Summary for C4K 11/7 - 12/5

This has been an amazing journey this semester. I have bonded with several classes through blogging! I have also learned a tremendous amount from the children and their teachers and that I hope to use in my future class!

On 11/7 I was assigned to blog on Falefehi's blog. Falefehi is a 6 year old little girl that goes to Pt. England School in Auckland. The title of her class blog is Little Voices, Little Scholars. Her teacher is Ms. Jenny. Falefehi did an amazing job on her ship animation!

Ms. Jenny's students write stories and creates animations or movies that relate to their current studies! Ms. Jenny has done an outstanding job with her class! I hope to use some of the techniques she shared in my class.

11/14 - A4 at Papatoetoe E. Primary School, Good Things Come In Small Packages. Class A4 blog with The Springston Explorers. They decided to send their blogging buddies in Christchurch a small stuffed giraffe named Wally. The titled their post "Wally's Vacation"! What a great idea to send a small gift to blogging friends and follow his trip online! I will definitely use this in my class! Very creative!!

11/21 - Mrs. Conlin's Flat Stanley Project: Flat Matt Leaves Home. Very clever! Mrs. Conlin's students create their own Flat Stanley and sent their Flat's around the world! They have photos taken with the receiver and the Flat and post it to their blog! It's amazing where some of the Flat's have gone!

Flatt Matt left from Westford, MA and was sent to Florida. I wished him a safe trip to sunny Florida! Flatt Matt was dressed with a short sleeve, shorts, and sunglasses. He looked like he was ready for the beach!

12/5 - Mrs. Haugen's 6th Grade: Kyle's Blog, "Old Yeller". Kyle said, "Very sad but real book. I really think if you are into the outdoors and can relate to this story like me this will be a very interesting book for anyone".

I agreed with Kyle. Old Yeller is one of my favorites! I told him I could not wait to share it with my class one day!

My Final PLN

Screencasts and videos online

Summary C4T Teacher #4

My comment was in reference to David Warlick and his blog 2 Cents Worth. His post is very insightful and can be read here. http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=2810

David spoke about a Tweet he saw from Vicki Davis, someone I follow, about Bob Wise. He conducted research and gave some impressive information on his findings along with his views. One of the  pieces I enjoyed and agreed with most was this:

Bob Wise – We have 3 crises “declining fiscal state revenues, mounting teacher shortages, increased global demand for skilled workforce”

David responded: "These are all monumental challenges to schools, school administrations, and school governance. But I would add that there are also three crises that are (should be) challenging curriculum and pedagogy — that we are (1) preparing a new generation of learners, (2) within a new information environment, (3) for a future we can not clearly describe."

I agree! We are preparing our student's for a future that is unknown. We are amongst an information revolution. I have read several of David's posts, along with his website. I can't wait to read his books! I encourage others to check out his blog, website, or follow him on Twitter!

Blog Post 13

ALEX or the Alabama Learning Exchange is a great website that is full of resources for teachers, students, and administrators. There are several buttons that directs you to a library full of resources that correlates with the button you choose.

The Course Of Study button breaks down the course of study for every grade with the proposed objective for each course.  This is the guideline that is expected and required of the course taught.

The Web Links button shows links for teachers, administrators, and student resources. The Teachers Resource page shows lesson plans that are available, Profession Development links, Technology Education, and Special Education links.  The Student Resource page shows links for Arts Education, Career Technical Education, Math, Science, Social Studies, etc. The Administrator's Resource page shows links for AL Leadership, Professional Development, Technology Funding, and more.

The Lesson Plan Button shows links for teachers to download or upload lesson plans. Teachers are able to find lesson plans for every grade and every subject.

The Personal Workspace Button is a place where teachers can create an account so that they can store and submit lesson plans and teacher web pages. It is a great way to organize the resources found on ALEX.

The Professional Learning Button is where you can find access to Thinkfinity. Thinkfinity houses blogs, lesson plans, education news, today in history, interactive tools, widgets, and webinars. Also under the Professional Learning Button you can find Grant Opportunities. The Grant Opportunities Button shows grant writing tips and grant project planning framework. The Professional Learning Button also lists websites for professional development opportunities, teaching and learning tools, the latest news, best practices, and more.

The Podcast Treasury Gallery 360 houses a podcast library. You can find a podcast for every subject.

ALEXville is the newsletter for ALEX. You can find current information on organizations and groups to join.

ALEX is an amazing resource that everyone can enjoy!

ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators, and Studies Statewide) http://accessdl.state.al.us/

ACCESS is a distinct learning initiative that was started on November 1, 2004. The objectives of ACCESS is to:

• Provide access to advance diploma courses
• Provide access to additional course offerings
• Provide access to advance placement or dual credit courses 
• Provide access to remediation and supplemental resources
• Leverage existing resources and distance learning offerings
• Provide teachers with additional multimedia and technology tools to enhance instruction

ACCESS is a great website for all students and educators. There are many available resources for both to explore.
 

Blog Post 12

My idea for Blog Post 1 is:

Write a brief description about yourself. Include information about you: (what kind of person you are, where you live, your family and pets, your hobbies, and what you do for a living). Next, describe the type of teacher you plan to be and why you chose to be that “teacher”. What is your motivation behind your decision (i.e. is there a person or group that inspired you).

This is what I would write for Blog Post 1...

My name is Darlene Staimpel. I am 30 years old and live in Orange Beach, AL. I have two amazing children, John (5) and Mary Kate (3). I am a wonderfully caring person that is self motivated and enjoys learning new things. I love to spending time with my family and friends. I also love to travel and experience different cultures.

I plan to be an educator that helps children engage in all aspects of life. I plan to use technology, animals, an any physical element to help make learning enjoyable and interactive. I chose to be a more "hands on" teacher because I do not believe in standardized learning. I believe every child learns and tests differently. Since taking EDM310, I have broadened my expectations to include more technology in my class and develop a classroom where children can be children. My students will research, explore, and experience life!

There are several educators, like Ms. Cassidy and Ms. Vicki Davis, that I have encountered online through EDM310 that have inspired me. I have found the teacher I want to be because of this class!

Project 15

Screencasts and videos online

Additional Assignment # 5

This was an enlightening assignment for me. I think John Spencer is great! I love his ideals and his metaphors (pencils) and how he applies it to so many situations in life.

In his post, Just Teach Them To Solve For X, he speaks of metaphors and that "it's human's way of making sense of abstract". Metaphors require us to think. It allows us to express without being direct. We should allow our students to use their brains and participate in the art of learning. We should not always force feed them concrete thoughts.

In another one of John's posts, "Sketchy Portraits: 8th Grade Identity and Pencils", he writes about a conversation between a first grade teacher that pulled him aside. John uses the pencil as a metaphor (an emotional metaphor). The first grade teacher explains that a particular student was being mouthy. John explained to her that it's a typical behavior amongst the age. He explains to the teacher that they are so confused (even to themselves) and are trying to close the gap between childhood and adulthood. He further explains while being structured, you can write in ink, while the student's are sketching in pencil.

In "He Just Likes The Class For The Pencils", John truly touched my heart. He shows compassion for his students (when they need it). He shows how he earns the trust and confidence of his student. The other teacher that called him into the meeting with the student's parent should be ashamed. This teacher was trying to bash John instead of learn of him. The student shows his appreciation to John by explaining or not directly explaining that he likes his class, but not for the pencils. He appreciates John because of the teacher he is not for what he has in or uses in his class (pencils).

The Medium Shapes and Learning is an interesting post. I think he is comparing "old" learning with "new" learning. Learning the "new" things are not bad but we should always use the "old" as a base. We should build off the old and add to it using the "new".  I could be completely missing the point and if I am I would love for someone to let me know. My interpretation may be totally confusing.

Progress Report on Final Project

I will be doing my final project with Kristin Key and Terri Hampton. We will be doing a Skype teaching session with Ms. Lucassen's 3rd grade class from Elberta Elementary School in Elberta, AL. We are creating a lesson to teach that relates to what they are currently covering in class. We will also record our Skype session on Screentoaster.com and embed it into our blog. This will be Ms. Lucassen's first Skype session. We are all very excited! Stay tuned for the video update.

I created the above questionnaire and found that eight people completed the survey. On the first question I asked them surveyors to "rate on a scale from 1 to 5 (one being not important and 5 being the most important)how important technology in the classroom was before EDM310. Two people chose 2, three people chose 3, one person chose 4, and two people chose 5.

The second question asked: Since starting EDM310 has your views changed? Five people said yes, two people said no and one person said not sure. For the people that chose yes I asked them to explain.

One person said, "I am not sure because I look at the schools that my children attend and not sure if they are using technology to their full advantage. They just recently received smart boards and teachers are not fully trained and barely know what they are doing on the boards. I think the school's should pay for these teacher's to attend workshops, so they can be fully trained. It will probably take a few years for them to be fully trained anyway because I had a teacher show me some of the things a smartboard can do and it looks like there is way too much to learn. She even said she took workshops over the summer and did not even get paid for doing so. VERY DEDICATED TEACHER if you ask me!"

Another person said, "I realized how important technology is in the classroom and not just in our personal lives. I also became aware of how big of a role technology plays in our day and age."

Someone else said, "I didn't realize how many different things were out there." Another one said, "I have learned there are many ways to use technology in the classroom. You can learn through different countries and teachers as well." The last person that said yes to the second question said, "Google docs will be very important to me in the classroom".

I asked "How do you perceive technology to be advancing in today's classroom?" I used a scale 1 to 5 (1 being too slow and 5 being not fast enough). Five people marked 5, one person marked 2, and the other person marked not sure.

I also asked if they "feel it is important to be tech savvy in order to teach" Seven people said yes and one said no. I asked if they would incorporate what they have learned fro EDM310 into their classroom and six people said yes while two said not sure.

I asked, "upon completion of EDM310, do you plan on perusing additional sources of technology that will benefit your class". Three people said not sure, four people said yes, and one said no. I asked what types of technology would you like to use in your classroom. Most everyone responded with an interactive white board, scanner, webcam, computers, projectors.

My final question I asked, "is there a certain type of technology that you have not learned about from EDM310 that you know about and would use in your classroom?". Everyone said no.

The results showed that the majority of the people that took the survey plan to be tech savvy teachers. They plan to use technology in their class. I appreciate all the people that completed my questionnaire.

Project 14 Instructional Video

How To Create A Wordle

Record your screencast online

Blog Post 11

I thought that the Skype interview between Ms. Cassidy and Dr. Strange was interesting and impressive. Ms. Cassidy is the teacher I would like to become. I love how she took the initiative to form a plan to get the students involved with the computers she was given without the use of programs. She taught herself how to create websites and use blogs and then how to apply them to her classroom for her students to use.

Watching the video of her first graders, I was amazed at all the different types of technology they use in her class. You can genuinely tell that her students love her class. You can see their excitement in the video! I loved that they children blog, Skype, uses Wiki and other types of technology. They made comments how their writing improved the more they blogged. They also enjoyed using the Wiki's and especially liked the alphabet that the EDM310 student's posted.

I plan to use all the technology Ms. Cassidy uses. I think it's a great to have all of these wonderful tools the children can interact with. These tools help make learning much more enjoyable. I will educate my students on the safety of the internet as Ms. Cassidy did with her students. She gave them great advice about never using their last names or pictures of themselves.

Ms. Cassidy has done a wonderful job and I will be following her blog to learn more. I can't wait to see what she has her children use next. 

C4K #3-7 Summary

C4K #3 - The Big Damage at Christchurch by Hainte
Hainte wrote about an earthquake that hit Christchurch on 9/4/10 at 4:36am. He posted that is was a 7.1 earthquake and had 137 aftershocks. His post was very good.
 

C4K #4 - Why You Should Visit My Blog by Emily
I think Emily has the greatest little personality. Her post was about why people should read her blog. She said she liked to read, swim, camp, playing her DSiXL and Wii. She also likes to discover new widgets and Alt codes. Emily has been blogging for one year. It amazes me that she is so young and talks about widgets and alt codes! No such thing existed when I was growing up. It was Barbie or Strawberry Shortcake!

C4K#5 - Oh What To Do Next Today by Alicen W
Alicen posted on her blog what she would like to do with the rest of her day. She said that her friends were busy. She said her dad and sister were home but her sister does not play with anyone younger than her. She said she thought about playing with her Wii but knew her sister would be playing it. She decided she would play her favorite games on her computer.

C4K#6 - Riddle 1 by Jose C
Jose posted a riddle on his blog and wanted everyone to guess. His riddle was:
I can bend the ground
I have a desert color
I eat flies
What am I?
The comments were very funny! I guessed a lizard.

C4K#7 - What Should I Name My Photograph? by Alba Unisaur
I loved her picture! She took this photograph on the USS Alabama. She has a great eye for architecture. Several people commented that she should name it "wave". I thought a good name was "flow".

Smartboard Presentation

Summary Post C4T Teacher #3

I was assigned to Michael Kaechele's Concrete Classroom Blog. Michael always has very fascinating things to post. His past post  http://concretekax.blogspot.com/2010/10/alchemist-and-louis-lamour.html was one of my favorites. He spoke about a great book he read The Alchemist. He talked about how he feels today's teachers need to be more like Santiago in the book and less like the Englishman. His reason, Santiago was  free and learned and educated himself through learning from experts, reading, watching sheep and camels, and learning from nature. The Englishman stood for standardized learning.

I agree with Michael that we should stray away from standardization. We should help our students embrace the new way of learning. Let's teach our students to learn directly from the experts by asking them questions directly and not just by reading about what the experts have to say in  a few chapters of a book. Let's help them reach their goals and passion, like Michael suggests. Let's embrace technology and help get our student's more involved! Let's have them collaborate more with other classmates (either in their classroom or a classroom half way around the world). It's time to shed the "Englishman" and time to be "Santiago"! Our students need and deserve that!

We should never let school interfere with their education. We should encourage our students to pursue their dreams and passions and help them to embrace the new ways of learning.