Blog Post 5 #2

Having a PLN as a teacher and right now as a student is very important. I think with this class we have opened up or PLN by doing all the comments with the kids, teachers, and our fellow classmates. We can learn what to do and what not to do from anybody. We can use Facebook and blogs to find ideas for your classroom and students. The are people all over the world with experiences and ideas that have worked for them and they are trying to get their opinions out there so other teachers that need help can see. It is always good to have a large PLN because you may never know when you need help. It is also good to have a good variety of ideas and people that you can choose from. Help is always out there all you have to do is just ask.

Finding people for my PLN has had a slow start. I have not really expanded with twitter but I think I have with my fellow classmates. I am able to communicate with them an ask them advice and how they think they will do things. This class have opened my eyes to the world of blogging and in the future that will be greatly appreciated because there are people out there that have gone through what I will be going through. Even though I did not know what a PLN was until I toke this class I have had one since I was born. I have several family members that are teachers and they are always there if I have any questions.

C4T Summary for November

11/16/14

*Pick your own
For the Love of Learning: What if a child is Manipulative?
Joe Bower

Children should not be manipulated into doing things in the class to get stuff done, but the kids should not manipulate the teacher to get what they want.

I think there is nothing wrong with rewarding the kids for doing something right in the classroom. It may make them want to do good everyday so they can get a prize.

11/30/14

*Pick your own
Denise Krebs
Dare to Care
Finding my way in Kindergarten Genius Hour

She lets her kids have a genius hour and make things. She lets them become "makers". Their little brains are like sponges, they are smarter than you think they are. In genius hour they are making and learning. As the teacher one day she became a learner to one of her students because he created a chair out of used bottles. She had to listen to him because he had to tell her where to put glue or tap.

I think having such designated time to let kids mind wonder would be a cool thing. Let them see what they can come up with on their on and most importantly keep them engaged.

C4K Summary for Novemeber

11/2/14

Racqueir 5th grade Mrs. Ackerson's class

Wrote about her hatred for Taylor swift music. She suggested that she stop singing because she always sings about the same thing every time. She also stated that she crushes every girls dream in having a good relationship in the future.

I commented back that I agreed with her. Taylor  always write about the same thing, and that I was not a fan of her to.

11/9/14

Antonio A. 5th Grade Ms. Mena's Class
An Awesome Sport
He wrote about his favorite sport, soccer. He said that he loved playing soccer because you could hit the ball as hard as you want. He also said that you can also do some awesome tricks.

 I commented back said that I had never played soccer, but that I'm glad that he enjoyed it. That my favorite sports were volleyball and softball.

11/16/14

No C4K- Veterans day

11/23/14

 Savanna S. Mrs. Mena's 5th grade class
 The Philanthropists
 She wrote about a man named John Muir. She stated that he just loved the beauty of the mountains. She also wrote about George Washington Carver. She described how he worked hard to get were he was in life and how he helped with all sorts of food using peanuts.

Blog Post 14

Teaching our children can be a profession By: Joel Klein

• Pick from the best
• Seniority distraction 
• Radical Change

Pick from the best

I agree with this paragraph about teachers needing to have higher standards. That only the best should be able to be allowed to teach. He says that " for decades, we've let virtually anyone with a college education become a teacher". This is true but I think students that are in college trying to become teachers work hard to get that degree so what's the problem. Yes I agree that they should be more prepared with things that will enable them to be ready for what happens in the classroom but I disagree that just anyone can be a teacher. I think teachers can be interchangeable because there is always someone else that needs a job, but basing their performance off of seniority is not the way to judge a teacher(new or old). Yes I think that teachers that have been there longer should have first choice on some things but not when it comes to be fired for example. It should be sole based on their performance in the classroom.

Seniority Distraction

 I am not sure if i agree that this a problem or not. I think yes it is because lower income schools get just a ok education because they mostly have new teachers in their schools that haven't really got the years of experience yet so they just have to go where they can get in at.   Then on the other hand I do not think it is a problem because the teachers that work in more of a middle class school have the seniority to choose the school because they have been teaching for a while. They have worked hard to get where they are now an deserve to teach at a better school with the better pay. But then I think about the kids, they deserve a good education. Just because their parents can not afford to send them to a better school is not their fault. I do agree with his solution though. I think having the teachers take a test ever so often to make sure they are capable of teaching the kids to the standards as everyone else does. This would show that they are able to teach the kids just the same as a teacher from a middle class teacher would. 

http://edsource.org/2014/san-jose-district-teachers-file-bill-seeking-exception-to-tenure-law/63379#.VHAX3pUtBux

Radical Change

I do not think that I agree with this one. I do not think that allowing the teachers to be the judge of another teachers fate would be there right thing to do. That should be up to the principal and the school system that they belong to. If you were to leave it up to the other teachers you could have not very good results when it came to voting, What if the only reason the teacher was voting against another teacher was because they did not like her/him. That would not be fair and would not be based on his/her performance.  I disagree with this an think that there are better ways. Yes the teachers could suggest rules that the teachers should follow but in the end they should not be the "police" for the other teachers.

Project 12 part b

Blog Post 13

Now that your at the end of the semester and you only have one blog post left, I want you tell me why EDM310 is significant for you in becoming a teacher. I know a lot of you might have wondered why this class was important at the beginning of the semester, but now you should know how this class has helped you. Tell me what you learned from this class, and how has it helped you. And last but not least find a activity that you can use in your grade of choice and explain it.


This class has helped me in several ways. It has opened up my eyes to a bigger world of technology in the classroom. I never knew what kids could be capable of if given the chance or the tools. Just as it did when we first began it surprises me that the things that kids are learning now in kindergarten or first grade is what I am just now learning to do in EDM310. EDM310 has taught me to incorporate technology into my lessons as much as possible whether it be with a smartboard, ipad, or computer. Involve technology in the learning process because that is a major source of how the kids these days learn.
When I have kids in my future classroom I need to remember to engage the students to learn. Make it fun for them and not be boring. I think a important thing that I learned from this class was how to create a lesson plan, and how important it is to use ALEX and Buck Institute. When I first started this class I didn't understand why we needed to know how to blog but going back to one of my favorite blog post with Randy Paunch . I think this class was a "headfake". While we were not only learning how to make blogs, we were really learning how find as many ways to use technology in a classroom. It wasn't about the actually blogs, it was about what we got out of the blogs like from the research and the videos that we watched. This class taught me much more than just how to blog, it taught me better ways of teaching in a 21st century classroom using Project Based Learning.
Heather Trawicks Blog has come along way since the beginning of class and I think I will take the experience from learning how to blog and continue with one, and find different networks that I can find people to learn from in the future.
I really would like to teach kindergarten one day. I want to use the example that I used in smartboard project part b. I found a couple of worksheets in math. I placed them on the smart notebook. The worksheets wanted the students to recognize certain numbers that were missing or how many cars there were. I thought this was a good way to involve the students in the activity. I would like to use methods like these in in my classroom. Below is one of the worksheets that I used in the project. I asks the "students"(my group members) to identify the bubble with the number that I asked them to find and color it in.

The pictures below are pictures of my sister and I on Halloween. We
Had to dress up for class. My sister was the queen of hearts and she
Had to recite a the queen of hearts nursery rhyme as well as dress up.
I had to dress up for extra credit. I chose to be a ninja turtle. I think these
Are 2 ways that teachers got us engaged in class for that day. It was so
Fun for the both of us.

c4t summary

10/12/14
 Yo: a math teachers blog
Nico
He posted 9 videos of his kids in class.
He was really amazed in what kids
these days can do with technology.

10/26/14
Stump the teacher
Josh stepenhorst
Write until you puke
He was wondering was to much writing in a class room to much. Common core was pushing reading.and writing to much in the class room. Would it turn the kids against it eventually.

11/9/14
Beths thoughts on technology in the classroom
She experienced hurricane sandy in new jersey
And there was just "conveys" trucks everywhere. She compared educators and herself as a convoy because just like they were on a mission to help people as teachers we are on a mission to help the future people of america by educating the kids now

Blog Post 12 Collaborative

                                                                                                                 Digital Pen

Teachers use digital pens to record the notes they

 take. They will take the notes then they will

upload the notes to the computer to show to their

students on a smartboard or projector. The digital

pen can be a great resourse for students because

they can put their notes on the computer and

organize them. It can be especial helpful for students with disabilties because they can record the teacher talking then can be uploaded to the computer and converted to notes. the digital pen is slightly bigger than a stylus but very easy to use. Some particular pens require a certain type of paper but it is not that expensive.WikiPedia
Another type of digital pen was made by Leap Frog.
It allows the kid to slide the pen over the word
and it will read it to the kid so they can repeat it.
Researched By: Heather Trawick

Pads

iPads or tablets are a great way to use assistive technology because of all the apps they have available. One of my favorite apps was iCommunicate it allows students to design their own storyboards, flash cards and more. Another one is myHomework it lets students get their homework and everything for their classes together in one app. It is very easy to use and works great. The last one I want to talk about is Dragon Dictation. It is an easy voice recognition app that allows you to speak and see what you have said in text. It is 5 times faster than just typing on a keyboard.
~Sources~
iCommunicate
myHomework
Dragon Dictation
Research by Kaitlyn McLarty

I chose to do "Electronic Worksheets".

 MathPad and MathPad Plus are websites that a teacher

can use to make his or her own worksheets for students

 that might have ADHD or might need help refining

 their motor skills. The Mathpad version is for grades

 K-2 and it helps them with borrowing and adding.

The Mathpadplus version is for grades 3-5 and it

helps them with decimals, fractions, and word

problems. Both of these electronic worksheets

will read the problem to students. Students can

use headphones when using these

worksheets so that they do no distract other students.

Research by Jessica Mayo.

The SmartBoard was created by research. Inventors used projectors, the white board, computers, and computer applications to create the SmartBoard. This combination and interactiveness created the ability to “touch control computer applications.” (wikipedia). Students with physical handicaps can use the SmartBoard as an assistive tool because it operates with the touch of the finger, or a stick. Math, Science, English, and searching the web for helpful information on school assignments are at the students request with just a touch on the white interactive board.

Work Cited

SmartBoard.www.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/smartboard









Lisa Nielsen is the site we chose the devices that we were going to research.

Project 10 interview

For my Interview project, I chose my favorite teacher from high school. Her name is Jane DeGraaf:) She inspired me so much when I was in high school and I probably would not have been able to make it through without her. She is a English teacher at Satsuma High school, she use to be a elementary teacher over at Robert E. Lee Elementary until about 2010(I think). She has the best of both worlds and could tell me from both perspectives. I chose the subject technology in the classroom. Hope you enjoy!!

Blog Post 11

What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning from These Teachers?

The key is to involve project based learning as much as possible. Engage the kids, find things that are not only fun for them as students but for you as a teacher. I loved how Brian Crosby said, Get them Fired up". Incorporate digital learning as much as possible into a classroom. Find projects that have a digital aspect in them. In all of the videos I received a general message and that was to in a project that you do have multiple subjects being presented. For example if you are doing a science project put creative writing in their and make them tell you what they did and saw, or like in the first video he made them blog about the project and their high hopes and people started responding this was digital learning that was applied in the project as well. Make them do other things that teach them not only one subject but others as well. Incorporate them where they do not even know they are doing them, to them it just seems fun. I also found that it is important to let the kids be the creator, and what I mean by that is let them be in charge of the project. Let them have the power and choice to give their on characteristics to the project. At the end of the projects make sure the child does not just knows the material to pass the test, make sure they know the information and understands it. You can also involve the whole class at the end with a group evaluation. Involve the class to elevate their peers and to see other ideas that were out there. They could also work as a group on a project. It lets the kids have certain roles with the project just like they will have when they get older and have a job. It allows them to work as a team. When using digital devices and allowing the kids to be on the internet make sure you let the know what is the right way and the wrong way. There are ways to be safe on the internet and as a teacher we need to make sure they know this. I learned a lot from watching these videos. How to let kids be independent and engaged while having fun, can't wait to apply these to my future classroom. :)