Blog Post #5-Part B

Since the beginning of this semester my PLN has grown tremendously. It first started out adding some Professors from the class to my Twitter, but throughout the course it kept growing and growing. Now added to my PLN are professors and kids from other schools. This was an interesting task to do since they were a different age level than me. I really liked reading the kids blogs. Blogging was introduced to me during this course in college, and to see young children already making post was wonderful to witness

The PLN that affected me the most was my group Team Panther. Having to communicate and worked together with new people about every week this semester has truly been the biggest advantage of this class this semester. The point of PLN is to connect with others and have others around you with ideas to help you when needed. Without this forced PLN group I probably wouldn't have been as successful as I have in this class.

From the beginning of the semester, I didn't even know what a PLN was. But I see now who you connect with on a daily basis, or just maybe once helps grow your PLN everyday.

Blog Post #16 Part A

Technology and Teaching

Technology is always changing, transforming and improving. We believe that
technology in the classroom is key for success in getting students ready for college and a career. The earlier we start teaching them technology  and working with it consistently, the better. When the students reach college and career level they will need to know technology skills to
keep up. The main issue right now is that most schools are unable to provide students with the necessary technology tools. If schools were equipped to aid in technology and teaching, it would revolutionize the way students learn and communicate.

As a team we discussed how using technology in the classroom has come a long way.  No longer is there just a chalkboard and  notebooks and pencils.  Technology has moved into the classroom. Technology has entered the classroom in two outstanding forms such as smart boards and computers device with all the capabilities that go along with them. With the smartboard, an oral presentation now can have visual material to go along with the lecture. The smart board still has the capabilities of a chalkboard but it gives the student and teacher options of pictures and shapes and even sound to go along with their written material. The computer device in a classroom also changes the dynamics of how learning can be achieved. With the computers devices the students can go to the internet and explore material that their teacher has assigned to them. The internet not only has written material, but the students may also be able to see pictures or even videos on the assigned material for their class.

A smart board and computer devices in the classroom has definitely changed the way we perform teaching, but using project based approach to learning is one of the main reasons this technology works so effectively in the classroom. Project based learning approach can be the format to which teachers guide their class through the assignments that she would have given them. The project base learning approach has many benefits.  It can be used by individual students, small groups or even by the entire class. There is no limitation on the degree to which a student can engage in the topic because the internet has a vast amount of information on the subject and related topics given to any assignment. Project base learning has moved the class from pencil and paper to the internet. The class is no longer limited to just the knowledge of the teacher but to the unlimited vast material on the internet concerning the assigned topic. The teacher, as well as the students then both become learners of the given assignment. Technology and project base learning have started an ever changing transformation in the classroom. The only sure thing about technology and project base learning is it will continually be changing the way our students will find new ways to learn.

Blog Post #14

This week instead of watching a video, we read an article called,Teaching Can Be a Profession,
by Joel Klein. This article is on what Joel Klein had seen over the past 8 years of running New York City's Public School System, and what things he would change.

Pick From The Best is what the first issue is called.  Some solutions he comes up with are better training for prospective teachers, find a better way to recruit teachers, and not just let anybody with a degree have one. Lastly, he writes that we should change how we reward teachers. Stop rewarding teachers for their seniority, since he believes much of their teaching styles rarely change.

Seniority Distraction was the next one talked about. A solution would be to professionalize teachers. By doing this excellence would be the guiding hallmark. And using this core principle through course work, education-school admissions, to compensation.

Radical Change was the last situation written. Albert Shanker proposed that teachers establish their own boards to police the profession. Also, teachers would be subjected to merit-based career ladders and promoted on specialty exams.

One of the situations he mentions in the article that I completely agree with is Seniority Distraction. Most teachers just have that push to get their tenure years of teaching where their job is solid and there isn't a chance for them to get fired. The problem of this is that their is no push to keep their job since their is no consequence of having it in jeopardy. I do not agree with Picking From the Best as a situation that needs to be handled. I believe there would be a decrease in teachers for one and also, some of the best teachers are the ones that can relate to the students, not just talk over them. Radical change is an interesting one, but I still haven't decided if I agree with it or not.


Overall, I liked this article and found it a very interesting read. I can tell that Klein loves teaching and wants to see some changes in their system of it in the near future. Also, the points he brought up in this article were definitely ones worth talking about and mentioning.

Blog Post #13

Blog Post #13 Instructions

 Blog Post #13 Instructions

With Mathematics being such a interesting subject matter for students, watch Stop Teaching Calculating, Start Learning Maths! and comment about the teaching method Conrad Wolfram talks about.

Stop Teaching Calculating, Start Learning Maths! 

This was a wonderful video to watch that hit many points that I believe in. The speaker in the video is Conrad Wolfram, who invented the mathematical computation website WolframAlpha. Conrad answers the question " Why do students lose interest in math?'. His response is that students lose interest in the subject because it is tedious and doesn't relate students to the real world. He believes that students should of course learn the basics, but once students hit the difficult computation subjects they should be taught through computer programming. I agree with his philosophy of teaching because teachers focus too much on how to get the answer instead of teaching students why we get the answer and where it comes from. If students were able to get the answer through the computer, teachers can focus on telling students what the answer means and also take the extra time and compare it to a real world example. I hope teachers start leaning towards this way of teaching, especially to help students not give up on Mathematics

 

 

C4T #4

Post #1
http://wmchamberlain.blogspot.com/

The teacher I had this week was William Chamberlain. The title of his post was "Break the Code of Silence (and Give a Public Pat on the Back)". In his post he talks about the fact that he believes teachers should share publicly what they go through in the classroom, or what wonderful things their kids do. He also states that even though most educators do not like awards, he likes to nominate his peers so that they can get the recognition they deserve

Comment I Left-

Hey Mr. Chamberlain, I like that you believe teachers shouldn't be ashamed to getting recognized for their work. I also feel like teachers should share what they go through in the classroom, because it could help a fellow teacher if they were going through the same situation. Also, highlighting students publicly is a wonderful things you're doing, might even give them the push to want to do better in your class! Overall good post and interesting read.

C4K April Summary

Post #8
 http://kidblog.org/MrsLsAwesome7thgradeclass2014-2014/author/4d5b96e1-84f1-4203-aa00-01adb862c00a/

The kid I had this week was Madison Y. Her post was about the show Pretty Little Liars. All she talked about was the different women and men character and mentioned that the seasoned finale was on this week. She also mentioned who the director of the show was.

Comment I Left-
Hey Madison, I used to watch Pretty Little Liars myself, but recently stopped because of school and other shows. Its amazing that the show is on the 6th season now, and will soon have a 7th. Good post on informing us who the characters are and who their boyfriends are also.

Post #9
http://kidblog.org/MrGardnersClass-3/8535352d-e138-4ede-9cca-2685487079b6/senses-poem-4/#comment-208

The kid I had this week was named Mackenzie. She posted a simple poem about flowers, with a focus on the senses; smell, see, and hear. It was one of those short and sweet poems.


Comment I Left-
Hey Mackenzie, nice simple poem you wrote on the senses you get from flowers. I had to write poetry alot in high school, so it is good you are starting this young with it.

Post #10
 http://kidblog.org/JHFIClassof2015/339fe1d5-096e-41b3-bf0a-394f22c25d6b/1941/#comment-1214
The kid I had this week was Marcellus. He wrote a simple one sentence post about when he dropped his books and a fellow student helped him pick them back up.

Comment I Left-
Hey Marcellus, I see you had an encounter of a fellow student helping you out with your books when you dropped them. That was pretty nice of them, don't you think! Don't forget when you're writing to capitalize your I, but thanks for sharing such a nice moment with the world.

C4T #3

http://billgx.com/

Post #1
This week Bill Genereux talks about a video called Connected But Not Alone, by Sherry Turkle. His class talked about Turkle's views on technology. One of Turkle's views is that technology is taking us places we don't want to go to. They pended the questions of are we conscious of how technology is changing us. He concludes the long discussion with,"We just need to be a little more aware of what is happening, and then put our foot down when we don’t like how things are".

The comment I left was:

 Hey Bill,

I don't believe people truly understand how much technology has changed us,  which is why I love this post you wrote. It is so hard even for students to sit through an entire class period without checking their phones at least once. But like you said in your conclusion sentence, " Those who start to figure this out and make conscious choices in how they conduct their lives with regards to technology will be living as the best version of themselves".


Post #2
 The post I commented on this week was called, Pearson's view of the future. It was basically about a professor who showed through video what she thinks the future will be like in education. One of the biggest things that stood out was that each student had a customized lesson plan, which I believe could be extremely beneficial, but hard to accomplish. Overall the post was interesting since it came with a video, and it also mentioned a book that might associated with the video.

The comment I left was:

My name is Chalandra Gooden and I am a student in EDM 310. The video was very interesting on insight on what the future my hold for education. I believe customizing each lesson for each student's learning style would be difficult,, but extremely beneficial if you were able to accomplish that. This video was very new and different to me, but it got me interested in the book you mentioned it was about.

Blog Post #12

Project #14

 How Much Is A Penny Worth?

Just what is a penny worth?  The project I came up with for my students, would be to search through multiple websites or history books and search the history and density changes in pre- and post 1982 of pennies. They will also research the current price of copper and zinc and compare the ratios or pre- and post 1982 pennies. Students then complete a hands-on lab experiment to determine the mass, volume, and density of pre- and post 1982 pennies, and show the experiment through a presentation or slideshow. Students determine if the pennies are worth saving?


Documents Used:
Project checklist
Group Rubric
Individual Rubric
Project Calendar
Project Overview

Blog Post #11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

 Brian Crosby's video was very different and unique on the subject of PBL. It was interesting by the way that he used the projects into his routine to get the kids interested in school and how he used the air balloon project in many different ways. Crosby showed how students related to the subject over time after you incorporate them in it more. Crosby really shows you that teaching can become unlimited once the students' creativity comes to play.

Blended Learning Cycle by Bozeman Science. Bozeman Science has blended learning consisting of 3 components, Mobile, Online and the Classroom. The Learning Cycle of Blended Learning consist of the five "E's"
-Engage
-Explore
- Expand
-Engage
-Evaluate
He uses the acronym QUIVERS, to explain his style of the Blended Learning Cycle, when combining everything together. QUestion, Investigation, Video, Elaboration, Review, Summary Quiz. His method of teaching is a great way to get students to fully understand the material, which is what you want in the classroom. I can see this method working best in the setting that it is presented, a science class, since science takes alot of investigating a subject to understand it completely.

In Making Thinking Visible by Mark Church has his class work in groups.The groups use collaboration learning.  Most people believe teachers just lecture, but there are other ways to get a lesson across. By the teacher setting the students in a group, they learn more than with a lecture. Thinking leads to learning. Future teachers can learn to teach outside of lectures in the classroom from this video.

 

Project Based Learning by Dean Shareski talks about combining classes. He combined three subjects into one project. PBL is already one of the most out the box teaching methods. The video showed how you can go past that limit even more. Students getting bored in class is inevitable,it will happened, but it will rarely happened if teachers can continue to think outside of the box. We can learn that there is no limit to how you can teach material in today's school systems. Technology is limitless and so is teaching and learning.

 Roosevelt Elementary's PBL program by Trish Taylor. The video goes over the benefits of it as well, like the fact that PBL teaches a completely new way of  learning. Students also begin to work on their public speaking skills at a very young age.The children are starting to learn how to take responsibilities seriously.With the students being able to choose what they do, it helps empower their education as a whole. This makes it to where all students can benefit from education. This video shows how students truly learn through PBL. The kids are excited about learning because it is fun and engaging.