Project #12 Part A. Mastering SMARTboard tools

Blog Post #10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassdiy?

Mrs. Cassidy is a first grade teacher in Moose Jaw, Canada who has incorporated technology into her classroom in many exciting ways. Mrs. Cassidy uses a variety of different technologies such as Nintendo DS, Skype, a classroom webpage, and student blogs. Mrs. Cassidy believes that "You are handicapping your students and yourself by not taking advantage of those tools (technology)." I strongly agree with this statement and it is a goal of mine to be up-to-date on new technology that can enhance my methods of teaching.

In the video Little Kids...Big Potential we heard from some of Mrs. Cassidy's students about some of the things they are doing in her class. In the videos Interview with Mrs. Cassidy part one, part two, and part three Mrs. Cassidy gives us some insight of how she uses technology in her classroom. One of the things That Mrs. Cassidy uses that I would like to use in my classroom is student blogging. This offers many benefits not only to the teacher but to the students and their parents as well. Students love the fact that they have an audience for their work and parents are able to view their child's process and leave comments on their work.

Another tool I want to use in my classroom is Skype. A benefit of Skype is the ability to bring experts right into your classroom and to connect your class with other classrooms. I also love the classroom webpage that she uses. Students are able to access games and other educational tools that allow them to practice different subjects . This is something I definitely want to create for my future classes. I believe using these tools and techniques will better engage students, help them gain a deeper knowledge of what they learn, allow parents to feel more evolved, and make me a better teacher.

However, with all the benefits there may be some impediments to over come. Two main obstacles I think I may encounter would be parent's hesitation and students safety online. I think some parents may want a more traditional education for their children and may not see all the benefits of technology in the classroom. If this comes up then I would talk to the parents to explain why I choose to incorporate technology in my classroom. I would explain the safety measure I have taken to keep their children safe on the web and reassure that everything serves and education purpose. I would tell parents that in our world today technology is a major part of everyday life and will continue to grow, their children are learning skills that they can build upon to serve them throughout their lives.

Another obstacle I may face is students safety on the web, I will make sure to address this before students ever go on the internet. I will go over safety rules such as do not post your last name, only go to the links I provide, and never put your personal information on the web such as your address or home phone number. Overall I enjoyed these videos and look forward to using some of these tools in my future classroom.

C4K Summary for March

C4K#5

1. Try new things:

High school is a place where you can try new things and find new experiences. Don’t be afraid to try something new; join a sport, join a club; and just have fun with it.

2. Make new friends:

In a high school you meat people everyday. Make a new friend this can lead to a great bond with them and you can help them out. Making new friends boost peoples self-esteem and make them feel comfortable in school especially if they’re new.

3. Try to keep your grades up:

I know many people don’t like school and they don’t pay attention to their grades; but in high school these grades matter. Colleges look at your grades to see if your a good student and if you are you can get accepted into a good one. Also, if you want to get a scholarship to help pay for your collage have good grades can give you an advantage and you might get a full scholarship.

4. Pack your own lunch:

I know this sounds weird but lunch is not good in any high school so if you want to eat and eat healthy  you might want to start packing your own lunch.

5. Get friendly with upperclassmen:

having an upper classman friend is very help fun because they can help you with

How to act around certain teachers

·         Which people to avoid

·         The low-down on the clubs or sports you’re interested in

·         The game plans for acing certain classes

·         How to act around certain teachers

Hope this list helps you get through high school and I hope you like it.

Kevin,

I think you provided some great tips to future high school students. High school can be intimidating to students who are up and coming freshmen. Your tip about trying new things is so relevant to those who may tend to shy away from new experiences. High school can be a great time to take advantage of exploring things beyond your comfort zone. Also, making good grades is vital to success in both high school and college. College is expensive and it disheartening to pay a large sum of money for a course and not make a good grade. A tip that I would give future high school students is to know that the world is so much bigger than just high school. Things that seem incredibly important in high school, such as hanging out with the cool crowd, turns out not to even be a big deal once high school is over. Enjoy your high school years because they do go by so fast.

C4K#6

The Plan testing was easier than I expected. But for some sections I felt as if I did not get enough time to finish. I thought that I would not finish but I just kept on working on the Plan test and focused till the last second and finished every section. Another piece of advice that I would give you about the Plan test is that if everyone is done and there is still some time, don’t rush through thinking that everyone is done , and you are the only one. Just take your time and finish in the time left. The last advice is don’t guess. If you guess your score could go lower than last year. The Plan test is important because it tells you what you might get as a score on the act. If you are going to guess take an educated guess. An educated guess is where you eliminate the answer that you know is wrong.

Hemil,

You gave some great advice about taking a standardized test. I strongly agree with your advice to take your time. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed when you think everyone else is finished and you are taking too long. When you think clearly about the questions, most turn out not to be very difficult. I was very nervous the first time I took the ACT and as a result I had a difficult time focusing. I took it a second time, just focused on myself, and completed every section with time to spare. Over all you gave some excellent advice. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Paige Inman

C4K#7

The Hobbit is a fantasy book written by J.R.R. Tolkien.  The setting is in a fantasy world called Middle Earth.  There are lots of characters in this book. The main characters are Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, and Smaug.  Others include the dwarves, orcs and humans.

Bilbo Baggins is the main character.  He wanted to stay at home and have a peaceful time until someone asked if he wanted to go on an adventure.  Bilbo decided to go on the adventure with a wizard and twelve dwarves.  The adventure was to make it all the way to the Lonely Mountain and steal the dwarves long forgotten gold from the great dragon Smaug.  Bilbo and his group’s problem was getting to the lonely mountain and fighting Smaug.  Bilbo tried to solve this problem by getting this magic ring that can make the ringbearer invisible.

I enjoyed this book more than most fantasy books because it has no boring parts at all.  I also liked it because it has a group of mixed people working together to accomplish one goal.  I recommend this book to people who like fantasy stories of any kind.  Also you would  like this if you have enjoyed any other books written by J.R.R. Tolkien

Collin,

J.R.R. Tolkien is one of my all time favorite authors. I love the fantasy world he created through his books and the adventures his characters go on. In my second year of college I did a research paper on J.R.R. Tolkien and discovered some interesting facts about him and his writing. For example, the <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> and <i>The Hobbit</i> began as bed time stories he made up for his children and some of his personal experiences from his service in World War I influenced aspects of his books. You provided some good information about the story without giving away too much. Great post!

Project # 2 Rubrics

These are the three rubrics my group created:

• Evaluation of individual 
• Evaluation of a project
• Evaluation of a blog post

Blog Post #9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning?


When you first begin to explore Project Based Learning it can be a bit overwhelming especially if this is new concept for you. If you question whether this is an effective way to teach then looking at those who use it is a great way to make that determination. Consulting the feedback from teachers and students who use project based learning is an excellent way to get a better understanding of how project based learning is used and accepted.

While reading the article Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning, several things stood out:

• "A project is meaningful if it fulfills two criteria. First, students must perceive the work as personally meaningful, as a task that matters and that they want to do well. Second, a meaningful project fulfills an educational purpose. Well-designed and well-implemented project-based learning is meaningful in both ways."
• "Many students find schoolwork meaningless because they don't perceive a need to know what they're being taught. They are unmotivated by a teacher's suggestion that they should learn something because they'll need it later in life, for the next course, or simply because "it's going to be on the test." With a compelling student project, the reason for learning relevant material becomes clear: I need to know this to meet the challenge I've accepted.(Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning,)

If someone feels as though the work they are doing is meaningless then they will not do their best. However, when students can see that there is meaning and importance behind their work they will produce some amazing results. In the video PBL: What motivates students today students where asked "What motivates you to do good in school?". The majority of students said they are motivated by the recognition of their success and to achieve future career goals. Project Based Learning gives them both. They are able to show off their product as well as learn skills that they can use throughout their life. The video Project-Based Learning for Teachers gives some examples of skills students learn through PBL that they can utilize in their careers; skills such as communication skills, critical thinking skills, and career and life skills. Most teachers understand that those skills are what students need to be successful in their future and that's why they turn to PBL. 

Another thing we can learn from students who use PBL is that they value and desire their independence. Students who were interviewed in the video Project Based Learning: The Students' Experience all agreed that independence is the number one perk to PBL. Think about it. Would we rather the next generation never question things, never solve problems, and do exactly what they are told or do we want the next generation to solve the big world issues, make new discoveries, and take ownership of their lives?

Why Project-Based Learning?

Project #9

Blog Post #8

What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?

This video was very enjoyable to watch. There were so many impressionable things that Randy said about life in general but he also gave some great tips about teaching and learning. Randy talked about his own childhood dreams some of which included experiencing zero gravity, playing in the NFL, and being a Disney imagineer. While he achieved some of his dreams and the ones he didn't became learning experiences. Randy became a professor who made major strides in project based learning mainly dealing with virtual reality.


Randy believed that no dream was too big to achieve. You should be brave enough to reach for the stars. Sometimes you will have setbacks but you just have to learn from those set backs and fine a different way. One thing he said that stuck out to me was “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people."

Randy talks about the various struggles he faced when he began to pioneer his own way in education. Another one of his quotes I want to point out is "If you do anything that is pioneering then you will get arrows in your back and you just have to put up with it." This is a great reminder for educators to take those risk to develop new ways of learning/teaching. There will always be some people who are against your ideas but you need to press on.



Randy believed in having fun with everything you do. He showed that his students learned some very difficult things but they had fun while doing so. This can be a great reminder to educators to have fun while you teacher. You do not have to be some strict, unreasonable teacher but instead help others enjoy learning.

At the time of this lecture Randy had cancer and with dim prognosis. He passed away almost a year after this video was filmed. Even from just watching the video it is easy to see he just radiates fun. He said "One of the best thing you can give somebody is the chance to show them what it feels like to make other people get excited and happy." As an educator shouldn't that be one of our universal goals? Not only to desire to make our students excited about what they are doing , but to show them how to do the same for others. "How can I enable the childhood dreams of others?"

One last thing I enjoyed about Randy's lecture was his ideas of peer review and personal reflection. "One of the best gifts an educator can give is to get somebody to become self-reflective" I couldn't agree more. When people are able to reflect and evaluated their own work they become more productive. There is not always going to be a teacher or professor there to tell the student what they did wrong or what they need to do to improve. So we as educators need to equip our students with that important skill. Also having you peers review you and how easy you are to work with. Teaching is a team effort the involves working with many others; if you are not easy to work with or reliable then you could face some detrimental challenges.

Over all I immensely enjoyed watching this video and it would have been an honor to meet Randy Pausch. This is a video I am going to save and watch it again from time to time to remind myself of all the applicable advice Randy gave. I am also going to share this video with others regardless of what profession they are in. I think everyone can learn something from Randy that can change their outlook on life.

C4T Summary #2

Comment #1

Take a Virtual Field Trip To the Deserts and Grasslands of Africa

Summary

In this blog post Mr. Brian Crosby shared a resource known as a virtual field trip. Basically students are able to go on a field trip without ever leaving their school. this particular virtual field trip was accessible through Google hangout or live streaming on YouTube. Mr. Crosby encourages teachers to get involved with online learning and take advantage of resources like these. Mr. Crosby provide an ample amount of links making all the necessary information very easy to navigate.  

My comment

"Hello Mr. Crosby,

My name is Paige Inman and I am currently enrolled in a Micro-computing Systems course at the University of South Alabama. Each week we are assigned a teachers blog to read, comment, and later summarize on our own class blogs. I intend on being an elementary school teacher and fully embracing the use of online learning in my classroom. Do you think that future educators will be more willing to use resources such as these as opposed to educators that have been in the field for some time?

I had never heard about a virtual field trip until I read about it in this post. This is something I want to become more familiar with in order to utilize it in my future classes. I think it is incredible that students can be exposed to experiences such as these and never have to leave their school. I appreciate that you included a number of links throughout your post so that all the information was easy to find and navigate. I look forward to reading your future posts.
Paige Inman
@Inman_Paige"

Comment #2

The “High Hopes Project” Explained

Summary 

The "High Hope Project" is a collaborative project that is bringing together the work of elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, universities, Nevada’s Northwest Regional Professional Development Program,the 21st Century Division of WCSD, and students from all over the globe. Basically students are helping design and build payloads that will be attached to high altitude weather balloons that will then be released. There are many ways that students are getting involved. Some students are engineering water pressure gauges, some are writing computer code, some are designing a release mechanism, and students from all over the world are sending in their own "high hopes" to be part of the payloads. They are still inviting teachers and students to get involved. These launches will happen in the end of April and June from various locations.

My Comment

Mr. Crosby,
This is an incredible collaborative project unlike any I've heard of before. What a great way to get students of all ages engaged. I love how this project extends on a global level to involve students from all over the world. I imagine this project is creating some authentic excitement in the students knowing they will be apart of something so grand. Is this something you hope to repeat with new students in the future? I will be checking back to see the video and photos of what the GoPro cameras document!

Project #7 Part B

To the parents. To my students

C4K Summary for February

C4K #1 Josh- Nebraska

"Today, Senator Crawford came to are school it was so interesting and cool. Also she talked about a unicameral and a bicameral. Unicameral means on house, and a bicameral meas two houses. The unicameral is good because it is a lot quicker because it is taking less time to get approved. The bicameral is two houses so it would be a lot slower. We asked her questions like: does she work with the president? She said she has seen him once. I learned lots of cool things."

My comment,

"Josh,

It sounds like you had a fantastic time meeting Senator Crawford and learning some new government terms. I had forgotten about the difference between unicameral and bicameral so you refreshed my memory! There are so many cool things to learn about our Government. When I was in school I met my state senator and I took a picture with him. I still have that picture and I remember it was a great experience."

C4K#2 Emily

"My name is Emily and I live in Farmersburg, Iowa in the U.S. I am 14 years old and in 8th grade. I almost always eat pizza but I did not have any pizza for this picture, and considering my research America consumes the most pizza of any country

For Breakfast I eat Multi Grain Peanut Butter Cheerios (110 calories) with Organic Valley whole milk (150 calories)

For Lunch I eat a white bread chicken salad sandwich (510 calories) and Doritos (240 calories)

For Dinner I eat green bean casserole (100 calories), an apple (116 calories), and boiled carrots (27 calories)

For Dessert I eat Sam’s Choice peanut butter chocolate ice cream (260 calories)

Overall I eat about 1,513 calories on an average day without snacks"

My comment

"Dear Emily,

I enjoyed reading your post and seeing that we eat some of the same things! I could eat green bean casserole and peanut butter chocolate chip ice cream all day and be content. I also enjoy eating pizza. A new pizza place just opened by my house, they use all organic ingredients which I thought was pretty neat. I didn't know that America consumes the most pizza, very interesting. I wonder if that is just counting deliveries or if it also includes frozen pizzas too.  If you could eat anything for a day, with no limitations, what would it be?"

C4K#3 Gaberille

So, some people don’t know that I am a middle child. I have an older brother Dylan, who is 20, and I have a younger sister Savannah, who is 7. Most people don’t know this because we all have different moms. Savannah lives with our dad and my stepmom, so I see her often. Even though I am not around her that much she is annoying, like most siblings, but I love her so much and I am happy that I can call her my baby sister. Well, she isn’t really a baby anymore.

My brother Dylan on the other hand, I don’t see as much. Over the summer, I kept texting him to come to one of my games, so I can see him. I did this because the last time I saw him was  in July 2012. I was having trouble getting a hold of him, so I kinda gave up. Next thing I know, in August 2014 at a basketball game, I look up at half time and see my brother sitting next to my grandmom watching my basketball game! I was so excited. Ever since then, I started talking to him more often and now we keep in touch!

MY comment

"Gaberille, 
It can be difficult when you lose touch with a sibling. I know from experience. I have a brother who is 21 that can be very hard to get a hold of too. I’m please to know your brother made it to your game and your contact has been on a more regular basis. I personally have 4 younger brothers. Well, two are my step brothers but they have been around long enough that I claim them too. Their ages are 21,17,15, and 14, so there tends to be quite a few confrontations. It was apparent to me that you love and care about your sister and I enjoyed feeling that through your words. 
Is basketball something you are passionate about? I played for a few years when I was much younger. However, I was never very good. I enjoyed your post, keep up the good work! 
-Paige Inman"

C4K #4 Desiree

"Advice for future High School Students

For only being a Sophomore, I have learned a lot these past few years. High school is basically like middle school. The only difference is that there’s more students and depending on what high school you’re going to, It’s much bigger. This means you get to meet many new people. It could be a good thing or a bad thing. You have to choose your friends carefully, because rather you believe it or not your friends have an impact on you greatly. Making friends and having fun is great, but sometimes it can get in the way of your school work. In high school, it is much more stressful to get behind on homework than it was in middle school. Getting behind on your homework can sometimes cause people to fail in the long run. Even though going into high school your going to be a freshman, you have to start thinking of a plan for when you do graduate. My advice to you is to choose your friends wisely and make decisions that are going to help you succeed in school. Even if it means staying home when your friends ask you to hangout."

My Comment

Desiree,

I liked your insight and suggestions you gave to future high school students. I agree that your friends can greatly impact you as a person and your future. If you surround yourself with people who push you to succeed and they themselves strive for success then these friends would be a much better influence for you. Now that it has been five years since I graduated I am able look back and see the people who didn't try their best in high school are the same ones who have not gotten very far in life. Being diligent about turning in your work on time is crucial in college so is best to start in high school, or earlier. I think anyone in middle school who reads your post with be getting some great advice. High school is over in no time so enjoy it and make the most of it!