Blog Post #7

I was really inspired by Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. He gave so many good life tips, and seemed so optimistic although he was facing a terminal illness. It really makes you stop and think about all that you have to be thankful for.

Randy taught us a lot about learning. He taught us that brick walls are just a way to prove how much we want it. How often in life do we hit a brick wall and think "well, I can't go any further. I guess i'll just give up." A brick wall really is just a way to prove how hard you are willing to work for something. Here, he taught us to learn to persevere and to "keep on keeping on". Another great lesson he taught us about learning (and about life in general) was "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." So many times in life, we don't get what we want and things don't turn out the way we think they should. But in every one of those cases, you gain life experience and hopefully leave that situation a little bit smarter than you were before. Here, he taught us that the journey, even when disappointing or even painful, can be more important than the destination/outcome. He taught us to stick to things. He said that gold is usually at the bottom of a barrel full of crap. Have the determination and willpower to see things through, even when they are difficult. He said to apologise when you make a mistake. I feel like this is such a valuable lesson to learn as a human being. Be honest, and apologise when you need to.

Randy taught us a lot about teaching too. He taught me to always try to push my students for better. Help them to become the best them that they can be. He also taught about believing in people, and believing in his students. He taught about being present and listening. As a teacher, you have the power to influence and be there for your students in a way that no one else can...take advantage of that. Be there for them to help them grow and learn. He taught me that sometimes in teaching one lesson, you are really teaching a more difficult lesson in disguise. He said that students may be more open to learning something difficult, if they think that are learning something more simple. He taught me to not complain, to just work harder. I hope to take this with me into teaching. Instead of complaining about a difficult student, I hope to just work harder to help them.

Randy Pausch was very inspiring. I hope to be as proud and as happy with my life when it is my time to go as he was.

Blog Post #6

Before this weeks assignment, I had never heard of a PLN. After reading this weeks material, I understand how important and beneficial a PLN can truly be. A PLN (or personal learning network) is the set of tools, people, and resources you use to help you as a teacher. It can be other teachers that you know and respect. It can be websites such as pinterest or twitter. There are many different online tools a teacher could rely on in their PLN. They can help you as a teacher because they give you people and different sites to help give you ideas, advice, or counsel when you need it. They also help you to keep all of the resources you love in one place.

You can create your own PLN by researching Symbaloo or Netvibes. These are two sites that make keeping up with all the people and things you want in your PLN much more manageable. The first additions to my PLN will be Jenny Luca, a teacher I was assigned to for my C4T, and also Mrs. Vitulli, who is an excellent teacher, and seems very knowledgeable and experienced as an elementary school teacher. I hope that as a progress in the education program, and then one day as a teacher, to add many many more people and sites to my PLN.

Welcome to my PLE

Building your PLN

Allie's Book Trailer

C4T Jenny Luca's blog summary

In Jenny Luca's blog post, she talks about the way she incorporates music by Macklemore(a very popular rapper/artist)into her "Language of Our Time" class. She has her students dissect and analyze the lyrics of each song and really find the meaning behind them. She equates songs in her class to poetry. She also talks about the 10,000 hour idea, which says that you need at least 10,000 hours of work in your chosen field to become truly proficient. She also talks about how the system is not always a valid way to tell how smart or successful someone is or will be. The system in this case being the school and testing system. In my comment I said that I really admired the way she intergrated secular culture into her teaching, and also the way she teaches her students that just because you aren't the best test taker or the best student doesn't mean that you are stupid or a failure. I really liked so many of Ms. Luca's blog posts that I plan to read more by her in the future.

In Jenny Luca's second post, she talks about an online viral video that turnd out to be fake. She says that in her upcoming school year, she will have a whole lesson devoted to analyzing viral videos, and what makes them 'viral'. In my comment, I said that it is very important to do a lesson on the authenticity of materials you see on the internet, and why you shouldn't believe everything you see.

C4K Summary

Ethan

In my assignment, I was assigned to read Ethan's blog post. In Ethan's post, he talked about the strategy he used when creating a comic strip for Digital Learning Day. He describes the two sites he used, and why he liked which better. The two sites he compared in his post were Toondoo.com and makebeliefscomix.com. In the end he decided to go with Toondoo, because he says that there is a good variety of options and because it is a better option for the assignment they are working on. The one thing he says he likes about makebeliefscomix better is that it is a little bit easier to use. He also posts two comic strips that he created, one from each site.

Ethans Blog

Jason

In my second post, I was assigned to read a blog post by a child named Jason. Jason wrote his post on a funny memory from his childhood. In this memory, he recalls a time when he went to his grandmothers house who owned a swimming pool. He asks his grandmother "Can I go swimming in your pool?". His grandmother says he can, as long as he goes and puts on his swimsuit. He went to go change, but got so anxious that he jumped right in the pool with his clothes on. His mom comes out and tells him to get out right then, and he says "no!". His mother tells him again, but he still refuses. She goes and gets his father, and he gets out right away. That was the end of the post. In my comment, I comment on his word choice, which was pretty good. I also comment on the pictures that he or his teacher scanned into the blog post that jason had drawn.

Jason's Blog

In my third C4K, I was assigned to read Ethan's blog again. In this weeks post, Ethan was talking about his experience of shopping for and purchasing a new laptop. He says his father researched laptops for a few weeks before they made the final decision. He said that they had finally picked out a laptop, but that he changed his mind last minute from the I3 processor to an I5 because it is faster. The laptop he picked turned out to be a little out of his price range, so he made a deal with his parents to work off half of it and get the other half as a birthday present. In my comment, I told him that I was very impressed with his knowledge of laptops and the way they work. I also told him that it was very mature that he researched the laptop he wanted, and also that he was willing to work to pay off half of it. I really enjoy reading Ethan's blog. He seems very sweet, and I hope to read more from him in the future.

In this weeks assignment, I was assigned to Jacob F's blog. In his post, he reviews the book Suck It Up. He says it is about vampires who live off a blood substitute for nutrition. The story changes when one of the vampires drink real blood and causes trouble. In my comment to Jacob, I told him that he did a good job of explaining the premise of the book.

Blog Post 5

In the videos Project based learning part 1: experiences of a third grade teacher and part two I listened as Anthony Capps discussed with Dr.Strange his experience with project based learning in his third grade classroom. I really liked the example he used when he said that he feels project based learning works best when it has something to do with the community, because it shows the students that this really is something they would use in real life. I also really learned a lot about they way he mentioned tying in multiple subjects within one project. I also found his story about the father who would not let his child participate in the afghanistan project very interesting. It reminded me that, although I may find something a great learning experience, someone else may find it offensive.

iCurio

In this video, Anthony discusses iCurio. Before this video, I had never heard of iCurio, but I think that it is a very clever and necessary idea. In short, it is a search engine more or less that filters out sites, videos and images for maturity or age purposes. Anthony also explains that it has this storage feature that they use for their projects in which they need to do research or use information they have found online. I loved the idea of a directory for historical figures. That seems like a tool that would come in handy for any grade level in elementary school, even through middle school and even high school.

Discovery education

In this video, Anthony discusses Discovery Education. This is tool that all Baldwin County teachers have available to them. Discovery Ed is basically a search engine, where the children or teacher can type in something (in the video, Anthony uses the example plants) and it brings up text along with a video or image of what was typed in.

In the next video, Dr.Strange and Anthony gave us many useful tips for being a teacher. They gave many good tips. I especially liked the one about always needing/wanting to learn yourself. As a teacher, i'm sure you are always learning and growing and changing right along with your students. Another good tip was that being a teacher means always learning to be a teacher. It isn't something you do at work, it is something you do 24/7. I loved the one about needing to be flexible. We all know, kids are so unpredictable. You never know what they are going to do or say. Even more than children, life can be pretty unpredictable. Being a teacher means being able to teach, and being ready, no matter what surprises may come your way.

In Use technology, don't teach it! Anthony discusses all the ways technology is helpful in his classroom, and how much he uses it. I really liked the way he mentions that using technology isn't messy and doesn't involve a clean up. I've never really thought of it that way before. He also says that technology isn't something you should take time out to "teach", but something you should make sure to use. He relays the message that it is so necessary, and almost unavoidable.

In the last video, Additional thoughts about lessons , Anthony gives us some last minute 'tips' or information about being a teacher. He says that lessons are "four layered" and that you have to think about teaching lessons in these four steps. The first "layer" or step is remembering to teach by year or grade level. Then, have you made an appropriate lesson plan and curriculum. You also need to look at it in terms of time. Some things take a while to teach, others are quick. Also, you have certain time limits to teach things by. Last, you need to know your daily lesson and really prepare for it.

I learned a lot from these conversations with Anthony Capps. I learned about the best ways to use PBL, and the issues that may sometimes arise when using it. I learned about Discovery Ed and iCurio. I learned many helpful tips and lessons that go along with being a successful teacher Many of these things were things I had never even considered or heard of before. Anthony seems like he is a very proud and successful teacher, and I enjoyed hearing the things he had to say. I also watched his video "A day as a third grade teacher" because I also want to be a third grade teacher. He seems to really love and take pride in what he does. I hope to one day be half the teacher he is.

My Sentence Videos

Blog Post #4

With this assignment, I learned so much that I did not previously know about asking questions. Many times, asking a question is not something you put much thought into. A question comes to mind, and you ask it. I knew there was a strategy to a teacher asking questions, but I didn't know there were so many right and wrong ways a teacher could go about asking a question. We were just discussing this topic in my EDU 301 class on tuesday. Mrs. Vitulli was talking to the class about waiting time between asking a question and moving on to your next subject. She said this gives your students time to think over the material that was just discussed, and to really think about whether or not they have questions. I believe that being able to effectively ask questions is a very important skill for teachers, because asking questions is how we learn. It also shows if a student has an understanding of what is being taught. if you think about it, aren't the tests students take weekly just a series of questions about the material that was just taught to them? Useful tips I found from the sources given to us this week was learning how to prepare and play with a question. Instead of asking "Does everyone understand?", try asking a specific question about what was being taught. Have you ever noticed how detailed the questions at the end of a chapter in a textbook are? The textbook doesn't ask "Do you understand? Great! Read chapter two." The writers of the chapter sit back and take their time to think of detailed questions that make you think and really show understanding. Another tip I found helpful was the tip about playing with your question. Your question should be thought provoking and not mundane. You want to make questions detailed, but not so long and confusing that your students immediately lose interest. Try asking a specific question before you even start teaching, and when you are done, ask the class "Who thinks they know the answer to the question I asked before the lesson started?" This is a good way to keep children focused and listening. We also want to try to convey the message that questions are important. We should teach our students that there is no better way to learn than asking questions. We should teach them that not understanding and getting confused happens to everyone, and anytime they need help to just ask. Usually if they are confused, they aren't the only student that is confused and their question may even help a fellow student.



Three Ways to Ask Better Questions

The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom

Project #3 Presentation

Jenny She's Blog Posts "You Got Snapped!" and "Ipads in My Classroom"

You Got Snapped!

For my first assignment, I had to read Jenny She's blog post "You Got Snapped!". In this post, she describes going over her class blog with her students when another student of hers takes her picture without her knowing it. The student then proclaims "You have been snapped!". After the student takes the picture, Ms. She asks to see,and instantly falls in love with the it. The picture, which she uploaded to her blog, is a picture of her standing with a student instructing her, while the student looks on excitedly. In my comment on her blog, I acknowledged the loving way she describes her children, and commented on the way she teaches constructive criticism as opposed to hateful or derogatory comments.

Jenny She's Class Blog

Ipads in My Classroom

In the second post I read by Jenny She, she describes being chosen to experiment with ipads in her classroom, and how effective it turned out to be. She starts the post by mentioning that hers was one of the very few classrooms chosen to participate in this experiment. She says that her initial reaction was very excited. She went on to download apps that were completely literacy, math, and learning oriented. Her kids loved it! She also says that her students were very successful and productive in using these ipads to learn and explore. When they were good, she says she would reward them with ipad games like word bingo. This was not only a game the kids would enjoy, but it was also something that was still educational. She said the ipad even served as incentive for children who sometimes misbehaved to be good. She says one morning she almost burst out laughing when a student comes to her and says "I have been really good today, can I go on the ipad twice?" In my comment, I say that I am impressed at her being a teacher who does not shy away from the use of technology in the classroom, and that it is evident in her posts how much her students seem to respect her. Also that I never realized how many learning based apps and games there are out there for younger children.