Blog Post #9

As I watched these videos I was amazed overall. The students and the teachers were all excited about learning.

In the first video, Project Based Learning for Teachers, I learned that with PBL students work over a long period of time to answer a driving question.  Then the students will share there project with other students. Common core is the WHAT behind PBL. These things can be evidence based, content, preparation for college, preparation for work expectation, understanding, and applying knowledge. PBL is the HOW. This means you can ask open ended, problem solving, and inquiry based questions. PBL helps students with critical thinking. It helps students develop life long skills such as: career, life, collaboration, and communication skills. There are many online resources students can use for PBL. A few websites are google, rubistar, and PBworks.  PBL teaches a student to have a purpose, meet deadlines, and work in groups.

In the articles, 7 Essentials to PBL and PBL and Education, this taught me that there are two things I need to know to let PBL work. They are that the student should believe that the project is meaningful and "meaningful projects have educational purpose".

Seven Essential to PBL

1. Need to Know

-Start with entry event 

(ex: video/story)

2. Driving Question

-Open-ended -Driving -Complex

 -Linked to what student watched

3. Student Voice/Choice

-Allow students to attempt project they way they want.

 (Personalization and Style)

4. 21st Century Skills

-Build on skills

        Collaboration

     Communication

        Critical Thinking

-Use of 21st cent. technology

5. Inquiry and Innovation

-List questions and add to the list

6. Feedback/Revision

-Allow students to critique each others work.

-Revision is a real world skill.

7. Publicly Presented Product

-Allow students to present to auidence (students, teachers, parents)

All these skills are needed for PBL to be successful in the classroom.

In this video, Two Students Solve Case of Ketchup Cap, I was like really ketchup. Who Cares! The longer I watched, I became inspired because the students were so engaged and determined. I loved how the teacher opened up the discussion with the statement, It really bothers me when... The students solved their ketchup problem by inventing a "shroom top" for  the bottle. They did research on different patents and created their own. Fascinating!

This video, Worms to Wallstreet, the students are talking about the different topics.  Phase 1 is each class gets a topic to study for the semester. They conduct a phase 2 which involves field trips, experts, and research information. In phase 3, the students present their projects thru oral presentations or digital slide shows. I was really impressed by the 1st graders who studied for cystic fibrosis.  The students used thinking maps. Another impressive topic, was the 3rd grade class,

who started their own business and sold shares. This class chose to study stocks.

Project #12

Project #9

CTA#2

Summary 
In this article, How to Watch and Learn from Your Peer Teachers, written by Arvind Grover, he explains how he got many ideas for his classroom while he observed teachers. Then he gave some suggestions on what to observe such as what the students are doing and what pieces engage the students the most? He lets the teacher know that they are doing a great job. He then gives a letter to use so you can ask a teacher if you can observe in their classroom. He also mentioned that teaching to him was science and an art.

Comment
I love how gave us an example letter to use to ask a teacher if we can observe their classroom. I agree that teaching is an art, and not so much on the science. I need to expand my mind on the idea. I also liked that he would give the teacher feedback and encourage him/her to continue to teach that way.


Summary
In this blog, Give Your Students Half of Sheet,  by Arvind Grover, gives us a idea on how to get feedback from other students. He gives you a list of question you wold give your students

Comment
I liked this idea because it helps the teacher learn what is keeping the students engaged. This allow the teacher to self reflect and improve their lesson.

Blog Post #8

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."-Randy Pausch

I have many ideas and I have some new awesome quotes from Randy Pausch. I learned to open my lesson by introducing myself and the idea I want the students to learn. I should always open the lesson with something fun such as a joke, or an interesting story. I should keep my students engaged by using pictures and videos.  The students should learn the fundamentals of a project before they jump in  head first. The fundamentals need to be known so everything else will work.  I can bring objects, props, or examples to show my students the idea I want them to follow. I learned that there is a good way and a bad way to say things to a students. I need to always be positive. After watching this video, I believe teaching requires a certain set of skills. Skills can be patience, kindness, or being  an excited teacher. I think you can only acquire these skills by being an very active teacher in the classroom with many years of experience. I learned that when you have group projects to put the students in different groups every time. I liked this idea because it will help teach my students to work with others, and help them realize that everyone does not have the same work ethic. I learned as a teacher I should have a mentor. I may need a mentor because everyone hits bumps in the road.  I learned that after every project I should allow the students to give feedback. Feedback is needed so a student can self reflect on who they are as a person. I learned that in my classroom, students should always have fun! The main things I learned were that you should focus on others, help others, and don't bail!

"Keep living your childhood dream."-Robert Pausch

Project #13

Our group did a lesson on clouds for a 2nd grade class. They are instructed to show us
what kinds of clouds, and explain precipitation, condensation, and evaporation.

Lesson Plan thru BIE

Rubric for Lesson

Lesson Plan

Jessica McCants, Madison House and Madelyn Barron

Blog Post #7

In the first video I watched, We All Become Learners, Mrs. Bennett was so excited talking about how the students work with their Ipads.  I loved her enthusiasm. In the video she talked about how a child showed her how to upload a picture. She was proud of her student for helping her. It surprised me that students in kindergarten are learning the mechanics of programs.

In the video, iMovie and Alabama Virtual Library (AVL), both of the teachers talked about how the students were learning the basics of iMovie. Some of the students who knew how to use the program helped other students with different techniques. The teachers both use AVL in kindergarten, but they only practice searching skills. They teach the children basic research skills. They encourage the students to thoroughly research a topic.

A video I chose to watch was a interview with Christie Whitehead, she is a 3rd grade teacher at Gulf Shores Elementary. Apparently, she  has returned to this school, and she is overwhelmed yet excited about all the new technology. She stated that they have incorporated PBL with all core subjects. She also stated that the students were  making an iMovie, and one student taught the whole class on how to use special effects. iMovie in the 3rd grade is fascinating! I don't know how to use iMovie, but I am very eager to learn.

The next video I watched was an iMovie, created for an kindergarten class called Career Day. This was all the students dressed up. You can hear the students saying who they are and why? I thought this was a really cute idea! It gives your students the opportunity to express themselves.

The next video is an interview by Dr. Strange with Mrs. Lauber from Gulf Shores Elementary.  She has been teaching 2nd grade for more than 10 years. She talks about how teaching has changed tremendously by the students having iPads. She also states how the children ask more questions and that she does not stand in front of the class to teach all day. She uses rubrics in her class. Rubrics are used in her classroom to let the student know what is expected and as a guideline.  She explains how the students reading scores have increased and they are all reading at a higher reading level.

The last video is an interview by Dr. Strange with Aaron Warner, who is an IT specialist at Gulf Shores High School. He explains that PBL was introduced about 4 years ago. He stated that it started with one grade level and other grades started to jump on board. Then he states that the students started acted differently, and they became more engaged by asking more questions. The children make mistakes and are not afraid to be corrected when the mistake was made. They are allowed to ask other students for help.  He also explains that the community was not for the PBL, yet they are beginning to accept it. They are realizing how their child wants to do homework and school related activities.


All of the videos are fascinating. They all talk about PBL and working with Mac products. I also learned that the librarian or tech specialist should be my best friend because they can help me answer all the questions I may have. My strengths would be learning a new task, patience, and asking questions. My weakness would be that I can get frustrated easily as I have in Edm 310. I have a lot to learn before I graduate surrounding PBL. I want to learn exactly how to make lesson plans for every subject. I am definitely not afraid to ask another teacher or student for help. I am open and on board to use PBL in the classroom. I believe I would have to practice the lessons because if questions come up I can be able to answer them.

Blog Post #6

I enjoyed all of the videos with Mr. Capps. He is very informative and gave me a lot of useful information. I hope it is okay to contact him once I start teaching to get some PBL ideas.

"If students are engaged, they are learning" Mr. Anthony Capps

One of the most important things I learned from part 1&2 videos, is that PBL is "constantly changing". I learned that you can use PBL for many different subjects. I loved the project where the students wrote to congress about women being on the line of duty. I liked this project because they were allowed to critique each others writings. The students were able to select which student letter was sent off to congress. It also allowed students to research and select the person of their choice. This encouraged the students to do better and gave them a self esteem booster. I learned that students are motivated by the work they are doing in the class. He has shown me how to encourage my students and keep them engaged in PBL. PBL is content driven and you can easily involve the community. Parents are likely to get involved and are often surprised by the work their child is doing in class.

iCurio is something that was not included in school while I was a student in school. It involves media for the classroom that has been filtered. It allows teachers and students to stay organized. I am going to use iCurio in my class for many subjects. It seems like it would help my students to stay on track and allows to keep up with material we have learned in class.

In the video, Discovery Ed, I learned that it helps students with visual learning. I can use Discovery Ed to support texts that I have in all subject matters. It allows students to research any kind of topic. It will help my students with research and analyzing skills.

My favorite video was the Additional Thought video. I loved how he explained the layers of lessons. Thanks to Mr. Capps, I know there are 4 layers: year, unit, week, and daily. I loved when he said "All must get done to have a successful lesson." Brilliant!

Project #8 Book Trailer

Project #7 Videos

My Sentence

My Passion

To Students

To Parents

Project #3 Presentations

Blog Post #5 PLN

Personal Learning Network( PLN) are a personal webpages that allows you to bookmark different sites. I think now my PLN consists of Google, Twitter and YouTube. I have explored Symbaloo and NetVibes, but have not started an account for either. I can definitely use one of these sites in my classroom to save videos, and project instructions.
These tools will help my classroom to become paperless. This sites can help you help a teacher improve and modify her lesson for future students.
It will help you save new ideas for new lesson plans you have to write. I may join the Netvibes website soon to help start my adventure on my PLN. The only thing I would disagree with is having my Facebook on my webpage. I feel that if its for my educational journey it needs to be strictly for that.

C4T- Teahcer blog and Comment

C4T#1

Summarize:
In this post, How to bring Social Media to a Conference, written by Silvia Tolisano, she talks about how you can use social media during conferences. She want to do this so educators can have practice before they bring media into the classroom. She gives steps to use media pre conference, during the conference, and after the conference ideas. She wants to teach educators how to use media to teach students how to use it in the classroom.

Comment:
I enjoyed reading this post. I think the is a good idea because Dr. Strange has been telling us to use technology as a learning tool. I would love to attend a conference that would teach me how to use social media effectively in the classroom

C41#2
Summarize:
In this post, Silvia Tolisano, Global Awarness via Snapchat, was about using Snapchat to help with global awarness. She was in Arizona and they were posting a story line on Snapchat. Brisbane was on the Snap posts this day and she posted some of this pictures they shared. She also mentioned how Snapchat users were under 25. She was quite impressed  with their Snap stories. She explains how she would use Snapchat in the classroom.

Comment:
 I love using Sanpchat. I  actually saw the snaps on the story of Brisbane. Every time I watch snap stories I always want to travel as well. I loved the ways she would use Snapchat in the classroom. Hopefully, it will still be available once I start teaching.

Project 15-Search Engines

Wow, I found all kinds of search engines that will help my lifelong learning journey! I am excited about using some of these search engines in my career.

 Bing- This search engine is an all around search engine. I love the backgrounds! It is powered by Microsoft. Its pretty much another google type of search engine. Bing knows all!
CiteULike-  You have to sign up for this search engine. Its a service that helps you find scholarly references. You can also share references and store PDFs.
ERIC-  This search engine is powered thru the US Department of Education. This site has different education resources. You can search thesauruses. This search engine will mold you in learning, teaching and decision-making in the classroom.
iSEEK- This search engine allows you to search web or educational resources.
BASE- This search engine allows you to search educational resources and documents. It is operated thru Bielefield University Library.
Refseek- This search engine allows you to gain access to webpages, books, encyclopedias and newspapers.
Infomine- This search engine is considered to be on the University level. It is very interactive! It has bulletin boards, electronic journals, databases, and many other sources if information.
WolframAlpha- I love this site! I have never heard of it. Thank you, Dr Strange! This search engine helps you calculate math, science, and art. You can search many topics!

Blog Post #4

Questions are essential in the classroom because they allow the teacher, you, to know if your students understand the material. There are always good question and bad questions. The article and videos showed me what to avoid and how to ask questions that will challenge my students.

The article, Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, taught me three ways to help me conquer the questioning task. I call them the 3 important Ps.

Prepare
Make sure the question being asked is clear.
Make sure the question you are asking is asked at the right moment to avoid confusion.
Play
Thought provoking questions are the best ones to ask students.
Give the students time to ramble thru their thoughts to answer your specific question.
Preserve
Jot down different answers that the students give to challenge yourself to ask new and reformed questions.


I really enjoyed the next video, Questioning Styles and Strategies. I loved how he kept the students engaged. There are four questioning style and several techniques I can use in the classroom.

Mastery allows the student to use their understanding to explain what they observed to someone else. Think pair share, surveying, and value feedback are few of the techniques he went over. They were all effective and the students were not terrified to answer.

Interpersonal allowed the students to relate to the topic personally. The students used the techniques learning log, and he clarified by having a student elaborate on what he wrote.

Understanding allowed the student to see if they knew what was actually going on. He used the technique wait time. This allowed the student to make sure he was understanding the question he had asked.

Self-expressiveness allows the students to draw a picture. The technique he used was extending responses. He allowed the students to explain what they drew.

 I do not know the teachers name in this video

Blog Post #3

I found the video,What is Peer Editing, and the power point, Peer With  Perfection Tutorial to be very informative. They gave me some very goods way to peer edit my classmates posts. I have learned that when you are peer editing there are three rules that you must apply. These rules are compliments, suggestions, and corrections. I must first start with compliments and tell the reader what I liked about their post. I should always be positive. Use sentences  such as: I like the way you... or I think you used a lot of good details. When I give suggestions I should always be specific. I should use interesting words. I need to pay attention to detail, organization, word choice, and topic. I need to make sure that their writings always flows and stays on topic. When I make corrections, I need to be kind. Make sure I do not hurt anyone feelings. I need to look for punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Be kind!

In the video Writing Peer Review Top Ten Mistakes, I found all the children adorable. I can easily see my self being Off Task Oliver and Defensive Dave. I need to remember not to be like Pushy Paula. It is not fair to push my opinion or thoughts on another students' writing. I need to always slow down and do not rush like Speedy Sandy. I will always be kind and do not insult another students' work unlike Mean Margaret.