Blog Post #16: Final Reflection

Blog Post #14

In Teaching Our Children Can be a Profession, Joel Klein listed several problems and solutions.

• Giving far more school choices to families.
• Using technology to improve teaching and learning 
• Starting education before a child is 5 years old
• Professionalize teaching 

I agree that families should have more school choices. In the public school system, schools are chosen based on where the student lives. Joel Klein opened 100 charter schools while he was President over New York schools. Charter schools are public schools with private funding and fewer restrictions. Klein did not want poverty to be the reason for educational failure. Most of these schools consisted of students in poverty areas. In my opinion, students are learning a lot from technology and the Internet, therefore teachers should use technology in there teaching to ensure that students have the most accurate information. Learning begins at home but I think that all children should be in a learning institution before age 5 because around this age, children tend to learn and understand things quicker than if they begin learning at the age of 5. Also being in this setting helps children with social and communication skills. "Improving the quality of teachers was one of Klein's imperatives." When he began presiding New York schools, the average SAT score for teachers there was 970. Klein worked to improve this. I do agree that teachers should be professionals.

In the article, Joel Klein listed several problems and solutions to better educate students.  I do believe that teaching is a profession and you have to be a professional to teach students effectively. Students will ask questions that sometimes teachers might not know the answers to, therefore teachers should be able to provide the most accurate answers quickly. This is where technology comes in. Teachers should also teach student how to use technology correctly and safely. I also think that students education should not be limited based on their poverty level.

C4Ta#4

This week the teacher I was given was Silvia Tolisano.

The first post I commented on was What are the Best Ways a Teacher can Demonstrate Leadership in the Classroom?
She began the blog with a google definition of leadership, the action of leading a group of people or an organization. Then she searched leadership in google images and got various pictres of leadership. Then she searched #leadership on Twitter and receives various responses of leadership. Lastly, she discussed the "Leadership Flow" components: model, experience, share, and trust.

My comment was:
I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I like how you gave the four components of the "Leadership Flow" and described each. In order to be an effective leader, one must model behavior, give the students the opportunity to learn on their own and share their idea with their peers. Also, teachers should develop trust within each other. For a future teacher, this information was very important to me. Thanks.





The second post I commented on was Reflection about Anne Frank and Making Blogging Connections.
She began discussing how reading the Diary of Anne Frank inspired her to write a diary which she continued for over 30 years. She also had a chance to visit the home that Anne Frank and her family lived in while they were hiding from the Nazi's. She concluded her blog by asking to view social media in the eyes of Anne Frank, when posting selfies, instead of bragging, think of it as leaving a legacy for other people to view.

My comment was:
I enjoyed reading your blog. I like how reading the Diary of Anne Frank inspired you to write in you diary. I think that posting on social media is permanent so reading you blog inspired me to be more mindful about what I post on social media. When posting on social media, you are leaving a public diary for other people to view.

Final Blog Post #5

My PLN consist of my classmates, my family, a few teachers that I know, Facebook, Twitter, and Symbaloo.  I like using Symbaloo because it has everything you need on one page. I have not set it as my home page but I plan to. I love using Twitter because you can get ideas from other people. I already know a few teachers and I call them when I have questions and they are willing to help me with my teaching career. I also have a few teachers in my family that I go to for advice on my future teaching career. I know that my PLN will grow are a get closer to graduation and in my teaching career.

Blog Post #13

What can we learn about Teaching Special Education from Special Education Teachers?

Watch the four videos below and summarize what you have learned.

1. Watch Neil Rubino's A day in the life of a Special Education teacher (10:00).
2. Watch Amy Vogelsang's Teaching Special Education (2:00).
3. Watch Krista Blessing in Teaching Special Needs Children : Tips on Teaching in a Special Education Classroom (1:30).
4. Watch Reading Horizons What Works When Teaching Reading in Special Education Settings - Cyndie Fountaine (11:00).

In a day in the life of a Special Education teacher, the teacher said that everyday is going to be different. One students behavior can tick other students behavior. There will be different problems that you will have to address everyday. Time management is also very important. 

Mrs. Vogelsang stated that the best part of teaching students is when you measure their progress and can see a difference in the students. You can see that the student has learned. The students can see the light and they feel good about themselves. This is also the most challenging part because the students make small progress over a period of time. Special needs students love using the SmartBoard and laptops help them with their writing skills. Mrs. Vogelsang also stated that being a special education teacher has to be in your heart and something that you really want to do. She said to go in with the attitude that you are going to make a difference in students lives and STAY POSITIVE!

Mrs. Blessings Tips:

1. Set Up Room

• Make sure all required materials are in the classroom

     2.  Be Aware of Children Responses

• Some children will have different responses to different things

     3.  Talk to Parents

• Find out what has an adverse effect on students attitudes
• What makes them upset
• What makes them happy

     4. Follow the IEP's

Mrs. Fountaine said that it is an experiment to try to find a program that works when teaching special education students reading. Reading Horizons is a program that gives step-by-step, clear instructions, which is what special education students need. There are a lot of things that even teachers are never directly taught. Reading Horizons lessons are supported  by other resources and the print-outs are clear and straight forward. Students are able to understand what they are doing and it is easy for students to figure out their lesson. 

Reading Horizons gives teachers the skill to teach decoding to students. It is easy to prepare the lessons. It  has systematic instruction and proceeds in small increments. There is no greater feeling than when you see struggling students make progress.

Project #12B: SMARTBoard Instruction

Blog Post #12

Blog Post #11

In Back to the Future, Brian Crosby said, "If you don't have a lot of imagination and creativity, where do you build passion from?" I agree with this statement because passions are built from imaginations. I think that students are more likely to perform better and are more willing to learn if the are passionate about something. Mr. Crosby also said that students set their own goals. I think that when students set goals for themselves, they are more likely to work harder to achieve those goals.

In the Blended Learning Cycle, Paul Andersen breaks down what the blended learning cycle is. Blended learning is combining mobile, online, and classroom learning into one learning environment. The learning cycle consists of 5 E's. Engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. These components create the Blended Learning Cycle. Mr. Andersen also has an acronym for this type of learning, "QuIVERS."
Qu- Ask a really good Question
I- Teachers want students to Investigate and experiment when learning.
V- Students should watch Videos so that they can have a better idea about the topic.
E- Elaboration involves reading and looking over diagrams.
R- Meet with the students in small groups and review what they have learned.
S- Summary quiz to see how much the students have learned.

In Making Thinking Visible, the students were placed in small groups and they had to talk about a movie that they watched the previous day and each group were to come up with a headline of what they think the story was talking about. At the end of the project they will create another headline and discuss how their views have changed. I think this lets the students know that it is OK to change your opinion and ideas.



I really enjoyed watching the Super Digital Citizen which included Sam Pane, teacher. He said that you, yourself is the only person in charge of using the Internet safely. The students were excited to create their own super hero and comic. Building comics are a great way to visual representation on creativity and learning of text. "When an activity is about the students, it makes the activity more meaningful." Students are going to be exposed to all types of things online, and students have choices they have to make when it comes to these things that they are being exposed to.

In Project Based Learning, three subjects were combined into one. By combining these classes, students had more time to blend ideas and content, they were able to dig deeper into learning, and they also had time to provide and receive adequate feedback. Project Based Learning increases student engagement and also provides students with the opportunity to get a deeper understanding. Technology enhances and share students learning in richer ways. Students are also more willing to do their projects again if they do not feel comfortable with the way they did the project the first time. By them having a longer class time, the students have more time to do their projects again if they choose to. Teachers are actually teaching students beyond their curriculum.

Roosevelt's Elementary PBL Program style of learning is different.
PBL is:

• In depth learning
• Integrated thematic instruction
• Based on a "real-world" problem
• Research based
• Project and presentation

Students not only learn subject matter but also how to think for themselves. Teachers work together to select projects and chose which standards to use for that project. The students work on projects together in groups. PBL helps with public speaking, it takes away the fear of public speaking because the students are getting used to it at an early age. Students have power over their work. They are able to choose how they want to do their projects. PBL involves trusting in your students. Students work independently and also n groups. PBL enhances communication and social skills. Students are more engaged with Project Based Learning. PBL helps students feel self-empowered. Even the struggling students are more engaged in learning.

C4Ta #3

This week the teacher I was given was Dr. Will Deyamport, III.

The first post that I commented on was The Dr. Will Show-EDTECH check with Celine Ng-O'Hara

My comment was:
I am an elementary education major at the University of South Alabama and this video was very interesting to me.  When using technology, a teacher must have a clear plan and be properly trained with the plan so that all students will be able to have access to technology.  Teachers should also be williing to try new forms of technology and not only that, teachers should be willing to let their students take control of the learning process sometimes.  It is amazing how much more students know about technology than teachers do. Teachers should let students do the work then show the teacher how they were able to do it. Teachers should have a plan with good rles when it comes to using technology.  This video gave me some good instructions on how to work with my future class using technology.

The second post that I commented on was The Dr. Will Show-The 411 for ISTE newbies with Tammy Neil and Kimberly Wright

My comment was:
I am an education major at the University of South Alabama, although I am unfamiliar with ISTE, this video did give me a few tips on networking. I know not every teacher will be able to attend ISTE so how does a teacher get invited? It seems to me that attending an ISTE will provide teachers with a lot of valuable information and advice that they can use in their classrooms.

Teacher Interview Movie Project #10A

Special Blog Post

Assigment 1:

• "Assessment is evidence - not what the teacher says or provides to a student."
• "Doctors do not think about how they dispense drugs but rather whether the patients get better or not."
• "Learners now create and share knowledge differently from other generations of learners."

Assessment is effective when students are able to show what they have learned and are able to explain the process they used to get their information. Teachers should teach students they way that is best for them to learn. No student is alike, students learn differently. Learning is different from when I was in school.  We used books and paper to learn. Students now are learning through technology. They have more resources and more access to those resources than people my age had. There are new things to leaarn every day.

Assignment 2:

Popplet is a resource that stuudents can use to collect information. All of their ideas will be on one page and they are able to sort out ideas, You can add pictures and even draw on your popplet. I would use this with projects so that my students will be able to quickly post their ideas.

I think Illustrative Mathematics will be a very useful tool to use during math time. There are standards that the teacher can select for the students to learn. The standards have practice problems that the students can work on. When students have completed a standard they can prograss to another standard.

Keyspace is a fun way for students to learn how to type. It shows ways to get your fingers used to the keys on the keyboard. I find this useful because students are typing their work more than they are writing it down. Students should learn how to type effectively and quickly. This program does cost but there is a free trial that can be used. I'm sure even using the program for a short time can make a difference.

Common Core Progressive Continuum Web App is a good resource for teachers to use. It provides teachers with a visual enhancement for their teaching standards. This allows students to get the visual image of what they are learning. I would use this or a similar program in my classroom.

Rubistar is a resource where a teacher can create a rubric for assignments and projects.  This is very helpful to both the teacher and the students. Teachers will know what to pay special attention to certain things while grading and students will know what to be sure to include in their work. With my class, I will do my best to make sure my students know what I will be looking for when they do their assignments.

Storybird is a good resource to help students improve their writing skills. They are able to take pictures to tell their own story. This program will help with their creative writing skills. This will be a good program to use with a class.

Blog Post #10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

The students in Mrs. Cassidy's third grade class from Canada were very interested in learning with technology. They learn by posting blogs, using webpages, wiki, making vidoes, Skype, they even use Nintendo DS's in the classroom.  They are excited to post blogs because they are able to get comments from family. Their blogs also helps them to sound out words better. Their writing improves every time they post. They know to say nice things on their blog. Webpages helps them find things on the internet. They can click on a picture and it will link to a learning site. They are also able to choose what they need to help them to improve on their learning. Using wiki, they are able to ask questions and research answers. The students even posted their own project on wiki. Third grade students are making their own videos and posting it to their blogs. With Skype they are able to take to people around the world and they learn problem solving skills and how to share by using Nintendo DS.

Dr. Strange did a Skype interview with Mrs. Cassidy in 3 parts.
Interview part 1.
Interview part 2.
Interview part 3.

Mrs. Cassidy has been incorporating technology in her teaching for over 10 years. There is a group of people including a technology coordinator that helps with the technology experience. Mrs. Cassidy stated that all principals might not be supportive of things or ways that you teach but they will let you teach it. Mrs. Cassidy also talked about students privacy. This is very important when having students post things on the Internet. She gave ways to protect their privacy. Using first names but not last names and also by posting students pictures but not that students picture as their profile photo. Teachers can even make up names for their students. Technology is here to stay, it will only improve. Mrs. Cassidy encourages teachers to have a knowledge of technology and to stay up to date on resources. Also teachers should create their own personal learning network, teachers will be able to get ideas from other educators. Teachers should also figure out what works for them and also their students. Mrs. Cassidy thinks that students should be creative with their blogs. If there is not enough class time for all students to blog in class, they can blog at home.

In my future classroom, I might use blogs, students are more careful about what they post because they know other people will read it. I will also use this because it helps to improve writing skills. I will also have my students to post videos of their work and I will try to use Skype so that my students will be able to talk to different people from around the world. There are many different cultures and I think that children can learn a lot from other people. I will be sure to protect all of my students privacy.

Blog Post #9

What can teachers and students teach us about Project Based Learning?

Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning states, a project is meaningful if students perceive the work as personally meaningful and if the project fulfills the educational purpose. The seven essentials are:

1. A Need to Know

• An "entry event" that engages students interest and initiates questions.

     2. A Driving Question

• A good driving questions includes the main idea for the project.
• Without the driving question, students will not understand the purpose for the project.

     3. Student Voice and Choice

• "Teachers should design projects with the extent of student choice that fits their own style and students."

     4. 21st Century Skills

• A project should give students the opportunity to build skills like collaboration, use of technology, communication, and critical thinking.

     5. Inquiry and Innovation

• Students find projects more meaningful if they are able to follow a trail that begins with their own questions and are able to search for their own results to find a conclusion.

     6. Feedback and Revision

• Emphasizes that high-quality and performances are important.

     7. A Publicly Presented Product

• Students care more about the quality of their work when it is presented to an audience.

Project-Based Learning for Teachers defines Project-Based Learning as students taking charge of their learning. PBL has students working for an extended period of time answering a driving question. These questions require students to complete an end product to share their learning with others. PBL enhances students:

• Collaboration Skills
• Communication Skills
• Critical Thinking Skills
• Career and Life Skills

PBL is questioning, investigating, sharing, and reflecting. PBL also includes:

• Having a purpose
• Addressing an audience
• Crafting a driving question
• Identifying learning standards
• Creating a rubric
• Grouping students
• Brain storming branching questions
• Meeting deadlines
• Focusing on the process
• Reflecting the end product

All while students have a voice and choice.

Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning are tools that can enhance the PBL experience. It is important to allow students to network while immersed in PBL. This includes student to student collaboration and communication, student to teacher, and even student to expert.
These ten sites are:

• Titan Pad
• Wall Wisher
• Cordboardme
• Google Docs
• Microsoft Live
• Today's Meet
• Will You Type With Me
• Linoit
• Skype in Education
• Quick Screen Share

Project Based Learning and Physical Education states that PE can be a place where relevant and authentic learning can occur. PBL can show how valuable PE can be . PBL give students a problem or challenge that they must explore and solve. Standards-based instruction creates a need-to-know in students. They are able to see why they are learning while they are learning. Students can see the relevance for their learning PE through the task of a PBL project.
"You must give up power in order to empower your students; empower them in their physical education"

PBL-High School Math a teacher said that having PBL in the classroom is helping teachers overall. English and math are subjects that people do not really think about having projects. One student stated that applying PBL in the classroom changes your perspective on what that subject is and what it entails, You can see how you can use the subjects you are learning for your future and for the rest of your life.
Each group of teachers work together to design functions for PBL. The teachers want to make sure they do not lose any content within their course and enrich the course with projects. PBL is not going to look the same in every class. PBL helps students to focus more and engage in math.

Project #12A: Mastering SMARTboard Tools

Project #9: Video Book Commentary

Project #14: Project Based Learning Plans

Lets Stop Pollution Rubric

 Lets Stop Pollution Lesson Plan

Blog Post #8

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture was had a very powerful message. He took his situation and turned it into something positive. His last lecture was very interesting.  He reflected on his childhood dreams.  Almost every child has dreams of what they want to be when they grow up.

In the lecture I learned that brick walls are not always bad.  They are there for us to prove how badly we want things.  As a future teacher, I plan to tell my students when you run into a brick wall or when things get hard and you feel like giving up, push yourself.  Brick walls are just obstacles that you have to overcome to get to the finish line. Randy also stated that anything is possible. I agree that anything is possible, a person just have to put their mind to achieving the goal and work hard for it. He also made a statement saying "You have to get the fundamentals down, otherwise all the fancy stuff isn't going to work."  I agree because you have to know what you are doing and how to do it before you do something.  If not you will not understand what you are doing and what you are doing it for. Teaching is not easy, nor is it for everyone.

C4Ta#2

The teacher  I was given was Steven Anderson.

The first blog I commented was titled Curating Content with Appolearnng.

My comment was:
Curating and appolearning is new to me. I am a student at the University of South Alabama and my major is education. Appolearning is a way for teachers to have a collection of digital resources. This is something that I am interested in learning to use.

The second blog that I commented on was titled Evaluating Technology? Here's what to look for...

My comment was:
I agree with you when considering technology in classrooms, those questions should be considered. If students are not using the technology, would it really be beneficial. If institutions are willing to spend $10,000 on technology equipment, I am sure that they want to get the most of their money. I also think that students should know how to use resources and technology and not just google.

Blog Post #7

In the video Using Imovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten, Mrs. Bennett and Mrs. Davis discussed the students making Imovies and editing them.  A teacher teaches the students the mechanics of technology and give the students examples, them have them work independently.  Kindergartners are excited to go to the different stations in the classroom and make movies.  They are aware that their work will be uploaded to the internet and are eager to make self-corrections.  Kindergartners are also excited to do research using the Alabama Virtual Library. They use it on a daily basis.

Mrs. Bennett stated that when using a device the dynamics of learning changes. We all become learners. Teachers teach students, students teach teachers. At Gulf Shores Elementary School, the students are eager to show visitors their assignments that they have done.

In the video of Mrs. Shirley sharing 1st grade becoming learners the students had to work in groups and researched an inventor. The students also created a graphic organizer which they had to answer questions like why they chose this inventor and how was their invention useful. Another question the students had to answer was what invention would they invent and why.

Ms. Lauder's class did an IMovie about that they learned about planet Earth.  They indicated that Earth is the only livable planet and why. They also stated that Earth has seven continents and four oceans.

Sawyer's Story is a movie trailer about Sawyer and his classmates learning. They will all soon be in the third grade.

In Practice Session #2, the students had a story read to them. They interacted while they were listening. It seems to the me that they really enjoyed listening to the story

I learned a lot from these videos.  I learned that even kindergarten students are learning and teaching technology.  Learning mechanics and making use of the technology and the software that they have available is fun to use.  They are learning skills along with the resources, I can't wait to teach my class these things.

Project #13: Project Based Learning Plans

The Solar System Rubric

The Solar System Lesson Plan

Blog Post #6

In Project Based Learning part 1, I learned that Project Based Learning is very common.  It requires using projects to promote students learning capabilities. PBL not only shows the teacher that the students accomplished what the teacher wanted them to, it shows the teacher that the students actually learned while doing the projects. The goal of a good project is one that has authentic audience, has students interest, something that is relevant to the students lives. Also, something that interest the community and is driven by content.  In part 2, Mr. Capps says that everything is not going to go well. Never limit your students, create an opportunity for students to go beyond what you want them to do. You are going to get more than what you expect.

Icurio is a curated search engine.  Icurio is a search engine that allows students to search websites, images, and media. It also has storage capacity for students. Students can organize items online with folders. Icurio also has a timeline.

Discovery Education is a source in which you can get virtually any visual information about education. It has science, social studies, and many others. It has images as well as video. Discovery Education can help students enrich their research experience.


In the Anthony- Strange Tips for teachers, teaching is hard. Work is not separate from play. Let your work become a fun experience for you.  Start with an end goal. Get kids engaged. Make it a content they care about,get excited about and is shareable.

1. Be a learner.
2. Be flexible.
3. Start with an end goal.
4. Engage 100% of the students 100% of the time.
5. Reflect, revise, share.

Project #3: Google Presentation

Blog Post #5

I have created a symbaloo account. It is something that seems easy to use because everything that you need is on one page so that all you have to do is find what you are looking for and click on it.  That is easier than searching for what you need.

Personal Learning Networks or PLN are personal networks that are composed of people and tools. PLNs are composed of teachers and is a way to get the information you need if you have questions or want to know information. With PLNs you can choose the networks that you want to be a part of and the role that you play in the network. There are ways to being notified about new resources when they become available and how to use them. You are also able to connect with other educators and learn from them.

Project #8: Book Trailer

Project #7: Four Movies (Parts A&B)

C4T#1

The teacher that I was given was Wesley Fryer and his website is Moving at the Speed of Creativity.

The first post that I comment on was Upgrade a Verizon hotspot for $22 without a new contract.

My comment was:
A few years ago, I had the mobile hotspot but if was through C-spire for $60 a month with 2.5 GB of data. Now I do not use a mobile hotspot but if I were to need it, I would get Verizon. There are ways around these cellular providers high data fees, although most people know nothing about it.

The second post that I commented on was Digital Neighborhood Watch (nextdoor.com) & Model use of Twitter by Local Police.

My comment was:
I did not know the "Next Door" app was so useful. I only knew that I was a good tool to report break ins to neighbors. I was unaware that you can find a useful babysitter by using this app. Nor was I aware that you can notify neighbors about a lost dog. I find that by your post that this app can be very useful and I will see if the app is available in my neighborhood.

• 
  

  
  

Project #15: Search Engines

The eight search engines I decided to do was Bing, Duckduckgo, Dogpile, Yahoo, AOL, Webcrawler, Ixquick, and Wolfram Alpha

Bing is a search engine where you can search people, places and even ask questions.  When you search things using Bing you will receive various options for the search.  You can choose to search on the web, images, news and more.  Bing is owned by the Microsoft company.

Duck Duck Go is a private search engine.  It is a search engine that does not track your searches.  You can search images and videos as well as web searched.  You can search people and places, also. Duck Duck Go does not collect information from searches.

Dogpile is a search engine where you can search the web, images, news, you can even shop with Dogpile.  When searching through Dogpile you will get links through other search engines.  You can even check local listings through Dogpiles white pages. 

Yahoo is a search engine that is able to search web, images, news, you can even search on dating using yahoo.  If you have a yahoo account you can sign up for messenger.  You can even ask yahoo questions and it will generate answers.

AOL is an older search engine that is sill used.  Using AOL, yo can search sports, lifestyle, entertainment,etc.  You can watch videos, check weather and news with AOL. AOL is enhanced by Google.

Web crawler is a search engine that uses other search engines to generate the search.  With Web crawler, you can search the web and also images.  You can look up recipes and other things using web crawler.

Ixquick says it is the world's most private search engine.  When using ixquick you searches are quickly deleted and nothing is recorded.  With ixquick, you can search the web, images and videos.  Ixquick even had advanced search.

WolframAlpha is a very sophisticated search engine. It handles mathematics, measurements, chemistry, music, weather. Almost anything you can think of that has to deal with equations, WolframAlpha can handle it.    

Blog Post #4

According to Asking Questions to Improve Learning, teachers should ask their students specific and direct questions. During discussion sessions, questions should be mutilayered and complexed while only asking one question at a time. Questions should be closed-ended and also open-ended. When asking a question, teachers should wait a few seconds for students to voluntarily respond.   Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom states that teachers should prepare the questions ahead on discussion time.  Questions should also be asked in the best way to engage the students.

Asking better questions in the classroom, states that a closed-ended question can be answered by using one word or a short phrase. Open-ended questions leaves the answer up to the person who is responding, which yields more information.

Blog Post #3

         While watching the videos and powerpoint that were assigned, I learned that there are three ways to provide feedback to peer reviews.  The first way is to compliment the writer.  Things like, I like your wording, or I enjoyed reading your post, are good things to comment.  Also, making suggestions to the writer can be helpful.  Suggesting that the writer should include more in their post or that they choose better word choice is effective for peer reviewing.  The last effective method to provide feedback is making corrections.  If the writer has spelling errors or even the organization of writing, the reviewer should include helpful ways to correct these things.

        Although these are helpful tools, peer reviewers can also make mistakes while reviewing.  It is not helpful to criticize the writer.  I also do not recommend to get off topic while reviewing a persons writing.  Sometimes peer reviewers are used to their own writing style, and they want the writer to incorporate the reviewers writing style into their writing.  Peer reviewers have to remember that everyone has their own writing style.  Also, the writer should be open to suggestions to help their writing.

Blog Post #2

Professor Dancealot

The central message that I found while watching the Youtube video is that students should be able to learn independently.  As a teacher, teaching students should not be done be using the book and other resources only.  Students should be able to be told some of the information and the students should be able to learn the information on their own.  The author made his case for the conclusion by telling the students when the final exam will be held and where. The students were probably thinking that, by the dance class being taught by powerpoint, the final exam would be a written exam. So to their surprise it wasn't.  The students were not able to perform the dance steps that they were told. I agree with this conclusion because if a teacher tells the students everything that they need to know for the test they will eventually forget what the teacher has told them. A student need to practice what they are being taught and to find the information on their own in order to learn and understand the information.




Teaching 21st Century Students

I. Teaching in the 21st century
II. Information can be found
A. On Anything
B. Anytime
C. Anywhere
D. Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google
III. Teachers are resources, not the main source of information.
IV. Students process information by:
A. Remember
B. Understand
C. Apply
D. Evaluate
E. Create

As technology changes, the ways teachers teach also changes.  New things are created everyday and a teacher should be able incorporate the new technology into teaching. Students should be willing to engage in learning. Introducing them to new technology and using the technology that they know about will help them to actively engage in learning.


The Networked Student

I think that the way technology is increasing so rapidly, eventually learning will be the way it is shown in the video. Teachers might not be needed as much, but there will still be a need for teachers.  Teachers need to introduce the students to the new information and show them how to use it.  Teachers also need to address issues that the students may face and to correct students when they are wrong. Students also need to be taught how to utilize technology properly.



Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

The thesis of this video is empowering students in learning.  Students learn in different ways.  What is convenient for one student, might not work for another student.  Sometimes the students can show the teacher somethings when it comes to technology also.  By communicating with people around the world, students learn also.



Who's Ahead of the Learning Race?

In this video, Dr. Strange compared Elementary students to Undergraduate and Graduate students.  I think that Elementary students are ahead in this learning race.  I think this way because elementary students are being introduced to new technology while they are in the prime of their learning.  "We," meaning Undergraduates and Graduates are being introduced to this new technology.  When we were in elementary school we learned primarily using pencils, paper, and books.  As we grew older technology grew with us.  We have to learn how to us it while we are comfortable with learning the way we were taught when we were their age.  My opinion is Macbook are more complicated to use than standard computers.  I recently purchased a macbook and I am learning how to use it.  The things that can be performed on a mac computer can be performed on a standard computer by using a different software.  With the new technology and elementary students being introduced to it at an early age, they are already ahead of Undergraduates and Graduates.


Flipping the Classroom

Although I have never heard of flipping the classroom, I have heard of the technique.  Teachers give the students something to look over that night and it is officially introduced to them the next day.  I think this is helpful to students and also teachers because students can get some knowledge about the material before it is introduced to them and the teacher can spend less time introducing the new material to the students.


Bringing the Locker Room into the Classroom

In my classroom, I world have debates and dialogue.  I think that students can learn more by taking to others and having open discussions about things.  With debates students will be able to get others opinions on topics and learn from them.

Blog Post #1

Before I began EDM310, I was told that this class is hard.  People also told me that it is a lot of work involved in this class and that it is hard to keep up with the assignments.  With that being said, people also told me that I would have a lot of fun in this class.  My fear in this class is that I will get behind to the point that I can not catch up.  I hope this will not happen but it is still a fear that I have.  I have taken some class where most of the work is done independently but I think with this class you have to learn all the work on your own.  This is my first class where I will have to learn all the work on my own.  This also makes me a little nervous but I am comfortable with learning independently.  In all of my other college and high school classes, the teacher would show the class how to do the work.

I think the most difficult aspect of EDM310 would be to stay on top of all the assignments.  I have prepared for this by decreasing the hours I work per week at my job.  I felt that this was necessary so that time would not be the excuse as to why I could not complete an assignment.  

At this time I have no questions about EDM 310 class.

Practice Blog

I. About TaKiera.
II. Why I chose education.
III. 21st Century Educators work.
IV. Passions



Hello, my name is TaKiera Gibbs and I am 26 years old.  I am the youngest of 3 daughters.  I was born in Germany, my father was in the military. We moved to Mobile when I was 2 years old and I have been here since.  I am a graduate from W. P. Davidson High School, class of 2007.  After I graduated I moved out of my mothers house, which was honestly a move too soon so I eventually came back.  I had my son when I was 19 years old and he has been the joy of my life since. He is my motivation to succeed.

One day, I was having a conversation with my mother and I told her, "I think I'm ready to go back to school." I applied for the University of South Alabama and was accepted.  I have been here since January 2011.  My initial major was Nursing.  I received work study for the 2013-2014 school term and I was placed at Forest hill Elementary School. After working with the 2nd graders there, I decided I wanted to be a teacher. 

I would like to be a special education teacher.  I have a passion to help people with special need.  That has always been something that I loved, I also like helping children succeed.  Depending on the level of special needs the child is on, it is more difficult to teach them but I know it is something that I can do.

A 21st century educators work entails a lot.  Technology is increasing everyday so educators have to incorporate technology in their work to get the children's attention. Also the teacher has to make learning fun for the children to pay attention.  If a child is bored, they will not focus and they will do other things instead of learn.

My passion is helping people in any way that I can possible do.  If someone ask me to do something, I will try my best to do it for them.  I am very family oriented.  I love to be around my family.  I don't have many friends so I spend most of my time with my family. I would like to get better at managing my time and money.  I think these skill are need to succeed more in life.

TaKiera Gibbs

This is just a test

TaKiera

Trial run

Before I began EDM310, I heard that it was a lot of work to do and that you have to work for your grade. The person that I was talking to reassured me that I would have fun taking the course and to not be afraid to ask for help. This is my first time having to post blogs and I hope that I am doing it correctly. My biggest fear is that I will not be able to keep up with the assignments. I have been preparing myself to stay on top on my assignments and I am prepared to quit my job if I have to so that I can focus on my assignments. In other courses I have taken, the instructor will basically tell you what to do and you do it. In this course, you have to learn it on your own. The most difficult aspect of this course right now for me would the that there are 16 projects to do in 15 weeks. I am ready for this challenge. I am mentally preparing myself for the workload that this course has. At this time, I do not have any questions about the course. I am nervous about the course and if I have any questions I will ask them.

I. Introduction
II. Finding Myself
III. Education Major
IV. Educators Work
V. Passions


Allow me to introduce myself. My name is TaKiera Gibbs. I was born on June 16, 1989 to Rosia and Kelvin Gibbs in Frankfurt, West Germany. My father, Kelvin was in the Army which makes me an Army Brat. When I was two, my father was discharged from the Army so my family and I moved to Mobile, Alabama to be closer to relatives. When I was 7, my parents got divorced. I am the youngest of 3 girls. LaShanda, who is 9 years older than I, and Tiffany, who is 2 years older than I. I have an Advanced Diploma from W.P. Davidson High School, class of 2007.

I did not go straight to college after I graduated from high school. Shortly after I graduated I moved out of my mothers house to live with a friend. I met someone and fell in love. I began medical assisting courses at Remington College. After a few months, I withdrew because I was no longer interested. Shortly after that, I found out I was pregnant with my son. I knew it would be difficult raising my son with 2 families living in a single family home so I moved back in with my mother. I had my son, JayShawn, on January 21, 2009. I was 19 years old. I still had a lot of growing up to do and a lot to learn. I think my son and I are learning and growing up together. One day I was talking to my mother and I told her, "I think I'm ready to go back to school." So, I applied to the University of South Alabama and was accepted in the Spring 2011 term. Upon enrollment my major was nursing. I decided to change my major to Elementary Education during the Fall term 2013.

I decided to major in Elementary Education after I had work study at Forest-hill Elementary School helping 2nd graders with reading. After working with 2nd graders for one semester, I realized that I really want to be a teacher. I have a desire to help students, especially students with special needs learn to read and write. My passion in life is to help people.

In the 21st century, an educator plays many roles in a child's life. An educator has to teach, motivate, counsel and also be a role model in a child's life. An educator has to ensure that they provide the best background and a solid foundation for a child's learning. An educator has to motivate a child to learn and to think critically. Educators have to be role models so that students will have someone to look up to.

I love math, any type of math. I like dealing with numbers. Most of all I love to help people, especially people with special needs and disabilities. I want to get better at being creative. I do not consider myself as a creative person. I am more of the normal type, I do not think outside of the box too often. Being back in school, I am learning to be creative.