Project #16

Project #13

Using Collaborative Tools

Our group used several tools to complete our project 15 and 16 since we were not supposed to meet face to face to work on these projects. For project 15, our group used google presentations to create our slideshow to teach our lesson. We then were able to share our presentation using Google Docs. This way, only our group members were able to view the slideshow, and each group member could make the changes necessary. We also used Google Docs to share the outline for project 16. We also used our gmail accounts and group texts to send group messages. This was a huge life saver because we were able to discuss meeting times to record both projects, and we were able to discuss project ideas. I found that using Google Docs, emails, and texts were the most convenient tools to use because we were able to respond when we found time. The group did not have to set up a specific time to meet or chat.

C4K Summary for April

Summary of Blog Post #9

The student I commented on this week was Kurtis. He is a fourth grade student from Nebraska. The blog post that I commented on was Nebraska. In his blog post, Kurtis listed many of the facts about Nebraska such as the state motto, state flag, and the state gem. He also gave information about the climate of Nebraska and said that they set a record of having -29 degree weather. He ended his blog post by asking a few questions for his audience to respond to.

Summary of My Comment #9

My name is Ashley Showles. I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. Through this class, I am learning how I can use technology in my classroom, much like what you are doing with your blog. I enjoyed reading all of your information about Nebraska. I have never been there, but it sounds like a pretty cool place! I live in Mississippi. Our state capital is Jackson. I live in south Mississippi, so we have warm weather all the time. I don’t think I would like the weather to ever be -29 degrees. That is really cold! I enjoyed reading your blog post. Thanks for sharing!

Summary of Blog Post #10

The student I commented on this week was Charlotte. Her blog post was titled Our Veggie Patch. She discussed the garden and all of the things she was growing such as tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum, and carrots. She then talked about how much work it takes to keep up her garden. She has to water her plants every day to make sure the plants can grow properly. She said that they have a lot of zucchini and tomatoes so they have been giving them away to family and friends.

Summary of My Comment #10

My name is Ashley Showles. I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama which is in Mobile, Alabama. I really enjoyed reading your blog post. It sounds like you have an awesome garden! When I was younger, I helped my mom and dad with our garden. We used to grow tomatoes, corn, squash, and peas. You are right; growing a garden is definitely a lot of responsibility. I love tomatoes too! Also, I have never tried zucchini, but I enjoy eating most fruits and vegetables. So, I would probably like zucchini too. Keep up the good work!

SmartBoard Project #15

SmartBoard Project #15

Blog Assignment #14

Teacher Knows if You've Done the E-Reading

This article discussed new technology that is being tested which would allow professors to know whether or not students are reading the course material. The school in the article was Texas A&M, and these professors know whether or not their students are reading the material, taking notes, or not even looking at the material. Eight other colleges are also testing this technology that allows them to track their students' progress through digital textbooks. CourseSmart provides each professor with information on each individual student in their class. This is allowing the professors to examine whether or not their students' study habits need changing. For example, one professor at Texas A&M noticed that a student was doing well on all of his quizzes. He had a good score in the class and his "engagement index" was noted by CourseSmart. However, the professor noticed that this student had only opened his textbook once. The professor knew he needed to reach out to this student about his study habits because how much learning is being accomplished if you only open the book the night before the test? Another student was opening his textbook frequently but kept getting low scores on quizzes. Then, it was learned that he had a low CourseSmart index. Some people have complained that there are problems with the software. For example, one student said that they had opened the book more than once, but the software just did not record it. Other problems with CourseSmart lie in the fact that students can manipulate the software. Students can leave the text open and go do something else. The time spent on the text is being recorded; however, the student is not reading the text. The software also has an advantage in that it allows teachers to examine their lecture methods. One professor noticed that his students had high scores on quizzes and assignments, but their engagement indexes were low. This led the professor to believe that he may need to challenge his students more or that the textbook was not as good as he thought.

As a teacher, I believe this new technology has both advantages and disadvantages. An advantage would be that CourseSmart will provide me with information on each student I am teaching. If I know some basic information about the students in my class, it will ultimately change the way I present the material which would then benefit my students. Also, this technology would allow me to view the study habits of my students and gauge the difficulty of the material I am presenting to them. For example, if I see that my students are never looking at the textbook and still score very well on all of the assignments, then my material may not be challenging enough. On the other hand, if my students are reading the text frequently and do poorly on the assignments, then I may need to slow down and review the material. This technology would also be beneficial as a teacher because it would allow me to see whether or not students are confused because of a lack of understanding or simply because they have not read the material assigned. However, I must be careful when viewing this information because as the article stated, the digital textbooks can be tricked. Students could be opening the textbook and not reading the material at all. So, I must be careful in the assumptions that I make. Overall, I think the CourseSmart E-Textbooks would be very beneficial to me as a teacher.

As a student, I do not think I would like the CourseSmart E-Textbooks. I had a class last year that had a digital textbook, and I did not like it. I am a traditional book reader. I would definitely rather read the material from a hard copy of the book than I had a digital textbook. It is more convenient for me to take notes and study by holding my book while I underline and mark important pages. Also, I may write down what I think is important from the book and just study that. So, if I were to do this with the CourseSmart digital textbooks, my professor would think that I never studied. It does not mean that the material is not challenging. It just means that I was able to write down the information that I needed from the textbook, and then I did not need to look at the actual textbook again.

If I were to talk to Mr. Guardia, I would want to ask him the following questions:
1. Have you seen an improvement in the study habits of your students since implementing this technology?
2. Has this technology led you to change the way you present material?
3. Since using the CourseSmart technology, have you been able to better understand why some students may be struggling (or doing well) in your class?
4. Are you able to tell which students may be manipulating the software to make it seem as if they are reading the material?
5. If students are performing well on quizzes and assignments but still do not read the material, are there any repercussions?

If I interviewed the students in Mr. Guardia's class, I would want to ask them the following questions:
1. Have your study habits changed since using this technology?
2. If your study habits have changed, have you seen an improvement in your overall grade?
3. Do you prefer to have a hardcopy of the textbook or use the digital textbooks?
4. Have Mr. Guardia's lectures changed any since your class started using this technology?
5. Do you feel that this technology allows Mr. Guardia to accurately view how long or hard you studied for each quiz or assignment?

What Comment Would I Leave on this Article?

I can see the pros and cons of this technology. As a teacher, it may would be beneficial because it would allow you to see which students are making a conscious effort to learn the material. As a student, I do not think I would like this technology. Also, I think it would be hard to apply this type of technology to all subjects. For example, students may be reading the math textbook online, but without working any examples, I doubt they will fully grasp certain concepts. I also think that there are some flaws that should be addressed. How would you know if the students were actually reading the text or if they were just opening the text and leaving to do something else? Also, all students have different study habits and some students may not need to study as long or as often as other students. I think that this technology may be useful for some classes, but I do not think that this type of technology should be implemented into every classroom.

Final Report on PLN

Final Report on My PLN

Since my last update, my Personal Learning Network has grown incredibly. My Twitter account is constantly growing as I am following inspirational people and educators who will be beneficial to me as I begin my career as an educator. I have also created an account with Edmodo which is a social network similar to Facebook. Now, I can use Edmodo to connect with teachers, and ask any questions that I may have. However when I become a teacher, I can use Edmodo to collaborate with students and parents as well as teachers. I could post assignments for my students, and they could use this site to collaborate with their fellow classmates and check on assignments they may have missed.

I have decided that Symbaloo is definitely the perfect way for me to organize my Personal Learning Network. I am constantly adding new tiles that I believe will be beneficial to me as I enter the field of education. As I stated in my first progress report, my Symbaloo account has tiles that allow access to Pinterest, Twitter, Blogger, USA Online, the EDM310 Class Blog, and my class blog. Now, I have added a tile for Edmodo and Skype. I also added a tile called "Create a Graph" which I believe would be beneficial to my students to help them learn how to graph. I also added a tile that allows access to MathGameTime. This site would be beneficial for students in Algebra. It provides access to different games and worksheets that deal with concepts anywhere from linear equations to order of operations. I also found a few great websites that would be great resources to use in my classroom. These websites include Game On: Increasing Learning Through Online Games and MathPlay which provide access to interactive math games. While this is my final progress report on my Personal Learning Network, my PLN will not stop growing. I will continue to add to the resources I have found and will constantly be looking for new ideas to use in my classroom. So far, this is what my Symbaloo account looks like, but I know it will definitely continue to grow.

C4T#4

Summary of Blog Post #1

The teacher I commented on this week was Jenny She. Ms. She's blog was titled iPads in My Classroom! In her blog post, she documented her experience with incorporating iPads into her classroom. She stated that her class was one of the classes chosen to experiment with the use of iPads in the classroom. Ms. She was excited to begin the process even though she knew she had to find meaningful activities for her students to use on the iPad. She then said that she has apps that are focused around math and literacy. She also has games that are used to reward students. Her students know what activity they need to complete on the iPad by looking at the task boards posted on Ms. She's wall. She ends her post by stating that she is well aware that she has only been experimenting with iPads and knows that the iPad is capable of doing much more.

Summary of My Comment #1

I am Ashley Showles, and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. Through EDM 310, I am learning about many different kinds of technology that can be incorporated into the classroom. So, it was really nice to read your blog post and see how you actually use this technology in your classroom. I think using iPads in the classroom is a great idea because it provides immediate feedback to the student. I think iPads are a great tool, and they should be incorporated in more classrooms. Thanks for sharing your experience with incorporating iPads in your classroom!

Summary of Blog Post #2

This week I also commented on Jenny She's blog. However, she did not have a new blog post since the last time I viewed her blog, so I chose an older blog post titled Would Google Plus be Useful in the Classroom? In this blog post, Ms. She discussed her experience with Google Plus. She said that one night she overheard a family member having a "hang out" with a group of friends, and they were discussing their assignments for school. Ms. She thought it was awesome that all eight of those friends could meet and discuss assignments through the use of Google Plus without ever leaving their room. The students no longer needed to meet face to face to work on assignments. Ms. She then said that she thought Google Plus would be a useful teaching tool and that she could use "circles" to group students and "hang outs" as a teaching and learning tool.

Summary of My Comment #2

I think it is incredible at all of the technology you are using in your classroom. Before taking EDM 310, I had never used Google+, but now I know that it is very helpful. It definitely saved those students a lot of travel time and money by using Google+. I definitely agree that this would be a valuable resource to use in the classroom. This would be an easy way to set up tutorial sessions without trying to find a universal place to meet, or your students could use this tool to communicate with each other. Not only will this tool be beneficial to students, but I think it will also be helpful to educators because it will allow them to talk with other professionals all over the world.

Blog Assignment #13

Brian Crosby: Back to the Future

I really enjoyed watching Brian Crosby's video Back to the Future. I found it very concerning when Mr. Crosby was discussing some statistics from the survey he gave his fourth grade students at the beginning of the year. He discussed that 90% of his students are second language learners and are at risk students. When he did his survey on the second day of school he asked students questions such as: what city do you live in, what state do you live in, and what country do you live in? Only nine students knew what city they lived in. Twelve students knew what state they lived in, and only three students knew what country they lived in. Brian Crosby then wondered why there is such a disconnect for these kids. He discusses that these students have really had a narrowed curriculum since the time they were born and that they have not had the experiences necessary to develop a wider view of the world. Mr. Crosby then discusses how all of his students have their own blogs, and he has an interactive whiteboard. So, his students are leaning how to think outside of the box when they are not test prepping. I think this is an important concept. While it is important to perform well on standardized tests, those tests do not provide real world experiences. Students need to be able to think creatively and know how to problem solve. I love how he uses technology and creative ideas in his classroom to teach his students. For example, students had to research and find a lot of information before they could begin their hot air balloon project. Then, they had to build their hot air balloon and were able to use google to track their balloon. Other students began commenting that they wanted their teacher to do some of the experiments that Mr. Crosby had completed with his class. So, they set up a Skype interview. Now, his students were able to articulate the steps it took to complete the experiment which allowed them to review the material. I think Mr. Crosby has great ideas. He doesn't just teach the curriculum, but he expands on it and allows his students to experience a more creative type of learning. His students are making connections with people all over the world and are able to explain their projects to other students around the world. He is raising the bar for future educators because he believes there is so much more to learning than sitting quietly in the desk. He is using technology and teaching his students how to be independent learners. I also thought it was incredible how technology allowed Celeste to be a part of Mr. Crosby's class. Even though she is sick, she is able to be an active part of the class through the help of technology.

Mr. Paul Anderson

I enjoyed watching Paul Anderson's video Blended Learning Cycle. In this video, Mr. Anderson discusses how he uses the blended learning cycle and flipped his classroom. Now, his classroom is more student centered. He then explains that blended learning is taking the parts of mobile, online, and classroom learning and blending them together in the classroom. Mr. Anderson then explains the learning cycle in which there are five "E's" which are engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. When you merge the two forms together, you get the blended learning cycle. He then discusses a concept he calls "QUIVERS" in which there are six components he includes in all of his lessons. The first component "QU" is question: Paul Anderson begins each of his lessons with an interesting question or concept so that he can gain the attention of his students. The next component is "I" which is investigation/inquiry. In this step, Anderson allows his students to experiment with the question he has asked and allows them to begin forming questions of their own. The third component is video. Students can watch videos independently and can begin learning information about their topic. Elaboration is the fourth component in which students expand on the topic they are studying and researching. The fifth component is review. In this step, Anderson meets with the students individually or in small groups and asks them questions to make sure they are comprehending what they are learning. The final component is the summary quiz in which Anderson's students are tested on what they learned in the other five components.

I think Paul Anderson has a very interesting idea for flipping his classroom. The QUIVERS method seems very effective for keeping his students engaged in learning and effectively teaching them the topics they are discussing. I think his QUIVERS method could be used in any classroom. As a future educator, I could incorporate this method into my classroom. What I liked most about his method is that it is all student centered. He keeps his students engaged in hands-on learning which effectively keeps their attention. I hope to incorporate a similar method into my classroom.

Progress Report on Final Group Project

Project Report on Project #16

Our group met today to discuss and work on our final group project. We have made some progress on our project 16. Daphney created a layout of all of the elements we are going to include in our video. We then discussed the steps we needed to take in order to complete our project. Our group decided that we will meet next Tuesday to film our project. Then we will edit our project together. Our project should be finished by the end of next week.

Blog Assignment #12

Part 1: Create Assignment

Blog Assignment #12: Create an iMovie trailer depicting a famous mathematician.
Research a famous mathematician and his contributions to math. Include the following information:
-Date of Birth
-Date of Death
-Where is the mathematician from?
-What is he/she most famous for (their contribution to mathematics)?
-Explain the contribution.
-Be sure to credit your sources for both your information and the images used.

Part 2: Do the Assignment

I will be teaching math at the high school level. I think it is important for students to know why they have certain formulas and theorems instead of simply memorizing a formula. By completing this assignment, students would be using technology as well as learning the history behind some very important theorems. By explaining the theorem, formula, or other contribution, it will hopefully help the student better understand the concept.

Blog Assignment #11

Ms. Cassidy

I think Ms. Cassidy has a great approach towards technology. By using all of this technology, her students are learning not only how to improve their writing skills, but they are also learning video and audio skills. I enjoyed watching the video First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class. I was amazed at what all these first graders were able to do! These first graders are able to blog, use a wiki to research information, and Skype. I also enjoyed watching the Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy. At the time of the interview, Ms. Cassidy said that she had been doing her class blog for about five years, and she started the video about two years ago.

I think her ideas are great and are something that I could use in my classroom. I could incorporate blogging into my classroom. I am going to be a high school math teacher, so I could not think of many ways at first that I could integrate blogging into my classroom. However after some research, I have learned that there are several ways I could use blogging in my classroom. I could ask math questions or pose a math topic and allow my students to respond in their blog. My students could also use their blogs to state any confusion they have about a certain topic or to express any ideas they have about a topic we are currently discussing. I think it would be a great way to document student work. It also would allow my students to interact with other students across the world.

I could also allow my students to use a wiki to research and gather information. I could use a wiki to allow my students to do group work which may would encourage them to work on their math assignments. A wiki would also allow my students to work with different students and schools all over the world. I could also use Skype in my classroom to allow my students to actually see some of the students and other people that they have been communicating with. This would also be helpful for research if we wanted to speak with an expert in a particular field.

Some problems I might encounter by incorporating these ideas into my classroom would be about privacy. Some people might be worried about how safe it is for students to be using the internet and posting their pictures on the internet. I plan to be teaching high school students, so I do not think it will be a huge problem for the most part. First, I will gain approval from the parents and give them the option for their child to opt out. I will also teach my students to only use their first names when they are blogging and using the internet. I also might face problems with funding and access to the technology needed to complete these tasks. Even if I did not have enough computers for every student in my class, I could hopefully solve these problems by allowing my students to work on their blogs and research in the library. I could also allow my students to work in groups which would not require as many computers. I think my students would greatly benefit from using the techniques discussed by Ms. Cassidy. Incorporating technology would allow my students to be more excited about learning and hopefully would allow them to learn more by collaborating with other students. Whatever the case, I hope to teach like Ms. Cassidy and incorporate all forms of technology into my classroom.

C4K #5 through #8 Summary for March

Summary of Blog #5

The student I was assigned to comment on this week was Charlie. He is a fifth grade student in Mrs. Goerand's class. His blog post was titled First Amendment. He wrote about how the First Amendment allowed us the freedom of speech and religion. He also mentioned that while we are given these freedoms, people in some other countries do not have these freedoms.

Summary of My Comment #5

My name is Ashley Showles. I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama which is in Mobile, Alabama. I enjoyed reading your blog post. I agree that the First Amendment is very important. It gives us the freedom to participate in any religion or none at all. It also gives us the freedom to speak freely without fear of the government punishing us. You are correct in saying that the First Amendment has given us many freedoms that people in other countries do not have. I enjoyed reading your blog post. You did a great job!

Summary of Blog #6

The student I was assigned to comment on this week was Bernard. He is a middle school student in Atlanta, Georgia. His blog post was titled Digital Learning Day. His post was about using technology in the classroom and how he thought that school would be more interesting if more technology could be used. He pointed out that he would rather type than write. However, Bernard said that he did not enjoy blogging.

Summary of My Comment #6

My name is Ashley Showles. I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. This class shows future teachers how to incorporate technology into their classrooms. I think technology definitely would make school more fun, and I also think students would learn more because they are interested in what they are doing. I also agree with you about typing. I would much rather type than write something because it is a lot faster. I enjoyed reading your blog post!!

Summary of Blog #7

The student I commented on this week was Dante. He attends Pt. England School in Auckland, N.Z. Dante's blog post was called Surfing Dog. It was about a boy named Cairo and his family. They went on a trip to Kawakawa Bay because it was the best place to go fishing. While they were there, Cairo fell out of the boat and the dog, Coco, jumped in to save him. Cairo made it back onto the boat, but the waves pushed Coco away. Coco saw a surfboard and paddled to it. This is when the dog surfed a wave, and he then floated to a little island. Cairo eventually found Coco on the island, and Coco was very happy to see his family again.

Summary of My Comment #7

My name is Ashley Showles. I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama which is in Mobile, Alabama. EDM 310 is teaching future teachers how to incorporate technology into their classrooms much like what you are doing with your blog. I enjoyed reading your story! It was very interesting. It sounds like Cairo and his family had a pretty fun trip. Also, Coco sounds like a very cool dog! After surfing and the adventure he had, I bet Coco was very glad to see his family. I enjoyed reading your blog post! Keep up the good work!

Summary of Blog #8

The student I commented on this week was Ty who is an 8th grade student. For his blog post, he was asked to answer whether or not he thought blogging was beneficial. Also, he was asked to answer what he felt like he gained by blogging with other students. Ty answered that he thought blogging was important and that he was able to meet new people. He could then talk to these people and find out what they like.

Summary of My Comment #8

My name is Ashley Showles. I am a student at the University of South Alabama and am currently enrolled in EDM 310 which helps future teachers learn how to incorporate technology into their classroom much like what you are doing with your blog. I agree with you! Blogging is important, and it does allow you to meet new people. Since I have been blogging, I have met a lot of people and gained many resources that will be able to help me as I begin my career as a teacher. Keep up the good work!

C4T#3

Summary of Blog Post #1

This week I commented on Krissy Venosdale's blog. Her blog post was titled Outside the Box in which she focused on why it is important to teach students to think outside the box. Ms. Venosdale pointed out that in schools today, so much focus is placed on standardized testing. Students are taught to bubble in test answers and not leave stray marks. However, Ms. Venosdale pointed out that no matter what situation occurs in the future, the answer will not be solved by having people bubble in answer sheets. Students will be required to think and problem solve. So in schools, students need to be taught how to think outside the box.

Summary of My Comment #1

My name is Ashley Showles. I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. Through this class I have learned about your blog. I thoroughly enjoy reading all of your blog posts because they are so creative and inspiring. I completely agree with your post. So much focus is placed on testing and scores, but students cannot learn everything through standardized tests. As a future educator, I hope to teach my students to problem solve and think outside the box.

Summary of Blog Post #2

This week I also commented on Krissy Venosdale's blog. This week, her post was titled Worksheets are Awesome. She begins by stating how awesome worksheets are and the learning that is possible with them. She then goes on to list some of her ideas which make worksheets awesome. The first idea was to take a worksheet and make a paper airplane with it. Take the most successful of the five flights and record the data for each student. Then, allow students to research wind, air resistance, and even the Wright Brothers. She lists several more ideas such as allowing students to use five worksheets to build a structure that will support five textbooks. The point to her post was that creativity and collaboration should be encouraged in schools and that so much focus should not be placed on memorization.

Summary of My Comment #2

I always enjoy reading your blog posts! They are awesome. I never liked worksheets in school, and when I become a teacher, I hope to not depend on worksheets as a form of teaching. I liked all the ideas you had for students using worksheets; it was very creative. I think a lot of schools now place too much focus on memorization and standardized testing. Creativity, problem-solving skills, and collaboration should be encouraged in schools because I think in the end it will lead to a greater learning experience than what any worksheet could provide.