Smart Board Instruction Project # 14

Blog Post # 9

  
     Mr. Joe McClung's first year (2008-2009) as a teacher was  spent in Noel, Missouri. At the beginning of the school year, Mr. McClung felt he was controlling things way to much. He would beat himself up for lessons that did not go the way he planned. Over the year, he learned several different ways on how to improve his classroom and to help other teachers. The most important decision he made during the year was to stay positive. McClung learned how to create the crowd for reactions.  Also, McClung  learned that communication is the best medicine for teachers and students. He says that teachers should never stop learning. We do not need to be afraid of technology and give up.  It is never to late to change  your teaching style and thinking. Teachers need to listen to their students, because sometimes the teachers are the only people that will listen to them. Teachers need to be reasonable with their students and not make to high of expectations for them.

       Mr. McClungs blog post gives a lot of excellent tips that I will use when I become a teacher. By reading the class, I will make sure every student understands the subject matter. All students should  clearly understand the subject matter before the teacher moves to a different topic. I agree, that communication helps students and teachers trust each other.  By communicating with my students, I will let them know I care. I  will  be there for my students to talk to. If a student falls short of the teacher's expectations, it can destroy the students confidence. I will be reasonable with my students and not give them excessively hard work. I will try to learn and teach my students about technology. Maybe the different forms of technology will help the students learn the subject matter better. By continuing my learning experience, I will have more intelligence on different subject matter and experiences. When I become a teacher, I hope to be like Mr. McClung and stay positive. I will not give up on myself. I really enjoyed this blog.

Mr. McClung

           Mr. McClungs 2010-2011 school year was spent being a first experience head coach, first experience coaching cross country, and first year as a applications teacher. This year he learned that it is easy to get wrapped up with trying to please everyone. He said, he started to just be himself and not worry so much about the perception that others have of him. Mr. McClung said that we need to remember the main reason  we got in this profession in the first place and  that was for the kids. He talks about teachers taking control of the assignments and completing  them for the students, because the students are having difficulties. If we do all the work for the students, they will not learn anything. Everyone is not going to be thrilled about changes. We cannot allow others to stifle our excitement and joy that we experience in teaching or in life. Teachers that had the  fire and excitement for the teaching profession seem to somewhere lose the excitement along the way. He learned that not falling in line with the rest of the crowd and being an outsider is not a bad thing. He did not eat his lunches with the other teachers in the lounge, because he ate with his students. By doing this, he made a better connection with his students. McClung's says that comfort and security does  not motivate individuals. Teachers need to step out of there comfort zone to reach out and help students. Teachers need to be involved in more activities around school than just being concerned about their classroom. The teaching profession needs individuals that are passionate and willing to exceed the demands of the regular teaching schedule.

       This post has helped me realize that I shouldn't try so hard to fit  in with all the other employees. The kids are the most important people I should be communicating with. I want to make a connection with my students. I agree that stepping out of our comfort zone will motivate the students more than just being plain and sticking with the same routine. Also, I agree that teachers need to let their students make mistakes and learn from them, besides correcting them 24/7 and giving them every answer. As a teacher, I should reach out to students in more ways than just in my classroom. I learned that I should relax and not over work myself. Also, that I should not get mad so easily when my class lessons do not fall in place like I planned.

C4K

I commented on Klaudia's blog post titled "My Day by Flapper." The post was about the experiences that took place in class from a fish's point of view. I told her that the post was interesting and that it was cool that it was written as if from a fish.  Also, I told her that goldfish are fun to watch.

Ilaria's blog was about her dog Juno. She told of the different breeds her dog was. She showed several pictures of her. Ilaria said that her parents got the dog from a pet shelter before she was born. Below is my comment to her.

 "I love your post about your dog Juno. These are great pictures of her. It is amazing that she is several different breeds and that she has lived  for so long. Is Juno the only pet you have? Overall, great post."

C4 Teachers # 3

  

I  commented on Ms. Andrea Hernandez blog post about using iPads to create ebooks with students in the second grade. I told her that it was amazing to hear that students in the second grade could work together and use iPads. Also, that this activity was a creative way for the students to learn. Her blog post has made me want to try out using a iPad and ebooks.
 http://edtechworkshop.blogspot.com/

I commented on Ms. Andrea Hernandez post titled "Hitting Publish (once a week)." The post was about her making a goal to write a blog every week. She said that most people do not have "talkers block," but have "writers block." She is allowing her students to learn by doing. The students are able to create blogs and not worry excessively about making mistakes. Below is my post to her.

 "I love the idea of allowing your students to write blogs. I haven't long started writing blogs, so I am not that perfect at it. It takes me forever to click publish, because I can not really gather my thoughts of what I want to say. Also, I am afraid of making grammatical errors. I like your saying that the majority of people do not have "talkers block." I believe that with practice we will get better. I agree that the students can learn best my doing. Mistakes are not always bad, they can help people improve. Overall, great post."

Book Trailer

Short Movie Project #11

Blog Post #8

Dr. Richard E. Miller: This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2

    Richard Miller is a man full of wonderful ideas. He brought some great points out in his videos. Dr. Richard Miller elaborated on the changes of how we write. He offers useful tips on how technology can be used in the classroom. He addresses how writing  in today's culture has changed. We have evolved from writing with paper and pencil to using word processors. Communication with someone on the other side of the world is now instantly possible.

     Mr. Miller made the statement that "technology is an incremental change, not a fundamental change." Different forms of technology is being created everyday. Technology is not changing things all together, but it is making things easier for us. We have started using the desktop to write down our ideas. Computers correct  our grammar and written mistakes. Technology sets students mind at ease. We no longer have to step foot in the library to gather research, because now we can gather information from the web.

        Dr. Millers said "that Ideas don't belong to us individually, but belong to us as a culture." Everything we write on the web is freely available to others. Technology allows us to share our knowledge and collaborate with others.  As educators we should distribute information freely to help other teachers and  students. I'm personally not ready to write with multimedia yet. Although, one day I hope to be equip with the knowledge to use this in my classroom. My students will gain knowledge of this form of technology.
Richard Miller

 Carly Pugh Blog Post #12

       Carly's blog post was interesting and amazing to read. She took a lot of time and interest in the assignment.  She shared her ideas with others  and of  where she gathered her information from. When assigning her assignment, she  went in depth of describing how to do the assignment. She even gave an example of what the assignment should look like. She showed how using multimedia can help expand and express a person's feelings and knowledge. She displayed herself  as an inspiring teacher of new media. I love the topics she decided to use in her playlist. I to believe teachers should have a philosophy and be able to show what they expect from their students. I enjoyed all the videos throughout the post.
carly pugh

The Chipper Series/ EDM 310 For Dummies

         I enjoyed both of these videos. Indeed, they were  very inspirational.  Both videos were hilarious. I  have not had many of those frustrating times  that Chipper experienced. These videos display how people express the different opinions they have.  I would like to make a beneficial video  acting out a book I have read.  The video will express my  imagination and creative abilities. This will help others  understand the subject matter and plot of the story. Also, I would like to create a video displaying the steps of how to create and organize a PLN.


Learn to Change, Change to Learn

       This was a great video, because it demonstrated how society needs to have an impact on education.  I was amazed to see how a  lot of  people do not even value technology and take education seriously. Technology is not all bad. It allows people to be creative and learn more globally. Technology can provide the best quality in classrooms. It is great to learn hands on and to explore.  I believe that students should not just memorize facts, but they also need to know how to apply the facts. Technology allows this to happen.

 I think that every classroom should be kept up to date with the advanced technology.  We as future teachers should not be left behind in a world that is advancing forward. If the non school related sites were blocked, then there should be no problem with students using technology to learn.

 Scavenger Hunt 2.0 by Justin Cometti


This activity is interesting and actually fun to create. This assignment allows you to explore and learn excellent sites to help further your teaching and learning abilities.  It just take a lot of time to complete.

Edmodo

     In  2008, Nic Borg and Jeff O'Hara set out to create a tool that closes the gap between how students live their lives and how they learn in school. Teachers and students are able to sign up and create a account for free. No premium membership is offered to the site. Edmodo.com is recommended for all teachers in all areas of education. 

       Edmodo.com is an amazing site for teachers to help their students advance in all subjects. Teachers put all their classes in groups. Edmodo allows the teacher to post grades, quizzes, homework and classroom assignments. The calendar can help teachers and students now when assignments are due and what events are coming up. The site allows you to reach out and communicate with other teachers. It even lets you post a status. Teachers are able to establish discussions that all students are able to participate in. This site is actually interesting. 

edmodo

Prezi

     Adam Fischer  created Prezi  as an architectural visualization tool. It  offers a license to students and teachers.  People are able to create an account for free. Edu Enjoy subscription allows us to create our own presentations without having the Prezi logo watermarked on our presentation. Prezi can store up to 500mb of presentations.

      Text, images and videos  are placed on a canvas and can be grouped together in frames. Users  decide the relative size and position of the presentations. People can  pan and zoom in and between these objects. To create linear presentations, users can construct a prescribed navigation path.
prezi

Animoto

   This app lets teachers create videos for structural learning. There are three different packages to chose from the  lite, plus or pro packages. The lite package is free, plus package is thirty dollars a year and pro is two hundred and forty dollars. Educators can apply for the plus package for free.

     Any subject matter can be covered  by using animoto. Educators have unlimited amounts of videos. This app enhances the digital classroom and help the lessons come to life.
animoto

3. Comic Strip
My comic strip would not post, so here is the link to see it.

Comic strip

4. Kids' Vid

        The site was created by Mike Keating. He is a professional videographer and instructor. Keating developed a manual for integrating video into the classroom as part of his Master's thesis at Montana State University. Kids' Vid  offers teachers and students assistance in enhancing learning through the power of digital media. This site  gives teachers and students the tools necessary to create a video production in the classroom. It provides the tools and the means for students to create and display  work in a new, exciting and engaging way. Kids' Vid  is appropriate for all age groups. Kids' Vid creates a network of classrooms around the world that instigates joint productions. It has four sections scripting, editing, making, and showtime. 


5.
 Replace audience response hardware with Poll Everywhere

Timetoast Project # 9B

PLN Project # 10

     

       This a screen shot of what my PLN looks like. A lot of  the sites I was already apart of. Sites I recently joined were twitter, skype and delicous.  Twitter has allowed me to follow and communicate with several people.  A lot of my followers happen to be educators. I started following people such as, Scott McLeod, Angela Maiers, Paula Naugle and Miguel Guhlin.  I have gained a  lot of knowledge by reading there posts. Some of there post refer to education and others are about everyday life. Also,  I tweeted how music has always been a great impact on my life and asked how could I use music to help my students learn when I become a teacher. Hopefully someone will tweet me back.  At first I was a little confused on how to use twitter, but with some practice I am actually getting the hang of it. I find twitter to be a fun way to communicate with others around the world. Skype has allowed me to communicate with my family that I do not get to visit everyday. Indeed, my PLN will grow more everyday.