Blog Post #5 part 2

In the previous part of blog post 5 I was learning what exactly a PLN is and how to expand and grow with mine. I have honestly learned so much about PLN's throughout the course of this class and I can say with confidence that mine has definitely grown tremendously. I think what surprised me the most about PLN's within this class is how much teachers, professors, and students use Twitter. I had a Twitter account prior to this class but I rarely used it. Now I have seen how useful it is in the education field. I can follow other teachers or education accounts that give advice and ideas almost daily. It's such a great resource and I can definitely see myself using it more throughout my teaching career. I also really love Pinterest. It is wonderful for ideas for the classroom as well.
I have definitely expanded my PLN and I plan on continuing to expand it well after this class is over. It's a great resource for teachers. It allows us to keep up with the latest ideas and work together without having to meet everyday. With everyone's busy schedules I feel like this is a much easier way to interact with each other daily. I'm glad I've grown with my PLN.

C4T Summary

For my first C4T I commented on teachingmatters.org's blog post. He posted about educating new teachers. He stated that we should focus more on how we educate our teachers. He was very thorough in explaining his method for making our teachers better educators. I commented and told him that I really enjoyed his post and that I completely agreed that changing our education system for the better begins with our educators first. I also said that I liked his comments about technology in the classroom.
The second post I commented on was by trice25.edublogs.org. They began with a Mark Twain quote about imagination and went on to explain how people perceive different things differently. They made the example that two people can be walking together and witness the same thing happen yet come out with two different stories. People will always have different points of view and describe things in their own way. I commented saying how impressed I was by their blog post and how I absolutely agree that people do see things differently. I stated that I experience this at least a few times a week if not more. I thought it was a great post.

Blog post #14

I really liked reading the article Teaching Can Be a Profession by Joel Klein. It's very interesting reading ideas and thoughts from someone that operated the New York City's public school system for 8 years. I always feel like big ideas or events begin up north and slowly move their way down south over time. It seems that the north part of our country is quicker to change their ways and go with a plan than the south part of our country so it was interesting for me in that aspect of things. I really like his idea of professionalizing teaching. I agree that it should be more well respected as well. It is one of the most important professions in our country.

The seniority distraction part was an eye-opener for me. Joel states "job security and seniority dictate the way our schools operate." This is very true but not always a great thing. People that are more used to teaching will have many great ideas and suggestions I'm sure, but they also may be a little more set in their ways and not as open to new ideas for the classroom that might actually be a greater benefit to our country's education system. His views were very intriguing to me and I'd actually enjoy reading a little further into the topic.

Project #6 C4K for November

For my first C4K I had to comment on Trevor C's post about saving money. Trevor told about how he saves his money and what he uses it for when he is ready to spend it. I commented on his post sharing that I too save my money and that I like to shop or pay bills when I have some to spend.
For the next post my C4k did not change. I was slightly confused but I just commented on one of Trevor's older posts to be safe. On the next post Trevor talked about what Veterans Day is and why we celebrate it. I commented and told Trevor that he did a very good job and that Veterans Day is special to me because I have many family members that have served our country.

Project #12 Smartboard lesson plan

Blog Post #13

Write a blog post describing an art project you will have your students do.
Answer the following questions in your post:
1. What is the art assignment?
2. How will you incorporate technology into this art project?

For my art assignment to my students I will have each student creat a collage of all of their favorite things in life. They can add pictures of their families, pets, favorite games or other items. They can glue 3 dimensional objects (if not too big) to their collage. As we make these collages, we will learn about the history and importance of collages in the past.
I will use the smart board or some other type of visual technology to show the students videos and examples of collages.

Teacher Interview

C4K For October

I recently commented on a post by Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn wrote a declaration on why there should be no homework. She stated that homework takes away from their free time and it is simply a repetition of what they already did in class. I commented on Kaitlyn's post stating that I agreed with the fact that homework can be a pain, however it serves a great purpose. I told her that homework helps to make sure we understand what we are learning in class, and allows for us to seek help on the parts that we do not grasp.

Next, I commented on Grant's blog post about a book he read about a bear named Toklo. He described a detailed scene where Toklo captured and ate a rabbit after not eating for days. I commented and told him that I had not read the book, but that it sounds very interesting and that he did a great job describing details.

Next, I commented on Kaiya's post, because Kaydance, whom I was originally supposed to comment for, did not show a blog post. Kaiya wrote about having a large family that she lived with and all of her pets that she had. She seems very happy with her large family and many pets, so I commented telling her that my family was small, but that it must be fun to have a lot of siblings.

Lastly, I commented on Sofi's blog post. Sofi posted about finding the fountain of youth and overpopulation and what we would do if that were to occur. She stated that we would probably have to have something similar to the movie The Hunger Games take place. I commented that I also like that movie, and that I agreed with her about overpopulation being a scary thing to think about.

PBL Lesson Plan 2

Lesson Plan

Blog post #12

Assistive Technologies

C4T Summary

The first teacher I commented for was a kindergarten teacher named Ms.Davison. Ms. Davison provided many useful hints and tips for incorporating technology into the classroom. I read many ideas from her blog post that I would like to use in my own classroom one day. She knows many different tactics to use that get the students excited about using the technology and keeps their focus and engagement in a subject. She teaches technology to small children and keeps their full attention as well as lets them have some freedom to find their own way with using the technology they have to learn and explore. I was very impressed by her ability to have such small children so amused and so focused with technology. These children were very good at using it for learning, when I expected them to be more interested in playing. It definitely surprised me reading her blog.


The second teacher, Ms. Dorothy, posted a video in her blog with instructors in New Zealand explaining why they use technology in their classrooms. The instructors basically addressed using technology in classrooms, starting with younger children, as the best way to prepare

them for their future. With as much as technology is advancing in today's world, it is best to start the student off young with preparation and practice so that they will be more equipped with experience when they are older. One of the instructors in the video referred to this as "today's learning for tomorrow's jobs." I really enjoyed watching this video.

Blog Post #11

In Brian Crosby's Back to the Future video, I like how he came to know his students in the beginning of the school year by giving them an assessment to see where they stood on certain topics. I think this is great to use in every classroom to make sure that you know which students may need extra help, or missed out on learning something crucial the year before that may hold them back. I think it's important to know these things and not just assume. I like how he referred to imagination and creativity as an important part of having passion and instilling passion into all parts of any classroom. I agree very much so, and I think that it is important to instill passion in your students as well as showing them you have passion for everything you teach them. They have to be motivated and excited to learn. Another aspect of teaching I learned from Crosby is the High Hope letters they made. If you make them think about the future and keep them focused on their goals, they are more likely to reach them. He also shared a lot of good information on blogging which I think we could learn and benefit from.

In Paul Anderson's video, Blended Learning Cycle, I learned that blended learning is a combination of mobile, online, and classroom aspects to create a full learning experience for students that allows for in depth understanding and learning in and out of the classroom. Paul Anderson is very big on starting with a question. He says the power is in the question you ask. I agree with this in the sense that asking a student a question allows for them to learn on a deeper level in the long run. I also like that he uses acronyms to describe things so that they are easier to remember.

In Mark Church's Making Thinking Visible video, it showed students in groups in a classroom practicing collaborative learning. From this video I learned how to let students work together in groups to learn and think critically.

In the next video, Super Digital Citizen, Sam Pane teaches children ho to use the internet safely. He teaches them how to evaluate different websites according to the information they are looking for. He teaches them right from wrong, and safety rules of the internet. He uses lessons such as creating a super hero and letting them make their own "Super Digital Citizen" safety rules to help them understand how to be safe on the internet.

In Dean Shareski's Project Based Learning video, I learned about using Project Based Learning in a high school classroom setting. They don't learn in segmented subjects, but instead in integrated studies. They explained that this allows for deeper understanding for the students. They use technology to enhance the process of learning using PBL. They work along side of the students to encourage them and help their students to constantly improve their work. They allow for several evaluations from different teachers and their peers before the final project is revealed.

In the last video, Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program, I learned that Roosevelt Elementary School has PBL classes. These classes have integrated learning involving several different subjects. The students learn to work independently as well as collaboratively. They explained that this is better for knowing if your student really understand something or not. It also allows for the students to have some freedom and say-so in what they are doing with their project.