Blog Post #7

Even though I have not known about it in the past, I think EDM310 is preparing 

me for the Project Based Learning style that is in schools these days. I believe 

my strengths are that I am very experience with the Internet. I have been using

it since I was about 8 years old. I am very good at finding information and 

navigating websites. However, I am not as up-to-date with all the newest 

technologies as I would like to be. I think before I graduate I need to educate

myself on the new technologies that are being used in schools and learn how to 

use each one very well.

In the video How to make an audio QR Code I learned how to put an audio file 

into a QR Code, which I did not know was even possible! Michelle Bennet shows 

how to make a recording and then went to QRMokney.com and generated a QR

Code. She said this can be used to have your students scan it and hear a 

specific message for that students.

In the video iPad Reading Center The class used iPads to record themselves 

while they were reading so they could play it back while they were reading

it again to see if they made any mistakes. This is a great way to teach 

children to read and I think it would be great for children with learning 

disabilities.

In the video Poplet with Ginger Tuck The class uses an app called Poplet which

allows students to put pictures to words. This app is a great way to teach

words association and teaching them to take pictures and type.

In the video AVL and Kindergarten Students The class uses the Alabama Virtual 

Library website to search for certain words they are assigned to look up.

It gives them different pictures, audio files or videos for each word and 

then they have to draw and write about it.

In the video Tammy Shirley Discovery Education Board Builder Moon 

Project she showed us how to create a project board on the Board Builder app.

I think this is a great way for students to research for projects and make

sure the children know what they have learned.

In the video Students Sharing Board Builders they showed us how you can use

The Board Builder app to have students work together on projects by sharing

what they found on the internet about a certain subject.

In the video Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten The 

teachers at Gulf Shores Elementary spoke about how their students use iMovie 

and the AVL. I loved their enthusiasm about teaching!

In the video We All Become Learners the teachers spoke about how with all of

these new technologies coming out, it not just teachers teaching students, but 

students teaching the teachers and the students teaching each other. 

Source: adultesljobs.com

Book Trailer.

C4K Summary for Sept.

I was assigned R.J.'s blog from Mr. Salsich's Student Blogs. He wrote about how much he loved visiting Florida and going to Epcot and Disney world. He also wrote that he loves the weather and beaches there.

I was also assigned Najeem from Ms. Horst's Class. He spoke about his favorite soccer player, Ranoldo, who plays for Portugal. 

Blog Post #6

What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?

This week I watched seven different videos with Anthony Capps and I learned many different things.

In Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher and Project Based Learning 

Part 2: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher Capps discussed his experiences with project based 

learning in his 3rd grade classroom. He spoke about his different content driven projects such as 

using iCurio to search for females in history to complete the project of writing to the congressmen. I 

learned that children are more excited and involved in project based learning and they learn better by 

using it. 

In iCurio Capps discusses how he uses iCurio in the classroom for his class to find and store 

information for his projects. It makes it easy for the children to find different sources that are 

relevant to what they are learning. 

In Discovery Education  Capps discusses the tool Discovery Ed in his classroom to find pictures and 

videos that goes with what they are learning. This would make it easier to discuss what we are 

learning by watching videos and looking at pictures that go with it.

In The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers Capps gives his tips about preparing to become a 

teacher. He states that we should enjoy what we do and let it be fun, even when it gets hard. He also 

states that we should be constant learners and continue to learn even if we are not assigned to.

In Don't Teach Tech - Use It Capps talks about how he uses technology instead of just teaching his 

students about it. Instead of teaching them step by step how to use it, he just uses the technology in 

his class and they learn to use it that way. 

In Additional Thought About Lessons Capps discusses that lessons have four layers. It should cover 

the years state standards, the unit size should be connected, then you should have a weekly plan and 

then you should  have a daily plan before you can have one successful lesson.

Source: www.4teachers.org

Blog Post #5

Personal Learning Networks.

A Personal Learning Network is your collection of people you give and get information from. As

future educators, PLNs' are very useful to us. We can learn new things from everyone else in your 

PLN and others can add you to their PLN and learn new things from you. In Michael Fawcett's video he 

stated that his students used their PLNs' to ask questions and get instant answers. 

I looked into they ways you can organize your PLN and I thought Symbaloo was a great way to start. 

All of your social networks and pretty much anywhere you would go on the internet to gather 

information is right there in an organized grid.

Source: http://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOcK1fiV#

My Sentence/Passion videos

Project #3 Presetation

Search Engine Blog Post.

I chose these eight different search engines to look at, try out and review.

1. DuckDuckGo. This search engine was pretty good. You kind of had to dig around to find what you wanted but the best thing about it is that it is completely private and they keep all of your searches anonymous. 

2. Blekko. This search engine was very good. It was very easy to find what your are looking for because they edit out all of the sponsored sites and pick the sites that actually relate to your search. I think this would be useful if you are researching something popular or that has a lot of different websites on the subject.

3. Wolfram Alpha. This search engine was very interesting. It uses human knowlege to solve equations. It would be best to use it  to ask logical questions and anything to do with numbers and percentages.

4. Bing. I have used Bing in the past but not extensively. It looks similar to Google in its layout. I feel like this one was the opposite of Blekko. I did not give specific enough results and gave really low quality websites. 

5. Yandex. This search engine is unique in that you can search any website from around the world in English, French and German. This would be useful if you were researching something about another country, especially news stories in that specific country.

6. Gigablast. I liked this search engine because it tells you exactly why the search results are ranked the way they are so you can add more specific details if needed. 

7. Ask. I have used Ask.com many times in the past. It is very useful because you can pose a question and anyone can answer it. This means if you cannot find an answer to a question anywhere online, you can ask it here. This also gives the opportunity for those questions to appear in other search engines.

8. The College Search Engine. Now I was a little skeptical about this search engine because the design of it was very bad but it is very useful. It searches websites of universities and colleges around the entire world. With this you know you are getting valuable and  creditable sources. 

C4T Blog Post

I was assigned Daniel Edwards blog entitled Learning and Innovation. His posts were very interesting, especially for this class. Both of the blog posts I read had to do with different technologies.

The first post I read was Pedagogy First – Technology….. He talked about the different technologies that are being put into classrooms and how some teachers are opposed to them. He states that teachers should use the different technologies we have acquired  and become learners ourselves when we are faced with these new technologies. I commented that I agreed with his claims and that I thought that it related to what we were learning in this class.

The second post I read was Top 10 Apps in an Established 1:1 iPad School, which was a list of ten apps that could be used in specific classes along with general classes as well. I commented that I could use these in my future classroom and that they would be very useful to me.

Source: https://twitter.com/syded06

Blog Post #4

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher? I never really thought of this question before. Why do we as teachers need to ask questions?

I learned a new strategy about asking questions from the article The Right Way To Ask Questions in the Classroom by Ben Johnson. He states that we ask questions to make sure our students understand the material, but we need to be careful because only the "smart" or "confident" children will answer and the other children would not be even pay attention to the answers. 

Johnson states that we should ask the question, wait a few seconds and then pick a random student. While I know some students would think this in unfair or mean, I think it would be effective. If you did this on a regular basis as a teacher, it would make your students actually listen to what you are teaching in order to be able to answer your question if they are picked at random. 

Another strategy I like to use is to ask the children their opinion on the subject. It helps me get a good idea if they are absorbing the information and it gives me ideas on how to teach it by hearing it in their own words.  

Source:www.bayberryhomes.com

Blog Post #3

All of these videos and slideshow had the same thing in common, teaching us how to participate in a peer review. These videos were nice and concise and were very easy to understand, I could use them in my future classroom! In the slideshow Peer Edit With Perfection and the video What is Peer Editing? I learned more of what a peer review entails and that the three steps you need to complete while doing a peer review are to give the paper compliments, to give your peer suggestions and to correct anything you think needs to be corrected. 

I also learned what not to do while in a peer review from the video Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes., which was very enjoyable and the children were so funny! You should not be rude while giving your review, you need to be specific while giving your corrections, not to be distracted while giving your reviews and to not take your peers corrections negativity. They are just trying to help! 

Peer reviewing is a great way to help with the writing process, especially in children. It helps them get different ideas for their own papers and helps them get feedback on their papers to make them better.

                                          Source:www.edweek.org