Saturday, February 28, 2015
Blog Post #7
As an educator, I will need become acquainted with the various websites and tools available to me before I begin teaching. I had no idea there are so many opportunities to enhance teaching through technology before taking this class.
Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in KindergarteniMovies- This video demonstrated how iMovies can be used to by students to take books and make book trailers about them, which makes the books they read more engaging, and entertaining, as well as enables them to use and explore technology. Alabama Virtual Library can be used by educators to help students research topics for free.
We All Become Learners- Using technology changes the dynamic of learning. Everyone becomes a learner and a teacher through the use of technology. For example, discussed was how to use a website called padlet, which can be used to post and respond to questions that are viewable by everyone. Mrs. Bennet tells of a kindergartner who helped her upload a picture. The use of technology and challenge based learning helps everyone to work together and be interactive with whatever content they are studying. It breaks down barriers and creates an environment where students can gain confidence in themselves in knowing that they can not only learn, but also help others learn.
iPads in the Classroom- iPads allow students to collaborate with each other and spark interest in their curriculum. It also helps students with disabilities. For example, students with speaking difficulties were able to use their ipads to be verbal for them. Kevin Cram, a physics teacher, says that his students are more interested in their studies which allows him to challenge them further than he could without engaging their interests. It helps teachers assess student comprehension which increases teacher's proficiency.
Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology in Education: iPad, Tablet, Computer, Listening Centers- This lists reasons why using technology is beneficial to students. The reasons ranged from the simple reason that students love technology, and already use it in other aspects of their lives, to that it simplifies work for teachers. I found particularly useful the point that technology will help students with low attention spans and learning disabilities because it uses different styles of teaching and provides more engaging content.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Blog Post #6
What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?
From watching the videos assigned to this post I learned techniques and benefits for incorporating technology in the classroom.
Anthony explained the online tool iCurio, which is a website that has pulled together online media that meets state standards in order for the user to search in a more relevant manner than general search engines might produce. It also enables teachers and students to store useful information and be
used for research and projects. The website also has a read aloud feature that would come in handy for students with certain challenges, such as dyslexia or blindness. I definitely see myself using iCurio in the future.
Another tool Anthony described is Discovery Ed.This digital textbook utilizes visual techniques, particularly of interest to me are the games,videos, and writing prompts, in order to spark a student's interest and engage them in the learning process.
In addition to the tools that Anthony described he also teaches that teaching itself is hard work, but it is not boring, unrewarding work. It can be fun and is a continual learning process of yourself that requires flexibility and creative thought in order to engage all of your students. You should always begin a task with a goal, reflect on your work, and have your audience in mind. Anthony explains how to build upon and use technology in the classroom step-by-step, as opposed to fully immersing a student in a program or a tool that they are not familiar with or conversely not using technology with students at all.
I found Anthony's videos very useful and hope to utilize the tools and tips he discussed in my career as an educator.
From watching the videos assigned to this post I learned techniques and benefits for incorporating technology in the classroom.
Anthony explained the online tool iCurio, which is a website that has pulled together online media that meets state standards in order for the user to search in a more relevant manner than general search engines might produce. It also enables teachers and students to store useful information and be
used for research and projects. The website also has a read aloud feature that would come in handy for students with certain challenges, such as dyslexia or blindness. I definitely see myself using iCurio in the future.
Another tool Anthony described is Discovery Ed.This digital textbook utilizes visual techniques, particularly of interest to me are the games,videos, and writing prompts, in order to spark a student's interest and engage them in the learning process.
In addition to the tools that Anthony described he also teaches that teaching itself is hard work, but it is not boring, unrewarding work. It can be fun and is a continual learning process of yourself that requires flexibility and creative thought in order to engage all of your students. You should always begin a task with a goal, reflect on your work, and have your audience in mind. Anthony explains how to build upon and use technology in the classroom step-by-step, as opposed to fully immersing a student in a program or a tool that they are not familiar with or conversely not using technology with students at all.
I found Anthony's videos very useful and hope to utilize the tools and tips he discussed in my career as an educator.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Project # 15
1. Wolframalpha- At first I thought this search engine was directed mainly towards scientific or mathematical research.Once I clicked on the examples tab I realized it has information on a variety of subjects, though it is more streamlined and not as vast as Google.
2. Ixquick- This is a private search engine designed to allow the user to search topics without sending that information out over the internet. It would be very useful for someone who is concerned over governmental or business agencies accessing personal information.
3. Alhea- This website seems reminiscent of Google, albeit a watered down version. As indicated by the titles of Google and Bing at the top of the screen, I believe it pulls information from these two sites to display to users.
4. Contenko- Contenko is very basic. Searches pull up only links, no pictures or videos pertaining to the topic searched.
5. Wow- What I found enjoyable about Wow was that it has quick links to other popular sites such as Pinterest, and Amazon. As far as the search engine itself goes, it is extensive and includes a sizable list of possible related topics.
6. Blekko- Blekko is highly organized. Search topics are categorized into useful sections including quick answers, health, movies, and latest to name a few.
7. Webcrawler- This is another search engine very similar to Google, and indeed pulls from Google and Yahoo. It features videos, news, and photos in addition to website links.
8. Yahoo- I found Yahoo rather overwhelming as a search engine. It has adds, horoscopes, comics, links to various offshoots of itself. It would be useful for those functions, but as a search engine I find it distracting.
Blog Post #5
What are PLNs? PLN's or Personal Learning Networks, are networks that include people and tools such as educational websites that teachers set up for themselves in order to learn and become more effective teachers for themselves and their students.
How can they help you as a teacher? PLN's can greatly expand your knowledge and create a support group for you to ask members of your PLN questions that will arise in your career.
How are they formed? They are formed by using websites such as Symbaloo, Netvibes, or even social media sites such as Twitter, and Facebook.
How can you create your own PLN? I chose to create my own PLN by using netvibes, which is a great tool to build my PLN. I can add useful websites in order to get updates, add to-do lists, link to facebook, twitter, and my e-mail. Netvibes is a great consolidation tool that will enable me to access feeds simultaneously from sites I will use in my educational career.
Who will be the first additions to your PLN? The first additions to my PLN will be my friends who have already begun their careers as teachers, as well as classmates. I also intend to add websites such as National Geographic and PBS, both of which provide articles relevant to my field of study that I could use to hopefully spark an interest in my students.
Being new to this sort of technology PLN's seemed a bit daunting. After signing up for and browsing Netvibes however, I don't think it will take me that long to get the hang of using PLN's.
How can they help you as a teacher? PLN's can greatly expand your knowledge and create a support group for you to ask members of your PLN questions that will arise in your career.
How are they formed? They are formed by using websites such as Symbaloo, Netvibes, or even social media sites such as Twitter, and Facebook.
How can you create your own PLN? I chose to create my own PLN by using netvibes, which is a great tool to build my PLN. I can add useful websites in order to get updates, add to-do lists, link to facebook, twitter, and my e-mail. Netvibes is a great consolidation tool that will enable me to access feeds simultaneously from sites I will use in my educational career.
Who will be the first additions to your PLN? The first additions to my PLN will be my friends who have already begun their careers as teachers, as well as classmates. I also intend to add websites such as National Geographic and PBS, both of which provide articles relevant to my field of study that I could use to hopefully spark an interest in my students.
Being new to this sort of technology PLN's seemed a bit daunting. After signing up for and browsing Netvibes however, I don't think it will take me that long to get the hang of using PLN's.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Blog Post #4
Questions should provoke critical thinking and self exploration, not recitation of memorized information. Of all of the links provided to help answer the above stated question, none struck me as effectively as Ben Johnson's The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom. He pointed out that s yes or no questions, especially when directed at the entire class instead of an individual, is really more of a teacher's way of eschewing responsibility for making sure the entire class understands the material. Instead of asking questions like "Does that make sense?" to an entire classroom where anyone can say yes even if the subject makes no sense to them, teachers should be asking specific questions and then pause before calling on a student, that way all students are thinking of an answer in case they are called upon. This method ,however, only addresses verbal questions. Andi Stix's Open Ended Questions video addresses how a teacher could ask on a written test questions that would better engage the student's critical thinking skills. For example, Stix suggests beginning questions with phrases such as "For what reasons", "In what ways", or instead of a question and instruction such as "Describe in detail".
As teachers we will need to be aware that not all students are eager to learn or answer questions correctly. The most important function of a question is to cause thought, not necessarily to be correct.
C4T
The first http://speakingofhistory.blogspot.com/ post I commented on was Augmented Reality App Brings History Alive at Kansas City's Union Station. This app allows users to see history happen in the exact place it happened. It shows reenactments of historical events that took place in Union Station. It engages the user with the past in the present, which is something as a future history teacher I hope to be able to do for my students. If this app were to spread nationwide it could revolutionize the way history is taught.
The next post from the same blog I commented on was Creating Videos to Keep in Touch with Students While Away. The teacher uses videos he creates to connect with his students even while he is outside of the classroom. He also mentioned the use of Minecraft to create Jamestown forts which I found particularly interesting since Minecraft is such a popular game.
The third blog I commented on was on Jennifer Ferguson's blog My Journey as an Educator.The post is entitled Professor Ferguson: an Affectionate Moniker. Mrs. Ferguson writes about her role as an educator in a rural community. She views herself as a lifelong learner, along with her students. It is obvious in her post that she is a dedicated teacher that cares about her students and has fostered a learning environment and relationship with them that makes them care about learning and care about her. She received a master's degree and as a result, her students felt that she deserved a better title than simply Mrs. Ferguson, so they began calling her Professor Ferguson.
The fourth post I commented on was to the same blog by Jennifer Ferguson. The post was entitled InfoWhelm and Information Fluency and included a video of the same name. The video detailed the exponential growth of digital output in recent years and stated that there is no way the traditional way of teaching (memorization and regurgitation) will be conducive to educating students anymore.
Experts and Newbies: Bloggers on Project Based Learning is a blog dedicated to project based learning. The post I commented on was entitles Tell the Story: Celebrating Student Success.It discusses the benefits of project based learning, stating that teachers are inspired by seeing something "click" for their students, and that using PBL, "clicks" happen more often. The blog post goes on to to tell the story of a little girl named Sally. Sally has Asperger's and was becoming withdrawn and much preferred solo work. But through PBL, she was engaged and responsive to the material and her fellow classmates. She went so far as to present their project at the local mall. PBL seems to majorly trump the traditional lecture format.
For the next assignment, I returned again to Jennifer Ferguson's blog. I chose to comment on the post My Learning Journey of Connected Coaching. In this post, Ferguson wrote about her process of becoming a connected learning coach. This was a lengthy post in which she posed herself questions of reflection and then answered them. It shows through her writing how deeply she cares for her field and her journey as a life-long learner. I told her this, and hope that I can remain motivated and as self determined in my career as she is in hers.
The next post from the same blog I commented on was Creating Videos to Keep in Touch with Students While Away. The teacher uses videos he creates to connect with his students even while he is outside of the classroom. He also mentioned the use of Minecraft to create Jamestown forts which I found particularly interesting since Minecraft is such a popular game.
The third blog I commented on was on Jennifer Ferguson's blog My Journey as an Educator.The post is entitled Professor Ferguson: an Affectionate Moniker. Mrs. Ferguson writes about her role as an educator in a rural community. She views herself as a lifelong learner, along with her students. It is obvious in her post that she is a dedicated teacher that cares about her students and has fostered a learning environment and relationship with them that makes them care about learning and care about her. She received a master's degree and as a result, her students felt that she deserved a better title than simply Mrs. Ferguson, so they began calling her Professor Ferguson.
The fourth post I commented on was to the same blog by Jennifer Ferguson. The post was entitled InfoWhelm and Information Fluency and included a video of the same name. The video detailed the exponential growth of digital output in recent years and stated that there is no way the traditional way of teaching (memorization and regurgitation) will be conducive to educating students anymore.
Experts and Newbies: Bloggers on Project Based Learning is a blog dedicated to project based learning. The post I commented on was entitles Tell the Story: Celebrating Student Success.It discusses the benefits of project based learning, stating that teachers are inspired by seeing something "click" for their students, and that using PBL, "clicks" happen more often. The blog post goes on to to tell the story of a little girl named Sally. Sally has Asperger's and was becoming withdrawn and much preferred solo work. But through PBL, she was engaged and responsive to the material and her fellow classmates. She went so far as to present their project at the local mall. PBL seems to majorly trump the traditional lecture format.
For the next assignment, I returned again to Jennifer Ferguson's blog. I chose to comment on the post My Learning Journey of Connected Coaching. In this post, Ferguson wrote about her process of becoming a connected learning coach. This was a lengthy post in which she posed herself questions of reflection and then answered them. It shows through her writing how deeply she cares for her field and her journey as a life-long learner. I told her this, and hope that I can remain motivated and as self determined in my career as she is in hers.
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