ourselves but our students as well.

“Blended Learning Cycle” by Paul Anderson
The "Blended Learning Cycle" uses the acronym QUIVERS. Everything begins with Questions. If you have a question that grabs a student's attention, then they will learn more because they want to know more. Next, the I stands for Investigation. In this step, students are told to experiment using labs set up in the classroom. The next step is Video. A student views a video to further explain the concept. Elaboration involves a lot of reading in order to understand the concept clearer.

Finally, Review is the part where the teacher gets really involved with the students. The teacher will go over the concept one-on-one with the student so that the educator knows how much the student finally understands. Mr. Anderson steps away from technology as the focus of this teaching strategy and relies on the application of material. His approach is a hands-on "student as a scholar" strategy that forces the student to think outside the box. He stresses the need for his students to not just memorize facts but also try to investigate and apply them. Specifically, we learned that we should begin with a good question. Following the question, we should begin to explore, explain and expand on the learning topic. During this process, students have the opportunity to reflect and edit other student’s work. Further indicating understanding of the topic. We believe that if we take Mr. Anderson’s approach combined with Mr. Crosby’s use of technology, then our kids should have opportunities that students, in the past, have missed.

“Making Thinking Visible” by Mark Church
Mr. Church emphasized the importance of project-based learning. He explains that working together in teams can provide students with skills that are useful in real world settings. Additionally, by having certain topics discussed in groups, students are more engaged and more willing to dig deeper into a subject matter. This video was about making students think. For example, one girl asked, “How can we summarize everything we have been talking about into one phrase?” This headline project allowed students to think bigger. It is easy to summarize a lesson in one paragraph, but it becomes more difficult when a student must only use one sentence? The student must truly understand the information in order to narrow the summary in one phrase. Everyone has a different way of interpreting things.

Thus, by allowing students to work in collaborative groups, everyone's opinions can come together to form a bigger product. Using Mr. Church’s strategy with Mr. Anderson and Mr. Crosby’s could allow for the ideal learning environment that will level the field for all types of students to learn and use new educational topics.
In summary, by combining all three teachers approaches: technology learning tools, application based teaching, and project based learning; we will create a successful and modern classroom. Technology will not let us fail. If used appropriately, technology will help us teach and learn together with our students. Furthermore, educators must initiate application- and project-based learning along with technology for the most effective learning environment.

Blog Eight

Hilary Thames:

In my sixth grade classroom, I plan to use technology in numerous ways but the number one thing I want my kids to be engaged in weekly is keypals. Through these keypals, my kids will be involved in learning communities. Each students will be paired with another student from a classroom in another city or possibly even another country. My students will be in contact with the paired students through email and when working on projects they will be using collaborative writing tools such as Google docs. Once a month, as a whole, we will have contact with the class via webcam and have an activity planned for this allotted day and the students can engage together. This will allow the students to see their partner and their partner’s culture with their own eyes.
In order to find a whole classroom available for keypals, I would use Teacher's Corner. Through teacher’s corner, I would be in contact with the teacher about various things such as setting up the keypals, activities that will be used throughout the year, and and problems that may evolve over the period of time.

One very important aspect I would hope my students would gain through this experience is teamwork. They will have to learn how to depend on others for things, not taking full control over the situation. This quality will not only help them in the keypals activity, but it will also help them when they are in the workplace and are having to work with co-workers. My students, through the use of keypals will also be introduced to a different culture and to students who have extremely different backgrounds than what they are used to seeing.

Another way I plan to have technology in my classroom is by the use of ThingLink. There are many great things ThingLink offers, such as ways to create an interactive report. By creating this interactive report, students will be able to learn much more because it is a more fun alternative to boring reports. Through the use of ThingLink, my students will create a report of themselves and their own culture to share with the students they have been paired with through keypals and when their paired students have shared the reports they have created of their culture, we will have a class discussion about what was shared.

I know I may thinking too much outside the box, here but one thing I think would be a great way to involve technology in the classroom is through digital desks. Instead of the old, boring wooden desks, have desks that allow each student access to the internet. The top of the desk could be compared to an iPad. It would be touch screen and even have a connection to the smartboard in the front of the classroom. My students books would be accessed through these desks. No more “I left my book at home last night” excuses! Of course the students wouldn't be able to take these desks home, so there would still be a textbook available for homework activities and studying. The students would even be able to take test and submit them using these digital desks! WE ARE GOING GREEN LIKE EDM 310! Okay so maybe there is a reason for me wanting to be a teacher instead of an inventor, but you can never dream to big right?


Haley:
For my tool, I chose Scholastic. Growing up, I remember reading Scholastic books, engaging with the characters such as Clifford the Big Red Dog and the characters in Magic School Bus, and going to my school’s book fair put on by Scholastic. Today, as a future educator, I had NO idea that Scholastic would provide the things that it does. From lesson plans to classroom management ideas to student activities, Scholastic offers an unlimited amount of resources that can be used to further learning in the classroom.

Resources and Tools On the front page of this link, Scholastic offers daily starters, the freebie corner, and printouts that can be used inside the classroom. Daily starters are anything from fun facts, teachable moments, and small lessons in math and language. You can look up information by Common Core Standards. It even takes you directly to the Alabama Department of Education website where you can see what the standards are. Scholastic is a partner with Common Core and they want to provide instructional materials and programs for you, the teacher to use. Scholastic also provides teachers with lesson plans separated by holidays, months, and subject. The amount of lesson plans that Scholastic offers is extraordinary and can be incorporated in the classroom in different ways. The best part is the lesson plans are free! Another resource that can be used is called the New Teacher Support. The best part is the lesson plans are free! There is also a tab that is titled "Everything You Need". In this section of scholastic.com, there is anything you could need by theme such as bullying, elections, and holidays. It has teaching ideas for the month and there is also a search bar that you can use to look for something specific that you need.Some tools that are available through scholastic.com are the graphic organizer, the flash card maker, the spelling wizard, and the class set-up tool.

Follow the links to explore other tools Scholastic offers for yourself!
Graphic Organizer
Flash Card Maker
Spelling Wizard
Class Set-Up Tool
Strategies & Ideas

Another tab that you can find on Scholastic’s website is one where you can find different strategies and ideas. One resource found in this section that I find very helpful is Teacher to Teacher Blogs.In this section you can find teaching tips, classroom management tips, lesson plans, and great things that are happening in the classroom. It gives you a list of teachers all over America giving their resources and tips for a better classroom. While exploring Scholastic’s Common Core section, I found links that explain what Common Core is and how to understand. This gives links to Skill Assessment, Math Material, English Material, and the Content Library. I really like the section called the New Teacher Support. This link offers tips for how to start your classroom, ways to deal with parents, how to teach lessons and resources that helps new teachers get in the swing of school.
Student Activities
Inside Scholastic there are a lot of resources for teachers, parents, and students. The student resources vary from computer lab activities, SmartBoard activities, and “StudyJams!”. These are all resources that are extremely helpful that will allow students to grasp the concepts needed.
Here are the links to the student activities!
Interactive Whiteboard Activities
StudyJams!
Computer Lab Favorites
Family Playground (Ages 3-7)
Kid Stacks (Ages 8-12)

The final resources I am going to discuss are the Book Fair and the tab for Books and Authors. With the Book Fair resource, you can find book fairs near you, see what books are being featured, and you could sign your students up for contests such as Kids Are Authors.
I would use these tools in my classroom as often as I could. This would allow students to stay learn with technology as well as work collaboratively at times. This takes learning home, and it allows parents to join in on the fun of learning! < br />

Brantley Spillman:

While researching technology-based tools for the elementary classroom, I was able to find a lot of new information. The sky is the limit when dealing with technology and its potential for the modern day classroom. Constantly, new tools and programs being invented and implemented into our schools. These tools/programs are allowing educators easier application of the hands-on approach. The tools that were notable to me were Pixie, Frames5, Share4, Wixie, Image Blender, and PollEverywhere .
However, the program I will discuss in this post is Epals. Epals seems to be easy to integrate into the classroom. They have several options that are specific to grades K-12. One example is the “Global Community” that allows students and educators to collaborate with different cultures and communities (over 200 countries). Additionally, this technology offers a safe way for students to communicate worldwide. Both educators and students now have the opportunity to search and learn from many different styles/cultures of education.
Another example of options that Epals offers to an educator and their students is “CRICKET.” CRICKET includes several different magazines and reading materials for a variety of ages. “The mission of CRICKET is to inspire children to a lifelong love of reading and learning.”( http://www.corp.epals.com/cricket.php) In addition to magazines, CRICKET offers several learning products such as books, crafts, toys, and gifts. First and foremost, these products should bring a sense of fun to the learning process.
In2Books e-Mentoring Service is a more specific program Epals has to offer. This service is grade-specific. The In2Books tool is for students in grades 3 through 5. It provides a student with a pre-approved adult penpal to discuss certain reading topics they both have read. “The program provides standards-based professional development and professional learning communities and is facilitated by three resource-filled websites - one for students, another for pen pals, and a third for teachers.” (www.corp.epals.com/in2books.php) Historically, pen pals have been very useful in a classroom. (http://k6educators.about.com/od/languageart1/a/pen_pals.htm) Pen pal relationships offer several important inter-disciplinary benefits for your students: good practice at writing in the proper format, increasing your student’s awareness of other interpretations of the reading material, increasing chances that your student will continue to be a writer, increasing your student’s ability to communicate clearly in written form.
The notable aspect of Epals is that it is building on traditional learning tools; reading, writing, and pen pals. However, making it more successful by using new technological methods such as video chats and email we are modernizing the classroom.

C4T

For the past two weeks I have had the privilege of reading Steve Wheeler's blog Learning with 'e's.

The first post of Wheeler's that I read asked the question "Can technology help us to think more clearly?" Wheeler's response was a lot like the response I would have given if I had been asked the same question. He states that with a constant flow of information, technology can be "daunting." But if you learn to only pick out the facts that are useful to you, there will be no headaches involved. With as much information through technology there is in this generation, of course it can be overwhelming to try and understand it all. Not all of the information that is out there is useful to me, so i have be choose wisely what I need and what I can live without. I personally believe the use of technology CAN help us think more clearly. With the use of things like Symbaloo and icurio's storage, saving information and being able to find it is made much easier.

Wheeler's second post that I dipped into was "Self actuated mobile learning." In this post, he makes a reference to "12 Principles of Mobile Learning" and he writes about each individual learning differently with mobile learning. This is a point that I strongly agree with! Every person is different, which means we all learn in different ways and the great thing about mobile learning is that is does not hinder one's learning because it varies from others. Mobile learning is personal, meaning it accompanies the specific need of each individual that uses it. It also offers, as Wheeler points out, self actuation because each person has control over their own learning.

I have obtained some very useful information from reading Wheeler's posts and this is definitely information I will be using throughout my career in education and I will be returning to His blog to continue reading in the future!

Project Nine

Podcast by Haley Smith, Brantley Spillman, and Hilary Thames

Based on the book, Teaching Digital Natives by Mark Prensky, we have discussed the questions "How can we connect technology to the curriculum?" and "What can we do to teach for the future?" Our answer in the podcast below comes from different resources such as iCurio.com, discoveryeducation.com, and Jen Deyenberg's blog Trailsoptional

Hope you enjoy!

Project Thirteen

Blog Seven

What can we learn from these conversations? by H. Smith, B. Spillman, and H. Thames

All four conversations we observed this week revolved around the structure of “Project Based Learning” (PBL) techniques and how both iCurio and DiscoveryEd can be used as resources to execute “project based learning” strategies. Throughout EDM 310, we have been learning how these strategies can motivate a student to learn while familiarizing ourselves with the tools available to create this strategy in the classroom. Specifically, we have both created and used several online forums that could be employed for “Project Based Learning.” Honestly, the mentality of “students as scholars” is relatively new to us, and we are realizing the potential of these techniques with each additional conversation this course offers.
Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher Project Based Learning Part 2: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher by H. Smith, B. Spillman, and H. Thames
In the two videos, “Project Based Learning” is discussed and how it is constantly evolving. Multiple questions that we had about PBL were answered: How to approach PBL, what you need to prepare for it, what details it involves, and what teachers get as a result are all things that are mentioned. Additionally, it involves lots of planning in order to be implemented properly. PBL strategy has provided a sense of ownership to the student that has been nonexistent in the past. Ownership of the learning process has been found to provide increased retention and understanding of the material. Most people think that PBL is when a project is completed at the end of a lesson rather than using it as a teaching tool by which students learn. All projects are not going to be easy to organize and complete. Specifically, projects must entail an audience, engage all students’ interest, and, importantly, these projects must coincide with Alabama State Standards.

Creating a project that meets all of these standards will be a difficult task for any educator. A good example of meeting these requirements would be Mr.Capps’ project presented in this discussion. His project entailed his students writing Joe Bonner about women in combat. This particular project embraced learning topics such as reading, social studies, and writing. Furthermore, the kids had the opportunity to revise all the letters to select which letters represented the class and should be delivered to their congressman. It is outstanding to see third graders learning the concept of peer review editing at this stage of development. In Project Based Learning, the most crucial element is the when the students have the chance to revise their classmates’ work. As indicated in the video, Mr. Capps’ PBL strategy has incorporated complete democracy in the classroom. Specifically, students own their work and make final decisions on quality of assignments. The whole point of PBL is for the students to have a better understanding and when they are bored with an activity, or their mind is elsewhere, this is not being achieved. We learned that if the teacher is willing to put in the time and effort to make PBL all that it can be, the outcome will be all that is expected, and your students will greatly benefit from it. You can’t limit your students because you will always get more than you expect. By giving specific criteria, students will not have the opportunity to go beyond what is required. We must remember that we are still learners.
iCurio DiscoveryEd by H. Smith, B. Spillman, and H. Thames
While watching the videos on iCurio and DiscoveryEd, we are realizing where today’s classroom is going. Unfortunately, we are also appreciating that many third graders using PBL resources are ahead of us in their abilities to search and learn new materials. As future iCurio educators, we are excited to know that our students will be further challenged and expected to embrace this new style of education. Having tools such as iCurio and Discovery Ed available in the classroom gives every student the opportunity to experience research at his or her own pace and topic of interest.

Additionally, iCurio gives our future generation of students the ability to safely search the internet for any particular topic without the fear of stumbling onto non-educational websites. Before EDM 310, we were unaware of the options iCurio provides. Specifically, iCurio allows students to create their own organizational folder for their retrieved research. It is a remarkable idea that third grades can learn to virtually organize their research and assignments. Organization has always been difficult to teach students and teachers alike. When given the proper tools to organize, we can aide in the teaching and execution of organizational skills. iCurio also allows student to search historical figures. A student can search “Scientists in Thailand” and a whole list will be provided to students. This DiscoveryEd also ties into the safe search engines. In the classroom, teachers should use iCurio for any online search engine.

In addition, “Discovery Ed, like iCurio, virtually brings experts into the classroom.” In order for these resources to be most effective in the future classroom, the tools and resources technology offers must be embraced and used by our future professionals as well.
Don’t Teach Tech – Use It by H. Smith
While watching this video, I thought about what I was learning throughout this discussion. I had my notepad open writing things down that really stuck out to me, and those things make a world of difference in a classroom.Today, technology is a wonderful tool. Children are learning how to use technology earlier and earlier and sometimes, students know more about it than the teacher. One point that Anthony made is that the teacher doesn’t have to spend a lot of time worrying about the students catching on to using computers. If you give the students a computer and a task or project, they may be able to figure it out. This goes back to the video by Sugata Mitra.

He never taught the children how to use that computer. He simply made it available to the students who then taught themselves and were later teaching others. However, this video’s discussion maintains that it is imperative a teacher does not become intimidated when a student can maneuver the computer more aptly than the teacher. Be excited for these students that they want to learn and teach it to others because sometimes, a student can relate to another student better. In addition, it is important to execute the computer work prior to presenting it to your students. By doing the computer work first, you will be able to answer the questions that your students might present. Later, students will develop problem solving skills generated by the process of working towards the goal of understanding the information. It is very important that you don’t expect perfection from your students. Teachers have a lot of practice on computers in college courses, the work field, and even social media at home that puts teachers ahead of students. When students have questions, let them ask. Questions are always more important than the answer because questions give something to work towards. If you work hard at teaching while loving the process yourself, then you will be an excellent teacher. Students are always going to teach us, as educators, something new. We, as teachers, must be open to the experience. Teaching is and always will be a tremendously rewarding occupation.
Anthony and Strange Tips for Teachers Part 1 by B. Spillman
I believe you guys nailed it with your tips for being a successful teacher. First, all future educators should be willing to have a fun experience in order to be successful in the classroom. A teacher’s excitement is infectious to the student. We all know being a teacher can be very trying at times. However, if you can find a way to keep the process exciting and enjoyable, then the chances of your students enjoying and learning are much greater. Secondly, as Dr. Strange stated, we must be open-minded and interested in learning ourselves. If you, as an educator,

are unwilling to learn and find answers, you may have chosen the wrong career. Thirdly, having the ability as an educator to have EVERY student engaged is necessary. It seems like an overwhelming task, but I believe it is possible and should be a priority in your educational methods. Finally, a reflection on any teaching strategy/project you have implemented is essential. Without reflection, there is no way of knowing what worked and what did not work. In order to continue making progress in our teaching strategies, we must look back on what we did in order to improve in the future.
Additional Thought About Lessons by H. Thames
Anthony did an awesome job explaining lessons with the four components! After watching this video, I feel much more informed when it comes to them. As he explained, each lesson plan has four components: yearly, unit, weekly and daily. Each component is just as important as the next one. The first component Anthony talked about is yearly. Yearly lesson plans are the lessons you plan to cover throughout the year and should cover all of the core standards. The next component is lesson plans for each unit. Each unit is usually a few weeks long and covers sections of information. For example, a math unit on fractions would cover: what is a fraction, reducing fractions, adding fractions, subtracting fractions and multiplying fractions. These plans

must be meaningful and they are made up of weekly and daily plans. Weekly plans are the lesson that will be taught each week. The final component of lesson plans is daily plans. These plans are what you want your students to accomplish each day. There are standards and goals that should be met each week and as teachers we must make sure we are meeting these.

C4K

For the first comment for kid, my students wrote about "I believe". He "believes" that teenagers don't know what love is. Throughout his post, he made some very good points that supported his theory. He stated that many teenagers just toss the "l" word around without actually knowing what it means, and I agreed completely with this point. He also went on to give a personal experience that further supported his beliefs, which I that was great!

The second student I was assigned to comment on wrote a poem. Her poem talked about being at her school and in at her house. I thought the poem was well written and it was quiet entertaining. My favorite part about the poem was when she added a little humor, "My sister runs around, to try and lose a pound." I really enjoyed reading this poem and I hope to read more post from her soon!

This week for the c4k I was assigned Logan.In his blog, Logan chose to write about Minecraft. He explained some really cool things to do using Minecraft. I think it was awesome that he knew how to do those things, it shows that he was very knowledgeable about the topic.

Project Two

To begin my personal learning network, I chose Symbaloo! Symbaloo allows for easy access to webpages I find useful. To start off, I arranged and color coordinated them into sections: daily use, EDM 310 use, and classroom/educational use. In the daily use/pink section, you will find things such as gmail, twitter, and amazon. These are the sites I use on a daily basis, and I also find them to be assets in my learning network. Blogspot and Google Drive will both be found in the EDM310/teal section. Both of these site are a HUGE influence in EDM 310 and I also plan on using them after this class so I included them in my personal learning network. In classroom/yellow section, sites that I plan on using in my own classroom one day and sites that I find quiet interesting will be found. These sites include Education News, TeacherTube, and Discovery Education. As I progress through this semester in EDM, I will be adding to the previous tiles on my Symbaloo!

Project Eight

Blog Post Six

Asking Questions...

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?
1. Teachers are Allowed to Ask Questions!

A teacher asking students questions...? HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM! It seem that we have this question asking thing backwards.. Shouldn't the students be the ones asking the questions!? Actually the answer to this question is yes AND no. Yes, the students should be asking questions, but no, they should not be the only ones asking them. I'm sure we all experienced "that teacher" who had the their mind set that they knew everything there is possible to know. WRONG! There isn't a single person in the world who knows all there is to know, and sometimes teachers portray that they do know everything. This is a very good reason in itself to ask questions because we DO NOT want our students feeling like we think we know everything. 2.Get Your Students Involved by Asking the Right Questions!

The main reason behind Project Based Learning is to get the students involved. Asking questions is a way to initiate this involvement. But, as a teacher you must know the right questions to ask in order to get what you are looking for when you ask them. Often in classrooms, the responses teachers get when asking questions are "Yes" or "I don't know". From Joanne Chesley's video, Asking Better Questions, we learn that there are two types of questions: opened ended questions and close ended questions. A close ended question allows students to give such feed backs as the "Yes" or the "I don't know" responses. When teachers ask these close ended questions, they are getting exactly what we asked for when we don't allow thoughtful kinds of responses, as Chesley states. In contrast, an open ended question gives the person answering the question scope to give the information that seems to them to be appropriate. These types of questions allow for students to be thoughtfully engaged in their responses.
3. Ways to Ask Better Questions! Now that we know what questions we want to ask, we need to learn how to ask these questions better. From Maryellen Weimer's blog post, Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, we learn the three ways to ask questions better. The first way to asking questions better that she talks about it "Preparing the Question". When teachers do not prepare their questions, they tend to get those confused looks from there students. Go figure, we ask something that just pops into our head, most of the time not making any sense. I would be just as confused as the students! But when we prepare, we are able to provide the students with clear, intriguing questions. The second way to ask better questions to "Play with the Questions. When we play with the question, leaving it unanswered, the students are then allowed to open their minds and think about the question. Usually after the question is answered, the students tend to let it slip from their minds. But when allowed to think about it without having it directly answered, we see more thoughtful responses. And the final way to ask better questions that Weimer talks about is "preserving the Question." When students ask good questions, share them with other students/classes! While we do not all think along the same lines, it is very interesting to see what others are thinking and it often opens our minds to more ways of thinking.


Now that I have read about the right questions to ask and better ways to ask them, I will be using these techniques in my own classroom! I want my students to be open minded, therefore I will ask open ended questions!

This is My Passion

This is My Sentence

Blog Post Five

Project # 3 Presentation

Blog Post Four

Why Podcasts?
Before this assignment, that was a question I would have asked as well. But when I sat down and begin to think about it I realized that we are in an "Information Age". An age where everything is driven by technology, including our education system. So really, why podcasting? To begin to understand the answer to that question, we must first understand what podcasts are. The term podcast is derived from two words: "broadcast" and "pod". Pod coming from iPod, because podcasts are often listened to on portable media players. Podcasting is a converged medium bringing together audio. People use podcasts in various ways, including the way Langwitches describes it being used. Podcasting with first graders? You have got to be kidding me!? That thought exactly is what was running though my head as I began to reading 1st-graders-create-their-own-read-along-audiobook . But when I read through to the end and saw how well the students responded to it, I was amazed! If you are still asking yourself "Why Podcasting", just explore the benefits Joe Dale describes in The benefits of podcasting in the classroom .
How Do We Do A Podcast?
Anyone with an Internet connection and some inexpensive audio equipment can produce a podcast and make it available online. First, you must decide your reasoning for podcasting. People use podcasting for numerous things. Some have something they want to express, others use podcasting as a way to draw attention and if you are like Langwithces, you use your podcasting for first graders. After making that decision, refure to iTunes Making a Podcats where you will find step by step instructions on creating your own podcast!

C4T

Information is Beautiful: Jenny Luca

In her "School's out Friday: Information is Beautiful" post, Jenny Luca explains David McCandless's website "Information is Beautiful." She talks about how she shared this video with her class and how they were blown away with what they saw. The way the information is presented grabbed her students attention, in the same way the website grabs your attention. She is going to allow her students to use this same visual in a presentation they will be doing on their own.

My Response
I explained how this post blew my mind! I literally had to watch it three different times to get a complete intake on it! To see what the U.S spends money on is actually quite interesting, but it is even more interesting to see find important to spend money one, such a video games. The fact that the actual cost of the war in Iraq was that much more is astonishing! I agree with your students, using the visuals to explain the text helped me understand what I was looking at so much more. As I was navigating through the shared website, “Information is Beautiful, I found myself clicking on the links just to read about them. A round of applause to David McCandless for such an awesome page!! Twenty minutes later, I was still looking around the website!!

"The Type" and "The Crickets Have Arthritis": Jenny Luca

In this post, Jenny Luca talks about how she shared these videos with her students, along with other spoken word poetry performances. She says that she hopes the video "The Type" will plant a seed in her student's lives and one day they will return to it. During the video "The Crickets have Arthritis" there was no sound other than Shane's voice as her students watched.

My Response Wow! As I search for words to say, I wipe the tears from my eyes. Both videos were AMAZING! I am utterly speechless at the moment. Sarah Kay’s video is definitely a video every girl, including myself, needs to hear. What an awesome message! I am so very glad you share this with your students, I wish I had a teacher share this with me when I was younger! Shane Koyczan‘s video brought tears to my eyes! Just like you said, for the six minutes and forty six seconds he spoke, there was not a sound! I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen! You know its sad, like Shane brought to our attention, how often we take this life given to us for granted. But when we come across people like Lewis, fighting for each breath he takes, we begin to become a little more thankful. Why does it take people like this to open our minds? Why does it take life bringing you to your knees before you look up and realize you have been life like you are promised tomorrow. Why does it take people like Lewis to make us realize we ALL have a purpose in this life, and we don’t have forever to find it?Thank you, so much, for sharing this!

Blog Post Three

Peer Editing? Now that is something that will get any student a little anxious! Of course my stomach turned up-side down when I found out we would be "Peer Editing", but that is because I didn't completely understand the right way to correct my peers. Often, when students are faced with this, they tend to forget some very important aspects of "Peer Editing." Just like the video, Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes states, you don't want to be a Mean Margret or a Defensive Dave. And most of the time, whether we realize it or not, the personalities of these two characters is what we portray.

The most important thing students forget, when being a Mean Margret, is compliments. If a student approaches another student and has nothing but negative things to say, the student being approached is going to take it as if this student is being mean. Whether the student was intending to be mean or not, his/her fellow peer sees it that way. If the student would have started with a compliment, telling the fellow peer something good about what they did, the Mean Margret personality could have been avoided.

Another way of avoiding the Mean Margret situation would be to ALWAYS STAY POSITIVE! No matter what situation you are faced with in peer editing, always keep a positive attitude. If you are the student giving the correction or the student taking the correcctions, STAY POSITIVE!



Being a Defensive Dave is something everyone can relate to. I mean who likes to be told they are wrong? But what if we didn't look at it this way, as being told you were wrong? When most students are being corrected by another student or peer, they seems to take everything personal. Instead of getting defensive, like Dave does in the video, what if we tried to be more opened minded about being corrected. Like Dr. Strange always says "There is no one in this world that knows everything." Which is true, so maybe what the student/peer is trying to say helps out a lot? If students were more opened to listening to other students, there would be a lot more learning going on.

It takes a lot of practice, just like with anything, to get the hang of editing your peers the correct way. If students knew the correct way, I don't believe "Peer Editing" would have such a negative connotation. I know that I feel much more comfortable and a little less nervous about it now!

Blog Post Two

Hilary Thames, Haley Smith and Brantley Spillman: Dr. Dancealot

Hands-on learning is the key to success. Dr. Dancealot’s strategy for teaching dance was lecture- and textbook-based alone. In order for a student to learn the skills needed to become a better dancer, he or she must dance. Without hands-on learning, students will never achieve perfection in his or her subject. It occurs to me that dance uses muscle memory for repeated steps or moves. No instruction that exclusively uses words can communicate balance or rhythm. A student needs to attempt these steps to train their muscles for learning to be achieved. We must make mistakes in order to gain knowledge in the classroom. Dr. Dancealot needs to regroup and attack his dance sessions from a different angle. By using modern day technology, these students could research different dance styles and then put their findings to work on the actual dance floor.
I believe hands-on learning is the best way for two reasons: students gain both experience and focus. First, students get experience doing a task that reinforces a lesson taught. If you were trying to teach someone how to ride a bike, you would not lecture, but place him or her on a bike to learn. Second, by doing a task, a student’s full attention is required. Many students that only listen and/or watch a task have wandering minds that hinder the learning process. When someone’s full attention is focused on a task, they will get more from the lesson.


Hilary Thames: "Harness Your Student’s Digital Smarts"

I think that it is wonderful that Mrs. Davis is teaching her students ways to maneuver through the technology of today! By allowing her students to learn how to use wikis, blogs, podcasts, and virtual worlds, she is teaching them things that will help in succeeding in the real world. In today’s times, also known as the information age, everything revolves around technology. We, as a generation, desire instant access to limitless information such as GPS, internet, apps, and social networking . From something as simple as applying for a job, to the more extreme mapping the entire world by satellites in outer space, we find ourselves faced with it.

There is no way around it. Everything that is happening today, has something to do with technology. I mean, the cell phones we carry around with us daily provides us with access to anything we want within a split second. If our students are not being taught technology somehow in the classrooms, they are going to be so far behind when they graduate and begin searching for careers. Mrs. Davis is providing her students with numerous ways to expand their potential for success. No one can begin to manage in the career world, in whatever field they are in, without having basic knowledge of technology. I also agree with the approach she takes with teaching the class. You won’t find her in the front of the classroom lecturing to her students on how to post a blog or how to access wikis. Instead, she allows her students to work and practice on their own. This allows the students to become familiar with what they are working on. Students are encountering problems and figuring out solutions themselves.


Haley Smith: The Networked Student
After watching the video, I realized how important technology has become in the school system. Many schools incorporate connectivism concepts without realizing it. Connectivism is going to resources other than a textbook to find information. Learning occurs as a part of social networking using many diverse connections. Understanding these resources is a vital part of being in a classroom, because it gives more information than a textbook or teacher. An illustration of connectivism is the recent commercial showing a child who has to give a speech and asks Siri on his cell phone, “What is glossophobia?” Siri then demonstrates the multiple resources on the Internet for speeches. The student is able to deliver his speech without fear.
The Networked Student goes through many different resources that can be used for many purposes. The Personal Learning Network gives students a place to put valid websites to use while doing research. Google Scholar provides accurate journal entries. The school resource library is a great source for entries such as those provided by Google Scholar. Whereas, social media offers resources such as Skype, blogs, and various types of wikis. Students can now connect to people worldwide! Two other types of resources that were mentioned in this video were mP3 and iTunes downloads for lectures from students and/or professors around the world. Additionally, these sources offer documentaries on many topics. All of these resources for connectivism are great tools. I really enjoyed the statement it “never hurts to ask.” With all of these resources, help is at your fingertips. You just have to look for it.
The final question posed by this video was, “if a student has all of these resources, why is a teacher needed?” The answer is a very important part of connectivism. In the different examples below is an explanation of why a teacher is important in the idea of connectivism. The Networked Student details the role of a teacher. First, he or she teaches the student how to build a network to find different opportunities. Second, teachers are used as a guide when a student requires help. Third, teachers instruct students on how to communicate properly. Without teachers, students would be lost. It would be difficult for a student to learn if there was no guidance, dedication, or organization of ideas that a teacher provides.


Brantley Spillman: What Does it Mean to Teach in the 21st Century?
Imagine Stars Wars. Imagine words and thoughts approaching you from the screen. This was my impression of K. Roberts’ video. His opinion of information: “virtually limitless information.” His opinion of teachers: “not the main source of knowledge.” His new role for a teacher: “validate information, synthesize information, leverage information, communicate information, collaborate information with others.”
Roberts’ idea of teaching in the 21st century puts a new emphasis on the teacher’s role in the classroom. Teachers will no longer be the only source of knowledge for his or her students. However, teachers will remain necessary in the classroom. Teachers, in the past, have lectured and had reading assignments for students to memorize in order to recite back on a test. Alternatively, teaching in the 21st century will evolve into a structure in which students have tools to gather information on their own by doing research. (e.g. google, blogs, and podcasting).The teacher will now serve as a guide to interpret and apply this newly found information.
I responded very strongly to the positions expressed in this video. Many educators have feared technology and all the internet has to offer. Their fear is that a “teacher” will become obsolete if information is freely available on the Internet for a student to gather himself or herself. However, I feel it is time for our educational programs to accept the new tools technology has to offer and redefine our role as an educator. I look forward to embracing all new methods of teaching. Nothing lasts forever, our old school techniques are outdated and it is now time for change.

Blog Post One

"You see things and think 'Why', but you dream things that never were and think 'Why not?'"
If I Built A School, It Would Be Like....

My Classroom
Welcome to Mrs. Hilary's Sixth Grade Classroom! For my classroom, I am going to have to agree with Krissy Venosdale's method of hands on activities for my sixth graders. In this year' classroom, which will change yearly depending on the needs and wants of the students each year, we will have four sections, each corner of the room. In section one, students will find computers and Kindles for their reading and online activities. Each device will be only be allowed educational apps and books for the students to explore. Section two will dedicated to the hands on activities I will plan each week. Say one week, I want the students to plant seeds, to help get a better understanding of the way plants grow for that week's science chapter. Section two of the classroom will be where this takes place. Section three of the classroom will be a section of complete silence, along with comfortable seating. In this section of the classroom each student will find a peaceful setting to do any homework, classwork, or even a place to just concentrate on the task at hand. The fourth and final section of the room is where the sixth graders will be able to engage with the other students and with myself. Here we will have a question and answer session, and other activities to get the kids to interact with the other students. Of course the whole room would be brightly decorated and fun because you can't expect students to be excited to learn in boring surroundings.

What My Sixth Graders Would Know Each sixth grader that stepped foot into Mrs. Hilary's classroom would need to know three major things. Number One: Be Yourself! I will always encourage each of my students to be themselves and help them become happy with who they are! Number Two: Learning is Fun! In my classroom I hope to create an atmosphere where learning can be fun and it doesn't have to be such a drag each school day. I want it to where my sixth graders are excited about each new school day. Number Three: Make Mistakes! I want my students to learn that making mistakes doesn't mean it is the end. Like Krissy Venosdale states in one of her previous blogs, mistakes should not be the end, it should be the beginning, a new path to ideas.
What I Want My Sixth Graders To Be Able To Do The most important thing I want my sixth graders to do is learn! I want them to come in the classroom, expecting to learn and wanting to learn. I plan on creating new and fun ways that helps each and every sixth grader learn and enjoy it. The more fun a student has, the more they will learn.

What My Primary Method Of Teaching Will Be
Of course my primary method of teaching would be hands on. When a student is engaged in a hands on activity, they are more likely to learn more because they are directly involved and their attention has to be focused on the task at hand. Where as in a lecture their minds could travel all over the world.
What Tool Will Be Used In My Classroom
In my classroom, tools that will be used will include: computers, Kindles, and craft's supplies. The tools that will be used for the weekly hands on activity will vary depending on the activity itself. There will be some textbook use, but it will be limited to testing only. In the classroom, I also plan on having a SmartBoard in order to bring all of the student together for group activities and competitions.
What Role Will My Students Play In The Classroom
Each student's role in the class room daily will be to participate in the activities and engage in the learning process.

Practice Blog Post

Hello EDM310! I am Hilary Thames and I am from a four red light town known by the name of Florala, AL, which is located on the Florida/Alabama line, hints FLOR and ALA. I am majoring in Elementary Education at South and this is my sophomore year at the university. I didn’t choose Elementary Education, it choose me. About to years ago, I was offered a job at the elementary school in m town. I did not apply for the job, nor did I ask. Our youth pastor, the principal at W.S. Harlan asked if I would be interested in working with the EDP (Extended Day Program) and from day one I was in love. I loved everything about it, the atmosphere, the children. Within the next year I applied for my substitute license, and just being in the classroom a few days in the teacher’s shoes I knew that is where I belonged. Aside from having a passion for teaching, I also have a burning passion for sports, basketball, cheerleading, football, etc. From the time I was able to walk, I have been playing sports. During my high school years,I played every sport offered to girls, a total of five sports: softball, track, basketball, cheerleading and volleyball and I was also a Diamond Doll. I love to watch sports, I love to play sports and one day I hope to coach sports. Last but definitely not least, I am a Christian and serving the Lord is my number one passion. Every day that I have been given is a blessing from Him and I live my life to please Him. I believe my calling by God is to be in a school system somewhere working with kids and sharing His love with them.

Post Test Two

Test Post

My Test Post Title

This is my First Post. I clicked the HTML button which I should always do in EDM310. I am now a Blogger!