Thursday, November 27, 2014
Blog Post #5 Part 2
My Personal Learning Network has grown so much since I first started this class. When I first started I have never heard of a PLN. Now I have started my own little PLN. Most of my PLN consists of other Elementary Education major students at the University of South Alabama. This is so we can discuss about what is going on in are classes and certain situations that have came up. I also have a few teachers in my PLN that I gained this year from doing some in school tutoring. It is great to be able to ask people questions to teachers that have experienced some of the questions I have. Even if they don't have an answer we discuss it and come up with a good solution. I can't wait to see how much my PLN grows over the years. I hope I can even teach some people about what a PLN is.
C4T #4 Summary
The teacher I chose is Becky Goerend and her blog is called Live the Conversation.
The first post she wrote is called Reflections on my first year as an elective teacher. She was getting exhausted teaching elementary school so she switched and became an elective teacher. The main difference between the two was she got really attached to the students she had all year long where she seen 300 students every 2 days being an elective teacher. Even as an elective teacher though she still had a big impact on the students and they looked up to her. I think it is good to switch jobs after a few years that way you are not always doing the same thing year after year. It sounds like Mrs. Goerend is a great teacher if so many kids look up to her.
The second post she wrote is called Thoughts on Wikipedia. Her insight on Wikipedia was to let her students research it. She says it may be your best source of information. Yes Wikipedia is a site with information that changes but usually that is with updated information. Wikipedia is a sight that has other resources in its footnotes section so you can see where the information comes from. I wish when I was in school we could have used Wikipedia as long as we could have provided other sources as well to prove that it is right. I'm glad that some teachers are open to it though like Mrs. Goerend.
The first post she wrote is called Reflections on my first year as an elective teacher. She was getting exhausted teaching elementary school so she switched and became an elective teacher. The main difference between the two was she got really attached to the students she had all year long where she seen 300 students every 2 days being an elective teacher. Even as an elective teacher though she still had a big impact on the students and they looked up to her. I think it is good to switch jobs after a few years that way you are not always doing the same thing year after year. It sounds like Mrs. Goerend is a great teacher if so many kids look up to her.
The second post she wrote is called Thoughts on Wikipedia. Her insight on Wikipedia was to let her students research it. She says it may be your best source of information. Yes Wikipedia is a site with information that changes but usually that is with updated information. Wikipedia is a sight that has other resources in its footnotes section so you can see where the information comes from. I wish when I was in school we could have used Wikipedia as long as we could have provided other sources as well to prove that it is right. I'm glad that some teachers are open to it though like Mrs. Goerend.
Friday, November 21, 2014
C4K November Summary
My first kid was Breena who is in Mr. Wigmore's 14/15 class. She wrote a blog called my weekend... and she told all about the fun things she did. They included riding her bike, swimming, eating at the food court, and dancing with her sister. Her weekend seemed very fun and eventful.
My second kid was Ayleen who is in Mrs. Mena's 5th grade class. She wrote a blog called Me and My and Dad Different and the same. The things that make Ayleen and her dad the same are they both are neat, they both like to draw, lions, the San Diego Chargers, color, cake, and projects. The things that make Ayleen and her dad different are their gender, her dad knows a lot more about math, and she likes more animals than him. I think it is sweet that Ayleen wants to write a blog about her and her dad.
My third kid was Grace K. who is in Ms. DeBuhr's 6th grade class. She wrote a blog called 1st Quarter Review. In her blog she mentioned how she feels like her school is her second Family. I think it is great she can feel this close to people. She also loves to blog which I think is great because a lot of the other kids I have had have not seemed that interested in blogging.
My second kid was Ayleen who is in Mrs. Mena's 5th grade class. She wrote a blog called Me and My and Dad Different and the same. The things that make Ayleen and her dad the same are they both are neat, they both like to draw, lions, the San Diego Chargers, color, cake, and projects. The things that make Ayleen and her dad different are their gender, her dad knows a lot more about math, and she likes more animals than him. I think it is sweet that Ayleen wants to write a blog about her and her dad.
My third kid was Grace K. who is in Ms. DeBuhr's 6th grade class. She wrote a blog called 1st Quarter Review. In her blog she mentioned how she feels like her school is her second Family. I think it is great she can feel this close to people. She also loves to blog which I think is great because a lot of the other kids I have had have not seemed that interested in blogging.
Blog Post #14
Teaching Can Be A Profession
In Mr. Klein's article the number one thing he thought that needed changing was to professionalize teaching.
The first thing he talked about was there not being good enough academic training for prospective teachers. His solution was to have better teacher programs. I am not very far along with my education classes but I do agree that as a soon to be teacher we do need the best programs as possible to learn from.
The next thing that needed work on was a new approach to recruiting teachers. His solution was not letting everyone that has a teaching degree to become a teacher but only let the top third of graduates become a teacher. I don't agree with this. I think there are already many people with teaching degrees that can not find jobs. I also do not think only the top third of graduates should get a job because just because you are smart and do good in school does not mean you are the best at teaching someone else.
The third thing that Mr. Klein thought was a problem was with how teachers get rewarded. His solution was based on each teachers performance instead of his or her seniority. I agree that teachers should be rewarded on their sole performance of how he or she is teaching each semester instead of what they have done in the past. People can tend to get lazy over time; not saying everyone does.
The next thing that was a problem was how seniority is a distraction in school. His solution was that the least effective teacher should get laid off rather then the ones that are the most recently hired. I agree with this because I think anyone should be fired if they are not doing their job right. Now if the boss has to make budget cuts and everyone is doing a great job then I think there should be a lot of factors considered like what else the teachers do besides just teaching the students.
In conclusion I think this is a great article to read for anyone that is getting a degree in teaching or associated with schools. It will open peoples eyes and their thoughts to change. I think over the years it is more likely that the expectations of teachers will change; hopefully all for the better.
In Mr. Klein's article the number one thing he thought that needed changing was to professionalize teaching.
The first thing he talked about was there not being good enough academic training for prospective teachers. His solution was to have better teacher programs. I am not very far along with my education classes but I do agree that as a soon to be teacher we do need the best programs as possible to learn from.
The next thing that needed work on was a new approach to recruiting teachers. His solution was not letting everyone that has a teaching degree to become a teacher but only let the top third of graduates become a teacher. I don't agree with this. I think there are already many people with teaching degrees that can not find jobs. I also do not think only the top third of graduates should get a job because just because you are smart and do good in school does not mean you are the best at teaching someone else.
The third thing that Mr. Klein thought was a problem was with how teachers get rewarded. His solution was based on each teachers performance instead of his or her seniority. I agree that teachers should be rewarded on their sole performance of how he or she is teaching each semester instead of what they have done in the past. People can tend to get lazy over time; not saying everyone does.
The next thing that was a problem was how seniority is a distraction in school. His solution was that the least effective teacher should get laid off rather then the ones that are the most recently hired. I agree with this because I think anyone should be fired if they are not doing their job right. Now if the boss has to make budget cuts and everyone is doing a great job then I think there should be a lot of factors considered like what else the teachers do besides just teaching the students.
In conclusion I think this is a great article to read for anyone that is getting a degree in teaching or associated with schools. It will open peoples eyes and their thoughts to change. I think over the years it is more likely that the expectations of teachers will change; hopefully all for the better.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Project #12 Part B
As a group we took are lesson plan on the continents, oceans, cardinal directions, and equator and taught it using the SmartBoard. The project was done by myself, Laura Andrews, and Hunter Tallent.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Blog Post #13
What Did I Leave Out?
Assignment: How can we use Project Based Learning in Math?
1. Watch PBL Maths Formative Assessment.
2. Watch Math PBL.
3. Write a post and summarize what you learned in each of these videos.
Answer the question in a post that adheres to the standards found in the ACCRS and in Writing A Quality Blog Post.
After watching PBL Maths Formative Assesment I see that it is useful for students to work in groups to try and figure out problems instead of just on their own. It creates great brain storming activities and discussions between the students. In the video the students watched a little video about the game pool and they have to come up with what kinds of math they see. The students then draw a rectangle for the shape of a pool table and start drawing triangles to see where the ball will go once it hits one of the sides. The teacher walks around talking with groups but still letting them come up with the answers themselves as a group.
After watching Math PBL it shows you how creative students can be when they are using math to develop something in a 3D way. The students developed a park that includes a parking lot, a fountain. a water slide, food plaza, a concession stand, a dog park, a gift shop, and more. Everything is very detailed with trees, umbrellas, tables, chairs, and other things like that. The program they are using in Mind Craft. It uses math because you have to use cubes to create things and the cubes are 3 feet long. Giving the dimensions of a block and the dimensions of the area they have to build their park the students can do a math to figure out how much room they have to work with to build everything. I think this is a fun and educational way to teach students about area, feet, perimeter, and other measurements. If you watch all the way to the very end though you can see how this project can get out of hand if not monitored properly.
Assignment: How can we use Project Based Learning in Math?
1. Watch PBL Maths Formative Assessment.
2. Watch Math PBL.
3. Write a post and summarize what you learned in each of these videos.
Answer the question in a post that adheres to the standards found in the ACCRS and in Writing A Quality Blog Post.
After watching PBL Maths Formative Assesment I see that it is useful for students to work in groups to try and figure out problems instead of just on their own. It creates great brain storming activities and discussions between the students. In the video the students watched a little video about the game pool and they have to come up with what kinds of math they see. The students then draw a rectangle for the shape of a pool table and start drawing triangles to see where the ball will go once it hits one of the sides. The teacher walks around talking with groups but still letting them come up with the answers themselves as a group.
After watching Math PBL it shows you how creative students can be when they are using math to develop something in a 3D way. The students developed a park that includes a parking lot, a fountain. a water slide, food plaza, a concession stand, a dog park, a gift shop, and more. Everything is very detailed with trees, umbrellas, tables, chairs, and other things like that. The program they are using in Mind Craft. It uses math because you have to use cubes to create things and the cubes are 3 feet long. Giving the dimensions of a block and the dimensions of the area they have to build their park the students can do a math to figure out how much room they have to work with to build everything. I think this is a fun and educational way to teach students about area, feet, perimeter, and other measurements. If you watch all the way to the very end though you can see how this project can get out of hand if not monitored properly.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Blog Post #12
Below is Group 1's presentations on assistive technologies available in the classroom.
Teaching Math to the Blind
By: Ronni Nall
Technologies for Hearing Imparied
By: Laura Andrews
The Mountbatten Brailer
By: Hunter Tallent
Teaching Math to the Blind
By: Ronni Nall
Technologies for Hearing Imparied
By: Laura Andrews
The Mountbatten Brailer
By: Hunter Tallent
C4T #3 Summary
The Blog I was assigned is called The road to learning by Sharon Plante. She is a Teacher/Director of Technology at EHSSouthport.
The first post I commented on was called Connections make learning more impactful #edscape reflection. It was such an inspirational post on all of Sharon's great PPLN's (Personal and Professional Learning Network). She was sharing how before, during, and after teacher conferences they all share with one another what they learned. There were many different networks such as twitter, facebook, instagram, and a few others they use to share all their information on. One thing she said that was very enlighting was that she used to do all these things on her own but now she doesn't have to because that is what she chose. It makes me excited to know one day I will have a great source of PLN's just like she does.
The second post I commented on was called To BYOD or Not To BYOD: that isn't the question. BYOD stands for bring your own device. Sharon shared with us her research on letting students bring their own device to school to use it for group work or to set up for rotations. This is so some school work can be done even if schools don't have the funds to supply devices and it is not mandatory for the students who can't afford it. Schools agreed to it as long as cell phones weren't used. I thought this was a great idea of a way to use technology even if the school could not afford it. It will be interesting to see how this goes in the next few years.
The first post I commented on was called Connections make learning more impactful #edscape reflection. It was such an inspirational post on all of Sharon's great PPLN's (Personal and Professional Learning Network). She was sharing how before, during, and after teacher conferences they all share with one another what they learned. There were many different networks such as twitter, facebook, instagram, and a few others they use to share all their information on. One thing she said that was very enlighting was that she used to do all these things on her own but now she doesn't have to because that is what she chose. It makes me excited to know one day I will have a great source of PLN's just like she does.
The second post I commented on was called To BYOD or Not To BYOD: that isn't the question. BYOD stands for bring your own device. Sharon shared with us her research on letting students bring their own device to school to use it for group work or to set up for rotations. This is so some school work can be done even if schools don't have the funds to supply devices and it is not mandatory for the students who can't afford it. Schools agreed to it as long as cell phones weren't used. I thought this was a great idea of a way to use technology even if the school could not afford it. It will be interesting to see how this goes in the next few years.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
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