Blog Post 10

What Can We Learn From Mrs. Cassidy?

This week we were to watch several videos of first grade teacher Mrs. Cassidy. Mrs. Cassidy is already introducing 1st graders to the tool of technology in the classroom. Mrs. Cassidy already has her students blogging in the first grade, which I think is mind blowing! Especially since I have never created a blog until I was enrolled into EDM310. I do think however, that the earlier the students are introduced into these types of tools the better their future's will be.

Mrs. Cassidy also let's her students play games to enhance their critical thinking skills. I mean, what 1st graders don't like video games? I think that is a good idea to use these devices for the kids to become better involved with classroom learning. I could definitely see myself using these tools in the classroom, especially if I was going to be an elementary teacher. Even though I am going to be a secondary teacher, I could still get my kids involved with blogging, and more age appropiate critical thinking skill games.

Some concerns that may arise for children this young being introduced to technology might be their security. Mrs. Cassidy solves this by not allowing her students to put personal information out on the internet. Students simply use their first names, which allows for their identity to remain secret. Still children and adults can find their blogs and comment on them, but on with the approval of the teacher.

As we have seen many time throughout this semester students of all ages are being introduced to technology, and all the benefits that follow. As future educators we are going to have to be well versed in the field of technology. Some teachers more than others however, but all will have some involvement. The sooner we accept that and embrace it the better we will be, which will ultimately better our students and the world.

C4K March 2015

My first comment for kids, for the month of March was on an student named Luke H. who is in Mrs. Maslowski's class. Check out her class blogs here. The post of Luke's that I commented was on actor Will Smith. Luke talked about the things Will Smith has done, and the things he's doing now. The comment I left was commenting Luke on a job well done. I also mentioned that I used to watch Will Smith on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" when I was a kid.

My second comment for kids was originally for a student named Rafael, but his blog was inactive. So instead, I chose to comment on his classmate Omar's blog. Omar and Rafael were also students of Mrs. Maslowski, so you can use the link above to navigate to her page. Omar's blog post was on job shadowing. Omar's job shadowing experience was one he found to be very interesting and eye opening. He and some of his classmates toured Chicago Land Speedway. My comment on Omar's blog was complementing him on a job well done and he should keep up the good work.

My final comment for the month of March was on 7th grader Madison Y. Madison's blog post was a commentary of a book she read titled The Revealers. Check out her post here. Madison talked about how the book intrigued her and also inspired her. The book was about a group of students that were bullied but came together and created a website to help prevent bullying. In my comment I told Madison that she was doing a great job on her blog. I also told her that it was good how interested she was in helping to prevent bullying.

Blog Post 9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning? 

We begin to answer this question by looking at our first assignment. The article Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning gives us a breakdown of seven crucial elements that are needed in order to have a successful project-based learning experience.

1). A Need to Know
2). A Driving Question
3). Student Voice and Choice
4). 21st Century Skills
5). Inquiry and Innovation
6). Feedback and Revision
7). A Publicly Presented Product

In our second assignment we were to watch a video called Project Based Learning for Teachers, which discussed the benefits of being a teacher who implements project-based learning into their curriculum. As we have seen before, students who are engaged in project-based learning have higher levels of interest rather than being submitted to busy work. With project-based learning the students actually become the teachers. Ultimately this leads to better overall understanding, and challenges them to think critically. This also ties into the video What Motivates Students? As educators it's going to be our responsibility to keep our students motivated year round. So why not give them a chance to address the classroom how they would want to do it. They don't want to have classes where all you do is read from the book and then expect them to "burp-back" what we just taught them.

If you were willing to try some of these project-based learning techniques a good place to start would be Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning. With the use of technology on the constant rise, teachers should also be implementing this advantage within the classroom. When I become a teacher I will definitely be using some of the resources in my classroom.

Project #9 EDM 310

Blog Post 8

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

In his Last Lecture Dr. Randy Pausch gives words of advice and encouragement to all that are pursuing their dreams. In this presentation Dr. Pausch tells of the struggles that life has to offer, but also the benefits of achieving those goals after the struggle. Randy wanted to help his students achieve their dreams, so he did just that. He created a class that strictly consisted of project based learning. The students would create virtual realities similar to that of Disney animations. The class proved to be a huge success and started to intrigue the entire campus.

After being over this department for 10 years Randy was diagnosed with cancer and only given a few months to live. Unfortunately Randy did not get the chance to see what his creation has become, but he still lives through the hearts and creations of students he influenced. The part of the whole video that stuck out to me the most was when Randy said that "there are lessons to be learned every day". This couldn't be more true, and as teachers we are going to experience this time and time again. I saw this video as an inspiration as to how I would want to be remembered by my students.

Blog Post 7

This weeks assignment was for us to watch videos that show how technology is spreading throughout schools. Age is no longer a limitation as we see with the video using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten. In this video Dr. Strange and two other media specialist discuss how even kindergarten students are starting to use technology as a tool in their learning. In this video the advantages of the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) are discussed how they really benefit research.nI have used the AVL before, but that was back in high school. 

             

In the video We All Become Learners, the importance of everyone being a learner and a teacher is the main idea. Teachers aren't the only ones who teach, they are also learners. Everyone has the ability to learn, if the want to.The use of media and technology in the classroom is a change that is not going to change, it is here to stay. As we saw in this video, the kindergarten students know the basics when it come to this technology. Imagine how they will be by the time they get into high school and college. 

The video  iPads in the Classroom displays the importance and impact ipads in the classroom make. In certain school districts, students are given ipads of their own to use in the classroom. This type of education gets the students more involved, because the knowledge is literally in their hand. This implication of technology can work for any subjects from math, reading, writing, to grocery shopping. 

The final video  Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology in Education details the pros of using technology in the classroom. The pros definitely outweigh the cons in this subject. This video really made me realize how many benefits there are for teachers in the classroom. I will definitely be implementing some of the examples mentioned in this video. This type of education would benefit both teacher and student, which is why it seems to be working so well.   
                         
                                 

Project 7B

For the parents:

For the students:

C4K February 2015

Week 1: For my first Comments for Kids assignment, I was assigned to the blog of Jose J. Jose is a fourth grader in Mrs. Weils class. Check out their class blog here. The title of Jose's post that I commented on was "weathering and erosion". In this post Jose teamed up with one of his fellow classmates and created a video with pictorial examples of weathering and erosion. Check out their video here. I explained to Jose that Science is a very interesting subject full of unknowns; and that he was doing a great job with his blog.

Week 2: My second comment was on eighth grader Jordan's post titled "Williamsburg Virginia". Jordan is in a language arts class taught by Ms. Leatherwood. Check out there class blog here. In her post Jordan talks about her excitement for the upcoming class field trip to historical Williamsburg, Virginia. The trip is bittersweet for her because it come at the end of the year. I told her that she would have a blast in Williamsburg, and that it was full of history. She had a very good and detailed blog for an eighth grader.

Week 3: In my third comment, I was assigned to the blog of 4th grader Mel. Unfortunately his blog was unfinished so I chose his classmate Isaiah's blog instead. Isaiah's post was on a book called Spirit Animals. Isaiah discussed a specific chapter that interested him. You can check out his post here. In my comment I told Isaiah that he did a good job breaking down the introduction of his book.

Week 4: In my fourth and last comment of February I was assigned to the blog of Jon. Jon is a high school student grader in the class of Mrs. Maslowski. Check out their class blog here. Mrs. Maslowski assigned her students to offer words of encouragement to the students that would be taking their place in her class next year. In Jon's post he told the students not to procrastinate on their work and to beware of bullies. In my comment I told Jon that he should always spell-check his post before submitting them, because he had a few spelling error. Check out Jon's post here.