Blog Assignment #5

I had no idea who Krissy Venosdale was, but after browsing through her blog it didn't take me long to find out. She's an elementary school teacher with a huge passion for learning and giving her students the best experience possible. Not only that, but she realizes that "you have to be a learner to be a teacher". In my opinion, that statement alone has to be the basis for any educator if they want to maximize their potential.

Her idea of a dream school is amazing; any student that attended would be much more prepared for the 'real world'. Her emphasis on understanding the cirriculum rather than just covering it is the reason for that. Building robots, going on field trips, having experts share their opinions, group projects, and a comfortable learning environment are just a few of the tools that she would implement. I believe this type of learning environment would be so successful because it not only teaches the kids what to learn, but how to learn as well. Reading, writing, and math are all necessary bases for any career, but what about beyond that? Hands-on learning as she suggests gives students the knowledge they need, but it also allows them to be able to think for themselves and learn from their own experiences. Working with other students helps them to collaborate and use their mistakes not to be punished, but rather as a motivation to accomplish their goal together. In the working environment that's a key tool; everyone is working together to establish a common goal. This type of learning gives them REAL preparation!

I love Mrs. Venosdale's idea of having 20% time. In other words, a period every day in which kids can sign up to do something that they're passionate about. Personally, I think this is her best idea. Sitting through class after class all through elementary, middle, and high school leaves most kids with no idea what type of career path they'd like to pursue. Instead of wasting money and a few years of college trying to figure out what you enjoy, why not go ahead and start early?? This period of time gives them an opportunity to explore many different things and focus on their passion when they find out what it is. Honestly, if i could have my own dream school, I can't think of one much better than the one Mrs. Venosdale has painted a picture of. The only thing I would add is some time for individual projects...sometimes it's useful to have to come up with everything on your own and see just how far your brain can stretch!

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'

First of all, how is this even possible?! I can only imagine how much work went into this, seeing that 185 voices in different places had to be put together. Using the internet in this way is a great form of creative expression. If this hadn't been done, how else could this work of art been displayed? Making use of tools that can do things like this on the computer is an excellent way to showcase talent that otherwise might not be possible. Plus, you're connecting with people from around the world. As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. Look what happens when you use 185 of them...

Teaching in the 21st Century

Roberts clearly expresses that he believes learning shouldn't be about facts and data, but rather necessary life skills and how to process and use valuable information. There are a million different sources where information can be found: Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and the list goes on. However, how do we know that the information is useful and reliable? When teachers give assignments that simply require putting down an answer that was Googled on a piece of paper, no learning is going on. As an educator, I can't necessarily make sure every single one of my students knows how to set up a credit card, pay bills, file taxes, fix a car, and plenty of life's other necessities. However, what i can do is make sure my students know how to use the tools that they have so that they can figure out how to do these things the correct way.

While I don't necessarily agree with him that values and morals should be taught; I believe that should be left to parents and each child's own experiences, I do think that we have to lead by example. No two people's morals or values are going to be exactly the same, but as educators we should know right from wrong and be able to be a good role model and help kids find the answers they need in regard to those subjects. However, I completely agree with him that we have to be the ones to help them avoid such things as piracy and copyrighting. After all, teachers are the ones who ask their students to find information. It's not fair of us to do that if we don't teach them how to recognize which information is okay to use, and the best ways to find it.

Flipped Classroom

I am definitely going to use this technique in my classroom. Personally, I don't want to stand in front of classes all day long and do nothing but lecture. I'll get tired of that and so will my students; plus they aren't going to remember much of it. A lot of teachers lecture and then use homework as the application. However, if a student is doing the work at home, they can't get help if they have any questions. Sure, they can ask in class the next day, but a teacher isn't going to have time to answer all of those questions effectively. By flipping the classroom, they have already reviewed the material and class time can be spent applying it. Not only does that give me more time to get the students actively involved in the learning process, but it also allows students who are behind to review the material as many times as they need to in order to catch up. While some of the kids might try to neglect reviewing before class, that would be an easy thing to remedy with rewards if they have clearly gone over the material, and consequences if they have not. I think a flipped classroom is an excellent way for a teacher to get the most value out of the time spent with students.

Blog Assignment #4

I'll have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about Podcasting at first. I was wondering how exactly making a video would teach students anything valuable. Well, Langwitches did a great job answering that question for me! For one, I can see how it would be an excellent approach to learning a new language. Instead of just hearing foreign words read out loud, students get to practice voice expression which allows them to attach meaning behind the words so that they will better remember them later. Not only that, participating in the editing process gives them even more practice at recognizing words and comprehending how they fit together to make a complete thought. It's a learning process similar to reading, but they also learn to attach feelings and emotions behind it since they are the voices of the Podcast; something which isn't usually achieved by reading words off of a paper!

Another important role that a Podcast fulfills is giving the students an audience. While it may not seem significant, young children love to know that they're doing the right thing and that their achievements have been recognized. They love attention, and why not let them know that they're doing a good job? Young kids might not always understand the importance of learning to read and comprehend, so it's important to give them that extra motivation. It's also clearly implied that Podcasts emphasize repetition. Just think: they record their voices (sometimes multiple times if they don't like the way it sounds or if it doesn't have enough emotion), take part in the editing process and putting together all of the sentences in the correct order, and then listen to the finished product multiple times. I believe this adds more valuable skill to the learning process rather than just reading or listening to a book only once.

I will definitely use Podcasts in my classroom. What better way to incorporate interactive learning?! Some people are visual learners, while others benefit more from audio. This approach combines the two and adds hands-on experience. Learning by doing gives them the skills they need and motivation to try other new learning processes in the future. New knowledge can be fun, and it's much more likely to be remembered in the long run!

C4T #1 Summary

Royan Lee is the creative owner of the Spicy Learning Blog. In his first post that I commented on, "Writing in Snippets ~ How I Blog", he explains to us how he doesn't write his blog posts all in one sitting. Instead, when he has a thought, he takes out his phone and jots down notes and ideas. His reasoning for this is that he is a very busy person. Being on the go all the time, he has a lot of scattered thoughts that he doesn't always finish. Taking the notes allows him to go back to it later and be able to complete his thought. I agreed with him that this was a very useful technique for blogging that I had never thought of. Personally, I do it all at one time. However, it does make sense to write down what's on your mind and come back to it when you have time to completely think it through. Great idea for the everyday multi-tasker!

In his next post, "Don't Call It 'Gym'", he explains why he prefers to refer to the class as Physical Education. Usually with the word 'gym' comes the thought of basketball all day every day. However, Mr. Lee informs us that the term is old and outdated. Why does it even matter?! Because times are changing and Physical Education classes are focused on learning the skills of a sport rather than competition resulting in wins and losses. Even one of his students made sure another kid knew that 'gym' was too 'old school' of a term to use. Talk about a proud teacher! I agreed with him once again and stated that students and teachers alike need to understand that PE is no longer about pointless playtime, but a time to actually learn. The fact that his student realized the message he was trying to get across is a success in itself!

Project #5 Presentation

Special Blog Post #1

WolframAlpha states that in 2010, India had 2.1 billion people, China had 1.35 billion, and the United States had 309 million. I understand why the information was misinterpreted now, the United States is more than three times smaller! I also asked WolframAlpha to compare the population density of India, China, and the US. India has 1,058 people per square mile, China has 376, and the US has 87.3. Those numbers also help to put the actual population in perspective. Next, I checked the life expectancy. The people of the United States live the longest with an average of about 78.1 years. China follows at 73.5, and India comes in last at 69.9. What a coincidence that the countries with more people don't tend to live as long!

WolframAlpha would be an excellent resource for both me and my students. It gives accurate comparisons so quickly! If I had tried to google the population of each of those separately, I would have had to search through a million plus pages that would've all given me different numbers. The option of using a favorites and a history tab will help my students a lot because they can refer back to the information that they have learned. Not only that, but the website puts similar information on whichever page that you search. For example, when I searched for the population, it also gave me other demographics that compared the three of them. I will definitely be using this in my classroom!

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Watching how fast all of those counters changed made my head hurt. It's amazing how technologically advanced our world has become. As a teacher, that means that I've got to keep up! 30 years ago, half of the things that the social media count compares didn't even exist. There was no facebook, no email, no text messages...none of that. Personally, I've never used a typewriter but I've seen plenty of them. The students that I have won't even know what a typewriter is!

When I'm teaching, just as it happened to the generation before me, most things that I use in my classroom are not invented yet. I will have an important role as an instructor, but I will also have to know how to be a student as well. Not only will I have to be open to new technology, but I will have to learn it so that I can most effectively communicate with my students and prepare them for a future that no one can predict.

Blog Assignment #3

Peer Editing

I think that staying positive is by far the best suggestion when commenting on someone else's blog. I know if it was me, I wouldn't mind being corrected, but it's kind of a slap in the face if you only tell someone what they did wrong and ignore the many things that they did right! No one wants to feel stupid. As far as commenting and editing my classmates blogs, I feel like it's more appropriate to comment on what they have to say and give only positive feedback on their blog page, and leave suggestions and corrections to be handled in a private email. Blogs are public and are meant to share the information we've learned, so I believe that any kind of critique that is left shouldn't be for the world to see.

I liked the video of the kids and the peer review mistakes. Sometimes we don't think of how our words may sound because we've become so accustomed to giving feedback over the internet. If we aren't careful, the words that we say may not come across in the manner that we intend them to. I think that the kids are a good reminder that there are so many ways that our words can be interpreted and only by following certain guidelines can we get our point across; but also make suggestions that will actually help the person to feel good about their corrections and their new, improved writing. Compliments, suggestions, and corrections are good steps to remember when commenting, but once again staying positive is the most important! We've got to remember that the corrections that we suggest are to build that person up and help them become a better writer.

Assistive Technologies

The Mountbatten is fascinating technology! The fact that it has audio output and types the brail at the same time makes it so much easier for blind students to learn new words and phrases. The beauty of this is that the student doesn't have to have anyone else helping them. It's something that they can do on their own time and it also allows them to have a little independence and not have to rely on someone else. Sending and transferring files from the Mountbatten to a computer is a lot more convenient as well and allows them to have a little bit better adjustment to the working world. I would definitely use this in my classroom for my blind students as a way to enhance their learning and give them something that they can do on their own, so that they will hopefully be more accepted by their peers in the classroom environment!

I have to start off by saying that I was amazed at what the IPad could do. I had no idea there was a way to have an audio output for everything on the touchscreen...that opens up a whole new world for the visually impaired! It's so much more convenient to be able to use one device to read books, surf the internet, listen to music, etc; rather than having to use separate tools or having assistance from someone else. The tool for teaching math to the blind is also a really great idea. Even though that device might not always be available to assist with math problems in the working world, it does indeed provide an excellent foundation to learn how to solve math equations for beginners. While they can't see what they're doing, they at least understand the concept and that's the important thing.

I would definitely use the IPad in my classroom. It already has so many educational applications available, and adding audio to the touchscreen makes it just as accessible to the visually impaired as it does to those that can see. I think that this is a big step in trying to provide a quality education to all students, which would be a lot harder to do without this device. As I mentioned earlier, this also gives students more independence and confidence so that they will be on the right track to becoming a successful individual. Not only that, but it is a complement to what the teacher has to offer and makes it easier to keep all students up to speed so no one gets left behind!

Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

I think that being in Vicki Davis' class would be a very rewarding experience. Just the simple fact that they have connections to people all across the world is enough to make the class worthwhile. As we know, technology is constantly changing. The way she teaches embraces progressive learning and allows her students to find new knowledge on their own. Learning from your own experiences is just as important as learning from an instructor; something that EDM 310 embraces as well. It's great that her students were not only teaching each other, but that she learned from them too. Knowledge is useless to minds that only know how to share it by writing answers down on a test.

In today's world, staying connected is everything. I like how Mrs. Davis and her students collaborated with so many other people outside of the classroom. Not only were they learning about technology and how to gain new knowledge on their own, but they were also able to become comfortable with networking with others; something that will be very valuable once they get out of school and begin their working lives. Her class will allow all those students to use knowledge in a way that they won't forget and that will benefit them, as well as something that they can pass on to others eager to connect to the world.