Additional Assignment #5

Adventures in Pencil Integration:

John Spencer's blog posts are very entertaining and informational to read. I'm glad that we had been assigned to read these posts. John's posts are about personal experiences and also his opinions. He uses the metaphor of pencils to represent technology. After reading these four posts, I learned that they are all about different experiences. Through reading these posts, I also learned that Spencer is able to see the importance of change in technology and how it relates to the classroom. In the post, "Sketchy Portraits: 8th Graders Identity and Pencils", Spencer shares a conversation with another teacher. He is explaining to her that the age of the students has everything to do with their reactions and emotions and that he in a sense is shaping who they become. I believe this is true. A first grader is going to act over-exciting and sometimes out of line because that's their age. I believe whatever grade I end up teaching, I must take age into consideration in teaching methods and the way I treat my students.

Project #15-Movie Trailers

Blog Post #13

When you go onto the ALEX website, you have the ability to log on and post lesson plans for other teachers to view. You are able to view lesson plans from every subject and for every grade k-12. There are many other links such as a link to podcasts, a personal workplace, and a link to professional learning websites. ALEX stands for the Alabama Learning Exchange. It really is a great resource for teachers to exchange their knowledge.


When I went to the ALEX website, I became very excited. It is an amazing resource for teachers. The fact that you can look up lesson plans for any subjects, is a cool thing for me to see. I didn't know that there was a website out there such as ALEX. There is also a link to many educational podcasts. There is also a link to content outlines for every subject. ALEX is a great website for all teachers in the state of Alabama. I'll definitely be using this website as a resource for my lesson plans and for my classroom.

Progress Report on Project #16

This will be my group for project 16:

Amani Alloul
Amanda Brewton
Sarah Davis
Samantha Deardorff

Plus:
Tara Watson

We are still discussing possible ideas for Project 16. We do know however that we are really enjoying doing Project 15. We want to improve our ideas and come up with one big idea for Project 16.

Blog Post #12

Assignment:

Watch this video made by 3rd-5th graders filmed by Ms. Jackie Gerstein.(7:57) The students are acting out scenarios about the "Great Debate-Tech vs. Text" As you watch, think about the scenarios are the students are acting out. Write a paragraph response to your side of the "great-debate" and how you will use technology in your classroom.

Discovery Student Movies

Read this BLOG. The first post is about a website called 'Qwiki'. After reading, go to the website. Write a one-two paragraph response to your opinion on the website. What it is and would you use it?


My answers:

I really loved this video. The great debate about technology in the classroom is an on-going debate. Having the students act out scenarios of the use of technology in the classroom is a great and very creative idea. In doing this video, the students are able to see the benefits of using technology in the classroom. In my own classroom, I will want to incorporate technology in the way that Ms. Jackie did. I will have my students use video and computers to enhance their learning experience.

Qwiki is a search engine that uses voice narration to show the results in video, images, and text. You must request an invitation to use the full version of Qwiki, but it's well worth it. Qwiki is still being worked on and not everything you search for will be on there, but it is getting more advanced each day. In the classroom, you can use it for anything. Older or younger students will enjoy it and it can be used in many different ways.

Project #6- Form Results, Analysis, and Commentary

On my questionnaire, 19 people responded.
1.) Over half answered Junior.
2.)Over half answered off campus.
3.)Over half answered choice of majors.
4.)Over half said South Alabama was not their first choice college.
5.)Over half were accepted to other colleges.
6.)Everyone had selected a major.
7.)Over half said teacher/student interaction was important.
8.)Over half said school athletics were important.
9.)Over half said we are paying too many fees.
10.)Over half said South was what they believed it would be.

From the responses that I received, I learned that South Alabama is a university that was not the first choice school for most, where they are paying too many fees and many live off campus. The majority of students were juniors, most likely because EDM is a 300 level class. School athletics were important to most and I think that the football team was a great addition to our school, except for the fees that we had to pay to get it back. Being able to interact with teachers is important too. Having the access to interact with Dr. Strange and the lab assistants is another great aspect about this class. I wish that more classes were like EDM310.

Project #14

Free online screen recorder

Blog Post #11

Interview with Ms. Cassidy

I really enjoyed watching both of these videos, especially the Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy. I love her approach to using so much technology in the classroom. Some say that students in first grade are too young to use something like this or that it wouldn't be a good idea to put the student's pictures online. Ms. Cassidy has a safe way of putting her student's names and pictures online and the students enjoy blogging. She also says that technology is not going away and by not using technology is only handicapping your students and yourself. I believe that this is true. By not using computers and technology, we are only putting ourself behind in the technology society that we live in today. I'm really excited to use blogs, skype, and other programs in my classroom. With the ideas from Ms. Cassidy and the ideas and tools that I've learned in EDM310, it excites me to be able to use technology in my classroom.

Summary C4K #3-7

C4K #3:

I was assigned to a student named Cyrus. I commented on a reflection post of his to a story-telling assembly that they had earlier in the week. In the post, Cyrus was filmed doing two reaction videos. In his videos, he shared his favorite character and was very animated as to explain the story a bit. I loved the way that the teacher set up this class blog, using videos is a great approach. I hope to one day use the same technology in my classroom.

C4K #4:

For this comment, I was assigned to a student in New Zealand, named Sophie. Her posts are always interesting to read and the one that I commented on was a summary of her father's day. She shared with us that for father's day, they had a nice breakfast at home before driving to the beach for the day. Her grammar and spelling were almost perfect, only a few mistakes. I loved her enthusiasm and the way that spending the day with her family made her so happy. It's really good to see children happy like that.

C4K #5:

For this assignment, I was assigned to comment on Dane's blog, a 7th grade boy. The post that I chose to comment on was a post about his reactions to friendship. He stated in the post that their class had learned about friendship values. Dane said that he would rather have one friend that really cared about him, rather than a lot of friends just to be popular and who may not care about him. I liked reading his post, it was so sweet and insightful.

C4K #6:

The student that I was originally assigned had not posted any active blogs, so I decided to comment on Abby N's blog, the first student on the class list. I commented on a story that she had written herself about a tornado. She used very descriptive words and it actually kept my interest. I really enjoyed reading the story and was excited to see that students were putting their work on their blogs.

C4K #7:

I was assigned to a student named Jazmin. She is a student at Leopold Primary School. The blog that I commented on was a reaction post to her experience at 'Activity night.' She stated that there was a magic show and a pizza party and those things made her very happy. It's neat to see the things that other schools are doing for activities outside of normal school hours. I think they are essential for the growth of the classroom and schools.

Summary Response- C4T #3

For my comments for teachers, I was assigned to Matthew Needleman. Matthew's blog reflects the issue of using multi-media in the classroom. Many of his posts are how to use it effectively and how to break the 'digital divide' as he states it. The first blog post that I commented on was entitled, "Six Ways Teachers Can Improve Education This Year." Although, I won't be a teacher for another 2 years, I really want to use the tips that Matthew layed out in his post. One of my favorite tips was the first one, "Say Hello At the Door." In this part of the blog, he shares that saying hello and goodbye to your students is essential for them to feel a belonging in your classroom. In my classroom experience, my fifth grade teacher used to use a method called, 'Hug, Handshake, or Highfive.' At the beginning and end of each school day, she was stand by the door and allow us to choose one of the three interactions. It always made us feel special and that we were liked by her.

The next post that I commented on was a post entitled, "The Right Ways to Show Movies in Class." I was intriqued by this title for I didn't know that there were multiple ways to show a movie in class. Isn't there just one? You turn and the television and hit play? Not according to Matthew. Matthew believes in nine tips that have shown to be affective ways to show a movie in class. An example of those tips include, showing movies other days of the week besides fridays and not putting down the remote control. There should always be a follow-up to the movie, such as a KWL chart. To reduce noise while the movie is playing, Matthew states that you should have the students raise their hands if they recognize something in the movie, instead of shouting it out. Also, he says that by having them right down important facts that they are hear, leads to them paying better attention.

Overall, I really loved Matthew's blog. I plan on bookmarking it and going back to check on his new posts as I continue my education and even when I'm in my own classroom.