Sunday, September 28, 2014
C4K Summary for Month of September
9/14/14
School:Pt England
Students name: Siu
Students Post:
The students project was to come up with a mascot. Siu came up with a flightless bird named Wiki Kiwi. The post included a drawing the student did of their bird.
"This is my mascot for 2014 commonwealth games his name is wiki kiwi. He is a kiwi that strive to succeed in everything he do. Wiki say that it’s cool to be who he is every time he does something awesome to be proud of. Wiki kiwi is a flightless bird native to New Zealand."
My Post:
Sui,
Wiki Kiwi seems like an amazing mascot. I like that he strives to succeed, because that is a great quality to have in a mascot. Did you draw the picture of Wiki Kiwi yourself? What made you pick a flightless bird as your mascot?
9/21/14
School:JHFI (Madame Thomas)
Students name: Sulaman
Students Post:
"What I'd Like to Learn More About That Interest Me"
Id like to learn more about fictional texts because I love reading stories. They are my favorite from reading about ”Bob The Builder” as a kid to “The hunger games” series right now. I enjoy how the authors can do anything because they really can there is no limit when its fictional. There’s no rules, government, laws, nothing! Except for your imagination and Ideas that lead the way and set the boundaries in the story. Such as deciding if Tribute 7 should die now at the beginning or live and help out then sacrifice their lives for Katniss Everdeen. This is how the author can make it happen with either a “yes” or “no” that Tribute can die either way. The author is like a president or customer making small decisions like I mentioned decisions that make a big impact. That is why I love fictional texts and think we should learn more about them this school year.
My Post:
Sulaman,
What a great post! I also enjoy reading fictional stories because anything is possible. Have you ever thought of coming up with your own stories? When I was in high school, I really enjoyed reading a series called “The Uglies”. It had hoverboards, corrupt government, and a secret society. I hope to read “The Hunger Games” soon in my spare time.
9/28/14
School:Iowa High School Students (Freitag)
Students name: Madelyn W.
Students Post:
Students were asked one thing they would change about their school.
One thing I would change about my school is seating arrangements. I would change seating arrangements because I don’t think there is a need for seating arrangements at lunch. Some reasons why I don’t think there is a need for seating arrangements at lunch is one it has never before been a rule that we have seating arrangements at lunch. Another reason is because sometimes you don’t know anyone you sit with so it is kinda a boring lunch. I understand why we would have them if there were people not having anyone to sit with but we don’t have this problem. I think that they should change this so we can sit with who we want at lunch.
My Post:
Madelyn,
My name is Andrea, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. A lot of times teachers do things we do not understand, but sometimes it can be a good thing. Use the seating arrangement as a chance to meet classmates you might not have met before. You might find you have a lot in common, and making new friends is always a good thing. Hope you make the best of the situation!
-Andrea
Blog Assignment #6
What Did I Learn From Conversations with Anthony Capps?
In the first two videos, Project Based Learning part 1 and part 2, I learned several techniques on project based learning. As teachers, we must create projects where the students learn the skills they need to meet their state standards and requirements. Project based learning helps the students retain those skills and knowledge by making the lessons more meaningful. Projects get students more involved in the classroom, and when students are engaged they are learning.
When creating a project for the class, they should be relative, and the students should be interested. The project should teach the students the the information they are required to know. It is also benifical if you involve the community, because you would be surprised by the respone you get from your students. Anthony Capps brought up a good point when planning projects, "Don't limit students. Give them they opprotunity to go beyond and surprise you.". (Capps) Lastly, have your students revise and reflect. By doing this, the information they have learned will stay with them longer.
A great tool to use for research during projects is ICURIO. It is an online tool that allows students to safely search information that has already be filtered by credible sources. It allows students to search for information, images, audio, and video, and it is all creditable by state standards. The way ICURIO works is like a search engine. Students simply log in and begin to do research. A feature of ICURIO is that teachers and students can store the information they find valuable. This way they can quickly come back to information they found useful. ICURIO has a directory, so information can be searched by critera. It also has a feature that will read the information to you, incase the student is blind or has a learning disability.(Dr.Strange and A.Capps' video on ICURIO)
Another useful tool to use in the classroom is Discovery Education. It helps students by giving them a visual through images and videos. I went onto Discovery Education and found a lot of useful resources for teachers. I found that it has a lot of tools that teachers can use as well. It has a resource section where you can find 5 minute warm ups, brain boosters, and worksheets to go. It also has lesson plans, and links to other websites related to the subject and age you have searched.
Remember Teachers: Students have to be engaged to learn, and you dont want to leave a child behind. Make learning fun, creative, and exciting through project based learning. It will get the students engaged, and make your job even more exciting and enjoyable.Sunday, September 21, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Blog Assignment #5 (Part 1)
Personal Learning Network
A PLN or, Personal Learning Network, is a new way of teaching and learning. PLN's allow for teachers and students to extend their network through interactions with other students or educators via web. Personal Learning Networks give access to global learning communities, allows exchange of ideas and opinions, and allows teachers and students to discuss various topics. Through PLN's students have access to information that they usually would not have in a regular classroom. It gives students a limitless supply of information, making the learning possibilities endless. There are many networking sites to use such as: Blogging sites, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Skype, Delicious, Google+ and more.
Because there are so many different sites to use, it is important to keep it all organized. Symbaloo and Netvibes are two websites that can help with that. I personally liked symbaloo better because organizes everything with tiles. This allows you to navigate to where you need to go at the click of a button.
The best way to start, or the way I have started, is through twitter. In Beth Still's blog Nebraska Change Agent she lists several links to recommended educators to follow. Also Larry Ferlazzo's Blog list several recommended educators to follow as well.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Project #15 Search Engines
WolframAlpha
WolframAlpha is a "Computational Knowledge Engine", and off-the-bat asks what you would like to calculate or know about. At first, I had trouble getting the sight to find what I was looking for. When I searched "Comma Splice" the website said they were still "gathering information on that". However, when I searched "George Washington" his bio came up including his place and date of birth and death, leadership positions he held, and a Wikipedia summary. Instead of sending you to links to go through, Wolframalpha gives you the information. It seems like the search engine is still in the works, but I think it will be great for schools to use as an alternative to Google. 3/5
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that does not track its' users. When searching "George Washington" it brought me to a page of very useful links on information about George Washington. At the top of the page it also showed the most recent news articles containing the word George Washington. That could be very helpful when trying to find out more about a news article you do not know very much about. You could simply type in the little bit you know, or find news about something you are interested in. I typed in "Ray Rice", because he has been mentioned in the media a lot recently. DuckDuckGo pulled up news articles that had been posted less than an hour before my search. I then typed in "Glass Museum" and a list of glass museums with their photo came up. This search engine gives back information that is the most relative to your search. I highly recommend it. 5/5
DogPile
Dogpile combines results of other search engines to give you the best results. It also has a search bar for the white pages. I felt that it had to many advertisement links before my results. I had to scroll through six advertisements, and eight recommended searched before it gave me my web results. 1/5
Lycos
Lycos is a search engine that has it all. On the home page there is a link to Twitter and Facebook, and it has the weather, temperature, and city listed as well. This search engine allows users to build free websites, and has access to a blogging option. Users can shop, look up the news, or any search on this search engine. Lycos has a chat and email option as well as its own video channel. It returns back very relative information to the search. 4/5
Ask
Ask is a search engine that allows you to ask questions. On its homepage it has the question of the day, as well as previous questions of the day. It also has a poll option. Ask.com has a Question and Answer Community where people can post questions for other users to answer. Users can browse the most recent questions or search categories. I think this search engine is great for wanting to find different perspectives on topics. When searching the site shows frequently asked questions about that topic on the side of the screen. I feel that this can help students by providing extra information, and showing questions they might not have thought. 5/5
Yandex
Yandex allows users to translate, and search in other languages. It searches in 44 languages! "Ik ben Andrea Fust, en ik aan de Universiteit van Zuid-Alabama." (I am Andrea Fust, and I attend the University of South Alabama [in Dutch]). This search engine would work for E.L.L (English Language Learning) students. This could also be used to translate messages between people from other countries. 3/5
Blekko
Blekko is the search engine to use when it comes to entertainment. On the home page it has pictures and links to trending celebrities. After searching you can narrow your search in to related categories such as; top results, latest, gossip, lyrics, travel, tv, jobs, and actors. The page also has images on the right side of the page that match your search. 2/3
Bing
Bing is a generic search engine similar to Google. However, on the homepage, bing has links for trending news stories for users to click on. Also Bing has multiple homepage images to look through that have comments about the image when your mouse scrolls over it. When searching "Mobile Al" Bing returned with links to webpages, images, a map, points of interest, and more. So while it is like Google, it gives more information when the search in returned versus scrolling through links. 5/5
Most of these search engines I had never used before now. It really opened my eyes to how many different types of search engines there are. Now that I know about all of these search engines, I can use which one is most relative to what I am trying to research.
C4T #1
In this blog, Dorothy Burt, posted a video about how in 15 years the way we traditionally know essays will be no more. She then went into discussing how Google Docs will play a significant role in the death of the traditional essay. It may be difficult to transfer over, but the range of possibilities will explode.
Comment:
Hello Dorothy,
My name is Andrea Fust, and I am a student at University of South Alabama. I am taking EDM310 which is an educational media course. I have had online classes in the past, but this brings a new definition to the term. I had never used google docs, or a lot of other very resourceful tools. I have been missing out! I think it is so important that students learn how to use these tools early in life. The past few weeks I have spent in EDM310 has really shown me how helpful technology can be in the classroom. Teachers become more of an aid for students versus the main source of knowledge. So, I agree with the professor in the video, the world is changing. I can not wait to see what the future holds.
A foundation called Spark is bringing technological learning to underprivileged children. These children would not otherwise be able to have this type of education. In a short, very informational video, a few of the teachers discussed a few of the programs their students are using. These students are doing "today's learning for tomorrow's jobs."
Comment:
What an amazing program! I can not wait to see what these students do in the future. This type of learning gets students more information then they would in a classroom alone. Now these students have the world at their finger tips.
Click Here to see the amazing things the Spark Foundation is doing!
Blog Assignment #4
Asking Questions in the Classroom
Asking questions in the classroom is a very effective technique to increase class participation and active learning. In Ben Johnson's blog The Right Way to Ask a Question, he explained how it is important to pause for a few seconds before calling on a student to answer. It sounded like something so simple, that it would not matter. However, his blog opened my eyes to how important that pause is. During that pause the teacher takes before calling on a student, all of the students are thinking of the answer. If the teacher instantly calls on a student, most of the students will stop thinking about it. This causes the class to become more engaged.
The blog, Asking Questions to Improve Learning, also explained how student participation and active learning increases through the use of questions. Teachers should ask concept questions that are open ended, and then follow it up with a yes-or-no question for another student to answer. The teacher should ask one clear, specific question at a time, and the blog suggested that teachers should leave sections in their notes to pause and ask questions. Teachers should also try to avoid answering their own questions or interrupting the student. Teachers should also develop responses to get the students thinking, and build off of the students questions.
In the blog, Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, it provides three easy steps to effectively ask questions. First, prepare the questions by asking the right question at the right time. Second, do not tell the students the answer is correct. Instead play with the question by asking a strand of questions that keep the students thinking. Lastly, teachers should preserve good questions for later. They can be used to help teach lessons more effectively.
The video, Questioning Styles and Strategies, is a terrific example of how to properly ask questions in the classroom. The teacher had all of his students fully engaged, and they never knew who would be called next. He asked multiple different types of questions, and had the students elaborate on their answers. He had the students think deeper about the topic.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Blog Assignment #3
Peer Editing
Peer editing can be a difficult task, because it is giving a critique on someone your own age’s writing. For me personally, it has always been difficult, because I do not want to offend anyone. That is why it is so important to be positive when it comes to peer editing. There is a nice way to tell someone just about any news. As for the person under review, it is important not to take it personally, but to instead use it as a tool to improve on one’s writing abilities. Over the years, I have used peer editing as constructive criticism, because it is not to upset me; It is to help me improve.
When I am peer editing, I like to start out with what I thought was most successful about their work. I then point out, or suggest, what areas I feel could use improvement. By starting out positive, I feel I am not going to insult the author or take a stab at their confidence. I sometimes find that I am scared to give advice, because I myself may be wrong. That is when being the teacher and learner comes in. I can use that as an opportunity to research the problem, and in return educate myself and my peers.
In Paige Ellis' blog, the video "What is Peer Editing", and the slide show "Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial" I learned a few new techniques when it comes to peer editing. When editing, I should give the writer specific examples on how to improve by commenting on their word choice, details, organization and sentence structure. I can also help my peers by giving corrections. These corrections could be because of punctuation, grammar, or spelling errors. In the video "Writing a Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes" it shows what not to do when peer reviewing.
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