Sunday, May 3, 2015
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Final Project Blog Post
Before taking EDM 310 I did not realize how important technology could be in the classroom. I think to teach students today you must include technology in your lessons. It keeps the students engaged. There are several types of tools you can use with technology such as blogs, twitter, iMovie, and many others. I think the best approach for teaching with technology is project-based learning. This allows for students to show more creativity in their work and solve real world problems. The fact that project-based learning always involves a real world problem this gets the students attention because they find it useful. It is almost impossible to avoid using technology in the class because it is all around. Most likely every class has a Smart Board and some school districts even have iPads for all the students. It would be a waste to let a tool with infinite possibilities not be used in the class. So, if you were to ask me how I feel about technology in the classroom, then I would say it is one of the best things that ever happen to education.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Blog Post #14
In the article called Teaching Can Be a Profession by Mr. Joel Klein, I found some of his points to be valid and some to be totally ridiculous. The first change he suggested is that families should have more choices when it comes to school. I agree with this because schools do not have a even distribution of well qualified teachers. For example, schools in a good neighborhoods usually get better qualified teachers ,and more government funding leading to a better quality education for the students. Schools that are in low income neighborhoods get more unqualified teachers and less federal funding leading to a poorer education for those students. I must say this is not fair and children should get the same quality education no matter where they come from. There should be some policy put in place that allows for schools to have highly qualified teachers and equally distributed funding. If this were to happen there would be no need for parents to worry about what school their children will attend. I would like to stay hopeful but this will probably never happen.
Mr. Klein next suggestion was technology should be used to improve teaching and learning. I agree with this because we are living in the 21st century and it is our job as educators to give our students the best quality education possible. The only way I feel this is possible is by incorporating technology into the classroom. Before taking EDM 310 I had no idea how important technology was in the classroom. It keeps the students engaged and also prepares them for the future in a way that is more suitable for the real world. Technology is taking over and the best way to handle this is to just incorporate it in the classroom. If you are an educator and you are not on the technology bandwagon then you are putting yourself and more importantly your students at an serious disadvantage to the rest of the world.
His next suggestion was that education should be started for a child earlier than five years old. I would have to agree with him on this matter. Children are progressing at a faster rate than ever before. Why not shape the minds of little ones as early as possible?
Last but definitely not least he said that "Teaching should be professionalize, making it like other well-respected professions, such as law and medicine. I am rather offended by his suggestion saying that teachers are not professionals. So, I looked up the definition of professional to see did I miss something. According to Websters dictionary a professional is relating to a job that requires special education, training, or skill. To become a teacher you must attend at least four years of college, past several certification test, and successfully complete your internship and student teaching. That falls under the category of special training and skills. Next, he said that there should be better academic training for teachers. I have to agree with this teachers should be better trained in the basics of reading and math instruction. He also said that only the teachers of the top third of the class should be recruited. I do not feel this is an effective way to recruit teachers. My philosophy is that just because you score high and make good grades does not mean you are the best person for the job. For example, a teacher can have all the knowledge in the world and be ineffective at getting that knowledge across to their students. Teaching does not just involved academics you have to be able to emotionally support your students, be able to manage a classroom, and also be able to adjust to the needs of each student. His next point was that teachers are rewarded by seniority. I agree with his point because to often are teachers rewarded because they been around a long time and they are not effectively teaching their students. Mr.Klein brought up the fact that when there must be layoffs, the most recently hired teacher is terminated. There should be something to stop this from happening. For example, here at the University of South Alabama students are able to evaluate each course. That information is used to determine whether the professor is effectively teaching the class. I feel this should be used at all schools to determine whether a teacher should be allowed to teach the following year. Parents and students should have a say in the quality of education they receive. I don't think the term professionalizing teaching should be used for the changes that need to be made. In my opinion teachers are already professionals. Mr. Albert Shanker suggested that educators should be required to take entry exams and do longer supervised internships. I don't agree that all that is necessary. However, I must say if this were to take place would this also include the pay of teachers being raised. They referred to the profession of doctors and lawyers but doctors and lawyers both receive a higher pay than teachers.
There are a lot of changes that need to be made concerning education and teachers. Teachers also should be respected more and be considered a respected profession. Because after all we would not have doctors , lawyers, and other so called respected professions if someone did not teach them the skills they know.
Mr. Klein next suggestion was technology should be used to improve teaching and learning. I agree with this because we are living in the 21st century and it is our job as educators to give our students the best quality education possible. The only way I feel this is possible is by incorporating technology into the classroom. Before taking EDM 310 I had no idea how important technology was in the classroom. It keeps the students engaged and also prepares them for the future in a way that is more suitable for the real world. Technology is taking over and the best way to handle this is to just incorporate it in the classroom. If you are an educator and you are not on the technology bandwagon then you are putting yourself and more importantly your students at an serious disadvantage to the rest of the world.
His next suggestion was that education should be started for a child earlier than five years old. I would have to agree with him on this matter. Children are progressing at a faster rate than ever before. Why not shape the minds of little ones as early as possible?
Last but definitely not least he said that "Teaching should be professionalize, making it like other well-respected professions, such as law and medicine. I am rather offended by his suggestion saying that teachers are not professionals. So, I looked up the definition of professional to see did I miss something. According to Websters dictionary a professional is relating to a job that requires special education, training, or skill. To become a teacher you must attend at least four years of college, past several certification test, and successfully complete your internship and student teaching. That falls under the category of special training and skills. Next, he said that there should be better academic training for teachers. I have to agree with this teachers should be better trained in the basics of reading and math instruction. He also said that only the teachers of the top third of the class should be recruited. I do not feel this is an effective way to recruit teachers. My philosophy is that just because you score high and make good grades does not mean you are the best person for the job. For example, a teacher can have all the knowledge in the world and be ineffective at getting that knowledge across to their students. Teaching does not just involved academics you have to be able to emotionally support your students, be able to manage a classroom, and also be able to adjust to the needs of each student. His next point was that teachers are rewarded by seniority. I agree with his point because to often are teachers rewarded because they been around a long time and they are not effectively teaching their students. Mr.Klein brought up the fact that when there must be layoffs, the most recently hired teacher is terminated. There should be something to stop this from happening. For example, here at the University of South Alabama students are able to evaluate each course. That information is used to determine whether the professor is effectively teaching the class. I feel this should be used at all schools to determine whether a teacher should be allowed to teach the following year. Parents and students should have a say in the quality of education they receive. I don't think the term professionalizing teaching should be used for the changes that need to be made. In my opinion teachers are already professionals. Mr. Albert Shanker suggested that educators should be required to take entry exams and do longer supervised internships. I don't agree that all that is necessary. However, I must say if this were to take place would this also include the pay of teachers being raised. They referred to the profession of doctors and lawyers but doctors and lawyers both receive a higher pay than teachers.
There are a lot of changes that need to be made concerning education and teachers. Teachers also should be respected more and be considered a respected profession. Because after all we would not have doctors , lawyers, and other so called respected professions if someone did not teach them the skills they know.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Part 2 of Blog Post #5
It has been a great journey learning all the possibilities of a Personal Learning Network. The use of PLN's makes life a little easier for me. When I am looking for a resource I don't have to look it up. I set my PLN as my home page in the web browser. When I access the internet all my resources I use on a daily basis are available for me through the PLN. I added things to my PLN throughout the semester as I found certain resources to be important to me. Some of those resources include twitter,the EDM class blog, and YouTube. Overall, I like the tool Symbaloo which is what I used to make my PLN. I will continue to use this tool throughout the rest of my years in college.
Alexis Personal Learning Network
Alexis Personal Learning Network
C4T #4 Summary
C4T #4 Blog Post Summary
This week I was assigned to the blog of Ms. Cathy Jo Nelson. In her blog post she expressed her confusion whether to be happy or confused about a common craft video on libraries. She is a librarian and I assume she is upset that technology has become such a big deal that a video is now needed to educate people on libraries.C4T #4 Comment
I think that the Common Craft video was great. There has been a neglect in the use of useful library resources . A lot of people would rather just do their research on the internet. I think the issue is that many people do not know that these resources are available in the library. Hopefully this video will encourage more people to use the library.
C4K Summary for April
C4K #8 Blog Post Summary
I was assigned to Conner K's Blog this week in Mrs Lombard's class. On his blog post he talked about how school baseball has been fun for him this year. His team is undefeated with a record of 5-0 right now. His game the night before his blog post his team won against a school called Mount Saint Mary's with a score of 21-0. Conner K plays all positions in the outfield and he looks forward to the next season.C4K#8 Comment
C4K #9 Blog Post Summary
This week I was assigned a student named Brody. In his blog post he talks about his school which is a farming school. Most of the students at this school have parents who are farmers and they also learn about farming. Brody also talks about the different cities in New Zealand. He lives in Taranaki, New Zealand which has a population of 109,700. There are lots of cultures in New Zealand such as Maori, Chinese, and Indian.
C4K #9 Comment
Hi Brody, My name is Alexis I am a junior at the University of South Alabama. I find it quite interesting that your school only has 9 classrooms. Since your school is a farming school do they teach you a lot about farming? I have never heard of your city Taranaki. I plan to do some research on your city to learn more about where you are from.
C4K #10 Blog Post Summary
This week I was assigned Marvina. Her blog post was about how did April fools day begin. Her answer was through the adoption of a new calender in 1582.C4K #10 Comment
Great Post Marvina. You are absolutely right that the adoption of the new calendar is how April fools first started. Apparently Pope Gregory XIII started the calender for the Christians of Europe. This changed the beginning of the year from April 1st to January 1st. There were some people who still celebrated the beginning of the year on April 1st, and they were called the April Fools.Sunday, April 19, 2015
Blog Post #13
This project will help you to create a reading lesson for beginning readers. First you must understand what the five components of reading are. Take a look at the links below, Then you will briefly summarize each component in a blog post. Also, in the blog post you will give two examples of how each component can be taught by using technology.
The Five Essential Components of Reading
Teachnology and Teaching Children How to Read
5 Anchors for Teaching Children to Read
The Five Essential Components of Reading
Teachnology and Teaching Children How to Read
5 Anchors for Teaching Children to Read
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