Final Reflection Video

C4T #4 Summary

The final teacher that I found to read his blog is Jason Hahnstadt and he has been a PE teacher at Joseph Sears School since 2005. He is very involved in using technology for athletics and teaching Physical Education. One of his blogs is titled, "What is Flipped Coaching?" Even though I do not intend to be a coach, I was still very curious. He explains the ideas of showing videos to the students to introduce and even begin teaching new skills or activities. He continues to explain that this method increases consistency among different classes; and that is to say, he won't forget or leave out any need-to-know information if he just tried to remember the instructions off the top of his head. I liked this method and I think I could use it in my future teaching if I can get the needed equipment.
Another post I came upon is titled, "iBook and iBook Author," and of course I was interested in this one because my group just finished our iBook for this class! I think that he wrote this post to introduce the program to other professionals. He included the widgets, the complexity and the use on the iPads. Also, I agreed with him when he added that Apple should update the program so that one could view an iBook on an iPhone. That just seems obvious to me!
I'm glad I found Jason's blog because I think I could learn a lot from his experience. :)

C4K Summary #3

The first student was Keanan in Ms. Stadler's 5th grade class in South Africa. Keanan has many creative ideas that he includes in his blog posts. The post I commented on was titled, "poetry," and had a simile and a metaphor poem. He had great detail; the metaphor poem described a lion as a vicious animal that was deemed "the king of the jungle," and the simile poem was an expression of his feelings of school. Although he displays feelings of a typical elementary boy and says, "school is like a bumble bee working wasting it's time," he shows great competence in his language arts. He also included pictures, which is always a nice touch in blogs. I really enjoyed his poems.

The next student I had was Travis who is in Mrs. Meyer's art class at Waverly Shell Rock Middle School. Travis seems to really enjoy art class and expressing his creativity. In one of his posts he described himself in 100 years from now. He animated his ideas using a Sketchbook Pro app and embedded it into his post. He shows a lot of artistic potential and is doing a great job blogging.

My third assignment was Alex in Mrs. Debuhr's 6th grade class. This class has done a lot of blogging assignments this year, they seem to have learned quite a bit so far! Alex recently posted about his view on his first quarter of 6th grade. I reflected on what he had already accomplished and told his goals for the rest of the year. I mentioned to him that self reflection is important and that he's done a good job. I also liked his title, "1st quarter down 3 to go," I thought it kept his page entertaining to the reader.

Project #12: Smart Board (Part B)

Here is a link to our slide presentation if you want a closer look!

Blog Post #13

Create an Assignment
My specialty will be Physical Education. My assignment is to answer this question: What are the best strategies for helping kids succeed in P.E.?Check out these links
>P.E. Central's List of Best Practices
>The Physical Educator

Firstly, I would like to make clear what it means to me to "succeed" in P.E. I believe that when a student succeeds in P.E. they have learned new motor skills, learned new sports skills, and have gained a new understanding and appreciation for healthy and active living. Not all children are alike; everyone comes from a different home that has already influenced their ideas on being healthy. When I become a P.E. teacher I want to make sure I focus a little bit on every child to try and make a difference in their lives. The two links I have included are great sources for current and future P.E. teachers. They both provide helpful ideas/strategies/lessons/tips, communication between professionals, and much more.

So, back to my question. There are many ways to get kids involved in Physical Education, but what are the best ways to do so? On P.E. Central's website they have a list of submitted ideas to be voted "Best Practice;" all of them are great but I picked out a few to focus on. Achieving Lifetime Physical Activity (ALPhA) looks like a great program to get students really involved in creating a healthy lifestyle. The goal of this program is to have students, and their families, set monthly goals throughout the school year. The students will be able to show their families what they learn in class, and incorporate those skills into their goals. To motivate students even more, the teacher who submitted this ideas also included the use of tokens, or rewards, to give every month that the child met their goal. The next idea is called "Sid Shuffle," and it is to be conducted as a whole school assembly. The "Sid Shuffle" can be seen on this video, the video that will be shown at the assembly. I believe that when an activity like this involves the whole school all the students are very excited to learn and participate, and also be excited about P.E. The third and last idea I found to focus on is a Healthy Field Day; I think a favorite for all students. Field days can be extremely fun and educational. Speakers would come and talk to the kids, and different stations/games would be set up to tell kids about nutrition, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, sports opportunities, and anything else the P.E. teacher could think of. Hosting a field day is such an awesome way to get students to participate and understand the importance of health and physical activity. I love all of these ideas because I think I could actually use them as a way to help my future students succeed in my P.E. class. I think by giving the students something to look forward to, such as a field day or assembly, would get them more interested in P.E. all around.

I hope you all liked my idea for this assignment, I sure did enjoy exploring my options. :)

Blog Post #12

C4T #3 Summary

Pricipal Bernia's blog, The Principal's Principles

"A Middle School Principal, striving to make the world a better place, one day at a time."

John Bernia is extremely engaged in his school and regularly participates in school wide projects and events. I know this because of his blog posts which all have an important topic.
The first post I came across was his most recent one titled, "Attendance Matters." In this post he gives the reader three questions concerning the teacher's relationship to and influence on the students' attendance, and of course, the effects on their work. We may think that a child attending school is a pretty simple matter, but if/when it does get out of control it can have vast negative effects on their academic success. Teachers definitely play a role in whether their student's attend school. I believe along with Bernia that they also have the duty to intervene and help the students when they notice a problem with their attendance. Showing up to class is "literally the first step toward success."
Another post I found to comment on is titled, "Compliance or Creativity?" Take a minute to consider these two things: a culture run by mandates, strict rules and timelines, a clear chain of command with authority, and everyone saying, "mine;" or a culture with flexible mandates, rules and timelines, collaborative leadership, trust, and people saying, "ours." Which type of culture would you like to see in your (future) school? I think this question is what Bernia wants his readers to ask themselves because leadership will affect the school's culture and environment for the students and teachers. Principal Bernia is a very insightful man and I think we could all learn a lot from his posts.

Project #14: PBL Plan 2

What does My Skeleton Look Like?
After completion of this project, students will have an understanding of where the bones are in our bodies and their proper names.
Rubric
Calendar
Lesson Plan
Check List

Blog Post #11

There's always more to learn!
Brian Crosby's video was a great example of the methods that should be used in Project Based Learning. I agree with what he said towards the end about learning cannot be a race - it is a lengthy process about students building schemas for the world. His balloon experiment was a blast to watch! It definitely got the students engaged by blogging, recording video, taking pictures, uploading those files, watching the balloon travel in real time, and reaching out to other students around the world. I believe those components are what made this project so fun and engaging, and the students were all a part of it. Every science teacher should try this. I also liked the part where he highlighted his Second Language Learners. Even if those students are at risk and in poverty, they are still students who deserve to be taught, and that is something every teacher should remember.

Paul Anderson's video,"Blended Learning Cycle" was also really interesting and he shared some great methods to use in PBL. His blended learning cycle method is exactly what it means-a cycle! He shared that if the students aren't understanding the material by the end then they will start back over at the beginning until they do. This is a great strategy to show the students that teachers aren't going to give up on them and their learning potential. The most important concept I took from his video is this: "Have you learned something if you cannot explain it to someone else?" This is an engaging and open ended question to ask students to really get them to reflect on their work and understanding.

The "Making Thinking Visible" video was all about the students noticing the difference in their thinking process from the beginning of an assignment to the end. The teacher presented them with a topic and a driving question, and the only instructions were to think and collaborate. What changed? What stayed the same? What caused this difference? I believe this method is very useful for encouraging problem solving skills and collaboration work.

Building Comics with a "super digital citizen" was one of my favorite videos to watch for this blog post. One of my primary concerns about the use of technology in the classroom is that children will be exposed to too many harmful things on the internet if they are not educated about it. The project of building and narrating comics about them selves prompted them to make choices of right and wrong. I thought this was a quick and easy assignment to teach proper online respect, responsibility, and safety; like the teacher said, it only took about 5 minutes to build the super hero character and then the rest was up to the students' imagination. Building comics looks like a really great online tool for teaching computer safety, problem solving skills, and most of all creativity!

The fifth video, PBL from Dean Shareski was also interesting. This school was blending three different subjects to reach the same goal in the curriculum. There was a ton of feedback being exchanged between the teachers and students and that seemed to help the students tremendously. I learned that we should never forget the value of feedback, no matter the level of education. I think that when a student really knows that a teacher is rooting for them to do better with every revision they take more pride in their work. When the student can take more pride in their work they are engaged in the learning process and want to do it again. From this video, I learned that there is no doubt that teachers can motivate students into trying harder every time.

The PBL program at Roosevelt Elementary was impressive. This school has had much success with really getting their students to understand the material rather than just passing the tests and getting good grades, and of course there is a difference. And the difference is self-motivation! The children are excited to learn and eager the begin each project that they can prepare themselves to learn. The parents had a great reaction to PBL, along with the staff members, about how well their children were learning to become self motivators. There is much more to Project Based Learning than a better understanding of the material; it teaches social skills, team work, presentation techniques and public speaking. All of these skills are important to learn at a young age so they become natural as children mature.

Project #12: Smart Board (Part A)

C4K Summary #2

Sulaman is in Madame Thomas' 8th grade English class. He is a bright student that is fabulous at writing poetry and keeps up with his blog regularly. I happened to comment on one of his posts, that was a poem, titled "Today I..." It was a very well thought-out poem for an 8th grader; I was impressed and it even made me reflect on my own day, and compare it to his. I have always been jealous of people who can create thoughtful and meaningful poetry. :)

Erin is in Mrs. Ripp's 7th grade class. She seems to really enjoy posting on her blog and she includes many original ideas of her own. The post that I commented on was titled, "What Should Kids Decide In School?" In this post she shared her ideas about how she would like to be able to have a say in the classes she takes at school. I was very intrigued by her mature ideas about why students should choose classes in middle school. I think she will go very far in her academics.

Cole is a student in Mrs. Philipenko's 1st grade class. The class had only done one post that was a single sentence about what they enjoyed at school. Cole liked to play Minecraft... not very related to school or academics, but he still gets participation points, right?! Even though a computer game isn't related to school, he still had the correct capital letter at the beginning of his sentence and a period at the end.

Bejamin lives in New Zealand and is in Mrs. Jacobsen's 5th grade class. In his post he shared about who they were studying this week-an artist named Michel Tuffery (Check out some of his work!). Ben seemed to really enjoy learning about him because he likes to draw, too. In almost every one of his posts he has included a drawing of his own that relates to the topic.


Artwork by Michel Tuffery

Blog Post #10

The video Ms. Cassidy made of her first graders was really awesome, and I enjoyed actually hearing from the kids them selves. Even though I still have my doubts about technology in the class room, I saw a lot of accomplishments with her first graders. Ms. Cassidy's first graders have so much potential at their age and I hope they continue learning at this pace. I remember what one student said in the video, "Every time I blog my spelling gets better." It's one thing to engage young students with a blog, but hearing them share their own success is something else entirely! Young students really are engaging in their work when they can evaluate their own work, it is surely a great accomplishment with the use of technology. Other accomplishments they're making include internet navigation skills, typing skills, problem solving techniques, and even something as basic as sharing; and these skills will only improve with time.
After teaching the content, Ms. Cassidy seemed to be focused on developing skills (reading, writing, etc.) in group sessions called "centers." Team work can greatly encourage developing and mastering skills. She also used the approach of powerful encouragement. Teachers encourage their students everyday, but what really works? Ms. Cassidy says that young students really get excited when they know people from all over the world can see, and comment, on their work. I believe it makes the students perform differently when other people are viewing their progress and not just the teacher.

Additionally, Dr. Strange's interview with Ms. Cassidy opened up many doors. One thing that I would definitely take from the knowledge Ms. Cassidy shared with us is to protect the students. We will be responsible for the children that come into our class rooms, and we will have the duty to protect them. Online identity protection is very important, and so is parent involvement. I liked how on the first day of school Ms. Cassidy sent home a permission form just to have access to a computer. Protecting their innocent identities is one thing I learned to focus on from Ms. Cassidy. Another method I could use would be to establish an online portfolio of the students' work and progress. Even if it's not exactly a blog, having internet access to class work is very helpful. Myself, the principal, parents, and other classes from anywhere in the world could view and keep track of assignments.

There are many scenarios one could anticipate from Ms. Cassidy's use of technology in the class room; I immediately thought of a more technology savvy generation. A generations where (almost) everyone would know how to access information on a computer, how to save and upload documents and pictures, and to make presentations or movies would have a domino effect on so many other parts of life. Secondly, these students will acquire better communication skills with the use of blogs and skyping. And thirdly, these two ideas would work simultaneously to produce young adults who will be excellent workers in their future careers. There are a lot of skills that are trying to be taught in school to prepare students for careers, and I think the use of technology will absolutely help prepare them.

Blog Post #9

The most important concept that stood out to me today was that there is a difference between Project Based Learning and what teachers like to call "busy work." In the blog, "7 Essentials for PBL," the author elaborates about the difference and says that it's about "the process of the students' learning and cognitive development rather than the final product." Furthermore, the project must be meaningful to the students and fulfill an educational purpose. Here is a summary of the 7 essentials for PBL...
Launch the project by initiating questions about the problem. In other words, get those gears working in the students' brains! Then, establish a driving question, and a driving question is simply what highlights the theme, or the "heart" of the project. Without this, the purpose of the project could be lost. Next, make sure the students have a voice-a loud voice! This is their project, not their teachers' or their parents' but theirs. We need to make sure they have the chance to make it their own and not be pressured to do it a certain way. Also, include new (or old) skills that will be learned by completing the project. For example, collaboration skills, critical thinking skills, or even technology skills are some that could be taught. Then, once the project is near or has reached completion, give the students the opportunity to revise their classmates' work and put their work on display! Other teachers, faculty, students, and parents enjoy seeing great work being recognized. Follow these guidelines to avoid assigning "busy work" instead of a fun and engaging project!
Next, was the PBL video for teachers. The video was extremely entertaining and engaging and if I was a teacher watching that, I would definitely be excited to try PBL in my classroom. I thought that, besides the distracting and intense background music, it was a very informative video.

I then proceeded to read the two related blog posts about a collaborative PBL project that could be done in a P.E. class, PBL & Physical Education and PBL in PE. The first one briefly explains the base of the project: high school students are to create a physical activity plan for a middle school student. This project has a lot of room for creativity and team work. The second one was an elaboration on this project using the 7 essentials that were discussed above. The author, Miller, described a PBL project as an "authentic task," and I think he meant a project that could be tailored to fit any classroom at any grade level. I also think that is why PBL methods are so successful.

Lastly, I was curious about the Ketchup video. Boy, was I impressed! And a 3D printer?! That is extremely cool, I wish I had the chance to use one of those like these two senior boys did. I thought this video was a great example. Even though it was a little silly, this project showed that they were engaged, they were having fun, and it meant something to them!

Project #9: Book Conversation

Implications & Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching & Learning

From the data Dr. Strange provided, I saw that too many young adults are almost addicted to their smartphones, and yes I do mean addicted. Check out this article from Psychology Today, it IS a noticed and researched disorder! I try hard not to be one of those young adults because I look for every opportunity not to have my phone at an arm's length away. Although, I do believe that cameras in smart phones can be a great tool for learning-in the right way. I believe cameras and smart phone technology can either inhibit or heighten education in schools; but, in order to make it work it must be monitored and evaluated properly. For the school, unfortunate and improper use could lead to serious problems with parents and board members who don't agree with the use of cameras/phones.

Additionally, if the cameras and smartphones do work well within the school the students have an endless supply of resources and possibilities right in the palm of their hand. It's no doubt that kids, and young adults, love using technology and when we show them the learning tools within their phone/iPad they can begin to love learning. I think the use of a phones/iPad can also assist teachers. Apps of all sorts can be downloaded by the touch of a screen and used to lighten the teacher's workload without taking away any of the work! I want my readers to understand that I do desire a school environment where hand-held technology does not cause tension, but I just haven't experienced that scenario yet.

Looking at this with an optimistic perspective there could be an extremely long list of teaching strategies, learning games, and projects if a teacher incorporated a camera phone/iPad. Here are some that I have thought of:
1. A QR code scavenger hunt-the teacher would hide QR codes around the class room/library/gym/where ever and the students role would be to find them, collect the clues hidden in the codes, and then use those clues to solve the question or problem.
2. Matching pictures with definitions introduced in class-this would help the students learn and retain the key terms better.
3. Providing visual examples-some students are visual learners and seeing a demonstration would assist those students.
4. Learning basic and proper research skills-they have the access to technology and now they need to learn how to use it efficiently.
5. Bringing information to their teacher-let's face it, some people cannot draw, and if a student were able to take a picture of something they didn't understand the teacher would be able to give a clearer explanation.

Blog Post #8

What would you say to your students, your peers, and your elders if you were giving your last lecture? Your last resume application? Or your last goodbye? We can learn so much from Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture. As a son, a husband, a father, and a doctor, he has an abundance of life experience that could never be taken away from him.

Pausch talked about achieving our dreams and he even shared his boyhood dreams with us. I have many dreams for my life. Some have failed, some have already been accomplished, and some I am still dreaming about. Some dreams that had failed were out of my control; like wanting my grandfathers to see me graduate high school, they both passed too, too quickly. Others I have achieved on my own, like gaining strength and endurance in my yoga practice. Even though it is upsetting not to get to live out a dream, we can still learn something from it. Like Pausch's "brick wall." If we are open, we can learn just as much by not reaching our dreams as we would if we did. I truly believe in that because he added, "experience is what we get when we don't get what we want." Allow yourself to be awoken by every experience, never shut out knowledge.
In order to accomplish our dreams, Pausch tells us that we need to "bring something to the table." This could be anything, any talent is valuable. He discussed this when he shared his boyhood dream of becoming Capt. Kirk; the captain on Star Trek didn't possess the same great qualities as the other main characters (intelligence, engineering skills, medical skills, etc.) but what he did possess was leadership. I absolutely agree with Pausch when he said that leadership, in any situation, is just as valuable as intelligence or mastered skills. I have been told, and I also believe myself, that I carry leadership skills, so this really affected the way I perceive my other qualities (for the better of course!).

Another topic he talked about was in the form of a question, how can we enable the dreams of others? This concept requires us to focus on others and not ourselves. We are working towards becoming teachers, right? And if we can't encourage others to pursue their dreams then we won't be good teachers. We must put ourselves before them and guide them on the right path, help them when they stumble, and be there for them when they succeed or fail. We've talked about this in class and Pausch mentioned it, too; we need to get our students/peers to be self-reflective in their work. They can achieve so much more if they are engaged in their own progress that leads them to success. There's another thing I liked that he mentioned. I learned that when my critics stop critiquing me is when they have given up on me. People will critique us because they care. So, when we get comments from Dr. Strange or the lab assistants we need to appreciate the evaluation and learn from it.

Two more things I learned from Pausch's lecture: 1. "Have fun!...[and] never lose your childlike wonder!" and 2. "It's not about achieving your dreams, it's about how you lead your life."

C4T #2 Summary

For this C4T project I was assigned to Joey Feith. He is a P.E. teacher in Montreal, CQ (how cool!? I loved Canada when I went years ago) and is very engaged with #Physed and #PEchat on twitter-Follow him!
I have really enjoyed reading his blog and exploring the resources he includes on his website as well. To the other students pursuing P.E., take the time to see for yourself!

The first post I commented on is titled "Back to the Drawing Board," this post was an update on his progress at his new position at St. George's School of Montreal. He had really been enjoying his self from the tone of the blog and and he shared a lot of the teaching methods the school uses. This was my favorite part in the post, "It’s only my second week at St. George’s and I’ve already learned a ton. However, there is still a lot (like, a lot a lot) to learn. I feel like I’m starting fresh again. I’m going to need to hit the books, ask for your help, and reinvent myself as a teacher as I go along here. Challenge accepted!" I strive to have his attitude toward teaching when I graduate and land my first teaching position. When I left my comment, I shared with Feith that I was unfamiliar with the different teaching methods they use, but all the more intrigued. I also told him I'd follow him on twitter and maybe (hopefully) join in on the #PEchat one day.

Today, I commented on a post from earlier this year titled, "How I Teach:Adam Metcalf." In this post Feith shared with his readers that he likes to highlight another Physical Education teacher and asks them what they have to say about their teaching strategy. Metcalf teaches in Iowa at The Avery Coonley School. He shared his favorite apps, his teaching strategies, routines, instructions, and goals he has for his class. Metcalf has qualities that every teacher from any subject could benefit from; he says this, "Above all else, time spent building relationships with students is the most meaningful thing that a teacher can do. It is essential to get to know your students and to show them that you are a real person." I left a praising comment about how cool I thought it was to include another teacher's view on your own blog. Sharing ideas is very beneficial to educators. Like I stated before, I hope to have the same attitude and open-mindedness that these two P.E. teachers have for their jobs. Reading teachers blogs about their experiences and methods gives me an insight on what the job really consists of.

Project #7: Part B

For the Parents


For My Students

Project #13: PBL Plan 1

Group 4's PBL Lesson: The Three Little Pigs Comparison
The Project Lesson Plan
Our Project Rubric
The Project Calendar

Blog Post #7

After thinking about how technology is being used in the classroom as a universal tool I decided that it was a good thing, but maybe not the best thing for my future career. I think there are only a few students in this class that are pursuing Physical Ed. and I am one of them. The reason I say technology would'nt be best is because I want children to stray away from sitting in front of a computer or their phone screen for long periods of time and actually get their hands "dirty" with other activities. I do not totally disagree with the use of technology in the classroom because I do think it is beneficial, but I also think teachers need to maintain boundaries and a balance of technology. This will be one of my weaknesses when I become a teacher: knowing that they are receiving technology based instruction in their other classes will be hard for me to incorporate it in my instruction as well. I guess I could say that my goal with my students would be to clarify the appropriate times to use technology and the times when technology should be put down and entertainment/education be sought after in another fashion. On the other hand, I do have a great deal of experience with technology and I would certainly be able to use it in instruction. For example, music counts as technology and music could be used many times in a P.E. curriculum to teach content standards. Another example would be showing demonstration videos, methods like these would be beneficial to those students known as "visual learners." I found these two You Tube videos as examples. 1. Demonstrations 2. Instructions

With all of that being said, I want my readers to know that I am a very open-minded person and I can learn something and understand it's meaning from anything I can wrap my head around. For example, Bennett's video on audio recordings and QR codes-that was really interesting! I've always wondered how companies make those codes and why they are important. Bennett expressed that a code can hold anything you want it to and that the use of QR codes is very beneficial for sharing the child's work/progress with the parent. What a neat way to communicate information! Tuck's Kindergarten class also learned something very useful: iPad Reading in a Center. With the iPad, the student was able to hear his self while simultaneously evaluating his self. This reading technique, along with her Poplet app tutorial, seemed to be great tool for self evaluation. The next topic, Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) is something that I am familiar with. I am so glad students are learning basic research skills at such a young age. These skills will allow them to be so much more dependent and not to rely on somebody else finding the answer. AVL is also a great way to teach children to identify specific concepts/subjects and learn new facts. The Build a Board project was also a very interesting app to use in the classroom. Using a board builder in Discovery Ed. teaches students great techniques for organization, sorting information, note taking, and creativity. It also seems like a super fun way for them to share their work with the class! Lastly, I wanted to make a comment on the video "We All Become Learners." Dr. Strange is right every time he says it, "Teachers will never know everything there is to know about everything!" Teachers will teach the students and the students will sometimes have the opportunity to teach the teacher, and I believe this will always be accurate.

Project #8: Book Trailer

Project #6: C4K Summary #1

This week for comment #3 I was assigned to a student named Andrew who is part of Mrs. Greer's 5th grade class. Here is the class blog, you can find the students on the right hand side.
The post I commented on was tagged "100 word challenge," and he did a great job getting exactly 100 words into his post. He described a scenario about his family leaving their house to catch a plane. I enjoyed picturing his vivid sentences of what happened right before they left the house. Like I said, he did a great job with this portion of the post. On the other hand, I had to agree with the comment that Mrs. Greer left him pointing out his lack of quotation marks. I assumed they had learned this grammar rule by reading her comment about it. I reinforced this correction he needed to make in my comment as well. Quotation marks are vital when it comes to telling a story and having people in that story say specific things. Being in 5th grade he will begin to write many more narrative essays and this part of grammar is something that needs to become a habit.
The second student I had was named Cheyenne, and I believe she was about the same grade as Andrew. I remember her post being short, sweet, and to the point in answering her teacher's request. She shared her feelings about having an anti-bullying group come speak to her class-she enjoyed what they had to say. I shared with her that I liked reading her post and agreed with her because I believe bullying is a very serious problem in all school systems. The only correction I gave her was not to forget her proper nouns that required a capital letter, her school's name for example.
The first student I was assigned to was a young girl in New Zealand. I commented on one of her posts that included a Google slideshow. She made this presentation by using each letter of the alphabet and relating each letter to a sport. I remember she made a wonderful presentation that was very detailed with the names of the sports and graphics to go with them. I think that she enjoyed making this presentation because there was so much effort put into it.

Blog Post #6

Anthony Capps shared many important concepts and useful examples to understand how beneficial Project Based Learning (PBL) is in a classroom. He has shown 3rd graders how to use iMovie and his success proves that the PBL method works! The first two movies we were asked to watch, Part 1 and Part 2, shared the importance on how PBL should be implemented in the classroom.

~ Make sure the project includes the state content standards (Capp's example included Reading, Writing, and Social Studies).
~ And make sure the state content standards are represented in the project's standard/requirements.
~ Try to establish a project that the students can relate to/engage in (family, culture, leisure activities).
~ Include peer revision or even peer selection of the best work.

The first two points are pretty obvious why they are important to PBL, but the last two are the ones I want to focus on. When a teacher introduces a project the student thinks one of two thoughts: "I really don't want to do this." or "This might actually be fun." Our goal as educators is to create something so the student will enjoy learning. When the student can actively engage in the learning process and relate what they are studying to their own life that is when they are learning and retaining the most. Secondly, students also have the opportunity to learn when they critique their classmate's work. Every student will have a different opinion or idea about the subject, and by reviewing peer work the students are learning to be observant, open-minded, and maybe a little unbiased. I believe that when students acquire these skills they create the potential to expand their knowledge on any subject.
Capps opened my mind to what it takes to be a successful educator from PBL, to using iCurio, to establishing discovery education in the classroom as well. I want to share one of my favorite quotes from his commentary, "Never limit your students...give them the opportunity to exceed your expectations." This stood out to me when he said this because for so long children have been confined to a very small box that only accepts the correct answer from the text book; but now with methods such as PBL and Discovery Ed. the children can produce many different, and correct, answers.

Project #7: My Sentence Videos

I recorded myself with my DELL laptop. I then downloaded those recordings to a MAC desktop, that is why I ended up with this watermark over my videos.

My Sentence


My Passion

Project #3: Google Presentation

Blog Post #5

I swear I'm learning something new in this class every day! And what a great start to becoming a lifelong learner.
I had never heard of a Personal Learning Network (PLN) before today and it seems very helpful for an educator in the new technology-based learning generation. A Personal Learning Network is somebody's personalized space dedicated to their professional relationships, research sources, and commonly used tools/gadgets to help them in their research. The sites such as Netvibes and Symbaloo contain many tools to help someone begin a PLN (I think that Symbaloo would be a better choice for a beginner). Through these sites, one can gather as many contacts and online sources as they can and add them to their page. Whether they need an answer immediately, or they want to save research for later, the data will always be there. A PLN is an ongoing project; it can always be modified by the user and that's what is so helpful about it. By exploring the links shared by Dr. Strange for this blog post, I learned that a PLN is never finished and it is never perfect. Our personal relationships shrink and grow all the time; and for teachers it's always best to communicate with others that share your same beliefs and values about education. In some cases, it could also be helpful to get a different/opposing opinion about something, so a variety of sources is crucial.
This You Tube video is a great introduction for learning more about what a PLN is all about and how to create your own. Thinking ahead, if I were to make a PLN for myself I would include some Physical Education/Health teachers that have made a difference in their community because that is my personal goal. By collaborating with somebody who shares the same goals the possibilities are endless!

Project #15: Search Engines

Follow the underlined links to access the search engine! :)

I. Wolfram/Alpha
Wolfram/Alpha is a great tool for anything academic related. From measurement conversion, to statistics, to history facts, to medicinal research, this site has it all! Out of curiosity from my recent tip, I typed in "Galapagos Islands," and it gave me a full list of every island and the population and island size. It also includes a map with coordinates and links to related islands. If I were doing a project on something like the group of islands known as the Galapagos, this site would be a huge help!

II. Duck Duck Go
It's something new to me to find out about all these different search engine sites. This one, "Duck Duck Go," is your typical we browser tool except it promises the user real privacy. Along with speedy results in any subject needed, the user feels the satisfaction knowing their searches aren't being tracked or monitored. Our nation has privacy laws for a reason, and some users might feel more comfortable using a search engine such as this one.

III. Bing!
I have used Bing a time or two before and I believe that what makes it popular is that it portrays attractiveness to the eye. It has given me similar results to Google, but it is more interesting and exciting to look at. Bing also has a bigger focus on pop-news as it shows a reel of topics along the bottom of the page. This may be distracting if a student were hoping to use it to research an academic topic.

IV. Dog Pile
The Dog Pile search engine is very simple to use. It seems to be a good starter for children learning to navigate the world wide web because it includes a play on words such as, "Go Fetch" and "Sniff out info" to help children learn better. I searched the shopping option for a jewelry maker known as "Alex & Ani" and it took me directly to a page full of products and their prices. No unrelated annoying ads were included on the side of the page to distract the user from their intended purpose. I thought this site was very useful.

V. You Tube
Everybody and their grandparents are on and/or using You Tube by this year. Whether they are the star of the video or they are searching for a video their selves, most that have learned how to use it cannot put it down. You Tube is a great tool to search because some people need some hands-on learning. It is sometimes difficult to just read information or instruction off of a computer/phone screen; sometimes it makes a difference to watch and listen the information the user needs. This is a great source for moments in news and history that were once recorded and can now be recalled; the user also has access to digital recordings such as interviews with important people or organizations.

Project #4 Post: C4T #1 Summary

First of all, I want to share how much I enjoyed participating in this project. It gave me a chance to see what a real, functional, and popular, blog post looks like by a well-respected person. I was assigned to Mr. John Spencer who is passionate about helping his students achieve their goals.

The First post I commented on was titled, "The Hero of Your Own Story (Part 2)," here he discussed the tug-of-war battle between giving the students the opportunity to create their own strategies, make their own mistakes, and learn from them, and the threat of too much freedom in the classroom. He makes this statement to introduce the blog: "I was thinking about what it actually means to have students acting as active protagonists." I agreed with him that we should encourage students to be active in the decision making of their school careers; but I also agreed that inhibiting them from doing so may limit their full potential.

The Second post I commented on was, "How Do We Define Success?" That's a tough concept to define. In this post he shared personal stories about what success has meant to different students. Whether it's graduating college, maintaining a high GPA, or even just putting food on the table, we must acknowledge that everyone measures success in different ways. I want to share my personal experience. I came across this post after a stressful, normal college day and after reading it I was a bit more relaxed; Spencer has a perspective on situations that I must appreciate, and I shared both of these things with him and his other readers. Our lives will have many ups and downs but we need to learn to appreciate every success we make-big or small!

Spencer's blog was very interesting to explore, and he has many engaging topics that are universally related (and he's even a Harry Potter fan!). Please follow the link to see his blog for yourself! Education Rethink

Blog Post #4

More than often, we think we are doing our peers, or children we interact with, a favor when we ask them questions. We ask questions that make sense to us, and we assume it makes sense to the peer or child. To be productive with a question it must make sense to the person receiving the question, and most of the time that is where we lack effectiveness. I started off with Johnson's Edutopia blog about the right way to ask a question in the classroom. Reading through his ideas got the wheels in my head turning, but I still couldn't figure it out exactly. I kept focusing on what he mentions about the goal of the question, what do we want this child to know/understand from what we are asking? And furthermore, how can we tell if they really do understand?
While pondering on these questions, I decided to check out Weimer's blog: "Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom." She included some great tips for educators such as preparing the questions you want to ask, playing with questions in different ways, and preserving good questions, whether from another teacher or even a student! She also includes these questions in her blog, "Is it the question that needs to be asked? When is the best time to ask it?" These questions really stuck with me when I explored another source.
The YouTube video about open ended questions gave me a much clearer idea of what is trying to be taught to educators. The author, Stix, gave some great examples: "For what reasons did the American Revolution begin?" "Generate a list of all the places mold could grow." And that's when I finally got it! These open ended questions allow the students to engage in a deeper thinking and reasoning process instead of being hung up on answering the question exactly right with one short answer. I believe this is the type of approach we as future educators should begin to use. Good teaching begins with good strategy, and good strategy begins with asking ourselves the good questions. I also would like to invite you all to explore Stix's blog because she has some great, outside the box ideas about effective teaching strategies.

Blog Post #3

The videos and slide show that were included with this week's assignment were so extremely obvious that I hadn't even considered a few of the points that were made in my previous experience with peer reviews. Unfortunately, my past experience influenced me to think that the class was doing this to help the teacher lessen their work load. I was never taught the importance of why we as student peers engage in reviewing each other's work. Now I know why.
Peer reviewing is a sensitive process because no body enjoys being told that their work isn't good enough. We must be aware that our peer has put in a lot of effort to complete the assignment, and we cannot just jump in head first and bash their best efforts. To become an effective reviewer, I need to STAY POSITIVE! That means to first find what does work in their writing rather than what doesn't, and then proceed from there. For example, I could say, "I really like what you're trying to say/describe and maybe with a little sentence revision it will be more clear to the reader." instead of saying, "What you wrote doesn't make any sense and your sentences are too unorganized." The attitude I have when I critique something can determine how the peer responds and if they fix it correctly.

Furthermore, I always thought it was only about pointing out the spelling and grammatical errors, but now I understand that I need to look for things like a clear main idea, smooth transitions, descriptive detail, and etc. We are doing this to help one another, so to provide meaningful feedback we also need to make useful suggestions in the peer's work. I could suggest moving a couple of sentences around to be read more clearly, or provide synonyms for a word that would create more meaning, or even suggest how to make a conclusion. I believe that when peers brainstorm together there shouldn't be any reason why an essay or a blog isn't up to the correct standards.

Blog Post #2

After watching the video, "Mr. Dancealot," I realized that teaching requires application! A teacher that engages his/her students and requires them to apply themselves to the material has much better success than a teacher who does not. The central message is that learning requires interaction with the teacher and the material. The author of the video made his point extremely clear at the end; the students did not learn because all they did was listen to him talk about dance, and demonstrate the positions behind a huge podium. I assume that we all agree that he should have at least demonstrated the dance positions where his students could see him. The conclusion of this video with Mr. Dancealot was nothing less than 100 percent valid. Even with their notes, and the couple of students who payed attention in every lecture, they still did not know how to dance. The students needed more in depth demonstration and practice! A dance class cannot be successful when they are learning in a lecture class room with power points; obviously, they should have been learning in the ballroom where their final exam would be held. It is not fair to expect one's students to absorb so much material on a screen and on paper and then be able to "burp it back," as Dr. Strange would say, physically and accurately.

Roberts's video, "Teaching in the 21st Century," caused me to really think about what I will be doing as a teacher in this technologically advanced generation. I believe that Roberts thinks we as teachers must be adaptive and, of course, engaging to be the kind of teacher we aspire to be in the future. He talks about using the skills we've learned about technology to motivate our future students to engage in technology as well. I feel as if this video is beneficial to both future teachers and current students because the questions Roberts asks are serious to our education. The internet has an endless supply of knowledge for people to obtain, but it also provides much distraction. I agree completely with what Roberts has proposed in his video, but on the other hand I do not think that technology will productively serve my students in a P.E. classroom. Applications and answers at your finger tips might work well in a traditional classroom, but I still believe children can be distracted in the blink of an eye. If personal technology becomes popular in the classrooms I would propose heavy monitoring and strict rules to be efficient. Lastly, I am not completely against using technology in a P.E. class because it could be helpful at any time; I personally just see it as a bigger distraction.

"Why does a networked student need a teacher?" is a very engaging question! Networked students have all they need at the touch of a button and a click of the mouse, but the teacher is the one who instructs them properly and guides them to success. A teacher is a mentor and a "filter of knowledge," as stated in Roberts's previous video; they don't just assign homework and grade projects all year long. If students didn't have teachers how would they know which direction to go? How would they know who they could trust? How would they know if they were making progress? These are the questions that come to mind when Drexler asked us her question. My opinion is that teachers are necessary to the quality of learning and the success of the student!

Vicki Davis's video, "Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts," was all about the collaborative work between students through the internet. By blogging and documenting and sharing, these students have interacted with others like them from around the world! As she stated in the video, "only using paper and pencil," will definitely limit the success of your students. Children and adults, too, can learn anytime and anywhere and I think it is a wonderful accomplishment; especially for the type of experience Davis is sharing with her students! Once students gain those skills they are never lost. The best part is, those skills can be passed on from there on out.

After watching Dr. Strange's video on who is ahead in the learning race, I would have to vote for the Elementary students. They are so privileged to be growing up with tools such as the Mac book. Those students are learning new things every day that people my age wouldn't have even dreamed of when we were 1st graders. It is truly amazing how much education can change and who it can affect. It seems to me that the Gulf Shores Elementary school is really making progress on the quality of education these students are receiving, and I am proud to know that now. I have had my doubts on the education system here locally but after a couple weeks in EDM 310 and watching this video by Dr. Strange I now hold this generation to high standards. It also seems to me that every upcoming generation has the ability to "one-up" the generation before them now.

The article, "Bringing the Locker Room into the Classroom," was inspiring to me. The author made some valid points on how teachers also need to be coaches in their classrooms. Teachers should coach their students the basic skills they will need to interpret material and to come up with the best possible answer. When I eventually become a Physical Education teacher, I will have to be both a teacher and a coach. I must teach my students the skills, the rules, and the goals intended but I also will have to coach them into applying their new skills properly. I also agree with the author when he stated that teachers have the ability to learn from coaches, and vise versa. I believe in the statement that has already been made clear in this class that educators are life long learners!

Blog Post #1

What About EDM310?

I only recently changed my major to the College of Education, I was majoring in Exercise Science, so I haven't heard much talk about these required courses such as EDM 310. The only information and opinions I am aware of is what has already been provided by Dr. Strange and his assistants. I haven't been scared off yet, but I usually try to have faith in myself during the first week of a new course. If I had received troubling feedback about this course I would have disregarded it anyway because I try to maintain an unbiased opinion about everything. On the other hand, If I had gotten positive feedback, I would be excited to learn new things from this course. As of now, the only worries I have about this course are managing my time and not to forget any assignments! Forgetting about things is probably my biggest weakness, but hopefully that can change. Compared to other classes I have taken here at USA this one is by far the most impressive! I was first impressed about the lack of paper work and that all work is through the internet; every professor should go green! I have heard teachers all my life say something like, "Don't waste paper, let's save the trees," but I have never actually seen one do something about it. As stated before, I think my most difficult task in this class will be not to forget an assignment. To prevent that awful mistake from ever happening I plan to leave myself reminders everywhere I look: on my phone's calendar, on the dry-erase board in my room, and in my class notebook.
To conclude, I am still not quite sure what exactly to expect from this class so I'm not very inquisitive about anything yet. I always remind myself to listen closely in class and to have an open mind, and with that being said, if I am unsure about something I will not hesitate to ask for help and get answers!

Practice Blog Post

I. Background information on myself
a. Personal History
b. Previous sports/interests
c. My major
II. Why Educate?
a. To help the next generations
b. To continue learning myself
c. Interest in teacher benefits
III. Skills to be an Educator
a. Knowledge of the subject
b. Energy and patience
c. Time and commitment
IV. My passions
a. Daily physical activities
b. The environment
c. include media

About Me
My name is Shelby Lynn, I am 20 years young, and I was born and raised here in Mobile, Alabama. I have a fairly small family that all live nearby so we are all pretty close, except for my cousins who are at school in CA and NY. My family and I enjoy the outdoors probably more than anything else. My dad has been sailing boats since he was a kid and because of that we've had the opportunity to go on awesome private cruises in the Caribbean. My parents, my brother and I are also SCUBA certified and enjoy boating in the Gulf of Mexico and spear fishing. Those are our summer activities; during the fall and winter we are at our hunting camp in NW Alabama preparing for White Tail deer season. I also really love to travel. I have been to almost all 50 states and out of the coutry a handful of times as well, to the Bahammas, Belize, the British and Spanish Virgin Islands, and most recently Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.

I am majoring in Physical Education, and I was influenced to this major because I have many years of experience with sports and fitness. Not only am I interested in playing the game but also all of the meaning and purpose that I have put into sport, as well as what I have gained from it. Through the years I have participated in gymnastics, cheerleading, swimming, tennis, dance, basketball, and volleyball; although practicing yoga is probably my favorite activity. I believe that my physical fitness has allowed me to better myself, and that is what I hope to accomplish with others when I receive my degree.

Why I Want to Educate
The most important reason I want to teach physical education is to help influence the upcomming generations in our society. Our nation's concern with obesity and diet related illnesses worries me, as I believe it should worry every one. If we do not teach the children what it means to be physically active and healthy nobody will, because the parents are already the ones who are unhealthy and exhibiting bad habits. We all play a role in how our society develops, and it's not fair to be dissapointed in it when we haven't tried to do anything to change it. By teaching the children in our nation I will also have the ability to continue learning myslef; I believe that teachers are life long learners in their field. Like most people, I look foraward to having a summer season during the year. So, becoming a teacher who gets the summers and weekends off was very appealing to me. During that time I hope to pursue another area of teaching-becoming a yoga instructor.

What is an Educator?
To me an educator is a friend, a parent, a family member, or they could even be a stranger. No matter the relation that person has to you, if they have shared something that positively influences your life or holds deep meaning to you, they have educated you. An educator also helps to develop ideas and morals and helps steer the path of right and wrong. I have always heard people say that those who want to teach do not do it for the sallary, they do it because they have a passion for teaching; and beacuase of that reason teachers carry a lot on their plates. Obviously a teacher must have knowledge and understanding of the subject to be able to share the lesson. But that is not all a teacher should have; they need to have energy, patience, time, and a sense of commitment. Even though they are young, children can notice when a teacher doesn't care and that definitely influences how and what they learn from them.

My Passions
My passions include my daily physical activities. Every weekday morning I take my new puppy on a walk around our neighborhood, when we get home I usually start my yoga practice, and then in the evenings when my boyfriend gets off work we go to the gym together. These activities are very important to me to do daily because they keep me on track and feeling good. When I am unable to do them my whole day feels off, and I can almost feel the laziness in my body. I really love being active and having something to do that'll make me sweat (and with that said you can guess I am not like most girls my age). On almost any day, except maybe the past few days of August, I would rather be outside doing something active than sitting inside. Another one of my passions is helping the environment. After my recent trip to the Galapagos Islands (for those who do not know, is a very strictly preserved national park) I have a much better understanding on how the population influences it's environment, which is something that is taken for granted. If we want a clean and safe place to live then we need to make it that way. The following picture was taken of me doing a yoga pose on the top of Santa Cruz island in the Galapagos.