Project #8: Podcast

C4K for the Month of February

Week 1: Hunter

Hunter is in the tenth grade and goes to Baldwin County High School. Hunter has never blogged before, but it is part of one of his classes this semester so he is learning how to blog. The post I commented on was Hunter's About Me post. I recently went back to Hunter's blog and he has written a number of new and interesting posts since I last visited his blog. Hunter told us about himself and his hobbies. He used to live in Mobile and moved seven years ago. Hunter enjoys hunting, fishing, playing football, and hanging out with friends. Hunter has two older brothers and a four year old nephew. I commented on Hunter's post and commended him for his excellent effort at blogging. I also shared some of the things we have in common like having two brothers and enjoying hanging out with friends. I also asked Hunter what his favorite subject in school is. Hunter is continuing to do a wonderful job at blogging for his class.

Week 2: Shawn

Shawn is in 4th Grade in Ms. Muhammad's class. Shawn has also written a number of blog posts, but he recently wrote one about his AR Book: Meet My Neighbor the Hairstylist. Shawn did a wonderful job describing the book and even told us a little bit about his sister. She compares the main character in the book to his sister who he says is beautiful and bright. He also tells us he loves and cares for her. I commented to Shawn that I enjoyed getting to know him through his blog. I told Shawn that I really enjoyed AR reading when I was in elementary school and hoped he was enjoying it as well. I asked Shawn how old his sister was and told him he was a very sweet brother to talk so nicely about her. Shawn did a wonderful job writing this short book review.

Week 3: Izac

Izac is a Year 5 student at Pt England School in Auckland, New Zealand. Izac is nine years old. Izac has written several posts on his blog, but his most recent post was a google presentation: "All About Me." I enjoyed watching the presentation, which included his favorite foods, games, and television shows. After viewing the Google presentation I commented on Izac's post how much I enjoyed his presentation. I also shared with Izac how even in college we use Google presentations. Izac is originally from Samoa and in my comment I told him I would enjoy learning more about that area. I even went and did some researching myself because I was unfamiliar with the area and was interested in learning about it. I enjoyed reading Izac's posts on his blog and learning more about another country's education system.

Week 4: Lauren

Lauren is a student in Mrs. Vannoy's first grade class. One of the EDM 310 lab assistants is actually their student teacher. Lauren has written several blog posts about the people she loves. The one I commented on was about her brother. She told the reader that she loves her brother a lot and he is the best. I commented on her blog post telling her about my two brothers. I have two brothers, one goes to Auburn and the other lives in Ohio with my mom. I asked Lauren how old her brother was as well. I also commented that I thought it was neat we both had brothers that we loved. Lauren has done a very good job at designing and decorating her blog. I enjoyed exploring the other blog posts by Mrs. Vannoy's other students as well.

Project # 9: PLN Progress Report

A PLN is a Personal Learning Network. Personal Learning Networks can be utlizied by virtually anyone and are really easy to use. For my PLN, I used a program called Symbaloo. I really enjoyed learning to use and setting up my PLN. Throughout the past few weeks I have been adding to my PLN. The main thing I have been adding is blogs of other teachers as I come upon them or am directed there. In the left hand corner I have links to social media and other tools that I frequently use, both on a personal and professional level. On the upper righthand corner, I have tools such as Prezi, Google Drive, and YouTube that I am frequently using. In the lower righthand corner I have a number of blogs of other teachers that I have enjoyed reading and going back to read or use their resources. In the lower lefthand corner I have several miscellaneous tools and websites, such as the weather and the school homepage. I have enjoyed setting my PLN up and consider it a work in progress. As I come across other blogs and resources I plan to add them to my PLN.

Blog Post #6

The Networked Student

Wendy Drexler's The Networked Student video is all about how a student uses the connectivism to learn about American Psychology. According to the video connectivism is "learning that occurs as a part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties and made possible through various tools of technology." In a way this student is learning similar to the way we are in EDM 310. The student has no textbook nor lectures, but the student is responsible for using technology to learn and discover information. In EDM 310 we do not have class lecture nor a textbook. We are given instructions and must feel our way through the projects and assignments, we are learning to be self-taught.

The first time I viewed the video, I focused more on the video as a whole and what the big idea behind connectivism was. The ideas behind connectivism intrigued me and I thought it would be a useful tool for all grades in some capacity. I also think that it is an important took to learn in order to go on and be successful in college and in life. Connectivism teaches students to be self-taught and self-motivated learners. There is not more of what Dr. Strange calls "burp back education." Students must explore the resources that are readily available to them through the internet and technology. By teaching students this method of learning early on, I believe students will be more prepared for college and life in general. Life does not come with a textbook and neither do most jobs. You have to be a life long learner that is willing to research information. By starting students early and introducing them to this idea of teaching, they will become more self motivated to learn by the time they are in high school.

The second time I watched the video, I had the question: "Why does the connectivism student need a teacher?" in mind the entire time. The answer to this question would be to facilitate and guide the students. Students are not going to enter school knowing how to search the internet and find valuable information on a topic that is credible. Students need to be taught how to use the internet and all its resourcefulness. They also need accountability to double check that the work they are doing is accurate. If teachers can begin teaching students the ideas and concepts of connectivism at a young age, then their skills will grow and develop as they move through school. They will have a better ability to take advantage of all that it is worth.

A Seventh Grader's Personal Learning Environment

The seventh grader in the video did an excellent job at creating their own personal learning network. The only thing I would have done differently is not had personal and school related tiles on the same tab. In the program, Symbaloo, you can have different tabs. I have one dedicated to Teaching and Education and another one for the sites that I visit on a frequent basis for my own personal research and use. I am a very organized person and like to have things categorized so that is why I would have it broken down further. Another difference that I noticed I have done differently is that the seventh grader had more links to searches through google scholar and other search and research engines. Because I am using my personal learning network for a different purpose, I tend to have tiles that link to useful blogs of other teachers; as well as, links to technology tools and resources I can use. I enjoyed watching the video and seeing how each person uses the same tools differently.

Project #10

For project number ten we were assigned to find a tool that we have not been introduced to but can use in our ideal teaching situation. I began researching many ideas, but came across ePals. This website has wonderful resources and tools for teachers all across the Earth to use a share. The starting point of the website was to join classrooms and allow them to become ePals. The system is similar to pen pals, but a lot quicker. When I was in second grade, we had a pen pal project with a class in Indiana. I remember writing letters back and forth to them and always looking forward to my letters from my pen pal. This was one of my most vivid and favorite memories from elementary school. At the end of the year we finally got to meet our pen pals. One of the things I remembered most was it taking a couple of weeks before we would get a response back because we sent out letters through "snail mail." Through this system the students can exchange "letters" through the internet.

EPals goes beyond exchanging correspondence among students and teachers, by providing projects that encourage teamwork, digital literacy skills, higher-level thinking and communication. EPals provides teachers with resources for projects engaging the students in using technology. EPals has had the ability to add numerous resources for teachers through partnering with the Smithsonian Institute, National Geographic, and Cobblestone and Cricket. A few of the resources available to students include Common Core: Collaborative projects, News Now: Sharing Current Events with Students Around the World, in2book Clubhouse: Exploring and Sharing Books, Global Citizens: Teaming up to Make An Impact, Science Center: Time to Explore, Smithsonian on EPals: Visiting the Museums without Leaving the Classroom, and The Writing Center: Activities to Spark the Imagination. These resources are available to students free of charge. Teachers can also Join For Free. This is a wonderful resources for teachers to use in the classroom. I look forward to using this tool in my classroom, no matter what grade I a teaching.

Project #6: Sentence Video

Blog Post #5

If You Built A School

In Krissy Venosdale's blog post If I Built A School, she explains what her dream school would be if she was able to create it from the ground up. Krissy is a Gifted Education Teachers that has a special interest in technology, math, and science. She has attended many Space Camps over the years and blogs about her teaching methods and the way she uses technology in the classroom. Each year, Krissy decorates her classroom in a fun, innovative way. Krissy's school would be all about innovation, technology and creativity in the classroom. If I was able to create my own school, I would make it a place where the students wanted to come and learn. Learning would be enjoyable for both the teachers and the students. The walls in the halls would be painted with bright, colorful pictures. Each grade level would have a theme that the classrooms would be decorated using the same these. The classrooms would have reading and technology nooks inside them. The library would be at the center of the school and would have a nautical sea theme. I would use Krissy's idea of having the students decorate signs for teachers in their assigned parking spots. I would make my school a place where teachers enjoyed working and students never wanted to leave.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

The use of the internet in Whitacre's Virtual Choir is simply amazing and very interesting. It was very neat to see how Whitacre used the internet to piece together a choir of one hundred and eighty-five people from twelve countries. The thing that is even more amazing is that the choir members sang together and in harmony. After exploring further on Whitacre's YouTube channel, I found a fourth Virtual Choir video. I enjoyed watching and listening to his videos over and over again. I was shocked at the complexity of his projects, but yet they appeared so seamless and flawless. These videos are pleasing to the eyes and ears to watch and listen. I encourage everyone to watch this wonderful use of the internet.

Kevin Roberts's Teaching in the 21st Century

Kevin Roberts opened my eyes to a new way of teaching and the chalenges of teachers. The first statement that stood out to me the most is that: "Teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge, we are the filters." This statement is true, students have access to knowledge at their very fingertips. We learn how to access information by searching on the internet, but do these students really know about copyrights, plagiarism, or even professionalism? Anyone can pull statistics off the internet, but using these statistics in an appropriate manner or correctly citing sources is something that needs to be taught. Teachers now have a bigger challenge in teaching. We are no longer teaching facts to our students, we are teaching them how to be resourceful and how to use the information they learn. Roberts believes teaching is changing in the 21st Century. I agree with his opinion on this, but I also think we still need to teach basic skills in the schools. Roberts points out that using phones, laptops, and tablets in the classroom is similar to using pens, pencils, and papers. They are all a means of teaching and are not the source of negative behaviors, they are simply a temptation. I agree that we need to teach students to use these pieces of technology, but elementary aged children still need to be taught how to write with pen and paper and not just type everything on a keyboard. As teachers, we can begin in elementary school encourage the students to use self control when taking advantage of the available technology. If we introduce students to using personal computers in kindergarten, but encourage them to only access programs that are assigned by the time a students reaches high school. It will become a part of their routine to only use certain programs during the school day.

Flipped Classrooms

I think that flipped classrooms would work really good for the middle and high school children. Teachers could also use it for some subject areas in the upper elementary subjects. It would be tough to use flipped learning as the primary way to teach the younger children in elementary school. It would be difficult because those students do not have as much dicipline to watch a video and then work homework problems. I think that it would be useful for all elementary teachers to still upload the videos to a class website to allow students who are struggling to watch the videos at home with their parents. Teachers could also upload more difficult problems to their website as well to allow gifted students to have more of a challenge. I like the ideas that flipped classrooms incorporate. The idea that 90% of the classroom time is spent on application instead of lecture. Lecture does not reach all students and that is part of the reason that not all students succeed through sitting in the desk in the classroom. Application of a lesson is where "rubber meets the road" for most students. The flipped classroom videos gave me some great ideas on revolutionizing the way I teach my students in the classroom and use technology to assist me in teaching. The question and answer section was extremely helpful for me because I had many questions ran through my head as I watched the videos. There is a way for every student to have access to flipped learning lectures, teachers just need to be creative.

C4T Post #1

For Comments for Teachers Assignment number one I was assigned to Brain Bennett's Blog. Mr. Bennett is a chemistry and biology teacher in Indiana. He has been teaching for three years. He writes about using technology to teach and simple teaching methods that other teachers can pick up on.

The first post of his that I commented on was about attending a webinar on how Flip Learning can be applied to teaching science. Mr. Bennet goes on to explain that many times he walks his students through procedures step by step or demonstrates how to do an experiment. He does this because he does not have faith that they will get to the correct answer if he allows him to complete the way they want to. After attending the webinar he decided to scrap his lab and allow the students to discover things on their own. He was shocked when the average error was only 2% for his first two classes. I commented on his post telling him that through him sharing his experience he inspired me to allow my students to discover things on their own. This is part of the learning process and we have lost the sense of discovery because we have become more worried about procedures. I also told him that his experience gave me faith that students still have the drive to push themselves when the answer is not right in front of them.

The second post of Mr. Bennett's that I commented on was Not Paperless? No Problem. I enjoyed this post because as a future teacher I am well aware of the paper restraints that schools have placed on their teachers and faculty. Mr. Bennett shares several creative ways for teachers to conserve paper. His suggestions include personal whiteboards, neon whiteboard markers for black table tops, saving and using scrap paper, using master sets, and using the internet to post homework assignments and questions. I commented that I really enjoyed reading his suggestions for alternative paper usage. I also shared that I will be putting several of his techniques into practice in my own classroom in just a few short years.

Blog Post #4

Podcasting is a series of audio files that easily conveys your ideas or messages. Until exploring the links provided and the internet for education and podcasting ideas I had a full understanding of podcasting. The impact that podcasting can have on students and the benefits that come along with it are numerous. As I explored this topic and its benefits, I found myself developing a growing interest. While looking around Langwithes's Blog I found three of my favorite podcasts or posts about using podcasting in the classroom.

The first podcast that I really enjoyed was 1st Graders Create Their Own Read Along Audiobooks. In this particular podcast, 1st Grade students helped to create and read a script based on the Magic Tree House Book, Dinosaurs Before Dark. Not only did the students participate in the recording of the podcast, they also participated in writing the script. I enjoyed listening to this podcast, because each character had a different voice and the students also used sound effects. The students gained numerous skills from this activity including writing, reading, and listening. Podcasting also encourages the students to use their creativity. It amazes me how well the first grade students did in completing this podcast on The Magic Tree House Book.

The next podcast I enjoyed listening to was another first grade classes, Flat Stanley Podcast. I believe I enjoyed listening to this podcast so much because I remember reading Flat Stanley when I was in grade school. The summer between my second and third grade year we were asked to take Flat Stanley with us wherever we went over summer vacation. The assignment was to take pictures with Flat Stanley and write a few sentences about each picture. I really enjoyed this project; therefore, I really liked listening to the places these first grade students came up with to send themselves as a version of Flat Stanley. The creativity and diversity stood out to me in this podcast. Through listening and reading about The Flat Stanley Podcast I realized that this podcast could also be used to teach geography. Students don't just learn about the place they choose, but through sharing they become aware of a variety of different places around The Earth.

Every future teacher should read the post: Its Not About the Tools Its About the Skills. Through this post the numerous skills that are taught through podcasting are brought to light. The author created this post in response to many parents asking what the point to podcasting was and why their students were not learning the basic reading, writing, math, and science skills. Just like the title sugest, it really isn't about the tools that we teach our students to use, but the skills were ensure we are teaching through using the technology that reaches our students. Just a few of the skills that are taught are auditory, communication, presentation, speaking, reading, geography, writing, organization, collaboration, and research skills. These are really just a few of the skills that students can learn through podcasting and various other technology teaching methods. Technology has become a large part of our students' lives outside of school, so why not use it to teach the students in a way they understand. using technology makes teaching relative and interactive.

Project #5: Presentation

Special Blog Post #1

WolfranAlpha Comparative Searches

Once completing a search on the comparison of the populations of China, India, and The United States, I found that all of the United States would comprise of only about 25% of the population of China or India. The results show that China has a population of 1.35 billion, India a population of 1.21 billion and the United States has 309 million people. When you look at those numbers the population of the United States seems rather small in comparison to China or India.

As one of the searches I choose to do, I searched for the fraction of the population of the United States with Crohn's Disease versus Ulcerative Colitis. I chose this search because I have Crohn's Disease and it is a topic that I have a vested interested in. The results I found were that 1 in 710 people in the United States have Crohn's Disease while 1 in 1850 have Ulcerative Colitis. I believe the number of people with Crohn's Disease is higher due to the fact that it is an incurable disease, but its cousin, Ulcerative Colitis, is a curable disease. In my second search, I searched for a comparison of the top four religions in the United States. My search results concluded that 84% of United States practices Christianity, 1.9% Judaism, 1.6% Islam, and 0.91% Buddism. I was honestly rather surprised at the results of this search. Going into the search I was convinced that Judaism, Isalm, and Buddism would have higher percentages and Christianity practiced in the United States would not be as high. I thought this due to the fact that although the United States was founded on the practices of Christianity, an ever growing diversity of our population and growing influence of other religions.

WolframAlpha can be a useful tool in classroom research, because of its versatility. I personally misunderstood the statistics in the Did You Know? Video, but I also understand the importance of interpreting statistics correctly in order for them to be effective. There are numerous ways to use this resource in the classroom and integrate it into lesson plans. I played around on the website and did some research of my own and found that they have created resources specifically for teachers. They have an area where teachers can exchange lesson plans; as well as, a blog specifically for educators. WolframAlpha would be a website that I would go to for ideas for creative lesson plans. This website is unique because students enjoy using it to find random information out. Information such as how many points a word is worth in scrabble, what their name means, or what their phone number would need to be in order to spell out a message. When students enjoy learning and interacting with technology, they are more likely to be willing to learn more. WolframAlpha is a resource I look forward to using not only in my classroom, but also for research for my own life, especially for school.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Using the information provided by Gary Hayes Social Media Count it is evident that the world around us is changing at an astronomical rate. Before viewing the social media count I honestly had not idea at the rate in which events occur around the world. These statistics did not necessarily surprise me, but more so they opened my eyes to the change that is occurring. If over 1.2 million new likes and comments occur in just one minute of time, then what else occurs in this time period. These statistics are important to keep in mind because as future teachers, our students our growing up in a world that is constantly changing. Our students will be apart and involved in these ever changing and growing statistics. These numbers represent a way of life and dependence on technology that our society has adopted.

The major impact that these statistics will have on teaching students that are growing up in these technological times is as teachers we will have to change the way we communicate with students. As Facebook becomes increasingly popular among the younger generations, I believe that having a classroom Facebook for communication will also be an important part of communication. Less people are calling and having face to face conversations and more are communicating through email, text messages, and even Skype. As a teacher I will make it a priority to learn the most effective way to communicate with my students and their parents. I will also take advantage of the abundant resources that are available through twitter and blogs. I have the opportunity to be a more effective teacher by using these resources. The technology is changing the way we live our lives, communicate and learn.