C4K February #1
I was able to comment on Morgan Clevenger's blog comment. Her teacher, Mrs. Schneider, asked her class to come up with a thesis. Morgan believes owning a pet leads to a longer, happier, healthier life. I agree completely.
C4K February #2
I was able to comment on Mathew's Blog.
Mathew was commenting to his teacher, Mrs. Caddy's, question. She asked what were fun things her students liked to do with technology. Mathew enjoyed playing games and watching YouTube most. I encouraged him to take his love of YouTube and teach others to beat a difficult part of a game or how to do something else he was passionate about.
C4K February #3
I was able to comment on Jerry's Blog. He is a student in Ireland. I was a little confused about his post. I looked at other blogs but did not find the driving question which left me wondering what to say to Jerry. I decided to just begin a conversation with him about his post on apex predators. I was thinking about Mrs. Yollis' suggestion to start a conversation and ask a question in blog posts. I asked Jerry if he was studying predators in science or if the topic was the result of a story he was reading. I hope to get some clarification from him, and I hope I gave him a new detail to consider.
C4K February #4
I was able to view Pickle's Blog today. I am honestly at a loss for words. The blog led me to a Glogster video. It was a horror suspense movie. I watched about 1 minute of it and stopped watching. I hate horror movies. I did not understand why the link was posted because I could not find any explanation or driving question. I hope Pickle will respond to my comment and tell me why the clip was included. This was a bizarre post.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Sunday, February 23, 2014
My PLN
The Beginning
Since the term and idea of a PLN is new to me, I seem to be adding people slowly. I liked the idea that Symbaloo allows me to have those I am learning from in one spot. My Symbaloo seems sort of naked and that is embarrassing, but I will get it dressed up soon.
![Symbaloo Screen shot]()
Since the term and idea of a PLN is new to me, I seem to be adding people slowly. I liked the idea that Symbaloo allows me to have those I am learning from in one spot. My Symbaloo seems sort of naked and that is embarrassing, but I will get it dressed up soon.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Blog Post #5
Did you learn the same thing I learned?
After watching Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange I gained a better picture of what Project Based Learning (PBL) looks like in the classroom. Historically, projects were what students did at the end of a lesson to show what was learned. Now PBL is a means of achieving skills and discerning knowledge.
Anthony's 4 Steps To A Good Project
1. Have an authentic audience.
2. Keep it relevant.
3. Involve the community.
4. Focus on ACCRS and Common Core.
His golden rule in PBL...Provide opportunity to revise and review.
Really, Project Based Learning can be fun?
In the following video Anthony said that teachers should never limit their students by what teachers want students to do. He believes teachers should create opportunities for students to go beyond what they want them to do. He also taught me that giving students choices is crucial to successful PBL, and giving them a choice creates fun and an engaging relationships.
The Internet Gets a "Children's Section"!
I had never heard about iCurio. This information is both fascinating and freeing. If you do not know, I am concerned with children being exposed to inappropriate material as they innocently search for information online. In essence, iCurio is the equivalent to the "Children's Section" in a library. The opportunity for students to find appropriate literature, video and audio in the "Children's Section" of the internet brings great comfort to teachers and parents who are fearful for the same reasons I was. The added benefit of storage makes iCurio even more student friendly. Now I know where my personal children will search for information on future school projects. Maybe I can actually cook dinner while my children search the internet with iCurio!
Discovery Education brings experts into the classroom.
I think students love field trips because they get out of the classroom, and they get to hear another person's voice. Teachers like field trips for almost the same reasons. They get out of the classroom and another person gets to teach the children. Discovery Education is the best of both worlds. Children get to go on mini field trips, an expert on the subject they are discovering discusses the content, and the teacher does not have to study vast amounts of information in an attempt to become an expert in subjects they may have little or no desire to explore. Discovery Education brings the expert into the classroom in a format that combines listening and watching to teach, explore and engage students in content in an in depth manner that would be difficult for a lone teacher. Discovery Education is a virtual extension of the classroom teacher.
A New Teacher's Top 5 Things to Ponder
Anthony and Dr. Strange came up with this list of 5 things a new teacher may want to consider. I have a feeling the next 5 things will be coming soon.
1. Be interested in learning.
2. Teaching is hard, but combining work and play makes planning fun and teaching fun.
3. Be flexible, creative and ready to respond to spontaneous situations.
4. Start with the end in mind. Consider what outcome you desire and find content that motivates students.
5. Reflect on what and how you are teaching.
Technology... don't teach it, introduce it smartly.
I have to defend my generation for a moment. Yes, technology can be difficult to learn and intimidating to utilize. The stages of life, primarily parenting, make it difficult to dedicate time to learning new things. I have used this as an excuse and, even today,have to come up with creative ways to carve out time to learn and use technology. I am thankful that EDM 310 is forcing me out of the nest. This class is a wonderful tool that not all folks have access to. Ok, my rant is over.
It seems like the gist of this conversation is another motto for EDM 310, new teachers and those people stepping out of the analog age and into the digital age. "Introduce technology smartly and do it yourself, first, so you will understand the problems students/others are having as they begin using it."
Don't try eating a meal in a single bite.
When planning lessons begin with the yearly snap shot as a road map. But it is in the daily lessons that students board the life long learning train. Anthony gives 4 practical suggestions when considering lesson planning.
1. Have curriculum in mind to ensure all content standards are covered.
2. Consider the unit being taught and the ways you will unpack the lesson.
3. Look at your weekly goals and how each day will allow you to accomplish your goals.
4. Consider the daily lessons. This is how you will deliver information to students and measure what they are learning.
After watching Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange I gained a better picture of what Project Based Learning (PBL) looks like in the classroom. Historically, projects were what students did at the end of a lesson to show what was learned. Now PBL is a means of achieving skills and discerning knowledge.
Anthony's 4 Steps To A Good Project
1. Have an authentic audience.
2. Keep it relevant.
3. Involve the community.
4. Focus on ACCRS and Common Core.
His golden rule in PBL...Provide opportunity to revise and review.
Really, Project Based Learning can be fun?
In the following video Anthony said that teachers should never limit their students by what teachers want students to do. He believes teachers should create opportunities for students to go beyond what they want them to do. He also taught me that giving students choices is crucial to successful PBL, and giving them a choice creates fun and an engaging relationships.
The Internet Gets a "Children's Section"!
I had never heard about iCurio. This information is both fascinating and freeing. If you do not know, I am concerned with children being exposed to inappropriate material as they innocently search for information online. In essence, iCurio is the equivalent to the "Children's Section" in a library. The opportunity for students to find appropriate literature, video and audio in the "Children's Section" of the internet brings great comfort to teachers and parents who are fearful for the same reasons I was. The added benefit of storage makes iCurio even more student friendly. Now I know where my personal children will search for information on future school projects. Maybe I can actually cook dinner while my children search the internet with iCurio!
Discovery Education brings experts into the classroom.
I think students love field trips because they get out of the classroom, and they get to hear another person's voice. Teachers like field trips for almost the same reasons. They get out of the classroom and another person gets to teach the children. Discovery Education is the best of both worlds. Children get to go on mini field trips, an expert on the subject they are discovering discusses the content, and the teacher does not have to study vast amounts of information in an attempt to become an expert in subjects they may have little or no desire to explore. Discovery Education brings the expert into the classroom in a format that combines listening and watching to teach, explore and engage students in content in an in depth manner that would be difficult for a lone teacher. Discovery Education is a virtual extension of the classroom teacher.
A New Teacher's Top 5 Things to Ponder
Anthony and Dr. Strange came up with this list of 5 things a new teacher may want to consider. I have a feeling the next 5 things will be coming soon.
1. Be interested in learning.
2. Teaching is hard, but combining work and play makes planning fun and teaching fun.
3. Be flexible, creative and ready to respond to spontaneous situations.
4. Start with the end in mind. Consider what outcome you desire and find content that motivates students.
5. Reflect on what and how you are teaching.
Technology... don't teach it, introduce it smartly.
I have to defend my generation for a moment. Yes, technology can be difficult to learn and intimidating to utilize. The stages of life, primarily parenting, make it difficult to dedicate time to learning new things. I have used this as an excuse and, even today,have to come up with creative ways to carve out time to learn and use technology. I am thankful that EDM 310 is forcing me out of the nest. This class is a wonderful tool that not all folks have access to. Ok, my rant is over.
It seems like the gist of this conversation is another motto for EDM 310, new teachers and those people stepping out of the analog age and into the digital age. "Introduce technology smartly and do it yourself, first, so you will understand the problems students/others are having as they begin using it."
Don't try eating a meal in a single bite.
When planning lessons begin with the yearly snap shot as a road map. But it is in the daily lessons that students board the life long learning train. Anthony gives 4 practical suggestions when considering lesson planning.
1. Have curriculum in mind to ensure all content standards are covered.
2. Consider the unit being taught and the ways you will unpack the lesson.
3. Look at your weekly goals and how each day will allow you to accomplish your goals.
4. Consider the daily lessons. This is how you will deliver information to students and measure what they are learning.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
Blog Post #4
Asking questions is a necessary part of teaching. It gives feed back to potential understanding and, frankly, helps keep the students under control. But the more important question is, "Are my questions contributing to students' understanding, students gaining knowledge and growing in wisdom or, are my questions leading students down a dead end street?". The following video by Lourdes A explains four strategies for question asking. They include frequency, equitable distribution, prompting and repetition. Frequency refers to the number or how often questions are asked during a lesson. Equitable Distribution means each child has an opportunity to answer a question. Prompting requires more questions which lead students to discover or make connections. Repetition is asking a question again by rephrasing or repeating it. Each strategy is important and, with time, a teacher's ability to use the strategies grows. It is also important to recognize when to use each strategy. Asking students what they know about a topic can help them gain confidence and communicates their importance as Maryellen Weimer, PhD explains. She also discusses the idea of preserving questions and playing with questions as a way of creating depth of understanding and expressing to students their worth and the importance of questioning.
As educators its important to ask lots of questions that make students consider what they know and that possibly, just maybe, there are ideas, concepts, experiences, lessons or things they do not already know. It is through asking a variety of questions that students are led from the dark into the light of understanding.
C4T#1 Meet Vicki Davis
C4T#1 Comment#1
Today I met Vicki Davis, the Cool Cat Teacher. She has a soft spot in her heart for technology beginners and has included Tips For Beginners in her blog. Check it out!
Today's blog post contained an article written by Silvia Tolisano. The conversation between these global educators revealed an example of how story boarding and script writing enabled a class of fourth and fifth graders to help a poet publish his book of poems. Through the use of blogging and Twitter, Mrs. Tolisano was able to meet Mike Fisher a New York poet. Mrs. Tolisano then collaborated with him to have her fourth and fifth grade students create the illustrations for his ebook. The students had to imagine their audience as they created story boards. Story boards are a brain storming technique that allows students to imagine the who, what, when and where of their writing. This process was the spring board for their illustrations.
Mrs. Davis encouraged me to let go of my fear of technology. She believes that the purpose of a teacher is to give students a variety of options by which they can learn. Some students will use classroom resources, but others will use the technology available outside the class room such as Google, YouTube or other online tutorials. Students are not afraid of going viral or global, and I should not be afraid either.
C4T#1 Comment#2
It has been 2 weeks since my last post after visiting Vicki Davis at Cool Cat Teacher. But there has been lots of activity during those weeks. Today I listened to Vicki Davis, Thomas Murray, and Katrina Stevens discuss Exciting New Ways to Teach Writing With Digital Tools. They explained that digital tools equip teachers to teach students how to write for the 21st century audience because, as Tom Murray said, "Students used to write for their teacher and refrigerator. Now, they write for the world." They were able to point me toward tools that would engage students in the writing process, provide immediate feedback from teachers and students' real audience (on the Wed), and resulted in a paperless classroom. How snazzy does that sound?! A special message came through to me as I listened. This message addressed the fear of technology. Vicki commented that teachers not be afraid to share or get it wrong. How comforting that message is to me.
Here are a few of the tools the group mentioned. I am happy to say that I have installed Drop Box and am going to explore it further!!
Kid Blog
Class Tool
Drop Box
Scrivener
Kidspiration
Today's blog post contained an article written by Silvia Tolisano. The conversation between these global educators revealed an example of how story boarding and script writing enabled a class of fourth and fifth graders to help a poet publish his book of poems. Through the use of blogging and Twitter, Mrs. Tolisano was able to meet Mike Fisher a New York poet. Mrs. Tolisano then collaborated with him to have her fourth and fifth grade students create the illustrations for his ebook. The students had to imagine their audience as they created story boards. Story boards are a brain storming technique that allows students to imagine the who, what, when and where of their writing. This process was the spring board for their illustrations.
Mrs. Davis encouraged me to let go of my fear of technology. She believes that the purpose of a teacher is to give students a variety of options by which they can learn. Some students will use classroom resources, but others will use the technology available outside the class room such as Google, YouTube or other online tutorials. Students are not afraid of going viral or global, and I should not be afraid either.
C4T#1 Comment#2
It has been 2 weeks since my last post after visiting Vicki Davis at Cool Cat Teacher. But there has been lots of activity during those weeks. Today I listened to Vicki Davis, Thomas Murray, and Katrina Stevens discuss Exciting New Ways to Teach Writing With Digital Tools. They explained that digital tools equip teachers to teach students how to write for the 21st century audience because, as Tom Murray said, "Students used to write for their teacher and refrigerator. Now, they write for the world." They were able to point me toward tools that would engage students in the writing process, provide immediate feedback from teachers and students' real audience (on the Wed), and resulted in a paperless classroom. How snazzy does that sound?! A special message came through to me as I listened. This message addressed the fear of technology. Vicki commented that teachers not be afraid to share or get it wrong. How comforting that message is to me.
Here are a few of the tools the group mentioned. I am happy to say that I have installed Drop Box and am going to explore it further!!
Kid Blog
Class Tool
Drop Box
Scrivener
Kidspiration
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Blog Post #3
Be Kind And Carry A Pretty Colored Pen
I will never forget my senior year of high school and literature class. Mr. Butler's AP literature class kicked my butt! It seemed like every week we had to write a paper about something Shakespeare said or a poem I did not completely understand. I hated it! The worst part was all the red covering my papers once they were returned. My papers were always covered with red slashes, arrows, double underlined words and question marks. Everyone knew I was an awful writer based on all the red bleeding through my white paper. Maybe I would have felt better if Mr. Butler used a pink or purple pen. Maybe. I certainly would have grown as a writer if he would have taken the suggestions in What Is Peer Editing? and Peer Editing With Perfection Tutorial.
Peer Editing is a skill that requires practice. It is not a complicated task if the reviewer provides compliments about the work, offers suggestions to the errors found in the material being reviewed and shows the exact items needing corrections. Bringing someone's errors or omissions to light can feel awkward, but the process of peer reviewing is not an emotional decision. Both parties need to keep their feelings out of the equation and focus on ways to become better, more concise and articulate writers. I wish Mr. Butler would have given me suggestions on how to better describe situations or how to give more detail that supported my thesis. It would have given me more confidence to have him tell me something I had written that was correct, good or from a different perspective before he told me my mistakes. He was my teacher, not my peer, but the principles are the same. First, encourage. Second, suggest. Third, point out mistakes. Finally, do not invite your feelings.
Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes is a helpfully funny nuts and bolts guide to peer reviews.
I will never forget my senior year of high school and literature class. Mr. Butler's AP literature class kicked my butt! It seemed like every week we had to write a paper about something Shakespeare said or a poem I did not completely understand. I hated it! The worst part was all the red covering my papers once they were returned. My papers were always covered with red slashes, arrows, double underlined words and question marks. Everyone knew I was an awful writer based on all the red bleeding through my white paper. Maybe I would have felt better if Mr. Butler used a pink or purple pen. Maybe. I certainly would have grown as a writer if he would have taken the suggestions in What Is Peer Editing? and Peer Editing With Perfection Tutorial.
Peer Editing is a skill that requires practice. It is not a complicated task if the reviewer provides compliments about the work, offers suggestions to the errors found in the material being reviewed and shows the exact items needing corrections. Bringing someone's errors or omissions to light can feel awkward, but the process of peer reviewing is not an emotional decision. Both parties need to keep their feelings out of the equation and focus on ways to become better, more concise and articulate writers. I wish Mr. Butler would have given me suggestions on how to better describe situations or how to give more detail that supported my thesis. It would have given me more confidence to have him tell me something I had written that was correct, good or from a different perspective before he told me my mistakes. He was my teacher, not my peer, but the principles are the same. First, encourage. Second, suggest. Third, point out mistakes. Finally, do not invite your feelings.
Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes is a helpfully funny nuts and bolts guide to peer reviews.
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