Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Blog Post #10

Ms. Cassidy's approach to technology is exactly what we need in the classroom today for teaching technology. As an future educator I believe blogging would be very beneficial in the classroom. Students are more motivated to do their very best on work because they know they have a bigger audience rather than just the teacher. They also receive positive feedback from the people who comment on their blogs. Possible issues that could get in the way of implementing blogging and other technology software would be administration and parents. As Ms. Cassidy stated in her video she has had several different administrator's. Some of the administrators where all for her use of technology in the class and others were just not interested. This could be an issue if you had an administrator who did not want teachers using things such as blogger in the classroom. Parents could also be an issue when using technology in the class.It has many benefits such as they are able to view their child's progress throughout the year at anytime. However, some parents may worry that their child will get access to something inappropriate on the web. There are several benefits to using Ms. Cassidy's approach. One of the main reasons is that students are more motivated because through blogging they showcase their work all over the world. Students connect with others in their personal learning network who may share interest in some of the same things. If you encounter a problem with an assignment maybe someone in your personal learning network had the same problem and they can help. There are many advantages to using technology in the classroom ,but educators must not be afraid to use them.
 http://blog.practutor.com/can-teachers-can-benefit-classroom-blogs-help-students/


Sunday, March 29, 2015

SMART Board Project #12 Part A


C4K Summary for March

C4K #5

Future sophomores taking Plan tests I suggest you actually try on this test and prepare for it just like it’s an ACT or a summative grade test. I say that because this test will really help prepare you for the ACT test you will take your junior year so you should really take this testing serious. Study go over some things that you’ve learned in English, science and math, review some of those things it’ll really help you out in the long run. Also try to get a good breakfast in the morning before the test that’s a nice start for a test day. But reminder you have to bring your own snacks they don’t give out snacks anymore you have to bring your own food now. In my opinion the Plan tests aren’t that bad its basic stuff that you’ve learned at a young age all the way up to your age now.

My Comment


Hi Jaron, My name is Alexis I am a elementary education major at the University of South Alabama. I think you had some really good advice about preparing for the Plan test. I remember taking that test as a sophomore, and I did not take it as serious as I should have. I hope that your readers will take your advice and take it serious.

C4K #6


We took the plan on Tuesday. It was easy for me but I don’t know about the others students who took the test too. We took English, Math, Reading, and science and it was just half of school that day. You can get a break so you can go to the restroom or eat you snack or talk to friends. If they catch you with your phone out with out permission you go to your dean and you take the test another day during school  . After you finish you can get your phone out and text or play you games or watch videos. also you can do your homework or read while you may go to your locker or your bus. I whish you did good on your plan test. the plan don’t hurt your grade is just to see how well you have improve in those classes. the collage can see if you can go their collage or not.

My Comment


Hi Jasmine, I remember taking the plan test when I was in school. I found this test to be very beneficial for those students who planned on taking the ACT or SAT test. The Plan test is very good practice so I hope you learned something from it. I wish you the best of luck on your future.

C4K #7

Turtle are very dangerous and slow. They have been around for hundreds of years. In  some countries they are going instinct. Some animal hospitals are helping save turtles. Turtles are very cool and amazing creatures.

My Comment 

Hi Jake, My name is Alexis I am a student at The University of South Alabama. I happen to think that turtles are very amazing creatures too. It saddens me to know that these creatures are going instinct in certain parts of the world. Is there anything that we could do to help save these endangered creatures.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Blog Post #9

There is a lot to be learned from teachers and students about project based learning.  The Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning is a perfect example of what project based learning is all about. A good project should be perceived meaningful by the students and it should provide an educational purpose. I think it is very important for the students to find the project meaningful. If the project is not something the students care about it will be a lot harder to get them engaged in the project. PBL challenges students to solve a driving question. While students set out to solve a driving question PBl also gives students the platform to be creative and voice their ideas. I believe students feel more accomplished when they solve issues on their own and are able to showcase their ideas. In the video Project Based Learning for Teachers by Tony Vincent he sites a Einstein quote which says "I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn". This is what PBL is based off of the teacher does not actually teach the student. The students learn how to teach themselves and solve challenging real world problems on their own. When doing this they develop 21st century skills such as critical thinking.

In the 21st century it is getting harder and harder to motivate students. In the video PBL: What Motivates Students Today it shows interviews with real students on what motivates them. The most popular answer is they feel motivated when they receive some type of reward from their teacher. Students work harder and feel like their work meant something when they get rewarded for their work. This shows that students are just like adults in a way because adults also work hard for recognition in some type of way. For example, a lawyer works at a big law firm and they work very hard and their reward is to make partner. The same is for students if they work hard on a project and they receive an A , then they are going to work even harder to keep that A. There are many benefits to Project Based Learning and I believe if educators use it in their lessons the students will be more engaged and retain the information longer.

Einstein said " I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn".

Project #9 Video Book Commentary

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Blog Post #8

There is a lot to be learned about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. I found Mr. Pausch to filled with great wisdom about life. I learned from the video that teaching should be fun, and Pausch made this lecture fun by saying jokes to make them laugh and it kept their attention. There was one thing about teaching that stuck out the most to me in his video and that was when he said " When you are doing something badly and nobody's  bothering to tell you anymore, that's a very bad place to be. Your critics are the ones telling you they still love you and care". As a future educator I found this to be very insightful. I have seen instances where teachers may see a student doing something wrong and they just move on either because they gave up or do not care anymore. It is a big mistake to let someone go on doing something wrong and you know that they are doing it. Taking the time out to let someone know they are doing something wrong can encourage them to do better, and they may carry that lesson they learned for the rest of their lives.

There was also a lot to learn from Pausch about learning also. What I received from his lecture is to try to learn something from every experience in your life even if it does not work out the way you wanted. For example, one of his dreams was to play in the NFL and of course this dream did not become a reality. Even though he did not go to the NFL he learned some valuable lessons from his coach that he carried throughout life . I also learned that if you want something badly you have to work hard for it. His quote about the brick wall is a great example of this. Learning should never stop when you think you know enough. If you have a dream to become a doctor then you have to work hard at it because there are lots of individuals who also want that position. To achieve your goals you have to never give up and bring your all to the table.

A picture of Randy Pausch and his three children

C4T#2 Summary

I was assigned Mr. Doug Johnson and the name of his blog is The Blue Skunk Blog.

C4T#2 Post 1 Summary 

The name of the blog post I was assigned for this week is Obstructing Change With Fear.  In this post Mr. Johnson discussed how some school systems are using the excuse of theft to avoid incorporating technology into their schools. He gives statistics to prove that what some schools systems may be saying about theft is simply just an excuse. In his data it showed that 84% of the participants said that theft rarely or never occurs in their school.

C4T#2 Post 1 Comment

Hello, My name is Alexis Taite I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I do believe that some school systems are afraid of change so they use the excuse of theft to not move forward. It is unfair to the students to not give them the education they deserve. So my argument is that it should not be a choice but mandatory to incorporate technology into the classroom. Students will not be prepared for today's society if technology is not incorporated into the classroom. The old fashion way of teaching is not as effective anymore because children have unlimited access to all sorts of information at the click of a button.


C4T#2 Post 2 Summary

The name of the blog post I was assigned for this week is  A Growth Mindset For Techs. In this post Mr. Johnson discussed people that work in the tech world. Many technicians may not be good at teaching others how to also be good using technology. There are two types of people that technicians deal with. People with a closed mindset typically respond in a negative way. For example "I've just never been good at technology". People with a growth mindset may respond in a positive way and have a willingness to learn. Technicians may choose to not help those who have a closed mindset or encourage them that it can be done.

C4T#2 Post 2 Comment 

Hello Mr. Johnson,
My name is Alexis I am a education major at the University of South Alabama. I believe it can be difficult for a technician to assist someone who has a closed mindset when it comes to doing things with technology. However, not all individuals are interested in learning how to use technology or they are use to someone just doing it for them. I think technicians should encourage people to become technologically advanced. For example, the video in your blog post shows a technician who is frustrated and just tells the lady to move. This was not a very productive way of handling the situation. I believe he should have been patient and went through the process step by step on how to solve the problem. Then, the next time she had the same issue she would know how to fix it herself. Teaching is not just something that is limited to school. Everywhere around us there is something new to be learned. So, for jobs like a technician I believe they should be open to teaching others how to solve their own problems.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Blog Post #7

New technological innovations are being introduced to the market everyday and children are quickly learning how to use them. I believe in order to be the best educator I can be I should try to stay up to date with this new technology to better teach my students. Before I graduate I think I should be very Knowledgable in the technology they are using in the classrooms. I can achieve this by going past learning the basics when it comes to using computers and push myself to explore all varieties of things.


The videos I watched for this blog post were very interesting. One of the videos talked about kindergarten students doing a book trailer on a book they read. I was in aww to learn that kindergarten students could make a book trailer and I was just learning to how to do this. Once the students learned the basic mechanics of how iMovie works they were able to navigate it themselves. I think it is good for children to learn how to use such resources as iMovie at such a early age. This activity is fun for the students and it reinforces what they read. Another thing I found interesting was one of the media specialist in the video gave an example of how she was having a hard time learning how to take pictures on an iPad. One of her students who was in kindergarten showed her how to do it. Imagine having a child as young as 6 knowing how to use a technology better than you do. iPads in the classroom keep students engaged in learning and makes them excited about learning. Technology is not getting rid of teachers ,but teachers who choose not to embrace technology will make it hard on themselves.

Project #7 Part B Two Movies as a Teacher

To Students......


To Parents......