C4K Summary for September

C4K #1

My first C4K assignment was Asena from Auckland, New Zealand. She is a "year 6" student at Pt England School, and she is in Miss Clark's class. In her blog post, she posted her Week 8 math work. The math consisted of about 20 standard decimal subtraction problems and nine word problems. She completed all of the math exercises in her post. I began my comment by introducing myself, explaining EDM310, and discussing why I was leaving a comment. I wrote about how interesting it was to be able to connect with someone all the way in New Zealand. I also told Asena how amazing it is to already have so much knowledge about blogging. I gave Asena the links to my blog and our class blog.


C4K #2

My second C4K assignment was Cole, and he is from Nebraska. Cole is a fourth grader in Mrs. Timm's class. Mrs. Timm instructed her class to invent a new food and post it to their blog. They also had to describe the taste, smell, look, and feel of the food. In Cole's post, he invented the "Steak Burger." His post was very short, but I commented on how great and creative his new food seemed. I also introduced myself and our C4K assignment. At the end of my comment, I included the links to my blog and the class blog.


C4K #3

My third and final C4K assignment was Camyla from Massachusetts, but there were no posts available for me to leave a comment. I chose to leave a comment on Avery's blog. Avery is a fifth grade student from Connecticut in Mr. Salsich's class. In Avery's post, he talked about a golf tournament that his family hosts in honor of his uncle every year. He seemed very excited about this year's 19th annual tournament, saying, "This is what I look forward to all year!" The money raised from the tournament goes toward scholarships for the high school and other community needs. I introduced myself and explained EDM310. I talked about how much my family enjoys golf as well, and how great it is that the tournament proceeds benefit the community.

Blog Post #6

Conversations with Anthony Capps

Project Based Learning: Experiences of a Third Grade TeacherPart 1 and Part 2

I learned a lot of new information about Project Based Learning through the video conversations between Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps. Mr. Capps explained that Project Based Learning is a way to encourage students to learn, not a tool to display what they have already learned and achieved. He also discusses the requirements for an effective project. A good project should include all of the following components: authentic audience, student interest, community involvement when appropriate, and content driven. As teachers, we want our students to be motivated to do their very best. It is important that we create projects that allow our students to reach their full potential. I learned that we should not limit the minds of our students, but we should encourage them to go above and beyond what we think they will be able to accomplish. You never know what you are capable of until you are presented with a challenge. I enjoyed the examples given by Capps of the projects he has done in the past with his students. He explains how beneficial Project Based Learning can be for the teachers as well. By creating projects, you are able to incorporate a variety of the standards which are required to cover by the state. Another aspect of Project Based Learning is student choice. By allowing your students to have an opinion, you are giving them a feeling of pride and ownership of their work. Students are more likely to stay engaged when they get that feeling of accomplishment. As Mr. Capps stated, "When students are engaged, they're learning."

iCurio

Before this video, I had never heard of iCurio. I was interested to find out more, and now I see it as a very helpful online tool for the classroom. Mr. Capps explains the different features of iCurio and how useful it is for his students. iCurio is a tool that searches websites that have been filtered for educational purposes, so basically it serves as a search engine for students. It also acts as a storage capacity, where you are able to store content that you find valuable. It is great for virtual organization, which is a feature I think I would personally enjoy. According to Mr. Capps, it is a very kid friendly search engine. iCurio can also block content that would be inappropriate for a child to see. Overall, iCurio sounds like it would be a great addition to an elementary classroom.

Discovery Education

Discovery Education is another resource that I had no knowledge of prior to these conversation videos. It is another useful tool for Project Based Learning, which provides a visual to go along with text content. This is extremely important, because you are more likely to retain information once you have actually seen it with your own eyes. Mr. Capps explains the benefits of Discovery Education for students and teachers. It brings text to life and enriches research experience for students. Mr. Capps encouraged his students to use Discovery Education for a project on plants. They were able to research the type of plants they needed information about, and Discovery Education gave them videos to strengthen their knowledge. I think this is a great example of how helpful this resource is, because sometimes a video can give a greater explanation than a teacher.

Anthony-Strange List of Tips for Teachers

Five Key Tips for Teachers:
1) Be interested in learning.
2) It's hard work, but fun and rewarding.
3) You must be flexible and creative.
4) Start with the end in mind.
5) Reflect- How can I make it better?

Don't Teach Tech- Use It

Technology should not be a part of the curriculum. You can incorporate the use of technology without wasting time and teaching it. Technology should be used in the classroom to get students excited about what they are doing and as a way for them to share their work. I was sort of shocked/embarrassed to hear how Mr. Capps' third grade students could work iMovie with little to no instruction. It took me a while to get used to the program before I could use it effectively. It's amazing that third graders are able to grasp new technology so easily. Mr. Capps pointed out three very important points about using technology. First, we should give our students opportunity. They should be allowed to explore different technology resources to assist them with their work. Also, we should not expect perfection. If it doesn't go right on the first try, encourage your students to ask questions and put their problem-solving skills to the test. His last point was, "Do it yourself, first." If we already have experience, we will be able to understand why a student might be asking a certain question. If we don't know the answer, we can figure it out together. Mr. Capps also explained how to introduce technology to your students. The best way to do this is by introducing one tool at a time, and build on it each week. I think the statement Mr. Capps made sums it up perfectly. "Never teach technology, but introduce it smartly."

Additional Thought about Lessons

Anthony Capps shared the four components required to make one lesson:

1) Year Plan- Will I cover all of my content standards?
2) Unit Plan- Have I devised unit projects in a meaningful way?
3) Week Plan- Will I be able to get everything done each day of the week? Will I reach my goals for the week?
4) Daily Plan- How should I deliver to my students? (hook to gain attention, how to keep them engaged, measure what they have learned, etc.)

Project #8 Book Trailer

The Rainbow Fish

My Sentence Videos

My Sentence Is...


My Passion Is...

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Post #5

Source: Photo by Teachers Using Tech

Personal Learning Networks

A Personal Learning Network (PLN) is "a set of people and tools that you can call upon for help, consultation, collaboration, or other assistance." By building a PLN, we will be able to expand our network and become better teachers. Vicki Davis explains how beneficial a Personal Learning Network is for students in her blog post. She says, "Constructing a PLN is the essential skill that moves my students into the driver's seat of their own learning." Davis also discusses RSS technology (website that puts together information in an easy to read format), which enables her students to create a PLN. We have already began creating our PLN in EDM310 by connecting with students and teachers across the globe and forming relationships with our classmates.

By building a Personal Learning Network, we are able to reach out to people all across the world for new ideas and feedback. Michael Fawcett explains the benefits of a PLN in his blog post. With a PLN, Fawcett is able to discuss ideas, exchange comments, suggest new sites and blogs, and make connections all around the world. He shared an example in his post of how having a PLN helped him solve a problem. A student asked Fawcett a question regarding Neil Armstrong and the moon landing. Fawcett reached out through social media, tweeting the question to his followers. Within 30 minutes, he was given a definitive answer. Because of his PLN, he was able to gain knowledge about a topic of which he was unsure. I think this is a great example of how a PLN will be beneficial for teaching purposes.

C4T #1

C4T #1, Comment 1
Source: Photo by Kathleen Morris

I was assigned to Kathleen Morris for our first C4T Project. Her blog can be found here. She is a teacher at Leopold Primary School in Victoria, Australia. Mrs. Morris is currently on maternity leave, so she discussed motherhood and how she will continue to stay in the education loop at the beginning of her blog post. She explains how twitter and other online sources make the education community available at her fingertips. In her post, she shared some great tips for graduate teachers which you can find here. Mrs. Morris also included some tips for getting started with blogging in her post. She shared the idea of a classroom blog, and I definitely want to incorporate this when I become a teacher. In my first comment, I introduced myself and explained how our class is interacting with teachers across the globe. I also talked about how a classroom blog would be a great way to keep the parents informed in their child's education. I left Mrs. Morris my contact information such as my Twitter, personal blog URL, and class blog URL at the end of my first comment.

C4T #1, Comment 2
For my second comment, I chose her post about blogging and the literacy curriculum. In this post, she explains how blogging is incorporated into her curriculum. She uses student blogs as digital portfolios rather than using a traditional method such as reflective writing or journals. I commented about how much I liked the idea. I thought it was a very creative and modern twist on an old technique. She has also incorporated blogging into literacy rotations. It is very similar to assignments we have in EDM310, such as C4C. Every week, her students read a post on the class blog or another student's blog and leave a comment/summary on their own blog to practice their literacy goal. Children are so much more advanced when it comes to technology now, so I commented about this and how much they probably enjoy the assignment.

Project #15

Search Engines

WolframAlpha
I have never heard of WolframAlpha before, so I was interested to find out about this search engine. I did some searching on the site, and I have come to the conclusion that is is mainly useful for mathematics and science related problems. You can type in mathematical functions, and it will compute the problem for you instantly. I wish I had known about this site throughout high school, but I will definitely be using it in the future.

Bing
Bing is a popular search engine, and it is very similar to Google. It is a good search engine for everyday use. You can search pretty much anything on this site, and a large amount of information will be available to you. I personally like this search engine because it is easy to use, and I feel comfortable with the information's credibility.

Yahoo!
Yahoo! is another common search engine. It is useful for many topics and questions. It is also easy to use and provides plenty of information. I have used this search engine before, and I would recommend it to everyone.

Bloglines
Bloglines is a new search engine that I came across today. It is a great resource for local blogs, news, and events. It is a fast way to find and track websites and blogs. I have never used this site before, but I think it is an interesting tool that I may find useful in the future.

Ask
Ask is a site somewhat similar to Google, Bing, and Yahoo. You can search practically anything and an answer will be given to you. It is more of a Q&A site. In my opinion, this site does not provide credible answers. You never know if the information given is accurate or inaccurate. I do not trust this site enough to use for my academics, therefore I try to avoid using this search engine unless absolutely necessary.

WOW
WOW is a search engine enhanced by Google, which means they have the same searching techniques. It does a lot of the same things as Google, but I don't think I will be using this site. It doesn't seem as credible as other search engines that I am accustomed to using. I think this site is okay for basic questions, but it should not be used for academic purposes.

Dictionary
Dictionary is one of my favorite search engines. It gives you definitions, examples, and word origin. It also gives you access to a thesaurus. It is very user friendly. You simply type a word in the search box, and information about the word appears. I always use this site when working on a paper or anything school related.

RefSeek
RefSeek is an academic search engine, which means the sources are credible. This site is very useful for writing papers or doing research for a class. It provides a large amount of feedback, which is necessary for certain topics. I highly recommend this search engine.

Blog Post #4

What do we need to know about questions to be an effective teacher?

Why do we ask questions? Is there a right or wrong way to phrase a question? How do questions help you become an effective teacher? Before reviewing the material for this blog post, I never thought about "how" a question should be asked. According to The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom, there is a method to asking questions which causes students to really think about the answer. In this article, Ben Johnson explains that we should ask a question, pause for three seconds, then call on a specific child. I think this is a great way for teachers to engage students. By using Johnson's method, all of the students will be formulating an answer in their mind while they wait to see who the teacher calls.

Another tip educators should be aware of about asking questions can be found in the article Asking Questions to Improve Learning. It states that responding effectively is just as important as the question itself. We should allow our students time to think on their own, be respectful by not interrupting, and act interested in their answer whether it is correct or incorrect. I believe this is very important, because students will stop engaging in conversation if we act like we do not care. I also found the diagram in this article very beneficial, so I have shared it below.

Source: The Teaching Center

According to Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, there are three things we must do to improve the way we approach a question. First, we must prepare questions. I personally think this is a great idea. If the teacher asks a list of prepared questions rather than questions that come up at the spur of the moment, it will create less confusion for the students. Also, planning to ask a question at a certain time can make a huge difference. Secondly, we should play with our questions. Playing with questions simply means leaving a question unanswered and then coming back to it after the students have been given time to think. This encourages them to seek information for themselves. Finally, we need to preserve good questions. For example, if a student asks a good question in one class, share it with your next class when the time is appropriate. This shows the students that you value their opinions and questions. I will definitely be using the tips I learned from this source and the sources mentioned above for asking questions in my future classroom.

Blog Post #3

How Can I Provide Meaningful Feedback to My Peers?

Peer editing is a great way to receive positive feedback and helpful hints on assignments. Throughout elementary school and most of high school, I hated peer editing. I thought it was pointless, because I did not understand how beneficial it could actually be. I didn't realize how helpful peer editing could be until I reached my senior year of high school. During my senior year, I was in a dual enrollment English class where we had to write a paper each week. We were able to let fellow classmates read and review our papers before we turned them in to the teacher to be graded. I proofread every paper myself, but there would always be at least one mistake that I didn't catch. Luckily, the person reviewing my paper would usually point out the mistake and make corrections. Peer editing made me a much better writer, and I think it is very important for students to learn this skill at a young age.

In the video, What is Peer Editing?, I learned that each review should contain compliments, suggestions, and corrections. By starting off with a compliment, it lessens the harshness of suggestions and corrections. For example, "That is an absolutely terrible word choice" is not the right way to correct someone. It would come across much better if you say, "Your first paragraph was great, but if you use a different word choice in the second sentence it will be even better!" I believe we will be able to provide meaningful feedback in EDM 310 on blog posts, activities, and projects of our fellow classmates now that we have watched this video. The Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial really reinforced what was said in the video mentioned above. It discussed how peer editing is beneficial because it helps you improve, revise, and edit your work. For peer editing to be successful, students must know that there is a right and a wrong way to give someone feedback. Writing Peer Review Top Ten Mistakes shows all of the ways peer reviewing could go wrong. For example, peer reviewing turns into a mess if someone is overly picky, doesn't care about the process, can't provide suggestions in a kind way, or cannot take constructive criticism. If done correctly, peer editing can be a very powerful and helpful tool. I think providing feedback to each other through our blog posts will be very beneficial in this class.