Blog Post #4

Asking Questions: What questions do we ask? How do we ask?




Asking questions is essential to improving comprehension. Questioning helps students make a connection between what is being taught, and how well they understand the subject matter. It also serves as verification that they have successfully mastered the lesson. In our modern education system questioning is more important than answers according to Dr. Strange. As we transition from No Child Left Behind to the Common Core Curriculum good questioning skills are critical for present students to learn. The Common Core is geared towards students learning things conceptually rather than mere rote memorization of facts. This is why students must learn how to ask great information seeking questions.

In Ben Johnson's post "The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom" he is troubled about teachers asking yes or no questions to students concerning their comprehension of the lesson. Johnson believes that questions like these help students falsely persuade the teacher about their understanding of the subject. Furthermore, it does not push the students to think critically. However, he provides the antidote to this problem from research done by Mary Budd Rowe. She believed that if teachers ask a question, pause for three seconds, and call on a student this will motivate all students to being thinking about an answer. Only after another students name is called will they experience relief because they were not chosen. Randomly calling on different students to answer questions will keep students thinking and alert because they understand they could be called upon any time to give an answer.



In "Asking Questions to Improve Learning" Washington University in St. Louis compiled a list to help educators ask question that will help students actively learn. The following are strategies I found most effective: When planning questions keep in mind your course goals, and aim for clear, direct, and specific questions. The first strategy suggest that teachers should shape questions to course goals. For example, what does the instructor intend for the students to learn. Do you want students to learn new a new concept? If this is the goal you should form questions to confirm that the students learned the material. The next strategy is to ask simple questions. When educators are teaching a new lesson they should ask questions that progress toward the depth of the subject rather than ask complex questions in the beginning. Critical thinking skills have to be built so students can ask good questions.

Blog Post #16 Final Reflection Video

C4T #1

     Mrs. Deyamport shared her experience at a recent statewide gifted conference on her blog. She explained how developing her PLN network has enriched her life. Personal Learning Networks have allowed her to connect to other educators and new resources that have ultimately made her a better teacher. She explained how these people have provided valuable insights and inputs sharing their experiences and providing solutions to certain questions. She encouraged her fellow peers to begin developing their own PLN so they could receive the same inspiration she had obtained.

     For my second comment on Mrs. Deyamport blog I thanked her for sharing some wonderful assignments she created using Google Classroom. I had never heard of the app before so I decided to do some research. Google classroom was designed for teachers to help them save time by keeping classes organized, and improving communication with their students. It functions like a cloud based product where students and teachers can store assignments. As a future educator I will use Google Classroom to help improve my effectiveness as a teacher.

 

 

 

    

Blog Post #5 part 2

     My Personal Learning Network has helped me grow trememdously over the course of this semester. The most useful resources I have grown fond of are TeacherTube and Twitter. TeacherTube is a useful resource of online instructional videos for students, teachers, and parents to learn about anything educational. This site contains videos, docs, audio, and photos that all center around educational content. Twitter has become my most useful over the course of this semester. At first I was reluctant to create a twitter account however, I've found it useful for keeping me informed about events happening on campus. Twitter has shown me how important it is to be connected to the people around me. Furthermore, it has taught me how useful it is to make new connections.

C4K Comment for November

      For my first comment for kids post I was assigned to comment of Maddy's blog. She had an interesting blog post about homework. She developed a homework declaration of independence declaring that teachers ban homework for their students. The reason behind this declaration is that homework causes unnecessary stress and it takes away students' freedom because they already attend school five out of seven days at week, for eight hours a day. Furthermore, she persuaded other students to sign this petition and they did. I commented on her post letting her know that homework is meant to be helpful. On one hand I agreed with her declaration. Too much homework can be stressful and overwhelming. I believe teachers should carefully consider how much homework to give each night. However, I let her know that the teachers care genuinely about her and want her to succeed so they assign homework so students understand what is being taught in the classroom. I let her know practice make perfect and this is why her teachers assign homework each night. They want their students to earn A’s in their class and be successful in life.
      For my second comment for kids post I was assigned to comment on Marilyn's blog. She wrote an innovative blog point on how to make homemade strawberry jelly. I commented on her blog letting her know this was a very informative post. I told her I love your simple and effective recipe to make homemade strawberry jelly. I have never thought about this method. I see your very creative and willing to experiment with different things in order to make strawberry jelly. This is good because one day you could be a famous chief, or with your experimental habits you may become a famous scientists. Keep up the good work!!
      Lastly, I was assigned to comment on Isaac's blog. He wrote about designing a suit for the future and the gadgets it would include. The suit would be called the Cyborg 2000. It would be made of metal, include a gun, and a microwave. However, the gun could not be used for evil, and if it was used for this purpose it would fall apart and be unfixable. I commented on his blog by complimenting him on his creativity. He also told his commenters to let him know what he could add to the suit to make it better. I told him that this is a cool, futuristic suit. I like how he mentioned the gun can never be used for evil and if someone tried to use it for that purpose it would fall apart. It seems he is advocating for a peaceful world, which is awesome. The camera on the suit is useful because it alerts you when unknown danger is near by an alarm going off. It seems this suit could be very useful for soldiers at war. The metal would serve as body armor so it would protect the soldiers from enemy fire. Another gadget you could add to the suit is insulated cotton. This cotton would automatically adjust to the body temperature of the person and warm them up if they were cold.

Blog Post 14

Joel Klein served as the Superintendent for New York City's Public School System. In a article published by USA today he was asked if there was one thing he could change about the educational system what would it be? He responded by mentioning that their are a lot of thing that need fixing. The following are a list of problems and solutions that he and Albert Shanker came up with to fix the school system.

Problems
1. Anyone with a college degree can become a teacher.
2. Teachers are rewarded based on seniority.
3. Their hasn't been a solid educational program developed that is compatible to other high-performing nations.

Solutions
1. Pick from the best(recruit from the top third of graduates)
2. Job security should be based on performance not seniority.
3. Their should be national teacher examination test compatible to entry exams for doctors and lawyers.

      First, the qualifications to become a teacher are too lenient. I agree with his first problem on teacher inflation. Just because you have a college degree does not make you qualified to become an educator. The school system is filled with unqualified teachers who have not been trained properly. Therefore, our students suffer academically from the broken pipeline of teacher inflation. In order to fix this problem we should adhere to the advice of Mr. Klein. We should recruit from the top college graduates to ensure our students are receiving the best education possible. This will produce more productive students and prepare them for the future workforce.
      Secondly, we should change how we reward teachers. The current reward system should be discarded and a new one should be implemented. I agree with Mr. Klein's suggestion. We should reward teachers based on performance, rather than seniority. As he mentioned just because a teacher is experienced doesn't mean their effective. Furthermore, our best teachers should be going to the low-performing schools in order to help close the performance gap between at-risk kids and high-performing students.
      Lastly, universities should change their teacher education programs. According to the National Center on Teacher Quality their hasn't been a program developed that is compatible to other high-performing nations. To solve this we should adhere to the advice of Albert Shanker. He suggest teachers establish their own board to monitor the profession and weed out ineffective teachers. Furthermore, the school system should develop national teacher examinations compatible to doctor and lawyer entry exams. These test will be administered to consider which teachers deserve promotions and rewards. This incentive will ensure the very best teachers enjoy the fruit of their labor.
      In conclusion, I believe that Mr. Klein and Mr. Shanker has provided American education will a blueprint for radical change. In my opinion, these changes should be implemented promptly so we can ensure our students have the best educators teaching them. Additionally, technology will play a huge role in this process. Teachers should be technologically literature in order to be an educator since their are so many ways technology is influencing education in a positive way. If we implement these strategies we will be on our way to becoming an educational superpower again.

Project #12 Part B

Here is our group's Project #12 Part B SmartBoard lesson.

C4T #4

Post #1
The first teacher I commented on during this C4T cycle was Mrs. Annie Palmer. She blogged about why we should motivate our students to read books. The moment educators accomplish this could be the pivotal turning point in their students' education. I agree with her. When students fall in love with reading books it makes them lifelong learners because they enjoy seeking knowledge. Furthermore, it improves their comprehension, literacy, and vocabulary. As a future educator I will seek to motivate all my students to love reading.
Post #2
My second comment for Mrs. Palmer revolved around the lessons she learned from the softball field that she applied in the classroom. Mrs. Palmer stated that she learned how to give correct feedback through her softball experience. She used the term specific feedback to instruct her students on the importance of striving to do their best. My response to this blog post was

"Good blog post Mrs. Palmer. We should always seek to provide meaningful feedback to our students. This is the best way to ensure they learn the material. Feedback should be instructive, specific, and encouraging. Good feedback will help students become better lifelong learners. It will teach students to evaluate themselves and push them to work harder in the classroom to achieve good grades."

Blog Post 13 What Did I Leave Out?

Instructions: Watch the video "Why schools need technology to teach writing" by Jeff Scheur at TEDx Gunn High School and list the ways he suggest that technology can improve writing

Answer the question in a post that adheres to the standards found in the ACCRS and in writing a quality blog post.

      Mr. Scheur opens up this TEDx session by mentioning that he almost destroyed a students' confidence. Tony, a student in his class, turned in a one sentence, three page paper. The paper had no commas or periods. Mr. Scheur asked Tony, "When you turned this paper in how did you feel about it, Tony replied, "He felt proud." This was because he had never turned in a paper before. Mr. Scheur decided if a student could slip through the cracks that much something needed to be done. Statistics show that 73% of American students are below proficient in writing. While the government has spent millions of dollars to improve math and science skills, little to no money has been put towards improving writing and grammar skills. Students are constantly given writing assignments from teachers who try to educate students in over crowded classrooms. For example, Mr. Scheur mentions that if a teacher has 170 students and does 15 minutes of grading it would take 42 hours of grading after school to grade everyone's paper. To combat this problem he came up with an innovation solution to help students gain writing and grammatical skills.
      First, he utilized Google Forms when it first launched to create a fun assignment. He called it "cutting the fluff". Basically, students were given a wordy or grammatically incorrect sentence and required to correct it or "cut the fluff". Google forms showed Mr. Scheur what the students were able to fix and it showed data so he could see where his students were falling short. This led to his next idea.
      Secondly, Mr. Scheur hired a computer engineer to develop a program that would help his students develop grammar skills. The program created a random incorrect sentence based on the students' interest such as celebrities, friends, and personal attractions. The students were required to fix it by capitalizing letters and dragging periods or commas from the punctuation box. If the student didn't correct the sentence the first time it would highlight the part of the incorrect sentence helping the student focus on the specific problem. If they got it wrong the second time the program would give them a hint. If they got it wrong the third time the program would show them the specific mistake, give a model of how to correct the sentence, and generate a new similar sentence.
      The program records the data and shows each individual student where they need help. Furthermore, it shows the teacher where their students need more practice. This allows the teacher to target specific training in the area and help their students gain the skills needed to master the exercise. Mr. Scheur introduced this program to a group of teachers in his eight year developing it and four weeks later he had 1,500 people using it. By the 9th week 15,000 people were using it. This is another example of how technology is revolutionizing the classroom and improving students' grades. This shows that all schools should incorporate technology in the classroom if we really want to give our students the best chance to succeed in school and in life.

Blog Post 12

Here is our group's collaborative blog post. We each picked one assistive technology that we thought would be useful in the classroom.




My family has a history of hearing impairment. My maternal grandfather wore hearing aids from his 40s on to his death at 89. My mother is very hard of hearing, as are most of her siblings. I have lost a significant amount of hearing in my right ear due to military service and I imagine my genetics don't help with that. I have often thought of what it would be like if I was afflicted with my family's impairment at a school age. This post was a great chance to see what would be available to me if I was a hearing impaired student today. The Hearing Loss Association of America has a section of its website dedicated to Hearing Assistive Technology. In the link they talk about an FM system. I have vivid memories of my grandfather using one of these to listen to the TV. After multiple complaints from my grandmother about him blasting Braves games at full volume they invested in one of these FM systems. He placed the receiver close to the speakers of the TV and he had it hooked into his hearing aids. As an educator, I can see this working well in the classroom. The teacher could simply wear the receiver around his or her neck, or keep it on the desk if it was powerful enough, and the student could take it from class to class. It seems kind of primitive in today's technological world, but if it isn't broke, don't fix it. I guess.


Linked here is a video from Oklahoma about Assistive Technologies that educators can use to help deaf/hearing impaired students. Around the 5:30 mark of the video, the iPad is discussed. It seems as though iPads are becoming quite the norm in classrooms these days. I found this short section of the video to be very interesting, as I'm expecting to have iPads available to me in my future classrooms. Here is a short video of deaf students using iPads for the first time. You can see how excited the children are, but also look and see how engaged they are in their learning. My wife, God bless her, is an avid Pinterest user and heard me talking about this blog post. She very quickly found this board. I don't really know how Pinterest works, but there is some really great information on that link. That's what's so great about our modern world today; there's so much information out there. I think that if we just put forth the effort, real effort, to find it, then we will always be in a position to help our students. -Kyle Parrish


Assistive technology can help students with learning disabilities leverage their education. It can be a wonderful tool for students that have Dysgraphia which affects a student's writing ability. This disability primarily affects handwriting and coherence. Students with this writing disorder will not perform efficiently when being taught how to form letters. Furthermore, they will probably forget how to correctly form words later because of improper movements of muscles required to write. However, there have been technologies created to help them counter this problem.
Dragon Dictation is a speech recognition application that produces words you speak by recording your voice. It allows you to update social media statuses such as Facebook and twitter by speaking. Dragon allows you to speak and send emails or text messages. Additionally, people can create notes and reminders to help them navigate throughout the day. This technology could be useful for students in the classroom who have Dysgraphia because it would allow them to complete their writing assignments by speaking out their words. As a teacher I could allow a student to use their device to assist them in the writing process. This is another way technology is affecting education in a positive way because it is assisting students who have learning disabilities.-Justin Thomas


This short six minute YouTube video, Braille in the classroom, it helps you understand how braille works, how it is helpful, and some of the different types of braille. One of the devices they use is called braille display. This device will connect to the computer and will transfer the text from a computer screen into braille for the student. In the YouTube video iPad usage for the blind he shows us how to use the iPad from a blind person point of view. As he demonstrates, you can hear how he has the voice control instructing him in he background. The voice control helps him find his apps, tools, or whatever item he is looking for. Having an iPad in the classroom would be very beneficial to the student. Especially since everything is changing into technology. -Macy Roe :)




Math is a tough alone, and the hardest subject in school for some. I could only imagine how difficult it could be for a blind individual. In the video Teaching Math to the Blind Professor Art Karshmer introduces a tool that allows blind students to still use Braille, something they're familiar with, and electronic feedback. Instead of the math problem written in one horizontal line the student can align the math problem the way it should be. They are also able to receive verbal feedback of the math problem.
I think this tool is very useful for blind students. It is important for them to understand math because as Professor Art Karshmer said in order to get a job in engineering, technology, computer sciences etc. math is an important part of the equation, and the easier it is to practice and understand it the better, and with this tool its definitely possible. -Janae Ivory

C4T #3

I had the privilege on commenting on Mr. Doug Belshaw's blog. His second blog post was about how information over the internet gets curated. Basically, every time we search for something on search engines such as Google or Yahoo it returns articles that we view most often. Web technicians call this "curated search results". This can leave us unexposed to different opinions on the same topic. Mr. Belshaw suggest that we read news articles from a wide variety of sources so that we can have a broad perspective on different issues and be able to understand one another.


Mr. Belshaw's first post was about how messy learning is. Learning is messy because it can often be difficult to acquire new skills. It involves some progression and regression. Sometimes we learn things fast whereas, other times it takes patience and training. However, there is a difference between the two. Mr. Belshaw says, "learning is related to activity and practice. Training is sustained practice of what we have learned. Basically, training is a byproduct to sharpen the new skills we have learned.

Project #10 Interview Movie

Project 14-Project Based Learning Plan #2

Our group developed a lesson plan for an 11th grade history class. The students will complete a project based assignment about the connection between the Pearl Harbor attack, and the detonation of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Students will work collaboratively in groups and create a digital presentation of these events. Our plans are listed below in the links provided.

 

Project Overview

Project Checklist

Project Calendar

Evaluation Rubric for the Group

Evaluation Rubric for the Individual

Blog Post 11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

Brain Crosby is a teacher at Agnes Risley Elementary School. In his TEDx Talk video "Back to the Future" he explains the dynamics of his classroom and how he got at-risk students to succeed in school through project based learning. He begins by explaining that 90% of his classroom is comprised of ESL(English as a Second Language) students. So he set out to discover why there is such a disconnect. First, he concluded that a narrowed curriculum is bad. To counter this problem he began by implementing a project based lesson that was very successful. The students got the opportunity to launch a hot air balloon for a science project. The balloon had a camera attached to it so the students were able to witness what it was like to ascend into the sky in real time. Mr. Crosby gave his students an assignment to write as if they were the balloon and post it on their blogs. This assignment proves that project based learning really works. The kids were ecstatic and interested because they got the opportunity to do a hands-on assignment. Furthermore, Mr. Crosby let his students dictate their own learning. He stated that independent learning combined with technology allows us to connect to the world through tech. I agree with this statement because technology provides innumerable resources that a traditional classroom setting can't provide. The students were able to receive feedback from other people after they posted their assignments on their blogs. Astonishingly, students from other schools took notice and begged their teacher to let them do this project. This is another testament that project based learning is a success and that we all learn by being connected learners.

Mr. Paul Andersen is a high school AP Biology teacher who uses the blended learning cycle in his classroom. In his video "Blended Learning Cycle" he explains three core concepts which are explore, flip, and apply. The blended cycle is comprised of online, mobile, and classroom learning. Mr Andersen has developed an acronym that he uses as a model to teach his students called QIVERS. This stands for question, investigation, video, elaboration, review, and summary. First, he gets his students to develop good questions to spark their interest and direct the lesson. Second, is the inquiry where his students research the question and pose possible solutions to a problem. Third, he makes a video podcast that his students can access anytime and watch independently because he wants them to become independent learners.
Fourth, is elaboration. This is where the students go through the textbook. Fifth, is the review stage. During this time the teacher will meet with each student to make sure they understand what is being taught. Lastly, a summary quiz is given to test the students on the material. This is an effective process that helps the kids learn to think for themselves and conduct their own research independently.

 

Mark Church is an elementary school teacher who came up with an interactive activity to stimulate learning. In his video" Making Thinking Visible" he assigned a small group project where his students would develop headlines about "Early Human Beginnings, The Origin of Human Society." The headline should explain the challenge and search for what human origin is all about. This is a fun activity to get young students excited about learning. They get to actively take part in their learning by creating headlines rather than just reading a textbook and having a discussion. The small group discussion will help improve their communication skills and help them learn to be collaborative workers. These kids are gaining skills early that they'll need in the 21st century workforce.

Sam Pane is a fourth grade teacher who is teaching his students how to be good internet citizens. In his "building comics" video he teachers his students that safety, respect, and responsibility are the three core elements to being a good internet citizen. He had his class build a superhero citizen using graphic technology on the computer as a way to do a visual presentation. This was a great way for the students to learn and create dialogue about the hazards of the internet. Furthermore, it improved their writing skills because they developed a narrative. Students were allowed to share their comics with the class and receive feedback which made them feel good about the activity. This is another reason why more teachers should switch to project based learning because it teaches new skills simultaneously.

 

 

 

Dean Shareski "Project Based Learning" video is revolutionary in its approach to education. The high school has chosen to combine courses and use project based learning to direct each lesson. The school has combined History, English, and Information Processing together rather than teaching each subject individually. The school elected to do this because research shows that combining courses and using project based learning to direct them engages learning, and produces a deeper understanding rather than teaching in segmented parts. This idea worked tremendously. Technology helped the kids get a thorough understanding of the content and helped them become active in their learning. Project Based Learning helped them flip the school from the "inside out".

"Roosevelt's Elementary School PBL Program" video explains their steps to effective project based learning. Their faculty suggest that project based learning should be in depth, include integrated thematic instruction, based on real world problems, research based, and include project and presentation. This is a model that all schools should adopt. Project based learning helps students understand content in depth because it allows students to control their own research. Therefore, they put more effort into learning because they are interested in the material. Project based learning also should be based around a real world problem because it gives the students purpose. Real world problems make the assignments more meaningful and interesting. Project Based Learning should also be presentation based. It builds the students communication skills and gives them confidence as they present their projects to the class. In conclusion, this teaching method teaches student skills they will need in the future workforce.

Comments for Kids Summary for October

Comment #1 Melanie's Blog 10/5/14

Melanie is a sixth grade student in Mrs. Rivera's reading class. For her blog post title she asked an open ended question about a book she believed to be a good read. She asked, " Would you recommend this book to someone else? Why or why Not?" Then she wrote a persuasive argument about why she believed this was a good book to ready. The book's title was "Confetti Girl". This book appears to be a teenage romance novel about a group of friends who go to the beach to search for items for their project. Two of the friends, Vanessa and Carlos, are in a romantic relationship with one another. When it is time to go Lina searches for them because they are missing. Surprisingly, she finds them behind a sane dune kissing. I commented on Melanie's blog that she made a successful persuasive argument about the book. She gave an informative summary about the characters, setting, and plot of the story. The book seems like it would be a good read for a teenage girl. She replied to my comment saying, " Thank you so much."

Comment #2 Amanda's blog 10/12/14

Aanandm is a fifth grade student who did a creative writing assignment on her blog post. She gave her pencil a voice so she used personification as her writing element. Her pencil spoke from the perspective as someone who hated writing. Every time the pencil was forced to write it became sad and angry because it doesn't like to. I told Aanandm that she has a very imaginative mind and I encouraged her to keep being creative because one day she could use her imagination to create a movie or write a book. Although, she doesn't like writing I told her to keep doing it because practicing would make her better at it. She loves math. I told her its good she loves it because we use it everyday and employers love people who are good at it.

Comment #3 Ryan's Blog 10/19/14

Ryan is a student who blogged about his very first baseball game. He described a play from the ninth inning. The batter stepped up to the plate, hit the ball to center field, and the center field catcher dropped the ball. The runner made it to third base. The center fielder threw the ball to second base, then it was thrown to picher, then the catcher and the runner was declared out. Ryan's team won the game ten to eleven. I told Ryan is sounds like he enjoyed his first game. I explained that Baseball is a wonderful sport and that he should always work hard and be a good teammate.

Comment #4 James' Blog 10/26/14


James gave an interesting history lesson on his blog. He wrote about the history of Israel and their people. These people are the only nation in the world whose religion, land, and language has remained the same for over 3,000 years. Their patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. He included references from the Bible and Torah to support his findings and gave a thorough overview of the Israeli people lineage. I commented by telling him that this was a wonderful blog post and explained how the patriarchs of Israel resemble our American founding fathers.

SMARTboard Project #12 Part A

Blog Post 10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

The most significant thing I learned from Mrs. Cassidy's videos is that kids absolutely love blogging. In her video "Cassidy 13 Part 1" she explains in detail why her students love to blog. First, kids enjoy receiving feedback from their blog posts. This makes them seem more enthusiastic about blogging. Furthermore, since students anticipate people commenting on their blogs they put more effort into developing them and making sure they adhere to the teachers' standards. The more blogging the students do the better writers they become. Blogging improves writing simultaneously. As a future educator I will incorporate blogging into my classroom to improve writing skills in a fun and interactive way.
The next technology technique I plan to use in my classroom is a class webpage. Mrs. Cassidy students' showed excitement when they described their class webpage. The advantage of a class webpage is that it allows students to gain practice on subjects being taught inside the classroom and students can access this material from home. Online learning is proving to be essential for current and future students. It provides them with resources they can access anytime and they gain valuable experience using technology. The wiki page is also useful as a technology technique. Students can use these resources to search topics and gain help from other people. It is useful because it gives students opportunities to learn things from other peoples perspective.
The third technology technique that is useful is Skype. I love how Mrs. Cassidy got an expert geologist to have a live conversation with the class. This is another way that technology enhances education. The students were able to ask the geologist questions and receive feedback. This is an interesting way to get your students motivated about a particular subject. They gain valuable knowledge and improve their communication skills at the same time. All of these resources are useful for classroom assignments and they all involve incorporating technology in the classroom.
As a new educator there may be roadblocks in my way as I try to incorporate technology in the classroom. I have never built a website before so making a class webpage will probably be difficulty for me. To counter this difficulty I will seek the support and help from my faculty and use tutorial videos from the internet to help me build my class website. My personal learning network would also be beneficial in helping me. The next roadblock would be using Skype effectively. I have never used Skype before so I may find that difficult also. To address this problem I could begin using this application to familiarize myself with it so I could effectively use it when I become a teacher. Technology continues to shape the future of education in powerful ways and I plan to utilize all of its power to give my students the ultimate learning experience.

Here is the entire interview with Mrs. Cassidy:

1. Interview with Mrs. Cassidy Part 1
2. Interview with Mrs. Cassidy Part 2
3. Interview with Mrs. Cassidy Part 3

Blog Post 9

Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning

     Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning is an informative article written by John Larmer and John R. Mergendoller. The article is set up as a guide to help teachers effectively coordinate their students' projects and ensure they find value within it. A quality project based assignment should fulfill each of the seven essentials. If these standards are met students will find their projects to be more meaningful and gain a deeper understanding of the topic.
     First, every good project based learning assignment has to have a need to know. Students often find school boring because the information is not connected to real-world events. Teachers should develop an "entry event" to spark the students' interest. This could be done by playing a video, taking a field trip, or having a guest speaker with expertise on the topic speak to the class.
     Second, a good project must have a driving question. Students should choose a driving question to direct their project and provide themselves with a purpose and challenge to find solutions to their topic. The questions should be open-ended and complex. Furthermore, it should be liked to the material you desire for your students to learn. John Larmer and John R. Mergendoller said "A project without a driving question is like an essay without a thesis." I think this statement is profound because without a driving question the project has no goal. Projects should be goal-driven to help students become motivated to solve real-word problems. This will help them perceive their work as being valuable.
      Third, teachers should ensure their students have a platform to present their work. Presenting in front of the class may be useful however, teachers should allow their students to show their work to a wide range of audiences. This is where technology and project based learning collaborate. Teachers could allow students to post their assignments to their blogger to show the world their discovery. Furthermore, if they were solving environmental issues such as global warming the teacher could invite a worker from the environmental protection agency(EPA) to listen to their recent findings.
     Fourth, project based learning develops 21st century skills. These skills are collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. Future workforce jobs require people to work together rather, than independently. Being a team-oriented person is critical to success in the workforce. Project Based Learning incorporates all of these elements because it helps students become more comfortable working together and builds the skills required to land a job in the future workforce.
      Fifth, quality projects should spark inquiry and innovation. In essence, questions should lead to answers. Driving questions should lead to solutions. Students are more likely to become interested in their work if they develop their own questions and find resources to answer them. Once solutions are found innovation happens. Innovation could result from a new project being created, a new solution, or a new idea.
     Sixth, feedback and revision is needed to successfully evaluate projects. This should come from students evaluating their peers work or presenting new ideas to each other. This can be done by using rubrics to help students evaluate themselves. Teams could asses their individual contribution and evaluate the group as a whole.
     Lastly, students should present their project publicly. When students realize their work will be presented to an audience other than the class they care more about the quality of their work. In addition, they are more likely to put greater effort into their assignment and learn more from it. As a future educator I will make sure to implement the seven essentials for project based learning into my classes. I will help my student make real-word connections to the assignments we will be studying and allow them to conduct their own research.

Project Based Learning for Teachers by Tony Vincent was an informative video about how teachers can effectively coordinate project based learning. One of the most important things I learned watching the video was Albert Einstein's quote. He said," I never teach my pupils I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." This quote sums up the goal of project based learning. Project based learning requires the student to conduct their own research. Therefore, they are in charge of their learning. The teacher should serve as a coordinator of their learning rather than someone who requires their students to learn facts at regurgitate them on a test. As Dr. Strange stated, "No more Burp Back education" is needed. Teachers need to incorporate project based learning within their lesson plans to help students take charge of their own learning.

 

 

 

 

 

"What motivates students today" is an enlightening video about why students strive to do well in school. Most of the students have extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation refers to doing something to attain a desired outcome. For example, some students explained they are motivated to get good grades because it will lead to a good job or help them get into college. Their motivation stems from obtaining a reward. However, I believe project based learning takes it a step further. I believe project based learning causes students to be intrinsically motivated. Intrinsic motivation refers to learning because it is pleasurable. This type of learning takes place willingly without external rewards. It is internal motivation. In my opinion, project based learning causes students to be intrinsic learners because students conduct their own learning. The become more interested in the assignment because they strive to find answers to their driving questions.

The "Project Based Learning and Physical Education" article demonstrated how effective and engaging project based learning can be used in schools. High school students were given a letter from a middle school principal asking them to develop PE units for teachers. Students had to make sure those units met state requirements and present their units in front of a panel. This idea shows how effective project based learning can be. The students used the "seven essentials for project based learning" guide and successfully created new PE units. Furthermore, they developed an understanding of PE content standards.

 

 

 

High School Teachers Meet the Challenges of PBL Implementation

Encouragement is one of the most motivating factors to do something. This video gives hope and inspiration to teachers to consider implementing project based learning within schools. The most important aspect this video shows is teachers have to be willing to adept. Teachers need to be flexible and work collaboratively with one another to develop effective project based assignments. I like how the teachers were honest by stating that it is a difficult process switching over to project based learning. It requires great effort to develop lesson plans and coordinate activities for students however, teachers have seen the fruit of their labor. The school reported at 15% increase in passing the high school proficiency exam in reading and an 18% increase in passing the Algebra 2 end-of-course exam. This is circumstantial proof that project based learning works!

Blog Post #8

       Randy Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He was diagnosed with cancer in September 2006 and given a devastating prognosis of three to six months to live. However, he did not let this illness affect his vibrant personality. On September 18, 2007 he gave an inspiration lecture titled " The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". During the lecture he gave advice on teaching and learning.
       Mr. Pausch provided motivational encouragment about learning. He stated that learning anything is possible and that we should always dream big. He encouraged me to never loose sight of my goals and that inspiration is a powerful tool. The first step he advocated in the learning process is to make sure you have the fundamentals down. This is essential because solid fundamentals help make the learning process smoother. He gave an example by explaining how his football coach didn't bring a ball to practice. He realized that his coach was trying to ensure that the team was fundamentally sound before moving on to more complex drills. Furthermore, he also gave valuable advice on experience. Randy Pausch said, "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted". This powerful quote means that we learn from not obtaining things more than we learn from obtaining something the first time. This is because we learn from our mistakes by problem solving until we find the correct solution.
       Mr. Pausch also gave valuable advice on teaching. He stated there is no better way to help students achieve their childhood dream than teaching. He realized the role that teachers play in their students' lives. This is critical that every teacher realize this. As a future educator I will always be a motivator and life coach to my students. I will help them achieve their goals by pushing them to never quit. Moreover, Mr. Paush taught me to never set the bar because you do the students a disservice. This is vital because you should also push your students to achieve more even when their work is good. Their is no barometer for success. We can always do better than before. These are lifelong lessons I will apply to my life and pass along to my future students.

Implications and Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching and Learning.

Part A
Smartphones have become our personal assistants. Zogby Analytics reports that 68% of young people say they prefer to use their smartphone instead of their laptop or personal computer for personal use. This data shows that over half of the younger population is connected to the world through their smartphone. Educators should take notice of this data and create ways for students to learn through their devices. Since students are constantly on their devices, teachers should use resources to interact with their students on a daily basis. For example, I learned how useful QR codes could be for educational purposes. Students could use their smartphone to scan a QR code and it could initiate a personal reading session. The teacher or student could record themselves reading a book and replay it while following along with the textbook. Any word they mispronounced during the recording would be caught and they could learn the correct pronunciation. This resource would enhance the students reading skills.
Next, schools could also find ways to interact with students through their smartphones. Schools could develop their own apps for students to keep up with school activates, emergency alerts, and news from school administrators. Dr. Carl Cunningham gave a lecture about teachers finding different avenues to connect with their students. Current students are no longer using their email as the primary source of information. They're using Snapchat and Instagram to keep up with current events. Teachers should become familiar with these new resources and use them to post assignments and communicate with their students.

Part B
Zogby Analytics reports that 91% of young people say having a camera on their smartphone is important. Furthermore, 87% say they use their smartphone camera weekly. Teachers could take hold of this data and use it for learning purposes. Since most young people have a camera on their phone or tablet teachers could allow students to record classroom lectures so they could reference back to them while doing homework. This would help improve retention and help them solve difficult homework assignments. Furthermore, teachers could allows students to Skype them if they need help with an assignment. This would connect the teacher with their students outside of school. Under technology education in the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards, standard 14 states that sixth to eight grade students should be able to use digital tools to generate new ideas, products and processes. For example, an educator teaching marketing could develop an assignment where a student would use their camera to make a 30 second commercial advertising a product to the class. The commercial would be played during the class and students could rate how persuasive it was. It is clear that cameras can be used in the classroom to enhance learning. Teachers should find ways to incorporate them in the classroom.

C4T #2

     During this comment for teachers cycle I have the privilege of reading blogs post by Mr. Delp. First, I got to watch an inspirational video Mr. Delp posted to his blog. The YouTube clip was a short documentary about a little league, first year soccer team that competes against an older second year team. The younger team never scores but remains happy and competitive despite being defeated every time. The players never complain, argue, or become frustrated. They remain motivated and optimistic anticipating to score a goal. This is the way we should educate our future students. I believe letting them learn from their failures will help them grow into independent self-motivated learners. Project Based Learning helps this initiative. Project based learning teaches students how to learn independently and correct their mistakes. It's goal it to make students lifelong learners and problem solvers. It produces skills needed in the current and future workforce. Ultimately, the younger team finally scored a goal which excited them, and if we educate our students like the soccer coach educated his team they will find solutions to their problems.
      My second comment on Mr. Delp's blog was on his "Do you Really Believe ?" post. On this blog post Mr. Delp talked about how educators must have grit when educating academically challenged students. Grit means educators must possess a stubborn attitude that every child has the potential to learn. As educators we have to hold fast to the notion that every child has the capability to learn anything. We must reward small victories because larger one will follow. I told Mr. Delp how motivating and inspirational this blog post was to educators. It should be posted to every teacher's blog in America.
  
     

 

 

 

 

Project #9

This is our group's project nine. Our group was selected to have a discussion on topic three.

Blog Post 7 How Do We All Become Learners?

Michele Bennett GSES, How to Make An QR code?

Michele Bennett's descriptive video "How to make a QR code" was very informative. I have never used or made a QR code. Therefore, I have tremendous weaknesses in this area. For the next year and a half I need to practice creating and using QR codes so I can effectively use this tool for project based learning inside my classroom. As mentioned in the video QR codes can be used for educational purposes. Teachers can sit in a quiet place and record themselves reading a book. In addition, students can playback the audio recording and follow along in the book as they re-read it. Therefore, the teacher would have created a tool for the students to access anytime and practice their reading skills. Students could practice pronouncing words correctly by following the teachers voice. Moreover, repetitive reading would improve their comprehension of the material. In conclusion, the teacher would become their virtual tutor.

Ginger Tuck, GSES Kindergarten- iPad in the reading center

Ginger Tuck's "iPad in the reading center" video displayed how students can use their iPad to improve their reading skills. I don't own an iPad or have never used on for this purpose so I have a weakness in this area. Mrs. Tuck demonstrated how the iPad can be used to improve reading literacy. Students use the iPad to video record themselves reading and play the clip back to catch their mistakes. This helps them identify which words to practice pronouncing so they can become more fluent readers. For the next year I should practice using an iPad so I can effectively use this technique in my classroom.

Ginger Tuck, Poplet as a Center

Mrs. Tuck's "Popplet as a Center" YouTube video was very inspiring. Popplet is a free app that can be used for project based learning. Popplet allows the students to create a kind of virtual book report. First, the students take pictures of the title and photos within the book. Secondly, they can add captions to the pictures to provide some detail. The benefit of using this app for educational purpose is outstanding. Students get to read the book, enhance their photography skills, and develop typing skills. I have never used Popplet before so this is a weakness for me. However, I could become fluent in using it by purchasing an iPad and referring back to Mrs. Tuck's video for instructions.

Alabama Virtual Library as a Kindergarten Center

In The "Alabama Virtual Library as a Kindergarten Center"  video Mrs. Tuck explains that this is an online resource that caters to kindergarteners. The website provides a search engine that allows students to do research. For example, students may type in a word and find pictures, videos, and audio clips related to their search. Furthermore, it can be used independently and outside of the classroom. The most significant aspect of this is that it allows students to conduct research on their own. For kindergarteners to conduct their own research is phenomenal. This is also a weakness for me because I have no experience using this tool.

Mrs. Shirley’s 1st Grade Class: How to use and build a Board in DE for a Project Based Lesson

"How to use and build a Board in Discovery Education" is a great tool for project based learning. This teachers students how to do their own research and display it. Students go to board builder, choose a background, title it, and begin building their board. Students can search the Discovery Education database, find videos, and place them on their boards. Furthermore, students can upload images to place on their boards. The best thing about board builder is it can be accessed from home. This gives students the opportunity to continue working on their board outside of the school setting.

Mrs.Tassin 2nd Grade students share Board Builder Project

"Mrs. Tassin's 2nd grade class Board Builder project" was astonishing. To witness how students built a board to share why whales are important to our economical system was amazing. These students conducted their own research and provided images on their board to complement that research. Furthermore, they added captions to each picture. It's wonderful to see how project based learning teaches kids to work collaboratively.


Mrs.Tassin students share Board Builder Project

"Mrs. Tassin's students' YouTube board builder video" displayed ways that students can enhance their vocabulary by using word hippo. The website works by students typing in a word and the search results produce a more complex word of the same meaning. This helps students build their vocabulary in a fun interactive way. It's neat to see how technology can be used for academic purposes and provide enjoyment simultaneously.

We All Become Learners

"We all become learners" is an educational video about how technology changes the dynamics in the classroom. Michelle Bennett said, "Teachers teach students, students teach other students, and students teach teachers". This emphasizes how technology has changed the learning process. We all become learners of some sort. Furthermore, it demonstrates that nobody has all the answers and we can all learn from each other. The most inspirational aspect about this video is that just because you don't know something doesn't mean you can't learn it. We are all capable of learning something new everyday.

Project #13

Our group decided to do a create a lesson plan for an 11th grade History class. The project requires that students create a digital timeline on the Great Depression. The links listed below outline the plans required for this activity.

 

 

 

 

Project Calendar

Project checklist

Project Overview

Evaluation Rubric for the Group

Evaluation Rubric for the Individual

Project #7 Part B Two Movies As A Teacher

Project #6 CK4 September summary

TJ's Blog


My first kid I was assigned to was TJ. TJ was given the task of writing a descriptive paragraph of the movie La Luna. He chose a picture from the movie, attached it to his blog, and wrote a detailed analysis on what was going on in the picture. I congratulated TJ and told him what a wonderful job he did on explaining the picture. TJ seems to be very creative and has strong expository skills.

Damien's Blog

Damien was also given the same assignment as TJ. Damien wrote a descriptive paragraph  on the movie La Luna. I congratulated him because he used similes to describe the moon. I thought this was intriguing because he already is making use of rhetorical figures. These students are already making use of technology at an early age and thriving using it. I'm excited to see how they will continue to use technology to learn.

Blog Post #6

What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?



Icurio

"Icurio" is a useful resource that is beneficial to students and teachers. This website allows students to safely search websites that have been pulled and filtered for educational purposes. This is significant because as educators we are responsible for protecting our students by keeping them from accessing websites that could be potentially dangerous in content. Icurio alleviates these worries from the teachers. Icorio allows students to access websites, images,and videos that are educational in nature and enhancing to the learning process. Furthermore, it has a storage capacity that allows students and teachers to save and organize their information. This is important for students who may be working on a project. Once they resume working their resources are ready to use immediately.


Discovery Education

Anthony Capps said,"If pictures are worth a thousand words a video must be worth a million". This quote is important because videos play a critical role in modern education. "Discovery Education" is an meaningful tool for teachers because it provides them with videos with expert advice that enrich their lesson plans. Furthermore, discovery education allows students to improve their research experience. Dr. Strange said," our modern students are "listener-watchers". This means that most of our students learn new skills by listening and watching rather, than reading. Students watch tutorials on website such as YouTube to gain expertise in their interest. If we are going to effectively educate future students we need to spend time applying videos to incorporate in our lessons.


Don't teach Tech-Use it

"Don't teach Tech-Use it" is an intriguing and inspirational video to teachers. As educators we should always strive to teach students to use technology to their benefit rather, than teach them about technology. Our modern students will no longer learn by rote memorization rather, they will learn by practical experience. This is called project based learning. This method places emphasis on students being active participants in their learning. Anthony Capps suggests that teachers should introduce technology to their students a little at a time. I agree with this principle. This will ensure that students lay a foundation to built upon and become better at using technology.

Additional Thoughts about Lessons

"Additional Thoughts about Lessons" teaches educators how to be effective teachers. The following is a list of questions Anthony Capps suggest teachers ask themselves: Are you going to cover all content standards? Have you writer a curriculum that makes sure all those standards get covered? How will you unpack your lesson? Answering these questions are critical to the success of your lesson. As educators we should strive to produce the most informative lesson plans that allow our students to learn effectively. I believe these questions provide a roadmap to developing a successful lesson plan. As teachers we need to be honest in our evaluation of our teaching strategies and evaluate ourselves daily. We should be our own critics before we arrive in the classroom. This will guarantee that we will be productive teachers.

Project Based Learning part 1: Experience of a third grade teacher

"Project Based Learning part 1: Experience of a third grade teacher" is an introduction into project based learning. The following list are goals Anthony Capps states project-based learning should consist of: authentic audience, student interest, community involvement, content. Students should have a real audience to present their work to. This will motivate them to put more effort into completing their assignments. Furthermore, it will improve their retention of the lesson. Teachers should develop lesson plans to cater to their students' interest. Incorporating relevant material into the lesson will engage student more, and help them become active participants in their work. Community involvement and content are also key essentials in project based learning. The content should be fascinating to the student making the lesson more enjoyable, and community involvement is critical because it teachers students to care about their surroundings and makes their work more meaningful.