C4T#3

Breaking Education Barriers is a blog written by Annie Palmer. For my first post, I commented on Impacting Students a Book at a Time. In this post, Mrs. Palmer wrote about how she got her students excited about reading, and their reactions to the books. She explained that after discussing the Shadow Children Series, and watching a few book trailers, her students were anxious to get their hands on a book and start reading. She explained that as teachers, we have to instill a life long love on learning in our students. In my comment, I told Mrs. Palmer who I was, where I was from, and I gave her a link to my blog. I also told her that reading was one of my favorite things to do, and that I hoped that I could instill a love of reading in my students one day like she had. I also told her that I had made a book trailer for one of my classes, and it's nice to know that they can get students excited about books. Lastly, I said that is must be very gratifying to have impacted so many children in a positive way and that I enjoyed reading her blog.

The second post from Annie Palmer that I commented on was Feedback: Lessons from the Ball Field. In this post, Annie connected feedback in the classroom to feedback in sports, specifically softball. She explained that instead of using grades as feedback, you should give feedback in the form of a verbal conversation or written explanations. She also said that praise has been proven to only improve ego, not achievement. In my comment, I told Annie that I cheered in high school, and it was interesting to connect my personal experiences to her post. I also told her that in EDM 310, we get feedback instead of grades, and I think that all teachers should consider it. I told her that I thought it was surprising that praise didn't improve achievement as well. Lastly, I told her that her post was very informative and I enjoyed reading it.

Project #10

Blog Post #12

Project #14

For project 14, we created a lesson plan for second grade English and Language Arts. Each students will be assigned a partner, and after discussing lessons on types of stories, characters, main points, and characteristics, as well as reading Officer Buckle and Gloria, each group will make a Prezi presentation. In their presentation, they must include a summary, pictures, and details about the characters, among other thing.

Rubric
Lesson Plan
Calendar
PBL Checklist

Blog Post #11

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

Back to the Future

Several weeks ago I learned about second language learners in my Human Growth and Development class. After reading about language development and students who don't fully understand English or don't understand it at all,  I was worried that I may not be able to teach them as well as students who speak English as their first language. After watching this video, I learned that it is very possible to teach second language learners just as well as English speaking students. In this video, Brian discusses how he used Blogger, Wikipedia, and many other online tools to help his students learn things like science, all while developing language skills too. He explains that his students get feedback from all over the world, and they get to interact with people in different cities, states, and even countries, because of the internet and the technology they use in class. 

Blended Learning Cycle

I had never heard of the blended learning cycle prior to watching  this video. After listening to Paul Anderson, I learned that it is taking the compelling parts of online learning and technology, and blending it with a regular classroom. He uses the acronym, QIVER, to explain. You start with a question, then investigate, then watch a video, then elaborate, then review, and then they take a summary quiz. Paul uses technology throughout the entire process. They watch videos online, use spreadsheets,  and they can investigate using the internet. I think that using the blended learning cycle is a great tool to use in science, along with other subjects, and I hope to use it in my classroom one day. 

Making Thinking Visible

In the video, Mark Church explains how he gets his students to think of headlines for the driving question of their lesson. I learned that this is a great way to get students excited about learning something. After they create their headlines and investigate the topic more thoroughly, he asks the students what they would change about their headlines. This shows what the students have learned. 

Sam Pane 4th Grade

This video was all about Sam Pane's class creating cartoon super heroes who protect the internet from things like bullies, and hackers. First, the class discussed internet safety, and then they created their super heroes using a tool on their computers. I think this would be a great lesson for teaching my students how to be kind and safe on the internet, and I plan on using it. I believe the kids would really enjoy this lesson. 

Project Based Learning

The teachers from this video have blended all of their classes together. Instead of going to three different classes, the students stay in one class that covers all three: history, English, and technology/computer. After watching the video, I learned that this is a very effective way to teach. The teachers said that with the extra time they have with their students, they can teach them so much more. They said that the work they get is better, and that more students are proud of what they accomplished. 

Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program

At Roosevelt Elementary, they have created an excellent PBL program that is working wonderfully at their school. They not only teach their students the information, they teach them how to think for themselves. They also promote public speaking at an early age, which helps them not to fear it when they get older. Along with public speaking, their students learn many other life skills, like collaborating with others and using technology. Throughout the video, I heard several teachers use the term, "self-motivated." This taught me that PBL can motivate students to WANT to learn, which many people struggle with. Getting students excited about learning can be hard, but Roosevelt Elementary has done a good job of it.

Blog Post #10

Several years ago, Mrs. Cassidy was presented with five computers to use in her classroom. Since she received these computers, her teaching has evolved to include technology. After watching  Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 I have learned a lot about how she uses technology in the classroom and ways that I can in the future.

Mrs. Cassidy uses Twitter to connect with people from around the world, and it is very useful for her. She and Dr. Strange discussed how they both thought it was useless and a waste of time when they first heard about it, but now it is a tool that they use regularly. I do not have a Twitter besides the one that I use for EDM 310, and before I got that I agreed that is was useless. However, when used correctly, it can be very useful.

Mrs. Cassidy also uses blogs in her classroom. She explained that students are more motivated to write when it's not just her seeing it, but people from around the world. She has several tools on their blogs that show them how many views they have, and also where the people are from. When students know hundreds of people are seeing their work, they want to do the best they can. People also leave comments on her student's blog post, which encourages them even more.

Along with Twitter and blogging, her class also uses Wiki. They can ask questions and people from around the world can answer. For example, they asked about rituals and got answers from many people. They also got videos and pictures from a school here in Alabama about letters. Along with Wiki, they communicate with other students through Skype.

She teaches her students to say nice things in their comments, just like we learn in EDM 310. She also teaches them to be safe while using the internet. Prior to watching these videos, I worried that using the internet in my classroom would be unsafe. However, Mrs. Cassidy said that she had never had a problem with anything.

Mrs. Cassidy's students are very tech literate, and they use many different forms of technology in the classroom. In my future classroom, I plan on teaching my students how to use the internet safely, like Mrs. Cassidy does. I also plan on using Blogger to motivate my students to write well. I hope to use many of the tools that she does in her classroom, and thought the videos were very informative.

Project #12 Part A