Blog Post #10

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."

I watched Randy Pausch's Last Lecture video and I really enjoyed the lecture that he gave. He started off by having a great attitude and I was automatically hooked onto what he was saying. He began by saying that if you look at his CAT scan, you can see that he has 10 tumors in his liver and that the doctor told him that he had 3-6 months of good health left. Even though Dr. Pausch only had that little time left to live, he didn't let that stop him from living life to the fullest and having fun. He said that he is going to keep having fun up until the moment he dies. Dr. Pausch had such an optimistic view on life, and that was one thing that I really enjoyed about him. His main focus in his lecture is not only his childhood dreams and how he achieves them, but also how he enables the dreams of others. Pausch taught a class at Carnegie Mellon called Building Virtual Worlds; it was a project based learning course. He pushed his students to their limits in this class because he knew they could do better.

Dr. Pausch explains how when he was a child, all he did was dream. As he grew older, he strived to achieve all of his dreams that he had as a child. His childhood dreams were being in zero gravity, playing in the NFL, authoring an article in the World Book Encyclopedia, being Captain Kirk, winning stuffed animals, and being a Disney Imagineer. He achieved all of those dreams in some way, shape or form. It is so inspiring to see someone go after and accomplish every single one of the dreams they had when they were a kid. Pausch says that, "it’s important to have specific dreams." Now I agree with that statement completely. I think it is important to have something to strive for, whether it's big or small. You should have something to work towards.

I learned a lot from Dr. Pausch. He taught me that no matter what, you should always go for your dreams and should live life to the fullest, even when the going gets tough. As a teacher, he let his students go off on their own and create their own world and do their own thing. He didn't step in their way and tell them what to do, he let them experience in on their own, and I admire him for that. I think we can all learn a lot from Randy Pausch. He wasn't afraid to go out and conquer his dreams, like so many people are. He went for it full speed ahead and didn't let anything or anybody stand in his way. As he once said, "Remember brick walls let us show our dedication. They are there to separate us from the people who don’t really want to achieve their childhood dreams. Don’t bail."

Project #14

For my project #14 I did chose to do a Google Site. My lesson plan is called Name That Shape! Here is a link to my Google Site.

Blog Post #9

In the first video we watched, Back to the Future, Brian Crosby is talking at a TED conference about his class structure, the students within his class, and the different projects he uses to teach them. Each project he does is one that sparks the interest of all his students and helps them to become more excited about learning. One thing he emphasizes is that no tests are given, but the student use different things like videos and blog post to gage their learning. The project he emphasizes the most is a weather balloon project his students did. He tells us how the students were involved in the project and how much they enjoyed it. He also tells us how after they did the project the students were asked to make a blog post that talked about their “high hopes” which became a world-wide sensation. It really shows us how PBL can be used to empower our kids to learn on their own and make them love to learn. We think that this video is a great representation of what PBL is and how when it is used correctly in the classroom how the kids can learn to collaborate, become motivated, connect with others and become empowered through using technology. Crosby makes a great point when he says that we can’t race kids through school but we must give them the opportunity to build skills from the world. We feel that if we can incorporate different projects like Mr. Crosby and allow the students, no matter what social status they hold, to have a chance to learn through PBL we will have a group of students who will be prepared for what their futures hold.

In Mr. Paul Anderson’s video, Blended Learning Cycle, we learn a lot about the Blended Learning Cycle. We think it is a great concept! There are six parts to the Blended Learning Cycle. You start with a good question and/or hook. You have to have something that will get the students attention right off the bat. Next, you want the students to investigate, experiment and use inquiry learning. You then have a video. For example you could use a video podcast to do a lot of the ‘direct instruction’. The fourth thing is elaboration. During this part, Anderson does diagrams and explains the physics of the example he is showing the students. Next he talks about the review portion. Anderson explains that he meets with the students individually or in small groups and asks them questions to check their understanding. They can’t go onto the next part, which is summary quiz, until he knows that they understand everything. So when they are done with the review, they go onto the summary quiz which will test them on their knowledge. If they don’t understand it they will have to go back to the beginning. We think the Blended Learning Cycle is a great tool that will be very helpful in the classroom. It’s a great approach for students to learn something, and to help the students who aren’t so engaged in learning become more engaged. We agreed that we could use it in the classroom when we are introducing a new topic to the students. It’s a great way to make sure the students actually understand what they are learning, and are not just going through the motions.

The third video that our group watched was called Making Thinking Visible. Mark Church, a sixth grade teacher, asked his students to make a headline regarding a video that they watched the day before. They were placed in small groups and were asked to sum up their thoughts about it into one headline on a strip of paper given to them by Mr. Church. Then, after a few weeks into the lesson, the students were asked to reevaluate their headline and see how it may have changed after learning more. We definitely saw where we could learn so much from Mr. Church. We learned how important it is to make learning visible to the children by ways like making a headline visible on paper. In addition, we learned how working in small groups really helps to develop ideas and learn from one another. Lastly, revisiting previous work after learning more about a topic can be very beneficial. It causes students to engage in critical thinking about how their ideas may have changed. So our group learned so much from all three of these teachers. We learned many things that we could definitely use in a future classroom one day.

By: Calah Reynolds, Rachel Hinton and Elizabeth Johnson

C4T #2, post 1 and 2

"It's Gone"

On Teacher Tom's blog post "It's Gone", he talks about how he has a shipping crate outside of his classroom for as long as most of the current enrolled students have been there. The kids in his class play in it. It was originally flipped on its side with a bug terrarium on top of it. All the kids 'hideout' on the side that is open. He one day decided to flip it on its bottom so that the side that was open was facing the sky, he figured the kids would like climbing inside and out of it. The next day a few of his students stood around the crate talking about the changes. Tom says that he prefers his kind of playground rather that the 'tidy fixed equipment ones' because you can change it ever so slightly and make it a whole new place.

My Response: In my response, I said that I liked his post and found it interesting to see how children react to different things. Even if the change is minor, kids will notice it and take wonder. It's cool to see how they use their imagination because there is no telling what they could be pretending the crate could be!

"Those Guys Were Really Nice To Me"
On Teacher Tom's blogpost, "Those Guys Were Really Nice To Me", he talks about how in the 5's class they are playing the game Animal Twister. Animal Twister is basically the same as regular Twister except you use animals and the first one to "capture" the animal that is called out wins the card. He said that normally he is the "caller", but on mondays he would turn the duties over to Audrey. At one point in the game, Phil started to become frustrated because he couldn't win. He threw a mini tantrum and went over to Teacher Tom. After a while he rejoined the game, looking hopeless as ever. Audrey told everyone to not try this round and to let Phil win. Every other round they would alternate so Phil could win some. After the round was complete Phil went and did something else. Teacher Tom went over and talked to him to see if he was feeling better. He then replied by saying, "Those guys were really nice to me."

My Response;
In my response, I stated that the story was such a sweet story and that more people in the world should be like Audrey. It's amazing that a five year old can be filled with such kindness!

Blog Post #8

21st Century Learning and Communicating Tools
A Collaborative Assignment

iCurio
By: Calah Reynolds
I am interested in teaching Kindergarten and the tool for communicating and learning in the 21st century that I picked is iCurio. We have learned quite a bit about iCurio this semester in EDM 310 and I have come to find that it is very useful. For Kindergarteners I think that it would be an easy tool for them to start off with.

iCurio is a place where students are free to explore the internet while still being limited on what they can see. You can use iCurio as a search engine and if you find content that is valuable to you, you can then save it in your storage. iCurio is a place that can teach students how to be organized on the internet at a young age. Students can save websites and online materials to their storage, then go through and organize and delete them as they please. On iCurio you can also form study groups online with students who are the same age as you and in the same class. I like it because it limits students to what they can see, so they don’t run into anything inappropriate.

There are games for students to play on iCurio that can help them learn in a fun and simple way. You just simply type the subject you are learning about in the search bar. It then pulls up links to a bunch of different websites that they can choose from. There are a variety of different websites the student can pick from, it ranges from worksheets to games to everything in between! iCurio is a very useful learning tool that I think will come in handy in the future for my classroom.


Teaching Channel
By: Elizabeth Johnson
The Teaching Channel is an online website that offers videos, common core resources, and lesson plans for teachers. The possibilities are endless of the resources available to teachers on Teaching Channel. Teachers are able to browse through videos organized into different categories based on subject, grade level, or topic. Like I said, the resources are unlimited. One video that I watched was called ”Super Digital Citizen”. In this video, Sam Pane who is a fifth grade teacher at Focus Learning School is Omaha, Nebraska, describes his lesson on teaching students how to use the internet in the correct way. The students create superheroes on their personal laptops in order to describe scenarios of how to use the internet safely, respectfully, and responsibly. This is just one video of many on Teaching Channel that teachers can view and use in their classroom.

Ted Talks Education
By: Rachel Hinton

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference and TEDGlobal -- TED includes the award-winning TED Talks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize. On TED.com talks from TED confereces are available to all for free. These videos allow people all over the world to view the great ideas presented at these conferences and use them in anyway they can. You can narrow the videos down by searching the site to find what you are looking for. After typing in “education” I found many different playlist pertaining to education that has ideas to use for teachers in many different areas ranging from teaching in the liberal arts to what has went wrong and needs to be changed in our education systems today. TED.com is a great resource for teachers to use to broaden their horizens and gain knowlege through others around the world.

Project #9

Podcast

Blog Post #7

A Collaborative Assignment

Project Based Learning: Parts 1 and 2
By: Rachel Hinton, Elizabeth Johnson, Calah Reynolds
Anthony Capps is a 3rd grade teacher in Baldwin County. We really enjoyed his videos, Project Based Learning Part 1 and Project Based Learning Part 2. He really brought to light just how effective PBL can be in the classroom. It is really great to actually have someone give their different experiences with PBL and how they used it. He gave great examples of how he used it in his classroom. Through PBL, Anthony gave his students the chance to become involved in their state, community, and even half way around the world. Another things Anthony really stressed about PBL is the importance of self evaluations. A major thing we learned from these conversations is that if Project Based Learning can become the basis of learning in every classroom, then we will have a group of students that care about what is going on around them and are passionate about learning new things.

iCurio and Discovery Ed
By: Rachel Hinton, Elizabeth Johnson, Calah Reynolds
Anthony uses iCurio frequently in his classroom and let’s his students use it on their own so they can have the freedom to use the computer and search the web while still being limited to what they can see. He lets his students use iCurio like a search engine so they can save content that they find valuable in their storage. iCurio teaches virtual organization and allows students to start getting organized online at a young age. They can store websites and online materials in their storage and go through to organize and delete as they please. In addition, Anthony talks about the importance of another tool called Discovery Ed. He talks about how it is great to have visualization to couple with learning to support whatever text you’re learning about. It can be used to research further into what they are studying. It gives videos to gather more information about a topic. Students can use it for research, but Anthony also uses it to teach with as a teacher. Students tend to learn more when they can see and hear the information. So, Discovery Ed is an awesome tool for both students and teachers to use.

Additional Thought About Lessons
By: Calah Reynolds

According to Anthony Capps in Additional Thought About Lessons, lessons are at least four layers thick. The first layer is how the lesson fits in with your year. You should make sure your curriculum fits in with all the standards. The next layer would be the unit. You have to make sure your unit flows together and that everything is connected somehow. You can’t just give the students the work all at once, you have to give it to them in units and at the end of each unit they should be able to master what you have gone over. Next is the week and during the weekly schedule you need to make sure you can get everything done that you have planned. Last is the daily lesson. This is how you deliver it to your students. You should have something to keep their attention, something to keep them engaged, and something after the lesson to cover what you taught and make sure they understand it so you know where to pick up the next day. I think that those four components are really important to remember when making lesson plans. I also think it’s important to remember not to fall behind with your lessons because if you do it might mess up your whole unit and maybe even year.

The Anthony-Strange List For Teachers Part 1
By: Elizabeth Johnson

I really enjoyed this video, ”The Anthony-Strange List for Teachers Part 1” ! I learned so many helpful tips that I will be able to use not only now, but also as a future teacher. There were six tips that were discussed in this video.
1) Be a constant learner yourself. It is so important to be interested in learning yourself as a teacher. If you are not a learner, then you won’t be a successful teacher. You have to model learning for your students, and if you cannot do that, then how will your students ever be able to learn from you?
2) Teaching never ends. It is hard work, but it is rewarding. As a teacher, it is important to know that work is not separate from play. You can learn the craft of teaching in your free time. Yes, read books for entertainment. However, substitute them for research books to help you become a better teacher. Allow your work and love for teaching to come up in conversations. You cannot limit your work hours to an eight hour day. You will never be as effective as you can be. Allow work to be fun. The effort is rewarding.
3) Be flexible. The unexpected will happen. You never know when surprises will happen when you are a teacher. It is important to be creative and flexible. I loved the example in the video where the servers were down, so the students were painting on the floor. This is a prime example to always have a back-up plan. You cannot always plan for these things, but you can have a good attitude about it and be flexible.
4) Start with a goal. If you do not have a goal or expectation to reach, it is a sure thing that you probably won’t make it there. Start with the end in mind. Think of the expectations and results you want to accomplish. What do you want your children to learn or get from the lesson? You may not get there the way you planned, but you can still get there another way.
5) Engage 100% of your students, 100% of the time, in 100% of projects. It is important to make sure that what you are teaching is shareable. Is what I am teaching or how I am teaching motivating my students to learn? One question you can ask yourself is, “How can I get all of my students on board today?” This will change your entire outlook on teaching.
6) Reflect, revise, and share your work with an audience. Even as a teacher, we must constantly be reflecting on and revising our work and teaching strategies. Take critiques you get from your audience or students to revise your work and make it better. Students change, technology changes, curriculum changes, so it is important to constantly be reflecting and revising our work in order to be the most effective teacher we can be.

Use Technology- Don’t Teach It!
By: Rachel Hinton

In Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange’s conversation on technology in the classroom, Anthony gives some really great advice on how teachers should allow the students to actually use technology in order for them to learn it, not teach it to them. Anthony tells how if you allow students to experience the technology for themselves, without teaching it to them, they are more likely to take away from their mistakes and know what to do next time. He allows the students to experience different types of technology everyday so they can become familiar with different things that will help them in future projects. He also makes a really great point that many times the student may actually know how to use the technology better than you. With this being said, there may come a time when the student has a question that you cannot answer, this is okay, together you can find out. We can use our students to help us learn every day and technology is a great way to allow them to do that.

C4K Summary for September

My first C4K was for Tyler in Ms. Martins 10th grade English class. Tyler talks about what he believes and he believes that skateboarding is a sport that takes a lot of hard work and practice. He talks about how even though skateboarding is cool, it is also very dangerous and you should wear a helmet and elbow pads for precautions. He says that the ramp is the most challenging part for skateboarding and if you don't master it, it could be career-threatening and a complete failure if you mess the trick up. Skateboarding is very important to Tyler and he believes that God created it for kids just like him.

My second C4K for the month of September was for a boy named Ran. Ran's blog post was titled "Questions" and he asks two questions for his audience to comment and answer. The first question was "Explain how your favorite color makes you feel?" and his second question was "What happened in your dream last night? Explain why with specific details." I commented and answered his questions!

My last C4K for the month was for Studamyer, an 8 year old at Pt England School in Auckland, New Zealand. Studamyer did a blog post about a math problem. The problem was, "Jack and Ray were at the rugby. Ray’s team was winning so Jack decided to give Ray a problem to deflate his ego a bit. So Jack said 'Did you know that today is my three sons’ birthday?' 'How old are they?' Ray asked taking the bite. 'I’ll give you a hint. The product of their ages is 36 and the sum of their ages is 13,” Jack replied. “That’s no help,' said Ray. So Jack weakened and gave him another clue. 'O.K. My youngest son is very naughty.' 'Nothing to it,' exclaimed Ray and he told Jack the correct ages of his sons." Studamyer also incorporated a video and picture to help explain the problem.

Project #2

PLN report #1

The personal learning network I picked was Symbaloo. I found it very helpful. It's an easy way to get to all the websites that you go to on a daily basis. It already came with some websites that I use quite often like Blogger, YouTube, Twitter, gmail and Pinterest. I added a few more websites that I will be using like iCurio, Teacher Tube and al.com. I changed the colors of some of the tiles and organized them. I am very glad that I made a PLN because I think I will be using it a lot in the future! It is a very useful thing to have.

Project #13

Collaborative Lesson Plan