Project 13

Team Jaguar Project 13

Rubric

Calendar

Lesson plan

C4K March

March C4K

Cody was the first kid I was assigned to for this month.  His class was using Google Hangout to complete several assignments.  Using Google Hangout, Cody met a dog who was abandoned.  He was able to pick a dog from hangout and draw him. Cody also wrote his story about a dog named Molly.

Arturo was the second kids I was able to comment on.  Arturo's blog was about the testing the school was going through.  He even gave tips for future test takers!  Don't forget your pencil.

Brayden's assignment was a book trailer.  Brayden wrote about The Thirty-nine clues the Emperors Code.  In his report, he can a brief description about the previous books in the series.  He then gave a few details to spike the readers interest.  I have to admit, I will be checking that book out from the library.

These kids have written for their world wide audience.  I was able to see they were writing for someone other than themselves.  This is the second time I have commented in Cody.  His writing has definitely improved during this semester.  

Blog Assignment 10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

First graders in Mrs. Cassidy's class are learning the same things we are learning in EDM 310.  Mrs. Cassidy's students are writing in blogs, using Skype, and other technological resources.  The children are engaged since this is something they enjoy.  The children are learning reading, writing, and math.  

In Part 1 and Part 2 Mrs. Cassidy explains how adding technology to your classroom is always an ongoing project.  New things are added all the time, so your curriculum will change from year to year.  Having support from your parents and your superiors will make technology in the classroom very beneficial.  Technology and children go hand in hand.  Technology is a must in the classroom in order to teach children in this generation.

Blogs add an audience, which paper and pencil can not do.  Blogs also add feedback from around the world.

The continuation of learning is important to be technologically savvy.  Mrs. Cassidy suggests to start your technology journey with whatever you are interested in more; video, photography, writing.  The most important thing is to develop your personal learning network.

Twitter is a PLN that is definitely worth it over time.  At first, you might not get a lot out of it, but as you continue to add people, you will get more information from your Twitter feed.  Follow Twitter users who are also starting out as teachers.

Mrs. Cassidy had some wonderful tips for aspiring teachers in Part 3.

• Blogging can be used in any types of classes.
• Cheating is less likely to happen when you have an innovative way to teach the material.
• A SCHOOL Facebook account can be useful in the classroom.
• Safety can be taught to lower elementary children in different ways.  Have a class hub to start each day.  Teach children what they can click on.  Children also need to be taught not to add their last names or pictures to their blogs.
• The use of technology at home must have a balance.
• It snows ALOT where Mrs. Cassidy lives.

I hope to incorporate the use of blogs in my classroom.  Blogs will allow my students to write for a larger audience that just myself.  I hope to have the support from my parents and superiors to use technology in the classroom.  The use of technology will only help my students to become the best writers they can be.

Project 12

How to use a SMART board

Blog Assignment 9

What can teachers and students teach us about Project Based Learning?

In Seven Essentials for Project- Based Learning, every project needs to be meaningful for the students and it needs to fill an educational purpose.  This can be achieved by following these seven steps:

1. A need to know- Teachers must engage their students from the start of the project.
2. A driving question- This is a questions that gives students a sense of challenge and purpose.
3. Student voice and choice- This allows students to have the control over the project.
4. 21st century skills- These skills provide students with an understanding which will help them outside of the classroom.
5. Inquiry and innovation- Inquiry allows students to research their own questions, leading to more questions.  Questions lead students to find innovative answers to their own questions.
6. Feedback and revision- Allowing students to have feedback and revision will lead to a higher quality work from your students.
7. A publicly presented project- By presenting work publicly, the students will create more meaningful work.

In Project-Based Learning for Teachers, teachers are shown the benefits of switching the a Project-Based Learning classroom.  PBL is an important tool when used with Common Core.  Common Core is what needs to be taught, PBL is how you are able to teach Common Core.

Wing Project: Crafting a Driving Question  A good driving question allows students to have multiple variables.  By paring teachers with subject experts, teachers are able to construct something they were not previously involved in, PBL.  A good driving question makes students interested and guides them on how they will do their work.  A teacher can also add real world skills into your question, like the benefits of working in groups.

PBL: What motivates students?

These are some of the things that motivate children today:

Public praise

The ability to take care of a family in the future

Future career

Success

Rewards

Rewards that work for today's students:

Classroom spending money

Candy and/or food

Outside time

School supplies

Brownie points

Classroom dancing

Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning 

It is important to allow students to network while using PBL.  The following sites are tools in order for your students to collaborate while working on their project.

Titan Pad           Wall Wisher            Corkboardme             Google Docs                 Microsoft Live

             Today's Meet            Will You Type With Me                Linoit                 Skype in Education

                               Quick Screen Share

Project 9

Enabling Student Creativity

Blog Assignment #8

What can we learn from Randy Pausch about teaching?

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture is an inspirational lecture on how to lead your life.  Pausch broke his lecture into three parts; My Childhood Dreams, Enabling the Dreams of Others, and How You Can Achieve Your Dreams and Enable the Dreams of Others.

During "My Childhood Dreams", Pausch gives some words of wisdom on how he was able to accomplish his childhood dreams.

• Inspiration and the ability to dream is huge. 
• It is important to have specific dreams. 
• Have something to bring to the table.  
• You can also learn from dreams you did not accomplish.  
• You have to get the fundamentals down. 
• If you are messing up and no one is saying anything to you, they have given up on you.
• Enthusiasm is important.  
• Most of what we learn, we learn indirectly (indirect learning).  
• Leadership is an important skill set to have.  
• The brick walls are there for a reason.  They are there to show how badly we want something.
• "Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you."- John Snoody  
• Watch how you say something, there is a good way and a bad way.  

While at Carnegie Mellon University, Pausch developed a course to help enabling the dreams of others.  The students in this class were able to created building virtual worlds so they could achieve their childhood dreams.  This course was offered in five different departments.  The course is project based, breaking the molds.  There were no rules to follow,  After the first two week project, work was beyond his imagination.  His reply was to not set the bar for these students, they could always do better.  The students were able to give their teammates feedback on how they worked together.  In order to share the students' work the university had a campus wide exhibition.  Pausch was able to show his students how it feels to get other excited about your students work.  The core of this course was all about the bonding between the students.   When pioneering a new project, you will have those arrows in the back but at the end of the day its all about having fun.  This course is now offered world wide.


The third part is how you can achieve your dreams and enable the dreams of others.  Pausch developed Alice.  Alice teaches programming by playing games and making movies.  Students are having fun by learning something hard.


How do you get people to help you?  You can't get there alone, believe in Karma

• Tell the truth
• Be earnest
• Apologize when you screw up
• Focus on others, not yourself

Pausch's Important Advice:

1. Be good at something, it makes you valuable
2. Work hard
3. Find the best in everyone, no matter how long you have to wait for it
4. Be prepared

Everything we learned from Pausch's Last Lecture can be used in the classroom, from ways he obtained his childhood dreams to ways to get people to help you.  Pausch gave us the ultimate lesson in indirect learning.  He was able to turn a lecture about his lifetime dreams into a lecture that teaches future teachers how to teach their students.

C4T #2

Beth's Blog

Beth Knittle has students who are already teachers.  In her blog, Beth's Thoughts on Technology, Beth encourages her students to embrace technologies in their teachings.  She also encourages them to not only be teachers, but learners as well.  Beth gives these teachers a chance to completely revamp their classroom through technology.

In Beth's blog, Education vs Regurgitation, she explains the difference between the ways students learn.  As a teacher we will have the students who will sit still and make A's on every test they take.  That is wonderful; however, they learn through regurgitation.  Beth then explains the "fidgety" kids.  These are the kids that can't sit still and who do mediocre on more tests.  If teachers would allow these "fidgety" students a change to use their creativity in a medium they understand (blog, podcast, instragram, etc) they would excel greatly.  These are extremely bright students who just can't regurgitate the information back to us.

I really enjoyed commenting on a teacher who not only pushes the boundaries on what is expected, but also pushes those boundaries herself and fellow teachers.

Blog Assignment #7

Teaching has become entirely different from when I was in school.  Teachers are not lecturing to bored students.  Teachers are now giving their students the resources and support to teach themselves.  As I new teacher I will have to embrace this change.  As seen in Using iMovie and Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten, kindergartners are using iMovie.  These students are learning how to make book trailers.  They are also learning the beginning steps of research by researching animals.

During We All Become Learners, the teachers talk about how everyone becomes a teacher and everyone becomes a student.  The barriers are lowered allowing children to become comfortable in their knowledge.

Teaching has become more efficient with the addition of technology in the classrooms.  Children are able to go on virtual field trips everyday.  During iPads in the Classroom, teachers talk about how having iPads in the classroom has changed the way they teacher.  Teachers are expecting more from their students.

The last movie I watched gave some very insightful reasons to use technology in the classroom.
Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology in Education

•   students love it
•    engages the four key components to learning
•   professional development
•   makes life easier for teachers
•    improves test scores
•   help students with low attention spans
•   learn from the experts
•    encourages homework
•    saves money
•    remove obstacles