Final Seft Reflection for EDM 310

Final Report on PLN

I use Symbaloo as my PLN. Through this I can access many things. The most important things I can access are Blogger, YouTube, and Google. All three of these are things that I must have in EDM 310. For my personal use I have Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo! I also can look at CNN and the weather through my symbaloo. Symbaloo has been such a useful tool. I plan on continuing to use it after EDM 310.

Summary of C4K November and 12/5

I commented on Jkeega's post. He talks about the American math challenge. He like it because he gets to compete with other kids from the US. I commented back and told him that it sounded like fun! I also told him how it was great that he get to do this with kids from all over the US. I wished him luck during this challenge.
Click Here to Read His Post
 
Next I commented on Yasmines blog. She created a post called Winter Poem. In this poem, she talks about snow falling and a fire cracking. I commented on her poem and told her how creative her poem was. I also told her to keep up the good blogging, and that she was doing a great job!
Click Here to Read Winter Poem!

I commented on Danielle's post about Christmas. In the post she told about her Christmas plans. She also told about how much she loved the snow, seeing her family, and all the good food. She also told about getting 12 days off for Christmas! I commented back and told her how Christmas was my favorite holiday. I also told her how much I also loved spending time with my family. I told her how I wished it would snow here!
Click Here to go to Danielle's Post!

Summary of C4T #4

I commented on attheteachersdesk.blogspot.com. The first post I commented on was a post called, Gotta Stay Positive. In this post he describes having a bad day. He talks about how he took his frustrations out on the students. He also talked about having an attitude. I commented back and told him about my bad days and how I sometimes take my bad days out on the children at the daycare I work at. I told him to keep his head up and he would make it through it. The next post I commented on was called An accident of geography wont save us. This post was about children being isolated in the classroom. He talks about how children should be able to have learning communities outside of the classroom. I commented back and told him that I agreed. It seems like children stuck in the classroom all day are in jail. I agreed that children should be allowed to reach out and learn from others.

Project #16

Additional Assignment #5

Just Teach Them to Solve for X:
This post was about teaching a math lesson. It talks about letting students use metaphors when learning. He says that metaphors are how we make sense out of the abstract. I believe using metaphors is math is a great idea. If a metaphor can help a child learn something, especially in a hard subject like math, it should be encouraged.
Sketchy Portraits:
This post was about eight graders. Everything in this post was very true. Older children, especially ones in eight grade, will test their boundaries. They want to be adults and children at the same time. It is our jobs to try and let them be this. Everything in the life of a child that age is constantly changing.
He Just Likes the Class for the Pencils:
I loved this post. It was my favorite! This post was about a metting with a child, parents, and some other teachers. The child had been acting up in all of the other classes but his. The other teachers say that it is because of the "pencils". This is not true at all, the child likes to be in his class because the child trusts him. Trust is such an important thing, especially for children. We should take time for each of our students, so that they can trust us.
The Medium Shapes the Learning:
This post was about him and his students. They were on a tour of Edison's film studios. He talks about how teachers think that they have the power to unchange a lesson with a medium. Actually, the medium shapes the learning.
Click Here To Go To Tom Johnson's Blog!

"Five Little Ducks" Project 15

Blog Post #13

ALEX stands for Alabama Learning Exchange. This is a project of the Alabama Department of Education. It is designed to share many types of educational materials and information. This website allows teachers to share ideas and plans with other teachers
Through ALEX, you can look at lesson plans, listen to podcasts, and look at courses of studies. I will definantely use this website when I begin teaching. I think it would be silly not to. You can log on and look at lesson plans specific to subject and grade. ALEX also gives you links to professional learning programs. I believe ALEX will be very helpful to me when I become a teacher.


ACCESS stands for Alabama Connecting Classrooms Educators and Students Statewide. ACCESS's vision for the state of Alabama is to, provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve student achievement through distance learning.
The goal of ACCESS is to continue to meet objectives of the ACCESS plan, expanding the availability of ACCESS Distance Learning to all public high schools in the state. ACCESS provides students with advanced diploma courses and additional courses. It provides teachers additional multimedia and tools to enhance instruction. ACCESS wants to provide a 21st century distance learning classrooms for every Alabama high school.
Click Here to go to ACCESS's Website! Click Here to go to ALEX!!

Summary Post for Form

Click Picture To View Full Form

From this survey, I learned that most people want to become teachers becuase they love kids and want to make a difference. I thought all of the 18 people that answered would also put that they wanted the benefits but only two people put that. I thought that was surprising. Another thing that was intresting was that 16 out of the 18 will graduate in 2012 and only two will graduate in 2013. I learned alot from this survey!

Progress Report On Final Project

My group consist of Stephanie Belletty, Leah Davis, and myself. For this project, we have decided to make a movie. In this movie, we will go around and ask a few professors the pro's and con's and what they think of the Smart Board.

Blog Post #12

Watch the video and discuss how you will teach these children, when we dont know how the future will look!

Teaching Someone Something

Summary of C4K 3-7

For C4K number three, I commented on JohnLee's post. His post was called, Our Trip. He drew a picture of a boat on the water. I commented and told him how much I loved his drawing! I also told him how much I liked the colors that he used. On C4K number four, I commented on Emily's blog. She came up with a competition to find the cutest animal story. One of the rules were, that you had to be there to witness the story. I commented and told her how creative this was. For C4K number five, I commented on Liri's post about Cars. She told about how her class watched the movie Cars. She learned through this movie what a real friend is. I commented and told her that Cars was one of my favorie movies. I also told her that there is a lot that can be learned through watching Cars. For C4K six I was assigned to a student who had not published anything. I commented on another students post, but I forgot which one. I am on the search to try and find it. I should have written it down!! For C4K seven I commented on McKenna's post about Halloween. In her post, she talked about her Halloween plans. Her plans were to go trick or treating with her cousins. I commented and told her to enjoy this time while she was young. I also told her that I wished that I could still go trick or treating, because I have a lot of great memories from Halloween and trick or treating with my cousins.

Summary of C4T #3

I was assigned to comment on Brian Cosby's blog, Learning is Messy. On October 6th he published a blog called, Thanksgiving Lesson Ideas. In this blog, he tells about three years ago when his 5th grade was learning about American history. His class spent time talking about the first thanksgiving. He talked about what was really ate at the first thanksgiving. He brought in a 18 pound turkey, and the students brought the rest. His students then wrote what they thought about their Thanksgiving experiences. Six of his students had never celebrated thanksgiving, On October 22, I commented on this blog. I told him how fun this sounded and how it was good that the students also brought in food. This way, he would not kill himself making a ton of food for his class. I also said how it was a great idea for the students to write about it. It was especially good to get the input from the students who had never celebrated Thanksgiving. I thanked him for this idea, and told him how I would try this once I become a teacher. He has not published a post since this.

Click Here to go to the blog Learning is Messy!

Blog Post #11

First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class
It is amazing that first graders know how to do all of these things! By using a blog, the family members of the children can go comment and watch the progress of their children. The students also use WIki to learn about new things. I love how the students get into groups and make videos. It is good that they are learning how to collaborate at such a young age. Using skype in the classroom is also a very good idea. The students can learn from people all over the world. When I become a teacher I would love to let my children do blogs. I think it is such a good idea. I especially like the idea of family members and others to be able to comment. I believe that when the children get comments, it makes them feel special. I would also love to be able to use skype in the classroom. Letting the children listen and talk to people all over the world, would let them learn a lot. I do not see where there would be any problems with letting the children use these techniques in the classroom. If I did have parents or anyone who did not agree, I would talk to them about how technology will always be here, and that children need to learn how to use it!!
Click Here to Watch First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class

Click Here to Watch the Discussion with Ms. Cassidy and EDM310 Students

Additional Assignment #3

Changing Education Paradigms
I think that the most important thing that Sir Kin Robinson said was that, how do we educate our children to take their place in the economics of the 21st century when we do not know what the economy will look like next week. This is so true, things are constantly changing. Even when we graducate and begin teaching, I am sure things will be different (hopefully) with education. The only thing that I disagreed with was what he said about children being with their age group. I do believe that we should keep the children with their age group. I know some children are smarter that others, but we must also look at the maturity of the children. I also agree that now a days a college degree, does not mean that you will have a job. I am so worried about graduating and not being able to find a teaching job in Mobile County! I also agree that some people are medicating children just so that they will listen and not get distracted in the classroom. I do not really know what I could do to address these issues. That is a hard question! I really enjoyed watching this video! It was well made and I loved the art work that was done. If I was to make a video like this I would want to be the narrator. I am definantely not a good artist, but I love to talk!
Click Here To Watch Changing Education Paradigms

Blog #10

An Open Letter to Educators
I agree that sitting and listening to a teacher lecture for hours, is boring!! I also agree that in these class the students are not encouraged to interact with each other. It sounds like her computer class is just like ours! Dr. Strange encourages and we are assigned to interact and collaborate with each other. Dan Borwn's video was really cool. It had some great points, that I definantely agree with! I liked his point about how the internet makes learning free. Like he said, the internet really is the greatest thing that has happend to us! Education really had done nothing really to change. If educational instutions do not do anything to change, the world will leave it behind, like Dan Brown did.
Click Here to Read and Watch An Open Letter to Educators!

Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home
I thought that this post by Tom Johnson was too funny! I definantely agree that we as teachers, or future teachers, need to find projects and activiites that keep the students intrested. This way, the student will not go home and play hang man! This was a great post to read!
Click Here To Read Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home!

Two Questions Than Can Change Your Life
The two questions were, What's my sentence? Was I better today than yesterday?
These two question are alot to think about. I agree that one should ask was I better today than yesterday, every night. This is a way to reflect on one's actions and decide if anything should change tomorrow. I think that my sentence is....... She just wants to finish college and to start making a difference in the lives of children!
Click Here to Watch the Video: Two Questions That Can Change Your Life

SMART Board Video

Skype Interview

Blog Post #9

What Ive Learned This Year
I really enjoyed reading this blog. I definantely agree with what he said about "reading the crowd" I believe that when I become a teacher I will do the same thing. I think that with being a first year teacher, one can be too concerned with impressing other people. We must remember that we are there to teach the children. The lessons should be fun and revolve around the kids. Being flexible in definantely important in education. Things will not always go the way they are planed. We as educators should be prepared for this. I am kind of a control freak, I like things done a certain way, so this will be my hardest thing to overcome. Communication is always important, in no matter what you do. We must try and get along with everyone, the other teachers, the janitors, and the principal. Without communication this would be impossible. It is also important to be reasonable and not hold too high of expectations. We have to remember that we are dealing with children. We should encourage and lift them up all the time, no matter what. I love when he said,"Adults everywhere are afraid of technology..." This is so true. At first technology can be a little bit confusing, but once you understand it, its a breeze. Listening to students is also very important. We should get to know the students outside of the classroom. Its never to late to learn something new! I loved reading this blog. Although the things that were talked about were simple, they are very important things to remember, especially in the first year of teaching.
Click Here to Read What Ive Learned This Year!