Blog Post #16

Part 1:

My Future Classroom

My future classroom setting will be at a University because my goal is to become a History professor. I would like to focus on American History because this has always been the topic I am most passionate about. However, I want to teach History differently because many students find the subject to be rather dull and I want to change their perspective. My teaching method will incorporate technology into my lesson plans. Most History classes in college are based solely on lecture and I want to stray away from that path. My goal is to actually captivate my students' interest so that they enjoy learning about this subject.

In my future classroom, I would like to decorate the room I will be teaching in. I would love to have posters hanging on the walls picturing important people in History and interesting facts they may not know. I would also like to have posters advocating technology and it's importance. To me, this makes the room a little bit more interesting. I use to love walking into my classrooms in high school because their were so many posters with neat information about that subject. Being in college I have noticed that every room looks exactly the same and has no identity to it. I know that this may seem like a tiny change, but it makes a difference.

My methods will mainly be technology based and I will also use project based learning. My students will do projects together instead of writing papers. When students are required to write papers for History they do not remember that information once that class is over. However, students are much more likely to retain information if they are doing a PBL assignment with their fellow classmates. PBL really requires time and effort out of students if they want to submit their best work. I will definitely be an advocate of technology because I will be teaching college students who need to be technologically literate.

Since my classroom environment will be for college students the majority of them will have laptops and those who do not can still have access because of the school library. This will make my lesson plans flow easier and student's can not use excuses about not having access to computers. I will be using Google Drive in my future classroom because this tool is amazing! I can use google presentation to make interesting slide shows for my students and the best part is that it is absolutely free. I can also check on group work by using google drive because I want to make sure everybody is doing their work. I think this tool is very beneficial because it will allow me to fairly grade each student when they do projects together. Another tool I will use is Blogger and I have EDM310 to thank for that. I did not know anything about blogging until taking EDM310! This tool has turned out to be my favorite and one that I will be carry onto my future classroom because it is so useful. Not only does blogging improve writing skills which is necessary for any subject you teach, but it allows your students' creativity to flow. Blogging will allow me to evaluate my students and their understanding. If my students are required to write about a topic pertaining to History than I can check their blog to see how well they grasped the concept. If my student is having difficulty, I can comment on their blog and make a suggestion to meet with me. There were so many new tools I was introduced to during EDM310, but these were the methods that just really stood out to me.

The Difference Between Then and Now

After I re-read my Blog Post #1 it was easy to see how drastic my views changed about my future classroom. I will not teach in a school that is based around a Historic museum and that is okay. Instead, I have came up with a better plan for my future classroom and the reason being is EDM310. After enrolling in this course, I really learned about so many amazing technological tools you can use in your classroom to help keep your students engaged. I do not have to have artifacts from a museum because I can simply use technology, which allows a more visual experience. I can also use Google Hangouts or Skype to allow history experts to enter my room via video. I have learned so much about technology and about some of the tools I can use in my future classroom. My plans are to continue to educate myself about new technology tools so my students will be prepared for the real world that awaits them after college.

Part 2:

My Final Reflection

Blog Post #15

iPad Usage For the Blind
Author: Kristie Bell

In the video iPad Usage For the Blind, Wesley Majerus is a technology specialists who demonstrates how the blind can use iPads.

Technology is absolutely amazing and has opened up so many opportunities to the blind. For example, the iPad has several apps that provide great assistant to the blind. These apps can not only be downloaded on the iPad, but the iPhone as well. Technology is really changing the world by helping those with impairments. For example, the app called Ariadne GPS allows the visually impaired to take solo walks by themselves. The interactive maps make it easier to explore the world around you. Whenever you cross a street a signal vibration will automatically come on. This tool can even announce stops on a bus or train.

The best part about the iPad is that it can read any form of text aloud to the visually impaired which makes learning less difficult for them. Without technology none of this would even be possible! It is simply amazing what obstacles technology can help people overcome.

After learning about the app called Braille Pro I found this tool to be very interesting. This app allows you to learn Braille and translate english to braille. This tool would be great for parents learning braille with their kids. It would also be great for parents who need help creating their child's books in Braille. This is an excellent tool and I would definitely use it.

I believe that iPad usage for the blind is wonderful. I hope that one day it could allow every visually impaired student to enroll in public education systems instead of having to go to a school for the impaired. In my future classroom, I would certainly use these apps if I had a visually impaired student. The iPad truly is a remarkable learning device!

What Assistive Technologies are available to teachers?

Author: Autumn Sprouse

"Having a Great Time Teaching Mom what her child is learning"

To get started on learning about what technologies are available to teachers, I watched the video Having a Great Time Teaching Mom what her child is learning. In this video, a mother learns how blind students learn on the iPad. One tool that the iPad has is called voice over. When voice over is activated, whatever your finger touches, it tells you, and if you want to select that app, you just double tap. This is such a great tool that can help so many students get the opportunity to learn on the iPad. You can also change the iPad from voice over to standard mode. With standard mode, instead of double tapping the screen, to select an app you just hold your finger on it and lift up. Before watching this video, I had no idea that this was available to students who are blind, or that the iPad could even do that! After watching this, I believe that any student can learn on the iPad and it is amazing to see how much technology is available to us now for learning.

After watching this video, I then researched more videos about iPads for the blind. I watched Unlocking the Power of the iPad for the Blind. This video showed how teachers to learned about the iPad and how to teach the students. The teachers go through a workshop which is led by Jon Erlichman who is blind. He teaches the teachers how to use voiceover and the several apps you can get to help the students further their learning. Many of the apps are free or cost $0.99.

It is amazing to see how far we have came in the last few years with technology from students using Braille, to them now using iPads and being able to use them on a daily basis. Learning about this has opened my eyes to the use of the iPad ever more than I thought it could.

Technology to Help Students with Visual and Hearing Impairments

By: Douglas R. Jarvis Jr.

   
 Many of us can not imagine what it would be like to have a visual or hearing impairment. As educators, we are responsible for helping all our students learn. I researched two devices that help students in this situation. Unfortunately, many products are costly and not always available to people without insurance. The National Association for the Blind has links to several devices to help the visually impaired. I chose to look into the Braille Translation  Software.These devices allow a teacher to post a documents and have them translated to braille so that they can be read by blind students. This would make teaching much easier. By having the ability to create lesson plans that the children can read without investing lots of money into specialty documents.

   
 Hearing impairment is also very expensive to correct and many can not afford cochlear implants. However , there are several devices that can help stream sound directly to a hearing aide to allow a teacher more mobility while reducing background noise for the student. One such device is an infrared amplification device. This technology uses a transmitter to send the sound invisibly to the student. This is considered to be the most effective amplification device to use in public places because it is cordless and needs no equipment to be worn. I found this information by reading Sarah Irvine Belson’s special ed wiki. She can be found at Sara@American.edu.

What assistive technologies are available to you as a teacher?

Teaching Math to the Blind
Author: Kynyetta Barren

In the video Teaching Math to the Blind, it was very interesting. It has never cross my mind about how blind people learn. Professor Art Karshmer introduces a system he created using blocks and grids to aid blind students in solving math problems. He stated that braille is not read in two dimensions, so were a seeing person can line an addition problem one number on top of the other, and add from right to left to solve problems. This is how the system works. the students scans the blocks with braille and a visual number on the front with a barcode scanner. Then the computer reads the number aloud. I found this system to be very educational. I like the thought that students with a learning disability can learn in the same way as we learn. It's just amazing to learn new things!! After watching that video, I decided to do some more research on assistive technology devices that's useful in the classroom. In my search I found a software program called FaceMouse . It's a software designed to assist people with limited movement. Students will use only their face and head movement. FaceMouse uses standard webcam to allow your face to control and move the computer's mouse point. It will control the mouse pointer by following your head movements, facial gestures, and any actions such as mouth opening, closing, and eyebrow movement. I have provided a video link to FaceMouse Overview so you can better understand the concept.I think that both of these tools are beneficial to the students and future educators. I have never giving thoughts about how I would student. These resources were great and helpful!!

Project #12 Smartboard Part B

Blog Post #14

For our Blog Post 14, we were able to pick out any assignment we wanted to create. I really enjoyed this blog post because it allows us to let our creativity show. The possibilities are endless for this assignment!
I choose to use Wordle for my assignment. Wordle is very easy to use and it generates "word clouds" from the text you provide. The words should pertain to History for my assignment, but you can still be creative. Maybe the words you choose are your favorite events or topics in History. Wordle allows you to change the colors and font of your text as well, so personalize it to fit your personality.
This is my Wordle that I created:

C4T #4

C4T #1

In Brian Crosby's blog Rethinking School District Social Media Policies for Teachers/Students he discusses how schools block sites that could be used for educational purposes. Fortunately, the school he teaches at blocks very little so he is able to incorporate technology into his classroom. However, most schools do block twitter, youtube, wiki's, and blogs. Teachers and students are not allowed to give their input about this issue. Mr. Crosby wants school districts to rethink their policy regarding this situation. Students could use these websites for educational purposes and enjoy learning. Teachers could adhere to the Common Core standards because students are suppose to collaborate globally.

I commented on his post saying this was a great topic for a blog post. I completely agree with his discussion. School districts really should rethink their social media policies. I recently started blogging for educational purposes in college and it makes me wish I had this option in high school. My high school was very strict on social media sites and we did not have this choice at all. I believe that as advanced as technology is teachers should be able to incorporate it into their lesson plans. Technology is a very important resource and students need to be technologically literate so they are better prepared for their future. It is wonderful that his school blocks very little media sites. Overall, I really enjoyed reading his blog post.

C4T #2

In Brian Crosby's blog STEM: Cantilever Spans he discusses how he participated in a school's family STEM/science night and it turned out to be a blast. Mr. Crosby had the parents watch and participate with their students in an entertaining classroom lesson plan. The students were given washers and paint stirring sticks to use for this experiment. Crosby gave as little input as possible since it was an inquiry experiment. However, he explained that the objective was to make the longest possible span by placing a paint stirrer out on the table and than using the washers as weights. Soon, the students were very engaged trying to build the longest span possible. The student got really creative and some of the parents even participated too. Crosby said that he had to eventually wrap the event up because the students were having so much fun at that one station.

I commented on his post and said that this was such a creative idea! It seems like your students had a blast for sure. I think that having a school family science night is very interesting. We never had a program like this and I would have truly enjoyed doing soemthing like this. Not only is this a fun learning experience for students, but it also allows the parents to participate. It helps the parents to see what their child is learning about as well as getting to know their child's teacher. I would love to do something like this in my future classroom one day.

Final Report on PLN Project #2

This is my final report on my PLN. I added some new websites that I found interesting. The first website I choose to add was Discovery Education and I know we did not have a chance to use it in EDM310, but I would love to use this site in my future classroom. I plan on teaching in a digital based learning environment and this website uses all digital textbooks which would be perfect. Another, website I choose to add was National Geographic History and this website is amazing, especially since my goal is to become a History professor. I was really excited about adding this site because I find it to be very interesting. The last site I recently added is called Class Teacher and it offers digital classroom solutions. EDM310 has really influenced my views on technology and I can certainly say that my Symbaloo account will be filled with more technology websites.

C4K Summary (November)

C4K #1

I was assigned to a seventh grader named Porscha who attends Pt England school. Her blog was called My Planning and it was a picture of a girl opening her lunchbox only to find out that nothing was in it.

I commented on her post saying I enjoyed her cute story line. She did a great job on her different shots that she drew. Keep up the great work!

C4K #2

This week I commented on Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog Post Dr. and Mrs. Strange Visit. Dr. Strange and Mrs. Yollis have been blogging each other for a while now and were finally able to meet in person. Dr. Strange was really interested to see Mrs. Yollis' students use blogging and ipads to enhance their learning. Mrs. Yollis' students began by asking Dr. Strange and his wife open-ended questions. After the introductions, students separated into groups to work on their projects. Some students demonstrated their typing skills using the AlphaSmart typing program, while others worked on a project using puppetpals. Puppetpals allows the students to publish really interesting videos. They can choose a picture of anything and simply insert it into the video. Mrs. Yollis had two great examples on her blog of the puppetpal videos her students had created. The students that did not create puppetpal videos were blogging, which meant every student had a project to work on.

I commented on the blog post saying that I was excited to see that her and Dr. Strange finally met after blogging for quite some time now. I can tell it was a great experience for you both. Dr. Strange has taught us so much about technology and how we can incorporate it into our future classrooms. It is neat to see that Mrs. Yollis does use 21st century learning skills in her class and it has positive effects on her students. As a future educator, I cannot wait to use some of these techniques in my classroom. I really liked the picture of her student using the AlphaSmart typing program because I have never seen this device before. What a great technological tool to use! Overall, this post was very interesting and I can tell that her students really do enjoy learning in her class.

Blog Post #13

Author:Kristie Bell

In Kakenya Ntaiya’s video A girl who demanded school she tells the inspirational story about her educational journey. Kakenya made a deal with her father about undergoing the traditional Maasai rite of passage if he would let her go to high school. In the Maasai culture the boys grow up to be warriors and the girls will be mothers. At five years old, Kakenya found out her parents had already arranged her marriage for her. She was expected to a perfect woman so that she could become a perfect wife one day. However, Kakenya’s mother was denied an education and she always wanted better for her children, so she pushed Kakenya and her siblings to get an education. Kakenya’s mother wanted a better life for her children than the one she was living. The case was very different with her father who would abuse her mother and kakenya’s mom could not question him because she was merely a woman. Kakenya’s dream was to become a teacher when she went to school and so she worked hard. As she was approaching high school she told her father she would only go through the Maasai ceremony if he let her continue school. He accepted because he did not want dishonor brought to his family. Kakenya went as far to apply for college and was accepted to a women’s college in Leesburg, Virginia. She needed the support of the village because even though she had a scholarship she had to raise money for her plane ticket. The village felt it was a wasted opportunity on a girl and should have been given to a boy instead. However, she was able to work with her village elders and she arrived in America. Kakenya said she was overwhelmed with enjoyment, but she also learned that what they did to her body during the ceremony in Kenya did was against the law. It is called female mutilation and many more girls in Kenya are at risk undergoing this. She learned that she had a right to her body and a right to an education. She also learned that her mom had a right to own property and did not deserve to be abused because she was a woman. Kakenya’s journey to America was a culture shock and a new eye opener for this young woman. It made her so angry when she discovered the news that she wanted to do something about this. She returned to Kenya and said she wanted to give back to the community. The people of the community and kakenya came up with a school for girls. The Kakenya Center for Excellence was established in 2009 with 32 students. The school is just for girls and it focuses on academics, leadership and female empowerment, as well as life skills. Kakenya also works with donors to provide scholarships for those who cannot afford tuition.

What can we learn from these TED talks?

We can learn so much from Kakenya’s inspirational story. First of all, her story should remind us of how blessed we truly are to live in the land of opportunity and to be able to have the option of earning a degree. We also have public education school system where children can get an education at no cost to their parents. So many of us take education for granted and many people drop out from high school before they even receive their diploma. This young woman wanted nothing more than to have a chance at receiving an education. She was able to fulfill her goals and dreams of becoming a teacher. Not only did she become a teacher, but she also became a wonderful role model to her home community. Kakenya is an absolute blessing to the young ladies that attend her school in Africa. She teaches us to follow our dreams and never give up even if it is not an easy journey. She is an outstanding example of what a teacher should be. We need to reach out and help our students to be successful in all that they do. Kakenya’s story was remarkable and it will always serve as a reminder to me.

What can we learn from these TED talks?

Kynyetta Barren
Shukla Bose: Teaching One Child at a Time

In this video, Teaching One Child at a Time, Shukla Bose talks about how she started the Parkrma Humanity Foundation. The foundation helps the children in India who live in the slums get an education. She went to the slums to identify houses where children lived who would never get to go to school. Bose then began talking to parents about getting their children into school. Shukla didn’t want to play the number game anymore, she made an effort to make a change. She wanted to provide the children of India with a better education. The foundation started a school with about 165 children. The foundation built more schools and even a junior college. Bose speaks about three myths that are believed in India. The first myth is that no one in the slums can speak English. that myth is not true, Bose showed a video to the audience of two children speaking English. the second myth was that parents do not like their children going to school. That’s totally wrong. Shukla stated that parents are very supportive and want their children going to school. The last myth was that children who lived in the slums did not integrate with other children who do not live in the slums. Once again, Bose presented a video of a girl that was given an opportunity to go to a camp with other students that didn’t live in the slums. The children were excited to make friends with the other children who didn’t live in the slums. The reason the schools became successful is that the schools and teachers operated under the idea, “one child at a time”, which means they would educate students focusing on treating each child as an individual. The idea of the Parikrma Humanity Foundation is to educate children and prepare them for the real world. Shukla stated at the end of her presentation, “what is in the building is not important, all that matters is what the children are learning.” This statement is so true! We learn that we can make a difference in any child’s life with education. Just by taking one step at a time to accomplish something so big for children of the future.We want our children with the best education possible. It’s very heartwarming to listen to what she did for the children of India.

Autumn Sprouse

For this blog, I chose to watch Charles Leadbeater's video Education Innovation in the Slums. Charles Leadbeater is a British author who writes on topics such as innovation and creativity. Leadbeater has advised many companies, cities, and even governments around the world on innovation strategy. He has written many popular books and continues to express his knowledge on education.

Leadbeater decided to start off in Monkey Hill, Rio in one of the biggest slums in the country. There he met a boy who dropped out of school at the age of fourteen, started working in a business to make money, and the age of sixteen was completely running that business and hired over 1,000 people to work for him. By the time he would reach 24, he would be expected to be dead. Living in the slums means a high death rate of AIDS and the life expectancy is low. Out of a room full of kids, over half of them do not have parents, and the other half only has one parent because of this AIDS outbreak. Luckily, this same boy met a guy in Rio who had installed the first computers in classrooms for the children in Rio. Leadbeater says with education and technology, there is a chance for hope. This video also showed the computers that Sugata Mitra showed in his video from the beginning in this year. Leadbeater showed a room full of students learning on computers and how they are reinventing the slums, just like what is happening around the country. Leadbeater says that we need more reinventions to improve our schools. Our schools may look the same from the outside, but from the inside we need to push forward to new technology. He also says we need to encourage our students more. Students are not going to want to further their education if we are not their backbone.

This video taught me so much about the slums and the education there. I'm so glad that people like Charles Leadbeater had the chance to go over there and make a difference to people to who are less fortunate. Leadbeater had many great ideas to bring to Rio, and to classrooms today around the world.

Turning Trash into Toys for Learning: By Arvind Gupta Author: Douglas R. Jarvis Jr


Arvind Gupta takes us on a marvelous journey in his talk about using things we normally would simply toss away in order to provide interactive teaching tools for children. He provides examples of using rubber tubing and match sticks to create countless mathematical shapes that could be used to teach angles, geometry, engineering and so many other lessons. He shows us how to create pumps from bicycle tubes and straws and generators from batteries, magnets, and paperclips. His ingenuity is a prime example that even the poorest school system can find ways to provide children with hands on learning tools. We get so bogged down in worrying about how to afford fancy classroom supplies. However, what really matters is teaching your students in a way that captivates them. By using these inexpensive methods, you can allow students to have hands on interaction and really see why the science or math involved creates the desired effect. We can all learn from this method of education. Face it, many school systems are going to be reluctant or unwilling to provide us money for projects. As teachers we can use Mr. Gupta’s ideas to turn our trash into toys built by our students.

It has been proven time after time that people learn best from practical experience. Yet, so many teachers continue to take the learning out of the students hands and force them to endure tedious and unmotivating lectures. Imagine listening to a lecture on shapes in your geometry class; now instead use, the rubber tubing and match sticks and let your students build the shapes and explore the strengths and weaknesses of each shape while you discuss the lesson. The student is intrigued because he wants to learn how to make the more interesting ones and captivated when he gets to play with his creation. Learning can be fun, it does not have to be a chore. We all know what it is like to be watching the clock praying for the bell. So lets all fight against that and create classrooms that our students don’t want to leave. We dont have to have a lot of money, just the desire and drive to learn how to maximize the resources we have.

Project #15 Lesson Plan 3

Smartboard Jeopardy

This lesson plan is intended for twelfth grade history. One week is needed for preparation for this assignment. This lesson plan requires access to a Smartboard. Students will be divided into groups of four for this assignment. Each group is required to brainstorm and create their own questions that pertain to the the textbook or our class lectures. The questions that are chosen must be from the previous chapters we have discussed. This game is intended to better prepare students for their exam as well as evaluate their progress.

Lesson Plan 3-Kristie Bell

Blog Post #12

Author: Kristie Bell

In Ken Robinson’s video Changing Education on Paradigms he discusses how every country on the earth is reforming public education. We need to know how to educate our children to take their place in the 21st century economies. We need to educate our children so they have a cultural identity. Today, most children believe that just because you have a college degree does not mean you will be guaranteed a job, which is absolutely correct. The problem with our current learning system is that it was designed for a different age period. We must raise education standards because we are in the 21st century. Ken Robinson feels that our students cannot focus because we have so many technological tools, but they are not being put to use. Instead, teachers are using the same boring lesson plan that consists of lecturing. He states “ We are getting our children through education by anaesthetising them.” We are basically putting them to sleep because of boredom when we should be waking them up to what is inside themselves. Schools are made up of standardization and we need to move in the opposite direction from this. Schools need to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of creativity.

What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson? We can learn so much from this inspirational man. Our students need to focus on being creative thinkers and unfortunately our education system only educates to be good workers. In our classrooms we will cultivate our students’ interest and energy. Ken Robinson teaches you not to educate students out of their creativity. We want to create unlimited possibilities in our classrooms and acknowledge each student’s talents. Mr. Robinson points out the importance of acknowledging your student’s talents because so many feel that if their talent does not fit into the education system’s classification then they are not considered intelligent. Our students should be unleashing their talents and discovering their culture identity in the world. Sir Ken Robinson really gave us a new outlook and his words could not be more true. We need to truly rethink our school systems and make our students feel alive again.

Author: Kynyetta Barren

In Sir Ken Robinson video, The Importance of Creativity he speaks at a conference about how education is killing creativity. He believes that creativity is as important as literacy. A lot of teachers just want their students to get the work done, pass a test, or do a project. Creativity should be encouraged in everything you do in the classroom. Ken tells us that “Education is meant to take you into a future that you can’t grasp.” What he means by this is no matter how much we learn we will never catch up to all the new advancements that are being made. He states that children in this generation are frightened of being wrong and we are the cause of that. It is the reason schools kills creativity. We agree that children are scared of being wrong. We are scared of being wrong at the work we do for classes. Since we have taken EDM310 we feel that creativity is very important because it opens your mind up to different things that are being used in the classrooms. As Ken Robinson stated, “If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.” We believe that education in schools is getting too caught up in the basics of teaching. Of course math, reading, writing, history are important, but what about the skills children show and use outside of the classroom. As educators, we can incorporate creativity into our lesson plans and promote students to use their creative minds! We could use smartboards, blogs, building projects, etc. Creativity involves breaking out of an established pattern in order to look at things in a different way. In our classroom we want our students to be creative and express themselves through art.

How to Escape Education’s Death Valley

By Douglas R. Jarvis Jr.

    Sir Ken Robinson delivered a wonderful commentary on education at a TED Talk in April of 2013. He discussed the irony of the legislation we call “no child left behind”. So what is ironic about this legislation? The dropout rate in some of our states approaches 60% and in Native American communities, it can grow as high as 80% ! So the irony is that we have created a system that leaves the majority of our children behind. Sir Robinson believes that we must first recognize that each child is an individual. No one method of teaching will ever be able to reach the learning personalities of every student. America has tried to standardize education to the degree that teachers struggle to be able to use their own creativity to develop lessons that inspire and capture the curiosity of a student. Sir Robinson made the point that children are naturally curious and it is quite an accomplishment to extinguish that. So why do we bogg down in standardized testing and allowing a room full of politicians to decide the best way for children to learn? Is it not the teacher and the school that facilitate learning? I completely agree with this assessment. To really change the dropout rate in this country, we have to return the teacher’s power to decide how to best reach his/her students. We need to allow the administrators in the schools to determine the effectiveness of the method a teacher may choose to use because they too are educators. As teachers, we must take this responsibility very seriously and not just try to teach information. We must encourage, counsel, advise , and be involved with the well being of each of our students. I believe every child has a gift and that it is our job to help him find it.  Not every child is meant for the University but, that does not mean he can not be successful. Vocations provide the backbone of our nation and we are reaching a dangerous deficit of skilled workers in this country. Last year, I attended Alabama Community College System Governor’s Breakfast in Montgomery, Alabama as an ambassador from Bishop State. Dr Bentley expressed his concern that six million skilled jobs are unfilled in this country due to the lack of qualified workers. The kids are dropping out because they are discouraged and being treated as second class because they are not scholastically gifted. That is a crime!  while I am proud of those gifted students as well we simply can not turn our back on a student because he can not score a 30 on the ACT.  When we as teachers take the time to encourage our students and let them feel proud of themselves we give fuel to the student to keep fighting. So lets all find a way to reach our students and remember they are different but, they all deserve our best.  Death Valley is the driest place in the U.S. Life is very scarce there and yet a few years ago with a rain system dropping seven inches of moisture onto the desert floor, flowers bloomed and blanketed a desert in green. This is a beautiful metaphor for our education system. If we rain support, creativity, and encouragement on our students we can cut the dropout rate and help every student blossom. SEE THE DIFFERENCE!

Project #12 Part A

Project #10 Interview Movie

C4K Summary Post (October)

C4K #1

My student I was assigned was enrolled in an online AP Government course and her blog was called A Unique Perspective on the Past, Present, & Future. In her post she talks about how her class has covered topics ranging from the Constitution and Declaration of Independence to the conflict in Syria. She mentions how important it is to understand the significance and purpose of these documents. She states, "The Constitution and Declaration of Independence is essential because they are the basis of American government." In her post she informs her readers that she loves classes such as these, because they incorporate current events. She leaves off her post with a personal statement about herself that says she plan on majoring in political science in college and her ultimate goal is to become a lawyer.

I commented on her post saying that I really enjoyed reading her blog post especially since I am a history major. She certainly gave me a deeper insight with her informative post. I agree completely about how more people need to understand the purpose and significance of these documents. I can tell she is really passionate about this class and that she will have fun learning about this subject. I also like that she is so concerned about her future and it sounds like she is on the path to success.

C4K #2

I was assigned to the student Lillian in Mrs. Hartooni's seventh grade science class. In her blog post My First Day of School she talks about how nervous she was walking into her first period class. She started to feel a little better after she realized her friend was in the same class. Her science class turned out to be a great experience because she finds this subject to be very interesting. Lillian's first day of school turned out to be a huge success and she was no longer nervous anymore.

I commented on her post and said that I enjoyed reading her post! I believe everyone can relate to her post about being nervous on the first day of school. I am in college and I still get nervous about the first day each semester. I always feel better after I get settled into my new classes and see some familiar faces. I think it is awesome that you love learning about new and interesting things! Keep up the great work and attitude because it will help you succeed in life.

C4K #3

I was assigned to Reety in Mr. So's second grade class and her blog was called My Hero Is My Mom. In her post she discusses that a hero is someone that is always by your side to rescue you. Reety says this is why she chose her mom as her hero because she saves her all the time. She talks about how her mom can always turn her frown into smile when she is feeling down. Reety says her mom is the best hero ever and she will never change her choice.

I commented on her post saying that I loved reading your blog post. My mom is definitely my hero too and I look up to her so much. Mother’s are great heroes to have and they are always there to help us! Your post was very heartwarming and it sounds like you have a wonderful mom! Keep up the awesome work Reety!

C4K #4

I was assigned to Dayton in Mrs. Geldes's fourth grade class and his blog post was called the The Unwanted. In his blog post he told a story from a pumpkin's point of view and it was very funny. He talked about being the pumpkin who was picked last and once he was finally chosen he was excited. However, the pumpkin's excitement did not last long when he figured out that he was going to be carved like the other pumpkins. He says after the pumpkin dies he becomes the headless horse man and comes back to haunt the people who carve pumpkins.

I commented on his post saying that it was very funny and I enjoyed reading it. He has an awesome imagination which is wonderful for telling stories. I really love Halloween so this was a great topic to write about. Keep up the creative work Dayton!

C4T #3

C4T #1

In Bill Ferriter's blog called False-Transparency and the Airport Princess he discusses the simplistic misconceptions that some people have about teaching. Many people think that teacher's only roles in the classroom is to teach and nothing else matters. Most people fail to realize that being an educator is not an easy profession. These one-sided views are called "False-Transparency." It is easy to think that teachers are overpaid if you think that the only time their working is when their standing in front of a class. However, this is not the case because being an educator means working around the clock always. Educators are always having to plan their lessons while off the clock. Teachers always have to make assessments and feedback for each individual student as well. Some people do not understand how hard it is to teach and as educators it is our challenge to show them. We need to pull back the curtains and show the behind scenes of what is going on when we are not standing in front of our students.

I commented on his post saying that he did a great job and definitely caught my attention. False-transparency is something we have all dealt with in our lives and the misconception about teachers is well known. Honestly, I can say that I did not realize how much work teachers do around the clock until I started college three years ago. My education classes have really taught me about the hard work that goes into being an educator. I hope that more people will realize that teachers play an important role and do more than simply teach. I believe if educators could demonstrate what goes on behind the scenes people would actually realize teachers are underpaid. Overall, this was one of my favorite blog posts and I found it to be very interesting.

C4T #2

In Bill Ferriter's post New #Edtech Tool Review:Using Canva to Teach Visual Influence he discusses how the graphic design site Canva caught his attention. We are living in a world where pictures and videos are becoming primary for capturing attention so it only makes sense to incorporate them in the classroom. Canva is a tool that makes design simple for everyone. It provides access to thousands of engaging graphics that can be dragged and dropped into place on templates and layouts customized for everything from blog graphics and Facebook headers to flyers, posters, and PowerPoint Presentations. The only issue is that Canva is currently in beta testing. Bill ends his post saying "My hope is that they will recognize schools as a valuable marketplace worth serving and customize a product and pricing line that will meet the needs of teachers and students."

I commented on his post and said that this is a great tool to use in the classroom. Technology is a great resource to incorporate into lesson plans. I really like that you choose a visual design site that is very simple and easy to use! Most graphic design sites are just way too complicated and really do leave you bogged down. Hopefully, they will recognize schools as a valuable marketplace because this would be a beneficial tool for educators. Overall, your post was very informative and I am glad that I had a chance to learn about this interesting tool!

Blog Post #11

Ms. Cassidy’s Approach to the Use of Technology in the Classroom

For this week's blog post Dr. Strange required our EDM310 class to watch a few videos regarding Ms. Cassidy's approach to the use of technology in the classroom. The first video talks about how her students use technological tools in the classroom. The other videos consisted of a three-part interview with Dr. Strange and Ms. Cassidy. Dr. Strange's EDM310 class is also part of the interview as well. They discuss many topics pertaining to technology in the classroom.

In Ms. Cassidy's video called Little Kids...Big Potential her first graders use blogs, webpages, wikis, video, Skype and Nintendo DS to share, collaborate and learn in their classroom. I was completely shocked after watching these first graders and learning how technologically literate they were. This was absolutely amazing because when I was in first grade I did not have this advantage. These children were so excited about blogging and becoming better writers. They were educated on how to properly comment on other people's blogs and knew not to say mean things. They even used skype to talk to other classrooms and experts. Ms. Cassidy's class is an amazing example on how to use technology successfully in your classroom. This inspiring video made me realize as a future educator I have to always incorporate new teaching techniques in my lesson plans and take advantage of technology.

Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part I

The first interview video I watched talked about how Ms. Cassidy got so involved into technology. She said ten years ago she was given five computers in her classroom and she started on her technology journey. She was able to get some release time and funding to assist her in this journey. She started to work on web pages and get involved in blogging. Her journey turned out to be a wonderful success because she now has a tremendous support system behind her. Ms. Cassidy states, "Technology is not going to go away, it is here to stay." She believes that every teacher needs to be technological literate to be adequate for students. She leaves off with the statement that "We have to keep learning." We have to stay in touch with technology and find out what way works best for us.

Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part II

In the second interviews Ms. Cassidy tells people where to begin with technology. She says to begin with what your interested in. For example, if videos interest you then sign up for a youtube account. Everybody is different and their is no specific method to follow. You simply have to find out what way works best for you and keep exploring till you find that method.

Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part III

The last interview video that I watched involved the EDM310 students asking Ms. Cassidy questions. One of the first questions was asked by a physical ed major who asked, "How often do you use blogging in your classroom?" She answers by saying it depends on the time of year, but typically twice a week. Another question was "Do you fear that access to the internet increases cheating?" Ms. Cassidy said she does not feel like this is an issue. She says the educator needs to ask specific questions so cheating is not possible. However, she also states that the internet helps you to collaborate and "piggy-back" off of others work. This is not cheating and is actually beneficial. The questions that the students asked were great and Ms. Cassidy answered them very efficiently.

After watching each individual video I really learned a lot from Ms. Cassidy. She really puts a lot of time and effort into her lesson plans for her students. Being an educator is not always easy, but it is well worth it. She really makes a great point when she states that technology is never going away and we need to learn how to use it. This statement could not be more true and she does a great job in her classroom. I still cannot get over how much her students use technology and they are only first graders. Ms. Cassidy is a very motivational person and her hard work clearly inspires education systems worldwide. I look forward to using technology in my classroom and I will definitely be a blogging teacher. I want to allow my students to sample as many technological tools as possible. I want my students to be technologically literate so they will be better prepared for the real world.

Project #14

Project Based Learning

This lesson plan addresses a presentation about the aftermath of the Holocaust on the Jewish culture and is intended for twelfth grade students. A period of two weeks is needed for preparation. Students will be divided into six groups with four in each. They can present their project by google presentation, prezi, youtube, or any other tool listed in the instructions. Students will be required to present their group presentation to the class. I will also offer extra credit if your group interviews a survivor from the Holocaust and incorporates the audio segment in the project.

Project Overview
Project Calendar
Project Rubric

Blog Post #10

On September 18, 2007, Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch delivered a one-of-a-kind last lecture that made the world stop and pay attention. It was called the The Last Lecture. Pausch discussed his life achievements even though he had cancer and would soon pass away within a few months. In his lecture he really held his composure and did not want pity from the audience because his talk was not about cancer. He choose to talk about how to achieve your dreams or enable the dreams of others instead. This was one of the most inspirational lectures I have ever watched in my entire life.

So What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?

"Randy Pausch says that problems are like "Brick Walls." They will always be there and we have to accept that. We should not look at problems in a bad way, but rather a challenge to see if we want something bad enough. Problems will not get in the way of our opportunity if we choose to fight back and go after our goals. When I encounter problems in my classroom I will not give up, instead I will find a solution. There will always be some kind of problem that I am facing in my career, but I know that I will rise up to the challenge every time.

In The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch says, “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”. These are such true words and the sooner we accept that the happier we will be in our lives, instead of trying so hard to change those cards. Pausch could not change his fate that he would soon pass away from cancer after his lecture. Instead of moping around about it he decided to give a motivational lecture that forever left a mark on the lives of many others. It is easy to see that this man lived a wonderful life because of how he choose to live his life. I can easily use this everyday motto in my classroom because their will be times I have to teach a class that I may not be too fond of. Their will be times when I get students who are not interested in what I have to say no matter how hard I try to captivate their attention. I have to accept that I cannot be the perfect professor who wins over every student's interest each semester. No classroom is perfect and that is okay I just have to put in my very best effort. I will always try to enable my student's dreams and help them reach their full potential no matter what.

Accept feedback and criticism because it means their is someone who wants you to improve. Criticism is not a bad thing and do not get defensive when others are trying to give you this important feedback. These were great words of wisdom because this personally was a problem I use to have for the longest time. I could not handle criticism well, but over time I learned that it is okay receive feedback. It helps you to become better and better. You should be concerned when nobody is criticizing you because that means people have given up on you. As a professor when I am criticized I plan to take this as a way to improve my teaching methods. I want all of my students to fill out evaluation sheets because their feedback matters to me.

After watching this video I could sit here and type out all of his words of wisdom, but we would be here for a very long time. These were just a few that I choose because of personal experiences. This video was simply amazing and one of the most uplifting lectures I have ever had the chance to listen to. I try to always keep a positive outlook in life in all that I do and this lecture just boosted that positivity even more. I am so glad I had the chance to hear this video because it just makes me want to strive even harder to reach my goal of becoming a professor. I have to say the best part was the end because Pausch explains his final "head fake" of his lecture. The lecture was never intended for the audience, but for his children. This was an amazing speech and legacy he left behind for his children. He wanted them to live a life they always dreamed about.

Blog Post #9

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?
Authors: Douglas Jarvis, Kristie Bell, and Kynyetta Barren

In the video Back To The Future, Mr. Brian Crosby tells us about how he gets his class of multicultural and at risk students to learn how to use project based learning. He starts off by telling us about his class and how most of his students do not know what city they live in. Crosby uses technology to gain the interest of his class. The students use laptops to connect to different students around the world. Mr. Crosby collaborated with a local university to create a balloon that would carry a camera and microphone into the different layers of the atmosphere. By doing this, students were able to see first hand the journey that the balloon made. The students were able to create the payload of the balloon and take a hands on approach to this project creating a highly motivating learning environment. They were each asked to write a story about the balloons journey from the perspective of the balloon. These stories were then posted to a class blog along with photos and videos to be shared with the world in a project called “High Hopes”. The students made stratocards with the high hopes that they had for their lives and this also allowed students around the world to post theirs as well. This project also tied into the science atmosphere with cultural and language learning. In this way, children around the world were able to share ideas and information which makes the world a smaller, more neighborly place. What we can learn from this is that teaching is not about giving students busy work and hoping that they will grasp the concepts from that work. Learning is more effective when the students are captivated by the material. We think that teaching is about making the students learn for themselves and from their peers around them. We also believe that by doing projects this allow students to be interactive with each other. By motivating students with exciting projects they will actively absorb information and retain it for life. Mr. Crosby also showed us the value of public sharing when he was able to use technology to allow a young girl with cancer to be part of his class and participate with her peers instead of being homeschooled. That is a beautiful gift and he should be applauded for not allowing that girl to be isolated.

Paul Anderson’s Blended Learning Cycle In this video, Mr. Anderson talks about his combination of blended learning and the learning cycle. Blended learning is a combination of online, mobile, and classroom learning. The Learning Cycle contains five key components: Engage, Explore, Explain, Expand,and Evaluate. He uses this system of learning to create his own unique learning style he names QIVERS`.Q: Question-Mr Anderson begins each unit with a driving question about a subject matter the students are unfamiliar with. I: Investigate- he asks the students to hypothesize what they believe the answer to that question is. V: Video- he gives the students video links with instructions and information so that they can explore the subject matter independently. E: Elaboration- he then explains the subject matter and provides his class with more detailed information. R: Review- in this stage, he reviews with the students one on one to ensure the student understands the information. S: Summary quiz- he gives a quiz to evaluate the students knowledge. What we can learn from Mr. Anderson is a successful way to teach our students. His method allows students to be engrossed in the learning process. He allows them to question freely and learn why they are wrong or right. In this way, he is teaching science and how to be an independent learner at the same time.

Mark Church’s Making Thinking Visible video, he discusses how his students make their thinking visible. He explains an assignment where he records his student’s learning and follows their thought process. He has them create a headline summarizing the introduction to his unit in one sentence. He then teaches the unit and has them do this again so they can see how far their understanding has come. Through projects like this, we can learn how to get in touch with our students thoughts and how to document those thoughts. With this information we can begin to have a better understanding of how our students evaluate information. This allows us to be better teachers by allowing us to adjust our way of thinking to be more compatible with our students. By making thinking visible, we can give our students the ability to see their understanding grow. We can challenge them to be creative and learn to work with their peers. This method of education is positive because of the direct feedback the student gets when they see their mind has changed with the additional lessons. This encourages and produces a much more motivated learner.

Blog Post #8

iCivics

Author: Kristie Bell

The tool that I chose to tell my readers about is called iCivics. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor actually founded iCivics in 2009 out of concern that students were not getting the information and tools they need for civic participation, and that civics teachers need better materials and support. This project has truly grown and now has volunteer teams in every state. Anyone can have access to iCivics and all of their resources are free.

Identifying iCivics and the Benefits

iCivics is a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in our democracy. iCivics has a variety of lesson plans designed to fit your classroom. The lesson plans are also relevant to the student so they can captivate their interest. The best part about the lesson plans is that all iCivics games, lesson plans, and web quests have been linked to standards from all 50 states. This means you can easily find out if the lesson plan fits in with your state's curriculum standards. All you have to do is search iCivics content by using the “Curriculum Finder” function. iCivics also has educational games that offer printable instructions or an in-game tutorial if you are a first time user whose experiencing difficulty. Students gain achievements, compete on leader boards, and earn points that they can use to vote on different “Impact Projects.” Students can make a real-world difference because the Impact Project that earns the most collective points will receive a $1,000 donation from iCivics each quarter. If you ever have an idea for a new game iCivics actually has an online form that you can submit and it is possible you could be chosen to have your game created.

Why I choose iCivics and My Future Intentions

iCivics would be a perfect technology tool to use in my classroom because I will be teaching History. I also chose this tool because it is a free resource and anyone can have access to it without having to pay a fee. This tool has relevant information that appeals to students and my goal is for them to be engaged. I believe that tools such as iCivics are very beneficial to educators because we can make learning enjoyable. I think Sandra Day O'Connor came up with a very resourceful tool and I have every intention on using it in my future classroom. I would like to incorporate the lesson plans that focus mainly on politics, international affairs, civil rights for now. iCivics plans on adding more units and hopefully by the time I am an educator the options will be endless. I feel that my students could greatly benefit from this tool and enriching their knowledge about History is my main goal.

21st Century Learning and Communication Tools

Author: Kynyetta Barren
I want to teach Pre-Algebra, Algebra, or Algebra II to middle or high school students. To help with my teaching, I would like to use a software called FluidMath. FluidMath is a software used on Tablet PC or Interactive Whiteboards. I can use this software to assist in creating instructional learning experiences. For my students, It will help them explore and understand the concepts in mathematics. It animates, graphs, creates, and solves math problems. FluidMath graphs equations and animates them by allowing teachers or students to change pieces of the equation to show how each section of the equation can be affected by the graph appearance. I can use the animation to show the shape changes on a graph. It will be easier for me instead of having to draw a new graph to show the differences in how they look. FluidMath can be used on different platforms such as:

Smart Board
PC with a keyboard
Promethean Board
Hitachi Starboard
Mimio
Polyvision

I choose FluidMath because most students learn better with technology and hands-on experiences. It will be a great source for clarifying abstract concepts in math. I want my students to feel comfortable in what they are learning and I think using this software will help tremendously. I will be using this software and other tools that I discover throughout my journey as an educator. I have provided a video below as an example of how FluidMath works.

Blog Post 8: Tools for Tomorrow’s Classroom

EcoMuve

Summary by Douglas R. Jarvis Jr.

    EcoMuve is an exciting new way to teach biology lessons. Centered on teaching ecosystems to the middle school age science student, this product allows students to be consumed by the science of ecosystems. EcoMuve was developed by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. It is a two week learning module that uses a 3-D virtual world to allow students to explore every aspect of a pond or forest ecosystem.They can see changes that take place over time to understand the impact of pollution or population change of endemic species. This product is an amazing way to prepare your students to go into the field and truly understand the world around them. See more here.

Ecosystem Concepts	Causality Concepts	EcoMUVE Design
Conservation of matter Decomposition	Non-obvious Causes Cyclic causality	Submarine tool Atom tracker
Inquiry and measurement	Inquiry over time Balance and Flux	Water measurement tools Calendar tool Data table and graphs
Ecosystem boundaries, watershed	Effects over distance Distributed causality	Spatial layout of virtual world – pond, housing development, golf course
Photosynthesis and respiration	Effects over distance Non-obvious causes Cyclic causality	Water measurement tools Atom tracker

Chart courtesy of http://ecomuve.gse.harvard.edu/