Teachers know if you have done the E-Reading describes a new technology called, CourseSmart. This technology is letting the teachers at A&M know if their students are reading their textbooks or not. CourseSmart also gives teachers the ability to know when students are skipping pages, failing to highlight, significant passages, not bothering to take notes, or simply not opening the book at all. This can be a good thing and bad for both teachers and students.
I think this technology could be really useful. As a teacher I would like to know if my students were actually reading the parts they are suppose to be reading. I also think it is very useful because you can also see who is trying and who isn’t. That is important to me because a child could be struggling and I might think they just didn’t do their reading but with this tool I can see it and know if a child is really struggling or just not reading what they are suppose too.
As a student it makes me feel pressured to read everything because my teacher can see everything I am doing. I am the student that listens in class and makes my own notes and highlight important things but I am not the kind to go home and read the whole chapter. In certain situations though I think this is a great technology but for the students it is not. Some students it could really help and for others it could hurt.
Questions to ask the teacher:
1. Do I get graded on what I read and what I don’t read?
2. How much does this affect my grade if it is for a grade?
3. Do we still have to read even if we are studying a different way?
Questions to ask the students:
1. Does this program pressure to read?
2. Does this program help your grade?
3. Does this program help you or do you have another way of studying?
What Comment Would I Leave on this Article?
There is good and bad about this technology. I would like it as a teacher to see who is struggling and who just isn’t reading. The bad part about this is I feel it pressures a lot of students and I also feel like it change a lot of students studying habits because for like students that play sports they really don’t have time to read but as long as they pay attention in class and are studying another way that would be fine with me. So I think there is good and bad parts for this program.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Final PLN report
Final Report on Personal Learning Network
For my Personal Learning Network I use Symbaloo. Through the course my PLN has grown so much! I love using symbaloo. It helps me stay organized and keep websites and other things that are very important. I have played around on many blogs and follow many. I use Symbaloo for all sort of things. I really enjoy using it. Symbaloo is my default website on my computer. This is perfect because I can get to every page I'll need from here. I am so glad I was introduced to this I will use this for many years!
For my Personal Learning Network I use Symbaloo. Through the course my PLN has grown so much! I love using symbaloo. It helps me stay organized and keep websites and other things that are very important. I have played around on many blogs and follow many. I use Symbaloo for all sort of things. I really enjoy using it. Symbaloo is my default website on my computer. This is perfect because I can get to every page I'll need from here. I am so glad I was introduced to this I will use this for many years!
Last C4T
For my Last C4T I had Mrs. Dorothy Burt. She had some really educational and motivational post and I really enjoyed reading them and glad I got to experience Mrs. Dorothy's blog.
Mrs. Dorothy's Post:
Rolling Over Individual Blogs
I have spoken a lot about the benefits for children when they have their own blog to use as a record of learning. In the last few months I have presented workshops at two Google Apps Summits on how to manage a quantity of individual blogs. A question I was asked from at both GAFE Summits by teachers was, "Why go to all this effort managing the individual student blogs?". They would like to simplify matters by simply getting each student in the class to set up their own blog for the year and the teacher have no responsibility for what happens the following year.
There are three parts to my response:
1.In our Manaiakalani schools the teachers take delight in supporting the children build their record of learning - an ePortfolio - and our original child bloggers are entering their 6th year of having a personal blog. So we do need to be able to track the blogs and support the children as they transition from class to class.
2.If we create the blogs with an accurate naming structure the posts and comments feed through to Teacher Dashboard - a fabulous way to monitor them for the teacher.
3.We are able to ensure the settings are all completed in the way we have discovered gives us maximum accountability for the online supervision of minors. (More about that at this link)
As we enter a new academic year I have updated the workflow for a school managing the transition of a set of student blogs onto the next teacher(s).
I will headline the stages below, but the full process is available for anyone to use at this link.
Blog Rollover - Workflow
Step by step to transitioning the student individual blogs at the end of the academic year to their new class/teacher.
Stage One Getting Organised Get all the documentation sorted BEFORE starting the rollover process so it happens in a methodical fashion
Stage Two Passing on a class set of blogs to the new teacher(s) This really should be done by the teacher who taught the class in the PREVIOUS academic year.
Stage Three Updating information on the new set of blogs The classroom teacher has just been made Admin of a whole new set of student blogs. Now the header information, which displays publicly, needs to be updated.
Stage Four Publicity Spreading the word about the children’s blogs is an important way of supporting their learning.
I do hope this is of use to others!
My comment:
Chelsea HadleyApril 16, 2013 at 9:04 AM
Hello Mrs. Dorthy, My name is Chelsea Hadley and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed reading your post. Your post are very helpful in many ways. I like the idea of rolling over students blogs to their next teacher. I love blogging and think it is important that students know how to blog. Thank you for laying out the steps on how to roll over students blogs. I enjoyed reading your post and plan on reading many more!
Mrs. Dorothy's Second Post:
Kids share their Summer with the world
There is nothing like a good Summer holiday at a beach enjoying the sun, surf and family to re-energise and clear the head. The things we read and the conversations we have (lots of educators or people who have been educated visit our beach campsite!) inevitably lead to plans about how we can do things differently to lead to better outcomes for the kids we teach in the coming year.
A paragraph in one of the magazines I took away with me to read got me thinking again about what a huge team effort is required in our Manaiakalani schools as so many of our students start school two years behind academically in year one: “Most new entrants turn up to high decile schools well-prepared for learning. Research suggests that they will have heard some 32 million more spoken words than a child turning up to a decile 1 school...” And various pieces of research kept popping up about the Summer Drop-off and how it inevitably impacts Decile 1 kids far more than high Decile kids. This relates directly to the amount of exposure children will have during their holidays to experiences (including print and conversations) that will continue their learning.
This could have been a depressing train of thought to entertain during the holidays, but thanks to the Flipboard app on my iPad and the @clusternz Twitter feed it was far from it. Why? Because everyday I saw Blog posts from our kids being tweeted. Children who were writing in their Summer holidays. This Summer there were dozens of Manaiakalani children posting online yet we still do not have all our children taking their netbooks home, nor have we completed the Tamaki Learning Network which will deliver free wireless connections to all their homes. Imagine what it will be like next Summer when they are fully connected!
Some of these posts brought tears to my eyes, some were funny, some were clever, some were well written and some would have had a teacher using up an entire red pen back in the old school days of ruthless corrections. But all were indications of children intentionally sharing with the whole world snippets of what they had been learning at the time.
While some were clearly posted quickly in a Facebook announcement style, many showed signs of careful thought and planning: Iisa who is writing a serial story; kids who took the time to draw graphics to illustrate their stories; kids who must have taken photos while on an outing specifically to post with a piece of writing they had in mind; students who obviously were recrafting their writing to use the English conventions they had been learning during the year; students doing online Maths activities and capturing screen shots to ‘prove’ their achievements; ditto kids keeping up with their typing tutorials.
Most made it clear in a variety of ways that they were intentionally posting for their audience. Some thought about creative 'hooks' and included graphics, photos and movies. Willy went so far as to create a ‘Spot the Difference’ game for his readers with photos he had taken.
I know that some of our children have been keeping in email contact with their teachers during the holidays too.
If we can build on this enthusiasm our young people have to Learn, Create and Share regardless of whether it is ‘school time’ or ‘holiday time’ - if we can inspire them to become life-long learners, then surely we can help them overcome the circumstances mentioned in the first couple of paragraphs.
Finally, because they took the time to connect with us, I am going to share links to as many of their posts as I could collate - you might like to dip into one or two and leave them some feedback.....
Many children shared Christmas highlights - with a couple of lowlights amongst them: Roezala, Cheyanne, Ane, Lesieli, Sela, Josephine, Sarona, Rave, Lorenzo, Kingston
And Boxing day was big too, especially for those who got money to spend!: Willy, Cheyanne,
New Years was big: Kaycee, Sela, Jordenne, Quasia, Roezala, Makerita
My second Comment:
Chelsea HadleyApril 29, 2013 at 10:01 AM
I loved the post and really enjoyed reading it. I really like how your students stay connected with blogging through their holidays and how you keep up with what their sharing and not only do they stay connected with blogging but they stay connected with you and that's amazing!!
Mrs. Dorothy's Post:
Rolling Over Individual Blogs
I have spoken a lot about the benefits for children when they have their own blog to use as a record of learning. In the last few months I have presented workshops at two Google Apps Summits on how to manage a quantity of individual blogs. A question I was asked from at both GAFE Summits by teachers was, "Why go to all this effort managing the individual student blogs?". They would like to simplify matters by simply getting each student in the class to set up their own blog for the year and the teacher have no responsibility for what happens the following year.
There are three parts to my response:
1.In our Manaiakalani schools the teachers take delight in supporting the children build their record of learning - an ePortfolio - and our original child bloggers are entering their 6th year of having a personal blog. So we do need to be able to track the blogs and support the children as they transition from class to class.
2.If we create the blogs with an accurate naming structure the posts and comments feed through to Teacher Dashboard - a fabulous way to monitor them for the teacher.
3.We are able to ensure the settings are all completed in the way we have discovered gives us maximum accountability for the online supervision of minors. (More about that at this link)
As we enter a new academic year I have updated the workflow for a school managing the transition of a set of student blogs onto the next teacher(s).
I will headline the stages below, but the full process is available for anyone to use at this link.
Blog Rollover - Workflow
Step by step to transitioning the student individual blogs at the end of the academic year to their new class/teacher.
Stage One Getting Organised Get all the documentation sorted BEFORE starting the rollover process so it happens in a methodical fashion
Stage Two Passing on a class set of blogs to the new teacher(s) This really should be done by the teacher who taught the class in the PREVIOUS academic year.
Stage Three Updating information on the new set of blogs The classroom teacher has just been made Admin of a whole new set of student blogs. Now the header information, which displays publicly, needs to be updated.
Stage Four Publicity Spreading the word about the children’s blogs is an important way of supporting their learning.
I do hope this is of use to others!
My comment:
Chelsea HadleyApril 16, 2013 at 9:04 AM
Hello Mrs. Dorthy, My name is Chelsea Hadley and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed reading your post. Your post are very helpful in many ways. I like the idea of rolling over students blogs to their next teacher. I love blogging and think it is important that students know how to blog. Thank you for laying out the steps on how to roll over students blogs. I enjoyed reading your post and plan on reading many more!
Mrs. Dorothy's Second Post:
Kids share their Summer with the world
There is nothing like a good Summer holiday at a beach enjoying the sun, surf and family to re-energise and clear the head. The things we read and the conversations we have (lots of educators or people who have been educated visit our beach campsite!) inevitably lead to plans about how we can do things differently to lead to better outcomes for the kids we teach in the coming year.
A paragraph in one of the magazines I took away with me to read got me thinking again about what a huge team effort is required in our Manaiakalani schools as so many of our students start school two years behind academically in year one: “Most new entrants turn up to high decile schools well-prepared for learning. Research suggests that they will have heard some 32 million more spoken words than a child turning up to a decile 1 school...” And various pieces of research kept popping up about the Summer Drop-off and how it inevitably impacts Decile 1 kids far more than high Decile kids. This relates directly to the amount of exposure children will have during their holidays to experiences (including print and conversations) that will continue their learning.
This could have been a depressing train of thought to entertain during the holidays, but thanks to the Flipboard app on my iPad and the @clusternz Twitter feed it was far from it. Why? Because everyday I saw Blog posts from our kids being tweeted. Children who were writing in their Summer holidays. This Summer there were dozens of Manaiakalani children posting online yet we still do not have all our children taking their netbooks home, nor have we completed the Tamaki Learning Network which will deliver free wireless connections to all their homes. Imagine what it will be like next Summer when they are fully connected!
Some of these posts brought tears to my eyes, some were funny, some were clever, some were well written and some would have had a teacher using up an entire red pen back in the old school days of ruthless corrections. But all were indications of children intentionally sharing with the whole world snippets of what they had been learning at the time.
While some were clearly posted quickly in a Facebook announcement style, many showed signs of careful thought and planning: Iisa who is writing a serial story; kids who took the time to draw graphics to illustrate their stories; kids who must have taken photos while on an outing specifically to post with a piece of writing they had in mind; students who obviously were recrafting their writing to use the English conventions they had been learning during the year; students doing online Maths activities and capturing screen shots to ‘prove’ their achievements; ditto kids keeping up with their typing tutorials.
Most made it clear in a variety of ways that they were intentionally posting for their audience. Some thought about creative 'hooks' and included graphics, photos and movies. Willy went so far as to create a ‘Spot the Difference’ game for his readers with photos he had taken.
I know that some of our children have been keeping in email contact with their teachers during the holidays too.
If we can build on this enthusiasm our young people have to Learn, Create and Share regardless of whether it is ‘school time’ or ‘holiday time’ - if we can inspire them to become life-long learners, then surely we can help them overcome the circumstances mentioned in the first couple of paragraphs.
Finally, because they took the time to connect with us, I am going to share links to as many of their posts as I could collate - you might like to dip into one or two and leave them some feedback.....
Many children shared Christmas highlights - with a couple of lowlights amongst them: Roezala, Cheyanne, Ane, Lesieli, Sela, Josephine, Sarona, Rave, Lorenzo, Kingston
And Boxing day was big too, especially for those who got money to spend!: Willy, Cheyanne,
New Years was big: Kaycee, Sela, Jordenne, Quasia, Roezala, Makerita
My second Comment:
Chelsea HadleyApril 29, 2013 at 10:01 AM
I loved the post and really enjoyed reading it. I really like how your students stay connected with blogging through their holidays and how you keep up with what their sharing and not only do they stay connected with blogging but they stay connected with you and that's amazing!!
Monday, April 22, 2013
Report on Final project
Our group has met one time to discuss the project and decide how and what we are going to do for our final project. We have decided to make a video tutorial on steps to setting up a blog on blogger. We meet again this Tuesday to finish it up and record it.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Blog Post #13
Back To The Future -- Brian Crosby
This is a video of Brian Crosby during a seminar in which he speaks about how he promotes and values technology in his classroom. Most of Mr. Crosby's class was made up of students who used English as a second language. He talked about how his students were taught on a narrow course, which hinders their learning abilities. A narrowed course only brings down the creativity level of a student. Each student is required to have a blog and record everything they do in it. He also required his students to set goals, but not only for themselves but also set them for their community, their school, and their country. He challenges his students to better the world around them through their own goals. He then managed a hot air balloon experiment with his students, this experiment engaged attention from all over! Mr. Crosby's class then assembled their own hot air balloon, it floated into the sky until it exploded. The students put all the recorded hopes inside the balloon. This experiment made students want to learn on their own. It also helped to break the language obstacle because so many students had to learn how to decipher written and spoken English. Mr. Crosby's classroom is very inspirational to me, as an future teacher. His balloon experiment developed a higher sense of confidence in the children and an overall sense of importance. It showed what kind of influence a sixth grade class can make. With a classroom like Mr. Crosby's the possibilities are limitless. If there were more teachers like Mr. Crosby, there would be a better future for our students.
Paul Anderson -- Blended Learning
In this video by Paul Anderson, Blended Learning, he explains how he unites the Blended Learning and the Learning Cycle into his own structure called QUIVERS. This includes six components he uses in all of his lessons. 1. "QU" for questions. 2. "I" which is investigation/inquiry. 3. "V" for video. 4. "E" is elaboration. 5. "R" for review. 6. "S" is summary quiz. The QUIVERS technique is extremely student focused and efficient. Mr. Anderson's techniques keeps his students energetic in their learning. This approach of teaching can be introduced into any classroom.
This is a video of Brian Crosby during a seminar in which he speaks about how he promotes and values technology in his classroom. Most of Mr. Crosby's class was made up of students who used English as a second language. He talked about how his students were taught on a narrow course, which hinders their learning abilities. A narrowed course only brings down the creativity level of a student. Each student is required to have a blog and record everything they do in it. He also required his students to set goals, but not only for themselves but also set them for their community, their school, and their country. He challenges his students to better the world around them through their own goals. He then managed a hot air balloon experiment with his students, this experiment engaged attention from all over! Mr. Crosby's class then assembled their own hot air balloon, it floated into the sky until it exploded. The students put all the recorded hopes inside the balloon. This experiment made students want to learn on their own. It also helped to break the language obstacle because so many students had to learn how to decipher written and spoken English. Mr. Crosby's classroom is very inspirational to me, as an future teacher. His balloon experiment developed a higher sense of confidence in the children and an overall sense of importance. It showed what kind of influence a sixth grade class can make. With a classroom like Mr. Crosby's the possibilities are limitless. If there were more teachers like Mr. Crosby, there would be a better future for our students.
Paul Anderson -- Blended Learning
In this video by Paul Anderson, Blended Learning, he explains how he unites the Blended Learning and the Learning Cycle into his own structure called QUIVERS. This includes six components he uses in all of his lessons. 1. "QU" for questions. 2. "I" which is investigation/inquiry. 3. "V" for video. 4. "E" is elaboration. 5. "R" for review. 6. "S" is summary quiz. The QUIVERS technique is extremely student focused and efficient. Mr. Anderson's techniques keeps his students energetic in their learning. This approach of teaching can be introduced into any classroom.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Blog post #12
For this blog post assignment we were giving the opportunity to write our own blog post. I would like to teach anywhere from K-2. So I thought what would be a great idea for K-2 and I thought of a wonderful activity. This activity is very important for a student in K-2 to do. It is an easy activity but it will make a student smile one day. The activity I choose is to do a Time Capsule. I never did a Time Capsule in my classroom when I was younger but my brother and sister did in their classroom and it was really neat. For a Time Capsule you have each student’s family member like mom, dad, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, and grandparents, or someone very close to them write a letter to the student for their graduation day. Then, you have your students write a letter to their self for what they would like to say to their self on their graduation day. You can also put other things in the boxes that would be neat for the students to see one day when they open it. You then gather all the letters and whatever else for each student and put them in the student’s shoeboxes and let the children decorate the outside of the shoebox. Then wrap the shoeboxes with wrapping paper and send them home to the parents. Once the parents get them they store them somewhere until that student graduates. Finally on the student’s graduation day they can open the box and read all the letters and see whatever else they put in there. This activity is really important and powerful. I will definitely do this activity when I become a teacher.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
C4K SUMMARY FOR MARCH
My three C4K's that I had for the month of March were Lottie from Mr. Huebe 6th grade class in Adelaide Australia, Joe B. from Mrs. Lentine's class, and Brittany Lee from Mr. Boylen's class. I enjoyed reading all their post and commenting on them.
Lotties post that I commented on I could not find nor the summary I wrote about her post that I commented on.
My second C4K was Joe B. from Mrs. Lentine's class
Joe B's Post:
Right now the government is discussing about more gun laws because of the incidents in the past year.From the second amendment of the U.S constitution to issues around people who are mentally ill, I think they shouldn’t pass any more gun control laws. Our current gun control laws are fine.
First, gun laws should not be put in place is because its not consistent with the U.S constitution. The second amendment of the U.S constitution says: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” It is an important right because self defense of the country is important. For example, if another country or terrorist group invade America the people would need weapons to defend themselves and their country.
A second reason is that people could lose their jobs and their business because companies that make firearms (assault weapons and semi auto weapons) would be shut down and the people working at them would lose their jobs. The unemployment rate in America is 7.7% and if they pass more gun laws it might go up a little.
My last reason is that we shouldn’t blame weapons we should blame the killer because most of the incidents with firearms the killer was mentally ill for example, the incident in Sandy Hook Elementary the killer was mentally ill as was the man at the Colorado movie theater the Dark Knight movie. People should have better background checks before buying a gun.
In conclusion I think more gun restrictions should not be put in place but they shouldn’t give weapons to mentally ill. We also need to have a better background check before buying a weapon, and the gun laws we have in place now are perfectly fine.
My comment on Joe B's Post:
Chelsea Hadley (Guest)
March 28, 2013 at 11:55 AM Hey Joe my name is Chelsea Hadley and I go to the University of South Alabama. I think you explained the second amendment and your opinion very well! I totally agree with you and everything you said! We should not take away the gun control due to what happened with these shootings in the past year like you said it is not the gun it is the ill people doing it and we should blame them! Great and interesting post! I enjoyed reading your blog. Keep up the great work!!
My third C4K was Brittany Lee from Mr. Boylen's class
Brittany's Post:
Hello,
My name is Brittany and I am 14 yrs old and in 8th grade. I have lived in Iowa, USA for two yrs. I enjoy doing volleyball and hanging out with friends. My favorite subject in school is math . I spend my free time texting, hanging out with friends, and riding horses. I have ten horses, three dogs, and barn cats but I don’t consider them pets. Do you have any pets? What do you on your free time?
My comment on Brittany's Post:
Chelsea Hadley (Guest)
04/06/2013 at 7:37 PM Hello Brittany Lee My name is Chelsea Hadley and I go to the University of South Alabama. I am a huge animal lover and I love all animals!! I have 3 dogs and one of them are a Jack Russell and his name is Cash, I have a yellow lab and his name Sage, and I also have another dog and we don’t know what she is because we picked her up off the side of the road but her name is Bella. I also have a cockatiel and his name is Pete. When I have free time I like to hang out with my friends, family, and boyfriend and I also like to layout on the beach and relax! I also saw you like Blake Shelton and I am huge Blake Shelton fan!! I love country music! Well nice blogging and I enjoyed reading your post! Kepp up with the great work!
Lotties post that I commented on I could not find nor the summary I wrote about her post that I commented on.
My second C4K was Joe B. from Mrs. Lentine's class
Joe B's Post:
Right now the government is discussing about more gun laws because of the incidents in the past year.From the second amendment of the U.S constitution to issues around people who are mentally ill, I think they shouldn’t pass any more gun control laws. Our current gun control laws are fine.
First, gun laws should not be put in place is because its not consistent with the U.S constitution. The second amendment of the U.S constitution says: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” It is an important right because self defense of the country is important. For example, if another country or terrorist group invade America the people would need weapons to defend themselves and their country.
A second reason is that people could lose their jobs and their business because companies that make firearms (assault weapons and semi auto weapons) would be shut down and the people working at them would lose their jobs. The unemployment rate in America is 7.7% and if they pass more gun laws it might go up a little.
My last reason is that we shouldn’t blame weapons we should blame the killer because most of the incidents with firearms the killer was mentally ill for example, the incident in Sandy Hook Elementary the killer was mentally ill as was the man at the Colorado movie theater the Dark Knight movie. People should have better background checks before buying a gun.
In conclusion I think more gun restrictions should not be put in place but they shouldn’t give weapons to mentally ill. We also need to have a better background check before buying a weapon, and the gun laws we have in place now are perfectly fine.
My comment on Joe B's Post:
Chelsea Hadley (Guest)
March 28, 2013 at 11:55 AM Hey Joe my name is Chelsea Hadley and I go to the University of South Alabama. I think you explained the second amendment and your opinion very well! I totally agree with you and everything you said! We should not take away the gun control due to what happened with these shootings in the past year like you said it is not the gun it is the ill people doing it and we should blame them! Great and interesting post! I enjoyed reading your blog. Keep up the great work!!
My third C4K was Brittany Lee from Mr. Boylen's class
Brittany's Post:
Hello,
My name is Brittany and I am 14 yrs old and in 8th grade. I have lived in Iowa, USA for two yrs. I enjoy doing volleyball and hanging out with friends. My favorite subject in school is math . I spend my free time texting, hanging out with friends, and riding horses. I have ten horses, three dogs, and barn cats but I don’t consider them pets. Do you have any pets? What do you on your free time?
My comment on Brittany's Post:
Chelsea Hadley (Guest)
04/06/2013 at 7:37 PM Hello Brittany Lee My name is Chelsea Hadley and I go to the University of South Alabama. I am a huge animal lover and I love all animals!! I have 3 dogs and one of them are a Jack Russell and his name is Cash, I have a yellow lab and his name Sage, and I also have another dog and we don’t know what she is because we picked her up off the side of the road but her name is Bella. I also have a cockatiel and his name is Pete. When I have free time I like to hang out with my friends, family, and boyfriend and I also like to layout on the beach and relax! I also saw you like Blake Shelton and I am huge Blake Shelton fan!! I love country music! Well nice blogging and I enjoyed reading your post! Kepp up with the great work!
Blog Post #11
Mrs. Cassidy's First Graders
In Mrs. Cassidy's first grade classroom they use many methods to technology. Some of them are blogging, websites, Wiki, Skype, smart board, and etc. Mrs. Cassidy set up blogs for her students and this allows them to work on their writing skills. Her and the students for the most part like this because it is not just their teacher reading their work but it is everyone! The students write usually about a sentence or two a day and get feedback from lots of viewers and also they can view how many people view their blog. That is really neat to me because not only does it help the students with their writing skills but it also makes them more motivated I feel because they are getting all this feedback and they are seeing all these people view their blog. If I could have had that in my classroom when I was younger I can promise you I would have been more interested in writing. It also allows them to be more concentrated on what they are writing. Another advantage of using technology in the classroom is that the parents are allowed to see their children’s development. The students do not get to post everything online, but most of their writing is online and their parents have access to see it. The children have been taught by their teacher that safety is very important while using the internet. They only go by their first names and no last names are shown and if their picture is up, their name is not directly beside it for privacy concerns. Before the students can use technology in the classroom, papers are sent home to the parents explaining what their children will be doing. Another item the students use are Wikis and this helps them ask questions to others about topics. I think technology in the classroom is a wonderful idea and will help children with their future.
In the Skype video Mrs. Cassidy tells us how she got involved with technology. She got involved with technology because she was given five computers and she thought if you have five of something then you can create a center and she did! She understands that there are some teachers who still like the old fashion way of teaching, but as she said, the students love it and that’s what you want. I think there are many advantages to having technology in the classroom. By allowing students to have their own blog, access to a class blog, or learn how to work a website is useful to them. I had never blogged before this class and now I love blogging I think it is so neat and will continue blogging. The students would have to be taught what is right and wrong when it comes to browsing the internet because we know there are many unnecessary things on the internet. Ms. Cassidy also talks about how long she used technology in her classroom, how she got her ideas and how the parents responded to their children using technology in school. It excites me to know that when I have my own classroom in the future how much technology will be available for the students to use. If our students understand why they are learning specific skills in school they will better know how to use those skills and carry them with them! Technology is what modern children know, they are programmed to understand it from birth, and if we learn to apply that technology, then our students can better grow.
C4T #3
For my C4T #3 I had teacher Mrs. Edna Sackson. I really enjoyed being introduced to Mrs. Sackson's Blog and commenting on it. Her blog post are very helpful and motivating. I really enjoyed reading her blog and plan on to keep reading it in the future!
Mrs. Edna Sackson's blog
Mrs. Sackson's first post:
‘There is never enough time‘ is a frequent cry by teachers around the world.
It was one of the reasons for handing over ownership of our PD day last week to the teachers. After an initial survey on effective professional learning , it was clear that teachers would value an entire day to pursue their own learning.
The teachers’ reflections are a clear indication of the day’s success.
Thanks to Kath Murdoch for suggesting that we ask what they noticed about themselves as learners… I am very focused when I am genuinely interested.
My learning is more effective and enjoyable in small groups.
I’m still learning new things after many years of teaching – there’s always something new to try. I’m becoming more confident in using computers as I get time to try out new ideas for the classroom.
I am best with with like minded people that work at my pace. I am quite easily intimidated when i am unsure of what I am doing. I need to practise what I learn as much as possible, just like the students..
Today I tried really hard when working with a group to sit back and let them lead the discussion rather then coming with my own agenda. I get flustered easily when I do not believe in the essence of something. Maybe some of my students have the same issue and I will try to understand them better.
If I am motivated the learning is easy. If I find something overwhelming or daunting I need to break it down and take one step at a time.
I am being a risk taker which I usually am not. Even thinking of starting a blog is quite scary as it is very new.
I was really looking forward to our PD today because I was able to choose what our learning was about and what was relevant to me. I am calmer and more patient in my approach. If it does not work, I try again without getting flustered.
We learn much better collaboratively. We become more inspired by bouncing different ideas around.
I like to read something over and process it on my own before really talking about it with others. Happy to talk/chat after about it, but prefer to absorb/take it all in on my own.
I think more slowly than most people I work with, and I require the time to contemplate things. Once I have allowed myself that time, I can think as clearly as others.
I wouldn’t have survived today without a certain flexibility and ability to change some of the plans as we went. When I direct my learning I become responsible for it.
I love collaborating. It is great to learn with others and to throw ideas around was very refreshing and reassured me that I am on the right track.
Thank you for today for having the opportunity to go on personal journey and a time to catch my breath and move forward in the areas I needed.
There is much for teachers to take away, not just from what they worked on, but from their process, their challenges and from what they noticed about themselves as learners. They can apply what they learned from all of those in their classrooms.
Messages to take back to the classroom:
Learning is enhanced when…
Learners have a say in their learning.
Learning is meaningful, purposeful and engaging.
Learners choose when to work alone and when to collaborate.
Learners have enough time to think, learn, practice and apply…
…which takes us back to where we started: ‘There isn’t enough time’.
And there will never be enough time, for as long as…
Governments dictate crowded national curricula .
Schools introduce too many new programs which teachers need to master and integrate.
Administrators exert pressure and demand results in national standardised tests.
School days are divided by bells into arbitrary chunks of time between which students often have to move classrooms.
Schools don’t stop to reflect on the things they have always done and how much learning time each takes.
Teachers don’t stop to reflect critically on the way learning time is used.
My comment to post:
Chelsea Hadley permalink
March 22, 2013 1:14 am
Thank you so much for your blog!! I am a college student majoring in Elementary Education and your post are very inspiring and helpful as I am trying to become a teacher!! As a college student I am always saying there isnt enough time in a day to get all these assignments and everything else done but I manage to do it somehow! Once again thank you for your blog! I enjoyed reading all your post and plan on reading more!!
Mrs. Sackson's second post:
A brief letter to young parents about choosing a school…
Dear Mums and Dads,
I’ve heard from a few of you lately about the schools you have chosen for your children. I was a little taken aback to hear that you did this by checking online for the schools’ Naplan scores.
What matters to you?
An environment where…
your child’s curiosity is nurtured and inquiry is encouraged?
her unique abilities and preferences are taken into account?
social and emotional needs are addressed as much as intellectual and physical?
your child feels secure and valued, able to take risks and build resilience?
learning is engaging and purposeful, relevant to the future in which she will live?
creativity and initiative are valued over mere compliance?
understanding, empathy and compassion are fostered?
your child learns to be reflective and understand herself as a learner?
education looks different than it did when you went to school…?
Naplan scores won’t reveal any of these.
Edna
PS. Try visiting the school, talking to students, teachers and parents and asking questions about the things you really care about…
My Comment to post:
Chelsea Hadley permalink
April 6, 2013 10:12 am
Thank you! I am a college student and I am glad to read your post because they are very helpful. They also teach me plenty of things I will need to know to become a teacher and a successful one at that! I really enjoy reading your post!
Mrs. Edna Sackson's blog
Mrs. Sackson's first post:
‘There is never enough time‘ is a frequent cry by teachers around the world.
It was one of the reasons for handing over ownership of our PD day last week to the teachers. After an initial survey on effective professional learning , it was clear that teachers would value an entire day to pursue their own learning.
The teachers’ reflections are a clear indication of the day’s success.
Thanks to Kath Murdoch for suggesting that we ask what they noticed about themselves as learners… I am very focused when I am genuinely interested.
My learning is more effective and enjoyable in small groups.
I’m still learning new things after many years of teaching – there’s always something new to try. I’m becoming more confident in using computers as I get time to try out new ideas for the classroom.
I am best with with like minded people that work at my pace. I am quite easily intimidated when i am unsure of what I am doing. I need to practise what I learn as much as possible, just like the students..
Today I tried really hard when working with a group to sit back and let them lead the discussion rather then coming with my own agenda. I get flustered easily when I do not believe in the essence of something. Maybe some of my students have the same issue and I will try to understand them better.
If I am motivated the learning is easy. If I find something overwhelming or daunting I need to break it down and take one step at a time.
I am being a risk taker which I usually am not. Even thinking of starting a blog is quite scary as it is very new.
I was really looking forward to our PD today because I was able to choose what our learning was about and what was relevant to me. I am calmer and more patient in my approach. If it does not work, I try again without getting flustered.
We learn much better collaboratively. We become more inspired by bouncing different ideas around.
I like to read something over and process it on my own before really talking about it with others. Happy to talk/chat after about it, but prefer to absorb/take it all in on my own.
I think more slowly than most people I work with, and I require the time to contemplate things. Once I have allowed myself that time, I can think as clearly as others.
I wouldn’t have survived today without a certain flexibility and ability to change some of the plans as we went. When I direct my learning I become responsible for it.
I love collaborating. It is great to learn with others and to throw ideas around was very refreshing and reassured me that I am on the right track.
Thank you for today for having the opportunity to go on personal journey and a time to catch my breath and move forward in the areas I needed.
There is much for teachers to take away, not just from what they worked on, but from their process, their challenges and from what they noticed about themselves as learners. They can apply what they learned from all of those in their classrooms.
Messages to take back to the classroom:
Learning is enhanced when…
Learners have a say in their learning.
Learning is meaningful, purposeful and engaging.
Learners choose when to work alone and when to collaborate.
Learners have enough time to think, learn, practice and apply…
…which takes us back to where we started: ‘There isn’t enough time’.
And there will never be enough time, for as long as…
Governments dictate crowded national curricula .
Schools introduce too many new programs which teachers need to master and integrate.
Administrators exert pressure and demand results in national standardised tests.
School days are divided by bells into arbitrary chunks of time between which students often have to move classrooms.
Schools don’t stop to reflect on the things they have always done and how much learning time each takes.
Teachers don’t stop to reflect critically on the way learning time is used.
My comment to post:
Chelsea Hadley permalink
March 22, 2013 1:14 am
Thank you so much for your blog!! I am a college student majoring in Elementary Education and your post are very inspiring and helpful as I am trying to become a teacher!! As a college student I am always saying there isnt enough time in a day to get all these assignments and everything else done but I manage to do it somehow! Once again thank you for your blog! I enjoyed reading all your post and plan on reading more!!
Mrs. Sackson's second post:
A brief letter to young parents about choosing a school…
Dear Mums and Dads,
I’ve heard from a few of you lately about the schools you have chosen for your children. I was a little taken aback to hear that you did this by checking online for the schools’ Naplan scores.
What matters to you?
An environment where…
your child’s curiosity is nurtured and inquiry is encouraged?
her unique abilities and preferences are taken into account?
social and emotional needs are addressed as much as intellectual and physical?
your child feels secure and valued, able to take risks and build resilience?
learning is engaging and purposeful, relevant to the future in which she will live?
creativity and initiative are valued over mere compliance?
understanding, empathy and compassion are fostered?
your child learns to be reflective and understand herself as a learner?
education looks different than it did when you went to school…?
Naplan scores won’t reveal any of these.
Edna
PS. Try visiting the school, talking to students, teachers and parents and asking questions about the things you really care about…
My Comment to post:
Chelsea Hadley permalink
April 6, 2013 10:12 am
Thank you! I am a college student and I am glad to read your post because they are very helpful. They also teach me plenty of things I will need to know to become a teacher and a successful one at that! I really enjoy reading your post!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Blog Post #10
Im a Papermate Im a Ticonderoga
I honestly have never heard of a Ticonderoga before seeing this cartoon picture so I googled it. I knew it had to do with some kind of supplies or something because I had heard of papermate before and knew that was a type of pencil. Well after I googled it I found out that Ticonderoga is also a type of wooden pencil but a more expensive pencil. After looking at the picture, I assume Ticonderoga is better and more expensive and the ‘hipsters’ must only use Ticonderoga’s because it is more expensive and the best. After researching and reading John T. Spencer’s blog comments I figured out that this picture goes deeper than just a preference of a wooden pencil. He is describing the relationship between a PC and a MAC in the cartoon picture. The PC is the Papermate and the Mac is the Ticonderoga. The papermate is less costly than the Ticonderoga thus; the PC is less costly than the MAC. This is saying “you get what you pay for” and when it comes to technology that saying is so true!
Why were your kids playing?
In this post by Mr. Spencer, I think he is trying to make a point of instructive/learning games in the classroom using technology. Mr. Spencer talks about the strategy of using advanced simulation as one if his teaching techniques to teach the students everyday life skills. He relates this to doctors and soldiers how they use this type of learning to perform their important daily skills. The principal in this conversation was not happy about the games used in the classroom and reminded Mr. Spencer that he needed to follow the state based methods of learning, this shows you right here that the principal is not up to-date on her technology and still has her old fashion teaching styles. I think the principal over reacted about the games being in the classroom. I don’t think the principal should have worried about it because the games are engaging and helping our students learn, there should be no reason to complain about this!
Don't teach your kids this stuff, Please?
I love Dr. McLeods irony in this post. The point he is trying to make in this post is that you are completely insane to not allow your kids express themselves through technology. There are many parents and teachers out in the world that shelter their children or students from this. Truthfully, I think it delays their learning experience. Children should be allowed to express themselves with their classmates and teachers freely. If we do not allow them to do this, how will we know what their potential is? I think Dr. McLeod makes a wonderful approach to this subject in the way he worded his post. It just sounds extremely ridiculous to not allow our children/students the option to explore and learn with the technology that is available to them right now because it will help them with their learning experience and also in life because you have to know technology these days.
Who Is Dr. Scott McLeod?
There are many wonderful things to know about Dr. Scott McLeod. He currently serves as the Director of Innovation for Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency 8. He was a co-creator of the wildly popular video series, Did You Know? (Shift Happens). Dr. McLeod also is the Founding Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. He has also received several national awards for his technology leadership work. He also blogs frequently about technology leadership issues and he also just completed his first book, What School Leaders Need to Know about Digital Technologies and Social Media.Dr. McLeod is a very successful man with great knowledge! I enjoyed reading his post and comments and I plan to continue reading them!
Monday, April 1, 2013
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