Sunday, November 24, 2013

Blog Post #14

Explore
Visit and explore these websites. They all offer many valuable resources and supplements for students and teachers. Choose the website that you would most likely use in your classroom. Write a blog post giving information on the website you chose and why you would use it.
Mr. Nussbaum
Fun Brain
Turtle Diary
Fuel The Brain

My Post On Using The Website I Chose
The website I chose was Turtle Diary. This website is free and it has many resources to supplement in teaching. Some of the resources this website has are games, worksheets, interactive books, videos, puzzles, and biographies. One thing that stands out the most is the experiments. It is very important that your students have hands on activities. Turtle Dairy has a list of Science experiments that give your students an opportunity to test theories while having fun. It also has a wide range of art and crafts projects. The biographies also are very important. All of the famous people that kids need to
A turtle writing in a diary and the words turtle diary.
know about are listed. Scientist, writers, artist and many more are on here. Your students will love it.
Using this website will help your classroom stay interactive while learning and having fun. Another fun resource this website offers is interactive online book. Since my classroom will most likely have a Smart Board this would be a great thing to help students learn to read. From games to worksheets this website has it all. Every subject is covered on this website. Your students are guaranteed to love it just as much as you do.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

C4T #4

Summary #1
The title of this post is The Future of (Less) Work. Mr. Fisch starts by telling everyone that he is not an expert when it comes to economics, he doesn't think anyone really is. He then goes on to talk about the very slow recovery from the Great Recession. Unemployment is still high, but corporate profits are doing very well.
Karl Fisch.
A reason Mr. Fisch gives for this is the nature of work changing. Technology, in the form of automation and connectedness, makes it very profitable to employ only a select few. We are in a transition state when it comes to technology. An example given is the “self-driving car.” Mr. Fisch talks about how people would be very skeptical at first, but eventually they would adjust to it. This would make the unemployment rates sky rock. The use of self-driving cars would exclude the need for truck, bus, train, taxi, and other transportation drivers. This would also cause for more unemployment in many other areas, although creating a few job opportunities. He also explains that he fears for the education of the upcoming youth. If the work force is mainly left up to technology then what will they need to know? One thing Mr. Fisch says we need to know how to do is create. “Whether that is creative in the sense of ideas, creative in the sense of solutions to problems, or creative in the sense of making things, I think it’s going to be an integral part of the future of work.” He then closes by asking, “If the future of work is really "less" work and perhaps more "creating", then what should K-12 education look like?”

Comment#1
My name is Demetrius Hamner. I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama located in Mobile, Alabama. I have been assigned to comment on your blog now and again later in the month. As a student I have first-hand experience of the rapid changes in the classroom. I also agree that most students are not able to be completely creative in the classroom. This would take time for the school systems to be able to incorporate worldwide. As far as the work force I am excited to see what that would look like 10 years from now. Everything is changing all over, but all we can do is adapt to try and keep up.

Summary #2 The title of this post is Modern Learning. Mr. Fisch starts off by telling us that when discussing the future of k-12 education with a few friends they all came back to the same idea “modern learning/learners.” He then returned to his school to further discuss a presentation he did called “Do Better Things.” Many that were a part of that conversation wanted to put it into action. After meeting again Mr. Fisch did another short presentation with modern learning/learners as a jump off point. The presentation was embedded but it wasn't as useful without what he said along with it.
A timeline with stick peeople showing the technology students have.
He then goes into a deeper discussion of slide 15. This slide visually showed the changes of modern learning in a timeline. Their program, Connected Learners, had been recently expanded. Now the entire freshmen class would have a laptop and each year another class until the entire student body had one. The timeline on this slide reinforced the idea that the freshmen of the class 2020 would know nothing about the world before Facebook, Twitter, and the iPhone. These students would have been using laptops since the age of 7. A few cultural references were used to enhance this ideal class. Some of those references were: 9-11 has always been the twin towers, they’ve always known what a blog and a wiki are, and “Like” has always been something you did on facebook.” Mr. Fisch then closes by explaining that a challenge educators, parents and citizens face is that no one can grasp the concept of what learning looks like today. Learning and schools must be put in a modern context, but that would be nowhere near what we are used to.

Comment #2 This is a very interesting post. The technology that today's students are exposed to is amazing and with that being said the way they learn has changed. Modern today and modern 10 years ago are very much different. The more technology that kids are exposed to the more they learn, but in a very different way. We all have to adapt to these changes in order to further educate our students. This will only lead to more questions like "How?" "What do we use?"

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Project #2 Final PLN

My Personal Learning Network
Over the short time period in this course my symbaloo has grown. At first I only had my blog and a few other sites that I used on a regular to stay connected; now I have added more educational sites for teachers. The sites that I have added to my symbaloo help me stay informed on new information. I also have found places to help construct lesson plans and activities. As time goes on I will continue to add more to my symbaloo. You can never have too much information or sources to help stay connected. Learning is a lifelong process and I will embrace it every day.
A heart with the letters PLN in it.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Blog Post #13

My Post
The video Kakenya Ntaiya: A Girl Who Demanded School was very touching. Kakenya is a woman from Kenya that wanted to make a change. She refused to keep the tradition and be married at the age of 12. Kakenya had dreams of becoming a teacher. Unfortunately, Kakeya had to undergo female circumcision as a compromise for her father to let her continue going to school at the age of 12. This was not at all an easy thing to do, but she was very determined to be a teacher. She did everything she could to get to America in order to attend college.
Kakenya stanging on stage with her hands open.
The knowledge that Kakenya acquired when reaching America devastated her, and she decided to do something about it. After Kakenya graduated she went back to Kenya and started an all-girls school. This helped changed their lives for the better. We can learn a lot from this video. One thing we can learn is that it only takes one person to stand up for what they truly believe in to make a difference. Kakenya knew nothing about being a teacher, besides the fact that it looked easy, when she was young. The knowledge that she gained empowered her to do great things. Knowledge should make everyone want to make a difference. This video showed us that it only takes one person to create an opposite path that will help change the lives of many. You may start off with a very small dream, like becoming a teacher, and along the way help others reach dreams that you couldn't imagine.

Michelle’s Post
Number Eight on Sir Ken Robinson’s list of favorite TED Talks is by a man named Shane Koyczan called "To This Day...for the bullied and beautiful". Shane is a poet as he delivers his speech to a full house. He talks about his childhood and how he tried to become himself. As a child he “hid his heart under the bed because his mother told if he wasn’t careful with it, someone would break it.” He claims we
Shane on stage holding up all ten fingers.
have to define ourselves at such an early age now. He continues telling about aspiring moments from his past. He talks about everything children have to deal with: bullies, finding yourself, and staying true to yourself. As future teachers, we need to remember what it was like for us to be the child. Shane made me remember that every child has the same problems. They want to define themselves. As a teacher, I will give my students room to grow and become the people of the future they deserve to be. Children are often put down by adults, because they think their problems trivial. Remember being that kid that got called names? Bullied? This video taught me to remember that for my future students. If you haven’t watched this, I would highly suggest it. It’s a lyrical reminder of childhood and why we as teachers need to pay attention to every child.

Miriah’s Post
On the list of Sir Ken Robinson’s favorite TED talks is a video called Teaching one child at a time by Shukla Bose. In this video, she tells how she started the Parikrma Humanity Foundation from her kitchen table. This is a program that helps the “slums” of India by focusing on teaching one student at a time.
Shukla standing on stage with her hands crossed.
She explains that one of the schools she went to was a school that held 165 students and no roof on the building. Her dream, as she says, is for children to live to be educated and to live peacefully in the “kaotic” globalized world. She not only organized the schools that these children now had access to, but she chose a very difficult curriculum for them as well; which made her receive many crazy looks from outsiders. She explains that the students did more than adapt to this curriculum but excelled with it. Shukla Bose is a very inspiring woman. She shows us that every student has potential, they just need the right materials to succeed; and that “one student at a time” makes a difference. Like she says, “Educating the poor is more than just a numbers game.” It is people like this that should inspire educators around the world every day.

Friday, November 15, 2013

C4K Summary for November

Childs Name- Jesse
Summary- The title of this post is Four Shot Movie Plan. Jesse drew four scenes for his storyboard and included the type of camera shot it would be. The first scene was a long shot of a boy standing in front of the computer looking at a football. The second scene was an over the shoulder shot of the boy looking at the computer. The third scene was a mid-shot of the boy’s hands reaching into the computer screen. The final shot is a close up of the boy’s hands grabbing the football out of the computer screen. Under the drawing of the four shot movie plan Jesse writes what the whole story is.

My Response- My name is Demetrius Hamner. I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama located in Mobile, Alabama. I loved your drawing of your movie plan. When I was in high school I took a TV production class and I had to draw storyboards. Storyboards can be a hard thing to do, but you did an amazing job.
The letters C4K.

Childs Name- Amelia
Summary- The title of this post isAmelia's Story about the origins of the Chinese New Year.In this post Amelia created a comic picture on the origins of the Chinese New Year. The comic picture consisted of a dragon, fan, lantern, and a noodall. She was also recorded on video telling her story of the origins of the Chinese New Year. Amelia told how the people of the village were scared of a monster that ate the animals and crops. A wise man of the village told them how to scare it away. The village people listened to the wise man and made loud noises. That scared the monster away and so the village people celebrated.

My Response- Hello. My name is Demetrius Hamner. I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. Your comic picture was great. I also loved you video. Your story was very good. Keep up the good work.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Blog Post #12

My Post
The video Ken Robinson: Changing Education Paradigms starts off by telling us about the two reasons countries are reforming public education. One reason is economic, which poses the question: “How do we educate our children to take their place in the economies of the 21st Century?” The second reason is cultural, which poses the question: “How do we educate our children so they can have a sense of cultural identity so that we can pass on the cultural genes of our communities while being part of globalization?” Mr. Robinson also reinforces the
Cartoon Ken Robinson saying every country on earth, at the moment, is reforming public edcation and there are two reasons for it.
fact that the school systems are still trying to teach students the same as the students were taught in the past. This is unacceptable, and we must change that if we truly want to educate our children. He also tells us about how students are going one way in the school system and they really should be headed in the other direction (change the paradigm). I learned from Mr. Robinson that every student has the means to be a “genius”, unfortunately that slowly fades away due to the school systems of today. We must change this quickly. In school, we are taught that we should not collaborate on the majority of our work, but in reality, the best learning is done collaboratively. This video taught me to look at school systems differently. We tell students to attend school, go to college and get a degree. In todays society, that is no longer enough to get and keep a well paying job. I learned that things must change if we truly want our upcoming students to be educated and obtain a good job.

Miriah's Post
How to Escape Education's Death Valley is a hysterical but informative speech by Ken Robinson, a man who moved to America twelve years before. He tells us that whoever thought of the title "No child left behind" truly understood irony, because it's leaving millions of children behind. He says that America spends enough money and enough resources, but it is all going in the wrong direction. He believes the problem is not enough educators are focusing on Teaching and Learning but, instead, testing. He expressed that education is not a mechanical system, it's a human system; it's about people, and there are condition in which people thrive. He then clarifies why "Death Valley" is in the title by explaining that it is a place where nothing grows because it doesn't rain. Meaning that if we do not provide children with appropriate teaching climates, they will not thrive for success. He tells us that we must do these three things in the education system: We must individualize teaching and learning, we must attribute a high status to the teaching profession, and see Professional Development as an investment, not a cost, and we must make schools responsible and autonomous to get the job done. Centralized decision making is not the way. He concludes by saying that if we all were encouraged to be moved, it would start a revolution, and that is what we need. This man made some valid points about the education system.He made me believe that I can truly make a difference as a future teacher. It is a big process, teaching and learning; it relies on many aspects. If we can provide these aspects to schools, we are setting students up for success, which will lead to a “revolution”.

Michelle's Post
In Ken Robinson’s TED Talk, How Schools Kill Creativity, he discusses how education is diminishing children’s creativity. He starts the talk with stories of how education is meant to prepare children for the future. He considers creativity to be just as important as literature in education. I am going to second him on this. Teachers spend so much time on literature and language arts but very little on evolving a child’s creativity. Creativity is one of the most extraordinary abilities we as humans have. I loved when Sir Ken said that children are born creative, but they grow out of it. They are taught out of it. The arts are no longer taught in elementary school like they are in secondary schools. Why is that? While watching this, I remembered Dr. Vitulli’s arts class. She stressed the importance of incorporating the arts in your lessons. Many teachers don’t do this. Teachers and parents tell the students to not do art or music, because they won’t be either as adults. Creativity and intelligence go hand in hand. So why not teach it? If you incorporate it into your lesson, it won’t take you any longer to teach it. It may also help students remember it easier that just a boring lecture and demonstration.
Ken Rodinson and a quote saying if you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.

Project #15 Learning Plan #3

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Project #10: Interview Movie

Project #12 Part A

Blog Post #11

The interview with Ms. Cassidy, a first grade teacher, was very interesting. She starts by telling us that she first got involved with technology because five computers were given to her classroom. These computers were nothing like what we are used to using. They were Sun Ray computers and although they had access to the internet you were unable to download programs to them. She then searched the internet to find different ways to implement the use of these computers (i.e. blogs, webpages, videos, etc.) into her classroom with funding from the government and help from a developer. Ms. Cassidy had not been discouraged when it came to using technology in the classroom, but she had been the only one at the time trying. Along the way she had help and support from others. Some of those supporters were the parents and the technology coordinator.
Words that say explore technology.
The success of the use of technology in Ms. Cassidy’s classroom came because she was so passionate. She was excited to explore technology for her first graders to use. Ms. Cassidy also feels we will not be successful in educating students using the same methods as twenty years ago. The world has changed and we must change also, I agree with this. Ms. Cassidy’s approach to technology is basically explore it and do not be afraid to use it. That is a method in which I would conduct my classroom. As educators we have to keep up with new technology and use it if possible. There is nothing wrong with implementing technology into your classroom as long it is safe for your students.

It is always important to protect your students. Some parents or administrators might question this. If this was to happen I would ensure them that my students are safe by showing them some of the rules and guidelines that I give my students. Each student would have a set of rules to follow when using technology and if they did not follow these rules disciplinary actions would be taken. The first action taken would be they would not be able to use technology for a while and if it continues after that they would not be able to use it at all. I would also ensure them that the students are safe by consulting with the technology coordinator when using any technology. Each parent will also have a list of the technology coordinated things used in the classroom and no student would be able to use it before they signed off on it.
A pyramid that says creating, evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding, and remembering.
There would be many benefits to using Ms. Cassidy’s exploring and developing techniques. As a teacher we would always be up to date with things that our students use on a regular and using those things in a classroom setting would be exciting for students. Each student would no longer dread going to school, instead they would be excited and ready to go back. Since technology is ever-changing our students would be not only learning but advancing beyond belief. No teacher should deprive their students of the use of technology in the classroom because they aren’t familiar with it. We are responsible for exploring new things for our students to enhance their learning experience. In my classroom there would be no limits and every student would be encouraged to excel.