Blog Post #10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

Mrs. Cassidy has done a great job incorporating technology into the learning environment for her students. I think the technology based atmosphere really keeps the students engaged and excited to learn. From the video, Little Kids...Big Potential, I learned some new ways to use technology. For instance, Mrs. Cassidy uses iWiki and Skype with her students. This is a great way to show students how to connect with people all around the world and also to teach them about internet safety.

Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1
In the first part of Mrs. Cassidy's interview, she explains how she got started using technology in her classroom. It is very inspiring to hear how she only started with five computers, but she has been able to come such a long way in the world of technology. Mrs. Cassidy also discussed how much her technology coordinator has helped her with the growth of technology in her classroom. With the tools and resources constantly changing, we need to be able to adapt as educators. I love how Mrs. Cassidy pointed out that we are handicapping our students by not taking advantage of the resources given today. I love how Mrs. Cassidy uses a blog for her classroom. This is something I definitely want to incorporate when I become a teacher.

Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 2
In the second part of Mrs. Cassidy's interview, she explains how to get started using technology and how it can be beneficial to your Personal Learning Network. She says, "Find something that interests you." This makes the process more exciting if you are interested and eager to use the technology. I think Twitter is a great way to expand my PLN. I use Twitter all the time for my personal life, and I can see how it would be useful in my professional life. Through Twitter, you are able to be connected to the world and access information so easily. I know that I will take full advantage of Twitter, Blogger, and other great tools for my classroom someday.

Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 3
In the final part of Mrs. Cassidy's interview, she answers various questions asked by Dr. Strange and previous EDM310 students. I'm glad one of the students asked about web safety. As a teacher, it is our responsibility to keep our students safe while they are under our care. I think it is very smart how Mrs. Cassidy teaches her students to only use their last names. It seems like she has done a great job teaching her students how to navigate the web in a safe way. I can see how some people would have concerns with children using the internet, but I think teaching them how to be "internet safe" will minimize those concerns. I will definitely go over the "do's" and "don'ts" of the internet with my students.

C4K Summary for October

C4K #4: Nadia

My first C4K assignment for October was Nadia. She is a student in Mrs. Madame Thomas' 8th grade English class. The post I commented on simply said "It seems like some of my friends aren't getting along...oh well this is going to be interesting." I introduced myself and explained EDM310. I also told her that I hoped her friends started getting along. I left the links to my blog and our class blog at the end of my comment. I also wished her luck with the rest of her school year.

C4K #5: Jacob C.

My second C4K assignment for October was Jacob C. from Madison, Wisconsin. He is a seventh grader in Mrs. Ripp's class at Oregon Middle School. I commented on Jacob's "About Me" post. He shared some information about his family, his hockey team, and various places he has visited. In my comment, I introduced myself and explained EDM310. I also shared about my sister, who is around the same age as Jacob. One of the states he has visited is California, so I talked about my trip to Los Angeles that I took last summer. I also congratulated him and his hockey team for making it to state. Lastly, I invited him to check out my blog and our class blog.

C4K#6: Bennett

My third C4K assignment for October was Bennett who lives in Canada. He is a first grader in Mrs. Philipenko's class. Judging by the amount of posts, I think they are just getting started in the blogging world. His post simply said, "I like school." I commented and introduced myself. I explained EDM310 and how we comment on student blogs all around the world. I tried to keep my comment as simple as possible, considering Bennett is only in first grade. I commented on the fact that he liked school, saying I was glad. At the end of my comment, I left the link for my blog and the link for the class blog.

C4K#7: Zack

My fourth C4K assignment for October was Zack from Auckland, New Zealand. He is in year 5, and he is eight years old. He attends Pt. England School, and he is in Mrs. Jacobsen's class. I commented on Zack's "Genius Plans" post. In the post, Zack wrote a story about an airplane and the FBI. I commented and introduced myself. I explained EDM310 and the comments we leave on student blogs all around the world. I told him how creative his story was and what a great imagination he has. At the end of my comment, I told him where he could find my blog and the EDM310 class blog.

Project #12A Mastering SMARTboard Tools

Blog Post #9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us about Project Based Learning?

Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning

I encourage all educators to read this article about Project Based Learning. I learned a lot of new information about the importance of PBL and how to create a meaningful project. The article explains the difference between dreadful "busywork" and a meaningful project. In order to have an effective project, certain criteria must be met. For instance, a good project should make students want to do well and fulfill an educational purpose. There are seven essentials for Project Based Learning, which I will be summarizing below.

1) Need To Know
The article states that a good project should have an "entry event." The purpose of this is to engage student interest and encourage questions. An "entry event" can be anything from a video to a guest speaker. The sky is the limit, so get creative! You want your students to understand the purpose of the assignment and feel excited about the work they have created.

2) A Driving Question
As I mentioned above, it is important for students to have a sense of purpose when creating a project. One way to ensure a purpose-driven assignment is by asking a good question. A driving question "captures the heart of the project." I think the article sums it up perfectly when it says, "The question should be provocative, open-ended, complex, and linked to the core of what you want students to learn."

3) Student Voice and Choice
I believe this is also a very important element in Project Based Learning. When we allow the students to make choices regarding their final product, they feel a greater sense of pride and accomplishment. By allowing them to choose how to design, create, or present their project, we are encouraging rather than limiting their creativity.

4) 21st Century Skills
It is also crucial to incorporate 21st century skills such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and use of technology into the Project Based Learning curriculum. The article explains how important these skills are in the workplace, which is why we should be instilling them into our students at an early age.

5) Inquiry and Innovation
"Students follow a trail that begins with their own questions, leads to a search for resources and the discovery of answers, and often ultimately leads to generating new questions, testing ideas, and drawing their own conclusions." I think this statement summarizes Project Based Learning perfectly. We want our students to be excited about asking questions, finding answers, and able to draw conclusions independently.

6) Feedback and Revision
This element of PBL emphasizes creating high-quality work. It explains the importance of revising and accepting feedback. Most work classified as "high-quality" has been edited, reviewed, and revised several times. As educators, we should teach our students how to follow a rubric and peer review. These skills will be extremely necessary once they enter the workplace.

7) A Publicly Presented Product
When projects are presented publicly, the students care more about the quality. If they know a large audience will be viewing their work, they tend to put more time and effort into the assignment. By presenting the work to a public audience, our students will have a sense of purpose.


Project Based Learning for Teachers This short video by Tony Vincent shares a great overview of the standards for Project Based Learning. In the video, he includes the qualities of Common Core Standards and Project Based Learning along with different skills students will learn, which I have listed below.

Common Core Standards- The "What"
- Rigorous content
- Aligned with college and work expectations
- Clear and understandable
- Application of knowledge
- Evidence-based

Project Based Learning- The "How"
- Inquiry based
- Open-ended
- Problem solving
- Personalized
Project Based Learning also includes "having a purpose, addressing an audience, crafting a driving question, identifying learning standards, creating a rubric, grouping students, brainstorming branching questions, meeting deadlines, and focusing on the process."

Skills Developed by Students
1) Collaboration Skills
2) Communication Skills
3) Critical Thinking Skills
4) Career and Life Skills
What Motivates Students Today
This super cute video offers a look into the perspectives of students. I think it is extremely important to listen to the feedback from students in your classroom. You have to know what works well, what doesn't work, and how you can adapt. The students in this video were asked to discuss the different reasons they are motivated to do well in school. They replied with acknowledgement from the teacher, good future, successful career, and college. My favorite answer had to be the little boy who simply said, "I don't want to be grounded." The students were also asked to discuss the rewards that work. These answers included surprises, eating lunch with the teacher, candy, working outside, school supplies, food, stickers, and "brownie points." I loved this video, and I think interviewing the students is a great way to receive necessary feedback.

Two Students Solve the Case of the Watery Ketchup by Designing a New Cap
I thought this video was super creative. Two North Liberty High School seniors, Tyler Richards and Jonathan Thompson, came up with the idea for this project when given the prompt, "It really bugs me when..." They were tired of the watery substance ruining their food, so they each put their problem-solving skills to the test. They demonstrate everything that Project Based Learning is about in this video. They collaborated, used technology to design a new cap, and solved a real-world problem. I believe this project turned out great, because the students were so invested. As educators, we should be creating projects that get our students as excited about learning as these seniors.

Project Based Learning in PE
I never thought of connecting Project Based Learning to PE. When I think of PBL, I automatically think of a typical classroom. Certain standards must be met for Physical Education just like standards for Math, Reading, Social Studies, Science, etc. In this blog post, the different PE standards are discussed along with a project example. For the project, high school students were given the task of creating a physical fitness plan for middle school students. I think this is a great way to incorporate all of the standards, and it seems like a project the students would enjoy. From this blog post, I learned that Project Based Learning can really be implemented in any subject.

Implications and Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching and Learning

Part A
The data listed in the Zogby Analytics Study was not surprising to me at all. I felt that the data was a very accurate description regarding people ages 18-24. Having a smart phone is almost expected in our society today. It has become the new normal. I will admit that I fall into the "87% say their smartphone never leaves their side" category. I check my iPhone right when I wake up in the morning, carry it all throughout the day, and check it before I go to bed each night. With social media being as prominent as it is today, it didn't surprise me that many others have their smartphones by their side at all times. I am also part of the 91% of people who believe having a camera on their smartphone is important. I use my camera just about everyday. The quality of a smartphone camera is basically the same as a real camera, so it is very convenient to have a phone and camera all in one. It is no wonder our world has become so infatuated with our smartphones because of all the different ways they can be used. Whether we need to make a phone call, take a picture, send a text message, write an email, or search the internet, we have the ability right at our fingertips 24/7 with a smartphone.

People have different opinions on the implications for education, school, teachers, and learners using smartphones. I believe that smartphones, or any form of technology, has the potential to be very beneficial in an academic way. The world is becoming more and more technology based whether we like it or not, so why try and fight it? There are so many ways we can use smartphones to enhance a child's learning capability. The educational apps and tools available on smartphones are endless. I think it is important as educators to embrace these tools and use them to our advantage in the curriculum to help our students be the best they can be.

Part B
I think incorporating technology into the curriculum is almost necessary to keep children engaged today. Kids love iPads and smartphones just as much as adults do. When children are engaged, they are learning. This is why I feel so strongly about technology in the classroom. There are endless possibilities with the things you can do on a smartphone or iPad in the classroom. For example, you can have the students record themselves reading with the camera on an iPad. They can play it back for themselves to hear and improve their reading skills by following along and taking note of their errors. Another tool I have learned about in this course is Board Builders. I think all children enjoy doing hands-on activities and projects, and Board Builders is a great resource to use for any subject. Through Board Builders, students are able to organize and create a project using the information they have found. I also think that technology is essential to any Project Based Learning curriculum. Students are able to come up with their own research with an iPad or smartphone. Overall, I believe the use of technology has the potential to have a very positive impact on education.

Blog Post #8

What Can We Learn about Teaching and Learning from Randy Pausch?

I really enjoyed listening to Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. He was an extremely inspiring human being and professor, and I applaud him for the many accomplishments he made during his lifetime. He was a very influential person, which can clearly be seen in his Last Lecture video. I was in awe of how encouraging and passionate Pausch was throughout the entire lecture. His love for teaching, learning, and Carnegie Mellon was very evident. During his lecture, he shared all of the dreams he had as a child, ranging from playing in the NFL to becoming a Disney Imagineer.

I was very inspired by the story he shared about his NFL dream. Pausch never made it to the NFL, unfortunately, but he learned so much through his football career. One quote that stuck out to me from Pausch's lecture was, "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." Although playing football didn't take him to the NFL like he had originally hoped, he learned teamwork, perseverance, and the importance of fundamentals. I think all three of these things relate to learning in a huge way. Teamwork is an important skill for everyone to learn. Whether it's on a group project or in the work place, it is important to know how to be a team player. Perseverance is another extremely important factor when it comes to learning. I felt very inspired after listening to Randy Pausch discuss his triumphs and "brick walls." No matter how many times Pausch was told "no," he simply viewed it as a way to show his dedication and kept going. After Pausch graduated from Carnegie Mellon, he sent his applications off to Walt Disney Imagineering. He ultimately received rejection letters, but he chose to use that "brick wall" as a way to show how badly he wanted it and was willing to work. Pausch said, "The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough." He proved he was not one of "those people" when he began working on Disney Imagineering's Aladdin project. I believe perseverance is key in teaching and learning. As future educators, it is important that we push ourselves and our students to be better everyday. With learning, we should not limit our students to what we think they should know. We should be that driving force for them to learn more and more each day. I enjoyed the story Pausch shared about his first year teaching the Building Virtual Worlds course. He gave his class an assignment related to Virtual Reality, and the students had two weeks to complete the project. When the two week deadline was over, Pausch was blown away by the work his students were able to create. But rather than applauding the class for their work, he told them it was "pretty good, but you can do better." The students' projects continued to improve throughout the semester, because Pausch did not set a bar for his students to shoot for. He let them determine how far they could go, and the success demonstrated through the projects was extremely inspiring.

Pausch also mentioned how to handle self-reflection and feedback during his lecture, both of which we are currently learning in EDM310. It is important to be able to honestly reflect on our own work, so we can improve ourselves as teachers and learners. It is equally important to view feedback as a positive tool in teaching and learning. Pausch discussed how we should get a "feedback loop" and listen to it. We should cherish and use all of the feedback given to us as a way to make corrections going forward. Overall, I learned a lot by watching Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. He was a very intelligent man who has impacted and inspired many, including myself.

Project #9- Video Book Conversation

Our group was assigned Topic #8: In Teaching Digital Natives, Marc Prensky asks "How should we connect technology to the curriculum?" ... "How could we teach for the future?" Our group discussion regarding this topic is embedded below.

C4T #2

C4T #2, Comment 1

For my second C4T assignment, I was assigned to Lana Gerin. Mrs. Gerin is a fifth grade teacher here in the United States, and her blog "4 the Love of Teaching" can be found here. For the first week, I left a comment on her post titled "International Dot Day." When I looked over her blog and saw this post, I thought, "What in the world is International Dot Day?" After reading Mrs. Gerin's post, I learned that International Dot Day is inspired by Peter Reynold's book The Dot. It is a day to celebrate creativity and courage. Mrs. Gerin's class was asked to do a craft project in honor of this day. Mrs. Gerin did not have the book, so she showed her class this video from YouTube. The story is about a girl named Vaski who is inspired by her art teacher to "make her mark and see where it takes her." Mrs. Gerin discussed how she was pleasantly surprised that her class picked up on the theme of the story. She talked with her class about encouragement, having courage, and making "marks" in the world. After the class discussion, each student made his/her craft project to go along with the story. The students drew their dots on coffee filters, sprayed the coffee filters with water, and let them dry. Then, they displayed their projects in the cafeteria. The picture below is the finished product.

In my comment, I simply introduced myself and EDM310. I left her the links to my blog and our class blog. I talked about how I had never heard of International Dot Day before, and I also commented on how cute the crafts turned out.

C4T #2, Comment 2

For my second comment, I went back to an older post titled "Student Showcase Night." This night is similar to an open house, but the parents are able to see what their children have been doing in class. Mrs. Gerin set up stations in her classroom, and the students were able to take their parents through the different stations. Her first station was a simple game that each family could play. She had a jar filled with candy, and whoever guessed the right amount in the jar took home the candy. At her second station, she had a Smartboard review game for the novel of the week. The students were able to show their parents the game, and the parents were able to see if their child needed to spend more time studying. I thought this station was really great, so I told Mrs. Gerin that I would love to do this in my future classroom. Other stations included computer related topics, letters of encouragement for upcoming tests, and "Helping Hands." In my comment, I thanked her for sharing all of her great ideas.

Source for all photos: Lana Gerin

Project #13- Project Based Learning Plan #1

Group 3 TT11

"The Four Seasons" Lesson Plan
Project Calendar
Project Rubric

Project #7 Part B: Classroom Videos

Parent Video


Student Video

Blog Post #7

How do we all become learners?
Before this class, I had little to no experience with Project Based Learning. We did projects throughout school, but the project always came after the lesson had been taught. Projects were never used as the actual teaching method. I hope to be able to incorporate everything I have learned about Project Based Learning into my classroom as much as possible. After EDM310, I am confident that I will have the skills and knowledge necessary to implement this style of teaching. As far as personal strengths go, I have always had a creative personality. I enjoy coming up with new projects and ideas, which will be extremely helpful for the Project Based Learning method. My greatest weakness is probably the way in which I ask questions. I have a tendency to ask closed-ended questions rather than open-ended questions. In order to be an effective teacher, I need to be able to present my students with engaging questions. There is always room for improvement, and I am eager to learn new things to better myself as an educator.

Video Summaries

How to make an Audio QR code

In this video, Michele Bennett explains how to create a QR code. This skill is new to me, and I was surprised at how simple the process actually is. She discusses how Kindergarten teachers use QR codes in their classroom for reading purposes. The teachers record themselves reading a story, and the children are able to listen the story before going into their reading groups.

iPad Centers
From this video, I learned a new way the ipad can be used in a classroom. Students can record themselves reading, and then they can play it back to catch any mistakes they may have made. This is a great tool to help students improve their reading fluency, and I hope to use this in my class.

Poplet as a Center
This video demonstrates one of the many tools that can be used for Project Based Learning, Poplet. Poplet is a free, downloadable app that allows students to create webs of information. Mrs. Tuck uses Poplet as a learning center to help students improve their reading and typing skills. This video is also a great example of how students are able to operate technology without a lot of instruction.

Alabama Virtual Library as a Kindergarten Center
The Alabama Virtual Library is a tool I am familiar with. We used AVL for many research projects throughout high school. From this video, I learned that it can also be used for elementary aged children. These kindergarten students have learned how to use AVL, and the teacher is able to give them topics to research. AVL is great for younger children, because it can read the information to them.

How to use and build a Board in Discovery Education for a Project Based Lesson and
In this video, Mrs. Shirley explains how her first grade class built a board using Discovery Education for their moon project. I have never heard of Board Builder prior to this video. I think this would be a great tool to use for student presentations and Project Based Lessons.

Sharing Board Builders Video 1 and Sharing Board Builders Video 2
In these videos, Mrs. Tassin's second grade students share the Board Builder projects they have created. The group in the first video explains The Haven in their Board Builder project, while the group in the second video explains what they have learned about whales. Board Builder is a great tool for any type of presentation.

Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten
This video really proves how technologically literate elementary aged children are today. Michele Bennett discusses how kindergarteners at Gulf Shores Elementary are able to create trailers using iMovie. I think it is amazing that a five year old can learn and operate a new program so easily. Elizabeth Davis concludes the video by discussing the Alabama Virtual Library and how it is used. It's a safe, great resource that children can use for research.

We All Become Learners
In this video, I learned that Project Based Learning changes the dynamic of learning. Not only are teachers teaching students, but students are teaching each other and the teachers as well. I've learned that students can teach us just as much as we can teach them.