Sunday, December 9, 2012
Project #13
During project #15 our group used Skype,Google docs, and Google chat. We first started by agreeing to meet at a certain time of Skype. At first we had a little difficulty. Mary Angela and I were on but she could not hear me. We both got off and got back on. This time she could hear me but I could not hear her. We got off again and this time she called me and we could both hear each other. Kaitlyn joined us but for some reason we could not see her after the first few minutes. We discussed our project and agreed to use Google docs next. We agreed on the next time we would try to meet and talk about our project and what each of us would be working on. The next time we met was on Google doc. Unfortunately we had trouble to begin with so we were communicating by Google chat at first. Finally, we were able to all join in on Google docs. We talked about our project some more and what we were going to do and who was responsible for what. We agreed to meet the next day to put it together and to record it for project #15 and for our final project.
Below is a picture of our Skype interview and I shared out Google docs with edm310help.
Project #15 Skype meeting
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Final PLN Report
I have used Twitter and my assignments to create my PLN. I have made valuable connections with teachers all around the world through Twitter. They provide encouragement, inspiration, and useful information that will help me through my teaching career. I have also found other people and information through the assignments given to us in class. Each time I found people I added them to Twitter. I would save all the information that I found to be beneficial in a file for later use. I have also created a PLN on Pinterest. This site offers a great way of storing files by headings. This offers a quick way of locating files that you need. I look forward to adding more and more people and information to my PLN.
Comments for Teachers #4
My C4T assignment was Steven Anderson. In his blog post he shared his experience in Qatar at the WISE conference. WISE stands for World Innovation Summit on Education. It is a conference that joins over 1500 people from 100 countries together to discuss education and changes. During this 3 day conference they will talk about access to education, technology, sustainability of educational initiatives and more. Mr. Anderson's shared in his post some of the highlights of the first day. The first day was focused on change and innovation. It started with her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser charging everyone to be proactive and to open their minds and voices to each other. She shared that "we can all work better and smarter if we just listen to each other".
Mr. Anderson stated that he was disappointed by the make up of the panel. Apparently it included people who represented businesses. Although he understood that they have a stake in education , he felt that it was hard to listen to them tell the educators what was wrong with the education system, when they really didn't know anything about the system. He stated the theme was clear. We have to do things differently. We are still conducting education in the same outdated ways. Because education changes so fast, we have to think about the future as if it is the present when we think about change in education.
During the morning debate another emphasis was placed on the voice of the student. Educators from Estonia, Palestine, Jordan, USA, Australia, and more all agreed that the student's voice, no matter the age, level, or country was important.
Mr. Anderson also commented on the fact that it was very clear that connectedness was important. We have to be connected to the educators, as well as, the learners. In order to change education it has to be done together. Neither can do it alone. The use of social media provides a great opportunity for students and teachers to connect and learn together. He gave the perfect example how he had conversations with educators from three continents on Twitter.
He closed by stating that along with all of this comes responsibility. We can't simply get together and discuss education and what is wrong with it. We have to take action to make the necessary changes.
He closed by stating that along with all of this comes responsibility. We can't simply get together and discuss education and what is wrong with it. We have to take action to make the necessary changes.
My Comment
I started by explaining who I was and my assignment. I started by expressing the excitement he must have felt participating in such an awesome opportunity. I explained that I had learned so much from my Edm310 class. I shared that before taking this class I really didn't understand the importance of technology in education. Fortunately, I have a much better understanding. I commented that I agreed that we can't continue to conduct education the same old way and expect different results. It is essential that we make changes to the way we view and conduct education. I also shared that I agreed that the student's voice was important. I closed by asking Mr. Anderson how do we get the people who make the decisions about education to realize all of this. I expressed my frustration in having learned the importance of technology, but knowing our educational system is in such a sad state. I enjoyed learning about WISE and how it is impacting education.
C4T #2
Things That Have Me Thinking.
Below are 4 subjects that has Steven Anderson asking questions.
C4T #2
Things That Have Me Thinking.
Below are 4 subjects that has Steven Anderson asking questions.
Six Tips To Help Teachers Move From TechnoPHOBE to Move to TechnoFAB: This article by Jennifer LeGarde Six Tips to Help Teachers Move From TechnoPHOBE to TechnoFAB.
Mr. Anderson asks "What are some other ways to help technology and technology professional development more approachable and what can I do to provide better technology for my teachers?"
Google Search Literacy Lesson Plans: He states that search is one of students' greatest weaknesses. They have difficulty finding information and determining it's validity. Google offers a starting point by teaching people how to use proper search terms that eliminates mass confusion. In this article Mr. Anderson wants to know "Why are we still not doing a good job of teaching kids where their information comes from and why we still are not doing a great job of teaching kids good search literacy skills?"
I thanked Mr. Anderson for sharing this information. I expressed how useful it was in becoming technoFAB. I mentioned that I might suggest to Dr. Strange to use Common Core in an assignment for EDM310. I also told him how much I enjoyed the article Six Tips to Help Teachers Move From TechnoPHOBE to TechnoFAB. I told him all of the information was very useful and I looked forward to hearing what he had to say when he answered the questions that he had.
Comments 4 Kids November
11/6/2012
C4K #8
In C.J.'s blog post she talks about how she is reading a book called Sounder. She says that it is good and that she can't wait to see the movie. She also like the book because it can help her pull her literature grade up.
In my reply I explain that I hadn't heard of the book but that it sounded like a really good book. I asked her what happened in the end. I explained that it sounded like a book that my son would like to read. I encouraged her to work on pulling her literature grade up. I shared I was excited that her class was blogging. I explained that my eighth grade son doesn't know what blogging is and that he attends a rural school where technology is not emphasized much. She had several mistakes, so I closed by telling her to read over her post before she published it. I also suggested that she might want to save it and reread it again later when she could see her mistakes more easily.
I hope my comments encourage them to keep blogging!!!!! |
My C4K assignment was Nykeshia, a student a Robertsdale High School. Her blog post was an assignment about Napoleon Bonaparte's last days. This is what she wrote.
Napoleon's Deathbead
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military leader who is associated with French Revolution. He was Emperor of France from 1804 to 1815. Later in his life Napoleon was sent into exile on the island of Saint Helena where he also died.
When historical figures like Napoleon Bonaparte die, people often wonder what their last thoughts were, what were their last words. Napoleon didn’t exactly lie down and wait to die on his deathbed. According to Norwood Young’s Napolean In Exile: St.Helena (1815-1821) while Napoleon was on his death bed he went over his will and his finances several times. According toMemoirs of the Last Two Years of Napoleon’s Exile, written by Francesco A. Antommarchi, for days Napoleon ate only fruit and biscuits and drank only wine.
Napoleon’s last days on earth were very painful. He had a violent fever that lasted for days, he had horrible vomiting fits and his pulse varied from 78-86 pulsations per minute. When his fever wasn’t active his body temperature was below the natural temperature. Napoleon had continued relapses, unquenchful thirst, pains in his abdomen, and nausea.Napoleon’s servants stated that while he was on his death bed Napoleon’s attitude was much kinder than usual, that he spoke gently and carefully to everyone. Napoleon was very aware that his time on earth was coming to an end and asked to be taken to his art room so he could think. Napoleon died on May 5 of 1821 of stomach cancer. Napoleon’s last words were “France, armée, tête d’armée, Joséphine’ which means ‘France,Army,Head of the Army, Josephine.’
For more on Napoleon, go to: http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/napoleon/c_greatest.html
In my response I explained who I was and started by saying that I enjoyed reading her post and found it to be very informative. I commented on the incredible pain that he had to experienced during his last days. I shared that I had thought about whether I would want to know that I was dying. I also asked what grade she was in and what were some things she enjoyed doing. I closed by encouraging her to continue her writing and to keep up the good work.
C4K #10
My C4K post was a video of the field trip to Montgomery. Below is the video and my comments.Montgomery Field Trip Projects ( Rosa Parks)
Hey Kids,
I just watched the video of Rosa Parks. I find it incredibly fascinating to see how you are using technology. I liked how you used it to share with us your experience during your field trip. Did you record on an iPad? How do you like using technology? Do you think that you learn more by using technology? Do you think that technology makes learning more fun? I would like to know since I hope to be teaching in the near future. I had not thought about using an iPad to make a video about what my students learned during a field trip. Tell your teachers that you want to go to Saint Stephens to learn about Alabama’s first capital. I live in Saint Stephens and enjoy going to the park to learn about the settlement that once existed here. It is so amazing. You sounded really excited to meet Gov. Robert Bentley in the video. I look forward to seeing what you have to say in the future. I thought you did a GREAT job on your video.
Thanks for Sharing,
Stacy
Blog Post 13
| Just imagine what the brain can do when it's connected and plugged in!!! |
Back to the Future
Brian Crosby is a teacher at Agnes Risley Elementary School. In this video he started out by talking about his students. In his class 90% of his students are 2nd language learners that are at risk. On the second day of school he asked questions to find out the how much information they knew. He asked very basic questions and this is what he found out. Most of the students didn't know what city, state, and country they lived in. The didn't even know their address or phone number. Mr. Crosby knew that he had to teach them in a way that would be fun and interesting to their age group. He started out by showing us how he used the balloon project to teach the required curriculum, while also making the lesson fun and interesting. After they had read the lesson and participated in the projects, the students took a 25 question test. The learning didn't stop here. Now the students had to embed the videos of their projects into their blogs and explain what had happened and why. The learning didn't even stop here. Now the students used other tools available to go even farther. They were now creating their very own wiki and writing stories on Flicker. Their assignment for Flicker was to write a story as if they were the balloon and what happened from that view point. Mr. Crosby started with "in the box" learning and made it an "out of the box" experience. But the learning still continued on. Next, they used free online tools to create book covers and stratas cards. These students were not only learning but they were excited about what they were learning. Not only were these students excited but other students who had learned about what they were doing also got excited. They even wanted their class to do these same activities. Students from Thailand, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and England were all commenting on their blogs. How exciting is that? But yet the lesson was STILL not over. The students were able to view from an attached camera what it looked like from the balloon. They also could track the balloon as it traveled into the earth's atmosphere. They used Google Map to monitor the balloons speed, altitude, and location. Do you think the lesson is over yet??? NO, the students Skyped with students from New Zealand who had read about their experiences from their blogs. Through the skype interview the students were able to show off their knowledge they had gained. Mr. Crosby said in the video he wanted to empower the students to be learners, not someone to be taught. I believe that Mr. Crosby has succeeded.
At the end he shared a story about a little girl that was added to his classroom. Unfortunately, she had leukemia and could not actually attend class. Mr. Crosby showed how Celest was able to interact with the students and be included into the classroom through technology.
WOW!!! This is the type of learning that every student would LOVE to have. This is the type of learning that every student deserves. Mr. Crosby is a dynamic teacher who has a passion for teaching and kids. I find it amazing that these students went from not knowing basic information to being able to use technology to create blogs and write about their experiences. It goes to show that we don't give our kids enough credit. They will learn, if we will only teach them in a way that is fun, interesting, and inviting. I know that these students will take this learning experience throughout their entire life. It may even spark an interest in becoming a future teacher. I really can't say enough about this lesson. It makes me wonder that if every student got this type of education in every grade from kindergarten through twelfth grade, what kind of people would we be creating. I believe that we would be living in a much different world than we are today. A much better world. So once again I have to ask why isn't this happening? Where is the passion in teaching? How do we find or get it? Teachers like Mr. Crosby and Ms. Cassidy inspire me to create classrooms that motivate and excite the students. But what happens when I actually get into the classroom? There is so much technology that is free for the using, if we will only take advantage of it. But teaching is so much more than applying technology in the classroom. You have to have that passion for teaching and believing that you are making a difference. It also means fighting so that all students have access to quality teaching and the necessary tools. Thanks, Mr. Crosby, for showing me how to be a teacher that excites and motivates. I look forward to applying your teaching methods in my own class one day.
A Vision of Students Today
In this video it starts by videoing a empty classroom. As the camera moves around the room, it focuses on things written on the walls and chairs. Each time it asks a question that really makes you think about how 21st century students are dealing with the outdated teaching methods provided to them today. One of the questions asked was "If walls could talk, what would they say?". Although the walls and desks can't talk the students can. Later in the video the room is full of students and each one has something they want to share. They talk about how they spend their time. Almost every student was using technology in some way. They were emailing, texting, and face booking, They talked about how they used their computers during class but not for school stuff.
This video shows just how bad schools and professor are out of touch with the 21st century student. At the beginning of this class I would have been surprised by this a little. After Edm310 I can see that students today have a hard time with the outdated teaching methods provided in schools when their brains have been exposed to a whole new way of learning. As so often stated, the times have changed and we need to be changing with them. Students no longer want to learn by the old form of teaching, but very few people really seem to be interested in what the students have to say. Unfortunately, this creates a losing situation for all parties involved.
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