C4K#1 to #4 Summary for February

Summary of Blog #1

The student I was assigned to comment on was Keegan. He is a student in Mr. Cometti's 9th grade IB World History class at Robertsdale High School. Mr. Cometti is an EDM 310 graduate. Keegan has a personal class blog. His blog post that I commented on was Youtube in 1912. He began his post by discussing the creation of Youtube in February of 2005 and how much of an impact it has made on society. He then asks the reader to imagine life 100 years earlier. He poses a question. What if Marconi had the resources to create Youtube, and how might it have changed the course of the world? He discusses World War I and the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. This news would have ended up on the internet and could have been seen by the Western Powers, Japan, and China. The world would have been changed drastically. This is an example of what a great power we possess, and we should use that power for peace and not to fuel spite.

Summary of My Comment #1

Hi! My name is Ashley Showles. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am currently taking EDM 310 which shows future teachers how to use technology in the classroom, much like what you are doing with your class blog. I enjoyed reading your post; it was very interesting! You made a lot of great points that I had never thought of before. If the world had all of the internet capabilities that we have today, World War I may have just had a different outcome. Youtube is not the only resource that could have changed the outcome of the war. The media and internet, in general, are constantly increasing and are more accessible now than ever before. I was very impressed with your knowledge of history! The way you took these events and imagined how they could have been changed by Youtube was impressive.

Summary of Blog #2

The student I was assigned to comment on was Zoe. She is a student in Mr. Sapia's fourth grade class at Springdale Elementary School in Stamford, CT. Zoe has a personal class blog. Her blog post was Let them go!!!! Her blog was about a book The One and Only Ivan. She was writing a letter to Mack, the owner of the mall, encouraging him to let the animals go to the zoo. She told Mack that keeping the animals in the mall with nobody to play with or people who care for them was not healthy. She said that she would not like to be kept in the mall so neither would the animals. Ivan the gorilla does not even remember how to act like a gorilla.

Summary of My Comment #2

My name is Ashley Showles. I am a sophomore at the University of South Alabama which is in Mobile, Alabama. I am taking EDM 310 which shows future teachers how to include technology into their classroom, much like what you are doing with your blog. I really enjoyed reading your letter to Mack. I read a summary of The One and Only Ivan, and it sounds like a very good book. I think your letter to Mack was very persuasive. You did a great job of pointing out why the animals did not need to be in the mall, and you also did a really great job telling Mack why the animals needed to go to the zoo. The animals could be cared for much better at the zoo than in a run-down mall. Great letter! Keep up the good work!

Summary of Blog #3

The student I was assigned to comment on was Sarah. Her teacher is Mr. Marks, and she attends school in Auckland, NZ. Sarah's blog post Bush Walk was about an adventure she took with her class. Her class wanted to find out where the Oamaru creek stopped. While on their journey, they had a scavenger hunt, found where the creek stopped, and took pictures of their trip. On the way back, the class stopped at the PT England Beach and had a water. Then, she went back to class where they watched videos about skating.

Summary of My Comment #3

My name is Ashley Showles. I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama which is in Mobile, Alabama. The class that I am taking teaches future teachers how to use technology in their classroom. I really enjoyed reading your blog. The Bush Walk and the scavenger hunt sounded like a very fun adventure. I used to love to go on scavenger hunts when I was in school. It sounds like your adventure took a long time. You had a scavenger hunt, found where the Oamaru creek stopped, took pictures, and walked all the way back to class. Your trip sounds very exciting. Did you draw the picture at the beginning of your story? If you did, you did a fantastic job! I enjoyed reading your story. It was very detailed. Great job!

Summary of Blog #4

The student I commented on this week was Dustin. He is in the 10th grade and attends Baldwin County High School. His blog was about the role of religion in the Puritan society. He discussed how religion was very important to the Puritans and that everyone in the town was required to attend the meeting on the Sabbath. Also, work was not allowed on the Sabbath. So, people had to complete all the chores, such as sewing, the night before. He also discussed how these meetings were not like church services today in that music was not allowed because it was viewed as inappropriate, and the preacher's message could last anywhere from two to four hours.

Summary of My Comment #4

My name is Ashley Showles. I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. This class is helping future teachers learn how to incorporate technology into the classroom. I really enjoyed reading your blog. The Puritan's church services are definitely different from the church services we have today. Now, most all church services have some kind of music, and the sermon definitely does not last four hours at a time. It is hard to imagine a church where men and women are not allowed to sit together and where the boys cannot sit with their parents. Were Puritan girls allowed to sit with their parents, or did they have to sit on a separate pew as well? Your blog post was very interesting and informative. Great job!

Blog Assignment #6

The Networked Student

Before watching Wendy Drexler's video, I had never heard of a networked student before. After I watched the video, I was amazed. I was unaware of all the possibilities and resources that existed for students online. This video was a creative way to demonstrate all the possibilities and resources available to students. The video begins with a man studying American Psychology which meets three days a week and two days online. He does not have a book for his class, and his teacher practically never lectures. His teacher is a student of connectivism which is a theory that proposes learning occurs as part of a social network of diverse connections. This social network is created by various forms of technology. However, it is not the technology that makes these social networks great but the people and connections made through these sites. His teacher encourages her students to strengthen the learning process and take control of their education by making connections through these social networks. This idea would be a great tool to start for my future students. Allowing them to create a social network would prepare my students to become independent learners.

In today's society, social networks are very important. They allow students to make connections with people and access valuable information. I liked that the video provided ways to build a personal learning network. Students know how to find information on the internet. The challenge is teaching these students how to make sure their information is credible. Google Scholar is something that I was unaware of before watching this video. It would be a great tool to allow students to search for and find credible information. I also liked that the video mentioned blogs as a social networking tool. Allowing students to create blogs would allow them to express their opinions on topics and search for other blogs that would be beneficial to their research. These blogs allow students to comment and share knowledge with others. I also was unaware of all the information available through iTunes. Through iTunes, the student in the video was able to access thousands of courses recorded by professors from universities such as Stanford and Yale.

Why does the networked student even need a teacher? The teacher is responsible for teaching her students how to build this network. She provides her students with advice when it is needed, and she shows him how to communicate properly. The teacher also helps her students to ask for help from other professionals. The job of the teacher is to guide her students through the wealth of knowledge and allow them to distinguish between non credible and valuable sources. The teacher's job is to inspire her students to continue to use their learning network throughout their future and help the world solve its problems. Teachers will still be needed in the 21st century. Not everything can be learned through technology, and the teacher needs to be their to guide her students. Students know how to find information. However, they need a teacher to properly navigate them through this wealth of knowledge. Just through EDM310, I will make a lot of connections. I hope that with a little more experience with technology, I will become a networked teacher. However, I would first have to have a greater understanding of all the tools available to my students and me.

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment

I really enjoyed watching A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment. This girl is very organized, and it seemed so easy to access all of the tools in her personal learning environment. I would love for my personal learning network to be as organized and as easy to navigate as her's seemed. She has so much more material on her personal learning network than I do. I was very impressed with the way all of her tools were laid out, and after learning that she used Symbaloo, I created my own account with Symbaloo. I am now working to add tools and contacts to expand my own personal learning network. This would be a great tool to use in my future classroom. Students need to build their own personal learning network to allow them to research and find credible information on their own. Teaching my students how to use Symbaloo would be an easy way for my own students to begin creating their own personal learning environment.

Project #10

Finding the Right Tool

Since I will be teaching high school math students, I researched new technology available to math teachers. I found a website that would be very useful. Fluidity Software is a website that would allow me to purchase the software FluidMath. This software is new technology that can be used for Tablet PCs and Interactive Whiteboards. This software would be very beneficial to me as it would allow me to engage my students in learning. FluidMath can be used for pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II, pre-Calculus, and Calculus, and these are all courses that I could possibly be teaching. This software recognizes handwriting and simple drawn gestures and can help with graphing, solving systems of equations, and factoring expressions. I could allow my students to come to the smart board and use the FluidMath software to solve an equation. Then, they could use this software to help them graph the equation. I would expect a lot of benefits from using this technology. This software would allow for a classroom lesson to be more interactive. It would also be helpful for tutoring a student one on one. I chose this particular piece of technology because I was very impressed with the idea. I know not all students like math, but I hope that by engaging them in the learning process, they will learn that math can be fun. FluidMath seems to be a great piece of technology that would be wonderful in teaching students everything from simplifying a simple expression to graphing complex equations.

My Sentence Video

Blog Assignment #5

If I Built A School

Krissy Venosdale is a GiftedEd teacher who teaches grades three through six. She says that she hopes to inspire kids to reach for the stars. I imagine she can do that and much more. Ms. Venosdale seems very passionate about her job and her students. She is very inspiring to me as a future teacher, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her blog. Her blog post If I Built A School was an inspiring post that Krissy Venosdale wrote about a dream school. She describes every aspect of the perfect school from the neon sign at the front entrance to the parking spaces for teachers with signs decorated by students. This perfect school would be overflowing with creativity. The library would host a tree house in a huge tree, an art room that looks like a studio, and a cafeteria that looks and feels like a coffee shop. Ms. Venosdale's dream school would not have typical grade levels but a system where students advanced based on their personal readiness and abilities. Integrating technology into the classroom would not be a process but a daily event. Students would use laptops, iPads, tablets, and even cellphones with the focus being placed on how and when to use these pieces of technology. In this perfect school, students would learn because they love learning and teachers would enjoy teaching. While Ms. Venosdale's dream school is far from reality, she has ideas that definitely should be implemented in schools today. Schools should inspire students to be creative through the regular curriculum.

If I could build a school, it would not have all the bells and whistles of Ms. Venosdale's dream school. However, it would incorporate the main idea behind Ms. Venosdale's dream school. My school would be confortable, intriguing, and inviting. It would be an environment where students arrived every day ready and willing to learn. My school would have comfortable chairs around tables for students to sit in during class. The library would not have a huge tree house, but it would be inviting. The cafeteria would be cozy with the same coffee shop feeling as Ms. Venosdale's dream school. Teachers and students would be technology literate, and using technology would be an everyday part of the curriculum. If I had to build a school, it would be nice to have all the modern conveniences. However, the main focus in building my school would be to establish a student-teacher relationship where students can take a more active role in their education. Teachers would be passionate about their jobs and would let students have a certain input into the daily activities and curriculum.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

Eric Whitacre's The Virtual Choir was amazing to listen to. The choir consisted of 185 people from 12 countries who had never met or performed together before. The fact that these people never practiced together and never had to leave home to create this piece was incredible. I had no idea something like this could be put together over the internet. His virtual choir shows that the possibilities are endless when working with technology. There is always something knew to learn about the uses of technology. The use of the internet and being able to use technology to allow so many different people to perform a beautiful piece was inspiring. Listening to the story was very interesting. Listening to how he put the piece together by having people record their individual parts on Youtube and then editing it so that everybody's video started at the same time was a great use of the internet. The singers' videos were edited, and they sang in perfect unison. This was a wonderful and inspiring use of technology and the internet.

Teaching in the 21st Century

Kevin Roberts believes that students should not be passive learners. He thinks that students should be actively engaged in learning. Technology such as cellphones, laptops, and iPads can be used in the classroom just as paper and pencils are used in the classroom. Students know how to use Google as a search engine, but Kevin Roberts believes that students need to be able to put this information together and synthesize data. Students have the skills to find the required information. They need to be taught how to relate data and process the information they find. Technology should no longer be used just for entertainment but now should be used to engage students in learning. Engaging students in learning will lead to long-term success and will help students solve problems. Teachers are to provide students with meaningful information. Kevin Roberts thinks that to teach 21st century knowledge, teachers need to engage students in learning. They also need to constantly think of new ways they could better engage students in 21st century skills, and gather information from other people. Do not be afraid to take risks.

As a future teacher, I agree with a lot of the information in the video. Students will learn more if they are engaged in learning. My job as a teacher is not to entertain students but to engage them in the learning process. As a future educator, I will definitely use technology in my classroom. My job will be not to teach my students how to use technology but to help my students use technology to relate and organize data. Some of the questions asked in the video such as, "Should I rent or buy? What's the best credit card deal for me?" would be great questions to incorporate into my math lessons. Teaching students how to manage money and calculate interest rates would be great not only in the classroom but also in the real world.

Flipped Classroom

At first, I struggled with the idea of flipping the classroom. When I watched the video Why I Flipped My Classroom, I did not imagine that it would work. How would students be motivated to watch these videos, or what if some students could not access these videos outside the classroom? However, the idea makes sense. This is another way of assigning homework to students. Instead of having students work ten math problems, they now watch a video of the lecture. Now, the teacher has the time to see that all students have their needs met. She can work with the students who cannot grasp certain concepts, and she can challenge students who are ahead. I could use this idea in my classroom because students would be able to learn the material before coming to class. Then, I could answer questions and better expand on their knowledge.

As a future teacher, I am slightly concerned about student access and students not doing their work. If students do not complete the assigned material, they could do it at the beginning of class. However, students would then be missing out on the material being discussed at the beginning of class. Overall, flipping the classroom is an interesting idea. It would be a great way for students to be engaged in learning and would also allow parents to be involved in their child's education. Hopefully this idea will allow students to take learning to a whole new level. By learning the information outside of class, teachers would now have the time to teach students how to apply this knowledge in a real world setting.

Project #5 Presentation

Blog Assignment #4

Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting

Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting was the first podcast that I listened to. I enjoyed reading the blog before the podcast. The blog discussed that the second graders were learning the story of Purim, and the teachers decided to let the students make a podcast to share on the class blog. When listening to the podcast, it was amazing at how enthusiastic these students were. It was obvious that the students enjoyed learning Hebrew and creating their project. At first, the students were defining Hebrew words, and I thought it was cute. However, the students then began to speak full sentences in Hebrew. I was amazed! I did not understand anything these second graders were saying, but I could hear the enthusiasm in their voices. This project was great. It allowed second graders to learn how to listen and comprehend. While these students were learning to speak their Hebrew sentences fluently, they were also engaged in learning how to use technology. After recording and listening to their sentences, they were able to use their smart board and create their project.

Flat Stanley Podcast

The next podcast I listened to was the Flat Stanley Podcast. The blog first discussed the project assigned to the first graders. They read the book Flat Stanley, and their assignment was to create a short script describing where their Flat Stanley was going and when he would get back home. I loved listening to the podcast. These first graders really enjoyed reading the book, and the enthusiasm was evident in their voices. The students spoke very clearly and with a lot of energy. I loved listening to the children describe the different states and countries they visited while they were flat. My favorite journey was the visit to Tokyo, Japan. I loved Josh's description of what kind of sushi he ate, and sumo wrestlers who looked like they were wearing diapers. This was a fun project that allowed students use technology while learning to locate the countries they visited and fun facts about different places in the world. They are using technology, but at the same time, they are learning about the world.

1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audio Book

The last podcast I listened to was 1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audio Book. The blog discusses the process behind creating the podcast. The students recorded the script, and booklets were created so that the first graders could follow along while the podcast was playing. Silvia Tolisano addressed her reactions to the podcast. She thought the students learned valuable skills. Creating a podcast helped the students to learn how to speak fluently, enunciate, and experiment with their voices through pitch, volume, emotions, and speed as they were reading. Following along with the script also helped students understand how to read sentences ending with different punctuations such as a question mark. I loved listening to the podcast. I also enjoyed being able to follow along with the script as I was listening to the podcast. These first graders did a great job at reading the script and put a lot of emotion into what they were reading.

I enjoyed listening to all of these podcasts and reading the blogs. I learned a lot about what goes into making a podcast. I learned that podcasting is not just about the technology the students are using but is also about the skills students are learning while creating a podcast. These would be great ideas to use in the classroom. I loved the sound effects and music played in the podcast, and I could definitely see myself using these ideas to create my own podcast.

Project #3 C4T #1

Summary of Mrs. Kathleen Morris's blog

Getting Started with Global2 was the name of Mrs. Kathleen Morris's blog. Mrs. Kathleen Morris began her blog by giving information about the development day she held for teachers the previous day. This development day was all about using technology in the classroom. Sessions were held on learning how to use Google Apps, Evernote, and iDevices. She also held a session about creating a class blog. In her blog, she included information about Global2 which she recommended for educational blogs. She also included step by step instructions for creating a Global2 blog. I enjoyed reading her blog.

Summary of Comment #1

I am a student at the University of South Alabama, and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class. I am hoping to summarize my visits to your blog and post them on my blog on February 4, 2013. I really enjoyed reading your blog. I did not have a blog before EDM310 and did not realize how it could be incorporated in the classroom. I loved the link to your class blog. It has given me so many ideas of ways I could incorporate blogging into my classroom. I found the information about Global2 to be especially interesting. Since I am new to blogging, it is nice to read about the possibilities of starting an educational blog when I begin teaching. You have made it easy for educators to create blogs by providing step by step instructions. Thank you for taking the time to share this information.

Summary of Mrs. Kathleen Morris's blog

10 Tips for Introducing Blogging into Your Classroom was the name of Mrs. Kathleen Morris's blog. She began her blog by stating that with the beginning of the new school year, some teachers will be starting a blog for the first time. She then provides 10 tips on how to successfully incorporate blogging into your classroom. Those 10 tips include: start small, integrate, be regular, start local before global, begin with a class blog, teach quality commenting, integrate internet safety, collaborate, get parents involved, and keep going. She encourages new bloggers to start small and not expect to know everything about blogging all at once. Mrs. Morris also encourages teachers to set goals about how often they will blog and when they will read student's blog comments.

Summary of Comment #2

I really enjoyed reading your blog post. The detailed explanation about how to effectively integrate blogging into your classroom was very helpful. Before taking EDM310, I had never blogged before. I would love to incorporate blogging into my future classroom, but I do not have many ideas on how I would do this. After reading your post, I have learned a lot of information that will help me start a class blog with my future students. I liked the links you placed throughout the blog, especially the link about how to integrate blogging into your classroom curriculum. Thanks for sharing!

Special Blog Post #1

Many Students Misinterpreted the Data in Did You Know?

When first watching the video Did You Know?, I did not misinterpret the data. The 25% of the people in India with the highest IQs would outnumber the population in the United States because India has a much larger population than the United States. It does not mean that the people in India are smarter than the people in the United States. According to WolframAlpha, China's population is 1.35 billion, India's population is 1.21 billion, and the population of the United States is 309 million. The video also stated that 18 million Chinese speak English and 300 million more are learners. So, 318 million people in China either speak English or are learning to do so. However, this number only constitutes 23.56% of China's population. The United States only has 309 million people, but a larger percentage of people in the United States speak English than people in China.

I conducted two more WolframAlpha searches. The first search I conducted was comparing the life expectancies of people in India, China, and the United States. The life expectancy of people in India is 69.9 years, China's life expectancy is 73.5 years, and life expectancy of people in the United States is 78.1 years. The second search I conducted was comparing the number of secondary students in India, China, and the United States. The number of secondary students in India is 107.7 million, the number of secondary students in China is 99.22 million, and the number of secondary students in the United States is 24.19 million.

WolframAlpha would be useful in my classroom to both my students and me. As a future math teacher, I did another search in WolframAlpha for mathematics. Problems ranging from elementary mathematics to calculus came up as a result. This site would be helpful for my students because if they have a problem with a homework question, they can type the question into WolframAlpha and find the answer. What I really liked about this site is that it did not just show the answer to the problem, it showed a detailed solution.

Gary Hayes Social Media Chart

Gary Hayes Social Media Chart was awesome! I was amazed at how quickly the numbers increased. Gary Hayes has done an amazing job putting all this information together. This chart shows that technology will always be advancing, and more people are using technology each day.

I was amazed that in the first 5 seconds 200,000 likes and comments were made on Facebook, and over 10,000 tweets were sent on Twitter.

Technology is rapidly increasing. As a teacher, my job is to remain up to date on new technology. I need to be able to incorporate technology into my classroom that will benefit my students. This means that I need to stay connected through sites such as Pinterest and Blogger so that I can remain aware of new ideas and new technology that other teachers are using.

Blog Assignment #3

Peer Editing

After watching the two videos and reading the power point on peer editing, I learned some information that I had never thought about before when peer editing. According to the video What is Peer Editing, there are three steps to peer editing. The first step is to always give compliments first, and say something positive. The second step to peer editing is to give suggestions such as specific ideas about word choice and organization. The final step to peer editing is to make corrections. While making corrections, check for punctuation, grammar, and spelling mistakes. However, stay positive when peer editing. Before watching the videos and reading the power point, I did not realize their was a correct or incorrect way to peer edit. This information has helped me to better understand the proper way to peer edit.

Peer editing is a very important process. It helps students to learn how to both give and take constructive criticism. However, peer editing can be abused. The video Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes, was a humorous video about ways peer editing is abused. Throughout school, I remember people just like the examples in the video such as Picky Patty, Social Sammy, and Whatever William. Most people liked Picky Patty to edit their paper because she would point out every detail that needed changing which was great when the teacher counted off for the smallest errors. Personally, I think peer editing should be done privately. I do not mind taking constructive criticism, but I would prefer for someone to tell me privately what is wrong with my paper rather than sharing it with the world. For this reason, I have chosen to email my classmate with the advice I have for their post.

The Mountbatten

Before watching this video, I was unaware that technology such as this existed for blind children. I learned that this machine allows for audio and tactile feedback because as the student types braille, the machine announces what is being typed. The machine can also save, transfer, and receive files from a computer. The video also mentioned that this machine is great even in classrooms where students and teachers do not know braille.

As the student types braille, it converts it into print and displays it onto a screen. This technology is incredible, and I could definitely see myself using it in my classroom. These children could now turn in assignments to the teacher who cannot read braille because the machine can send files to a computer. Now, blind children can participate in the normal classroom activities.

Assistive Technologies

I did not realize so many assistive technologies existed. It is great that students with disabilities now can participate in a normal setting through the help of assistive technologies. As an aspiring math teacher, I found the video Teaching Math to the Blind very interesting and helpful. The model Professor Art Karshmer presented in the video would be very helpful because it allows students to line up the math problems in the same way a sighted student would. Professor Art Karshmer is correct in that if students do not have a good foundation in early math, it is almost impossible to catch on in more advanced math courses.

Both the iPad Usage for the Blind and the Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child Is Learning On the iPad were very interesting videos on assistive technology. The iPad VoiceOver feature would be great for blind students. This allows blind students to more easily read books. As is seen in the video, Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child Is Learning On the iPad technology can sometimes be frustrating. As a teacher, my job is to be able to help my special needs children work their pieces of assistive technology. The videos on assistive technology have made me aware of the difficulties some people face and have helped me realize that I need to quickly learn how to use this technology so that I can properly help my students.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Vicki Davis has a unique teaching perspective in which she uses every kind of technology to allow her students to connect to the world. She also has a philosophy that every teacher should embrace. Vicki Davis believes that every child can learn, but every child has their own strengths and weaknesses. When students are only allowed to use paper and pencil, only certain types of students will succeed. She customizes the required curriculum around her students so that every child is learning the material in a way that best suits them. Vicki Davis is teaching her students to learn more effectively by showing them how to use all forms of technology and look up information and terms that they are unfamiliar with. Her students are learning to become thinkers and not rely on the teacher to spoon feed them with the information they need to pass the class.

Vicki Davis is allowing her students to teach each other as well as herself. Just because she is the teacher does not mean she knows everything about technology. She allows her students to learn and share what they learn with the class. Vicki Davis has great ideas about teaching that I would love to use in my classroom. She understands that not every child learns the same way, and in the same way she customizes her lessons to suit the needs of her students, I need to be able to help my individual students succeed. As a future teacher, I need to be able to use current technology so that I will be better prepared to help my students.