Blog Post 11

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

This week we were to watch several videos by teachers who are implementing technology into their classrooms.

In the first video Back to the Future we meet Mr. Brian Crosby who is an avid participator in his community. Brian uses Project Based Learning and hands on experience  to help children in his community, who are less fortunate,  learn  how to use technology in the classroom. His students are also using a blog to help them learn to communicate with other people all over the world. The world needs more people like Brian Crosby to  show a passion for motivating kids to better themselves.

The next video we were to watch, was by Biology teacher Mr. Paul Andersen called the Blended Learning Cycle. In this video we see various types of learning in his classroom. He starts out by incorporating online, mobile, and classroom learning. There are also 5 E's that Andersen lives by and they are as follows: engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. Andersen also blends the acronym Q.U.I.V.E.R into his lesson plans, which stands for question, investigate, video, elaboration, and review.

The third video we were to watch was called Making Thinking Visible. In this video Mark Church describes the process he uses when he engaged his students in critical thinking skills. He gets his students to progressively write about a specific topic only to later reflect and see how their writing skills evolved.
                                       

The fourth video, Super Digital Citizen, mainly covers the concerns for surfing the web safely. I could definitely see myself using this lesson in my classroom, because it is important for children to know of the risks of using the internet. This video by Sam Pane also explained what it meant to be a responsible "citizen". Pane explains to his students through comic strips how to be a responsible citizen. With the kids newly created superheroes, they can differentiate between situations that are both safe and unsafe.

The fifth video Project Based Learning by Dean Shareski, was focused on an example of what a school did in Canada to promote project based learning. This school combined three classes into one. The subjects of history, literature, and computer we merged into one, all while still giving the students grades in the individual classes. This allowed for longer, more intense classes that generated an overall greater interest in the subjects. I think the integration of classes is a great idea, although you would have to make sure that the classes coincide.

The final video was another example of a school that uses PBL. Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program is another example of young students being delved at an early age into the advantages of technology and project based learning. We have seen this many times now when teachers are getting students involved as soon as they are introduced into the educational system. We as future educators are going to have to know our way around this technology because the chances are that our students will already know how.

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.