Blog Post 16

Sarah Glenn EDM 310 Final Reflection

Final Project #16

Blog Post 5, Part 2

Summary of use of a personal learning network:

I have found that using personal learning networks can be very resourceful. For mine, I used Symbaloo. They are great for staying organized and having a mass of links available at one time. They can be somewhat difficult to learn to operate, but once it is mastered, it is pretty simple.

In mine, I included links to Twitter, educational blogs, fitness tips, and more. The neat thing about these PLN's is that I can have different ones for different subjects- one for math, one for science- the list is endless. I encourage everyone to learn how to use them and actually put them to use!

Blog Post 13

What are other forms of educational technology? 

Many students are given iPads or other handheld tablets that they can use in the classroom. These often come with interesting software built in, but these tablets have the capability of downloading applications (or apps as they are commonly called) to use. There are many different kinds of apps, including educational ones that can be used in the classroom! Here are a few of them listed below, according to The Best Educational Apps for Kids:

1. Elmo Loves 123s- this helps children learn to count and identify numbers.

2. Disney Story Central- includes numerous ebooks that children can read

3. Fish School HD- fish teach children numbers and letters of the alphabet

4. Stack the States- helps children learn the states in the United States and their capitals

5. Habitat the Game- teaches children environmental awareness

6. Winky Think Logic Puzzles- challenging puzzles that make children think creatively

Blog Post 12

What assistive technologies are available to you as a teacher? 

Assistive technology is technology that helps anyone with a disability perform at a better level.  There are numerous assistive technologies for people who are blind, deaf, or even cannot use their arms and legs properly. There are many apps for smartphones, computers, and iPads to help students with disabilities learn. These are used often and display here: iPad usage for the blind.

I think this is awesome that these apps are available to me. Considering I will be certified to teach special ed when I graduate college, I really have to know how to teach students with disabilities. These technologies will help make me a better teachers as I will be able to reach out to more students.

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C4T #3

I was assigned to Jeff Delp again for this round of comments for teachers. I love his blog! He focuses a lot on the government side of education and following policies, which really interests me. In his most recent post, The Marginalization of Children, he speaks about how it is important for each child to have the same access to education as any other student. Students should not be treated any differently because of their parents' income or any other possessions they may have. Every child deserves a quality education, and should be given one.

In my comment, I agreed with him. Children cannot help the situations they were born into, and should not be treated differently because of it. Every child deserves a great education and people devoted to ensuring that they get it.

In Jeff Delp's most reent blog post, Empathy and Difference Making Matter, he talks about how important it is for teachers to maintain a good relationship with their students. He believes that as long as teachers care and are empathetic, they will produce students who therefore turn into good people. He then uses this as a means to ask for donations for the 6:8 Project which is wanting to build an orphanage in Haiti.

In my comment, I told him that we thought in very similar ways. It is very important for students and their teachers to have a good relationship. I told him that I hope that the orphanage in Haiti gets built and I'm sure it would benefit many children.

C4K 8-10

C4K#8

I was assigned to Jacob S's blog. His most recent post was about aardvarks. He said that they were from Africa and are nocturnal. He also said they were on Noah's ark.
In my comment, I told him that he had written a good post. I have never seen an aardvark before, but I imagine that it would be pretty neat to see one.

C4K#9
I was assigned to Gray's blog. He wrote about his upcoming PARCC test. He said that he has worked hard, and that he has confidence in himself to do well.

In my comment, I introduced myself and said that I was a student at South Alabama. I said I knew that he would do well on this test, and that the more confidence he has, the better.

C4K#10
I was assigned to Jorja's class blog. Jorja is a student from New Zealand. In his post, he talked about a class field trip that his class took to Holland Gardens. He wrote about the fun that he had, and all the fun things that could be done at Holland Gardens.

In my comment, I told him that he had written a great post. It was really neat to see the pictures from a place in New Zealand, considering I am from the United States. Holland Gardens definitely seems like a fun place to visit.

Blog Post 11

What can we learn from these teachers?

In Back to the Future, Brian Crosby lectures on his way of giving high risk students a unique education. Most of the kids in his classroom live below the poverty line and English is considered their second language. He says it is important to use technology in the classroom to give students different opportunities. He believes that all students should be taught to develop skills in a motivational and meaningful context, not just the students that attend schools with high test scores.

In Blended Learning Cycle video by Paul Andersen, he tells how he uses the blended learning cycle in his classroom. The blended learning cycle involves online, mobile, and classroom learning- all blended together. There are five E's to remember when using this method: engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. This method can be used for almost any subject. 

In Making Things Visible, students in Mark Church's classroom are required to make headlines to answer questions for certain topics. I think this is a great idea to really see if students are understanding the topic. If they are able to sum it up in their own words, they are able to understand and analyze the topic. This is also a great way to get opinions and see the different way that children think. 

Super Digital Citizens is a video by Sam Pane showing how he teaches Internet safety to his students, who all have their own laptop computers. He says it is everyone's responsibility to be a super digital citizen. He gives the class the definition of a digital citizen, and gives examples of what digital citizens should not do. He then allows the students to create their own superhero (who is a super digital citizen). They are allowed to modify their superhero however they want. They then are responsible for writing a narrative story about their superhero, which ties this project into their English language standards. I thought this was a great project and it is definitely something I want to do in my classroom. 

In Project Based Learning, teachers worked on restructuring their day to incorporate project based learning. They used technology as a tool to bring content to life in their classroom. Technology should not be an add on to regular classroom instruction, but a key way in delivering information. Kids loved using project based learning, because it gave them a chance to really take ownership of their project. Seeing other students work hard on theirs makes them want to work just as hard. 

Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program really promotes project based learning and a more in depth learning environment. It involves a lot of teacher collaboration and them working on designing creative projects that fit into the curriculum standards. However, it is worth it. Parents of students love it! The children really show understanding and learning of 21st century skills. Even struggling children have a spark in them that is curious about the world. PBL is the way for students to ignite the spark. It takes a lot of effort to make this work, but the students' achievement is worth it.