Blog Assignment #9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning

According to Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning a good project has to fulfill two criteria. Number one, students must see the project as meaningful. Number two, a meaningful project fulfills an educational purpose. The seven essentials to creating a good project are
1. Need to Know - it needs to be relevant
2. A Driving Question - gives a sense of purpost
3.Students Voice and Choice - the more, the better
4. 21st Century Skills - collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and use of technology
5. Inquiry and Innovation - guide students in real inquire
6. Feedback and Revision - Formalize the process
7. Publicly Present Product - students care about the quality more.

Project Based Learning for Teachers says, "project based learning has students working over an extended period of time answering a driving question. The question is deep and requires students to complete an end product to share their learning with others." When the Common Core State Standards are the "what," project based learning is the "how." Project Based Learning makes students use skills that they will not only need fore school, but also as adults.

Project Based Learning is not only for the core subjects, but it can also be used in Physical Education. In Project Based Learning in PE, Pflug states that he has high school students create create physical fitness programs for the middle school. In doing this, he is also meeting the State Standards because the students have to have knowledge of the physical education to create the programs.

English and math are the hardest subject to incorporate Project Based Learning; however, it can be done. In PBL - High School Math, the teachers have monthly staff meetings and a five day intensive summer institute to work on incorporating Project Based Learning. The teachers redesigned their courses and departmentally worked together to "inject" Project Based Learning into Math and English. It is important to remember that Project Based Learning will not look the same in every subject, if it did, it would not work. For example, when teaching probability in math, the students can create games using dice. However, creating games may not work for other subjects.

Two Students Solve the Problem of Watery Ketchup by Designing a New Cap is a video of two high school seniors, Tyler Richards and Jonathan Thompson, who were in a project based learning class and were given the prompt to come up with something relevant to them. The students started off with saying, "It really bugs me when..." The decided on when you squirt ketchup and water comes out and gets every where. So they designed a new lid to be placed on the ketchup bottle that prevents this from happening. I could not figure out what subject this class was for, science, math, etc. and I am not sure how it related to a school subject, unless it was Engineering or something separate from the core subjects. However, I think it is interesting how two high school students researched and designed this ketchup lid. I think Heinz needs to pick it up because I agree with Thompson, "Wet bread is gross!"

C4Ta #3 Wesley Fryer - Moving at the Speed of Creativity

Summary

Wesley Fryer had an Interview with Chris Davis on "Journeys in Podcasting" Project. Fryer and Davis are both excited about podcasting, using it in the classrooms and using it to show other teachers what they are working on. The Journey in Podcasting Project is about people documenting projects and activities around campus, researching them and video casting them. The podcasters reach out to bigger names in education and use them as a type of research to incorporate in the podcasts. Davis states that after doing a video, a group gets together and discusses what needs to be added to it. It surprised him how much of a positive experience it has been making the podcasts.

Check it out: @chrisdaviscng
On iTunes
On Podbean

Comment
I thought this was an interesting concept for a blog. Instead of reading an article, there is a description and then a video. I think Journeys in Podcasting is a cool idea, how it is audio or video. I also like how they integrated ideas from highly intelligent thinkers in the education field. I will definitely be listening to some of the podcasts in my future.




Summary

Amazing Animated Space Films: Wanderers and New Horizons is an article about space videos shared with Wesley Fryer. I think sharing these videos with elementary school students would be really useful. The thought of space is a hard concept to grasp and looking at pictures does not do a student much good. However, watching a video and feeling like you are zooming through space really grasps a student's interests. Also, each video is educational; they are about events that have happened or are going to happen, For example, one video is about an upcoming mission to Pluto.

Comment
I really liked these videos. As an elementary school teacher, I will be teaching science, so having these resources shared by other teachers is helpful. I thought the videos were educational and will be a good tool to use. I liked looking at Wesley Fryer's blog because he shared a lot of resources that he and other teachers use in their classrooms.

Project 12 Part A

Project #14

My group came up with a science lesson for our project. The lesson is about biomes and habitats. The students will be put into groups and each group will make an iMovie about one habitat. The first day the children will given an overview on the biomes and on how to make an iMovie. Day two through four, the students will research their habitat and make their iMovie. On the last day, the students will present the movie to the rest of the class. Attached below is the lesson plan, rubric, and calendar the teacher will use for the week.

Lesson Plan

iMovie Rubric

Calendar

Blog Assignment #8

On September 18, 2007, Randy Pausch gave his Last Lecture. This was not a normal lecture that a teacher would give in a classroom. This lecture was about how to achieve your dreams. This lecture was about how to live your life. Randy Pausch said that there are brick walls in life. The brick walls are there to show us how badly we want something, the let us prove how badly we want things, and let us show our dedication. When I become a teacher, I need to teach my students that simple statement. That yes, there will be brick walls or road blocks in life, but only the people who want something will move past them. If you sit there idol, that means that you did not want it bad enough.

Another thing I learned from Randy Pausch is that I should not limit my students. No matter how good their work is, there is always room for improvement. The greatest thinkers are never satisfied with their work. We always need to push ourselves and others to get better. Being satisfied with your work is just a disguised brick wall. If you settle for what you are doing, then you will never be the best you can be.

What can we learn about learning from Randy Pausch? We can learn to always have fun! Randy Pausch was given three to six months to live, yet he said he was going to have fun every day until he died. We can learn that life is full of "head fakes," things are not always as they seem. We need to learn to get more out of life. We need to learn to help others and put others first. We need to learn to never give up on our dreams, no matter how silly they are. Randy Pausch never gave up on his childhood dreams, he may have modified them, but he never gave up. We can learn many things from Randy Pausch and if ever anyone is feeling down or sorry for themselves, they need to watch this video. It could change the way they think forever.

C4Ta #2 Education Rethink - John T. Spencer

John T. Spencer
Website: Education Rethink

10 Ways to Improve Student Brainstorming
Summary
This is an artical by John T. Spencer about how students often struggle with brainstorming. Students have great ideas, brilliant even, but will say "I don't have any ideas." because they are afraid to share their ideas. So John T. Spencer created a list of ten ways to improve how students brain storm:

1. Have students brainstorm in isolation first.
2. Emphasize that there are not dumb ideas! List every one on the board.
3. Experiment with formatting.
4. Be clear in the brainstorming topic.
5. Be intentional about the brainstorming space. This means how you want them to sit, listen, and speak or if you want them to use technology or not.
6. Create breaks for individual reflection.
7. Have a brainstorm leader who write down the ideas, guides the brainstorming session, and makes sure there is no criticism.
8. Move students around.
9. Try multiple visual methods, paper and pencil, web lists, poster and markers, etc.
10. Do not use a timer. Children can panick when time is running out, so they do not come up with their very best ideas.

Comment
I will definitely use this list with my future class. I would even like to make a sign or poster to hang up in my class. I think any future teacher needs to read this article. Even though it is a simple list that some may think is common sense, I think it will affect brainstorming sessions dramatically. For example, number 8, moving students around, people may not think that just moving to a different location can change a brainstorming session but it can! If a teacher, current or future, wants their students to brainstorm and be creative, they need to go read the 10 Ways to Improve Student Brainstorming.

Five Ways Techers Can Limit the Fear of Creative Failure
Spencer starts this article by saying how he is working on a web design, yet he is hitting a wall. He can not decide how he wants the graphics to be done and he simply can not remember codes for somethings he wants to do. He goes on to say, how he is afraid of failure, he is afraid it will not work out right. Then the statement, "Ultimately, it's the fear, not the frustration, that kills creativity." Then he lists the Five Ways Teachers can Limit the Fear of Creative Failure:

1. Share your own fear as a maker.
2. Promote a growth mindset with students.
3. Encourage risk taking as a part of your classroom culture.
4. Switch to standards-based grading.
5. Keep the creative work meaningful to students.

Comment
Once again, I love Mr. Spencer's article. I think it is important to help students be creative. At one point in the article, Spencer states that when people become adults or get older, the quit dancing, they quit singing, and they quit stopping, observing, and wondering because they are afraid of being embarrassed or not being productive. I think this is very true and very sad. People in today's world get embarrassed too easily. I think to help children be creative and not be embarrassed, we as teachers have to learn to do the same.

Summary for John T. Spencer Overall, I loved reading John T. Spencer's articles. I will have to add him to my Personal Learning Network. Even though, I have thought the same things, I never really understood the impact a simple list can make on brainstorming and creativity. These rules should be common sense; however, some people do not think in the same way we do as teachers. I think everyone needs to read these two articles, and I will definitely read more of Mr. Spencer's work.

Project #9 Video Book Commentary

Blog Assignment #7

Using iMovie and Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten is a video conversation between Dr. Strange, Michelle Bennett, and Elizabeth Davis discussing the use of iMovie and AVL in kindergarten classes. Mrs. Bennett discusses how she teaches her Kindergartners the steps to using iMovie by starting with the basics and then moving up. Since Mrs. Bennett is teaching the children how to use iMovie, teachers are incorporating them into stations in their classrooms. The students are making iMovie book trailers for the books they are reading in their class. Once the students are established, they take off and sometimes educate the teachers. Mrs. Davis talks about AVL which is a free resource for Alabama students, whether elementary or college. Mrs. Davis says they are educating the kindergartners the basics of research. She states that either she or the teachers assign the students animals and every week the students will use AVL to research their specific animal. I think using AVL in kindergarten is a wonderful idea because as she said, it is teaching them how to research. Research will always be a part of life, whether in school or out, we all need to know the proper ways to research.

We All Become Learners is another video conversation between Dr. Strange, Michelle Bennett, and Elizabeth Davis about how whether teacher or student, we are all learners. Having one to one devices changes the dynamics of a classroom. Children are so amazed with technology that they can figure out something on one before an adult can. Therefore, the students are educating the teachers about technology. Everyone becomes a part of each other's Personal Learning Network. I completely agree with this video in saying that students can educate teachers because I have a five year old niece who can show me things on my Galaxy S5 that I did not know it could do. Children in today's time know so much more about technology than I did at that age, or even now, that we have to incorporate it into classrooms to stay relevant.

Interview Rosado How to Get a Job is a conversation between Dr. Strange and Dr. Rosado, the principal at Gulf Shores High School. Dr. Strange asks Rosado what he looks for when hiring a new teacher. Rosado lists the following:
1. Works with technology
2. Understands technology
3. Is a team player
4. Not a lecturer
Dr. Rosado says that he asks, "How are we going to deliver material in a different way to reach our students?" He wants teachers to have "real world" related subjects to keep students interested. For example, their engineering students are partnering with an architect to build a Boy Scout's building. Dr. Rosado says he wants a teacher who thinks differently.

Planet Earth by Lauber's Class is an iMovie that Ms. Lauber's class made about the earth. I thought it was really cool how each student would state a fact about the Earth and with each statement was a coinciding picture. I think it is wonderful that elementary students were able to make this video and I may just steal this Project Based Learning idea for my future classroom.

Kirby "I Can" Statements is a short video with four elementary school girls. Each of the students share two "I Can" Statements and then do the activity stated. An "I Can" Statement is a simple statement about something you can do. The statement does not have to be anything significant or spectacular, just a simple ability. For example, one of the girls said, "I can count to one hundred by one's and by ten's." Then, she proceeded to count to one hundred by ten. I like replacing "I Can't" with "I Can" because children do not need to focus on the negative things they can not do. If children start focusing on positive things they can do, I think the world will be a happier place to live.

Tammy Shirley sharing 1st Grade Students Becoming Leaders of Their Own Learning is a video by Ms. Shirley telling about how her first grade students took charge of their own learning. Ms. Shirley says that she assigned her students a research project. While she was trying to finish her graphic organizer, the students got their Macbooks and started doing their research without her telling them to do so. The second half of the video is Ms. Shirley showing and talking about the Graphic Organizer she and some other teachers created for their students.
I love the fact that the students got out their Macbooks and started their own research. This shows how technology in the classroom is a wonderful resource. When I was in elementary and middle school, we would have to go to computer labs to do research or do it at home. Now, students have resources at their fingertips in their classrooms.

Project #13 Project Based Learning

I am in Group 5 and we created a project using padlet. We are going to have the students create their own padlet and naming each of the planets in our solar system, the Milky Way. Next, the students will have to place the planets in order and insert a picture of the planets. Next, the students will have to use the Alex Resources and other resources to gather information on each of the planets. The students, then, will share the information with the rest of the class by sharing their padlet link. Attached is the example padlet with the resources and lesson plan.

Padlet: Teacher's Example and Resources
Lesson Plan

Padlet Rubric

Blog Assignment #6

Being a children's pastor, I use object lessons to teach the children a lot. An object lesson is doing something that the children can physically see changes or unnatural things happen instead of just lecturing. Even though with Project Based Learning, it is the children who are doing the projects, I think it is the same concept. I feel this way because Anthony Capps states in Project Based Learning Part 1 that project based learning is when the children are doing the projects and learning from them, not showing what they have learned. I really like the idea of project based learning because most children will remember the process and outcome of a project better than remembering a lecture.

After watching the conversation between Dr. Strange and Anothony Capps about iCurio, I think I have learned a lot. I have never heard of iCurio.com before. I think it is a very interesting website. I like how students and teachers can save files to the site. I know being at a university, I have to save or "favorite" items on the internet to my computer all of the time. So to have files on the website to save things to would be really useful. I also like the fact that it is a filtered site and you can find audio and video along with text.

When watching the conversation video Discovery Ed, I remembered that when I was observing a third grade classroom last semester, my teacher used Discovery Ed. I was intrigued by the site; however, I was unable to ask her about it and unfortunately, I had forgotten about it. So, I enjoyed watching this video because I wanted to know more about this site before this class. I think Discovery Ed is a very useful website. I love how it has so many resourceful videos available to teachers and students. As Anthony Capps said, it is like "bringing in experts into the classroom via video."

As stated about Project Based Learning, children learn better when they can physically see something rather than just hear it. Learning about the different resources available to us has made me excited to become a teacher. I am looking forward to using project based learning, iCurio, and Discover Ed in my future classroom.

Project #8 Book Trailer

Blog Assignment #5

What is a Personal Learning Network?
According to About Eduaction a PLN is a powerful, professional development tool that allows teachers to connect with others across the country. The connections are usually made through social media.

How Can They Help You as a Teacher?
According to Edublogs Teacher Challenges, "a connected educator is a connected learner..." Having a PLN lets you connect with fellow educators to get and give advice, grow as an educator, network with colleagues, and get information.

How Can You Create Your Own?
You can build your PLN by joining social medias. For example, Twitter is a great way to connect with educators around the world. A PLN is usually built through social media, but it is not restricted to that. You can also connect with fellow teachers at your school or in your community.

Who will be your first additions?
Being as I come from a family of educators, my first additions will be my sister, a kindergarten teacher, and my mom, a school counselor. I also have many aunts and cousins who work in the school system in Baldwin County. I have also followed Dr. Strange and Dr. Vitulli on twitter. I would also like to add some of my teachers that I have had since attending the University of South Alabama. As I further my education and start my career, I know my Personal Learning Network will continuously grow, but I think I am off to a good start right now.

Project #3 Presentation

My Sentence Videos and Project 7 Part B

My Sentence Is...


My Passion Is...



To the Parents

To the Students

Blog Assignment #4

One of the most important parts of being an educator is having the ability to ask not just good, but effective questions. I like Ben Johnson's definition of the goal of a question in The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom. He says to ask yourself a question, "What does a teacher asking questions of a class expect the class to learn from the questioning process?" Johnson says, "...we need to come to grips with the fact that we do not know everything, and there is no reason to assume that students know nothing." I think this is a powerful statement because some times teachers get consumed by what they are teaching that some times they do not pay attention to who they are teaching. We need to remember that we are not teaching for us, we are teaching to help benefit the students.

According to Maryellen Weimer, PhD there are Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom. The first step is to prepare the question. You should do this for the same reason you prepare a lesson plan, it helps you explain better and you already know what kind of answer you are expecting. The second step is to play with questions. Questions are the most powerful when they engage the students. The third step is to preserve good questions. This way, you will have questions prepared for the next class to refresh their memory.

The Teaching Center has a lot of strategies to use when Asking Questions to Improve Learning. Some of the strategies include when planning questions, you must stay focused on what your objectives are. You must avoid leading questions that hint to its answer. Another strategy is when asking a yes or no question, you can follow up with another question asking the students to explain their answer. Another good strategy is when having a class discussion, be sure you only ask one question at a time, this way students do not get confused of off track from the main objective. Teaching Center also has a list of good strategies to respond effectively. For example, do not interrupt a students when he or she is answering a question.

Project # 15

Since I am majoring in Elementary Education, I wanted to find search engines that are kid-friendly and can be used in the school system and my future classroom. Here are the search engines I accumulated:

KidRex is a search engine that can be used by a child to search for many things. This site was created for kids by kids. It uses Google Custom Search and Google Safe Search to filter any inappropriate material. It does not filter one hundred percent, but there is a parent's tab where you can notify them if you found an inappropriate site. I thought the site was very cute and it looked kid-friendly. I found it intriguing that children made the webpage and hope to use it in a future classroom.

KidzSearch is another search engine that students can use to look up information. This site also uses Google Safe Search to filter inappropriate material. When students save it has their homepage, they can customize the background. It has a lot of links on the homepage for homework help or free learning sites and many other kid-friendly websites. I am absolutely in love with this website.

WolframAlpha is a search engine that would be most useful for questions with homework. However, students can use it as a regular search engine as well. If a student has a question about a certain subject, he or she can look below the search bar and find the subject in question. Then, the search engine goes to a webpage that has numerous sub-topics to specify the question. I thought this site was intriguing. If you go to "About" and scroll to the bottom of the page, there is a link that says "For Educators" and it has different ideas on how teachers can use this website.

Kidtopia is an even more kid-friendly search engine that is a lot like WolframAlpha. There is a main search bar and below it are subjects to choose from, once you click on them, it takes you to sub-topics. After narrowing your search, you can type in whatever your question or topic is. I will definitely have to remember this website if I end up in a younger classroom. Love it!

KidsClick! is search engine I found that could be useful for gathering information to do a report. Once again, below the search bar are subjects; however, after clicking on the subtopics, it gives links for the information. You do not have to type in exactly what you are searching for. I did not like this site as much as the others, but I think it can still be useful.

Start Squad is another website that students could use for help with homework. However, you can not type in your search. It once again has subjects to choose from and then takes you to links with the information needed. You can also choose from preschool, elementary school, and middle school. I like how this site is interactive, but I did not like that you can not type in your search.

SearchyPants is a search engine that children can customize. When you open the link, you have to add a name in the tool bar. Once you do this, it will take you to the search engine. I do not think this website is as filtered, if at all, as the other sites. However, I think it is cool that the children can create and customize their own search engine.

Awesome Library is a search engine for regular searching but also has a mode for teachers, kids, teens, parents, librarians, and college students. Each mode has the main subjects to choose from, but then they each have different topics that relate to them specifically. For example, the teacher's mode has a lessons plan tab which has different lesson plans for multiple topics. I liked this site as well, and will use it in the future.

C4Ta #1

The 3 Things Digital Classrooms Really Need
Summary:
Steven's blog was about teachers using the "power" of technology to their advantage in the classroom. Steven said teachers need to have engaging content, meaningful assessment, and reflections by using technology. Steven said that teachers have the opportunity to use multimedia to make their lessons more engaging. This blog said that along with using formative assessment, we can also collect data and take polls by using technology. Last Steven said that he reflects by creating blogs. He said he not only uses blogs for reflection but also in his classroom. He feels as if teachers and students alike can benefit from blogging and that using technology can create a more powerful classroom.

Comment:
I completely agreed with this blog. I think that technology needs to be taken advantage of. However, I do not think that we need to rely solely on technology. I found it interesting that he said he blogs his reflections and that he felt as if blogging made him the professional he is today. I liked his idea of "three digital things classrooms need" being engaging content, meaningful assessment, and reflection. Even though he meant for those ideas to refer to technology, I have also heard those ideas in my other classes and completely agree that it needs to be applied to classrooms.

Evaluating Technolgy? Here's What to Look For...
Summary
This blog post was about helping school leaders better understand technology. Steven said he created five questions to show the school leaders how effective technology in the classroom is. One of the five questions is who is using the technology? Are teachers solely using the technology or do the students use it as well? The second question is if you took the technology away, how different would the lesson be? Students are using Mac books to write papers, but they can also use paper and pencil. However, if a student has to create a podcast, the technology can not be taken away. Third question is how much variety with technology is there? There is a huge variety of sources that students and teachers are using in today's time to benefit their school work. The fourth question is what opportunities do students have to collaborate with or through technology? Students can teach each other different uses for technology. The last question is what opportunities do students have to create new knowledge or products with the technology? Students learn better when they take what they have learned and producing something from it.

Comments:
I thought this post was very thought out. I loved the questions he came up with to give to school leaders. The questions show just how much technology is needed in the school system today. Elementary school students have more knowledge about what is going on in the world now than we did when we were children; this is due to them having technology. If there is anyone who says that technology should not be in the schools, then they need to read this post. Technology is not used just for entertainment anymore, it is used to gain knowledge and what better place to gain knowledge than in a school?

Blog Assignment # 3

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?
Peer editing is very useful in a classroom. Instead of a teacher having to read a paper multiple time, he or she can get other students to read the paper and help edit or advise. What is Peer Editing? is a video about the three steps to peer editing, which are compliments, suggestions, and corrections. You have to say positive when peer editing because you do not want to offed the person you are helping. Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial was a slideshow that had almost the exact same information as the video, except it had more examples and a trial paragraph. I thought both the video and slideshow were informative. I have always known how to peer edit, but I am not sure if I was given those exact steps before.

Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes is a very cute video that I will use in my future classroom when assigning peer reviews. My favorite portrayals are "Whatever William" and "Jean the Generalizer" because I have been in both situations. After watching this video, I have learned that when peer editing, you must follow the three steps to peer editing, which are compliments, suggestions, and corrections. When being peer edited, you have to be able to accept the criticism and advice given to you. You do not have to change your paper, but you do not need to be offended if they are just trying to help. I am not very good at accepting criticism, even if it is positive. After watching this video, I know I need to work on it and not be a "Defensive Dave."