Final Project #16

April C4K Summary

My first C4K was for Yvonne, a year 5 student in Miss Ouano's class. For her post she taught her readers what a legal image is. She searched for a legal image and embedded the image onto her blog. In my comment I told her I was so glad she knew what a legal image was and stressed how important it is to never steal or claim another image as one's own. I also encouraged her to keep blogging! This is Yvonne's example.

My second C4K was for Jarreka, a year 2 student. The blog post was titled "Jarreka's Monster Truck Story". The post consisted of a picture of a monster truck, a picture Jarreka illustrated, and a short video. In the video Jarreka describes the truck in details. In my comment I commended Jarreka on how descriptive she was in her video and how creative her picture was. I also encouraged her to keep making videos and posting them to their blog! This is the picture Jarreka drew of the monster truck.

C4T #4

For this C4T I was assigned Jenny, a primary teacher in Auckland, New Zealand. The post You Got Snapped! was very interesting. Jenny recalls a time where she was instructing her students on how to be “cyber-smart”. After her lesson she allowed her students to choose an activity to do for the rest of class while she recorded stories. She was pleased to have a student take the initiative to use a camera and take pictures including the one of this post. Jenny also recalled a time when a student used what he had learned prior to record her math lessons. In my comment I commended Jenny on being an active teacher who enjoys seeing her students succeed. I also told her that it is awesome to see students take what a teacher teaches and run with it. I can only hope to have a proactive class like Jenny’s.

The next blog post I read was titled IPads in My Classroom. The post is about Mrs. She’s classroom utilizing IPads and her thoughts on them. Mrs. She’s post is all about how IPads allow for students to learn in an interactive process and how they are not difficult for students to figure out. Mrs. She states that to begin with she only focused on apps oriented around literacy and mathematics. She also informs us that she incorporated IPads into their rotation activities. She also mentions how well her students are responding to the IPads. The students see the IPads as a reward rather than tedious work. In my comment I thanked Mrs. She for sharing her experience and mentioned how amazing it was that her students saw the IPads as a reward. It is always exciting to have students excited about learning.

Blog Post #13

This week I have been instructed to create my own blog post assignment for EDM 310. The assignment is for each student to research mathematical applications for students to use on their smart phones or tablets. Students are to pick 2 or more applications and explain why they would be good resources.

The first app is WolframAlpha. This app is capable of computing practically any mathematical process with the easy to follow step by step methods. While this app can compute things such as integrals or derivatives, it is also capable of defining different mathematical principles. This app can be purchased for only $2.99. Another beneficial app is Math Ref. This app gives students the ability to access over 1,400 formulas, figures, and examples. This app is easy to navigate through and students have results rather quickly. This app is $0.99 on itunes. The final app that I have found to be actually entertaining is Sky Numbers. This app is more of a game rather than a source of information. I think this app is a good choice for students because it is in a game format rather than a boring computation format. Many students hate math because they find it boring. With this app students can work on their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills while competing for a high score. This app can be purchased from itunes for $2.99.

Blog Post #12

When a child has a disability teachers have to reinvent the way they approach the class from time to time. As the world progresses, technology becomes more and more relevant and helpful. Technology can assist children with or without disabilities; however, it helps students with disabilities in an astonishing way. It was not until this semester that I actually got to see assistive technology in a classroom setting. Due to my EDU 400- Exceptional Child and Youth I was able to go to the Learning Tree and see assistive technology used. I was shocked at how simple yet efficient technology can be for these situations.

GreatSchools.org lists many types of assistive technoloy available for teachers today. Here are a few of them:

• Alternative Keyboards
• Electronic Math Sheets
• Graphic Organizers
• Portable Word Processors
• Talking Calculators
• Word-prediction Programs

As a teacher I feel that at some point, depending on my students, I could potentially use all of the above technology. In general assistive technology is useful because it helps create an equal environment among all students and minimizes student struggle. I feel that in my class the most useful would be the electronic math sheets and the talking calculator. With math, students sometimes struggle more with writing it down properly than the actual mathematical process. Therefore, if students could use an electronic program that kept everything organized they could learn in a more efficient manner. As for the talking calculator, I believe these would be better for doing work outside of the classroom. A talking calculator helps students know exactly what they are typing and helps reduce input errors. I say that these might be best used outside of the classroom because it could potentially be distracting and chaotic if 20 students are using them at once.

The list above is only slightly scratching the surface in regards to the different types of assistive technology. As a teacher, one should never shy away from technology if it can benefit students.

Blog Post #11

Brian Crosby-Back To the Future

By:Holly Shaw

Brian Crosby is an innovative, exciting fourth grade teacher who does not take the easy route in teaching his students. While most teachers are satisfied with high test scores and multiple choice tests, Crosby is not. In this video, he talks about a particular project dealing with atmospheric pressure and the levels of the atmosphere. Rather than just teaching his students verbatim what their textbook claims, Crosby used the book, charts and had the students complete various exciting activities. The students videoed their experiments and embed them to their personal blogs. In Crosby’s class, the students are doing more than learning meaningless facts, they are getting hands-on experience. By the students blogging they are getting to reinforce what they learn. The students are also exposed to flicker, wikipages, and other 21st century tools.

The most rewarding part of Crosby’s class is that his students are getting more out each lesson rather than just a simple science lesson. Students are learning to read and write to learn content, to write for the purpose of clarifying and sharing, and to give an receive feedback along with many other language intense skills. Brian Crosby believes in active learning where students are being empowered to learn and to learn on their own using 21st century tools. Students are also encouraged to collaborate in and outside the classroom. Students are motivated because they are able to connect with people all over the world.

By: Caitlyn Barton

Paul Anderson teaches AP Biology in Bozeman, Montana. This past year he turned his classroom into a video game. He thought it was a great year but a little too different. So this year he wanted to do a blended classroom. He talks about it in this video. His idea for blended learning is combining mobile, online, and classroom learning. For biology, he teaches his students by using the 5 E's: engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. His idea of blended learning combined with the 5 E's makes his blended learning cycle. Mr. Anderson likes to start a lesson with a big question that catches the students' attention. Next, he lets the student investigate to try and answer the questions they all have. Once his students have more answers, they get to watch a video that goes along with the topic. He ends his lesson with a review and testing. I think his way of teaching is something that every teacher should try in their classroom. The class does not all move along at one time. He makes sure each student is ready to move on to the next part of his blended learning cycle. Mr. Anderson says all of his students have responded positively to this method of teaching!

March Church's Making Thinking Visible video gives us a look into his classroom. Mr. Church likes to break his students into small groups. While in their groups he gives them questions to elaborate on with the other members of the group. Each group comes up with a headline that captures the essence of their topic. He then asks the groups to present their headline and explain why they chose it. To finish the project all of the headlines are joined together to make a bulletin board!

By: Ashley Howell

In the video, Super Digital Citizen, Mr. Pane, who is a fourth grade teacher, teaches his students about Internet safety. I feel like in today’s society kids are constantly learning how to use the Internet and technology, but they don’t really learn much about how to be safe. Mr. Pane wanted his students to learn how to be good digital citizens, which meant knowing how to act safely, respectfully, and responsibly on the Internet. He decided to teach his kids about Internet safety in a really neat, fun way. He had his students use a website to create their own Digital Superhero, as well as their own imagined situation in which the superhero would save the day when it came to Internet safety. The students basically wrote their own narrative, like a comic. Not only were the students learning about how to use technology and Internet safety, but they were also learning more about their English and writing skills. You could tell by the video just how much fun these students were having with this project. In the video, Mr. Pane mentions how it’s important to create some projects that are about the students because it makes them more meaningful. As teachers, it’s important to remember that the students are exposed to so much online and they need to know how to make good choices.

We have been learning a lot lately about Project Based Learning and how great it really is. In the Youtube video titled, Project Based Learning, we learn how three teachers in Canada restructured their day to use Project Based Learning. In this particular classroom, students don’t learn in segmented subjects. Instead, the teachers integrate subjects like History and English coupled with technology. In the video, we learn that research shows that integrated learning through projects allows the students to be more engaged and provides an opportunity for deeper understanding. The three teachers in this video realized how beneficial Project Based Learning can be, but all they needed was more time. The teachers decided to restructure their day to make time to blend ideas and content, go deeper into learning, and provide feedback. It’s hard to do a good, thorough project when the students are limited. With Project Based Learning, teachers are allowed to teach things beyond the curriculum. It gives the students a chance to create something great on their own and be proud of the process, as well as the outcome. Brian Crosby-Back To the Future

By: Sarah Carl

The video of Roosevelt Elementary School's PBL program is proof of how project-based learning is so great for students. The Roosevelt teachers teach their students skills necessary for the real world such as public speaking. So many adults go through school and enter the real world never being able to properly give a speech or how to interview and that is a major reason why our society is the way it is today. Project-based learning not only teaches the students public speaking skills at an early age, it also teaches them self-motivation. They need to know that sometimes the only way to keep moving forward in life is to be able to motivate yourself to do things because they will not always have someone to hold their hand through everything. The students learn to work independently and cooperatively. By working together in PBL, the students practice social skills and how to work together which is also very necessary for the real world. Project-based learning does not use just one way of learning, it incorporates multiple intelligences so each child receives the most information from each lesson. By using multiple intelligences, it makes the students much more engaged and interactive. It makes them curious and wanting to learn. As the teacher's at Roosevelt Elementary School said "It's not easy. It's a lot of work for teachers." But I think to see the students so engaged and excited about learning makes it completely worth it.

March C4K Summary

My first C4K assignment was for a group of kids from Pt. England School in Auckland, New Zealand. On Monday February 24, 2014 Class 18 created a vimeo about what it means to be a “good Pt. Englander”. The students talk about lining up and walking in a straight line, listening to their teacher, and cleaning up. In the video it also shows students using technology of all types such as ipads and mac desktops. At the end of the video it shows pictures that the students drew to represent their class. I commended the class for incorporating technology with creativity and that their video was really interesting and detailed.

My second assignment was for a 12 year old girl from Pt. England, New Zealand. Her name is Martha and she is in the eighth grade. Her post titled “Sports Day at Tamaki College”, Martha explains her P. E. day at Tamaki College, a high school in Glen Innes. She first describes how hot and awful it was to walk from their school to Tamaki. She tells her readers that they were already sweating before they even began P.E. Martha goes on to explain the games they played while at Tamaki in great detail. After reading her post, I complemented Martha on how detailed her post was. I then encouraged her to continue writing other great blog posts.

MY third assignment was for a year 7 student at Pt.England, Jabez.In his post, Jabez discusses his experience reading “DLO A Tour Like No other”. He talks about a map of New Zealand and how it shows public opinion and the different areas are color coded. He also tells his readers about different photos and what pages they are on. He describes the pictures in great detail. In my comment, I complemented him on his creative blog and how he did an amazing job describing in detail the photos. I also told him that I liked the structure of his blog post and to keep up the great work!

C4T#3

Ross Wicken is a trainee PE at Loughborough Univeristy. His blog is full of usefull information and insight. His post World Class Physical Education is about how he is constantly trying to better himself by looking for new strategies to help him to his job better. He discusses using a Pocket account to read articles shared by colleagues on the internet and he is a firm believer in sharing what he discovers. Wicken also introduces his e-magazine "World Class PE" and his first issue will focus on what a "Great Lesson" consists of. For my comment, I introduced myself and complemented him on his desire to constantly search for new strategies. I also told him I enjoyed his first and second issues and looked forward to future issues.

Ross Wickens post Loughborough University #PHYSED Teacher Education Conference details way technology can be used to enhance teacher training. The post talks about how high the percentage of 11-18 years old with a handheld device. If 84-85% of that age range already has a phone or tablet then it is only reasonable to assume that in the future the percentage will be higher. He also introduces the Dropbox Applicaiton as a way to easily share informtaion. He also mentions twitter and blogging as a great resource. The most innovative tool he mentions is Apps for the iPhone and Android. Time Motion and Easy Tag are the two he mentions for PE teachers. For my comment, I commended him on opening my eyes to the different ways technology can be used in a PE class. I also thanked him for introducing me to the Apps, Time Motion and Easy Tag.

Project #12B

Project #10 Interview