Blog Post #15 Final Reflection

Project #16

Our iBook

Our iBook has a Peter Pan theme and consists of collaborative work within our group along with individual projects and blog posts that we were assigned throughout the semester in EDM310. Our group name is San Francisco and our group members are Emily Huff, me (Emma Elwell), Briley Lovett, and Lauren Reid.

C4T #4

Angela Maiers blog post, Broke, Busted, and Disgusted-Can We Spare Students This Fate?, focuses on liberating your genius from the bondage of debt. No one wants to waste time and a lot of money to go to school for something you do not love. That just piles on the debt, especially if you are not finically capable of making money saving decision. Maiers expresses how important it is to teach student's as much as you now know to benefit them in the future.

In her most recent post, Choose2Matter LIVE, she describes the conferences she has been traveling to. She begins with asking her audience, "What matters most to you and why?". There is no right or easy way to answer this to most students. The process of answering this question is the first step in unlocking the unique genius in each student, by focusing them on their values and purpose, and fostering self-awareness. Students have learned that each of them has a unique genius to contribute to the world, teachers have remembered why they chose education as a profession, and everyone who has witnessed one of these experiences has been utterly transformed.

C4K April

My first C4K assignment for April is Mororoa. Mororoa has been blogging since year 6 and is now a year 8 student at the Pt England School in Auckland, New Zealand. Mororoa's blog post is a rubric on how to write a good paragraph. Her topics are punctuation, main idea, juicy words, and if it makes sense. Once again the student's from Auckland, New Zealand have impressed me. Mororoa has very good points to judge in a well written paragraph. It's definitely a great rubric for young students.

My second assigned student for April is Teija. She is in Miss Nalder's year 4 class also at the Pt England School in Auckland New Zealand! Her blog post is about legan and illegal images. She states that she knows her pictures are legal because she uses the insert tool to search for a legal image that then inserts into your draft of your blog post! I didn't know you could do this! This is very informative, fast, and most importantly legal! great job Teija!

Blog Post #13

Instructions: Watch Doris Fromberg's youtube video What Kindergarten Should Be and write a blog post on what you learned from this TED lecture. This assigned is specifically for Elementary Education majors who wish to teach kindergarten.

My Blog Post:
Doris Fromberg starts off her What Should Kindergarten Be? lecture with the obvious fact that children should learn concepts and skills in direct ways. Everyone needs to consider that young children learn in different ways, comparing physical experiences and comparing interactions with other people and their own feelings. They learn a lot through their imagination and pretense. Fromberg states, "engage in pretense". Research shows that high fantasy children, children whose families have pretended with them, tend to have more patience. Those high fantasy kids also are better with connecting making and are more pretensive. You always seem to see early childhood students sitting on the floor playing with building blocks. What other term for them than building blocks! Because physical activity with 3D materials is creating the spacial perception that they will need to understand concepts in some of the following subjects: mathematics, physics, chemistry, and geography.

The subject of surprising experiences really caught my attention in Doris Fromberg's lecture. If you have a group of students and you ask them which magnet with collect the most paper clips, they will more than likely chose the bigger magnet. Those students would normally pick the bigger magnet because they associate bigger things with stronger things. Therefore the bigger magnet will collect the most paper clips. But if you surprise your students by telling them that the correct answer is the smaller magnet, they don't expect it. This allows them to experience it and learn from it. So they expect, experience, and then compare surprise, learning, and assessment. Fromberg states that professional kindergarten teachers are always assessing their students to see how to further challenge them. Because if children feel competent, they know the possibility of them succeeding. Then they can continue forward with a higher percentage of dealing with an occasional setback easier.

Doris Fromberg's lecture was very interesting and extremely well spoken,as are all TED lectures. But she makes some very valuable points for kindergarten specifically. Furthermore her lecture is very informational and I recommend everyone take time to watch it if kindergarten interests you!

Project #12 Part B

Blog Post #12

What assistive technologies are available to you as a teacher?

Assistive technology is any object or system that increases or maintains the capabilities of people with disabilities, therefore these would be highly used in special education classes. Despite the high need for these technologies in special education classrooms, they would also be used in any classroom as well. For example, you may have a student who cannot see as well as others, so simply using an enlarged keyboard in the classroom can help.

A lot of assistive technology used in the classroom that most people have heard of are alternate input devices. These alternate input devices allow individuals to control their computers through means other than a standard keyboard or pointing device. These technologies include: alternative keyboards, electronic pointing devices, wands and sticks, joysticks, and touch screens. The one that I foundd most important in a classroom with disabled children would be wands and sticks. Some disabled children have a hard time using their motor skills. So any other alternative in general is good; however, a wand or stick can increase their mobility along with their knowledge. If a student had limited mobility another great assistive technology would be a voice recognition program. These programs allow for students to put data into their computer via command than to use the mouse or keyboard.

While watching, Teaching Math To The Blind, I was incredibly intrigued by how hard it is to teach math to the blind. Although it is difficult it is not impossible. Professor Karshmer explains they use little tiles, like game pieces in Scrabble, that have braille on one side and visible numbers on the other side. These blocks allow blind students to line up the numbers when adding and subtracting. The blocks used in the classroom are put onto a grid that will map onto the visual cortex with a two dimensional math problem. Another thing you can do with the blocks is scan them and the computer will say out loud the number that is on the tile. What an awesome way to teach the blind and it is very creative! I enjoyed learning about this so much because I have never heard of it!

It is so important to teach all your kids to your best ability. If that means using assistive technology, then so be it! These methods and devices are created to help those specific students who are disabled. I would definitely use these in any of my future classroom.

Blog Post #11

Collaborative Blog Post

Project #10

My interview for this assignment is with my Aunt, who is also a third grade teacher at Bonnie Ecole Elementary in Slidell, Louisiana. Mrs. Kathy Fortier has been teaching for thirty three years and thought she would be perfect for my interview! I chose to use both project-based learning and the use of technology in the classroom as topics for our interview.

C4K March

My first C4K student I was assigned was Nahea. Her recording was the first one she had ever done! Her story was about all the things she can do on the ipad. I am personally so proud of such a young person who has accomplished that and then be able to share it with us all the way from Auckland, New Zealand!

My next assigned student in Auckland, New Zealand was Charles. Charles is in Class 9 at Pt England School. His blog post was about his swimming lesson. He does a great job using adjectives to describe every little thing about what leads up to the swimming lesson and the swimming lesson itself. He also adds a reflection at the end of his blog post. His reflection was,"I think I did very good today". Charles seems like such a bright young boy who has such a positive outlook.

My third and final student assigned for march was Byron. Byron has been blogging since class four and he is currently in class seven/eight. Byron's blog post contained most important points on the subject of warriors versus dragons. It is such a great thing that student's can recognize what main points make up a summary. Or to be able to pinpoint the most valuable information in a certain topic.

I really enjoyed reading my assigned blog posts from the students all the way from Auckland, New Zealand. They show such promise in their work and it is really something these young students are technologically advanced. They are probably more tech savvy than some college students. In that case, these young scholars have substantially impressed me!

C4T #3

Brian Bennet's first post, The Problem with Evolution, discusses that sometimes teachers will go over subjects in the classroom that are just to vague. Since the subjects are so vague it is harder for the students to grasp the content of the material and really learn from it. Bennet then brings up the simulation called PhET Simulations. "They're interactive models of topics like evolution, but also chemistry, earth science, and physics, among others. These would be very helpful if you're in a science classroom. These simulation use repetitiveness which makes kids think it's a game. The simulations keep students engaged and lets kids enjoy learning.

Bennett's second post, Living the Connected Life, he describes the anxiety you get when you are not being able to know what is going around you all the time. For example, not being on your cell phone texting, tweeting, and face-booking. he also states that the use of all of these social medias increases your PLN. So, when you aren't connected you are missing out on some PLN opportunities. I really enjoyed both of Brian BEnnett's blog posts that I read. I really enjoy when I am able to connect to a fellow blogger!

Project #15

This project is another individual lesson plan based on the subject of health. It is a lesson plan specifically designed for third or fourth graders. It lasts up to two days, but can last up to three days if you need it to. The class is taught all about the food pyramid and the simple fact that humans need nutrients for the body. This lesson plan is great to instill in young kids so they can maintain a healthy lifestyle! To view the lesson plan, you can go to my Google site.

Project #12 Part A

Blog Post #10

What Can We Learn From Sir Ken Robinson?

Sir Ken Robinson's lecture, Bring On the Learning Revolution!, was absolutely engaging, extremely relatable, and funny. However, most importantly informational. He makes very valid points toward education in today's generation. Robinson states in his lecture that education should be changed. In order to do that, normally we would change it or fix what is wrong. However, in Bring On the Learning Revolution, the better solution would be to start new again. This brings the solution to a revolution for education. Robinson uses the saying,"rise with it not to it", which I love. It shows that you must start anew and act anew, by creating new ways for education.

One of the most important things I took from Sir Ken Robinson's speech was how the world sees education. For example, everyone graduates college in four years. I personally can relate to that because everyone learns differently. Which can lead to being a little behind others or more ahead than some peers. Society needs to know that it is okay to not be on a strict schedule when trying to complete school. You can get a degree right out of high school, or 20 years later. Human flourishing is not a mechanical process. You cannot predict the outcome of human development. Also, timing should not matter because as Robinson says,"a three-year old is not half of a six-year old". A three-year old is a three-year old, someone who may or not know things depending on what they have come across since entering the world. Once again, everyone learns everything differently and definitely at their own pace.

Sir Robinson's states the perfect example for how our generation is so technological. He asks the audience who all is over and under the age of twenty-five. After that, he asks, out of the above twenty-five year old age group, who is wearing a wristwatch. Someone who was over the age of twenty-five in the year 2010 was not born in such a technology savvy generation. Therefore, they have never depended on their phone for time. Those people depend on their wristwatch. Robinson has a twenty year old daughter and she stated to him that she does not need a watch due to the fact that it only does one thing. This is a prime example why our generation today is advanced in technology. Next, he talks about passion. He defines passion as something that excites our soul and that it is different in every person. Passion is when you enjoy something so much that an hour feels like five minutes. It is doing what you love. I love that Robinson mentioned that into his lecture because it is important to try and do what you love with your life.

Robinson's speech made a huge impact on me. I have never been able to relate so much with a lecture that we have been assigned to. There is nothing more rewarding than being able to connect with a speaker like that, and then being able to learn so much from it. I will carry what I have learned from Sir Ken Robinson's lecture into my teaching days and make sure to incorporate them into every day life and to always remember to keep my passion in mind.

Blog Post #9

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?
In the first video with Mrs. Cassidy, She talks about many different things. Mrs. Kathy Cassidy is a 1st grade teacher and firmly believes that technology is an important factor within the classroom. Although her administrative staff doesn't discourage or encourage her directly, the parents of her student's find the technology a positive thing in the classroom. It allows for an audience and for the students to reflect on their own work. Most importantly, parents like the online work so that they are able to see the progress that their own children have made in the class. That is such a huge deal for parents to see their children achieving greatness. Technology is not going to go away. In fact, it will just continue to impact our classrooms more and more as technology progresses. Cassidy says kids and technology go hand in hand. So, the first graders sometimes seem to know more about some online programs than most of my peers do. It's amazing how fast they can pick up on online programs and it's because technology is a part of the every day life now.

During the second video, Cassidy makes a very good point of how to begin using technology in the classroom. It is good to start with what you are most interested in. For example, if you are interested in video you can start with iMovie or YouTube. Another example would be to use Blogger if you're interest is writing for your students. This is a very good place to start with your students. Then, once you start you can progress and add in more programs to your every day lessons. In the last video, she answers questions from John Strange's students. Cassidy informs us about how often she uses blogging. You can use Blogger every day in the classroom, once a week, or even once a month. When using Blogger, you can blog individually or as a group. These are different methods you can use in the classroom to accomplish different academic goals. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Skype sessions with Mrs. Cassidy and I can definitely say I learned from them. I'm learning so much in this course to use in my future classroom and I can't wait to put all of it into action.

Project #14

For project #14 we were instructed to create our own individual lesson plans designed for a specific project for the grade we wanna teach. My project is a kindergarden based animal recognition project. This project is over a duration of a week for about 20 minutes a day. It is designed for students to establish and learn shapes and colors that coincide with specific animals. To find my lesson plan, you can visit my Google Site.

Blog Post #8

21st Century Learning and Communicating Tools

The first learning and communicating tool I discovered was Edmodo. Edmodo is a online facebook-like environment where classes can connect online. It is very similar to blogger because you can access what other teachers are doing in their classrooms, collaborate on assignments, and discover new resources. Edmodo is used to get students excited about learning and keeping them engaged. Using tools online does help educational purposes more enjoyable for students. Kids these days love Facebook. So why not use a similar technological tool for learning? Technology creates a initiative to learn.

My favorite by far is Grockit. This is a website for online study sessions. On Grockit you can study for your every day class test or even your ACT or SAT. Grockit is most beneficial for college level students. Grockit is convenient, no boring classrooms and lectures! Grockit predicts your score based on your answers and tracks your performances and improvements, projecting accurate score improvements. Grockit study plans provide practice tests, personalized insight into your weak subject areas, review of your work, and the right tutor to help you. This is perfect for any struggling college student, including myself. Which is the most important reason why Grockit is my new favorite learning and communicating tool.

These two tools seemed most important to me because I feel like I would really use them. Finding these was fun because I did not know they even had tools like this. Usually I only hear about tools from my professors, but it was awesome being able to go find them all on my own. Especially to look for ones that I can use in the future or specifically for certain subject while I'm currently enrolled in college courses. It is very rewarding to find and be able to use these today and for the rest of my educational experiences.

C4T #2

The teacher's blog I was chosen to this week was Andrea Hernandez. Her blog Authentic Literature talk about her "parent connect sessions" every month. These sessions are where a small but dedicated group of parents joined us to discuss a variety of topics related to changes in learning and how their school would respond to those changes. Hernandez says that this "promotes initiatives, as that small group of parents acted as ambassadors spreading vital positivity and understanding throughout the parent community." This really opens up a great opportunity to be the best because of the parent's and teacher's opinions.

Andrea Hernandez's next blog, A Teacher's Ode to Read-Alouds. First of all, Hernandez believes that reading aloud is a vital tool for teaching anything and everything about reading. Reading out loud offers great opportunities to discuss vocabulary strategies! Vocabulary strategies used in the classrooms are things like the word wall. The word wall is where student's pick a word from the read aloud, that they might not know, and try to find a synonym of the word that they do know. Reading aloud also gives the opportunity for assignments afterwards, such as written responses and discussion. I loved reading this blog because I have never had this point of view on reading aloud in the classroom. It's a great perspective and has really inspired me to use this in my future classroom. Along with every blog post from Andrea Hernandez, they have all inspired me to use her ideas in my classroom!

Project #9

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Project #13

My group, San Francisco, created our Lesson Plan #1 on the subject of second grade science. The goal for our lesson plan is to bring forth as much information about the solar system to our students as we can. It is a project designed to last a week with a maximum of two hours a day to work on the assignments. Tasks that are assigned to this project include: physical characteristics of each planet that is assigned to each group, the distance each planet if from each other, and to be able to recreate a 3D model of assigned planet.