Project #10 - PLN Progress Report

PLN

This is my progress report post for my PLN. I used "Symbaloo" to organize my PLN. This was a fun and interesting project. I enjoyed organizing and getting information together. I look forward to continue to build my PLN. On the left side, I have the news links. Social networking sites are on the right side. Various links and information are at the top. Finally, I chose to concentrate my PLN with a Health aspect. I am a health major. This is a field that I like to learn new things in. At the bottom, there are various health links, such as, WebMD, Internet Health Library, Obesity, Diet, Diabetes, and Alzheimers.

Blog Assignment #9

What I Learned This Year - Volume 4 (2011-12)

After reading "What I Learned This Year - Volume 4 (2011-12)" , it has made me realize to be the best teacher I can be. I must not let my peers define who I am or change who I am. As Mr. McClung asks, “are the kids having fun?” This is the rule he said had gotten him to where he is. Mr. McClung’s statement saying to remember who you really work for is absolutely a great motto for me to remember as I enter the classroom.

In addition, Mr. McClung challenges us not to get comfortable. Being in a routine and never trying new things will make you a lazy teacher. As this happens, kids do not enjoy your class. His advice is not to use old lesson plans because then your creativity will slowly wither away. We, as educators, have to choose to be a better teacher each day. Mr. McClung made this choice because he wanted to be the best for his students. What an inspiration!

These blog posts from Mr. McClung’s teaching experiences have been incredibly inspiring for me. I hope I can take what he has learned, taught, and experienced with me as I enter my teaching journey.

What I've Learned This Year (2008-09)

I chose to read Mr. McClungs "blog" on his reflection of his first year of teaching. Learning to read the crowd is a skill that I had to learn in my years of coaching softball. Mr. McClung says to best benefit my students I have to know if I am reaching them. I could always tell when my softball girls were confused about a skill I was teaching before they ever even asked a question. I would see these blank stares and know that this was a skill I would have to reteach.

Mr. MClung's second point is that he had to learn to be flexible. This is where I think I will have some trouble. I am a very organized person, and I do not like when things do not go as planned. As a teacher, I have to expect that something will go wrong every day. Mr. McClung also discussed the idea of communication. I think communication with students is important, but I also think that communication with their parents is equally important. I know that I will be in contact with parents who do not care, but I know that there are parents that truly care about the education of their child. If we communicate the problems or dilemmas we have in our classroom, many parents would be more than willing to help fix the issue. As Mr. Mclung talked about be reasonable with expectations of his students, I learned that what I want a student to do and what a student is capable of may be two completely different things. Mr. Mclung says not to ever be afraid of technology. Students today have access to every type of technology imaginable. We must use this to our benefit.

Although there were a lot of valuable interesting thoughts in his blog, the idea that stuck in my head was that no class, no instructor, nor a book could ever prepare me for what exactly I will come in contact with in my classroom. Every district, every school, and every student will be different, and I must be willing to change the way I think, act, and teach to best benefit my students.

Project #12 - Book Trailer

C4T #2 Summary

My C4T teacher is "William Chamberlain"

C4T #2 - Post #1

This post was about challenging students. My response was, "As teachers, our most important duty is to challenge students. I can remember the first time I had a teacher challenge me. She forever impacted my educational journey, and I still use many of the skills she taught me. If we do not challenge our students, they will only achieve the minimum required. I was very grateful to have a teacher challenge me, and I hope I can pay forward what she taught me."

C4T #2 - Post #2

This post was about teachers being remembered as storytellers. My response was, "The best teachers are amazing storytellers. I can remember when I was in school the best classes were when teachers talked about real live experiences. They told a story. When I have the opportunity to stand in a classroom full of students, I will remember that sometimes lessons do not have to be huge projects that you plan for weeks in advance. Some of the most important lessons I ever learned came from something simple as a story."

Blog Assignment #8

This Is How We Dream

These videos, "This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2" , are extremely educational. The changes in how we communicate have changed drastically. We receive information instantly and globally. The laptop is just a part of who we are as students as the pen and paper used to be. Word processing is efficient and easy to learn. The internet is easy to use. We can research information and write about anything we choose without ever leaving the comfort of our home. Mr. Miller demonstrated this as he told about writing the Virginia Tech tragedy without even setting foot on Virginia Tech campus.

Digital processing with images and audio is a little more complicated. Some of the teachers are trying to implement this type of communication into their classroom. It is more time consuming, but the outcome can be fabulous. I agree with Mr. Miller that this type of digital processing is more appealing and interesting to see. I will try to implement this type of technology into my classroom. Technology changes right before our eyes, and we must be willing to adapt to changes in the classroom. Teaching our elementary aged children this type of technology is right on target. Think about what they can do by the time they reach high school and college. I do believe sharing ideas is essential in our digital age, but saying ideas do not belong to us individually anymore is a little farfetched for me. Personal accomplishments and gratification is an individual aspect for anyone. Sharing ideas should not take that away. Making someone’s homework or research easier by sharing my ideas would be great, but I do not want to take away the individualism of the ideas.

I can only image what kind of digital processing using the web could create. It is so far above my understanding that I cannot even comprehend it. I sure hope to learn how to use this type of communicating in the future. As Mr. Miller put it, “Why wouldn’t you?” Probably one of the greatest lessons I learned from Mr. Miller’s video is limits and restrictions we have are because we placed them on ourselves.

Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12

"Carly Pugh’s blog" is exactly what Mr. Miller meant by multi-media communication. I believe Carly went beyond the assignment and left each of us with an awe-inspiring presentation. I love YouTube and using video from YouTube to express one’s philosophy and goals is incredible. I believe Dr. Strange has used this as an assignment so we can fully appreciate the direction he is trying to take us in this class. What an example!

"The Chipper Series" and "EDM310 for Dummies"

I am an assistant softball coach at GCHS, and I would love to create a video with former softball players giving inspiring messages to my current players. I believe this would be a great tool to create a different perspective for the students. Just maybe someone could cause a spark and the light will come on. Sometimes it takes an outside source to reach some students. I am not talking about the actual playing of the game, but the life lessons that are learned through the playing of softball.

The primary message in both of these videos is never give up and follow through! Our future depends on it. Frustration and anger is how I felt in EDM310 in the beginning. This could have been me in the video. I am now realizing that EDM is not an easy class. Dr. Strange is trying to take us to the future of education. I just need to think outside the box.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

After watching the video,"Learn to Change, Change to Learn" I am all for embracing technology in the classroom. I do believe we need to learn to change and change to learn for the 21st century educators and students. I am not so sure about taking the controlled atmosphere completely away from the classroom. We are still talking about kids. Students need discipline and structure. Learning from community is great and I believe in projects outside the walls of the schools. I have never been a fan of standardized testing. I do believe change is inevitable to prepare our students for future careers. In addition to academics, there is so much more students learn from being in school. We can still prepare our students to the best of our ability with the resources that we have, but computers do not replace the human.

Scavenger Hunt from "WEB 2.0 Tools"

I have located the Edmodo social networking cite that I think would be a great tool for my classroom. I can create tests with this cite and grade them from this cite. I can also communicate with other teachers from this cite from all over the world. Students and parents can have access to homework, test dates, grades, and any other event or action about our school. This cite seems to be secure and easy to use. It reminds me of facebook. I think the students would really like to use this as a means of communicating.

Animoto video is a great site. This site allows you to use photos and video clips from facebook, instagram, and even your personal computer. It also has hundreds of tunes available for your video. The video can be shared using social media sites such as facebook. The videos can also be created in high definition. There are three plans to choose from. Thirty second videos are free. There is a plus plan and a pro plan offered for a very affordable yearly fee.

Blog Assignment #7

The Networked Student

The video, "The Networked Student" , is very informing for me as a future educator. I do believe students need to take control of their own learning. However, some student’s would like to use this type of learning, but I also believe other students have not yet come to the realization that 21st Century learning is where education is heading. Not all students are taught some of the 21st Century learning skills in the classroom. Not all teachers are ready to commit to this type of teaching. We, as 21st Century teachers, have a greater advantage than veteran teachers do. We learn new skills everyday when some teachers do not even know the basic skills for 21st century learning. It will be up to us to implement a learning network for our students from day one in the classroom.

This video also gives us a direction to follow. Teaching us how to build a learning network by using certain websites and blogs is educating in itself. Blogs are mostly opinion based, but can provide opportunity for student to voice his or her informed opinions. I know from personal experience that comments about one’s blog posts can keep the student “on his or her toes.” These blogs can be seen by virtually anyone anywhere in the world. Hard work on creating these blogs can help someone else learn important information. That is what we, as future educators, should strive to do. Subscribing to audio and video podcasts to support the 21st century learner is great advice. Having access to the some of the best professors in the world is probably one the greatest teaching and learning tools one can possess.

The question is asked, “Why does the networked student even need a teacher?” I do not believe the teacher will ever be replaced by technology. The students will always need guidance. Everyone is stuck sometimes, and teachers will need to be able to show students how to differentiate between good information and bad information. I also believe 21st century teachers should never expect technology to replace the experience a student’s receives in the classroom. The networked learning is necessary, but not at the expense of other valuable lessons learned from a teacher and other classmates through verbal skills and communication. 21st century teachers and learners have to adapt to emerging technology and it is relevant in our classroom. I think the difference between a good teacher and a great teacher is how well the teacher can adapt to the ever-changing technology, without giving up the personal guidance that is necessary for the success of a student.

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment

After watching "A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment" , this Personal Learning Environment, PLE, is very detailed for a seventh grader. The digital organizational skill this student maintains is quite impressive. My Personal Learning Network, PLN, is not at efficient as it should be. I must use these ideas and others to create a more organized and effective learning network. This student’s science class is completely paperless, and this is foreign to me. I still like to hold on to hard copies of some of my work. I guess because not all teachers are completely “sold out” to network learning, and hard copies are still required. I have not given up totally on some of my traditional learning methods, but I am learning to adapt to network learning more and more. My paper trail is getting smaller might I add!

Project #8 - Podcast

C4K Summary for September

C4K

The first student's blog I commented on was "Rave" , who is a Year 5 student in Miss Ouano's class at Pt England School in Auckland, NZ in Room 14. Rave's post was about Olympic Day. Rave described it as when the whole school comes together to participate in different sports or events. Rave's favorite activities were volleyball and handball. I told Rave that I enjoyed learning about the Olympic Day. Rave explained everything in detail, so it was easy to understand.

The second student's blog I commented on was "Taniela" , who is a Year 5 student at Pt England School in Auckland, NZ in Mr. Mark's class in Room 15. I really enjoyed reading the post. It sounded like a fun activity. They had to tie a band around their hips and stick one arm in the band. The purpose of the activity was to see what it feels like to run with one arm. Taniela says that it felt weird and strange to run with one arm, and I agreed with her.

Blog Assignment #6

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

After watching "Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture" , he used lessons he learned as a student and brought them to his classroom. He learned the technique of teaching fundamentals from his football coach. After fundamentals, came teamwork and enthusiasm. These techniques should be a requirement for all educators and should be what all of our teaching should be based upon. Indirect learning, or the “head fake,” is amazing. I hope I can replicate this type of learning in my classroom. To make learning fun while learning something hard is fabulous.

Constructive criticism is another technique that Pausch used. He tells us that critics should help one to become better. Being critical of your students is a way of telling them that you will never give up on them. There is a wrong way and right way to do this. He also tells us to give credit where credit is due. This teaching technique will bring positive results. While praising your students, a bear hug also brings confidence. I do not know if this would be feasible, but it sure makes sense.

The “brick wall” theory is a way of explaining how it will determine how bad we want something. Brick walls will come to us, even in the flesh. The technique of surrounding yourself with smart people will only make you a better person. This tells me to always be ready to ask for help. Never try to be a one-man show. Seek advice from your mentors and role models. Some of the most important techniques he used in his teachings were to focus on others and not yourself, apologize when you need to, and always tell the truth. I only hope I can carry these traits to the classroom.

Perseverance is probably the technique Pausch used that is hardest for me. People will impress you if you wait long enough. Never give up. Sometimes impatience is a virtue that rears its ugly head. Pausch also teaches us to teach by example. Getting your hands dirty, or spilling ice cream on your clothes, is the technique of being involved, literally. Working in groups is a masterful way of teaching students to focus on people and learning. Giving feedback to your students gives them something to build upon. Never losing your child like words is a technique that tells me to never think you are better than anyone else is.

The teaching techniques of Randy Pausch are inspiring for me as a future educator. Everyone has to make his or her dreams come true and if you have the opportunity make someone else’s dreams come true. Hard work and dedication will pay off in the end. Having mentors is absolutely some of the best advice. From teachers to parents and friends, mentors will always help when all else fails. I think he sums is up exactly right when he says, “You have to decide if you want to be a “Tigger” or an “Eyore.” I will not only be a better teacher but a better person as well if I take these teaching techniques and advice to my classroom. Pausch says,” You can have your cake and eat it too!”

Project #9a - TimeToast