Blog Post #6

The Networked Student
By Wendy Drexler

Wendy Drexler's video, The Networked Student, was very informative and interesting. She told a story about a teacher that taught her students through connectivism. Wendy Drexler states, "Connectivism is a theory that presumes that learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties." This network is made possible through various tools of technology but the tools are not as important as the connections made possible by them. The teacher in the video believes that getting connected with other students that are trying to learn the same things will increase the strength of the learning process. The student must first create his Personal Learning Network, or PLN. With this, the student gets connected with other students that are researching the same topic; in this case American Psyche. He locates websites that other students have posted URL's of edited papers and articles about the topic. Another important tool that other students have used to post opinions, rather than facts, is blogs. Using blogs can now allow students to comment on blog post and state their own opinions on what they have learned on the subject.

So, why does he even need a teacher? Teachers are there to teach the students how to build this network and take advantage of the learning opportunities it has to offer. Guidance, communication skills, how to differ from good information and bad information, and organization of information are some skills that teachers are there to help their students through this process. The teacher in the video hopes that what she has taught her student will go on with him forever to help solve the worlds problems. Teaching in the 21st century is going to require new techniques due to the advancement that technology has accomplished.

A 7th Grader's PLN

This video showed a great example of a 7th graders Personal Learning Network, or PLN. Since I have watched this video, I realized I have a lot of work to do for my PLN. It definitely helps students and teachers stay organized and neat. Everything you want to save can be kept safe in an organized folder, using Symbaloo, which is what this student used on her computer. This video was very helpful for me because my PLN is far from this. I have work to do.

My Sentence Video

Blog Post #5

If I Built A School

In Krissy Venosdale's post "If I Built A School", she goes off into a wonderful fantasy of the perfect school in her dreams. She explains that there would be no quarterly exams or required classes. She would prefer her school be comfortable, vibrant, and different. I think her version of a school would be amazing for teachers and students both. She also said that students should move up in grade level according to their ability because it's true, some students move at a faster pace than others.

So what would a school be like if I built it with no limits or boundaries? First of all, I do agree with Mrs. Venosdale that students should be allowed to have devices such as tablets and computers to use at appropriate times only. Some students are much better on a computer than they are with paper and a pencil. My school would be very colorful and interesting also. My elementary school was not very colorful on the outside or in the hallways. Most of the students work was hung up in the classrooms only. I would want art work from students hung all over the hallways of my school. And what is with the neutral colors on the walls? I would prefer greens and blues throughout my hallways. Unlike Mrs. Vonosdale, I do believe that I would still require the quarterly test that students have to take as a "final" grade to pass a class. To me, these test prove that the students are ready to move ahead into the next grade. Even though some students are just not naturally good at test taking, it is still important for a child to challenge their brain in this way. Young students typically love to be involved with the way their school looks and works. I would want my school to be eye pleasing and interesting. I want the parents to be just as involved as the students are so I would have programs monthly to keep the kids involved in extra curricular things as well. Overall, I would aim for a school that made learning fun. Seems to me that too many students these days don't like school by the time they are in the 2nd or 3rd grade. We have to keep their attention!

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

Wow! This was actually pretty cool. Seems as if they had people all over the world singing together over the internet, using Skype or something. In reality, they each individually recorded the song then posted it to YouTube. Eric had first recorded himself directing the music then posted a blog calling all singers to learn the music and record themselves. It's amazing that he could then piece all the voices together and create a virtual choir. I think this was very interesting because Eric made these people that have a similar love of singing feel connected in a way. Being a part of this choir made some people feel as if they were part of the choir's family, even though they have never met one another.

Teaching in the 21st Century

Kevin Roberts made some very interesting points here. In my opinion, he is trying to explain that educators have a different role in the 21st century than educators did 20 years ago. Educators must use more than just pencils and paper now because technology is opening up multiple different doors to learning. Podcasting, blogging, and researching are excellent tools for classrooms in the 21st century. I like how Kevin Roberts said educators do not need to entertain students, but engage them! That is so true! Learning is not about the entertainment, but the involvement the students have individually. Students learn a lot more when they have to engage an assignment on their own and actually work to make something happen. Memorization and repetition are not going to help students advance in the 21st century at all.

Flipping the Classroom

Flipping the Classroom seems like an excellent tool to use in all classrooms. This is providing extra teaching time that not all teachers have in their classrooms alone. Students now can review the lesson before class and already have an idea of what will be taught the next day. I would definitely use this tool in my classroom. I believe it will help students technically and with organization. Requiring the students to remember to watch the videos and take notes on what they learned will teach the students many skills at an early age.

Project #5 Presentation

Blog Post #4

Langwitches

First Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobooks
I think this is a great idea for young students because it gets them involved with computers and helps them practice speaking skills. Young students tend to enjoy hands on activities more than just book work, so working with a computer and recording themselves really get the kids working hard. As Langwitches blog said, the students would want to immediately re-record what they said if it didn't sound perfect to them. They knew how they were suppose to project their voice and allowing them to hear their recording trained them to perfect their speech.

Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting
I found it interesting that Langwitches said in order to understand the pronunciation of a word, you must hear it at least 70 times. Also, you must understand the word in sentences to fully understand how to pronounce the word. Recording and listening to yourself say words can give you a better understanding of how to say the word, especially if it is a different language than your primary. In this blog, I liked how the second grade teachers purposely had their students record clips out of order then put them in the correct order of a story one by one, using a Smart Board. Langwitches said, "This lesson was not about the tool or the genre; it was about writing a script, listening, comprehension, collaboration, speaking skills, and fluency in the target language." I like that this project wasn't about the tools that technology had to offer, but about the skills the students had in them.

Podcasting With First Grade
I found it interesting that that first grade students were eager to get their recording onto eBooks and iPods so that worldwide people could hear it. They were actually interested in having an audience. The teacher that posted this blog said that she was very pleased to see the students that were waiting their turn to record have interest in the student that was recorded at the present time. They all wanted to be involved with the entire podcast. These students also gained a new level of confidence in themselves because they were challenged to repeat lines and speak out loud. This project built lots of new skills in the classroom.

Special Blog Post #1

WolframAlpha

When I searched for the comparison in populations between India, China, and the United States, I was pleased with the additional results WolframAlpha gave me. The populations are as follows: India has 1.21 billion people, China has 1.35 billion people, and the United States has 309 million people as of the year 2010. The growth in population is slowly but surely increasing in all the countries. India's population grew 1.44%, China grew 0.63%, and the United States grew 0.969% in the year 2008.

I also searched India, China, and the United States individually. Each search offered plenty of information on each country, including; a map, demographics, languages, religions, employment and education. The number of students in each country are as follows: India 251.3 million, China 233.3 million, and U.S. 67.62 million. That's a pretty large difference between India and the United States!

I found WolframAlpha to be an easy and excellent tool to use. I was surprisingly pleased to read some of the stats about the individual countries I searched. It was very interesting. I also love the way the site was laid out; easy search bar with examples and random searches and the information page is organized. There is a lot my future students and I could use this tool for. Upload cans also be made. It's an easy, interesting tool for any student.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Wow! The numbers on the social media count were flying by! The category "social now" was very eye-opening to me because it was all about Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and devices; which I'm not a big fan of any of those things. I don't have a Facebook or Instagram and I don't upload videos to YouTube, so seeing the numbers go up so fast makes me realize how much time people really spend on social networking sites and such. Before one second could pass, there were already over 29, 000 likes and comments on Facebook!

What does this mean for my professional career as a teacher? Well, I believe this is only the beginning of the future. The internet and computers are getting smarter every day in this day and time. I must realize that the future is going to be all about computer use by the time I become a teacher. I understand that computers are an excellent source for education and I am eager to learn more about the things that EDM310 has to offer. I hope to use a lot of the tools I haven already learned when I become a teacher.

Blog Post #3

Peer Editing

According to Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial, peer editing is working with someone your own age to help improve, revise, and edit his or her writing. The steps and rules this tutorial provided are great ways to peer edit papers and other writings. Having three rules and three easy steps is a great way to help elementary aged children learn how to peer edit. The first step is to compliment. I learned starting off with compliments about the writing will give the writing some confidence that they didn't do a terrible job, even though they may have a few errors. The second step is to suggest. Making suggestions on word choice or sentence structure could help the writer with decisions he or she weren't particularly sure with. Just saying "this is wrong" or "this was a bad word choice" isn't the way to go. Give the writing detailed suggestions on what they could change their errors to. The final step is to correct. Correcting grammar and spelling is a very important step to peer editing because some students might look past run-on sentences or misspelled words.

Peer editing is very important to me in schools. All students should be taught at a young age on how to peer edit papers correctly. Personally, I don't like when I work extremely hard on a paper and then my peer editor just writes "it was good" and "yes, you gave detail." That kind of editing isn't going to help me improve my paper at all. I believe students should give plenty of feedback when it comes to editing papers. The video "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes" gave great examples on what not to do when peer editing papers. If students edit papers like that and are not corrected, they are going to need that much more help when they get in more advanced classes. Starting the peer editing techniques at a young age will help students tremendously.

Assistive Technologies

The Mountbatten
I think the Mountbatten is an excellent tool for all schools to have so that children that are hearing and vision impaired can have the same opportunity to do assignments and projects that the other children get to do. I would definitely use this tool in my classroom if I have the chance. It would make vision and hearing impaired students feel they have the same opportunity in learning as everyone else. I wouldn't want any of my students to be left behind.

Ipad for the Blind
In Wesley Majerus' "Ipad Usage for the Blind," he is giving a presentation on how to use the Apple Ipad for the blind. Wesley is blind himself. He explains how the ipad can read aloud everything you slide your finger across on the screen. He opened a book on the tablet and demonstrated how blind students could still read books using the ipad. This is a good tool for classrooms. Blind students need useful tools in this day and time to help them keep up in the classrooms so they can receive the same education as everyone else. In Denise Robinson's "Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child is Learning on the Ipad," is showing an adult what her children can learn using an ipad. I have heard people say a thousand times, "Children know more about those ipad's and ipod's than I could ever know," but it is very important for adults to learn how to use them also. This is important because I believe in today's times, the use of ipads is only going to increase in the school systems throughout the world. Vision impaired children could use this tool severely in schools. It would be such a great help.

Vicki Davis

Wow! My favorite quote of this video was when Vicki Davis said "I wasn't teaching them how to do terraform, they were teaching me. I didn't even know how to do it until today." This classroom reminded me a lot of Dr. Strange's classroom in edm310. The teacher was allowing the students to figure things out on their own, with her assistance. The students were using google, twitter, and posting on a blog weekly. Interviewed students were proud of their work and discoveries they made. Other teachers were proud of Vicki Davis' teaching methods because they were not only connected to the students in their class, they were connected to students and teachers across the world. Teaching this way is an excellent tool in the classroom. No one is doing the work for you, your doing it on your own. I want to teach this way. I don't want to produce a "burp-back" education as a teacher. I want my students to take what they learned with them and remember it forever.