Blog Post #9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach us About Project Based Learning?

Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning taught me that as a teachers we should make projects meaningful to the students. Students should believe that their work is personally meaningful. I learned that students find schoolwork meaningless because they do not feel a need to know what they are being taught. Teachers can powerfully activate students' need to know content by launching a project with an "entry event" that engages the students interest. In Project Based Learning for Teachers I learned that in PBL allows students to take charge of their learning. I also learned that PBL allow students to develop communication skills, collaboration skills, critical thinking skills and independent learning. In Project Based Learning and Physical Education I learned that when students are involved in Project Based Learning they see why they are learning. The students learn and complete their projects concurrently and continually revising and producing a product that they will present publicly. I believe that when students know that their work will be presented publicly they do their best and take pride in producing quality work. What Motivates Students? is a good video to watch. In this video students informed us of what motivates them. The students had many things that motivates them. They said that just having a good future was motivation and also telling them that they are doing a good job. Some students said that prizes and fun activities is motivating. I believe that it is always good to hear from the student on what motivates them and what they would like. Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning this page gave different websites that PBL and digital collaboration. I looked at Titan Pad which is said to be a way for quick collaboration and sharing documents. Titan pad is similar to Google Docs but no email is needed. I think that this website would be good for the younger grades.

Special Blog Post

Why do we have to learn History ?

I believe that there are many answers to this question. My answer is history answers the questions How and Why. I believe that we have to learn history to have a sense of where we have come from so we can appreciate what we have now. I also believe when we are learning we should always background information, history is our background information. We learn history to educate ourselves. We would not know why things are if we did not know the history behind it. History is important and will always be apart of our lives.

Project #12 Part A

SMARTboard Instruction

Project #14

States of Matter



Lesson Plan
Project Calendar
Project Checklist

Project #9

Video Book Conversation

C4Ta #2

I was assigned Beth Knittle. The first post I read was Promise, Potential, Achievement. She starts off by saying it takes an attitude of optimism to see the promise and potential in people. I totally agree with this. She then goes on to say that sometimes it takes a lot to believe that the students you work with can improve let alone achieve great things. She said that she may not ever know what those great things may be but she is doing her best to get them there. She ends by saying that she too often hear students say that they deserve a good grade. She said that you won't get it if you do not put in the hard work and effort that is required.
I replied by introducing myself. I told her that I really enjoyed her post. I told her that I was a future educator and that after reading "It takes an attitude of optimism to see the promise and potential in people" I believe this should apply to all educators.

The next post I read was Finding the Right Tool. In this post Mrs. Knittle talks about finding the right tool for the right job in the school systems. She talks about how different schools are at different places when it comes to the level of technology integration and would also require different tools. She goes on to say that you cannot say that one tool is better than another. She said that the currents discussions revolve mainly around iPads v.s. Chromebooks. She gave examples of what the students should be able to do using iPads and Chromebooks i.e., create and share video, create presentations, access and create eBooks and improve accessibility.
I replied by saying that I agree that technology is having a great impact in education. I said that it is also true that different schools are at different places when it comes to technology. I ended by say that I think that it is good for students to know how to work both Mac and PC.

C4T #2 Permanent

Mrs. Silvia Tolisano
I read Blogging as a Curation Platform. In this post Mrs. Tolisano talked about using blogging as a curation tool. She focused on hoe educators and students could use their blogs to become their own information curators. She first explained what curating is. She listed four uses for Twitter as a curation tool. She said that the uses for twitter will also apply for blogging. Mrs. Tolisano said the only difference would be that blogging allows more freedom with length, formatting and design, and connecting and hyper linking. She ended by giving the don'ts for curators.
I responded by telling her that I had never heard of curating before reading her post. I said that her post was very informing. I ended by saying that after reading her post I agree that blogging would be a good platform for curation.

I read Copyright Flowchart: Can I Use It? Yes? No? If This... Then.... In this post Mrs Tolisano talked about the importance of educators modeling good digital citizenship for their students. She said that it is every educators responsibility to become familiar with copyright, plagiarism and intellectual property. She created flowcharts that are easy to follow. The flowcharts give a clear route to learn the do's and don'ts of copyrighting.
I responded by telling her that I am new to blogging and her post was very informing. I told her that her post gave me a better understanding to copyrighting in the digital world. I told her that the chart she created was easy to read and to understand. I finished by saying that the chart would be useful for future references.

Blog Post #8

What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?


Mr.Pausch's video Last Lecture was very interesting. The question was asked what can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch. I learned that we must always have something to bring to the table. Mr. Pausch stated "When you know that you're doing bad and no one is staying on to you, that's when they have given up on you", I believe that to be true. I learned as a teacher we should teach "head fake" learning. "Head fake" learning is learning more than a specific topic i.e., sportsmanship and teamwork. I learned not to set a bar for my students but to let them go beyond where the bar would be. Mr. Pausch said that project based learning is intense and fun. He also said that the best gift an educator give is to get someone to become self-reflective. I believe being self-reflective plays a major role in project based learning. Mr. Pausch said to have fun and to never give up. I think that this statement applies to both teaching and learning. Something that stuck out to me the most was his question " Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore. Which one are you?

Project #13

Project Based Learning Plan #1

My group and I decided to do our lesson plan on shape recognition for Kindergarten. Here is our Lesson Plan

Blog Post #7

GeoGebra
GeoGebra is a mathematics and science software used for learning and teaching. It is a free download that covers geometry, algebra, tables, graphing, statistics, and calculus. This software also has an authoring tool that allows creation of interactive learning materials that can be used as web pages.




Scriblink
Scriblink is a free digital whiteboard that users can share online and in real-time. Scriblink is a great collaboration tool. Scriblink could be used for layout planning, concept diagramming, and even tutoring. Features of Scriblink includes: privacy, dynamic tools, file options, image uploader, on-screen chats, voip conferencing, and file transfer.




ThingLink for Education
ThingLink for Education is a safe and efficient online classroom environment. It has a free sign up section for teachers and students. This website help teachers create interactive images to help students develop 21st century skills. The image interaction tools includes tagging tools also. The tagging tools gives photos a new life with music, videos, web, and other fun links. ThingLink allows you to create image collages and add tags that give background information to the images and also to annotate charts and illustrations. After exploring this site I believe that this could be a very helpful 21st century learning tool.

Blog Post #6

What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?

The videos Project Based Learning Part 1 and Project Based Learning Part 2 gave me a better understanding of why PBL is used and how it is used. I have learned that PBL is used as a way to get the students to learn something and not something to do at the of a lesson to see if the students have learned the information that was given. PBL creates an authentic audience. Having an authentic audience motivates the students to do good work. The most crucial part of PBL for students is reflecting and revising. Reflecting and revising helps the students understand what they have done and also help the correct and learn how they can do things better the next time. I learned that in PBL you should never limit your students and your expectations. You should always create an opportunity for the students to go beyond what you want them to do. In the iCurio conversation I learned that iCurio is an online tool that allows students to safely search websites. They can also search for images, videos, and online media that has been pulled and filtered for educational uses. Students can also use it for storage. Content that the students my find valuable can be stored and organized in folders, this is a way to teach virtual organization. ICurio is kid friendly and useful for all grades. The Anthony-Strange List of Tips for Teachers Part 1 gave great tips for teachers. The tips that I found useful for me are being interested in learning, as a teacher we will be life long learners; let your work become a fun experience; be flexible and creative because unexpected things will happen; motivate every child to want to learn; and lastly reflection and self-evaluation. Watching these videos has given me information and knowledge that I will carry with me throughout my career as a student and as a teacher.

Project #8

David Gets in Trouble By: David Shannon

Blog Post #5

PLNs: What Are They ?

What are PLNs or Personal Learning Networks? I certainly did not know before taking this course. Dr. Strange defined it best, PLN is a quality list of people and tools that you can call upon for help, consultation, collaboration, or other assistance. PLNs can be formed by blogging, using twitter, and Facebook. To create a quality PLN you should find people who share the same ideas and interests and add them to your network. As a future teacher PLNs will help me meet other teachers who can offer advice and ideas. I can also reflect on things that I have done in my classroom and share my ideas with others.  Having a quality PLN will help me to continue to be a life long learner.

In creating my own PLN I would first add Dr. Strange. He is playing a great role in  helping us connect with other teachers across the world. I would then add some of the teachers that I have observed and the ones that I will observe. Right now my PLN is small but this is just the beginning. I look forward to networking and meeting new people.

Project #15

Search Engines



Excite is an all purpose search engine. On the home page there is an area with different links such as; air/travel, health, home and garden, and shopping. The page also has an area where people can log in to their e-mails. From the looks of the page it seems to be an older page. I probably would not use this website.


FreeBookSearch.Net is a search engine for books.The site has a simple search, advanced search, extended search, and a search audio books. I chose to do a simple search. I searched for Dr.Seuss and got back ten pages of results. I also searched for the author of our class book,and received a great list of results. I am glad I found this search engine. I would recommend this search engine to all of the book lovers.


Lexis Nexis is said to be the world's largest collection of public records, unpublished opinions, forms, and business information. The page has legal and professional solutions for law firms, corporations, and government agencies seeking legal solutions. I would probably not use this search engine.


Cheat Search is a search engine to find cheat codes to different games. I search for the Call of Duty and different websites came up with different games. I would not use this search engine because I am not a gamer.


Monster is the largest resume database and online job search. I have used this search engine before. Monster allows you to search for jobs by, job title, company name, and location. You can also upload resumes to a profile to submit with applications. I would say this is a good job searching website.


WebMD is a search engine for health information, symptom checklist, pharmacy information, and a place to store personal medical information. I have used this search engine a lot. I am the person who likes to diagnose my own illness when I think something is wrong with me. This website has confirmed many times that there was nothing wrong. This website has helped me a lot.


YouTube is a search engine for videos. YouTube have videos such as, music, instructional, and documentaries. I am a big YouTube user. You can find just about any video you are looking for on YouTube. Just type in keywords to what ever you are looking for and different videos will pop up. You can also create an account and upload your own videos.


WolframAlpha is a search engine that calculate math problems. This is a great website. WolframAlpha will be very helpful to me in my future math class. This website will also be helpful to people who need extra help or answers to math problems.

Project #7

This is My Sentence




This is My Passion

Project 6 C4T Permanent #1

Mrs Silvia Tolisano
I chose to read And You Thought It Could Not Be Done : Blogging In Math. In this post Mrs. Tolisano talks about a math teacher who is upgrading her traditionally taught classroom. The math teacher upgraded by creating a classroom blog. On the blog she had her sixth grade math students share different links they found that they thought would help with collecting data. She then had them to create a presentation on the blog analyzing and articulating a story of the data they had found. The students found many tools that could help them.
I replied to her post saying that I enjoyed reading her post. I said that I also had never thought that blogging would work in a math class. I also told her that think that this style of blogging is a very effective way for students to learn and to find tools for extra help if they needed it. I ended by leaving the link to my blog.




The next post I read is titled Back to the Future Project: Life Cycle Snapshots in Target Language. Mrs. Tolisano blogs about a Portuguese teacher. Ana Cortez created a project called Back to the Future for her 7th and 8th grade students. The project was for them to practice their target language during their life cycle unit. The students had to create a fake Facebook page using a fictional character. On the page the students had to announce the birth of the character, during the infancy/childhood years, high school time, adulthood, and retirement.
In reply to the post, I introduced myself. I said this was a great project to help the students practice their target language. Using Facebook was a great way for students to show their creativity ans also a great way to keep the children interested in learning. I ended by saying that I would love to use this project in my future classroom.

Project 4 C4T #1

I was assigned  Mr. Brendan Jones who is a P.E. coach I read his blog called Master Coach Mystery Bag Challenge
Mr. Jones is a P.E. coach who uses popular culture to inspire his teaching skills. His latest idea is called the Mystery Bag Challenge. He gets his students to get in groups of two or three. He then gives each groups a bag with random sports equipment. He gives them five to ten minutes to create a game and the rules to the game. When the time is up he lets each group teach their game and then play the game. After playing the games, he asked the groups questions like; What would have made the game work better, What would they had changed if they started over, and What did they find tricky.
After Reading Mr. Jones' post I commented telling him that I am a Elementary Education major at the University of South Alabama.I told him that I enjoyed reading his post. I thought that by letting the students create games and the rules to the game as a group enhances their creative thinking and communication skills.




The second post Things I am Wondering About, Mr. Jones talked about his experience with flipping the classroom. He said that his students who have been traditionally taught majority of their academic careers, are being asked to do the complete opposite of what they know. The students feel that the new learning style is a challenge. He goes on to say that flipping the classroom is odd for him too. He feels like he is putting much more effort in and no one sees. Mr. Jones said that flipping has allowed them to run six different programs in two blocks. He does not know if he should have tried so many programs in such a short time. At the time of the post he felt like was just keeping his head above the water.
My response: I introduced myself. I told him that I was currently introduced to the flipping the classroom concept. When I first read about the concept I was totally against it. After I gathered more information I became more open to the idea. I told him I feel that it will take a while to adapt to the "new way of learning". I thanked him for his informing post and wished him good luck in his future flipped classrooms.

Blog Post #4

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an Effective Teacher?

In The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom, the first thing that stood out to me and the first step to being an "effective teacher" is, teachers must understand that they do not know all the answers. In this post, the author said that teachers should ask questions in a random fashion. First, start by asking a question then pause for three seconds and call a student's name to get the most effect out of asking questions. I found Asking Question to Improve Learning to be a very helpful post in answering this question. In the post the author said that teachers should avoid asking leading questions. What are leading questions? According to www.dictionary.reference.com, it defined as a question so worded as to suggest the proper or desired answer. It is said that these types of questions hinder the students from thinking of the answer on their own. Also, teachers should present a yes-or-no question followed with a second question to get the students to explain why they answered the way they did. The last point found helpful was not to ask more than one question at a time. Asking more than one question at a time may confuse the students causing them  not to know which question to answer. Overall, I believe that if we combine these different ideas and others that we discover in the process of becoming a teacher, we will create a great format of question asking and become an "effective teacher" that we are all striving to be.

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Post #3

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers

After watching What is Peer Editing? and Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes, and reading Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial, I have learned that peer editing is given to help one another. I always kind of hold back on my critiques when peer editing. I do so because I feel that I may be too critical and I do not want to offend anyone. Ultimately, I feel that because I do not fully critique my peers paper I am hurting them rather than helping them. I feel this way because their papers only have half the critiques that are needed to improve their papers and not all the critiques that are needed to improve their paper.


These are the three steps to follow when peer editing. Step 1: Compliments, letting the author know what is good and what you enjoyed about the paper. Step 2: Suggestions, giving specific ideas about how to make the writing better. Lastly, Step 3: Corrections, making corrections to spelling, grammar, punctuation mistakes, and incomplete or run-on sentences. Following these three steps will really enhance my peer editing skills. Also these steps helped me realize that as long as I stay positive I will not offend any of my peers. Being positive is one thing we must all remember when peer editing.