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