Blog Post 11

Little Kids… Big Potential
Kathy Cassidy is a teacher i first grade in Moose Jaws, Canada. In her video, “Little Kids… Big Potential”, Cassidy allows her students to demonstrate their technological skills. The group of first graders invites the world into their classroom. In the video, the students explain how they enhance their skills, create projects, and collaborate with others by using technology. Each student has their own blog. “The kids love blogging” (Cassidy). Blogging serves a great purpose for students. It allows them to sharpen their writing skills, collaborate with others, and stay connected outside the classroom. The tools that Cassidy uses with her students are:
~Blogging
~Wiki
~Skype
~Video/Audio
~Nintendo DS
With blogging, the students get an opportunity to have an audience other than their teacher. They can share their work from class with others. Cassidy explains how she tries to set up each blog post as portfolios. In addition, blogging gives students the opportunity to receive feedback on their work from others. A lot of parents like blogging because they are able to see their child’s progression and leave comments on their work. Cassidy also has a class webpage that is available for students. It serves as a hub for them. The class webpage has links and other educational material that students use for learning. In addition, students can have access to the classroom from home. Moreover, they have access to any tools that will help them learn.
Another useful tool for educational purposes the students mentioned is wiki. Wiki allows students to get information that is shared by others. In the video, the students explain how they post questions on traditions and rituals. They received information from different people about their family traditions and rituals. Wiki is a great tool because it promotes collaborative learning. Moreover, the Nintendo DS has its benefits in the classroom as well. The DS challenges students to think critically. It helps them with decision making and sharing. Even though it is just a game to some, the Nintendo DS is an interesting tool for learning.

Cassidy’s Interview Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

Dr. Strange and a group of students conducted an interview with Kathy Cassidy. In the interview, she explains how technology is important for the new learning era. Cassidy got involved with technology ten years prior to when the video was recorded. Each class was given five sets of computers. The computers had all their available parts and internet access; but they didn’t allow uploads and downloads. Cassidy explains how her technological journey began with her interest in webpages. She mentions that teachers’ technological journeys should be sparked from their interests. They should use some form of technology that they are interested in and network to find other educators that share the same interest. Teachers must understand that “Technology is not going away, it is here to stay” (Cassidy). Cassidy explains that the tools from twenty years ago can no longer be taught to students today. Even the tools from five years ago are now becoming irrelevant. “We have to change because the world has changed” (Cassidy). There are many opportunities available online for teachers to collaborate and learn from other educators. Teachers must realize if they don’t take advantage of technology as a tool in the classroom they are only handicapping themselves and their students. Furthermore, teachers should be technologically literate. They need to know how to use technology to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create, and communicate (montgomeryschoolsmd.org). Processor and Spreadsheet is no longer considered technology. They must keep up with what’s happening in our evolving world.
Kathy Cassidy gave some helpful tips and great advice on technology in the classroom. From her video with her students, it shows that students are not too young for anything. As teachers, we need to stop underestimating our students’ abilities. We must expect the unexpected. Some of the tools and projects they were doing I didn’t do until I got to college. Therefore, using blogging, wiki, etc. will prepare them in college readiness. In addition, Cassidy's explanations from the video gave me a different insight on why technology is essential. Reading and worksheets don’t work with today’s generation of students. They have a more advanced perspective on how things work. For example, if you put a cell phone or an iPad in front of a two year old, they can more likely navigate and find things better than you. Therefore, teachers need to get out of the “my class my rules” phase and open up new possibilities for their classroom. All in all, Mrs. Cassidy’s first grade class made me realize that technology is a must-use tool for teaching such an energetic group of students.

Blog Post 10

The Last Lecture
Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science and human computer-interactions and designs at Carneige Mellon University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In September of 2006, Pausch was diagnosed with pancreas cancer. Almost a year later, he received news that his cancer has become terminal. Pausch decided that he want to be an inspiration to others. He gave a lecture that was so inspiration; it captivated the hearts of many and became an internet sensation on YouTube. The title of Pausch’s lecture is called “The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Childhood Dreams" (wiki)

In his last lecture, Pausch explained how people could achieve their dreams and enables the dreams of others. He explained as a child he had a big imagination. Some of his experiences taught him something important about life. One of Pausch’s dreams was to become a NFL football player. When he was a child, he went out for the football team. He had a coach that never got off his case about the mistakes he had made. One of the coaches pulled Pausch’s aside and explained to him that “When you screw up and no one say anything anymore, that means they stop caring” (Pausch). That was something that Pausch made a part of him.

Pausch mentioned that situations occur to try to stop people from achieving their dreams. He referred to those situations as “brick walls”. Brick walls have two purposes: (1) To keep people who really don’t want it out and (2) so that people can prove how badly they want it. Some brick walls are even made of flesh. However, that shouldn’t stop anyone from working hard for what they want to accomplish.

Pausch also explained how he enables the dreams of others. Before stepping down from his position at Carneige Mellon University, he began a course that allowed students from different departments experience the virtual world. Pausch assigned projects, which lasted for two weeks. He randomly put students in a group of four and allowed them to explore and be creative. Teachers and students from all over campus came to see the students finishing products. All of Pausch’s students got to see the excitement from other teachers and students around the university.

Randy Pausch was very inspirational. Sometimes, you have to continue to dream the wildest dreams in order for them to come true. In addition, the video made me think about the things I have accomplished and want to accomplish. It made me think about if I had only a little time here what I would do to make a difference in someone’s life. Pausch has proved that it doesn’t matter about the situation; it’s about what you accomplished and what you can do for others.

Project 14

Kenesha Brown's Project 14

This is my individual lesson plan. I decided to do the Google site because of the prior experience with doing the site with the Dulchamp group. The site includes the BIE formatted lesson plan and calendar. It also has a rubric,which provides guidelines on what to expect from presentation (group assignment) and essay (individual assignments).

Blog Post 9

Back To the Future – Brian Crosby

Brian Crosby has a 4th grade class that will be enrolled in his class for the next three years (grades 4, 5, 6). Over 90 percent of his students are second language learners. At the beginning of the school year, Crosby took a survey of his students’ knowledge in his class. Most of the students weren’t able to give basic demographic information.
There is a disconnection between students and learning because of a narrow curriculum. However, students only know a narrow curriculum. They have only been taught in a lecture style. Students don’t have any experience or input to build schema for the world. It is hard for them to imagine if they don’t know how to do this. As teachers, if we don’t have imagination or creativity then where would the students passion stem from?
Crosby took a narrow curriculum and enhanced it to 21st century learning. A hands on activity that he and his students did with the hot air balloon covered standards that the students needed to know and gave them experience on how air pressure and other things work. After the activity was done, the students embedded videos and summaries about the activity and why the reaction was the way it was on their blog.
Crosby explains that active learning empowers students to learn own their own. It allows them to connect with others, collaborate with classmates, and include thoughts and ideas during activities. Brian Crosby changed his 4th grade class by doing things that attract their attention. His class went from not knowing their basic demographic information to illustrating science projects to other students in a different country. Crosby’s class is the perfect example of innovative learning.

Paul Andersen: Blended Learning Cycle

In this video, Paul Andersen who is a high school AP biology teacher, is explaining a system he uses within his class. Mr. Andersen uses a strategy known as the blended learning cycle. The strategy is combining mobile, online, and classroom learning. There are six parts to this learning cycle. The first one is a question. This is also known as the hook to get them interested in the topic. The next step is investigation/inquiry. Then they have a video of instruction. This frees up some of Mr. Andersen's time and the students are able to review the videos when they do not understand. The next step is elaboration which goes into the explanation of the answer to the question originally asked. Then he reviews with the students. He meets with the students individually or in small groups to ask them questions to check their understanding. This also gives the students the opportunity to ask him questions if they are having trouble understanding. The last step is a summary quiz which is about what they had just covered. He will not give them the quiz if he can tell that they do not have a good understanding of the subject. If they do not do well on the quiz then he makes them start the process over.
We think that this strategy is a great idea. We think the first step is extremely important because it gets the students interested in the topic. The investigation step is important because the students need to find the answer out for themselves. They are more likely to remember the information more if they find it out on their own. The video gives the students more insight about the topic at hand. The review stage is especially important because it gives the teacher the opportunity to evaluate if the students are ready to take the summary quiz. We think that it is good that he gives the students the chance to go back and learn the information again if they did not get it the first time.

Making Thinking Visible

In this video, Mark Church, co-author of the book Making Thinking Visible, describes a little bit about a lesson he does in his 6th grade classroom with this students. This lesson is the “headlines routine.” The students are going to work in groups to do a project on a video they had watched the day before in class on early human beginnings and the origins of society. He will have the students talk about the puzzles and video their groups and come up with a short headline to tell what it is really all about. He gave each group a long thick sheet of paper to write their headline on after their discussion. After every group had completed their headline they shared them in front of the class. The students needed to have just a little bit to back up why they chose this as their headline. After doing the same unit for two more weeks, Mr. Church will ask the students what is the headline now since they have learned a lot more and things have changed since the beginning to when they are doing their final projects.
We think this would be a great idea to use in the classroom. This would work especially well for long projects like the one in the video. This engages the students in thinking about what they already know, or what they think they know in the beginning. This also allows the students to stay interested in the assignment and continue to learn and change the headline as time goes on and they learn more about the specific unit.

Blog Post 8

21st Century Learning is Here!
Summarized by: KeNesha Brown

Mark Stevens explains how the technology people use in their daily life influences how students learn. Students and teachers have changed, and learning has changed, as well. However, the former setting of a school remains the same over the last 100 years. Stevens states, "We live with the reality that the same structure of brick, mortar, and steel will continue to greet us each morning" (Stevens). The great thing about 21st century learning is it can take place anywhere. Stevens explains that learning environment is not about the cool gismos and gadgets that are being used but the teacher applies today's technologies to make materials for students more engaging. "In other words, encourage the students to create, communicate, and collaborate in many ways" (Stevens).

"Learning in the 21st century takes new thinking" stated by NEA Executive Director John I. Wilson. 21st century skills are required in order for teachers to prepare their students for the globalized workforce. The teachers should find ways to incorporate technology while fulfilling the requirements for the curriculum. There are many useful tools that are available for teachers.

The question that Stevens mentions is "what does this 21st classroom look like?" He explains that interactive demonstration allows students to work through materials together. In addition, having access to the internet allows students to engage and transform content from around the world through tests and reliable learning portals. Students should have pens that records audio and data, because it helps students learn organization skills and allow teachers to share notes easily. Also, Stevens states that mobile devices allow students to learn on the go. Moreover, web-based applications allow teachers, students, and parents to stay connected outside the classroom.

The question is where do we start from here? Stevens explains that all teachers must think through the entire learning experience that they are creating for their students. Stevens provides NEA's and SETDA's key questions to inspire teachers thinking on how they can incorporate technology this school year:

-What tools and technologies will help the students create, collaborate, and communicate better?
-How can teachers let students learn with technology they already have?
-What is the appropriate role of the web, social media, mobile technologies, interactive white-board, etc., in today's classrooms?

Mark Stevens made some great points on 21st century learning. Teachers should consider ways to incorporate technology in their classrooms. These generations of students that educators are up against are more advance. Every moment of their lives is evolved around some form of technology. Educators must enhance their lesson plan to keep the attention of their students and cover all of the state standards. The main focus of the teachers' lesson should be allowing students' interest be the guidance to their learning process.

From reading Mark Stevens article, I did a search on tools to use to incorporate technology in students learning process. The website I can across is called BrainPop. BrainPop is a great tool to use as an inside or outside source in the classroom. It provides students with videos and games on any subject and topic. BrainPop is a tool that I would use to make sure my students are using technology as a tool of learning.

Summary By: Chelsea Calvert

This is an app that covers number and operation standards. Since iPads are becoming more common in the classroom this is a tool that could easy be accessed. This app helps the students understand how numbers are represented and the number system. The students must understand and know how to represent fractions on a number line. This game is more geared toward grades third through eighth. I chose this tool because it is something that will keep the students engaged. The students can also move into harder levels as they learn more so they are not confined to the same problems. If the teacher was to cover fractions and their place on the number line, they could let the students play this app to practice and check their understanding.

Summarized by: Keri Brown

Spelling City is a website and also has an app for iPads other devices. This app has a feature to search the language arts standards correlation list for standards by region and grade. This app provides correlations to U.S. Standards by State, Common Core Standards for each State's Implementation, Australian Standards by State, Canadian Standards by Province, and English National Curriculum Standards. This is a great tool for teachers to work with students in the classrooms as well as at home on their own time for homework or extra help. There are many games provided on this site for parts of speech, nouns, synonyms, contractions, phonics, Dolch-sight words, as well as vocabulary activities. There are also premium membership opportunities depending on how many students you have. There are many benefits with the premium membership such as, student activities being tracked, student test results and activities are automatically recorded, and you can create customized lists and lessons to meet each student's individual needs. This makes it great for ESE, ESL/ELL, and RTI.

Project 9

Project 2

For my Personal Learning Network, I chose to use Symbaloo. In my PLN , I included website, such as iCurio and Discovery Education, that will help me with my educational journey. I also included social websites, EDM 310 class blog, and the University of South Alabama website. Throughout my journey, I will continue to add websites that will help me enhance my knowledge and my learning community. PLN is a helpful tool to use in the classroom. It provides easy assess to website and other material a person may need.

Project 13

Lesson Plan 1

This lesson plan unit last for two weeks. It is created for fifth grade students. The Driving Question for this lesson is what is colonization and describe the early colonization to North America. We will begin the lesson with a trivia game found on iCurio to see what the student already have knowledge of. We will then assigned student one of the thirteen colonies, allow them to do research, and write an research paper on what they have discovered. After the research paper have been written, the students will then be paired up with the person that has the same colony they have and do a Google presentation on that particular colony. This lesson will cover Common Core Standards for English Language Art Write (2,6, and 7). This lesson also covers the Alabama Course of Study standard 5.

C4K Post 1

Aiden wrote summary on Aladdin. He explained how Aladdin received a lamp that had a magic genie inside. His mother rubbed the lamp and the genie came out. I acknowledge Aiden's effort for explaining the story of Aladdin and encourage him to keep up the good work.

Savannah, a student in Mr. Rhodus' 6th grade class, wrote about the sky having a weight. She explains that the sky weights 5 million billion tons and it is evenly distributed around us. I applaud Savannah's observation and encouraged her to continue to do great in school.

Blog Post 7

Project-Based Learning Part 1

Summarized By: Kenesha Brown

Anthony Capps is a former student in EDM 310 and a former lab professional at the University of South Alabama. He now teaches third grade at Baldwin County Elementary School in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Capps is a person who truly practice Project-Based Learning with his students.

During Dr. Strange's interview with Capps, he asked questions pertaining to Project-Based Learning. One of the questions that Dr. Strange asked was "how do you approach being a Project-Based Learning teacher?" Capps responded that "Project-Based Learning is constantly evolving." He explained that often time Project-Based Learning is confused with projects that are done after a lesson rather than a method that can encourage students to learn. Capps gave a couple of goals teachers should encounter when they are planning projects for their class. One of the most important thoughts Capps mentioned was when teachers are planning projects for Project-Based Learning, they must take a different approach on the aspect of what they want their students to know. Teachers need to create good projects that will have an authentic audiences. Kids like receiving rewards for what they have done well on. It motivates their work ethics. In addition, teachers should always think of the interest of the students. Kids love collaborating with their classmates on fun projects. Another things Capps mentioned was getting the community involved somehow. Getting the community involved shows students how a subject is related to the real world. Finally, teachers need to understand that their lesson should be driven by the state content. Because the standards are given by the state, they should be the main focus on what that grade level should learn. Therefore, teachers must think about what type of project to create that give the students the opportunity to know the content they need them to know. That is why teachers should explain the state standards to their students. The example Capps gave was when his students sent letters to Congressman Jo Bonner about their opinions on letting women serve in combat. The topic he and and his students were discussing in class was Equity and Culture. They all gave their thoughts and opinion on why they think women should or shouldn't serve in combat. Then, they were assigned to use iCurio to find women who did something in history. They also asked their family members and close friends, who served in the military, questions on their thoughts of women in combat. With all the information each student collected, they used it to support their opinion in their letters. After the drafts were done, Capps allowed his students to peer review and choose eight of the best letters to represent the class. "The democracy, grading process, and reflection is key to Project-Based Learning. However, the most important companions to Project-Based Learning are revising and reflecting.

Project-Based Learning Part 2

Capps explained another project done by his students on culture. The project was one of Capps' favorite projects he love doing with his students. As a class they started out exploring Haiti. They practice researching and using other tools that would be helpful with their projects. The following week the class began researching Afhganistan. The goal of the project was to write a narrative as if they were a child in that particular country. They were going to record their narrative on iMovie on their iPads and use iCurio or Discovery Education for pictures for their movies. Capps as well as his students, loved the outcome of their projects. Some of the students covered the topics on food, fashion, and warfare. Others covered all of the topics on Afganistan. However, one of the students' parents were uncomfortable with their child being exposed to Afghanistan's culture due to serving in Afghanistan. Capps respected the parent's wish and assigned his child another project. Capps stated that "with Project-Based Learning you never know what you are going to get so don't limit your students." In addition, students' choice plays a big part in Project-Based Learning. From the kids aspect, they love knowing what they are talking about, why they are doing it, and proud of what they are doing. Capps explained that when strangers enter their room they are happy to share what project they are working on. Dr. Strange made the statement that we are learners and we should engage in learning.

iCurio

In this video, Capps explains what is iCurio. iCurio is a website used by Baldwin County Schools. It serves for many purposes. iCurio is an online tool that allows students to safely search websites and pull web media for educational purposes. iCurio has a tool for storage. This is an advantage to the students because if they have any distractions were they can't finish their search, they can store it in a file on iCurio. This means that each student needs their own iCurio account. Capps explains that iCurio can be useful for all grade levels. iCurio is a safe learning environment for students. The material that students have access to is the material that the teacher provides. iCurio is a great tool to experiment and try out with students.

Discovery Education

Capps made the statement that "a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million." He explains that Discovery Education provides students with a lot of visual aids. "Whatever text article you can give a child if you can couple it with a visual they retain a lot more. Discovery Education also provides background knowledge, ways to extend conversation, and general knowledge on a lot of topics. "Everything for science and social studies is available." It teaches kids to research and enrich what they have already learned.

AdditionalThoughts About the Lesson

Anthony Capps explains that “a lesson is four layers thick.” When teachers are preparing their lessons, there are four things to think about. The first layer is think about the lesson in terms of the year. Teachers should think about how are they going to cover the content standards and have the curriculum they prepared covers all of the standards. The next layers is unit. There are layers within unit that create the rest of the four layers to an effective lesson. Teacher should consider unfolding a unit in a way “that is meaningful and that is connected in some type of way.” The unit should be a stairwell of goals that teachers want their students to meet. “Stretch out a unit by saying we going to start the unit off with this and by the end of the unit the student should be able to do this.” The unit then moves down to the week. Teachers should think about their goal on a week scale. They will need to try to figure out how everything is going to get done. Most importantly, the final layer is the daily lesson. The daily lesson is the way teachers get students’ attention. It is the hook to what they can expect to do. It is also the way teachers can evaluate students learning.

The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers Part 1

Summarized by: Chelsea Calvert

In this video Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps are creating a list of things that consists of things that as teachers we should do. They make a list of four things that teachers should do. Teachers need to be lifelong learners. To prepare ourselves to get into the teaching field we need to be extremely interested in learning. We need to be constantly learning and modeling how to learn. Teaching is hard work and even after you leave your classroom you should still be seeking to learn new information. Learning how to teach should be a teacher’s hobby and part of their everyday lives. It can be very rewarding once you have learned something new that you can incorporate within your classroom. Teacher need to be flexible and creative. As teachers, we need to be prepared for surprises that might arise in the classroom. We need to be prepared to go outside the normal routine if something were to come up. Teachers should also reflect on their work. We need to be able to critic ourselves to master teaching. These four things are all important tasks that teachers need to focus on.

Anthony Capps gave some great pointer on how to have an effective Project-Based Learning experience. I think that all the tools Capps mentioned helps makes an effective lesson. It is so much the state standards requires teachers to cover; therefore, teacher should come up with creative ways to get students engaged in their learning. Project-Based Learning is a method I will use in my future classroom. It allows students to enrich their learning.

Don’t Teach Tech - Use It

Summarized by: Keri Brown

Anthony starts off by explaining that whether we like it or not we use technology every day. He states “we’re immersed in it whether you want to be or not, you can’t buy groceries without it.” Anthony says that technology is natural for kids whether they are in low-income areas or high-income areas, technology is a part of their lives. When creating your lessons, you should scaffold technology into those plans. Anthony says that you should focus on one technology at a time and make sure your students have different opportunities to review and continue practicing and using each technology. Once students have practice with a technology tool you can then add on and incorporate the use of other technology. Anthony uses iMovie with his third graders and he says that by allowing them to use iMovie they can be creative, express themselves, it is free, it is clean, and the students love it. You should use technology in your classroom to allow your students to get excited about what they are doing, use it to let them share what they are doing, and scaffold it to let them use one tool at a time then progressively add in more tools. Do not expect perfection from your students, because it is not going to happen. Students will make mistakes, but as a teacher you should allow time to reflect on those mistakes so they can better themselves the next time they use this technology. Dr. Strange states “you don’t have to worry about spending a great deal of time or energy teaching your kids how to use technology, just give them the opportunity, and don’t expect perfect.” As the teacher, you should “do it first.” Use the technology and do the projects to better understand why students are asking questions and how you can help them.