Project 16 Team Posting

Using Technology and a PBL Approach in the Classroom

Team Cougar

                                            

     Originally all of us assumed that there would be no need for technology in PE classroom setting, we soon discovered that it takes an open mind to see that it can be useful. While we are not going to be equipped with SmartBoard or even laptops this doesn't prevent bringing in other sources to help teach and motivate students. In our project we created we found that there is abundant amount of resources out there to help implement healthy ideals for our students. We also found that tracking physical activity has been made so simple that almost all age groups can do it and benefit from it. By creating our project we found several sources on smartphones and then the more we thought about it we found other tools that we could bring into our gym setting for our students.
     Just like as with technology, we all thought that there is no place nor need for project based learning in PE, again we were proven wrong. It took a bit of creativity to see that by using project based learning we could really bring our classes together. By setting it up as as competition it provides a way to keep students motivated to work together and to accomplish tasks big and small. Our use of teams, along with creating group learning, also gives students who would never get the chance to be part of any extracurricular team the opportunity to learn how to work together with others on a different level.
     While many in the future may be speculative about why this class is necessary for PE majors let us just say that any new way of teaching is never unnecessary. Having different techniques in your pocket is always useful and a great resource. The best advice we have to give for students that will be in our shoes is don't think that what is going on doesn't apply to you, just find a way to use it in your favor. It's going to take a little creativity and some hard work but it can be done.

 

Blog Post 5 Part 2

PLN Summary
After my initial start up of my PLN I found that by using Twitter and getting my interests out there in the "Twittersphere" can also suggest me to other groups as well. I still am following Edutopia and the Teaching Channel and now I have @GoogleforEdu, @DiscoveryEducation, and @Teaching Channel. Having these new resources has been of great benefit to my personal learning network and I can't wait to see what other sources I come across.

Blog Post 14

Can Teaching be a Profession?
     According to Joel Klein it absolutely can and it absolutely should. Three main "problems" discussed on why making teaching a profession are discussed in the article by Mr. Klein. They are: that teaching should be seen on the same level as that of medicine and law, there is too much seniority distraction in the school systems, and teaching overall needs a radical change. In order for teaching to be on the same level as other well respected professions there would need to be better academic training for prospective teachers, a new approach to recruiting teachers, and changing how teachers are rewarded. Seniority distraction is seen in all school systems. To get rid of this distraction overall evaluations of teacher performances need to be done, and there needs to be a standard national teacher examination which compares all teachers to a standardized level. Lastly, a radical change needs to be seen in how teachers perform and are seen. Teachers can accomplish this by establishing their own board to report to, and teachers need to be subjected to merit based career ladders.
     I basically agree with the above "problems" that were listed out, however, I do not think that teachers should be seen on the same level as that of law and medicine. Not to say that teaching isn't an important profession but in order for it to even be close to the same level it first has to have the minimum amount of schooling that law school and med school entails. As of right now all you need to teach is a four year degree. Even if the amount of years and the depth of education was extended  I feel that it wouldn't be at the same level of recognition. This may be a problem that educators face but the fact of the matter is is that the supply of teachers is so great and their required skill set is so minimal. I know that many will not agree with this because it takes teachers to teach the up and coming doctors and lawyers but majority of the time those teachers have been professionals already. This doesn't make them a great teacher automatically but they have the first hand knowledge of their subject area.
     I do agree with the problems of having seniority distraction in the school and that there needs to be radical change in how teachers are meeting standards and making their way up the career ladder. Teachers that have been in the school system for a number of years are seen as more important regardless of if their teaching is good or not. These teachers should be continued to be evaluated even after their first initial years of teaching. Teachers should create standards for themselves in which all teachers will have to be responsible for. Having a "national teacher examination" may not be the best way to approach holding all teachers to the same level. I just feel that it would be tough to create a test that can evaluate teachers from different levels and different subject matters. It is a good thought though that maybe one day can be implemented in a way.
   

Technology and Teaching: My Philosophy

Initially I did not think that technology would be that relevant of a thing for myself and my classroom. However, I will say that while working with my group and collaborating on our final project together I have seen some great ways that technology can be used and implemented in my health class. For my classroom I hope that I am provided with a SmartBoard to teach my lessons off of. It actually wasn't until today that I really learned all the potential that it has for downloading applications that coincide with the class being taught. I really like the interactiveness of the board as well and how students can be a part of the lesson instead of just listening. Additionally I would love to use the Wii and Wii Fit programs to get my students jump started on the main points that will be covered in my class. The Wii Fit is a great source of technology that can keep track of my student's health progress throughout a whole semester. Finally, I would like for my class to keep individual blogs of all the progress that they are making, this can include healthy food choices they have made or exercises they find fun. By having them write about what they are doing in their weekly lifestyle will, hopefully, keep them focused on making the right choices for their body.

C4T #4 Summary

"Beth's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom"
     For my final "comments for teachers I was assigned Miss Beth Knittle who is a teacher in Massachusetts. Her most recent post discussed how schools are, and some still should, update the curriculum for students. It really in impressive how far schools have come in just the amount of time since I graduated high school. More schools are now offering online courses, blended learning, more advanced subjects, college prep classes, and a multitude of foreign languages. I commented back to her post saying that I agree that those schools that are still lacking in updates need to progress toward what other advanced schools are doing. While it is tricky to determine in what category some of these classes should be placed or how to determine the certification to teach them, it is necessary to expand upon just the basics of the classroom. Kids need to know all of their options and, in high school especially, they have the best opportunity to expand their knowledge base while not having to leave their comfort zone yet.

Project 16 Part A

C4K #3 Summary

   

Over the past few weeks I was given three students' blogs to visit and comment on some of their work. They were Blake S. in Mrs. Lombard's class, Caro in Mr. Webbauro's class, and Andony in Mr. Gardener's class. To begin, upon visiting Blake S' blog I found that he had written a post that was summarizing "Lemonade Wars", a recent story that he had read. It was a very well written post and I applauded him for his great writing and how organized his post was in summarizing the story. Caro was my next student. In his post he discussed how he and a few of his friends had recently competed in "Weet-Bix", which apparently is a triathlon which takes place in New Zealand. I thought that was so exciting! He explained how he had the easiest time riding his bike and he encourages everyone to try it once. Last, I had Andony. He only had one post on his site and it was a poem he had written that described the 5 senses. He wrote about a motorcycle and used to senses to illustrate different ways that the bike could be seen. It was a very simple poem, consisting of only 5 lines, but had no errors in spelling or grammar.

Blog Post 13

"What did I leave out?"
     I feel that I was so lucky to be put in the group that I was in this class. Team Cougar was comprised of PE majors and myself as a Health Education major. The whole semester we had problems with trying to determine how some of these projects would ever relate to us or how we could have a chance to use technology in the gym or playing field. So, I think that it would have been nice to substitute a more classroom based assignment with one that we could have better benefitted from. I know the parameters for this are a tad difficult to distinguish but if we are having to learn and demonstrate how to use the technology then it would be nice to have a project more geared towards us. For example, in one of the videos that we made, instead of using a Smart Board to teach a lesson we could have filmed ourselves using the Wii to direct a PE class in that days lesson. The Wii has a program, Wii fit, that can measure a students weight, height, balance levels, and daily activity progress to keep them up to date with how they are progressing in their personal fitness levels. The program has a balance lesson, cardio activities, stretching, and games that incorporate these things to make it more fun for the students. Having this option present for other students in PE majors would be a lot more beneficial in the long run.

C4T #3 Summary

   

 For this months' "comments for teachers" assignments I was given Mr. David Warlick and his blog "2[cents] Worth" to read and comment on. In the first post that I read he was discussing how the way technology is used, in some aspects, is still the same today as it was at the start of the 20th century. It was actually pretty funny to see what people were searching for on the internet then and to see the most popular searches now! While we think that we may be getting more and more advanced in our technology, some things still haven't changed. In my comment to him on this posting I expressed how comical I thought that this was to me and interesting at the same time.
     In the next blog post that I read about Mr. Warlick was discussing some new words that he had learned and the meaning of them in actual definition and in comparison to the real world too. In his post I told him I thought his closing statements were rather insightful to me as a student preparing to run a classroom. The statements were, "Any question, whose answer can be Googled, should not be on a test" and "If we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of their tomorrow."

Blog Post 12

Blog Post #11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?
     This week's blog focuses on how different teachers use their skills and technology to engage students actively in learning. As we have seen several times by now there is not just one certain way to teach. These teachers prove that!
     The first is Mr. Paul Anderson. In his video, The Blended Learning Cycle, he discusses how he integrates mobile and online mediums into the classroom setting. His approach to teaching is that everything is a remix, you explore an idea, flip it, and then apply it. Further into his video he talks about the "5 E's" that he uses with his students. The "5 E's" are, engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. These can be used from everyday assignments to more difficult projects. It all ultimately starts with a good question though, something to get the students thinking and really drive the class toward the other steps of exploring and explaining the answers they may find for the question.
     We then go to Mark Church. In his video he discusses how we can make thinking visible. The initial question or prompt in a unit, as he would do it, is to ask the students to come up with a headline that could introduce the unit that they will be covering. As learning begins and the students gain more information they are asked again to come up with a headline. This approach shows active thinking and learning and allows the students to dig deeper in their thinking and reasoning.
     Sam Pane adds in even more creativity in his video demonstrating a Good Digital Citizen. While it is great that kids are so openly using technology and the internet it is most important that they are doing so safely. In the assignment the students create their own digital citizen and then create an internet problem that their hero may face, such as putting personal information onto the internet. It gets the kids to recognize what problems they may encounter and resolve them by creating responses for their digital citizens to say.
     Last, but not least, we again visit the popular project based learning. We know now how essential it is to have this in the classroom and research proves that it increases student engagement, deepens understanding of a subject area, and can combine many subjects and standards into one assignment.
     There is no one right way to learn just like there is no one right way to teach.

Blog Post 10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

     Viewing this weeks' videos emphasized more the importance of learning and knowing how to present technology in the classroom setting. The teacher that we heard from this week was Mrs. Cassidy, a teacher in the school system in Canada. She teaches first grade and in her first video, "Little Kids...Big Potential" she discusses the multitude of ways that she incorporates technology in her lessons. This video again showed us that kids like having a variety of ways in which they can learn and do their work. One interesting thing to me was that they were able to use their Nintendo DS to practice concepts as well. Additionally in this video I liked how Mrs. Cassidy explained how she thought her students liked having a broader audience in which to reach out to. Her students can see where their audience resides and take pride in knowing that so many people see the work that they are accomplishing.
     In the other videos viewed, Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, we learned how she started off with just a few computers and was able to technologically amplify her classroom. Seeing and listening to her approach is very insightful on how to really incorporate Smartboard, blogs, wikis, and Skype into lesson plans. It's never too soon to learn how to use these different medias and by learning the basics now it will be a lot easier to use them later on in the classroom.

Smartboard A

C4K Summary #2

   

     During the month of March I was given three more student's blogs in which to read and comment on. Two of the three students were from Mrs. Malowski's class and were given the option to either discuss the recent PLAN test that they took or to talk about job shadowing. My first student, Tayler, chose the PLAN test. In her discussion of it she talked about how it was a difficult test and that she wished she would have had more time to take it and review her answers. She additionally expressed how hopefully this test would help to prepare her for the ACT that she would be taking in the next few years. In my response I told her about how the ACT has a similar format and gave her some advice for taking on the timed portions of the exam. My nest student in this class was supposed to be Terren but unfortunately he did not have an updated blog so I chose another student, Ariel. Ariel chose the other option of discussing some recent job shadowing that she had done. She chose to shadow a nurse for the day and she really enjoyed it! I expressed to her that I was very happy that she had the opportunity to shadow when she did. When I was in high school I would have loved to have had the chance to look into the career that I was really interested in. It definitely would have helped a lot when I was trying to decide what my major would be. I think that by being able to follow around a professional in her future career will help even more to solidify her plans for the future. The last student that I was given came from Mrs. Lombard's seventh grade class. Ethan M. was my last student for the month and in his blog he discussed a recent book series that he had read. He had just finished the last book of the Left Behind series and talked about how he liked them a lot and was suggesting the series for other readers. I told him that while I had never read the books my dad owned all of them and he really liked them too. I was glad that he found a great series that he really liked and gave him insight on Christianity as well.

Edm 310 project 9

Blog Post 9

What can teachers and students teach us about project based learning?

     This question was presented with a lot of resources to try and discover the answer. The first the resources were a journal entry, "Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning", and a YouTube video, "Project Based Learning for Teachers." The first site introduced the idea that there are "steps" that should be followed when creating and implementing a new project for the classroom. Project based learning is started off with creating a need to know and followed up with a driving question for the students. In the classroom example given, it is an option to present your class with a video and a question that gets them excited about finding out an answer. Upon viewing the introductory video they can then share their voice and present options on the direction they want to take their project. Having the opportunity to use project based learning will also implement students' 21st century skills and share new innovations. As a teacher it is important to keep them focused and on track, to do this teachers should provide feedback and at times revise what work is being done. Lastly, students should have a reason to want to do well and do great work. A motivating factor that is needed is to inform students that their work will be presented publicly. Knowing that they will have to present in front of different groups will give them drive to want to do their best.
     Project based learning can be used in many academic areas including the physical side of education. The second two resources that I used to try and find the answer were "Project Based Learning in Physical Education", and "Project Based Learning in PE." It was really interesting seeing how projects can be brought into classrooms that don't have desks or white boards and don't normally utilize technology. In these two blogs the project was the same and it entailed having high school PE students creating fitness programs that would best benefit middle school PE students. The students had to research a lot of areas of fitness and talk to the middle school kids and see what interested them. This is very insightful to me since this is the direction I see myself going in with my teaching. From these resources I learned that you don't have to have a traditional classroom setting in order to provide your students with an opportunity to use project based learning.
     In the last resource that I viewed, "What motivates students?", I learned from students what drives them to want to succeed. I was very surprised that when most of them answered what their motivation was that it was so future and career driven. I expected maybe to hear that they wanted to make a good grade in their class or that they were promised a reward from their parent but to hear about how much they care about their future was amazing. I think that by viewing this video that it is important to think about how teachers should really take the time to know their students on a one on one level and really inspire them. Motivation is definitely key to success in any aspect and I think that by giving students the drive to learn is the best way that we can help them.
     So, overall I think the ultimate answer to the above question is that teachers and students can help us in a multitude of ways and the main way is just by sharing insight.

Blog Post 8

What can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch?

     Before I begin to answer the above question I first have to say that I am so glad that we were assigned to watch the video "Randy Pausch's Last Lecture." I feel that if I never would have viewed it and continued my life without ever hearing of who he was or hearing him lecture then I would have missed out on a very influential experience. That being said, I think that Dr. Pausch presented us with a lot of ways to both enhance our teaching and learning.
     In the first area of teaching, he made several great points about reaching out and finding what it is your students dreams, goals, or desires may be. Being in touch with what they want to achieve in their life can provide us with ways in which to inspire our students and give them the tools they will need to succeed. Teaching shouldn't just be about meeting standards or making sure enough projects have been done, but instead should get our students motivated to be life long learners in whatever dream they may have. Learning doesn't stop just because a semester ends and neither do dreams or motivation. Dr. Pausch demonstrated to us that teaching something doesn't mean that you have to teach the new subject head on. By building into or up to new ideas, you can present your students with stepping stones that they can use to make it to the whole point of the lesson. Additionally, it is important to keep it fun, to teach with passion, and again, to motivate our students.
     With learning I think that it is most important to keep an open mind. Even if we think we know it all or have reached the level that we deem respectable, there is still a lot to learn. Just like how Randy was when he initially went to Disney to work with the imagineers. People are going to know different things than we know and we have to be smart enough to listen and know that we can still learn so much. It is important to know that at any point in time that there are an abundance of resources available to us, not just those found on the web, but the people we know and have met along the way. We have to be motivated to learn as well.
     Viewing this video has taught me so much about how the things we want can be achieved if we want them badly enough and just keep trying. There are going to be a lot of brick walls and closed doors along the way to your dreams, you just have to decide how badly you want it and find a way through.


     

C4T #2 Summary

         For my second "comments for teachers" teacher, I was given Mr. David Truss and his blog "Pair-a-dimes for your thoughts". He is an educator and vice principal in Canada which I thought was pretty cool! The initial post that I commented on that he blogged about discussed how technology should be invisible in our school settings. Not to say that it shouldn't be used but that it should be a tool like anything else. Similar to how pencil and paper are used in the classroom, computers and technology should be called upon just as easily. His post really gave me a lot of insight as to how I would approach using technology in my classroom. I was having some difficulty in thinking about how to use all the available resources to teach my students. It became very overwhelming at times. Then, upon reading Mr. Truss' blog I learned that by the time students reach the secondary level that I hope to teach, they will have mastered almost more than I have! Instead of focusing on teaching the technology, I just need to use it as a tool to keep students learning.
 

     The next blog posting that I commented on by Mr. Truss was his "4 Notes on taking notes". His thoughts for this post were derived from a viewing of a picture that he had seen. In the picture was of a classroom full of students taking notes, however, instead of the traditional note taking using pencil and paper, the students took a picture of the board with their camera phones. As Mr. Truss started to elaborate more he feels that this method is not an ideal way to take notes in order for students to retain what they should be learning. I absolutely agree with his thoughts on this too. I feel that if students are given the option to just take a picture of a board after the instructor has finished his or her lesson then they wont even bother to listen. As Mr. Truss goes on he says that there are better ways to utilize technology in the note taking process. Different types of documents can be used by students while they are in the process of taking notes. Similarly, teachers have the option to use different resources as well to make the sharing of their notes easier too.

Blog Post 7

   Technology now has a prominent place in the classroom. It enables teachers to reach students on an individual level and at times allows the students themselves to teach. Different technology and applications that are available for students give many opportunities to learn. There are many benefits that come along with having the technological resources available for every student, one of which is that it keeps the students engaged in the material they are learning. By having an Ipad available for each child, they can focus on their own task and move as fast or as slow as they need to. Additionally, the programs are set up so that they can give automatic feedback on assignments and tests. 

     Specifically, in the video 10 Reasons to Use Technology in Education, it is seen that along with just student engagement there are many great reasons to integrate technology into lesson plans. Students love using technology on a daily basis for games and for communicating, so by using it as a medium to learn in the classroom gives them an opportunity to be more interested in the work. Along with this resource being beneficial to students it also serves many useful purposes for teachers as well. In general, it makes life easier for teachers. It gives the teacher a chance to answer more questions effectively when they are needed instead of spending a whole class period lecturing. 

     With all this technology available there are also more resources available for students and teachers. Having access to professionals all over the world gives the opportunity to learn from many types of instruction. Teachers are also given more access to other professionals too. When there are obstacles in the classroom such as some students having different learning styles, when teachers reach out they are given the opportunity to modify their lessons in new ways. 

     Having the skills to use new technology is essential for the future educators. Initially, I was not for learning about all these new programs available, it just didn't seem necessary. However, when I watch more of these videos about how impactful the technology can be, I become more and more convinced of it's effectiveness. Just like people have to evolve in learning new ideas, the same goes with having to learn new ways of teaching. 

C4K Summary

     Throughout the past month I have had the opportunity to read and then subsequently post on four different students blog posts. The students that I received were Rylie, Ike, Kaitlyn, and Najelley. They ranged in age from third grade all the way up to high school. Additionally, they all live and go to school in different states.
     Rylie was the first student that I was given and he is in Mrs. Smedy's class. I had some problems trying to connect to his blog unfortunately. The link that I was given to his blog didn't connect me all the way and when I asked for ways to figure it out it just didn't work.
     Fortunately, when I received the link for my next student everything worked out successfully! Ike H. was the second blog that I visited. Ike is a student in Mr. Boylen's class and their assignment was to write about their day. Ike lives up north and wrote that they had gotten a snow storm. I told him that down here we hardly ever get snow and that this time last year we experienced an ice storm and we had to close down all our schools.
     Kaitlyn, in Mrs. Leatherwood's class, was my third student. Her blog assignment was for her students to write about the best day of their life. Kaitlyn wrote about how her family was planning on adopting a new puppy and she was so excited. She had a dog that was part of the family ever since she could remember but, sadly, the dog had passed away several months ago. After having some time pass they decided to go look for Lab breeders. They found one that bred silver lab puppies and they have been keeping up on the progress of the puppy's growth. I told her about how my family has had two labs and my first dog ever was a black lab named Maggie. When Maggie passes away many years ago my mother and I went and adopted a new puppy, a yellow lab, named Homer. Homer was a birthday gift to my dad and he is now 13 years old.
     The last student's blog that I read was Najelley's. She is a high school student in Mrs. Maslowski's class. Mrs. Maslowski gave them an assignment related to Black History Month. The option that Najelley picked was to discuss an African American inventor and their influence. She chose to write about George Washington Carver and his impact that he made on the agricultural world. Everyone associates Carver with his using peanuts in his inventions. The reason that this is what he used is because farmers had such a large amount of them in storage and they were just going bad. To keep this crop from going to waste, Carver invented peanut butter and other innovative ways to use peanuts. Additionally, he also used sweet potatoes to help farmers replenish the soil. Upon reading her post I didn't know that Carver had done so much and made such a large impact on the agricultural world.

http://mrsmaslowski.edublogs.org/

Blog Post 6

Conversing with Anthony Capps...
     While viewing the conversations that were had with Mr. Capps, I gained a lot of insight on how using project based learning can be really effective in the classroom. The projects that he had used in the classroom really covered a lot of topics and standards in one without being too overwhelming for him or his students. Also, I realized that a lot of thought and preparation has to be put in in developing his class projects. In contrast to traditional lesson planning, when developing the ideas to implement as a project you have to think of its purpose, its effectiveness, and is it going to be exciting and engaging for the students.
     In specific, in the video conversation "Don't teach the tech-use it", I thought it was really insightful. While doing all of our own projects in EDM 310 and branching out to use new technology it can get overwhelming. In fact, the most frequent thought that I have while facing some more of the challenging tasks is "How will I use this for my students?" or "Am I going to be able to clearly demonstrate how to use a program?". Upon watching this video though, I realize that it's not about teaching the technology its about incorporating it. The students in today's generation are so technologically advanced that teaching the technology would be a mundane task for them, so why waste the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB3uKpOKQwA

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

My Passion

My Sentence

Project #3 Presentation

Four Movies Part 1

The links that are included in this blog are for project 7 and go to the video "My Sentence", and the video "My Passion".
My Sentence 
My Passion 
Enjoy!!

Blog Post 5

Personal Learning Networks...
     Personal learning networks, PLN's, are comprised of people, places, organizations, and activities that enable you to learn and expand your teaching resources. From looking at the resources given, I noticed that a lot of teachers get started making their PLN's by either blogging or using resources found on Twitter. So that's where I began my search to start building my own network. So far I have found sources that include The Teaching Channel, @teachingchannel, Edutopia, @edutopia, and Discovery Education, @DiscoveryEd. These are just a couple of sources that I have found so far but I am hoping to expand upon them soon!

     Building personal learning networks are now almost essential to stay on the next level in education. By communicating with other professionals and using additional resources such as twitter you can be exposed to so many ideas. Also, by using an extended network can help you discover ways to reach all students on many levels. Teaching is no longer a linear concept, it ranges in so many dimensions and using your own learning network can expand your knowledge in every direction.

Search Engines - Project 15

     It's amazing how many other search engines are available other than the ever popular Google. I went on a search just to see how many are out there and the number was may more than any I had ever expected. The engines consisted of many categories too, including but not limited to music, photo streaming, general searches, colleges, and medical. I was asked to narrow down to 8 search engines to further elaborate on and the list goes as follows: 

1. WolframAlpha- This search engine is absolutely amazing! It offers an abundance of resources available to all and is mainly directed toward educators. The site also refers to itself as a "computational knowledge engine". I played around on this site and found that you can ask it for help in almost any subject area and it will give you examples, suggestions and an abundance of resources relating to what you have searched for. You can ask WolframAlpha for help in just about everything including math, science, educational tools, astronomy, history, health, and geography just to name a few but their list goes on and on. 

2. Vimeo- This site is similar to the popular YouTube. The engine is used to post and stream videos on your computer. The site makes it to where there are no ads before or after your videos and you can stream it to friends and family members to that they can all share in on your memories. 

3. Icerocket- Meltwater Icerocket allows you the opportunity to search, submit your blogs, and to read top posts for the day. What is unique about this engine is that when you search it is also linked to Twitter and Facebook so that you can pull up trending results as well. 

4. Flickr- This is an online photo streaming connection. Once signed in you have the opportunity to view pictures from anywhere in the world and to upload your own pictures as well. Additionally, the site allows you to search specifically for subjects as well. 

5. Healia- Healia is a medical search engine that specializes in finding high quality and personalized health information. This site is more sophisticated than a WebMd and provides a better quality explanation to health related questions. 

6. Freebooksearch- As the name of this engine explains, this site allows you to search for free books using a simple and advanced search through the search engine. Along with ebooks available for search there are also audiobooks available. 

7. The college search engine- As the title states in this search engine, it is used by prospective college students to search for potential schools. The site shows and lists out all colleges available and what requirements are needed if one was wanting to attend. 

8. Sphere- This is an additional search engine that allows one to search through blogs and post your own blogs. This site works alongside Google Chrome and allows you to have a narrowed search through the general Google website. 

C4T Summary #1 - Science Fix

 
     Mr. Darren Fix was the first teacher's blog that I visited and left comments on. He is a middle school science teacher and his website "ScienceFix" was not only very informative but also very entertaining. His posts were videos in which he explained how using the experiments that he had designed helped to get kids thinking before he presented a new concept. In the first video post that I saw he was explaining the objective of heat energy to his students. I thought that it was very well set up and it was a great introduction to use to explain how heat energy works in different mediums.
     The second post that was most recent on his page was explaining the idea of how the scientific method can be used. It was an abstract project that required his students to have to do a little thinking in order to formulate a hypothesis about what the plausible answers could be. To explain a little more, Mr. Fix presented his students with a six sided cube he had put together. On each side was a color, a name, and two numbers. By using the info that they gained from viewing five out of the six sides they then formulated a hypothesis about what could be on the last side.
     Both of his posts that I viewed and commented on were very interesting and I myself was entertained at how he could make learning new concepts fun and engaging for his students.

http://www.sciencefix.com/

Blog Post 4

What do we need to know about asking questions to become an effective teacher?
     This discussion topic struck me as very interesting when I first read the overview on what this blog would focus on. I had never put much thought into what kind of questions I would ask my students or in the manner that I would ask them. I never thought of it as important until now. The sources that were given to help figure out the answer to this questions gave a lot of insight on how questions should be asked and the appropriate way that they are developed. In "The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom", it is noted that just asking a class if they understand a topic that you may have just covered is not enough. To really get students engaged in what you're talking about you have to ask specific questions. When asking specific questions it is not always necessary for them to be directed at one person right away. The goal of any teacher is to get your students thinking, so by asking a question to the whole class they all have a chance to formulate answers in their own head. Once the whole class has been given a chance to think of an answer, then you can move on and begin to select students at random to give their ideas. By selecting students at random you make it clear that not just one person will be called on all the time and not just the "smart kids" will be asked to answer. This was another common trend seen Mr. Johnson's post.
     The design of the question is also particularly important. We are informed while reading "Asking Questions to Improve Learning" that there are three main types of questions. All three types are useful and can be used for specific situations to elicit the type of response that you want. Closed questions are useful when you are looking for only one specific answer and can be used when preparing for an exam or reviewing over previously covered concepts, managerial questions are used when you want to make sure that your students understand assignments given, and closed questions are used to elicit multiple responses from the students. As mentioned previously, it is the main goal to keep the students engaged in what is being presented to them, to keep the wheel turning.

     Sometimes we can come up with questions on the spot while we're in the midst of covering a lecture, but sometimes they take a little more preparation than that. While you are preparing your lesson plans for the day it is helpful to include places in which you could stop to ask a question to make sure everyone is on the same page. By adding in these predetermined questions it gives us a way to stay on track and make sure that we don't just spend a whole hour of discussion without adding in any reinforcement. Once you have decided on the questions you are wanting to ask, think about ways in which you could modify them to get students more actively involved in answering them. By going through these processes you find out which questions work best for you and you can preserve good questions, i.e. questions that had a good response level and were thought provoking amongst students.
     By using all the afore mentioned techniques we have many ways to develop questions to ask our students. We always want our questions to relate to the subject being taught and to, at times, challenge our students by broadening their thinking.

Blog Post 3

How can you provide meaningful feedback to your peers?
     The most important concept recognized among all the peer review sources is that it is essential to stay positive when providing feedback to a peer's writing. Whether the student has written the best piece of work you have ever seen or it's a full of grammatical errors, it is important to always comment, suggest, or compliment in a positive manner. Providing feedback should be done in a way that at first you should compliment on the students writing and attempt at covering a subject, then present any suggestions that you think could amplify their writing, and finally provide some corrections to errors that you may have found in their writing. This way of providing feedback reminds me of how a "compliment sandwich" is done in the workplace. Essentially, a boss would start off with a compliment, a positive fact about the employee, then state what the problem is in his or her work, and then end their discussion with another positive statement letting them know that they are appreciated. This type of approach makes the situation easier for everyone.

      I have never been a huge fan of peer reviews and peer editing, this is mostly because of how the kids were in the third video that was watched. Whenever I had to let someone view my assignments, I really just thought that it was a waste of time. Other students would either read through really quickly or just straight up not care about what I had written. This became really frustrating and seemed to get no where. Thankfully I have a lot more appreciation for it now because I can see how useful a tool it is for not only people reviewing my work but for me as well when I am reviewing work. Taking the time to read through someone else's words can show you a lot about different writing styles and can keep your mind fresh on grammar and its usage.

Blog Post 2

What will teaching in the 21st century be like?
     In the first video, Mr. Dancealot, we are shown a professor who is using technology, a power point, to teach his class how to perform popular dances. His approach to how he teaches this class catches his students off guard since they are only being told how the steps should be done and not practicing them. The central message tied into this video is that, while technology is a good tool, it is not always the appropriate tool to use. The students did not understand the dances because they were never given the opportunity to experience them first hand. The author of the video makes his case in the conclusion of the film by showing that the students were not prepared at all for the final. During the final exam they were expected to perform the dances but since they had not previously done so, they were unable to do them for the final. I do agree with the conclusion that technology is not always the best tool for everything or for certain classes.  I feel that maybe watching videos later of the dances would have been beneficial to Mr. Dancealot's students but only after they had been shown in the initial presentation how the dances should be done.
   

Outline for Teaching in the 21st Century:

Thesis- Learning is evolving, teaching has to evolve too

Main points: Information is always available, teachers are more of a filter, keep students engaged not entertained, keep students creating

     The main point of the video, as I understood it is that teaching has to evolve in order to keep up with the ways students are learning and finding information. To quote Robert, "students can find information, anywhere, at anytime, and [written by] anyone. This is true. Information is available at the click of a button which leads into his next point that teachers are seen more as a filter now. Teachers have the responsibility in showing students where is the best place to find information and what reliable sources are. One of the main reasons to evolve ways of teaching is to keep kids' attention. We are in a time where constant stimulation is possible. Kids stay entertained by playing on computers, smartphones, and tablets almost all the time. The generations now were practically born with a smartphone in their hand. So it is a challenging task to keep kids focused. Robert's solution to this is to keep them engaged in learning rather than entertained. To be engaged is to really want to learn about the material that is being presented and it is that engagement that will make them want to use all of their available resources to learn more about it. In a way, this becomes a successful cycle. An additional point made in his video is that there has been so much created so far that originality will have to be expanded too. While being taught about resources, students are shown how to avoid plagiarism. The more sources found, the more a student will have to use their own creativity to make a statement of their own, an original idea. If he is correct in his hypotheses, it will really have an impact in the way that I will have to approach teaching. As an educator, I want students to be interested in what I am presenting to them and want them to have questions. I think using the technology skills that they have acquired up to that point will be a really useful tool in keeping them motivated to learn. Additionally, since I am most interested in teaching health education there are so many apps that can help students learn about their own body really learn how to become healthy.

     My overall reaction to The Networked Student video, is that in that particular case the teacher isn't even teaching the subject to her student but instead showing him how to use the internet to find the information on his own. While I agree that it is important to know how to find resources and take initiative to learn about a subject, I think it is more important that a teacher teach on the subject as well. I do not think the search on your own method will work for every subject and even if it would, the student is spending more and more time at night looking up information on their own for multiple subjects. Ultimately, the student could become overwhelmed with having to do research on a multitude of topics. I also did not like that out of all the reasons listed as to why a student even needs a teacher, "an educator" was not one of them. The point that I am trying to make is that learning to become a learner is important but not at the loss that educators and professors don't even teach on their subject anymore. Why even attain a professional status if you don't intended to share your own knowledge on a subject? 

     In the video, "Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts", the main thesis focus's around how using technology can provide for all students and cater to all types of thinkers. Miss Davis really focused in on different and innovative ways that she could inspire her students to learn and understand all types of material that she was teaching. My overall reaction to her "argument" that the technology has improved her classroom setting was, for the most part, indifferent. I say indifferent because I see her positive points coming from it, I just think that it may take up too much time learning the new programs more than learning the overall focus of the lessons. However, I ultimately agree that it will help keep the kids focused and engaged in the new concepts they learn. 

     Who's ahead in the learning race? My first thought upon watching this video is that it is great that so many younger students are given the opportunity to work with so much technology available to them. It was interesting to see that they were so easily adapting to the MacBooks that they were given to do their work with. In comparison to college students, it would seem that they are "winning" the race but I also feel that to say that would be unfair. Students in the third grade, along with the majority of younger kids, pick up on using new things more easily than the older population, such as college students. My personal position in this race is not all that impressive unfortunately. I know how to work computers, smartphones, and tablets but there are several applications that I couldn't say that I am comfortable with. Hopefully I can catch up to my third grade competitors though!

     The concept of flipping the classroom is only slightly new to me. In high school my chemistry teacher used podcasts to help reinforce her discussions and lectures that we had gone over in class. The podcasts turned out to be very helpful whenever the chapters started to become more difficult. However, I have never heard it being used as an initial teaching tool. My thoughts about this go both ways. I think that it's great a student can view a lecture at night and then come to class with the questions that they have. I do not like the fact that the kids that do not have the appropriate technology would have to come in earlier the next day to use the teachers' computer. It just seems a tad unfair and I think that before things like that are assigned that all students have equal opportunity to do the work at home. Additionally, when the teacher in the video said that it would be helpful to them because they wouldn't have to spend so much time in front of the classroom. I was kind of taken a back by her statement because I feel that is the whole point of being an educator, to be up in front of the class. Perhaps that is just me though. I do not think that this approach will effect me as a teacher or be useful in the subject that I want to teach, that may change over time though.

Test run

Test

Blog Post 1

Questions, comments, concerns...
     Before starting the EDM 310 class I told several of my friends that I had signed up for it and I was surprised when I got so much feedback about it. Before even saying a word their facial expressions told me that I was in for a lot. Many of them told me about their experiences and that I was going to have to do a lot of work and do multiple projects. Honestly it didn't scare me. I really feel like I am the only one who can judge a course for myself. I know what I am capable of handling and almost enjoy it more when I know that a lot of work will be involved, it makes getting through a course worth it. So, if I had to say I had fears about this course they would mostly be limited to having issues in trying to master doing a new task on my computer.
     If I had to relate this course to courses I have taken before it would fall between my intro to computer class, which is on the easier end to my scale and the only technology related course I have had, to my genomics and organic chemistry class, which lie on the harder end of my scale because I spent hours upon hours studying and teaching myself the material. I know that sometimes I will have the information handed to me but then again sometimes you have to think more abstractly to get the information to work in ways in which you learn it best. I don't expect the course to be easy, doing so would be unwise, but I do know that any course is doable if you just put in the time and effort.
     Ultimately, I think that the most difficult aspect of the course that I will face is being unsure of how to use my new Macbook. It just so happened that as soon as I stared the course my PC decided to go and I heard that Mac was the way to go. I think that it will be an easy problem to handle it will just take me some time getting used to new functions and having to practice using it at home. Luckily, being able to complete these blogs has not been seen to be a problem yet! I do not have any additional questions but I can't wait to really get started and see what all ways that I can incorporate what I learn in this course into subjects that I will teach in the future.

Practice Blog Post

Outline:

Who am I? I am my experiences
What are my passions? Staying busy---> include picture!
What do you do best? Organize and lead
What do you like to do more than other things? Be around my friends
What do you want to get better at doing? Playing the piano
Interesting facts...

Where have I lived? Forever a Mobilian
What are my major interests? Anything dealing with exercise and the body
How did I come to attend USA? Scholarship
Personal and family info...

Why do I want to be an educator? To make a difference
What does an educator do in his or her practice? Motivates
Why do I want to enter the education field? To make a difference
What does an educator's work entail in the 21st century? Staying ahead of the game

           To begin, my name is Kasey Orr and I am a person who is defined by my experiences. Time and time again I have been asked the question of "Who I am" and it has been one that is difficult to explain. After finishing high school I saw myself only defined by the things that I had done in the previous four years, so I thought that I would figure it out after I started college. Turns out, I am in the same place now as I was then. My identity feels that it has come from thing experiences and opportunities that I have taken advantage of. Not to say that it is a bad thing, quite the opposite. It feels as if though I am not defined to one thing because my experiences are always changing, the idea to me is similar to all the "hats" that we wear. I am not just one particular thing or person, but a collection of all the experiences that I have encountered. The previous explanation of myself makes it easy to explain as to why my passions are anything that keeps me busy. I love being able to try new things and add new adventures to my story. Currently I am trying to get into kayaking and hopefully planning a few new trips. To keep all these passions in order, along with having school and two jobs, I had to become very organized very quickly. My planner is my saving grace and I record everything that I do in it. My organization skills have been very useful in my past years getting through college and scheduling time for work too. I have worked two jobs for about 4 years now and while I never really saw myself as a leader in high school, I feel that the role is now one that I have always wanted and it makes me happy knowing that people trust me to lead. Hopefully these things about me don't get on my friends nerves too much because hanging out with them is my favorite thing to do, its always something different each time. Besides hanging out with my friends I love to paint and to play the piano and there is always room for improvement in both so that is definitely two things that I would like to get better at.
          Besides from my parents short lived idea to live in Kansas City when I was a baby I have always been a Mobilian, almost 23 years now. Living in this city for so long is part of the reason that I ended up attending South Alabama. I received a scholarship right out of high school and mom and dad loved it that I would be able to stay home so here I am currently half way through my fifth year. My first bachelor's was in Exercise Science which is what lead to what my interests are now. I love reading and doing anything that deals with exercise and its effects on the body. This is what has lead me to want to teach health now and has pointed me in the direction of becoming an educator. I wont be the only teacher in the family though, my aunt is an elementary teacher and my cousin is currently pursuing her degree in secondary education as well. My dad has been a paramedic for almost 19 years now and my mom has worked at Springhill Hospital for about the same amount of time. They have always been supportive of my choices and for that I am so thankful. It has been a long road and a good bit of time that I have been in college and I never expected to want to obtain a second bachelor's but becoming an educator is really exciting to me. I want to be an educator because I really want to inspire kids to become life long learners and especially if I get to teach health I want to really make a difference in kids lives and give them good direction. In his or her practice an educator essentially motivates and encourages their students and helps them reach their goals. No educator wants to see their students fail and wants to help them understand the material that they need to learn. In the 21st century teaching will continue to change in many ways. Technology is continually advancing and teachers have to evolve along with it in order to keep up and to keep students interested.