Blog Post #5

Podcast

    I think podcasts in the classroom are very important. Podcast is basically the word iPod and broadcast in one. As described in Langwitch's blog, podcasts can be recorded by teachers and played by students to get  ahead or get a better understanding of the subject. According to Joe Dale's blog about podcasts, they can be very helpful to students outside of the classroom. Take for instance, if a student is sick they no longer have to worry about missing an assignment or lesson. They can simply log onto their teacher's website and watch the podcast. Podcast allow for differentiation and project based learning.

     According to Judy Scharf and her blog, the beauty about podcasts is that they can be about any subject and any teacher can succeed in using them. Students have become very interested  in this and enjoy learning with others. For me, I will definitely use podcast in my classroom. Only thing is I wish I was able to use podcast as a child!

Project #7 My Sentence/Passion Video

My Sentence is...

My Passion is...

C4T #1

Mr. William Chamberlain's blog (C4T) 

1. For my C4T assignment, I was assigned to read a couple of blog posts from Mr. William Chamberlain's blog. "Whispersync for Voice" is the first blog I've read by Mr. Chamberlain. In this post he introduces a new item called the Whispersync for Voice. This item is a great 21st century teacher tool. It reads books aloud to the class. Personally, I would love to use this product in my future classroom because I love being read to. He also tells us one of the main benefits of this ebook, is that it is a lot cheaper than the actual book. In my comment on this post I let Mr. Chamberlain know that I was very interested in purchasing the "Whispersync for Voice." I told him that as a future teacher I was very excited about possibly using it in my classroom.


2. In the second post I was assigned to read by Mr. Chamberlain I learned a lot of things. He chose to title this post "It Would Have Been More Fun If It Was Figuring Out a Trip for Us: Mr. C, What Is a Real World Scenario Part 2." In this post Mr. Chamberlain's math class is trying to figure out the cost of his up and coming baseball trip. He used this as a project for his class and thought it would be a great break from all of the test prep. This is the comment I left on his post:

Hi Mr. Chamberlain,
I think this blog is very interesting. If I were your student I would be very excited about this project. It teaches them problem solving as well as time and financial management. I think the guidelines you gave your students were very logical and helpful. After the test in math, I think it would be a good idea to actually take the trip! 

Mr. Chamberlain gave his class guidelines to follow. First, they would only be gone 5 days on the trip. Next, they could spend up to $75 per day on food and $50 per day on souvenirs. I felt like these guidelines were reasonable. I explained to Mr. Chamberlain that this taught his class problem solving, time and money management. This post was interesting and I'm curious to know how the ending project turned out.

Thinking cap

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Post #4

21st Century Tools 

 Brittnee- 

Promethean is a company that is designed to make many different tools to help students learn. They want to take learning to the next level in the 21st Century.Their goal is to bring together data, resources, tools and expertise. I chose this program, because of the major differences they have made in bringing children together to work in groups and learn at their own pace. The more the children are engaged the better they learn. Promethean uses tools like, ActivTablet which is the same thing as an iPad and they also have an ActivBoard, this is similar to a SmartBoard. On the site you can watch videos of children learning with these tools and see that they are really understanding what the teacher is talking about. These children want to be called on to go to the board, because they want to draw or play the games that can be loaded. The tool that is most fascinating and the one that I would want to use is the ActivTable, this table is a multi-user interactive table designed to promote student collaboration, engagement and student-led learning.I chose this tool, because children use this table to help each other learn and it is a great tool to use for students to become more interactive with students. If a child does not understand something while is it being taught, they can go to the ActivTable and get help from other students.

 Amber- 

Flipping the classroom is an amazing 21st century tool. The whole purpose of it is to make sure the teacher addresses each child's academic need. I believe that this tool really helps students learn and grasp the subject before it is taught. The object is to have each student watch a video of their own teacher explaining the lesson for the next day. Many 21st century teachers choose to flip their classroom because only 10% is application and the other 90% is teaching or concept. To me that is entirely ridiculous. That is another great example of burp back education. Also, there is not enough time for differentiation in the classroom today. This great tool allows students to watch, rewind, pause and post questions about the topic at hand if they are confused. Students who have mastered the subject may also work ahead. They are able to watch the video as many times as they want. Many teachers find that after they have flipped their classroom all students become engaged and challenged. This makes for an effective differentiation. Now instead of teaching 90% of the time, teachers realized they have more time to help children apply the skills they have learned. They also have more time to cater to every child's needs. I believe that “Flipping the classroom” is a very effective tool and I hope to use it.

 Hannah- 

 Prezi is a presentation and software tool. It allows you to turn boring slideshows into something more captivating for your audience. Many people use Powerpoint to express their ideas through presentation. Prezi is so much more than that. Prezi not only allows you to express your ideas but, but it also lets you share them on the cloud. One of my favorite parts about Prezi is all of the animation and decorative options that it gives you. The templates are really fun and interactive! I would use Prezi to present textbook information to the class. Textbooks can be so boring. This will definitely spice it up! I am also going to make it an option for my students to use Prezi to present information that we are learning in class. I chose this tool because it is great for capturing the student’s attention. I think that the students will enjoy Prezi and actually be excited to make a presentation using it. I found the tutorial on the Prezi website to be very helpful.This is a great tool and I think that every teacher should incorporate it in some way in their classroom.

Blog Assignment #3

Peer Editing

Peer Editing

         I believe that peer editing can be very helpful and also harmful if done the wrong way. This video, titled "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes" that Dr. Strange recommended, is a great example of how to peer edit. It was also my favorite from the variety of videos he gave us. It uses the characters Picky Patty and Mean Margaret. Picky Patty criticized every mistake in her peer's paper; even ones that weren't noticeable. This is a huge mistake. You should always remember to only find the noticeable mistakes so that you won't overwhelm your peer. Mean Margaret was mean with her editing. She did not start off with compliments or tell her peer what she liked about their paper first. Be careful to not be mean while editing you could offend your peer and discourage them  from writing.

      Both the video "What is peer editing?" and the slideshow "Peer editing with perfection tutorial" were also great examples of peer editing. They gave in depth detail of how to correctly peer edit a paper. I learned that there are a few rules to follow while peer editing. Those are: Start off with compliments and saying what you like about your peer's paper. This can relax them and make editing not so intimidating. It also makes them feel like they have done at least one thing right. Secondly, to give suggestions. Yes, they may be your friend but the concept is to help them become better writers. So be honest with them. Lastly, don't forget to give corrections! That is the whole purpose of peer editing right? Be sure to be logical and not petty. Remember only the noticeable mistakes are important.

     I also feel that  Paige Ellis has a wonderful blog and gave a great lesson on peer editing. I like the quote she gives. It is very inspiring as a future teacher. "We are part of a learning community" -Dr. Strange.

       

        

     

       

Blog Assignment #2

Mr. Dancealot

Mr. Dancealot is a professor who apparently teaches dance. Although this is a dance class, I found it strange that there was no dance floor nor was there space to practice. Yet the students were in a regular theater style classroom. Mr. Dancealot made many mistakes while trying to teach this dance class. First, the students were trying to learn to dance from a power point slide. BIG MISTAKE! I believe that nothing physical can be learned that way. When students tried to get out of their seats to practice they were told to sit back down. How can students learn anything under these conditions? Finally, it was time to take the test and the students were forced to (physically) perform the dances they had learned from the power point slides. Of course they all failed. This was a very fun video to watch and it also gives us a perfect example of Burp-Back education. 

Bad Teaching

Harness Your Students Digital Smarts- Amber

Harness your students digital smarts is a video about technology in the classroom. Teacher Vicki Davis teaches her students to use their creativity as they use their computers. They create blogs and comment on other students blogs. They are a  very interactive class and are technology savvy. I think that is important in the classroom today. Vicki Davis is a great example of a 21st century teacher. She is open minded and allows the students to teach her as well. We both have something in common. I believe in learning together instead of standing in front of a classroom teaching and having students feel inferior to me. Vicki Davis inspires me to become a open minded teacher and more importantly have FUN in the classroom. 

Teaching in the 21st Century- Brittnee

I think that Kevin is right, things are changing and that everything is moving to all sorts of different types of media. Kevin Roberts is basically saying that one day teachers will no longer be needed. The video shows that children will be using computers more. Even though children will be used to using all kinds of different technology, they still need someone to show them how everything works. Using all kinds of different things in the classroom would be handy, but in some parts of the world children have never even seen a computer. That’s why we as teachers should have the knowledge of all the the different types of advancements so that we can keep the kids up to date as well as ourselves. We are now a filter to education rather than the only source. 

Networked Student -Hannah

     Wendy Drexler's "Networked Student," served as an eye-opener for me. Everything that children will be able to do online now, and even more so in the next few years, makes me wonder if children will even need a teacher. All learning can be done online. This is if the children find reliable sources. They can communicate with the teacher and other students using any social network.


    As of right now, I am not sure if I am prepared to be a teacher of the networked student. Up until the past few years, I have not been a networked student myself. I have also learned more about the use of the internet this year than I ever have. There is still so much more that I need to understand. Hopefully, by the time I graduate, I will be prepared to be a teacher of the networked student.
 I really enjoyed watching "A seventh Graders Personal Learning Environment." She had all of her sites organized so well. It made it so much easier for her to find everything she needed. She had her school work separated from her leisure activities. I would have to say that her PLE was more organized than mine, but it made me want to change mine for the better.

Practice Blog Post Assignment

Hello fellow EDM310 classmates!
My name is Amber McQueen and I am an Elementary Education major here at South. I am from Mobile, Alabama. I have a huge family with alot of children. I am around them all the time and I love it. You could say they are my practice. My passions are music, dance, art, and theater. I would love to incorporate that in the classroom one day! I spent my first two years of college at Bishop State Community College where I studied Early Childhood Education.

When I transferred to South I quickly realized I wanted to become an Elementary teacher. That's when I changed my major. So far I am loving every minute of it. I love children and enjoy being around them. I feel that teaching them is the only way to fulfill my passion.Children are my inspiration. I feel that they can teach me as well as I can teach them. Hopefully, one day I will be at the school of my dreams teaching the most perfect little 2nd grade class ever!

Blog Post #1 If I built a school, what would it be like?

If I built a school, what would it be like?

 I believe that education is very important. It is the root to all things we know. It is to my knowledge that there has been talk about not needing school anymore. Well, I feel if we take education away from children and leave it up to them to teach themselves that would be hurting them. I believe that children need teachers and need to interact with other students in order to get all that life has to offer, rather than sitting at a computer desk or laying in bed on an ipad. Yes, technology is a must have and is very necessary in the 21st century but there are ways to incorporate it into our everyday life rather than having a complete "robotic" world.

What do I want my students to know?

I am interested in teaching 2nd grade. I just feel that 2nd grade is the perfect age for me. The students are not yet so far along that it will be hard for them to grasp new concepts but yet still have a sponge like brain and can soak up new information. I would love for my students to know that technology can be their friend and they don't have to be intimidated by it. (As I was when I was younger). Learning can be fun and I will make sure of that.

What do I want my students to be able to do?

I want my students to be able to utilize technology thoroughly, while still having great social skills. I will make it my duty to teach that to children. If I could build a school or at least my own classroom, I would make sure my students have accurate space and TIME (something they do not have now) to explore the classroom and use their imagination. Having comfortable seating and a lounge area and not those God awful hard desks with limited arm room. Big tables with soft cushion chairs would be nice.

What will be my primary way of teaching my students what I want them to know?

I may be getting a little ahead of myself being that I need to put more thought into this but there isn't anything wrong with thinking ahead. Which brings me to my next point. My primary method of teaching will be to stress the importance of using your imagination. I mean, whoever invented the computer or technology for that matter had to be doing some serious imagining, right?! I will let children know that I support their goals and that no idea is "stupid."

What tools will I use in my classroom?

Some of the most important tools I will use in my classroom will be computers of course because they are constantly teaching us new things and easier ways to live every day life. But more specifically I would love to have centers in my classroom that fulfill the interest of each student. No child should be limited to only math, science, and reading. These centers will be full of art, dance, music, and theatre. This will be fun for not only the children but for me as their teacher as well. This tool will keep the children interested in learning and it will give them a break and something to look forward to.

What role will students play in my classroom?

It is very important that students in my classroom participate. I feel that it gives them a sense of importance as well. They will feel needed. As some teachers I've had in my lifetime, I will not leave the participation all up to the student. I will provide ways for them to participate. A good way I believe would be to assign roles to each student in the class for things that are ACTUALLY needed. I will incorporate this in the learning process by assigning "subject readers." This will be where each student gets to pick their favorite subject and are asked to read aloud for that subject for that day they are called, and so on. I find that it will keep each student interested and able to excel in at least one if not all subjects.

My Test Post Title

This is my first post