Blog Post 9

Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning

In the Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning the author discusses how every project must fulfill two criteria to make it meaningful. One that students need to find it as personally meaningful. This is a task that will make them want to do the project well. Secondly, that a meaningful project should fulfill an educational purpose. The authors, Mr. Larmer and Mr. Mergendoller, discuss is the seven elements to make a project a success.

1. Need to Know

2. A Driving Question

3. Student Voice and Choice

4. 21st Century Skills

5. Inquiry and Innovation

6. Feedback and Revision

7. A Publicly Presented Product

I feel that I will keep these seven elements close to me when I am teaching that way I can ensure the success rate in m students.

In Project Based Learning for Teachers

It states how PBL has students working over an extended period of time answering a driving question. The question is deep and requires students to complete a product and share their new knowledge with others. It shows how Common Core Standards are the what. PBL is the how. While meeting standards and creating a product students learn how to collaborate and communicate with others, they learn critical thinking skills as well as career and life skills. I know I have certainly learned or improved in all of these categorizes by taking EDM310. I am thrilled to share my new found excitement using PBL with my students.

What Motivates Students? I have learned that every child is different but all students feel motivated when they are praised for doing something well. Other students are self motivated because of a future goal or dream. In the video one child reminded me of myself when I was younger talking about how he was motivated because if he did not do well he would not be able to do his extracurricular activities. My mother was always hard of me about my grades and would take my tv, phone, or not allow me to do something special away very quickly. Regardless all children like to be rewarded for their accomplishments and I plan to capitalize on all the good things they do in my classroom.

Project Based Learning in PE

I know this is terrible of me as a future educator but I honestly had no idea you could incorporate PBL in Physical Education. I never had to take PE in high school because I cheered and that counted as my credit. After reading this it opened my eyes to having PE students do a project on a fitness program could not only effect them while in high school but farther in life as well. I believe all students need to stay healthy and this would be a great resource for them.

Why do we learn history?

The question why do we learn history is a question I plan to hear throughout my teaching career. I have never asked that question because it is by far my favorite subject. I was always the odd ball who loved watching the history channel. I have always been intrigued by the past and the different cultures. My younger brother on the other hand hates history, all forms of history. He will be in seventh grade this upcoming school year so naturally the first person I called to ask this question is him. He said, "We have to learn history so we can learn from the past to make our future better." Although he is very bright and his answer is the same as I gave when Dr. Strange first asked our class, he still thinks it is boring and not fun. I firmly believe that history is one of the most important subjects taught in our school system. If you do not know the what happened in past you are unable to understand what led to your present and what will ultimately become your future.

Project #12: SMART Board Instruction Part A

Project #14 Project Based Lesson Plan #2

PBL Overview

PBL Calendar

PBL Checklist

PBL Rubric

Project #9

Group Kennedy Project # 9

Project #13 Project Based Lesson Plan #1

PBL Overview

PBL Individual Rubric

PBL Group Rubric

PBL Checklist

PBL Calendar

C4Tp #4 Post

Copyright Flowchart: Can I Use It? Yes? No? If This... Then...

Ms. Tolisano discusses in her blog, on June 10, 2014, about the responsibility of educators to teach students about copyright, plagiarism, and intellectual properties. She talks about how many educators did not grow up in with modern technology students have today, such as easy internet access. She states, "The waters are murky, it is not an easy topic. While there are some clear cut rules about copyrighted material, Creative Commons and Public Domain content, Fair Use in Education are supported by GUIDELINES, not clear cut rules!" She discusses how other organizations have began creating better policies to help other teachers. Ms. Tolisano and the school library coordinator worked together to create flow charts to help other teachers be better equipped. I think together they have created something great that I know I will use in my classroom. I also feel the charts they put together will be very helpful for students too.

Blog Post 8

Mr. Pausch's Last Lecture Video is incredibly touching and inspirational. I have worked in the medical field for over six and a half years and I have seen how easy it is to give up on yourself when you find out bad news. He has a beautiful outlook on life even tough he has recently received devastating news about his health. The fact the Mr. Pausch is not at home feeling sorry for himself, but out giving lectures to possibly change the lives of others is not only motivational but shows his passion for teaching.

Mr. Pausch's Last Lecture

He discusses how Projected Based Learning is a great way for students to express their creativity as well as their individuality. He also talks about how most students learn better and have a fuller understanding of the topics. As I have recently learned, project based learning is one of the greatest tools I can use to teach my future students difficult concepts.

Mr. Pausch also brings up a point I have been taught my entire life and that is being the best you can be. EVERYONE should try to keep this in mind not only in the classroom but in life. If you always push yourself to be the best you will go far in whatever you may be pursuing.

C4Ta #2 Post

Is This Right?

Mr. Hadley Ferguson, the author of "Middle School Matrix," decided to break away from the monotony of how he typically ran his classroom. He reworked his plans of giving the students a vocabulary list and having them read the textbook to research other significant information. His newly modified plan allowed the entire class period to split into small groups and use whatever source they like to research the list. He still asked them to find additional information terms that correlated with their given topic.

He discussed his results once the students began to work on his new assignment. The states how the students were only interested in researching only the given terms and did not add any additional terms to his list. His first reaction was anger because they simply were not interested or put any effort in doing their part of the assignment. He then realized that their learning and engagement in the activity was his responsibility.

Mr. Ferguson altered the lesson again by creating an environment by showing images that corresponded with the assignment to help give them inspiration. He tested his new plan with a second class and was successful! This is a great example for me to remember when I began teaching. I will keep in mind how important it is to adapt and have an open mind when it comes to changing my plans in order to help students learn and grow.

Almost Boring!

In Almost Boring, Mr. Ferguson discusses how he works diligently through the school year, starting in September, to prepare his students to become independent learners. He states that by the end of the school year he assigned his students a project to tell about the Black Death, a plague that took place in Europe. In his blog he tells how he may only get a few questions regarding proofreading and making sure they are on the right track. He allows them to disperse any where in the room or hallway as long as they work on their project. Mr. Ferguson tells how they work quietly and he is able to sit in his desk and relax. He has taught them everything they need to know when it comes to researching so they are well equipped. He talks about how he gets to take a more passive role than when he is directly teaching a lesson, and that it feels great knowing the time was about them.

Blog Post 7

Once I began the task of finding new learning and communication tools I can one day share with my students. I am wanting to become a high school History teacher, but I know many students do not enjoy history so I need to find innovative ways to bring the subject to life.

Socrative -Socrative is a way for both the students and teacher can interact on their computers, tablets, and smart phones. The site uses interactive games and exercises. What is great about this site is that it allows the teacher to track the progress and view their grades.

Another great resource for teachers is Quizlet. What I found interesting about Quizlet is that it allows the teacher to create personalized study tools, such as flashcards, to help the student learn the information. The site also aids teachers in creating study guides. I feel that I could use this site to support the many other methods.

Pinterest -This is one of my all time favorite site! It gives everyone access to a broad range of ideas, from recipes, decorating, to lesson plans. I am an active Pinterest user and I have started working on a board that I feel will help me inspire my students and make History exciting and intriguing. It gives me ideas on how to decorate my classroom that will stimulate the student's minds. Anyone can access this site and I would like my students to become active pinners and look up new pins that would relate to the topic being discussed.

I have a new, exciting outlook and I can't wait to start looking up more sites that will help me help others in their educational journey.

Blog Post 6

Mr. Antony Capps, a former EDM310 student, discusses with Dr. Strange the importance of Discovery Education.

He states, "Whatever text article you can give a child, if you can couple it with visual they will retain a lot more. I find this to be very true in my own learning experience. I can read an article multiple times but whenever my instructor coupled it with a movie or even audio clip I had a better sense of what they wanted me to learn. I believe this appeals to most students at all ages. Using multiple learning styles helps to reinforce the content. I am a hands on learner in most circumstances, but when teaching a subject, such as English, it can be hard to provide students with a hands on method. This is why I have always supported educational videos like, School House Rock, to reinforce the material being discussed. Mr. Capps also talks about how letting students use technology helps to enrich their research experience and helps bring the text to life. I feel that if I had more teachers in elementary and middle school that would have allowed us time in a discovery lab I would have been better equipped once I reached the high school and college level have a better grasp on leaning on myself to research a topic and find credible resources.

Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange had another online meeting ad discussed what it takes to build a good lesson plan by using a "staircase" method.

In Additional thoughts about Learning Lessons, Mr. Anthony Capps discusses how a lesson is 4 layers thick.

1. The first layer is covering the material in within certain a time frame. He tells us to keep in mind when making a lesson plan to be realistic and ensuring yourself that you can cover the content and all of the standards within one fiscal year.

2. The second layer is the Unit. Have unit projects set up in a way that is meaningful and blends leading into the upcoming unit.

3. The next layer is how you devise your weekly plan needs to also be meaningful with a purpose. Ensuring the content is on track and still coinciding with the rest of the necessary standards.

4. The last layer is the daily plan. This is how you will deliver the content and allow them to discover it.

I am certainly going to remember these steps once I start my career in order to have an organized, successful plan.

Project #8 Book Trailer

If You Give A Dog A Donut

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Post 5

What is a PLN you may ask? A PLN is a Personal Learning Network that consist of a set of people and tools that someone can call upon for help, consultation, collaboration, or other assistance. PLNs can be extremely resourceful particularly for teachers. This group of people you can access anytime, anywhere at the wonderful price of FREE! When you are creating your PLN list it is best to look for individuals and resources that are diverse and credible that share similar interest as you. The goal is to find people and sites that can further your knowledge on a variety of topics.

Social media is going to be the best resource for most people when creating their list. I plan to use my Twitter and Facebook accounts to start adding people to my list. The first people I will add will have to be some of my former History teachers, both college and high school. I have been very blessed throughout my education to have wonderful instructors such as Dr. Erin Cage, Mona Lisa Blackburn, Brandon Rice, Jeremy Williams, and Doris Fincher Gladen. I would also add my group members from my EDM310 course. They have been an incredible group of women who have been a driving force for me in my class. Another important individual that is a necessity to have would be Dr. Strange. He has the most knowledge and resources to help make my list a true success.

My Sentence Videos

My Sentence Is...

My Passion Is...

C4Tp Post #1

Silvia Tolisano, the author of the Langwitches blog, created a post on May 26, 2014 about "Telling a Story with Data." In her blog she discussed a class of sixth graders who were learning how to take data, analyze it, and tell a story with their findings. What their instructor, Laurel Janewinz, was able able to do with her technique was check her students ability to understand the concepts and their way to communicate the information. Once her students analyzed the information they then created charts and graphs to help others comprehend the new found knowledge. Thus, telling a story with the data.

Tolisano made another intriguing post on May 28, 2014. This post was called "Back to the Future Project: Life Cycle Snapshots in Target Language." In the post she discusses a Portuguese seventh and eighth grade teacher who had her students work on target language in the Life Cycle unit. The students were taught vocabulary and traditions from birth through adolescense, through adulthood to retirement. The task she gave her students was to create a character and a fake Facebook page to document their character's life. She had the students update the ficticious character's Facebook frequently which allowed them to engage with others using social media while learning.

Project 15

1. Dogpile This is one of the original search engines. It was one of the used until Google came and monopolized the industry. Most of the results typically came from other search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Anyone can ask any type of questions. I personally would rather go straight to the source and use Google.

2. DuckDuckGo: This is a great search engine that gives their users optimum privacy settings. The site prides themselves of being the best at keeping the privacy, which is not an option for most other search engines. I think having the option of higher privacy levels are very appealing and I will consider using this site in the future.

3. Priceline: Best use is for travel and booking hotels, flights, and vacation trips. I thought the site was easy to navigate and user friendly. This search engine could be a great option for me and my family.

4. Ask.com: This search engine's been the best at promoting you it to find the answers to the users questions. Users are able to ask any question they would like to know. I personally felt that some of the sites that Ask.com would give to answer your questions were not as reliable.

5.Bing : Bing was designed by Microsoft and has many similarities to Google. Like most search engines Bing gives you the option to ask any question your heart may desire. I use the Bing search engine second only to Google. I do like that it has less ads than almost all other sites.

6. WebMD: WebMD is a medical database that allows people to research any health related issue. It allows users to read credible articles about their symptoms, diseases, and even offers options to help diagnosis a possible illness. I think there are both pros and cons to this site. From a healthcare stand point it allows people to create illnesses and creates problems for healthcare workers when patients come in believing they have a certain diagnosis. I do feel it can help educate people and do so in a way an average person can understand.

7. MapQuest: One of the best search engines that can be used for traveling and calculating distances of two locations. I love this search engine. My personal experiences using the site have all been good. Anyone can use this to help them get just about anywhere.

8. Wolfram Alpha: The search engine is best used to help with mathematical questions. Anyone can use this site to help. I wished I would have known about this site sooner in life. I absolutely detest math and this could have saved me a lot of stress.

Blog Post 4

  In the right way to ask questions in the classroom the author says, "Have you ever thought about how silly we teachers can be? When we get in front of students, we present ourselves to be the ones with all of the answers, and then after we talk with the students, we start asking questions as if we don't know anything we just talked about." The author, Ben Johnson, continues to explain the reason most teachers use this method is to check the students understanding of the concept. The downside to asking questions is it may exclude some students from trying to answer because they have become dependant on the students that always give the answer. The author states, "if the students know the question will be open to the entire class, then most likely two-thirds of the class will not even pay attention and continue doodling or daydreaming.

  The approach the author views to be the most effective would be to ask the question, pause, then assign it to a student. Johnson believes this will make a lasting impression on the class as a whole by keeping them on their toes. My personal experience seems to back up his views. When I am aware the teacher will ask open questions I tend to allow my mind to drift from the topic, especially if it is a subject I do not find intriguing.I plan try to be more mindful of this technique when I begin my teaching career. I want my students to have a more engaging experience with me and among themselves during discussions.

Blog Post 3

Peer editing according to the video "What is Peer Editing" means working with someone your own age to help improve, revise, and edit his or her writing. The video teaches that there is three steps that are important to follow when you are participating in peer reviews. Step one is always start with a compliment. It is important to stay positive and try to consider the feeling of the person you are reviewing. Step two is to give the writer specific ideas about how to make their writing better. Step three, when making corrections check for punctuation, grammar, sentences, and spelling. After watching the video I believe I will be a better person giving peer reviews. I am usually worried about offending someone or making them feel inadeqaute. I now know I am only hindering the other person by not helping them try to improve their writing.

"Writing Peer Reviews Top 10 Mistakes" was a very interesting video that gave examples of what not to do. The narrator gave the example of "Jean the Generalizer." Unfortunately I can relate because like I said earlier I am worried about hurting someone's feelings. Another skit in the video was "Mean Margaret." She was too critical of her partner's writing and even asked "Are you dumb." There were many other examples that were very true and need to be acknoweledged before participating in a peer review. I feel that we should all take a lesson from the children in the video so we can grow and be better in the future.

Blog Post 2

  After watching the video Mr. Dancealot, I understood immediately what I believed the author was trying to portray. He showed us how much students today rely on being lectured in the classroom rather than being accustomed to a hands on approach. There are certain things in life students can only learn by doing, such as dancing. He proved his point when he required everyone to go into the ballroom to be tested on the dances. The video showed most of the students holding up their notes while looking lost and barely moving. I, personally, agree with the author. Many of the students today expect to only gain knowledge by hearing and reading the material. Students must take the extra effort to use different types of learning in order to gain full knowledge.

  Teaching in the 21st Century has some arguable points to me as a future educator. Kevin Roberts make some strong statements that he believes to be the way of our future as both students and educators. Roberts believes that technology will essentially replace traditional teaching methods and views on teachers by using them only help “filter” what students can find using computers.

Roberts stated: 1.Teachers role in the lives of students is obsolete. Students can find information on anything, anytime, anywhere. With technology information will be limitless. 2.Teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge, they are filters. 3.How we teach students to handle these resources. Teachers should show students how to: validate, synthesize, leverage, communicate, collaborate, problem solve.   I can agree with Mr. Roberts that technology is the way of the future, but I feel teachers play a much more active role than filtering information for students. I plan to utilize technology in my teaching career, but I will not allow it to become greater than myself. Students can learn a lot from computers, but through personal experiences in a classroom with the teacher and fellow students will make a longer impression. It Mr. Roberts beliefs are correct I feel students will be missing out on a greater education.

  The Networked Student shows a student who is guided by his teacher to create a network using technology. I believe that students can learn valuable tools when the teacher allows them to become individual learners. I do feel the teacher is a very important figure in the students learning journey. She guides them when they are stuck, she teaches them the proper ways to communicate with others, she is the architect as they build their networks, and she aids them in finding valid resources.

  In Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts, Ms. Vikki Davis teaches a technological course that she customizes her curriculum to the individual groups in the class. By doing this it allows the students to grow as individual learners and help teaches them critical thinking. She discuses how when you limit the tools students can use to learn, you limit the number of students who WILL learn. I believe her methods are innovative. I agree that not all people learn using the same technique. I hope to someday take a part of theory with me into the classroom.

  Flipping the classroom is an approach I have never heard of until now. I think flipping the classroom will be more successful in certain subjects, such as history and literature verses math or science. I plan to graduate South Alabama to go on to teach history. I feel I could use this technique to help students be more prepared by giving assignments that will correlate with the following days lecture. I would hope it would allow parents to take interest and help their children. My concern would be for students who do not have access to the internet or computers. It would give some students an unfair advantage. I would really like to use this technique, but I would first want to make sure every student would have the opportunity to utilize it.