C4K Summary for February

C4K #2 Blog Post and Comment Summary
 I was assigned Kyleigh's blog this week which I thought was really well. In her blog post she talked about how she was excited to start back playing basketball. She had been out for a couple of games due to a knee injury. Kyleigh referred to her teammates as family which I thought was really great. There was also a picture of her and her teammates that she posted on the blog.


I introduced myself to Kyleigh as a student a The University of South Alabama. I also told her how much I enjoyed her blog post because I like basketball too. I never played when I was in school ,but  I do enjoy watching basketball games. I also expressed how excited I was for her to get back to doing what she loves.

C4K#3 Blog Post and Comment Summary
I was assigned Ryan this week in Ms. Leatherwood class. In Ryan's blog post he told a story about him getting his first cellphone. He had to work very hard for his first cellphone. I felt that his writing was very descriptive he used simile's and very descriptive adjectives. He also learned a lesson from this experience. Ryan decided he would work hard again the next summer to buy something else he wanted.

I introduced myself first to Ryan as a student at USA and I told him that I really enjoyed his story. His story made me recall how excited I was when I got my first cell phone. The comparison he made for working for his phone to a marathon runner was a accurate depiction of hard he felt he was working. Ryan learned a very valuable lesson from this experience. When you want something and you work really hard ,then you can accomplish anything.

C4K #4 Blog Post and Comment Summary
This week I commented on Bryan S.'s blog where he discussed social media freedom. He talked about whether people should be punished for the harmful things they say on social media. I liked that he was not one sided on the issue. Bryan discussed both sides telling how some people feel you should be punished and others feel like you should be able to say whatever you want. He ended his blog post by saying that he feels people should not be punished for saying things on social media because that's what it is for.

I introduced myself to Bryan and told him how I really enjoyed his blog post. He had some very interesting points. I feel that people should be punished for the harmful things they say on social media. The only conflict with this is that we have freedom of speech as Americans. Although, we are entitled to this right I feel their should be some limits. I ended with asking him does he think their will ever be any laws to stop this.

Project #8 Book Trailer

Blog Assignment #6

I learned a lot about Project Based Learning from Mr. Anthony Capps videos. One of the first things that he discussed is what Project Based Learning should consist of. In order to be effective it should have a authentic audience, it should interest the students, and it should cover the content area. When you hear the word project you probably think fun and good times but Project Based Learning blends fun with learning. An example in the videos that Mr. Capps used was he had his students write a letter to the congressman on if the they agree or disagree with women fighting in combat. This project met the standards for ACCRS (Alabama College and Career Ready Standards) in writing, reading, and social studies. Not only did it meet the content requirements for the class but it interest the students which is important. We recently discussed peer review in one of our previous blogs and the importance of it. Mr. Capps had his students peer review their classmates letters and pick which ones were the best. The students were able to learn from each others work and mistakes.

Another thing I learned from Mr. Capps videos was to let the students teach you. Sometimes teachers come off as know it all's. When in fact students can teach us just as much as we can teach them. One example he have in the video was a student in his class corrected him ,then she was able to go back to the text and tell him why that was the correct answer. As educators we shouldn't take offense when students do this. This shows the process of deeper thinking. He also mentioned recording students when they give feedback on projects. This feedback can be used to base your future lessons around.

As a student in EDM 310 I have been learning about many resources to get information from. In the videos I learned about two more useful websites. I thought the search engine iCurio was very interesting. Students are able to find information and save it in an organized way. It is also filtered so that students can not access inappropriate websites. He also talked about Discovery Ed which allows students to search for information in science and social studies. By using websites like these students are able to choose what information they think is important and have more independence when it comes to learning.

My Sentence Videos.

My Passion Is....

My Sentence Is....

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Assignment #5

A Personal Learning Network is a set tools and people that you can call upon for help and consultation. Each PLN is crafted to match that single individual needs. If you frequently use Twitter or Facebook to stay in contact with people , then those would be things to have in your PLN. As an future educator I believe a PLN will help me to stay in contact with my students and other teachers. I created a Symbaloo account to keep track of my PLN. I found this website to be very interesting. All the social networks and search engines I use daily are right there on one page for easy access. The first addition to my PLN will be classmates, teachers, and anyone else who can assist in my learning. I have not quite figured out the full use of Symbaloo , but with a little practice I think this website can be very useful.

Blog Assignment #4

It can be hard asking good questions in the classroom. As an educator you want to ask good questions to help your students learn.  So you ask yourself how do you ask good question? In a video by Joanne Chelsey called "Asking better questions in the classroom" she discusses two methods for asking questions. The closed ended questions only require a short answer usually yes or no. An open ended question requires more critical thinking and the answer to the question may vary between students. I think the best questions to ask students should be open ended questions. These types of questions require the students to really think and it shows if they really understand the lesson.

In the article by Ben Johnson called "The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom" I think the most important point he made is about getting all the students to ask questions. When you call on a student in class all the other students will breathe a sigh of relief because you did not call on the them. This is not a effective way of asking questions because once you call on one student all the other students stop paying attention. I think teachers should ask the other students follow up questions to make sure they were paying attention.

Project #15 Search Engines

1. WolframAlpha
This website is most useful for calculating a math problem or getting information on a wide variety of topics. To find the answer to what you are looking for you can simply type it in, or it also gives you the choice to upload a image or file. I have never heard of this website. I played around with it and I believe it will be a great website to use as a student and educator.

2.  DuckDuckGO
This search engine is good for people who take pride in keeping things private. DuckDuckGo can look up just about anything while not allowing anyone to be able to track you. This search engine is also user friendly for people who speak a language besides English. The language of the whole website can be changed to better suit you.

3. Bing 
This search engine can be best used for finding information and it also is educational. Everyday Bing uses a new photo for it's background. These photos can be of animals, people, and places all over the world. What makes these photos interesting is that at the bottom of the screen their is a link to give you more information on the picture. Also, on it's homepage is a list a all the latest news.

4. Dogpile
This search engine can be used for finding information fast. It uses all the information from popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo and compile the best results for you.

5. Ask
The name says it all this website is most popular for answering questions. You can simply type in a question and the engine will give a list of answers.

6. Youtube
This search engine is used to find videos. Youtube has a wide variety of videos ranging from music videos to educational videos.You simply just type in a artist or keyword and you get the results for that search. This search engine can also be used for uploading your own videos when you create and account. I love this website and I get on it at least once a day. Mostly, when I use this website I search for music videos or funny videos.

7. Yahoo
This search engine can be used for a variety of your daily internet needs. Through Yahoo you can access your email or check the daily weather. You can also find out whats trending in the news world or even search for some information.

8. Ixquick
This search engine is used to find your most advanced searches. It also keeps your information private. That website is referred to the most private search engine. I think that keeping your information private is important other than that I do not really like this website.

Comments 4 Kids # 1

Summary of Blog Post:

 It is the final phase of the hunt for Zavac. After slipping through their fingers in the siege of the town, they now must pursue him into his home country, Magyara. A den of theives, they must pick their way through. If you can't beat 'em join 'em............  I liked this book, and give it 5 out of five stars. Definitely recommend. Suspenseful, exciting, grabbed my attention and held it. The whole series is awesome.

My Comment

Hello Eli, I really enjoyed your summary of The Hunters by John Flanagan. Your summary of the book made me want to read it myself. Is the book related to the movie The Hunters?

Comment for Teachers #1 Mrs. Dianne Krause

I was assigned Dianne Krause who is an Instructional Technology Specialist and coach for the faculty of the Wissahickson school district. The name of her blog is "Dianne's Digital Discoveries". In her blog she post links to articles and websites that focus on how to incorporate technology into the classroom. The websites feature fun lesson plans and ideas to get kids involved in using technology to learn.

Summary of Dianne's Blog Post on 1/20/2015:

Dianne posted a link to Bing in the Classroom Lesson Plans. Each day Bing search engine uses a new picture for it's background. These pictures can be of just about anything. Bing has a link to the pictures that give information regarding the pictures. Parents and teachers can spend 10 minutes a day exploring with kids the history of the photo. This activity promotes digital literacy and critical thinking in fun short activities. Her second link was to Teacher Marija: Mix a Tube a Sway It
which shows many ways in which you can mix videos using popular kids movies and make them educational. This activity can be fun for students and also get them involved in using technology.


My Comment to Dianne's Blog Post on 1/20/2015:

I loved your daily discoveries for today. Incorporating Bing into the classroom lesson can have many benefits. Students can learn digital literacy and it also can be used to enforce information learned in subjects such as science and history. I especially liked the link on mixing videos and using them to teach in the class. I believe this is a fun activity to get students attention and also help them learn using technology.

 

Summary of Dianne's Blog Post on 2/03/2015:

Dianne post a link to ISTE Standards: Preparing Students for the Digital Age. She believes that in order to integrate technology into the classroom educators need to be able to understand the technology as much as the students. This may require the teacher to learn from the students sometimes. The standards to follow to succeed at this is the ISTE Standards for teachers which are the standards for evaluating the skills and knowledge educators need to teach, work, and learn in an increasingly connected global and digital society.

My Comment to Dianne's Blog Post on 2/03/2015:

 Hello Dianne, I really enjoyed your link to the ISTE Standards: Preparing kids for the digital age. I am currently working on my degree in elementary education at The University of South Alabama. As an future educator I am afraid that I will not be able to keep up with the new age of technology. Everyday there are new technologies being brought out onto the market , and children are learning to use these technologies with ease. The only dilemma I have with all the new technology is how to incorporate it into the classroom. If the students are already one step ahead of you with the technology how can you teach using a technology you are just learning to use?

Blog Assignment # 3

        Peer Editing is giving feedback to someone your age on their writing. When peer editing you will make suggestions, corrections, and even give compliments. Although, peer editing may seem simple it does have rules. When editing your peer's paper you should always remain positive. I would take offense if someone was mean to me while editing my paper. In the video "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes" it showed students who where conducting peer reviews , but they were going about it the wrong way. For example, one student was to harsh when giving feedback and another student did not give specific details about the mistakes that needed to be corrected. When peer editing you should always give compliments on the writing then you should make suggestions in a kind way. The importance of peer editing is to make a student feel confident about their writing and to give them positive feedback so that they know what mistakes not to make next time.

       When I peer edit my classmates blog post in EDM 310 I will be sure to be kind and give specific details on what needs to be corrected. In the video "What is Peer Editing" it gave specific steps to follow when peer editing. I will use the steps as a guide to help me. The first step was to compliment your peer's writing. So, when complimenting my classmates writing I will use kind words such as "I like how you wrote" or "your paper was very interesting". Then, I will make suggestions on word choice, organization, and topic sentences. Last, I would make corrections on punctuation, grammar, and spelling.